Receptor activator of nuclear factor(NF)-κB ligand(RANKL) and its cognate receptor RANK is an essential mediator of osteoclast function and survival. Denosumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody against RANKL, inhibits osteoclastogenesis and is widel...
Receptor activator of nuclear factor(NF)-κB ligand(RANKL) and its cognate receptor RANK is an essential mediator of osteoclast function and survival. Denosumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody against RANKL, inhibits osteoclastogenesis and is widely used not just for the treatment of osteoporosis, but for cancer. Here, we report the crystal structure of the Denosumab Fab fragment in complex with RANKL at resolution of 2.8 Å. This study revealed the key residues for Denosumab/RANKL interaction and suggested the mechanism of RANKL inhibition by blocking the approach of RANKL to RANK on membrane. These results also suggest potential residues for increasing affinity of Denosumab with RANKL.
The occasional emergence of pandemic influenza viruses which result in serious disease made evident the need for faster and higher-yield methods for the production of the influenza vaccine. Expression of fragments of the hemagglutinin(HA) protein in prokaryotic systems can be most efficacious strategy for the manufacture of large quantities of influenza vaccine in a short period of time. Using X-ray crystallography, we show that the receptor binding domain(RBD) of HA refolds spontaneously into its native, immunogenic structure even when expressed in an unglycosylated form in Escherichia coli. In the 2.8 Å structure of the HA-RBD, the data provide a structural basis for the rapid production of influenza vaccines in E. coli.
Myotubularin-related proteins are a large family of phosphatases that have the catalytic activity of dephosphorylating the phospholipid molecules phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate and phosphatidylinositol 3,5-bisphosphate. Each of the 14 family members contains a phosphatase catalytic domain, which is inactive in six family members owing to amino-acid changes in a key motif for the activity. All of the members also bear PH-GRAM domains, which have low homologies between them and have roles that are not clear. Here, the cloning, expression, purification and crystallization of human myotubularin-related protein 3 encompassing the PH-GRAM and the phosphatase catalytic domain are reported. Preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis shows that the crystals diffracted to 3.30 Å resolution at a synchrotron X-ray source. The crystals belonged to space group C2, with unit-cell parameters a= 323.3, b= 263.3, c= 149.4Å, β= 109.7°.