Regulation of Shigella Effector Kinase OspG through Modulation of Its Dynamic Properties

Gram-negative pathogens secrete effector proteins into human cells to modulate normal cellular processes and establish a bacterial replication niche. Shigella and pathogenic Escherichia coli possess homologous effector kinases, OspG and NleH1/2, respectively. Upon translocation, OspG but not NleH binds to ubiquitin and a subset of E2 ~ Ub conjugates, which was shown to activate its kinase activity. Here we show that OspG, having a minimal kinase fold, acquired a novel mechanism of regulation of its activity. Binding of the E2 ~ Ub conjugate to OspG not only stimulates its kinase activity but also increases its optimal temperature for activity to match the human body temperature and stabilizes its labile C-terminal domain. The melting temperature (T_m) of OspG alone is only 31?°C, as compared to 41?°C to NleH1/2 homologs. In the presence of E2 ~ Ub, the T_m of OspG increases to ~ 42?°C, while Ub by itself increases the T_m to 39?°C. Moreover, OspG alone displays maximal activity at 26?°C, while in the presence of E2 ~ Ub, maximal activity occurs at ~ 42?°C. Using NMR and molecular dynamics calculations, we have identified the C-terminal lobe and, in particular, the C-terminal helix, as the key elements responsible for lower thermal stability of OspG as compared to homologous effector kinases.     

Mass spectrometry of nucleotides and oligonucleotides

Recent advances in the use of mass spectrometry for the determination of the molecular weight and sequencing of oligonucleotides are disscussed. Matrix-assisted laser desorption (MALDI) and electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry have been shown to be especially important techniques for both molecular weight assignment and sequencing of oligonucleotides, and are the focus of this article which covers the literature through early 1996.     

Purification and molecular characterization of a novel mannose‐specific lectin from Dioclea reflexa hook seeds with inflammatory activity

A novel lectin present in Dioclea reflexa seeds (DrfL) was discovered and described in this study. DrfL was purified in a single step by affinity chromatography in a Sephadex G‐50 column. The lectin strongly agglutinated rabbit erythrocytes and was inhibited by α‐methyl‐d ‐mannoside, d ‐mannose, and d ‐glucose. The hemagglutinating activity of DrfL is optimum at pH 5.0–7.0, stable up to 50 °C, and dependent on divalent cations. Similar to other lectins of the subtribe Diocleinae, the analysis by mass spectrometry indicated that DrfL has three chains (α, β, and γ) with masses of 25 562, 12 874, and 12 706 Da, respectively, with no disulfide bonds or glycosylation. DrfL showed inflammatory activity in the paw edema model and exhibited low cytotoxicity against Artemia sp. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Over 4100 protein identifications from a Xenopus laevis fertilized egg digest using reversed‐phase chromatographic prefractionation followed by capillary zone electrophoresis–electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry analysis

A tryptic digest generated from Xenopus laevis fertilized embryos was fractionated by RPLC. One set of 30 fractions was analyzed by 100‐min CZE‐ESI‐MS/MS separations (50 h total instrument time), and a second set of 15 fractions was analyzed by 3‐h UPLC‐ESI‐MS/MS separations (45 h total instrument time). CZE‐MS/MS produced 70% as many protein IDs (4134 versus 5787) and 60% as many peptide IDs (22 535 versus 36 848) as UPLC‐MS/MS with similar instrument time (50 h versus 45 h) but with 50 times smaller total consumed sample amount (1.5 μg versus 75 μg). Surprisingly, CZE generated peaks that were 25% more intense than UPLC for peptides that were identified by both techniques, despite the 50‐fold lower loading amount; this high sensitivity reflects the efficient ionization produced by the electrokinetically pumped nanospray interface used in CZE. This report is the first comparison of CZE‐MS/MS and UPLC‐MS/MS for large‐scale eukaryotic proteomic analysis. The numbers of protein and peptide identifications produced by CZE‐ESI‐MS/MS approach those produced by UPLC‐MS/MS, but with nearly two orders of magnitude lower sample amounts.     

