Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Molecular basis for the disruption of Keap1–Nrf2 interaction via Hinge & Latch mechanism

2021; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 4; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/s42003-021-02100-6

2399-3642

Yuta Horie, Takafumi Suzuki, Jin Inoue, Tatsuro Iso, Geoffrey Wells, Terry W. Moore, Tsunehiro Mizushima, Albena T. Dinkova‐Kostova, T. Kasai, Takashi Kamei, S. Koshiba, Masayuki Yamamoto,

Free Radicals and Antioxidants

The Keap1-Nrf2 system is central for mammalian cytoprotection against various stresses and a drug target for disease prevention and treatment. One model for the molecular mechanisms leading to Nrf2 activation is the Hinge-Latch model, where the DLGex-binding motif of Nrf2 dissociates from Keap1 as a latch, while the ETGE motif remains attached to Keap1 as a hinge. To overcome the technical difficulties in examining the binding status of the two motifs during protein-protein interaction (PPI) simultaneously, we utilized NMR spectroscopy titration experiments. Our results revealed that latch dissociation is triggered by low-molecular-weight Keap1-Nrf2 PPI inhibitors and occurs during p62-mediated Nrf2 activation, but not by electrophilic Nrf2 inducers. This study demonstrates that Keap1 utilizes a unique Hinge-Latch mechanism for Nrf2 activation upon challenge by non-electrophilic PPI-inhibiting stimuli, and provides critical insight for the pharmacological development of next-generation Nrf2 activators targeting the Keap1-Nrf2 PPI.