PMID: 11473262 , Related PDB ids: 1JB3, 1JC7

Authors:

Stetefeld J, Jenny M, Schulthess T, Landwehr R, Schumacher B, Frank S, Ruegg MA, Engel J, Kammerer RA

Title:

The laminin-binding domain of agrin is structurally related to N-TIMP-1.

Journal:

Nat Struct Biol. 2001 Aug;8(8):705-9.

Abstract:

Agrin is the key organizer of postsynaptic differentiation at the neuromuscular junction. This organization activity requires the binding of agrin to the synaptic basal lamina. Binding is conferred by the N-terminal agrin (NtA) domain, which mediates a high-affinity interaction with the coiled coil domain of laminins. Here, we report the crystal structure of chicken NtA at 1.6 A resolution. The structure reveals that NtA harbors an oligosaccharide/oligonucleotide-binding fold with several possible sites for the interaction with different ligands. A high structural similarity of NtA with the protease inhibition domain in tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1) supports the idea of additional functions of agrin besides synaptogenic activity.