title: Expression, purification, crystallization and crystallographic study of Lutzomyia longipalpis LJL143.
abstract: Leishmaniasis is a neglected vector-borne disease with a global prevalence of over 12 million cases and 59,000 annual deaths. Transmission of the parasite requires salivary proteins, including LJL143 from the New World sandfly Lutzomyia longipalpis. LJL143 is a known marker of sandfly exposure in zoonotic hosts. LJL143 was crystallized from soluble protein expressed using Pichia pastoris. X-ray data were collected to 2.6 Å resolution from orthorhombic crystals belonging to space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), with average unit-cell parameters a = 57.39, b = 70.24, c = 79.58 Å. The crystals are predicted to have a monomer in the asymmetric unit, with an estimated solvent content of 48.5%. LJL143 has negligible homology to any reported structures, so the phases could not be determined by molecular replacement. All attempts at S-SAD failed and future studies include experimental phase determination using heavy-atom derivatives.
authors.affiliation: National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, 1102 Bates Avenue, Suite 550, Mail Stop BCM320, Houston, TX 77030-3411, USA.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kelleher
authors.affiliation: National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, 1102 Bates Avenue, Suite 550, Mail Stop BCM320, Houston, TX 77030-3411, USA.
authors.forename: Zhuyun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, 1102 Bates Avenue, Suite 550, Mail Stop BCM320, Houston, TX 77030-3411, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Seid
authors.affiliation: National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, 1102 Bates Avenue, Suite 550, Mail Stop BCM320, Houston, TX 77030-3411, USA.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhan
authors.affiliation: National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, 1102 Bates Avenue, Suite 550, Mail Stop BCM320, Houston, TX 77030-3411, USA.
authors.forename: Oluwatoyin A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Asojo
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003460:Crystallization; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray / Q000379:methods; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011576:Psychodidae; D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides
keywords: Lutzomyia longipalpis; diagnosis; leishmaniasis; neglected tropical diseases; salivary proteins; sandfly; transmission