鸡心脱辅基细胞色素c自发折叠的进一步研究

将野生型鸡心脱辅基细胞色素ｃ及其突变体Ｖ９２Ａ的１７位半胱氨酸残基突变为丝氨酸,再将表达纯化的Ｖ９２Ａ／Ｃ１７Ｓ和Ｗ／Ｃ１７Ｓ用荧光探针ＩＡＥＤＡＮＳ标记．通过测量ＡＥＤＡＮＳ－Ｃｙｓ－１４的荧光光谱、荧光寿命以及ＡＥＤＡＮＳ与Ｔｒｐ－５９之间的荧光共振能量转移效率、比较了Ｖ９２Ａ与野生型鸡心脱辅基细胞色素ｃ因折叠状态不同引起的Ｎ端构象状态及肽链间相互作用的差异．结果显示Ａｐｏ．ｃ无论在低盐浓度下的无规卷曲状态还是高盐浓度下的融球态,Ｖ９２Ａ都较野生型处于更松散的折叠状态,此外,在鸡心脱辅基细胞色素ｃ的自发折叠中Ｎ端肽段并不起主要作用     

不同折叠状态的Apocyt．C插膜后构象的研究

比较了不同折叠状态的鸡心脱血红素细胞色素ｃ（Ａｐｏｃｙｔ．ｃ）对大豆磷脂单分子层的插入能力和对酸性、中性磷脂单分子层的插入能力。不同折叠状态的Ａｐｏｃｙｔ．ｃ与大豆磷脂脂质体作用后的内源荧光发射谱提示它们各自在膜上的构象状态不同。与纯磷脂脂质体作用后的圆二色谱发现,溶液中折叠状态不同的鸡心Ａｐｏｃｙｔ．ｃ与膜作用后的构象也不同,溶液中处于无规心Ａｐｏｃｙｔ．ｃ与ＤＭＰＧ脂质体作用后的构象也呈α螺旋,但螺旋含量明显低于前者。折叠状态的鸡心Ａｐｏｃｙｔ．ｃ与ＤＭＰＣ作用后,其构象几乎没有变化。     

脱血红素细胞色素c自发折叠的进一步验证

用胰蛋白酶水解结合聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳以及纳秒内源荧光衰减谱分析对鸡心脱血红素细胞色素ｃ在透析复性过程的自发折叠现象作进一步确定。结果显示随着透析复性时间的增加,鸡心脱血红素细胞色素ｃ对胰蛋白酶的水解敏感性逐渐下降,内源荧光寿命值增大,与此对应的马心脱血红素细胞色素ｃ没有发生变化。     

脱血红素细胞色素c对DMPG膜的插入研究

气－液界面单分子层实验发现鸡心脱血红素细胞色素ｃ对ＤＭＰＧ单分子层表现出很强的插入能力,这种插入能力受亚相溶液离子强度的调节。通过傅里叶变换红外光谱对鸡心脱血红素细胞色素ｃ与ＤＭＰＧ脂质体的作用进行了进一步研究,对磷脂不同区域的红外光谱分析表明鸡心脱血红素细胞色素ｃ不仅与ＤＭＰＧ头部存在静电相互作用而且与其疏水部分也存在相互作用。     

脱血红素细胞色素C自发折叠的进一步验证

用胰蛋白酶水解结构聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳以及纳秒内源荧光衰减谱分析对鸡心脱血红素细胞色素Ｃ在透析复性过程的自发折叠现象作进一步确定，结果显示随着透析复性时间的增加，鸡心脱血红素细胞色素Ｃ对胰蛋白酶的水解敏感性逐渐下降，内源荧光寿命值增大，与此对应的马心脱血红素细胞色素Ｃ没有发生变化。     

脱血红素细胞色素c的68~88肽段在插膜及与线粒体结合中具有关键作用

细胞色素c的前体蛋白——脱血红素细胞色素c是在细胞质中合成后运入线粒体的. 结合人工合成多肽及完整分子的缺失突变体探索了脱血红素细胞色素c跨膜转运中的关键肽段, 结果表明, 无论在单分子层插膜, 还是在与脂质体、线粒体的相互作用中, 脱血红素细胞色素c的68~88肽段都起着关键作用.     

