Crystal structure of catalase HPII from Escherichia coli.

BACKGROUND: Catalase is a ubiquitous enzyme present in both the prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells of aerobic organisms. It serves, in part, to protect the cell from the toxic effects of small peroxides. Escherichia coli produces two catalases, HPI and HPII, that are quite distinct from other catalases in physical structure and catalytic properties. HPII, studied in this work, is encoded by the katE gene, and has been characterized as an oligomeric, monofunctional catalase containing one cis-heme d prosthetic group per subunit of 753 residues. RESULTS: The crystal structure of catalase HPII from E. coli has been determined to 2.8 A resolution. The asymmetric unit of the crystal contains a whole molecule, which is a tetramer with accurate 222 point group symmetry. In the model built, that includes residues 27-753 and one heme group per monomer, strict non-crystallographic symmetry has been maintained. The crystallographic agreement R-factor is 20.1% for 58,477 reflections in the resolution shell 8.0-2.8 A. CONCLUSIONS: Despite differences in size and chemical properties, which were suggestive of a unique catalase, the deduced structure of HPII is related to the structure of catalase from Penicillium vitale, whose sequence is not yet known. In particular, both molecules have an additional C-terminal domain that is absent in the bovine catalase. This extra domain contains a Rossmann fold but no bound nucleotides have been detected, and its physiological role is unknown. In HPII, the heme group is modified to a heme d and inverted with respect to the orientation determined in all previously reported heme catalases. HPII is the largest catalase for which the structure has been determined to almost atomic resolution.

Structure of human rhinovirus serotype 2 (HRV2).

Human rhinoviruses are classified into a major and a minor group based on their binding to ICAM-1 or to members of the LDL-receptor family, respectively. They can also be divided into groups A and B, according to their sensitivity towards a panel of antiviral compounds. The structure of human rhinovirus 2 (HRV2), which uses the LDL receptor for cell attachment and is included in antiviral group B, has been solved and refined at 2.6 A resolution by X-ray crystallography to gain information on the peculiarities of rhinoviruses, in particular from the minor receptor group. The main structural differences between HRV2 and other rhinoviruses, including the minor receptor group serotype HRV1A, are located at the internal protein shell surface and at the external antigenic sites. In the interior, the N termini of VP1 and VP4 form a three-stranded beta-sheet in an arrangement similar to that present in poliovirus, although myristate was not visible at the amino terminus of VP4 in the HRV2 structure. The betaE-betaF loop of VP2, a linear epitope within antigenic site B recognized by monoclonal antibody 8F5, adopts a conformation considerably different from that found in the complex of 8F5 with a synthetic peptide of the same sequence. This either points to considerable structural changes impinged on this loop upon antibody binding, or to the existence of more than one single conformation of the loop when the virus is in solution. The hydrophobic pocket of VP1 was found to be occupied by a pocket factor apparently identical with that present in the major receptor group virus HRV16. Electron density, consistent with the presence of a viral RNA fragment, is seen stacked against a conserved tryptophan residue.

Induced pocket to accommodate the cell attachment Arg-Gly-Asp motif in a neutralizing antibody against foot-and-mouth-disease virus.

The three-dimensional structure of the Fab fragment of a neutralizing monoclonal antibody (SD6) elicited against foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) has been determined at 2.5 A resolution and refined to a crystallography agreement R-factor of 0.186. The structure has been compared with that of the same Fab molecule complexes with a 15 amino acid peptide (A15) representing a major antigenic site of FMDV, and determined at 2.8 A resolution. The Fab quaternary structure, defined both by the elbow angle between modules and by the relative disposition of the light and heavy domains inside the modules, remains essentially unchanged. However, the comparison shows important conformational variations in the paratope, especially in the hypervariable loops of the heavy chain. The CDR-H3 loop has a peculiar amino acid sequence (RREDGGDEGF) with a high content of charged residues. Some of these Fab residues were fully reoriented upon complex formation. The reorientation resulted not only in an alteration of shape but also in an important redistribution of charges, providing multiple points of interaction with the A15 antigen and in particular with the cell attachment Arg-Gly-Asp motif in the peptide. Thus the recognition of A15 by SD6 represents an extreme example of the induced fit mechanism in antibody interactions. The electron density maps provide evidence that in the uncomplexed Fab structure some CDR residues show, with lower occupancy, the conformations found in the complex, suggesting that the rearrangements observed can have only minor energetic requirements.

Structure of the C2 domain from novel protein kinase Cepsilon. A membrane binding model for Ca(2+)-independent C2 domains.

