Comparative analysis of CPI-motif regulation of biochemical functions of actin capping protein

ABSTRACT The heterodimeric actin capping protein (CP) is regulated by a set of proteins that contain CP-interacting (CPI) motifs. Outside of the CPI motif, the sequences of these proteins are unrelated and distinct. The CPI motif and surrounding sequences are conserved within a given protein family, when compared to those of other CPI-motif protein families. Using biochemical assays with purified proteins, we compared the ability of CPI-motif-containing peptides from different protein families to a) bind to CP, b) allosterically inhibit barbed-end capping by CP, and c) allosterically inhibit interaction of CP with V-1, another regulator of CP. We found large differences in potency among the different CPI-motif-containing peptides, and the different functional assays showed different orders of potency. These biochemical differences among the CPI-motif peptides presumably reflect interactions between CP and CPI-motif peptides involving amino-acid residues that are conserved but are not part of the strictly defined consensus, as it was originally identified in comparisons of sequences of CPI motifs( 1, 2 ) across all protein families ( 1, 2 ). These biochemical differences may be important for conserved distinct functions of CPI-motif protein families in cells with respect to the regulation of CP activity and actin assembly near membranes.