Isolation, characterization, and esterase and CO2 hydration activities of ubiquitin from bovine erythrocytes

Ubiquitin was isolated from bovine erythrocytes by a relatively simple procedure involving extraction with chloroform and ethanol, chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, and gel filtration. Amino acid and partial sequence analyses showed it to be identical to previously isolated material. Ubiquitin released p-nitrophenolate from p-nitrophenyl acetate, but did not cleave other esterase substrates that were tested. It had a turnover number of 116 mmol for p-nitrophenyl acetate at pH 7.7 and 30 degrees C, and this activity was relatively stable to heat treatment. Electrophoretic studies indicated that the ubiquitin was sequentially acetylated by p-nitrophenyl acetate, as judged by the appearance of more anodically migrating components. The reactions of ubiquitin with p-nitrophenyl acetate at pH 7.0 were biphasic and consisted of (a) an initial phase, during which the release of p-nitrophenol resulted from monoacetylation of the ubiquitin and from ubiquitin-catalyzed hydrolysis of the ester; and (b) a second phase, during which the release of p-nitrophenol resulted only from the breakdown and reformation of the acetyl-enzyme complex. Ubiquitin also showed CO2 hydration activity and could be localized following gel electrophoresis by the CO2-bromthymol blue staining method. The strong inhibitor of carbonic anhydrase, acetazolamide, also inhibited the CO2 hydration activity and p-nitrophenyl acetate activity of ubiquitin. An antibody against this protein did not precipitate bovine carbonic anhydrase II. The esterase activity of ubiquitin was much higher than those previously reported for the carbonic anhydrases.     

Purification and characterization of ubiquitin from mammalian testis

Ubiquitin was extracted from testis of 4 mammals and purified to homogeneity by gel filtration chromatography. Amino acid compositions and NH2-terminal sequences were found to be identical in the 4 species and with calf thymus ubiquitin. Ubiquitin conformation was shown to be very sensitive to oxidation. Improved methods for radioimmunoassay of ubiquitin in tissue extracts are also discussed.     

The human ubiquitin multigene family: some genes contain multiple directly repeated ubiquitin coding sequences.

Ubiquitin coding sequences were isolated from a human genomic library and two cDNA libraries. One human ubiquitin gene consists of 2055 nucleotides and codes for a polyprotein consisting of 685 amino acid residues. The polyprotein contains nine direct repeats of the ubiquitin amino acid sequence and the last ubiquitin sequence is extended with an additional valyl residue at the C-terminal end. No spacer sequences separate the ubiquitin repeats and the coding regions are not interrupted by intervening sequences. This particular gene is transcribed since cDNAs corresponding to the genomic sequence have been isolated. At least two more types of ubiquitin genes are encoded in the human genome, one coding for an ubiquitin monomer while another presumably codes for three or four direct repeats of the ubiquitin sequence. Human DNA contains many copies of the ubiquitin sequence. Ubiquitin is therefore encoded in the human genome as a multigene family.     

Interactions between the quality control ubiquitin ligase CHIP and ubiquitin conjugating enzymes

Background  

Ubiquitin (E3) ligases interact with specific ubiquitin conjugating (E2) enzymes to ubiquitinate particular substrate proteins. As the combination of E2 and E3 dictates the type and biological consequence of ubiquitination, it is important to understand the basis of specificity in E2:E3 interactions. The E3 ligase CHIP interacts with Hsp70 and Hsp90 and ubiquitinates client proteins that are chaperoned by these heat shock proteins. CHIP interacts with two types of E2 enzymes, UbcH5 and Ubc13-Uev1a. It is unclear, however, why CHIP binds these E2 enzymes rather than others, and whether CHIP interacts preferentially with UbcH5 or Ubc13-Uev1a, which form different types of polyubiquitin chains.     

