Biology subjects

Verheggen, C.

Publications and source records attributed to Verheggen, C..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

A large-scale analysis of the R2TP chaperone network reveals its contribution to the assembly of INO80, SRCAP and TIP60

HSP90/R2TP is an essential quaternary chaperone composed of RPAP3, PIH1D1 and the RUVBL1/RUVBL2 AAA+ ATPases. These enzymes are also part of the INO80, SRCAP and TIP60 complexes, but the relationship between these chromatin remodelers and R2TP remains unclear. Here, we performed systematic analyses of the R2TP-specific subunits RPAP3 and PIH1D1. We validated 115 interaction partners and found that many were sensitive to HSP90 or R2TP inhibition. In yeast, epistatic screens revealed functional interactions with Ino80, Swr1 (SRCAP) and NuA4 (TIP60). Consistently, human RPAP3 physically interacted with subunits of INO80, SRCAP and TIP60 and was required for the formation of these complexes. More specifically, RPAP3 enabled the co-translational association of RUVBL1/RUVBL2 with the motor subunit of these chromatin remodelers. In vitro, the client-binding domain of RUVBL1/RUVBL2 modulated their interaction with RPAP3, suggesting that client subunits displace RPAP3 from nascent complexes. Thus, R2TP is an early chaperone of TIP60, SRCAP and INO80, which leaves RUVBL1/RUVBL2 as resident scaffolding subunits.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2026

The R2T(P) complex orchestrates the SHQ1 driven early steps of box H/ACA snoRNP maturation

The chaperones RuvBL1 and RuvBL2 are members of the AAA+ ATPase family and participate in diverse cellular processes, including DNA repair, transcriptional regulation, and assembly of macromolecular complexes such as snoRNPs. The biogenesis of box H/ACA snoRNPs additionally requires the assembly factor SHQ1. These protein-RNA complexes are essential for ribosome biogenesis and telomerase stability and are linked to diseases such as dyskeratosis congenita and cancer. Despite detailed knowledge of mature complexes, their assembly mechanisms and how they can be modulated remain unclear. We characterize a trimeric interaction between SHQ1 and RuvBL1:RuvBL2, providing insight into early maturation of the protein-only precursor of box H/ACA snoRNPs. SHQ1 binds the flexible domain II of RuvBL1:RuvBL2, corresponding to the dodecamerization interface, suggesting disruption of this interface and promotion of hexamer formation. We further purified a complex containing RuvBL1:RuvBL2, SHQ1, and DKC1, the catalytic component of H/ACA snoRNPs and a client of SHQ1. This demonstrates that SHQ1 and DKC1 can simultaneously associate with RuvBL1:RuvBL2, potentially facilitating DKC1 release and subsequent snoRNA binding. Additionally, we identified a direct interaction between SHQ1 and RPAP3, a co-chaperone of RuvBL1:RuvBL2 (within the R2TP). Hence, RPAP3 may be responsible for recruiting SHQ1:DKC1 to hexameric RuvBL1:RuvBL2 and/or assist in the AAA+ mediated dissociation of the dimer. Since SHQ1 shares a domain with PIH1D1, an integral member of the R2TP complex, our findings suggest that early H/ACA snoRNP maturation may involve the R2T instead of the previously proposed R2TP complex.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2025

Co-translational determination of quaternary structures in chaperone factories

The HSP90/R2TP quaternary chaperone assembles key cellular machines, including the three nuclear RNA polymerases and many non-coding RNPs. Here, we characterized the RNA associated to R2TP and found that it binds many partners co-translationally. Its co-translational interactome further reveals many novel potential clients and identifies clients bound only co-translationally, only post-translationally, or both. For pairs of subunits assembling together and bound co-translationally by R2TP, only a marginal proportion of their mRNAs is co-localized and co-translated. Instead, the HSP90 and R2TP chaperones induce the formation of condensates accumulating client mRNAs and thus favoring co-translational interactions between chaperones and clients. The R2TP then cycles between co- and post-translational steps and this is regulated by ATP: it binds co-translationally in absence of ATP and becomes released from post-translational assembly intermediates by ATP hydrolysis. Assembly of protein complexes is thus initiated early by chaperones and this mechanism, dubbed co-translational chaperone channeling (cha-cha), substitutes for the rarity of co-localized/co-translated mRNAs.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2025

R2TP-like Quaternary Chaperones: a comprehensive overview to understand the dynamic R2SP complex

The human R2SP complex belongs to the R2TP-like quaternary chaperone family and consists of RUVBL1, RUVBL2, SPAG1 and PIH1D2. R2SP is crucial for the correct assembly of motile cilia (SPAG1 null mutations cause Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia) and the organization of the synaptic zone. RUVBL1/2 ATPases are the powerhouse of this molecular machinery, while SPAG1 and PIH1D2 would be adaptors that interact with specific clients to promote their quaternary assembly. Despite these functional data, little is known about the structure of R2SP and the precise mode of action of these R2TP-like complexes. We have combined biochemical and structural approaches (NMR, structural mass spectrometry and cryo-EM) to investigate the 3D organization of the human R2SP complex, its mode of assembly and ATPase activity. Our study reveals a three-dimensional structure similar to that of the canonical R2TP complex, but also highlights differences in the mode of action of its RUVBL1/2 ATPase core as well as the binding of its adaptors SPAG1 and PIH1D2.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2019

The R2TP chaperone assembles cellular machineries in intestinal CBC stem cells and progenitors

The R2TP chaperone cooperates with HSP90 to integrate newly synthesized proteins into multi-subunit complexes, yet its role in tissue homeostasis is unknown. Here, we generated conditional, inducible knock-out mice for Rpap3 to inactivate this core component of R2TP in the intestinal epithelium. In adult mice, Rpap3 invalidation caused destruction of the small intestinal epithelium, and death within 10 days. Levels of R2TP substrates were decreased, with strong effects on mTOR, ATM and ATR. Rpap3-deficient CBC stem cells and progenitors also failed to import RNA polymerase II in the nucleus. This correlated with p53 activation, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Interestingly, post-mitotic, differentiated cells did not display any of those alterations, indicating that R2TP clients are built in actively proliferating cells. Analyses of tissues from colorectal cancer patients revealed that high RPAP3 levels correlate with bad cancer prognosis. Thus, in the intestine, the R2TP chaperone functions in physiologic and pathologic proliferation.

developmental biology↗