NMR structure and mutagenesis of the inhibitor-of-apoptosis protein XIAP.
Sun, C., Cai, M., Gunasekera, A.H., Meadows, R.P., Wang, H., Chen, J., Zhang, H., Wu, W., Xu, N., Ng, S.C., Fesik, S.W.(1999) Nature 401: 818-822
- PubMed: 10548111 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/44617
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
1C9Q - PubMed Abstract: 
The inhibitor-of-apoptosis (IAP) family of proteins, originally identified in baculoviruses, regulate programmed cell death in a variety of organisms. IAPs inhibit specific enzymes (caspases) in the death cascade and contain one to three modules of a common 70-amino-acid motif called the BIR domain. Here we describe the nuclear magnetic resonance structure of a region encompassing the second BIR domain (BIR2) of a human IAP family member, XIAP (also called hILP or MIHA). The structure of the BIR domain consists of a three-stranded antiparallel beta-sheet and four alpha-helices and resembles a classical zinc finger. Unexpectedly, conserved amino acids within the linker region between the BIR1 and BIR2 domains were found to be critical for inhibiting caspase-3. The absence or presence of these residues may explain the differences in caspase inhibition observed for different truncated and full-length IAPs. Our data further indicate that these residues may bind to the active site and that the BIR domain may interact with an adjacent site on the enzyme.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Pharmaceutical Discovery Division, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Illinois 60064, USA.