The differential functional stability of various forms of bovine liver rhodanese

Bovine liver rhodanese (thiosulfate:cyanide sulfurtransferase, EC 2.8.1.1) was prepared in dilute solutions and subjected to conditions that led to a time-dependent loss of enzyme activity. The rate of this activity loss was found to be dependent upon the sulfur substitution state of the enzyme, and the presence or absence of the substrates, thiosulfate and cyanide. In the absence of excess substrates, free enzyme (E), and the covalent intermediate form of the enzyme bearing a divalent sulfur atom in the active site (ES), are of approximately equal functional stability. In comparison, E, in the presence of excess cyanide, was markedly more labile, while ES, supported by 10-50 mM thiosulfate, showed no significant loss of activity under any of the conditions tested. All the enzyme solutions were shown to be losing assayable protein from solution. However, it was demonstrated that, for rhodanese in the E form, the amount of protein lost was insufficient to account for the activity lost, and a marked decline in specific activity was observed. Enzyme in the ES form, whether supported by additional thiosulfate or not, did not decline in the specific activity, though comparable protein loss did occur from these solutions. Intrinsic fluorescence measurements of rhodanese in the ES form, before and after removal of the persulfide sulfur through the addition of cyanide, indicated that loss of enzymic activity was not accompanied by loss of the bound sulfur atom. Therefore, the stabilizing effect observed with thiosulfate could not be explained simply by its ability to maintain enzyme in the sulfur-substituted state. Since the concentration of thiosulfate employed in these experiments was insufficient to maintain all the enzyme in ES.S2O3 form, thiosulfate was acting as a chemical reagent rather than a substrate in stabilizing enzyme activity.     

Conformational changes in bovine lactoferrin induced by slow or fast temperature increases

Lactoferrin (LF) is an iron-binding protein present in several secreted substances, such as milk, and has broad antimicrobial and physiological properties. Because high temperatures may affect protein stability and its functional properties, we investigated the effect of heat on bovine LF structure and stability. The effects of temperatures used during the pasteurization process on LF and its relationship to protein functionality were studied. Conformational changes were monitored using spectroscopic techniques, such as circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence spectroscopy. The CD data at 70 degrees C showed that LF's secondary structure is drastically and irreversibly affected when the temperature is gradually increased. The same effect is observed when the temperature is gradually raised from 25 degrees C to 105 degrees C and changes are monitored by tryptophan fluorescence emission. We also verified the effects of simulating the pasteurization process; LF remained well structured during the entire process and this result was not time-dependent. Owing to preservation of the secondary structure with changes in the tertiary structure, we thus believe that pasteurization might cause LF to change into an intermediate partially folded state. A better understanding of heat stability is important for the use of LF as a bioactive component in food.     

Influence of global fluorination on chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity and stability

Varied levels of fluorinated amino acid have been introduced biosynthetically to test the functional limits of global substitution on enzymatic activity and stability. Replacement of all the leucine (LEU) residues in the enzyme chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) with the analog, 5',5',5'-trifluoroleucine (TFL), results in the maintenance of enzymatic activity under ambient temperatures as well as an enhancement in secondary structure but loss in stability against heat and denaturants or organic co-solvents. Although catalytic activity of the fully substituted CAT is preserved under standard reaction conditions compared to the wild-type enzyme both in vitro and in vivo, as the incorporation levels increase, a concomitant reduction in thermostability and chemostability is observed. Circular dichroism (CD) studies reveal that although fluorination greatly improves the secondary structure of CAT, a large structural destabilization upon increased levels of TFL incorporation occurs at elevated temperatures. These data suggest that enhanced secondary structure afforded by TFL incorporation does not necessarily lead to an improvement in stability.     

Antigenic analysis of excretory-secretory products of Wuchereria bancrofti and Brugia malayi infective larval forms by SDS-PAGE

Excretory-secretory (ES) products of W. bancrofti and the closely related B. malayi infective larval forms were analysed for their antigenic activity by SDS-PAGE followed by Western blotting as well as by gel elution-sandwich ELISA using filarial serum immunoglobulin-G (FSIgG) as a capture antibody. In W. bancrofti infective larval ES products, the protein molecules of 66, 46, 35, 33, 30 and 14 kDa molecular wt. showed antigenic activity by immuno blotting technique. In sandwich ELISA technique eventhough all SDS-PAGE fractions except ESA 6 (55-47 kDa) showed antigenic positivity, the fractions ESA 8 (37-31 kDa) and ESA 9 (31-25 kDa) showed high reciprocal antigen titre of 262144 and 32768 respectively. In B. malayi infective larval ES products, the protein molecules of 109, 102, 97 and 77 kDa molecular wt. showed reactivity with FSIgG by blotting technique, where as in sandwich ELISA except ESA 7 (47-37kDa), all fractions showed antigenic positivity. However, these fractions failed to show high antigen titre similar to W. bancrofti ES products with FSIgG.     

