An engineered superantigen SEC2 exhibits promising antitumor activity and low toxicity

Recent studies suggested that the histidine residues at 118 and 122 play an important role for the toxicity of staphylococcal enterotoxin C subtype 2 (SEC2), and the substitutions of both histidines with alanine can severely impair the fever activity of SEC2. We hypothesized that promising SEC2 antitumor agent with low toxicity and enhanced superantigen activity can be constructed by introducing related mutations at protein functional sites of SEC2. We showed that the SEC2 mutants H122A and H118A/H122A exhibited improved superantigen activity after introducing the point mutations at Thr20 and Gly22. A resultant mutant, named as SAM-3, has considerable abilities to inhibit the growth of H22 and Hepa1-6 tumor cells in vitro and colon 26 solid tumor in vivo. Furthermore, SAM-3 also exhibits significantly reduced toxicity compared with native SEC2. The study provides a novel strategy for designing promising superantigen immunotherapeutic agent. The constructed SEC2 mutant SAM-3 can be used as a powerful candidate for cancer immunotherapy and could compensate the deficiency caused by toxicity of native SEC2 in clinic.     

Functional analysis of the disulphide loop mutant of staphylococcal enterotoxin C2

The superantigen staphylococcal enterotoxin C2 (SEC2) tremendously activate T lymphocytes bearing certain T-cell receptor Vβ domains when binding to MHC II molecules, which launches a powerful response of tumour inhibition in vitro as well as in vivo. However, the toxicity of SEC2 performed in clinic limited its broad application for immunotherapy. The previous studies suggested that the disulphide loop may be important for the toxicity of some SEs, which prompted us to investigate the potential roles of the disulphide loop in biological activity of SEC2. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to disturb the formation of the disulphide bond by substituting Ala or Ser for Cys-93 and Cys-110. The expressed mutants in Escherichia coli were used to determine their superantigen activity and toxicity. Results showed that all of the mutated proteins exhibited reduced abilities to induce T-cell proliferation and cytotoxic effects on tumour cells L929 and Hepa1-6, suggesting that the disulphide loop plays functional role in maintaining the maximal superantigen activity of SEC2. Furthermore, the toxicity assays in vivo showed that all of the mutants induced a reduced emetic and pyrogenic responses compared with native SEC2, which might be important for further construction of lowly toxic superantigen agent.     

肠毒素C2蛋白C,N末端对其活性的影响

目的:分析金黄色葡萄球菌肠毒素C2(SEC2)中N,C末端对其超抗原活性和可溶性表达能力的影响。方法:应用基因工程技术对SEC2的N,C末端进行部分删除,获得三种突变蛋白,并对其进行体外超抗原活性和可溶性表达能力的比较。结果:对SEC2的N,C末端的删除都在一定程度上影响其超抗原活性和可溶性表达能力,其中,N末端的两个删除突变体的超抗原活性分别降低40%和48%,而删除C末端则使其可溶性表达水平下降到野生型的20%左右。结论:SEC2蛋白分子的N末端对其超抗原活性起主要作用,C末端对其可溶性表达具有显著影响,而完整的SEC2分子对于其发挥最大生物学活性是必要的。     

Superantigen staphylococcal enterotoxin C1 inhibits the growth of bladder cancer

Superantigens can induce cell-mediated cytotoxicity preferentially against MHC II-positive target cells with large amounts of inflammatory cytokines releasing. In this study, superantigen staphylococcal enterotoxin C (SEC) 1 was investigated to evaluate its potential in bladder cancer immunotherapy in vitro and in vivo. Our results revealed that SEC1 could stimulate the proliferation of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in a dose-dependent manner, accompanied with the release of interleukin-2, interferon-γ, and tumor necrosis factor-α, and increased the population of CD4⁺ T cells and CD8⁺ T cells. PBMCs stimulated by SEC1 could initiate significant cytotoxicity towards human bladder cancer cells in vitro. The results of in vivo antitumor experiment indicated that SEC1 could decrease the rate of tumor formation and prolong the survival time of tumor-bearing mice. Our study demonstrated that SEC1 inhibited the growth of bladder cancer. And it is also suggested that SEC1 may become a candidate for bladder cancer immunotherapy.     

