ALBERT

Description: The actin cross-linking domain (ACD) is an actin-specific toxin produced by several pathogens, including life-threatening spp. of Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio vulnificus, and Aeromonas hydrophila. Actin cross-linking by ACD is thought to lead to slow cytoskeleton failure owing to a gradual sequestration of actin in the form of nonfunctional oligomers. Here, we found that ACD converted cytoplasmic actin into highly toxic oligomers that potently "poisoned" the ability of major actin assembly proteins, formins, to sustain actin polymerization. Thus, ACD can target the most abundant cellular protein by using actin oligomers as secondary toxins to efficiently subvert cellular functions of actin while functioning at very low doses.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4648357/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4648357/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Heisler, David B -- Kudryashova, Elena -- Grinevich, Dmitry O -- Suarez, Cristian -- Winkelman, Jonathan D -- Birukov, Konstantin G -- Kotha, Sainath R -- Parinandi, Narasimham L -- Vavylonis, Dimitrios -- Kovar, David R -- Kudryashov, Dmitri S -- R01 GM079265/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM098430/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM114666/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 HL076259/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jul 31;349(6247):535-9. doi: 10.1126/science.aab4090.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. The Ohio State Biochemistry Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. ; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. kudryashov.1@osu.edu kudryashova.1@osu.edu. ; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. ; Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. ; Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care and Lung Injury Center, Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. ; Lipid Signaling and Lipidomics Laboratory, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. ; Department of Physics, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA. ; Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. ; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. The Ohio State Biochemistry Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. kudryashov.1@osu.edu kudryashova.1@osu.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26228148" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) relay diverse extracellular signals into cells by catalyzing nucleotide release from heterotrimeric G proteins, but the mechanism underlying this quintessential molecular signaling event has remained unclear. Here we use atomic-level simulations to elucidate the nucleotide-release mechanism. We find that the G protein alpha subunit Ras and helical domains-previously observed to separate widely upon receptor binding to expose the nucleotide-binding site-separate spontaneously and frequently even in the absence of a receptor. Domain separation is necessary but not sufficient for rapid nucleotide release. Rather, receptors catalyze nucleotide release by favoring an internal structural rearrangement of the Ras domain that weakens its nucleotide affinity. We use double electron-electron resonance spectroscopy and protein engineering to confirm predictions of our computationally determined mechanism.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Dror, Ron O -- Mildorf, Thomas J -- Hilger, Daniel -- Manglik, Aashish -- Borhani, David W -- Arlow, Daniel H -- Philippsen, Ansgar -- Villanueva, Nicolas -- Yang, Zhongyu -- Lerch, Michael T -- Hubbell, Wayne L -- Kobilka, Brian K -- Sunahara, Roger K -- Shaw, David E -- P30EY00331/EY/NEI NIH HHS/ -- R01EY05216/EY/NEI NIH HHS/ -- R01GM083118/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- T32 GM008294/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jun 19;348(6241):1361-5. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa5264.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉D. E. Shaw Research, New York, NY 10036, USA. ron.dror@deshawresearch.com david.shaw@deshawresearch.com. ; D. E. Shaw Research, New York, NY 10036, USA. ; Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. ; Department of Pharmacology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. ; Jules Stein Eye Institute and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. ; D. E. Shaw Research, New York, NY 10036, USA. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. ron.dror@deshawresearch.com david.shaw@deshawresearch.com.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26089515" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) protein kinase is a master growth regulator that responds to multiple environmental cues. Amino acids stimulate, in a Rag-, Ragulator-, and vacuolar adenosine triphosphatase-dependent fashion, the translocation of mTORC1 to the lysosomal surface, where it interacts with its activator Rheb. Here, we identify SLC38A9, an uncharacterized protein with sequence similarity to amino acid transporters, as a lysosomal transmembrane protein that interacts with the Rag guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases) and Ragulator in an amino acid-sensitive fashion. SLC38A9 transports arginine with a high Michaelis constant, and loss of SLC38A9 represses mTORC1 activation by amino acids, particularly arginine. Overexpression of SLC38A9 or just its Ragulator-binding domain makes mTORC1 signaling insensitive to amino acid starvation but not to Rag activity. Thus, SLC38A9 functions upstream of the Rag GTPases and is an excellent candidate for being an arginine sensor for the mTORC1 pathway.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4295826/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4295826/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Wang, Shuyu -- Tsun, Zhi-Yang -- Wolfson, Rachel L -- Shen, Kuang -- Wyant, Gregory A -- Plovanich, Molly E -- Yuan, Elizabeth D -- Jones, Tony D -- Chantranupong, Lynne -- Comb, William -- Wang, Tim -- Bar-Peled, Liron -- Zoncu, Roberto -- Straub, Christoph -- Kim, Choah -- Park, Jiwon -- Sabatini, Bernardo L -- Sabatini, David M -- AI47389/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- F30 CA180754/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- F31 AG044064/AG/NIA NIH HHS/ -- F31 CA180271/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- R01 CA103866/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- R37 AI047389/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- T32 GM007287/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- T32 GM007753/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jan 9;347(6218):188-94. doi: 10.1126/science.1257132. Epub 2015 Jan 7.