Effects of the RGD loop and C-terminus of rhodostomin on regulating integrin αIIbβ3 recognition

Rhodostomin (Rho) is a medium disintegrin containing a 48PRGDMP motif. We here showed that Rho proteins with P48A, M52W, and P53N mutations can selectively inhibit integrin αIIbβ3. To study the roles of the RGD loop and C-terminal region in disintegrins, we expressed Rho 48PRGDMP and 48ARGDWN mutants in Pichia pastoris containing 65P, 65PR, 65PRYH, 65PRNGLYG, and 65PRNPWNG C-terminal sequences. The effect of C-terminal region on their integrin binding affinities was αIIbβ3 > αvβ3 ≥ α5β1, and the 48ARGDWN-65PRNPWNG protein was the most selective integrin αIIbβ3 mutant. The 48ARGDWN-65PRYH, 48ARGDWN-65PRNGLYG, and 48ARGDWN-65PRNPWNG mutants had similar activities in inhibiting platelet aggregation and the binding of fibrinogen to platelet. In contrast, 48ARGDWN-65PRYH and 48ARGDWN-65PRNGLYG exhibited 2.9- and 3.0-fold decreases in inhibiting cell adhesion in comparison with that of 48ARGDWN-65PRNPWNG. Based on the results of cell adhesion, platelet aggregation and the binding of fibrinogen to platelet inhibited by ARGDWN mutants, integrin αIIbβ3 bound differently to immobilized and soluble fibrinogen. NMR structural analyses of 48ARGDWN-65PRYH, 48ARGDWN-65PRNGLYG, and 48ARGDWN-65PRNPWNG mutants demonstrated that their C-terminal regions interacted with the RGD loop. In particular, the W52 sidechain of 48ARGDWN interacted with H68 of 65PRYH, L69 of 65PRNGLYG, and N70 of 65PRNPWNG, respectively. The docking of the 48ARGDWN-65PRNPWNG mutant into integrin αIIbβ3 showed that the N70 residue formed hydrogen bonds with the αIIb D159 residue, and the W69 residue formed cation-π interaction with the β3 K125 residue. These results provide the first structural evidence that the interactions between the RGD loop and C-terminus of medium disintegrins depend on their amino acid sequences, resulting in their functional differences in the binding and selectivity of integrins.