Crystal structure of alpha5beta1 integrin ectodomain: Atomic details of the fibronectin receptor
Nagae, M., Re, S., Mihara, E., Nogi, T., Sugita, Y., Takagi, J.(2012) J Cell Biol 197: 131-140
- PubMed: 22451694 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201111077
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
3VI3, 3VI4 - PubMed Abstract: 
Integrin ¦Á5¦Â1 is a major cellular receptor for the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin and plays a fundamental role during mammalian development. A crystal structure of the ¦Á5¦Â1 integrin headpiece fragment bound by an allosteric inhibitory antibody was determined at a 2.9-? resolution both in the absence and presence of a ligand peptide containing the Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) sequence. The antibody-bound ¦Â1 chain accommodated the RGD ligand with very limited structural changes, which may represent the initial step of cell adhesion mediated by nonactivated integrins. Furthermore, a molecular dynamics simulation pointed to an important role for Ca(2+) in the conformational coupling between the ligand-binding site and the rest of the molecule. The RGD-binding pocket is situated at the center of a trenchlike exposed surface on the top face of ¦Á5¦Â1 devoid of glycosylation sites. The structure also enabled the precise prediction of the acceptor residue for the auxiliary synergy site of fibronectin on the ¦Á5 subunit, which was experimentally confirmed by mutagenesis and kinetic binding assays.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Laboratory of Protein Synthesis and Expression, Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.