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M Vijayan

Publications and source records attributed to M Vijayan.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

Structural basis for the carbohydrate specificities of artocarpin: variation in the length of a loop as a strategy for generating ligand specificity.

Artocarpin, a tetrameric lectin of molecular mass 65 kDa, is one of the two lectins extracted from the seeds of jackfruit. The structures of the complexes of artocarpin with mannotriose and mannopentose reported here, together with the structures of artocarpin and its complex with Me-alpha-mannose reported earlier, show that the lectin possesses a deep-seated binding site formed by three loops. The binding site can be considered as composed of two subsites; the primary site and the secondary site. Interactions at the primary site composed of two of the loops involve mainly hydrogen bonds, while those at the secondary site comprising the third loop are primarily van der Waals in nature. Mannotriose in its complex with the lectin interacts through all the three mannopyranosyl residues; mannopentose interacts with the protein using at least three of the five mannose residues. The complexes provide a structural explanation for the carbohydrate specificities of artocarpin. A detailed comparison with the sugar complexes of heltuba, the only other mannose-specific jacalin-like lectin with known three-dimensional structure in sugar-bound form, establishes the role of the sugar-binding loop constituting the secondary site, in conferring different specificities at the oligosaccharide level. This loop is four residues longer in artocarpin than in heltuba, providing an instance where variation in loop length is used as a strategy for generating carbohydrate specificity.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed2004

Structural plasticity of peanut lectin: an X-ray analysis involving variation in pH, ligand binding and crystal structure.

Until recently, it has only been possible to grow crystals of peanut lectin when complexed with sugar ligands. It is now shown that it is possible to grow peanut lectin crystals at acidic pH in the presence of oligopeptides corresponding to a loop in the lectin molecule. Crystals have also been prepared in the presence of these peptides as well as lactose. Low-pH crystal forms of the lectin-lactose complex similar to those obtained at neutral pH have also been grown. Thus, crystals of peanut lectin grown under different environmental conditions, at two pH values with and without sugar bound to the lectin, are now available. They have been used to explore the plasticity and hydration of the molecule. A detailed comparison between different structures shows that the lectin molecule is sturdy and that the effect of changes in pH, ligand binding and environment on it is small. The region involving the curved front beta-sheet and the loops around the second hydrophobic core is comparatively rigid. The back beta-sheet involved in quaternary association, which exhibits considerable variability, is substantially flexible, as is the sugar-binding region. The numbers of invariant water molecules in the hydration shell are small and they are mainly involved in metal coordination or in stabilizing unusual structural features. Small consistent movements occur in the combining site upon sugar binding, although the site is essentially preformed.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed2003

Substitutions at tyrosine 66 of Escherichia coli uracil DNA glycosylase lead to characterization of an efficient enzyme that is recalcitrant to product inhibition.

Uracil DNA glycosylase (UDG), a ubiquitous and highly specific enzyme, commences the uracil excision repair pathway. Structural studies have shown that the tyrosine in a highly conserved GQDPY water-activating loop of UDGs blocks the entry of thymine or purines into the active site pocket. To further understand the role of this tyrosine (Y66 in Escherichia coli UDG), we have overproduced and characterized Y66F, Y66H, Y66L and Y66W mutants. The complexes of the wild-type, Y66F, Y66H and Y66L UDGs with uracil DNA glycosylase inhibitor (Ugi) (a proteinaceous substrate mimic) were stable to 8 M urea. However, some dissociation of the complex involving the Y66W UDG occurred at this concentration of urea. The catalytic efficiencies (V(max) / K(m)) of the Y66L and Y66F mutants were similar to those of the wild-type UDG. However, the Y66W and Y66H mutants were approximately 7- and approximately 173-fold compromised, respectively, in their activities. Interestingly, the Y66W mutation has resulted in an enzyme which is resistant to product inhibition. Preferential utilization of a substrate enabling a long range contact between the -5 phosphate (upstream to the scissile uracil) and the enzyme, and the results of modeling studies showing that the uracil-binding cavity of Y66W is wider than those of the wild type and other mutant UDGs, suggest a weaker interaction between uracil and the Y66W mutant. Furthermore, the fluorescence spectroscopy of UDGs and their complexes with Ugi, in the presence of uracil or its analog, 5-bromouracil, suggests compromised binding of uracil in the active site pocket of the Y66W mutant. Lack of inhibition of the Y66W UDG by apyrimidinic DNA (AP-DNA) is discussed to highlight a potential additional role of Y66 in shielding the toxic effects of AP-DNA, by lowering the rate of its release for subsequent recognition by an AP endonuclease.

