Circular dichroism study of ribonuclease A mutants containing the minimal structural requirements for dimerization and swapping

Four residues Pro19, Leu28, Cys31 and Cys32 proved to be the minimal structural requirements in determining the dimeric structure and the N-terminal segment swapping of bovine seminal ribonuclease, BS-RNase. We analyzed the content of secondary and tertiary structures in RNase A, P-RNase A, PL-RNase A, MCAM-PLCC-RNase A and MCAM-BS-RNase, performing near and far-UV CD spectra. It results that the five proteins have very similar native conformations. Thermal denaturation at pH 5.0 of the proteins, studied by means of CD measurements, proved reversible and well represented by the two-state ND transition model. Thermodynamic data are discussed in the light of the structural information available for RNase A and BS-RNase.     

Comprehensive comparison of the cytotoxic activities of onconase and bovine seminal ribonuclease

Onconase (ONC) and bovine seminal ribonuclease (BS-RNase) are homologs of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease (RNase A). Unlike RNase A, ONC and BS-RNase can evade the cytosolic ribonuclease inhibitor protein and are potent cytotoxins. Here, the endogenous cytotoxic activities of ONC and BS-RNase are compared in a wide variety of assays. Injections of ONC into one or both testes of mice and rats evokes a stronger aspermatogenic activity than does the injection of BS-RNase. Epididymides exposed to ONC lose mass and all sperm. Testicular tissue is gradually colonized by immunite and fibrocytic cells. Yet, Leydig cells are always present and functional in the ligamented parts of testicles injected with ONC or BS-RNase. ONC is likewise more toxic to mouse embryos than is BS-RNase, both in vitro and in vivo. The antiproliferative effect of ONC on human tumor cell line ML-2 and lymphocytes in a mixed lymphocyte culture is also more pronounced than is that of BS-RNase. The number of granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming units is repressed almost completely by ONC, whereas a five-fold higher dose of BS-RNase does not cause substantial inhibition. In mice, ONC is less immunogenic than BS-RNase but more immunogenic than RNase A. Together, these data indicate that ONC is a pluripotent cytotoxin, and serves as the benchmark with which to gauge the cytotoxicity of other ribonucleases.     

Cytotoxicity of bovine seminal ribonuclease: monomer versus dimer

Bovine seminal ribonuclease (BS-RNase) is a homologue of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease (RNase A). Unlike RNase A, BS-RNase has notable toxicity for human tumor cells. Wild-type BS-RNase is a homodimer linked by two intermolecular disulfide bonds. This quaternary structure endows BS-RNase with resistance to inhibition by the cytosolic ribonuclease inhibitor protein (RI), which binds tightly to RNase A and monomeric BS-RNase. Here, we report on the creation and analysis of monomeric variants of BS-RNase that evade RI but retain full enzymatic activity. The cytotoxic activity of these monomeric variants exceeds that of the wild-type dimer by up to 30-fold, indicating that the dimeric structure of BS-RNase is not required for cytotoxicity. Dimers of these monomeric variants are more cytotoxic than wild-type BS-RNase, suggesting that the cytotoxicity of the wild-type enzyme is limited by RI inhibition following dissociation of the dimer in the reducing environment of the cytosol. Finally, the cytotoxic activity of these dimers is less than that of the constituent monomers, indicating that their quaternary structure is a liability. These data provide new insight into structure-function relationships of BS-RNase. Moreover, BS-RNase monomers described herein are more toxic to human tumor cells than is any known variant or homologue of RNase A including Onconase, an amphibian homologue in phase III clinical trials for the treatment of unresectable malignant mesothelioma.     

Structure and stability of the non-covalent swapped dimer of bovine seminal ribonuclease: an enzyme tailored to evade ribonuclease protein inhibitor

