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W G Hol

Publications and source records attributed to W G Hol.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Synergistic effects of substrate-induced conformational changes in phosphoglycerate kinase activation.

Phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK), a key enzyme in glycolysis, catalyses the transfer of a phosphoryl-group from 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate to ADP to form 3-phosphoglycerate and ATP. Despite extensive kinetic and structural investigations over more than two decades, the conformation assumed by this enzyme during catalysis remained unknown. Here we present the 2.8 A crystal structure of a ternary complex of PGK from Trypanosoma brucei, the causative agent of sleeping sickness. This structure determination relied on a procedure in which fragments containing less than 10% of the scattering mass were successively positioned in the unit cell to obtain phases. The PGK ternary complex exhibits a dramatic closing of the large cleft between the two domains seen in all previous studies, thereby bringing the two ligands, 3-phosphoglycerate and ADP into close proximity. Our results demonstrate that PGK is a hinge-bending enzyme, reveal a novel mechanism in which substrate-induced effects combine synergistically to induce major conformational changes and, to our knowledge, afford the first observation of the PGK active site in a catalytic conformation.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗
PubMed1996

Nitrate binding to Limulus polyphemus subunit type II hemocyanin and its functional implications.

The horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, employs hemocyanin as an oxygen carrier in its hemolymph. This hemocyanin displays cooperative oxygen binding and heterotropic allosteric regulation by protons, chloride ions and divalent cations. Here, we report the crystal structure of Limulus polyphemus subunit type II hemocyanin with a nitrate ion bound in the interface of its first and second domains. Interestingly, the nitrate-binding site coincides with the binding site for the allosteric effector chloride. Oxygen-binding data indeed indicate that nitrate, like chloride, reduces the oxygen affinity of this hemocyanin. The observed binding of two distinct anions to a single site suggests that several other anions may also bind at this site. This opens the intriguing possibility that bicarbonate, which is structurally similar to nitrate and closely linked to respiration, can act as an allosteric effector that lowers the oxygen affinity. Such an effect could be another factor in the repertoire of allosteric regulators of this hemocyanin; however, the physiological implications will be a challenge to decipher, since there exists a complex interplay of effects between bicarbonate, chloride, pH and divalent cations.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

High-resolution structure of the diphtheria toxin repressor complexed with cobalt and manganese reveals an SH3-like third domain and suggests a possible role of phosphate as co-corepressor.

The crystal structure of diphtheria toxin repressor (DtxR) in complex with the corepressor Co2+ has been determined at 2.0 A resolution and in complex with Mn2+ at 2.2 A resolution. The structure of the flexible third domain could be determined at this high resolution. It appears to contain five antiparallel strands exhibiting a fold very similar to the SH3 domain. A superposition of 46 equivalent C alpha atoms of DtxR and alpha-spectrin SH3 resulted in an rms deviation of 3.0 A. The sequence identity is only 7%. This third domain of DtxR appears to have no interactions with the DNA binding domain nor with the metal binding domain of the repressor. Yet, flexibility in the region between the second and the third domain allows in principle significant conformational changes such as might occur upon DNA binding. The two metal binding sites in the second domain have been unraveled in considerable detail. Metal binding site 1 was well occupied in both the cobalt and manganese structures and showed a surprising sulfate ion as ligand. The sulfate was proven beyond doubt by the high peak at its position in a selenate versus sulfate difference Fourier. The presence of the intriguing sulfate ion at such a crucial position near the metal corepressor suggests the possibility that under physiological conditions phosphate may act as a "co-corepressor" for this class of metal-regulated DNA binding proteins in Corynebacteria, Mycobacteria, and related organisms. The second metal binding site is significantly different in these two DtxR structures. In the 2.0 A cobalt structure, the site is not occupied by a metal ion. In the 2.2 A manganese structure the site is well occupied, at approximately the same position as observed previously in cadmium DtxR. The ligands are Glu105, His106, the carbonyl oxygen of Cys102, and a water molecule. The reasons for differential occupancy of this site in different structures are intriguing and require further investigations.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Structure of the native cysteine-sulfenic acid redox center of enterococcal NADH peroxidase refined at 2.8 A resolution.

