KBTBD13 interacts with Cullin 3 to form a functional ubiquitin ligase

N Sambuughin, W Swietnicki, S Techtmann… - Biochemical and …, 2012 - Elsevier
N Sambuughin, W Swietnicki, S Techtmann, V Matrosova, T Wallace, L Goldfarb, E Maynard
Biochemical and biophysical research communications, 2012Elsevier
Autosomal dominant mutations in BTB and Kelch domain containing 13 protein (KBTBD13)
are associated with a new type of Nemaline Myopathy (NEM). NEM is a genetically
heterogeneous group of muscle disorders. Mutations causing phenotypically distinct NEM
variants have previously been identified in components of muscle thin filament. KBTBD13 is
a muscle specific protein composed of an N terminal BTB domain and a C terminal Kelch-
repeat domain. The function of this newly identified protein in muscle remained unknown. In …
Autosomal dominant mutations in BTB and Kelch domain containing 13 protein (KBTBD13) are associated with a new type of Nemaline Myopathy (NEM). NEM is a genetically heterogeneous group of muscle disorders. Mutations causing phenotypically distinct NEM variants have previously been identified in components of muscle thin filament. KBTBD13 is a muscle specific protein composed of an N terminal BTB domain and a C terminal Kelch-repeat domain. The function of this newly identified protein in muscle remained unknown. In this study, we show that KBTBD13 interacts with Cullin 3 (Cul3) and the BTB domain mediates this interaction. Using ubiquitination assays, we determined that KBTBD13 participates in the formation of a Cul3 based RING ubiquitin ligase (Cul3-RL) capable of ubiquitin conjugation. Confocal microscopy of transiently expressed KBTBD13 revealed its co-localization with ubiquitin. Taken together, our results demonstrate that KBTBD13 is a putative substrate adaptor for Cul3-RL that functions as a muscle specific ubiquitin ligase, and thereby implicate the ubiquitin proteasome pathway in the pathogenesis of KBTBD13-associated NEM.
Elsevier