Crystal structure of the MACPF domain of human complement protein C8 alpha in complex with the C8 gamma subunit

Human C8 is one of five complement components (C5b, C6, C7, C8 and C9) that assemble on bacterial membranes to form a pore-like structure referred to as the "membrane attack complex" (MAC). C8 contains three genetically distinct subunits (C8α, C8β, Cγ.) arranged as a disulfide-linked C8α-γ dimer that is noncovalently associated with C8β. C6, C7 C8α, C8β and C9 are homologous. All contain N- and C-terminal modules and an intervening 40-kDa segment referred to as the membrane attack complex/perforin (MACPF) domain. The C8γ subunit is unrelated and belongs to the lipocalin family of proteins that display a β-barrel fold and generally bind small, hydrophobic ligands. Several hundred proteins with MACPF domains have been identified based on sequence similarity; however, the structure and function of most are unknown. Crystal structures of the secreted bacterial protein Plu-MACPF and the human C8α MACPF domain were recently reported and both display a fold similar to the bacterial pore-forming cholesterol-dependent cytolysins (CDC). In the present study, we determined the crystal structure of the human C8α MACPF domain disulfide-linked to C8γ (αMACPF-γ) at 2.15 Å resolution. The αMACPF portion has the predicted CDC-like fold and shows two regions of interaction with C8γ. One is in a previously characterized 19-residue insertion (indel) in C8α and fills the entrance to the putative C8γ ligand binding site. The second is a hydrophobic pocket that makes contact with residues on the side of the C8γ β-barrel. The latter interaction induces conformational changes in αMACPF that are likely important for C8 function. Also observed is structural conservation of the MACPF signature motif Y/W-G-T/S-H-F/Y-X6-G-G in αMACPF and Plu-MACPF, and conservation of several key glycine residues known to be important for refolding and pore formation by CDCs.