2. Academic Validation
  3. Structure of the DDB1-CRBN E3 ubiquitin ligase in complex with thalidomide

Structure of the DDB1-CRBN E3 ubiquitin ligase in complex with thalidomide

  • Nature. 2014 Aug 7;512(7512):49-53. doi: 10.1038/nature13527.
Eric S Fischer 1,  Kerstin Böhm 1,  John R Lydeard 2,  Haidi Yang 3,  Michael B Stadler 4,  Simone Cavadini 1,  Jane Nagel 3,  Fabrizio Serluca 3,  Vincent Acker 5,  Gondichatnahalli M Lingaraju 1,  Ritesh B Tichkule 3,  Michael Schebesta 3,  William C Forrester 3,  Markus Schirle 3,  Ulrich Hassiepen 5,  Johannes Ottl 5,  Marc Hild 3,  Rohan E J Beckwith 3,  J Wade Harper 2,  Jeremy L Jenkins 3,  Nicolas H Thomä 1
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 1] Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland [2] University of Basel, Petersplatz 10, CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland.
  • 2 Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, 240 Longwood Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
  • 3 Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
  • 4 1] Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland [2] University of Basel, Petersplatz 10, CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland [3] Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Maulbeerstrasse 66, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland.
  • 5 Novartis Pharma AG, Institutes for Biomedical Research, Novartis Campus, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland.
PMID: 25043012 DOI: 10.1038/nature13527
Abstract

In the 1950s, the drug thalidomide, administered as a sedative to pregnant women, led to the birth of thousands of children with multiple defects. Despite the teratogenicity of thalidomide and its derivatives lenalidomide and pomalidomide, these immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) recently emerged as effective treatments for multiple myeloma and 5q-deletion-associated dysplasia. IMiDs target the E3 ubiquitin ligase CUL4-RBX1-DDB1-CRBN (known as CRL4(CRBN)) and promote the ubiquitination of the IKAROS family transcription factors IKZF1 and IKZF3 by CRL4(CRBN). Here we present crystal structures of the DDB1-CRBN complex bound to thalidomide, lenalidomide and pomalidomide. The structure establishes that CRBN is a substrate receptor within CRL4(CRBN) and enantioselectively binds IMiDs. Using an unbiased screen, we identified the homeobox transcription factor MEIS2 as an endogenous substrate of CRL4(CRBN). Our studies suggest that IMiDs block endogenous substrates (MEIS2) from binding to CRL4(CRBN) while the ligase complex is recruiting IKZF1 or IKZF3 for degradation. This dual activity implies that small molecules can modulate an E3 ubiquitin ligase and thereby upregulate or downregulate the ubiquitination of proteins.

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