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Crystallography

Crystallographic evidence for deviating C3b structure

Nature volume 448, pages E1–E2 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Arising from: A. A. Ajees et al. Nature 444, 221–225 (2006)10.1038/nature05258; Ajees et al. reply

Activation of the protein C3 into C3b in the complement pathway is a crucial step in the complement immune response against pathogenic, immunogenic and apoptotic particles. Ajees et al.1 describe a crystal structure for C3b that deviates from the one reported by Janssen et al.2 and by Wiesmann et al.3. We have reanalysed the data deposited by Ajees et al.1 and have discovered features that are inconsistent with the known physical properties of macromolecular structures and their diffraction data. Our findings therefore call into question the crystal structure for C3b reported by Ajees et al.1.

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Figure 1: Absence of bulk solvent in the deposited diffraction data of Ajees et al.1.
Figure 2: Lack of correlation between surface exposure and disorder of residues in the C3b crystal structure of Ajees et al.1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Crystal and Structural Chemistry, Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, 3584 CH, The Netherlands

    Bert J. C. Janssen & Piet Gros

  2. Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Wellcome Trust/Medical Research Council Building, Cambridge, CB2 0XY, UK

    Randy J. Read

  3. and Departments of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Structural Biology, and Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, 94305-5432, California, USA

    Axel T. Brünger

Authors
  1. Bert J. C. Janssen
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  2. Randy J. Read
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  3. Axel T. Brünger
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  4. Piet Gros
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Piet Gros.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Janssen, B., Read, R., Brünger, A. et al. Crystallographic evidence for deviating C3b structure. Nature 448, E1–E2 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06102

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