Evidence for Disulfide Bonds in Membrane-Bound and Solubilized Opioid Receptors

The effects of pretreatment with dithiothreitol (DTT) on opioid binding activities of membrane-bound and digitonin-solubilized opioid receptors from bovine adrenal medulla were studied. Pretreatment of membranes with DTT or mercaptoethanol inhibited [3H]diprenorphine binding by reducing the number of binding sites. The inhibitory action of DTT was time and dose dependent. The binding of [3H]D-Ala2-D-Leu5-enkephalin was also inhibited by DTT pretreatment. Pretreatment of digitonin-solubilized binding sites with DTT also reduced the number of [3H]diprenorphine binding sites. The action of DTT was diminished by preincubating the DTT solution with H2O2. [3H]Diprenorphine protected the opioid binding sites from the inhibitory action of DTT. The present results provide evidence that disulfide bonds are implicated in opioid binding activity of the opioid receptor system.     

单克隆抗体生产过程中二硫键还原成因及预防方法

单克隆抗体生产过程中二硫键的还原是生物制药领域中的一个常见技术难题,可产生低分子量碎片,影响产品质量,导致蛋白纯度降低、稳定性下降,影响药物的安全性和有效性。抗体二硫键还原实质上是由细胞内的硫氧还蛋白系统和谷胱甘肽系统引起的可逆氧化还原反应,并与具体生产过程参数有关。近年来,随着抗体药物和哺乳动物细胞培养工艺规模的发展,二硫键还原问题频繁发生。为解决此问题,研究人员不断尝试并建立了多种预防方法以保证产品质量。概述了抗体二硫键结构、二硫键还原的主要成因及生产过程中的形成因素,重点阐述了消除或减缓抗体二硫键还原的方法、对策,并列举了几种可行的过程分析技术,以期为单克隆抗体药物生产制造工艺的进一步优化提供参考。     

蛋白质中二硫键附近肽段识别规律研究

本文对蛋白质中二硫键附近的残基进行了计算机统计分析,结果发现平行和反平行残基间存在着特异的配对规律。这种残基间的相互作用或识别,可能与蛋白质折叠过程中正确地形成二硫键有关。该结果有助于蛋白质工程设计。     

Cationic Liposomes Containing Disulfide Bonds in Delivery of Plasmid DNA

Abstract

Cationic liposomes are non-viral gene transfer vectors for in vitro and in vivo experiments. In the present studies, we investigated whether a disulfide linkage in a cationic lipid was reducible by cell lysate resulting in the release of plasmid DNA and enhanced gene transfection. We also investigated if the differences in transgene production were from differences in total amount of cellular associated plasmid DNA. We systematically compared the gene transfection of disulfide bond containing-cationic lipid, 1', 2'-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3'-succinyl-2-hydroxyethyl disulfide ornithine conjugate (DOGSDSO), its non-disulfide-containing analog, 1', 2'-dioleyl-sn-glycero-3'-succinyl-1, 6-hexanediol ornithine conjugate (DOGSHDO), 1, 2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (DOTAP). Two transgene reporter systems (i.e., luciferase and green fluorescent protein (GFP)) were used to address transgene transgene expression and transgene efficiency. Experiments with the luciferase expression plasmid resulted in transgene activity up to 11 times greater transgene production for the disulfide containing lipid in at least two different cell lines, COS 1 and CHO cells. When transgene expression was determined by GFP activity, DOGSDSO liposomes were four times greater than the non-disulfide lipid or positive control (DOTAP) liposomes. By quantifying nucleic acid uptake by flow cytometry it was also demonstrated that increase expression was not solely from an increase in cellular plasmid DNA accumulation. These results demonstrate that cationic lipids containing a disulfide linkage are a promising method for gene transfer.     

