Phosphorylation-dependent Regulation of Connecdenn/DENND1 Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors

Connecdenn 1/2 are DENN (differentially expressed in normal and neoplastic cells) domain-bearing proteins that function as GEFs (guanine nucleotide exchange factors) for the small GTPase Rab35. Disruption of connecdenn/Rab35 function leads to defects in the recycling of multiple cargo proteins from endosomes with altered cell function, yet the regulation of connecdenn GEF activity is unexplored. We now demonstrate that connecdenn 1/2 are autoinhibited such that the purified, full-length proteins have significantly less Rab35 binding and GEF activity than the isolated DENN domain. Both proteins are phosphorylated with prominent phosphorylation sites between residues 500 and 600 of connecdenn 1. A large scale proteomics screen revealed that connecdenn 1 is phosphorylated at residues Ser-536 and Ser-538 in an Akt-dependent manner in response to insulin stimulation of adipocytes. Interestingly, we find that an Akt inhibitor reduces connecdenn 1 interaction with Rab35 after insulin treatment of adipocytes. Remarkably, a peptide flanking Ser-536/Ser-538 binds the DENN domain of connecdenn 1, whereas a phosphomimetic peptide does not. Moreover, connecdenn 1 interacts with 14-3-3 proteins, and this interaction is also disrupted by Akt inhibition and by mutation of Ser-536/Ser-538. We propose that Akt phosphorylation of connecdenn 1 downstream of insulin activation regulates connecdenn 1 function through an intramolecular interaction.     

Thienopyrrole acetic acids as antagonists of the CRTH2 receptor

The bioisosteric replacement of the indole core of CRTH2 antagonists using thienopyrroles was investigated, resulting in potent antagonists with good selectivity over DP1. Early ADME/PK assessment of this chemotype demonstrated bioavailability in mice.     

The structure of an antitumor C(H)2-domain-deleted humanized antibody

C(H)2-domain-deleted CC49 (HuCC49DeltaCH2), a recombinant humanized antibody that recognizes the TAG-72 antigen expressed on a variety of human carcinomas, is secreted from cultured cells as a mixture of two homodimeric isoforms. Isoform A contains two covalent interchain disulfide bonds at heavy chain positions 239 and 242, while isoform B fails to develop any interchain disulfide bonds but has 239-242 intrachain disulfide bonds instead. Form A is currently in preclinical development as a therapeutic agent for treating colorectal carcinoma, though form B shows equal efficacy. HuCC49DeltaCH2 form B can be crystallized from sodium formate only in the presence of detergents. X-ray diffraction data were collected on a single cryo-cooled crystal grown with Triton X-100 and the structure was solved by molecular replacement. The model has refined to R=0.246 (R(free)=0.297) for 2.8A data. The antibodies pack in the crystal around crystallographic 2-fold axes as tetramers with approximate 222 symmetry. Atomic force microscopy studies show that this tetrameric structure is the crystal building block and also exists free in the mother liquor. The tetramer is composed of two rings, back-to-back, with a thickness of approximately 83A. Each ring is composed of two antibodies with the complementarity-determining regions (CDR) of the two Fabs of one antibody interacting with the CDR regions of the second antibody in a head-to-head fashion. These rings are approximately 167A long and 112A wide. The C(H)3 domain is inverted with respect to the Fabs when compared to the usual orientation found in conventional antibodies. The polypeptides joining the C(H)3 domains to the Fab portions of the antibody are not seen and are almost certainly disordered. The antigen combining site of HuCC49DeltaCH2 is very similar, but not identical, in topology and charge distribution to that of antibody B72.3, which binds a similar epitope on TAG-72. The combining site consists of a deep cleft, heavily lined with aromatic amino acid side-chains but bounded by numerous charged groups.     

RNA interference and plant parasitic nematodes

RNA interference (RNAi) has recently been demonstrated in plant parasitic nematodes. It is a potentially powerful investigative tool for the genome-wide identification of gene function that should help improve our understanding of plant parasitic nematodes. RNAi should help identify gene and, hence, protein targets for nematode control strategies. Prospects for novel resistance depend on the plant generating an effective form of double-stranded RNA in the absence of an endogenous target gene without detriment to itself. These RNA molecules must then become available to the nematode and be capable of ingestion via its feeding tube. If these requirements can be met, crop resistance could be achieved by a plant delivering a dsRNA that targets a nematode gene and induces a lethal or highly damaging RNAi effect on the parasite.     

