Background-Peanut allergy affects 1% of the population and causes the most fatal food-related anaphylactic reactions. The protein Ara h 2 is the most potent peanut allergen recognized by 80-90% of peanut allergic patients.

Background: Brominated flame retardants (BFRs), used in many types of consumer goods, are being studied because of concerns about possible health effects related to endocrine disruption, immunotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, and neurotoxicity. Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), the most widely used BFR, and human metabolites of certain congeners of polybrominated diphenyl ether (e.g., 3-OH-BDE-47) have been suggested to inhibit estrogen sulfotransferase, potentially affecting estrogen metabolism.Objectives: Our primary goal was to understand the structural mechanism for inhibition of the hormone-metabolizing enzyme estrogen sulfotransferase by certain BFRs. We also sought to understand various factors that facilitate the binding of flame retardants in the enzyme binding pocket.Methods: We used X-ray crystallography to obtain atomic detail of the binding modes of TBBPA and 3-OH-BDE-47 to estrogen sulfotransferase for comparison with binding of the endogenous substrate estradiol.Results: The crystal structures reveal how BFRs mimic estradiol binding as well as the various interactions between the compounds and protein residues that facilitate its binding. In addition, the structures provide insights into the ability of the sulfotransferase substrate binding pocket to accommodate a range of halogenated compounds that satisfy minimal structural criteria.Conclusions: Our results show how BFRs or their metabolites can bind to and inhibit a key hormone-metabolizing enzyme, potentially causing endocrine disruption.Citation: Gosavi RA, Knudsen GA, Birnbaum LS, Pedersen LC. 2013. Mimicking of estradiol binding by flame retardants and their metabolites: a crystallographic analysis. Environ Health Perspect 121:1194–1199; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1306902

Although most DNA polymerases discriminate against ribonucleotide triphosphaets (rNTPs) during DNA synthesis, recent studies have shown that large numbers of ribonucleotides are incorporated into the eukaryotic nuclear genome. Here, we investigate how a DNA polymerase can stably incorporate an rNTP. The X-ray crystal structure of a variant of human DNA polymerase λ reveals that the rNTP occupies the nucleotide binding pocket without distortion of the active site, despite an unfavorable interaction between the 2′-O and Tyr505 backbone carbonyl. This indicates an energetically unstable binding state for the rNTP, stabilized by additional protein–nucleotide interactions. Supporting this idea is the 200-fold lower catalytic efficiency for rNTP relative to deoxyribonucleotide triphosphate (dNTP) incorporation, reflecting a higher apparent Km value for the rNTP. Furthermore, distortion observed in the structure of the post-catalytic product complex suggests that once the bond between the α- and β-phosphates of the rNTP is broken, the unfavorable binding state of the ribonucleotide cannot be maintained. Finally, structural and biochemical evaluation of dNTP insertion onto an ribonucleotide monophosphate (rNMP)-terminated primer indicates that a primer-terminal rNMP does not impede extension. The results are relevant to how ribonucleotides are incorporated into DNA in vivo, during replication and during repair, perhaps especially in non-proliferating cells when rNTP:dNTP ratios are high.