In order to obtain the crystal structure of the flavoprotein NADH peroxidase with its native Cys42-sulfenic acid redox center, a strategy combining reduced exposure of crystals to ambient oxygen and data collection at -160 degrees C was applied. The structure of the native enzyme to 2.8 A resolution is described; these results conclusively establish the existence of the Cys42-sulfenic acid as the functional non-flavin redox center of the peroxidase and provide the first structure for any naturally occurring protein-sulfenic acid. The Cys42-sulfenic acid atoms C alpha-C beta-S gamma-O roughly define a planar arrangement which is stacked parallel to the si face of the FAD isoalloxazine and positions the sulfenyl oxygen atom only 3.3 A from FAD-C4A. His10-N epsilon 2 contributes a hydrogen bond to the sulfenic acid oxygen, at a distance of 3.2 A. Although one oxygen atom (OX1) of the non-native Cys42-sulfonic acid derivative identified in the earlier wild-type peroxidase structure was taken to represent the native Cys42-sulfenic acid oxygen [Stehle, T., Ahmed, S. A., Claiborne, A., & Schulz, G. E. (1991) J. Mol. Biol. 221, 1325-1344], this structure shows that the sulfenic acid oxygen does not occupy this position, nor is it hydrogen-bonded to Cys42-N as was OX1. Comparison of the native Cys42-sulfenic acid structure with that of two-electron reduced glutathione reductase provides an insight into the sulfenic acid FAD charge-transfer interaction observed with both wild-type and His10 mutant peroxidases. A model of the E.NADH intermediate recently observed in stopped-flow analyses of the enzyme [Crane, E. J., III, Parsonage, D., Poole, L. B., & Claiborne, A. (1995) Biochemistry 34, 14114-14124] has also been generated to assist in analyzing the chemical mechanism of sulfenic acid reduction.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Crystal structure of a new heat-labile enterotoxin, LT-IIb.

BACKGROUND: Cholera toxin from Vibrio cholerae and the type I heat-labile enterotoxins (LT-Is) from Escherichia coli are oligomeric proteins with AB5 structures. The type II heat-labile enterotoxins (LT-IIs) from E. coli are structurally similar to, but antigenically distinct from, the type I enterotoxins. The A subunits of type I and type II enterotoxins are homologous and activate adenylate cyclase by ADP-ribosylation of a G protein subunit, G8 alpha. However, the B subunits of type I and type II enterotoxins differ dramatically in amino acid sequence and ganglioside-binding specificity. The structure of LT-IIb was determined both as a prototype for other LT-IIs and to provide additional insights into structure/function relationships among members of the heat-labile enterotoxin family and the superfamily of ADP-ribosylating protein toxins. RESULTS: The 2.25 A crystal structure of the LT-IIb holotoxin has been determined. The structure reveals striking similarities with LT-I in both the catalytic A subunit and the ganglioside-binding B subunits. The latter form a pentamer which has a central pore with a diameter of 10-18 A. Despite their similarities, the relative orientation between the A polypeptide and the B pentamer differs by 24 degrees in LT-I and LT-IIb. A common hydrophobic ring was observed at the A-B5 interface which may be important in the cholera toxin family for assembly of the AB5 heterohexamer. A cluster of arginine residues at the surface of the A subunit of LT-I and cholera toxin, possibly involved in assembly, is also present in LT-IIb. The ganglioside receptor binding sites are localized, as suggested by mutagenesis, and are in a position roughly similar to the sites where LT-I binds its receptor. CONCLUSIONS: The structure of LT-IIb provides insight into the sequence diversity and structural similarity of the AB5 toxin family. New knowledge has been gained regarding the assembly of AB5 toxins and their active-site architecture.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Stabilization of human triosephosphate isomerase by improvement of the stability of individual alpha-helices in dimeric as well as monomeric forms of the protein.

