Project description:Pannexins are single-membrane large-pore channels that release ions and ATP upon activation. Three isoforms of pannexins 1, 2, and 3, perform diverse cellular roles and differ in their pore lining residues. In this study, we report the cryo-EM structure of pannexin 3 at 3.9 Å and analyze its structural differences with pannexin isoforms 1 and 2. The pannexin 3 vestibule has two distinct chambers and a wider pore radius in comparison to pannexins 1 and 2. We further report two cryo-EM structures of pannexin 1, with pore substitutions W74R/R75D that mimic the pore lining residues of pannexin 2 and a germline mutant of pannexin 1, R217H at resolutions of 3.2 Å and 3.9 Å, respectively. Substitution of cationic residues in the vestibule of pannexin 1 results in reduced ATP interaction propensities to the channel. The germline mutant R217H in transmembrane helix 3 (TM3), leads to a partially constricted pore, reduced ATP interaction and weakened voltage sensitivity. The study compares the three pannexin isoform structures, the effects of substitutions of pore and vestibule-lining residues and allosteric effects of a pathological substitution on channel structure and function thereby enhancing our understanding of this vital group of ATP-release channels.
Project description:About a decade ago, three electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM) single-particle reconstructions of IP3R1 were reported at low resolution. It was disturbing that these structures bore little similarity to one another, even at the level of quaternary structure. Recently, we published an improved structure of IP3R1 at ?1 nm resolution. However, this structure did not bear any resemblance to any of the three previously published structures, leading to the question of why the structure should be considered more reliable than the original three. Here, we apply several methods, including class-average/map comparisons, tilt-pair validation, and use of multiple refinement software packages, to give strong evidence for the reliability of our recent structure. The map resolution and feature resolvability are assessed with the gold standard criterion. This approach is generally applicable to assessing the validity of cryo-EM maps of other molecular machines.
Project description:Anthrax toxin is the major virulence factor secreted by Bacillus anthracis, causing high mortality in humans and other mammals. It consists of a membrane translocase, known as protective antigen (PA), that catalyzes the unfolding of its cytotoxic substrates lethal factor (LF) and edema factor (EF), followed by translocation into the host cell. Substrate recruitment to the heptameric PA pre-pore and subsequent translocation, however, are not well understood. Here, we report three high-resolution cryo-EM structures of the fully-loaded anthrax lethal toxin in its heptameric pre-pore state, which differ in the position and conformation of LFs. The structures reveal that three LFs interact with the heptameric PA and upon binding change their conformation to form a continuous chain of head-to-tail interactions. As a result of the underlying symmetry mismatch, one LF binding site in PA remains unoccupied. Whereas one LF directly interacts with a part of PA called α-clamp, the others do not interact with this region, indicating an intermediate state between toxin assembly and translocation. Interestingly, the interaction of the N-terminal domain with the α-clamp correlates with a higher flexibility in the C-terminal domain of the protein. Based on our data, we propose a model for toxin assembly, in which the relative position of the N-terminal α-helices in the three LFs determines which factor is translocated first.
Project description:Pannexins are large-pore forming channels responsible for ATP release under a variety of physiological and pathological conditions. Although predicted to share similar membrane topology with other large-pore forming proteins such as connexins, innexins, and LRRC8, pannexins have minimal sequence similarity to these protein families. Here, we present the cryo-EM structure of a frog pannexin 1 (Panx1) channel at 3.0 Å. We find that Panx1 protomers harbor four transmembrane helices similar in arrangement to other large-pore forming proteins but assemble as a heptameric channel with a unique constriction formed by Trp74 in the first extracellular loop. Mutating Trp74 or the nearby Arg75 disrupt ion selectivity, whereas altering residues in the hydrophobic groove formed by the two extracellular loops abrogates channel inhibition by carbenoxolone. Our structural and functional study establishes the extracellular loops as important structural motifs for ion selectivity and channel inhibition in Panx1.