A growing number of pancreatic-type ribonucleases (RNases) present cytotoxic activity against malignant cells. The cytoxicity of these enzymes is related to their resistance to the ribonuclease protein inhibitor (RI). In particular, bovine seminal ribonuclease (BS-RNase) is toxic to tumor cells both in vitro and in vivo. BS-RNase is a covalent dimer with two intersubunit disulfide bridges between Cys(31) of one chain and Cys(32) of the second and vice versa. The native enzyme is an equilibrium mixture of two isomers, MxM and M=M. In the former the two subunits swap their N-terminal helices. The cytotoxic action is a peculiar property of MxM. In the reducing environment of cytosol, M=M dissociates into monomers, which are strongly inhibited by RI, whereas MxM remains as a non-covalent dimer (NCD), which evades RI. We have solved the crystal structure of NCD, carboxyamidomethylated at residues Cys(31) and Cys(32) (NCD-CAM), in a complex with 2'-deoxycitidylyl(3'-5')-2'-deoxyadenosine. The molecule reveals a quaternary structural organization much closer to MxM than to other N-terminal-swapped non-covalent dimeric forms of RNases. Model building of the complexes between these non-covalent dimers and RI reveals that NCD-CAM is the only dimer equipped with a quaternary organization capable of interfering seriously with the binding of the inhibitor. Moreover, a detailed comparative structural analysis of the dimers has highlighted the residues, which are mostly important in driving the quaternary structure toward that found in NCD-CAM.     

Structural features for the mechanism of antitumor action of a dimeric human pancreatic ribonuclease variant

A specialized class of RNases shows a high cytotoxicity toward tumor cell lines, which is critically dependent on their ability to reach the cytosol and to evade the action of the ribonuclease inhibitor (RI). The cytotoxicity and antitumor activity of bovine seminal ribonuclease (BSRNase), which exists in the native state as an equilibrium mixture of a swapped and an unswapped dimer, are peculiar properties of the swapped form. A dimeric variant (HHP2‐RNase) of human pancreatic RNase, in which the enzyme has been engineered to reproduce the sequence of BSRNase helix‐II (Gln28→Leu, Arg31→Cys, Arg32→Cys, and Asn34→Lys) and to eliminate a negative charge on the surface (Glu111→Gly), is also extremely cytotoxic. Surprisingly, this activity is associated also to the unswapped form of the protein. The crystal structure reveals that on this molecule the hinge regions, which are highly disordered in the unswapped form of BSRNase, adopt a very well‐defined conformation in both subunits. The results suggest that the two hinge peptides and the two Leu28 side chains may provide an anchorage to a transient noncovalent dimer, which maintains Cys31 and Cys32 of the two subunits in proximity, thus stabilizing a quaternary structure, similar to that found for the noncovalent swapped dimer of BSRNase, that allows the molecule to escape RI and/or to enhance the formation of the interchain disulfides.     

Ribonucleases and their antitumor activity

The antitumor effect of ribonucleases was studied with animal ribonucleolytic enzymes, bovine pancreatic RNase A, bovine seminal RNase (BS-RNase), onconase and angiogenin. While bovine pancreatic RNase A exerts a minor antitumor effect, BS-RNase and onconase exert significant effects. Angiogenin, as RNase, works in an opposite way, it initiates vascularization of tumors and subsequent tumor growth. Ribonunclease inhibitors are not able to inhibit the antitumor effectiveness of BS-RNase or onconase. However, they do so in the case of pancreatic RNases. Conjugation of BS-RNase with antibodies against tumor antigens (preparation of immunotoxins) like the conjugation of the enzyme with polymers enhances the antitumor activity of the ribonuclease. After conjugation with polymers, the half-life of BS-RNase in blood is extended and its immunogenicity reduced. Recombinant RNases have the same functional activity as the native enzymes. The synthetic genes have also been modified, some of them with gene sequences typical for the BS-RNase parts. Recent experimental efforts are directed to the preparation of ‘humanized antitumor ribonuclease’ that would be structurally similar to human enzyme with minimal immunogenicity and side effects. The angiogenesis of tumors is attempted to be minimized by specific antibodies or anti-angiogenic substances.     

Engineering receptor-mediated cytotoxicity into human ribonucleases by steric blockade of inhibitor interaction

Several nonmammalian members of the RNase A superfamily exhibit anticancer activity that appears to correlate with resistance to the cytosolic ribonuclease inhibitor (RI). We mutated two human ribonucleases-pancreatic RNase (hRNAse) and eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN)-to incorporate cysteine residues at putative sites of close contact to RI, but distant from the catalytic sites. Coupling of Cys89 of RNase and Cys87 of EDN to proteins at these sites via a thioether bond produced enzymatically active conjugates that were resistant to RI. To elicit cellular targeting as well as to block RI binding, transferrin was conjugated to a mutant human RNase, rhRNase(Gly89)-->Cys) and a mutant EDN (Thr87-->Cys). The transferrin-rhRNase(Gly89-->Cys) thioether conjugate was 5000-fold more toxic to U251 cells than recombinant wild-type hRNase. In addition, transferrin-targeted EDN exhibited tumor cell toxicities similar to those of hRNase. Thus, we endowed two human RI-sensitive RNases with greater cytotoxicity by increasing their resistance to RI. This strategy has the potential to generate a novel set of recombinant human proteins useful for targeted therapy of cancer.     