Amino Acid Substitution↗
PubMed2003

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of Mycobacterium smegmatis Dps.

Three crystal forms of a DNA-binding protein from stationary phase cells (Dps) of Mycobacterium smegmatis have been grown. They are hexagonal, tetragonal and cubic. The structure of the cubic form, which has one subunit in the asymmetric unit, has been solved using the molecular-replacement method. The application of the crystallographic symmetry operations on the subunit leads to eight dodecamers with 23 symmetry in the unit cell.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed2003

X-ray studies on crystalline complexes involving amino acids and peptides. XLI. Commonalities in aggregation and conformation revealed by the crystal structures of the pimelic acid complexes of L-arginine and DL-lysine.

The complexes of L-arginine and DL-lysine with pimelic acid are made up of singly positively charged zwitterionic amino acid cations and doubly negatively charged pimelate ions in a 2:1 ratio. In both structures, the amino acid molecules form twofold symmetric or centrosymmetric pairs that are stabilized by hydrogen bonds involving alpha-amino and alpha-carboxylate groups. In the L-arginine complex, these pairs form columns along the shortest cell dimension, stabilized by intermolecular hydrogen bonds involving alpha-amino and alpha-carboxylate groups. The columns are connected by hydrogen bonds and water bridges to give rise to an amino acid layer. Adjacent layers are then connected by pimelate ions. Unlike molecular ions aggregate into alternating distinct layers in the DL-lysine complex. In the amino acid layer, hydrogen-bonded lysinium dimers related by a glide plane are connected by hydrogen bonds involving alpha-amino and alpha-carboxylate groups into head-to-tail sequences. Interestingly, the aggregation pattern observed in L-arginine hemipimelate monohydrate is very similar to those in DL-arginine formate dihydrate, DL-arginine acetate monohydrate and L-arginine hemiglutarate monohydrate. Similarly, the aggregation of amino acid molecules is very similar in DL-lysine hemipimelate 0.53-hydrate, DL-lysine formate and DL-lysine hydrochloride. The complexes thus demonstrate how, in related structures, the effects of a change in composition, and sometimes even those of reversal in chirality, can be accommodated by minor adjustments in essentially the same aggregation pattern. It also transpires that the conformation of the argininium ion is the same in the four argininium complexes; the same is true about the conformation of the lysinium ion in the three lysinium complexes. This result indicates a relation between, and mutual dependence of, conformation and aggregation.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed2003

Structural basis of the carbohydrate specificities of jacalin: an X-ray and modeling study.

The structures of the complexes of tetrameric jacalin with Gal, Me-alpha-GalNAc, Me-alpha-T-antigen, GalNAcbeta1-3Gal-alpha-O-Me and Galalpha1-6Glc (mellibiose) show that the sugar-binding site of jacalin has three components: the primary site, secondary site A, and secondary site B. In these structures and in the two structures reported earlier, Gal or GalNAc occupy the primary site with the anomeric carbon pointing towards secondary site A. The alpha-substituents, when present, interact, primarily hydrophobically, with secondary site A which has variable geometry. O-H..., centered pi and C-H...pi hydrogen bonds involving this site also exist. On the other hand, beta-substitution leads to severe steric clashes. Therefore, in complexes involving beta-linked disaccharides, the reducing sugar binds at the primary site with the non-reducing end located at secondary site B. The interactions at secondary site B are primarily through water bridges. Thus, the nature of the linkage determines the mode of the association of the sugar with jacalin. The interactions observed in the crystal structures and modeling based on them provide a satisfactory qualitative explanation of the available thermodynamic data on jacalin-carbohydrate interactions. They also lead to fresh insights into the nature of the binding of glycoproteins by jacalin.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed2003

Structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis single-stranded DNA-binding protein. Variability in quaternary structure and its implications.

