Exploring Chemokine Homodimer Stability: Structural Insights into CXC and CC Interfaces

Chemokine ligands play a pivotal role in immune response by mediating cell migration and coordinating cellular processes through interactions with chemokine receptors. Understanding their sequence and structural integrity is crucial for elucidating their biological functions and potential therapeuti...

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Main Authors: David Budean, Yasser Almeida-Hernández, Jitendra Pandey, Joel Mieres Pérez, Elsa Sánchez García, Ellinor Haglund
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Biophysica
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4125/4/4/37
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author David Budean
Yasser Almeida-Hernández
Jitendra Pandey
Joel Mieres Pérez
Elsa Sánchez García
Ellinor Haglund
author_facet David Budean
Yasser Almeida-Hernández
Jitendra Pandey
Joel Mieres Pérez
Elsa Sánchez García
Ellinor Haglund
author_sort David Budean
collection DOAJ
description Chemokine ligands play a pivotal role in immune response by mediating cell migration and coordinating cellular processes through interactions with chemokine receptors. Understanding their sequence and structural integrity is crucial for elucidating their biological functions and potential therapeutic applications. In this study, we investigate the dimer interface between two distinct homodimer topologies: CXC and CC homodimers. Despite nearly identical monomeric structures, the rigid CXC interface is characterized by interactions between the N-loop/β-sheet regions, while the more flexible CC interface involves interactions through the unstructured N-terminal regions. Our structural and biophysical analyses indicate no significant differences in the free energy of folding (2–8 kcal/mol) and binding (10–14 kcal/mol) between the two homodimer topologies, showing that their free energy is primarily driven by sequence. We hypothesize that the biological signal is driven by the malleability of the dimer, depending on the binding interface. Understanding these structural dynamics opens new possibilities for designing chemokine-based therapeutics to modulate immune responses in diseases such as cancer, inflammation, and autoimmune disorders.
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spelling doaj-art-dfb18a0621b74686b2ecf3d33f2549332025-08-20T02:00:54ZengMDPI AGBiophysica2673-41252024-11-014456157210.3390/biophysica4040037Exploring Chemokine Homodimer Stability: Structural Insights into CXC and CC InterfacesDavid Budean0Yasser Almeida-Hernández1Jitendra Pandey2Joel Mieres Pérez3Elsa Sánchez García4Ellinor Haglund5Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USAFakultät für Bio- und Chemieingenieurwesen, Technische Universität Dortmund, Emil-Figge Str. 66, 44227 Dortmund, GermanyDepartment of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USAFakultät für Bio- und Chemieingenieurwesen, Technische Universität Dortmund, Emil-Figge Str. 66, 44227 Dortmund, GermanyFakultät für Bio- und Chemieingenieurwesen, Technische Universität Dortmund, Emil-Figge Str. 66, 44227 Dortmund, GermanyDepartment of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USAChemokine ligands play a pivotal role in immune response by mediating cell migration and coordinating cellular processes through interactions with chemokine receptors. Understanding their sequence and structural integrity is crucial for elucidating their biological functions and potential therapeutic applications. In this study, we investigate the dimer interface between two distinct homodimer topologies: CXC and CC homodimers. Despite nearly identical monomeric structures, the rigid CXC interface is characterized by interactions between the N-loop/β-sheet regions, while the more flexible CC interface involves interactions through the unstructured N-terminal regions. Our structural and biophysical analyses indicate no significant differences in the free energy of folding (2–8 kcal/mol) and binding (10–14 kcal/mol) between the two homodimer topologies, showing that their free energy is primarily driven by sequence. We hypothesize that the biological signal is driven by the malleability of the dimer, depending on the binding interface. Understanding these structural dynamics opens new possibilities for designing chemokine-based therapeutics to modulate immune responses in diseases such as cancer, inflammation, and autoimmune disorders.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4125/4/4/37chemokineshomodimerdimer interfaceprotein–protein interactionconformational dynamicsprotein folding
spellingShingle David Budean
Yasser Almeida-Hernández
Jitendra Pandey
Joel Mieres Pérez
Elsa Sánchez García
Ellinor Haglund
Exploring Chemokine Homodimer Stability: Structural Insights into CXC and CC Interfaces
Biophysica
chemokines
homodimer
dimer interface
protein–protein interaction
conformational dynamics
protein folding
title Exploring Chemokine Homodimer Stability: Structural Insights into CXC and CC Interfaces
title_full Exploring Chemokine Homodimer Stability: Structural Insights into CXC and CC Interfaces
title_fullStr Exploring Chemokine Homodimer Stability: Structural Insights into CXC and CC Interfaces
title_full_unstemmed Exploring Chemokine Homodimer Stability: Structural Insights into CXC and CC Interfaces
title_short Exploring Chemokine Homodimer Stability: Structural Insights into CXC and CC Interfaces
title_sort exploring chemokine homodimer stability structural insights into cxc and cc interfaces
topic chemokines
homodimer
dimer interface
protein–protein interaction
conformational dynamics
protein folding
url https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4125/4/4/37
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AT joelmieresperez exploringchemokinehomodimerstabilitystructuralinsightsintocxcandccinterfaces
AT elsasanchezgarcia exploringchemokinehomodimerstabilitystructuralinsightsintocxcandccinterfaces
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