Structure of the extracellular region of HER3 reveals an interdomain tether

We have determined the 2.6 angstrom crystal structure of the entire extracellular region of human HER3 (ErbB3), a member of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) family. The structure consists of four domains with structural homology to domains found in the type I insulin-like growth factor receptor. The HER3 structure reveals a contact between domains II and IV that constrains the relative orientations of ligand-binding domains and provides a structural basis for understanding both multiple-affinity forms of EGFRs and conformational changes induced in the receptor by ligand binding during signaling. These results also suggest new therapeutic approaches to modulating the behavior of members of the EGFR family.     

The 2.3 angstrom X-ray structure of nitrite reductase from Achromobacter cycloclastes

The three-dimensional crystal structure of the copper-containing nitrite reductase (NIR) from Achromobacter cycloclastes has been determined to 2.3 angstrom (A) resolution by isomorphous replacement. The monomer has two Greek key beta-barrel domains similar to that of plastocyanin and contains two copper sites. The enzyme is a trimer both in the crystal and in solution. The two copper atoms in the monomer comprise one type I copper site (Cu-I; two His, one Cys, and one Met ligands) and one putative type II copper site (Cu-II; three His and one solvent ligands). Although ligated by adjacent amino acids Cu-I and Cu-II are approximately 12.5 A apart. Cu-II is bound with nearly perfect tetrahedral geometry by residues not within a single monomer, but from each of two monomers of the trimer. The Cu-II site is at the bottom of a 12 A deep solvent channel and is the site to which the substrate (NO2-) binds, as evidenced by difference density maps of substrate-soaked and native crystals.     

甘蔗钙依赖蛋白激酶基因克隆与序列分析

[目的]克隆甘蔗钙依赖蛋白激酶基因(ScCDPK1),为其功能解析和育种利用打下基础.[方法]根据甘蔗cDNA文库中的CDPK基因序列信息设计引物,利用RT-PCR克隆ScCDPK1基因,并采用在线生物信息学分析软件对其推导蛋白的理化性质、跨膜结构、信号肽及保守结构域等进行预测分析.[结果]克隆获得的ScCDPK1基因完整编码区大小1650 bp,编码549个氨基酸,相对分子量61.971 kD,等电点(pI)6.78,不稳定指数35.63.同源性和遗传进化树分析结果显示,ScCDPK1基因与小麦TaCPK7基因亲缘关系最近,同源性达88%;ScCDPK1蛋白与其他已知CDPK蛋白一致,具有CDPKs家族特有的4个保守区域(可变区、蛋白激酶区、自抑制区和钙离子结合区),其二级结构主要由α螺旋(42.80%)和无规则卷曲(32.97%)构成;蛋白功能分类预测结果显示,ScCDPK1蛋白是一种阳离子通道蛋白,可能参与植物胁迫应答、信号转导和翻译调控等生物反应.[结论]ScCDPK1基因编码的蛋白与其他已知CDPK蛋白一致,具有CDPKs家族特有的4个保守区域,是一种阳离子通道蛋白.     

A functional model for O-O bond formation by the O2-evolving complex in photosystem II

The formation of molecular oxygen from water in photosynthesis is catalyzed by photosystem II at an active site containing four manganese ions that are arranged in di-mu-oxo dimanganese units (where mu is a bridging mode). The complex [H2O(terpy)Mn(O)2Mn(terpy)OH2](NO3)3 (terpy is 2,2':6', 2"-terpyridine), which was synthesized and structurally characterized, contains a di-mu-oxo manganese dimer and catalyzes the conversion of sodium hypochlorite to molecular oxygen. Oxygen-18 isotope labeling showed that water is the source of the oxygen atoms in the molecular oxygen evolved, and so this system is a functional model for photosynthetic water oxidation.     

Crystal structure of a shark single-domain antibody V region in complex with lysozyme

Cartilaginous fish are the phylogenetically oldest living organisms known to possess components of the vertebrate adaptive immune system. Key to their immune response are heavy-chain, homodimeric immunoglobulins called new antigen receptors (IgNARs), in which the variable (V) domains recognize antigens with only a single immunoglobulin domain, akin to camelid heavy-chain V domains. The 1.45 angstrom resolution crystal structure of the type I IgNAR V domain in complex with hen egg-white lysozyme (HEL) reveals a minimal antigen-binding domain that contains only two of the three conventional complementarity-determining regions but still binds HEL with nanomolar affinity by means of a binding interface comparable in size to conventional antibodies.     