Protein kinase Cepsilon (PKCepsilon) is a member of the novel PKCs which are activated by acidic phospholipids, diacylglycerol and phorbol esters, but lack the calcium dependence of classical PKC isotypes. The crystal structures of the C2 domain of PKCepsilon, crystallized both in the absence and in the presence of the two acidic phospholipids, 1,2-dicaproyl-sn-phosphatidyl-l-serine (DCPS) and 1,2-dicaproyl-sn-phosphatidic acid (DCPA), have now been determined at 2.1, 1.7 and 2.8 A resolution, respectively. The central feature of the PKCepsilon-C2 domain structure is an eight-stranded, antiparallel, beta-sandwich with a type II topology similar to that of the C2 domains from phospholipase C and from novel PKCdelta. Despite the similar topology, important differences are found between the structures of C2 domains from PKCs delta and epsilon, suggesting they be considered as different PKC subclasses. Site-directed mutagenesis experiments and structural changes in the PKCepsilon-C2 domain from crystals with DCPS or DCPA indicate, though phospholipids were not visible in these structures, that loops joining strands beta1-beta2 and beta5-beta6 participate in the binding to anionic membranes. The different behavior in membrane-binding and activation between PKCepsilon and classical PKCs appears to originate in localized structural changes, which include a major reorganization of the region corresponding to the calcium binding pocket in classical PKCs. A mechanism is proposed for the interaction of the PKCepsilon-C2 domain with model membranes that retains basic features of the docking of C2 domains from classical, calcium-dependent, PKCs.

Molecular structure of a complete turn of A-DNA.

We have determined the crystal structure of the dodecamer d(CCCCCGCGGGGG), showing for the first time a complete turn of A-DNA. It has average structural parameters similar to those determined in fibres. Nevertheless it shows a considerable local variation in structure which is in part associated with the presence of a bound spermine molecule. We conclude that the local DNA conformation does not only depend on the base sequence, but may be strongly modified upon interaction with other molecules. In particular, the CpG sequence, which is found in hypersensitive regions of the genome, appears to be able to easily change its conformation under external influences.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies of the Lb proteinase from foot-and-mouth disease virus.

Different crystal forms of the C23A mutant from the leader proteinase of foot-and-mouth disease virus were obtained by the hanging drop vapor diffusion technique, using MgCl2 and PEG 6000 as precipitants. Well-developed crystals, with cubic morphology growing to approximately 1.0 mm3 in size, presented a large unit cell parameter of 274.5 A and diffracted to, at most, 5 A resolution. A second type of crystal had a tetragonal appearance and these were obtained in droplets soaked in a silica gel matrix. These crystals, with an approximate size of 0.3 X 0.3 X 0.7 mm3, diffracted to approximately 4.0 A resolution, but presented a strong anisotropic mosaicity around the longest crystal axis. Crystals with a needlelike morphology and reaching sizes of about 0.2 X 0.3 X 1.2 mm3 diffracted beyond 3.5 A resolution and were stable to X-ray radiation for approximately one day when using a conventional source at room temperature. These crystals are orthorhombic with space group I222 (or I2(1)2(1)2(1)) and unit cell dimensions a = 65.9 A, b = 104.3 A, and c = 124.0 A, and appear well suited for high-resolution studies. Density packing considerations are consistent with the presence of two molecules in the asymmetric unit and a solvent content of approximately 54%.

Biochemical and structural studies with neutralizing antibodies raised against foot-and-mouth disease virus.

The function of a loop exposed on the aphthovirus capsid (the G-H loop of protein VP1) has been explored by combining genetic and structural studies with viral mutants. The loop displays a dual function of receptor recognition and interaction with neutralizing antibodies. Remarkably, some amino acid residues play a critical role in both such disparate functions. Therefore residues subjected to antibody pressure for variation may nevertheless maintain a role in receptor recognition for which invariance is a requirement. Evolution of FMDV in cell culture may relax the requirements at this site and allow further increase of antigenic diversification. Essential residues at one stage of virus evolution may become dispensable at another not very distant point in the evolutionary landscape. Implications for FMDV evolution and vaccine design are discussed.

