title: Crystal structure of the platelet glycoprotein Ib(alpha) N-terminal domain reveals an unmasking mechanism for receptor activation.
abstract: Glycoprotein Ib (GPIb) is a platelet receptor with a critical role in mediating the arrest of platelets at sites of vascular damage. GPIb binds to the A1 domain of von Willebrand factor (vWF-A1) at high blood shear, initiating platelet adhesion and contributing to the formation of a thrombus. To investigate the molecular basis of GPIb regulation and ligand binding, we have determined the structure of the N-terminal domain of the GPIb(alpha) chain (residues 1-279). This structure is the first determined from the cell adhesion/signaling class of leucine-rich repeat (LRR) proteins and reveals the topology of the characteristic disulfide-bonded flanking regions. The fold consists of an N-terminal beta-hairpin, eight leucine-rich repeats, a disulfide-bonded loop, and a C-terminal anionic region. The structure also demonstrates a novel LRR motif in the form of an M-shaped arrangement of three tandem beta-turns. Negatively charged binding surfaces on the LRR concave face and anionic region indicate two-step binding kinetics to vWF-A1, which can be regulated by an unmasking mechanism involving conformational change of a key loop. Using molecular docking of the GPIb and vWF-A1 crystal structures, we were also able to model the GPIb.vWF-A1 complex.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uff
authors.forename: Jeannine M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Clemetson
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: Kenneth J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Clemetson
authors.forename: Jonas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Emsley
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D006801:Humans; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010980:Platelet Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014841:von Willebrand Factor / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010980:Platelet Membrane Glycoproteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014841:von Willebrand Factor