Dissociation and in vitro reconstitution of bovine liver uridine diphosphoglucose dehydrogenase. The paired subunit nature of the enzyme

Uridine diphosphoglucose dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.22: UDPglucose dehydrogenase) at pH 5.5-7.8 is a stable homohexamer of 305 +/- 7 kDa that does not undergo concentration-dependent dissociation at enzyme concentrations greater than 5 micrograms/mL. Chemical cross-linking of the native enzyme at varying glutaraldehyde concentrations yields dimers, tetramers, and hexamers; at greater than 2% (w/v) glutaraldehyde, plateau values of 21% monomers, 16% dimers, 5% tetramers, and 58% hexamers are obtained. Dissociation at acid pH (pH 2.3) or in 4-6 M guanidine hydrochloride leads to inactive monomers (Mr 52,000). Denaturation at increasing guanidine hydrochloride concentration reveals separable unfolding steps suggesting the typical domain structure of dehydrogenases holds for the present enzyme. At greater than 4 M guanidine hydrochloride complete randomization of the polypeptide chains is observed after 10-min denaturation. Reconstitution of the native hexamer after dissociation/denaturation has been monitored by reactivation and glutaraldehyde fixation. The kinetics may be described in terms of a sequential uni-bimolecular model, governed by rate-determining folding and association steps at the monomer level. Trimeric intermediates do not appear in significant amounts. Reactivation is found to parallel hexamer formation. Structural changes during reconstitution (monitored by circular dichroism) are characterized by complex kinetics, indicating the rapid formation of "structured monomers" (with most of the native secondary structure) followed by slow "reshuffling" prior to subunit association. The final product of reconstitution is indistinguishable from the initial native enzyme.     

Purification of horseradish peroxidase conjugated IGG by affinity chromatography. Comparison of glutaraldehyde and periodate conjugation]

By affinity chromatography of the coupling mixture on Concanavalin-A-Sepharose unlabeled IgG is completely removed. HRP conjugated IgG is then separated from free HRP by gelfiltration. Glutaraldehyde conjugation yielded 20 to 68% unlabeled IgG, depending on the duration of glutaraldehyde addition, and periodate conjugation yielded 10 to 28% unlabeled IgG. By this method fractions of conjugates with 3fold spec. act. were obtained by the glutaraldehydemethod and with 1.6fold spec. act. by periodate method as compared with gelfiltration. The periodate method guarantees a 3fold higher yield of HRP-labeled IgG compares with glutaraldehyde method. Both methods produce conjugates of the same spec. act. although the denaturation of HRP is much greater at periodate conjugation. When applying of affinity chromatography and gelfiltration. Crude HRP with 7% spec. act. of purified HRP resulted in conjugates having a spec. act. of 85% of those with purified HRP.     

Glutaraldehyde fixation of boar spermatozoa for acrosome evaluation

The acrosome morphology, as assessed by phase-contrast microscopy, was not altered by fixing boar spermatozoa with 0.1 to 2% glutaraldehyde in comparison to spermatozoa inhibited with NaF. The acrosome morphology of glutaraldehyde-fixed samples remained unchanged for 14 days.Boar semen diluted and stored in Beltsville L1 (BL1), egg-yolk-glucose-bicarbonate (EGB), and Beltsville F5 (BF5) could be fixed with glutaraldehyde for acrosome evaluation if the supernatant solution containing egg yolk was removed immediately after glutaraldehyde addition. Spermatozoa extended in Beltsville F3 (BF3) extender could not be microscopically evaluated after glutaraldehyde fixation because of casein precipitation. Acrosome morphology of glutaraldehyde-fixed boar spermatozoa remained unchanged for at least 19 days holding at room temperature or shipping by parcel post.     

Immobilization of glycoenzymes using crude concanavalin A and glutaraldehyde

Insoluble concanavalin A complexes of glucose oxidase and amyloglucosidase have been prepared by mixing the glycoenzyme solutions with either pure concanavalin A or a buffer extract of jackbean meal. The complexes obtained using excess lectin exhibited relatively low specific activity compared with those obtained with low lectin concentration. The crosslinked complexes, however, exhibited relatively higher thermostability. In addition, glutaraldehyde treated concanavalin A-glucose oxidase complexes, especially those prepared using excess lectin, exhibited significantly broader pH-activity profiles compared to the soluble enzyme. Electrophoresis of the concanavalin A-glucose oxidase and concanavalin A-amyloglucosidase from pure lectin and from crude extract showed similar protein composition. The concanavalin A-amyloglucosidase complex was crosslinked to obtain relatively large (0.15–0.17 mm diameter) and homogeneous particles by treatment with 2% glutaraldehyde followed by homogenization. Glutaraldehyde treatment, however, caused a marked decrease in the retained activity of the particles, especially on starch. The crosslinked concanavalin A-amyloglucosidase preparations were, however, only slightly more stable against thermal denaturation than the soluble enzyme.     

