2guv: Difference between revisions

[[Image:2guv.gif|left|200px]]<br /><applet load="2guv" size="350" color="white" frame="true" align="right" spinBox="true"  

Alpha-helical coiled coils play a crucial role in mediating specific protein-protein interactions. However, the rules and mechanisms that govern helix-helix association in coiled coils remain incompletely understood. Here we have engineered a seven heptad "Phe-zipper" protein (Phe-14) with phenylalanine residues at all 14 hydrophobic a and d positions, and generated a further variant (Phe-14(M)) in which a single core Phe residue is substituted with Met. Phe-14 forms a discrete alpha-helical pentamer in aqueous solution, while Phe-14(M) folds into a tetrameric helical structure. X-ray crystal structures reveal that in both the tetramer and the pentamer the a and d side-chains interlock in a classical knobs-into-holes packing to produce parallel coiled-coil structures enclosing large tubular cavities. However, the presence of the Met residue in the apolar interface of the tetramer markedly alters its local coiled-coil conformation and superhelical geometry. Thus, short-range interactions involving the Met side-chain serve to preferentially select for tetramer formation, either by inhibiting a nucleation step essential for pentamer folding or by abrogating an intermediate required to form the pentamer. Although specific trigger sequences have not been clearly identified in dimeric coiled coils, higher-order coiled coils, as well as other oligomeric multi-protein complexes, may require such sequences to nucleate and direct their assembly.

2GUV is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_protein Single protein] structure of sequence from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escherichia_coli Escherichia coli]. Full crystallographic information is available from [http://oca.weizmann.ac.il/oca-bin/ocashort?id=2GUV OCA].  

[[Category: Kallenbach, N R.]]

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