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PubMed1998

Dual roles for Ste24p in yeast a-factor maturation: NH2-terminal proteolysis and COOH-terminal CAAX processing.

Maturation of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae a-factor precursor involves COOH-terminal CAAX processing (prenylation, AAX tripeptide proteolysis, and carboxyl methylation) followed by cleavage of an NH2-terminal extension (two sequential proteolytic processing steps). The aim of this study is to clarify the precise role of Ste24p, a membrane-spanning zinc metalloprotease, in the proteolytic processing of the a-factor precursor. We demonstrated previously that Ste24p is necessary for the first NH2-terminal processing step by analysis of radiolabeled a-factor intermediates in vivo (Fujimura-Kamada, K., F.J. Nouvet, and S. Michaelis. 1997. J. Cell Biol. 136:271-285). In contrast, using an in vitro protease assay, others showed that Ste24p (Afc1p) and another gene product, Rce1p, share partial overlapping function as COOH-terminal CAAX proteases (Boyartchuk, V.L., M.N. Ashby, and J. Rine. 1997. Science. 275:1796-1800). Here we resolve these apparently conflicting results and provide compelling in vivo evidence that Ste24p indeed functions at two steps of a-factor maturation using two methods. First, direct analysis of a-factor biosynthetic intermediates in the double mutant (ste24Delta rce1Delta) reveals a previously undetected species (P0*) that fails to be COOH terminally processed, consistent with redundant roles for Ste24p and Rce1p in COOH-terminal CAAX processing. Whereas a-factor maturation appears relatively normal in the rce1Delta single mutant, the ste24Delta single mutant accumulates an intermediate that is correctly COOH terminally processed but is defective in cleavage of the NH2-terminal extension, demonstrating that Ste24p is also involved in NH2-terminal processing. Together, these data indicate dual roles for Ste24p and a single role for Rce1p in a-factor processing. Second, by using a novel set of ubiquitin-a-factor fusions to separate the NH2- and COOH-terminal processing events of a-factor maturation, we provide independent evidence for the dual roles of Ste24p. We also report here the isolation of the human (Hs) Ste24p homologue, representing the first human CAAX protease to be cloned. We show that Hs Ste24p complements the mating defect of the yeast double mutant (ste24Delta rce1Delta) strain, implying that like yeast Ste24p, Hs Ste24p can mediate multiple types of proteolytic events.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1999

Role for Drs2p, a P-type ATPase and potential aminophospholipid translocase, in yeast late Golgi function.

ADP-ribosylation factor appears to regulate the budding of both COPI and clathrin-coated transport vesicles from Golgi membranes. An arf1Delta synthetic lethal screen identified SWA3/DRS2, which encodes an integral membrane P-type ATPase and potential aminophospholipid translocase (or flippase). The drs2 null allele is also synthetically lethal with clathrin heavy chain (chc1) temperature-sensitive alleles, but not with mutations in COPI subunits or other SEC genes tested. Consistent with these genetic analyses, we found that the drs2Delta mutant exhibits late Golgi defects that may result from a loss of clathrin function at this compartment. These include a defect in the Kex2-dependent processing of pro-alpha-factor and the accumulation of abnormal Golgi cisternae. Moreover, we observed a marked reduction in clathrin-coated vesicles that can be isolated from the drs2Delta cells. Subcellular fractionation and immunofluorescence analysis indicate that Drs2p localizes to late Golgi membranes containing Kex2p. These observations indicate a novel role for a P-type ATPase in late Golgi function and suggest a possible link between membrane asymmetry and clathrin function at the Golgi complex.

ADP-Ribosylation Factor 1↗

PubMed2001

Intracellular retention of newly synthesized insulin in yeast is caused by endoproteolytic processing in the Golgi complex.

