Interleukin-33 (IL-33) is an IL-1-like ligand for the ST2 receptor that stimulates the production of Th2-associated cytokines. Recently, we showed that IL-33 is a chromatin-associated factor in the nucleus of endothelial cells in vivo. Here, we report the identification of a short IL-33 chromatin-binding peptide that shares striking similarities with a motif found in Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus LANA (latency-associated nuclear antigen), which is responsible for the attachment of viral genomes to mitotic chromosomes. Similar to LANA, the IL-33 peptide docks into the acidic pocket formed by the H2A-H2B dimer at the nucleosomal surface and regulates chromatin compaction by promoting nucleosome-nucleosome interactions. Taken together, our data provide important new insights into the nuclear roles of IL-33, and show a unique example of molecular mimicry of a chromatin-associated cytokine by a DNA tumour virus. In addition, the data provide, to the best of our knowledge, the first demonstration of the existence of non-histone cellular factors that bind to the acidic pocket of the nucleosome.
Pubmed ID: 18688256 RIS Download
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DelPhi provides numerical solutions to the Poisson-Boltzmann equation (both linear and nonlinear form) for molecules of arbitrary shape and charge distribution. The current version is fast, accurate, and can handle extremely high lattice dimensions. It also includes flexible features for assigning different dielectric constants to different regions of space and treating systems containing mixed salt solutions. DelPhi takes as input a coordinate file format of a molecule or equivalent data for geometrical objects and/or charge distributions and calculates the electrostatic potential in and around the system, using a finite difference solution to the Poisson-Boltzmann equation. DelPhi is a versatile electrostatics simulation program that can be used to investigate electrostatic fields in a variety of molecular systems. Features of DelPhi include solutions to mixtures of salts of different valence; solutions to different dielectric constants to different regions of space; and estimation of the best relaxation parameter at run time.
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