Human triosephosphate isomerase (hTIM) is a dimeric enzyme of identical subunits, adopting the alpha/beta-barrel fold. In a previous work, a monomeric mutant of hTIM was engineered in which Met14 and Arg98, two interface residues, were changed to glutamine. Analysis of equilibrium denaturation of this monomeric mutant, named M14Q/R98Q, revealed that its conformational stability, 2.5kcal/mol, is low as compared to the stability of dimeric hTIM (19.3 kcal/mol). The fact that this value is also lower than the conformational stabilities usually found for monomeric proteins suggests that the hTIM monomers are thermodynamically unstable. In the present work, we attempted to stabilize the M14Q/R98Q mutant by introducing stabilizing mutations in alpha-helices of the protein. Five mutations were proposed, designed to increase alpha-helix propensity by introducing alanines at solvent-exposed sites (Q179A, K193A), to introduce favorable interactions with helix dipoles (Q179D, S105D), or to reduce the conformational entropy of unfolding by introducing proline residues at the "N-cap" position of alpha-helices (A215P). Three replacements (Q179D, K193A, and A215P) were found to increase the stability of the native dimeric hTIM and the monomeric M14Q/R98Q. These results suggest that the monomeric hTIM mutant can be stabilized to a considerable extent by following well-established rules for protein stabilization. A comparison of the stabilizing effect performed by the mutations on the dimeric hTIM and the monomeric M14Q/R98Q allowed us to reinforce a model of equilibrium denaturation proposed for both proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Three hTIM mutants that provide new insights on why TIM is a dimer.

Human triosephosphate isomerase (hTIM), a dimeric enzyme, was altered by site-directed mutagenesis in order to determine whether it can be dissociated into monomers. Two hTIM mutants were produced, in which a glutamine residue was substituted for either Met14 or Arg98, both of which are interface residuces. These substitutions strongly interfere with TIM subunit association, since these mutant TIMs appear to exist as compact monomers in dynamic equilibrium with dimers. In kinetic studies, the M14Q mutant exhibits significant catalytic activity, while the R98Q enzyme is inactive. The M14Q enzyme is nevertheless much less active than unmutated hTIM. Moreover, its specific activity is concentration dependent, suggesting a dissociation process in which the monomers are inactive. In order to determine the conformational stability of the wild-type and mutant hTIMs, unfolding of all three enzymes was monitored by circular dichroism and tryptophan fluorescence spectroscopy. In each case, protein stability is concentration dependent, and the unfolding reaction is compatible with a two-state model involving the native dimer and unfolded monomers. The conformational stability of hTIM, as estimated according to this model, is 19.3 (+/-0.4) kcal/mol. The M14Q and R98Q replacements significantly reduce enzyme stability, since the free energies of unfolding are 13.8 and 13.5 (+/- 0.3) kcal/mol respectively, for the mutants, A third mutant, in which the M14Q and R98Q replacements are cumulated, behaves like a monomer. The stability of this mutant is not concentration-dependent, and the unfolding reaction is assigned to a transition from a folded monomer to an unfolded monomer. The conformational stability of this double mutant is estimated 2.5 (+/-0.1) kcal/mol. All these data combined suggest that TIM monomers are thermodynamically unstable. This might explain why TIM occurs only as a dimer.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Protein-protein interactions in the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex: dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase complexed with the binding domain of dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase.

BACKGROUND: The ubiquitous pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex is built around an octahedral or icosahedral core of dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase (E2) chains, to which multiple copies of pyruvate decarboxylase (E1) and dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (E3) bind tightly but non-covalently. E2 is a flexible multidomain protein that mediates interactions with E1 and E3 through a remarkably small binding domain (E2BD). RESULTS: In the Bacillus stearothermophilus complex, the E2 core is an icosahedral assembly of 60 E2 chains. The crystal structure of the E3 dimer (101 kDa) complexed with E2BD (4 kDa) has been solved to 2.6 A resolution. Interactions between E3 and E2BD are dominated by an electrostatic zipper formed by Arg135 and Arg139 in the N-terminal helix of E2BD and Asp344 and Glu431 of one of the monomers of E3. E2BD interacts with both E3 monomers, but the binding site is located close to the twofold axis. Thus, in agreement with earlier biochemical results, it is impossible for two molecules of E2BD to bind simultaneously to one E3 dimer. CONCLUSIONS: Combining this new structure for the E3-E2BD complex with previously determined structures of the E2 catalytic domain and the E2 lipoyl domain creates a model of the E2 core showing how the lipoyl domain can move between the active sites of E2 and E3 in the multienzyme complex.

