Evidence for the evolutionary relatedness of the proteins of the bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system

The phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system (PTS) found in enteric bacteria is a complex enzyme system consisting of a non-sugar-specific phosphotransfer protein called Enzyme I, two small non-sugar-specific phosphocarrier substrates of Enzyme I, designated HPr and FPr, and at least 11 sugar-specific Enzymes II or Enzyme II-III pairs which are phosphorylated at the expense of phospho-HPr or phospho-FPr. In this communication, evidence is presented which suggests that these proteins share a common evolutionary origin and that a fructose-specific phosphotransferase may have been the primordial ancestor of them all. The evidence results from an evaluation of 1) PTS protein sequence data; 2) structural analysis of operons encoding proteins of the PTS; 3) genetic regulatory mechanisms controlling expression of these operons; 4) enzymatic characteristics of the PTS systems; 5) immunological cross reactivities of these proteins; 6) comparative studies of phosphotransferase systems from evolutionarily divergent bacteria; 7) the nature of the phosphorylated protein intermediates; 8) molecular weight comparisons among the different Enzymes II and Enzyme II-III pairs; and 9) interaction studies involving different PTS protein constituents. The evidence leads to a unifying theory concerning the evolutionary origin of the system, explains many structural, functional, and regulatory properties of the phosphotransferase system, and leads to specific predictions which should guide future research concerned with genetic, biochemical, and physiological aspects of the system.     

The bacterial phosphotransferase system: kinetic characterization of the glucose, mannitol, glucitol, and N-acetylglucosamine systems

The kinetic mechanisms by which the glucose, glucitol, N-acetylglucosamine, and mannitol enzymes II catalyze sugar phosphorylation have been investigated in vitro. Lineweaver-Burk analyses indicate that the glucose and glucitol enzymes II catalyze sugar phosphorylation by a sequential mechanism when the two substrates are phospho-enzyme III and sugar. The N-acetylglucosamine and mannitol enzymes II, which do not function with an enzyme III, catalyze sugar phosphorylation by a ping-pong mechanism when the two substrates are phospho-HPr and sugar. These results, as well as previously published kinetic characterizations, suggest a common kinetic mechanism for all enzymes II of the system. It is suggested that all enzymes II and enzyme II-III pairs arose from a single (fused) gene product containing two sites of phosphorylation and that phosphoryl transfer from the second phosphorylation site to sugar can only occur when the enzyme II-III pair is present in the associated state.     

Impact of intrinsic properties and synaptic factors on the activity of neocortical networks in vivo.

To investigate the relative impact of intrinsic and synaptic factors in the maintenance of the membrane potential of cat neocortical neurons in various states of the network, we performed intracellular recordings in vivo. Experiments were done in the intact cortex and in isolated neocortical slabs of anesthetized animals, and in naturally sleeping and awake cats. There are at least four different electrophysiological cell classes in the neocortex. The responses of different neuronal classes to direct depolarization result in significantly different responses in postsynaptic cells. The activity patterns observed in the intact cortex of anesthetized cats depended mostly on the type of anesthesia. The intracellular activity in small neocortical slabs was composed of silent periods, lasting for tens of seconds, during which only small depolarizing potentials (SDPs, presumed miniature synaptic potentials) were present, and relatively short-lasting (a few hundred milliseconds) active periods. Our data suggest that minis might be amplified by intrinsically-bursting neurons and that the persistent Na+ current brings neurons to firing threshold, thus triggering active periods. The active periods in neurons were composed of the summation of synaptic events and intrinsic depolarizing currents. In chronically-implanted cats, slow-wave sleep was characterized by active (depolarizing) and silent (hyperpolarizing) periods. The silent periods were absent in awake cats. We propose that both intrinsic and synaptic factors are responsible for the transition from silent to active states found in naturally sleeping cats and that synaptic depression might be responsible for the termination of active states during sleep. In view of the unexpected high firing rates of neocortical neurons during the depolarizing epochs in slow-wave sleep, we suggest that cortical neurons are implicated in short-term plasticity processes during this state, in which the brain is disconnected from the outside world, and that memory traces acquired during wakefulness may be consolidated during sleep.     

Monitoring the Uptake of Protein-Derived Peptides by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Porphyromonas gingivalis</Emphasis> with Fluorophore-Labeled Substrates

The aim of this study was to develop a simple method to quantify peptide uptake by the periodontopathogenic bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis. After incubation of bacterial cells with self-quenched fluorescent bovine serum albumin (DQ™ Green BSA), the fluorescence measured in the supernatant of the assay mixture indicated the degree of protein degradation, whereas the fluorescence associated with the lysate of washed cells indicated the amount of BSA-derived fragments incorporated by the bacteria. The optimal conditions for uptake of fluorophore-labeled albumin fragments were found to be mid-log grown cells, 150 mM NaCl in phosphate buffer, pH 7, 37°C, and anaerobiosis. Among the protease inhibitors tested, 4-(2-aminoethyl)-benzene sulfonyl-fluoride hydrochloride (AEBSF) and cathepsin B inhibitor II caused a significant inhibition of the uptake of BSA-derived peptides. This assay was applicable for other commercially available fluorescent substrates. This simple method may be useful to investigate protein processing in proteolytic bacteria and for studying the effects of environmental parameters or cell treatments on the peptide uptake. Received: 3 July 2002 / Accepted: 27 August 2002