Download MendeleyThe crystal structure of human interferon beta at 2.2-A resolution.
Karpusas, M., Nolte, M., Benton, C.B., Meier, W., Lipscomb, W.N., Goelz, S.(1997) Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 94: 11813-11818
- PubMed: 9342320
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.94.22.11813
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:
1AU1 - PubMed Abstract:
Type I interferons (IFNs) are helical cytokines that have diverse biological activities despite the fact that they appear to interact with the same receptor system. To achieve a better understanding of the structural basis for the different activities of alpha and beta IFNs, we have determined the crystal structure of glycosylated human IFN-beta at 2.2-A resolution by molecular replacement. The molecule adopts a fold similar to that of the previously determined structures of murine IFN-beta and human IFN-alpha2b but displays several distinct structural features. Like human IFN-alpha2b, human IFN-beta contains a zinc-binding site at the interface of the two molecules in the asymmetric unit, raising the question of functional relevance for IFN-beta dimers. However, unlike the human IFN-alpha2b dimer, in which homologous surfaces form the interface, human IFN-beta dimerizes with contact surfaces from opposite sides of the molecule. The relevance of the structure to the effects of point mutations in IFN-beta at specific exposed residues is discussed. A potential role of ligand-ligand interactions in the conformational assembly of IFN receptor components is discussed.
Organizational Affiliation:
Biogen, Inc., 12 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Michael_Karpusas@biogen.com
