DnaJ—like蛋白研究进展

ＤｎａＪ－ｌｉｋｅ蛋白由Ｎ－端保守的Ｊ区域、富含Ｇｌｙ和Ｐｈｅ区域,富含Ｇｙｓ区域和Ｃ－端低同源区域组成。Ｊ功能域能调节ＨＳＰ７０分子伴侣的ＡＴＰａｓｅ活性,Ｃ－端不保守域能调节与多肽的关系。直核细胞中存在着多种结构不同的ＤｎａＪ－ｌｉｋｅ蛋白,但都含有一个Ｊ功能域。ＤｎａＪ－ｌｉｋｅ蛋白通过Ｊ功能域调节ＨＳＰ７０功能而参与蛋白的折叠,装配和运输过程。     

黄粉虫热休克蛋白70基因的克隆、序列分析与表达（英文）

为给黄粉虫Tenebrio molitor抗逆机理研究提供理论依据, 本研究采用PCR和RACE法从黄粉虫幼虫中克隆出一个热休克蛋白70基因Tmhsp70, 并运用半定量RT-PCR法检测其在黄粉虫不同发育阶段的mRNA表达水平。结果表明： 克隆出的Tmhsp70 序列全长2 282 bp, 具有一个富含A的115 bp 5′ 非翻译区和一个1 935 bp的开放阅读框及一个富含A、 T的232 bp 3′-非翻译区。5′-非翻译区含有7个热休克元件nGAAn, 3′-非翻译区末端有长22 bp的Poly(A)尾。Tmhsp70编码的黄粉虫热休克蛋白（TmHSP70）具有3个典型的HSP70特征基序（IDLGTTYS, IFDLGGGTFDVSIL和IVLVGGSTRIPKIQQ）和1个胞质HSP70末端特征基序（EEVD）, 无信号肽和跨膜区域, 包含2个主要的结构域, 即： N-端42 kDa的高度保守ATPase功能域和C-端18 kDa的保守多肽结合功能域。ATPase功能域的三级结构由2个大球形亚功能域组成, 具有1个核苷酸结合中心; 多肽结合功能域形成1个双层4股β-折叠片样的三明治结构和2个α-螺旋, 内含1个多肽结合通道。此外, 黄粉虫Tmhsp70 mRNA的表达具有热激诱导和发育调控的特征。半定量RT-PCR分析表明, 42℃热激1 h的黄粉虫各发育阶段Tmhsp70 mRNA的表达量上升了1.4~26.9倍。25℃下1日龄黄粉虫蛹中的Tmhsp70 mRNA 表达量要高于其余各发育阶段的累积表达量; 42℃热激1 h 后90日龄幼虫中的Tmhsp70 mRNA 表达量最丰富, 既高于30日龄和60日龄幼虫中的累积表达量, 也高于15日龄和30日龄成虫中的累积表达量。这些结果为进一步研究黄粉虫热休克蛋白的结构、 功能和表达调控及其与抗逆性的关系奠定了基础。     

植物Cation/H~+反向转运蛋白研究进展

CAX是一种通过质子梯度产生的能量运输协调再分配钙离子(Ca2+)等阳离子的转运蛋白,是Ca2+/Cation antiporter(CaCA)大家族的一个分化枝。植物CAXs属于CAX三大类的Ⅰ型CAX。大部分植物CAXs有11个跨膜区(TM)和5个典型的功能域,即N-端自抑制区域(NRR)、C-端功能区域、Ca2+功能域(CaD)、C功能域和D功能域。其中NRR存在于大部分CAX中,调节CAX的功能。以下综述了近年来国内外对CAX类蛋白的研究成果与进展,涉及到CAX家族的命名,亚家族的分类,CAX组织表达及亚细胞定位,特别是CAX的转运活性等研究。加强对CAX的研究对调节植物生长、提高农作物养分吸收和减轻土壤中污染物等有重要作用。     

