PMID: 9546397
Authors:
Lebron JA, Bennett MJ, Vaughn DE, Chirino AJ, Snow PM, Mintier GA, Feder JN, Bjorkman PJ
Title:
Crystal structure of the hemochromatosis protein HFE and characterization of its interaction with transferrin receptor.
Journal:
Cell. 1998 Apr 3;93(1):111-23.
Abstract:
HFE is an MHC-related protein that is mutated in the iron-overload disease hereditary hemochromatosis. HFE binds to transferrin receptor (TfR) and reduces its affinity for iron-loaded transferrin, implicating HFE in iron metabolism. The 2.6 A crystal structure of HFE reveals the locations of hemochromatosis mutations and a patch of histidines that could be involved in pH-dependent interactions. We also demonstrate that soluble TfR and HFE bind tightly at the basic pH of the cell surface, but not at the acidic pH of intracellular vesicles. TfR:HFE stoichiometry (2:1) differs from TfR:transferrin stoichiometry (2:2), implying a different mode of binding for HFE and transferrin to TfR, consistent with our demonstration that HFE, transferrin, and TfR form a ternary complex.