Simultaneous existence of cinnamomin (a type II RIP) and small amount of its free A- and B-chain in mature seeds of camphor tree

Cinnamomin, a type II ribosome-inactivating protein (RIP), was isolated from the mature seeds of camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora). In this paper, small amount of free A- and B-chain of cinnamomin were found to be present in the mature seed cell of C. camphora besides the intact cinnamomin. Our results demonstrated that camphorin, a type I RIP previously reported to coexist with cinnamomin in the seeds of C. camphora, actually was the A-chain of cinnamomin. The percentage of free A- and B-chain in the total cinnamomin was 2.6-2.8% in the seed extract. Of these free A- and B-chain approximate 80% already existed in the seed cell, only about 20% were produced during the purification operation. As the enzymatic activity to reduce disulfide bond of cinnamomin in the seed extract of C. camphora was detected, we proposed that the free A- and B-chain were derived from the enzymatic reduction of the interchain disulfide bond of cinnamomin. It was demonstrated that the endogenous type II RIPs of several plant species, such as Cinnamomum porrectum, Cinnamomum bodinieri and Ricinus communis, could be enzymatically reduced into the free A- and B-chain in their respective seed cells. The function of the free A-chain in the seed cell and the possibility that metabolic enzymes might be involved in the reduction of the interchain disulfide bond of type II RIPs in vivo are discussed.     

Cinnamomin: separation,crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction study

Cinnamomin from Cinnamonum camphora seeds, a type II ribosome-inactivating protein that interferes with protein biosynthesis in mammalian cells, can induce the apoptosis of carcinoma cells and be used as an insecticide. A rapid and improved method has been developed for the extraction and purification of cinnamomin from camphora seed. Purification of cinnamomin is achieved with two successive steps of hydrophobic interaction chromatography carried out on a fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) system. Crystals suitable for X-ray diffraction analysis were obtained by vapor diffusion method. A complete data set at 2.8 A resolution has been collected. Data indexation and refinement indicate that the crystal is orthorhombic with space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) and unit cell dimensions a = 52.39 A, b = 126.33 A, c = 161.45 A. There are two molecules per asymmetric unit. Initial phasing by molecular replacement method yielded a solution, which will contribute to the structure determination. A molecular model will further the understanding of the mechanism of cinnamomin function. The latter will be combined with bio-informatics to facilitate the medical and other applications of cinnamomin.     

新丰毒蛋白——一种新的具有活性小A链的核糖体失活蛋白

辛纳毒蛋白是从香樟种子中分离的一种Ⅱ核糖体失活蛋白.最近,从香樟种子中还分离到另一种微型双链核糖体失活蛋白,命名为新丰毒蛋白.还原的新丰毒蛋白表现出与还原的辛纳毒蛋白同样的RNA N-糖苷酶和体外对抑制蛋白质翻译的活力.新丰毒蛋白的B链与辛纳毒蛋白的B链具有同样的分子质量和相同的N端10个氨基酸序列.它的A链N端10个氨基酸序列也与辛纳毒蛋白的A链完全一致,并且C端与辛纳毒蛋白的A链一样具有半胱氨酸,但是它的分子质量却只有辛纳毒蛋白A链的一半.RT-PCR和RNA印迹结果表明体内不存在新丰毒蛋白的mRNA.推测新丰毒蛋白是从辛纳毒蛋白通过蛋白质剪接而产生的,是一种研究蛋白质剪接的好材料.     

Comparative study of interaction of two type II ribosome-inactivating proteins and their A-chains with model membrane

Both cinnamomin and ricin are type II ribosome-inactivating proteins. Cinnamomin is less cytotoxic compared with ricin. In order to clarify the mechanism of their different cytotoxicities, the interaction of cinnamomin and its A-chain with model membrane was investigated and compared with that of ricin and its A-chain. It was revealed that cinnamomin is less effective than ricin in interacting with model membrane. Cinnamomin A-chain interacts with model membrane much less violently than ricin A-chain. The differences in the interaction of cinnamomin, ricin or their A-chains with model membrane might at least in part indicate the different cytotoxicity between cinnamomin and ricin.     

