Characterization of the C-terminal tail of the Arc protein.

The activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associate protein Arc (or Arg3.1) is specifically linked to memory formation and a number of cognitive disorders, including Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. Since the discovery of Arc in 1995, extensive research has been conducted on the protein to iden...

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Main Authors: Melissa Boldridge, Jody Shimabukuro, Keith Nakamatsu, Christian Won, Chad Jansen, Helen Turner, Lei Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2020-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0239870&type=printable
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author Melissa Boldridge
Jody Shimabukuro
Keith Nakamatsu
Christian Won
Chad Jansen
Helen Turner
Lei Wang
author_facet Melissa Boldridge
Jody Shimabukuro
Keith Nakamatsu
Christian Won
Chad Jansen
Helen Turner
Lei Wang
author_sort Melissa Boldridge
collection DOAJ
description The activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associate protein Arc (or Arg3.1) is specifically linked to memory formation and a number of cognitive disorders, including Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. Since the discovery of Arc in 1995, extensive research has been conducted on the protein to identify its function and mechanisms of action, with solving the structure of Arc as a major goal. However, the Arc protein tends to self-oligomerize in vitro, and is difficult to crystallize. These properties have hindered efforts to obtain the structure of the full-length, whole protein Arc. As an alternative approach, we and others, have sought to solve the structures of various subdomain proteins of Arc, including the N-lobe, C-lobe, and capsid domain (N-lobe + C-lobe). In this study, we characterized the C-terminal tail of Arc using integrated bioinformatic and structural biology techniques. We compared the sequences of Arc proteins in different mammal species and found that the amino-acid composition in the C-terminal tail region has a significantly higher degree of variation rate than the rest of the protein. Structural prediction programs suggested that the C-terminal tail is structurally disordered. Chemical shift analysis based on solution NMR spectra confirmed that the C-terminal tail has a random coil (disordered) structure, and the tail starts from the residue D357. Furthermore, the NMR spectra showed that the C-terminal tail has minimum (if any) interaction with its neighboring capsid domain in Arc. This study fills gaps in our specific understanding of the structural nature and functional contributions of the Arc C-terminus.
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spelling doaj-art-62080a8c7d8a4d849a563443a1e1853a2025-01-16T05:31:27ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032020-01-01159e023987010.1371/journal.pone.0239870Characterization of the C-terminal tail of the Arc protein.Melissa BoldridgeJody ShimabukuroKeith NakamatsuChristian WonChad JansenHelen TurnerLei WangThe activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associate protein Arc (or Arg3.1) is specifically linked to memory formation and a number of cognitive disorders, including Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. Since the discovery of Arc in 1995, extensive research has been conducted on the protein to identify its function and mechanisms of action, with solving the structure of Arc as a major goal. However, the Arc protein tends to self-oligomerize in vitro, and is difficult to crystallize. These properties have hindered efforts to obtain the structure of the full-length, whole protein Arc. As an alternative approach, we and others, have sought to solve the structures of various subdomain proteins of Arc, including the N-lobe, C-lobe, and capsid domain (N-lobe + C-lobe). In this study, we characterized the C-terminal tail of Arc using integrated bioinformatic and structural biology techniques. We compared the sequences of Arc proteins in different mammal species and found that the amino-acid composition in the C-terminal tail region has a significantly higher degree of variation rate than the rest of the protein. Structural prediction programs suggested that the C-terminal tail is structurally disordered. Chemical shift analysis based on solution NMR spectra confirmed that the C-terminal tail has a random coil (disordered) structure, and the tail starts from the residue D357. Furthermore, the NMR spectra showed that the C-terminal tail has minimum (if any) interaction with its neighboring capsid domain in Arc. This study fills gaps in our specific understanding of the structural nature and functional contributions of the Arc C-terminus.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0239870&type=printable
spellingShingle Melissa Boldridge
Jody Shimabukuro
Keith Nakamatsu
Christian Won
Chad Jansen
Helen Turner
Lei Wang
Characterization of the C-terminal tail of the Arc protein.
PLoS ONE
title Characterization of the C-terminal tail of the Arc protein.
title_full Characterization of the C-terminal tail of the Arc protein.
title_fullStr Characterization of the C-terminal tail of the Arc protein.
title_full_unstemmed Characterization of the C-terminal tail of the Arc protein.
title_short Characterization of the C-terminal tail of the Arc protein.
title_sort characterization of the c terminal tail of the arc protein
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0239870&type=printable
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AT chadjansen characterizationofthecterminaltailofthearcprotein
AT helenturner characterizationofthecterminaltailofthearcprotein
AT leiwang characterizationofthecterminaltailofthearcprotein