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The heterotrimeric laminins are a defining component of all basement membranes and self-assemble into a cell-associated network. The three short arms of the cross-shaped laminin molecule form the network nodes, with a strict requirement for one α, one β and one γ arm. The globular domain at the end of the long arm binds to cellular receptors, including integrins, α-dystroglycan, heparan sulfates and sulfated glycolipids. Collateral anchorage of the laminin network is provided by the proteoglycans perlecan and agrin. A second network is then formed by type IV collagen, which interacts with the laminin network through the heparan sulfate chains of perlecan and agrin and additional linkage by nidogen. This maturation of basement membranes becomes essential at later stages of embryo development.

Collagenases of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family play major roles in morphogenesis, tissue repair, and human diseases, but how they recognize and cleave the collagen triple helix is not fully understood. Here, we report temperature-dependent binding of a catalytically inactive MMP-1 mutant (E200A) to collagen through the cooperative action of its catalytic and hemopexin domains. Contact between the two molecules was mapped by screening the Collagen Toolkit peptide library and by hydrogen/deuterium exchange. The crystal structure of MMP-1(E200A) bound to a triplehelical collagen peptide revealed extensive interactions of the 115-Å-long triple helix with both MMP-1 domains. An exosite in the hemopexin domain, which binds the leucine 10 residues C-terminal to the scissile bond, is critical for collagenolysis and represents a unique target for inhibitor development. The scissile bond is not correctly positioned for hydrolysis in the crystallized complex. A productive binding mode is readily modeled, without altering the MMP-1 structure or the exosite interactions, by axial rotation of the collagen homotrimer. Interdomain flexing of the enzyme and a localized excursion of the collagen chain closest to the active site, facilitated by thermal loosening of the substrate, may lead to the first transition state of collagenolysis. extracellular matrix | X-ray crystallography | protease T he interstitial collagens I, II, and III are the major structural proteins in connective tissues such as skin, bone, cartilage, tendon, and blood vessels (1). They consist of three α chains with repeating Gly-X-Y triplets (X and Y are often proline and hydroxyproline, respectively) that intertwine each other to form a triple helix of ∼300 nm in length (2). Interstitial collagens are resistant to most proteolytic enzymes, but vertebrate collagenases cleave them at a single site approximately three-quarters of the way from the N terminus of the triple helix, thus initiating collagenolysis (3). Owing to this unique activity, collagenases play important roles in embryo development, morphogenesis, tissue remodeling, wound healing, and human diseases, such as arthritis, cancer, and atherosclerosis (4, 5).Matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP-1) is a typical vertebrate collagenase (3). It consists of an N-terminal catalytic (Cat) domain containing an active-site zinc ion and a C-terminal hemopexin (Hpx) domain comprised of a four-bladed β-propeller, which are connected by a linker region (6, 7). Although the Cat domain can cleave a number of noncollagenous proteins including heat-denatured collagen (gelatin), its activity on native triplehelical collagen is negligible. The combination of the Cat and Hpx domains is required for MMP-1 to be able to degrade native collagen, and the same is true for all other collagenolytic MMPs, namely MMP-2, MMP-8, MMP-13, and MMP-14 (3). How collagenases interact with collagen and how the Hpx domain endows these enzymes with collagenolytic activity is not clearly understood. Another enigma of collagenolysis bec...

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Propofol is the most important intravenous general anesthetic in current clinical use. It acts by potentiating GABAA receptors, but where it binds to this receptor is not known and has been a matter of some controversy. We have synthesized a novel propofol analogue photolabeling reagent that has a biological activity very similar to that of propofol. We confirmed that this reagent labeled known propofol binding sites in human serum albumin which have been identified using X-ray crystallography. Using a combination of the protiated label and a deuterated version, and mammalian receptors labeled in intact membranes, we have identified a novel binding site for propofol in GABAA receptors consisting of both β3 homopentamers and α1β3 heteropentamers. The binding site is located within the β subunit, at the interface between the transmembrane domains and the extracellular domain, and lies close to known determinants of anesthetic sensitivity in transmembrane segments TM1 and TM2.

Laminin G-like (LG) modules in the extracellular matrix glycoproteins laminin, perlecan, and agrin mediate the binding to heparin and the cell surface receptor alpha-dystroglycan (alpha-DG). These interactions are crucial to basement membrane assembly, as well as muscle and nerve cell function. The crystal structure of the laminin alpha 2 chain LG5 module reveals a 14-stranded beta sandwich. A calcium ion is bound to one edge of the sandwich by conserved acidic residues and is surrounded by residues implicated in heparin and alpha-DG binding. A calcium-coordinated sulfate ion is suggested to mimic the binding of anionic oligosaccharides. The structure demonstrates a conserved function of the LG module in calcium-dependent lectin-like alpha-DG binding.

Receptor tyrosine kinases of the Axl family are activated by the vitamin K-dependent protein Gas6. Axl signalling plays important roles in cancer, spermatogenesis, immunity, and platelet function. The crystal structure at 3.3 A resolution of a minimal human Gas6/Axl complex reveals an assembly of 2:2 stoichiometry, in which the two immunoglobulin-like domains of the Axl ectodomain are crosslinked by the first laminin G-like domain of Gas6, with no direct Axl/Axl or Gas6/Gas6 contacts. There are two distinct Gas6/Axl contacts of very different size, both featuring interactions between edge beta-strands. Structure-based mutagenesis, protein binding assays and receptor activation experiments demonstrate that both the major and minor Gas6 binding sites are required for productive transmembrane signalling. Gas6-mediated Axl dimerisation is likely to occur in two steps, with a high-affinity 1:1 Gas6/Axl complex forming first. Only the minor Gas6 binding site is highly conserved in the other Axl family receptors, Sky/Tyro3 and Mer. Specificity at the major contact is suggested to result from the segregation of charged and apolar residues to opposite faces of the newly formed beta-sheet.