TRPM2 is a member of the transient receptor potential melastatin-related (TRPM) family of cation channels, which possesses both ion channel and ADP-ribose hydrolase functions. TRPM2 has been shown to gate in response to oxidative and nitrosative stresses, but the mechanism through which TRPM2 gating is induced by these types of stimuli is not clear. Here we show through structure-guided mutagenesis that TRPM2 gating by ADP-ribose and both oxidative and nitrosative stresses requires an intact ADP-ribose binding cleft in the Cterminal nudix domain. We also show that oxidative/ nitrosative stress-induced gating can be inhibited by pharmacological reagents predicted to inhibit NAD hydrolysis to ADP-ribose and by suppression of ADP-ribose accumulation by cytosolic or mitochondrial overexpression of an enzyme that specifically hydrolyzes ADP-ribose. Overall, our data are most consistent with a model of oxidative and nitrosative stress-induced TRPM2 activation in which mitochondria are induced to produce free ADP-ribose and release it to the cytosol, where its subsequent accumulation induces TRPM2 gating via interaction within a binding cleft in the C-terminal NUDT9-H domain of TRPM2.Eukaryotic cells have been shown to react and adapt to conditions of oxidative stress produced by disulfide-inducing chemicals, reactive oxygen species (ROS), 1 or reactive nitrogen species (RNS) through a variety of redox-sensitive signaling pathways (variously reviewed in Refs. 1-12). Recently, the TRPM2 cation channel has been shown to undergo gating in response to oxidative or nitrosative stress occurring upon ROS or RNS exposure (13,14). As TRPM2 is a novel dual function protein that possesses both ion channel and ADP-ribose hydrolase functions (15, 16), there has been great interest in understanding the molecular mechanisms through which oxidative and nitrosative stress activate TRPM2 channels, as well as the physiological role(s) of TRPM2-mediated ion fluxes and enzymatic activity in the context of cellular exposure to ROS and RNS.TRPM2 is classified as a member of the transient receptor potential melastatin-related (TRPM) ion channel family based on the homology of its Ϸ600 amino acid N-terminal domain and Ϸ300 amino acid channel-forming domain to corresponding regions of other TRPM family members. The enzymatic function of TRPM is encoded by a C-terminal domain, designated the NUDT9-homology (NUDT9-H) domain, which is homologous to the NUDT9 ADP-ribose hydrolase (15,17). In vitro studies of TRPM2 channel function using patch clamp techniques have suggested that ADP-ribose and NAD are both able to directly induce gating of full-length TRPM2 channels (14,15,18), and in vitro studies of the NUDT9-H domain demonstrate that it has a low level of ADP-ribose hydrolase activity and the apparent capacity to interact with NAD through its nudix hydrolase enzymatic motif (14, 15). However, there is a significant gap in understanding how the in vitro data on TRPM2 function relate to oxidative/nitrosative stress-induced TRPM2 gating in intact c...

Human factor VIII is a plasma glycoprotein that has a critical role in blood coagulation. Factor VIII circulates as a complex with von Willebrand factor. After cleavage by thrombin, factor VIIIa associates with factor IXa at the surface of activated platelets or endothelial cells. This complex activates factor X (refs 6, 7), which in turn converts prothrombin to thrombin in the presence of factor Va (refs 8, 9). The carboxyl-terminal C2 domain of factor VIII contains sites that are essential for its binding to von Willebrand factor and to negatively charged phospholipid surfaces. Here we report the structure of human factor VIII C2 domain at 1.5 A resolution. The structure reveals a beta-sandwich core, from which two beta-turns and a loop display a group of solvent-exposed hydrophobic residues. Behind the hydrophobic surface lies a ring of positively charged residues. This motif suggests a mechanism for membrane binding involving both hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. The structure explains, in part, mutations in the C2 region of factor VIII that lead to bleeding disorders in haemophilia A.

