title: PFA, a novel mollusk agglutinin, is structurally related to the ribosome-inactivating protein superfamily.
abstract: The structural organization of PFA, a novel beta-galactose-specific agglutinin from the snail Pomacea flagellata, was partially characterized. Using mass spectrometry, the molecular weight of this glycoprotein was determined as 32,444 Da (7.4% carbohydrate). The agglutinin was found to form very large aggregates in solution, which were dissociated to monodisperse native-like dimers upon addition of polyethyleneglycol. The identity of the first 38 and the last 11 residues of the polypeptide chain was determined. It was found that PFA and the N-glycosidase subunit of ricin, a heterodimeric cytotoxin isolated from castor bean seeds, are homologous to each other in the N-terminal region. Furthermore, the far-UV circular dichroism spectra of these proteins were found to be nearly superimposable, evidencing that they share common general features in their secondary and tertiary structures. On the basis of these similarities, it can be concluded that PFA is structurally related to the ribosome-inactivating protein superfamily.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, México D.F., 04510, México.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Arreguín-Espinosa
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fenton
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vázquez-Contreras
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Arreguín
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: García-Hernández
mesh_terms: D000373:Agglutinins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D019281:Dimerization; D005690:Galactose / Q000737:chemistry; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000494:pharmacology; D011485:Protein Binding / Q000187:drug effects; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D012270:Ribosomes / Q000187:drug effects; D012276:Ricin / Q000737:chemistry; D020539:Sequence Analysis, Protein; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012908:Snails / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000373:Agglutinins; D000596:Amino Acids; D006023:Glycoproteins; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D012276:Ricin; D005690:Galactose