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Biology, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Broad Institute of Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 7 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. ; Harvard Medical School, 260 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. ; Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. ; Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Biology, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Broad Institute of Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 7 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. sabatini@wi.mit.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25567906" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Voltage-gated sodium (Nav) channels propagate action potentials in excitable cells. Accordingly, Nav channels are therapeutic targets for many cardiovascular and neurological disorders. Selective inhibitors have been challenging to design because the nine mammalian Nav channel isoforms share high sequence identity and remain recalcitrant to high-resolution structural studies. Targeting the human Nav1.7 channel involved in pain perception, we present a protein-engineering strategy that has allowed us to determine crystal structures of a novel receptor site in complex with isoform-selective antagonists. GX-936 and related inhibitors bind to the activated state of voltage-sensor domain IV (VSD4), where their anionic aryl sulfonamide warhead engages the fourth arginine gating charge on the S4 helix. By opposing VSD4 deactivation, these compounds inhibit Nav1.7 through a voltage-sensor trapping mechanism, likely by stabilizing inactivated states of the channel. Residues from the S2 and S3 helices are key determinants of isoform selectivity, and bound phospholipids implicate the membrane as a modulator of channel function and pharmacology. Our results help to elucidate the molecular basis of voltage sensing and establish structural blueprints to design selective Nav channel antagonists.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Ahuja, Shivani -- Mukund, Susmith -- Deng, Lunbin -- Khakh, Kuldip -- Chang, Elaine -- Ho, Hoangdung -- Shriver, Stephanie -- Young, Clint -- Lin, Sophia -- Johnson, J P Jr -- Wu, Ping -- Li, Jun -- Coons, Mary -- Tam, Christine -- Brillantes, Bobby -- Sampang, Honorio -- Mortara, Kyle -- Bowman, Krista K -- Clark, Kevin R -- Estevez, Alberto -- Xie, Zhiwei -- Verschoof, Henry -- Grimwood, Michael -- Dehnhardt, Christoph -- Andrez, Jean-Christophe -- Focken, Thilo -- Sutherlin, Daniel P -- Safina, Brian S -- Starovasnik, Melissa A -- Ortwine, Daniel F -- Franke, Yvonne -- Cohen, Charles J -- Hackos, David H -- Koth, Christopher M -- Payandeh, Jian -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Dec 18;350(6267):aac5464. doi: 10.1126/science.aac5464.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Structural Biology, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. ; Department of Neuroscience, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. ; Department of Biology, Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Burnaby, British Columbia, V5G 4W8, Canada. ; Department of Discovery Chemistry, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. ; Department of Biochemical and Cellular Pharmacology, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. ; Department of Chemistry, Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Burnaby, British Columbia, V5G 4W8, Canada. ; Department of Neuroscience, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. hackos.david@gene.com koth.christopher@gene.com payandeh.jian@gene.com. ; Department of Structural Biology, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. hackos.david@gene.com koth.christopher@gene.com payandeh.jian@gene.com.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26680203" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Polycomb and Trithorax group proteins encode the epigenetic memory of cellular positional identity by establishing inheritable domains of repressive and active chromatin within the Hox clusters. Here we demonstrate that the CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) functions to insulate these adjacent yet antagonistic chromatin domains during embryonic stem cell differentiation into cervical motor neurons. Deletion of CTCF binding sites within the Hox clusters results in the expansion of active chromatin into the repressive domain. CTCF functions as an insulator by organizing Hox clusters into spatially disjoint domains. Ablation of CTCF binding disrupts topological boundaries such that caudal Hox genes leave the repressed domain and become subject to transcriptional activation. Hence, CTCF is required to insulate facultative heterochromatin from impinging euchromatin to produce discrete positional identities.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4428148/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4428148/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Narendra, Varun -- Rocha, Pedro P -- An, Disi -- Raviram, Ramya -- Skok, Jane A -- Mazzoni, Esteban O -- Reinberg, Danny -- GM-64844/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- GM086852/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- GM112192/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- P30 CA016087/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM086852/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM112192/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 HD079682/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/ -- R01HD079682/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/ -- R37-37120/PHS HHS/ -- T32 GM007238/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Feb 27;347(6225):1017-21. doi: 10.1126/science.1262088.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA. ; Department of Pathology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA. ; Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA. ; Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA. danny.reinberg@nyumc.org eom204@nyu.edu. ; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA. danny.reinberg@nyumc.org eom204@nyu.