Arthur J. Chirino

Crystal Structure of the Hemochromatosis Protein HFE and Characterization of Its Interaction with Transferrin Receptor

HFE is an MHC-related protein that is mutated in the iron-overload disease hereditary hemochromatosis. HFE binds to transferrin receptor (TfR) and reduces its affinity for iron-loaded transferrin, implicating HFE in iron metabolism. The 2.6 A crystal structure of HFE reveals the locations of hemochromatosis mutations and a patch of histidines that could be involved in pH-dependent interactions. We also demonstrate that soluble TfR and HFE bind tightly at the basic pH of the cell surface, but not at the acidic pH of intracellular vesicles. TfR:HFE stoichiometry (2:1) differs from TfR:transferrin stoichiometry (2:2), implying a different mode of binding for HFE and transferrin to TfR, consistent with our demonstration that HFE, transferrin, and TfR form a ternary complex.

Rational design and engineering of therapeutic proteins

An increasing number of engineered protein therapeutics are currently being developed, tested in clinical trials and marketed for use. Many of these proteins arose out of hit-and-miss efforts to discover specific mutations, fusion partners or chemical modifications that confer desired properties. Through these efforts, several useful strategies have emerged for rational optimization of therapeutic candidates. The controlled manipulation of the physical, chemical and biological properties of proteins enabled by structure-based simulation is now being used to refine established rational engineering approaches and to advance new strategies. These methods provide clear, hypothesis-driven routes to solve problems that plague many proteins and to create novel mechanisms of action. We anticipate that rational protein engineering will shape the field of protein therapeutics dramatically by improving existing products and enabling the development of novel therapeutic agents.

Crystallization and X-ray structure determination of cytochrome c2 from Rhodobacter sphaeroides in three crystal forms.

Cytochrome c(2) serves as the secondary electron donor that reduces the photo-oxidized bacteriochlorophyll dimer in photosynthetic bacteria. Cytochrome c(2) from Rhodobacter sphaeroides has been crystallized in three different forms. At high ionic strength, crystals of a hexagonal space group (P6(1)22) were obtained, while at low ionic strength, triclinic (P1) and tetragonal (P4(1)2(1)2) crystals were formed. The three-dimensional structures of the cytochrome in all three crystal forms have been determined by X-ray diffraction at resolutions of 2.20 A (hexagonal), 1.95 A, (triclinic) and 1.53 A (tetragonal). The most significant difference observed was the binding of an imidazole molecule to the iron atom of the heme group in the hexagonal structure. This binding displaces the sulfur atom of Met l00, which forms the axial ligand in the triclinic and tetragonal structures.