When an amide is more like histidine than imidazole: the role of axial ligands in heme catalysis

 Of the many subtle protein-cofactor interactions which facilitate oxidative catalysis by heme enzymes, the role of the axial ligand has for some time appeared to be fairly well understood. Recent studies from several laboratories, however, have provided good reason to reemphasize the importance of secondary interactions between the axial ligand and protein, as the results suggest that simple ligand identity is neither necessary nor sufficient for function. It has been widely proposed that the strong hydrogen bond between a proximal carboxylate and the histidine ligand of peroxidases assists O–O bond heterolysis and stabilizes the Fe(IV)=O center that is produced. Recent replacements of the axial ligand in a number of heme proteins have produced a few surprises, suggesting that the subtle interactions between the ligand and protein may in some cases be more important than the actual identity of the ligand. Received and accepted: 7 May 1996     

Iron release from transferrin induced by mixed ligand complexes of copper(II)

Summary Copper(II) complexes CuL₁L₂ with the ligand pairs 3-phosphoglycerate (PG)/ethylenediamine (en), phosphoserine (PS)/ethylenediamine, phosphoserine/malonate (mal) are shown to be effective in inducing the release of both iron atoms from di-ferric transferrin (Fe2Tf; human serum transferrin) at pH 7.3 in 1 M NaCl at 25°C. Half-times of the reaction with Cu(PG)(en)^– were less than 1 min at 0.02 M concentration. The iron(III) products are polynuclear hydroxo complexes. There is weaker interaction with Cu(PS) ₂ ^4– and virtually none with Cu(serine)(en) nor Cu(PS)(2,2-bipyridyl)^–, revealing crucial effects of the combined ligand sphere including the phosphomonoester group. The results suggest that the release of iron from Fe2Tf, or from either monoferric transferrins, occurred due to the breakdown of the stability of iron binding in conjunction with the expulsion of the synergistic anion carbonate (or oxalate). The active copper(II) complexes are postulated to be models of membrane components that could liberate iron from transferrin succeeding its uptake at the receptor sites of cells.Abbreviations PG phosphoglycerate - PS phosphoserine - en ethylenediamine - Fe2Tf diferric transferrin - Fe_cTf and Fe_NTf transferrin with iron bound to the lobe containing the C- or N-terminus, respectively - apoTf apotransferrin - K-3 all-cis-1,3,5-tris(trimethylammonio)-2,4,6-cyclo-hexanetriol - NTA nitrilotriacetic acid; bipy, 2,2-bipyridine; mal, malonate     

Impact of single-chain Fv antibody fragment affinity on nanoparticle targeting of epidermal growth factor receptor-expressing tumor cells

To determine the importance of single-chain Fv (scFv) affinity on binding, uptake, and cytotoxicity of tumor-targeting nanoparticles, the affinity of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) scFv antibody C10 was increased using molecular evolution and yeast display. A library containing scFv mutants was created by error-prone PCR, displayed on the surface of yeast, and higher affinity clones selected by fluorescence activated cell sorting. Ten mutant scFv were identified that had a 3-18-fold improvement in affinity (KD=15-88 nM) for EGFR-expressing A431 tumor cells compared to C10 scFv (KD=264 nM). By combining mutations, higher affinity scFv were generated with KD ranging from 0.9 nM to 10 nM. The highest affinity scFv had a 280-fold higher affinity compared to that of the parental C10 scFv. Immunoliposome nanoparticles (ILs) were prepared using EGFR scFv with a 280-fold range of affinities, and their binding and uptake into EGFR-expressing tumor cells was quantified. At scFv densities greater than 148 scFv/IL, there was no effect of scFv affinity on IL binding and uptake into tumor cells, or on cytotoxicity. At lower scFv densities, there was less uptake and binding for ILs constructed from the very low affinity C10 scFv. The results show the importance of antibody fragment density on nanoparticle uptake, and suggest that engineering ultrahigh affinity scFv may be unnecessary for optimal nanoparticle targeting.     

Polyamine metabolism during seedling development in rice

The main free amines identified during growth and development of rice seedlings were agmatine, putrescine, spermidine, diaminopropane and tyramine. Amine composition differed according to tissue and stages of development. Conjugated amines were only found in roots. We present evidence that arginine decarboxylase (ADC) regulates putrescine during the development of rice seedlings. When ADC action was blocked by DFMA (-DL-difluoromethylarginine, a specific irreversible inhibitor of ADC), polyamine titers and seedling development were diminished; when agmatine or putrescine was added, normal polyamine titers and growth were restored. The effects of DFMA were concentration dependent. DFMO (-DL-difluoromethylornithine, a specific irreversible inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase or ODC) promoted growth and development at concentrations below 2 mM. This effect was probably related to its unexplained, but consistently observed slight enhancement of rice ADC. When the increase in the concentration of spermidine was prevented by CHA (cyclohexylammonium sulfate), the number of roots increased and the increase in length of leaves and roots was strongly inhibited. The addition of exogenous spermidine at the time of treatment with CHA reversed the inhibition by CHA.Abbreviations ADC arginine decarboxylase - ODC ornithine decarboxylase - DFMA -DL-difluoromethylarginine - DFMO -DL-difluoromethylornithine - CHA cyclohexylammonium sulfate     