大肠杆菌Sec依赖性蛋白质转运途径

与真核细胞蛋白质外运方式不同,大肠杆菌分泌蛋白的合成和跨内膜转运是不偶联的,对于一些小分子蛋白质（例如噬菌体Ｍ１３外壳蛋白）不需要其它分子协助能自发保持松散构象从核糖体定位到质膜,而对于大的蛋白质分子,尤其含有疏水结构域或疏水信号肽,需要其它分子伴侣的协助以保持转运感受状态才能被有效转运。除了这种依赖Ｓｃｃ（ｓｅｃｒｅｔｏｒｙ）蛋白的一般分泌途径以外,还存在其它Ｓｅｃ非依赖性的Ｔａｔ途径等。本文对大肠杆菌Ｓｅｃ依赖性蛋白质转运途径进行综述。     

脱血红素细胞色素c与膜结合及插膜时的构象研究

应用特殊的单分子层样品制备技术,分别制备了与中性、酸性磷脂膜结合的和完全插膜的鸡心脱血红素细胞色素c样品,并运用圆二色谱(CD)、表面衰减全反射Fourier变换红外光谱(ATR-FTIR)对膜上蛋白的构象进行了鉴定.研究结果表明,蛋白在与膜结合及插入阶段的构象是不同的,膜界面性质的不同也会对蛋白的构象产生不同的诱导,在酸性磷脂DSPG膜表面,该蛋白是以α螺旋和β折叠混合的构象形式结合;而在中性磷脂DSPC膜表面是以β折叠为主的构象形式结合.插入 DOPG单分子层内时则是 α螺旋为主的构象形式.     

C17S和H18D突变对鸡脱辅基细胞色素c跨线粒体膜输入的影响

体外转录鸡脱辅基细胞色素c(apocytochromec,简称apocyt.c)mRNA ,以之翻译apocyt.c并以3 5 S 甲硫氨酸标记 ,在纯化的鸡心线粒体上对它的跨膜转运与其经血红素加合酶催化转化为细胞色素c的关系进行了研究 .结果表明 ,即使在不利于形成细胞色素c的生化条件下鸡apocyt.c也能有效地输入线粒体 .为进一步证实apocyt.c的跨膜转运过程独立于转化为细胞色素c ,对apocyt.c的血红素结合位点进行基因的定点突变 ( 1 7位 :Cys→Ser;1 8位 :His→Asp) ,然后研究了 2个突变体apocyt.c的跨膜转运 .结果C1 7S和H1 8D都仍能有效地输入线粒体 ,但发现转运初速率已显著变慢     

磷脂酸(PA)-磷脂酰乙醇胺(PE)相互作用有利于脱血红素细胞色素c跨脂质体的运送

细胞色素c的前体 -脱血红素细胞色素c(Apocyt.c)在细胞质中核糖体合成 ,之后跨线粒体膜运送 ,在线粒体内、外膜间隙中经酶催化与血红素Heme结合形成成熟型的细胞色素c定位于线粒体内膜外侧     

Folding of apocytochrome c induced by the interaction with negatively charged lipid micelles proceeds via a collapsed intermediate state

Unfolded apocytochrome c acquires an alpha-helical conformation upon interaction with lipid. Folding kinetic results below and above the lipid's CMC, together with energy transfer measurements of lipid bound states, and salt-induced compact states in solution, show that the folding transition of apocytochrome c from the unfolded state in solution to a lipid-inserted helical conformation proceeds via a collapsed intermediate state (I(C)). This initial compact state is driven by a hydrophobic collapse of the polypeptide chain in the absence of the heme group and may represent a heme-free analogue of an early compact intermediate detected on the folding pathway of cytochrome c in solution. Insertion into the lipid phase occurs via an unfolding step of I(C) through a more extended state associated with the membrane surface (I(S)). While I(C) appears to be as compact as salt-induced compact states in solution with substantial alpha-helix content, the final lipid-inserted state (Hmic) is as compact as the unfolded state in solution at pH 5 and has an alpha-helix content which resembles that of native cytochrome c.     

Conferment of folding ability to a naturally unfolded apocytochrome c through introduction of hydrophobic amino acid residues

Hyperthermophilic Aquifex aeolicus cytochrome c(555) (AA c(555)) exceptionally folds even in the apo state, unlike general cytochromes c including mesophilic Pseudomonas aeruginosa cytochrome c(551) (PA c(551)), which is structurally homologous to AA c(555) in the holo state. Here we hypothesized that the exceptional apo AA c(555) folding can be attributed to nine hydrophobic amino acid residues and proved this using a PA c(551) variant (denoted as PA-nh) carrying the nine hydrophobic residues at structurally corresponding positions. Circular dichroism experiments showed that the apo PA-nh variant became folded, unlike the wild-type apo PA c(551), and exhibited much higher stability than the wild type. Another difference between the holo forms of AA c(555) and PA c(551) is the existence of an extra helix in the former. Introduction of the amino acid residues forming the extra helix of AA c(555) into the PA-nh variant did not significantly affect its folding ability in the apo state. Therefore, the nine hydrophobic residues introduced into the apo PA-nh variant were enough to confer the folding ability. PA c(551) represents the first example of the conversion of an intrinsically unfolded apocytochrome c into an autonomously folded one, which was revealed by means of a protein engineering method without heme. Although heme is generally considered to be a trigger of apocytochrome c folding, the present results demonstrate a new heme-independent folding mechanism.     