Anti-oxidative effect of ribonuclease inhibitor by site-directed mutagenesis and expression in Pichia pastoris

Human placental ribonuclease inhibitor(hRI)is an acidic protein of Mr-50kDa with unusually high contents of leucine and cysteine residues.It is a cytosolic protein that protects cells from the adventitious invasion of pancreatic-type ribonuclease.hRI has 32 cysteine residues,and the oxidative formation of disulfide bonds from those cysteine residues is a rapid cooperative process that inactivates hRI.The most proximal cysteine residues in native hRI are two pairs that are adjacent in sequence.In the present aork,two molecules of alanine substituting for Cys328 and Cys329 were performed by site-directed mutagenesis.The site-mutated RI cDNA was constructed into plasmid pPIC9K and then transformed Pichia pastoris GS115 by electroporation.After colony screening,the bacterium was cultured and the product Was purified with affinity chromatography.The affinity of the recombinant human RI with double site mutation was examined for RNase A and its anti-oxidative effect.Results indicated that there were not many changes in the affinity for RNase A detected when compared with the wild type of RI.But the capacity of anti-oxidative effect increased by 7～9 times.The enhancement in anti-oxidative efrect might be attributed to preventing the formation of disulfide bond between Cys328 and Cys329 and the three dimensional structure of RI was thereby maintained.     

Inhibition of human pancreatic ribonuclease by the human ribonuclease inhibitor protein

The ribonuclease inhibitor protein (RI) binds to members of the bovine pancreatic ribonuclease (RNase A) superfamily with an affinity in the femtomolar range. Here, we report on structural and energetic aspects of the interaction between human RI (hRI) and human pancreatic ribonuclease (RNase 1). The structure of the crystalline hRI x RNase 1 complex was determined at a resolution of 1.95 A, revealing the formation of 19 intermolecular hydrogen bonds involving 13 residues of RNase 1. In contrast, only nine such hydrogen bonds are apparent in the structure of the complex between porcine RI and RNase A. hRI, which is anionic, also appears to use its horseshoe-shaped structure to engender long-range Coulombic interactions with RNase 1, which is cationic. In accordance with the structural data, the hRI.RNase 1 complex was found to be extremely stable (t(1/2)=81 days; K(d)=2.9 x 10(-16) M). Site-directed mutagenesis experiments enabled the identification of two cationic residues in RNase 1, Arg39 and Arg91, that are especially important for both the formation and stability of the complex, and are thus termed "electrostatic targeting residues". Disturbing the electrostatic attraction between hRI and RNase 1 yielded a variant of RNase 1 that maintained ribonucleolytic activity and conformational stability but had a 2.8 x 10(3)-fold lower association rate for complex formation and 5.9 x 10(9)-fold lower affinity for hRI. This variant of RNase 1, which exhibits the largest decrease in RI affinity of any engineered ribonuclease, is also toxic to human erythroleukemia cells. Together, these results provide new insight into an unusual and important protein-protein interaction, and could expedite the development of human ribonucleases as chemotherapeutic agents.     

Anti-oxidative effect of ribonuclease inhibitor by site-directed mutagenesis and expression in Pichia pastoris

Human placental ribonuclease inhibitor (hRI) is an acidic protein of Mr∼50kDa with unusually high contents of leucine and cysteine residues. It is a cytosolic protein that protects cells from the adventitious invasion of pancreatic-type ribonuclease. hRI has 32 cysteine residues, and the oxidative formation of disulfide bonds from those cysteine residues is a rapid cooperative process that inactivates hRI. The most proximal cysteine residues in native hRI are two pairs that are adjacent in sequence. In the present aork, two molecules of alanine substituting for Cys328 and Cys329 were performed by site-directed mutagenesis. The site-mutated RI cDNA was constructed into plasmid pPIC9K and then transformed Pichia pastoris GS115 by electroporation. After colony screening, the bacterium was cultured and the product was purified with affinity chromatography. The affinity of the recombinant human RI with double site mutation was examined for RNase A and its anti-oxidative effect. Results indicated that there were not many changes in the affinity for RNase A detected when compared with the wild type of RI. But the capacity of anti-oxidative effect increased by 7∼9 times. The enhancement in anti-oxidative effect might be attributed to preventing the formation of disulfide bond between Cys328 and Cys329 and the three dimensional structure of RI was thereby maintained. __________ Translated from HEREDITAS, 2005, 27(2) [译自: 遗传,2005,27(2)]     