Construction of novel bifunctional chimeric proteins possessing antitumor and thrombolytic activities

Based on their respective antitumor and thrombolytic activities, the superantigen staphylococcal enterotoxin C2 (SEC2) and staphylokinase (Sak) were chosen for the construction of the novel chimeric proteins Sak-linker- SEC2 and SEC2-linker-Sak using a linker composed of nine Ala residues. Both chimeric proteins possessed nearly the same PBMC proliferation stimulating activity and antitumor activity as SEC2 and thrombolytic activity as Sak. Neither the SEC2 or Sak component of each chimeric protein affected the activity of the other component. The results presented in this study provide a possible strategy to prevent and cure tumor thrombus.     

Biological analysis of the deletion mutants of Staphylococcal enterotoxin C2

To investigate the functional domains involved in the biological activity of staphylococcal enterotoxin (SEC2), a series of SEC2 mutants were constructed. Deletion of the last 77 amino acids at the C-terminus of SEC2 did not affect its native superantigen and fever activities, and further removal of the C-terminal residues reduced SEC2 activities significantly. On the other hand, the mutants lacking 18 or more N-terminal residues severely impaired superantigen activity. These data indicated that the functional regions for the biological activities of SEC2 were confined to N-terminal domain, further implied that the proper three-dimensional structure of SEC2 is not needed for its biological activities. Our results deliver valuable information that it is possible to design new SEC2 immunotherapeutic agents which have the superantigen activity and low molecular weight for permeability.     

葡萄球菌肠毒素C2突变体的构建及其体外抗肿瘤活性分析

目的:利用基因定点突变的方法将葡萄球菌肠毒素C2(SEC2)的31位定点突变,以获得抑瘤效果增强的肠毒素。方法:利用基因定点突变的方法,将SEC2中31位的His用Asn替代,转入大肠杆菌中诱导表达,采用CM弱阳离子层析柱纯化蛋白,并用SDS-PAGE和Western印迹对其进行鉴定,通过MTS法检测其体外抗肿瘤活性。结果:构建了突变体蛋白SEC2(H31N),并在大肠杆菌中实现了高效表达。体外实验表明,在相同浓度下,SEC2(H31N)对多种肿瘤细胞的抑制作用明显优于野生型SEC2,尤其在低浓度下此现象更为明显。对于5个受试细胞株,SEC2(H31N)的IC50均低于SEC2;SEC2(H31N)浓度分别为0.01~10、0.01和0.1 ng/mL时,对肿瘤细胞SMMC-7721、HepG2、A549的生长抑制率与SEC2相比均显著提高。结论:同野生型SEC2相比,突变体蛋白SEC2(H31N)对肿瘤生长的抑制作用得到了提高。     

新型截短肠毒素C2突变株抑制肿瘤细胞生长

在恶性肿瘤的治疗中,肠毒素C2 (SEC2) 的临床应用由于其副作用而被严重限制。利用SEC2基因截短技术,获得保留T细胞刺激活力又不引发催吐效应的SEC2突变株,可有效解决这个问题。根据噻唑蓝比色法 (MTT) 分析结果,新型截短肠毒素C2突变株 (NSM) 可显著刺激T细胞增殖,并且可显著抑制人大肠癌细胞 (CX-1) 和人乳腺癌细胞 (MCF-7) 生长。NSM的T细胞刺激能力和抑瘤效果与SEC2相似。动物研究结果证明NSM不再引发呕吐效应,且可显著抑制荷瘤小鼠的肿瘤生长。因此,这种可抑制肿瘤细胞生     

Characterization of amino acid residues essential for tetramer formation and DNA-binding activity of ssDNA-binding protein of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mycobacterium tuberculosis</Emphasis>

Mycobacterium tuberculosis Rv0054 encodes a single-stranded DNA-binding protein (MtbSSB) that is essential for survival of the human pathogen and causative agent of tuberculosis. The function of MtbSSB has been proposed to be different from its E. coli homolog. However, the critical amino acid residues of MtbSSB and their regulatory effects on DNA-binding ability remain to be clearly characterized. In this study, using a frequency-controlled random mutagenesis method (FRM), mutant libraries of MtbSSB were successfully constructed. On the whole, 146 single, double, and triple MtbSSB mutants, which covered 89% of the amino acid residues along the whole MtbSSB gene, were isolated. Using bacterial two-hybrid assays in combination with native PAGE assays, four new mutants, E62G, D104N, E94G/T137N, and S130P/G153N were found to totally or partially lose their ability to form tetramer. Three novel mutants, E62G, D104N, and E94G/T134N, were characterized to have a much lower ssDNA-binding activity, while one mutant, F21L, was found to have a significantly higher activity through both electrophoretic mobility shift and surface plasmon resonance assays. Interestingly, three amino acid residues, E62, D104, and E94, were found to regulate both oligomerization and ssDNA-binding activity of MtbSSB. Our work provides an important resource and should help improve the understanding of the biochemical mechanisms and structure-function relationship of the DNA-binding protein in this important human pathogen.     

