Solution structure of a polypeptide containing four heptad repeat units from a merozoite surface antigen of Plasmodium falciparum

Abstract

The Plasmodium falciparum antigen SPAM (secreted polymorphic antigen associated with merozoites) contains an unusual set of heptad repeat units with alanine at the a and d positions. Twelve heptads with the consensus sequence AXXAXXX occur in three blocks of four, linked by short nonrepetitive sequences. A 38-residue polypeptide comprising the first block of four heptad units and five flanking residues at either end, SPAM-H1, has been synthesized and its structure in aqueous solution determined from 1H NMR data. Sedimentation equilibrium showed the peptide to be monomeric in aqueous solution. Its structure was determined from 1H NMR-derived distance and dihedral angle constraints by using di..