Disulfide bond and crosslinking analyses reveal inter-domain interactions that contribute to the rigidity of placental malaria VAR2CSA structure and formation of CSA binding channel

Mashanipalya G. Jagadeeshaprasad, Lovely Gautam, Maria C. Bewley, Suchi Goel, Reetesh R. Akhouri, D. Channe Gowda

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

VAR2CSA, a multidomain Plasmodium falciparum protein, mediates the adherence of parasite-infected red blood cells to chondroitin 4-sulfate (C4S) in the placenta, contributing to placental malaria. Therefore, detailed understanding of VAR2CSA structure likely help developing strategies to treat placental malaria. The VAR2CSA ectodomain consists of an N-terminal segment (NTS), six Duffy binding-like (DBL) domains, and three interdomains (IDs) present in sequence NTS-DBL1x-ID1-DBL2x-ID2-DBL3x-DBL4ε-ID3-DBL5ε-DBL6ε. Recent electron microscopy studies showed that VAR2CSA is compactly organized into a globular structure containing C4S-binding channel, and that DBL5ε-DBL6ε arm is attached to the NTS-ID3 core structure. However, the structural elements involved in inter-domain interactions that stabilize the VAR2CSA structure remain largely not understood. Here, limited proteolysis and peptide mapping by mass spectrometry showed that VAR2CSA contains several inter-domain disulfide bonds that stabilize its compact structure. Chemical crosslinking-mass spectrometry showed that all IDs interact with DBL4ε; additionally, IDs interact with other DBL domains, demonstrating that IDs are the key structural scaffolds that shape the functional NTS-ID3 core. Ligand binding analysis suggested that NTS considerably restricts the C4S binding. Overall, our study revealed that inter-domain disulfide bonds and interactions between IDs and DBL domains contribute to the stability of VAR2CSA structural architecture and formation of C4S-binding channel.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)143-158
Number of pages16
JournalInternational Journal of Biological Macromolecules
Volume226
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 31 2023

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Structural Biology
  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Disulfide bond and crosslinking analyses reveal inter-domain interactions that contribute to the rigidity of placental malaria VAR2CSA structure and formation of CSA binding channel'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this