The local environment at the cytoplasmic end of TM6 of the mu opioid receptor differs from those of rhodopsin and monoamine receptors: introduction of an ionic lock between the cytoplasmic ends of helices 3 and 6 by a L6.30(275)E mutation inactivates the mu opioid receptor and reduces the constitutive activity of its T6.34(279)K mutant

Activation of rhodopsin and monoamine G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) has been proposed to involve in part the disruption of a conserved E6.30-R3.50 ionic interaction between transmembrane segments (TMs) 3 and 6. However, this interaction does not occur in the opioid receptors, which have L275 at 6.30. On the basis of our findings that mutations of T6.34(279) to K and D produced, respectively, a constitutively active and an inactive form of the mu opioid receptor, we previously suggested that the functional role of the 6.30(275) residue could be assumed by T6.34(279), but the interplay between residues at positions 6.30 and 6.34 remained unresolved. In this study, we examined the effects of introducing an E in position 6.30(275) of the wild type (WT) and of the T6.34(279) mutants of the mu opioid receptor to compare the participation of the 6.30 locus in molecular events during activation in this receptor with its role in other GPCRs. The L6.30(275)E and the L6.30(275)E/T6.34(279)D mutants displayed no constitutive activity and could not be activated by the agonist DAMGO or morphine. The L6.30(275)E/T6.34(279)K mutant had some constitutive activity, but much less than the T6.34(279)K mutant, and could be activated by both agonists. The rank order of affinity for the agonist DAMGO is as follows: T6.34(279)K > WT congruent with L6.30(275)E/T6.34(279)K > L6.30(275)E congruent with T6.34(279)D > L6.30(275)E/T6.34(279)D; however, all constructs have a similar affinity for the antagonist [(3)H]diprenorphine. These data are interpreted in the context of interactions with the conserved R3.50(165) in TM3. When L6.30(275) is mutated to E, the favorable E6.30(275)-R3.50(165) interaction stabilizes an inactive state, as in rhodopsin, and hence reduces the activities of T6.34(279) mutants. Thus, the mu opioid receptor is shown to be different from rhodopsin and monoamine GPCRs, of which the WTs with native E6.30 can be activated, and the 6.34D or 6.34K mutants display enhanced constitutive activities. Our molecular modeling results suggest that some specific differences in local geometry at the cytoplasmic ends of TM5 and TM6 may account in part for the observed differences in the molecular mechanisms of receptor activation.     

Ponatinib Is a Pan-BCR-ABL Kinase Inhibitor: MD Simulations and SIE Study

BCR-ABL kinase domain inhibition can be used to treat chronic myeloid leukemia. The inhibitors such as imatinib, dasatinib and nilotinib are effective drugs but are resistant to some BCR-ABL mutations. The pan-BCR-ABL kinase inhibitor ponatinib exhibits potent activity against native, T315I, and all other clinically relevant mutants, and showed better inhibition than the previously known inhibitors. We have studied the molecular dynamics simulations and calculated solvated interaction energies of native and fourteen mutant BCR-ABL kinases (M244V, G250E, Q252H, Y253F, Y253H, E255K, E255V, T315A, T315I, F317L, F317V, M351T, F359V and H396P) complexed with ponatinib. These studies revealed that the interactions between ponatinib and individual residues in BCR-ABL kinase are also affected due to the remote residue mutations. We report that some residues, Met244, Lys245, Gln252, Gly254, Leu370 and Leu298 do not undergo any conformational changes, while the fluctuations in residues from P-loop, β3-, β5- strands and αC- helix are mainly responsible for ponatinib binding to native and all mutant BCR-ABL kinases. Our work provides the molecular mechanisms of native and mutant BCR-ABL kinases inhibition by ponatinib at atomic level that has not been studied before.     

Structural analysis of a non-contiguous second-site revertant in T4 lysozyme shows that increasing the rigidity of a protein can enhance its stability.

