Preliminary x-ray diffraction studies on an anti-viral protein.

An anti-viral enzyme from $\text{Phytolacca americana}$, known to inhibit protein synthesis has been crystallized in a form useful for high resolution x-ray diffraction studies. Cracking of crystals due to the introduction of heavy metals can be reduced by cross linking with glutaraldehyde using a rapid fixation method. Several apparent isomorphous heavy metal derivatives of the crystal have been found. The molecular weight of the protein has been reevaluated as 31,000 daltons.     

Small angle x-ray diffraction studies of mucopolysaccharides in collagen.

Small angle X-ray diffraction (SAXD) was used to locate mucopolysaccharides (MPS) at regular intervals along the collagen axis under physiological conditions. Ruthenium red was used to stain the MPS specifically. The difference in electron density between ruthenium red-stained and unstained moist native rat tail tendon should correspond to the position of the MPS. This difference was calculated from the SAXD intensity data by using difference Fourier transform calculations. Phases calculated independently from the amino acid sequence of collagen by two laboratories were used in this calculation, and the results were compared. At least four to seven bands of MPS per 660 A were found at regular intervals along the collagen axis. Some of these bands match in position to the cross-striations observed by freeze-etching. Electron micrographs of ruthenium red-stained native fibrils also showed bands close in position to the ones calculated.     

Calorimetric and x-ray diffraction studies of rye glucocerebroside mesomorphism.

Glucocerebrosides (GlcCer) isolated from the leaves of winter rye (Secale cereale L. cv Puma) differ from the more commonly investigated natural and synthetic cerebrosides, in that greater than 95% of the fatty acids are saturated and monounsaturated hydroxy fatty acids. Isomers of the trihydroxy long chain base hydroxysphingenine (t1(8:18 cis or trans)) and isomers of sphingadienine (d18:2(4trans, 8 cis or trans)) comprise 77% and 17%, respectively, of the total long chain bases. The phase behavior of fully hydrated and dry rye leaf GlcCer was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and x-ray diffraction. On initial heating, aqueous dispersions of GlcCer exhibit a single endothermic transition at 56 degrees C and have an enthalpy (delta H) of 46 J/g. Cooling to 0 degrees C is accompanied by a small exothermic transition (delta H = -8 J/g) at 8 degrees C. On immediate reheating, a broad exothermic transition (delta H = -39 J/g) is observed between 10 and 20 degrees C in addition to a transition at 56 degrees C. These transitions are not reversible, and the exothermic transition rapidly diminishes when the sample is held at low temperature. Using x-ray diffraction, it was determined that the endotherm at 56 degrees C represents a transition from a highly ordered lamellar crystalline phase (Lc) with a d-spacing of 57 A and a series of wide-angle reflections in the 3-10 A range, to a lamellar liquid crystalline (L alpha) phase having a d-spacing of 55 A and a diffuse wide-angle scattering peak centered at 4.7 A. Cooling leads to the formation of a metastable gel phase (L beta) with a d-spacing of 64.0 A and a single broad reflection at 4.28 A. Subsequent warming to above 15 degrees C restores the original Lc phase. Thus, rye GlcCer in excess water exhibit a series of irreversible transitions and gel phase metastability. Dry GlcCer undergo an initial heating endothermic transition at 130 degrees C, which is ascribed to a transformation into the HII phase from a two phase state characterized by the coexistence of phases with disordered (alpha) and helical (delta) type chain conformations but of unknown lattice identity: An exotherm at 67.5 degrees C observed upon subsequent cooling is of unknown origin. Since an undercooled HII phase persists down to 19 degrees C, the exotherm may derive in part from an alpha-to-delta type chain packing conformational change especially under slow cooling conditions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

The hydration pressure between lipid bilayers. Comparison of measurements using x-ray diffraction and calorimetry.

The hydration pressure between dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl-N,N-dimethylethanolamine (DPPE-Me2) bilayers has been analyzed by both x-ray diffraction measurements of osmotically stressed liposomes and by differential scanning calorimetry. By the x-ray method, we obtain a magnitude (Po) and decay length (lambda) for the hydration pressure which are both quite similar to those found for bilayers of other zwitterionic lipids, such as phosphatidylcholines. That is, x-ray analysis of DPPE-Me2 in the gel phase gives lambda = 1.3 A, the same as that previously measured for the analogous gel phase lipid dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC), and Po = 3.9 x 10(9) dyn/cm2, which is in excellent agreement with the value of 3.6 x 10(9) dyn/cm2 calculated from the measured Volta potential of DPPE-Me2 monolayers in equilibrium with liposomes. These results indicate that the removal of one methyl group to convert DPPC to DPPE-Me2 does not markedly alter the range or magnitude of the hydration pressure. Calorimetry shows that the main gel to liquid-crystalline phase transition temperature of DPPE-Me2 is approximately constant for water contents ranging from 80 to 10 water molecules per lipid molecule, but increases monotonically with decreasing water content below 10 waters per lipid. A theoretical fit to these temperature vs. water content data predicts lambda = 6.7 A. The difference in observed values of lambda for x-ray and calorimetry measurements can be explained by effects on the thermograms of additional intra- and intermolecular interactions which occur at low water contents where apposing bilayers are in contact.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Structural studies of tropomyosin by cryoelectron microscopy and x-ray diffraction.

