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Study · Not a test of the peptide alone · 2020

3 results

The copper(II)-binding tripeptide GHK, a valuable crystallization and phasing tag for macromolecular crystallography.

Mehr A, Henneberg F, Chari A, Görlich D, Huyton T

Acta crystallographica. Section D, Structural biology19 Nov 2020Cited by 8 (Europe PMC)

PMID33263328 (opens in a new tab)PMCIDPMC7709198 (opens in a new tab)DOI10.1107/s2059798320013741 (opens in a new tab)PepBankPUB-33263328
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Summary

The growth of diffraction-quality crystals and experimental phasing remain two of the main bottlenecks in protein crystallography. Here, the high-affinity copper(II)-binding tripeptide GHK was fused to the N-terminus of a GFP variant and an MBP-FG peptide fusion. The GHK tag promoted crystallization, with various residues (His, Asp, His/Pro) from symmetry molecules completing the copper(II) square-pyramidal coordination sphere. Rapid structure determination by copper SAD phasing could be achieved, even at a very low Bijvoet ratio or after significant radiation damage. When collecting highly redundant data at a wavelength close to the copper absorption edge, residual S-atom positions could also be located in log-likelihood-gradient maps and used to improve the phases. The GHK copper SAD method provides a convenient way of both crystallizing and phasing macromolecular structures, and will complement the current trend towards native sulfur SAD and MR-SAD phasing.
CC BYText from Europe PMC. Highlighted sentences are the source of results.

Results from this study3

No result from this study comes from a test of the peptide.

Studies that did not test the peptide alone3

In this study, GHK-Cu was a lab tool or a carrier, part of a mix, or the subject of a lab method. These results are not evidence about taking GHK-Cu.

  1. 01LabNot a test of GHK-Cu aloneIn vitro (cell-free)Other

    Fusion of the GHK tag to a GFP variant and an MBP-FG fusion promoted crystallization, with residues from symmetry molecules completing the copper(II) coordination sphere.

    In plain wordsIn lab tests, adding the GHK tag to proteins helped them form crystals for structure studies.

    Peptide
    GHK-Cu
    Outcome
    Not applicableProtein crystallization with GHK tag
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Outcome group
    Non-clinical applications · Pharmacology

    Source sentences

    Summary
    The GHK tag promoted crystallization, with various residues (His, Asp, His/Pro) from symmetry molecules completing the copper(II) square-pyramidal coordination sphere.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Here, the high-affinity copper(II)-binding tripeptide GHK was fused to the N-terminus of a GFP variant and an MBP-FG peptide fusion.

    In this study, GHK-Cu was a lab tool or a carrier, part of a mix, or the subject of a lab method. This result is not evidence about taking GHK-Cu.

  2. 02LabNot a test of GHK-Cu aloneIn vitro (cell-free)Other

    Rapid structure determination by copper SAD phasing was achieved with the GHK tag, even at a very low Bijvoet ratio or after significant radiation damage.

    In plain wordsIn lab tests, the copper in the GHK tag let researchers solve protein structures quickly, even with weak signal or damaged crystals.

    Peptide
    GHK-Cu
    Outcome
    Not applicableCopper SAD phasing
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Outcome group
    Non-clinical applications · Pharmacology

    Source sentences

    Summary
    Rapid structure determination by copper SAD phasing could be achieved, even at a very low Bijvoet ratio or after significant radiation damage.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Here, the high-affinity copper(II)-binding tripeptide GHK was fused to the N-terminus of a GFP variant and an MBP-FG peptide fusion.

    In this study, GHK-Cu was a lab tool or a carrier, part of a mix, or the subject of a lab method. This result is not evidence about taking GHK-Cu.

  3. 03LabNot a test of GHK-Cu aloneIn vitro (cell-free)Other

    With highly redundant data collected near the copper absorption edge, residual sulfur atom positions could be located and used to improve phases.

    In plain wordsIn lab tests, data collected near the copper absorption edge also located sulfur atoms and improved the structure phases.

    Peptide
    GHK-Cu
    Outcome
    Not applicableSulfur atom location near copper edge
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Outcome group
    Non-clinical applications · Pharmacology

    Source sentences

    Summary
    When collecting highly redundant data at a wavelength close to the copper absorption edge, residual S-atom positions could also be located in log-likelihood-gradient maps and used to improve the phases.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Here, the high-affinity copper(II)-binding tripeptide GHK was fused to the N-terminus of a GFP variant and an MBP-FG peptide fusion.

    In this study, GHK-Cu was a lab tool or a carrier, part of a mix, or the subject of a lab method. This result is not evidence about taking GHK-Cu.

AI wrote and checked these results. AI can make mistakes, so check important results against the source.

Version history

PepBank keeps every version of the data on this study. Status changes from Retraction Watch, Europe PMC and Crossref are listed with their source.

  1. Version 3Current

    9 Oct 2026, 18:17 UTC

    Study results updated

  2. Version 2

    9 Oct 2026, 03:03 UTC

    Study data updated · source update from Europe PMC

  3. Version 1

    9 Oct 2026, 02:56 UTC

    First added · source update from Europe PMC

Subjects

Terms as the source lists them.

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