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25722416" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Anion exchanger 1 (AE1), also known as band 3 or SLC4A1, plays a key role in the removal of carbon dioxide from tissues by facilitating the exchange of chloride and bicarbonate across the plasma membrane of erythrocytes. An isoform of AE1 is also present in the kidney. Specific mutations in human AE1 cause several types of hereditary hemolytic anemias and/or distal renal tubular acidosis. Here we report the crystal structure of the band 3 anion exchanger domain (AE1(CTD)) at 3.5 angstroms. The structure is locked in an outward-facing open conformation by an inhibitor. Comparing this structure with a substrate-bound structure of the uracil transporter UraA in an inward-facing conformation allowed us to identify the anion-binding position in the AE1(CTD), and to propose a possible transport mechanism that could explain why selected mutations lead to disease.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Arakawa, Takatoshi -- Kobayashi-Yurugi, Takami -- Alguel, Yilmaz -- Iwanari, Hiroko -- Hatae, Hinako -- Iwata, Momi -- Abe, Yoshito -- Hino, Tomoya -- Ikeda-Suno, Chiyo -- Kuma, Hiroyuki -- Kang, Dongchon -- Murata, Takeshi -- Hamakubo, Takao -- Cameron, Alexander D -- Kobayashi, Takuya -- Hamasaki, Naotaka -- Iwata, So -- BB/D019516/1/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom -- BB/G023425/1/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom -- WT089809/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Nov 6;350(6261):680-4. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa4335.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO) Human Receptor Crystallography Project, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. JST, Research Acceleration Program, Membrane Protein Crystallography Project, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. Department of Cell Biology, Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. ; Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO) Human Receptor Crystallography Project, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. Department of Cell Biology, Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. ; Division of Molecular Biosciences, Membrane Protein Crystallography group, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK. Membrane Protein Laboratory, Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Chilton, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK. Research Complex at Harwell Rutherford, Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0FA, UK. ; Department of Quantitative Biology and Medicine, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8904, Japan. ; Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagasaki International University, 2825-7 Huis Ten Bosch-cho, Sasebo, Nagasaki 859-3298, Japan. ; Division of Molecular Biosciences, Membrane Protein Crystallography group, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK. Membrane Protein Laboratory, Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Chilton, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK. ; Department of Protein Structure, Function and Design, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan. ; Department of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan. ; Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO) Human Receptor Crystallography Project, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. Department of Cell Biology, Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Chiba University, 1-33 Yayoi-cho, Inage, Chiba 263-8522, Japan. ; Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO) Human Receptor Crystallography Project, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. Division of Molecular Biosciences, Membrane Protein Crystallography group, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK. Membrane Protein Laboratory, Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Chilton, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK. Research Complex at Harwell Rutherford, Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0FA, UK. School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK. ; Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO) Human Receptor Crystallography Project, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. JST, Research Acceleration Program, Membrane Protein Crystallography Project, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. Department of Cell Biology, Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. Platform for Drug Discovery, Informatics, and Structural Life Science, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. ; Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO) Human Receptor Crystallography Project, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. JST, Research Acceleration Program, Membrane Protein Crystallography Project, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. Department of Cell Biology, Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. Division of Molecular Biosciences, Membrane Protein Crystallography group, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK. Membrane Protein Laboratory, Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Chilton, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK. Research Complex at Harwell Rutherford, Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0FA, UK. Platform for Drug Discovery, Informatics, and Structural Life Science, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26542571" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The nuclear pore complex (NPC) constitutes the sole gateway for bidirectional nucleocytoplasmic transport. We present the reconstitution and interdisciplinary analyses of the ~425-kilodalton inner ring complex (IRC), which forms the central transport channel and diffusion barrier of the NPC, revealing its interaction network and equimolar stoichiometry. The Nsp1*Nup49*Nup57 channel nucleoporin heterotrimer (CNT) attaches to the IRC solely through the adaptor nucleoporin Nic96. The CNT*Nic96 structure reveals that Nic96 functions as an assembly sensor that recognizes the three-dimensional architecture of the CNT, thereby mediating the incorporation of a defined CNT state into the NPC. We propose that the IRC adopts a relatively rigid scaffold that recruits the CNT to primarily form the diffusion barrier of the NPC, rather than enabling channel dilation.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Stuwe, Tobias -- Bley, Christopher J -- Thierbach, Karsten -- Petrovic, Stefan -- Schilbach, Sandra -- Mayo, Daniel J -- Perriches, Thibaud -- Rundlet, Emily J -- Jeon, Young E -- Collins, Leslie N -- Huber, Ferdinand M -- Lin, Daniel H -- Paduch, Marcin -- Koide, Akiko -- Lu, Vincent -- Fischer, Jessica -- Hurt, Ed -- Koide, Shohei -- Kossiakoff, Anthony A -- Hoelz, Andre -- ACB-12002/PHS HHS/ -- AGM-12006/PHS HHS/ -- P30-CA014599/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- R01-GM090324/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01-GM111461/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- U01-GM094588/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- U54-GM087519/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Oct 2;350(6256):56-64. doi: 10.1126/science.aac9176. Epub 2015 Aug 27.