Single-stranded DNA-binding protein (SSB) is an essential protein necessary for the functioning of the DNA replication, repair and recombination machineries. Here we report the structure of the DNA-binding domain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis SSB (MtuSSB) in four different crystals distributed in two forms. The structure of one of the forms was solved by a combination of isomorphous replacement and anomalous scattering. This structure was used to determine the structure of the other form by molecular replacement. The polypeptide chain in the structure exhibits the oligonucleotide binding fold. The globular core of the molecule in different subunits in the two forms and those in Escherichia coli SSB (EcoSSB) and human mitochondrial SSB (HMtSSB) have similar structure, although the three loops exhibit considerable structural variation. However, the tetrameric MtuSSB has an as yet unobserved quaternary association. This quaternary structure with a unique dimeric interface lends the oligomeric protein greater stability, which may be of significance to the functioning of the protein under conditions of stress. Also, as a result of the variation in the quaternary structure the path adopted by the DNA to wrap around MtuSSB is expected to be different from that of EcoSSB.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2003

Computational analysis of multivalency in lectins: structures of garlic lectin-oligosaccharide complexes and their aggregates.

Multivalency in lectins is a phenomenon that has been discussed at considerable length. The structural basis for the role of multivalency in garlic lectin has been investigated here through computational studies. Biochemical studies have shown that the binding affinity of garlic lectin for high mannose oligosaccharides is orders of magnitude greater than that for mannose. Modeling and energy calculations clearly indicate that such increase in affinity cannot be accounted for by binding of these oligosaccharides at any of the six sites of a garlic lectin dimer. These studies also indicate that a given oligosaccharide cannot bind simultaneously to more than one binding site on a lectin dimer. The possibility of a given oligosaccharide simultaneously binding to and hence linking two or more lectin molecules was therefore explored. This study showed that trimannosides and higher oligomers can cross-link lectin dimers, amplifying the protein-oligosaccharide interactions severalfold, thus explaining the role of multivalency in enhancing affinity. A comprehensive exploration of all possible cross-links posed a formidable computational problem. Even a partial exploration involving a carefully chosen region of the conformational space clearly showed that a given dimer pair can be cross-linked not only by a single oligosaccharide molecule but also simultaneously by two oligosaccharides. The number of such possible double cross-links, including those forming interesting tetrameric structures, generally increases with the size of the oligosaccharide, correlating with the biochemical data. In addition to their immediate relevance to garlic lectin, these studies are of general interest in relation to lectin-oligosaccharide interactions.

Computational Biology↗
PubMed2003

Structural studies on MtRecA-nucleotide complexes: insights into DNA and nucleotide binding and the structural signature of NTP recognition.

RecA protein plays a crucial role in homologous recombination and repair of DNA. Central to all activities of RecA is its binding to Mg(+2)-ATP. The active form of the protein is a helical nucleoprotein filament containing the nucleotide cofactor and single-stranded DNA. The stability and structure of the helical nucleoprotein filament formed by RecA are modulated by nucleotide cofactors. Here we report crystal structures of a MtRecA-ADP complex, complexes with ATPgammaS in the presence and absence of magnesium as well as a complex with dATP and Mg+2. Comparison with the recently solved crystal structures of the apo form as well as a complex with ADP-AlF4 confirms an expansion of the P-loop region in MtRecA, compared to its homologue in Escherichia coli, correlating with the reduced affinity of MtRecA for ATP. The ligand bound structures reveal subtle variations in nucleotide conformations among different nucleotides that serve in maintaining the network of interactions crucial for nucleotide binding. The nucleotide binding site itself, however, remains relatively unchanged. The analysis also reveals that ATPgammaS rather than ADP-AlF4 is structurally a better mimic of ATP. From among the complexed structures, a definition for the two DNA-binding loops L1 and L2 has clearly emerged for the first time and provides a basis to understand DNA binding by RecA. The structural information obtained from these complexes correlates well with the extensive biochemical data on mutants available in the literature, contributing to an understanding of the role of individual residues in the nucleotide binding pocket, at the molecular level. Modeling studies on the mutants again point to the relative rigidity of the nucleotide binding site. Comparison with other NTP binding proteins reveals many commonalties in modes of binding by diverse members in the structural family, contributing to our understanding of the structural signature of NTP recognition.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗
PubMed2003

Crystal structures of Mycobacterium smegmatis RecA and its nucleotide complexes.

