Allosteric Regulation of Protein Kinase Pkczeta by the N-Terminal C1 Domain and Small Compounds to the Pif-Pocket.
Lopez-Garcia, L.A., Schulze, J.O., Frohner, W., Zhang, H., Suss, E., Weber, N., Navratil, J., Amon, S., Hindie, V., Zeuzem, S., Jorgensen, T.J., Alzari, P.M., Neimanis, S., Engel, M., Biondi, R.M.(2011) Chem Biol 18: 1463
- PubMed: 22118680 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chembiol.2011.08.010
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
4A06, 4A07 - PubMed Abstract: 
Protein kinases are key mediators of cellular signaling, and therefore, their activities are tightly controlled. AGC kinases are regulated by phosphorylation and by N- and C-terminal regions. Here, we studied the molecular mechanism of inhibition of atypical PKCζ and found that the inhibition by the N-terminal region cannot be explained by a simple pseudosubstrate inhibitory mechanism. Notably, we found that the C1 domain allosterically inhibits PKCζ activity and verified an allosteric communication between the PIF-pocket of atypical PKCs and the binding site of the C1 domain. Finally, we developed low-molecular-weight compounds that bind to the PIF-pocket and allosterically inhibit PKCζ activity. This work establishes a central role for the PIF-pocket on the regulation of PKCζ and allows us to envisage development of drugs targeting the PIF-pocket that can either activate or inhibit AGC kinases.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Research Group PhosphoSites, Department of Internal Medicine I, Universitätsklinikum Frankfurt, 60590 Frankfurt, Germany.