Identification of a 37 kDa plant protein that interacts with the turnip mosaic potyvirus capsid protein using anti-idiotypic-antibodies

Experimental data are provided for the presence of a plant protein that interacts with the capsid protein (CP) of turnip mosaic potyvirus (TuMV). The receptor-like protein was identified by exploiting the molecular mimicry potential of anti-idiotypic antibodies. A single-chain Fv molecule derived from the monoclonal antibody 7A (Mab-7A), which recognizes the CP of TuMV, was produced in Escherichia coli and the recombinant protein was used to raise rabbit antibodies. The immune serum reacted with Mab-7A but not with a monoclonal antibody of the same isotype, indicating that anti-idiotypic antibodies were produced. These anti-idiotypic antibodies recognized a 37 kDa protein from Lactuca sativa. Complex formation between the anti-idiotypic antibodies and the plant protein was inhibited by the CP of TuMV which indicates that the plant protein interacts with the viral protein. The 37 kDa protein was localized in chloroplasts and was detected in other plant species.     

Alteration of the ATG start codon of the A protein of bacteriophage phi X174 into an ATT codon yields a viable phage indicating that A protein is not essential for phi X174 reproduction

Bacteriophage phi X174 gene A encodes two proteins: the gene A protein and the smaller A protein, which is synthesized from a translational start signal within the A gene in the same reading frame as the gene A protein. The gene A protein is involved in initiation, elongation and termination of rolling circle DNA replication. The role of the A protein in the life cycle of phi X174, however, is unknown. Using oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis a viable phi X174 mutant was constructed in which the ATG start codon of the A protein was changed into an ATT codon. This mutant, phi X-4499T, does not synthesize A protein. The burst size of phi X-4499T amounted to 50% of that of wild type phi X174. This indicates that A protein, although advantageous for phage reproduction, is not essential during the life cycle of bacteriophage phi X174.     

Effect of mannitol and glucose on the distribution and trypsin susceptibility of protein A of Staphylococcus aureus

The biological activity and morphological distribution of protein A on the cell surface were studied in a medium containing an excess of either mannitol or glucose, which suppressed protein A production of Staphylococcus aureus, Cowan I strain. Preculture of the organisms in the presence of a sugar suppressed the expression of protein A, resulting in a decrease in the number of cells bound with antiferritin rabbit IgG molecules, which specifically indicate protein A distribution. The distribution pattern of protein A on the cell surface changed with glucose but not with mannitol. The two-layered ferritin distribution on the organism grown in the control medium was altered into a heavily labeled, thick and rough layer with glucose, suggesting the induction of a conformational change in the polypeptide chain forming protein A. This was positively supported by the increase in trypsin susceptibility of protein A.     

Guanosine 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase from silkworm, properties of a catalytic fragment obtained by limited proteolysis.

Although guanosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cyclic GMP)-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase G) which was partially purified from silkworm pupae was not dissociated by cyclic GMP into catalytic and regulatory subunits as described for adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase A) (Takai, Y., Nakaya, S., Inoue, M., Kishimoto, A., Nishiyama, K., Yamamura, H., and Nishizuka, Y. (1976) J. Biol. Chem. 251, 1481-1487), limited proteolysis with trypsin resulted in the formation of catalytic and cyclic GMP-binding fragments which showed molecular weights of approximately 3.4 X 10(4) and 3.6 X 10(4), respectively (the molecular weight of native protein kinase G was 1.4 X 10(5)). The catalytic fragment did not bind cyclic GMP and was fully active in the absence of the cyclic nucleotide. The fragment did not show an absolute requirement for a sulfhydryl compound and high concentrations of Mg2+ (50 to 100 mM), both of which were necessary for the maximal activation of native protein kinase G. The catalytic fragment was not inhibited by the cyclic GMP-binding fragment nor by the regulatory subunit of protein kinase A. Inversely, the cyclic GMP-binding fragment was unable to inhibit the catalytic subunit of protein kinase A. Protein inhibitor, which was described for protein kinase A, was inert for the catalytic fragment.     

Surface protein composition of Aeromonas hydrophila strains virulent for fish: identification of a surface array protein.