Detection and quantitation of N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine adducts in DNA using online column-switching liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

The heterocyclic aromatic amine, 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) is formed by the grilled cooking of certain foods such as meats, poultry and fish. PhIP has been shown to induce tumours in the colon, prostate and mammary glands of rats and is regarded as a potential human dietary carcinogen. PhIP is metabolically activated via cytochrome P450 mediated oxidation to an N-hydroxylamino-PhIP intermediate that is subsequently converted to an ester by N-acetyltransferases or sulfotransferases and undergoes heterolytic cleavage to produce a PhIP-nitrenium ion, which reacts with DNA to form the N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP-C8-dG) adduct. Thus far, the detection and quantification of PhIP-DNA adducts has relied to a large extent on ³²P-postlabelling methodologies. In order to expand the array of available techniques for the detection and improved quantification of PhIP-C8-dG adducts in DNA we have developed an online column-switching liquid chromatography (LC)–electrospray ionization (ESI)-tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) selected reaction monitoring (SRM) method incorporating an isotopically [¹³C₁₀]-labelled PhIP-C8-dG internal standard for the analysis of DNA enzymatically hydrolysed to 2′-deoxynucleosides. A dose-dependent increase was observed for PhIP-C8-dG adducts when salmon testis DNA was reacted with N-acetoxy-PhIP. Analysis of DNA samples isolated from colon tissue of mice treated by oral gavage daily for 5 days with 50 mg/kg body weight of PhIP resulted in the detection of an average level of 14.8 ± 3.7 PhIP-C8-dG adducts per 10⁶ 2′-deoxynucleosides. The method required 50 μg of hydrolysed animal DNA on column and the limit of detection for PhIP-C8-dG was 2.5 fmol (1.5 PhIP-C8-dG adducts per 10⁸ 2′-deoxynucleosides). In summary, the LC–ESI-MS/MS SRM method provides for the rapid automation of the sample clean up and a reduction in matrix components that would otherwise interfere with the mass spectrometric analysis, with sufficient sensitivity and precision to analyse DNA adducts in animals exposed to PhIP.     

Discovery of a new class of valosine containing protein (VCP/P97) inhibitors for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer

Valosine containing protein (VCP/p97) is a member of the AAA ATPase family involved in several essential cellular functions and plays an important role in the ubiquitin-mediated degradation of misfolded proteins. P97 has a significant role in maintaining the cellular protein homeostasis for tumor cell growth and survival and has been found overexpressed in many tumor types. No new molecule entities based on p97 target were approved in clinic. Herein, a series of novel pyrimidine structures as p97 inhibitors were designed and synthesized. After enzymatic evaluations, structure-activity relationships (SAR) were discussed in detailed. Among the screened compounds, derivative 35 showed excellent enzymatic inhibitory activity (IC₅₀, 36?nM). The cellular inhibition results showed that compound 35 had good antiproliferative activity against the non-small cell lung cancer A549 cells (IC₅₀, 1.61?μM). Liver microsome stability showed that the half-life of compound 35 in human liver microsome was 42.3?min, which was more stable than the control CB-5083 (25.8?min). The in vivo pharmacokinetic results showed that the elimination phase half-lives of compound 35 were 4.57?h for ig and 3.64?h for iv, respectively and the oral bioavailability was only 4.5%. These results indicated that compound 35 could be effective for intravenous treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.     

Metabolomic profiling reveals suppression of oxylipin biosynthesis during the early stages of legume-rhizobia symbiosis

The establishment of symbiosis between leguminous plants and rhizobial bacteria requires rapid metabolic changes in both partners. We utilized untargeted quantitative mass spectrometry to perform metabolomic profiling of small molecules in extracts of the model legume Medicago truncatula treated with rhizobial Nod factors. One metabolite closely resembling the 9(R)-HODE class of oxylipins reproducibly showed a decrease in concentration within the first hour of in planta nod factor treatment. Oxylipins are precursors of the jasmonic acid biosynthetic pathway and we showed that both this metabolite and jasmonic acid inhibit Nod factor signaling. Since, oxylipins have been implicated as antimicrobial compounds produced by plants, these observations suggest that the oxylipin pathway may play multiple roles in facilitating Nod factor signaling during the early stages of symbiosis.     

1H- and 13C-NMR, FTIR, UV-VIS, ESI-MS, and PM5 studies as well as emission properties of a new Schiff base of gossypol with 5-methoxytryptamine and a new hydrazone of gossypol with dansylhydrazine

A new Schiff base of gossypol with 5-methoxytryptamine (GSTR) and a new hydrazone of gossypol with dansylhydrazine (GHDH) have been synthesized and studied by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS), electrospray ionization-mass spectroscopy (ESI-MS) as well as the parametric method PM5. The spectroscopic methods have provided clear evidence that GSTR exists in chloroform solution as an enamine-enamine tautomer, whereas GHDH is present in chloroform as a N-imine-N-imine tautomer. The fluorescence spectra of both compounds indicate that their quantum yield of fluorescence is increased by one or two orders of magnitude compared to that of pure gossypol. The ESI-MS spectra of the 1:1 mixtures of GSTR or GHDH with formic acid have demonstrated that both compounds exist as protonated monomers in the gas phase, whereas GHDH can also exist in a stable protonated dimeric structure. The structures of the stable tautomers are calculated and visualized using the PM5 semiempirical method. The intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonds within these structures are discussed.