Neocarzinostatin chromophore binds to deoxyribonucleic acid by intercalation

The nonprotein chromophore of neocarzinostatin was found to share many of the characteristics of classical intercalators in its interaction with DNA. Viscosity studies with PM2 DNA indicated that the DNA helix unwinding induced by the chromophore was 0.82 times that of ethidium or 21 degrees. Electric dichroism of the chromophore--DNA complex showed that each bound chromophore molecule lengthened DNA by 3.3 A and that absorbance transitions of the chromophore at 315--385 nm were oriented approximately parallel to DNA bases, as expected for an intercalated aromatic ring. Binding to DNA induced strong hypochromicity and a pronounced red shift in the absorbance spectrum of the chromophore. Spectrophotometric titrations suggested at least two types of chromophore binding sites on DNA; one type of site was saturated at rb = 0.125 chromophore molecule/nucleotide, but binding to additional sites continued to at least rb = 0.3. These physical--chemical studies were performed at pH 4--5 in order to keep the chromophore stable, but chromophore bound to an excess of DNA at pH 7 showed a stable absorbance spectrum identical with that seen at pH 4--5, suggesting that a similar type of binding occurs at neutral pH. Chromophore which had spontaneously degraded in pH 8 buffer did not bind to DNA at all, as judged by absorbance spectroscopy. The degree of protection afforded by DNA against spontaneous chromophore degradation implied a dissociation constant of approximately 5 microM for the DNA--chromophore complex at neutral pH and physiological ionic strength. Supercoiled DNA was nearly twice as effective as relaxed DNA in protecting chromophore from degradation, providing additional evidence for intercalation at neutral pH. Comparison of absorbance, fluorescence, and dichroism spectra suggests that the naphthalene ring system is the intercalating moiety.     

Accessibility of the iodopsin chromophore.

Iodopsin can replace its chromophore (11-cis retinal) by added 9-cis retinal, resulting in the formation of isoiodopsin. NaBH4 bleaches iodopsin in the dark. In a relatively low concentration of digitonin, the scotopsin (the protein moiety of chicken rhodopsin) removes 11-cis retinal from iodopsin in the dark. These facts suggest that the linkage of the chromophore to opsin in the iodopsin molecule (presumably a Schiff-base linkage) is accessible to these reagents, which is different from the situation in rhodopsin.     

Accessibility of the iodopsin chromophore

Iodopsin can replace its chromophore (11-cis retinal) by added 9-cis retinal, resulting in the formation of isoiodopsin. NaBH₄ bleaches iodopsin in the dark. In a relatively low concentration of digitonin, the scotopsin (the protein moiety of chicken rhodopsin) removes 11-cis retinal from isopsin in the iodopsin These facts suggests that the linkage of the chromophore to opsin in the iodopsin molecule (presumably a Schiff-base linkage) is accessible to these reagents, which is different from the situation in rhodopsin.     

The structure-activity relationship of ferric pyoverdine bound to its outer membrane transporter: implications for the mechanism of iron uptake

Under iron limitation, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 15692 secretes a major siderophore, pyoverdine I (PvdI). This molecule chelates iron in the extracellular medium and shuttles it into the cells via a specific outer membrane transporter, FpvAI. PvdI consists of a fluorescent chromophore derived from 2,3-diamino-6,7-dihydroxyquinoline and containing one of the bidentate groups involved in iron chelation, linked to a peptide moiety containing the two other bidentate groups required for binding to Fe(3+). Kinetic studies, based on the fluorescence properties of this siderophore, showed that pH 8.0 was optimal for the binding of PvdI and PvdI-Fe to FpvAI. We investigated the mechanism of interaction of PvdI and PvdI-Fe with FpvAI, by synthesizing various analogues of this siderophore, determining their affinity for FpvAI in vitro and in vivo and their ability to transport iron, and interpreting the results obtained in light of the structure of FpvAI-PvdI. Our findings demonstrate that the succinyl moiety linked to the chromophore of PvdI and the first amino acid of the peptide moiety can be sterically hindered with no effect on binding or the iron uptake properties of PvdI-Fe. Moreover, the sequence and the structure of the peptide moiety of PvdI seems to be more important for the iron uptake step than for the binding of the siderophore to FpvAI. Finally, the efficiency of iron uptake and of recycling of the various PvdI analogues after iron release suggests that iron dissociates from PvdI on FpvAI or in the periplasm. All these data have serious implications for the specificity and mechanism of PvdI-mediated iron transport in P. aeruginosa.     

