1rh8: Difference between revisions

[[Image:1rh8.jpg|left|200px]]<br /><applet load="1rh8" size="350" color="white" frame="true" align="right" spinBox="true"  

C2 domains are widespread Ca2+-binding modules. The active zone protein Piccolo (also known as Aczonin) contains an unusual C2A domain that exhibits a low affinity for Ca2+, a Ca2+-induced conformational change and Ca2+-dependent dimerization. We show here that removal of a nine-residue sequence by alternative splicing increases the Ca2+ affinity, abolishes the conformational change and abrogates dimerization of the Piccolo C2A domain. The NMR structure of the Ca2+-free long variant provides a structural basis for these different properties of the two splice forms, showing that the nine-residue sequence forms a beta-strand otherwise occupied by a nonspliced sequence. Consequently, Ca2+-binding to the long Piccolo C2A domain requires a marked rearrangement of secondary structure that cannot occur for the short variant. These results reveal a novel mechanism of action of C2 domains and uncover a structural principle that may underlie the alteration of protein function by short alternatively spliced sequences.

1RH8 is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_protein Single protein] structure of sequence from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rattus_norvegicus Rattus norvegicus]. Full crystallographic information is available from [http://oca.weizmann.ac.il/oca-bin/ocashort?id=1RH8 OCA].  

[[Category: Gerber, S H.]]

[[Category: Sudhof, T C.]]

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