The crystal structures of Mycobacterium smegmatis RecA (RecA(Ms)) and its complexes with ADP, ATPgammaS, and dATP show that RecA(Ms) has an expanded binding site like that in Mycobacterium tuberculosis RecA, although there are small differences between the proteins in their modes of nucleotide binding. Nucleotide binding is invariably accompanied by the movement of Gln 196, which appears to provide the trigger for transmitting the effect of nucleotide binding to the DNA-binding loops. These observations provide a framework for exploring the known properties of the RecA proteins.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗
PubMed2002

X-ray studies on crystalline complexes involving amino acids and peptides. XL. Conformational variability, recurring and new features of aggregation, and effect of chirality in the malonic acid complexes of DL- and L-arginine.

The crystal structures of the complexes of malonic acid with DL- and L-arginine, which contain positively charged argininium ions and negatively charged semimalonate ions, further demonstrate the conformational flexibility of amino acids. A larger proportion of folded conformations than would be expected on the basis of steric consideration appears to occur in arginine, presumably because of the requirements of hydrogen bonding. The aggregation pattern in the DL-arginine complex bears varying degrees of resemblance to patterns observed in other similar structures. An antiparallel hydrogen-bonded dimeric arrangement of arginine, and to a lesser extent lysine, is a recurring motif. Similarities also exist among the structures in the interactions with this motif and its assembly into larger features of aggregation. However, the aggregation pattern observed in the L-arginine complex differs from any observed so far, which demonstrates that all the general patterns of amino-acid aggregation have not yet been elucidated. The two complexes represent cases where the reversal of the chirality of half the amino-acid molecules leads to a fundamentally different aggregation pattern.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed2002

Crystal structure of the jacalin-T-antigen complex and a comparative study of lectin-T-antigen complexes.

Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen (Galbeta1-3GalNAc), generally known as T-antigen, is expressed in more than 85% of human carcinomas. Therefore, proteins which specifically bind T-antigen have potential diagnostic value. Jacalin, a lectin from jack fruit (Artocarpus integrifolia) seeds, is a tetramer of molecular mass 66kDa. It is one of the very few proteins which are known to bind T-antigen. The crystal structure of the jacalin-T-antigen complex has been determined at 1.62A resolution. The interactions of the disaccharide at the binding site are predominantly through the GalNAc moiety, with Gal interacting only through water molecules. They include a hydrogen bond between the anomeric oxygen of GalNAc and the pi electrons of an aromatic side-chain. Several intermolecular interactions involving the bound carbohydrate contribute to the stability of the crystal structure. The present structure, along with that of the Me-alpha-Gal complex, provides a reasonable qualitative explanation for the known affinities of jacalin to different carbohydrate ligands and a plausible model of the binding of the lectin to T-antigen O-linked to seryl or threonyl residues. Including the present one, the structures of five lectin-T-antigen complexes are available. GalNAc occupies the primary binding site in three of them, while Gal occupies the site in two. The choice appears to be related to the ability of the lectin to bind sialylated sugars. In either case, most of the lectin-disaccharide interactions are at the primary binding site. The conformation of T-antigen in the five complexes is nearly the same.

Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate↗
PubMed2002

X-ray studies on crystalline complexes involving amino acids and peptides. XXXIX. Crystal structures of malonic acid complexes of DL- and L-histidine. Preservation of aggregation pattern on reversal of chirality.

The malonic acid complexes of DL- and L-histidine are made up of zwitterionic positively charged histidinium ions and semimalonate (hydrogen malonate) ions. They crystallise in space groups P2(1)/n and P2(1), respectively, with nearly the same unit-cell parameters. The molecules aggregate in the two complexes in a remarkably similar manner. The two sets of crystallographically independent molecules are related by a pseudo-glide plane. This pseudo-symmetry is almost exact except in the case of the alpha-carboxylate group and, to some extent, the alpha-C and the alpha-N atoms. Preservation of the aggregation pattern to such an extent on the reversal of chirality of half the amino-acid molecules is observed for the first time in amino-acid complexes. This is achieved at the cost of considerable conformational strain in one of the two histidinium ions in the L-histidine complex.

Crystallography, X-Ray↗
PubMed2002

Domain closure and action of uracil DNA glycosylase (UDG): structures of new crystal forms containing the Escherichia coli enzyme and a comparative study of the known structures involving UDG.

