Biomedical subjects

Ursula Schulze-Gahmen

Publications and source records attributed to Ursula Schulze-Gahmen.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Toward understanding the structural basis of cyclin-dependent kinase 6 specific inhibition.

Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are key players in cell cycle control, and genetic alterations of CDKs and their regulators have been linked to a variety of cancers. Hence, CDKs are obvious targets for therapeutic intervention in various proliferative diseases, including cancer. To date, drug design efforts have mostly focused on CDK2 because methods for crystallization of its inhibitor complexes have been well established. CDK4 and CDK6, however, may be at least as important as enzymes for cell cycle regulation and could provide alternative treatment options. We describe here two complex structures of human CDK6 with a very specific kinase inhibitor, PD0332991, which is based on a pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin-7-one scaffold, and with the less specific aminopurvalanol inhibitor. Analysis of the structures suggests that relatively small conformational differences between CDK2 and CDK6 in the hinge region are contributing to the inhibitor specificity by inducing changes in the inhibitor orientation that lead to sterical clashes in CDK2 but not CDK6. These complex structures provide valuable insights for the future development of CDK-specific inhibitors.

Crystallography, X-Ray↗

PubMed2005

Structure of the hypothetical Mycoplasma protein MPN555 suggests a chaperone function.

The crystal structure of the hypothetical protein MPN555 from Mycoplasma pneumoniae (gi|1673958) has been determined to a resolution of 2.8 Angstrom using anomalous diffraction data at the Se-peak wavelength. Structure determination revealed a mostly alpha-helical protein with a three-lobed shape. The three lobes or fingers delineate a central binding groove and additional grooves between lobes 1 and 3 and between lobes 2 and 3. For one of the molecules in the asymmetric unit, the central binding pocket was filled with a peptide from the uncleaved N-terminal affinity tag. The MPN555 structure has structural homology to two bacterial chaperone proteins: SurA and trigger factor from Escherichia coli. The structural data and the homology to other chaperone proteins suggests an involvement in protein folding as a molecular chaperone for MPN555.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2005

Crystal structure of a human cyclin-dependent kinase 6 complex with a flavonol inhibitor, fisetin.

Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) play a central role in cell cycle control, apoptosis, transcription, and neuronal functions. They are important targets for the design of drugs with antimitotic or antineurodegenerative effects. CDK4 and CDK6 form a subfamily among the CDKs in mammalian cells, as defined by sequence similarities. Compared to CDK2 and CDK5, structural information on CDK4 and CDK6 is sparse. We describe here the crystal structure of human CDK6 in complex with a viral cyclin and a flavonol inhibitor, fisetin. Fisetin binds to the active form of CDK6, forming hydrogen bonds with the side chains of residues in the binding pocket that undergo large conformational changes during CDK activation by cyclin binding. The 4-keto group and the 3-hydroxyl group of fisetin are hydrogen bonded with the backbone in the hinge region between the N-terminal and C-terminal kinase domain, as has been observed for many CDK inhibitors. However, CDK2 and HCK kinase in complex with other flavone inhibitors such as quercetin and flavopiridol showed a different binding mode with the inhibitor rotated by about 180 degrees. The structural information of the CDK6-fisetin complex is correlated with the binding affinities of different flavone inhibitors for CDK6. This complex structure is the first description of an inhibitor complex with a kinase from the CDK4/6 subfamily and can provide a basis for selecting and designing inhibitor compounds with higher affinities and specificities.

Binding Sites↗

PubMed2005

Structural genomics of minimal organisms and protein fold space.

The initial aim of the Berkeley Structural Genomics Center is to obtain a near-complete structural complement of two minimal organisms, closely related pathogens Mycoplasma genitalium and M. pneumoniae. The former has fewer than 500 genes and the latter fewer than 700 genes. To achieve this goal, the current protein targets have been selected starting with those predicted to be most tractable and likely to yield new structural and functional information. During the past 3 years, the semi-automated structural genomics pipeline has been set up from cloning, expression, purification, and ultimately to structural determination. The results from the pipeline substantially increased the coverage of the protein fold space of M. pneumoniae and M. genitalium. Furthermore, about 1/2 of the structures of 'unique' protein sequences revealed new and novel folds, and over 2/3 of the structures of previously annotated 'hypothetical proteins' inferred their molecular functions.

Bacterial Proteins↗

PubMed2004

Structural studies of the Nudix hydrolase DR1025 from Deinococcus radiodurans and its ligand complexes.

We have determined the crystal structure, at 1.4A, of the Nudix hydrolase DR1025 from the extremely radiation resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans. The protein forms an intertwined homodimer by exchanging N-terminal segments between chains. We have identified additional conserved elements of the Nudix fold, including the metal-binding motif, a kinked beta-strand characterized by a proline two positions upstream of the Nudix consensus sequence, and participation of the N-terminal extension in the formation of the substrate-binding pocket. Crystal structures were also solved of DR1025 crystallized in the presence of magnesium and either a GTP analog or Ap(4)A (both at 1.6A resolution). In the Ap(4)A co-crystal, the electron density indicated that the product of asymmetric hydrolysis, ATP, was bound to the enzyme. The GTP analog bound structure showed that GTP was bound almost identically as ATP. Neither nucleoside triphosphate was further cleaved.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed2003

Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of two nudix hydrolases from Deinococcus radiodurans.