Structural variability of A-DNA in crystals of the octamer d(pCpCpCpGpCpGpGpG)

We have determined the structure of the synthetic DNA octamer d(pCpCpCpGpCpGpGpG) in five different crystal forms by single crystal X-ray diffraction. One crystal belongs to the space group P4(3)2(1)2 with a = b = 41.77, c = 25.15 A, whereas all others have the space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) with progressively decreasing unit cell volumes. In all crystals the octamer forms duplexes of A-DNA and all crystals display a similar packing mode, typical for A-DNA. The structure of the duplex varies from loose to very compact when going from one crystal form to another. The most compact form exhibits a volume of 995 A3 per base pair. Such a high density has never been found in A-DNA, being more characteristic of Z-DNA crystals. A comparison of the most with the least compact forms gives a RMS value of 1.7 A, with the distance between the phosphate centers through the major groove being almost twice shorter in the compact form. The phosphate-phosphate separation across the major groove in the compact form is extremely small, 0.7 A. The helical parameters also vary significantly in the various crystal forms. Differences in the helical twist can reach 13 degrees in the same step of the octamer in different crystal forms. The results prove that A-DNA is structurally very variable and demonstrate that the local structure of the same DNA fragment can strongly depend on the crystal environment.

Molecular structure of L-lysyl-L-tyrosyl-L-serine acetate.

The structure of the tripeptide L-lysyl-L-tyrosyl-L-serine acetate was determined by X-ray diffraction. The crystals are triclinic space group P1, with two peptide molecules in the unit cell. The peptides are in zwitterionic form with positive charges both in the amino terminal and epsilon-amino groups of lysine. A negative charge is found in one of the carboxylic groups, whereas the other one is protonated. Both peptides show very similar backbone torsional angles, in the beta pleated sheet region, but different tyrosine and serine side-chain conformations. The two lysine side chains have a similar conformation g + tg + t, which had not been previously found. In the unit cell we also find one water molecule, one isopropanol molecule and four acetic acid molecules, three of them likely to be present as acetate anions. These molecules form layers which separate the beta-pleated sheets. The whole structure looks like an ordered solution of peptides in the beta-sheet conformation. An extensive network of hydrogen bonds stabilizes the crystal structure.

Antigenically profound amino acid substitutions occur during large population passages of foot-and-mouth disease virus.

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) with amino acid substitutions next to the highly conserved R-G-D motif were isolated following large population passages of the virus (N. Sevilla and E. Domingo, 1996, J. Virol., in press). Reactivity with a panel of monoclonal antibodies which recognize different epitopes within site A was abolished or highly diminished in the mutants. This provides direct evidence of a drastic antigenic change occurring in the absence of selection by antibodies. Molecular modeling studies predict only minor alterations in the conformation of the G-H loop of VP1 and the R-G-D motif in these mutants. None of these variants became dominant in many serial infections involving smaller FMDV population numbers. In addition to documenting profound antigenic variation without immune selection, the results suggest that the repertoire of antigenic variants evolving in viral quasispecies may be greatly influenced by the population size of the virus.

Structure and supramolecular packing features of the dipeptide Arg-Val acetate.

The title compound crystallizes in the zwitterionic form. The crystal forms a supramolecular structure with the peptide molecules organized in head-to-tail columns in the b direction. The arginine side-chains and acetate ions interact with neighbor peptides in the c direction. Infinite hydrophobic columns are present in the a direction; they involve the valine side-chains, the acetate methyl groups and the methylene groups of the arginine side-chains. This three-dimensional organization is similar to that found in Lys-Val hydrochloride.

Efficient neutralization of foot-and-mouth disease virus by monovalent antibody binding.

Neutralization of an aphthovirus by monovalent binding of an antibody is reported. Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) clone C-S8c1 was neutralized by monoclonal antibody (MAb) SD6, which was directed to a continuous epitope within a major antigenic site of the G-H loop of capsid protein VP1. On a molar basis, the Fab fragment was at most fivefold less active in neutralization than the intact antibody, and both blocked virus attachment to cells. Neither the antibody nor the Fab fragment caused aggregation of virions, as evidenced by sucrose gradient sedimentation studies of the antibody-virus complex formed at antibody to virion ratios of 1:50 to 1:10,000. The results of neutralization of infectivity and of ultracentrifugation are fully consistent with structural data based on X-ray crystallographic and cryoelectron microscopy studies, which showed monovalent interaction of the antibody with a critical receptor binding motif Arg-Gly-Asp. The conclusions of these neutralization studies are that (i) bivalent binding of antibody is not a requisite for strong neutralization of aphthoviruses and (ii) aggregation of viral particles, which has been proposed to be the dominant neutralization mechanism of antibodies that bind monovalently to virions, is not necessary for the neutralization of FMDV C-S8c1 by MAb SD6.

Helical structure of basic proteins from spermatozoa. Comparison with model peptides.

