Crystals of the β-subunit of bovine luteinizing hormone and indicators for the involvement of proteolysis in protein crystallization

Authors: McPherson, Alexander; Day, John; Harris, Lisa J.

Source: Acta Crystallographica Section D, Volume 60, Number 5, May 2004 , pp. 872-877(6)

Publisher: Blackwell Publishing

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Abstract:

The β-subunit of luteinizing hormone (LH), the subunit responsible for the physiological response, has been crystallized beginning with the intact αβ-heterodimeric hormone purified from bovine pituitary glands. The crystals were grown at 310 K in the presence of neutral detergents along with trypsin. The tetragonal bipyramidal crystals diffract to 3 Å resolution and belong to space group I4₁22, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 57, c = 207 Å. It is noted that proteins exposed to proteases sometimes yield products that crystallize better than the native molecule and that the β-subunit of LH represents yet another example. Some indicators of when proteolysis may be a factor in crystallization, as well as some consequences, are described.

Keywords: trypsin; detergents; protease; proteolysis; luteinizing hormone; pituitary hormone

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1107/S0907444904005025

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