Filamentous chemokine CCL5 structure and the functional aspects

Human inflammation-related CC chemokine ligand 5 (hCCL5) has significant self-assembly property under physiological conditions. The mechanism and function of hCCL5 oligomerization remain unclear. Different intermolecular interactions, such as E66-K25 or E66-R44/K45, have been reported to mediate hCCL5 oligomerization. This complexity makes structural determination difficult. Based on a K25S mutation to eliminate the E66-K25 interaction, we observed hCCL5 forming a helical-sharped filament in transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The filamentous polymerization is a dominant process when the concentration reaches ~ 100 nM and the filaments further form a higher-order assembly when concentration increases. In this large filament, a combination of X-ray solution scattering and cryo-EM analysis determined the structure; NMR further confirmed the filament packing, in which the interactions of residues R44 and K45 are critically involved. The sequence ⁴³TRKNR⁴⁷ was found to be essential for CCL5 trafficking inside the cells and for glycosaminoglycan binding outside the cells. The functional aspects of the chemokine filament are discussed.