Recognition of an Ala-rich C-degron by the E3 ligase Pirh2.
Wang, X., Li, Y., Yan, X., Yang, Q., Zhang, B., Zhang, Y., Yuan, X., Jiang, C., Chen, D., Liu, Q., Liu, T., Mi, W., Yu, Y., Dong, C.(2023) Nat Commun 14: 2474-2474
- PubMed: 37120596 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38173-6
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
7YNX - PubMed Abstract: 
The ribosome-associated quality-control (RQC) pathway degrades aberrant nascent polypeptides arising from ribosome stalling during translation. In mammals, the E3 ligase Pirh2 mediates the degradation of aberrant nascent polypeptides by targeting the C-terminal polyalanine degrons (polyAla/C-degrons). Here, we present the crystal structure of Pirh2 bound to the polyAla/C-degron, which shows that the N-terminal domain and the RING domain of Pirh2 form a narrow groove encapsulating the alanine residues of the polyAla/C-degron. Affinity measurements in vitro and global protein stability assays in cells further demonstrate that Pirh2 recognizes a C-terminal A/S-X-A-A motif for substrate degradation. Taken together, our study provides the molecular basis underlying polyAla/C-degron recognition by Pirh2 and expands the substrate recognition spectrum of Pirh2.
Organizational Affiliation: 
The Province and Ministry Co-sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, 300070, Tianjin, China.