Crystal structure of hemolin: A horseshoe shape with implications for homophilic adhesion

Hemolin, an insect immunoglobulin superfamily member, is a Lipopolysaccharide-binding immune protein induced during bacterial infection. The 3.1 angstrom crystal structure reveals a bound phosphate and patches of positive charge, which may represent the Lipopolysaccharide binding site, and a new and unexpected arrangement of four immunoglobulin-like domains forming a horseshoe. Sequence analysis and analytical ultracentrifugation suggest that the domain arrangement is a feature of the L1 family of neural cell adhesion molecules related to hemolin. These results are relevant to interpretation of human L1 mutations in neurological diseases and suggest a domain swapping model for how L1 family proteins mediate homophilic adhesion.