Analysis by mutagenesis of the ATP binding site of the gamma subunit of skeletal muscle phosphorylase kinase expressed using a baculovirus system.

Active gamma subunit of skeletal muscle phosphorylase kinase has been obtained by expression of the rat soleus cDNA in a baculovirus system. The protein exhibited the expected pH 6.8/8.2 activity ratio of 0.6, and its activity was insensitive to Ca2+ addition, indicating that it was free gamma subunit and not a gamma subunit-calmodulin complex. It was stimulated approximately 2-fold by Ca(2+)-calmodulin addition, demonstrating that it had retained high-affinity calmodulin binding. By site-directed mutagenesis, we have examined the role of six of the amino acids that constitute the consensus ATP binding site of the protein kinase, which in the gamma subunit is represented by the sequence 26Gly.Arg.Gly.Val.Ser.Ser.Val.Val33. Changes were evaluated by the kinetic determination of the dissociation constants of gamma-ATP, gamma-ADP, gamma-AMP.PCP, and gamma-phosphorylase and the maximum catalytic activity. The mutants Ser26-gamma, Ser29-gamma, Phe30-gamma, and Gly31-gamma each exhibited an essentially identical dissociation constant for gamma subunit phosphorylase, indicating that these mutations had not caused a global alteration in the protein structure but were limited to changes in the nucleotide binding site domain. Substitution of either Val33 (by Gly) or Gly28 (by Ser), two of the most conserved residues in all protein kinases, resulted in enzyme with marginally detectable activity. In noted contrast, the Ser26 mutant, which substituted the first glycine of the consensus glycine trio motif, and which is also very highly conserved, retained at least 25% of the enzymatic activity. The Gly31 substitution, which restored a glycine to a position characteristic for most protein kinases, had little overall effect upon the maximum rate of catalysis. Restoration of Ser30 to the more typical phenylalanine, which is present in most protein kinases, had minimal effect on catalysis. These data provide the first direct evaluation of the roles that different residues play within this consensus glycine trio/valine motif of the protein kinases, which up to now have only been surmised to be of importance because of their conservation. Two unexpected findings are that for one residue that is very conserved (Gly26) there is some flexibility of substitution not apparent from the evolutionary conservation and that a second quite conserved residue in protein kinases (equivalent to Gly at position 31) does not produce a protein optimized for nucleotide binding.     

Hydrogen bonding to the bound dioxygen in oxy cobaltous myoglobin reduces the superhyperfine coupling to the proximal histidine.

Electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) spectroscopy was used to study the electron-nuclear coupling in two oxygenated cobalt-substituted hemoproteins, myoglobin (oxyCoMb) and a monomeric hemoglobin from Glycera dibranchiata (oxyCoHbgly). The modulation frequency components in ESEEM spectra of both proteins arose from the coupling to the N epsilon of the proximal histidyl imidazole. The hyperfine and quadrupole coupling parameters for these two nitrogens, calculated by computer spectral simulation, are Aiso = 2.46 MHz, e2qQ = 2.15 MHz, and eta = 0.4 for oxyCoMb and Aiso = 3.70 MHz, e2qQ = 2.70 MHz, and eta = 0.5 for oxyCoHbgly. A hyperfine coupling of 0.6 MHz, found for oxyCoMb in D2O but not for oxyCoHbgly in D2O, was assigned to the coupling to a deuteron that is hydrogen-bonded to the O2 ligand in oxyCoMb. This hydrogen bonding is believed to be responsible for the reduction in hyperfine and nuclear quadrupole coupling to the proximal histidyl imidazole N epsilon in oxyCoMb. A molecular orbital model for O2 adducts of cobaltous compounds [Tovrog et al. (1976) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 98, 5144] was used to understand the hydrogen bond-induced reduction in 14N superhyperfine coupling in oxyCoMb.     

Intersubunit communications in Escherichia coli cyclic AMP receptor protein: studies of the ligand binding domain.