Effect of bovine seminal ribonuclease and bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A on bovine oocyte maturation

Bovine seminal ribonuclease (BS-RNase) contains the MxM (noncovalent dimer) and M=M (free monomer) in constant ratio. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of BS-RNase, its monomer and dimer forms, and also various mutants of this enzyme on meiotic completion in cattle oocytes. It was found that BS-RNase has irreversible effects on the meiotic maturation of bovine oocytes in vitro, particularly on the completion of meiosis. The effect of BS-RNase is dose-dependent. In medium supplemented with 1 microg/ml, the results were comparable with those of the control (70% MII oocytes after 24 hr of culture). Whereas 5 microg/ml reduced the number of MII oocytes to 50%, 10 and 25 microg/ml arrested this process completely. The MxM form and RNase A at 5 microg/ml inhibited the maturation rate by 71 and 48%, respectively, but a less significant effect was observed for the M=M form, or the carboxymethylated monomers MCM31 and MCM32 (21%, 16%, and 42% MII oocytes, respectively, in comparison with control). These data demonstrate that bovine ribonucleases can have variable detrimental effects on the maturation of bovine oocyte. J. Exp. Zool. 287:394-399, 2000.     

核糖核酸酶抑制因子对血管生成素功能的调控

血管生成素（angiogenin,ANG）能有效促进血管生成和肿瘤细胞增殖,在肿瘤发生发展中起重要作用.其主要分子机制是通过核转位和激活PI3K/AKT/mTOR信号通路,刺激rRNA转录和核糖体生成.ANG也被发现在肌萎缩侧索硬化症（ALS）和帕金森病（PD）患者中存在基因编码区的功能突变,表明其在运动神经元生理方面发挥作用,其缺陷是神经退行性疾病的一个危险因素.核糖核酸酶抑制因子（ribonuclease inhibitor,RI）是胞内酸性蛋白质,由460个氨基酸残基组成,分子质量约为50 kD,当其与核糖核酸酶A（RNaseA）结合形成复合物后,可抑制RNaseA 的90％以上活性,从而有效调节细胞内RNA水平. ANG具有低核糖核酸酶活性, 是RNase超家族一员,与RNase A有着高度保守的同源顺序. 序列、结构和酶学等分析表明,RI也能够与ANG紧密结合,且得到体外实验的证明. 研究发现,RI具抑癌基因功能;RI与ANG在细胞内共定位;Co IP和GST pull down证实其相互作用,获取了RI与ANG在体内结合的直接证据;RI与AKT磷酸化表达负相关.在膀胱癌细胞及临床标本中证实了RI与 ANG和PI3K/AKT通路分子表达的相关性及与肿瘤细胞生长与转移的关系．在细胞和动物模型研究表明,RI调节ANG活性的功能及其分子机制,即RI通过结合ANG而封锁其核转位和调控PI3K/AKT/mTOR信号通路及其相关通路交互应答（cross talk）的能力,从而抑制肿瘤生长及转移. RI是一个有希望的抗肿瘤蛋白新药和血管生成抑制剂,可望成为基因治疗的靶基因.     

Disruption of shape-complementarity markers to create cytotoxic variants of ribonuclease A