An insulin-containing fusion protein (ICFP, encoding the yeast prepro-alpha factor leader peptide fused via a lysine-arginine cleavage site to a single chain insulin) has been expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae where it is inefficiently secreted. Single gene disruptions have been identified that cause enhanced immunoreactive insulin secretion (eis). Five out of six eis mutants prove to be vacuolar protein sorting (vps)8, vps35, vps13, vps4, and vps36, which affect Golgi<-->endosome trafficking. Indeed, in wild-type yeast insulin is ultimately delivered to the vacuole, whereas vps mutants secrete primarily unprocessed ICFP. Disruption of KEX2, which blocks intracellular processing to insulin, quantitatively reroutes ICFP to the cell surface, whereas loss of the Vps10p sorting receptor is without effect. Secretion of unprocessed ICFP is not based on a dominant secretion signal in the alpha-leader peptide. Although insulin sorting mediated by Kex2p is saturable, Kex2p functions not as a sorting receptor but as a protease: replacement of Kex2p by truncated secretory Kex2p (which travels from Golgi to cell surface) still causes endoproteolytic processing and intracellular insulin retention. Endoproteolysis promotes a change in insulin's biophysical properties. B5His residues normally participate in multimeric insulin packing; a point mutation at this position permits ICFP processing but causes the majority of processed insulin to be secreted. The data argue that multimeric assembly consequent to endoproteolytic maturation regulates insulin sorting in the secretory pathway.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2007

The Golgi-resident protease Kex2 acts in conjunction with Prm1 to facilitate cell fusion during yeast mating.

The molecular machines that mediate cell fusion are unknown. Previously, we identified a multispanning transmembrane protein, Prm1 (pheromone-regulated membrane protein 1), that acts during yeast mating (Heiman, M.G., and P. Walter. 2000. J. Cell Biol. 151:719-730). Without Prm1, a substantial fraction of mating pairs arrest with their plasma membranes tightly apposed yet unfused. In this study, we show that lack of the Golgi-resident protease Kex2 strongly enhances the cell fusion defect of Prm1-deficient mating pairs and causes a mild fusion defect in otherwise wild-type mating pairs. Lack of the Kex1 protease but not the Ste13 protease results in similar defects. Deltakex2 and Deltakex1 fusion defects were suppressed by osmotic support, a trait shared with mutants defective in cell wall remodeling. In contrast, other cell wall mutants do not enhance the Deltaprm1 fusion defect. Electron microscopy of Deltakex2-derived mating pairs revealed novel extracellular blebs at presumptive sites of fusion. Kex2 and Kex1 may promote cell fusion by proteolytically processing substrates that act in parallel to Prm1 as an alternative fusion machine, as cell wall components, or both.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

PubMed1997

Isolation of a cDNA encoding a Kex2-like endoprotease with homology to furin from the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

A cDNA was isolated from the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans that encodes an endoprotease which is a member of the Kex2 family of serine endoproteases. Degenerate oligonucleotide primers were designed based on conserved regions within the active sites of known Kex2-like endoproteases, and were used for reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of poly(A)+RNA isolated from C. elegans. A PCR product was isolated that had homology to the active sites of known furin endoproteases, and was used as a probe to screen a C. elegans cDNA library. A Kex2-like endoprotease (CelfurPC) which encoded a 692-amino-acid pre-proendoprotease, was identified. The deduced amino acid sequence for the catalytic domain of CelfurPC is homologous to the known Kex2-like endoproteases, with strongest structural homology to the furin/PACE4 family. However, all furins and PACE4 proteins contain a characteristic cysteine-rich domain, and all furins contain a transmembrane domain, neither of which is present in the CelfurPC protein. CelfurPC may thus represent a new class of Kex2-like endoprotease.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1999

The yeast GRD20 gene is required for protein sorting in the trans-Golgi network/endosomal system and for polarization of the actin cytoskeleton.

The proper localization of resident membrane proteins to the trans-Golgi network (TGN) involves mechanisms for both TGN retention and retrieval from post-TGN compartments. In this study we report identification of a new gene, GRD20, involved in protein sorting in the TGN/endosomal system of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A strain carrying a transposon insertion allele of GRD20 exhibited rapid vacuolar degradation of the resident TGN endoprotease Kex2p and aberrantly secreted approximately 50% of the soluble vacuolar hydrolase carboxypeptidase Y. The Kex2p mislocalization and carboxypeptidase Y missorting phenotypes were exhibited rapidly after loss of Grd20p function in grd20 temperature-sensitive mutant strains, indicating that Grd20p plays a direct role in these processes. Surprisingly, little if any vacuolar degradation was observed for the TGN membrane proteins A-ALP and Vps10p, underscoring a difference in trafficking patterns for these proteins compared with that of Kex2p. A grd20 null mutant strain exhibited extremely slow growth and a defect in polarization of the actin cytoskeleton, and these two phenotypes were invariably linked in a collection of randomly mutagenized grd20 alleles. GRD20 encodes a hydrophilic protein that partially associates with the TGN. The discovery of GRD20 suggests a link between the cytoskeleton and function of the yeast TGN.

