title: Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic study of carnosinase CN2 from mice.
abstract: Mammalian tissues contain several histidine-containing dipeptides, of which L-carnosine is the best characterized and is found in various tissues including the brain and skeletal muscles. However, the mechanism for its biosynthesis and degradation have not yet been fully elucidated. Crystallographic study of carnosinase CN2 from mouse has been undertaken in order to understand its enzymatic mechanism from a structural viewpoint. CN2 was crystallized by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion technique using PEG 3350 as a precipitant. Crystals were obtained in complex with either Mn(2+) or Zn(2+). Both crystals of CN2 belong to the monoclinic space group P2(1) and have almost identical unit-cell parameters (a = 54.41, b = 199.77, c = 55.49 A, beta = 118.52 degrees for the Zn(2+) complex crystals). Diffraction data were collected to 1.7 and 2.3 A for Zn(2+) and Mn(2+) complex crystals, respectively, using synchrotron radiation. Structure determination is ongoing using the multiple-wavelength anomalous diffraction (MAD) method.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, 3-2 Yamada-oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: Hideaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Unno
authors.forename: Sayuri
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ujita
authors.forename: Hiroto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Otani
authors.forename: Nobuaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Okumura
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hashida-Okumura
authors.forename: Katsuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nagai
authors.forename: Masami
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kusunoki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003460:Crystallization; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004150:Dipeptidases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D051379:Mice
chemical_list: D004150:Dipeptidases; C514736:CN2 protein, mouse