Onconase (ONC), an amphibian member of the bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A (RNase A) superfamily, is in phase III clinical trials as a treatment for malignant mesothelioma. RNase A is a far more efficient catalyst of RNA cleavage than ONC but is not cytotoxic. The innate ability of ONC to evade the cytosolic ribonuclease inhibitor protein (RI) is likely to be a primary reason for its cytotoxicity. In contrast, the non-covalent interaction between RNase A and RI is one of the strongest known, with the RI.RNase A complex having a K(d) value in the femtomolar range. Here, we report on the use of the fast atomic density evaluation (FADE) algorithm to identify regions in the molecular interface of the RI.RNase A complex that exhibit a high degree of geometric complementarity. Guided by these "knobs" and "holes", we designed variants of RNase A that evade RI. The D38R/R39D/N67R/G88R substitution increased the K(d) value of the pRI.RNase A complex by 20 x 10(6)-fold (to 1.4 microM) with little change to catalytic activity or conformational stability. This and two related variants of RNase A were more toxic to human cancer cells than was ONC. Notably, these cytotoxic variants exerted their toxic activity on cancer cells selectively, and more selectively than did ONC. Substitutions that further diminish affinity for RI (which has a cytosolic concentration of 4 microM) are unlikely to produce a substantial increase in cytotoxic activity. These results demonstrate the utility of the FADE algorithm in the examination of protein-protein interfaces and represent a landmark towards the goal of developing chemotherapeutics based on mammalian ribonucleases.     

Fluorescence assay for the binding of ribonuclease A to the ribonuclease inhibitor protein

Ribonuclease A (RNase A) and the ribonuclease inhibitor protein (RI) form one of the tightest known protein-protein complexes. RNase A variants and homologues, such as G88R RNase A, that retain ribonucleolytic activity in the presence of RI are toxic to cancer cells. Herein, a new and facile assay is described for measuring the equilibrium dissociation constant (K(d)) and dissociation rate constant (k(d)) for complexes of RI and RNase A. This assay is based on the decrease in fluorescence intensity that occurs when a fluorescein-labeled RNase A binds to RI. To allow time for equilibration, the assay is most readily applied to those complexes with K(d) values in the nanomolar range or higher. Using this assay, the value of K(d) for the complex of RI with fluorescein-labeled G88R RNase A was determined to be 0.55 +/- 0.03 nM. In addition, the value of K(d) was determined for the complex of RI with unlabeled G88R RNase A to be 0.57 +/- 0.05 nM by using a competition assay with fluorescein-labeled G88R RNase A. Finally, the value of k(d) for the complex of RI with fluorescein-labeled G88R RNase A was determined to be (7.5 +/- 0.4) x 10(-3) s(-1) by monitoring the increase in fluorescence intensity upon dissociation. This assay can be used to characterize complexes of RI with a wide variety of RNase A variants and homologues, including those with cytotoxic activity.     

Tandemization endows bovine pancreatic ribonuclease with cytotoxic activity

Due to their ability to degrade RNA, selected members of the bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A (RNase A) superfamily are potent cytotoxins. These cytotoxic ribonucleases enter the cytosol of target cells, where they degrade cellular RNA and cause cell death. The cytotoxic activity of most RNases, however, is abolished by the cytosolic ribonuclease inhibitor (RI). Consequently, the development of RNase derivatives with the ability to evade RI binding is a desirable goal. In this study, tandem enzymes consisting of two RNase A units that are bound covalently via a peptide linker were generated by gene duplication. As deduced from the crystal structure of the RNase A.RI complex, one RNase A unit of the tandem enzyme can still be bound by RI. The other unit, however, should remain unbound because of steric hindrance. This free RNase A unit is expected to maintain its activity and to act as a cytotoxic agent. The study of the influence of the linker sequence on the conformation and stability of these constructs revealed that tandemization has only minor effects on the activity and stability of the constructs in comparison to monomeric RNase A. Relative activity was decreased by 10-50% and the melting temperature was decreased by less than 2.5 K. Furthermore, the cytotoxic potency of the RNase A tandem enzymes was investigated. Despite an in vitro inhibition by RI, tandemization was found to endow RNase A with remarkable cytotoxic activity. While monomeric RNase A is not cytotoxic, IC(50) values of the RNase A tandem variants decreased to 70.3-12.9 microM. These findings might establish the development of a new class of chemotherapeutic agents based on pancreatic ribonucleases.     

