Sequence Determinants of E2-E6AP Binding Affinity and Specificity

The conjugation of ubiquitin to substrates requires a series of enzymatic reactions consisting of an activating enzyme (E1), conjugating enzymes (E2) and ligases (E3). Tagging the appropriate substrate with ubiquitin is achieved by specific E2–E3 and E3–substrate interactions. E6AP, a member of the HECT family of E3s, has been previously shown to bind and function with the E2s UbcH7 and UbcH8. To decipher the sequence determinants of this specificity we have developed a quantitative E2–E3 binding assay based on fluorescence polarization and used this assay to measure the affinity of wild-type and mutant E2–E6AP interactions. Alanine scanning of the E6AP–UbcH7 binding interface identified four side-chains on UbcH7 and six side-chains on E6AP that contribute more than 1 kcal/mol to the binding free energy. Two of the hot spot residues from UbcH7 (K96 and K100) are conserved in UbcH8 but vary across other E2s. To determine if these are key specificity determining residues, we attempted to induce a tighter association between the E2 UbcH5b and E6AP by mutating the corresponding positions in UbcH5b to lysine residues. Surprisingly, the mutations had little effect, but rather a mutation at UbcH7 position 4, which is not at a hot spot on the UbcH7–E6AP interface, significantly strengthened UbcH5bs affinity for E6AP. This result indicates that E2–E3 binding specificities are a function of both favorable interactions that promote binding, and unfavorable interactions that prevent binding with unwanted partners.