PMID: 20228801 , Related PDB ids: 2X10, 2X11

Authors:

Seiradake E, Harlos K, Sutton G, Aricescu AR, Jones EY

Title:

An extracellular steric seeding mechanism for Eph-ephrin signaling platform assembly.

Journal:

Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2010 Apr;17(4):398-402. Epub 2010 Mar 14.

Abstract:

Erythropoetin-producing hepatoma (Eph) receptors are cell-surface protein tyrosine kinases mediating cell-cell communication. Upon activation, they form signaling clusters. We report crystal structures of the full ectodomain of human EphA2 (eEphA2) both alone and in complex with the receptor-binding domain of the ligand ephrinA5 (ephrinA5 RBD). Unliganded eEphA2 forms linear arrays of staggered parallel receptors involving two patches of residues conserved across A-class Ephs. eEphA2-ephrinA5 RBD forms a more elaborate assembly, whose interfaces include the same conserved regions on eEphA2, but rearranged to accommodate ephrinA5 RBD. Cell-surface expression of mutant EphA2s showed that these interfaces are critical for localization at cell-cell contacts and activation-dependent degradation. Our results suggest a 'nucleation' mechanism whereby a limited number of ligand-receptor interactions 'seed' an arrangement of receptors which can propagate into extended signaling arrays.