Publication Abstract from PubMed
Rhodocetin is a unique heterodimer consisting of alpha- and beta-subunits of 133 and 129 residues, respectively. The molecule, purified from the crude venom of the Malayan pit viper, Calloselasma rhodostoma, functions as an inhibitor of collagen-induced aggregation. Rhodocetin has been shown to have activity only when present as a dimer. The dimer is formed without an intersubunit disulfide bridge, unlike all the other Ca(2+)-dependent lectin-like proteins. We report here the 1.9 A resolution structure of rhodocetin, which reveals the compensatory interactions that occur in the absence of the disulfide bridge to preserve activity.
Structure of rhodocetin reveals noncovalently bound heterodimer interface.,Paaventhan P, Kong C, Joseph JS, Chung MC, Kolatkar PR Protein Sci. 2005 Jan;14(1):169-75. Epub 2004 Dec 2. PMID:15576563[1]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