Acetyltransferases↗
PubMed1996

Structure of the heat shock protein chaperonin-10 of Mycobacterium leprae.

Members of the chaperonin-10 (cpn10) protein family, also called heat shock protein 10 and in Escherichia coli GroES, play an important role in ensuring the proper folding of many proteins. The crystal structure of the Mycobacterium leprae cpn10 (Ml-cpn10) oligomer has been elucidated at a resolution of 3.5 angstroms. The architecture of the Ml-cpn10 heptamer resembles a dome with an oculus in its roof. The inner surface of the dome is hydrophilic and highly charged. A flexible region, known to interact with cpn60, extends from the lower rim of the dome. With the structure of a cpn10 heptamer now revealed and the structure of the E. coli GroEL previously known, models of cpn10:cpn60 and GroEL:GroES complexes are proposed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Tumor marker disaccharide D-Gal-beta 1, 3-GalNAc complexed to heat-labile enterotoxin from Escherichia coli.

Heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) is part of the cholera toxin (CT) family and consists of a catalytic A subunit and a B pentamer that serves to recognize the oligosaccharide part of the GM1 ganglioside receptor. We report here the crystal structure of heat-labile enterotoxin in complex with the disaccharide portion of the Thomsen-Friedenreich (T-antigen) tumor marker. The toxin:carbohydrate complex is determined to 2.13 A resolution, yielding an R-factor of 18.5%. The T-antigen disaccharide, D-Gal-beta 1,3-GalNAc-Ser/Thr, is present in more than 85% of human carcinomas and monitoring its autoimmune response is used for the early detection of tumors. Insight into the molecular recognition of this tumor antigen by sugar binding proteins can benefit the development of a diagnostic tool for human carcinomas as well as a T-antigen directed anticancer drug delivery system.

Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate↗
PubMed1996

Protein engineering studies of A-chain loop 47-56 of Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin point to a prominent role of this loop for cytotoxicity.

Heat-labile enterotoxin (LT), produced by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, is a close relative of cholera toxin (CT). These two toxins share approximately 80% sequence identity, and consists of one 240-residue A chain and five 103-residue B subunits. The B pentamer is responsible for GM1 receptor recognition, whereas the A subunit carries out an ADP-ribosylation of an arginine residue in the G protein, Gs alpha, in the epithelial target cell. This paper explores the importance of specific amino acids in loop 47-56 of the A subunit. This loop was observed to be highly mobile in the inactive R7K mutant of the A subunit. The position of the loop in wild-type protein is such that it might require considerable reorganization during substrate binding and is likely to have a crucial role in substrate binding. Five single-site substitutions have been made in the LT-A subunit 47-56 loop to investigate its possible role in the enzymatic activity and toxicity of LT and CT. The wild-type residues Thr-50 and Val-53 were replaced either by a glycine or by a proline. The glycine substitutions were intended to increase the mobility of this active-site loop, and the proline substitutions were intended to decrease the mobility of this same loop by restricting the accessible conformational space. Under the hypothesis that mobility of the loop is important for catalysis, the glycine-substitution mutants T50G and V53G would be expected to exhibit activity equal to or greater than that of the wild-type A subunit, while the proline substitution mutants T50P and T53P would be less active. Cytotoxicity assays showed, however, that all four of these mutants were considerably less active than wild-type LT. These results lend support for assignment of a prominent role to loop 47-56 in catalysis by LT and CT.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Mutants of the Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin with reduced ADP-ribosylation activity or no activity retain the immunogenic properties of the native holotoxin.

The Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) is a potent inducer of mucosal immune responses. In a previous study (L. DeHaan, W. R. Verweij, M. Holtrop, E. Agsteribbe, and J. Wilschut, Vaccine 14:620-626, 1996), we have shown that efficient induction of an LTB-specific mucosal immune response by LT requires the presence of the LTA chain, suggesting a possible role of the enzymatic activity of LTA in the induction of these responses. In the present study, we generated LT mutants with altered ADP-ribosylation activities and evaluated their immunogenicity upon intranasal administration to mice. The results demonstrate that the mucosal immunogenicity of LT is not dependent on its ADP-ribosylation activity.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗
PubMed1995

Crystal structure of glycosomal glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Leishmania mexicana: implications for structure-based drug design and a new position for the inorganic phosphate binding site.

