1ste | pdb_00001ste
STAPHYLOCOCCAL ENTEROTOXIN C2 FROM STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS
Structural highlights
Function[ENTC2_STAAU] Staphylococcal enterotoxins cause the intoxication staphylococcal food poisoning syndrome. The illness characterized by high fever, hypotension, diarrhea, shock, and in some cases death. Evolutionary Conservation Check, as determined by ConSurfDB. You may read the explanation of the method and the full data available from ConSurf. Publication Abstract from PubMedBACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin C2 (SEC2) belongs to a family of proteins, termed 'superantigens', that form complexes with class II MHC molecules enabling them to activate a substantial number of T cells. Although superantigens seem to act by a common mechanism, they vary in many of their specific interactions and biological properties. Comparison of the structure of SEC2 with those of two other superantigens--staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) and toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1)--may provide insight into their mode of action. RESULTS: The crystal structure of SEC2 has been determined at 2.0 A resolution. The overall topology of the molecule resembles that of SEB and TSST-1, and the regions corresponding to the MHC class II and T-cell receptor binding sites on SEB are quite similar in SEC2. A unique feature of SEC2 is the presence of a zinc ion located in a solvent-exposed region at the interface between the two domains of the molecule. The zinc ion is coordinated to Asp83, His118, His122 and Asp9* (from the neighbouring molecule in the crystal lattice). Atomic absorption spectrometry demonstrates that zinc is also bound to SEC2 in solution. CONCLUSIONS: SEC2 appears to be capable of binding to MHC class II molecules in much the same manner as SEB. However, structure-function studies have suggested an alternative binding mode that involves a different site on the toxin. The zinc ion of SEC2 lies within this region and thus may be important for complex formation, for example by acting as a bridge between the two molecules. Other possible roles for the metal cation, including a catalytic one, are also considered. Crystal structure of the superantigen enterotoxin C2 from Staphylococcus aureus reveals a zinc-binding site.,Papageorgiou AC, Acharya KR, Shapiro R, Passalacqua EF, Brehm RD, Tranter HS Structure. 1995 Aug 15;3(8):769-79. PMID:7582894[1] From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. References | ||||||||||||||||||