The surface protein composition of members of a serogroup of Aeromonas hydrophila which exhibit high virulence for fish was examined. Treatment of whole cells of representative strain A. hydrophila TF7 with 0.2 M glycine buffer (pH 4.0) resulted in the release of sheets of a tetragonal surface protein array. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis showed that this sheet material was composed primarily of a protein of apparent molecular weight 52,000 (52K protein). A 52K protein was also the predominant protein in glycine extracts of other members of the high-virulence serogroup. Immunoblotting with antiserum raised against formalinized whole cells of A. hydrophila TF7 showed the 52K S-layer protein to be the major surface protein antigen, and impermeant Sulfo-NHS-Biotin cell surface labeling showed that the 52K S-layer protein was the only protein accessible to the Sulfo-NHS-Biotin label and effectively masked underlying outer membrane (OM) proteins. In its native surface conformation the 52K S-layer protein was only weakly reactive with a lactoperoxidase 125I surface iodination procedure. A UV-induced rough lipopolysaccharide (LPS) mutant of TF7 was found to produce an intact S layer, but a deep rough LPS mutant was unable to maintain an array on the cell surface and excreted the S-layer protein into the growth medium, indicating that a minimum LPS oligosaccharide size was required for A. hydrophila S-layer anchoring. The 52K S-layer protein exhibited hear-dependent SDS-solubilization behavior when associated with OM, but was fully solubilized at all temperatures after removal from the OM, indicating a strong interaction of the S layer with the underlying OM. The native S layer was permeable to 125I in the lactoperoxidase radiolabeling procedure, and two major OM proteins of molecular weights 30,000 and 48,000 were iodinated. The 48K species was a peptidoglycan-associated, transmembrane protein which exhibited heat-modifiable SDS solubilization behaviour characteristic of a porin protein. A 50K major peptidoglycan-associated OM protein which was not radiolabeled exhibited similar SDS heat modification characteristics and possibly represents a second porin protein.     

Molecular cloning and characterization of a novel type of regulatory protein (GDI) for smg p25A, a ras p21-like GTP-binding protein.

We recently purified to near homogeneity a novel type of regulatory protein for smg p25A, a ras p21-like GTP-binding protein, from bovine brain cytosol. This regulatory protein, named smg p25A GDP dissociation inhibitor (GDI), regulates the GDP-GTP exchange reaction of smg p25A by inhibiting dissociation of GDP from and subsequent binding of GTP to it. In the present studies, we isolated and sequenced the cDNA of smg p25A GDI from a bovine brain cDNA library by using an oligonucleotide probe designed from the partial amino acid sequence of purified smg p25A GDI. The cDNA has an open reading frame that encodes a protein of 447 amino acids with a calculated Mr of 50,565. This Mr is similar to those of the purified smg p25A GDI estimated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation, which are about 54,000 and 65,000, respectively. The isolated cDNA is expressed in Escherichia coli, and the encoded protein exhibits GDI activity. smg p25A GDI is hydrophilic overall, except for one hydrophobic region near the N terminus. smg p25A GDI shares low amino acid sequence homology with the Saccharomyces cerevisiae CDC25-encoded protein, which has been suggested to serve as a factor that regulates the GDP-GTP exchange reaction of the yeast RAS2-encoded protein, but not with the beta gamma subunits of GTP-binding proteins having an alpha beta gamma subunit structure, such as Gs and Gi. The smg p25A GDI mRNA was present in various tissues, including not only tissues in which smg p25A was detectable but also tissues in which it was not detectable. This fact has raised the possibility that smg p25A GDI interacts with another G protein in tissues in which smg p25A is absent.     

抑菌蛋白Reg3A的表达纯化与功能

利用原核表达系统表达人源抑菌蛋白Reg3A,经包涵体的复性和纯化获得有体外抑菌功能的活性抑菌蛋白,并对其体外抑菌功能进行初步研究。构建Reg3A原核表达载体PET-32a-Reg3A转化补充稀缺tRNA基因的表达菌株大肠杆菌BL21-Codonplus,阳性重组子采用诱导培养基诱导5h后,采用超声破碎的方法提取包涵体蛋白,经包涵体蛋白的纯化和透析复性后通过Ni-NTA亲和层析交换柱,获得纯度达95%的蛋白质。Western blot鉴定显示在15 kD处有特异性条带。使用纯化后的蛋白进一步进行抑菌圈实验和抑菌活性实验,对获得蛋白的体外抑菌活性进行评估,从而为进一步进行Reg3A蛋白功能的评估及应用奠定基础。     

Association of protein phosphatase 2A with its substrate vimentin intermediate filaments in 9L rat brain tumor cells