We describe structural studies carried out with some basic proteins found in association with DNA in the spermatozoa of molluscs and echinoderms. We have studied proteins related to histone H1 as well as protamines. Structural prediction methods show that these proteins have a strong helical potential and contain several turns, mainly of the SPKK type. No beta structures were found. Strong structural similarities have been detected between distantly related species. The presence of helical regions is confirmed by circular dichroism in trifluoroethanol solution. The influence of the SPKK turns is also evident in the CD spectra. In proteins which contain a high percentage of arginine we conclude that conventional prediction methods should be modified in order to allow for a higher helical potential for this amino acid residue. Synthetic peptides with a sequence present in the C-terminal region of histone H1 have also been studied. It was found that octapeptides may only acquire a small amount of structure, whereas hexadecapeptides are 50-60% helical. These studies strongly suggest that both protamines and proteins related to the C-terminal part of histone H1 interact with DNA mainly in the alpha-helical conformation.

Probing degeneracy in antigen-antibody recognition at the immunodominant site of foot-and-mouth disease virus.

Antigen-antibody binding is regarded as one of the most representative examples of specific molecular recognition in nature. The simplistic view of antigenic recognition in terms of a lock-and-key mechanism is obsolete, as it is evident that both antigens and antibodies are flexible and can undergo substantial mutual adaptation. This flexibility is the source of complexities such as degeneracy and nonadditivity in antigenic recognition. We have used surface plasmon resonance to study the effects of combining multiple amino acid replacements within the sequence of the antigenic GH loop of foot-and-mouth disease virus. Our aim was 2-fold: to explore the extent to which antigenic degeneracy can be extended in this particular case, and to search for potential nonadditive effects in introducing multiple amino acid replacements. Combined analysis of one such multiply substituted peptide by SPR, solution NMR and X-ray diffraction shows that antigenic degeneracy can be expected as long as residues directly interacting with the paratope are conserved and the peptide bioactive folding is unaltered.

Evolution subverting essentiality: dispensability of the cell attachment Arg-Gly-Asp motif in multiply passaged foot-and-mouth disease virus.

Aphthoviruses use a conserved Arg-Gly-Asp triplet for attachment to host cells and this motif is believed to be essential for virus viability. Here we report that this triplet-which is also a widespread motif involved in cell-to-cell adhesion-can become dispensable upon short-term evolution of the virus harboring it. Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), which was multiply passaged in cell culture, showed an altered repertoire of antigenic variants resistant to a neutralizing monoclonal antibody. The altered repertoire includes variants with substitutions at the Arg-Gly-Asp motif. Mutants lacking this sequence replicated normally in cell culture and were indistinguishable from the parental virus. Studies with individual FMDV clones indicate that amino acid replacements on the capsid surface located around the loop harboring the Arg-Gly-Asp triplet may mediate in the dispensability of this motif. The results show that FMDV quasispecies evolving in a constant biological environment have the capability of rendering totally dispensable a receptor recognition motif previously invariant, and to ensure an alternative pathway for normal viral replication. Thus, variability of highly conserved motifs, even those that viruses have adapted from functional cellular motifs, can contribute to phenotypic flexibility of RNA viruses in nature.

Multiple virulence determinants of foot-and-mouth disease virus in cell culture.

Hypervirulent variants of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) of serotype C arise upon serial cytolytic or persistent infections in cell culture. A specific mutation in the internal ribosome entry site of persistent FMDV was previously associated with enhanced translation initiation activity that could contribute to the hypervirulent phenotype for BHK-21 cells. Here we report that several hypervirulent FMDV variants arising upon serial cytolytic passage show an invariant internal ribosome entry site but have a number of mutations affecting structural and nonstructural viral proteins. The construction of chimeric type O-type C infectious transcripts has allowed the mapping of a major determinant of hypervirulence to the viral capsid. Tissue culture-adapted FMDV displayed enhanced affinity for heparin, but binding to cell surface heparan sulfate moieties was not required for expression of the hypervirulent phenotype in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Virulence was identical or even higher for glycosaminoglycan-deficient CHO cells than for wild-type CHO cells. FMDV variants with decreased affinity for heparin were selected from a high-binding parental population and analyzed. Substitutions associated with decreased heparin binding were located at positions 173 of capsid protein VP3 and 144 of capsid protein VP1. These substitutions had a moderate effect on virulence for BHK-21 cells but completely abrogated infection of CHO cells. The comparative results with several FMDV isolates show that (i) increased affinity for heparin and alterations in cell tropism may be mediated by a number of independent sites on the viral capsid and (ii) the same capsid modifications may have different effects on different cell types.

Structure of the major antigenic loop of foot-and-mouth disease virus complexed with a neutralizing antibody: direct involvement of the Arg-Gly-Asp motif in the interaction.

