Molecular assessment of the elastic properties of collagen-like homotrimer sequences

Knowledge of the mechanical behavior of collagen molecules is critical for understanding the mechanical properties of collagen fibrils that constitute the main architectural building block of a number of connective tissues. In this study, the elastic properties of four different type I collagen 30-residue long molecular sequences, were studied by performing stretching simulations using the molecular mechanics approach. The energy–molecular length relationship was achieved by means of the geometry optimization procedure for collagen molecule strains up to 10%. The energy was interpolated by a second order function, and the second order of the derivative with respect to the mean length corresponded to the molecule stiffness. According to the hypothesis of linear elastic behavior, except for one sequence, the elastic modulus was around 2.40 GPa. These values are larger than fibril values, and they confirm the hypothesis that tendon mechanical properties are deeply related to tendon hierarchical structure. A possible explanation of the lowest values obtained for one sequence (1.33–1.53 GPa) is provided and discussed.     

Tissue distribution of radioiodinated neoglycoproteins and mammalian lectins

Quantitation of tissue distribution of radioiodinated neoglycoproteins 1 h after intravenous injection into mice allowed to evaluate their suitability to uncover potential selectivity in tracer retention. Variations within the panel of neoglycoproteins were introduced to the carbohydrate determinant, its density and linkage to the carrier. Five arrays of neoglycoproteins, encompassing up to twelve different carbohydrate moieties were used. The individual response on the level of organ content showed differences, accounted for by carbohydrate structure and density. However, increase in sugar density eventually caused general decrease in tissue retention, emphasizing the importance of synthetic parameters. Attachment of sugar residues to the spacer via primarily the C-6 group of monosaccharides led to rather prolonged survival in circulation of the resulting neoglycoprotein compared to the application of neoglycoproteins with p-aminophenyl glycosides as derivatives for coupling. Besides applying neoglycoproteins tissue uptake was also measured for several organs, when four mammalian lectins were employed as radiotracers. These lectins bind to cellular carbohydrate ligands, namely beta-galactosides, alpha-fucosides or heparin. Differences were measured for retention in liver, kidneys, spleen, stomach, thymus and bone marrow. The distinct properties of different tissues with respect to binding of neoglycoproteins as well as to endogenous lectins, exhibiting a certain degree of selectivity, are a step within the framework to attempt to therapeutically exploit the carrier potential of probes by recognitive protein-carbohydrate interactions.     

Selectins and other mammalian sialic acid-binding lectins.

Several recently discovered mammalian cell adhesion proteins recognize and bind to sialic acid-containing ligands. Reports concerning the molecular specificities of these interactions have been intriguing but somewhat confusing, partly because of pitfalls in methodology or interpretation. Nevertheless, these protein-carbohydrate recognition phenomena are important in the normal biology of blood cells and in the pathophysiology of many diseases.     

Intracellular lectins associated with N-linked glycoprotein traffic

The vectorial intracellular transport of N-glycan-linked glycoproteins is indispensable for biological functions. In order to sort these glycoproteins to the correct destination, animal intracellular lectins play important roles as sorting receptors. The roles of such lectins in the biosynthetic pathway from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the cell surface are addressed in this review. Calnexin and calreticulin function via specific carbohydrates in quality control of newly synthesized glycoproteins in the ER, and ERGIC-53 seems to function in the transport of glycoproteins from ER to the Golgi complex. In addition to the well-understood role of mannose 6-phosphate receptor in lysosomal protein sorting, the vesicular integral protein of 36 kDa (VIP36) functions as a sorting receptor by recognizing high-mannose type glycans containing alpha1-->2Man residues for transport from Golgi to the cell surface in polarized epithelial cells.     

Isolation and some properties of mammalian hepatic membrane lectins

Membrane lectins were isolated from sheep, goat, and buffalo liver by chromatography on an asialofetuin (ASF)-Sepharose 4B column. The lectins moved as a single protein band in SDS-PAGE with molecular masses of 42, 54 and 50 kDa, respectively, for sheep, goat and buffalo lectins. The molecular masses remained unchanged in 0.2 M 2-mercaptoethanol. As judged from the inhibition of binding of the lectin to ASF gel, the three lectins were beta-galactoside-specific. Sheep, goat and buffalo lectins were found to be sialoglycoproteins containing 18.6, 27 and 38.8 mol/mol lectin of neutral hexose, respectively; the corresponding values for the sialic acid content being 5.3, 8.7 and 11.8 mol/mol lectin. Thus goat and buffalo lectins are physico-chemically different from many mammalian hepatic lectins described so far.     

