title: Visualization of an unstable coiled coil from the scallop myosin rod.
abstract: Alpha-helical coiled coils in muscle exemplify simplicity and economy of protein design: small variations in sequence lead to remarkable diversity in cellular functions. Myosin II is the key protein in muscle contraction, and the molecule's two-chain alpha-helical coiled-coil rod region--towards the carboxy terminus of the heavy chain--has unusual structural and dynamic features. The amino-terminal subfragment-2 (S2) domains of the rods can swing out from the thick filament backbone at a hinge in the coiled coil, allowing the two myosin 'heads' and their motor domains to interact with actin and generate tension. Most of the S2 rod appears to be a flexible coiled coil, but studies suggest that the structure at the N-terminal region is unstable, and unwinding or bending of the alpha-helices near the head-rod junction seems necessary for many of myosin's functional properties. Here we show the physical basis of a particularly weak coiled-coil segment by determining the 2.5-A-resolution crystal structure of a leucine-zipper-stabilized fragment of the scallop striated-muscle myosin rod adjacent to the head-rod junction. The N-terminal 14 residues are poorly ordered; the rest of the S2 segment forms a flexible coiled coil with poorly packed core residues. The unusual absence of interhelical salt bridges here exposes apolar core atoms to solvent.
authors.affiliation: Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454-9110, USA.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jerry H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Ludmilla
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Reshetnikova
authors.forename: Antal
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blazsek
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Farkas
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nyitray
authors.forename: Carolyn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cohen
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008974:Mollusca / Q000737:chemistry*; D024462:Myosin Type II / Q000737:chemistry*; D018583:Pliability; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry; D055672:Static Electricity
chemical_list: D012997:Solvents; D024462:Myosin Type II