APOBEC-catalyzed cytosine-to-uracil deamination of single-stranded (ss)DNA has beneficial functions in immunity and detrimental roles in cancer. APOBEC enzymes have intrinsic dinucleotide specificities that impart hallmark mutation signatures. Despite numerous structures, mechanisms for global ssDNA recognition and local target sequence selection remain unclear. Here, we report crystal structures of human APOBEC3A and a chimera of human APOBEC3B and APOBEC3A bound to ssDNA at 3.1 and 1.7 angstroms resolution, respectively. These structures reveal a U-shaped DNA conformation, with the specificity-conferring −1 thymine flipped out and the target cytosine inserted deep into the zinc-coordinating active site pocket. The −1 thymine base fits between flexible loops in a groove that forms upon binding ssDNA, and it makes direct hydrogen bonds with the protein accounting for the strong 5′-TC preference. These studies explain both conserved and unique properties among APOBEC family members, and provide a basis for the rational design of inhibitors to impede the evolvability of viruses and tumors.

Summary Cys-loop receptors are neurotransmitter-gated ion channels that are essential mediators of fast chemical neurotransmission and are associated with a large number of neurological diseases and disorders, as well as parasitic infections1–4. Members of this ion channel superfamily mediate excitatory or inhibitory neurotransmission depending on their ligand and ion selectivity. Structural information for Cys-loop receptors comes from several sources including electron microscopic studies of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor 5, high resolution x-ray structures of extracellular domains6 and x-ray structures of bacterial orthologs 7–10. In 2011 our group published structures of the Caenorhabditis elegans glutamate-gated chloride channel (GluCl) in complex with the allosteric partial agonist, ivermectin, which provided insights into the structure of a possibly open state of a eukaryotic Cys-loop receptor, the basis for anion selectivity and channel block, and the mechanism by which ivermectin and related molecules stabilize the open state and potentiate neurotransmitter binding11. However, there remain unanswered questions about the mechanism of channel opening and closing, the location and nature of the shut ion channel gate, the transitions between the closed/resting, open/activated and closed/desensitized states, and the mechanism by which conformational changes are coupled between the extracellular, orthosteric agonist binding domain and the transmembrane, ion channel domain. Here we present two conformationally distinct structures of GluCl in the absence of ivermectin. Structural comparisons reveal a quaternary activation mechanism arising from rigid body movements between the extracellular and transmembrane domains and a mechanism for modulation of the receptor by phospholipids.

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) catalyzes the oxygenation of arachidonic acid and the endocannabinoids, 2-arachidonoylglycerol and arachidonoylethanolamide. Evaluation of a series of COX-2 inhibitors revealed that many weak, competitive inhibitors of arachidonic acid oxygenation are potent inhibitors of endocannabinoid oxygenation. (R)-Enantiomers of ibuprofen, naproxen, and flurbiprofen, which are considered to be inactive as COX-2 inhibitors, are potent “substrate-selective inhibitors” of endocannabinoid oxygenation. Crystal structures of the COX-2-(R)-naproxen and COX-2-(R)-flurbiprofen complexes verified this unexpected binding and defined the orientation of the (R)-enantiomers relative to (S)-enantiomers. (R)-Profens selectively inhibited endocannabinoid oxygenation by lipopolysaccharide-stimulated dorsal root ganglion cells. Substrate-selective inhibition provides novel tools for investigating the role of COX-2 in endocannabinoid oxygenation and a possible explanation for the ability of (R)-profens to maintain endocannabinoid tone in models of neuropathic pain.