Calmodulin binds to inv protein: Implication for the regulation of inv function

Establishment of the left-right asymmetry of internal organs is essential for the normal development of vertebrates. The inv mutant in mice shows a constant reversal of left-right asymmetry and although the inv gene has been cloned, its biochemical and cell biological functions have not been defined. Here, we show that calmodulin binds to mouse inv protein at two sites (IQ1 and IQ2). The binding of calmodulin to the IQ2 site occurs in the absence of Ca(2+) and is not observed in the presence of Ca(2+). Injection of mouse inv mRNA into the right blastomere of Xenopus embryos at the two-cell stage randomized the left-right asymmetry of the embryo and altered the patterns of Xnr-1 and Pitx2 expression. Importantly, inv mRNA that lacked the region encoding the IQ2 site was unable to randomize left-right asymmetry in Xenopus embryos, implying that the IQ2 site is essential for inv to randomize left-right asymmetry in Xenopus. These results suggest that calmodulin binding may regulate inv function. Based on our findings, we propose a model for the regulation of inv function by calcium-calmodulin and discuss its implications.     

Flavocytochrome c of Chromatium vinosum. Some enzymatic properties and subunit structure.

The function and the structural features of Chromatium vinosum cytochrome c-552 have been investigated. Cytochrome c-552 has a sulfide-cytochrome c reductase activity and also catalyzes the reduction of elementary sulfur to sulfide with reduced benzylviologen as the electron donor. In the sulfide-cytochrome reduction, horse and yeast cytochromes c act as good electron acceptors, but cytochrome c' or cytochrome c-553(550) purified from the organism does not. The subunit structure of cytochrome c-552 has been studied. The cytochrome is split by 6 M urea into cytochrome and flavoprotein moieties with molecular weights of 21,000 and 46,000, respectively. The flavoprotein moiety is obtained by isoelectric focusing in the presence of 6 M urea and 0.1% beta-mercaptoethanol, while the hemoprotein moiety is obtained by gel filtration with Sephacryl S-200 in the presence of 6 M urea and 0.1 M KCl. Neither subunit has sulfide-cytochrome c reductase activity. Attempts to reconstitute the original flavocytochrome c from the subunits have been unsuccessful.     

Cytochrome cb-type nitric oxide reductase with cytochrome c oxidase activity from Paracoccus denitrificans ATCC 35512.

A highly active nitric oxide reductase was purified from Paracoccus denitrificans ATCC 35512, formerly named Thiosphaera pantotropha, which was anaerobically cultivated in the presence of nitrate. The enzyme was composed of two subunits with molecular masses of 34 and 15 kDa and contained two hemes b and one heme c per molecule. Copper was not found in the enzyme. The spectral properties suggested that one of the two hemes b and heme c were in six-coordinated low-spin states and another heme b was in a five-coordinated high-spin state and reacted with carbon monoxide. The enzyme showed high cytochrome c-nitric oxide oxidoreductase activity and formed nitrous oxide from nitric oxide with the expected stoichiometry when P. denitrificans ATCC 35512 ferrocytochrome c-550 was used as the electron donor. The V max and Km values for nitric oxide were 84 micromol of nitric oxide per min/mg of protein and 0.25 microM, respectively. Furthermore, the enzyme showed ferrocytochrome c-550-O2 oxidoreductase activity with a V max of 8.4 micromol of O2 per min/mg of protein and a Km value of 0.9 mM. Both activities were 50% inhibited by about 0.3 mM KCN.     

Stopped-flow and rapid-scan studies of the redox behavior of cytochrome aco from facultative alkalophilic Bacillus

Cytochrome aco purified from an alkalophilic bacterium grown at pH 10 contains hemes a, b, and c as prosthetic groups, and their redox behavior was examined by using stopped-flow and rapid-scan techniques. Under anaerobic conditions the reduction of both heme a and c moieties with dithionite proceeded exponentially but with different rates, usually the former being reduced about 4 times faster than the latter. The reduction of protoheme was much slower, and a time-difference spectrum for this species was of a high spin type with absorption peaks at 433, 557, and 609 nm. Only the protoheme combined with CO, fulfilling the criteria for cytochrome o. Potentiometric titrations determined a midpoint potential of c heme to be 95 mV at pH 7.0 and 25 degrees C and suggested the presence of two forms of a heme with midpoint potentials of 250 and 323 mV. Cytochrome aco utilizes ascorbate plus N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD) to reduce oxygen relatively rapidly without added cytochrome c (Qureshi, M. H., Yumoto, I., Fujiwara, T., Fukumori, Y., Yamanaka, T. (1990) J. Biochem. 107, 480-485). During the steady state, however, heme a stayed almost fully reduced in contrast to a partial reduction of heme c. Even after exhaustion of the dissolved oxygen the extent of reduction of heme c was 60-70% that attained by the dithionite reduction. When ascorbate plus TMPD-reduced cytochrome aco was exposed to oxygen the reduced heme c was oxidized rapidly whereas the oxidation of reduced a heme was negligibly slow. The full reduction of heme a during the steady state and its extremely slow oxidation rendered participation of heme a in the oxidase reaction less likely. A novel peak appearing transiently around 567 nm during the reaction was tentatively ascribed to an intermediate form of protoheme, or o heme, which was thus supposed to react directly with molecular oxygen. These results suggest strongly that the main electron transfer pathway would be c----o----oxygen. A possible role of a in regulating the electron flow through the main pathway and its functional relationship to a heme in the aa3-type cytochrome oxidase were discussed.     

