Two histidine residues are essential for ribonuclease T1 activity as is the case for ribonuclease A

Ribonuclease T1 (RNase T1, EC 3.1.27.3) is a guanosine-specific ribonuclease that cleaves the 3',5'-phosphodiester linkage of single-stranded RNA. It is assumed that the reaction is generated by concerted acid-base catalysis between residues Glu-58 and His-92 or His-40. From the results of chemical modification and NMR studies, it appeared that the residue Glu-58 was indispensable for nucleolytic activity. However, we have recently demonstrated that Glu-58 is an important but not an essential residue for catalytic activity, using the methods of genetic engineering to change Glu-58 to Gln-58 etc [Nishikawa, S., Morioka, H., Fuchimura, K., Tanaka, T., Uesugi, S., Ohtsuka, E., & Ikehara, M. (1986) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 138, 789-794]. In the present paper, we report that mutants of RNase T1 with residue Ala-40 or Ala-92 have almost no activity, while mutants that contain Ala-58 retain considerable activity. These results show that the two histidine residues, His-40 and His-92, but not Glu-58, are indispensable for the catalytic activity of the enzyme. We propose a revised reaction mechanism in which two histidine residues play a major role, as they do in the case of RNase A.     

Intramolecular triplex formation of the purine.purine.pyrimidine type

Six octadecamers with hairpin motifs have been synthesized and investigated for possible intramolecular triplex formation. Electrophoretic, hypochromic, and CD evidence suggest that d(CCCCTTTGGGGTTTGGGG) and d(GGGGTTTGGGGTTTCCCC) can form G.G.C intramolecular triplexes via double hairpin formation in neutral solutions, presumably with the terminal G tract folding back along the groove of the hairpin duplex. In contrast, d(GGGGTTTCCCCTTTGGGG) and the three corresponding 18-mers containing one G and two C tracts each forms a single hairpin duplex with a dangling single strand. The design of the sequences has led to the conclusion that the two G tracts are antiparallel to each other in such a triplex. Magnesium chloride titrations indicate that Mg2+ is not essential for such an intramolecular triplex formation. The main advantage of our constructs when compared to the intermolecular triplex formation is that the shorter triplex stem can be formed in a much lower DNA concentration. The merit of G.G.C triplex, in contrast to that of C+.G.C, lies in the fact that acidic condition is not required in its formation and will, thus, greatly expand our repertoire in the triplex strategy for the recognition and cleavage of duplex DNA. Spectral binding studies with actinomycin D (ACTD) and chromomycin A3 (CHR) as well as fluorescence lifetime measurements with ethidium bromide (EB) suggest that although hairpin duplexes bind these drugs quite well, the intramolecular triplexes bind poorly. Interestingly, the binding densities for the strong-binding hairpins obtained from Scatchard plots are about one ACTD molecule per oligomeric strand, whereas more than two drug molecules are found in the case of CHR, in agreement with the recent NMR studies indicating that CHR binds to DNA in the form of a dimer.     

Location of chromophoric residues in ribonuclease T1 by solvent perturbation difference spectroscopy.

When beef liver microsomes are labeled with UDP-[³H]N-acetyl glucosamine, three different lipid-bound saccharides are labeled: dolichol pyrophosphoryl-GlcNAc, dolichol pyrophosphoryl-(GlcNAc)₂ and a previously uncharacterized compound (component III). Incubation with UDP leads to the disappearance of dolichol pyrophosphoryl-(GlcNac)₂ from microsomes prelabeled with UDP-³H-N-acetyl glucosamine. This result provides further support for the suggestion of Leloir $\text{et}\text{al.}$ (6) that dolichol pyrophosphoryl-(GlcNAc)₂ is synthesized from dolichol pyrophosphoryl-GlcNAc and UDP-N-acetyl glucosamine. Component III cannot be discharged with UMP or UDP. It elutes from DEAE-cellulose exactly as the other components. The saccharide portion of component III has a molecular weight of 800–900 and contains glucose in addition to N-acetyl glucosamine.     

The structure and function of ribonuclease T1. XXI. Modification of histidine residues in ribonuclease T1 with iodoacetamide.

