The cloning of chromosomal DNA associated with methicillin and other resistances in Staphylococcus aureus

Competitive hybridization was used to detect the deletion of chromosomal DNA accompanying the loss of resistance to methicillin (and concomitantly, to cadmium, mercury and tetracycline) from a clinical strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The method was also used to screen a partial plasmid library of chromosomal HindIII fragments from the MRSA strain. Eight recombinant plasmid clones were identified as containing DNA included in the deletion. These clones were used as probes to screen a phage library of the total DNA of the same MRSA strain, resulting in the isolation of overlapping recombinant phage clones carrying 24 kb of the deleted DNA. Two of the cloned HindIII fragments were associated closely with methicillin resistance, as shown by probing DNA from an independent methicillin-sensitive/resistant transduced strain pair and from two MRSA strains following growth in the presence of high concentrations of methicillin. The endonuclease map of the cloned DNA indicates the presence of four copies of a direct repeat less than 1 kb in size. The map is also consistent with the presence in the chromosome of sequences for mercury resistance (mer A mer B) and for tetracycline-resistance plasmid pT181.     

Complexity of T cell receptor recognition sites for defined alloantigens

Three monoclonal antibodies react with the T cell receptor on the tumor line HPB-ALL and in addition with 3 to 13% of human peripheral blood T cells of normal donors. These antibodies are shown to react with an epitope encoded by the V beta 5 family of T cell receptor beta-chain variable region gene segments. Cells expressing V beta 5 gene segments can have cytotoxic or helper function, be of the T4+ or T8+ phenotype, and have specificity for either class I or class II major histocompatibility complex alloantigens. Seven T cell clones were generated, which express V beta 5 and are specific for the HLA-A2 molecule. With the use of these clones, we illustrate how isoelectric focusing can be used to analyze T cell receptor alpha- and beta-chain structure. The seven clones recognize five distinct conformational determinants on HLA-A2. They procure different binding sites by the use of different alpha-chains, J beta sequences, or both.     

Structural studies of mutants of the lysozyme of bacteriophage T4. The temperature-sensitive mutant protein Thr157----Ile

To understand the roles of individual amino acids in the folding and stability of globular proteins, a systematic structural analysis of mutants of the lysozyme of bacteriophage T4 has been undertaken. The isolation, characterization, crystallographic refinement and structural analysis of a temperature-sensitive lysozyme in which threonine 157 is replaced by isoleucine is reported here. This mutation reduces the temperature of the midpoint of the reversible thermal denaturation transition by 11 deg.C at pH 2.0. Electron density maps showing differences between the wild-type and mutant X-ray crystal structures have obvious features corresponding to the substitution of threonine 157 by isoleucine. There is little difference electron density in the remainder of the molecule, indicating that the structural changes are localized to the site of the mutation. High-resolution crystallographic refinement of the mutant lysozyme structure confirms that it is very similar to wild-type lysozyme. The largest conformational differences are in the gamma-carbon of residue 157 and in the side-chain of Asp159, which shift 1.0 A and 1.1 A, respectively. In the wild-type enzyme, the gamma-hydroxyl group of Thr157 participates in a network of hydrogen bonds. Substitution of Thr157 with an isoleucine disrupts this set of hydrogen bonds. A water molecule bound in the vicinity of Thr155 partially restores the hydrogen bond network in the mutant structure, but the buried main-chain amide of Asp159 is not near a hydrogen bond acceptor. This unsatisfied hydrogen-bonding potential is the most obvious reason for the reduction in stability of the temperature-sensitive mutant protein.     

Prediction of the tertiary structure of the alpha-subunit of tryptophan synthase

The tertiary structure of the alpha-subunit of tryptophan synthase was proposed using a combination of experimental data and computational methods. The vacuum-ultraviolet circular dichroism spectrum was used to assign the protein to the alpha/beta-class of supersecondary structures. The two-domain structure of the alpha-subunit (Miles et al.: Biochemistry 21:2586, 1982; Beasty and Matthews: Biochemistry 24:3547, 1985) eliminated consideration of a barrel structure and focused attention on a beta-sheet structure. An algorithm (Cohen et al.: Biochemistry 22:4894, 1983) was used to generate a secondary structure prediction that was consistent with the sequence data of the alpha-subunit from five species. Three potential secondary structures were then packed into tertiary structures using other algorithms. The assumption of nearest neighbors from second-site revertant data eliminated 97% of the possible tertiary structures; consideration of conserved hydrophobic packing regions on the beta-sheet eliminated all but one structure. The native structure is predicted to have a parallel beta-sheet flanked on both sides by alpha-helices, and is consistent with the available data on chemical cross-linking, chemical modification, and limited proteolysis. In addition, an active site region containing appropriate residues could be identified as well as an interface for beta 2-subunit association. The ability of experimental data to facilitate the prediction of protein structure is discussed.     