Two nudix hydrolases from Deinococcus radiodurans have been purified and crystallized. Diffraction data have been collected to 1.4 and 1.9 A resolution for DR1025 and DR0079, respectively. DR1025 belongs to space group P4(1)2(1)2/P4(3)2(1)2, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 53.2, c = 122.6 A (unit-cell Volume 346 883 A(3), V(M) = 2.5 A(3) Da(-1), solvent content 50.2%). DR0079 belongs to space group C222(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 34.1, b = 157.2, c = 126.5 A (unit-cell Volume 677 308 A(3), V(M) = 2.2 A(3) Da(-1), solvent content 44.0%). The calculated cell content of DR1025 indicates the presence of one molecule in the asymmetric unit. Dynamic light scattering and gel filtration suggest it to be a dimer in solution. The space group and unit-cell parameters of DR0079 indicate the presence of two molecules per asymmetric unit. Gel filtration and NMR spectroscopy suggest it to be a monomer in solution.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2003

Crystal structure of a hypothetical protein, TM841 of Thermotoga maritima, reveals its function as a fatty acid-binding protein.

We determined the three-dimensional (3D) crystal structure of protein TM841, a protein product from a hypothetical open-reading frame in the genome of the hyperthermophile bacterium Thermotoga maritima, to 2.0 A resolution. The protein belongs to a large protein family, DegV or COG1307 of unknown function. The 35 kDa protein consists of two separate domains, with low-level structural resemblance to domains from other proteins with known 3D structures. These structural homologies, however, provided no clues for the function of TM841. But the electron density maps revealed clear density for a bound fatty-acid molecule in a pocket between the two protein domains. The structure indicates that TM841 has the molecular function of fatty-acid binding and may play a role in the cellular functions of fatty acid transport or metabolism.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2003

Crystallization of a member of the recFOR DNA repair pathway, RecO, with and without bound oligonucleotide.

RecFOR proteins are important for DNA repair by homologous recombination in bacteria. The RecO protein from Thermus thermophilus was cloned and purified, and its binding to oligonucleotides was characterized. The protein was crystallized alone and in complex with a 14-mer oligonucleotide. Both crystal forms grow under different crystallization conditions in the same space group, P3(1)21 or P3(2)21, with almost identical unit-cell parameters. Complete data sets were collected to 2.8 and 2.5 A for RecO alone and for the RecO-oligonucleotide complex, respectively. Visual comparison of the diffraction patterns between the two crystal forms and calculation of an R(merge) of 33.9% on F indicate that one of the crystal forms is indeed a complex of RecO with bound oligonucleotide.

Chromatography, Ion Exchange↗

PubMed2003

Structure-based functional inference in structural genomics.

The dramatically increasing number of new protein sequences arising from genomics and proteomics requires the need for methods to rapidly and reliably infer the molecular and cellular functions of these proteins. One such approach, structural genomics, aims to delineate the total repertoire of protein folds in nature, thereby providing three-dimensional folding patterns for all proteins and to infer molecular functions of the proteins based on the combined information of structures and sequences. The goal of obtaining protein structures on a genomic scale has motivated the development of high throughput technologies and protocols for macromolecular structure determination that have begun to produce structures at a greater rate than previously possible. These new structures have revealed many unexpected functional inferences and evolutionary relationships that were hidden at the sequence level. Here, we present samples of structures determined at Berkeley Structural Genomics Center and collaborators' laboratories to illustrate how structural information provides and complements sequence information to deduce the functional inferences of proteins with unknown molecular functions. Two of the major premises of structural genomics are to discover a complete repertoire of protein folds in nature and to find molecular functions of the proteins whose functions are not predicted from sequence comparison alone. To achieve these objectives on a genomic scale, new methods, protocols, and technologies need to be developed by multi-institutional collaborations worldwide. As part of this effort, the Protein Structure Initiative has been launched in the United States (PSI; www.nigms.nih.gov/funding/psi.html). Although infrastructure building and technology development are still the main focus of structural genomics programs, a considerable number of protein structures have already been produced, some of them coming directly out of semiautomated structure determination pipelines. The Berkeley Structural Genomics Center (BSGC) has focused on the proteins of Mycoplasma or their homologues from other organisms as its structural genomics targets because of the minimal genome size of the Mycoplasmas as well as their relevance to human and animal pathogenicity (http://www.strgen.org). Here we present several protein examples encompassing a spectrum of functional inferences obtainable from their three-dimensional structures in five situations, where the inferences are new and testable, and are not predictable from protein sequence information alone.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed2002

Structural basis for CDK6 activation by a virus-encoded cyclin.

Cyclin from herpesvirus saimiri (Vcyclin) preferentially forms complexes with cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (CDK6) from primate host cells. These complexes show higher kinase activity than host cell CDKs in complex with cellular cyclins and are resistant to cyclin-dependent inhibitory proteins (CDKIs). The crystal structure of human CDK6--Vcyclin in an active state was determined to 3.1 A resolution to better understand the structural basis of CDK6 activation by viral cyclins. The unphosphorylated CDK6 in complex with Vcyclin has many features characteristic of cyclinA-activated, phosphorylated CDK2. There are, however, differences in the conformation at the tip of the T-loop and its interactions with Vcyclin. Residues in the N-terminal extension of Vcyclin wrap around the tip of the CDK6 T-loop and form a short beta-sheet with the T-loop backbone. These interactions lead to a 20% larger buried surface in the CDK6--Vcyclin interface than in the CDK2--cyclinA complex and are probably largely responsible for the specificity of Vcyclin for CDK6 and resistance of the complex to inhibition by INK-type CDKIs.

Amino Acid Sequence↗