Structure of circularly permuted DsbA(Q100T99): preserved global fold and local structural adjustments.

The thiol-disulfide oxidoreductase DsbA is required for efficient formation of disulfide bonds in the Escherichia coli periplasm. The enzyme is the strongest oxidant of the family of thioredoxin-like proteins and three-dimensional structures of both oxidized and reduced forms are known. DsbA consists of a catalytic thioredoxin-like domain and a helical domain that is inserted into the thioredoxin motif. Here, the X-ray structure of a circularly permuted variant, cpDsbA(Q100T99), is reported in which the natural termini are joined by the pentapeptide linker GGGTG, leading to a continuous thioredoxin domain, and new termini that have been introduced in the helical domain by breaking the peptide bond Thr99-Gln100. cpDsbA(Q100T99) is catalytically active in vivo and in vitro. The crystal structure of oxidized cpDsbA(Q100T99), determined by molecular replacement at 2.4 A resolution, was found to be very similar to that of wild-type DsbA. The lower thermodynamic stability of cpDsbA(Q100T99) relative to DsbA is associated with small structural changes within the molecule, especially near the new termini and the circularizing linker. The active-site helices and adjacent loops display increased flexibility compared with oxidized DsbA.

FRET-based in vivo screening for protein folding and increased protein stability.

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) was used to establish a novel in vivo screening system that allows rapid detection of protein folding and protein variants with increased thermodynamic stability in the cytoplasm of Escherichia coli. The system is based on the simultaneous fusion of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) to the C terminus of a protein X of interest, and of blue-fluorescent protein (BFP) to the N terminus of protein X. Efficient FRET from BFP to GFP in the ternary fusion protein is observed in vivo only when protein X is folded and brings BFP and GFP into close proximity, while FRET is lost when BFP and GFP are far apart due to unfolding or intracellular degradation of protein X. The screening system was validated by identification of antibody V(L) intradomains with increased thermodynamic stabilities from expression libraries after random mutagenesis, bacterial cell sorting, and colony screening.

Structure of a complex of the human alpha/beta T cell receptor (TCR) HA1.7, influenza hemagglutinin peptide, and major histocompatibility complex class II molecule, HLA-DR4 (DRA*0101 and DRB1*0401): insight into TCR cross-restriction and alloreactivity.

The alpha/beta T cell receptor (TCR) HA1.7 specific for the hemagglutinin (HA) antigen peptide from influenza A virus is HLA-DR1 restricted but cross-reactive for the HA peptide presented by the allo-major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecule HLA-DR4. We report here the structure of the HA1.7/DR4/HA complex, determined by X-ray crystallography at a resolution of 2.4 A. The overall structure of this complex is very similar to the previously reported structure of the HA1.7/DR1/HA complex. Amino acid sequence differences between DR1 and DR4, which are located deep in the peptide binding groove and out of reach for direct contact by the TCR, are able to indirectly influence the antigenicity of the pMHC surface by changing the conformation of HA peptide residues at position P5 and P6. Although TCR HA1.7 is cross-reactive for HA presented by DR1 and DR4 and tolerates these conformational differences, other HA-specific TCRs are sensitive to these changes. We also find a dependence of the width of the MHC class II peptide-binding groove on the sequence of the bound peptide by comparing the HA1.7/DR4/HA complex with the structure of DR4 presenting a collagen peptide. This structural study of TCR cross-reactivity emphasizes how MHC sequence differences can affect TCR binding indirectly by moving peptide atoms.