盐胁迫下拟南芥SCAMP基因克隆和表达的生物信息学分析

为探究分泌载体膜蛋白（Secretory carrier membrane protein, SCAMP）的功能,采用PCR方法从模式植物拟南芥中克隆到5个SCAMP基因,进行生物信息学分析,并通过实时荧光定量PCR技术分析5个SCAMP基因在盐胁迫下的表达模式。结果显示,拟南芥SCAMP蛋白的相对分子量为30.1~33.2 kDa,等电点为6.60~9.18,属于不稳定性疏水蛋白,二级蛋白结构中主要包含4种构象:α–螺旋（Alpha helix, Hh）、无规则卷曲（Randon coil, Cc）、直链延伸（Extended strand,Ee）和β–折叠（Beta turn,Tt）,其中以α–螺旋为主,包含4个跨膜结构域,N端和C端均在细胞膜内。实时荧光定量PCR结果表明,AtSCAMPs的表达量均受盐胁迫诱导上调表达,AtSCAMP1,AtSCAMP3,AtSCAMP4,AtSCAMP5基因在叶中的表达明显高于根,且AtSCAMP4和AtSCAMP5在叶中受盐胁迫变化最明显。     

Protein-DNA interactions in vivo upstream of a cell cycle-regulated human H4 histone gene

Cell cycle-dependent histone genes are transcribed at a basal level throughout the cell cycle, with a three- to fivefold increase during early S phase. Protein-DNA interactions in the 5' promoter region of a cell cycle-regulated human H4 histone gene have been analyzed at single-nucleotide resolution in vivo. This region contains two sites, with four potential protein-binding domains, at which the DNA is protected from reaction with dimethyl sulfate in cells and from digestion with deoxyribonuclease I in nuclei. These protein-DNA interactions persist during all phases of the cell cycle and dissociate with 0.16 to 0.2M sodium chloride.     

Structure and function of an essential component of the outer membrane protein assembly machine

Integral beta-barrel proteins are found in the outer membranes of mitochondria, chloroplasts, and Gram-negative bacteria. The machine that assembles these proteins contains an integral membrane protein, called YaeT in Escherichia coli, which has one or more polypeptide transport-associated (POTRA) domains. The crystal structure of a periplasmic fragment of YaeT reveals the POTRA domain fold and suggests a model for how POTRA domains can bind different peptide sequences, as required for a machine that handles numerous beta-barrel protein precursors. Analysis of POTRA domain deletions shows which are essential and provides a view of the spatial organization of this assembly machine.     

Convergent solutions to binding at a protein-protein interface

The hinge region on the Fc fragment of human immunoglobulin G interacts with at least four different natural protein scaffolds that bind at a common site between the C(H2) and C(H3) domains. This "consensus" site was also dominant for binding of random peptides selected in vitro for high affinity (dissociation constant, about 25 nanomolar) by bacteriophage display. Thus, this site appears to be preferred owing to its intrinsic physiochemical properties, and not for biological function alone. A 2.7 angstrom crystal structure of a selected 13-amino acid peptide in complex with Fc demonstrated that the peptide adopts a compact structure radically different from that of the other Fc binding proteins. Nevertheless, the specific Fc binding interactions of the peptide strongly mimic those of the other proteins. Juxtaposition of the available Fc-complex crystal structures showed that the convergent binding surface is highly accessible, adaptive, and hydrophobic and contains relatively few sites for polar interactions. These are all properties that may promote cross-reactive binding, which is common to protein-protein interactions and especially hormone-receptor complexes.     

Surface and Bulk Charge Density Wave Structure in 1 T-TaS2

Incommensurate charge density waves (CDWs) in some materials form domains within which the CDWs may be commensurate. However, two questions have remained controversial: What is the geometrical structure of these domains, and are they or are they not identical on the surface and in the bulk? To address these issues in the triclinic (T) phase of tantalum disuffide (1T-TaS(2)) the CDW domain structure has been accurately determined for both the crystal surface and the crystal bulk. By analyzing the bulk CDW wave vectors and associated satellites by x-ray diffraction, it is found that the bulk contains three dimensionally ordered striped domains that have previously been misidentified. Scanning tunneling microscope images show that the striped domain configuration propagates unaltered to the crystal surface, and their Fourier transforms yield the same satellite positions as the x-rays. These observations demonstrate that the surface and bulk CDW domain structures in 1T-TaS(2) are identical.     

水稻中OsCRL4基因的克隆和表达分析

将已知的拟南芥细胞分裂素受体Cre1a序列的保守区输入Blast软件,得到5个与拟南芥Cre1基因具有同源性的基因,即OsCRL1a、OsCRL1b、OsCRL2、OsCRL3和OsCRL4.前面4个基因与拟南芥具有相似的结构,所以它们可能与拟南芥Cre1基因具有相似的功能;而OsCRL4 基因与拟南芥Cre1基因相比,只有一个关键的结构域相同.RT-PCR和GUS染色结果表明,OsCRL4的表达具有特异性,主要在侧根基部、根茎结合部表达,在茎、叶中不表达;该基因在水稻内起到类似细胞分裂素受体的作用.