Bacterial siderophores: structure elucidation, and 1H, 13C and 15N two-dimensional NMR assignments of azoverdin and related siderophores synthesized by Azomonas macrocytogenes ATCC 12334

Two major azoverdins were isolated from the cultures of Azomonas macrocytogenes ATCC 12334 grown in irondeficient medium. Their structures have been established using fast atom bombardment-mass spectroscopy, homonuclear and heteronuclear two-dimensional ¹⁵N, ¹³C and ¹H NMR, and circular dichroism techniques. These siderophores are chromopeptides possessing at the N-terminal end of their peptide chain the chromophore derived from 2,3-diamino-6,7-dihydroxyquinoline common to pyoverdins. The linear peptide chain (l)-Hse-(d)-AcOHOrn-(d)-Ser-(l)-AcOHOrn-(d)-Hse-(l)-CTHPMD has at its C-terminal end a new natural amino acid which is the result of the condensation of 1 mol of homoserine and 1 mol of 2,4-diaminobutyric acid forming a cyclic amidine belonging to the tetrahydropyrimidine family: 2-homoseryl-4-carboxyl-3,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidine. The azoverdins differ only by a substitutent bound to the nitrogen on C-3 of the chromophore: azoverdin, the most abundant one, possesses a succinamide moiety, whereas azoverdin A bears a succinic acid moiety. ¹⁵N-labelled azoverdin afforded readily, after the complete assignment of the ¹⁵N spectrum of the siderophore, a sequence determination of the peptidic part of the molecule and gave evidence for the presence of two tetrahydropyrimidine groups on the molecule: one on the chromophore and the second at the C-terminal end of the siderophore.     

Synthesis of 11-cis-locked bicyclo[5.1.0]octanyl retinal and an enantioselective binding to bovine opsin

Both enantiomers of 13-(E) and 13-(Z) isomers of 11-cis-locked bicyclo[5.1.0]octanyl retinal were prepared by an improved synthesis and incubated with bovine opsin. The synthesis also establishes the absolute configuration of the enantiomers. Only one of the enantiomers binds to opsin, thus showing the steric restrictions regarding the middle polyene moiety of the retinoid molecule; this is in sharp contrast to the known leniency of the ring moiety binding site of retinoids. However, although one enantiomer is incorporated into the pigment, the circular dichroic spectrum of the pigment incorporating the bound enantiomer yields only a very weak Cotton effect, showing that, once incorporated, the bicyclo[5.1.0]octanyl chromophore is flattened by the opsin binding site. The titled retinoid was synthesized for study of the absolute conformation of the retinal pigment in rhodopsin.     

A convenient synthesis of labelled rhodopsin and studies on its active site

Digitonin solutions of labelled rhodopsin, containing (3)H in the retinyl moiety, were prepared by two related methods. Labelled rhodopsin was also prepared for the first time in cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and purified by column chromatography. It was shown that only certain rhodopsin preparations on denaturation in the dark and the reduction with sodium borohydride gave up to 60% of the radioactivity in a fraction characterized as N-retinylphosphatidylethanolamine. Such preparations also gave a lipid-linked retinyl moiety at the metarhodopsin-I stage, but, as expected, a protein-linked retinyl moiety at the metarhodopsin-II stage. Other preparations however, gave exclusively protein-bound radioactivity at the native-rhodopsin, metarhodopsin-I and metarhodopsin-II stages. It is therefore conceivable that the formation of N-retinylphosphatidylethanolamine is due to a non-enzymic reaction resulting from the transfer of the retinyl moiety from its native site to an amino group of a favourably oriented phospholipid molecule. The only firmly established aspect of the rhodopsin active site remains the demonstration in our previous work that at the metarhodopsin-II stage the retinyl moiety is linked to an in-amino group of lysine. On the basis of chemical reactivity it is argued that the light-induced conversion of rhodopsin into metarhodopsin II involves a profound conformational change resulting in the dislocation of the retinylideneiminium chromophore from a non-polar environment in rhodopsin to a polar environment in metarhodopsin II.     

Binding of a distamycin-ellipticine hybrid molecule to DNA and chromatin: spectroscopic, biochemical, and molecular modeling investigations.

