title: Characterization of the yellow fever mosquito sterol carrier protein-2 like 3 gene and ligand-bound protein structure.
abstract: The sterol carrier protein-2 like 3 gene (AeSCP-2L3), a new member of the SCP-2 protein family, is identified from the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. The predicted molecular weight of AeSCP-2L3 is 13.4 kDa with a calculated pI of 4.98. AeSCP-2L3 transcription occurs in the larval feeding stages and the mRNA levels decrease in pupae and adults. The highest levels of AeSCP-2L3 gene expression are found in the body wall, and possibly originated in the fat body. This is the first report of a mosquito SCP-2-like protein with prominent expression in tissue other than the midgut. The X-ray protein crystal structure of AeSCP-2L3 reveals a bound C16 fatty acid whose acyl tail penetrates deeply into a hydrophobic cavity. Interestingly, the ligand-binding cavity is slightly larger than previously described for AeSCP-2 (Dyer et al. J Biol Chem 278:39085-39091, 2003) and AeSCP-2L2 (Dyer et al. J Lipid Res M700460-JLR200, 2007). There are also an additional 10 amino acids in SCP-2L3 that are not present in other characterized mosquito SCP-2s forming an extended loop between beta 3 and beta 4. Otherwise, the protein backbone is exceedingly similar to other SCP-2 and SCP-2-like proteins. In contrast to this observed high structural homology of members in the mosquito SCP2 family, the amino acid sequence identity between the members is less than 30%. The results from structural analysis imply that there have been evolutionary constraints that favor the SCP-2 C(alpha) backbone fold while the specificity of ligand binding can be altered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Dyer
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vyazunova
authors.forename: Jeffery M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lorch
authors.forename: Katrina T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Forest
authors.forename: Que
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Lan
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000378:metabolism*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D015870:Gene Expression; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008024:Ligands; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D019476:Insect Proteins; D008024:Ligands; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C072087:sterol carrier proteins