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Magnesium ions are abundant and play indispensable functions in the ribosome. A decrease in Mg2+ concentration causes 70S ribosome dissociation and subsequent unfolding. Structural distortion at low Mg2+ concentrations has been observed in an immature pre50S, while the structural changes in mature subunits have not yet been studied. Here, we purified the 30S subunits of E. coli cells under various Mg2+ concentrations and analyzed their structural distortion by cryo-electron microscopy. Upon systematically interrogating the structural heterogeneity within the 1 mM Mg2+ dataset, we observed 30S particles with different levels of structural distortion in the decoding center, h17, and the 30S head. Our model showed that, when the Mg2+ concentration decreases, the decoding center distorts, starting from h44 and followed by the shifting of h18 and h27, as well as the dissociation of ribosomal protein S12. Mg2+ deficiency also eliminates the interactions between h17, h10, h15, and S16, resulting in the movement of h17 towards the tip of h6. More flexible structures were observed in the 30S head and platform, showing high variability in these regions. In summary, the structures resolved here showed several prominent distortion events in the decoding center and h17. The requirement for Mg2+ in ribosomes suggests that the conformational changes reported here are likely shared due to a lack of cellular Mg2+ in all domains of life.

Myo2, a yeast class V myosin, transports a broad range of organelles and plays important roles in various cellular processes, including cell division in budding yeast. Despite the fact that several structures of Myo2/cargo adaptor complexes have been determined, the understanding of the versatile cargo-binding modes of Myo2 is still very limited, given the large number of cargo adaptors identified for Myo2. Here, we used ColabFold, an AlphaFold2-powered and easy-to-use tool, to predict the complex structures of Myo2-GTD and its several cargo adaptors. After benchmarking the prediction strategy with three Myo2/cargo adaptor complexes that have been determined previously, we successfully predicted the atomic structures of Myo2-GTD in complex with another three cargo adaptors, Vac17, Kar9 and Pea2, which were confirmed by our biochemical characterizations. By systematically comparing the interaction details of the six complexes of Myo2 and its cargo adaptors, we summarized the cargo-binding modes on the three conserved sites of Myo2-GTD, providing an overall picture of the versatile cargo-recognition mechanisms of Myo2. In addition, our study demonstrates an efficient and effective solution to study protein–protein interactions in the future via the AlphaFold2-powered prediction.

The universally conserved Gly-Gly-Gln (GGQ) tripeptide in release factors or release factor-like surveillance proteins is required to catalyze the release of nascent peptide in the ribosome. The glutamine of the GGQ is methylated post-translationally at the N5 position in vivo; this covalent modification is essential for optimal cell growth and efficient translation termination. However, the precise conformation of the methylated-GGQ tripeptide in the ribosome remains unknown. Using cryoEM and X-ray crystallography, we report the conformation of methylated-GGQ in the peptidyl transferase center of the ribosome during canonical translational termination and co-translation quality control. It has been suggested that the GGQ motif arose independently through convergent evolution among otherwise unrelated proteins that catalyze peptide release. The requirement for this tripeptide in the highly conserved peptidyl transferase center suggests that the conformation reported here is likely shared during termination of protein synthesis in all domains of life.

Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein L (hnRNP L) is an abundant RNA-binding protein implicated in many bioprocesses, including pre-mRNA processing, mRNA export of intronless genes, internal ribosomal entry site-mediated translation, and chromatin modification. It contains four RNA recognition motifs (RRMs) that bind with CA repeats or CA-rich elements. In this study, surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy assays revealed that all four RRM domains contribute to RNA binding. Furthermore, we elucidated the crystal structures of hnRNP L RRM1 and RRM34 at 2.0 and 1.8 Å, respectively. These RRMs all adopt the typical β1α1β2β3α2β4 topology, except for an unusual fifth β-strand in RRM3. RRM3 and RRM4 interact intimately with each other mainly through helical surfaces, leading the two β-sheets to face opposite directions. Structure-based mutations and surface plasmon resonance assay results suggested that the β-sheets of RRM1 and RRM34 are accessible for RNA binding. FRET-based gel shift assays (FRET-EMSA) and steady-state FRET assays, together with cross-linking and dynamic light scattering assays, demonstrated that hnRNP L RRM34 facilitates RNA looping when binding to two appropriately separated binding sites within the same target pre-mRNA. EMSA and isothermal titration calorimetry binding studies with in vivo target RNA suggested that hnRNP L-mediated RNA looping may occur in vivo. Our study provides a mechanistic explanation for the dual functions of hnRNP L in alternative splicing regulation as an activator or repressor.

AhV_aPA, the acidic PLA 2 purified from Agkistrodon halys pallas venom, was previously reported to possess a strong enzymatic activity and can remarkably induce a further contractile response on the 60 mM K + -induced contraction with an EC 50 in 369 nM on mouse thoracic aorta rings. In the present study, we found that the p -bromo-phenacyl-bromide ( p BPB), which can completely inhibit the enzymatic activity of AhV_aPA, did not significantly reduce the contractile response on vessel rings induced by AhV_aPA, indicating that the vasoconstrictor effects of AhV_aPA are independent of the enzymatic activity. The inhibitor experiments showed that the contractile response induced by AhV_aPA is mainly attributed to the Ca 2+ releasing from Ca 2+ store, especially sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). Detailed studies showed that the Ca 2+ release from SR is related to the activation of inositol trisphosphate receptors (IP 3 Rs) rather than ryanodine receptors (RyRs). Furthermore, the vasoconstrictor effect could be strongly reduced by pre-incubation with heparin, indicating that the basic amino acid residues on the surface of AhV_aPA may be involved in the interaction between AhV_aPA and the molecular receptors. These findings offer new insights into the functions of snake PLA 2 and provide a novel pathogenesis of A. halys pallas venom.