A bifunctional molecule in which an ellipticine chromophore is attached to a distamycin residue via a diaminopropyl tether has been designed and synthesized in the expectation of creating a hybrid molecule capable of bidentate binding to DNA by both intercalation and minor-groove interactions. The strength and mode of binding to DNA of this conjugate have been studied by means of circular and linear dichroism as well as by stopped-flow kinetics and measurements of reactivity toward a chemical probe. The results converge to reveal that the ellipticine moiety of the hybrid largely dominates the binding reaction with DNA. In the presence of chromatin, the hybrid molecule binds preferentially to the internucleosomal DNA, a preference dictated by its intercalating chromophore. Theoretical computations were performed on the comparative complexation energies of distamycin, the ellipticine derivative, and the hybrid ligand with a B-representative octanucleotide, d(GCATATGC)2. The best binding configuration of the ellipticine derivative locates its aminoalkyl side chain in the minor groove where distamycin is also present. The molecular modeling analysis fully supports the involvement of a bimodal binding process for the hybrid and reveals that the binding of the conjugate to DNA favors a pronounced bending toward the minor groove. This effect is attributed to intercalation of the ellipticine chromophore. An interesting link is established between the DEPC reactivity experiments and the theoretical computations, suggesting that DEPC can be used as a probe for drug-induced DNA bending. On the basis of these results, we propose the design of a new hybrid ligand bearing an additional positively-charged amidine side chain to confer higher DNA-binding affinity.     

Separation and characteristics of the components of the antibiotic virenomycin

The composition of virenomycin, a new antitumor antibiotic was studied. Two components V and M were detected with high resolution liquid chromatography and thin layer chromatography on siluphol (Czechoslovakia) and silica gel (Merk, BRD). A preparative method for separation of the antibiotic components with the use of chromatography on columns with silica gel was developed. Biological and physicochemical properties of separate components were studied to show that they significantly differed by their antibacterial action in vitro: virenomycin V was 2 to 4 times more active than virenomycin M against a number of microbes. The physicochemical properties of the components are similar. It was shown with mass spectrometry that the molecular weight of virenomycin is 12 units higher than that of virenomycin M. The PMR spectra showed that this difference is due to the presence of a vinyl group in the chromophore moiety of the virenomycin V molecule and a methyl group at the similar site of the virenomycin M molecule.     

Molecular dynamics simulations investigation of neocarzinostatin chromophore-releasing pathways from the holo-NCS protein

The enediyne ring chromophore with strong DNA cleavage activity of neocarzinostatin is labile and therefore stabilization by forming the complex (carrying protein + chromophore: holo-NCS). Holo-NCS has gained much attention in clinical use as well as for drug delivery systems, but the chromophore-releasing mechanism to trigger binding to the target DNA with high affinity and producing DNA damage remain unclear. Three possible pathways were initially determined by conventional MD, essential dynamics and essential dynamics sampling. One of the paths runs along the naphthoate moiety; another runs along the amino sugar moiety; the third along the enediyne ring. Further, calculated forces and time by FPMD (force-probe molecular dynamics) suggest that the opening of the naphthoate moiety is most favorable pathway and Leu45, Phe76 and Phe78 all are key residues for chromophore release. In addition, conformational analyses indicate that the chromophore release is only local motions for the protein.     

Thermal denaturation and photochemistry of bacteriorhodopsin from Halobacterium cutirubrum as monitored by resonance Raman spectroscopy.

Resonance Raman studies of the thermal denaturation of bacteriorhodopsin from Halobacterium cutirubrum show that the N-retinylidenelysine moiety present in the chromophore is N-protonated. This corroborates an earlier suggestion of Lewis et al. ((1974) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S., 71, 4462-4466). The widely differing excitation profiles of two -C=C- stretching modes are explained in terms of the light-initiated reaction cycle in the molecule. Glutaraldehyde fixation of bacteriorhodopsin has no effect on the intensity ratio of the two modes, suggesting that no large motion of the protein is necessary for the photoreaction cycle to occur.     

Variations on the GFP chromophore: A polypeptide fragmentation within the chromophore revealed in the 2.1-A crystal structure of a nonfluorescent chromoprotein from Anemonia sulcata

We have determined to 2.1 A resolution the crystal structure of a dark state, kindling fluorescent protein isolated from the sea anemone, Anemonia sulcata. The chromophore sequence Met(63)-Tyr(64)-Gly(65) of the A. sulcata chromoprotein was previously proposed to comprise a 6-membered pyrazine-type heterocycle (Martynov, V. I., Savitsky, A. P., Martynova, N. Y., Savitsky, P. A., Lukyanov, K. A., and Lukyanov, S. A. (2001) J. Biol. Chem. 276, 21012-21016). However, our crystallographic data revealed the chromophore to comprise a 5-membered p-hydroxybenzylideneimidazolinone moiety that adopts a non-coplanar trans conformation within the interior of the GFP beta-can fold. Unexpectedly, fragmentation of the polypeptide was found to occur within the chromophore moiety, at the bond between Cys(62C) and Met(63N1.) Our structural data reveal that fragmentation of the chromophore represents an intrinsic, autocatalytic step toward the formation of the mature chromophore within the specific GFP-like proteins.     

