No abstract

The x-ray crystal structure of recombinant human interferon-gamma has been determined with the use of multiple-isomorphous-replacement techniques. Interferon-gamma, which is dimeric in solution, crystallizes with two dimers related by a noncrystallographic twofold axis in the asymmetric unit. The protein is primarily alpha helical, with six helices in each subunit that comprise approximately 62 percent of the structure; there is no beta sheet. The dimeric structure of human interferon-gamma is stabilized by the intertwining of helices across the subunit interface with multiple intersubunit interactions.

The program RIBBONS 2.0 allows real‐time viewing of solid shaded ribbon models of macromolecules. The primary features of the software are the ability to create a wide variety of styles of ribbon drawings interactively and to toggle between various coloring schemes chosen to reflect assorted geometrical and biochemical properties. Spheres, cylinders, dots, polygons and text are also supported. The auxiliary programs included make RIBBONS 2.0 a powerful tool for visual structural analysis as well as for presentation graphics. The program is currently available only for the Silicon Graphics 4D series of workstations. A port to the Evans & Sutherland ESV workstation employing PEX is under development.

No abstract

We report here the crystal structure of the minimal ligand-binding segment of the Staphylococcus aureus MSCRAMM, clumping factor A. This ®brinogen-binding segment contains two similarly folded domains. The fold observed is a new variant of the immunoglobulin motif that we have called DE-variant or the DEv-IgG fold. This subgroup includes the ligand-binding domain of the collagen-binding S.aureus MSCRAMM CNA, and many other structures previously classi®ed as jelly rolls. Structure predictions suggest that the four ®brinogen-binding S.aureus MSCRAMMs identi®ed so far would also contain the same DEv-IgG fold. A systematic docking search using the C-terminal region of the ®brinogen g-chain as a probe suggested that a hydrophobic pocket formed between the two DEv-IgG domains of the clumping factor as the ligand-binding site. Mutagenic substitution of residues Tyr256, Pro336, Tyr338 and Lys389 in the clumping factor, which are proposed to contact the terminal residues 408 AGDV 411 of the g-chain, resulted in proteins with no or markedly reduced af®nity for ®brinogen.