title: Structural analysis of ConBr reveals molecular correlation between the carbohydrate recognition domain and endothelial NO synthase activation.
abstract: Diocleinae lectins are highly homologous in their primary structure which features metal binding sites and a carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD). Differences in the biological activity of legume lectins have been widely investigated using hemagglutination inhibition assays, isothermal titration microcalorimetry and co-crystallization with mono- and oligosaccharides. Here we report a new lectin crystal structure (ConBr) extracted from seeds of Canavalia brasiliensis, predict dimannoside binding by docking, identify the α-aminobutyric acid (Abu) binding pocket and compare the CRD of ConBr to that of homologous lectins. Based on the hypothesis that the carbohydrate affinity of lectins depends on CRD configuration, the relationship between tridimensional structure and endothelial NO synthase activation was used to clarify differences in biological activity. Our study established a correlation between the position of CRD amino acid side chains and the stimulation of NO release from endothelium.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eduardo Henrique Salviano
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Bezerra
authors.forename: Bruno Anderson Matias
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.forename: Celso Shiniti
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Nagano
authors.forename: Gustavo de Arruda
authors.initials: Gde A
authors.lastname: Bezerra
authors.forename: Tales Rocha de
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Moura
authors.forename: Maria Júlia Barbosa
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Bezerra
authors.forename: Raquel Guimarães
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Benevides
authors.forename: Alexandre Holanda
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Sampaio
authors.forename: Ana Maria Sampaio
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Assreuy
authors.forename: Plínio
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Delatorre
authors.forename: Benildo Sousa
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Cavada
mesh_terms: D032449:Canavalia / Q000378:metabolism*; D002241:Carbohydrates; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D052250:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III / Q000737:chemistry*; D037121:Plant Lectins / Q000737:chemistry*; D011487:Protein Conformation
chemical_list: D002241:Carbohydrates; D037121:Plant Lectins; D052250:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III