title: Purification, crystallization and initial crystallographic analysis of the α-catenin homologue HMP-1 from Caenorhabditis elegans.
abstract: Adherens junctions transmit mechanical force between cells. In these junctions, β-catenin binds to cadherins and to the N-terminal domain of α-catenin, which in turn binds to actin filaments via its C-terminal domain. The middle (M) domain of α-catenin plays an important role in responding to mechanical tension. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans contains α- and β-catenin homologues called HMP-1 and HMP-2, respectively, but HMP-1 behaves differently from its mammalian homologue. Thus, structural and biochemical studies of HMP-1 have been initiated to understand the mechanism of HMP-1 and the evolution of α-catenin. The N-terminal domain of HMP-1 in complex with the minimal HMP-1-binding region of HMP-2 was purified and crystallized. These crystals diffracted to 1.6 Å resolution and belonged to space group P3(1)21, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 57.1, c = 155.4 Å. The M domain of HMP-1 was also purified and crystallized. The M-domain crystals diffracted to 2.4 Å resolution and belonged to space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 72.8, b = 81.5, c = 151.4 Å. Diffraction data were collected and processed from each crystal, and the structures were solved by molecular replacement.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyunook
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Injin
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bang
authors.affiliation: Departments of Structural Biology and of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: William I
authors.initials: WI
authors.lastname: Weis
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hee-Jung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D003460:Crystallization; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D000072417:Protein Domains; D051178:alpha Catenin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; C000600734:HMP-1 protein, C elegans; D051178:alpha Catenin
keywords: Caenorhabditis elegans; HMP-1; adherens junction; α-catenin