Structure of the G protein chaperone and guanine nucleotide exchange factor Ric-8A bound to Gαi1.

ABSTRACT: Ric-8A is a cytosolic Guanine Nucleotide exchange Factor (GEF) that activates heterotrimeric G protein alpha subunits (Gα) and serves as an essential Gα chaperone. Mechanisms by which Ric-8A catalyzes these activities, which are stimulated by Casein Kinase II phosphorylation, are unknown. We report the structure of the nanobody-stabilized complex of nucleotide-free Gα bound to phosphorylated Ric-8A at near atomic resolution by cryo-electron microscopy and X-ray crystallography. The mechanism of Ric-8A GEF activity differs considerably from that employed by G protein-coupled receptors at the plasma membrane. Ric-8A engages a specific conformation of Gα at multiple interfaces to form a complex that is stabilized by phosphorylation within a Ric-8A segment that connects two Gα binding sites. T

SUBMITTER: McClelland LJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7044438 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature