| 1. |
- Baronio, Cesare M., et al.
(författare)
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The amide I spectrum of parallel β-sheet proteins
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The amide I absorption of the polypeptide backbone has long been used to analyze the secondary structure of proteins. This approach has gained additional attention in the context of amyloid diseases where a particular focus is on the distinction between parallel and antiparallel β-sheets because these structures often discriminate between pre-fibrillar structures and fibrils. Some earlier infrared spectra with typical features of antiparallel β-sheets were interpreted as arising from the parallel β-sheets of fibrils. Therefore, the ability of infrared spectroscopy to distinguish between both types of β-sheets is debated. While it is established that regular, antiparallel β-sheets give rise to a high wavenumber band near 1690 cm-1, it is less clear whether or not this band may also occur for parallel β-sheets. Here we present and analyze the amide I spectra of two β-helix proteins, SV2 and Pent. The overall shape of the proteins is that of a cuboid which has parallel β-sheets on its four sides, which are connected by bends. The main features of their amide I spectrum are a band at 1665, and two bands between 1645 and 1628 cm-1. Both proteins exhibit also a weak component band near 1690 cm-1. Calculations of the amide I spectrum indicate that the absorption at high wavenumbers is not caused by the parallel β-sheets but by the bends between the β-strands. We therefore suggest to modify the interpretation of the amide I spectrum as follows: a high wavenumber band near 1690 cm-1 may be caused by other structures than antiparallel β-sheets. However, when the spectrum consists of only two distinct bands, one near 1690 cm-1 and one near 1630 cm-1, then an assignment to antiparallel β-sheets is consistent with the literature.
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| 2. |
- Carter, Megan, et al.
(författare)
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Human NUDT22 Is a UDP-Glucose/Galactose Hydrolase Exhibiting a Unique Structural Fold
- 2018
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Ingår i: Structure. - : Elsevier BV. - 0969-2126 .- 1878-4186. ; 26:2, s. 295-303
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Human NUDT22 belongs to the diverse NUDIX family of proteins, but has, until now, remained uncharacterized. Here we show that human NUDT22 is a Mg2+-dependent UDP-glucose and UDP-galactose hydrolase, producing UMP and glucose 1-phosphate or galactose 1-phosphate. We present the structure of human NUDT22 alone and in a complex with the substrate UDP-glucose. These structures reveal a partially conserved NUDIX fold domain preceded by a unique N-terminal domain responsible for UDP moiety binding and recognition. The NUDIX domain of NUDT22 contains a modified NUDIX box identified using structural analysis and confirmed through functional analysis of mutants. Human NUDT22's distinct structure and function as a UDP-carbohydrate hydrolase establish a unique NUDIX protein subfamily.
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| 3. |
- Gustafsson, Robert, et al.
(författare)
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Crystal structures of OrfX2 and P47 from a Botulinum neurotoxin OrfX-type gene cluster
- 2017
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Ingår i: FEBS Letters. - : Wiley. - 0014-5793 .- 1873-3468. ; 591:22, s. 3781-3792
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Botulinum neurotoxins are highly toxic substances and are all encoded together with one of two alternative gene clusters, the HA or the OrfX gene cluster. Very little is known about the function and structure of the proteins encoded in the OrfX gene cluster, which in addition to the toxin contains five proteins (OrfX1, OrfX2, OrfX3, P47, and NTNH). We here present the structures of OrfX2 and P47, solved to 2.1 and 1.8 Å, respectively. We show that they belong to the TULIP protein superfamily, which are often involved in lipid binding. OrfX1 and OrfX2 were both found to bind phosphatidylinositol lipids.
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| 4. |
- Götzke, Hansjörg, et al.
(författare)
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The ALFA-tag is a highly versatile tool for nanobody-based bioscience applications
- 2019
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Specialized epitope tags are widely used for detecting, manipulating or purifying proteins, but often their versatility is limited. Here, we introduce the ALFA-tag, a rationally designed epitope tag that serves a remarkably broad spectrum of applications in life sciences while outperforming established tags like the HA-, FLAG (R)- or myc-tag. The ALFA-tag forms a small and stable a-helix that is functional irrespective of its position on the target protein in prokaryotic and eukaryotic hosts. We characterize a nanobody (NbALFA) binding ALFA-tagged proteins from native or fixed specimen with low picomolar affinity. It is ideally suited for super-resolution microscopy, immunoprecipitations and Western blotting, and also allows in vivo detection of proteins. We show the crystal structure of the complex that enabled us to design a nanobody mutant (NbALFA(PE)) that permits efficient one-step purifications of native ALFA-tagged proteins, complexes and even entire living cells using peptide elution under physiological conditions.
