Two different neurodegenerative diseases caused by proteins with similar structures
Data(s) |
27/02/2001
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Resumo |
The downstream prion-like protein (doppel, or Dpl) is a paralog of the cellular prion protein, PrPC. The two proteins have ≈25% sequence identity, but seem to have distinct physiologic roles. Unlike PrPC, Dpl does not support prion replication; instead, overexpression of Dpl in the brain seems to cause a completely different neurodegenerative disease. We report the solution structure of a fragment of recombinant mouse Dpl (residues 26–157) containing a globular domain with three helices and a small amount of β-structure. Overall, the topology of Dpl is very similar to that of PrPC. Significant differences include a marked kink in one of the helices in Dpl, and a different orientation of the two short β-strands. Although the two proteins most likely arose through duplication of a single ancestral gene, the relationship is now so distant that only the structures retain similarity; the functions have diversified along with the sequence. |
Identificador |
/pmc/articles/PMC30142/ /pubmed/11226243 |
Idioma(s) |
en |
Publicador |
The National Academy of Sciences |
Direitos |
Copyright © 2001, The National Academy of Sciences |
Palavras-Chave | #Biological Sciences |
Tipo |
Text |