The Effect of Conditions of the Expression of the Recombinant Outer Membrane Phospholipase А<Subscript>1</Subscript> from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Yersinia pseudotuberculosis</Emphasis> on the Structure and Properties of Inclusion Bodies

The effect of the concentration of an inducer (IPTG) and the time of induction at 37°С on the heterologous synthesis of the mature membrane protein phospholipase А₁ (PldA) from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis in the form of inclusion bodies (IBs) and on the physicochemical and structural characteristics of IBs has been studied. The sizes, shape, stability (solubility in urea and detergents, resistance against proteolysis), the secondary structure of the protein of IBs, and the presence of amyloid structures have been determined by electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, and optical spectroscopy. It was found that IBs have a shape close to spherical and a rough surface and are cleaved by proteinase K. The protein contained in IBs has an ordered secondary structure with a high content of β-structure. As the inducer concentration and the time of expression increase, the conformation of the recombinant protein in IBs undergoes changes, as indicated by an increase in the stability of IBs and a decrease in the enzymatic activity of the protein. When IBs are dissolved in 0.06% SDS and 5 M urea, the recombinant protein retains the secondary structure in a partially modified form, and the addition of a zwitterionic detergent at a micellar concentration does not transform the protein conformation into the native one.     

The conformation properties and conformation stability of streptokinase and its polymer derivative

The properties and conformational stability of the proteinaceous activator of fibrinolysis--native streptokinase--and its derivative obtained by modification with a linear hydrophilic copolymer based on N-vinylpyrrolidone, were studied by the circular dichroism method. It was shown that polymeric modification of streptokinase had no effect on the secondary structure, while the conformational stability of the modified protein to urea was higher than that of the native one. Studies on thermal stability of both native and modified forms of streptokinase showed that the inactivation rate was lower in the modified form as compared to the native one.     

The effect of the intersubunit disulfide bond on the structural and functional properties of the small heat shock protein Hsp25

The murine small heat shock protein Hsp25 carries a single cysteine residue in position 141 of its amino acid sequence. Interestingly, Hsp25 can exist within the cell as covalently bound dimer which is linked by an intermolecular disulfide bond between two monomers. Oxidative stress caused by treatment of the cells with diamide, arsenite, or hydrogen peroxide leads to an increase in Hsp25-dimerisation which can be blocked by simultaneous treatment with reducing agents. Recombinant Hsp25 was prepared in an oxidized dimeric (oxHsp25) and reduced monomeric (redHsp25) form. The two species were compared with regard to secondary structure, stability, oligomerization properties and their chaperone activity. It is demonstrated by CD measurements in the far UV region that there are no significant differences in the secondary structure and temperature- or pH-stability of oxHsp25 and redHsp25. However, according to CD measurements in the near UV region an increase in the asymmetry of the microenvironment of aromatic residues in oxHsp25 is observed. Furthermore, an increase in stability of the hydrophobic environment of the tryptophan residues mainly located in the N-terminal domain of the protein against urea denaturation is detected in oxHsp25. Both reduced and oxidized Hsp25 form oligomeric complexes of similar size and stability against detergents and both species prevent thermal aggregation of citrate synthase and assist significantly in oxaloacetic acid-induced refolding of the enzyme. Hence, the overall secondary structure, the degree of oligomerization and the chaperone activity of Hsp25 seem independent of the formation of the intermolecular disulfide bond and only the stability of the hydrophobic N-terminal part of the molecule is influenced by formation of this bound. The obtained data do not exclude the possible involvement of dimerization of this protein in other cellular functions, e.g. in intracellular sulfhydryl-buffering or in the protection of actin filaments from fragmentation upon oxidative stress.     

Molecular dynamics simulations to determine the effect of supercritical carbon dioxide on the structural integrity of hen egg white lysozyme

In this study, various molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to investigate the effect of supercritical carbon dioxide on the structural integrity of hen egg white lysozyme. The analyses of backbone root-mean-square deviation, radius of gyration, and secondary structure stability all show that supercritical CO(2) exhibits the ability to increase the stability of this protein, probably as a result of the solvent with less polarity, where hydrophobic interactions stabilizing the native structure are weakened and simultaneously the local hydrogen bonds are strengthened, resulting in stabilization of the secondary structures. The hydrophobic cores in the alpha- and beta-domains also play an important role in preventing this protein from thermal unfolding. As supercritical CO(2) has been attractive for biomedical applications because of the advantages of mild critical condition, nonflammability, nontoxity, and the purity of the resulting products, the structural stabilizing effect found in this study strongly suggests that it is possible to increase the thermostability of hen egg white lysozyme by pretreatment with supercritical CO(2), leading to better industrial applications of this protein.     