Characterization of a Trypanosoma cruzi antigen with homology to intracellular mammalian lectins

Two cDNAs, isolated from a Trypanosoma cruzi amastigote library immunoscreened with sera from patients with Chagas disease, encode proteins with sequence homology to eukaryotic components of the cellular sorting and recycling machinery. These proteins, denominated TcAGL, present an N-terminal lectin domain and a C-terminal region containing repetitive amino acids and a poly-glutamine tract. They are products of polymorphic alleles of a single copy gene constitutively expressed during the parasite life cycle. Polyclonal antibodies obtained from mice immunized with the recombinant antigen recognize proteins with apparent molecular weight ranging from 95 to 120 kDa in cell lysates from all three life stages and in various strains of the parasite. Sera from Chagas disease patients recognize the recombinant antigen in ELISA and immunoprecipitation assays but not in Western blot assays under denaturing conditions. Consistent with its proposed role in the glycoprotein secreting pathway, immunofluorescence analyses and expression of a green fluorescent protein-tagged TcAGL protein indicate a sub-cellular localization in the vicinity of the flagellar pocket membrane and the Golgi complex of the parasite.     

CpGProD: identifying CpG islands associated with transcription start sites in large genomic mammalian sequences

RESULTS: CpGProD is an application for identifying mammalian promoter regions associated with CpG islands in large genomic sequences. Although it is strictly dedicated to this particular promoter class corresponding to approximately 50% of the genes, CpGProD exhibits a higher sensitivity and specificity than other tools used for promoter prediction. Notably, CpGProD uses different parameters according to species (human, mouse) studied. Moreover, CpGProD predicts the promoter orientation on the DNA strand. AVAILABILITY: http://pbil.univ-lyon1.fr/software/cpgprod.html SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: http://pbil.univ-lyon1.fr/software/cpgprod.html     

Comparative analysis of galactoside-binding lectins isolated from mammalian spleens

Galactoside-inhibitable lectins have been isolated from rabbit, rat, mouse, pig, lamb, calf, and human spleens. Native molecular mass, subunit structure, pI, and hemagglutinating activity have been compared for these lectins. The yields of lectin varied from 1.8 mg/kg for rabbit spleen to 79 mg/kg for lamb spleen. Pig, lamb, calf, and human spleen lectins yielded single protein peaks when subjected to Superose 12 fast-protein liquid chromatography. The apparent molecular mass for these lectins was 33-34 kDa. In contrast, rat and mouse spleen lectin preparations were separated into three components ranging from 8.4 to 34 kDa. Superose 12 chromatography of rabbit spleen lectin revealed the presence of at least six components. Gradient slab gel sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed the presence of single polypeptides for pig, calf, lamb, and human lectins corresponding to a molecular mass of 14-14.5 kDa. Multiple polypeptides were detected for the mouse, rat, and rabbit lectins. The molecular mass of the major polypeptides were 15, 15, and 17 kDa for rat, mouse, and rabbit, respectively. The presence of isolectins in all preparations was shown by isoelectric focusing. The major isolectins were acidic proteins with pI 4.38-4.80. Hemagglutination and hemagglutination inhibition assays demonstrated similarities as well as differences among the lectin preparations. Hemagglutinating activity could not be demonstrated in rabbit spleen extracts nor for isolated putative lectin. Human buffy coat cells were reversibly agglutinated by calf and human spleen lectins, demonstrating the presence of leucocyte cell surface lectin receptors.     

Signature of quaternary structure in the sequences of legume lectins.

Legume lectins exhibit a wide variety of oligomerization and sugar specificity while retaining the characteristic jelly-roll tertiary fold. An attempt has been made here to find whether this diversity is reflected in their primary structures by constructing phylogenetic trees. Dendrograms based on sequence alignment showed clustering related to the oligomeric nature of legume lectins. Though the clustering primarily follows the oligomeric states, it also appears to correlate with different sugar specificities indicating an interdependence of these two properties. Analysis of the structure-based alignment and the alignment of the sequences of the carbohydrate-binding loops alone also revealed the same features. By a close examination of the interfaces of the various oligomers it was also possible, in some cases, to pinpoint a few key residues responsible for the stabilization of the interfaces.     

Development of mouse embryos in media containing lectins

Lectins known to stimulate mitosis in cultured cells were evaluated for effects on development of mouse embryos in vitro. Two-cell mouse embryos were cultured in one of the following treatments: Whitten's medium as the control medium; Whitten's medium with 1, 10 or 100 mug/ml concanavalin A; Whitten's medium with 1, 10 or 100 mug/ml leucoagglutinin; Whitten's medium with 1, 10 or 100 mug/ml phytohemagglutinin; Whitten's medium with 1, 10 or 100 mug/ml pokeweed-mitogen; and Whitten's medium with 1, 10 or 100 mug/ml wheat germ agglutinin. Development to the morula stage was blocked in media with 100 mug/ml concanavalin A and 10 and 100 mug/ml wheat germ agglutinin, whereas blastocyst formation was blocked in all pokeweed-mitogen supplemented media. Embryos incubated in 10 and 100 mug/ml wheat germ agglutinin underwent premature cavitation or vacuolation at 24 to 48 h of culture. More embryos formed blastocysts in media with 1 and 100 mug/ml phytohemagglutinin and 10 mug/ml leucoagglutinin than in Whitten's medium (P<0.05). The percentage of embryos hatching was greatest in 1 mug/ml phytohemagglutinin (P<0.05), but it was the same in Whitten's medium, 1 mug/ml concanavalin A and 1 mug/ml leucoagglutinin (P>0.05). Cell division was not stimulated by the lectins; however, it was significantly suppressed in media with 10 and 100 mug/ml concanavalin A, 100 mug/ml phytohemagglutinin, 1, 10 and 100 mug/ml pokeweed-mitogen, and 10 and 100 mug/ml wheat germ agglutinin. Solubility of the zona pellucida in sodium isothicyanate (NaSCN) was reduced in 100 mug/ml phytohemagglutinin, 100 mug/ml leucoagglutinin and 1 mug/ml wheat germ agglutinin media (P<0.05) when compared to Whitten's medium and may have accounted for the reduced hatching observed in these treatments. Development of isolated blastomeres into blastocysts was reduced in media with 1 mug/ml wheat germ agglutinin, 1 mug/ml concanavalin A, and 10 and 100 mug/ml leucoagglutinin (P<0.05) but was similar in media with 1 mug/ml leucoagglutinin and 1, 10 and 100 mug/ml phytohemagglutinin when compared to Whitten's medium (P>0.05). The extent of embryo development in media with lectins depended upon the degree of cytotoxicity and potential biochemical modifications induced in the zona pellucida. Greatest embryo development took place in medium with 1 mug/ml phytohemagglutinin; however, the mechanism was not that of stimulation of cell division or a change in zona pellucida solubility.     