Escherichia coli cAMP receptor protein (CRP) is a homodimer in which each subunit is composed of two domains. The C-terminal domain is responsible for DNA recognition, whereas the larger N-terminal domain is involved in cAMP binding. Biochemical and genetic evidence suggests that both intersubunit and interdomain interactions play important roles in the regulatory mechanism of this protein. Essentially all intersubunit contacts occur via a long C-helix which is a part of the N-terminal domain. In this work, intersubunit interactions in CRP were studied with the use of two proteolytic fragments of the protein. Subtilisin digestion produces a fragment (S-CRP) which includes residues 1-117 and in which about 85% of the C-helix is removed, whereas chymotrypsin digestion produces a fragment (CH-CRP) consisting of residues 1-136, in which the whole C-helix is preserved. Both fragments were purified and subjected to functional tests which included cAMP binding, subunit assembly, and hydrodynamic properties in the presence and absence of cAMP. S-CRP binds cAMP with a similar affinity to that of native CRP but with reduced cooperativity. CH-CRP exhibits about 1 order of magnitude tighter binding of cAMP than S-CRP or CRP and the highest degree of negative cooperativity. Both fragments are dimeric with dimerization constants around 10(8) M-1. Ligand binding promotes dimerization and induces a small contraction of both S-CRP and CH-CRP. There is no apparent correlation between dimer stability and cooperativity of ligand binding.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Influence of pH on the Mn2+ activation of and binding to yeast enolase: a functional study.

The influence of pH on the activation of yeast enolase by Mn2+ was measured by steady-state kinetics. The pH influence on the binding of Mn2+ to apoenolase and the enolase-substrate complex was measured by EPR spectroscopy. At pH values above 6.6, activation by Mn2+ is fit by Michaelis-Menten kinetics, but at higher concentrations of Mn2+, inhibition is observed. Under conditions analogous to the kinetic studies, the enzyme binds two Mn2+ per dimer with a Kd in the micromolar range. In the presence of the substrate 2-phosphoglycerate, three thermodynamically distinct cation binding sites per monomer are detected and the binding constants are determined by a fit to the data. As the pH decreases, the reaction velocity decreases and the cation inhibition becomes minimal. Under these conditions, only two Mn2+ binding sites per monomer are observed; the third site must be the inhibitory site. The velocity and kinetic constants are minimally affected by buffer except at pH 5.8 with PIPES. Under these conditions, the velocity is only about 40% that observed with other buffers and only a single binding site for Mn2+ per monomer is detected in the presence or absence of substrate. A direct role in the catalytic mechanism by the second cation is called to question. The binding constant for Mn2+ at site I is independent of pH over the range from 7.5 to 5.2, and the binding at site II increases only slightly over this same pH range. These results indicate that the cation sites at positions I and II contain ligands that are pH independent over this range.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Aggregation of IgE-receptor complexes on rat basophilic leukemia cells does not change the intrinsic affinity but can alter the kinetics of the ligand-IgE interaction.

The aggregation of IgE anchored to high-affinity Fc epsilon receptors on rat basophilic leukemia (RBL) cells by multivalent antigens initiates transmembrane signaling and ultimately cellular degranulation. Previous studies have shown that the rate of dissociation of bivalent and multivalent DNP ligands from RBL cells sensitized with anti-DNP IgE decreases with increasing ligand incubation times. One mechanism proposed for this effect is that when IgE molecules are aggregated, a conformational change occurs that results in an increase in the intrinsic affinity of IgE for antigen. This possibility was tested by measuring the equilibrium constant for the binding of monovalent DNP-lysine to anti-DNP IgE under two conditions, where the cell-bound IgE is dispersed and where it has been aggregated into visible patches on the cell surface using anti-IgE and a secondary antibody. No difference in the equilibrium constant in these two cases was observed. We also measured the rate of dissociation of a monovalent ligand from cell surface IgE under these two conditions. Whereas the affinity for monovalent ligand is not altered by IgE aggregation, we observe that the rate of ligand dissociation from IgE in clusters is slower than the rate of ligand dissociation from unaggregated IgE. These results are discussed in terms of recent theoretical developments concerning effects of receptor density on ligand binding to cell surfaces.     

The contribution of threonine 55 to catalysis in aspartate transcarbamoylase.

