Pertactin

Pertactin will be part of a new acellular pertussis vaccine (references).

Pertactin

Some time ago we solved an integrin-binding protein and have had the structure published in Nature.

You can get the coordinates here.

Bordetella pertussis is the causative agent for the respiratory disease known as whooping cough. Attachment occurs by binding to pulmonary epithelial cells. Pertactin, along with filamentous hemagluttinin and pertussis toxin, have been identified as adhesins. Pertactin, like hemagglutinin, contains an Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) sequence which promotes binding to integrins (cell surface adhesion receptors) which are known to be important in cell mobility and development. The RGD motif in pertactin occurs halfway along the sequence and protrudes from the structure.

Click here for a representation of pertactin that I find humourous. Produced using a MJHSoft(tm) product (Molviewer).

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Paul Emsley
Last modified: Tue Jul 13 19:26:15 BST 1999