The complete amino acid sequence of Nitrobacter agilis cytochrome c-550

The amino acid sequence of cytochrome c-550 from the chemoautotroph, Nitrobacter agilis, was completed by using solid-phase sequencing and conventional procedures. The cytochrome was composed of 109 amino acid residues and its molecular weight was calculated to be 12375 including haem c. The cytochrome was homologous to eukaryotic cytochromes c and some photosynthetic bacterial cytochromes c2. In particular, its primary structure was very similar to that of Rhodopseudomonas viridis cytochrome c2. Some of its properties were compared with those of other cytochromes c on the basis of the primary structure.     

Functional and Structural Comparisons between Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic aa3-Type Cytochrome c Oxidases from an Evolutionary Point of View

The specificities for cytochrome c of the aa3-type cytochromec oxidase were studied with enzymes derived from Thiobacillusnovellas, Nitrobacter agilis, Paracoccus denitrificans and thecow in reaction with the cytochromes c from 5 prokaryotes and7 eukaryotes. The T. novellus enzyme reacted most rapidly withthe cytochromes c of Candida krusei, tuna and bonito as wellas T. novellus cytochrome c; the specificity for cytochromec of the N. agilis enzyme was similar to that of the T. novellusenzyme. The bovine enzyme reacted rapidly with all the eukaryoticcytochromes c tested. The P. denitrificans enzyme showed a specificitysimilar to that of the bovine enzyme, except that it reactedrapidly with P. denitrificans cytochrome c, while the bovineenzyme reacted with it very poorly. All four kinds of enzymesshowed an extremely limited reaction with Pseudomonas aeruginosacytochrome c. The amino acid composition of subunit I of the N. agilis enzymeresembled that of the bovine enzyme, while the compositionsof their subunits II were different. On the basis of these results,an evolutionary relationship between bacterial and eukaryoticenzymes was discussed. (Received May 21, 1981; Accepted August 20, 1981)     

Purification and characterization of catalase from a facultative alkalophilic Bacillus

Catalase was purified to an electrophoretically homogeneous state from the facultative alkalophilic bacterium, Bacillus YN-2000, and some of its properties were studied. Its molecular weight was 282,000 and its molecule was composed of four identical subunits. The enzyme contained two protoheme molecules per tetramer. The enzyme showed an absorption spectrum of typical high-spin ferric heme with a peak at 406 nm in the oxidized form and peaks at 440, 559, and 592 nm in the reduced form. In contrast to the typical catalases, the enzyme was reduced with sodium dithionite, like peroxidases. The enzyme showed an appreciable peroxidase activity in addition to high catalase activity. The amino acid composition of Bacillus YN-2000 catalase was very similar to those of catalase from Neurospora crassa and peroxidase from Halobacterium halobium. The catalase content in the soluble fraction from the bacterium was higher with the cells grown at pH 10 than with the cells grown at lower pHs (pH 7-9).     

A Hydroxylamine-Cytochrome c Reductase Occurs in the Heterotrophic Nitrifier Arthrobacter globiformis

A partially purified cell-free extract of Arthrobacter globiformisshowed hydroxylamine-cytochrome c reductase activity. The enzymedid not seem to contain cytochrome, it was activated by ferrousions and inhibited by EDTA, and had an optimal pH of 9. ¹ On leave from Suido Kiko Kaisha, Ltd., Tokyo.     

A comparative survey of several bacterial aa3-type cytochrome c oxidases

The aa3-type cytochrome c oxidases purified from Nitrobacter agilis, Thiobacillus novellus, Nitrosomonas europaea, and Pseudomonas AM 1 were compared. They have haem a and copper atom as the prosthertic groups and show alpha and gamma absorption peaks at around 600 and 440 nm, respectively. Each oxidase molecule is composed of two kinds of subunits. The N. agilis oxidase has 2 moles of haem a and 2 atoms of copper in the minimal structural unit composed of one molecule each of the two kinds of subunits, while the T. novellus enzyme seems to contain one molecule of the haem and one atom of the metal in the unit. The N. europaea oxidase shows very low affinity for carbon monoxide. Each oxidase reacts rapidly with some eukaryotic cytochromes c as well as with its native cytochrome c. The cytochrome c oxidase activity of the N. agilis oxidase is 50% inhibited by 1 microM KCN, while 50% inhibition of the activity requires 100 microM KCN in the case of the N. europaea enzyme.