Freeze-fracture analysis of isolated liver mitochondria in different metabolic states

Isolated liver mitochondria were crosslinked with glutaraldehyde during different respiratory states and then analyzed either by freeze-fracturing, or in thin sections prepared according to a low denaturation embedding technique. In freeze-fractured material, large intracristal spaces were found in 86% of the mitochondria freshly isolated in a sucrose medium. These results were in good agreement with mitochondria analyzed in thin sections, in which case 88% of the mitochondria contained intracristal spaces. In freeze-fractured mitochondria, only 24% of the mitochondria crosslinked after 3 min in respiratory state 4 contained intracristal spaces, while 36% of the mitochondria contained intracristal spaces during state 3. These values compared favorably with those obtained in embedded material in which case 21 and 41% of the mitochondria contained intracristal spaces during states 3 and 4, respectively. The agreement between the observations made with the two methods demonstrated that the disappearance of intracristal spaces is independent of the embedding technique, and is not a special effect caused by dehydration in ethylene glycol.     

A perturbed ubiquitin landscape distinguishes between ubiquitin in trafficking and in proteolysis

Any of seven lysine residues on ubiquitin can serve as the base for chain-extension, resulting in a sizeable spectrum of ubiquitin modifications differing in chain length or linkage type. By optimizing a procedure for rapid lysis, we charted the profile of conjugated cellular ubiquitin directly from whole cell extract. Roughly half of conjugated ubiquitin (even at high molecular weights) was nonextended, consisting of monoubiquitin modifications and chain terminators (endcaps). Of extended ubiquitin, the primary linkages were via Lys48 and Lys63. All other linkages were detected, contributing a relatively small portion that increased at lower molecular weights. In vivo expression of lysineless ubiquitin (K0 Ub) perturbed the ubiquitin landscape leading to elevated levels of conjugated ubiquitin, with a higher mono-to-poly ratio. Affinity purification of these trapped conjugates identified a comprehensive list of close to 900 proteins including novel targets. Many of the proteins enriched by K0 ubiquitination were membrane-associated, or involved in cellular trafficking. Prime among them are components of the ESCRT machinery and adaptors of the Rsp5 E3 ubiquitin ligase. Ubiquitin chains associated with these substrates were enriched for Lys63 linkages over Lys48, indicating that K0 Ub is unevenly distributed throughout the ubiquitinome. Biological assays validated the interference of K0 Ub with protein trafficking and MVB sorting, minimally affecting Lys48-dependent turnover of proteasome substrates. We conclude that despite the shared use of the ubiquitin molecule, the two branches of the ubiquitin machinery--the ubiquitin-proteasome system and the ubiquitin trafficking system--were unevenly perturbed by expression of K0 ubiquitin.     

Hul5 ubiquitin ligase

Failure to eliminate abnormal proteins in the cell is associated with numerous aggregation diseases. Misfolded proteins are normally detected by protein quality control and either refolded or eliminated. The ubiquitin-proteasome system is a major pathway that degrades these unwanted proteins. Ubiquitin ligases are central to these degradation pathways as they recognize aberrant proteins and covalently attach a polyubiquitin chain to target them to the proteasome. We discovered that the Hul5 ubiquitin ligase is a major player in a novel protein quality control pathway that targets cytosolic misfolded proteins. Hul5 is required for the maintenance of cell fitness and the increased ubiquitination of low solubility proteins after heat-shock in yeast cells. We identified several low-solubility substrates of Hul5, including the prion-like protein Pin3. It is now apparent that in the cytoplasm, misfolded proteins can be targeted by multiple degradation pathways. In this review, we discuss how the Hul5 protein quality control pathway may specifically target low solubility cytosolic proteins in the cell.     