Synergistic action of Wnt and LIF in maintaining pluripotency of mouse ES cells

Leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) was the first soluble factor identified as having potential to maintain the pluripotency of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. Recently, a second factor, Wnt, with similar activity was found. However, the relationship between these completely different signals mediating the overlapping functions is still unclear. Here, we report that the conditioned medium of L cells expressing Wnt3a maintains ES cells in the undifferentiated state in feeder-free culture, followed by expression of stem cell markers and their ability to generate germline chimaeras. However, although the activity of this conditioned medium is dependent on Wnt3a, recombinant Wnt3a protein cannot maintain ES cells in the undifferentiated state. As supplementation with Wnt3a to the sub-threshold level of LIF alone was not sufficient to maintain ES self-renewal, the results of maintenance of the undifferentiated state indicated the synergistic action of Wnt and LIF. Induction of constitutively activated beta-catenin alone is unable to maintain ES self-renewal but shows a synergistic effect with LIF. These observations indicate that the Wnt signal mediated by the canonical pathway is not sufficient but enhances the effect of LIF to maintain self-renewal of mouse ES cells.     

Antisense hairpin loop oligonucleotides as inhibitors of expression of multidrug resistance-associated protein 1: their stability in fetal calf serum and human plasma

Multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP1) is a transmembrane pump protein responsible for the efflux of chemotherapeutic drugs, an important cause of anticancer treatment failure. Trying to circumvent MRP-mediated resistance we designed and synthesized hairpin loops forming antisense oligodeoxyribonucleotides (ODNs), both phosphodiesters (PO-ODNs) and their phosphorothioate analogues (PS-ODNs), to reduce the protein expression by targeting its mRNA in a sequence specific manner. Melting temperature measurements as well as polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis supported the preferential formation of a secondary structure, which was expected to protect ODNs against 3'-exonuclease degradation. ODNs and PS-ODNs designed in this work were successfully tested as antisense inhibitors of the expression of MRP1 in the leukaemia HL60/ADR cell line. Foreseeing the necessity to perform clinical studies with such ODNs we investigated their stability against the 3'-exonuclease activity of fetal calf serum and human plasma. Under the conditions, corresponding to physiological ones, we observed high stability of hairpin loop forming ODNs, especially those containing longer (e.g. 7 base pair) stems. Comparative studies on the stability of chemically unmodified hairpin loop forming ODNs and their PS-counterparts indicated that endonuclease activity did not play any important role in the process of their nucleolytic degradation. Our studies provide strong evidence for high stability of chemically unmodified hairpin loop ODNs, making them an attractive alternative to phosphorothioate analogues commonly used in antisense strategy.     

Purification and characterisation of functional early pregnancy factor expressed in Sf9 insect cells and in Escherichia coli

Early pregnancy factor (EPF) is a secreted protein with growth regulatory and immunomodulatory properties. It is an extracellular form of the mitochondrial matrix protein chaperonin 10 (Cpn10), a molecular chaperone. An understanding of the mechanism of action of EPF and an exploration of therapeutic potential has been limited by availability of purified material. The present study was undertaken to develop a simple high-yielding procedure for preparation of material for structure/function studies, which could be scaled up for therapeutic application. Human EPF was expressed in Sf9 insect cells by baculovirus infection and in Escherichia coli using a heat inducible vector. A modified molecule with an additional N-terminal alanine was also expressed in E. coli. The soluble protein was purified from cell lysates via anion exchange (negative-binding mode), cation exchange, and hydrophobic interaction chromatography, yielding approximately 42 and 36mg EPF from 300ml bacterial and 1L Sf9 cultures, respectively. The preparations were highly purified (#10878;99% purity on SDS-PAGE for the bacterial products and #10878;97% for that of insect cells) and had the expected mass and heptameric structure under native conditions, as determined by mass spectrometry and gel permeation chromatography, respectively. All recombinant preparations exhibited activity in the EPF bioassay, the rosette inhibition test, with similar potency both to each other and to the native molecule. In two in vivo assays of immunosuppressive activity, the delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, the insect cell and modified bacterial products, both with N-terminal additions (acetylation or amino acid), exhibited similar levels of suppressive activity, but the bacterial product with no N-terminal modification had no effect in either assay. Studies by others have shown that N-terminal addition is not necessary for Cpn10 activity. By defining techniques for facile production of molecules with and without immunosuppressive properties, the present studies make it possible to explore mechanisms underlying the distinction between EPF and Cpn10 activity.     

