Publications
The Journal of biological chemistrySep 2025 |
110735
DOI:
10.1016/j.jbc.2025.110735

Structural basis for L-isoaspartyl-containing protein recognition by the human PCMTD1 cullin-RING E3 ubiquitin ligase

Pang, Eric Z; Zhao, Boyu; Flowers, Cameron; Oroudjeva, Elizabeth; Winter, Jasmine B; Pandey, Vijaya; Sawaya, Michael R; Wohlschlegel, James; Loo, Joseph A; Rodriguez, Jose A; Clarke, Steven G
Product Used
Genes
Abstract
A major type of spontaneous protein damage that accumulates with age is the formation of kinked polypeptide chains with L-isoaspartyl residues. Mitigating this damage is necessary for maintaining proteome stability and prolonging organismal survival. While repair through methylation by PCMT1 has been previously shown to suppress L-isoaspartyl accumulation, we provide an additional mechanism for L-isoaspartyl maintenance through PCMTD1, a cullin-RING ligase (CRL). We combined cryo-EM, native mass spectrometry, and biochemical assays to provide insight on how the assembly and architecture of human PCMTD1 in the context of a CRL complex fulfils this alternative mechanism. We show that the PCMTD1 CRL complex specifically binds L-isoaspartyl residues when bound to AdoMet. This work provides evidence for a growing class of E3 ubiquitin ligases that recognize spontaneous covalent modifications as potential substrates for ubiquitylation and subsequent proteasomal degradation.
Product Used
Genes

Related Publications