Interaction between lectins and neoglycoproteins containing new sialylated glycosynthons

Neoglycoconjugates are useful tools to study carbohydrate/protein interactions. In order to discover new lectins, to define their fine specificity or to study their intracellular trafficking, there is a need for neoglycoconjugates containing complex oligosaccharides. We recently set up a simple way to transform native oligosaccharides into glycosynthons. The present paper describes i[emsp4 ]) the synthesis of such glycosynthons starting with sialylated oligosides, ii[emsp4 ]) the preparation of sialylated neoglycoproteins and iii[emsp4 ]) their binding to sialic acid-specific lectins assessed by surface plasmon resonance experiments.     

Current knowledge about presumable functions of plant lectins

Current data on the diversity of plant lectins and their functional importance for plants, caused primarily by their capacity to link carbohydrate ligands specifically and convertibly, are reviewed. For instance, the role of plant lectins in the recognition of alien organisms and in the adaptation of plants to various stress-induced effects is discussed. In addition to centres of specific affinity to carbohydrates, plant lectins are characterized by the presence of sites responsible for hydrophobic interactions with non-carbohydrate molecules. These sites link to plant hormones, proteins, and other metabolites, thus participating in the regulation of metabolic processes controlling growth, development, and differentiation in plants. The structure and biological properties of ribosome-inactivating proteins having and not having lectin activity are discussed, as well as their role in plant protection from pests and pathogens. Current data on the assumed functions of the independent groups of plant lectins with specific endogenic role are given. These include chitin-specific lectins synthesized in phloem, which are capable of forming protein-protein and RNA-protein complexes and translocating via vessels, which thus play their specific intra- or intercellular interactions, processes of growth, development, and protection of plants. Other groups of plant lectins, induced by jasmonate, such as Nictaba (Nicotiana tabaccum agglutinin), and cereal lectins related to jacalin, which are localised in the cytoplasm and nucleus, probably play regulatory role in the formation of stress response in plants. The structure and currently discussed functions of wheat germ agglutinin, a typical representative of cereal lectins, are analysed in detail.     

Circular YAC vectors containing short mammalian origin sequences are maintained under selection as HeLa episomes

pYACneo, a 15.8-kb plasmid, contains a bacterial origin, G418-resistance gene, and yeast ARS, CEN, and TEL elements. Three mammalian origins have been cloned into this circular vector: 343, a 448-bp chromosomal origin from a transcribed region of human chromosome 6q; X24, a 4.3-kb element containing the hamster DHFR origin of bidirectional replication (oribeta), and S3, a 1.1-kb human anti-cruciform purified autonomously replicating sequence. The resulting constructs have been transfected into HeLa cells, and G418-resistant subcultures were isolated. The frequency of G418-resistant transformation was 1.7-8.7 times higher with origin-containing YACneo than with vector alone. After >45 generations under G418 selection, the presence of episomal versus integrated constructs was assessed by fluctuation assay and by PCR of supercoiled, circular, and linear genomic cellular DNAs separated on ethidium bromide-cesium chloride gradients. In stable G418-resistant subcultures transfected with vector alone or with linearized constructs, as well as in some subcultures transfected with circular origin-containing constructs, resistance was conferred by integration into the host genome. However, several examples were found of G418-resistant transfectants maintaining the Y.343 and the YAC.S3 circular constructs in a strictly episomal state after long-term culture in selective medium, with 80-90% stability per cell division. The episomes were found to replicate semiconservatively in a bromodeoxyuridine pulse-labeling assay for 相似文献   

Homologous sequences in proteins with different functions

Data on the primary structure of approximately 250 proteins and regulatory peptides are presented. It was shown that functionally different proteins contain homologous sequencies. Growth hormone molecule contains homologous sequencies to several proteins. On the whole, polypeptide hormones more frequently, as compared to other proteins, contained sequencies, which are homologous to fragments of proteins with various functions. Evolutionary aspects of multiple relations between proteins are discussed.