铜绿假单胞菌表面(氧化)低密度脂蛋白配体的研究

【背景】研究发现铜绿假单胞菌(Pseudomonas aeruginosa)与(氧化)低密度脂蛋白(Low density lipoprotein,LDL/oxidized low density lipoprotein,ox LDL)具有特异性相互作用,有报道证实P. aeruginosa表达的Rah U蛋白可以与LDL/ox LDL特异性结合。【目的】验证Rah U蛋白是否是P.aeruginosa表面主要的LDL/ox LDL配体。【方法】大肠杆菌表达Rah U蛋白(r Rah U),ELISA验证r Rah U与LDL/ox LDL的相互作用。利用同源重组的方法构建RahU基因缺失突变株(ΔRahU菌株)作为阴性对照菌株,制备小鼠抗r Rah U抗体,经WesternBlot及ELISA分别检测抗r Rah U抗体与P.aeruginosa野生型菌株膜蛋白中RahU蛋白及菌体表面RahU蛋白的结合。通过ELISA方法对P. aeruginosa野生型菌株及ΔRahU菌株与LDL/ox LDL的结合差异进行比较,并对不同蛋白酶水解ΔRahU菌体表面蛋白后ΔRahU菌株与LDL/ox LDL结合能力的差异进行比较。【结果】经ELISA验证rRahU与LDL/oxLDL存在特异性结合。Western Blot及ELISA方法证实小鼠抗rRahU抗体可以与P. aeruginosa野生型菌株膜蛋白中RahU蛋白及菌体表面RahU蛋白特异性结合,而不与ΔRahU菌株相互作用。P.aeruginosa野生型菌株及ΔRahU菌株与LDL/oxLDL结合能力无显著差异,且蛋白酶水解后ΔRahU菌株与LDL/oxLDL的结合能力相近。【结论】RahU蛋白是P. aeruginosa表面的LDL/oxLDL配体之一,但不是唯一的配体。     

蛋白质组学研究中的一种新方法——配体垂钓

基于表面等离子共振技术的配体垂钓技术能在蛋白质组水平上研究蛋白质的相互作用与功能,提供控制细胞功能的新靶标．其通过将受体固定在芯片表面,当被检测样品流过芯片表面时,配体与受体相结合, 实现俘获未知的相互作用的伙伴蛋白或复合体,并结合质谱技术鉴定出未知蛋白及其序列．     

Alteration in gene expression profile and biological behavior in human lung cancer cell line NL9980 by nm23-H1 gene silencing

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women. Tumor metastasis is an essential aspect of lung cancer progression. nm23-H1 is a metastasis suppressor gene. The molecular mechanism by which nm23-H1 suppresses the metastasis is still unclear. Here, we compared the gene expression profile of human large cell lung cancer cell line NL9980 by nm23-H1 gene silencing with that of negative control cells to comprehensively investigate nm23-H1-mediated changes in gene expression of NL9980 cells. Microarray assay revealed that expression of 733-known genes (1.9%, 733/38,500) were altered in response to nm23-H1 gene silencing, including 466 upregulated genes and 267 downregulated. real-time PCR assay of the expression changes indicated that 81.82% (45/55) of verified genes were consistent with that observed in microarray assay. The upregulated genes included MMP-1, -2, SNAI2, CXCL1, 2, 3, PAI-2, while the downregulated genes included cystatin B, TIMP-2, E-cadherin, centrin-2, all of which have been associated with tumor metastasis. Furthermore, we confirmed by Western blot that the expression of MMP-1 and -2 were significantly increased while that of cystatin B was dramatically decreased in NL9980-nm23-H1 silencing cells. The NL9980-nm23-H1 silencing cells exhibited significantly more S phase growth and invasive ability. Thus, silencing of nm23-H1 gene caused metastasis-related gene expression changes in lung cancer cells. The knockdown of nm23-H1 expression may change the lung cancer cells to a more invasive phenotype through alteration in the expression of a set of genes.     

High Conformational Variability in the GluK2 Kainate Receptor Ligand-Binding Domain

1. Download high-res image (277KB)
2. Download full-size image

     

有机配体对稀土元素在小麦体内积累和分异的影响

采用营养液培养和添加外源混合稀土等方法,研究了有机配体柠檬酸、EDTA和DTPA对稀土元素在小麦的根和叶中积累与分异的影响。结果表明,低浓度有机配体对小麦根和叶中的稀土元素,尤其是轻稀土元素的积累有轻微的促进作用,随浓度的升高则表现出显著的降低作用。有机配体对重稀土的作用比轻稀土强,使根和叶中稀土元素的分布曲线向重稀土相对亏缺的方向发展。3种配体对轻、重稀土分异的作用强度为:EDTA>DTPA>柠檬酸。通过VM INTEQ计算表明,在EDTA和DTPA作用下小麦叶中稀土元素的积累与轻、重稀土的分异主要由溶液中呈自由离子态稀土元素的含量和组成控制;柠檬酸作用下小麦叶中稀土元素的变化与自由离子态稀土的含量和组成关系较弱,推测REE-柠檬酸络合物可被小麦直接吸收并运转到小麦的叶中。