Biomedical subjects

Nathalie Ulryck

Publications and source records attributed to Nathalie Ulryck.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

The zinc finger protein Ynr046w is plurifunctional and a component of the eRF1 methyltransferase in yeast.

Protein release factor eRF1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in complex with eRF3 and GTP, is methylated on a functionally crucial Gln residue by the S-adenosylmethionine-dependent methyltransferase Ydr140w. Here we show that eRF1 methylation, in addition to these previously characterized components, requires a 15-kDa zinc-binding protein, Ynr046w. Co-expression in Escherichia coli of Ynr046w and Ydr140w allows the latter to be recovered in soluble form rather than as inclusion bodies, and the two proteins co-purify on nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid chromatography when Ydr140w alone carries a His tag. The crystal structure of Ynr046w has been determined to 1.7 A resolution. It comprises a zinc-binding domain built from both the N- and C-terminal sequences and an inserted domain, absent from bacterial and archaeal orthologs of the protein, composed of three alpha-helices. The active methyltransferase is the heterodimer Ydr140w.Ynr046w, but when alone, both in solution and in crystals, Ynr046w appears to be a homodimer. The Ynr046w eRF1 methyltransferase subunit is shared by the tRNA methyltransferase Trm11p and probably by two other enzymes containing a Rossman fold.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2006

Structure of the human multidrug resistance protein 1 nucleotide binding domain 1 bound to Mg2+/ATP reveals a non-productive catalytic site.

Human multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1) is a membrane protein that belongs to the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) superfamily of transport proteins. MRP1 contributes to chemotherapy failure by exporting a wide range of anti-cancer drugs when over expressed in the plasma membrane of cells. Here, we report the first high-resolution crystal structure of human MRP1-NBD1. Drug efflux requires energy resulting from hydrolysis of ATP by nucleotide binding domains (NBDs). Contrary to the prokaryotic NBDs, the extremely low intrinsic ATPase activity of isolated MRP1-NBDs allowed us to obtain the structure of wild-type NBD1 in complex with Mg2+/ATP. The structure shows that MRP1-NBD1 adopts a canonical fold, but reveals an unexpected non-productive conformation of the catalytic site, providing an explanation for the low intrinsic ATPase activity of NBD1 and new hypotheses on the cooperativity of ATPase activity between NBD1 and NBD2 upon heterodimer formation.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗

PubMed2006

Structures of in vitro evolved binding sites on neocarzinostatin scaffold reveal unanticipated evolutionary pathways.

We have recently applied in vitro evolution methods to create in Neocarzinostatin a new binding site for a target molecule unrelated to its natural ligand. The main objective of this work was to solve the structure of some of the selected binders in complex with the target molecule: testosterone. Three proteins (1a.15, 3.24 and 4.1) were chosen as representative members of sequence families that came out of the selection process within different randomization schemes. In order to evaluate ligand-induced conformational adaptation, we also determined the structure of one of the proteins (3.24) in the free and complexed forms. Surprisingly, all these mutants bind not one but two molecules of testosterone in two very different ways. The 3.24 structure revealed that the protein spontaneously evolved in the system to bind two ligand molecules in one single binding crevice. These two binding sites are formed by substituted as well as by non-variable side-chains. The comparison with the free structure shows that only limited structural changes are observed upon ligand binding. The X-ray structures of the complex formed by 1a.15 and 4.1 Neocarzinostatin mutants revealed that the two variants form very similar dimers. These dimers were observed neither for the uncomplexed variants nor for wild-type Neocarzinostatin but were shown here to be induced by ligand binding. Comparison of the three complexed forms clearly suggests that these unanticipated structural responses resulted from the molecular arrangement used for the selection experiments.

Binding Sites↗

PubMed2005

Molecular basis for bacterial class I release factor methylation by PrmC.

Class I release factors bind to ribosomes in response to stop codons and trigger peptidyl-tRNA hydrolysis at the P site. Prokaryotic and eukaryotic RFs share one motif: a GGQ tripeptide positioned in a loop at the end of a stem region that interacts with the ribosomal peptidyl transferase center. The glutamine side chain of this motif is specifically methylated in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Methylation in E. coli is due to PrmC and results in strong stimulation of peptide chain release. We have solved the crystal structure of the complex between E. coli RF1 and PrmC bound to the methyl donor product AdoHCy. Both the GGQ domain (domain 3) and the central region (domains 2 and 4) of RF1 interact with PrmC. Structural and mutagenic data indicate a compact conformation of RF1 that is unlike its conformation when it is bound to the ribosome but is similar to the crystal structure of the protein alone.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2005

High-throughput crystal-optimization strategies in the South Paris Yeast Structural Genomics Project: one size fits all?

Crystallization has long been regarded as one of the major bottlenecks in high-throughput structural determination by X-ray crystallography. Structural genomics projects have addressed this issue by using robots to set up automated crystal screens using nanodrop technology. This has moved the bottleneck from obtaining the first crystal hit to obtaining diffraction-quality crystals, as crystal optimization is a notoriously slow process that is difficult to automatize. This article describes the high-throughput optimization strategies used in the Yeast Structural Genomics project, with selected successful examples.

Crystallography, X-Ray↗

PubMed2005

HalX: an open-source LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System) for small- to large-scale laboratories.

Structural genomics aims at the establishment of a universal protein-fold dictionary through systematic structure determination either by NMR or X-ray crystallography. In order to catch up with the explosive amount of protein sequence data, the structural biology laboratories are spurred to increase the speed of the structure-determination process. To achieve this goal, high-throughput robotic approaches are increasingly used in all the steps leading from cloning to data collection and even structure interpretation is becoming more and more automatic. The progress made in these areas has begun to have a significant impact on the more 'classical' structural biology laboratories, dramatically increasing the number of individual experiments. This automation creates the need for efficient data management. Here, a new piece of software, HalX, designed as an 'electronic lab book' that aims at (i) storage and (ii) easy access and use of all experimental data is presented. This should lead to much improved management and tracking of structural genomics experimental data.

Crystallography, X-Ray↗