樟树核糖体失活蛋白在种子成熟过程中的动态变化与特性

樟树种子中存在着ｃｉｎｎａｍｏｍｉｎ与ｃａｍｐｈｏｒｉｎ两种新的核糖体失活蛋白,电泳分析与Ｗｅｓｔｅｒｎ杂交结果表明ｃｉｎｎａｍｏｍｉｎ在９、１０、１１月份种子中的含量分别是８．９％,２６．８％和１１．５％,以１０月份种子的含量为最高。ｃａｍｐｈｏｒｉｎ的含量则分别为１．７％,２．５％与４．６％,随着种子的成熟而不断增加。８月份的幼嫩种子中检测不出ｃｉｎｎｍａｍｏｍｉｎ与ｃａｍｐｈｏｒｉｎ．这表明樟树核糖体失活蛋白的表达受到了发育进程的时态调控．樟树叶片中可能不存在ｃｉｎｎａｍｏｍｉｎ与ｃａｍｐｈｏｒｉｎ,即两者的合成似乎具有一定的组织特异性．ｃｉｎｎａｍｏｍｉｎ与ｃａｍｐｈｏｒｉｎ均为糖蛋白。     

Toxicity of cinnamomin--a new type II ribosome-inactivating protein to bollworm and mosquito

The toxicity of cinnamomin, a new type II ribosome-inactivating protein purified from the seeds of camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora), to bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) and mosquito (Culex pipines pallens) during larval stage was tested. The LC50 of cinnamomin to bollworm larvae fed on diet containing cinnamomin was 1839 ppm and the LC50 to larvae of mosquito was 168 ppm. The gut extract of bollworm larvae could apparently hydrolyze cinnamomin. The inhibition of protein synthesis by cinnamomin was tested in in vitro translation system of bollworm larvae, and its LC50 was determined to be approx. 14 nM. Bollworm larvae ribosome treated with cinnamomin produced a specific RNA fragment (R-fragment) characterized on urea-denatured polyacrylamide gel. Evidence was provided that hidden breaks exist in the largest ribosomal RNA of bollworm larvae.     

Cinnamomin: a multifunctional type II ribosome-inactivating protein

Plant ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs) are a group of toxic proteins that can irreversibly inactivate ribosomes by specifically removing the conserved adenine base from the "Sarcin/Ricin domain" of the 28S RNA in ribosome. Cinnamomin is a novel type II RIP isolated in our laboratory from the mature seeds of camphor tree. Besides site-specific deadenylation of the A4324 in the Sarcin/Ricin domain of rat ribosome, this protein could also release the adenine base from DNA molecules at multiple sites and from AMP, ADP, dAMP and adenosine. Furthermore, cinnamomin displays cytotoxicity to carcinoma cells and insect larvae by modifying their ribosomal RNA. These functions possessed by cinnamomin shed a new light on the possible application of cinnamomin in the field of immunotoxin design and transgenic reagents. In this review, we introduce the major recent results on cinnamomin obtained in our laboratory, including purification of this protein, characterization of its enzymatic mechanism, structure and function, gene pattern, physiological role and its biological implications in cytotoxicity.     

Cinnamomin a Versatile Type Ⅱ Ribosome-inactivating Protein

Ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs) are a groupof ribotoxins widely distributed in the plant kingdomas well as in certain fungi, algae and bacteria. RIPs havebeen thoroughly reviewed in references [1–6]. Theseproteins act as RNA N-glycosidase (rRNA N-glycosidase,EC 3.2.2.22) to specifically remove an adenine fromthe universally conserved sarcin/ricin domain (S/R domain)of the largest RNA in ribosome [7–9] and to render itincapable of carrying out protein synthesis (Fig. 1). Based …     

Toxicity of two type II ribosome-inactivating proteins (cinnamomin and ricin) to domestic silkworm larvae

Cinnamomin and ricin are two type II ribosome-inactivating proteins. They exhibited a different toxicity to domestic silkworm (Bombyx mori) larvae by oral feeding bioassay. The LC50 of ricin to the silkworm larvae at third instar was much lower than that of cinnamomin. When the isolated 80S ribosome from domestic silkworm pupae was treated separately with the reduced cinnamomin or the reduced ricin, a specific RNA fragment (R-fragment) was produced as characterized by 8 M urea-denatured polyacrylamide gel (3.5%) electrophoresis. The purified A-chains of both cinnamomin and ricin showed a slightly different RNA N-glycosidase activity to the domestic silkworm pupal ribosome. It was proposed that the difference of their toxicity to domestic silkworm larvae was not related to their A-chains but to the properties of their B-chains. It was also found that the vomit obtained from the midgut of domestic silkworm larvae could hydrolyze these two proteins apparently to a similar extent.     