The crystal structure of a synthetic peptide representing the major antigenic loop of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), complexed with the Fab fragment of a neutralizing monoclonal antibody raised against the virus, has been determined at 2.8 A resolution. The peptide shows a high degree of internal structure with a nearly cyclic conformation. The conserved Arg-Gly-Asp motif, involved in the viral attachment of aphtoviruses to cells, participates directly in the interaction with several complementarity determining regions of the antibody molecule. The Arg-Gly-Asp triplet shows the same open turn conformation found in the reduced form of FMDV of another serotype and also in integrin binding proteins. The observed interactions provide a molecular interpretation of the amino acid replacements observed to occur in mutants resistant to neutralization by this antibody. The structure also suggests a number of restrictions to variation within the epitope which are imposed to keep the Arg-Gly-Asp motif in its functional conformation.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of human rhinovirus serotype 2 (HRV2).

Human rhinoviruses, the major cause of mild recurrent infections of the upper respiratory tract, are small icosahedral particles. Over 100 different serotypes have been identified. The majority (91 serotypes) use intercellular adhesion molecule 1 as the cell-attachment site; ten serotypes (the minor group) bind to members of the low-density lipoprotein receptor. Three different crystal forms of the minor-group human rhinovirus serotype 2 (HRV2) were obtained by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion technique using ammonium sulfate and sodium/potassium phosphate as precipitants. Monoclinic crystals, space group P2(1), diffracted at least to 2.8 A resolution, and two complete virus particles were located in the crystal asymmetric unit. A second type of crystals had a compact cubic like morphology and diffracted beyond 2.5 A resolution. These crystals belong to a primitive orthorhombic space group, with unit-cell parameters a = 309.3, b = 353.5, c = 759.6 A, and contain one virus particle in the asymmetric unit. A third type of crystals, with a prismatic shape and belonging to space group I222, was also obtained under similar crystallization conditions. These latter crystals, with unit-cell parameters a = 308.7, b = 352.2, c = 380.5 A, diffracted to high resolution (beyond 1.8 A) and contained 15 protomers per asymmetric unit; this requires that three perpendicular crystal twofold axes coincide with three of the viral particle's dyad axes.

Ca(2+) bridges the C2 membrane-binding domain of protein kinase Calpha directly to phosphatidylserine.

The C2 domain acts as a membrane-targeting module in a diverse group of proteins including classical protein kinase Cs (PKCs), where it plays an essential role in activation via calcium-dependent interactions with phosphatidylserine. The three-dimensional structures of the Ca(2+)-bound forms of the PKCalpha-C2 domain both in the absence and presence of 1, 2-dicaproyl-sn-phosphatidyl-L-serine have now been determined by X-ray crystallography at 2.4 and 2.6 A resolution, respectively. In the structure of the C2 ternary complex, the glycerophosphoserine moiety of the phospholipid adopts a quasi-cyclic conformation, with the phosphoryl group directly coordinated to one of the Ca(2+) ions. Specific recognition of the phosphatidylserine is reinforced by additional hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions with protein residues in the vicinity of the Ca(2+) binding region. The central feature of the PKCalpha-C2 domain structure is an eight-stranded, anti-parallel beta-barrel with a molecular topology and organization of the Ca(2+) binding region closely related to that found in PKCbeta-C2, although only two Ca(2+) ions have been located bound to the PKCalpha-C2 domain. The structural information provided by these results suggests a membrane binding mechanism of the PKCalpha-C2 domain in which calcium ions directly mediate the phosphatidylserine recognition while the calcium binding region 3 might penetrate into the phospholipid bilayer.

The need for a shared database infrastructure: combining X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy.

Advances in structural biology are opening greater opportunities for understanding biological structures from the cellular to the atomic level. Particularly promising are the links that can be established between the information provided by electron microscopy and the atomic structures derived from X-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Combining such different kinds of structural data can result in novel biological information on the interaction of biomolecules in large supramolecular assemblies. As a consequence, the need to develop new databases in the field of structural biology that allow for an integrated access to data from all the experimental techniques is becoming critical. Pilot studies performed in recent years have already established a solid background as far as the basic information that an integrated macromolecular structure database should contain, as well as the basic principles for integration. These efforts started in the context of the BioImage project, and resulted in a first complete database prototype that provided a versatile platform for the linking of atomic models or X-ray diffraction data with electron microscopy information. Analysis of the requirements needed to combine data at different levels of resolution have resulted in sets of specifications that make possible the integration of all these different types in the context of a web environment. The case of a structural study linking electron microscopy and X-ray data, which is already contained within the BioImage data base and in the Protein Data Bank, is used here to illustrate the current approach, while a general discussion highlights the urgent need for integrated databases.