Protein polymers proliferate: polymerization of phosphatases and proteases

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Publication Details

Journal
Microbiology Spectrum
Published
2026-09-14
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.02439-26
Primary Topic
Alkaline Phosphatase Research Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Protein polymers proliferate: polymerization of phosphatases and proteases

Iman Chouikha, Edward H. Egelman, Mike Sleutel, Ravi R. Sonani et al.
Microbiology Spectrum
Alkaline Phosphatase Research Studies
article

Protein polymers proliferate: polymerization of phosphatases and proteases

Iman Chouikha, Edward H. Egelman, Mike Sleutel, Ravi R. Sonani, Romé Voulhoux, Geneviève Ball, Thijs Bodson, Silvia Hidalgo-Martinez, Han Remaut, Meysman, Filip, J R
article en

Abstract

It has been known for more than half a century that enzymes can polymerize to either activate or repress their catalytic functions. Using electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM), we serendipitously found that two commonly used enzymes in molecular microbiology research, alkaline phosphatase and proteinase K, can unexpectedly form filaments. While the physiological significance of fibrillation in alkaline phosphatase and proteinase K is unknown, the atomic models of these polymers show the ability of cryo-EM to discover and determine high-resolution structures of macromolecular assemblies before they have been characterized or purified. IMPORTANCE: Electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) has emerged over the past decade as the dominant technique in structural biology for determining the atomic structures of biological macromolecular complexes. One less appreciated feature of cryo-EM is that, in many cases, complexes do not need to be purified. Thus, the atomic structures of assemblies that can be found in biological samples as "contaminants" can be readily determined. In this paper, the structures of filaments formed by a phosphatase and a protease are described.

Microbiology Spectrum
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (BE), University of Antwerp (BE), Aix-Marseille Université (FR), Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (BE), Laboratory of Molecular Genetics (PL), VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology (BE)
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
Openalex Percentile: Top 15%
Alkaline Phosphatase Research Studies
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