1. When ribonuclease T1 [EC 3.1.4.8] (0.125% solution) was treated with a 760-fold molar excess of iodoacetamide at pH 8.0 and 37 degrees, about 90% of the original activity was lost in 24 hr. The half-life of the activity was about 8 hr. The binding ability for 3'-GMP was lost simultaneously. Changes were detected only in histidine and the amino-terminal alanine residues upon amino acid analyses of the inactivated protein and its chymotryptic peptides. The inactivation occurred almost in parallel with the loss of two histidine residues in the enzyme. The pH dependences of the rate of inactivation and that of loss of histidine residues were similar and indicated the implication of a histidine residue or residues with pKa 7.5 to 8 in this reaction. 3'-GMP and guanosine showed some protective effect against loss of activity and of histidine residues. The reactivity of histidine residues was also reduced by prior modification of glutamic acid-58 with iodoacetate, of lysine-41 with maleic or cis-aconitic anhydride or 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonate or of arginine-77 with ninhydrin. 2. Analyses of the chymotryptic peptides from oxidized samples of the iodoacetamide-inactivated enzyme showed that histidine-92 and histidine-40 reacted with iodoacetamide most rapidly and at similar rates, whereas histidine-27 was least reactive. Alkylation of histidine-92 was markedly slowed down when the Glu58-carboxymethylated enzyme was treated with iodoacetamide. On the other hand, alkylation of histidine-40 was slowed down most in the presence of 3'-GMP. These results suggest that histidine-92 and histidine-40 are involved in the catalytic action, probably forming part of the catalytic site and part of the binding site, respectively, and that histidine-27 is partially buried in the enzyme molecule or interacts strongly with some other residue, thus becoming relatively unreactive.     

Identification of two essential histidine residues of ribonuclease T2 from Aspergillus oryzae

Ribonuclease (RNase) T2 from Aspergillus oryzae was modified by diethyl pyrocarbonate and iodoacetic acid. RNase T2 was rapidly inactivated by diethyl pyrocarbonate above pH 6.0 and by incorporation of a carboxymethyl group. No inactivation occurred in the presence of 3'AMP. 1H-NMR titration and photo-chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization experiments demonstrated that two histidine residues were involved in the active site of RNase T2. Furthermore, analysis of inactive carboxymethylated RNase T2 showed that both His53 and His115 were partially modified to yield a total of one mole of N tau-carboxymethylhistidine/mole enzyme. The results indicate that the two histidine residues in the active site of RNase T2 are essential for catalysis and that modification of either His53 or His115 inactivates the enzyme.     

Liver-infiltrating T lymphocytes are attracted selectively by IFN-inducible protein-10

We have demonstrated that interferon-inducible protein-10 (IP-10) is produced in hepatocytes surrounded by infiltrative mononuclear cells in chronic hepatitis. To clarify the role of IP-10 in hepatitis, we examined the chemoattractive activity of IP-10 on liver-infiltrating lymphocytes in experimental animal models of hepatitis. IP-10 was specifically induced in the livers of mice treated intravenously (i.v.) with Con A, while monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) showed a much lower level of induction and neither RANTES nor macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha (MIP-1alpha) was detected. The liver-infiltrating lymphocytes in Con A-induced hepatitis were attracted only by IP-10, and not by other chemokines such as RANTES, MCP-1 and MIP-1alpha. The chemoattractive effect of IP-10 was dose-dependent and was neutralized by monoclonal antibodies to IP-10. The specific effect of IP-10 on liver-infiltrating lymphocytes was also seen on those obtained from rat livers with fulminant hepatitis induced by sequential treatment with killed Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) and LPS. Peripheral blood lymphocytes were slightly attracted by IP-10 as well as RANTES and MIP-1alpha, while hepatic resident lymphocytes were not. On the other hand, thioglycolate-elicited peritoneal macrophages did not respond to IP-10, although they did show a response to RANTES, MCP-1 and MIP-1alpha. These results indicated that IP-10 is a specific chemoattractant for T lymphocytes in the inflammatory liver tissues and may play a specific role in the development of hepatitis.     

Deoxyribosyl transfer catalysis with trans-N-deoxyribosylase. Kinetic study of purine(pyrimidine) to pyrimidine(purine) trans-N-deoxyribosylase.

