The crystal structure of Helicobacter pylori cysteine-rich protein B reveals a novel fold for a penicillin-binding protein.
Luthy, L., Grutter, M.G., Mittl, P.R.(2002) J Biol Chem 277: 10187-10193
- PubMed: 11777911 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M108993200
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
1KLX - PubMed Abstract: 
Colonization of the gastric mucosa with the spiral-shaped Gram-negative proteobacterium Helicobacter pylori is probably the most common chronic infection in humans. The genomes of H. pylori strains J99 and 26695 have been completely sequenced. Functional and three-dimensional structural information is available for less than one third of all open reading frames. We investigated the function and three-dimensional structure of a member from a family of cysteine-rich hypothetical proteins that are unique to H. pylori and Campylobacter jejuni. The structure of H. pylori cysteine-rich protein (Hcp) B possesses a modular architecture consisting of four alpha/alpha-motifs that are cross-linked by disulfide bridges. The Hcp repeat is similar to the tetratricopeptide repeat, which is frequently found in protein/protein interactions. In contrast to the tetratricopeptide repeat, the Hcp repeat is 36 amino acids long. HcpB is capable of binding and hydrolyzing 6-amino penicillinic acid and 7-amino cephalosporanic acid derivatives. The HcpB fold is distinct from the fold of any known penicillin-binding protein, indicating that the Hcp proteins comprise a new family of penicillin-binding proteins. The putative penicillin binding site is located in an amphipathic groove on the concave side of the molecule.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Biochemisches Institut, Universität Zürich, Winterthurer Strasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland.