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RanGAP mediates GTP hydrolysis without an arginine finger

Abstract

GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs) increase the rate of GTP hydrolysis on guanine nucleotide-binding proteins by many orders of magnitude. Studies with Ras and Rho have elucidated the mechanism of GAP action by showing that their catalytic machinery is both stabilized by GAP binding and complemented by the insertion of a so-called ‘arginine finger’ into the phosphate-binding pocket1,2. This has been proposed as a universal mechanism for GAP-mediated GTP hydrolysis. Ran is a nuclear Ras-related protein that regulates both transport between the nucleus and cytoplasm during interphase, and formation of the mitotic spindle and/or nuclear envelope in dividing cells3. Ran–GTP is hydrolysed by the combined action of Ran-binding proteins (RanBPs) and RanGAP4. Here we present the three-dimensional structure of a Ran–RanBP1–RanGAP ternary complex in the ground state and in a transition-state mimic. The structure and biochemical experiments show that RanGAP does not act through an arginine finger, that the basic machinery for fast GTP hydrolysis is provided exclusively by Ran and that correct positioning of the catalytic glutamine is essential for catalysis.

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Figure 1: Structure of the ternary complex.
Figure 2: Details of the Ran–RanGAP interface.
Figure 3: The active site.
Figure 4: Position of the catalytic glutamine.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. Alt for atomic absorption spectroscopy; staff of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory/ESRF for access and support at beam lines ID13 and ID14; R. Hillig for the coordinates of uncomplexed RanGAP before release; and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for a grant to I.R.V.

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Correspondence to Alfred Wittinghofer.

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Seewald, M., Körner, C., Wittinghofer, A. et al. RanGAP mediates GTP hydrolysis without an arginine finger. Nature 415, 662–666 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/415662a

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