Iron storage proteins are essential for cellular iron homeostasis and redox balance. Ferritin proteins are the major storage units for bioavailable forms of iron. Some organisms lack ferritins, and it is not known how they store iron. Encapsulins, a class of protein-based organelles, have recently been implicated in microbial iron and redox metabolism. Here, we report the structural and mechanistic characterization of a 42 nm two-component encapsulin-based iron storage compartment from Quasibacillus thermotolerans. Using cryo-electron microscopy and x-ray crystallography, we reveal the assembly principles of a thermostable T = 4 shell topology and its catalytic ferroxidase cargo and show interactions underlying cargo-shell co-assembly. This compartment has an exceptionally large iron storage capacity storing over 23,000 iron atoms. Our results reveal a new approach for survival in diverse habitats with limited or fluctuating iron availability via an iron storage system able to store 10 to 20 times more iron than ferritin.
Cation-chloride cotransporters (CCCs) mediate the electroneutral transport of chloride, potassium, and/or sodium across the membrane. They play critical roles in regulating cell volume, controlling ion absorption and secretion across epithelia, and maintaining intracellular chloride homeostasis. These transporters are the primary targets for some of the most commonly prescribed drugs. Here, we determined the cryo-EM structure of a Na-K-Cl cotransporter NKCC1, an extensively-studied
ABCG2 is an ABC transporter that extrudes a variety of compounds from cells, and presents an obstacle in treating chemotherapy-resistant cancers. Despite recent structural insights, no anticancer drug bound to ABCG2 has been resolved, and the mechanisms of multidrug transport remain obscure. Such a gap of knowledge limits the development of novel compounds that block or evade this critical molecular pump. Here we present single-particle cryo-EM studies of ABCG2 in the apo state, and bound to the three structurally distinct chemotherapeutics. Without the binding of conformation-selective antibody fragments or inhibitors, the resting ABCG2 adopts a closed conformation. Our cryo-EM, biochemical, and functional analyses reveal the binding mode of three chemotherapeutic compounds, demonstrate how these molecules open the closed conformation of the transporter, and establish that imatinib is particularly effective in stabilizing the inward facing conformation of ABCG2. Together these studies reveal the previously unrecognized conformational cycle of ABCG2.
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