热激蛋白70研究进展

热激蛋白70（HSP70）是广泛存在且高度保守的蛋白,作为伴侣分子能够促进蛋白折叠;HSP70可以通过阻止细胞色素c从线粒体释放,与凋亡诱导因子结合使其不能入核,或者抑制JNK激酶活性调节细胞凋亡;HSP70可以调节细胞周期进程,促进细胞生长,阻止细胞衰老;免疫功能研究表明HSP70是有效的免疫佐剂,可激发抗原特异性的CTL反应,同时细胞外HSP70和膜结合HSP70可激发非特异性免疫反应。     

美国白蛾热激蛋白70基因的鉴定及功能分析

【目的】探究热激蛋白70(heat shock protein 70, HSP70)基因在美国白蛾Hyphantria cunea抵御高温胁迫过程中的作用,为揭示美国白蛾的扩散机制以及预测潜在分布区提供理论支撑。【方法】利用PCR技术克隆美国白蛾HSP70基因,并进行生物信息学分析;利用qPCR技术检测新蜕皮的美国白蛾4龄第2天幼虫在25, 30, 35和40℃处理下HSP70基因的表达特性;构建美国白蛾HSP70的原核表达载体,并在大肠杆菌Escherichia coli BL21感受态细胞中诱导表达该蛋白,利用Ni²⁺-His柱纯化蛋白,并通过Western blot验证该蛋白;利用体外实验测定原核表达获得的重组蛋白在高温胁迫下的ATP酶活性。【结果】克隆获得美国白蛾2条HSP70基因HcHSP70(GenBank登录号: MT995848)和HcHSC70(GenBank登录号: MT261583),其ORF长度分别为1 917和2 061 bp,分别编码637和687个氨基酸,分子质量分别约为69.66和74.96 kD,等电点分别为5.90和5.96;氨基酸序列结构均含有3个高度保守的区域GIDLGTTYS, IFDLGGGTFDVSIL和VGGSTRIPKVQ,符合热激蛋白70家族的特征;蛋白三维结构均由N端ATPase功能域和C端底物结合功能域所组成。系统进化树显示HcHSP70与鳞翅目HSP70家族其他成员聚为一支,而HcHSC70与鳞翅目HSC70家族的其他成员聚为另一支。qPCR结果表明,新蜕皮的美国白蛾4龄第2天幼虫在热胁迫下HcHSP70的相对表达量显著上调,且在35℃处理2 h下达到峰值,而热胁迫下HcHSC70的表达响应较微弱。成功构建了HcHSP70的原核表达载体并在体外诱导表达。纯化后的重组蛋白HcHSP70具备ATPase活性,且在高温胁迫下酶活性稳定。【结论】本研究克隆获得美国白蛾2条HSP70基因HcHSP70和HcHSC70,明确了两条基因在高温处理下的表达特性;成功对美国白蛾HcHSP70进行原核表达及纯化,并证明重组蛋白HcHSP70在高温下具有稳定的ATPase活性,推测其在美国白蛾应对高温胁迫中发挥着重要作用。     

富含半胱氨酸的分泌蛋白（CRISPs）在哺乳动物授精过程中的作用

雌雄配子间的结合与融合是哺乳动物授精成功的关键步骤,哺乳动物富含半胱氨酸的分泌蛋白CRISPs家族是一个进化上高度保守的蛋白家族,参与了精卵结合与融合过程,并在其中扮演了多种角色。目前从雄性小鼠生殖道中分离出4个CRISPs家族成员：附睾的CRISP1、睾丸的CRISP2、分布广泛的CRISP3以及与人CRISP1同源的CRISP4,对CRISPs家族蛋白成员的晶体结构分析揭示出CRISP蛋白含有两个功能域,一个是位于N末端的结构保守的CAP结构域,另一个是位于C末端的CRISP蛋白家族特有的CRISP功能域。CAP功能域中含有CAP基序,CRISP功能域由一个短的铰链区和一个离子通道调节区组成,并通过铰链区与CAP结构域相连接。简要回顾了各种CRISP蛋白的发现和特性鉴别过程,希望能从CRISPs的角度对哺乳动物精卵识别、结合与融合的分子机制有更好的了解。     