Kinetic studies were carried out in order to investigate the enzymic mechanism of a 215-fold-purified purine(pyrimidine) nucleoside: purine(pyrimidine) deoxyribosyl transferase fraction from Lactobacillus helveticus. A variety of natural deoxyribonucleosides and bases were used as substrates. Initial velocity, product inhibition and isotopic exchange studies are consistent with a ping-pong bi-bi mechanism. The kinetic parameters are used to show that this fraction is free from any contamination by a specific purine nucleoside: purine deoxyribosyl transferase also found in the same strain of L. helveticus.     

Complexes formed by (pyrimidine)n . (purine)n DNAs on lowering the pH are three-stranded.

(Pyrimidine)n . (purine)n DNAs of repeating sequences form a distinctive complex on lowering the pH below 6. Previously this complex was thought to be tetra-stranded. The present work is inconsistent with this view, and four lines of evidence show that the complex consists of a triplex together with a poly d(purine) possessing secondary structure. Formula: (see text). (a) S1 nuclease digestion leads to degradation of 50% of the poly d(purine) content of the pH 5-induced complex. (b) Buoyant density studies demonstrate that there is no interaction between the triplex and added free poly d(purine) and also that the complex formed from duplex DNA contained poly d(purine) which is free to form a triplex on addition of an appropriate poly d(pyrimidine) in the correct stoichiometry. (c) The hyperchromic shifts of the triplex and poly d(purine), upon melting, are mutually independent. (d) The circular dichroism spectrum of the complex is simply the weighted average of a triplex together with a free poly d(purine). The triplexes have tm's approximately 20 degrees higher than the corresponding duplexes under comparable conditions and they are extremely resistant to various deoxyribonucleases; properties which may prove useful for their isolation from natural sources.     

Facile preparation of purine and pyrimidine 2-deoxy-beta-D-ribonucleosides by biotransformation on encapsulated cells

A preparative-scale synthesis of pyrimidine or purine 2'-deoxy-beta-D-ribonucleosides from a heterocyclic base and 2'-deoxyuridine proceeds by biotransformation reaction in the presence of thymine-dependent E. coli mutant cells encapsulated in alginate gel. The products are isolated by octadecyl-silica or ion-exchange chromatography.     

Dose-response curves of gamma-irradiated purine and pyrimidine powders.

E.s.r. spectra have been obtained of gamma-irradiated dry purine and pyrimidine powders. Relative radical yields have been calculated and dose-response curves obtained. Relative recombination rates and recombination rates and formation rates of the radicals have been derived from the dose-response curves. The effect of crystalline structure on the dose-response curves is discussed.     

Stability of ribonuclease T2 from Aspergillus oryzae.

The stability of ribonuclease T2 (RNase T2) from Aspergillus oryzae against guanidine hydrochloride and heat was studied by using CD and fluorescence. RNase T2 unfolded and refolded reversibly concomitant with activity, but the unfolding and refolding rates were very slow (order of hours). The free energy change for unfolding of RNase T2 in water was estimated to be 5.3 kcal.mol-1 at 25 degrees C by linear extrapolation method. From the thermal unfolding experiment in 20 mM sodium phosphate buffer at pH 7.5, the Tm and the enthalpy change of RNase T2 were found to be 55.3 degrees C and 119.1 kcal.mol-1, respectively. From these equilibrium and kinetic studies, it was found that the stability of RNAse T2 in the native state is predominantly due to the slow rate of unfolding.     

Partial purification and immobilization of ribonuclease T2.

A simple procedure, consisting of water extraction, heat treatment at pH 2.0, negative adsorption on DEAE-cellulose at pH 4.9, and concanavalin A-Sepharose chromatography, was developed for the partial purification of ribonuclease (RNase) T2 from taka-diastase powder with an overall yield of 5.5%. The partially purified enzyme when coupled to aminoethyl Bio-Gel P-60, retained 12-16% of the activity of the soluble enzyme. Temperature stability studies on RNase T2 bound to matrices, activated with increasing concentrations of glutaraldehyde, and the influence of lysine modification on the activity of the soluble enzyme revealed that the low activity observed for the gel-bound enzyme is probably due to the masking of the active site of the enzyme as a result of the involvement of lysine residues, situated near the active site, during coupling. Immobilization did not affect the pH and temperature optima of RNase T2. On repeated use, the bound enzyme retained approximately 55% of its initial activity after six cycles. These results are discussed, taking into consideration the factors affecting immobilized enzymes.