Interaction of the Bacillus subtilis spore protoplast, cortex, ion-exchange and coatless forms with glutaraldehyde

G orman , S.P. S cott , E.M. H utchinson , E.P. 1984. Interaction of the Bacillus subtilis spore protoplast, cortex, ion-exchange and coatless forms with glutaraldehyde. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 56 , 95–102.
Bacillus subtilis spores with altered ionic content were tested for their susceptibility to lysis with lysozyme or sodium nitrite following treatment with glutaraldehyde. The Ca-form was more sensitive to glutaraldehyde (pH 4.0.and pH 7.9) than the untreated or H-form. Removal of spore coat dramatically increased sensitivity of the spore to glutaraldehyde. Pretreatment of spores, the coats of which had been extensively removed, with glutaraldehyde (pH 7.9) reduced the rate of lysis by lysozyme and by sodium nitrite, whereas glutaraldehyde at pH 4.0.had little effect. Glutaraldehyde pretreatment (pH 4.0 and pH 7.9) reduced the amount of hexosamine released by lysozyme but not by nitrite from isolated cortical fragments. Spore protoplasts were more susceptible to 0.01% (w/v) glutaraldehyde at pH 4.0 and isolated spore coats adsorbed alkaline glutaraldehyde more rapidly. These results are discussed in terms of a possible mode of action of glutaraldehyde on the bacterial spore.     

Mechanism of ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase. Borohydride and hydroxylamine inactivate in the presence of ubiquitin

Ubiquitin (Ub) carboxyl-terminal hydrolase (E) catalyzes the hydrolysis, at the Ub-carboxyl terminus, of a wide variety of C-terminal Ub derivatives. We show that the enzyme is inactivated by millimolar concentrations of either sodium borohydride or hydroxylamine, but only if Ub is present. We have interpreted these results on the assumption that the hydrolase mechanism is one of nucleophilic catalysis with an acyl-Ub-E intermediate. The borohydride-inactivated enzyme has the following properties. It is a stoichiometric complex of E and Ub containing tritium from sodium boro[3H]hydride. This complex is stable at neutral pH in 5 M urea and can be isolated on the basis of size on a sieving column, but a labeled product the size of Ub is released under more strongly denaturing conditions. The "Ub" released in acid is Ub-carboxyl-terminal aldehyde, based on the observations that: it contains the tritium present in the reduced complex and it is able to form the inactive enzyme from a stoichiometric amount of fresh enzyme, and inactivation is accompanied by E-Ub adduct formation; it has chemical properties expected of an aldehyde: after a second reduction of the Ub released with boro[3H]hydride and complete acid hydrolysis, tritium counts are found in ethanolamine (the carboxyl-terminal residue of Ub is glycine). These results suggest that enzyme and Ub combine in an equilibrium reaction to form an ester or thiol ester adduct (at the Ub-carboxyl terminus), and that this adduct is trapped by borohydride to give a very stable inactive E-Ub (thio) hemiacetal which is unable to undergo a second reduction step and which can release Ub-aldehyde in mild acid. Inactivation in the presence of hydroxylamine of hydrolase occurs once during hydrolysis of 1200 molecules of Ub-hydroxamate by the enzyme. The hydrolysis/inactivation ratio is constant over the range of 10-50 mM hydroxylamine showing that forms of E-Ub with which hydroxylamine and water react are different and not in rapid equilibrium. The inactive enzyme may be an acylhydroxamate formed from an E-Ub mixed anhydride generated from the E-Ub (thiol) ester inferred from the borohydride study. A direct radioactive assay for the hydrolase has been developed using the Ub-C-terminal amide of [3H]butanol-4-amine as substrate.     

Testosterone processing by pituitary cells in culture: an examination of the role of 5 alpha-reduction in androgen action on the gonadotroph

Dispersed rat pituitary cells were exposed to [1,2,6,7-3H]testosterone ([3H]T, 10(-8) M) to assess the role of 5 alpha-reduction in T regulation of gonadotroph secretion. After 4 to 48 hours of exposure, [3H]T metabolites isolated by thin-layer chromatography were characterized in medium and cell homogenates as well as bound to androgen receptors salt-extracted from purified nuclear pellets. Receptor-bound 5 alpha-[3H]dihydrotestosterone ([3H]DHT)/total [3H]androgens rose progressively from 16% at 4 hours to more than 50% at 48 hours. Coincubation with 4-MA (10- to 1,000-fold molar excess) or testosterone-17 beta-carboxylic acid (TCA; 1,000-fold excess) reduced receptor-bound [3H]DHT/[3H]androgen to less than 10% and 20%, respectively, but elevated [3H]T-receptor levels. Despite inhibiting 5 alpha-reductase activity, TCA and 4-MA had no effect on T suppression of gonadotropin-releasing hormone-stimulated luteinizing hormone secretion or T enhancement of total (cell + secreted) follicle-stimulating hormone levels. The results suggest that 5 alpha-reduction to DHT is not essential for the expression of the direct influences of T on gonadotropin synthesis and secretion in rat gonadotrophs.     

