A Staggered Decameric Assembly of Human C-Reactive Protein Stabilized by Zinc Ions Revealed by X-ray Crystallography.
Guillon, C., Bigouagou, U.M., Folio, C., Jeannin, P., Delneste, Y., Gouet, P.(2014) Protein Pept Lett 22: 248-255
- PubMed: 25552313 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.2174/0929866522666141231111226
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
3PVN, 3PVO - PubMed Abstract: 
Human C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase protein, which harbours both host defence and scavenging properties. In this study, we obtained two new crystal forms of CRP, where CRP forms a symmetric, staggered dimer of pentamers. In one of these structures, obtained in the presence of HIV-1 Tat protein, this dimer of pentamers is stabilized by two zinc ions trapped within a cleft of the effector face of CRP. These two decameric interfaces involve complementary surfaces of CRP pentamers and bury a large area of ~2000 Å(2) per pentamer, suggesting a biological role of this interface. These two novel decameric interfaces and the involvement of zinc might have important consequences in the understanding of CRP biological functions.
Organizational Affiliation: 
"Biocrystallography and Structural Biology of Therapeutic Targets", UMR 5086 CNRS Universite de Lyon, IBCP 7, passage du Vercors, 69367 Lyon cedex 7, France. christophe.guillon@ibcp.fr.