8WZX image
Entry Detail
PDB ID:
8WZX
EMDB ID:
Keywords:
Title:
Cryo-EM structure of the hamster prion 23-144 fibril at pH 3.7
Biological Source:
Source Organism:
PDB Version:
Deposition Date:
2023-11-02
Release Date:
2024-05-01
Method Details:
Experimental Method:
Resolution:
2.88 Å
Aggregation State:
FILAMENT
Reconstruction Method:
HELICAL
Macromolecular Entities
Polymer Type:polypeptide(L)
Description:Major prion protein
Chain IDs:A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T
Chain Length:123
Number of Molecules:20
Biological Source:Mesocricetus auratus
Ligand Molecules
Primary Citation
The Positively Charged Cluster in the N-terminal Disordered Region may Affect Prion Protein Misfolding: Cryo-EM Structure of Hamster PrP(23-144) Fibrils.
J.Mol.Biol. 436 168576 168576 (2024)
PMID: 38641239 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2024.168576

Abstact

Prions, the misfolding form of prion proteins, are contagious proteinaceous macromolecules. Recent studies have shown that infectious prion fibrils formed in the brain and non-infectious fibrils formed from recombinant prion protein in a partially denaturing condition have distinct structures. The amyloid core of the in vitro-prepared non-infectious fibrils starts at about residue 160, while that of infectious prion fibrils formed in the brain involves a longer sequence (residues ∼90-230) of structural conversion. The C-terminal truncated prion protein PrP(23-144) can form infectious fibrils under certain conditions and cause disease in animals. In this study, we used cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to resolve the structure of hamster sHaPrP(23-144) fibrils prepared at pH 3.7. This 2.88 Å cryo-EM structure has an amyloid core covering residues 94-144. It comprises two protofilaments, each containing five β-strands arranged as a long hairpin plus an N-terminal β-strand. This N-terminal β-strand resides in a positively charged cluster region (named PCC2; sequence 96-111), which interacts with the turn region of the opposite protofilaments' hairpin to stabilize the fibril structure. Interestingly, this sHaPrP(23-144) fibril structure differs from a recently reported structure formed by the human or mouse counterpart at pH 6.5. Moreover, sHaPrP(23-144) fibrils have many structural features in common with infectious prions. Whether this structure is infectious remains to be determined. More importantly, the sHaPrP(23-144) structure is different from the sHaPrP(108-144) fibrils prepared in the same fibrillization buffer, indicating that the N-terminal disordered region, possibly the positively charged cluster, influences the misfolding pathway of the prion protein.

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Primary Citation of related structures