The EH (for Eps15 Homology) domain is a protein-protein interaction module of approximately 95 residues which was originally identified as a repeated sequence present in three copies at the N terminus of the tyrosine kinase substrates Eps15 and Eps15R [ (PUBMED:7568168) (PUBMED:11911876) ]. The EH domain was subsequently found in several proteins implicated in endocytosis, vesicle transport and signal transduction in organisms ranging from yeast to mammals. EH domains are present in one to three copies and they may include calcium-binding domains of the EF-hand type [ (PUBMED:9397678) (PUBMED:10021353) ]. Eps15 is divided into three domains: domain I contains signatures of a regulatory domain, including a candidate tyrosine phosphorylation site and EF-hand-type calcium-binding domains, domain II presents the characteristic heptad repeats of coiled-coil rod-like proteins, and domain III displays a repeated aspartic acid-proline-phenylalanine motif similar to a consensus sequence of several methylases [ (PUBMED:7689153) ].
EH domains have been shown to bind specifically but with moderate affinity to peptides containing short, unmodified motifs through predominantly hydrophobic interactions. The target motifs are divided into three classes: class I consists of the concensus Asn-Pro-Phe (NPF) sequence; class II consists of aromatic and hydrophobic di- and tripeptide motifs, including the Phe-Trp (FW), Trp-Trp (WW), and Ser-Trp-Gly (SWG) motifs; and class III contains the His-(Thr/Ser)-Phe motif (HTF/HSF) [ (PUBMED:9303539) (PUBMED:9822599) ]. The structure of several EH domains has been solved by NMR spectroscopy. The fold consists of two helix-loop-helix characteristic of EF-hand domains, connected by a short antiparallel beta-sheet. The target peptide is bound in a hydrophobic pocket between two alpha helices. Sequence analysis and structural data indicate that not all the EF-hands are capable of binding calcium because of substitutions of the calcium-liganding residues in the loop [ (PUBMED:9721102) (PUBMED:10757979) (PUBMED:11389591) ].
This domain is often implicated in the regulation of protein transport/sorting and membrane trafficking. Messenger RNA translation initiation and cytoplasmic poly(A) tail shortening require the poly(A)-binding protein (PAB) in yeast. The PAB-dependent poly(A) ribonuclease (PAN) is organised into distinct domains containing repeated sequence elements [ (PUBMED:1339314) ].
Epsin is an EH-domain-binding protein implicated in clathrin-mediated endocytosis.
Nature. 1998; 394: 793-7
Display abstract
During endocytosis, clathrin and the clathrin adaptor protein AP-2, assisted by a variety of accessory factors, help to generate an invaginated bud at the cell membrane. One of these factors is Eps15, a clathrin-coat-associated protein that binds the alpha-adaptin subunit of AP-2. Here we investigate the function of Eps15 by characterizing an important binding partner for its region containing EH domains; this protein, epsin, is closely related to the Xenopus mitotic phosphoprotein MP90 and has a ubiquitous tissue distribution. It is concentrated together with Eps15 in presynaptic nerve terminals, which are sites specialized for the clathrin-mediated endocytosis of synaptic vesicles. The central region of epsin binds AP-2 and its carboxy-terminal region binds Eps15. Epsin is associated with clathrin coats in situ, can be co-precipitated with AP-2 and Eps15 from brain extracts, but does not co-purify with clathrin coat components in a clathrin-coated vesicle fraction. When epsin function is disrupted, clathrin-mediated endocytosis is blocked. We propose that epsin may participate, together with Eps15, in the molecular rearrangement of the clathrin coats that are required for coated-pit invagination and vesicle fission.
Structure and Asn-Pro-Phe binding pocket of the Eps15 homology domain.
Science. 1998; 281: 1357-60
Display abstract
Eps15 homology (EH) domains are eukaryotic signaling modules that recognize proteins containing Asn-Pro-Phe (NPF) sequences. The structure of the central EH domain of Eps15 has been solved by heteronuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The fold consists of a pair of EF hand motifs, the second of which binds tightly to calcium. The NPF peptide is bound in a hydrophobic pocket between two alpha helices, and binding is mediated by a critical aromatic interaction as revealed by structure-based mutagenesis. The fold is predicted to be highly conserved among 30 identified EH domains and provides a structural basis for defining EH-mediated events in protein trafficking and growth factor signaling.
Binding specificity and in vivo targets of the EH domain, a novel protein-protein interaction module.
Genes Dev. 1997; 11: 2239-49
Display abstract
EH is a recently identified protein-protein interaction domain found in the signal transducers Eps15 and Eps15R and several other proteins of yeast nematode. We show that EH domains from Eps15 and Eps15R bind in vitro to peptides containing an asparagine-proline-phenylalanine (NPF) motif. Direct screening of expression libraries with EH domains yielded a number of putative EH interactors, all of which possessed NPF motifs that were shown to be responsible for the interaction. Among these interactors were the human homolog of NUMB, a developmentally reguated gene of Drosophila, and RAB, the cellular cofactor of the HIV REV protein. We demonstrated coimmunoprecipitation of Eps15 with NUMB and RAB. Finally, in vitro binding of NPF-containing peptides to cellular proteins and EST database screening established the existence of a family of EH-containing proteins in mammals. Based on the characteristics of EH-containing and EH-binding proteins, we propose that EH domains are involved in processes connected with the transport and sorting of molecules within the cell.
The structure of calcyclin reveals a novel homodimeric fold for S100 Ca(2+)-binding proteins.
Nat Struct Biol. 1995; 2: 790-6
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The S100 calcium-binding proteins are implicated as effectors in calcium-mediated signal transduction pathways. The three-dimensional structure of the S100 protein calcyclin has been determined in solution in the apo state by NMR spectroscopy and a computational strategy that incorporates a systematic docking protocol. This structure reveals a symmetric homodimeric fold that is unique among calcium-binding proteins. Dimerization is mediated by hydrophobic contacts from several highly conserved residues, which suggests that the dimer fold identified for calcyclin will serve as a structural paradigm for the S100 subfamily of calcium-binding proteins.
The crystal and molecular structure of human annexin V, an anticoagulant protein that binds to calcium and membranes.
EMBO J. 1990; 9: 3867-74
Display abstract
Human annexin V (PP4), a member of the family of calcium, membrane binding proteins, has been crystallized in the presence of calcium and analysed by crystallography by multiple isomorphic replacement at 3 A and preliminarily refined at 2.5 A resolution. The molecule has dimensions of 64 x 40 x 30 A3 and is folded into four domains of similar structure. Each domain consists of five alpha-helices wound into a right-handed superhelix yielding a globular structure of approximately 18 A diameter. The domains have hydrophobic cores whose amino acid sequences are conserved between the domains and within the annexin family of proteins. The four domains are folded into an almost planar array by tight (hydrophobic) pair-wise packing of domains II and III and I and IV to generate modules (II-III) and (I-IV), respectively. The assembly is symmetric with three parallel approximate diads relating II to III, I to IV and the module (II-III) to (I-IV), respectively. The latter diad marks a channel through the centre of the molecule coated with charged amino acid residues. The protein has structural features of channel forming membrane proteins and a polar surface characteristic of soluble proteins. It is a member of the third class of amphipathic proteins different from soluble and membrane proteins.