The lower cytotoxicity of cinnamomin (a type II RIP) is due to its B-chain

The cytotoxicity of intact cinnamomin (a type II ribosome-inactivating protein, RIP) and the RNA N-glycosidase activity of cinnamomin A-chain have been studied and compared with those of ricin. Cinnamomin A-chain exhibits a similar RNA N-glycosidase activity in inhibiting in vitro protein synthesis compared with that of ricin, whereas the cytotoxicity to BA/F3beta cells of intact cinnamomin is markedly lower than intact ricin. In order to demonstrate that it is the B-chains of the two RIPs that bear the difference in cytotoxicity, two hybrid RIPs are prepared from the purified A-/B-chains of cinnamomin and ricin by the disulfide exchange reaction. It has been found that hybrid RIP constructed from cinnamomin A-chain and ricin B-chain is more toxic to BA/F3beta cells than the native cinnamomin, and equivalent to the native ricin. However, the cytotoxicity to BA/F3beta cells of the hybrid RIP constructed from the ricin A-chain and cinnamomin B-chain is lower than ricin, equivalent to the native cinnamomin. Furthermore, the bound amounts of two B-chains on the cell surface are determined by the method of direct cellular ELISA and Scatchard analysis of the binding of the two B-chains indicates that cinnamomin and ricin share similar binding sites with different affinity.     

The pH-dependent interaction of cinnamomin with lipid membranes investigated by fluorescence methods

Cinnamomin, a new type II ribosome-inactivating protein (RIP), was found to be able to induce the release of calcein loaded in lecithin small unilamellar vesicles and the fusion or aggregation of the lecithin liposomes. Such induction could be promoted severalfold by a pH 5.0 environment, a condition similar to that in endocytic vesicles. Lowering the pH from 7.5 to 5.0 evoked conformational changes of cinnamomin and unmasked its hydrophobic areas, including the exposure of 1-anilino-8-naphthalenesulfonate (1,8-ANS) binding sites of the molecule. Some tryptophan residues with affinity to acrylamide were demonstrated to participate in the lipid-protein interaction. The pH dependent fusogenicity of type II RIP might suggest its in vivo function as a fusogen to exert its cytotoxicity.     

Adenine nucleotide N-glycosidase activity of the A-chain of cinnamomin characterized by 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance

Plant ribosome-inactivating proteins specifically cleave an N-glycosidic bond of a unique adenosine in the largest ribosomal RNA, releasing an adenine from ribosomes of different sources. Here, 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance is used to analyze the enzymatic products of the A-chain of cinnamomin, a type-II ribosome-inactivating protein (RIP) acting on the nucleotides in situ. The enzymatic activities of the RIP on nine nucleotides are compared. Cinnamomin A-chain can cleave the N-glycosidic bond and release an adenine base from adenine nucleotides except 5'-ATP; however, it cannot act on 5'-GMP, 5'-CMP, and 5'-UMP. The A-chain in the mixture of cinnamomin A- and B-chain exhibits higher activity toward adenine nucleotides than the A-chain alone does, suggesting that the B-chain can conformationally stabilize the A-chain. Intact cinnamomin also exhibits lower activity toward adenine nucleotides. However, cinnamomin B-chain and heat-denatured intact cinnamomin cannot hydrolyze all the tested nucleotides. We conclude that hydrolysis of the N-C glycosidic bond of nucleotide compounds by cinnamomin A-chain has a base preference, and the negatively charged phosphate group(s) reduces the recognition ability of the A-chain to adenine nucleotide.     

A new type of flagellin gene in Pseudomonas putida

Previously established PCR amplification and Southern hybridization procedures were developed for the isolation of the 0.8-kb flagellin gene in Pseudomonas putida. The deduced protein sequence has significant homology to the N- and C-terminal sequences of other bacterial flagellins. We propose that P. putida flagellin genes can be divided at least into three size groups: type I (2.0 kb), type II (1.4 kb), and type III (0.8 kb). Type I and type II flagellin genes have been reported. The new 0.8-kb type III gene was expressed in E. coli, and the resulting protein was purified and used to raise polyclonal antibody to study whether this small gene encodes flagellin. The antiserum reacted with purified flagellin monomers from representatives of each flagellin type, as well as proteins of the same sizes in lysates of these organisms, on Western immunoblots. This antiserum was determined to be functional in a motility inhibition assay. Similar results were obtained from antiserum directed against purified type III flagellin, indicating that a new type of flagellin gene in P. putida has been found. Preliminary electron microscopic study revealed that P. putida isolate with the smaller flagellin gene type appeared to have a thinner flagellar filament.     

