Structure of a two‐CAP‐domain protein from the human hookworm parasite Necator americanus

Major proteins secreted by the infective larval stage hookworms upon host entry include Ancylostoma secreted proteins (ASPs), which are characterized by one or two CAP (cysteine‐rich secretory protein/antigen 5/pathogenesis related‐1) domains. The CAP domain has been reported in diverse phylogenetically unrelated proteins, but has no confirmed function. The first structure of a two‐CAP‐domain protein, Na ‐ASP‐1, from the major human hookworm parasite Necator americanus was refined to a resolution limit of 2.2 Å. The structure was solved by molecular replacement (MR) using Na ‐ASP‐2, a one‐CAP‐domain ASP, as the search model. The correct MR solution could only be obtained by truncating the polyalanine model of Na ‐ASP‐2 and removing several loops. The structure reveals two CAP domains linked by an extended loop. Overall, the carboxyl‐terminal CAP domain is more similar to Na ‐ASP‐2 than to the amino‐terminal CAP domain. A large central cavity extends from the amino‐terminal CAP domain to the carboxyl‐terminal CAP domain, encompassing the putative CAP‐binding cavity. The putative CAP‐binding cavity is a characteristic cavity in the carboxyl‐terminal CAP domain that contains a His and Glu pair. These residues are conserved in all single‐CAP‐domain proteins, but are absent in the amino‐terminal CAP domain. The conserved His residues are oriented such that they appear to be capable of directly coordinating a zinc ion as observed for CAP proteins from reptile venoms. This first structure of a two‐CAP‐domain ASP can serve as a template for homology modeling of other two‐CAP‐domain proteins.