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Publication Abstract from PubMed

Heavy metals in cells are typically regulated by PIB-type ATPases. The first structure of the class, a Cu+-ATPase from Legionella pneumophila (LpCopA), outlined a copper transport pathway across the membrane, which was inferred to be occluded. Here we show by molecular dynamics simulations that extracellular water solvated the transmembrane (TM) domain, results indicative of a Cu+-release pathway. Furthermore, a new LpCopA crystal structure determined at 2.8-A resolution, trapped in the preceding E2P state, delineated the same passage, and site-directed-mutagenesis activity assays support a functional role for the conduit. The structural similarities between the TM domains of the two conformations suggest that Cu+-ATPases couple dephosphorylation and ion extrusion differently than do the well-characterized PII-type ATPases. The ion pathway explains why certain Menkes' and Wilson's disease mutations impair protein function and points to a site for inhibitors targeting pathogens.

Copper-transporting P-type ATPases use a unique ion-release pathway.,Andersson M, Mattle D, Sitsel O, Klymchuk T, Nielsen AM, Moller LB, White SH, Nissen P, Gourdon P Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2013 Dec 8. doi: 10.1038/nsmb.2721. PMID:24317491^[1]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.