Succinylation

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Succinylation is a posttranslational modification where a succinyl group (-CO-CH2-CH2-CO2H) is added to a lysine residue of a protein molecule. This modification is found in many proteins, including histones. [1] The potential role of succinylation is under investigation, but as addition of succinyl group changes lysine's charge from +1 to −1 (at physiological pH) and introduces a relatively large structural moiety (100 Da), bigger than acetylation (42 Da) or methylation (14 Da), it is expected to lead to more significant changes in protein structure and function. [2]

By analogy to acetylation, it has been suggested that succinyl-CoA is the cofactor of enzyme-mediated lysine succinylation.

Related Research Articles

Histone Family proteins package and order the DNA into structural units called nucleosomes.

In biology, histones are highly basic proteins found in eukaryotic cell nuclei that pack and order the DNA into structural units called nucleosomes. They are the chief protein components of chromatin, acting as spools around which DNA winds, and playing a role in gene regulation. Without histones, the unwound DNA in chromosomes would be very long. For example, each human diploid cell has about 1.8 meters of DNA; wound on the histones, the diploid cell has about 90 micrometers (0.09 mm) of chromatin. When the diploid cells are duplicated and condensed during mitosis, the result is about 120 micrometers of chromosomes.

Post-translational modification Biological processes

Post-translational modification (PTM) refers to the covalent and generally enzymatic modification of proteins following protein biosynthesis. Proteins are synthesized by ribosomes translating mRNA into polypeptide chains, which may then undergo PTM to form the mature protein product. PTMs are important components in cell signaling, as for example when prohormones are converted to hormones.

Histone acetyltransferase Enzymes that catalyze acyl group transfer from acetyl-CoA to histones

Histone acetyltransferases (HATs) are enzymes that acetylate conserved lysine amino acids on histone proteins by transferring an acetyl group from acetyl-CoA to form ε-N-acetyllysine. DNA is wrapped around histones, and, by transferring an acetyl group to the histones, genes can be turned on and off. In general, histone acetylation increases gene expression.

Acetylation describes a reaction that introduces an acetyl functional group into a chemical compound. Deacetylation is the removal of an acetyl group.

Histone H3 is one of the five main histones involved in the structure of chromatin in eukaryotic cells. Featuring a main globular domain and a long N-terminal tail, H3 is involved with the structure of the nucleosomes of the 'beads on a string' structure. Histone proteins are highly post-translationally modified however Histone H3 is the most extensively modified of the five histones. The term "Histone H3" alone is purposely ambiguous in that it does not distinguish between sequence variants or modification state. Histone H3 is an important protein in the emerging field of epigenetics, where its sequence variants and variable modification states are thought to play a role in the dynamic and long term regulation of genes.

Histone H4 is one of the five main histone proteins involved in the structure of chromatin in eukaryotic cells. Featuring a main globular domain and a long N-terminal tail, H4 is involved with the structure of the nucleosome of the 'beads on a string' organization. Histone proteins are highly post-translationally modified. Covalently bonded modifications include acetylation and methylation of the N-terminal tails. These modifications may alter expression of genes located on DNA associated with its parent histone octamer. Histone H4 is an important protein in the structure and function of chromatin, where its sequence variants and variable modification states are thought to play a role in the dynamic and long term regulation of genes.

The histone code is a hypothesis that the transcription of genetic information encoded in DNA is in part regulated by chemical modifications to histone proteins, primarily on their unstructured ends. Together with similar modifications such as DNA methylation it is part of the epigenetic code. Histones associate with DNA to form nucleosomes, which themselves bundle to form chromatin fibers, which in turn make up the more familiar chromosome. Histones are globular proteins with a flexible N-terminus that protrudes from the nucleosome. Many of the histone tail modifications correlate very well to chromatin structure and both histone modification state and chromatin structure correlate well to gene expression levels. The critical concept of the histone code hypothesis is that the histone modifications serve to recruit other proteins by specific recognition of the modified histone via protein domains specialized for such purposes, rather than through simply stabilizing or destabilizing the interaction between histone and the underlying DNA. These recruited proteins then act to alter chromatin structure actively or to promote transcription. For details of gene expression regulation by histone modifications see table below.

Histone acetylation and deacetylation

Histone acetylation and deacetylation are the processes by which the lysine residues within the N-terminal tail protruding from the histone core of the nucleosome are acetylated and deacetylated as part of gene regulation.

H3K27ac is an epigenetic modification to the DNA packaging protein Histone H3. It is a mark that indicates the acetylation at the 27th lysine residue of the histone H3 protein.

H2BK5ac is an epigenetic modification to the DNA packaging protein Histone H2B. It is a mark that indicates the acetylation at the 5th lysine residue of the histone H2B protein. H2BK5ac is involved in maintaining stem cells and colon cancer.

H4K16ac is an epigenetic modification to the DNA packaging protein Histone H4. It is a mark that indicates the acetylation at the 16th lysine residue of the histone H4 protein.

H4K5ac is an epigenetic modification to the DNA packaging protein histone H4. It is a mark that indicates the acetylation at the 5th lysine residue of the histone H4 protein. H4K5 is the closest lysine residue to the N-terminal tail of histone H4. It is enriched at the transcription start site (TSS) and along gene bodies. Acetylation of histone H4K5 and H4K12ac is enriched at centromeres.

H4K8ac is an epigenetic modification to the DNA packaging protein histone H4. It is a mark that indicates the acetylation at the 8th lysine residue of the histone H4 protein. This mark has been implicated in the prevalence of malaria.

H4K12ac is an epigenetic modification to the DNA packaging protein histone H4. It is a mark that indicates the acetylation at the 12th lysine residue of the histone H4 protein. H4K12ac is involved in learning and memory. It is possible that restoring this modification could reduce age-related decline in memory.

H4K91ac is an epigenetic modification to the DNA packaging protein histone H4. It is a mark that indicates the acetylation at the 91st lysine residue of the histone H4 protein. No known diseases are attributed to this mark but it might be implicated in melanoma.

H3K23ac is an epigenetic modification to the DNA packaging protein Histone H3. It is a mark that indicates the acetylation at the 23rd lysine residue of the histone H3 protein.

H3K14ac is an epigenetic modification to the DNA packaging protein Histone H3. It is a mark that indicates the acetylation at the 14th lysine residue of the histone H3 protein.

H3K9ac is an epigenetic modification to the DNA packaging protein Histone H3. It is a mark that indicates the acetylation at the 9th lysine residue of the histone H3 protein.

H3K36ac is an epigenetic modification to the DNA packaging protein Histone H3. It is a mark that indicates the acetylation at the 36th lysine residue of the histone H3 protein.

H3K56ac is an epigenetic modification to the DNA packaging protein Histone H3. It is a mark that indicates the acetylation at the 56th lysine residue of the histone H3 protein.

References

  1. Xie, Z.; Dai, J.; Dai, L.; Tan, M.; Cheng, Z.; Wu, Y.; Boeke, J. D.; Zhao, Y. (2012). "Lysine succinylation and lysine malonylation in histones". Molecular & Cellular Proteomics. 11 (5): 100–7. doi:10.1074/mcp.M111.015875. PMC   3418837 . PMID   22389435.
  2. Zhang, Z.; Tan, M.; Xie, Z.; Dai, L.; Chen, Y.; Zhao, Y. (2010). "Identification of lysine succinylation as a new post-translational modification". Nature Chemical Biology. 7 (1): 58–63. doi:10.1038/nchembio.495. PMC   3065206 . PMID   21151122.