Structural consequences of mutation.

The way a protein responds to mutation provides key insights into its architecture and energetics. Mutations are improving the understanding both of protein folding and stability, and of the adaptability of the hydrophobic core. The importance of intermolecular effects in crystal structures is being emphasized and new insights into the correspondence between crystal and solution structures are being developed.     

Comparison of the intermediate complexes of human growth hormone bound to the human growth hormone and prolactin receptors.

The crystal structures of complexes of human growth hormone (hGH) with the growth hormone and prolactin receptors (hGHR and hPRLR, respectively), together with the mutational data available for these systems, suggest that an extraordinary combination of conformational adaptability, together with finely tuned specificity, governs the molecular recognition processes operative in these systems. On the one hand, in the active 1:2 ligand-receptor complexes, 2 copies of the same receptor use the identical set of binding determinants to recognize topographically different surfaces on the hormone. On the other hand, comparing the 1:1 hGH-hGHR and hGH-hPRLR complexes, 2 distinct receptors use this same set of binding determinants to interact with the identical binding site on the ligand, even though few residues among the binding determinants are conserved. The structural evidence demonstrates that this versatility is accomplished by local conformational flexibility of the binding loops, allowing adaptation to different binding environments, together with rigid-body movements of the receptor domains, necessary for the creation of specific interactions with the same binding site.     

Big flies, small repeats: the "Thr-Gly" region of the period gene in Diptera

The region of the clock gene period (per) that encodes a repetitive tract of threonine-glycine (Thr-Gly) pairs has been compared between Dipteran species both within and outside the Drosophilidae. All the non- Drosophilidae sequences in this region are short and present a remarkably stable picture compared to the Drosophilidae, in which the region is much larger and extremely variable, both in size and composition. The accelerated evolution in the repetitive region of the Drosophilidae appears to be mainly due to an expansion of two ancestral repeats, one encoding a Thr-Gly dipeptide and the other a pentapeptide rich in serine, glycine, and asparagine or threonine. In some drosophilids the expansion involves a duplication of the pentapeptide sequence, but in Drosophila pseudoobscura both the dipeptide and the pentapeptide repeats are present in larger numbers. In the nondrosophilids, however, the pentapeptide sequence is represented by one copy and the dipeptide by two copies. These observations fulfill some of the predictions of recent theoretical models that have simulated the evolution of repetitive sequences.      

Crystal structures of bovine chymotrypsin and trypsin complexed to the inhibitor domain of Alzheimer's amyloid beta-protein precursor (APPI) and basic pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI): engineering of inhibitors with altered specificities.

The crystal structures of the inhibitor domain of Alzheimer's amyloid beta-protein precursor (APPI) complexed to bovine chymotrypsin (C-APPI) and trypsin (T-APPI) and basic pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI) bound to chymotrypsin (C-BPTI) have been solved and analyzed at 2.1 A, 1.8 A, and 2.6 A resolution, respectively. APPI and BPTI belong to the Kunitz family of inhibitors, which is characterized by a distinctive tertiary fold with three conserved disulfide bonds. At the specificity-determining site of these inhibitors (P1), residue 15(I)4 is an arginine in APPI and a lysine in BPTI, residue types that are counter to the chymotryptic hydrophobic specificity. In the chymotrypsin complexes, the Arg and Lys P1 side chains of the inhibitors adopt conformations that bend away from the bottom of the binding pocket to interact productively with elements of the binding pocket other than those observed for specificity-matched P1 side chains. The stereochemistry of the nucleophilic hydroxyl of Ser 195 in chymotrypsin relative to the scissile P1 bond of the inhibitors is identical to that observed for these groups in the trypsin-APPI complex, where Arg 15(I) is an optimal side chain for tryptic specificity. To further evaluate the diversity of sequences that can be accommodated by one of these inhibitors, APPI, we used phage display to randomly mutate residues 11, 13, 15, 17, and 19, which are major binding determinants. Inhibitors variants were selected that bound to either trypsin or chymotrypsin. As expected, trypsin specificity was principally directed by having a basic side chain at P1 (position 15); however, the P1 residues that were selected for chymotrypsin binding were His and Asn, rather than the expected large hydrophobic types. This can be rationalized by modeling these hydrophilic side chains to have similar H-bonding interactions to those observed in the structures of the described complexes. The specificity, or lack thereof, for the other individual subsites is discussed in the context of the "allowed" residues determined from a phage display mutagenesis selection experiment.     

