Binding of the ClpA unfoldase opens the axial gate of ClpP peptidase.

ABSTRACT: ClpP is a serine protease whose active sites are sequestered in a cavity enclosed between two heptameric rings of subunits. The ability of ClpP to process folded protein substrates depends on its being partnered by an AAA+ ATPase/unfoldase, ClpA or ClpX. In active complexes, substrates are unfolded and fed along an axial channel to the degradation chamber inside ClpP. We have used cryoelectron microscopy at approximately 11-A resolution to investigate the three-dimensional structure of ClpP complexed with either one or two end-mounted ClpA hexamers. In the absence of ClpA, the apical region of ClpP is sealed; however, it opens on ClpA binding, creating an access channel. This region is occupied by the N-terminal loops (residues 1-17) of ClpP, which tend to be poorly visible in crystal stru

SUBMITTER: Effantin G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2863180 | biostudies-literature | 2010 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature