Structural basis for T cell immunoglobulin and mucin protein 3 and Toxascaris leonina galectin complex.

T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin protein 3 (Tim-3), also known as Hepatitis A virus cellular receptor 2, has been discovered to have a negative regulatory effect on murine T-cell responses. Galectin-9 exhibits various biological effects, including cell aggregation, eosinophil chemoattraction, activation, and apoptosis, observed in murine thymocytes, T-cells, and human melanoma cells. Such approach demonstrated that Galectin-9 acts as a binding partner on Tim-3 and mediates the T-cell inhibitory effects. Tl-gal is a homologous protein to galectin-9, isolated from the adult stage of the canine gastrointestinal nematode parasite Toxascaris leonina. However, molecular mechanism between Tim-3 and galectin-9 is still remain unknown. Here, we describe the cryo-electron microscopy and X-ray structures and interactions of the Tim-3 and Tl-gal complex as well as their biochemical and biophysical characterization. In the structure, Ser46 residue of Tl-gal NCRD was bound to Asp25 residue of hTim-3. Compared to our previous study, the binding site of the complex is the same as the sugar binding site (the Ser46 residue) of Tl-gal. In addition, analysis of the complex structure revealed that the four Tl-gal molecules were in an open form packing and one mTim-3 peptide was bound to one Tl-gal molecule. These observations suggest that how Tl-gal binds hTim3 is essential to understanding the molecular mechanism for the Tim-3-galectin 9 interaction that regulates immune responses. This could potentially serve as a therapeutic target for inflammatory diseases.

X-ray structure of a protease-resistant mutant form of human galectin-9 having two carbohydrate recognition domains with a metal-binding site.

Galectin-9 (G9) is a tandem-repeat type ß-galactoside-specific animal lectin having N-terminal and C-terminal carbohydrate recognition domains (N-CRD and C-CRD, respectively) joined by a linker peptide that is involved in the immune system. G9 is divalent in glycan binding, and structural information about the spatial arrangement of the two CRDs is very important for elucidating its biological functions. As G9 is protease sensitive due to the long linker, the protease-resistant mutant form of G9 (G9Null) was developed by modification of the linker peptide, while retaining its biological functions. The X-ray structure of a mutant form of G9Null with the replacement of Arg221 by Ser (G9Null_R221S) having two CRDs was determined. The structure of G9Null_R221S was compact to associate the two CRDs in the back-to-back orientation with a large interface area, including hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions. A metal ion was newly found in the galectin structure, possibly contributing to the stable structure of protein. The presented X-ray structure was thought to be one of the stable structures of G9, which likely occurs in solution. This was supported by structural comparisons with other tandem-repeated galectins and the analyses of protein thermostability by CD spectra measurements.

Structure of full-length Toxascaris leonina galectin with two carbohydrate-recognition domains.

The full-length crystal structure of Toxascaris leonine galectin (Tl-gal), a galectin-9 homologue protein, was determined at a resolution of 2.0 Å. Galectin-9 exhibits a variety of biological functions, including cell aggregation, eosinophil chemoattraction, activation and apoptosis of murine thymocytes, T cells and human melanoma cells. Similar to this galectin, Tl-gal may function as a regulatory molecule in the host immune system; however, no molecular or structural information has been reported for Tl-gal. Moreover, until now, there have been no reports of a full-length galectin structure. There are two molecules of Tl-gal per asymmetric unit in space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), and the N-terminal and C-terminal carbohydrate-recognition domains (NCRD and CCRD) of Tl-gal are composed of six-stranded ß-sheets and five-stranded ß-sheets with a short α-helix. The NCRD of Tl-gal resembles that of human galectin-7 and its CCRD resembles human galectin-9, but the residues in the interface and loop regions of the NCRD and CCRD are flexible and are related to interaction. Engagement of the T-cell immunoglobulin mucin-3 (Tim-3) immunoglobulin variable (IgV) domain by a galectin-9 ligand is known to be important for appropriate termination of T-helper 1 immune responses. To investigate the binding site of Tl-gal, the interaction between Tl-gal and Tim-3 was modelled. Tim-3 is docked into a major groove of the Tl-gal structure, which is larger and deeper than the minor groove. The structural information presented here will provide insight into the development of novel anti-inflammatory agents or selective modulators of immune response.