Quick Identification of the Members of the Glutamine Synthetase Gene Family from Sunflower by Simultaneous Amplification of cDNA with Degenerate Primers

A single degenerate glutamine synthetase (GS)-specific primer was used to amplify the 3′ end of cDNAs derived from different GS genes that are expressed in leaves and roots of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L. cv. Peredovic). Four types of GS cDNA (I, II, III and IV) were simultaneously amplified from leaves and five types (I, II, V, VI, VII) from roots with a minimum investment of time and experimental work. cDNAs II, III and IV encode chloroplastic isoforms as deduced by the presence of chloroplastic GS-specific features in their sequences. The rest of cDNAs codifies cytosolic isoforms. Using cDNA-specific probes and primers, homologous sequences to all GS cDNAs amplified from cv. Peredovic, except to cDNAs III and IV, were detected in the inbred line R41. This result strongly suggests that the three cDNAs for chloroplastic isoform are allelic sequences from the same locus, and since cDNA type IV contains sequences derived from cDNAs II and III, it indicates a recombinational origin. The results presented are consistent with the existence of a GS gene family in sunflower with at least five members. Four of them, named ggs1.1 to ggs1.4, codify for the cytosolic isoforms (cDNAs I, V, VI and VII). A fifth member, named ggs2, from which three allelic sequences (cDNAs II, III and IV) have been cloned, encodes the chloroplastic isoform. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Cytotoxicity of two new ribosome-inactivating proteins,cinnamomin and camphorin,to carcinoma cells

Cinnamomin (two-chain) and camphorin (single-chain), two novel ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs) purified from the seeds of Cinnamomum camphora, produced inhibitory effects in cultured carcinoma cells. The IC₅₀ of cinnamomin to the human hepatocarcinoma cell-line 7721 and the melanoma cell-line M21 were 18·8 nmol and 11·7 nmol respectively. The IC₅₀ of camphorin to the human hepatocarcinoma cell-line 7721 was 59 nmol, whereas the melanoma cell-line M21 was not susceptible to camphorin. Furthermore, cinnamomin exhibited a remarkable inhibitory effect on the growth of solid melanoma in the skin of the nude mouse. An R-fragment could be isolated from ribosomes of cinnamomin- or camphorin-treated carcinoma cells after incubation with acidic aniline, indicating that the cytotoxicity of these two new RIPs to carcinoma cells might result from modification to the ribosomes.     

Structural and functional studies of cinnamomin, a new type II ribosome-inactivating protein isolated from the seeds of the camphor tree.

Cinnamomin is a new type II ribosome-inactivating protein (RIP). Its A-chain exhibits RNA N-glycosidase activity to inactivate the ribosome and thus inhibit protein synthesis, whereas the glycosylated B-chain is a lectin. The primary structure of cinnamomin, which exhibits approximately 55% identity with those of ricin and abrin, was deduced from the nucleotide sequences of cDNAs of cinnamomin A- and B-chains. It is composed of a total of 549 amino-acid residues: 271 residues in the A-chain, a 14-residue linker and 264 residues in the B-chain. To explore its biological function, the cinnamomin A-chain was expressed in Escherichia coli with a yield of 100 mg per L of culture, and purified through two-step column chromatography. After renaturation, the recovery of the enzyme activity of the expressed A-chain was 80% of that of native A-chain. Based on the modeling of the three-dimensional structure of the A-chain, the functional roles of five amino acids and the only cysteine residues were investigated by site-directed mutagenesis or chemical modification. The conserved single mutation of the five amino-acid residues led to 8-50-fold losses of enzymatic activity, suggesting that these residues were crucial for maintaining the RNA N-glycosidase activity of the A-chain. Most interestingly, the strong electric charge introduced at the position of the single cysteine in A-chain seemed to play a role in enzyme/substrate binding.