Charlotte H Coles, Nikolaos Mitakidis, Peng Zhang, Jonathan Elegheert, Weixian Lu, Andrew W Stoker, Terunaga Nakagawa, Ann Marie Craig, E Yvonne Jones, A Radu Aricescu
Receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase sigma (RPTPσ) regulates neuronal extension and acts as a presynaptic nexus for multiple protein and proteoglycan interactions during synaptogenesis. Unknown mechanisms govern the shift in RPTPσ function, from outgrowth promotion to synaptic organization. Here, we report crystallographic, electron microscopic and small-angle X-ray scattering analyses, which reveal sufficient inter-domain flexibility in the RPTPσ extracellular region for interaction with both cis (same cell) and trans (opposite cell) ligands...
November 11, 2014: Nature Communications