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Metal ion and ligand binding of integrin α5β1

Significance Three metal ions are at the heart of the ligand binding site in integrin β-subunits. Furthermore, motions at many domain–domain junctions in integrins regulate ligand binding affinity. High-resolution crystal structures and highly accurate solution ligand binding assays are required to understand the mechanisms by which integrins transmit conformational change in their complex dodecadomain ectodomains. Here we provide information fundamental to understanding these processes in the integrin that assembles fibronectin into fibrils in matrices, α5β1. Integrin α5β1 binds to an Arg–Gly–Asp (RGD) motif in its ligand fibronectin. We report high-resolution crystal structures of a four-domain α5β1 headpiece fragment, alone or with RGD peptides soaked into crystals, and RGD peptide affinity measurements. The headpiece crystallizes in a closed conformation essentially identical to that seen previously for α5β1 complexed with a Fab that allosterically inhibits ligand binding by stabilizing the closed conformation. Soaking experiments show that binding of cyclic RGD peptide with 20-fold higher affinity than a linear RGD peptide induces conformational change in the β1-subunit βI domain to a state that is intermediate between closed (low affinity) and open (high affinity). In contrast, binding of a linear RGD peptide induces no shape shifting. However, linear peptide binding induces shape shifting when Ca2+ is depleted during soaking. Ca2+ bound to the adjacent to metal ion-dependent adhesion site (ADMIDAS), at the locus of shape shifting, moves and decreases in occupancy, correlating with an increase in affinity for RGD measured when Ca2+ is depleted. The results directly demonstrate that Ca2+ binding to the ADMIDAS stabilizes integrins in the low-affinity, closed conformation. Comparisons in affinity between four-domain and six-domain headpiece constructs suggest that flexible integrin leg domains contribute to conformational equilibria. High-resolution views of the hybrid domain interface with the plexin–semaphorin–integrin (PSI) domain in different orientations show a ball-and-socket joint with a hybrid domain Arg side chain that rocks in a PSI domain socket lined with carbonyl oxygens.