Biology subjects

Berezuk, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Berezuk, A..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2021

Cryo-EM reveals disrupted human p97 allosteric activation by disease mutations and inhibitor binding

The human AAA ATPase p97, a potential cancer target, plays a vital role in clearing misfolded proteins. p97 dysfunction is also known to play a crucial role in several neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we present cryo-EM structural analyses of four disease mutants p97R155H, p97R191Q, p97A232E, p97D592N, as well as p97E470D, implicated in resistance to the drug CB-5083. These structures demonstrate that the mutations affect nucleotide-driven p97 allosteric activation by predominantly interfering with either the coupling between the D1 and N-terminal domains (p97R155H and p97R191Q), the inter-protomer interactions (p97A232E), or the coupling between D1 and D2 nucleotide domains (p97D592N, p97E470D). We also show that binding of the competitive inhibitor CB-5083 to the D2 domain prevents conformational changes similar to that seen for mutations that affect coupling between D1 and D2 domains. Our studies enable tracing of the path of allosteric activation across p97 and establish a common mechanistic link between active site inhibition and defects in allosteric activation by disease-causing mutations.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2021

Cryo-EM Structure of the N501Y SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein in Complex with a Potent Neutralizing Antibody

The recently reported "UK variant" of SARS-CoV-2 is thought to be more infectious than previously circulating strains as a result of several changes, including the N501Y mutation. We present a 2.9-[A] resolution cryo-EM structure of the complex between the ACE2 receptor and N501Y spike protein ectodomains that shows Y501 inserted into a cavity at the binding interface near Y41 of ACE2. The additional interactions result in increased affinity of ACE2 for the N501Y mutant, accounting for its increased infectivity. However, this mutation does not result in large structural changes, enabling important neutralization epitopes to be retained in the spike receptor binding domain. We confirmed this through biophysical assays and by determining cryo-EM structures of spike protein ectodomains bound to two representative potent neutralizing antibody fragments. Short summaryThe N501Y mutation found in the coronavirus UK variant increases infectivity but some neutralizing antibodies can still bind.

biophysics↗