Vinculin binding in its closed conformation by a helix addition mechanism.

ABSTRACT: Vinculin links integrin receptors to the actin cytoskeleton by binding to talin. Vinculin is held in an inactive, closed-clamp conformation through hydrophobic interactions between its head and tail domains, and vinculin activation has long been thought to be dependent upon severing the head-tail interaction. Talin, alpha-actinin, and the invasin IpaA of Shigella flexneri sever vinculin's head-tail interaction by inserting an alpha-helix into vinculin's N-terminal four-helical bundle, provoking extensive conformational changes by a helical bundle conversion mechanism; these alterations in vinculin structure displace its tail domain, allowing vinculin to bind to its other partners. IpaA harbors two juxtaposed alpha-helical vinculin-binding sites (VBS) in its C-terminus. Here, we report that

SUBMITTER: Nhieu GT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2063484 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature