Repulsive guidance molecule is a structural bridge between neogenin and bone morphogenetic protein

EG Healey, B Bishop, J Elegheert, CH Bell… - Nature structural & …, 2015 - nature.com
Nature structural & molecular biology, 2015nature.com
Repulsive guidance molecules (RGMs) control crucial processes including cell motility,
adhesion, immune-cell regulation and systemic iron metabolism. RGMs signal via the
neogenin (NEO1) and the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) pathways. Here, we report
crystal structures of the N-terminal domains of all human RGM family members in complex
with the BMP ligand BMP2, revealing a new protein fold and a conserved BMP-binding
mode. Our structural and functional data suggest a pH-linked mechanism for RGM-activated …
Abstract
Repulsive guidance molecules (RGMs) control crucial processes including cell motility, adhesion, immune-cell regulation and systemic iron metabolism. RGMs signal via the neogenin (NEO1) and the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) pathways. Here, we report crystal structures of the N-terminal domains of all human RGM family members in complex with the BMP ligand BMP2, revealing a new protein fold and a conserved BMP-binding mode. Our structural and functional data suggest a pH-linked mechanism for RGM-activated BMP signaling and offer a rationale for RGM mutations causing juvenile hemochromatosis. We also determined the crystal structure of the ternary BMP2–RGM–NEO1 complex, which, along with solution scattering and live-cell super-resolution fluorescence microscopy, indicates BMP-induced clustering of the RGM–NEO1 complex. Our results show how RGM acts as the central hub that links BMP and NEO1 and physically connects these fundamental signaling pathways.
nature.com