Site-directed mutations in the C-terminal extension of human aB-Crystalline affect chaperone function and block amyloid fibril formation

Copyright: 2007 Treweek et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Background. Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease are associated with inappropriate protein deposition and ordered amyloid fibril assembly. Molecular chaperones, including aB-crystallin, play a role in the prevention of protein deposition. Methodology/Principal Findings. A series of site-directed mutants of the human molecular chaperone, aBcrystallin, were constructed which focused on the flexible C-terminal extension of the protein. We investigated the structural role of this region as well as its role in the chaperone function of aB-crystallin under different types of protein aggregation, i.e. disordered amorphous aggregation and ordered amyloid fibril assembly. It was found that mutation of lysine and glutamic acid residues in the C-terminal extension of aB-crystallin resulted in proteins that had improved chaperone activity against amyloid fibril forming target proteins compared to the wild-type protein. Conclusions/Significance. Together, our results highlight the important role of the C-terminal region of aB-crystallin in regulating its secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure and conferring thermostability to the protein. The capacity to genetically modify aB-crystallin for improved ability to block amyloid fibril formation provides a platform for the future use of such engineered molecules in treatment of diseases caused by amyloid fibril formation

Unexpected origins of the enhanced pairing affinity of 2′-fluoro-modified RNA

Various chemical modifications are currently being evaluated for improving the efficacy of short interfering RNA (siRNA) duplexes as antisense agents for gene silencing in vivo. Among the 2′-ribose modifications assessed to date, 2′deoxy-2′-fluoro-RNA (2′-F-RNA) has unique properties for RNA interference (RNAi) applications. Thus, 2′-F-modified nucleotides are well tolerated in the guide (antisense) and passenger (sense) siRNA strands and the corresponding duplexes lack immunostimulatory effects, enhance nuclease resistance and display improved efficacy in vitro and in vivo compared with unmodified siRNAs. To identify potential origins of the distinct behaviors of RNA and 2′-F-RNA we carried out thermodynamic and X-ray crystallographic analyses of fully and partially 2′-F-modified RNAs. Surprisingly, we found that the increased pairing affinity of 2′-F-RNA relative to RNA is not, as commonly assumed, the result of a favorable entropic contribution (‘conformational preorganization’), but instead primarily based on enthalpy. Crystal structures at high resolution and osmotic stress demonstrate that the 2′-F-RNA duplex is less hydrated than the RNA duplex. The enthalpy-driven, higher stability of the former hints at the possibility that the 2′-substituent, in addition to its important function in sculpting RNA conformation, plays an underappreciated role in modulating Watson–Crick base pairing strength and potentially π–π stacking interactions

Intervening with Urinary Tract Infections Using Anti-Adhesives Based on the Crystal Structure of the FimH–Oligomannose-3 Complex

Escherichia coli strains adhere to the normally sterile human uroepithelium using type 1 pili, that are long, hairy surface organelles exposing a mannose-binding FimH adhesin at the tip. A small percentage of adhered bacteria can successfully invade bladder cells, presumably via pathways mediated by the high-mannosylated uroplakin-Ia and alpha3beta1 integrins found throughout the uroepithelium. Invaded bacteria replicate and mature into dense, biofilm-like inclusions in preparation of fluxing and of infection of neighbouring cells, being the major cause of the troublesome recurrent urinary tract infections.We demonstrate that alpha-D-mannose based inhibitors of FimH not only block bacterial adhesion on uroepithelial cells but also antagonize invasion and biofilm formation. Heptyl alpha-D-mannose prevents binding of type 1-piliated E. coli to the human bladder cell line 5637 and reduces both adhesion and invasion of the UTI89 cystitis isolate instilled in mouse bladder via catheterization. Heptyl alpha-D-mannose also specifically inhibited biofilm formation at micromolar concentrations. The structural basis of the great inhibitory potential of alkyl and aryl alpha-D-mannosides was elucidated in the crystal structure of the FimH receptor-binding domain in complex with oligomannose-3. FimH interacts with Man alpha1,3Man beta1,4GlcNAc beta1,4GlcNAc in an extended binding site. The interactions along the alpha1,3 glycosidic bond and the first beta1,4 linkage to the chitobiose unit are conserved with those of FimH with butyl alpha-D-mannose. The strong stacking of the central mannose with the aromatic ring of Tyr48 is congruent with the high affinity found for synthetic inhibitors in which this mannose is substituted for by an aromatic group.The potential of ligand-based design of antagonists of urinary tract infections is ruled by the structural mimicry of natural epitopes and extends into blocking of bacterial invasion, intracellular growth and capacity to fluxing and of recurrence of the infection

Crystallization, preliminary X-ray study and crystal activity of the hydrogenase from Desulfovibrio gigas.

International audienceHydrogenase (EC 1.12) from Desulfovibrio gigas is a dimeric enzyme (26 and 62 (X 10(3) Mr) that catalyzes the reversible oxidation of molecular hydrogen. Single crystals of hydrogenase have been produced using the hanging drop method, with either PEG (polyethylene glycol) 6000 or ammonium sulfate as precipitants at pH 6.5. X-ray examination of the crystals indicates that those obtained with ammonium sulfate are suitable for structure determination to at least 3.0 A resolution when synchrotron radiation Sources are used (1 A = 0.1 nm). The crystals are monoclinic, with space group C2, and cell dimensions a = 257.0 A, b = 184.7 A, c = 148.3 A and beta = 101.3 degrees, and contain between four and ten molecules per asymmetric unit. The enzyme can be reactivated within the crystals under reducing conditions without crystal damage

Model of a complex between the tetrahemic cytochrome c3 and the ferredoxin I fromDesulfovibrio desulfuricans (Norway strain)

International audienceA three-dimensional model of an electron-transfer complex between the tetrahemic cytochrome c3 and the ferredoxin I from the sulfatereducing bacterium Desulfovibrio desulfuricans (Norway strain) has been generated through computer graphics methods. The model is based on the known X-ray structure of the cytochrome and on a model of the ferredoxin that has been derived through computer graphics modeling and energy minimization methods, from the X-ray structure of the homologous ferredoxin from Peptococcus aerogenes. Four possible models of interaction between the two molecules were examined by bringing in close proximity each of the four hemes and the redox center (4Fe-4S) of the ferredoxin and by optimizing the ion pairs interactions. One of these models shows by far the “best” structure in terms of charges, interactions, and complementary f the topology of the contact surfaces. In this complex, the distance between the iron atoms of the ferredoxin redox center and the hemic iron atom is 11.8 Å, which compares well with those found between redox centers in other complexes. The contact surface area between the two molecules is 170 Å2