Abstact

The ligand-binding domain (LBD) of the human nuclear receptor pregnane X receptor (PXR) is known to crystallize in two different crystal forms, P212121 or P43212, depending on the construct and the strategy used for protein production, as well as the presence or absence of the coactivator-derived peptide SRC-1. In order to facilitate biophysical and structural studies, a versatile construct was designed that allows access to both forms. This was achieved by introducing a thrombin cleavage site between the PXRLBD and the SRC-1 peptide fused to its C-terminus. Here, we describe the expression, purification and crystallization processes of this novel construct and report two new structures of PXRLBD that were obtained thanks to this strategy.