Structure and ligand binding of the soluble domain of a Thermotoga maritima membrane protein of unknown function TM1634.

As a part of the Joint Center for Structural Genomics (JCSG) biological targets, the structures of soluble domains of membrane proteins from Thermotoga maritima were pursued. Here, we report the crystal structure of the soluble domain of TM1634, a putative membrane protein of 128 residues (15.1 kDa) and unknown function.

Crystal structure of human Pus10, a novel pseudouridine synthase.

Pseudouridine (Psi) synthases catalyze the formation of one or more specific Psis in structured RNAs. Five families of Psi synthases have been characterized based on sequence homology. Pus10 has no significant sequence homology to these defined families and therefore represents a new family of Psi synthases.

Structure of the PTB domain of tensin1 and a model for its recruitment to fibrillar adhesions.

Tensin is a cytoskeletal protein that links integrins to the actin cytoskeleton at sites of cell-matrix adhesion. Here we describe the crystal structure of the phosphotyrosine-binding (PTB) domain of tensin1, and show that it binds integrins in an NPxY-dependent fashion. Alanine mutagenesis of both the PTB domain and integrin tails supports a model of integrin binding similar to that of the PTB-like domain of talin.

Crystal structure of the human TRPV2 channel ankyrin repeat domain.

TRPV channels are important polymodal integrators of noxious stimuli mediating thermosensation and nociception. An ankyrin repeat domain (ARD), which is a common protein-protein recognition domain, is conserved in the N-terminal intracellular domain of all TRPV channels and predicted to contain three to four ankyrin repeats. Here we report the first structure from the TRPV channel subfamily, a 1.

Engineered allosteric mutants of the integrin alphaMbeta2 I domain: structural and functional studies.

The alpha-I domain, found in the alpha-subunit of the leucocyte integrins such as alphaMbeta2 and alphaLbeta2, switches between the open and closed tertiary conformations, reflecting the high- and low-affinity ligand-binding states of the integrin that are required for regulated cell adhesion and migration. In the present study we show, by using point mutations and engineered disulphide bonds, that ligand affinity can be reduced or increased allosterically by altering the equilibrium between the closed and open states. We determined equilibrium constants for the binding of two ligands, fibrinogen and intercellular cell-adhesion molecule 1, to the alphaM-I domain by surface plasmon resonance, and determined crystal structures of a low-affinity mutant.