Structural characterization of the extracellular domain of CASPR2 and insights into its association with the novel ligand Contactin1
Loading...
Date
2015
Authors
Rubio-Marrero, Eva N.
Vincelli, Gabriele
Jeffries, Cy M.
Shaikh, Tanvir R.
Pakos, Irene S.
Ranaivoson, Fanomezana M.
von Daake, Sventja
Demeler, Borries
De Jaco, Antonella
Perkins, Guy
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ASBMB Publications
Abstract
Contactin-associated protein-like 2 (CNTNAP2) encodes for CASPR2, a multidomain single transmembrane protein belonging to the neurexin superfamily that has been implicated in a broad range of human phenotypes including autism and language impairment. Using a combination of biophysical techniques, including small angle x-ray scattering, single particle electron microscopy, analytical ultracentrifugation, and bio-layer interferometry, we present novel structural and functional data that relate the architecture of the extracellular domain of CASPR2 to a previously unknown ligand, Contactin1 (CNTN1). Structurally, CASPR2 is highly glycosylated and has an overall compact architecture. Functionally, we show that CASPR2 associates with micromolar affinity with CNTN1 but, under the same conditions, it does not interact with any of the other members of the contactin family. Moreover, by using dissociated hippocampal neurons we show that microbeads loaded with CASPR2, but not with a deletion mutant, co-localize with transfected CNTN1, suggesting that CNTN1 is an endogenous ligand for CASPR2. These data provide novel insights into the structure and function of CASPR2, suggesting a complex role of CASPR2 in the nervous system.
Description
Open access article. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) applies
Keywords
Analytical ultracentrifugation , Ligand-binding protein , Molecular cell biology , Protein structure , CASPR2 , Contactin1
Citation
Rubio-Marrero, E. N., Vincelli, G., Jeffries, C. M., Shaikh, T. R., Pakos, I. S., Ranaivoson, F. M., von Daake, S., Demeler, B., De Jaco, A., Perkins, G., Ellisman, M. H., Trewhella, J., & Comoletti, D. (2015). Structural characterization of the extracellular domain of CASPR2 and insights into its association with the novel ligand Contactin1. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 291(11), 5788-5802. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M115.705681