Evolutionary origin of human and primate malarias: evidence from the circumsporozoite protein gene

We have analyzed the conserved regions of the gene coding for the circumsporozoite protein (CSP) in 12 species of Plasmodium, the malaria parasite. The closest evolutionary relative of P. falciparum, the agent of malignant human malaria, is P. reichenowi, a chimpanzee parasite. This is consistent with the hypothesis that P. falciparum is an ancient human parasite, associated with humans since the divergence of the hominids from their closest hominoid relatives. Three other human Plasmodium species are each genetically indistinguishable from species parasitic to nonhuman primates; that is, for the DNA sequences included in our analysis, the differences between species are not greater than the differences between strains of the human species. The human P. malariae is indistinguishable from P. brasilianum, and P. vivax is indistinguishable from P. simium; P. brasilianum and P. simium are parasitic to New World monkeys. The human P. vivax-like is indistinguishable from P. simiovale, a parasite of Old World macaques. We conjecture that P. malariae, P. vivax, and P. vivax-like are evolutionarily recent human parasites, the first two at least acquired only within the last several thousand years, and perhaps within the last few hundred years, after the expansion of human populations in South America following the European colonizations. We estimate the rate of evolution of the conserved regions of the CSP gene as 2.46 x 10(-9) per site per year. The divergence between the P. falciparum and P. reichenowi lineages is accordingly dated 8.9 Myr ago. The divergence between the three lineages leading to the human parasites is very ancient, about 100 Myr old between P. malariae and P. vivax (and P. vivax-like) and about 165 Myr old between P. falciparum and the other two.      

Excitation of System I and System II in Photosynthesis as a Possible Control Mechanism of Glycolate Metabolism in the Blue-Green Alga Anacystis nidulans

Photosynthetic enhancement studies performed at 619 nm (excitation of Systems I and II) and at 446 nm (mainly excitation of System I) revealed an 18% photosynthetic enhancement simultaneously with a 31% reduction in glycolate excretion. This observation supports the hypothesis that some glycolate may be consumed in an oxidation process associated with System I when System II is poorly excited and the supply of electrons from the water splitting process of photosynthesis is low.     

Engineering subtilisin and its substrates for efficient ligation of peptide bonds in aqueous solution

Protein engineering techniques were used to construct a derivative of the serine protease subtilisin that ligates peptides efficiently in water. The subtilisin double mutant in which the catalytic Ser221 was converted to Cys (S221C) and Pro225 converted to Ala (P225A) has 10-fold higher peptide ligase activity and at least 100-fold lower amidase activity than the singly mutated thiolsubtilisin (S221C) that was previously shown to have some peptide ligase activity [Nakatsuka, T., Sasaki, T., & Kaiser, E.T. (1987) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 109, 3808-3810]. A 1.5-A X-ray crystal structure of an oxidized derivative of the double mutant (S221C/P225A) supports the protein design strategy in showing that the P225A mutation partly relieves the steric crowding expected from the S221C substitution, thus accounting for its improved catalytic efficiency. Stable and synthetically reasonable alkyl ester peptide substrates were prepared that rapidly acylate the S221C/P225A enzyme, and aminolysis of the resulting thioacyl-enzyme intermediate by various peptides is strongly preferred over hydrolysis. The efficiency of aminolysis is relatively insensitive to the sequence of the first two residues in the acyl acceptor peptide whose alpha-amino group attacks the thioacyl-enzyme. To obtain greater flexibility in the choice of coupling sites, a set of three additional peptide ligases were engineered by introducing mutations into the parent ligase (S221C/P225A) that were previously shown to change the specificity of subtilisin for the residue nearest the acyl bond (the P1 residue). The specificity properties of the parent ligase and derivatives of it paralleled those of wild type and corresponding specificity variants.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

