Structural analysis of the Laetiporus sulphureus hemolytic pore-forming lectin in complex with sugars

J Biol Chem. 2005 Apr 29;280(17):17251-9. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M413933200. Epub 2005 Feb 1.

Abstract

LSL is a lectin produced by the parasitic mushroom Laetiporus sulphureus, which exhibits hemolytic and hemagglutinating activities. Here, we report the crystal structure of LSL refined to 2.6-A resolution determined by the single isomorphous replacement method with the anomalous scatter (SIRAS) signal of a platinum derivative. The structure reveals that LSL is hexameric, which was also shown by analytical ultracentrifugation. The monomeric protein (35 kDa) consists of two distinct modules: an N-terminal lectin module and a pore-forming module. The lectin module has a beta-trefoil scaffold that bears structural similarities to those present in toxins known to interact with galactose-related carbohydrates such as the hemagglutinin component (HA1) of the progenitor toxin from Clostridium botulinum, abrin, and ricin. On the other hand, the C-terminal pore-forming module (composed of domains 2 and 3) exhibits three-dimensional structural resemblances with domains 3 and 4 of the beta-pore-forming toxin aerolysin from the Gram-negative bacterium Aeromonas hydrophila, and domains 2 and 3 from the epsilon-toxin from Clostridium perfringens. This finding reveals the existence of common structural elements within the aerolysin-like family of toxins that could be directly involved in membrane-pore formation. The crystal structures of the complexes of LSL with lactose and N-acetyllactosamine reveal two dissacharide-binding sites per subunit and permits the identification of critical residues involved in sugar binding.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Abrin / chemistry
  • Aeromonas hydrophila / metabolism
  • Agaricales / metabolism*
  • Amino Acid Motifs
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Amino Sugars / chemistry
  • Binding Sites
  • Carbohydrates / chemistry*
  • Clostridium botulinum / metabolism
  • Clostridium perfringens / metabolism
  • Crystallography, X-Ray
  • Disaccharides / chemistry
  • Galactose / chemistry
  • Lactose / chemistry
  • Lectins / chemistry*
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Platinum / chemistry*
  • Protein Conformation
  • Protein Structure, Secondary
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Ricin / chemistry
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Ultracentrifugation

Substances

  • Amino Sugars
  • Carbohydrates
  • Disaccharides
  • Lectins
  • Abrin
  • N-acetyllactosamine
  • Platinum
  • Ricin
  • Lactose
  • Galactose

Associated data

  • PDB/1W3A
  • PDB/1W3F
  • PDB/1W3G