A comparison has been made between cryoelectron microscope images and the x-ray structure of one projection of the Bailey tropomyosin crystal. The computed transforms of the electron micrographs extend to a resolution of approximately 18 A compared with the reflections from x-ray crystallography which extend to 15 A. After correction of the images for lattice distortions and the contrast transfer function, the structure factors were constrained to the plane group (pmg) symmetry of this projection. Amplitude and phase data for five images were compared with the corresponding view from the three-dimensional x-ray diffraction data (Phillips, G.N., Jr., J.P. Fillers, and C. Cohen. 1986. J. Mol. Biol. 192: 111-131). The average R factor between the electron microscopy and x-ray amplitudes was 15%, with an amplitude-weighted mean phase difference of 4.8 degrees. The density maps derived from cryoelectron microscopy contain structural features similar to those from x-ray diffraction: these include the width and run of the filaments and their woven appearance at the crossover regions. Preliminary images obtained from frozen-hydrated tropomyosin/troponin cocrystals suggest that this approach may provide structural details not readily obtainable from x-ray diffraction studies.     

Time-resolved x-ray diffraction studies of the sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane during active transport.

X-ray and neutron diffraction studies of oriented multilayers of a highly purified fraction of isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) have previously provided the separate profile structures of the lipid bilayer and the Ca2+-ATPase molecule within the membrane profile to approximately 10-A resolution. These studies used biosynthetically deuterated SR phospholipids incorporated isomorphously into the isolated SR membranes via phospholipid transfer proteins. Time-resolved x-ray diffraction studies of these oriented SR membrane multilayers have detected significant changes in the membrane profile structure associated with phosphorylation of the Ca2+-ATPase within a single turnover of the Ca2+-transport cycle. These studies used the flash photolysis of caged ATP to effectively synchronize the ensemble of Ca2+-ATPase molecules in the multilayer, synchrotron x-radiation to provide 100-500-ms data collection times, and double-beam spectrophotometry to monitor the Ca2+-transport process directly in the oriented SR membrane multilayer.     

Preliminary x-ray diffraction studies on lobster ATP: L-arginine phosphotransferase.

An endonuelease R.HindIII, prepared from Hemophilus influenzae strain Rd, degrades foreign DNA, but not homologous DNA. Phage T7 DNA is also resistant to the enzyme. Fragments of phage λ DNA produced by treatment with R.HindIII have been labelled at their 5′ termini and analysis of the radioactive nucleotides in pancreatic DNAase digests of these fragments revealed a single 5′ terminal sequence. From this and other data we conclude that the enzyme recognizes and cleaves DNA at the following nucleotide sequence,

giving termini bearing short cohesive ends.     

The hydration of proteoglycans of bovine cornea.

The water sorptive and retentive capacities of three corneal proteoglycans with different keratan sulfate/chondroitin-4-sulfate compositions were investigated. The calcium salt of a predominantly keratan sulfate containing proteoglycan had hydration properties similar to that of calcium keratan sulfate. The proteoglycan containing predominantly calcium chondroitin-4-sulfate side chains sorbed water to a greater extent than pure calcium chondroitin-4-sulfate but its retentive power was somewhat less. The proteoglycan containing about twice as much keratan sulfate as chondroitin-4-sulfate, on a dissaccharidic molar basis and had hydration properties which were closer to the behavior of chondroitin-4-sulfate than keratan sulfate. The results are discussed in terms of structure and polymer interaction in the proteoglycan matrices.     

Preliminary x-ray diffraction studies of EcoRI restriction endonuclease-DNA complex

A complex between EcoRI restriction endonuclease and cognate DNA fragment, 5′-G-A-A-T-T-C C-T-T-A-A-G-5′, has been crystallized. The space group is P42₁2 with $\text{a = b = 183.2}\text{A}\text{?}\text{, c = 49.7}\text{A}\text{?}\text{, α = β = γ = 90 °}$. The unit cell contains four enzyme monomers plus two duplex DNA fragments in an asymmetric unit. High quality crystals of the enzyme alone have also been obtained.     

Crystallization and preliminary x-ray diffraction studies of human procathepsin L

Human procathepsin L has been expressed in the yeast Pichia pastoris and its inactive (Cys25Ser) and unglycosylated (Thr110Ala) mutant purified, concentrated to 4 mg/ml, and crystallized by vapor diffusion against solution containing 1.4 M (Na, K)PO₄ buffer, pH 7.8. Crystal size was Increased by multiple macroseeding. The crystals are orthorhombic, of space group P2₁2₁2₁, with cell dimensions of a = 40.2 Å, b = 88.4 Å, and c = 94.9 Å. A 2.2 Å native data set was collected using synchrotron radiation. Although molecular replacement solution for the mature portion of the enzyme was easily found, the resulting maps could not be interpreted in the proregion. Heavy-atom derivative search is in progress. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.