Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
51
pubmed:dateCreated
2001-12-18
pubmed:databankReference
pubmed:abstractText
The agouti-related protein (AGRP) is an endogenous antagonist of the melanocortin receptors MC3R and MC4R found in the hypothalamus and exhibits potent orexigenic (appetite-stimulating) activity. The cysteine-rich C-terminal domain of this protein, corresponding to AGRP(87-132), contains five disulfide bonds and exhibits receptor binding affinity and antagonism equivalent to that of the full-length protein. The three-dimensional structure of this domain has been determined by 1H NMR at 800 MHz. The first 34 residues of AGRP(87-132) are well-ordered and contain a three-stranded antiparallel beta sheet, where the last two strands form a beta hairpin. The relative spatial positioning of the disulfide cross-links demonstrates that the ordered region of AGRP(87-132) adopts the inhibitor cystine knot (ICK) fold previously identified for numerous invertebrate toxins. Interestingly, this may be the first example of a mammalian protein assigned to the ICK superfamily. The hairpin's turn region presents a triplet of residues (Arg-Phe-Phe) known to be essential for melanocortin receptor binding. The structure also suggests that AGRP possesses an additional melanocortin-receptor contact region within a loop formed by the first 16 residues of its C-terminal domain. This specific region shows little sequence homology to the corresponding region of the agouti protein, which is an MC1R antagonist involved in pigmentation. Consideration of these sequence differences, along with recent experiments on mutant and chimeric melanocortin receptors, allows us to postulate that this loop in the first 16 residues of its C-terminal domain confers AGRP's distinct selectivity for MC3R and MC4R.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Dec
pubmed:issn
0006-2960
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
25
pubmed:volume
40
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
15520-7
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2001
pubmed:articleTitle
High-resolution NMR structure of the chemically-synthesized melanocortin receptor binding domain AGRP(87-132) of the agouti-related protein.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.