Project description:Voltage-gated sodium channel Nav1.6 plays a crucial role in neuronal firing in the central nervous system (CNS). Aberrant function of Nav1.6 may lead to epilepsy and other neurological disorders. Specific inhibitors of Nav1.6 thus have therapeutic potentials. Here we present the cryo-EM structure of human Nav1.6 in the presence of auxiliary subunits β1 and fibroblast growth factor homologous factor 2B (FHF2B) at an overall resolution of 3.1 Å. The overall structure represents an inactivated state with closed pore domain (PD) and all "up" voltage-sensing domains. A conserved carbohydrate-aromatic interaction involving Trp302 and Asn326, together with the β1 subunit, stabilizes the extracellular loop in repeat I. Apart from regular lipids that are resolved in the EM map, an unprecedented Y-shaped density that belongs to an unidentified molecule binds to the PD, revealing a potential site for developing Nav1.6-specific blockers. Structural mapping of disease-related Nav1.6 mutations provides insights into their pathogenic mechanism.
Project description:Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (IP3Rs) are ubiquitously expressed intracellular Ca2+ channels and the major mediators of cellular Ca2+ signals generated by the release of Ca2+ ions from intracellular stores in response to a variety of extracellular stimuli. Despite established physiological significance and proven involvements of IP3R channels in many human diseases, detailed structural basis for signal detection by these ion channels and their gating remain obscure. Recently, single particle electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM) has yielded a long-awaited near-atomic resolution structure of the entire full-length type 1 IP3R. This structure provided exciting mechanistic insights into the molecular assembly of IP3R, revealing the pronounced structural conservation of Ca2+ release channels and raising many fundamental and controversial questions on their activation and gating. Here we summarize the major technological advances that propelled our cryo-EM analysis of IP3R to near-atomic resolution and discuss what the future holds for structural biology of Ca2+ release channels.
Project description:TMEM206 has been recently identified as an evolutionarily conserved chloride channel that underlies ubiquitously expressed, proton-activated, outwardly rectifying anion currents. Here, we report the cryo-electron microscopy structure of pufferfish TMEM206, which forms a trimeric channel, with each subunit comprising two transmembrane segments and a large extracellular domain. An ample vestibule in the extracellular region is accessible laterally from the three side portals. The central pore contains multiple constrictions. A conserved lysine residue near the cytoplasmic end of the inner helix forms the presumed chloride ion selectivity filter. Unprecedentedly, the core structure and assembly closely resemble those of the epithelial sodium channel/degenerin family of sodium channels that are unrelated in amino acid sequence and conduct cations instead of anions. Together with electrophysiology, this work provides insights into ion conduction and gating for a new class of chloride channels that is architecturally distinct from previously characterized chloride channel families.
Project description:We report the near atomic resolution (3.3 Å) of the human polycystic kidney disease 2-like 1 (polycystin 2-l1) ion channel. Encoded by PKD2L1, polycystin 2-l1 is a calcium and monovalent cation-permeant ion channel in primary cilia and plasma membranes. The related primary cilium-specific polycystin-2 protein, encoded by PKD2, shares a high degree of sequence similarity, yet has distinct permeability characteristics. Here we show that these differences are reflected in the architecture of polycystin 2-l1.
Project description:Transient receptor potential (TRP) proteins form a superfamily Ca(2+)-permeable cation channels regulated by a range of chemical and physical stimuli. Structural analysis of a 'minimal' TRP vanilloid subtype 1 (TRPV1) elucidated a mechanism of channel activation by agonists through changes in its outer pore region. Though homologous to TRPV1, other TRPV channels (TRPV2-6) are insensitive to TRPV1 activators including heat and vanilloids. To further understand the structural basis of TRPV channel function, we determined the structure of full-length TRPV2 at ∼5 Å resolution by cryo-electron microscopy. Like TRPV1, TRPV2 contains two constrictions, one each in the pore-forming upper and lower gates. The agonist-free full-length TRPV2 has wider upper and lower gates compared with closed and agonist-activated TRPV1. We propose these newly revealed TRPV2 structural features contribute to diversity of TRPV channels.