Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Metal-binding Site (metal-binding + site)
Selected AbstractsEngineering a G protein-coupled receptor for structural studies: Stabilization of the BLT1 receptor ground statePROTEIN SCIENCE, Issue 4 2009Aimée Martin Abstract Structural characterization of membrane proteins is hampered by their instability in detergent solutions. We modified here a G protein-coupled receptor, the BLT1 receptor of leukotriene B4, to stabilize it in vitro. For this, we introduced a metal-binding site connecting the third and sixth transmembrane domains of the receptor. This modification was intended to restrain the activation-associated relative movement of these helices that results in a less stable packing in the isolated receptor. The modified receptor binds its agonist with low-affinity and can no longer trigger G protein activation, indicating that it is stabilized in its ground state conformation. Of importance, the modified BLT1 receptor displays an increased temperature-, detergent-, and time-dependent stability compared with the wild-type receptor. These data indicate that stabilizing the ground state of this GPCR by limiting the activation-associated movements of the transmembrane helices is a way to increase its stability in detergent solutions; this could represent a forward step on the way of its crystallization. [source] The X-ray crystal structure of PA1607 from Pseudomonas aureginosa at 1.9 Å resolution,a putative transcription factorPROTEIN SCIENCE, Issue 3 2007Edyta A.L. Sieminska Abstract The structure of the PA1607 protein from Pseudomonas aureginosa was determined at 1.85 Å resolution using the Se-Met multiwavelength anomalous diffraction (MAD) technique. PA1607 forms a dimer and adopts a winged-helix motif similar to the MarR family of transcription regulators, though it has an unusual dimerization profile. The DNA-binding regions and a putative metal-binding site are not conserved in PA1607. [source] Structure of Thermotoga maritima TM0439: implications for the mechanism of bacterial GntR transcription regulators with Zn2+ -binding FCD domainsACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 4 2009Meiying Zheng The GntR superfamily of dimeric transcription factors, with more than 6200 members encoded in bacterial genomes, are characterized by N-terminal winged-helix DNA-binding domains and diverse C-terminal regulatory domains which provide a basis for the classification of the constituent families. The largest of these families, FadR, contains nearly 3000 proteins with all-,-helical regulatory domains classified into two related Pfam families: FadR_C and FCD. Only two crystal structures of FadR-family members, those of Escherichia coli FadR protein and LldR from Corynebacterium glutamicum, have been described to date in the literature. Here, the crystal structure of TM0439, a GntR regulator with an FCD domain found in the Thermotoga maritima genome, is described. The FCD domain is similar to that of the LldR regulator and contains a buried metal-binding site. Using atomic absorption spectroscopy and Trp fluorescence, it is shown that the recombinant protein contains bound Ni2+ ions but that it is able to bind Zn2+ with Kd < 70,nM. It is concluded that Zn2+ is the likely physiological metal and that it may perform either structural or regulatory roles or both. Finally, the TM0439 structure is compared with two other FadR-family structures recently deposited by structural genomics consortia. The results call for a revision in the classification of the FadR family of transcription factors. [source] Structure of the isoaspartyl peptidase with l -asparaginase activity from Escherichia coliACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 6 2004Adam Prahl The crystal structure of the Escherichia coli enzyme (EcAIII) with isoaspartyl dipeptidase and l -asparaginase activity has been solved and refined to a resolution of 1.65,Å, with crystallographic R -factor and Rfree values of 0.178 and 0.209, respectively. EcAIII belongs to the family of N-terminal hydrolases. The amino-acid sequence of EcAIII is homologous to those of putative asparaginases from plants. The structure of EcAIII is similar to the structures of glycosylasparaginases. The mature and catalytically active form of EcAIII is a heterotetramer consisting of two ,-subunits and two ,-subunits. Both of the equivalent active sites present in the EcAIII tetramer is assisted by a metal-binding site. The metal cations, modelled here as Na+, have not previously been observed in glycosylasparaginases. This reported structure helps to explain the inability of EcAIII and other plant-type asparaginases to hydrolyze N4 -(,- N -acetylglucosaminyl)- l -asparagine, the substrate of glycosylasparaginases. [source] Structure of endoglucanase Cel9A from the thermoacidophilic Alicyclobacillus acidocaldariusACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 8 2009Jose Henrique Pereira The production of biofuels using biomass is an alternative route to support the growing global demand for energy and to also reduce the environmental problems caused by the burning of fossil fuels. Cellulases are likely to play an important role in the degradation of biomass and the production of sugars for subsequent fermentation to fuel. Here, the crystal structure of an endoglucanase, Cel9A, from Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius (Aa_Cel9A) is reported which displays a modular architecture composed of an N-terminal Ig-like domain connected to the catalytic domain. This paper describes the overall structure and the detailed contacts between the two modules. Analysis suggests that the interaction involving the residues Gln13 (from the Ig-like module) and Phe439 (from the catalytic module) is important in maintaining the correct conformation of the catalytic module required for protein activity. Moreover, the Aa_Cel9A structure shows three metal-binding sites that are associated with the thermostability and/or substrate affinity of the enzyme. [source] Structures of three diphtheria toxin repressor (DtxR) variants with decreased repressor activityACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 5 2001Ehmke Pohl The diphtheria toxin repressor (DtxR) from Corynebacterium diphtheriae regulates the expression of the gene on corynebacteriophages that encodes diphtheria toxin (DT). Other genes regulated by DtxR include those that encode proteins involved in siderophore-mediated iron uptake. DtxR requires activation by divalent metals and holo-DtxR is a dimeric regulator with two distinct metal-binding sites per three-domain monomer. At site 1, three side chains and a sulfate or phosphate anion are involved in metal coordination. In the DtxR,DNA complex this anion is replaced by the side chain of Glu170 provided by the third domain of the repressor. At site 2 the metal ion is coordinated exclusively by constituents of the polypeptide chain. In this paper, five crystal structures of three DtxR variants focusing on residues Glu20, Arg80 and Cys102 are reported. The resolution of these structures ranges from 2.3 to 2.8,Å. The side chain of Glu20 provided by the DNA-binding domain forms a salt bridge to Arg80, which in turn interacts with the anion. Replacing either of the salt-bridge partners with an alanine reduces repressor activity substantially and it has been inferred that the salt bridge could possibly control the wedge angle between the DNA-binding domain and the dimerization domain, thereby modulating repressor activity. Cys102 is a key residue of metal site 2 and its substitution into a serine abolishes repressor activity. The crystal structures of Zn-Glu20Ala-DtxR, Zn-Arg80Ala-DtxR, Cd-Cys102Ser-DtxR and apo-Cys102Ser-DtxR in two related space groups reveal that none of these substitutions leads to dramatic rearrangements of the DtxR fold. However, the five crystal structures presented here show significant local changes and a considerable degree of flexibility of the DNA-binding domain with respect to the dimerization domain. Furthermore, all five structures deviate significantly from the structure in the DtxR,DNA complex with respect to overall domain orientation. These results confirm the importance of the hinge motion for repressor activity. Since the third domain has often been invisible in previous crystal structures of DtxR, it is also noteworthy that the SH3-like domain could be traced in four of the five crystal structures. [source] The porphobilinogen synthase family of metalloenzymesACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 2 2000Eileen K. Jaffe The porphobilinogen synthase (PBGS) family of enzymes catalyzes the first common step in the biosynthesis of the essential tetrapyrroles such as chlorophyll and porphyrin. Although PBGSs are highly conserved at all four levels of protein structure, there is considerable diversity in the use of divalent cations for the catalytically essential and allosteric roles. Assumptions regarding commonalities among the PBGS proteins coupled with the diversity of usage of metal ions has led to a confused literature. The recent publication of crystal structures for three PBGS proteins coupled with more than 50 individual PBGS sequences allows an evaluation of these assumptions. This topical review focuses on the usage of metals by the PBGS family of proteins. It raises doubt concerning a dogma that there has been an evolutionary shift between ZnII and MgII at one or more of the divalent metal-binding sites. It also raises the possibility that there may be up to four specific divalent metal ion-binding sites, each serving a unique function that can be alternatively filled by amino acids in some of the PBGSs. [source] | ||||||||||