Quality control mechanisms intervene appropriately when defective translation events occur, in order to preserve the integrity of protein synthesis. Rescue of ribosomes translating on messenger RNAs that lack stop codons is one of the co-translational quality control pathways. In many bacteria, ArfA recognizes stalled ribosomes and recruits the release factor RF2, which catalyses the termination of protein synthesis. Although an induced-fit mechanism of nonstop mRNA surveillance mediated by ArfA and RF2 has been reported, the molecular interaction between ArfA and RF2 in the ribosome that is responsible for the mechanism is unknown. Here we report an electron cryo-microscopy structure of ArfA and RF2 in complex with the 70S ribosome bound to a nonstop mRNA. The structure, which is consistent with our kinetic and biochemical data, reveals the molecular interactions that enable ArfA to specifically recruit RF2, not RF1, into the ribosome and to enable RF2 to release the truncated protein product in this co-translational quality control pathway. The positively charged C-terminal domain of ArfA anchors in the mRNA entry channel of the ribosome. Furthermore, binding of ArfA and RF2 induces conformational changes in the ribosomal decoding centre that are similar to those seen in other protein-involved decoding processes. Specific interactions between residues in the N-terminal domain of ArfA and RF2 help RF2 to adopt a catalytically competent conformation for peptide release. Our findings provide a framework for understanding recognition of the translational state of the ribosome by new proteins, and expand our knowledge of the decoding potential of the ribosome.

Phospholipases A2(PLA2s) are the major component of snake venoms and exert a variety of relevant toxic actions such as neurotoxicity and myotoxicity, amongst others. An acidic PLA2, here named AhV_aPA, was purified fromAgkistrodon halys pallasvenom by means of a three-step chromatographic procedure. AhV_aPA migrated as a single band on SDS–PAGE gels, with a molecular weight of about 14 kDa. Like other acidic aPLA2s, AhV_aPA has high enzymatic activity. Tension measurements of mouse thoracic aortic rings remarkably indicated that AhV_aPA could induce a further contractile response on the 60 mMK+-induced contraction, with an EC50of 369 nmol l−1. Rod-shaped crystals were obtained by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method and diffracted to a resolution limit of 2.30 Å. The crystals belonged to space groupP222, with unit-cell parametersa= 44.27,b= 68.39,c= 81.54 Å.

Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) is an important component in snake venoms. Here, an acidic PLA2, designated PA2-Vb was isolated from the Trimeresurus stejnegeri snake venom. PA2-Vb acts on a protease-activated receptor (PAR-1) to evoke Ca2+ release through the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R) and induces mouse aorta contraction. PAR-1, phospholipase C and IP3R inhibitors suppressed PA2-Vb-induced aorta contraction. The crystal structure reveals that PA2-Vb has the typical fold of most snake venom PLA2. Several PEG molecules bond to a positively charged pocket. The finding offers a novel pharmacological basis of the structure for investigating the PAR-1 receptor and suggests potential applications for PA2-Vb in the vascular system.

A series of E-ring γ-lactone camptothecin derivatives were synthesized by semi-synthesis via a three-step domino reaction. Their biological activity was evaluated on two types of human tumor cell lines A549 and HT-29 with sulforhodamine-B (SRB) method. The antitumor activity of these compounds was lower than SN-38, only compound 12c was found to be close to the activity of Topotecan. The structure–activity relationship (SAR) of these analogs was studied and discussed.

A snake venom thrombin-like enzyme (SVTLE) from Agkistrodon halys pallas venom was isolated by means of a two-step chromatographic procedure. The purified enzyme, named AhV_TL-I, showed fibrinogenolytic activity against both the Aα and Bβ chains of bovine fibrinogen. Unlike the other SVTLEs, AhV_TL-I has poor esterolytic activity upon BAEE substrate. The N-terminal sequence of AhV_TL-I was determined to be IIGGDEXNINEHRFLVALYT, and the molecular mass was confirmed to 29389.533 Da by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Its complete cDNA and derived amino acid sequence were obtained by RT-PCR. The crystal structure of AhV_TL-I was determined at a resolution of 1.75 Å. A disaccharide was clearly mapped in the structure, which involved in regulating the esterolytic activity of AhV_TL-I. The presence of the N-glycan deformed the 99-loop, and the resulting steric hindrances hindered the substrates to access the active site. Furthermore, with the carbohydrate moiety, AhV_TL-I could induce mouse thoracic aortic ring contraction with the EC(50) of 147 nmol/L. Besides, the vasoconstrictor effects of AhV_TL-I were also independent of the enzymatic activity. The results of [Ca(2+)](i) measurement showed that the vasoconstrictor effects of AhV_TL-I were attributed to Ca(2+) releasing from Ca(2+) store. Further studies showed that it was related to the activation of ryanodine receptors (RyRs). These offer new insights into the snake SVTLEs functions and provide a novel pathogenesis of A. halys pallas venom.

UbiG, an O-methyltransferase from the ubiquinone-biosynthesis pathway in Escherichia coli, catalyzes two O-methyl transfer steps. The primary structures of the O-methyltransferase enzyme family used in ubiquinone synthesis are conserved in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, but their tertiary structures and catalytic mechanisms are not yet known. Here, UbiG with an N-terminal hexahistidine tag was expressed and crystallized. Crystals grown by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method diffracted to 2.00 Å resolution and belonged to space group C121, with unit-cell parameters a = 119.8, b = 58.6, c = 40.2 Å, β = 105.3°. Both Matthews coefficient analysis and the self-rotation function suggested the presence of one molecule per asymmetric unit in the crystal, with a solvent content of 50.52% (V(M) = 2.48 Å(3) Da(-1)).