Location of a binding site for 1-anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonate on calmodulin

The quenching by radiationless energy transfer of the ultraviolet fluorescence of Tyr-99 and Tyr-138 by bound 1-anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonate (1,8-ANS) has been employed to determine the separation of a hydrophobic binding site of 1,8-ANS from each of the tyrosines. The results suggest that the dominant binding site is located in the N-terminal region of domain III.     

Bis(1,8-anilinonaphthalenesulfonate). A novel and potent inhibitor of microtubule assembly

Two related compounds, 1,8-anilinonaphthalenesulfonate (1,8-ANS) and bis(1,8-anilinonaphthalenesulfonate) (Bis-ANS), are useful fluorescent probes for hydrophobic areas on protein molecules. Using fluorescence, we examined the binding of these compounds to bovine brain tubulin and found that Bis-ANS and 1,8-ANS bound to tubulin with Ki values of 2 and 25 microM, respectively. Bis-ANS potently inhibited the polymerization of tubulin into microtubules in vitro. In the presence of microtubule-associated protein 2, half-maximal inhibition of assembly was obtained at 3 microM Bis-ANS. In the presence of tau protein, half-maximal inhibition was obtained at 15 microM Bis-ANS. Surprisingly, 1,8-ANS, even at 200 microM, did not inhibit assembly. Scatchard analysis indicated one binding site for Bis-ANS on tubulin. Previous reports of 1,8-ANS binding to tubulin may have been influenced by the presence of Bis-ANS which until recently was a common contaminant of commercial supplies. Because of its intense fluorescence in addition to its potent inhibitory effects, Bis-ANS appears to be a useful probe to study microtubule assembly and other interactions involving tubulin.     

Ligand-induced thermostability in proteins: thermodynamic analysis of ANS-albumin interaction

A comparative thermodynamic study of the interaction of anilinonaphthalene sulfonate (ANS) derivatives with bovine serum albumin (BSA) was performed by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). The chemically related ligands, 1,8-ANS and 2,6-ANS, present a similar affinity for BSA with different binding energetics. The analysis of the binding driving forces suggests that not only hydrophobic effect but also electrostatic interactions are relevant, even though they have been extensively used as probes for non-polar domains in proteins. Ligand association leads to an increase in protein thermostability, indicating that both dyes interact mainly with native BSA. ITC data show that 1,8-ANS and 2,6-ANS have a moderate affinity for BSA, with an association constant of around 1-9x10(5) M(-1) for the high-affinity site. Ligand binding is disfavoured by conformational entropy. The theoretical model used to simulate DSC data satisfactorily reproduces experimental thermograms, validating this approach as one which provides new insights into the interaction between one or more ligands with a protein. By comparison with 1,8-ANS, 2,6-ANS appears as a more "inert" probe to assess processes which involve conformational changes in proteins.     

Folding of apocytochrome c in lipid micelles: formation of alpha-helix precedes membrane insertion.

Apocytochrome c, which in aqueous solution is largely unstructured, acquires a highly alpha-helical structure upon interaction with lipid. The alpha-helix content induced in apocytochrome c depends on the lipid system, and this folding process is driven by both electrostatic and hydrophobic lipid-protein interactions. The folding kinetic mechanism of apocytochrome c induced by zwitterionic micelles of lysophosphatidylcholine (L-PC), predominantly driven by hydrophobic lipid-protein interactions, was investigated by fluorescence stopped-flow measurements of Trp 59 and fluorescein-phosphatidylethanolamine-(FPE) labeled micelles, in combination with stopped-flow far-UV circular dichroism. It was found that formation of the alpha-helical structure of apocytochrome c precedes membrane insertion. The unfolded state in solution (U(W)) binds to the micelle surface in a helical conformation (I(S)) and is followed by insertion into the lipid micelle, i.e., formation of the final helical state H(L). Binding of apocytochrome c to the lipid micelle (U(W) --> I(S)) is concurrent with formation of a large fraction (75-100%, depending on lipid concentration) of the alpha-helical structure of the final lipid-inserted state H(L). The highly helical intermediate I(S) is formed on the time scale of 3-12 ms, depending on lipid concentration, and inserts into the lipid micelle (I(S) --> H(L)) in the time range of approximately 200 ms to >1 s, depending on lipid-to-protein ratio. The final lipid-inserted helical state H(L) in L-PC micelles has an alpha-helix content approximately 65% of that of cytochrome c in solution and has no compact stable tertiary structure as revealed by circular dichroism results.