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| 5. |
- Kosenina, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Structural Analysis of Botulinum Neurotoxins Type B and E by Cryo-EM
- 2022
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Ingår i: Toxins. - : MDPI AG. - 2072-6651. ; 14:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are the causative agents of a potentially lethal paralytic disease targeting cholinergic nerve terminals. Multiple BoNT serotypes exist, with types A, B and E being the main cause of human botulism. Their extreme toxicity has been exploited for cosmetic and therapeutic uses to treat a wide range of neuromuscular disorders. Although naturally occurring BoNT types share a common end effect, their activity varies significantly based on the neuronal cell-surface receptors and intracellular SNARE substrates they target. These properties are the result of structural variations that have traditionally been studied using biophysical methods such as X-ray crystallography. Here, we determined the first structures of botulinum neurotoxins using single-particle cryogenic electron microscopy. The maps obtained at 3.6 and 3.7 Å for BoNT/B and /E, respectively, highlight the subtle structural dynamism between domains, and of the binding domain in particular. This study demonstrates how the recent advances made in the field of single-particle electron microscopy can be applied to bacterial toxins of clinical relevance and the botulinum neurotoxin family in particular.
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| 6. |
- Martínez-Carranza, Markel, et al.
(författare)
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A ribonucleotide reductase from Clostridium botulinum reveals distinct evolutionary pathways to regulation via the overall activity site
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Biological Chemistry. - : American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. - 0021-9258 .- 1083-351X. ; 295:46, s. 15576-15587
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) is a central enzyme for the synthesis of DNA building blocks. Most aerobic organisms, including nearly all eukaryotes, have class I RNRs consisting of R1 and R2 subunits. The catalytic R1 subunit contains an overall activity site that can allosterically turn the enzyme on or off by the binding of ATP or dATP, respectively. The mechanism behind the ability to turn the enzyme off via the R1 subunit involves the formation of different types of R1 oligomers in most studied species and R1–R2 octamers in Escherichia coli. To better understand the distribution of different oligomerization mechanisms, we characterized the enzyme from Clostridium botulinum, which belongs to a subclass of class I RNRs not studied before. The recombinantly expressed enzyme was analyzed by size-exclusion chromatography, gas-phase electrophoretic mobility macromolecular analysis, EM, X-ray crystallography, and enzyme assays. Interestingly, it shares the ability of the E. coli RNR to form inhibited R1–R2 octamers in the presence of dATP but, unlike the E. coli enzyme, cannot be turned off by combinations of ATP and dGTP/dTTP. A phylogenetic analysis of class I RNRs suggests that activity regulation is not ancestral but was gained after the first subclasses diverged and that RNR subclasses with inhibition mechanisms involving R1 oligomerization belong to a clade separated from the two subclasses forming R1–R2 octamers. These results give further insight into activity regulation in class I RNRs as an evolutionarily dynamic process.
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| 7. |
- Martínez-Carranza, Markel, 1992-
(författare)
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Structural Insights into Botulinum Neurotoxins and the ALFA-tag System : Structural and Functional Studies of Proteins Related to the Botulinum Neurotoxins and Design of a Novel Epitope Tag
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis is divided into two sections; the first part describes our work in the field of botulinum neurotoxins (presented in papers I, II, III, and manuscript IV) and the second part summarizes our work involving the design of a new biochemical tool (presented in paper V).Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) produced by the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium botulinum are the most poisonous substances known to date. They have a conserved structure that consists of three domains (receptor-binding, translocation, and catalytic domain), each of which has a distinct function. The receptor-binding domain binds to neuronal receptors, and after endocytosis the translocation domain shuttles the catalytic domain into the cytosol, where it cleaves neuronal proteins of the SNARE family, which are part of the vesicle-membrane fusion machinery.In paper I, we studied proteins of unknown function (OrfX1, OrfX2, OrfX3, and P47), which are co-expressed with certain BoNTs. We solved the crystal structures of OrfX2 and P47, and their structural resemblance to tubular lipid binding proteins (TULIP) together with lipid binding studies, led us to conclude that OrfX1 and P47 are able to bind phosphatidyl inositol phosphates (PIPs) in vitro.In paper II, we studied the binding of BoNT/B, /DC and /G to their protein receptor synaptotagmin (Syt). We determined their affinities to synaptotagmins from different species, and concluded that residue F50 in bovine Syt-II is responsible for its increased affinity towards BoNT/DC. In addition, we studied the interaction between BoNT/G and Syt-II via STD-NMR. Our results showed the binding to be similar to BoNT/B and Syt-II, and that the N-terminal region of the Syt peptide is important for the binding of BoNTs to synaptotagmin, even though it is not part of the binding interface.In paper III and manuscript IV, we present the identification of a novel BoNT serotype named BoNT/X. We showed that BoNT/X cleaves the non-canonical substrates VAMP4, VAMP5 and Ykt6, as well as the canonical substrate VAMP1-3 at a new cleavage site, distinct from other BoNTs. In addition, we present the cryo-EM structure of BoNT/X in complex with its non-toxic interaction partner NTNH. Our pH stability experiments revealed that BoNT/X-NTNH remain bound at neutral to moderately high pH, in contrast with what is observed for BoNT/A-NTNH.In paper V we present the design of a novel epitope tag named the ALFA system. The ALFA tag is a short α-helical protein tag that is highly stable and electroneutral. The ALFA nanobody has a very high affinity for the tag and is small enough to allow for high performance in high-resolution microscopy. The crystal structure of the ALFA nanobody in complex with the tag led to a modified version of the ALFA nanobody that can release the tag via competitive elution with free ALFA peptide. Our results showed that this system outperforms several commercially available systems in protein purification and high-resolution microscopy.