The structures of a new crystal form of free Escherichia coli uracil DNA glycosylase (UDG), containing four molecules in the asymmetric unit, and two forms of its complex with the proteinaceous inhibitor Ugi, containing two and four crystallographically independent complexes, have been determined. A comparison of these structures and the already known crystal structures containing UDG shows that the enzyme can be considered to be made up of two independently moving structural entities or domains. A detailed study of free and DNA-bound human enzyme strengthens this conclusion. The domains close upon binding to uracil-containing DNA, whereas they do not appear to do so upon binding to Ugi. The comparative study also shows that the mobility of the molecule involves the rigid-body movement of the domains superposed on flexibility within domains.

Crystallography, X-Ray↗
PubMed2002

Effect of stabilizing additives on the structure and hydration of proteins: a study involving monoclinic lysozyme.

In pursuance of a long-range programme on the hydration, mobility and action of proteins, the structural basis of the stabilizing effect of sugars and polyols is being investigated. With two crystallographically independent molecules with slightly different packing environments in the crystal, monoclinic lysozyme constitutes an ideal system for exploring the problem. The differences in the structure and hydration of the two molecules provide a framework for examining the changes caused by stabilizing additives. Monoclinic crystals were grown under native conditions and also in the presence of 10% sucrose, 15% trehalose, 10% trehalose, 10% sorbitol and 5% glycerol. The crystal structures were refined at resolutions ranging from 1.8 to 2.1 A. The average B values, and hence the mobility of the structure, are lower in the presence of additives than in the native crystals. However, a comparison of the structures indicates that the effect of the additives on the structure and the hydration shell around the protein molecule is considerably less than that caused by differences in packing. It is also less than that caused by the replacement of NaNO(3) by NaCl as the precipitant in the crystallization experiments. This result is not in conformity with the commonly held belief that additives exert their stabilizing effect through the reorganization of the hydration shell, at least as far as the ordered water molecules are concerned.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Structures of human oxy- and deoxyhaemoglobin at different levels of humidity: variability in the T state.

High-salt crystals of human oxy- and deoxyhaemoglobin have been studied at different levels of environmental humidity and solvent content. The structure of the oxy form remains relatively unchanged at all levels. The deoxy form, however, undergoes a water-mediated transformation when the relative humidity around the crystals is reduced below 93%. The space group is maintained during the transformation, but the unit-cell volume nearly doubles, with two tetrameric molecules in the asymmetric unit of the low-humidity form compared with one in the native crystals. Interestingly, the haem geometry in the low-humidity form is closer to that in the oxy form than to that in the native deoxy form. The quaternary structure of one of the tetramers moves slightly towards that in the oxy form, while that in the other is more different from the oxy form than that in the high-salt native deoxy form. Thus, it would appear that, as in the case of the liganded form, the deoxy form of haemoglobin can also access an ensemble of related T states.

Crystallography, X-Ray↗
PubMed2002

Crystal structures of artocarpin, a Moraceae lectin with mannose specificity, and its complex with methyl-alpha-D-mannose: implications to the generation of carbohydrate specificity.

The seeds of jack fruit (Artocarpus integrifolia) contain two tetrameric lectins, jacalin and artocarpin. Jacalin was the first lectin found to exhibit the beta-prism I fold, which is characteristic of the Moraceae plant lectin family. Jacalin contains two polypeptide chains produced by a post-translational proteolysis which has been shown to be crucial for generating its specificity for galactose. Artocarpin is a single chain protein with considerable sequence similarity with jacalin. It, however, exhibits many properties different from those of jacalin. In particular, it is specific to mannose. The structures of two crystal forms, form I and form II, of the native lectin have been determined at 2.4 and 2.5 A resolution, respectively. The structure of the lectin complexed with methyl-alpha-mannose, has also been determined at 2.9 A resolution. The structure is similar to jacalin, although differences exist in details. The crystal structures and detailed modelling studies indicate that the following differences between the carbohydrate binding sites of artocarpin and jacalin are responsible for the difference in the specificities of the two lectins. Firstly, artocarpin does not contain, unlike jacalin, an N terminus generated by post-translational proteolysis. Secondly, there is no aromatic residue in the binding site of artocarpin whereas there are four in that of jacalin. A comparison with similar lectins of known structures or sequences, suggests that, in general, stacking interactions with aromatic residues are important for the binding of galactose while such interactions are usually absent in the carbohydrate binding sites of mannose-specific lectins with the beta-prism I fold.

Amino Acid Sequence↗