The importance of protein phosphatases in maintaining the integrity of intermediate filaments is supported by the fact that intermediate filaments would undergo a massive reorganization in cells treated with inhibitors of protein phosphatases 1 and 2A. Herein we used okadaic acid to investigate the differential roles of protein phosphatases 1 and 2A in the maintenance of intermediate filament integrity in 9L rat brain tumor cells. Protein phosphatase 2A activity was substantially inhibited after treatment with 400 nM okadaic acid for 2 h, whereas the activity of protein phosphatase 1 was only slightly affected. Furthermore, protein phosphatase 2A shows selective specificity toward phosphovimentin, which was immunologically precipitated from isotopically labeled and okadaic acid-treated cells. Further biochemical fractionation and microscopic studies revealed that vimentin intermediate filaments were colocalized with protein phosphatase 2A, but not protein phosphatase 1, in control cells. On okadaic acid treatment, vimentin filament disassembled and protein phosphatase 2A redistributed throughout the cytoplasm, suggesting that these two proteins separate from each other, whereas protein phosphatase 2A was inhibited. This working hypothesis was further supported by treatment with a low concentration (40 nM) of okadaic acid, which causes the same phenomenon. Taken together, our results showed that protein phosphatase 2A could be assigned to the intermediate filaments to serve the physiological role in maintaining the proper phosphorylation level of intermediate filaments in normal cells. This finding should pave the way for the elucidation of the regulatory mechanism of intermediate filament organization governed by protein phosphorylation.     

Isolation of the fifth IgG-binding domain from Staphylococcus aureus protein A

Using affinity chromatography on IgG-Sepharose at pH 5.0, a new fragment capable of binding to IgG (domain E) was isolated from trypsin hydrolysate of protein A. Trypsinolysis of protein A was performed at low temperatures. Thus, the intact structure of protein A was found to include six domains, of which five interact with IgG.     

Cloning of the gene for the surface array protein of Aeromonas salmonicida and evidence linking loss of expression with genetic deletion.

A gene bank of DNA from the fish pathogenic bacterium Aeromonas salmonicida was constructed in the bacteriophage lambda gt11. Phage lambda gt11/10G, a recombinant carrying a 4.0-kilobase fragment of A. salmonicida DNA, was found to express the surface array protein (A protein) in Escherichia coli. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that the protein expressed from the cloned gene had a subunit molecular weight of 49,000, which was identical to that of subunits in the native assembled A layer. Genomic Southern analysis showed that the gene coding for this predominant cellular protein was in a single copy on the chromosome and was conserved among a wide range of A. salmonicida strains with different phenotypic characteristics and isolated from diverse geographic locations, fish species, and means of pathogenesis. Results of genomic blotting experiments also showed that loss of expression of the A layer resulting from growth at 30 degrees C was accompanied by genetic rearrangement in which N-terminal sequences of the gene for A protein were lost by deletion.     

High level expression of a synthetic gene coding for IgG-binding domain B of Staphylococcal protein A

A gene coding for one of the IgG-binding domains of Staphylococcal protein A, designated domain B, was chemically synthesized. This gene was tandemly repeated to give dimeric and tetrameric domain B genes by the use of two restriction enzymes which gave blunt ends. The genes were highly expressed in Escherichia coli to afford a large amount of dimeric and tetrameric domain B proteins. The single domain B protein was efficiently produced as a fusion protein with a salmon growth hormone fragment. The fusion protein was converted to monomeric domain B by cyanogen bromide cleavage. The CD spectra of the monomeric, dimeric and tetrameric domain B proteins were essentially the same as that of native form protein A, showing that their secondary structures were very similar. The dimeric and tetrameric domain B proteins formed precipitates with IgG as protein A. This system permits the efficient production of mutated single and multiple IgG-binding domains which can be used to study structural changes and protein A-immunoglobulin interactions.     

Cyclic beta-(1,2)-glucan synthesis in Rhizobiaceae: roles of the 319-kilodalton protein intermediate.

