Nerve growth factor: structure and function.

Neurotrophins are critical for the development and maintenance of the peripheral and central nervous system. These highly homologous, homodimeric growth factors control cell survival, differentiation, growth cessation, and apoptosis of sensory neurons. The biological functions of the neurotrophins are mediated through two classes of cell surface receptors, the Trk receptors and the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR). Nerve growth factor (NGF), the best characterized member of the neurotrophin family, sends its survival signals through activation of TrkA and can induce cell death by binding to p75NTR. Recent domain deletion and mutagenesis studies have identified the membrane-proximal domain of the Trks as necessary and sufficient for ligand binding. Crystal structures of this domain of TrkA, TrkB, and TrkC, and an alanine scanning analysis of this domain of TrkA and TrkC have allowed identification of the ligand-binding site. The recent crystal structure of the complex between NGF and the ligand-binding domain of TrkA defines the orientation of NGF in the signaling complex, and eludicates the structural basis for binding and specificity in the family. Further structural work on NGF-TrkA-p7SNTR complexes will be necessary to address the many remaining questions in this complex signaling system.

Ligand-binding sites in Ig-like domains of receptor tyrosine kinases.

Receptor tyrosine kinases are cell-bound, membrane-spanning receptors that transduce growth factor dependent signals to the intracellular environment. Their catalytic cytoplasmic domains share a high level of sequence similarity, but their extracellular portions usually have a highly variable, multiple-domain structure. In a growing number of cases immunoglobulin-like domains contained within the extracellular portion have been shown to contain the ligand-binding site. In recent years experimental three-dimensional structures have been determined for some of these domains, free or in complex with their ligand. Here we review current structural information on these immunoglobulin-like domains and the growth factors that bind to them, with an emphasis on the vascular endothelial growth factor, nerve growth factor, and fibroblast growth factor systems.

Solution structure of the VEGF-binding domain of Flt-1: comparison of its free and bound states.

The extracellular portion of the VEGF and PlGF receptor, Flt-1 (or VEGFR-1), consists of seven immunoglobulin-like domains. The second domain from the N terminus (Flt-1D2) is necessary and sufficient for high affinity VEGF binding. The 1.7 A resolution crystal structure of Flt-1D2 bound to VEGF revealed that this domain is a member of the I-set of the immunoglobulin superfamily, but has several unusual features including a region near the N terminus that bulges away from the domain rather than pairing with the neighboring beta-strand. Some of the residues in this region make contact with VEGF, raising the possibility that this bulge could be a consequence of VEGF binding and might not be present in the absence of ligand. Here we report the three-dimensional structure of Flt-1D2 in its uncomplexed form determined by NMR spectroscopy. A semi-automated method for NOE assignment that takes advantage of the previously solved crystal structure was used to facilitate rapid analysis of the 3D NOESY spectra. The solution structure is very similar to the previously reported VEGF-bound crystal structure; the N-terminal bulge is present, albeit in a different conformation. We also report the 2.7 A crystal structure of Flt-1D2 in complex with VEGF solved in a different crystal form that reveals yet another conformation for the N-terminal bulge region. (1)H-(15)N heteronuclear NOEs indicate this region is flexible in solution; the crystal structures show that this region is able to adopt more than one conformation even when bound to VEGF. Thus, VEGF-binding is not accompanied by significant structural change in Flt-1D2, and the unusual structural features of Flt-1D2 are an intrinsic property of this domain.

Selection and analysis of an optimized anti-VEGF antibody: crystal structure of an affinity-matured Fab in complex with antigen.

The Fab portion of a humanized antibody (Fab-12; IgG form known as rhuMAb VEGF) to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been affinity-matured through complementarity-determining region (CDR) mutation, followed by affinity selection using monovalent phage display. After stringent binding selections at 37 degrees C, with dissociation (off-rate) selection periods of several days, high affinity variants were isolated from CDR-H1, H2, and H3 libraries. Mutations were combined to obtain cumulatively tighter-binding variants. The final variant identified here, Y0317, contained six mutations from the parental antibody. In vitro cell-based assays show that four mutations yielded an improvement of about 100-fold in potency for inhibition of VEGF-dependent cell proliferation by this variant, consistent with the equilibrium binding constant determined from kinetics experiments at 37 degrees C. Using X-ray crystallography, we determined a high-resolution structure of the complex between VEGF and the affinity-matured Fab fragment. The overall features of the binding interface seen previously with wild-type are preserved, and many contact residues are maintained in precise alignment in the superimposed structures. However, locally, we see evidence for improved contacts between antibody and antigen, and two mutations result in increased van der Waals contact and improved hydrogen bonding. Site-directed mutants confirm that the most favorable improvements as judged by examination of the complex structure, in fact, have the greatest impact on free energy of binding. In general, the final antibody has improved affinity for several VEGF variants as compared with the parental antibody; however, some contact residues on VEGF differ in their contribution to the energetics of Fab binding. The results show that small changes even in a large protein-protein binding interface can have significant effects on the energetics of interaction.

