The molecular structure of (10R)-17β-hydroxy-5-methylene-4,10-cyclo-19-nor-4,5-seco-17α-pregn-20-YN-1-one

The crystal and molecular structure of (10R)-17β-hydroxy-5-methylene-4,10-cyclo-19-nor-4,5-seco-17α -pregn-20-YN-1-one has been determined by X-ray analysis in order to ascertain the configuration at C(10). As observed in most other 17α-pregn-20-yn-17β-ol structures, atom 0(17B) participates as a donor in a hydrogen bond trans to the C(16)-C(17) bond, and there is a short C(21)…0 intermolecular contact.     

Comparative analysis of tandem repeats from hundreds of species reveals unique insights into centromere evolution

Background

Centromeres are essential for chromosome segregation, yet their DNA sequences evolve rapidly. In most animals and plants that have been studied, centromeres contain megabase-scale arrays of tandem repeats. Despite their importance, very little is known about the degree to which centromere tandem repeats share common properties between different species across different phyla. We used bioinformatic methods to identify high-copy tandem repeats from 282 species using publicly available genomic sequence and our own data.

Results

Our methods are compatible with all current sequencing technologies. Long Pacific Biosciences sequence reads allowed us to find tandem repeat monomers up to 1,419 bp. We assumed that the most abundant tandem repeat is the centromere DNA, which was true for most species whose centromeres have been previously characterized, suggesting this is a general property of genomes. High-copy centromere tandem repeats were found in almost all animal and plant genomes, but repeat monomers were highly variable in sequence composition and length. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis of sequence homology showed little evidence of sequence conservation beyond approximately 50 million years of divergence. We find that despite an overall lack of sequence conservation, centromere tandem repeats from diverse species showed similar modes of evolution.

Conclusions

While centromere position in most eukaryotes is epigenetically determined, our results indicate that tandem repeats are highly prevalent at centromeres of both animal and plant genomes. This suggests a functional role for such repeats, perhaps in promoting concerted evolution of centromere DNA across chromosomes.     

21 Ribosomal evidence suggests that archaea evolved after fungi

We are exploring the potential to trace species evolution with the ribosomal proteins (RibPs) present in bacterial, eukaryotic, and archaeal ribosomes and to compare the independent trees for consistency. The complete genomes of over 8400 bacteria, eukaryota, and archaea are presently in the SwissPro/TrEMBL (SPT) database. A search of SPT using a vector designed with ScanProsite formats (V1) finds and aligns 8405 sequences (5312 bacterial, 2905 eukaryotic, and 169 archaeal) that are homologous with bone fide bacterial S19 ribosomal proteins(S19s). When the 8405 sequences are perfectly aligned, 15 residues are conserved at 90% identity and 40 are conserved at 70% identity. We are not aware of any previous publication reporting sequence alignment of 8400 members of any single family including all bacteria, eukaryota and archaea, for which complete genomes have been published.A Pro and a Gly separated by 11 residues are 100% conserved in the 8405 S19s. In the position immediately before the fully conserved Gly, two residues (Asp and Asn) are present in 98.3% of the 8405 sequences. The Asp residue is found almost exclusively in 2190 gram-positive bacteria. The Asn residue is found in 3065 gram-negative bacteria, 123 Archaea, 1939 eukaryotes, and 64 specific species of gram-positive bacteria. There is biochemical evidence for the existence of distinct mitochondrial, chloroplast, and cytosolic ribosomes and reports that plants have all three forms and mammals only two. Reliable data concerning how individual ribosomal proteins differ in different types of ribosomes are meager. Examination of the eukaryotic S19s reveals the existence of three distinct types. Two of the distinctly different types are found in most fungi, three of the types are found in some viridiplante, and only one type is found in metazoa and archaea. We demonstrate the sequence homology between the mitochondrial form found in fungi and plants and the S19 proteins of alpha proteobacteria; between the chloroplast S19s and the S19s of cyanobacteria; and among the cytosolic S19s found only in fungi, metazoa, archaea, and in some viridiplantae. Our findings suggest that most archaeal species appeared after a gene duplication event in fungi that correlates with the origin of the cytosolic ribosome.     

Rational proteomics II: electrostatic nature of cofactor preference in the short-chain oxidoreductase (SCOR) enzyme family

The dominant role of long-range electrostatic interatomic interactions in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide/nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAD/NADP) cofactor recognition has been shown for enzymes of the short-chain oxidoreductase (SCOR) family. An estimation of cofactor preference based only on the contribution of the electrostatic energy term to the total energy of enzyme-cofactor interaction has been tested for approximately 40 known three-dimensional (3D) crystal complexes and approximately 330 SCOR enzymes, with cofactor preference predicted by the presence of Asp or Arg recognition residues at specific 3D positions in the beta2alpha3 loop (Duax et al., Proteins 2003;53:931-943). The results obtained were found to be consistent with approximately 90% reliable cofactor assignments for those subsets. The procedure was then applied to approximately 170 SCOR enzymes with completely uncertain NAD/NADP dependence, due to the lack of Asp and Arg marker residues. The proposed 3D electrostatic approach for cofactor assignment ("3D_DeltaE(el)") has been implemented in an automatic screening procedure, and together with the use of marker residues proposed earlier (Duax et al., Proteins 2003;53:931-943), increases the level of reliable predictions for the putative SCORs from approximately 70% to approximately 90%. It is expected to be applicable for any NAD/NADP-dependent enzyme subset having at least 25-30% sequence identity, with at least one enzyme of known 3D crystal structure.     

