Crystal structure of an integrin-binding fragment of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 at 1.8 A resolution.
Jones, E.Y., Harlos, K., Bottomley, M.J., Robinson, R.C., Driscoll, P.C., Edwards, R.M., Clements, J.M., Dudgeon, T.J., Stuart, D.I.(1995) Nature 373: 539-544
- PubMed: 7531291 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/373539a0
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
1VCA - PubMed Abstract: 
The cell-surface glycoprotein vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1; ref. 1) mediates intercellular adhesion by specific binding to the integrin very-late antigen-4 (VLA-4, alpha 4 beta 1; ref. 3). VCAM-1, with the intercellular adhesion molecules ICAM-1, ICAM-2, ICAM-3 and the mucosal vascular addressin MAd-CAM-1, forms an integrin-binding subgroup of the immunoglobulin superfamily. In addition to their clinical relevance in inflammation, these molecules act as cellular receptors for viral and parasitic agents. The predominant form of VCAM-1 in vivo has an amino-terminal extracellular region comprising seven immunoglobulin-like domains. Functional studies have identified a conserved integrin-binding motif in domains 1 and 4, variants of which are present in the N-terminal domain of all members of the immunoglobulin superfamily subgroup. We report here the crystal structure of a VLA-4-binding fragment composed of the first two domains of VCAM-1. The integrin-binding motif (Q38IDSPL) is highly exposed and forms the N-terminal region of the loop between beta-strands C and D of domain 1. This motif exhibits a distinctive conformation which we predict will be common to all the integrin-binding IgSF molecules. These, and additional data, map VLA-4 binding to the face of the CFG beta-sheet, the surface previously identified as the site for intercellular adhesive interactions between members of the immunoglobulin superfamily.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, Oxford Centre for Molecular Sciences, UK.