Structural highlights
Function
[PCLO_RAT] May act as a scaffolding protein involved in the organization of synaptic active zones and in synaptic vesicle trafficking (By similarity).[UniProtKB:Q9QYX7]
Evolutionary Conservation
Check, as determined by ConSurfDB. You may read the explanation of the method and the full data available from ConSurf.
Publication Abstract from PubMed
C2 domains are widespread Ca2+-binding modules. The active zone protein Piccolo (also known as Aczonin) contains an unusual C2A domain that exhibits a low affinity for Ca2+, a Ca2+-induced conformational change and Ca2+-dependent dimerization. We show here that removal of a nine-residue sequence by alternative splicing increases the Ca2+ affinity, abolishes the conformational change and abrogates dimerization of the Piccolo C2A domain. The NMR structure of the Ca2+-free long variant provides a structural basis for these different properties of the two splice forms, showing that the nine-residue sequence forms a beta-strand otherwise occupied by a nonspliced sequence. Consequently, Ca2+-binding to the long Piccolo C2A domain requires a marked rearrangement of secondary structure that cannot occur for the short variant. These results reveal a novel mechanism of action of C2 domains and uncover a structural principle that may underlie the alteration of protein function by short alternatively spliced sequences.
A conformational switch in the Piccolo C2A domain regulated by alternative splicing.,Garcia J, Gerber SH, Sugita S, Sudhof TC, Rizo J Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2004 Jan;11(1):45-53. Epub 2003 Dec 29. PMID:14718922[1]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
References
- ↑ Garcia J, Gerber SH, Sugita S, Sudhof TC, Rizo J. A conformational switch in the Piccolo C2A domain regulated by alternative splicing. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2004 Jan;11(1):45-53. Epub 2003 Dec 29. PMID:14718922 doi:10.1038/nsmb707
