RESUMO
Sleeping sickness is a fatal disease caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei (Tb). Inosine-5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) has been proposed as a potential drug target, since it maintains the balance between guanylate deoxynucleotide and ribonucleotide levels that is pivotal for the parasite. Here we report the structure of TbIMPDH at room temperature utilizing free-electron laser radiation on crystals grown in living insect cells. The 2.80 Å resolution structure reveals the presence of ATP and GMP at the canonical sites of the Bateman domains, the latter in a so far unknown coordination mode. Consistent with previously reported IMPDH complexes harboring guanosine nucleotides at the second canonical site, TbIMPDH forms a compact oligomer structure, supporting a nucleotide-controlled conformational switch that allosterically modulates the catalytic activity. The oligomeric TbIMPDH structure we present here reveals the potential of in cellulo crystallization to identify genuine allosteric co-factors from a natural reservoir of specific compounds.
Assuntos
Coenzimas/química , Cristalização , IMP Desidrogenase/química , Trypanosoma brucei brucei/enzimologia , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Animais , Sítios de Ligação , Domínio Catalítico , Clonagem Molecular , Guanosina Monofosfato , Modelos Moleculares , Conformação Proteica , Células Sf9 , Trypanosoma brucei brucei/genéticaRESUMO
Southern bean mosaic virus (SBMV) RNA purified from infected plants was used for cloning the viral genome-linked protein (VPg) and was subsequently expressed in Escherichia coli. Circular dichroism (CD), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and saturation transfer difference (STD) by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements were employed to determine the degree of monodispersity and to investigate the conformational changes in the absence and presence of trifluoroethanol (TFE) which indicated increased helical content with increasing concentration of TFE. 8-Anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid (ANS) was used as a probe to compare the unfolding regions of the protein before and after addition of TFE. The results indicated that although the TFE concentration influences VPg folding, it does not play a role in nucleotide binding and that the local solvent hydrophobicity causes significant conformational changes.
Assuntos
Fabaceae/virologia , Vírus de Plantas/genética , Vírus de Plantas/metabolismo , Trifluoretanol/metabolismo , Trifluoretanol/farmacologia , Proteínas não Estruturais Virais/genética , Proteínas não Estruturais Virais/metabolismo , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Expressão Gênica , Histidina , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Nucleotídeos/metabolismo , Ligação Proteica , Conformação Proteica/efeitos dos fármacos , Proteínas não Estruturais Virais/químicaRESUMO
X-ray crystallography requires sufficiently large crystals to obtain structural insights at atomic resolution, routinely obtained in vitro by time-consuming screening. Recently, successful data collection was reported from protein microcrystals grown within living cells using highly brilliant free-electron laser and third-generation synchrotron radiation. Here, we analyzed in vivo crystal growth of firefly luciferase and Green Fluorescent Protein-tagged reovirus µNS by live-cell imaging, showing that dimensions of living cells did not limit crystal size. The crystallization process is highly dynamic and occurs in different cellular compartments. In vivo protein crystallization offers exciting new possibilities for proteins that do not form crystals in vitro.