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Title: 3.3 Å structure of Niemann–Pick C1 protein reveals insights into the function of the C-terminal luminal domain in cholesterol transport

Journal Article · · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
 [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [2];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4]
  1. Rockefeller Univ., New York, NY (United States); Univ. of Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX (United States)
  2. Univ. of Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX (United States)
  3. Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China)
  4. Rockefeller Univ., New York, NY (United States)

Niemann–Pick C1 (NPC1) and NPC2 proteins are indispensable for the export of LDL-derived cholesterol from late endosomes. Mutations in these proteins result in Niemann–Pick type C disease, a lysosomal storage disease. Despite recent reports of the NPC1 structure depicting its overall architecture, the function of its C-terminal luminal domain (CTD) remains poorly understood even though 45% of NPC disease-causing mutations are in this domain. Here, we report a crystal structure at 3.3 Å resolution of NPC1* (residues 314–1,278), which—in contrast to previous lower resolution structures—features the entire CTD well resolved. Here, all eight cysteines of the CTD form four disulfide bonds, one of which (C909–C914) enforces a specific loop that in turn mediates an interaction with a loop of the N-terminal domain (NTD). Importantly, this loop and its interaction with the NTD were not observed in any previous structures due to the lower resolution. Our mutagenesis experiments highlight the physiological relevance of the CTD–NTD interaction, which might function to keep the NTD in the proper orientation for receiving cholesterol from NPC2. Additionally, this structure allows us to more precisely map all of the disease-causing mutations, allowing future molecular insights into the pathogenesis of NPC disease.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Grant/Contract Number:
HL20948; GM096070
OSTI ID:
1390867
Journal Information:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 114, Issue 34; ISSN 0027-8424
Publisher:
National Academy of SciencesCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
ENGLISH
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 60 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (15)

AcrB: a mean, keen, drug efflux machine journal September 2019
Structural basis for itraconazole-mediated NPC1 inhibition journal January 2020
NPC1 Deficiency in Mice is Associated with Fetal Growth Restriction, Neonatal Lethality and Abnormal Lung Pathology journal December 2019
Simulations of NPC1(NTD):NPC2 Protein Complex Reveal Cholesterol Transfer Pathways journal September 2018
Quantitating the epigenetic transformation contributing to cholesterol homeostasis using Gaussian process journal November 2019
Different Niemann-Pick C1 Genotypes Generate Protein Phenotypes that Vary in their Intracellular Processing, Trafficking and Localization journal March 2019
Lysosomal cholesterol export reconstituted from fragments of Niemann-Pick C1 journal July 2018
Lipid–Protein Interactions in Niemann–Pick Type C Disease: Insights from Molecular Modeling journal February 2019
NPC intracellular cholesterol transporter 1 (NPC1)-mediated cholesterol export from lysosomes journal February 2019
Cholesterol binding to the sterol-sensing region of Niemann Pick C1 protein confines dynamics of its N-terminal domain journal October 2020
Recent neuroimaging, neurophysiological, and neuropathological advances for the understanding of NPC journal January 2018
Niemann-Pick Disease Type C: Mutation Spectrum and Novel Sequence Variations in the Human NPC1 Gene journal February 2019
Structures of human Patched and its complex with native palmitoylated sonic hedgehog journal July 2018
Rapid, direct activity assays for Smoothened reveal Hedgehog pathway regulation by membrane cholesterol and extracellular sodium journal December 2017
Modeling Niemann–Pick disease type C in a human haploid cell line allows for patient variant characterization and clinical interpretation journal November 2019

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