Design and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) structure determination of the second extracellular immunoglobulin tyrosine kinase A (TrkAIg2) domain construct for binding site elucidation in drug discovery.

The tyrosine kinase A (TrkA) receptor is a validated therapeutic intervention point for a wide range of conditions. TrkA activation by nerve growth factor (NGF) binding the second extracellular immunoglobulin (TrkAIg2) domain triggers intracellular signaling cascades. In the periphery, this promotes the pain phenotype and, in the brain, cell survival or differentiation. Reproducible structural information and detailed validation of protein-ligand interactions aid drug discovery. However, the isolated TrkAIg2 domain crystallizes as a ß-strand-swapped dimer in the absence of NGF, occluding the binding surface. Here we report the design and structural validation by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the first stable, biologically active construct of the TrkAIg2 domain for binding site confirmation. Our structure closely mimics the wild-type fold of TrkAIg2 in complex with NGF ( 1WWW .pdb), and the (1)H-(15)N correlation spectra confirm that both NGF and a competing small molecule interact at the known binding interface in solution.

The core cysteines, (C909) of islet antigen-2 and (C945) of islet antigen-2ß, are crucial to autoantibody binding in type 1 diabetes.

Cysteines are thought integral to conformational epitopes of islet antigen-2 (IA-2) autoantibodies (IA-2A), possibly through disulfide bond formation. We therefore investigated which cysteines are critical to IA-2A binding in patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes. All 10 cysteines in the intracellular domain of IA-2 were modified to serine by site-directed mutagenesis, and the effects of these changes on autoantibody binding in comparison with wild-type control were investigated by radiobinding assay. Mutation of the protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) core cysteine (C909) in IA-2 caused large reductions in autoantibody binding. In contrast, little or no reduction in binding was seen following substitution of the other cysteines. Modification of the core cysteine (C945) in IA-2ß also greatly reduced autoantibody binding. Lysine substitution of glutamate-836 in IA-2 or glutamate-872 in IA-2ß resulted in modest reductions in binding and identified a second epitope region. Binding to IA-2 PTP and IA-2ß PTP was almost abolished by mutation of both the core cysteine and these glutamates. The core cysteine is key to the major PTP conformational epitope, but disulfide bonding contributes little to IA-2A epitope integrity. In most patients, at disease onset, >90% of antibodies binding to the PTP domain of IA-2 recognize just two epitope regions.

Protein 4.2: a complex linker.

The peripheral membrane protein, protein 4.2, is one of the most abundant protein components of the erythrocyte membrane. Protein 4.2 has an important role in red cell membrane structure, its absence due to natural mutations in humans or gene knockout in mice has a detrimental effect on membrane stability and results in hereditary spherocytosis. It is known to be a point of connection between the band 3 complex and the Rhesus protein complex, through its associations with band 3 and CD47 and also via interactions with the cytoskeletal protein ankyrin. Considering its relatively high abundance and importance in stability of the erythrocyte membrane, protein 4.2 has proved a somewhat neglected protein in recent years. In this review we will summarize our current understanding of protein 4.2, discuss its known interactions and describe the effects and implications of protein 4.2 deficiency. Based on protein 4.2's close homology with transglutaminase family proteins, we propose a new speculative "open" homology structure for protein 4.2 that may represent the active, membrane associated protein 4.2 molecule in red blood cells and also explain the dependence of protein 4.2 on band 3 binding for stability.

Cloning, sequence and expression of the lactate dehydrogenase gene from the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium vivax.

Increased drug resistance to anti-malarials highlights the need for the development of new therapeutics for the treatment of malaria. To this end, the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) gene was cloned and sequenced from genomic DNA of Plasmodium vivax ( PvLDH) Belem strain. The 316 amino acid protein-coding region of the PvLDH gene was inserted into the prokaryotic expression vector pKK223-3 and a 34 kDa protein with LDH activity was expressed in E. coli. Structural differences between human LDHs and PfLDH make the latter an attractive target for inhibitors leading to novel anti-malarial drugs. The sequence similarity between PvLDH and PfLDH (90% residue identity and no insertions or deletions) indicate that the same approach could be applied to Plasmodium vivax, the most common human malaria parasite in the world.