分子内二硫键对HERV囊膜蛋白融合核心结构的影响

合胞素(Syncytin)是一类由人俘获的逆转录病毒囊膜蛋白,与胎盘的形态发生中细胞滋养层到合胞滋养层的分化过程十分相关.Syncytin 与人免疫缺陷病毒I型(HIV-1) 囊膜蛋白(Env)在结构上具有相似的特点,二者可能具有相似的膜融合机制.本文通过PCR对融合核心部位七肽重复区HR1和HR2之间linker中自然存在的一对保守的分子内二硫键进行定点突变,表达纯化该突变蛋白,并进行了相应的结构及稳定性探讨,通过与未突变蛋白的性质比较确证该分子内二硫键在蛋白结构的正确形成及稳定性上起着一定的作用.     

分子内二硫键对HERV囊膜蛋白融合核心结构的影响

合胞素(Syncytin)是一类由人俘获的逆转录病毒囊膜蛋白,与胎盘的形态发生中细胞滋养层到合胞滋养层的分化过程十分相关。Syncytin与人免疫缺陷病毒I型(HIV-1)囊膜蛋白(Env)在结构上具有相似的特点,二者可能具有相似的膜融合机制。本文通过PCR对融合核心部位七肽重复区HR1和HR2之间linker中自然存在的一对保守的分子内二硫键进行定点突变,表达纯化该突变蛋白,并进行了相应的结构及稳定性探讨,通过与未突变蛋白的性质比较确证该分子内二硫键在蛋白结构的正确形成及稳定性上起着一定的作用。     

NMR and mutagenesis of human copper transporter 1 (hCtr1) show that Cys-189 is required for correct folding and dimerization

The human high-affinity copper transporter (hCtr1) is a membrane protein that is predicted to have three transmembrane helices and two methionine-rich metal binding motifs. As an oligomeric polytopic membrane protein, hCtr1 is a challenging system for experimental structure determination. The results of an initial application of solution-state NMR methods to a truncated construct containing residues 45-190 in micelles and site-directed mutagenesis of the two cysteine residues demonstrate that Cys-189 but not Cys-161 is essential for both dimer formation and proper folding of the protein.     

The Quaternary Structure of Chicken Acetylcholinesterase and Butyrylcholinesterase; Effect of Collagenase and Trypsin

Acetylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.7.; AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.8.; BuChE) from chicken muscle exist as sets of structurally homologous forms with very similar properties. The collagenase sensitivity and aggregation properties of the 'heavy' forms of both enzymes indicate that they possess a collagen-like tail, and their stepwise dissociation by trypsin confirms that they correspond to triple (A12) and double (A8) collagen-tailed tetramers. In addition to this dissociating effect, trypsin digests an important fraction of the catalytic units of AChE, in a progressive manner, removing as much as 30% of the enzyme's mass, without inactivation of the tetramers and of the tailed molecules. The trypsin-modified AChE forms closely resemble the corresponding mammalian AChE forms in their hydrodynamic properties. It is not known whether the trypsin-digestible peptides, which do not appear to be involved in the ionic or hydrophobic interactions of the enzymes, are a fragment of the catalytic subunit or whether they constitute distinct polypeptides.     

Switch-like Responses of Two Cholesterol Sensors Do Not Require Protein Oligomerization in Membranes

Many cellular processes are sensitive to levels of cholesterol in specific membranes and show a strongly sigmoidal dependence on membrane composition. The sigmoidal responses of the cholesterol sensors involved in these processes could arise from several mechanisms, including positive cooperativity (protein effects) and limited cholesterol accessibility (membrane effects). Here, we describe a sigmoidal response that arises primarily from membrane effects due to sharp changes in the chemical activity of cholesterol. Our models for eukaryotic membrane-bound cholesterol sensors are soluble bacterial toxins that show an identical switch-like specificity for endoplasmic reticulum membrane cholesterol. We show that truncated versions of these toxins fail to form oligomers but still show sigmoidal binding to cholesterol-containing membranes. The nonlinear response emerges because interactions between bilayer lipids control cholesterol accessibility to toxins in a threshold-like fashion. Around these thresholds, the affinity of toxins for membrane cholesterol varies by >100-fold, generating highly cooperative lipid-dependent responses independently of protein-protein interactions. Such lipid-driven cooperativity may control the sensitivity of many cholesterol-dependent processes.     