Actins↗

PubMed2000

Luv1p/Rki1p/Tcs3p/Vps54p, a yeast protein that localizes to the late Golgi and early endosome, is required for normal vacuolar morphology.

We have characterized LUV1/RKI1/TCS3/VPS54, a novel yeast gene required to maintain normal vacuolar morphology. The luv1 mutant was identified in a genetic screen for mutants requiring the phosphatase calcineurin for vegetative growth. luv1 mutants lack a morphologically intact vacuole and instead accumulate small vesicles that are acidified and contain the vacuolar proteins alkaline phosphatase and carboxypeptidase Y and the vacuolar membrane H(+)-ATPase. Endocytosis appears qualitatively normal in luv1 mutants, but some portion (28%) of carboxypeptidase Y is secreted. luv1 mutants are sensitive to several ions (Zn(2+), Mn(2+), and Cd(2+)) and to pH extremes. These mutants are also sensitive to hygromycin B, caffeine, and FK506, a specific inhibitor of calcineurin. Some vacuolar protein-sorting mutants display similar drug and ion sensitivities, including sensitivity to FK506. Luv1p sediments at 100,000 x g and can be solubilized by salt or carbonate, indicating that it is a peripheral membrane protein. A Green Fluorescent Protein-Luv1 fusion protein colocalizes with the dye FM 4-64 at the endosome, and hemagglutinin-tagged Luv1p colocalizes with the trans-Golgi network/endosomal protease Kex2p. Computer analysis predicts a short coiled-coil domain in Luv1p. We propose that this protein maintains traffic through or the integrity of the early endosome and that this function is required for proper vacuolar morphology.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2001

A novel mechanism for localizing membrane proteins to yeast trans-Golgi network requires function of synaptojanin-like protein.

Localization of resident membrane proteins to the yeast trans-Golgi network (TGN) involves both their retrieval from a prevacuolar/endosomal compartment (PVC) and a "slow delivery" mechanism that inhibits their TGN-to-PVC transport. A screen for genes required for the slow delivery mechanism uncovered INP53, a gene encoding a phosphoinositide phosphatase. A retrieval-defective model TGN protein, A(F-->A)-ALP, was transported to the vacuole in inp53 mutants approximately threefold faster than in wild type. Inp53p appears to function in a process distinct from PVC retrieval because combining inp53 with mutations that block retrieval resulted in a much stronger phenotype than either mutation alone. In vps27 strains defective for both anterograde and retrograde transport out of the PVC, a loss of Inp53p function markedly accelerated the rate of transport of TGN residents A-ALP and Kex2p into the PVC. Inp53p function is cargo specific because a loss of Inp53p function had no effect on the rate of Vps10p transport to the PVC in vps27 cells. The rate of early secretory pathway transport appeared to be unaffected in inp53 mutants. Cell fractionation experiments suggested that Inp53p associates with Golgi or endosomal membranes. Taken together, these results suggest that a phosphoinositide signaling event regulates TGN-to-PVC transport of select cargo proteins.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

PubMed2001

Vps10p transport from the trans-Golgi network to the endosome is mediated by clathrin-coated vesicles.

A native immunoisolation procedure has been used to investigate the role of clathrin-coated vesicles (CCVs) in the transport of vacuolar proteins between the trans-Golgi network (TGN) and the prevacuolar/endosome compartments in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We find that Apl2p, one large subunit of the adaptor protein-1 complex, and Vps10p, the carboxypeptidase Y vacuolar protein receptor, are associated with clathrin molecules. Vps10p packaging in CCVs is reduced in pep12 Delta and vps34 Delta, two mutants that block Vps10p transport from the TGN to the endosome. However, Vps10p sorting is independent of Apl2p. Interestingly, a Vps10C(t) Delta p mutant lacking its C-terminal cytoplasmic domain, the portion of the receptor responsible for carboxypeptidase Y sorting, is also coimmunoprecipitated with clathrin. Our results suggest that CCVs mediate Vps10p transport from the TGN to the endosome independent of direct interactions between Vps10p and clathrin coats. The Vps10p C-terminal domain appears to play a principal role in retrieval of Vps10p from the prevacuolar compartment rather than in sorting from the TGN.

