Structural and immunologic characterization of bovine, horse, and rabbit serum albumins.
Serum albumin (SA) is the most abundant plasma protein in mammals. SA is a multifunctional protein with extraordinary ligand binding capacity, making it a transporter molecule for a diverse range of metabolites, drugs, nutrients, metals and other molecules. Due to its ligand binding properties, albumins have wide clinical, pharmaceutical, and biochemical applications. Albumins are also allergenic, and exhibit a high degree of cross-reactivity due to significant sequence and structure similarity of SAs from different organisms. Here we present crystal structures of albumins from cattle (BSA), horse (ESA) and rabbit (RSA) sera. The structural data are correlated with the results of immunological studies of SAs. We also analyze the conservation or divergence of structures and sequences of SAs in the context of their potential allergenicity and cross-reactivity. In addition, we identified a previously uncharacterized ligand binding site in the structure of RSA, and calcium binding sites in the structure of BSA, which is the first serum albumin structure to contain metal ions.
Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA.
Karolina A
KA
Majorek
Przemyslaw J
PJ
Porebski
Arjun
A
Dayal
Matthew D
MD
Zimmerman
Kamila
K
Jablonska
Alan J
AJ
Stewart
Maksymilian
M
Chruszcz
Wladek
W
Minor
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002417:Cattle / Q000097:blood*; D003460:Crystallization; D006736:Horses / Q000097:blood*; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011485:Protein Binding; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D011817:Rabbits / Q000097:blood*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D020539:Sequence Analysis, Protein; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology*; D013045:Species Specificity
D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D012709:Serum Albumin; D002118:Calcium