The opsins

The photosensitive molecule rhodopsin and its relatives consist of a protein moiety - an opsin - and a non-protein moiety - the chromophore retinal. Opsins, which are G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), are found in animals, and more than a thousand have been identified so far. Detailed molecular phylogenetic analyses show that the opsin family is divided into seven subfamilies, which correspond well to functional classifications within the family: the vertebrate visual (transducin-coupled) and non-visual opsin subfamily, the encephalopsin/tmt-opsin subfamily, the G_q-coupled opsin/melanopsin subfamily, the G_o-coupled opsin subfamily, the neuropsin subfamily, the peropsin subfamily and the retinal photoisomerase subfamily. The subfamilies diversified before the deuterostomes (including vertebrates) split from the protostomes (most invertebrates), suggesting that a common animal ancestor had multiple opsin genes. Opsins have a seven-transmembrane structure similar to that of other GPCRs, but are distinguished by a lysine residue that is a retinal-binding site in the seventh helix. Accumulated evidence suggests that most opsins act as pigments that activate G proteins in a light-dependent manner in both visual and non-visual systems, whereas a few serve as retinal photoisomerases, generating the chromophore used by other opsins, and some opsins have unknown functions.     

The pvc Gene Cluster of Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Role in Synthesis of the Pyoverdine Chromophore and Regulation by PtxR and PvdS

A putative operon of four genes implicated in the synthesis of the chromophore moiety of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa siderophore pyoverdine, dubbed pvcABCD (where pvc stands for pyoverdine chromophore), was cloned and sequenced. Mutational inactivation of the pvc genes abrogated pyoverdine biosynthesis, consistent with their involvement in the biosynthesis of this siderophore. pvcABCD expression was negatively regulated by iron and positively regulated by both PvdS, the alternate sigma factor required for pyoverdine biosynthesis, and PtxR, a LysR family activator previously implicated in exotoxin A regulation.     

Structure of the flavin adduct formed in the suicide reaction of alpha-hydroxybutynoate with D-lactate dehydrogenase.

The Zn-dependent flavoenzyme D-lactate dehydrogenase from Megasphaera elsdenii is irreversibly inactivated by the D form of the suicide substrate 2-hydroxy-3-butynoic acid. The process of inactivation involves formation of a new pink chromophore, which can be released in intact form from the protein and which was purified to homogeneity by affinity chromatography. Inactivation involves covalent addition of the suicide substrate to the flavin coenzyme. The optical spectra indicate an elongation of the flavin chromophore, and the chemical reactivity suggests a derivative of reduced flavin. The structure of this adduct was deduced from Fourier transform NMR, from the chemical properties, and from comparison with appropriate models, which were synthesized chemically. This structure involves the covalent linkage of the acetylenic inhibitor to positions N(5) and C(6) of the flavin coenzyme via carbon atoms 2 and 4 of the inhibitor to form an additional fused aromatic ring. The pink adduct can be reconverted to an isoalloxazine chromophore by reduction with borohydride and subsequent reoxidation with oxygen. This new isoalloxazine has the spectral properties of an isoflavin, and it is proposed to carry the moiety of the inactivator molecule as substituent at position C(6). The structure of the pink chromophore representing a cyclic adduct to the flavin positions N(5) and C(6) is compared to that of the adduct obtained from L-lactate oxidase from Mycobacterium smegmatis and the L form of the same inhibitor [C(4a)--N(5) cyclic adduct; Schonbrunn, A., Abeles, R. H., Walsh, C. T., Ghisla, S., Ogata, H., and Massey, V. (1976) Biochemistry 15, 1978]. This comparison allows deductions about the relative orientation of substrate, coenzyme, and active center functional groups in the two enzymes.     

Chemical synthesis and cytotoxicity of dihydroxylated cyclopentenone analogues of neocarzinostatin chromophore

Compounds containing the naphthoate moiety of Neocarzinostatin chromophore or 2-hydroxynaphthoate have been synthesized and evaluated for cytotoxic activity against a leukemia cell line and a small panel of human-tumor cell lines. Those compounds containing a cyclopentenone moiety were active, with the carbonyl group being essential for biological activity.     

