The three-dimensional structure of the HRDC domain and implications for the Werner and Bloom syndrome proteins

BACKGROUND: The HRDC (helicase and RNaseD C−terminal) domain is found at the C terminus of many RecQ helicases, including the human Werner and Bloom syndrome proteins. RecQ helicases have been shown to unwind DNA in an ATP−dependent manner. However, the specific functional roles of these proteins in DNA recombination and replication are not known. An HRDC domain exists in both of the human RecQ homologues that are implicated in human disease and may have an important role in their function. RESULTS: We have determined the three−dimensional structure of the HRDC domain in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae RecQ helicase Sgs1p by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The structure resembles auxiliary domains in bacterial DNA helicases and other proteins that interact with nucleic acids. We show that a positively charged region on the surface of the Sgs1p HRDC domain can interact with DNA. Structural similarities to bacterial DNA helicases suggest that the HRDC domain functions as an auxiliary domain in RecQ helicases. Homology models of the Werner and Bloom HRDC domains show different surface properties when compared with Sgs1p. CONCLUSIONS: The HRDC domain represents a structural scaffold that resembles auxiliary domains in proteins that are involved in nucleic acid metabolism. In Sgs1p, the HRDC domain could modulate the helicase function via auxiliary contacts to DNA. However, in the Werner and Bloom syndrome helicases the HRDC domain may have a role in their functional differences by mediating diverse molecular interaction

H-1-NMR structural studies of a cystine-linked peptide containing residues 71-93 of transthyretin and effects of a Ser84 substitution implicated in familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy

The Ile-->Ser84 substitution in the thyroid hormone transport protein transthyretin is one of over 50 variations found to be associated with familial amyloid polyneuropathy, a hereditary type of lethal amyloidosis. Using a peptide analogue of the loop containing residue 84 in transthyretin, we have examined the putative local structural effects of this substitution using H-1-NMR spectroscopy. The peptide, containing residues 71-93 of transthyretin with its termini linked via a disulfide bond, was found to possess the same helix-turn motif as in the corresponding region of the crystallographically derived structure of transthyretin in 20% trifluoroethanol (TFE) solution. It therefore, represents a useful model with which to examine the effects of amyloidogenic substitutions. In a peptide analogue containing the Ile84-->Ser substitution it was found that the substitution does not greatly disrupt the overall three-dimensional structure, but leads to minor local differences at the turn in which residue 84 is involved. Coupling constant and NOE measurements indicate that the helix-turn motif is still present, but differences in chemical shifts and amide-exchange rates reflect a small distortion. This is in keeping with observations that several other mutant forms of transthyretin display similar subunit interactions and those that have been structurally analysed possess a near native structure. We propose that the Ser84 mutation induces only subtle perturbations to the transthyretin structure which predisposes the protein to amyloid formation