Adaptor Protein Complex beta Subunits↗

PubMed1992

Mutation of a tyrosine localization signal in the cytosolic tail of yeast Kex2 protease disrupts Golgi retention and results in default transport to the vacuole.

Kex2 protease processes pro-alpha-factor in a late Golgi compartment in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The first approximately 30 residues of the 115 amino acid CO2H-terminal cytosolic tail (C-tail) of the Kex2 protein (Kex2p) contain a Golgi retention signal that resembles coated-pit localization signals in mammalian cell surface receptors. Mutation of one (Tyr713) of two tyrosine residues in the C-tail or deletion of sequences adjacent to Tyr713 results in loss of normal Golgi localization. Surprisingly, loss of the Golgi retention signal resulted in transport of C-tail mutant Kex2p to the vacuole (yeast lysosome), as judged by kinetics of degradation and by indirect immunofluorescence. Analysis of the loss of Kex2 function in vivo after shutting off expression of wild-type or mutant forms proved that mutations that cause rapid vacuolar turnover do so by increasing the rate of exit of the enzyme from the pro-alpha-factor processing compartment. The most likely explanation for these results is that mutation of the Golgi retention signal in the C-tail results in transport of Kex2p to the vacuole by default. Wild-type Kex2p also was transported to the vacuole at an increased rate when overproduced, although apparently not due to saturation of a Golgi-retention mechanism. Instead, the wild-type and C-tail mutant forms of Kex2p may follow distinct paths to the vacuole.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1995

Sorting of yeast alpha 1,3 mannosyltransferase is mediated by a lumenal domain interaction, and a transmembrane domain signal that can confer clathrin-dependent Golgi localization to a secreted protein.

alpha 1,3 mannosyltransferase (Mnn1p) is a type II integral membrane protein that is localized to the yeast Golgi complex. We have examined the signals within Mnn1p that mediate Golgi localization by expression of fusion proteins comprised of Mnn1p and the secreted protein invertase. The N-terminal transmembrane domain (TMD) of Mnn1p is sufficient to localize invertase to the Golgi complex by a mechanism that is not saturable by approximately 15-20 fold overexpression. Furthermore, the TMD-mediated localization mechanism is clathrin dependent, as an invertase fusion protein bearing only the Mnn1p TMD is mislocalized to the plasma membrane of a clathrin heavy chain mutant. The Mnn1-invertase fusion proteins are not retained in the Golgi complex as efficiently as Mnn1p, suggesting that other signals may be present in the wild-type protein. Indeed, the Mnn1p lumenal domain (Mnn1-s) is also localized to the Golgi complex when expressed as a functional, soluble protein by exchanging its TMD for a cleavable signal sequence. In contrast to the Mnn1-invertase fusion proteins, overexpression of Mnn1-s saturates its retention mechanism, and results in the partial secretion of this protein. These data indicate that Mnn1p has separable Golgi localization signals within both its transmembrane and lumenal domains.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1996

The effects of clathrin inactivation on localization of Kex2 protease are independent of the TGN localization signal in the cytosolic tail of Kex2p.

Localization of Kex2 protease (Kex2p) to the yeast trans-Golgi network (TGN) requires a TGN localization signal (TLS) in the Kex2p C-terminal cytosolic tail. Mutation of the TLS accelerates transport of Kex2p to the vacuole by an intracellular (SEC1-independent) pathway. In contrast, inactivation of the clathrin heavy-chain gene CHC1 results in transport of Kex2p and other Golgi membrane proteins to the cell surface. Here, the relationship of the two localization defects was assessed by examining the effects of a temperature-sensitive CHC1 allele on trafficking of wild-type (WT) and TLS mutant forms of Kex2p. Inactivation of clathrin by shifting chc1-ts cells to 37 degrees C caused WT and TLS mutant forms of Kex2p to behave identically. All forms of Kex2p appeared at the plasma membrane within 30-60 min of the temperature shift. TLS mutant forms of Kex2p were stabilized, their half-lives increasing to that of wild-type Kex2p. After inactivation of clathrin heavy chain, vacuolar protease-dependent degradation of all forms of Kex2p was blocked by a sec1 mutation, which is required for secretory vesicle fusion to the plasma membrane, indicating that transport to the cell surface was required for degradation by vacuolar proteolysis. Finally, after clathrin inactivation, all forms of Kex2p were degraded in part by a vacuolar protease-independent pathway. After inactivation of both chc1-ts and sec1-ts, Kex2 was degraded exclusively by this pathway. We conclude that the effects of clathrin inactivation on Kex2p localization are independent of the Kex2p C-terminal cytosolic tail. Although these results neither prove nor rule out a direct interaction between the Kex2 TLS and a clathrin-dependent structure, they do imply that clathrin is required for the intracellular transport of Kex2p TLS mutants to the vacuole.