J蛋白研究进展

J蛋白（J-domain protein）是一类分子中含有J结构域的蛋白质大家族,大部分J蛋白具有分子伴侣的功能。J蛋白作为热休克蛋白70（HSP70）的同伴蛋白与HSP70组成分子伴侣机器,参与蛋白质分子折叠、组装、转运以及信号转导等多种细胞过程。此外,J蛋白在植物对环境胁迫的反应及其他生理过程中起重要作用。     

F-actin慢生长端的盖帽蛋白:红细胞原肌球调节蛋白

红细胞原肌球调节蛋白(erythrocyte tropomodulin,E-Tmod)是从红细胞膜中提取的原肌球蛋白(tropomyosin,TM)的结合蛋白.其N-端有两个TM结合位点和一个TM依赖的actin结合位点,C-端有5个富含亮氨酸的重复序列和一个TM非依赖的actin结合位点.作为F-actin慢生长端唯一的盖帽蛋白,E-Tmod与TM的N-端结合并同时与actin结合,减慢由TM包被的F-actin的解聚速度.E-Tmod编码基因高度保守,在红细胞、心肌细胞等细胞中广泛表达.E-Tmod对于F-actin和细胞骨架的组织以及对细胞力学特性的保持具有至关重要的作用.     

PRGL：非洲菊细胞壁中一种含GASA结构域的富脯氨酸蛋白

PRPs（Proline-Rich proteins）是植物细胞壁蛋白,在结构上具有一个富含脯氨酸和羟脯氨酸重复序列的区域,其表达多受机械伤害及各种环境胁迫的刺激．而GASA（Gibberellic Acid Stimulated Arabidopsis,GASA）蛋白具有一个含12个半胱氨酸的C-端保守区域,这类蛋白多定位于细胞壁,且其表达多受GAs（Gibberellins）的调节．在法国菜豆（Phaseolus vulgaris）中,由2个独立的基因分别编码的PRP与GASA类似蛋白组成一个双元组分的几丁质受体蛋白,该蛋白与植物一病原物的相互作用有关．本文从非洲菊（Gerberahybrida）中克隆了一个完整的cDNA序列PRGL（Proline-RichGASA-like）,该基因编码的多肽包含了PRP和GASA类似结构域．实验表明,PRGL在结构上以及基因表达的调节方面都同时具有PRPs和GASA两类蛋白质的特征,是一类新的蛋白质．     

热休克蛋白HSP70和gp96在抗病毒感染中的作用

热休克蛋白(HSP)是一组在进化上高度保守、具有重要生理功能的蛋白质家族,是生物在应激条件下产生的一种非特异性防御产物,在调节免疫应答和抗病毒反应中起重要作用。现简要介绍HSP70、gp96(HSP96,GRP94)这两种HSP与病毒感染的关系及在抗病毒感染中的作用。     

Structure of the human GINS complex and its assembly and functional interface in replication initiation

The eukaryotic GINS complex is essential for the establishment of DNA replication forks and replisome progression. We report the crystal structure of the human GINS complex. The heterotetrameric complex adopts a pseudo symmetrical layered structure comprising two heterodimers, creating four subunit-subunit interfaces. The subunit structures of the heterodimers consist of two alternating domains. The C-terminal domains of the Sld5 and Psf1 subunits are connected by linker regions to the core complex, and the C-terminal domain of Sld5 is important for core complex assembly. In contrast, the C-terminal domain of Psf1 does not contribute to the stability of the complex but is crucial for chromatin binding and replication activity. These data suggest that the core complex ensures a stable platform for the C-terminal domain of Psf1 to act as a key interaction interface for other proteins in the replication-initiation process.     

