Correlation between Binding Affinity and Necrosis-Inducing Activity of Mutant AVR9 Peptide Elicitors

The race-specific peptide elicitor AVR9 of the fungus Cladosporium fulvum induces a hypersensitive response only in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) plants carrying the complementary resistance gene Cf-9 (MoneyMaker-Cf9). A binding site for AVR9 is present on the plasma membranes of both resistant and susceptible tomato genotypes. We used mutant AVR9 peptides to determine the relationship between elicitor activity of these peptides and their affinity to the binding site in the membranes of tomato. Mutant AVR9 peptides were purified from tobacco (Nicotiana clevelandii) inoculated with recombinant potato virus X expressing the corresponding avirulence gene Avr9. In addition, several AVR9 peptides were synthesized chemically. Physicochemical techniques revealed that the peptides were correctly folded. Most mutant AVR9 peptides purified from potato virus X::Avr9-infected tobacco contain a single N-acetylglucosamine. These glycosylated AVR9 peptides showed a lower affinity to the binding site than the nonglycosylated AVR9 peptides, whereas their necrosis-inducing activity was hardly changed. For both the nonglycosylated and the glycosylated mutant AVR9 peptides, a positive correlation between their affinity to the membrane-localized binding site and their necrosis-inducing activity in MoneyMaker-Cf9 tomato was found. The perception of AVR9 in resistant and susceptible plants is discussed.     

The C-terminal Peptide of Chondroadherin Modulates Cellular Activity by Selectively Binding to Heparan Sulfate Chains

Chondroadherin, a leucine-rich repeat family member, contains a very C-terminal sequence CKFPTKRSKKAGRH³⁵⁹, now shown to bind to heparin with a K_D of 13 μm. This observation led us to investigate whether chondroadherin interacts via this C-terminal heparin-binding domain with glycosaminoglycan chains of proteoglycans at the cell surface. Cells were shown to bind this heparin-binding peptide in FACS analysis, and the interaction was shown to be with glycosaminoglycans because it was abolished when sulfation was inhibited by chlorate treatment of the cells. In separate experiments, heparin and heparan sulfate inhibited the peptide interaction in a dose-dependent manner. Using a human chondrosarcoma and a murine osteoblast cell line, heparan sulfate proteoglycans were identified as the cell surface receptors involved in the binding. Different binding syndecans were identified in the two different cell lines, indicating that the same protein core of a proteoglycan may have structural and functional differences in the attached heparan sulfate chains. Upon binding to coated peptide, cells spread, demonstrating engagement of the cytoskeleton, but no focal adhesion complex was formed. The number of cells adhering via their β₁ integrin receptor to collagen type II or chondroadherin was profoundly and rapidly enhanced by the addition of the heparin-binding peptide. The peptide added to the cells caused ERK phosphorylation, showing that it triggered intracellular signaling. The results show that heparan sulfate chains differ between various members of the proteoglycan families on a given cell, but also differ between the same proteoglycan on different cells with a potential for differential regulation of cellular activities.     

内毒素结合肽的原核表达、纯化及生物学活性鉴定

重组人内毒素结合肽 (endotoxinbindingpeptide ,EBP)融合蛋白在大肠杆菌中表达 ,分离和纯化后对其进行生物学活性观察 .将构建好的PinpointⅩa3 EBP生物素融合表达载体转化大肠杆菌DH5α ,IPTG诱导表达菌株 ,亲和层析法纯化表达产物 ,因子Ⅹa(factorⅩa)切割分离内毒素结合肽 ,采用凝胶过滤和反相液相高效色谱法两步纯化 ,从相对分子质量、N端 1 0个氨基酸的序列分析等方面进行鉴定 ;利用人单核细胞U937对重组内毒素结合肽进行了生物学活性的检测 .结果发现 ,内毒素结合肽以包涵体形式存在 ,因子Ⅹa酶切融合蛋白后得到 3 5kD的内毒素结合肽 ,纯化后内毒素结合肽纯度达 99%以上 ,N端 1 0个氨基酸的分析结果与预期相符 ;初步证实内毒素结合肽具有较好的LPS结合活性 ,能够抑制LPS的作用 .经原核表达及纯化复性 ,获得了具有较好生物学活性的内毒素结合肽 ,为进一步研究其功能奠定了良好的基础     