Putting two and two together: crystal structure of the FGF-receptor complex.

The recently determined crystal structure of an FGF-receptor complex reveals a surprising architecture and a novel mode of receptor dimerization. The structure also elucidates the role of heparan sulfate proteoglycans in receptor activation, showing significant differences from previously proposed models.

Crystal structure of nerve growth factor in complex with the ligand-binding domain of the TrkA receptor.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is involved in a variety of processes involving signalling, such as cell differentiation and survival, growth cessation and apoptosis of neurons. These events are mediated by NGF as a result of binding to its two cell-surface receptors, TrkA and p75. TrkA is a receptor with tyrosine kinase activity that forms a high-affinity binding site for NGF. Of the five domains comprising its extracellular portion, the immunoglobulin-like domain proximal to the membrane (TrkA-d5 domain) is necessary and sufficient for NGF binding. Here we present the crystal structure of human NGF in complex with human TrkA-d5 at 2.2 A resolution. The ligand-receptor interface consists of two patches of similar size. One patch involves the central beta-sheet that forms the core of the homodimeric NGF molecule and the loops at the carboxy-terminal pole of TrkA-d5. The second patch comprises the amino-terminal residues of NGF, which adopt a helical conformation upon complex formation, packing against the 'ABED' sheet of TrkA-d5. The structure is consistent with results from mutagenesis experiments for all neurotrophins, and indicates that the first patch may constitute a conserved binding motif for all family members, whereas the second patch is specific for the interaction between NGF and TrkA.

Crystal structures of the neurotrophin-binding domain of TrkA, TrkB and TrkC.

The Trk receptors and their neurotrophin ligands control development and maintenance of the nervous system. The crystal structures of the ligand binding domain of TrkA, TrkB, and TrkC were solved and refined to high resolution. The domains adopt an immunoglobulin-like fold, but crystallized in all three instances as dimers with the N-terminal strand of each molecule replaced by the same strand of a symmetry-related mate. Models of the correctly folded domains could be constructed by changing the position of a single residue, and the resulting model of the binding domain of TrkA is essentially identical with the bound structure as observed in a complex with nerve growth factor. An analysis of the existing mutagenesis data for TrkA and TrkC in light of these structures reveals the structural reasons for the specificity among the Trk receptors, and explains the underpinnings of the multi-functional ligands that have been reported. The overall structure of all three domains belongs to the I-set of immunoglobulin-like domains, but shows several unusual features, such as an exposed disulfide bridge linking two neighboring strands in the same beta-sheet. For all three domains, the residues that deviate from the standard fingerprint pattern common to the I-set family fall in the region of the ligand binding site observed in the complex. Therefore, identification of these deviations in the sequences of other immunoglobulin-like domain-containing receptors may help to identify their ligand binding site even in the absence of structural or mutagenesis data.

Crystal structure of the complex between VEGF and a receptor-blocking peptide.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a specific and potent angiogenic factor and, therefore, a prime therapeutic target for the development of antagonists for the treatment of cancer. As a first step toward this goal, phage display was used to generate peptides that bind to the receptor-binding domain (residues 8-109) of VEGF and compete with receptor [Fairbrother, W. J., Christinger, H. W., Cochran, A. G., Fuh, G., Keenan, C. J., Quan, C., Shriver, S. K., Tom, J. Y. K., Wells, J. A., and Cunningham, B. C. (1999) Biochemistry 38, 17754-17764]. The crystal structure of VEGF in complex with one of these peptides was solved and refined to a resolution of 1.9 A. The 20-mer peptide is unstructured in solution and adopts a largely extended conformation when bound to VEGF. Residues 3-8 form a beta-strand which pairs with strand beta6 of VEGF via six hydrogen bonds. The C-terminal four residues of the peptide point away from the growth factor, consistent with NMR data indicating that these residues are flexible in the complex in solution. In contrast, shortening the N-terminus of the peptide leads to decreased binding affinities. Truncation studies show that the peptide can be reduced to 14 residues with only moderate effect on binding affinity. However, because of the extended conformation and the scarcity of specific side-chain interactions with VEGF, the peptide is not a promising lead for small-molecule development. The interface between the peptide and VEGF contains a subset of the residues recognized by a neutralizing Fab fragment and overlaps partially with the binding site for the Flt-1 receptor. The location of the peptide-binding site and the hydrophilic character of the interactions with VEGF resemble more the binding mode of the Fab fragment than that of the receptor.

