Caracterização estrutural da frutalina, uma lectina α-D-Galactose ligante de sementes de Artocarpus incisa e análise das suas bases moleculares de ligação a D-galactose

Abstract

Lectins are proteins containing at least one non-catalytic domain that allows them to recognize and selectively bind a reversible specific glycans. Frutalin is a lectin obtained from Artocarpus incisa seeds, popularly known as breadfruit. The isolation was performed by affinity chromatography on column of Agarose-D-Galactose and their characterization shows that frutalin is a glycoprotein mainly α-D-galactose ligand, because it also recognizes epimers of α-D-mannose. It has 2.1% of carbohydrates and presents, in its SDS-PAGE profile, two protein bands with apparent molecular masses of 12 and 15 kDa, with an oligomeric protein, lying as tetramer only in alkaline pH, with apparent molecular mass of 60 kDa. Several masses around 16 kDa was observed in deconvoluted spectra in Mass Spectrometry, which confirms the presence of isoforms. This work shows the crystallization and analysis of data obtained by x-ray diffraction to determine the three-dimensional structure of this lectin, and that were performed crystallization trials of frutalin isolated from the mature seeds in the presence of ligand (D-galactose) and the way apo (no binders). The frutalin crystals have grown primarily in wells of pH 8.5 containing PEG as precipitant and ethylene glycol and the best crystals appeared after one week of maturation being diffracted to a maximum resolution of 1.81 Å. The best solution, for the space group, considering axes and planes of symmetry, has been obtained for the I2 space group, with the construction of an Rfactor of 38.6% and LLG = 19.9. The structure of frutalin presents in each monomeric unit, a symmetrical β-prism with three groups of four beta strands each. The carbohydrate recognition site is similar to the jacalin, and involves the N-terminus of the α chain, showing, in the region, a characteristic folding of the Moraceae family. The frutalin binding site cavity is near the N-terminus of the α chain formed by four key residues Gly25, Tyr146, Asp149, and Trp147. The bases of interaction with the binder are related to the number of interactions occurring between the C1 hydroxyl and Tyr146 residue, C3 hydroxyl and Gly25 residue, C4 hydroxyl and Asp149/Gly25 residues, and C6 hydroxyl and Tyr146/Trp147/Asp149 residues. Some hydroxyls of α-D-galactose also utilize interactions called structural waters, to seek stability in the carbohydrate recognition site. The large number of interactions agrees with the high affinity that frutalin has with galactose and its great capacity for agglutination, in addition to providing an analysis of the dimensions of the lectin in relation to the binder, which may justify the preference that frutalin tends to present by higher molecular weight glycoconjugates, and that happens due to the most fitting, and the greatest number of chemical interactions among a larger glycoconjugate.