草鱼穿孔素C端溶细胞活性分析

穿孔素的溶细胞作用是机体杀伤病毒和其他微生物感染细胞以及肿瘤细胞的一种效应机制。穿孔素在鱼类非特异性免疫中起重要作用。为了解鱼类穿孔素的功能,根据穿孔素基因序列特征,在已构建的草鱼肝肾cDNA文库中克隆了草鱼穿孔素基因C端包含1个完整蛋白激酶C保守结构域(C2)的cDNA。将该cDNA与表达载体pET32a连接并转化表达菌DE3,诱导表达。His-Bind亲和柱纯化获得了草鱼穿孔素C端表达多肽(PFP-C)。将PFP-C与兔红细胞共育,结果表明：PFP-C具有溶血功能,且在pH 7.5时活性最大,其溶血活性对Ca2+有明显的依赖性。     

肌抑素(Myostatin)基因突变体活性区的克隆、表达及活性的研究

肌抑素Myostatin是肌肉发育的重要抑制因子,肌抑素的突变,使其抑制功能的全部或几乎全部丧失,表现为肌肉细胞的增大和肌纤维束的增加。采用PCR技术,从肌抑素天然突变的双肌牛皮尔蒙特（Piedmontese）的基因组中扩增得到肌抑素突变体的活性区,并将其亚克隆到pMD18T载体上,利用基因重组技术,构建原核表达质粒pET30a(+)/action/Myostatin,在大肠杆菌中高效表达,采用亲和层析法纯化表达产物,并将其共孵育于离体培养的绵羊肌肉细胞,检测肌抑素突变体的生化活性,结果显示肌抑素的突变体具有促进肌肉细胞增生和增殖的功能。     

人酪酪肽及其衍生物的克隆、表达及活性测定

酪酪肽(peptide tyrosine tyrosine, PYY)是存在于机体肠道的肽类激素,有 PYY_1-36和PYY_3-36两种形式,后者可以降低个体食欲并减少食物摄入。分别通过人工合成基因和PCR定点突变的方法,得到PYY_3-36衍生物PYY_3-36-Gly³⁷及PYY_3-36的基因,然后克隆到pET32a(+)表达载体中,转化大肠杆菌并进行诱导表达。通过亲和层析得到融合蛋白,经肠激酶酶切和二次亲和层析得到目的多肽。在昆明鼠体内检测二者生物活性,结果显示剂量为800μg/kg时PYY_3-36及PYY_3-36-Gly³⁷均可抑制昆明鼠的摄食,且抑制作用可达9h,而PYY_3-36-Gly³⁷组的平均抑制率可达50%,明显高于PYY_3-36。     

Fusion of Carbohydrate Binding Modules to Bifunctional Cellulase to Enhance Binding Affinity and Cellulolytic Activity

Bifunctional cellulase (glycoside hydrolase 5, GH5) from Bacillus sp. D04 having both endo- and exoglucanase activities was fused with two types of carbohydrate binding modules (CBMs). CBM3 from Bacillus sp. D04 and CBM9 from Thermotoga maritima Xyn10A were added to GH5 to hydrolyze microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel) as well as water-soluble cellulose (carboxymethyl cellulose, CMC). The optimum temperature of GH5 was 50oC, while it increased to 60oC for the fusion GH5-CBM3 and GH5-CBM9, indicating that addition of CBM increased the thermostability of the enzyme. Addition of CBM3 and CBM9 enhanced the GH5 affinity (K_M), for which K_M decreased from 104 to 33.9 ~ 35.1 mg/mL for CMC, and from 115 to 55.5 ~ 80.3 mg/mL for Avicel, respectively. The catalytic efficiency (k_cat/K_M) also increased from 4.80 to 5.36 ~ 6.46 (mL/mg)/sec for CMC, and from 1.77 to 2.40 ~ 4.45 (mL/mg)/sec for Avicel, respectively, by addition of CBM3 and CBM9.     

