Structural highlights
Disease[LYSC_HUMAN] Defects in LYZ are a cause of amyloidosis type 8 (AMYL8) [MIM:105200]; also known as systemic non-neuropathic amyloidosis or Ostertag-type amyloidosis. AMYL8 is a hereditary generalized amyloidosis due to deposition of apolipoprotein A1, fibrinogen and lysozyme amyloids. Viscera are particularly affected. There is no involvement of the nervous system. Clinical features include renal amyloidosis resulting in nephrotic syndrome, arterial hypertension, hepatosplenomegaly, cholestasis, petechial skin rash.[1] Function[LYSC_HUMAN] Lysozymes have primarily a bacteriolytic function; those in tissues and body fluids are associated with the monocyte-macrophage system and enhance the activity of immunoagents. Publication Abstract from PubMedHuman lysozyme is a key component of the innate immune system, and recombinant forms of the enzyme represent promising leads in the search for therapeutic agents able to treat drug-resistant infections. The wild type protein, however, fails to participate effectively in clearance of certain infections due to inherent functional limitations. For example, wild type lysozymes are subject to electrostatic sequestration and inactivation by anionic biopolymers in the infected airway. A charge engineered variant of human lysozyme has recently been shown to possess improved antibacterial activity in the presence of disease associated inhibitory molecules. Here, the 2.04 A crystal structure of this variant is presented along with an analysis that provides molecular level insights into the origins of the protein's enhanced performance. The charge engineered variant's two mutated amino acids exhibit stabilizing interactions with adjacent native residues, and from a global perspective, the mutations cause no gross structural perturbations or loss of stability. Importantly, the two substitutions dramatically expand the negative electrostatic potential that, in the wild type enzyme, is restricted to a small region near the catalytic residues. The net result is a reduction in the overall strength of the engineered enzyme's electrostatic potential field, and it appears that the specific nature of this remodeled field underlies the variant's reduced susceptibility to inhibition by anionic biopolymers. Crystal structure of a charge engineered human lysozyme having enhanced bactericidal activity.,Gill A, Scanlon TC, Osipovitch DC, Madden DR, Griswold KE PLoS One. 2011 Mar 7;6(3):e16788. PMID:21408218[2] From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. See AlsoReferences
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