Complex of Fas-associated Factor 1 (FAF1) with Valosin-containing Protein (VCP)-Npl4-Ufd1 and Polyubiquitinated Proteins Promotes Endoplasmic Reticulum-associated Degradation (ERAD)

Fas-associated factor 1 (FAF1) is a ubiquitin receptor containing multiple ubiquitin-related domains including ubiquitin-associated (UBA), ubiquitin-like (UBL) 1, UBL2, and ubiquitin regulatory X (UBX). We previously showed that N-terminal UBA domain recognizes Lys⁴⁸-ubiquitin linkage to recruit polyubiquitinated proteins and that a C-terminal UBX domain interacts with valosin-containing protein (VCP). This study shows that FAF1 interacts only with VCP complexed with Npl4-Ufd1 heterodimer, a requirement for the recruitment of polyubiquitinated proteins to UBA domain. Intriguingly, VCP association to C-terminal UBX domain regulates ubiquitin binding to N-terminal UBA domain without direct interaction between UBA and UBX domains. These interactions are well characterized by structural and biochemical analysis. VCP-Npl4-Ufd1 complex is known as the machinery required for endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation. We demonstrate here that FAF1 binds to VCP-Npl4-Ufd1 complex via UBX domain and polyubiquitinated proteins via UBA domain to promote endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation.     

EH domain of EHD1

EHD1 is a member of the mammalian C-terminal Eps15 homology domain (EH) containing protein family, and regulates the recycling of various receptors from the endocytic recycling compartment to the plasma membrane. The EH domain of EHD1 binds to proteins containing either an Asn-Pro-Phe or Asp-Pro-Phe motif, and plays an important role in the subcellular localization and function of EHD1. Thus far, the structures of five N-terminal EH domains from other proteins have been solved, but to date, the structure of the EH domains from the four C-terminal EHD family paralogs remains unknown. In this study, we have assigned the 133 C-terminal residues of EHD1, which includes the EH domain, and solved its solution structure. While the overall structure resembles that of the second of the three N-terminal Eps15 EH domains, potentially significant differences in surface charge and the structure of the tripeptide-binding pocket are discussed.     

Interactions of the Integrase Protein of the Conjugative Transposon Tn916 with Its Specific DNA Binding Sites

The binding of two chimeric proteins, consisting of the N-terminal or C-terminal DNA binding domain of Tn916 Int fused to maltose binding protein, to specific oligonucleotide substrates was analyzed by gel mobility shift assay. The chimeric protein with the N-terminal domain formed two complexes of different electrophoretic mobilities. The faster-moving complex, whose formation displayed no cooperativity, contained two protein monomers bound to a single DNA molecule. The slower-moving complex, whose formation involved cooperative binding (Hill coefficient > 1.0), contained four protein monomers bound to a single DNA molecule. Methylation interference experiments coupled with the analysis of protein binding to mutant oligonucleotide substrates showed that formation of the faster-moving complex containing two protein monomers required the presence of two 11-bp direct repeats (called DR2) in direct orientation. Formation of the slower-moving complex required only a single DR2 repeat. Binding of the N-terminal domains in vivo could serve to position two Int monomers on the DNA near each end of the transposon and assist in bringing together the ends of the transposon so that excision can occur. The chimeric protein with the C-terminal domain of Int also formed two complexes of different electrophoretic mobilities. The major, slower-moving complex, whose formation involved cooperative binding, contained two protein molecules bound to one DNA molecule. This finding suggested that while the C-terminal domain of Int can bind DNA as a monomer, a cooperative interaction between two monomers of the C-terminal domain may help to bring the ends of the transposon together during excision.     

Vps41p function in the alkaline phosphatase pathway requires homo-oligomerization and interaction with AP-3 through two distinct domains

Transport of proteins through the ALP (alkaline phosphatase) pathway to the vacuole requires the function of the AP-3 adaptor complex and Vps41p. However, unlike other adaptor protein-dependent pathways, the ALP pathway has not been shown to require additional accessory proteins or coat proteins, such as membrane recruitment factors or clathrin. Two independent genetic approaches have been used to identify new mutants that affect transport through the ALP pathway. These screens yielded new mutants in both VPS41 and the four AP-3 subunit genes. Two new VPS41 alleles exhibited phenotypes distinct from null mutants of VPS41, which are defective in vacuolar morphology and protein transport through both the ALP and CPY sorting pathways. The new alleles displayed severe ALP sorting defects, normal vacuolar morphology, and defects in ALP vesicle formation at the Golgi complex. Sequencing analysis of these VPS41 alleles revealed mutations encoding amino acid changes in two distinct domains of Vps41p: a conserved N-terminal domain and a C-terminal clathrin heavy-chain repeat (CHCR) domain. We demonstrate that the N-terminus of Vps41p is required for binding to AP-3, whereas the C-terminal CHCR domain directs homo-oligomerization of Vps41p. These data indicate that a homo-oligomeric form of Vps41p is required for the formation of ALP containing vesicles at the Golgi complex via interactions with AP-3.     