Biological Transport↗

PubMed2004

Soi3p/Rav1p functions at the early endosome to regulate endocytic trafficking to the vacuole and localization of trans-Golgi network transmembrane proteins.

SOI3 was identified by a mutation, soi3-1, that suppressed a mutant trans-Golgi network (TGN) localization signal in the Kex2p cytosolic tail. SOI3, identical to RAV1, encodes a protein important for regulated assembly of vacuolar ATPase. Here, we show that Soi3/Rav1p is required for transport between the early endosome and the late endosome/prevacuolar compartment (PVC). By electron microscopy, soi3-1 mutants massively accumulated structures that resembled early endosomes. soi3Delta mutants exhibited a kinetic delay in transfer of the endocytic tracer dye FM4-64, from the 14 degrees C endocytic intermediate to the vacuole. The soi3Delta mutation delayed vacuolar degradation but not internalization of the a-factor receptor Ste3p. By density gradient fractionation, Soi3/Rav1p associated as a peripheral protein with membranes of a density characteristic of early endosomes. The soi3 null mutation markedly reduced the rate of Kex2p transport from the TGN to the PVC but had no effect on vacuolar protein sorting or cycling of Vps10p. These results suggest that assembly of vacuolar ATPase at the early endosome is required for transport of both Ste3p and Kex2p from the early endosome to the PVC and support a model in which cycling through the early endosome is part of the normal itinerary of Kex2p and other TGN-resident proteins.

Cation Transport Proteins↗

PubMed2004

Ypt31/32 GTPases and their novel F-box effector protein Rcy1 regulate protein recycling.

Ypt/Rab GTPases control various aspects of vesicle formation and targeting via their diverse effectors. We report a new role for these GTPases in protein recycling through a novel effector. The F-box protein Rcy1, which mediates plasma membrane recycling, is identified here as a downstream effector of the Ypt31/32 GTPase pair because it binds active GTP-bound Ypt31/32 and colocalizes with these GTPases on late Golgi and endosomes. Furthermore, Ypt31/32 regulates the polarized localization and half-life of Rcy1. This suggests that Ypt/Rabs can regulate the protein level of their effectors, in addition to the established ways by which they control their effectors. We show that like Rcy1, Ypt31/32 regulate the coupled phosphorylation and recycling of the plasma membrane v-SNARE Snc1. Moreover, Ypt31/32 and Rcy1 regulate the recycling of the furin-homolog Kex2 to the Golgi. Therefore, Ypt31/32 and Rcy1 mediate endosome-to-Golgi transport, because this is the only step shared by Snc1 and Kex2. Finally, we show that Rcy1 physically interacts with Snc1. Based on this result and because F-box proteins serve as adaptors between specific substrates and ubiquitin ligases, we propose that Ypt31/32 GTPases regulate the function of Rcy1 in the phosphorylation and/or ubiquitination of proteins that recycle through the Golgi.

Blotting, Western↗

PubMed2005

Golgi-to-late endosome trafficking of the yeast pheromone processing enzyme Ste13p is regulated by a phosphorylation site in its cytosolic domain.

This study addressed whether phosphorylation regulates trafficking of yeast membrane proteins that cycle between the trans-Golgi network (TGN) and endosomal system. The TGN membrane proteins A-ALP, a model protein containing the Ste13p cytosolic domain fused to alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and Kex2p were found to be phosphorylated in vivo. Mutation of the S13 residue on the cytosolic domain of A-ALP to Ala was found to block trafficking to the prevacuolar compartment (PVC), whereas a S13D mutation generated to mimic phosphorylation accelerated trafficking into the PVC. The S13 residue was shown by mass spectrometry to be phosphorylated. The rate of endoplasmic reticulum-to-Golgi transport of newly synthesized A(S13A)-ALP was indistinguishable from wild-type, indicating that the lack of transport of A(S13A)-ALP to the PVC was instead due to differences in Golgi/endosomal trafficking. The A(S13A)-ALP protein exhibited a TGN-like localization similar to that of wild-type A-ALP. Similarly, the S13A mutation in endogenous Ste13p did not reduce the extent of or longevity of its localization to the TGN as shown by alpha-factor processing assays. These results indicate that S13 phosphorylation is required for TGN-to-PVC trafficking of A-ALP and imply that phosphorylation of S13 may regulate recognition of A-ALP by vesicular trafficking machinery.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

