The aim of this proposal is to study the structural, thermodynamic, and kinetic properties of binding of Src Homology 2 (SH2) domains in two protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) systems: Syk and Src. SH2 domains are protein domains which recognize and bind phosphorylated tyrosine residues in specific sequence contexts, thereby allowing protein recruitment onto tyrosine-phosphorylated sties of signaling proteins. Sequences C-terminal to the phosphotyrosine are essential for specific recognition of phosphopeptide targets by SH2 domains. Syk and Src family PTKs cooperate in immune cells to mediate signaling by B- and T-cell receptors: Src family kinases which contain only a single SH2 domain response to receptor activation by phosphorylating tandem repeats of tyrosine residues, which in turn serve as SH2 domain-docking sites for the two SH2 domains of the Syk kinase. The goals of our work are three-fold: 1) establish the energetic principles of peptide binding specificity in SH2 domains using the Src SH2 domain as a model, 2) examine the cooperative interactions between SH2 domains when more than one SH2 domain is present using the tandem- SH2 domain of Syk as a model, and 3) in the longer term, examine the function of SH2 domains in the context of the full-length kinase. The study planned in this proposal aims at dissecting the determinants of macromolecular recognition at tyrosyl-phosphotyrosine by SH2 domains, using an array of methodologies that include the investigation of the role of solutions (ions, pH) and temperature, site-directed mutagenesis of both peptides and proteins, and x-ray crystallography.