右旋糖酐对Savinase蛋白酶的化学修饰及酶学性质研究

采用经高碘酸钠活化的右旋糖酐修饰Savinase蛋白酶,通过凝胶过滤层析(GPC)和圆二色性光谱(CD)表征了修饰后蛋白酶分子量和结构的变化,测试了修饰酶的反应动力学参数,并考察了温度及pH对修饰酶活力的影响。凝胶过滤层析结果证明修饰后蛋白酶分子量明显提高,圆二色光谱分析表明修饰后蛋白酶的结构有所改变,进一步验证了右旋糖酐和蛋白酶发生了反应。与原酶相比,修饰酶对底物的亲和力增加。原酶和修饰酶的最适温度均为40℃,在30℃~50℃之间修饰酶表现出优于原酶的热稳定性。在pH8.5~9.5之间,修饰酶的稳定性高于原酶。     

Structural and ligand-binding properties of a truncated form of Bacillus anthracis adenylate cyclase and of a catalytically inactive variant in which glutamine substitutes for lysine-346

A truncated, 541-residue-long, Bacillus anthracis adenylate cyclase was expressed in Escherichia coli. The purified protein (CYA 62) exhibited catalytic and CaM-binding properties identical with those of the wild-type enzyme secreted by B. anthracis. The analysis of the secondary structure of the CYA 62 protein by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and circular dichroism revealed the dominance of beta-type structure. The protein shows a relatively low thermal stability with the midpoint denaturation temperature at 45 degrees C. A catalytically inactive variant of CYA 62 in which Gln substituted for Lys-346 (CYA 62 K346Q) was comparatively analyzed for its secondary structure and thermal stability, as well as ligand-binding properties with fluorescent derivatives of ATP and calmodulin. The K346Q variant of CYA 62 has a similar secondary structure and comparable calmodulin binding properties to those of the parent protein and exhibits only slightly reduced thermal stability (the apparent midpoint denaturation temperature is at 43 degrees C). Despite these similarities, the binding of 3'-anthraniloyl-2'-deoxy-ATP (a fluorescent ATP analogue) to the modified protein is severely impaired, from which we conclude that the prime function of Lys-346 in the wild-type enzyme from B. anthracis is to ensure tight binding of the nucleotide substrate to the active site.     

Role of the linker between the N- and C-terminal domains in the stability and folding of rabbit muscle creatine kinase

Domain-domain interactions may be very important to the structure and functions of many multidomain proteins. However, little is known about the role of the linker in the folding, stability and function of multidomain proteins. In this research, muscle creatine kinase (CK), a dimeric two-domain protein, was used as a model protein to investigate the role of the linker in CK activity, stability and folding by mutational analysis. Two of the three mutations, L115D and L121D, resulted in a gradual decrease in CK activity and secondary structures, but did not affect CK inactivation induced by heat or guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl). The mutations also caused much more serious aggregation during heat- and GdnHCl-induced denaturation and refolding from the GdnHCl-denatured state. More importantly, none of the three mutants could successfully recover their activities by dilution-initiated refolding, and the rate constant of CK refolding was gradually decreased by the mutations. These results suggested that mutations of the hydrophobic residues in the linker might affect the correct positioning of the domains and thus disrupt the efficient recognition and interactions between the two domains. The results herein indicated that in addition to its role in the in vivo functions, the linker also played a crucial role in the stability and folding of CK.     

Effect of temperature and pH on the secondary structure and processes of oligomerization of 19 kDa alpha-zein

Highly hydrophobic protein Z19 zein shows a tendency towards oligomerization. The role of temperature and pH on the oligomerization process was studied monitoring the secondary structure content and the appearance of aggregates by Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy (CD) and Dinamic Light Scattering (DLS). Z19 zein suffers irreversible thermal denaturalization, as demonstrated by far-UV CD measurements. DLS data indicate that this denaturalization is accompanied by oligomerization processes which are strongly dependent on temperature. The aggregates that appear when the sample is heated maintain a certain amount of their native structure. Oligomers, showing high stability to temperature changes and other denaturing conditions with molecular weights of 45, 66 kDa and higher, were detected by SDS-PAGE. The secondary structure strongly depends on pH. Thus, at pH above pI (6.8), all the protein structure is in alpha helix. The formation of disulfide bonds plays an important role in the aggregation process, since most of the sulfhydryls in the protein (97.52%) form disulfide bonds and only 2.47% of them are free and superficially exposed. The sensitivity towards thermal denaturalization is also affected by pH rises.