The mutation Glu108-->Val (E108V) in T4 lysozyme was previously isolated as a second-site revertant that specifically compensated for the loss of function associated with the destabilizing substitution Leu99-->Gly (L99G). Surprisingly, the two sites are 11 A apart, with Leu99 in the core and Glu108 on the surface of the protein. In order to better understand this result we have carried out a detailed thermodynamic, enzymatic and structural analysis of these mutant lysozymes as well as a related variant with the substitution Leu99-->Ala. It was found that E108V does increase the stability of L99G, but it also increases the stability of both the wild-type protein and L99A by essentially equal amounts. The effects of E108V on enzymatic activity are more complicated. The mutation slightly reduces the maximal rate of cell wall hydrolysis of wild-type, L99G and L99A. At the same time, L99G is an unstable protein and rapidly loses activity during the course of the assay, especially at temperatures above 20 degrees C. Thus, even though the double mutant L99G/E108V has a slightly lower maximal rate than L99G, over a period of 20-30 minutes it hydrolyzes more substrate. This decrease in the rate of thermal inactivation appears to be the basis of the action of E108V as a second-site revertant of L99G. Mutant L99A creates a cavity of volume 149 A(3). Instead of enlarging this cavity, mutant L99G results in a 4-5 A displacement of part of helix F (residues 108-113), creating a solvent-accessible declivity. In the double mutant, L99G/E108V, this helix returns to a position akin to wild-type, resulting in a cavity of volume 203 A(3). Whether the mutation Glu108-->Val is incorporated into either wild-type lysozyme, or L99A or L99G, it results in a decrease in crystallographic thermal factors, especially in the helices that include residues 99 and 108. This increase in rigidity, which appears to be due to a combination of increased hydrophobic stabilization plus a restriction of conformational fluctuation, provides a structural basis for the increase in thermostability.     

大肠杆菌CM/PDT抗反馈抑制突变体的构建及其性质

为了获得具有高催化活性且抗反馈抑制的大肠杆菌分支酸变位酶 预苯酸脱水酶 (chorismatemutase prephenatedehydrataseCM PDT) [EC5 .4 .99.5 EC4 .2 .1.5 1],通过相关菌种CM PDT氨基酸序列同源比较 ,寻找高度保守位点 .用定点突变及PCR法构建突变酶M1(缺失 30 4T、30 5G、Q30 6K)、M2 (缺失W 338)、M3(缺失 30 1～ 386位氨基酸 )、M32 9(E32 9A)和M374 (C374A) ,野生型及各突变型基因与pET2 8a(+ )载体连接后 ,表达融合蛋白 .在非变性条件下 ,由TALON金属螯合亲和层析柱纯化野生型和突变体的酶蛋白 .酶活性测定表明 ,突变体M3的PDT活性下降为野生型活性的 2 9% ,但保持了CM活性 .突变体M374保持了CM ,PDT两种酶的活性 ,突变体M1、M2、M32 9的CM ,PDT活性有一定程度的提高 .酶抗反馈抑制作用检测表明 ,突变体M3、M374解除了苯丙氨酸的反馈抑制作用 ,M1、M2、M32 9部分解除了苯丙氨酸的反馈抑制作用 .与含野生型pheA基因的E .coliBL2 1菌株相比 ,含突变基因的E .coliBL2 1菌株对 10mmol L的苯丙氨酸代谢类似物具有强的抗反馈抑制作用 ,其中M1,M2 ,M3对 2 0mmol L的类似物具有抗反馈抑制作用     

Subtype-specific interactions of type C staphylococcal enterotoxins with the T-cell receptor

The goal of this study was to investigate the molecular interaction between superantigens and the T-cell receptor (TCR). Using a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to assess T-cell proliferation profiles, we found that SEB, SEC1, SEC2 and SEC3 expanded human T cells bearing Vβ3, Vβ12, Vβ13.2, Vβ14, Vβ15, Vβ17 and Vβ20. SEC2 and SEC3 have the additional ability to expand T cells bearing Vβ13.1, and their expansion of Vβ3 was markedly reduced compared to SEB and SEC1. Based on the activity of SEC1 mutants containing single amino acid substitutions, we concluded that the differential abilities of these native toxins to stimulate Vβ3 and Vβ13.1 was determined by the residue in position 26, located in the base of the SEC α3 cavity. The SEC1 mutant, in which Val in position 26 was substituted with the analogous SEC2/SEC3 residue (Tyr), generated a Vβ expansion profile that was indistinguishable from those generated by SEC2 and SEC3. Using these findings, the co-ordinates of a recently reported murine TCR β-chain crystal structure, and other documented information, we propose a compatible molecular model for the interaction of SEC3 with the T-cell receptor. In this model complex, the complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) 1 and 2 and the hypervariable loop 4 of the Vβ element contact SEC3 predominantly through residues in the α3 cavity of the toxin. CDR3 of the β chain is not involved in any toxin contacts. The proposed model not only includes contacts identified in previous mutagenesis studies, but is also consistent with the ability of tyrosine and valine in position 26 to differentially affect the expansion of Vβs 3 and 13.1 by the SEC superantigens.     

