issue contents

Journal logoSTRUCTURAL BIOLOGY
COMMUNICATIONS
ISSN: 2053-230X

July 2021 issue

Highlighted illustration

Cover illustration: HER3 extracellular domain 4 in complex with the designed ankyrin-repeat protein D5 [Radom et al. (2021), Acta Cryst. F77, 192–201]. The members of the human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) family are among the most intensely studied oncological targets. HER3 is a key oncogene, regulating the activity of other receptors and being involved in progression and tumor escape in multiple types of cancer. Designed ankyrin-repeat proteins (DARPins) serve as antibody mimetics that have proven to be useful in the clinic, in diagnostics and in research. Here, the selection of DARPins targeting extracellular domain 4 of HER3 is described.

research communications


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The structure of a designed ankyrin-repeat protein that selectively binds to domain 4 of HER3, an important driver of malignant growth in many tumors, has been determined. The structure helps to explain the selectivity against other members of the HER family, and binding to this epitope will interfere with its interactions in the tethered (inactive) and extended (active) conformations.

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Solution of the structure of the DNA-binding domain of interferon regulatory factor 4 bound to its interferon-stimulated response element by native intrinsic phosphorus and sulfur single-wavelength anomalous dispersion methods (native SAD) is described.

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The influenza virus nucleoprotein binds to the viral RNA genome and is essential for virus replication. Here, the structure of the nucleoprotein from an H3N2 virus is presented at 2.2 Å resolution.

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In a domain-swapped, gel-like crystalline form of Escherichia coli tryptophan repressor, the physiological ligand L-tryptophan binds equivalently as in the native dimeric repressor, even though the binding-site residues originate from three distinct polypeptide chains instead of two, and large solvent channels accommodate a disordered N-terminal extension. Proteins that cannot otherwise be crystallized might be oriented in the channels for diffraction analysis by exploiting these features.

methods communications


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Support for the refinement engine phenix.refine has been implemented into PAIREF, a tool providing automatic paired refinement.
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