Disulfide bonds stabilize JC virus capsid-like structure by protecting calcium ions from chelation

To investigate the role of disulfide bonds in the capsid structure, a recombinant JC virus-like particle (VLP) was used. The major capsid protein, VP1, of the JC virus was expressed in yeast cells. The yeast-expressed VP1 was self-assembled into a VLP. Disulfide bonds were found in the VLP which caused dimeric and trimeric VP1 linkages as demonstrated by non-reducing SDS–PAGE. The VLP remained intact when disulfide bonds were reduced by dithiothreitol. The VLP without disulfide bonds could be disassembled into capsomeres by EGTA alone, but those with disulfide bonds could not be disassembled by EGTA. Capsomeres were reassembled into VLPs in the presence of calcium ions. Capsomeres formed irregular aggregations instead of VLPs when treated with diamide to reconstitute the disulfide bonds. These results indicate that disulfide bonds play an important role in maintaining the integrity of the JC VLP by protecting calcium ions from chelation.     

Reduction of Disulfide Bonds by Streptomyces pactum during Growth on Chicken Feathers

For disintegration of chicken feathers by Streptomyces pactum, keratinolytic proteinases and extracellular reduction of disulfide bonds were necessary. Conditions for disulfide reduction were examined with oxidized glutathione as model substrate. The reduction of glutathione depended on the presence of metabolically active cells. The mycelium also reduced tetrazolium dyes and cystine.     

Disulfide bond formation in prokaryotes: History,diversity and design

The formation of structural disulfide bonds is essential for the function and stability of a great number of proteins, particularly those that are secreted. There exists a variety of dedicated cellular catalysts and pathways from archaea to humans that ensure the formation of native disulfide bonds. In this review we describe the initial discoveries of these pathways and report progress in recent years in our understanding of the diversity of these pathways in prokaryotes, including those newly discovered in some archaea. We will also discuss the various successful efforts to achieve laboratory-based evolution and design of synthetic disulfide bond formation machineries in the bacterium Escherichia coli. These latter studies have also led to new more general insights into the redox environment of the cytoplasm and bacterial cell envelope. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Thiol-Based Redox Processes.     

Antibody-Mediated Immune Control of a Retrovirus Does Not Require the Microbiota

Commensal microbes are often required to control viral infection by facilitating host immune defenses. However, we found that this does not hold true for retroviral infection. We report that retrovirus-resistant mice control the pathogen with virus-neutralizing antibodies independently of commensal microbiota. This is in contrast to orthomyxoviruses and arenaviruses, where resistance is ablated in animals depleted of microbiota. Clearly, when it comes to antiviral immunity, the role of the microbiota cannot be generalized.     

Oligomerization of nitrophorins

Rhodnius prolixus is a blood-sucking insect that uses a mixture of nitrophorin (NP) proteins to deliver nitric oxide (NO) from the insect saliva to the hosts via a ferric heme coordinated to the protein, causing vasodilatation and anticoagulation to support their feeding. R. prolixus NPs 1-4 are very similar proteins ( approximately 20 kDa) with different NO affinities for stepwise NO release triggered by pH increase and histamine binding in hosts. Ultra-high-resolution X-ray structures of native and mutant NPs and their kinetic analysis already have revealed the fundamental steps of NO binding and release. In this study, we found that NPs can exist in multiple oligomerization states at higher concentrations. The oligomers are characterized by a combination of multiple biophysical methods. The intrinsic features of the oligomerization revealed here led us to propose that this intensive, moderately pH- and ligand-dependent oligomerization of NPs has physiological implications in the facilitation of the efficient storage and release of the highly reactive NO in the insect saliva and the victim, respectively.     

Site-Specific Recombination of Bacteriophage P22 Does Not Require Integration Host Factor

Site-specific recombination by phages lambda and P22 is carried out by multiprotein-DNA complexes. Integration host factor (IHF) facilitates lambda site-specific recombination by inducing DNA bends necessary to form an active recombinogenic complex. Mutants lacking IHF are over 1,000-fold less proficient in supporting lambda site-specific recombination than wild-type cells. Although the attP region of P22 contains strong IHF binding sites, in vivo measurements of integration and excision frequencies showed that infecting P22 phages can perform site-specific recombination to its maximum efficiency in the absence of IHF. In addition, a plasmid integration assay showed that integrative recombination occurs equally well in wild-type and ihfA mutant cells. P22 integrative recombination is also efficient in Escherichia coli in the absence of functional IHF. These results suggest that nucleoprotein structures proficient for recombination can form in the absence of IHF or that another factor(s) can substitute for IHF in the formation of complexes.     