Heavy-atom isotope effects and steady-state kinetic parameters were measured for the catalytic trimer of an active site mutant of aspartate transcarbamoylase, T55A, to assess the role of Thr 55 in catalysis. The binding of carbamoyl phosphate to the T55A mutant was decreased by 2 orders of magnitude relative to the wild-type enzyme whereas the affinities for aspartate and succinate were not markedly altered. This indicates that Thr 55 plays a significant role in the binding of CbmP. If, as had been suggested previously, Thr 55 assists in the polarization of the carbonyl group of CbmP, the carbon isotope effect for the T55A mutant should increase relative to that observed for the wild-type enzyme. However, the opposite is seen, indicating that Thr 55 is not involved in stabilizing the oxyanion in the transition state. Quantitative analysis of a series of 13C and 15N isotope effects suggested that the rate-determining step in the reaction catalyzed by T55A trimer may be a conformational change in the protein subsequent to formation of the Michaelis complex. Thus, Thr 55 may facilitate a conformational change in the enzyme that is a prerequisite for catalysis. An altered active site environment in the binary and Michaelis complexes with T55A trimer is reflected in the pH profiles for log V, log (V/K)asp, and pK(i) succinate, show a displacement in the pK values of ionizing residues involved in aspartate binding and catalysis relative to the wild-type enzyme.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Cloning of two adult hamster globin cDNAs (alpha and beta major).

A cDNA library was prepared from poly(A) mRNA extracted from adult anemic hamster spleen erythroid cells. cDNA clones containing inserts coding for adult alpha and beta major globin chains were isolated. Their identity was confirmed by (a) translation of hybrid selected mRNA and (b) nucleotide sequence analysis of the inserts and comparison to the adult globin cDNAs of mouse, rabbit and human. Availability of sequences for embryonic (Li et al. (1992) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1130, 218-220) and adult globin cDNAs (this report) will aid in investigations of the molecular mechanisms involved in the globin ontogeny of hamsters.     

Influence of sugars on endoglucanase and β-xylanase activities of aBacillus strain

Summary ABacillus sp. screened from termite infested soils produced significant amount of endoglucanase and xylanase enzymes when grown on a lignocellulosic substrate, rice husk. Biosynthesis of these enzymes was significantly enhanced by the addition of 0.2% cellobiose or glucose for endoglucanase and xylose for -xylanase activities. In the actual hydrolyses, glucose and cellobiose at low concentrations acted as activitors of endoglucanase activity whereas cellobiose and xylose acted as inhibitors of -xylanase activity.     

Kinetics of producing pro-urokinase in perfusion cultivations

Summary Better production of pro-urokinase from human cell line was observed with 5% serum containing medium than 10% or serum free medium on Cytodex II under perfusion chemostat operations, showing 0.8×10^–5 (IU/daycell) of maximum productivity at 0.020 (l/h) of dilution rate in 5% serum medium, which corresponds to 800 IU/mL at this dilution rate. Conversion of pro-urokinase was reduced in the serum-containing media.     

Characterization of a pollen-specific gene family from Brassica napus which is activated during early microspore development

In this paper we describe the isolation and characterization of a genomic clone (Bp4) from Brassica napus which contains three members of a pollen-specific multigene family. This family is composed of 10 to 15 closely related genes which are expressed in early stages of microspore development. The complete nucleotide sequence of the clone Bp4 and of three homologous cDNA clones is reported. One of the genes (Bp4B) contained in the genomic clone is believed to be non-functional because of sequence rearrangements in its 5 region and intron splicing sites. The remaining genes (Bp4A and Bp4C), as well as the cDNA clones, appear to code for small proteins of unique structure. Three different types of proteins can be predicted as a result of the deletion of carboxy or amino terminal portions of a conserved core protein. These proteins all share a common alternation of hydrophobic and hydrophilic domains. A fragment of the genomic clone containing the gene Bp4A, as well as the non-functional gene Bp4B, was introduced into tobacco plants via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The functional gene Bp4A is expressed in transgenic tobacco plants and shows spatial and temporal regulation consistent with the expression patterns seen in Brassica napus.