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| 8. |
- Martínez-Carranza, Markel, et al.
(författare)
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Structure and pH stability of botulinum neurotoxin X in complex with NTNH
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are the most potent toxins known to man and are also used to treat an increasing number of medical disorders. They target the neuromuscular junction and inhibit synaptic vesicle exocytosis in motor neurons, thereby causing paralysis. The molecular architecture of BoNTs comprises the receptor-binding domain, translocation domain, and zinc dependent protease domain. BoNTs are naturally co-expressed with a non-toxic non-hemagglutinin partner (NTNH) with which they form the minimal progenitor toxin complex to resist the low pH and proteases in the intestine, before they cross the intestinal barrier in the host. The full-length structures of BoNT/A, BoNT/B and BoNT/E have been determined and the structures of minimal progenitor toxin complexes of BoNT/A and BoNT/E are also available.We have recently identified and characterized a new botulinum neurotoxin serotype, BoNT/X. It shares the lowest sequence identity with other BoNTs and is not recognized by antisera against known BoNTs. BoNT/X cleaves its substrates at a novel site and is the only BoNT that also cleaves other non-canonical substrates. The only structural information currently available for this novel toxin is the structure of its protease domain (light chain).We have determined the structure of the 300 kDa BoNT/X-NTNH complex at 3.12 Å resolution using single-particle cryo-electron microscopy. This structure together with the pH stability analysis of the complex provides the molecular basis to understand the toxin’s interactions with its protective partner and also the evolutionary relationships between BoNT serotypes.
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| 9. |
- Martínez-Carranza, Markel, 1992-, et al.
(författare)
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Synaptotagmin Binding to Botulinum Neurotoxins
- 2020
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Ingår i: Biochemistry. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0006-2960 .- 1520-4995. ; 59:4, s. 491-498
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are exceptionally toxic proteins that cause paralysis but are also extensively used as treatment for various medical conditions. Most BoNTs bind two receptors on neuronal cells, namely, a ganglioside and a protein receptor. Differences in the sequence between the protein receptors from different species can impact the binding affinity and toxicity of the BoNTs. Here we have investigated how BoNT/B, /DC, and /G, all three toxins that utilize synaptotagmin I and II (Syt-I and Syt-II, respectively) as their protein receptors, bind to Syt-I and -II of mouse/rat, bovine, and human origin by isothermal titration calorimetry analysis. BoNT/G had the highest affinity for human Syt-I, and BoNT/DC had the highest affinity for bovine Syt-II. As expected, BoNT/B, /DC, and /G showed very low levels of binding to human Syt-II. Furthermore, we carried out saturation transfer difference (STD) and STD-TOCSY NMR experiments that revealed the region of the Syt peptide in direct contact with BoNT/G, which demonstrate that BoNT/G recognizes the Syt peptide in a model similar to that in the established BoNT/B-Syt-II complex. Our analyses also revealed that regions outside the Syt peptide’s toxin-binding region are important for the helicity of the peptide and, therefore, the binding affinity.
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| 10. |
- Notari, Luigi, et al.
(författare)
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Cotranslational Folding of a Pentarepeat beta-Helix Protein
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Molecular Biology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-2836 .- 1089-8638. ; 430:24, s. 5196-5206
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It is becoming increasingly clear that many proteins start to fold cotranslationally before the entire polypeptide chain has been synthesized on the ribosome. One class of proteins that a priori would seem particularly prone to cotranslational folding is repeat proteins, that is, proteins that are built from an array of nearly identical sequence repeats. However, while the folding of repeat proteins has been studied extensively in vitro with purified proteins, only a handful of studies have addressed the issue of cotranslational folding of repeat proteins. Here, we have determined the structure and studied the cotranslational folding of a beta-helix pentarepeat protein from the human pathogen Clostridium botulinum a homolog of the fluoroquinolone resistance protein MfpA-using an assay in which the SecM translational arrest peptide serves as a force sensor to detect folding events. We find that cotranslational folding of a segment corresponding to the first four of the eight beta-helix coils in the protein produces enough force to release ribosome stalling and that folding starts when this unit is similar to 35 residues away from the P-site, near the distal end of the ribosome exit tunnel. An additional folding transition is seen when the whole PENT moiety emerges from the exit tunnel. The early cotranslational formation of a folded unit may be important to avoid misfolding events in vivo and may reflect the minimal size of a stable beta-helix since it is structurally homologous to the smallest known beta-helix protein, a four-coil protein that is stable in solution.
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