Polymorphism, Metastable Species and Interconversion
Abstract The natively unfolded peptide hormone glucagon forms fibrillar structures with amyloid properties. Here, we summarize past advances in glucagon fibrillation and combine them with recent new unpublished data to provide some more general conclusions on how glucagon fibrillation adapts to different physicochemical conditions such as high temperature, pressure, mechanical and chemical stress. Factors such as peptide concentration, accessible surface area, surface hydration of the glucagon molecular state, contact surface, temperature and ionic strength all contribute to fibrillar structure and stability. In addition to fundamental changes in secondary structure, glucagon fibril morphol…
Mechanism of Oligomerisation of Cyclase-associated Protein from Dictyostelium discoideum in Solution
Abstract Cyclase-associated protein (CAP) is a highly conserved modular protein implicated in the regulation of actin filament dynamics and a variety of developmental and morphological processes. The protein exists as a high molecular weight complex in cell extracts and purified protein possesses a high tendency to aggregate, a major obstacle for crystallisation. Using a mutagenesis approach, we show that two structural features underlie the mechanism of oligomerisation in Dictyostelium discoideum CAP. Positively charged clusters on the surface of the N-terminal helix-barrel domain are involved in inter-molecular interactions with the N or C-terminal domains. Abolishing these interactions m…