PubMed2005

CREB4, a transmembrane bZip transcription factor and potential new substrate for regulation and cleavage by S1P.

Regulated intramembrane proteolysis of the factors SREBP and ATF6 represents a central control mechanism in sterol homeostasis and stress response within the endoplasmic reticulum. Here, we compare localization of ATF6-related bZip factors CREB4, CREB-H, Luman, and OASIS. These factors contain the defining features of a bZip domain, a predicted transmembrane domain and an adjacent cleavage site for the Golgi protease S1P, with conserved features which indicate that it represents a specific subclass of S1P sites. Each factor localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), but a population of CREB4 was also observed in the Golgi. Deletion of the transmembrane domain in CREB4 resulted in efficient nuclear accumulation. An N-terminal variant of CREB4 containing the BZIp domain potently activated expression from a target gene containing ATF6 binding sites and from the promoter for the ER chaperone GRP78/BIP. CREB4 was cleaved in a site-specific manner in response to brefeldin A disruption of the Golgi or by coexpression with S1P but only after deletion or substitution of its C-terminal lumenal domain. Thus, S1P cleavage of CREB4 may be suppressed by a determinant in the C-terminal region. Dithiothreitol induced more complete transport of CREB4 to the Golgi, but not cleavage. Together, the data identify at least one additional bZip factor whose localization responds to ER stress, and we propose a model based on these results that indicates additional levels of control of this novel class of transcription factors.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2002

Past, present and future strategies to study the genetics of body weight regulation.

Genetic advances have made remarkable progress towards our understanding of body weight regulation. Much of our current knowledge has come from the cloning and characterisation of the genes responsible for obesity syndromes in the mouse, and the identification of homologous mutations causing rare forms of obesity in humans. Gene targeting experiments in mice have been instrumental in confirming the importance of many genes in the aetiology of obesity, and the existence of a fundamental physiological pathway that controls energy balance is becoming clear. The genetic determinants that underlie common forms of human obesity are largely polygenic, with most genes producing small effects. Thus, elucidating the many genetic determinants of obesity is a current challenge for modern geneticists. Despite the inherent difficulties, progress has been made through linkage/association studies and a genetic map of quantitative trait loci for human obesity is beginning to emerge. Obesity research is now very much in a transition period. Not so long ago, access to high throughput screening, as well as microarray and proteomic techniques, was prohibitively expensive and available only to the few. In recent years, these technologies have become more accessible to the larger scientific community and, in this paper, we will discuss how such technological advances are likely to drive the next wave of progress in obesity research. For example, large-scale mutagenesis screens in rodents coupled with high throughput screening are likely to emerge as important technologies for identifying genes previously unexpected to be involved in body weight regulation. Furthermore, applications of microarray and proteomic techniques will further refine our understanding of currently known peptides as well as identify novel pathways and molecules which are involved in energy homeostasis.

Agouti Signaling Protein↗

PubMed1998

Roles of prenyl protein proteases in maturation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae a-factor.

In eukaryotes small secreted peptides are often proteolytically cleaved from larger precursors. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae multiple proteolytic processing steps are required for production of mature 12-amino-acid a-factor from its 36-amino-acid precursor. This study provides additional genetic data supporting a direct role for Afc1p in cleavage of the carboxyl-terminal tripeptide from the CAAX motif of the prenylated a-factor precursor. In addition, Afc1p had a second role in a-factor processing that was independent of, and in addition to, its role in the carboxyl-terminal processing in vivo. Using ubiquitin-a-factor fusions we confirmed that the pro-region of the a-factor precursor was not required for production of the mature pheromone. However, the pro-region of the a-factor precursor contributed quantitatively to a-factor production.

Amino Acids↗