Crystal structure at 1.7 A resolution of VEGF in complex with domain 2 of the Flt-1 receptor.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a homodimeric hormone that induces proliferation of endothelial cells through binding to the kinase domain receptor and the Fms-like tyrosine kinase receptor (Flt-1), the extracellular portions of which consist of seven immunoglobulin domains. We show that the second and third domains of Flt-1 are necessary and sufficient for binding VEGF with near-native affinity, and that domain 2 alone binds only 60-fold less tightly than wild-type. The crystal structure of the complex between VEGF and the second domain of Flt-1 shows domain 2 in a predominantly hydrophobic interaction with the "poles" of the VEGF dimer. Based on this structure and on mutational data, we present a model of VEGF bound to the first four domains of Flt-1.

Crystal structures and mechanism of 6-phospho-beta-galactosidase from Lactococcus lactis.

The initial structural model of 6-phospho-beta-galactosidase from Lactococcus lactis was refined to an R-factor of 16.4% (R[free] = 23.6%) to 2.3 A resolution (1 A = 0.1 nm), and the structures of three other crystal forms were solved by molecular replacement. The four structural models are essentially identical. The catalytic center of the enzyme is approximately at the mass center of the molecule and can only be reached through a 20 A long channel, which is observed with an "open" or "closed" entrance. The closed entrance is probably too small for the educt lactose-6-phosphate to enter, but large enough for the first product glucose to leave. Among the presented structures is a complex between an almost inactive mutant and the second product galactose-6-phosphate, which is exclusively bound at side-chains. A superposition (onto the native enzyme) of galactose-6-phosphate as bound to the mutant suggests the geometry of a postulated covalent intermediate. The binding mode of the educt was modeled, starting from the bound galactose-6-phosphate. A tightly fixed tryptophan is used as a chopping-board for splitting the disaccharide, and several other aromatic residues in the active center cavity are likely to participate in substrate transport/binding.

Infinite non-crystallographic symmetries in crystals of a globular protein.

The monomeric enzyme 6-phospho-beta-galactosidase crystallized in three forms, all of which can be considered as fiber associations when judged from the packing contacts. In one case the internal fiber symmetry is a row of parallel twofold axes that are displaced by a' along the fiber axis. In the crystal, these twofold axes are non-crystallographic, but they define the x axis by a = 2a'. Antiparallel and asymmetric fiber association along y and z, respectively, results in space group P2(1). The two other crystal forms contain fibers with internal 2(1) axes (translation c') defining the z axis by c = 2c'. Antiparallel fiber association results in sheets with internal twofold and 2(1) axes defining the yz plane. These sheets associate along x in two ways; in one case the internal sheet symmetry becomes crystallographic, while it remains non-crystallographic in the other. All non-crystallographic fiber symmetries run infinitely through the crystal. In one case they cause exact systematic absences that mimic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) instead of the actual P2(1)2(1)2. The relationship between contact areas and local symmetries is discussed.

The three-dimensional structure of 6-phospho-beta-galactosidase from Lactococcus lactis.

BACKGROUND: The enzyme 6-phospho-beta-galactosidase hydrolyzes phospholactose, the product of a phosphor-enolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system. It belongs to glycosidase family 1 and no structure has yet been published for a member of this family. RESULTS: The crystal structure of 6-phospho-beta-galactosidase was determined at 2.3 A resolution by multiple isomorphous replacement, using the wild-type enzyme and a designed cysteine mutant. A second crystal form, found with the mutant enzyme, was solved by molecular replacement, yielding the conformation of two chain loops that are invisible in the first crystal form. The active center, located through catalytic residues identified in previous studies, cannot be accessed by the substrate if the two loops are in their defined conformation. The enzyme contains a (beta alpha)8 barrel and the relationship of its chain fold to that of other glycosidases has been quantified. As a side issue, we observed that a cysteine point mutant designed for X-ray analysis crystallized mainly as a symmetric dimer around an intermolecular disulfide bridge formed by the newly introduced cysteine. CONCLUSIONS: The presented analysis provides a basis on which to model all other family 1 members and thereby will help in elucidating the catalytic mechanisms of these sequence-related enzymes. Moreover, this enzyme belongs to a superfamily of glycosidases sharing a (beta alpha)8 barrel with catalytic glutamates/aspartates at the ends of the fourth and the seventh strands of the beta barrel.