Non-Linear and Flexible Regions of the Human Notch1 Extracellular Domain Revealed by High-Resolution Structural Studies

Philip C. Weisshuhn, Devon Sheppard, Paul Taylor, Pat Whiteman, Susan M. Lea, Penny A. Handford, Christina Redfield

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

30 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Summary The Notch receptor is a key component of a core metazoan signaling pathway activated by Delta/Serrate/Lag-2 ligands expressed on an adjacent cell. This results in a short-range signal with profound effects on cell-fate determination, cell proliferation, and cell death. Key to understanding receptor function is structural knowledge of the large extracellular portion of Notch which contains multiple repeats of epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domains. Here we investigate the EGF4-13 region of human Notch1 (hN1) using a multidisciplinary approach. Ca2+-binding measurements, X-ray crystallography, {1H}-15N heteronuclear nuclear Overhauser effects, and residual dipolar couplings support a non-linear organization for the EGF4-13 region with a rigid, bent conformation for EGF4-7 and a single flexible linkage between EGF9 and EGF10. These data allow us to construct an informed model for EGF10-13 which, in conjunction with comparative binding studies, demonstrates that EGF10 has an important role in determining Notch receptor sensitivity to Dll-4.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)555-566
Number of pages12
JournalStructure
Volume24
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Apr 2016
Externally publishedYes

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