Abstract
Two lymphoid cell-specific proteins, RAM and RAG2 (RAG), initiate V(D)J recombination by assembling a synaptic complex with recombination signal sequences (RSSs) abutting two different antigen receptor gene coding segments, and then introducing a DNA double strand break at the end of each RSS. Despite the biological importance of this system, the structure of the synaptic complex, and the RAG protein stoichiometry and arrangement of DNA within the synaptosome, remains poorly understood. Here we applied atomic force microscopy to directly visualize and characterize RAG synaptic complexes. We report that the pre-cleavage RAG synaptic complex contains about twice the protein content as a RAG complex bound to a single RSS, with a calculated mass consistent with a pair of RAG heterotetramers. In the synaptic complex, the RSSs are predominantly oriented in a side-by-side configuration with no DNA strand crossover. The mass of the synaptic complex, and the conditions under which it is formed in vitro, favors an association model of assembly in which isolated RAG-RSS complexes undergo synapsis mediated by RAG protein-protein interactions. The replacement of Mg2+ cations with Ca2+ leads to a dramatic change in protein stoichiometry for all RAG-RSS complexes, suggesting that the cation composition profoundly influences the type of complex assembled.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 20956-20965 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Journal of Biological Chemistry |
| Volume | 284 |
| Issue number | 31 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 31 2009 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Biochemistry
- Cell Biology
- Molecular Biology
Cite this
Molecular mechanism underlying RAG1/RAG2 synaptic complex formation. / Shlyakhtenko, Luda S.; Gilmore, Jamie; Kriatchko, Aleksei N.; Kumar, Sushil; Swanson, Patrick; Lyubchenko, Yuri L.
In: Journal of Biological Chemistry, Vol. 284, No. 31, 31.07.2009, p. 20956-20965.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Molecular mechanism underlying RAG1/RAG2 synaptic complex formation
AU - Shlyakhtenko, Luda S.
AU - Gilmore, Jamie
AU - Kriatchko, Aleksei N.
AU - Kumar, Sushil
AU - Swanson, Patrick
AU - Lyubchenko, Yuri L.
PY - 2009/7/31
Y1 - 2009/7/31
N2 - Two lymphoid cell-specific proteins, RAM and RAG2 (RAG), initiate V(D)J recombination by assembling a synaptic complex with recombination signal sequences (RSSs) abutting two different antigen receptor gene coding segments, and then introducing a DNA double strand break at the end of each RSS. Despite the biological importance of this system, the structure of the synaptic complex, and the RAG protein stoichiometry and arrangement of DNA within the synaptosome, remains poorly understood. Here we applied atomic force microscopy to directly visualize and characterize RAG synaptic complexes. We report that the pre-cleavage RAG synaptic complex contains about twice the protein content as a RAG complex bound to a single RSS, with a calculated mass consistent with a pair of RAG heterotetramers. In the synaptic complex, the RSSs are predominantly oriented in a side-by-side configuration with no DNA strand crossover. The mass of the synaptic complex, and the conditions under which it is formed in vitro, favors an association model of assembly in which isolated RAG-RSS complexes undergo synapsis mediated by RAG protein-protein interactions. The replacement of Mg2+ cations with Ca2+ leads to a dramatic change in protein stoichiometry for all RAG-RSS complexes, suggesting that the cation composition profoundly influences the type of complex assembled.
AB - Two lymphoid cell-specific proteins, RAM and RAG2 (RAG), initiate V(D)J recombination by assembling a synaptic complex with recombination signal sequences (RSSs) abutting two different antigen receptor gene coding segments, and then introducing a DNA double strand break at the end of each RSS. Despite the biological importance of this system, the structure of the synaptic complex, and the RAG protein stoichiometry and arrangement of DNA within the synaptosome, remains poorly understood. Here we applied atomic force microscopy to directly visualize and characterize RAG synaptic complexes. We report that the pre-cleavage RAG synaptic complex contains about twice the protein content as a RAG complex bound to a single RSS, with a calculated mass consistent with a pair of RAG heterotetramers. In the synaptic complex, the RSSs are predominantly oriented in a side-by-side configuration with no DNA strand crossover. The mass of the synaptic complex, and the conditions under which it is formed in vitro, favors an association model of assembly in which isolated RAG-RSS complexes undergo synapsis mediated by RAG protein-protein interactions. The replacement of Mg2+ cations with Ca2+ leads to a dramatic change in protein stoichiometry for all RAG-RSS complexes, suggesting that the cation composition profoundly influences the type of complex assembled.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=67651094349&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=67651094349&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1074/jbc.M109.028977
DO - 10.1074/jbc.M109.028977
M3 - Article
C2 - 19502597
AN - SCOPUS:67651094349
VL - 284
SP - 20956
EP - 20965
JO - Journal of Biological Chemistry
JF - Journal of Biological Chemistry
SN - 0021-9258
IS - 31
ER -