A gradient of ATP affinities generates an asymmetric power stroke driving the chaperonin TRIC/CCT folding cycle.

ABSTRACT: The eukaryotic chaperonin TRiC/CCT uses ATP cycling to fold many essential proteins that other chaperones cannot fold. This 1 MDa hetero-oligomer consists of two identical stacked rings assembled from eight paralogous subunits, each containing a conserved ATP-binding domain. Here, we report a dramatic asymmetry in the ATP utilization cycle of this ring-shaped chaperonin, despite its apparently symmetric architecture. Only four of the eight different subunits bind ATP at physiological concentrations. ATP binding and hydrolysis by the low-affinity subunits is fully dispensable for TRiC function in vivo. The conserved nucleotide-binding hierarchy among TRiC subunits is evolutionarily modulated through differential nucleoside contacts. Strikingly, high- and low-affinity subunits are spatially

SUBMITTER: Reissmann S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3543868 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature