Artigo Acesso aberto Revisado por pares

Structures of C3b in Complex with Factors B and D Give Insight into Complement Convertase Formation

2010; American Association for the Advancement of Science; Volume: 330; Issue: 6012 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1126/science.1195821

ISSN

1095-9203

Autores

Federico Forneris, Daniel Ricklin, Jin Wu, Αποστολία Τζέκου, Rachel S. Wallace, John D. Lambris, Piet Gros,

Tópico(s)

Cellular transport and secretion

Resumo

Activation of the complement cascade induces inflammatory responses and marks cells for immune clearance. In the central complement-amplification step, a complex consisting of surface-bound C3b and factor B is cleaved by factor D to generate active convertases on targeted surfaces. We present crystal structures of the pro-convertase C3bB at 4 angstrom resolution and its complex with factor D at 3.5 angstrom resolution. Our data show how factor B binding to C3b forms an open "activation" state of C3bB. Factor D specifically binds the open conformation of factor B through a site distant from the catalytic center and is activated by the substrate, which displaces factor D's self-inhibitory loop. This concerted proteolytic mechanism, which is cofactor-dependent and substrate-induced, restricts complement amplification to C3b-tagged target cells.

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