The C19S Substitution Enhances the Stability of Hepcidin While Conserving Its Biological Activity

Hepcidin, the key hormone of iron homeostasis is responsible for lowering the serum iron level through its interaction with iron exporter ferroportin. Thus, hepcidin agonists provide a promising opportunity in the treatment of iron disorders caused by lacking or decreased hepcidin expression. We investigated the importance of each of the eight highly conserved cysteines for the biological activity of hepcidin. Eight cysteine mutants were created with site directed mutagenesis. The binding ability of these hepcidin mutants to the hepcidin receptor ferroportin was determined using bacterial two-hybrid system and WRL68 human hepatic cells. The biological activity of hepcidin mutants was determined by western blot analysis of ferroportin internalization and ferroportin ubiquitination. To investigate the effect of mutant hepcidins on the iron metabolism of the WRL68 cells, total intracellular iron content was measured with a colorimetric assay. The stability of M6 hepcidin mutant was determined using ELISA technique. Our data revealed that serine substitution of the sixth cysteine (M6) yielded a biologically active but significantly more stable peptide than the original hormone. This result may provide a promising hepcidin agonist worth testing in animal models.     

肿瘤抑素抗肿瘤相关肽的克隆及生物活性

为得到肿瘤抑素中具有直接抗肿瘤活性肽并检测其生物学活性,人工合成肿瘤抑素中185～2 0 3位氨基酸(19肽)所对应的核苷酸序列,将其连接到融合蛋白表达载体pTYB2中,酶切和测序鉴定后,转化到大肠杆菌BL 2 1(DE3)中诱导表达.表达的融合蛋白经几丁质亲和层析、二硫苏糖醇(DTT)的柱内还原,直接获得可溶性19肽.利用MTT法,细胞生长曲线,小鼠H2 2腹水型转移型肝癌实体瘤模型抑瘤实验并结合组织病理学切片,研究19肽的生物学活性.获得的19肽对B16小鼠黑色素瘤细胞、人SMMC 772 1肝癌细胞、人脐静脉内皮细胞的生长均具有抑制作用.小鼠H2 2腹水型肝癌抑瘤率达4 8 4 6 % .病理学切片显示,19肽可促使小鼠肿瘤组织坏死,血管数量减少.19肽具有较强的直接抗肿瘤活性,有可能成为肿瘤治疗的一种新的有前景的药物.     

A Tumor-Penetrating Peptide Modification Enhances the Antitumor Activity of Thymosin Alpha 1

A serious limitation of numerous antitumor drugs is the incapacity to penetrate solid tumors. However, addition of an RGD fragment to peptide drugs might solve this problem. In this study, we explored whether the introduction of a permeability-enhancing sequence, such as iRGD (CRGDK/RGPD/EC) fragments, would enhance the activity of thymosin alpha 1 (Tα1). The modified Tα1 (Tα1-iRGD) was successfully expressed and purified, and the in vitro assay showed that Tα1-iRGD presented a similar activity as Tα1 in promoting proliferation of mouse splenocytes. Meanwhile, cell adhesion analysis revealed that Tα1-iRGD exhibited more specific and greater binding with tumor cells compared with Tα1. Furthermore, the iRGD fragment evidently enhanced the basal ability of Tα1 to inhibit proliferation of cancer cells in vitro, particularly of mouse melanoma cell line B16F10 and human lung cancer cell line H460. Our findings indicated that the addition of an iRGD fragment increased the anti-proliferative activity of Tα1 against cancer cells by improving the ability of Tα1 to penetrate the tumor cells. This study highlighted the important roles of an iRGD sequence in the therapeutic strategy of Tα1-iRGD. Thus, Tα1-iRGD could be a novel drug candidate for cancer treatment.     

