PMID: 18462684 , Related PDB ids: 3BRT, 3BRV

Authors:

Rushe M, Silvian L, Bixler S, Chen LL, Cheung A, Bowes S, Cuervo H, Berkowitz S, Zheng T, Guckian K, Pellegrini M, Lugovskoy A

Title:

Structure of a NEMO/IKK-associating domain reveals architecture of the interaction site.

Journal:

Structure. 2008 May;16(5):798-808.

Abstract:

The phosphorylation of IkappaB by the IKK complex targets it for degradation and releases NF-kappaB for translocation into the nucleus to initiate the inflammatory response, cell proliferation, or cell differentiation. The IKK complex is composed of the catalytic IKKalpha/beta kinases and a regulatory protein, NF-kappaB essential modulator (NEMO; IKKgamma). NEMO associates with the unphosphorylated IKK kinase C termini and activates the IKK complex's catalytic activity. However, detailed structural information about the NEMO/IKK interaction is lacking. In this study, we have identified the minimal requirements for NEMO and IKK kinase association using a variety of biophysical techniques and have solved two crystal structures of the minimal NEMO/IKK kinase associating domains. We demonstrate that the NEMO core domain is a dimer that binds two IKK fragments and identify energetic hot spots that can be exploited to inhibit IKK complex formation with a therapeutic agent.