Slow- and fast-binding inhibitors of thermolysin display different modes of binding: crystallographic analysis of extended phosphonamidate transition-state analogues

The modes of binding to thermolysin of two phosphonamidate peptide inhibitors, carbobenzoxy-GlyP-L-Leu-L-Leu (ZGPLL) and carbobenzoxy-L-PheP-L-Leu-L-Ala (ZFPLA), have been determined by X-ray crystallography and refined at high resolution to crystallographic R-values of 17.7% and 17.0%, respectively. (GlyP is used to indicate that the trigonal carbon of the peptide linkage is replaced by the tetrahedral phosphorus of a phosphonamidate group.). These inhibitors were designed to be structural analogues of the presumed catalytic transition state and are potent inhibitors of thermolysin (ZGPLL, Ki = 9.1 nM; ZFPLA, Ki = 0.068 nM) [Bartlett, P. A., & Marlowe, C. K. (1987) Biochemistry (following paper in this issue)]. ZFPLA binds to thermolysin in the manner expected for the transition state and, for the first time, provides direct support for the presumed mode of binding of extended substrates in the S2 subsite. The mode of binding of ZFPLA displays all the interactions that are presumed to stabilize the transition state and supports the postulated mechanism of catalysis [Hangauer, D. G., Monzingo, A. F., & Matthews, B. W. (1984) Biochemistry 23, 5730-5741]. The two oxygens of the phosphonamidate moiety are liganded to the zinc to give overall pentacoordination of the metal. For the second inhibitor the situation is different. Although both ZFPLA and ZGPLL have similar modes of binding in the S1' and S2' subsites, the configurations of the carbobenzoxy-Phe and carbobenzoxy-Gly moieties are different. For ZFPLA the carbonyl group of the carbobenzoxy group is hydrogen bonded directly to the enzyme, whereas in ZGPLL the carbonyl group is rotated 117 degrees, and there is a water molecule interposed between the inhibitor and the enzyme. For ZGPLL only one of the phosphonamidate oxygens is liganded to the zinc. Correlated with the change in inhibitor-zinc ligation from monodentate in ZGPLL to bidentate in ZFPLA there is an increase in the phosphorus-nitrogen bond length of about 0.25 A, strongly suggesting that the phosphonamide nitrogen in ZFPLA is cationic, analogous to the doubly protonated nitrogen of the transition state. The observation that the nitrogen of ZFPLA appears to donate two hydrogen bonds to the protein also indicates that it is cationic. The different configurations adopted by the respective inhibitors are correlated with large differences in their kinetics of binding [Bartlett, P. A., & Marlowe, C. K. (1987) Biochemistry (following paper in this issue)]. These differences in kinetics are not associated with any significant conformational change on the part of the enzyme.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

A comparison of three models for the diffusion of oxygen in electrolyte solutions

Diffusion of oxygen through aqueous solutions is of great importance in biological systems. In this work, three models for the diffusion of oxygen through aqueous salt solutions are compared. One model uses mole fraction as the driving force (Fick's Law) and another uses chemical potential. The third model uses the gradient in oxygen activity as the driving force. This new model was chosen because of the availability of oxygen electrodes which directly measure oxygen activity in aqueous solution. These models have been used to reevaluate the technique of measuring O(2) diffusivities. We show that Pick's Law diffusion coefficients do not vary strongly with salt concentration as was erroneously reported in the literature. In addition, we compare the predicted O(2) fluxes of the three models over a wide range in O(2) concentrations. For oxygen concentrations of biological interest, the three models give identical predictions of the flux.     

Neuropeptide Y mobilizes intracellular Ca2+ and increases inositol phosphate production in human erythroleukemia cells

The intracellular concentration of free Ca2+ was monitored by measuring the fluorescence of fura-2 loaded Human Erythroleukemia Cells. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) increased intracellular Ca2+ in a dose-dependent manner and the 50% effective concentration was 2 nM. Chelation of extracellular Ca2+ by EGTA did not reduce the NPY-mediated increase in cytoplasmic Ca2+, indicating that the increase in fluorescence was due to the release of intracellular Ca2+. A second dose of NPY, after intracellular Ca2+ had returned to basal levels, failed to elicit a response, indicating that the NPY receptor had undergone desensitization. In similar experiments, NPY increased the formation of inositol phosphates, suggesting that the mobilization of Ca2+ from intracellular stores in HEL cells was secondary to the generation of inositol phosphates and stimulation of phospholipase C.     

The immunocytochemical localization of superoxide dismutase in the enterocytes of the avian intestine: The effect of vitamin D3

Summary Both light microscopical and electron microscopical immunocytochemical techniques were utilized to localize CuZnsuperoxide dismutase (SOD) in the duodenum of normal, rachitic and vitamin-D₃-replete chicks. This enzyme catalyses the dismutation of the superoxide anion, a toxic free radical generated during the normal aerobic metabolism of most respiring cells. Light microscopy showed no SOD activity associated with the duodenal enterocytes of normal and rachitic chicks. However, in rachitic animals subsequently treated with vitamin D, i.e. vitamin-D-replete chicks, intense immunoreactivity for the enzyme was seen in association with the apical border of the duodenal absorptive cells. Immunostaining for SOD was not seen in goblet cells. With electron microscopy, immunostaining for SOD activity was identified in association with the apical microvilli and, to a lesser degree, with the terminal web, a well as in association with both lysosomes and peroxisomes. From this report it appears that there is a physiological relationship between vitamin D, SOD and the intestinal absorptive cell. However, the precise relationship must await further clarification.     

An immunocytochemical study of keratin reactivity during rat odontogenesis

Summary The cytokeratin distribution in the developing rat enamel organ from day 15 of gestation through to 11 days post partum was examined immunohistochemically using a panel of monoclonal antibodies. A temporo-spatial programme of keratin expression was observed during odontogenesis and positive reactivity of the enamel organ was seen with the pan keratin antibodies CK1 (clone LP34 — reacts with a number of keratins including 6 and 18) and AE1-3 (reacts with most acidic and basic keratins). No reactivity was observed in the enamel organ with the other antibodies examined (Ks 8.12 [reacts with keratins 13 and 16], Ks 8.60 [reacts with keratins 10 and 11) and MCA157 [reacts with rat liver antigen]), although these antibodies did stain other epithelial tissues. This study supports the view that the epithelial cells of the enamel organ synthesize a tissuspecific subset of keratins which are related to the differentiation of the cells.