title: A structure prediction for the ligand-binding region of the integrin beta subunit: evidence for the presence of a von Willebrand factor A domain.
abstract: The integrins are a family of cell surface receptors that mediate biologically important adhesive interactions. Integrin-ligand binding has been extensively studied because of the potential for the development of anti-adhesive therapies, but the molecular basis of this interaction is still poorly understood. A conserved region near the N-terminus of the beta subunit appears to be of particular importance in ligand binding, but to date this domain has not been expressed in isolation. As a prelude to expression and potential structure determination, we have performed a detailed structure prediction for this region. Primary, secondary and tertiary structure analyses indicate that the region folds into a von Willebrand factor A-domain, thereby potentially placing a previously characterised module at the centre of a key functional region.
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell-Matrix Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, UK. danny.tuckwell@man.ac.uk
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Tuckwell
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Humphries
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000737:chemistry; D018821:CD18 Antigens / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D039641:Integrin beta Chains; D019012:Integrin beta1 / Q000737:chemistry; D039661:Integrin beta3; D039663:Integrin beta4; D016023:Integrins / Q000737:chemistry*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010980:Platelet Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000737:chemistry; D017510:Protein Folding; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017421:Sequence Analysis; D014841:von Willebrand Factor / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D018821:CD18 Antigens; D039641:Integrin beta Chains; D019012:Integrin beta1; D039661:Integrin beta3; D039663:Integrin beta4; D016023:Integrins; D010980:Platelet Membrane Glycoproteins; C084344:integrin beta5; C072170:integrin beta6; C091368:integrin beta7; C094865:integrin beta8; D014841:von Willebrand Factor