The structure of glycosomal glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) from the trypanosomatid parasite Leishmania mexicana has been determined by X-ray crystallography. The protein crystallizes in space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) with unit cell parameters a = 99.0 A, b = 126.5 A, and c = 138.9 A. There is one 156,000 Da protein tetramer per asymmetric unit. The model of the protein with bound NAD+s and phosphates has been refined against 86% complete data from 10.0 to 2.8 A to a crystallographic Rfactor of 0.198. Density modification by noncrystallographic symmetry averaging was used during model building. The final model of the L. mexicana GAPDH tetramer shows small deviations of less than 0.5 degrees from ideal 222 molecular symmetry. The structure of L. mexicana GAPDH is very similar to that of glycosomal GAPDH from the related trypanosomatid Trypanosoma brucei. A significant structural difference between L. mexicana GAPDH and most previously determined GAPDH structures occurs in a loop region located at the active site. This unusual loop conformation in L. mexicana GAPDH occludes the inorganic phosphate binding site which has been seen in previous GAPDH structures. A new inorganic phosphate position is observed in the L. mexicana GAPDH structure. Model building studies indicate that this new anion binding site is well situated for nucleophilic attack of the inorganic phosphate on the thioester intermediate in the GAPDH-catalyzed reaction. Since crystals of L. mexicana GAPDH can be grown reproducibly and diffract much better than those of T. brucei GAPDH, L. mexicana GAPDH will be used as a basis for structure-based drug design targeted against trypanosomatid GAPDHs.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Three-dimensional structure of the human 'protective protein': structure of the precursor form suggests a complex activation mechanism.

BACKGROUND: The human 'protective protein' (HPP) forms a multi-enzyme complex with beta-galactosidase and neuraminidase in the lysosomes, protecting these two glycosidases from degradation. In humans, deficiency of HPP leads to the lysosomal storage disease galactosialidosis. Proteolytic cleavage of the precursor form of HPP involves removal of a 2 kDa excision peptide and results in a carboxypeptidase activity. The physiological relevance of this activity is, as yet, unknown. RESULTS: The crystal structure of the 108 kDa dimer of the precursor HPP has been elucidated by making extensive use of twofold density averaging. The monomer consists of a 'core' domain and a 'cap' domain. Comparison with the distantly related wheat serine carboxypeptidase dimer shows that the two subunits in the HPP dimer differ by 15 degrees in mutual orientation. Also, the helical subdomain forming part of the cap domains is very different. In addition, the HPP precursor cap domain contains a 'maturation' subdomain of 49 residues which fills the active-site cleft. Merely removing the 'excision' peptide located in the maturation subdomain does not render the catalytic triad solvent accessible. CONCLUSIONS: The activation mechanism of HPP is unique among proteases with known structure. It differs from the serine proteases in that the active site is performed in the zymogen, but is blocked by a maturation subdomain. In contrast to the zinc metalloproteases and aspartic proteases, the chain segment physically rendering the catalytic triad solvent inaccessible in HPP is not cleaved off to form the active enzyme. The activation must be a multi-step process involving removal of the excision peptide and major conformational changes of the maturation subdomain, whereas the conformation of the enzymatic machinery is probably almost, or completely, unaffected.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Synthesis and structure-activity relationships of analogs of 2'-deoxy-2'-(3-methoxybenzamido)adenosine, a selective inhibitor of trypanosomal glycosomal glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase.

