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From Proteopedia
Structural comparison of amyloidogenic light chain dimer in two crystal forms with nonamyloidogenic counterparts
Structural highlights
FunctionKV133_HUMAN V region of the variable domain of immunoglobulin light chains that participates in the antigen recognition (PubMed:24600447). Immunoglobulins, also known as antibodies, are membrane-bound or secreted glycoproteins produced by B lymphocytes. In the recognition phase of humoral immunity, the membrane-bound immunoglobulins serve as receptors which, upon binding of a specific antigen, trigger the clonal expansion and differentiation of B lymphocytes into immunoglobulins-secreting plasma cells. Secreted immunoglobulins mediate the effector phase of humoral immunity, which results in the elimination of bound antigens (PubMed:20176268, PubMed:22158414). The antigen binding site is formed by the variable domain of one heavy chain, together with that of its associated light chain. Thus, each immunoglobulin has two antigen binding sites with remarkable affinity for a particular antigen. The variable domains are assembled by a process called V-(D)-J rearrangement and can then be subjected to somatic hypermutations which, after exposure to antigen and selection, allow affinity maturation for a particular antigen (PubMed:20176268, PubMed:17576170).[1] [2] [3] [4] 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 PubMedThe most common form of hereditary systemic amyloidosis is familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy associated with single amino acid changes in the plasma protein transthyretin. So far, high resolution structures of only three amyloidogenic variants (Met30, Ser84, Ile122) and one non-amyloidogenic variant (Thr109) have been reported complemented by X-ray fiber diffraction studies and image reconstruction from electron micrographs of amyloid fibrils. To investigate the role of structural factors in this disease, we extended our studies to other transthyretin variants. We report crystallization and structural investigations of three amyloidogenic (Arg10, Ala60, Tyr77) and two non-amyloidogenic variants (Ser6, Met119). The similarity of these structures to normal transthyretin does not give direct clues to the fibril forming process. Since transthyretin amyloid fibrils contain a major fragment starting at position 49, besides the intact molecule, we calculated the solvent accessibility of residue 48. Indeed, all amyloidogenic variants show an increased main chain solvent exposure when compared to normal transthyretin and non-amyloidogenic variants, which can be postulated to result in increased susceptibility to proteolysis. After limited proteolysis, dimers are incapable of reassociation to native tetramers. We present a model for amyloid fibril formation based on formation of fibrils from N-terminal truncated dimers as building blocks. Tertiary structures of amyloidogenic and non-amyloidogenic transthyretin variants: new model for amyloid fibril formation.,Schormann N, Murrell JR, Benson MD Amyloid. 1998 Sep;5(3):175-87. PMID:9818054[5] From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. References
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