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  • Divergent allosteric control of the IRE1α endoribonuclease using kinase inhibitors.

Divergent allosteric control of the IRE1α endoribonuclease using kinase inhibitors.

Nature chemical biology (2012-10-23)
Likun Wang, B Gayani K Perera, Sanjay B Hari, Barun Bhhatarai, Bradley J Backes, Markus A Seeliger, Stephan C Schürer, Scott A Oakes, Feroz R Papa, Dustin J Maly
ABSTRACT

Under endoplasmic reticulum stress, unfolded protein accumulation leads to activation of the endoplasmic reticulum transmembrane kinase/endoRNase (RNase) IRE1α. IRE1α oligomerizes, autophosphorylates and initiates splicing of XBP1 mRNA, thus triggering the unfolded protein response (UPR). Here we show that IRE1α's kinase-controlled RNase can be regulated in two distinct modes with kinase inhibitors: one class of ligands occupies IRE1α's kinase ATP-binding site to activate RNase-mediated XBP1 mRNA splicing even without upstream endoplasmic reticulum stress, whereas a second class can inhibit the RNase through the same ATP-binding site, even under endoplasmic reticulum stress. Thus, alternative kinase conformations stabilized by distinct classes of ATP-competitive inhibitors can cause allosteric switching of IRE1α's RNase--either on or off. As dysregulation of the UPR has been implicated in a variety of cell degenerative and neoplastic disorders, small-molecule control over IRE1α should advance efforts to understand the UPR's role in pathophysiology and to develop drugs for endoplasmic reticulum stress-related diseases.

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Sigma-Aldrich
APY29, ≥97% (HPLC)