Two-Site Immunoradiometric Assay of Chicken Acetylcholinesterase: Active and Inactive Molecular Forms in Brain and Muscle

Abstract: Several monoclonal antibodies were raised against chicken acetylcholinesterase (AChE; EC 3.1.1.7). Some of these antibodies react with quail AChE but not with AChEs from nonavian vertebrates or invertebrates and not with butyrylcholinesterase. They may be classified in several mutually compatible groups, i.e., that can bind simultaneously to the monomeric form of AChE. Most antibodies recognize a peptidic domain that does not exist in mammalian AChE and that may be digested by trypsin without loss of activity or dissociation of quaternary structure. The only exception is the antibody C-131, which is conformation dependent and preferentially recognizes active AChE. We have set up two-site immunoradiometric assays, using an immobilized capture antibody, C-6 or C-131, and a radiolabeled antibody, ¹²⁵I-C-54. The C-6/C-54 assay quantifies the totality of inactive and active AChE subunits: It detects 10^?3 Ellman unit (～40 pg of protein) and yields a linear response up to at least 25 10^?3 Ellman units. An analysis of gradient fractions, using C-6/C-54 and C-131/C-54 assays as well as activity determination, shows that the A₁₂ and G₄ forms are exclusively composed of active subunits, whereas inactive molecules cosediment with the active G₂ and G₁ forms. Both active and inactive G₂ and G₁ forms are amphiphilic, as indicated by the influence of detergents on their sedimentation coefficients and Stokes radii. In brain, the proportion of inactive forms decreases from 40% at embryonic day 11 (E11) to 20% at birth [day 1 (D1)]. In muscle, we observed no inactive AChE at E11 and a small proportion of inactive G₁ at D1. The proportion of inactive forms was much higher in cultured myotubes, obtained from E11 myoblasts. These results show that the proportion of inactive AChE depends on the tissue and varies during development. Thus, the cells seem to control actively the acquisition of AChE activity, as well as the formation of the various oligomeric forms.     

Phosphatidylserine Decarboxylase 1 Autocatalysis and Function Does Not Require a Mitochondrial-specific Factor

Phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) is a major cellular phospholipid that can be made by four separate pathways, one of which resides in the mitochondrion. The mitochondrial enzyme that generates PE is phosphatidylserine decarboxylase 1 (Psd1p). The pool of PE produced by Psd1p, which cannot be compensated for by the other cellular PE metabolic pathways, is important for numerous mitochondrial functions, including oxidative phosphorylation and mitochondrial dynamics and morphology, and is essential for murine development. To become catalytically active, Psd1p undergoes an autocatalytic processing step involving a conserved LGST motif that separates the enzyme into α and β subunits that remain non-covalently attached and are anchored to the inner membrane by virtue of the membrane-embedded β subunit. It was speculated that Psd1p autocatalysis requires a mitochondrial-specific factor and that for Psd1p to function in vivo, it had to be embedded with the correct topology in the mitochondrial inner membrane. However, the identity of the mitochondrial factor required for Psd1p autocatalysis has not been identified. With the goal of defining molecular requirements for Psd1p autocatalysis, we demonstrate that: 1) despite the conservation of the LGST motif from bacteria to humans, only the serine residue is absolutely required for Psd1p autocatalysis and function; 2) yeast Psd1p does not require its substrate phosphatidylserine for autocatalysis; and 3) contrary to a prior report, yeast Psd1p autocatalysis does not require mitochondrial-specific phospholipids, proteins, or co-factors, because Psd1p re-directed to the secretory pathway undergoes autocatalysis normally and is fully functional in vivo.     

Life at High Latitudes Does Not Require Circadian Behavioral Rhythmicity under Constant Darkness

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