Cross-linking mass spectrometry for mapping protein complex topologies in situ.

Cross-linking mass spectrometry has become an established technology to provide structural information on the topology and dynamics of protein complexes. Readily accessible workflows can provide detailed data on simplified systems, such as purified complexes. However, using this technology to study the structure of protein complexes in situ, such as in organelles, cells, and even tissues, is still a technological frontier.

Monothiol and dithiol glutaredoxin-1 from : identification of domain-swapped structures by NMR, X-ray crystallography and HDX mass spectrometry.

Protein dimerization or oligomerization resulting from swapping part of the protein between neighboring polypeptide chains is known to play a key role in the regulation of protein function and in the formation of protein aggregates. Glutaredoxin-1 from (cGrx1) was used as a model to explore the formation of multiple domain-swapped conformations, which were made possible by modulating several hinge-loop residues that can form a pivot for domain swapping. Specifically, two alternative domain-swapped structures were generated and analyzed using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), X-ray crystallography, circular-dichroism spectroscopy and hydrogen/deuterium-exchange (HDX) mass spectrometry.

Crystal structure of tRNA guanylyltransferase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

tRNA maturation involves several steps, including processing, splicing, CCA addition, and posttranscriptional modifications. tRNA guanylyltransferase (Thg1) is the only enzyme known to catalyze templated nucleotide addition in the 3'-5' direction, unlike other DNA and RNA polymerases. For a better understanding of its unique catalytic mechanism at the molecular level, we determined the crystal structure of GTP-bound Thg1 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae at the maximum resolution of 3.

Essential role of the C-terminal helical domain in active site formation of selenoprotein MsrA from Clostridium oremlandii.

We previously determined the crystal structures of 1-Cys type selenoprotein MsrA from Clostridium oremlandii (CoMsrA). The overall structure of CoMsrA is unusual, consisting of two domains, the N-terminal catalytic domain and the C-terminal distinct helical domain which is absent from other known MsrA structures. Deletion of the helical domain almost completely abolishes the catalytic activity of CoMsrA.

Structural and biochemical analysis of a type II free methionine-R-sulfoxide reductase from Thermoplasma acidophilum.

Free methionine-R-sulfoxide reductase (fRMsr) enzymes only reduce the free form of methionine-R-sulfoxide and can be grouped into two types with respect to the number of conserved Cys residues in the active sites. In this work, the crystal structures of type II fRMsr from Thermoplasma acidophilum (TafRMsr), which contains two conserved Cys, have been determined in native form and in a complex with the substrate. The overall structure of TafRMsr consists of a central β-sheet encompassed by a two-α-helix bundle flanking on one side and one small α-helix on the other side.