@article{SchmittKuperEliasetal.2014, author = {Schmitt, Dominik R. and Kuper, Jochen and Elias, Agnes and Kisker, Caroline}, title = {The Structure of the TFIIH p34 Subunit Reveals a Von Willebrand Factor A Like Fold}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {9}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {7}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0102389}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-119471}, pages = {e102389}, year = {2014}, abstract = {RNA polymerase II dependent transcription and nucleotide excision repair are mediated by a multifaceted interplay of subunits within the general transcription factor II H (TFIIH). A better understanding of the molecular structure of TFIIH is the key to unravel the mechanism of action of this versatile protein complex within these vital cellular processes. The importance of this complex becomes further evident in the context of severe diseases like xeroderma pigmentosum, Cockayne's syndrome and trichothiodystrophy, that arise from single point mutations in TFIIH subunits. Here we describe the structure of the p34 subunit of the TFIIH complex from the eukaryotic thermophilic fungus Chaetomium thermophilum. The structure revealed that p34 contains a von Willebrand Factor A (vWA) like domain, a fold which is generally known to be involved in protein-protein interactions. Within TFIIH p34 strongly interacts with p44, a positive regulator of the helicase XPD. Putative protein-protein interfaces are analyzed and possible binding sites for the p34-p44 interaction suggested.}, language = {en} } @article{RaduSchoenwetterBraunetal.2017, author = {Radu, Laura and Schoenwetter, Elisabeth and Braun, Cathy and Marcoux, Julien and Koelmel, Wolfgang and Schmitt, Dominik R. and Kuper, Jochen and Cianf{\´e}rani, Sarah and Egly, Jean M. and Poterszman, Arnaud and Kisker, Caroline}, title = {The intricate network between the p34 and p44 subunits is central to the activity of the transcription/DNA repair factor TFIIH}, series = {Nucleic Acids Research}, volume = {45}, journal = {Nucleic Acids Research}, number = {18}, doi = {10.1093/nar/gkx743}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-170173}, pages = {10872-10883}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The general transcription factor IIH (TFIIH) is a multi-protein complex and its 10 subunits are engaged in an intricate protein-protein interaction network critical for the regulation of its transcription and DNA repair activities that are so far little understood on a molecular level. In this study, we focused on the p44 and the p34 subunits, which are central for the structural integrity of core-TFIIH. We solved crystal structures of a complex formed by the p34 N-terminal vWA and p44 C-terminal zinc binding domains from Chaetomium thermophilum and from Homo sapiens. Intriguingly, our functional analyses clearly revealed the presence of a second interface located in the C-terminal zinc binding region of p34, which can rescue a disrupted interaction between the p34 vWA and the p44 RING domain. In addition, we demonstrate that the C-terminal zinc binding domain of p34 assumes a central role with respect to the stability and function of TFIIH. Our data reveal a redundant interaction network within core-TFIIH, which may serve to minimize the susceptibility to mutational impairment. This provides first insights why so far no mutations in the p34 or p44 TFIIH-core subunits have been identified that would lead to the hallmark nucleotide excision repair syndromes xeroderma pigmentosum or trichothiodystrophy.}, language = {en} }