Active and exo-site inhibition of human factor Xa: structure of des-Gla factor Xa inhibited by NAP5, a potent nematode anticoagulant protein from Ancylostoma caninum.

Hookworms are hematophagous nematodes capable of growth, development and subsistence in living host systems such as humans and other mammals. Approximately one billion, or one in six, people worldwide are infected by hookworms causing gastrointestinal blood loss and iron deficiency anemia. The hematophagous hookworm Ancylostoma caninum produces a family of small, disulfide-linked protein anticoagulants (75-84 amino acid residues).

Structural basis of m7GpppG binding to the nuclear cap-binding protein complex.

The 7-methyl guanosine cap structure of RNA is essential for key aspects of RNA processing, including pre-mRNA splicing, 3' end formation, U snRNA transport, nonsense-mediated decay and translation. Two cap-binding proteins mediate these effects: cytosolic eIF-4E and nuclear cap-binding protein complex (CBC). The latter consists of a CBP20 subunit, which binds the cap, and a CBP80 subunit, which ensures high-affinity cap binding.