期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：1999
卷号：96
期号：11
页码：6365-6370
DOI：10.1073/pnas.96.11.6365
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：NO2Tyr (3-Nitrotyrosine) is a modified amino acid that is formed by nitric oxide-derived species and has been implicated in the pathology of diverse human diseases. Nitration of active-site tyrosine residues is known to compromise protein structure and function. Although free NO2Tyr is produced in abundant concentrations under pathological conditions, its capacity to alter protein structure and function at the translational or posttranslational level is unknown. Here, we report that free NO2Tyr is transported into mammalian cells and selectively incorporated into the extreme carboxyl terminus of -tubulin via a posttranslational mechanism catalyzed by the enzyme tubulin-tyrosine ligase. In contrast to the enzymatically regulated carboxyl-terminal tyrosination/detyrosination cycle of -tubulin, incorporation of NO2Tyr shows apparent irreversibility. Nitrotyrosination of -tubulin induces alterations in cell morphology, changes in microtubule organization, loss of epithelial-barrier function, and intracellular redistribution of the motor protein cytoplasmic dynein. These observations imply that posttranslational nitrotyrosination of -tubulin invokes conformational changes, either directly or via allosteric interactions, in the surface-exposed carboxyl terminus of -tubulin that compromises the function of this critical domain in regulating microtubule organization and binding of motor- and microtubule-associated proteins. Collectively, these observations illustrate a mechanism whereby free NO2Tyr can impact deleteriously on cell function under pathological conditions encompassing reactive nitrogen species production. The data also yield further insight into the role that the -tubulin tyrosination/detyrosination cycle plays in microtubule function.