Physiological evidence for an interaction between helix XI and helices I, II, and V in the melibiose carrier of Escherichia coli

In a previous study 23 residues in helix XI of the cysteine-less melibiose carrier were changed individually to cysteine. Several of these cysteine mutants (K377C, A383C, F385C, L391C, G395C) had low transport activity and they were white on melibiose MacConkey fermentation plates. After several days of incubation of these white clones on melibiose MacConkey plates a rare red mutant appeared. The plasmid DNA was then isolated and sequenced. The two second site revertants from K377C were I22S and D59A. This change of aspartic acid to a neutral residue suggests that physiologically there is an interaction between K377 and D59 (possibly a salt bridge). The revertants from A383C were in positions 20 (F20L) and 22 (I22S and I22N). Revertants of F385C were intrahelical changes (I387M and A388G) and a change in C-terminal loop (R441C). Revertants of L391C were in helix I (I22N, I22T and D19E) and helix V (A152S). Revertants of G395C were in helix I (D19E and I22N). We suggest that there is an interaction between helix XI and helices I, II, and V and proximity between these helices.     

Mechanical defects of muscle fibers with myosin light chain mutants that cause cardiomyopathy

Familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a disease caused by single mutations in several sarcomeric proteins, including the human myosin ventricular regulatory light chain (vRLC). The effects of four of these mutations (A13T, F18L, E22K, and P95A) in vRLC on force generation were determined as a function of Ca(2+) concentration. The endogenous RLC was removed from skinned rabbit psoas muscle fibers, and replaced with either rat wildtype vRLC or recombinant rat vRLC (G13T, F18L, E22K, and P95A). Compared to fibers with wildtype rat vRLC, the E22K mutant increased Ca sensitivity of force generation, whereas the G13T and F18L mutants decreased the Ca sensitivity, and the P95A mutant had no significant effect. None of the RLC mutants affected the maximal tension (observed at saturating Ca(2+) concentrations), except for F18L, which decreased the maximal tension to 69 +/- 10% of the wildtype value. Of the mutant RLCs, only F18L decreased the cooperativity of activation of force generation. These results suggest that the primary cause of familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, in some cases, is perturbation in the Ca sensitivity of force generation, in which Ca-sensitizing or Ca-desensitizing effects can lead to similar disease phenotypes.     

The region from phenylalanine-17 to phenylalanine-28 of a yeast mitochondrial ATPase inhibitor is essential for its ATPase inhibitory activity.

Mitochondrial ATP synthase (F(1)F(o)-ATPase) is regulated by an intrinsic ATPase inhibitor protein. In the present study, we investigated the structure-function relationship of the yeast ATPase inhibitor by amino acid replacement. A total of 22 mutants were isolated and characterized. Five mutants (F17S, R20G, R22G, E25A, and F28S) were entirely inactive, indicating that the residues, Phe17, Arg20, Arg22, Glu25, and Phe28, are essential for the ATPase inhibitory activity of the protein. The activity of 7 mutants (A23G, R30G, R32G, Q36G, L37G, L40S, and L44G) decreased, indicating that the residues, Ala23, Arg30, Arg32, Gln36, Leu37, Leu40, and Leu44, are also involved in the activity. Three mutants, V29G, K34Q, and K41Q, retained normal activity at pH 6.5, but were less active at pH 7.2, indicating that the residues, Val29, Lys34, and Lys41, are required for the protein's action at higher pH. The effects of 6 mutants (D26A, E35V, H39N, H39R, K46Q, and K49Q) were slight or undetectable, and the residues Asp26, Glu35, His39, Lys46, and Lys49 thus appear to be dispensable. The mutant E21A retained normal ATPase inhibitory activity but lacked pH-sensitivity. Competition experiments suggested that the 5 inactivated mutants (F17S, R20G, R22G, E25A, and F28S) could still bind to the inhibitory site on F(1)F(o)-ATPase. These results show that the region from the position 17 to 28 of the yeast inhibitor is the most important for its activity and is required for the inhibition of F(1), rather than binding to the enzyme.