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉California Institute of Technology, Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. ; Biochemistry Center of Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. ; California Institute of Technology, Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. hoelz@caltech.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26316600" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Chemokines are small proteins that function as immune modulators through activation of chemokine G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Several viruses also encode chemokines and chemokine receptors to subvert the host immune response. How protein ligands activate GPCRs remains unknown. We report the crystal structure at 2.9 angstrom resolution of the human cytomegalovirus GPCR US28 in complex with the chemokine domain of human CX3CL1 (fractalkine). The globular body of CX3CL1 is perched on top of the US28 extracellular vestibule, whereas its amino terminus projects into the central core of US28. The transmembrane helices of US28 adopt an active-state-like conformation. Atomic-level simulations suggest that the agonist-independent activity of US28 may be due to an amino acid network evolved in the viral GPCR to destabilize the receptor's inactive state.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4445376/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4445376/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Burg, John S -- Ingram, Jessica R -- Venkatakrishnan, A J -- Jude, Kevin M -- Dukkipati, Abhiram -- Feinberg, Evan N -- Angelini, Alessandro -- Waghray, Deepa -- Dror, Ron O -- Ploegh, Hidde L -- Garcia, K Christopher -- DP1 GM106409/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM097015/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Mar 6;347(6226):1113-7. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa5026.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. ; Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. ; Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. ; Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. ; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. kcgarcia@stanford.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25745166" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Although recent studies have provided a wealth of information about archaeal biology, nothing is known about the molecular basis of DNA segregation in these organisms. Here, we unveil the machinery and assembly mechanism of the archaeal Sulfolobus pNOB8 partition system. This system uses three proteins: ParA; an atypical ParB adaptor; and a centromere-binding component, AspA. AspA utilizes a spreading mechanism to create a DNA superhelix onto which ParB assembles. This supercomplex links to the ParA motor, which contains a bacteria-like Walker motif. The C domain of ParB harbors structural similarity to CenpA, which dictates eukaryotic segregation. Thus, this archaeal system combines bacteria-like and eukarya-like components, which suggests the possible conservation of DNA segregation principles across the three domains of life.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Schumacher, Maria A -- Tonthat, Nam K -- Lee, Jeehyun -- Rodriguez-Castaneda, Fernando A -- Chinnam, Naga Babu -- Kalliomaa-Sanford, Anne K -- Ng, Irene W -- Barge, Madhuri T -- Shaw, Porsha L R -- Barilla, Daniela -- BB/F012004/1/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom -- GM074815/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01-GM105404/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Sep 4;349(6252):1120-4. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa9046.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Biochemistry, Duke University School of Medicine, 243 Nanaline H. Duke, Box 3711, Durham, NC 27710, USA. maria.schumacher@duke.edu daniela.barilla@york.ac.uk. ; Department of Biochemistry, Duke University School of Medicine, 243 Nanaline H. Duke, Box 3711, Durham, NC 27710, USA. ; Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK. ; Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK. maria.schumacher@duke.edu daniela.barilla@york.ac.uk.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26339031" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: NADPH/NADP(+) (the reduced form of NADP(+)/nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) homeostasis is critical for countering oxidative stress in cells. Nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase (TH), a membrane enzyme present in both bacteria and mitochondria, couples the proton motive force to the generation of NADPH. We present the 2.8 A crystal structure of the transmembrane proton channel domain of TH from Thermus thermophilus and the 6.9 A crystal structure of the entire enzyme (holo-TH). The membrane domain crystallized as a symmetric dimer, with each protomer containing a putative proton channel. The holo-TH is a highly asymmetric dimer with the NADP(H)-binding domain (dIII) in two different orientations. This unusual arrangement suggests a catalytic mechanism in which the two copies of dIII alternatively function in proton translocation and hydride transfer.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4479213/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4479213/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Leung, Josephine H -- Schurig-Briccio, Lici A -- Yamaguchi, Mutsuo -- Moeller, Arne -- Speir, Jeffrey A -- Gennis, Robert B -- Stout, Charles D -- 1R01GM103838-01A1/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- 5R01GM061545/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- GM073197/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- GM095600/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- P41 GM103310/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- P41GM103310/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM061545/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM095600/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM103838/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jan 9;347(6218):178-81. doi: 10.1126/science.1260451.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. ; National Resource for Automated Molecular Microscopy, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. ; Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. dave@scripps.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25574024" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