Low-dose infectivity of Staphylococcus aureus (SMH strain) in traumatized rat tibiae provides a model for studying early events in contaminated bone injuries

Animal models of post-traumatic acute osteomyelitis (OM) that closely mimic human scenarios, including infection prophylactic procedures such as debridement and lavage, may provide a better understanding of OM. We contaminated mechanically traumatized rat tibiae (n = 69) with various doses of a Staphylococcus aureus strain (SMH) known to cause human OM and then performed curettage and lavage. Tibiae were harvested 24 h after lavage for assessment of bacterial load and determination of minimal infective doses for 50% (ID50) and 95% (ID95) of rats. Some experiments varied tibial harvest time after lavage (n = 10); for progressive infection, tibiae were evaluated at 7 and 15 days after contamination (n = 17 for each time point). At 24 h after contamination, the ID50 was 1.8 x 10(3) CFU, and the ID95 was 9.2 x 10(3) CFU. Tibial bacterial loads did not increase with inocula greater than the ID95. Lavage removed many bacteria from bone, but it did not prevent subsequent infection or disease. At 15 days after contamination, most tibiae (14 of 17) were infected, with macroscopic and radiological signs of established OM. This newly described rat OM model, with a low ID95 despite prophylactic curettage and lavage, closely mimics events in contaminated human bone injuries. This situation will allow study of early factors in contaminated bone injuries, including clinical interventions that may reduce infection and prevent disease.     

Active site rearrangement of the 2-hydrazinopyridine adduct in Escherichia coli amine oxidase to an azo copper(II) chelate form: a key role for tyrosine 369 in controlling the mobility of the TPQ-2HP adduct

Adduct I (lambda(max) at approximately 430 nm) formed in the reaction of 2-hydrazinopyridine (2HP) and the TPQ cofactor of wild-type Escherichia coli copper amine oxidase (WT-ECAO) is stable at neutral pH, 25 degrees C, but slowly converts to another spectroscopically distinct species with a lambda(max) at approximately 530 nm (adduct II) at pH 9.1. The conversion was accelerated either by incubation of the reaction mixture at 60 degrees C or by increasing the pH (>13). The active site base mutant forms of ECAO (D383N and D383E) showed spectral changes similar to WT when incubated at 60 degrees C. By contrast, in the Y369F mutant adduct I was not stable at pH 7, 25 degrees C, and gradually converted to adduct II, and this rate of conversion was faster at pH 9. To identify the nature of adduct II, we have studied the effects of pH and divalent cations on the UV-vis and resonance Raman spectroscopic properties of the model compound of adduct I (2). Strikingly, it was found that addition of Cu2+ to 2 at pH 7 gave a product (3) that exhibited almost identical spectroscopic signatures to adduct II. The X-ray crystal structure of 3 shows that it is the copper-coordinated form of 2, where the +2 charge of copper is neutralized by a double deprotonation of 2. These results led to the proposal that adduct II in the enzyme is TPQ-2HP that has migrated onto the active site Cu2+. The X-ray crystal structure of Y369F adduct II confirmed this assignment. Resonance Raman and EPR spectroscopy showed that adduct II in WT-ECAO is identical to that seen in Y369F. This study clearly demonstrates that the hydrogen-bonding interaction between O4 of TPQ and the conserved Tyr (Y369) is important in controlling the position and orientation of TPQ in the catalytic cycle, including optimal orientation for reactivity with substrate amines.     

Definition of the consensus motif recognized by gamma-adaptin ear domains

The heterotetrameric adaptor complex 1 (AP-1) and the monomeric Golgi-localized, gamma ear-containing, Arf-binding (GGA) proteins are components of clathrin coats associated with the trans-Golgi network and endosomes. The carboxyl-terminal ear domains (or gamma-adaptin ear (GAE) domains) of two gamma-adaptin subunit isoforms of AP-1 and of the GGAs are structurally similar and bind to a common set of accessory proteins. In this study, we have systematically defined a core tetrapeptide motif PsiG(P/D/E)(Psi/L/M) (where Psi is an aromatic residue), which is responsible for the interactions of accessory proteins with GAE domains. The definition of this motif has allowed us to identify novel GAE-binding partners named NECAP and aftiphilin, which also contain clathrin-binding motifs. These findings shed light on the mechanism of accessory protein recruitment to trans-Golgi network and endosomal clathrin coats.