靶向肽位置影响融合蛋白与细胞结合活性

目的:探讨靶向多肽与标签蛋白(绿色荧光蛋白)的位置关系是否会影响融合蛋白与细胞之间的结合能力。方法:将获得的GE11和LyP1两种靶向多肽分别与增强型绿色荧光蛋白在不同位置融合表达,通过原核系统表达纯化,将纯化的蛋白加入血清饥饿的SMMC-7721肝癌细胞株培养液中,处理3h,通过荧光显微镜观察细胞中绿色荧光蛋白的情况检查融合多肽与细胞的结合情况。结果:绿色荧光蛋白的羧基端和GE11、LyP1多肽分别融合表达,处理细胞后,融合蛋白显示与细胞有很强的结合能力;当GE11、LyP1在绿色荧光蛋白氨基端融合时,融合蛋白几乎不能与细胞结合。在此基础上,检测了多种靶向肽对多种细胞的靶向效应。结论:不合适的融合策略会降低,甚至消除靶向多肽的结合能力;融合大分子量蛋白也会改变靶向肽的靶向效应。因此,当使用靶向多肽携带基因进行研究时,其在融合蛋白中的位置应该非常谨慎。     

两个改造后的肿瘤抑素抗肿瘤活性肽活性研究

为了研究改造后的肿瘤抑素2个抗肿瘤活性肽的作用机制,明确其不同的抗肿瘤活性,采用基因工程技术原理,人工合成肿瘤抑素中185～203位氨基酸所对应的19肽和T7肽(74～98位氨基酸)基础上改造的21肽碱基序列,将其与融合蛋白表达载体pTYB2重组后转化到大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)中进行诱导表达,用几丁质亲和层析柱一步纯化,直接获得19肽和21肽,利用MTT法、细胞生长曲线、TUNEL法、流式细胞仪早期细胞凋亡检测和细胞周期检测,小鼠H22腹水型转移型肝癌实体瘤抑瘤实验并结合组织病理学切片,来研究19肽和21肽单独应用或联合应用对肿瘤细胞和内皮细胞生长和凋亡的影响以及对体内肿瘤的抑制情况.体内外实验表明:获得的19肽抗肿瘤活性以直接作用肿瘤细胞为主,也有抑制新生血管生成的作用.基因重组21肽抗肿瘤作用是通过抑制肿瘤组织新生血管生成实现的.19肽、21肽联合应用对肿瘤细胞、内皮细胞生长抑制和促凋亡作用明显增强,抗肿瘤活性大大提高.联合用药弥补了单独用药不足,产生协同抗肿瘤作用,可能会成为今后肿瘤治疗的一个主要方向.     

非核糖体肽合成酶的末端硫酯酶与多肽环化

非核糖体肽合成酶（nonribosomal peptide synthetases,NRPSs）能以多载体巯基化模板机制合成各种结构复杂、种类繁多的次生代谢非核糖体环肽.根据环肽末端环化的方式,可分为两大类：大环内酯型和内酰胺型.负责非核糖体环肽最终环化的硫酯酶（thioesterase,TE）属于α/β水解酶超家族.该家族包括：脂酶、蛋白酶、酯酶等,其共有特征是含有保守的催化三元件（Ser-His-Asp）,起到终止反应和释放产物的功能. TE具有区域定向性（regiospecific）、化学定向性（chemospecific）及立体定向性（stereospecific）的特点,在非核糖体肽（nonribosomal peptide,NRP）的合成反应中具有决定性作用,直接影响到最终环肽的生成. 同时,TE由于其特有的环化和水解的双重活性,在体外的线性多肽环化中越来越受到众多学者的关注. 综合国内外相关文献,本文着重从TE介导下的产物释放机制和影响因素两个方面综述非核糖体末端硫酯酶的研究进展及其应用.     

Auto-ubiquitination of Mdm2 Enhances Its Substrate Ubiquitin Ligase Activity

The RING domain E3 ubiquitin ligase Mdm2 is the master regulator of the tumor suppressor p53. It targets p53 for proteasomal degradation, restraining the potent activity of p53 and enabling cell survival and proliferation. Like most E3 ligases, Mdm2 can also ubiquitinate itself. How Mdm2 auto-ubiquitination may influence its substrate ubiquitin ligase activity is undefined. Here we show that auto-ubiquitination of Mdm2 is an activating event. Mdm2 that has been conjugated to polyubiquitin chains, but not to single ubiquitins, exhibits substantially enhanced activity to polyubiquitinate p53. Mechanistically, auto-ubiquitination of Mdm2 facilitates the recruitment of the E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme. This occurs through noncovalent interactions between the ubiquitin chains on Mdm2 and the ubiquitin binding domain on E2s. Mutations that diminish the noncovalent interactions render auto-ubiquitination unable to stimulate Mdm2 substrate E3 activity. These results suggest a model in which polyubiquitin chains on an E3 increase the local concentration of E2 enzymes and permit the processivity of substrate ubiquitination. They also support the notion that autocatalysis may be a prevalent mode for turning on the activity of latent enzymes.     

