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The NMR solution structure of recombinant RGD-hirudin.

Song X, Mo W, Liu X, Zhu L, Yan X, Song H, Dai L

Center of Analysis and Measurement, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.

The solution structure of a new recombinant RGD-hirudin, which has the activities of anti-thrombin and anti-platelet aggregation, was determined by (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and compared with the conformations of recombinant wild-type hirudin and hirudin (variant 2, Lys47) of the hirudin thrombin complex. On the basis of total 1284 distance and dihedral angle constraints derived from a series of NMR spectra, 20 conformers were computed with ARIA/CNS programs. The structure of residues 3-30 and 37-48 form a molecular core with two antiparallel beta-sheets as the other two hirudins. However, significant differences were found in the surface electrostatic charge distributions among the three hirudins, especially in the RGD segment of recombinant RGD-hirudin. This difference may be greatly beneficial to its additional function of anti-platelet aggregation. The difference in extended C-terminal makes its both ionic and hydrophobic interactions with the fibrinogen recognition exosite of thrombin more effective.

Published 3 July 2007 in Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 360(1): 103-8.
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