Regulation of the protein kinase PKR by the vaccinia virus pseudosubstrate inhibitor K3L is dependent on residues conserved between the K3L protein and the PKR substrate eIF2alpha.

The mammalian double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase PKR is a component of the cellular antiviral defense mechanism and phosphorylates Ser-51 on the alpha subunit of the translation factor eIF2 to inhibit protein synthesis. To identify the molecular determinants that specify substrate recognition by PKR, we performed a mutational analysis on the vaccinia virus K3L protein, a pseudosubstrate inhibitor of PKR. High-level expression of PKR is lethal in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae because PKR phosphorylates eIF2alpha and inhibits protein synthesis. We show that coexpression of vaccinia virus K3L can suppress the growth-inhibitory effects of PKR in yeast, and using this system, we identified both loss-of-function and hyperactivating mutations in K3L. Truncation of, or point mutations within, the C-terminal portion of the K3L protein, homologous to residues 79 to 83 in eIF2alpha, abolished PKR inhibitory activity, whereas the hyperactivating mutation, K3L-H47R, increased the homology between the K3L protein and eIF2alpha adjacent to the phosphorylation site at Ser-51. Biochemical and yeast two-hybrid analyses revealed that the suppressor phenotype of the K3L mutations correlated with the affinity of the K3L protein for PKR and was inversely related to the level of eIF2alpha phosphorylation in the cell. These results support the idea that residues conserved between the pseudosubstrate K3L protein and the authentic substrate eIF2alpha play an important role in substrate recognition, and they suggest that PKR utilizes sequences both near and over 30 residues from the site of phosphorylation for substrate recognition. Finally, by reconstituting part of the mammalian antiviral defense mechanism in yeast, we have established a genetically useful system to study viral regulators of PKR.