Signal processing by its coil zipper domain activates IKKγ

NF-κB activation occurs upon degradation of its inhibitor I-κB and requires prior phosphorylation of the inhibitor by I-κB kinase (IKK). Activity of IKK is governed by its noncatalytic subunit IKKγ. Signaling defects due to missense mutations in IKKγ have been correlated to its inability to either become ubiquitylated or bind ubiquitin noncovalently. Because the relative contribution of these events to signaling had remained unknown, we have studied mutations in the coil-zipper (CoZi) domain of IKKγ that either impair signaling or cause constitutive NF-κB activity. Certain signaling-deficient alleles neither bound ubiquitin nor were they ubiquitylated by TRAF6. Introducing an activating mutation into those signaling-impaired alleles restored their ubiquitylation and created mutants constitutively activating NF-κB without repairing the ubiquitin-binding defect. Constitutive activity therefore arises downstream of ubiquitin binding but upstream of ubiquitylation. Such constitutive activity reveals a signal-processing function for IKKγ beyond that of a mere ubiquitin-binding adaptor. We propose that this signal processing may involve homophilic CoZi interactions as suggested by the enhanced affinity of CoZi domains from constitutively active IKKγ.