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Publication Abstract from PubMed

The caenopore-5 protein encoded by the spp-5 gene is one of the 33 caenopores identified in Caenorhabditis elegans and is a pore-forming peptide which plays an important role in the elimination of Escherichia coli ingested by the worm. Thus, caenopore-5 appears to contribute to the nutrition of the worm while simultaneously protecting the organism against pathogens. Here, three-dimensional heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy was used to solve the solution structure of caenopore-5. The NMR data revealed that two conformers of caenopore-5 exist in solution which differ by the isomerization of the peptide bond of Pro-81. The overall structure of the two caenopore-5 conformers consists of five amphiphatic helices connected by three disulfide bonds. The five helices are arranged in a folded leaf which is the characteristic signature of the SAPLIP family. The structure presented here is the first of an effector protein of the defensive system elucidated for the well-known model organism C. elegans.

Caenopore-5: the three-dimensional structure of an antimicrobial protein from Caenorhabditis elegans.,Mysliwy J, Dingley AJ, Stanisak M, Jung S, Lorenzen I, Roeder T, Leippe M, Grotzinger J Dev Comp Immunol. 2010 Mar;34(3):323-30. Epub 2009 Nov 26. PMID:19917307^[1]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.