Continuous-labeling HDX-MS on spike 2P. HDX-MS offers an ideal complement to the ever-growing number of structural studies on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, providing information on its conformational ensemble and dynamics. HDX-MS monitors the time course of the exchange of amide hydrogens on the peptide

Skeletal muscle voltage-gated Na + channel (Na V 1.4) activity is subject to calmodulin (CaM) mediated Ca 2+ -dependent inactivation; no such inactivation is observed in the cardiac Na + channel (Na V 1.5). Taken together, the crystal structures of the Na V 1.4 C-terminal domain relevant complexes and thermodynamic binding data presented here provide a rationale for this isoform difference. A Ca 2+ -dependent CaM N-lobe binding site previously identified in Na V 1.5 is not present in Na V 1.4 allowing the N-lobe to signal other regions of the Na V 1.4 channel. Consistent with this mechanism, removing this binding site in Na V 1.5 unveils robust Ca 2+ -dependent inactivation in the previously insensitive isoform. These findings suggest that Ca 2+ -dependent inactivation is effected by CaM’s N-lobe binding outside the Na V C-terminal while CaM’s C-lobe remains bound to the Na V C-terminal. As the N-lobe binding motif of Na V 1.5 is a mutational hotspot for inherited arrhythmias, the contributions of mutation-induced changes in CDI to arrhythmia generation is an intriguing possibility.

To address the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and prepare for future coronavirus outbreaks, understanding the protective potential of epitopes conserved across SARS-CoV-2 variants and coronavirus lineages is essential. We describe a highly conserved, conformational S2 domain epitope present only in the prefusion core of β-coronaviruses: SARS-CoV-2 S2 apex residues 980–1006 in the flexible hinge. Antibody RAY53 binds the native hinge in MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 spikes on the surface of mammalian cells and mediates antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis and cytotoxicity against SARS-CoV-2 spike in vitro. Hinge epitope mutations that ablate antibody binding compromise pseudovirus infectivity, but changes elsewhere that affect spike opening dynamics, including those found in Omicron BA.1, occlude the epitope and may evade pre-existing serum antibodies targeting the S2 core. This work defines a third class of S2 antibody while providing insights into the potency and limitations of S2 core epitope targeting.

Carboxysomes are proteinaceous organelles that encapsulate key enzymes of CO2 fixation, Rubisco and carbonic anhydrase, and are the centerpiece of the bacterial CO2 concentrating mechanism (CCM). In the CCM, actively accumulated cytosolic bicarbonate diffuses into the carboxysome and is converted to CO2 by carbonic anhydrase, producing a high CO2 concentration near Rubisco and ensuring efficient carboxylation. Self-assembly of the α-carboxysome is orchestrated by the intrinsically disordered scaffolding protein, CsoS2, which interacts with both Rubisco and carboxysomal shell proteins, but it is unknown how CsoSCA, the carbonic anhydrase, is incorporated into the α-carboxysome. Here, we present the structural basis of carbonic anhydrase encapsulation into α-carboxysomes from Halothiobacillus neapolitanus. We find that CsoSCA interacts directly with Rubisco via an intrinsically disordered N-terminal domain. A 1.98 Å single-particle cryo-electron microscopy structure of Rubisco in complex with this peptide reveals that CsoSCA binding is predominantly mediated by a network of hydrogen bonds. CsoSCAs binding site overlaps with that of CsoS2 but the two proteins utilize substantially different motifs and modes of binding, revealing a plasticity of the Rubisco binding site. Our results advance the understanding of biogenesis of carboxysomes and highlights the importance of Rubisco, not only as an enzyme, but also as a hub protein central for assembling supercomplexes.