Factor VIII (fVIII) is a serum protein in the coagulation cascade that nucleates the assembly of a membrane-bound protease complex on the surface of activated platelets at the site of a vascular injury. Hemophilia A is caused by a variety of mutations in the factor VIII gene and typically requires replacement therapy with purified protein. We have determined the structure of a fully active, recombinant form of factor VIII (r-fVIII), which consists of a heterodimer of peptides, respectively containing the A1-A2 and A3-C1-C2 do IntroductionThe principal mechanism used to stop the loss of blood in mammals following vascular injury consists of a pair of overlapping proteolytic cascades called the extrinsic and intrinsic pathways. [1][2][3][4] The process of blood coagulation requires extraordinary spatial and temporal regulation, which is accomplished by assembling and tethering the central proteolytic activities of these cascades at the location of transiently exposed biomolecules and cellular surfaces ( Figure 1A). This includes an integral membrane protein called "tissue factor" that initiates the rapid up-regulation of the short-lived extrinsic pathway, 5 and the surfaces of activated platelets, which modulate the activation of the longer-lived intrinsic pathway. 6 A total of 2 homologous procoagulants, factors V and VIII (fV and fVIII), are each localized on the surface of these platelets, where they nucleate the assembly of multiprotein proteolytic complexes.When fVIII is bound to activated platelets at the site of vascular injury, it recruits the serine protease fIXa into a complex that then catalyzes the proteolytic activation of fX. 1,4,7 The proteolytic activity of fIXa is enhanced by approximately 200 000-fold through its interaction with fVIII, calcium, and the phospholipid bilayer, 8 corresponding to an increase of approximately 10 9 in k cat /K M .The full-length, unprocessed fVIII protein consists of 2332 amino acid residues and has the domain structure A1-A2-B-A3-C1-C2 9-12 ( Figure 1B). The 3 A domains are each approximately 330 residues, and approximately 40% identical to each other and to the copper-binding protein ceruloplasmin. 13 The C domains are smaller (approximately 160 residues) and are more distantly related to various members of the discoidin protein fold family, such as galactose oxidase. [14][15][16][17] The B domain has no known structural homologs, is heavily glycosylated, and is relatively dispensible for procoagulant activity. fVIII is initially processed by proteolytic cleavage events that remove a large portion of the B domain, generating a heterodimer that circulates in a tight complex with von Willebrand factor (VWF). 18 This interaction is essential for maintaining stable levels of fVIII in circulation. 19 Upon vascular injury, further proteolytic processing generates activated factor VIIIa (fVIIIa), a heterotrimer (A1/A2/A3-C1-C2) that is released from VWF and binds to activated platelets. 18 The carboxy-terminal 159 amino acids of fVIII comprise its C2 domain, which is invo...

We describe a computationally designed enzyme, formolase (FLS), which catalyzes the carboligation of three one-carbon formaldehyde molecules into one three-carbon dihydroxyacetone molecule. The existence of FLS enables the design of a new carbon fixation pathway, the formolase pathway, consisting of a small number of thermodynamically favorable chemical transformations that convert formate into a three-carbon sugar in central metabolism. The formolase pathway is predicted to use carbon more efficiently and with less backward flux than any naturally occurring one-carbon assimilation pathway. When supplemented with enzymes carrying out the other steps in the pathway, FLS converts formate into dihydroxyacetone phosphate and other central metabolites in vitro. These results demonstrate how modern protein engineering and design tools can facilitate the construction of a completely new biosynthetic pathway.computational protein design | pathway engineering | carbon fixation N ovel strategies are needed to address current challenges in energy storage and carbon sequestration. One approach is to engineer biological systems to convert one-carbon compounds into multicarbon molecules such as fuels and other high value chemicals. Many synthetic pathways to produce value-added chemicals from common feedstocks, such as glucose, have been constructed in organisms that lack one-carbon anabolic pathways, such as Escherichia coli or Saccharomyces cerevisiae (1-3); however, despite considerable effort, it has been difficult to introduce heterologous one-carbon fixing pathways into these organisms (4). Likely problems include the inherent complexity, environmental sensitivity, inefficiency, or unfavorable chemical driving force of naturally occurring one-carbon metabolic pathways (5).An optimal pathway for one-carbon utilization in common synthetic biology platforms would be (i) composed of a minimal number of enzymes, (ii) linear and disconnected from other metabolic pathways, (iii) thermodynamically favorable with a significant driving force at most or all steps, and (iv) capable of functioning in a robust manner under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions (5). A pathway with these properties could enable the assimilation of one-carbon molecules as the sole carbon source for the production of fuels and chemicals. Although no such pathway is known in nature, the established electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to formate under ambient temperatures and pressures in neutral aqueous solutions provides an attractive starting point for a onecarbon fixation pathway (5-8).We describe the computational design of an enzyme that catalyzes the carboligation of three one-carbon molecules into a single three-carbon molecule. This enzyme enables the construction of a new pathway, the formolase pathway, in which formate is converted into the central metabolite dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP; Fig. 1). The use of computational protein design to reengineer catalytic activities opens up the pathway design space beyond that available based o...