4f9c

Publication Abstract from PubMed

CDC7 is a serine/threonine kinase that is essential for the initiation of eukaryotic DNA replication. CDC7 activity is controlled by its activator, DBF4. Here we present crystal structures of human CDC7-DBF4 in complex with a nucleotide or ATP-competing small molecules, revealing the active and inhibited forms of the kinase, respectively. DBF4 wraps around CDC7, burying approximately 6,000 A(2) of hydrophobic molecular surface in a bipartite interface. The effector domain of DBF4, containing conserved motif C, is essential and sufficient to support CDC7 kinase activity by binding to the kinase N-terminal lobe and stabilizing its canonical alphaC helix. DBF4 motif M latches onto the C-terminal lobe of the kinase, acting as a tethering domain. Our results elucidate the structural basis for binding to and activation of CDC7 by DBF4 and provide a framework for the design of more potent and specific CDC7 inhibitors.

Crystal structure of human CDC7 kinase in complex with its activator DBF4.,Hughes S, Elustondo F, Di Fonzo A, Leroux FG, Wong AC, Snijders AP, Matthews SJ, Cherepanov P Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2012 Nov;19(11):1101-7. doi: 10.1038/nsmb.2404. Epub 2012, Oct 14. PMID:23064647^[1]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.