蓝细菌PCC6803染色体上的毒素蛋白Slr0664与抗毒素蛋白Ssr1114的相互作用

【目的】证明蓝细菌PCC6803染色体上的毒素-抗毒素系统(TA,toxin-antitoxin system)ssr1114/slr0664中毒素蛋白Slr0664与抗毒素蛋白Ssr1114之的相互作用。【方法】构建在大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli)BL21(DE3)中诱导表达H6-Ssr1114或共表达H6-Ssr1114和Slr0664的重组质粒,诱导表达后借助亲和捕捉技术在不同的条件下纯化H6-Ssr1114或共纯化重组蛋白H6-Ssr1114和Slr0664,并通过肽谱分析共纯化的重组蛋白,证明H6-Ssr1114与Slr0664之间存在相互作用。【结果】诱导Slr0664表达对细胞产生毒性作用导致生长抑制或细胞死亡,诱导H6-Ssr1114和Slr0664共表达时细胞能能正常生长,在非变性条件下可纯化共表达的重组蛋白H6-Ssr1114和Slr0664,在变性条件下仅H6-Ssr1114被纯化,肽谱分析结果表明共纯化的的重组蛋白为H6-Ssr1114和Slr0664。【结论】ssr1114/slr0664TA系统中抗毒素蛋白Ssr1114与毒素蛋白Slr0664之间存在相互作用。     

Mapping the protein-protein interface between a toxin and its cognate antitoxin from the bacterial pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes

Protein--protein interactions are ubiquitous and essential for most biological processes. Although new proteomic technologies have generated large catalogs of interacting proteins, considerably less is known about these interactions at the molecular level, information that would aid in predicting protein interactions, designing therapeutics to alter these interactions, and understanding the effects of disease-producing mutations. Here we describe mapping the interacting surfaces of the bacterial toxin SPN (Streptococcus pyogenes NAD(+) hydrolase) in complex with its antitoxin IFS (immunity factor for SPN) by using hydrogen-deuterium amide exchange and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. This approach affords data in a relatively short time for small amounts of protein, typically 5-7 pmol per analysis. The results show a good correspondence with a recently determined crystal structure of the IFS--SPN complex but additionally provide strong evidence for a folding transition of the IFS protein that accompanies its binding to SPN. The outcome shows that mass-based chemical footprinting of protein interaction surfaces can provide information about protein dynamics that is not easily obtained by other methods and can potentially be applied to large, multiprotein complexes that are out of range for most solution-based methods of biophysical analysis.     

The titration of tetanus antitoxin IV. Studies on the sensitivity and reproducibility of the toxin neutralization test

The quality of tetanus toxin affected the sensitivity of the toxin neutralization (TN) test greatly. By using purified toxin a minimum level of 0.001 IU/ml of tetanus antitoxin could be detected whereas with crude toxin a level of 0.025 IU/ml only could be detected. The TN test described in this report permitted titration of tetanus antitoxin in twofold dilution steps from levels as low as 0.001 IU/ml using 0.6 ml of serum only at the L+/5000 level of purified tetanus toxin. Treatment of the sera with 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) did not affect the TN titres showing that the TN test detects the neutralizing antibodies (IgG) which are not affected by 2-ME. The TN test was found to be a highly sensitive and reproducible test.     

Plasmid RK2 toxin protein ParE: purification and interaction with the ParD antitoxin protein.

The parDE operon, located within the 3.2-kb stabilization region of plasmid RK2, encodes antitoxin (ParD) and toxin (ParE) proteins that stabilize the maintenance of this broad-host-range plasmid via a postsegregational killing mechanism. A ParE protein derivative, designated ParE', was purified by construction of a fusion protein, GST-ParE, followed by glutathione-agarose binding and cleavage of the fusion protein. ParE' has three additional amino acids on the N terminus and a methionine residue in place of the native leucine residue. The results of glutathione-agarose affinity binding and glutaraldehyde cross-linking indicate that ParE' exists as a dimer in solution and that it binds to the dimeric form of ParD to form a tetrameric complex. The formation of this complex is presumably responsible for the ability of ParD to neutralize ParE toxin activity. Previous studies demonstrated that the parDE operon is autoregulated as a result of the binding of the ParD protein to the parDE promoter. ParE' also binds to the parDE promoter but only in the presence of the autoregulatory ParD protein. ParE', in the presence or absence of the ParD protein, does not bind to any other part of the 3.2-kb stabilization region. The binding of the ParE' protein to ParD did not alter the DNase I footprint pattern obtained as a result of ParD binding to the parDE promoter. The role of ParE in binding along with ParD to the promoter, if any, remains unclear.