X-ray crystal structure of the protease inhibitor domain of Alzheimer's amyloid beta-protein precursor

Alzheimer's amyloid beta-protein precursor contains a Kunitz protease inhibitor domain (APPI) potentially involved in proteolytic events leading to cerebral amyloid deposition. To facilitate the identification of the physiological target of the inhibitor, the crystal structure of APPI has been determined and refined to 1.5-A resolution. Sequences in the inhibitor-protease interface of the correct protease target will reflect the molecular details of the APPI structure. While the overall tertiary fold of APPI is very similar to that of the Kunitz inhibitor BPTI, a significant rearrangement occurs in the backbone conformation of one of the two protease binding loops. A number of Kunitz inhibitors have similar loop sequences, indicating the structural alteration is conserved and potentially an important determinant of inhibitor specificity. In a separate region of the protease binding loops, APPI side chains Met-17 and Phe-34 create an exposed hydrophobic surface in place of Arg-17 and Val-34 in BPTI. The restriction this change places on protease target sequences is seen when the structure of APPI is superimposed on BPTI complexed to serine proteases, where the hydrophobic surface of APPI faces a complementary group of nonpolar side chains on kallikrein A versus polar side chains on trypsin.     

The anabolic action of intermittent parathyroid hormone on cortical bone depends partly on its ability to induce nitric oxide‐mediated vasorelaxation in BALB/c mice

There is strong evidence that vasodilatory nitric oxide (NO) donors have anabolic effects on bone in humans. Parathyroid hormone (PTH), the only osteoanabolic drug currently approved, is also a vasodilator. We investigated whether the NO synthase inhibitor L‐NAME might alter the effect of PTH on bone by blocking its vasodilatory effect. BALB/c mice received 28 daily injections of PTH[1–34] (80 µg/kg/day) or L‐NAME (30 mg/kg/day), alone or in combination. Hindlimb blood perfusion was measured by laser Doppler imaging. Bone architecture, turnover and mechanical properties in the femur were analysed respectively by micro‐CT, histomorphometry and three‐point bending. PTH increased hindlimb blood flow by >30% within 10 min of injection (P < 0.001). Co‐treatment with L‐NAME blocked the action of PTH on blood flow, whereas L‐NAME alone had no effect. PTH treatment increased femoral cortical bone volume and formation rate by 20% and 110%, respectively (P < 0.001). PTH had no effect on trabecular bone volume in the femoral metaphysis although trabecular thickness and number were increased and decreased by 25%, respectively. Co‐treatment with L‐NAME restricted the PTH‐stimulated increase in cortical bone formation but had no clear‐cut effects in trabecular bone. Co‐treatment with L‐NAME did not affect the mechanical strength in femurs induced by iPTH. These results suggest that NO‐mediated vasorelaxation plays partly a role in the anabolic action of PTH on cortical bone. © 2016 The Authors. Cell Biochemistry and Function published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Repeated immunostaining of the same tissue section using alkaline phosphatase as a reporter

One can determine the best dilution of a primary antibody for immunohistochemistry that uses horseradish peroxidase conjugated to a secondary antibody by testing increasing concentrations sequentially on the same tissue section. When the same tissue section is incubated repeatedly with increasing concentrations of primary antibodies to epithelial membrane antigen, smooth muscle α-actin, or vimentin using alkaline phosphatase conjugated to a secondary antibody as the reporter, the best staining was obtained with a less concentrated primary antibody than was optimal for a single staining test. The best concentration of primary antibody for single run staining using an alkaline phosphatase reporting system is usually four times the best concentration for staining with multiple runs. The optimal concentration can be determined by denaturing the residual alkaline phosphatase and extracting residual stain by incubating the section in 4:1 diglyme:phosphate buffered saline for 20 min at 80^o C between tests of primary antibody concentrations. I tested the method for four chromogens from one supplier and one chromogen from a different supplier.