•Cladosporin (CP) occupies the class defining ATP-binding pocket in LysRS•Three residues at the bottom of ATP pocket determine CP's family specificity•CP specifically stabilizes Plasmodium LysRS in a lysine-dependent manner•Divergence beyond the active site allows for species-specific aaRS inhibitionPharmaceutical inhibitors of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases demand high species and family specificity. The antimalarial ATP-mimetic cladosporin selectively inhibits Plasmodium falciparum LysRS (PfLysRS). How the binding to a universal ATP site achieves the specificity is unknown. Here we report three crystal structures of cladosporin with human LysRS, PfLysRS, and a Pf-like human LysRS mutant. In all three structures, cladosporin occupies the class defining ATP-binding pocket, replacing the adenosine portion of ATP. Three residues holding the methyltetrahydropyran moiety of cladosporin are critical for the specificity of cladosporin against LysRS over other class II tRNA synthetase families. The species-exclusive inhibition of PfLysRS is linked to a structural divergence beyond the active site that mounts a lysine-specific stabilizing response to binding cladosporin. These analyses reveal that inherent divergence of tRNA synthetase structural assembly may allow for highly specific inhibition even through the otherwise universal substrate binding pocket and highlight the potential for structure-driven drug development.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (170 K)Download as PowerPoint slide

Human Hint1 suppresses specific gene transcription by interacting with the transcription factor MITF in mast cells. Hint1 activity is connected to lysyl-tRNA synthetase (LysRS), a member of the universal aminoacyl tRNA synthetase family that catalyzes specific aminoacylation of their cognate tRNAs, through an aminoacyl adenylate (aa-AMP) intermediate. During immune activation, LysRS produces a side-product diadenosine tetraphosphate (Ap4A) from the condensation of Lys-AMP with ATP. The pleiotropic signaling molecule Ap4A then binds Hint1 to promote activation of MITF-target gene transcription. Earlier work showed that Hint1 can also bind and hydrolyze Lys-AMP, possibly to constrain Ap4A production. Because Ap4A can result from condensation of other aa-AMP's with ATP, the specificity of the Hint1 aa-AMP–hydrolysis activity is of interest. Here we show that Hint1 has broad specificity for adenylate hydrolysis, whose structural basis we revealed through high-resolution structures of Hint1 in complex with three different aa-AMP analogues. Hint1 recognizes only the common main chain of the aminoacyl moiety, and has no contact with the aa side chain. The α-amino group is anchored by a cation-pi interaction with Trp123 at the C-terminus of Hint1. These results reveal the structural basis for the remarkable adenylate surveillance activity of Hint1, to potentially control Ap4A levels in the cell.

Human lysyl-tRNA synthetase is bound to the multi-tRNA synthetase complex (MSC) that maintains and regulates the aminoacylation and nuclear functions of LysRS. The p38 scaffold protein binds LysRS to the MSC and, only with the appropriate cue, mobilizes LysRS for redirection to the nucleus to interact with the microphthalmia associated transcription factor (MITF). In recent work, an (α2)2 LysRS tetramer crystallized to yield a high-resolution structure and raised the question of how LysRS is arranged (dimer or tetramer) in the MSC to interact with p38. To understand the structural organization of the LysRS-p38 complex that regulates LysRS mobilization, we investigated the complex by use of small angle X-ray scattering and hydrogen-deuterium exchange with mass spectrometry in solution. The structure revealed a surprising α2β1∶β1α2 organization in which a dimeric p38 scaffold holds two LysRS α2 dimers in a parallel configuration. Each of the N-terminal 48 residues of p38 binds one LysRS dimer and, in so doing, brings two copies of the LysRS dimer into the MSC. The results suggest that this unique geometry, which reconfigures the LysRS tetramer from α2∶α2 to α2β1∶β1α2, is designed to control both retention and mobilization of LysRS from the MSC.

Ever since their initial discovery few years ago, cyclic dinucleotides (cDNs), their biosynthesis, and their biological function have been in focus of intense research efforts. In this issue, Kato et al. (2015) present strong evidence that the key enzyme in cDN biosynthesis, DncV, is poised on a tipping point such that, given a nudge, the enzyme, can link the nucleotides into a distinct cyclic loop, leading to a specific innate immune response.

Lysyl-tRNA synthetase (LysRS), a component of the translation apparatus, is released from the cytoplasmic multi-tRNA synthetase complex (MSC) to activate the transcription factor MITF in stimulated mast cells through undefined mechanisms. Here we show that Ser207 phosphorylation provokes a new conformer of LysRS that inactivates its translational function but activates its transcriptional function. The crystal structure of an MSC subcomplex established that LysRS is held in the MSC by binding to the N terminus of the scaffold protein p38/AIMP2. Phosphorylation-created steric clashes at the LysRS domain interface disrupt its binding grooves for p38/AIMP2, releasing LysRS and provoking its nuclear translocation. This alteration also exposes the C-terminal domain of LysRS to bind to MITF and triggers LysRS-directed production of the second messenger Ap4A that activates MITF. Thus our results establish that a single conformational change triggered by phosphorylation leads to multiple effects driving an exclusive switch of LysRS function from translation to transcription.Graphical AbstractDownload high-res image (199KB)Download full-size imageHighlights► Phosphorylation of Ser207 triggers a structural opening of LysRS in mast cell ► The open conformer releases LysRS from the multi-tRNA-synthetase complex ► It traps tRNA in an inactive state and switches off the canonical function of LysRS ► It drives Ap4A production and LysRS-MITF interaction for gene transcription in cell