Two crystal structures of Japanin, an 18 kDa immune-modulatory lipocalin from the Brown Ear Tick (Rhipicephalus appendiculatus), have been determined at 2.2 and 2.4 Å resolution. In both crystal forms the protein is in complex with cholesterol, which sits in a closed pocket at the centre of the lipocalin barrel. Both crystal forms are dimers, which are also observed in solution. Molecular modelling suggests that previously-described members of a tick protein family bearing high sequence homology to Japanin are also likely to bind cholesterol or cholesterol derivatives.
Journal article
2017-11-22T00:00:00+00:00
7
Amino Acid Sequence, Animals, Binding Sites, Cholesterol, Crystallography, X-Ray, Dendritic Cells, Dimerization, Lipocalins, Protein Structure, Secondary, Rhipicephalus, Structural Homology, Protein