Characteristics of the turnover of uncoupling protein 3 by the ubiquitin proteasome system in isolated mitochondria

Uncoupling protein 3 (UCP3) is implicated in mild uncoupling and the regulation of mitochondrial ROS production. We previously showed that UCP3 turns over rapidly in C2C12 myoblasts, with a half-life of 0.5-4h, and that turnover can be reconstituted in vitro. We show here that rapid degradation of UCP3 in vitro in isolated brown adipose tissue mitochondria required the 26S proteasome, ubiquitin, ATP, succinate to generate a high membrane potential, and a pH of 7.4 or less. Ubiquitin containing lysine-48 was both necessary and sufficient to support UCP3 degradation, implying a requirement for polyubiquitylation at this residue. The 20S proteasome did not support degradation. UCP3 degradation was prevented by simultaneously blocking matrix ATP generation and import, showing that ATP in the mitochondrial matrix was required. Degradation did not appear to require a transmembrane pH gradient, but was very sensitive to membrane potential: degradation was halved when membrane potential decreased 10-20mV from its resting value, and was not significant below about 120mV. We propose that matrix ATP and a high membrane potential are needed for UCP3 to be polyubiquitylated through lysine-48 of ubiquitin and exported to the cytosolic 26S proteasome, where it is de-ubiquitylated and degraded.     

泛素特异蛋白酶4研究进展

泛素特异蛋白酶4(ubiquitin-specific protease 4,USP4)是一种重要的去泛素化酶,它通过识别特异性靶蛋白,使之去泛素化来阻碍其降解或改变其特性,在肿瘤、病毒感染及多种信号通路中发挥重要调节作用。但目前有关USP4在肿瘤形成和发展过程中究竟行使癌基因抑或是抑癌基因的功能尚存在争议。本文从USP4的结构、功能及信号通路等方面对其研究进展作一介绍。     

The ubiquitin binding domain ZnF UBP recognizes the C-terminal diglycine motif of unanchored ubiquitin

Ubiquitin binding proteins regulate the stability, function, and/or localization of ubiquitinated proteins. Here we report the crystal structures of the zinc-finger ubiquitin binding domain (ZnF UBP) from the deubiquitinating enzyme isopeptidase T (IsoT, or USP5) alone and in complex with ubiquitin. Unlike other ubiquitin binding domains, this domain contains a deep binding pocket where the C-terminal diglycine motif of ubiquitin is inserted, thus explaining the specificity of IsoT for an unmodified C terminus on the proximal subunit of polyubiquitin. Mutations in the domain demonstrate that it is required for optimal catalytic activation of IsoT. This domain is present in several other protein families, and the ZnF UBP domain from an E3 ligase also requires the C terminus of ubiquitin for binding. These data suggest that binding the ubiquitin C terminus may be necessary for the function of other proteins.     

Glucose metabolism in proliferating epithelial cells from the rat colon.

1. The effects of fasting and fasting followed by refeeding on the activities of the oxidative pentose pathway (OPP) and the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) in isolated rat colonocytes were estimated by the rate of production of 14CO2 from [1-14C]glucose and [6-14C]glucose, respectively. 2. Refeeding after a fast induced a 2-3-fold increase in glucose flux through the OPP and TCA cycle and the degree of change was similar in colonocytes from the proximal and distal colon. 3. Butyrate at a concentration of 40 mM inhibited the OPP by 20-30% (P less than 0.05) but had no effect on the activity of the TCA cycle. Glutamine at a concentration of 2 mM decreased the glucose flux through both the OPP and the TCA cycle by 30-50% (P less than 0.05). 4. Production of 14CO2 from the oxidation of butyrate or glucose indicated that the former was 5-7 times more active in colonocytes from fasted rats. After refeeding, however, butyrate utilization was similar to fasting values in the proximal colon but significantly lower (P less than 0.05) in the distal colon.