A conserved BURP domain defines a novel group of plant proteins with unusual primary structures

We have identified a new class of plant proteins containing a common C-terminal region, which we have termed the BURP domain. These proteins are defined not only by the BURP domain, but also by the overall similarity in their modular construction. The BURP domain proteins consist of either three or four modules: (i) an N-terminal hydrophobic domain – a presumptive transit peptide, joined to (ii) a short conserved segment or other short segment, (iii) an optional segment consisting of repeated units which is unique to each member, and (iv) the C-terminal BURP domain. These individual modules appear to be combined to form two main classes of BURP domain proteins. The BURP domain proteins, despite the similarities in their primary structural features, show no obvious similarities in the tissues or conditions under which they are expressed. The presence of the conserved BURP domain in diverse plant proteins suggests an important and fundamental functional role for this domain. Received: 30 April 1998 / Accepted: 10 June 1998     

Solution structure of the RIM1alpha PDZ domain in complex with an ELKS1b C-terminal peptide

PDZ domains are widespread protein modules that commonly recognize C-terminal sequences of target proteins and help to organize macromolecular signaling complexes. These sequences usually bind in an extended conformation to relatively shallow grooves formed between a beta-strand and an alpha-helix in the corresponding PDZ domains. Because of this binding mode, many PDZ domains recognize primarily the C-terminal and the antepenultimate side-chains of the target protein, which commonly conform to motifs that have been categorized into different classes. However, an increasing number of PDZ domains have been found to exhibit unusual specificities. These include the PDZ domain of RIMs, which are large multidomain proteins that regulate neurotransmitter release and help to organize presynaptic active zones. The RIM PDZ domain binds to the C-terminal sequence of ELKS with a unique specificity that involves each of the four ELKS C-terminal residues. To elucidate the structural basis for this specificity, we have determined the 3D structure in solution of an RIM/ELKS C-terminal peptide complex using NMR spectroscopy. The structure shows that the RIM PDZ domain contains an unusually deep and narrow peptide-binding groove with an exquisite shape complementarity to the four ELKS C-terminal residues in their bound conformation. This groove is formed, in part, by a set of side-chains that is conserved selectively in RIM PDZ domains and that hence determines, at least in part, their unique specificity.     

Single-cell Characterization of Autotransporter-mediated Escherichia coli Surface Display of Disulfide Bond-containing Proteins

Autotransporters (ATs) are a family of bacterial proteins containing a C-terminal β-barrel-forming domain that facilitates the translocation of N-terminal passenger domain whose functions range from adhesion to proteolysis. Genetic replacement of the native passenger domain with heterologous proteins is an attractive strategy not only for applications such as biocatalysis, live-cell vaccines, and protein engineering but also for gaining mechanistic insights toward understanding AT translocation. The ability of ATs to efficiently display functional recombinant proteins containing multiple disulfides has remained largely controversial. By employing high-throughput single-cell flow cytometry, we have systematically investigated the ability of the Escherichia coli AT Antigen 43 (Ag43) to display two different recombinant reporter proteins, a single-chain antibody (M18 scFv) that contains two disulfides and chymotrypsin that contains four disulfides, by varying the signal peptide and deleting the different domains of the native protein. Our results indicate that only the C-terminal β-barrel and the threaded α-helix are essential for efficient surface display of functional recombinant proteins containing multiple disulfides. These results imply that there are no inherent constraints for functional translocation and display of disulfide bond-containing proteins mediated by the AT system and should open new avenues for protein display and engineering.