Cyclic beta-(1,2)-glucans are synthesized by members of the Rhizobiaceae family through protein-linked oligosaccharides as intermediates. The protein moiety is a large inner membrane molecule of about 319 kDa. In Agrobacterium tumefaciens and in Rhizobium meliloti the protein is termed ChvB and NdvB, respectively. Inner membranes of R. meliloti 102F34 and A. tumefaciens A348 were first incubated with UDP-[14C]Glc and then solubilized with Triton X-100 and analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under native conditions. A radioactive band corresponding to the 319-kDa protein was detected in both bacteria. Triton-solubilized inner membranes of A. tumefaciens were submitted to native electrophoresis and then assayed for oligosaccharide-protein intermediate formation in situ by incubating the gel with UDP-[14C]Glc. A [14C]glucose-labeled protein with an electrophoretic mobility identical to that corresponding to the 319-kDa [14C]glucan protein intermediate was detected. In addition, protein-linked radioactivity was partially chased when the gel was incubated with unlabeled UDP-Glc. A heterogeneous family of cyclic beta-(1,2)-glucans was formed upon incubation of the gel portion containing the 319-kDa protein intermediate with UDP-[14C]Glc. A protein with an electrophoretic behavior similar to the 319-kDa protein intermediate was "in gel" labeled by using Triton-solubilized inner membranes of an A. tumefaciens exoC mutant, which contains a protein intermediate without nascent glucan. These results indicate that initiation (protein glucosylation), elongation, and cyclization were catalyzed in situ. Therefore, the three enzymatic activities detected in situ reside in a unique protein component (i.e., cyclic beta-(1,2)-glucan synthase). It is suggested that the protein component is the 319-kDa protein intermediate, which might catalyze the overall cyclic beta-(1,2)-glucan synthesis.     

Engagement of CD46 and alpha5beta1 integrin by group A streptococci is required for efficient invasion of epithelial cells

Membrane cofactor protein (MCP or CD46), a widely distributed complement regulatory human protein, is a cell surface receptor for many pathogens including group A streptococci (GAS). The surface M protein of GAS binds CD46 and mediates GAS adherence to keratinocytes. In the present study, we studied the role of CD46 in GAS invasion of human lung epithelial cells, A549. Anti-CD46 antibody which specifically blocks the domain to which M protein binds inhibited adherence to and invasion of A549 cells by GAS. Moreover, downregulation of CD46 expression on A549 by RNA interference resulted in reduced invasion of these cells by GAS. A mutant form of CD46 with a deletion in the cytoplasmic domain was overexpressed in A549 cells, which resulted in partial inhibition of invasion. This indicates that the cytoplasmic tail is required for CD46 to promote invasion by GAS. Invasion assays with Lactococcus lactis that express M protein demonstrated the dependence of CD46-promoted invasion on interaction with M protein. In addition, CD46-mediated invasion was also found to be dependent on the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin.     

Localization and assembly into the Escherichia coli envelope of a protein required for entry of colicin A.

Mutations in tolQ, previously designated fii, render cells tolerant to high concentrations of colicin A. In addition, a short deletion in the amino-terminal region of colicin A (amino acid residues 16 to 29) prevents its lethal action, although this protein can still bind the receptor and forms channels in planar lipid bilayers in vitro. These defects in translocation across the outer membrane in the tolQ cells or the colicin A mutant cannot be bypassed by osmotic shock. The TolQ protein, which is constitutively expressed at a low level, was studied in recombinant plasmid constructs allowing the expression of various TolQ fusion proteins under the control of the inducible caa promoter. The TolQ protein was thus "tagged" with an epitope from the colicin A protein for which a monoclonal antibody is available. A fusion protein containing the entire TolQ protein plus the 30 N-terminal residues of colicin A was shown to complement the tolQ mutation. Pulse-chase labeling followed by gradient fractionation indicated that the bulk of the overproduced fusion protein was rapidly incorporated into the inner membrane, with small amounts localized to regions corresponding to the attachment sites between inner and outer membranes and to the outer membrane itself. However, most of the protein was rapidly degraded, leaving only that localized to the attachment sites and the outer membrane remaining at very late times of chase.     

河南小麦梭条斑花叶病病原鉴定、病毒提纯及其特性

经鉴定,我国河南邓县冬小麦上发生的一种病毒病的病原,是小麦梭条斑花叶病毒。 对病毒的分离纯化进行了研究,提出了一个简单可靠的病毒纯化程序,获得了较为理想的提纯病毒制品,提纯病毒具有典型的、核酸含量约为5～6％的线状病毒紫外吸收曲线,病毒粒体宽约12nm,长度分布从200～2000nm以上,平均粒体长度约为1000nm,在300nm、600nm及1000nm处有3个分布高峰,用提纯病毒免疫兔子获得效价为1/1024的抗血清,提纯病毒的SDS-聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳可检测到多条蛋白带,分子量从36.6kd至28.6kd,其中36.6kd的蛋白为病毒的外壳蛋白,其余的为外壳蛋白的降解产物。