title: Structure of native oligomeric Sprouty2 by electron microscopy and its property of electroconductivity.
abstract: Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) regulate many cellular processes, and Sprouty2 (Spry2) is known as an important regulator of RTK signaling pathways. Therefore, it is worth investigating the properties of Spry2 in more detail. In this study, we found that Spry2 is able to self-assemble into oligomers with a high-affinity KD value of approximately 16nM, as determined through BIAcore surface plasmon resonance analysis. The three-dimensional (3D) structure of Spry2 was resolved using an electron microscopy (EM) single-particle reconstruction approach, which revealed that Spry2 is donut-shaped with two lip-cover domains. Furthermore, the method of energy dispersive spectrum obtained through EM was analyzed to determine the elements carried by Spry2, and the results demonstrated that Spry2 is a silicon- and iron-containing protein. The silicon may contribute to the electroconductivity of Spry2, and this property exhibits a concentration-dependent feature. This study provides the first report of a silicon- and iron-containing protein, and its 3D structure may allow us (1) to study the potential mechanism through the signal transduction is controlled by switching the electronic transfer on or off and (2) to develop a new type of conductor or even semiconductor using biological or half-biological hybrid materials in the future.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular and Genomic Medicine, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli 35053, Taiwan, ROC; Department of Photonics & Institute of Electro-Optical Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Feng-Jung
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Kuan-Wei
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Chun-Chieh
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Sue-Ping
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hsiao-Hsuian
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Shu-Ping
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Bang-Hung
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Ling-Mei
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Gunn-Guang
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Liou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D006801:Humans; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D007501:Iron / Q000032:analysis; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D012825:Silicon / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D007501:Iron; D012825:Silicon
keywords: BIAcore surface plasmon resonance (BIAcore SPR); Electroconductivity; Electron microscopy single particle reconstruction (EM SPR); Energy dispersive spectrum (EDS); Sprouty2 (Spry2)