Statics of the Ribosomal Exit Tunnel: Implications for Cotranslational Peptide Folding, Elongation Regulation, and Antibiotics Binding

A sophisticated interplay between the static properties of the ribosomal exit tunnel and its functional role in cotranslational processes is revealed by constraint counting on topological network representations of large ribosomal subunits from four different organisms. As for the global flexibility characteristics of the subunit, the results demonstrate a conserved stable structural environment of the tunnel. The findings render unlikely that deformations of the tunnel move peptides down the tunnel in an active manner. Furthermore, the stable environment rules out that the tunnel can adapt widely so as to allow tertiary folding of nascent chains. Nevertheless, there are local zones of flexible nucleotides within the tunnel, between the peptidyl transferase center and the tunnel constriction, and at the tunnel exit. These flexible zones strikingly agree with previously identified folding zones. As for cotranslational elongation regulation, flexible residues in the β-hairpin of the ribosomal L22 protein were verified, as suggested previously based on structural results. These results support the hypothesis that L22 can undergo conformational changes that regulate the tunnel voyage of nascent polypeptides. Furthermore, rRNA elements, for which conformational changes have been observed upon interaction of the tunnel wall with a nascent SecM peptide, are less strongly coupled to the subunit core. Sequences of coupled rigid clusters are identified between the tunnel and some of these elements, suggesting signal transmission by a domino-like mechanical coupling. Finally, differences in the flexibility of the glycosidic bonds of bases that form antibiotics-binding crevices within the peptidyl transferase center and the tunnel region are revealed for ribosomal structures from different kingdoms. In order to explain antibiotics selectivity, action, and resistance, according to these results, differences in the degrees of freedom of the binding regions may need to be considered.     

人重组PSP及其生物活性研究

为了获得人重组 persephin( PSP)并研究其生物学活性 ,从人胎脑组织中提取总 RNA,以RT- PCR方法获取编码人 PSP成熟蛋白 c DNA.将人 PSP c DNA插入含 T7启动子的质粒 p ET-2 8a( + ) ,构建表达质粒 p ET- PSP,转化大肠杆菌 BL 2 1 ( DE3)获得表达菌株 BLPSP,经 IPTG诱导表达的 PSP形成包含体 .凝胶自动扫描分析表明 ,PSP表达量约占菌体总蛋白 2 0 %以上 .用Ni2 + - NTA树脂一步法纯化目的蛋白 ,纯度达 85%以上 .纯化和复性的 PSP蛋白能显著促进脊髓神经元的存活 .     

Rational Design and Cyclization of MIG6 Peptide to Restore its Binding Affinity for ErbB Family Receptor Tyrosine Kinases

The ErbB receptor tyrosine kinase family consists of four members: EGFR/Her1, Her2, Her3 and Her4; they have been involved in a variety of malignant tumors. The mitogen-inducible gene 6 (MIG6) is a natural tumor-suppressor protein that can inactivate ErbB signaling by directly binding to the catalytic domain of ErbB kinases. Here, a peptide segment s2p was stripped from the MIG6 interaction interface with ErbB, which exhibited a very low or no affinity to the four ErbB kinases. Structural dynamics simulations revealed that the linear peptide is highly flexible in unbound state and would incur a considerable entropy penalty upon binding to kinases. In this respect, the s2p peptide was cyclized by rational design of a disulfide bond across its two termini, resulting in a cyclic peptide s2p-c. Integration of computational analysis and experimental assay found that the cyclization can largely constrain s2p conformation, thus minimizing the entropy penalty and restoring the binding affinity of s2p-c to kinases.