Intraspecies regulation of ribonucleolytic activity

The evolutionary rate of proteins involved in obligate protein-protein interactions is slower and the degree of coevolution higher than that for nonobligate protein-protein interactions. The coevolution of the proteins involved in certain nonobligate interactions is, however, essential to cell survival. To gain insight into the coevolution of one such nonobligate protein pair, the cytosolic ribonuclease inhibitor (RI) proteins and secretory pancreatic-type ribonucleases from cow (Bos taurus) and human (Homo sapiens) were produced in Escherichia coli and purified, and their physicochemical properties were analyzed. The two intraspecies complexes were found to be extremely tight (bovine Kd = 0.69 fM; human Kd = 0.34 fM). Human RI binds to its cognate ribonuclease (RNase 1) with 100-fold greater affinity than to the bovine homologue (RNase A). In contrast, bovine RI binds to RNase 1 and RNase A with nearly equal affinity. This broader specificity is consistent with there being more pancreatic-type ribonucleases in cows (20) than humans (13). Human RI (32 cysteine residues) also has 4-fold less resistance to oxidation by hydrogen peroxide than does bovine RI (29 cysteine residues). This decreased oxidative stability of human RI, which is caused largely by Cys74, implies a larger role for human RI as an antioxidant. The conformational and oxidative stabilities of both RIs increase upon complex formation with ribonucleases. Thus, RI has evolved to maintain its inhibition of invading ribonucleases, even when confronted with extreme environmental stress. That role appears to take precedence over its role in mediating oxidative damage.     

KFERQ sequence in ribonuclease A-mediated cytotoxicity.

Onconase(ONC) is an amphibian ribonuclease that is in clinical trials as a cancer chemotherapeutic agent. ONC is a homolog of ribonuclease A (RNase A). RNase A can be made toxic to cancer cells by replacing Gly(88) with an arginine residue, thereby enabling the enzyme to evade the endogenous cytosolic ribonuclease inhibitor protein (RI). Unlike ONC, RNase A contains a KFERQ sequence (residues 7-11), which signals for lysosomal degradation. Here, substitution of Arg(10) of the KFERQ sequence has no effect on either the cytotoxicity of G88R RNase A or its affinity for RI. In contrast, K7A/G88R RNase A is nearly 10-fold more cytotoxic than G88R RNase A and has more than 10-fold less affinity for RI. Up-regulation of the KFERQ-mediated lysosomal degradation pathway has no effect on the cytotoxicity of these ribonucleases. Thus, KFERQ-mediated degradation does not limit the cytotoxicity of RNase A variants. Moreover, only two amino acid substitutions (K7A and G88R) are shown to endow RNase A with cytotoxic activity that is nearly equal to that of ONC.     

Binding of a substrate analog to a domain swapping protein: X-ray structure of the complex of bovine seminal ribonuclease with uridylyl(2',5')adenosine

Bovine seminal ribonuclease (BS-RNase) is a unique member of the pancreatic-like ribonuclease superfamily. The native enzyme is a mixture of two dimeric forms with distinct structural features. The most abundant form is characterized by the swapping of N-terminal fragments. In this paper, the crystal structure of the complex between the swapping dimer and uridylyl(2',5')adenosine is reported at 2.06 A resolution. The refined model has a crystallographic R-factor of 0.184 and good stereochemistry. The quality of the electron density maps enables the structure of both the inhibitor and active site residues to be unambiguously determined. The overall architecture of the active site is similar to that of RNase A. The dinucleotide adopts an extended conformation with the pyrimidine and purine base interacting with Thr45 and Asn71, respectively. Several residues (Gln11, His12, Lys41, His119, and Phe120) bind the oxygens of the phosphate group. The structural similarity of the active sites of BS-RNase and RNase A includes some specific water molecules believed to be relevant to catalytic activity. Upon binding of the dinucleotide, small but significant modifications of the tertiary and quaternary structure of the protein are observed. The ensuing correlation of these modifications with the catalytic activity of the enzyme is discussed.     

Evolution of oligomeric proteins. The unusual case of a dimeric ribonuclease.

The model system made up of a monomeric and a dimeric ribonuclease of the pancreatic-type superfamily has recently attracted the attention of investigators interested in the evolution of oligomeric proteins. In this system, bovine pancreatic ribonuclease (RNase A) is the monomeric prototype, and bovine seminal ribonuclease (BS-RNase) is the dimeric counterpart. However, this evolutionary case is unusual, as BS-RNase is the only dimeric member of the whole large superfamily comprising more than 100 identified members from amphibia, aves, reptilia and mammalia. Furthermore, although the seminal-type RNase gene can be traced back to the divergence of the ruminants, it is expressed only in a single species (Bos taurus). These unusual findings are discussed, as well as previous hypotheses on the evolution of seminal RNase. Furthermore, a new 'minimalist' hypothesis is proposed, in line with basic principles of structural biology and molecular evolution.