In continuation of a project aimed at the structure-based design of drugs against sleeping sickness, analogs of 2'-deoxy-2'-(3-methoxybenzamido)adenosine (1) were synthesized and tested to establish structure-activity relationships for inhibiting glycosomal glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). Compound 1 was recently designed using the NAD:GAPDH complexes of the human enzyme and that of Trypanosoma brucei, the causative agent of sleeping sickness. In an effort to exploit an extra hydrophobic domain due to Val 207 of the parasite enzyme, several new 2'-amido-2'-deoxyadenosines were synthesized. Some of them displayed an interesting improvement in inhibitory activity compared to 1. Carbocyclic or acyclic analogs showed marked loss of activity, illustrating the importance of the typical (C-2'-endo) puckering of the ribose moiety. We also describe the synthesis of a pair of compounds that combine the beneficial effects of a 2- and 8-substituted adenine moiety on potency with the beneficial effect of a 2'-amido moiety on selectivity. Unfortunately, in both cases, IC50 values demonstrate the incompatibility of these combined modifications. Finally, introduction of a hydrophobic 5'-amido group on 5'-deoxyadenosine enhances the inhibition of the protozoan enzyme significantly, although the gain in selectivity is mediocre.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

The Arg7Lys mutant of heat-labile enterotoxin exhibits great flexibility of active site loop 47-56 of the A subunit.

The heat-labile enterotoxin from Escherichia coli (LT) is a member of the cholera toxin family. These and other members of the larger class of AB5 bacterial toxins act through catalyzing the ADP-ribosylation of various intracellular targets including Gs alpha. The A subunit is responsible for this covalent modification, while the B pentamer is involved in receptor recognition. We report here the crystal structure of an inactive single-site mutant of LT in which arginine 7 of the A subunit has been replaced by a lysine residue. The final model contains 103 residues for each of the five B subunits, 175 residues for the A1 subunit, and 41 residues for the A2 subunit. In this Arg7Lys structure the active site cleft within the A subunit is wider by approximately 1 A than is seen in the wild-type LT. Furthermore, a loop near the active site consisting of residues 47-56 is disordered in the Arg7Lys structure, even though the new lysine residue at position 7 assumes a position which virtually coincides with that of Arg7 in the wild-type structure. The displacement of residues 47-56 as seen in the mutant structure is proposed to be necessary for allowing NAD access to the active site of the wild-type LT. On the basis of the differences observed between the wild-type and Arg7Lys structures, we propose a model for a coordinated sequence of conformational changes required for full activation of LT upon reduction of disulfide bridge 187-199 and cleavage of the peptide loop between the two cysteines in the A subunit.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Bacterial Toxins↗
PubMed1995

Surprising leads for a cholera toxin receptor-binding antagonist: crystallographic studies of CTB mutants.

BACKGROUND: Because agents which inhibit the receptor binding of cholera toxin constitute possible lead compounds for the structure-based design of anti-cholera drugs, detailed investigation of the toxin's receptor-binding site is of key importance. The substitution Gly-->Asp at residue 33 of the cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) has been reported to abolish receptor-binding ability. The substitution Arg35-->Asp has been reported to result in deficient assembly of the AB5 holotoxin. The molecular basis for these effects was not readily apparent from analysis of an earlier crystal structure of the wild-type toxin B pentamer in a complex with the receptor pentasaccharide. RESULTS: We now report at a resolution of 2.0 A the crystal structure of a recombinant CTB pentamer containing the Gly33-->Asp substitution. The observed conformation of the Asp33 side chain suggests that the loss in binding affinity is due to a steric clash with atoms C9 and O9 of the sialic acid moiety of the receptor, ganglioside GM1. The crystal structure also reveals an unexpected mode of pentamer-pentamer interaction in which pairs of toxin pentamers are joined by reciprocal insertion of the imidazole ring of His13 from one subunit of each pentamer into one of the receptor-binding sites on the other. The surface of interaction at each pentamer-pentamer interface is on the order of 500 A2, and primarily involves contact of residues 10-14 with the receptor-binding site on the associated pentamer. This same pentamer-pentamer interaction is also present in the crystal structure of a second recombinant CTB containing an Arg-->Asp substitution at residue 35, which we have determined at 2.1 A resolution. CONCLUSIONS: These structures suggest that analogs to all or part of the pentapeptide Ala-Glu-Tyr-His-Asn, corresponding to residues 10-14 of CTB, may constitute lead compounds for the design of binding-site inhibitors.

Amino Acid Sequence↗