4lgs
Ricin A chain bound to camelid nanobody (VHH4)
Structural highlights
FunctionRICI_RICCO Ricin is highly toxic to animal cells and to a lesser extent to plant cells. The A chain acts as a glycosidase that removes a specific adenine residue from an exposed loop of the 28S rRNA (A4324 in mammals), leading to rRNA breakage. As this loop is involved in elongation factor binding, modified ribosomes are catalytically inactive and unable to support protein synthesis. The A chain can inactivate a few thousand ribosomes per minute, faster than the cell can make new ones. Therefore a single A chain molecule can kill an animal cell. The B chain binds to beta-D-galactopyranoside moieties on cell surface glycoproteins and glycolipids and facilitates the entry into the cell of the A chain; B chains are also responsible for cell agglutination (Lectin activity). Publication Abstract from PubMedRicin is a select agent toxin and a member of the RNA N-glycosidase family of medically important plant and bacterial ribosome-inactivating proteins. In this study, we determined X-ray crystal structures of the enzymatic subunit of ricin (RTA) in complex with the antigen binding domains (VHH) of five unique single-chain monoclonal antibodies that differ in their respective toxin-neutralizing activities. None of the VHHs made direct contact with residues involved in RTA's RNA N-glycosidase activity or induced notable allosteric changes in the toxin's subunit. Rather, the five VHHs had overlapping structural epitopes on the surface of the toxin and differed in the degree to which they made contact with prominent structural elements in two folding domains of the RTA. In general, RTA interactions were influenced most by the VHH CDR3 (CDR, complementarity-determining region) elements, with the most potent neutralizing antibody having the shortest and most conformationally constrained CDR3. These structures provide unique insights into the mechanisms underlying toxin neutralization and provide critically important information required for the rational design of ricin toxin subunit vaccines. Crystal Structures of Ricin Toxin's Enzymatic Subunit (RTA) in Complex with Neutralizing and Non-Neutralizing Single-Chain Antibodies.,Rudolph MJ, Vance DJ, Cheung J, Franklin MC, Burshteyn F, Cassidy MS, Gary EN, Herrera C, Shoemaker CB, Mantis NJ J Mol Biol. 2014 Jun 4. pii: S0022-2836(14)00276-9. doi:, 10.1016/j.jmb.2014.05.026. PMID:24907552[1] From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. See AlsoReferences
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