Pathogenic members of the flavivirus family, including West Nile Virus (WNV) and Dengue Virus (DV), are growing global threats for which there are no specific treatments. The two-component flaviviral enzyme NS2B-NS3 cleaves the viral polyprotein precursor within the host cell, a process that is required for viral replication. Here, we report the crystal structure of WNV NS2B-NS3pro both in a substrate-free form and in complex with the trypsin inhibitor aprotinin/BPTI. We show that aprotinin binds in a substrate-mimetic fashion in which the productive conformation of the protease is fully formed, providing evidence for an ''induced fit'' mechanism of catalysis and allowing us to rationalize the distinct substrate specificities of WNV and DV proteases. We also show that the NS2B cofactor of WNV can adopt two very distinct conformations and that this is likely to be a general feature of flaviviral proteases, providing further opportunities for regulation. Finally, by comparing the flaviviral proteases with the more distantly related Hepatitis C virus, we provide insights into the evolution of the Flaviviridae fold. Our work should expedite the design of protease inhibitors to treat a range of flaviviral infections.Keywords: protein structure/folding; conformational changes; enzymes; active sites; viral proteases; crystallography; enzyme inhibitors; mechanism-enzymes; protein structures-new Supplemental material: see www.proteinscience.org Flaviviruses, such as the closely related West Nile (WNV) and Dengue (DV) viruses, are members of a larger family called the Flaviviridae (Rice 1996; Burke and Monath 2001), which include the more distantly related hepaciviruses (e.g., Hepatitis C Virus [HCV]) and pestiviruses (e.g., Bovine virus diarrhea). WNV, DV, and HCV are recognized as major health threats that affect millions of people worldwide, with no specific countermeasures to treat them. WNV is transmitted to animals, including humans, by mosquito bites. It is encoded by a singlestrand, positive-sense, 11-kb RNA genome, which serves as mRNA for synthesis of the polyprotein precursor and as a template for genome replication in the host cell. The genome encodes three structural proteins found in the mature virion (C, prM, and E) and seven ''nonstructural'' (i.e., not part of the virion architecture) proteins (NS1, NS2A, NS2B, NS3, NS4A, NS4B, and NS5) ( Abbreviations: NS, nonstructural; NS3pro, NS3 protease domain; WNV, West Nile Virus; DV, Dengue Virus; HCV, Hepatitis C Virus; JEV, Japanese Encephalitis Virus; KV, Kunjin Virus; YFV, Yellow Fever Virus; TM, transmembrane (helix); RSMD, root mean square deviation; NSLS, Brookhaven National Synchrotron Light Source; ALS, Berkeley Advanced Light Source; MAD, multiwavelength anomalous dispersion; DTT, dithiothreitol.Article published online ahead of print. Article and publication date are at

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Glucose transporters are required to bring glucose into cells, where it is an essential energy source and precursor in protein and lipid synthesis. These transporters are involved in important common diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Here, we report the crystal structure of the Staphylococcus epidermidis glucose/H + symporter in an inward-facing conformation at 3.2-Å resolution. The Staphylococcus epidermidis glucose/H + symporter is homologous to human glucose transporters, is very specific and has high avidity for glucose, and is inhibited by the human glucose transport inhibitors cytochalasin B, phloretin, and forskolin. On the basis of the crystal structure in conjunction with mutagenesis and functional studies, we propose a mechanism for glucose/H + symport and discuss the symport mechanism versus facilitated diffusion.major facilitator superfamily | membrane protein | GLUT | sugar transporter | solute-carrier 2A

The three-dimensional structure of the complex of 1-deoxynojirimycin with glucoamylase II-(471) from Aspergillus awamori var. X100 has been determined to 2.4-A resolution. The model includes residues corresponding to residues 1-471 of glucoamylase I from Aspergillus niger, two molecules of bound 1-deoxynojirimycin and 605 sites for water molecules. The crystallographic R factor from refinement is 0.119, and the root-mean-squared deviation in bond distances is 0.012 A. The inhibitor complex confirms the location of the active site in the packing void of the alpha/alpha-barrel as proposed by Aleshin et al. [Aleshin, A., Golubev, A., Firsov, L., & Honzatko, R. B. (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 19291-19298]. One inhibitor molecule is associated with strong electron density and represents the principal site of interaction of 1-deoxynojirimycin with the enzyme. The other 1-deoxynojirimycin molecule is associated with weak electron density and therefore, probably represents a binding site of low affinity. Interactions of 1-deoxynojirimycin with the enzyme at its principal site involve Arg 45, Asp 55, Arg 305, and carbonyl 177. In addition, a water molecule (water 500) hydrogen bonds to Glu 400 and the 6-hydroxyl of 1-deoxynojirimycin and is at an approximate distance of 3.3 A from the "anomeric" carbon of the inhibitor. The structural arrangement of functional groups near the inhibitor molecule suggests that Glu 179 is a catalytic acid, Glu 400 a catalytic base, and water 500 the attacking nucleophile in the hydrolysis of maltooligosaccharides. The relevance of the X-ray work to proposed mechanisms of enzymatic hydrolysis of oligosaccharides is discussed.

Poxviruses encode immuno-modulatory proteins capable of subverting host defenses. The poxvirus vaccinia expresses a small 14-kDa protein, N1L, that is critical for virulence. We report the crystal structure of N1L, which reveals an unexpected but striking resemblance to host apoptotic regulators of the B cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) family. Although N1L lacks detectable Bcl-2 homology (BH) motifs at the sequence level, we show that N1L binds with high affinity to the BH3 peptides of pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins in vitro, consistent with a role for N1L in modulating host antiviral defenses.

Crystal structures at pH 4 of complexes of glucoamylase from Aspergillus awamori var. X100 with the pseudotetrasaccharides D-gluco-dihydroacarbose and acarbose have been refined to R-factors of 0.147 and 0.131 against data to 1.7- and 2.0-A resolution, respectively. The two inhibitors bind in nearly identical manners, each exhibiting a dual binding mode with respect to the location of the last sugar residues. The reduced affinity of D-gluco-dihydroacarbose (K1 = 10(-8) M) relative to acarbose (K1 = 10(-12) M) may stem in part from the weakening of hydrogen bonds of the catalytic water (Wat 500) to the enzyme. Steric contacts between the nonreducing end of D-gluco-dihydroacarbose and the catalytic water perturb Wat 500 from its site of optimal hydrogen bonding to the active site. Interactions within the active site displace the 6-hydroxymethyl group of the nonreducing end of both acarbose and D-gluco-dihydroacarbose toward a more axial position. In the case of D-gluco-dihydroacarbose the shift in the position of the 6-hydroxymethyl group occurs with a 12 degrees change in two dihedral angles of the glucopyranose ring toward a half-chair conformation. The observed conformational distortion of the first residue of D-gluco-dihydroacarbose is consistent with the generation of a glucopyranosyl cation in the transition state. Comparable distortions of stereochemistry in model compounds require approximately 2 kcal/mol, not more than 25% of the energy necessary to form the half-chair conformation in glucose. The magnitude of stereochemical distortion observed in the active site of glucoamylase suggests that favorable electrostatic interactions between the putative glucopyranosyl cation intermediate and the active site must be more important in stabilizing the transition state than mechanical distortion of the substrate.

The binding synergism of glucose and Gluc-6-P probably arises out of the mutual stabilization of a common (glucose-bound) conformation of hexokinase I. Conformational changes in the N-terminal domain in response to glucose, phosphate, and/or Gluc-6-P may influence the binding of ATP to the C-terminal domain.

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