A novel small protein associated with a conjugated trienoic chromophore from membranes of scallop adductor muscle: phosphorylation by protein kinase A

Membranes enriched in sarcolemma from the cross-striated adductor muscle of the deep sea scallop have been found to contain a previously undescribed small protein of 6-8 kDa that can be released by treatment with organic solvent mixtures. This proteolipid co-purified with a non-amino acid chromophore containing a conjugated trienoic moiety. Although common in plants and algae, such a stable conjugated trienoic group is unusual for an animal cell. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the protein was XEFQHGLFGXF/ADNIGLQ, which most strongly resembles sequences in the triacyl glycerol lipase precursor and the product of the human breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA 1, but does not show similarity to previously described proteolipids. The protein was found to be one of the major substrates in its parent membrane for the catalytic subunit of protein kinase A, which may imply a regulatory function for this molecule.     

Effect of deprotonation on the conformational state of the tetracycline molecule]

Conformation rearrangements in the tetracycline molecule under the effect of the aqueous medium pH were investigated by circular dichroism and absorption spectrophotometry. Possible causes of the changes in the spectrum after the molecule deprotonation are discussed. An increase in the pH value was accompanied by folding-unfolding of the A-ring of the tetracycline molecule and its transfer within the pH neutral ranges to the conformation close to planar one and after increasing of the aqueous solution polarity to the folded conformation. The BCD chromophore did not change its initial flat conformation during deprotonation. The loss of the proton (4) by the nitrogen atom was accompanied by changes in the A chromophore chirality.     

The 2.1A crystal structure of the far-red fluorescent protein HcRed: inherent conformational flexibility of the chromophore

We have determined the crystal structure of HcRed, a far-red fluorescent protein isolated from Heteractis crispa, to 2.1A resolution. HcRed was observed to form a dimer, in contrast to the monomeric form of green fluorescent protein (GFP) or the tetrameric forms of the GFP-like proteins (eqFP611, Rtms5 and DsRed). Unlike the well-defined chromophore conformation observed in GFP and the GFP-like proteins, the HcRed chromophore was observed to be considerably mobile. Within the HcRed structure, the cyclic tripeptide chromophore, Glu(64)-Tyr(65)-Gly(66), was observed to adopt both a cis coplanar and a trans non-coplanar conformation. As a result of these two conformations, the hydroxyphenyl moiety of the chromophore makes distinct interactions within the interior of the beta-can. These data together with a quantum chemical model of the chromophore, suggest the cis coplanar conformation to be consistent with the fluorescent properties of HcRed, and the trans non-coplanar conformation to be consistent with non-fluorescent properties of hcCP, the chromoprotein parent of HcRed. Moreover, within the GFP-like family, it appears that where conformational freedom is permissible then flexibility in the chromophore conformation is possible.     

Regiospecific O-methylation of naphthoic acids catalyzed by NcsB1, an O-methyltransferase involved in the biosynthesis of the enediyne antitumor antibiotic neocarzinostatin

Neocarzinostatin, a clinical anticancer drug, is the archetypal member of the chromoprotein family of enediyne antitumor antibiotics that are composed of a nonprotein chromophore and an apoprotein. The neocarzinostatin chromophore consists of a nine-membered enediyne core, a deoxyaminosugar, and a naphthoic acid moiety. We have previously cloned and sequenced the neocarzinostatin biosynthetic gene cluster and proposed that the biosynthesis of the naphthoic acid moiety and its incorporation into the neocarzinostatin chromophore are catalyzed by five enzymes NcsB, NcsB1, NcsB2, NcsB3, and NcsB4. Here we report the biochemical characterization of NcsB1, unveiling that: (i) NcsB1 is an S-adenosyl-L-methionine-dependent O-methyltransferase; (ii) NcsB1 catalyzes regiospecific methylation at the 7-hydroxy group of its native substrate, 2,7-dihydroxy-5-methyl-1-naphthoic acid; (iii) NcsB1 also recognizes other dihydroxynaphthoic acids as substrates and catalyzes regiospecific O-methylation; and (iv) the carboxylate and its ortho-hydroxy groups of the substrate appear to be crucial for NcsB1 substrate recognition and binding, and O-methylation takes place only at the free hydroxy group of these dihydroxynaphthoic acids. These findings establish that NcsB1 catalyzes the third step in the biosynthesis of the naphthoic acid moiety of the neocarzinostatin chromophore and further support the early proposal for the biosynthesis of the naphthoic acid and its incorporation into the neocarzinostatin chromophore with free naphthoic acids serving as intermediates. NcsB1 represents another opportunity that can now be exploited to produce novel neocarzinostatin analogs by engineering neocarzinostatin biosynthesis or applying directed biosynthesis strategies.