Structure/function relationships responsible for coenzyme specificity and the isomerase activity of human type 1 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/isomerase

Human type 1 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/isomerase (3 beta-HSD/isomerase) catalyzes the two sequential enzyme reactions on a single protein that converts dehydroepiandrosterone or pregnenolone to androstenedione or progesterone, respectively, in placenta, mammary gland, breast tumors, prostate, prostate tumors, and other peripheral tissues. Our earlier studies show that the two enzyme reactions are linked by the coenzyme product, NADH, of the 3 beta-HSD activity. NADH activates the isomerase activity by inducing a time-dependent conformational change in the enzyme protein. The current study tested the hypothesis that the 3 beta-HSD and isomerase activities shared a common coenzyme domain, and it characterized key amino acids that participated in coenzyme binding and the isomerase reaction. Homology modeling with UDP-galactose-4-epimerase predicts that Asp36 is responsible for the NAD(H) specificity of human 3 beta-HSD/isomerase and identifies the Rossmann-fold coenzyme domain at the amino terminus. The D36A/K37R mutant in the potential coenzyme domain and the D241N, D257L, D258L, and D265N mutants in the potential isomerase domain (previously identified by affinity labeling) were created, expressed, and purified. The D36A/K37R mutant shifts the cofactor preference of both 3 beta-HSD and isomerase from NAD(H) to NADP(H), which shows that the two activities utilize a common coenzyme domain. The D257L and D258L mutations eliminate isomerase activity, whereas the D241N and D265N mutants have nearly full isomerase activity. Kinetic analyses and pH dependence studies showed that either Asp257 or Asp258 plays a catalytic role in the isomerization reaction. These observations further characterize the structure/function relationships of human 3 beta-HSD/isomerase and bring us closer to the goal of selectively inhibiting the type 1 enzyme in placenta (to control the timing of labor) or in hormone-sensitive breast tumors (to slow their growth).     

Isolation, crystallization, and preliminary x-ray study of a Fab fragment of monoclonal antibody against human interleukin-2 and its complex with antigenic peptide]

Antigen-binding fragments (Fab) of mouse monoclonal antibodies to human interleukin-2 were obtained in preparative quantities by a modified procedure. These Fab-fragments were shown to be homogeneous according to the isoelectric focusing method. Various monocrystals of these free Fab-fragments and their complexes with the antigenic peptide corresponding to the 59-72 sequence of interleukin-2 were obtained. These were shown to be suitable for X-ray and were preliminarily studied by X-ray.     

Structure/function of human type 1 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase: An intrasubunit disulfide bond in the Rossmann-fold domain and a Cys residue in the active site are critical for substrate and coenzyme utilization

The human type 1 (placenta, breast tumors) and type 2 (gonads, adrenals) isoforms of 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/isomerase (3beta-HSD) are key enzymes in steroidogenic pathways leading to the production of all active steroid hormones. Kinetic analyses of purified 3beta-HSD1 show that the Michaelis-Menten constants (Km) for substrates and cofactor are decreased dramatically (three- to eight-fold) by the addition of beta-mercaptoethanol (BME), which suggest that a disulfide bond may be critical to ligand utilization. Western immunoblots and SDS-PAGE of purified 3beta-HSD1 in the presence or absence of BME showed a lack of intersubunit disulfide bonds in the dimeric enzyme. The Rossmann-fold domain of 3beta-HSD1 contains two Cys residues, Cys72 and Cys111, which are capable of forming an intrasubunit disulfide bond based on their proximity in our structural model. Our structural model also predicts that Cys83 may affect the orientation of substrate and cofactor. To test these predictions, the C72S, C72F, C111S, C111A, C83S and C83A mutants of 3beta-HSD1 were produced, expressed, and purified. BME failed to diminish the Km values of substrate and cofactor for C72S, C72F, C111S and C111A but produced a 2.5 decrease in Km values for C83A ligands similar to wild-type 3beta-HSD. Thus, our results support the presence of an intrasubunit disulfide bond between Cys72 and Cys111 that participates in the tertiary structure of the Rossmann-fold domain. Although C83S had no enzyme activity, the C83A mutant enzyme exhibited two- to five-fold higher Km values for substrate and cofactor but had similar K(cat) values compared to wild-type 3beta-HSD. These data characterize the roles of Cys residues in 3beta-HSD and validate the predictions of our structural model.     

Anticancer immunotherapy by CTLA-4 blockade: obligatory contribution of IL-2 receptors and negative prognostic impact of soluble CD25

The cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4)-blocking antibody ipilimumab induces immune-mediated long-term control of metastatic melanoma in a fraction of patients. Although ipilimumab undoubtedly exerts its therapeutic effects via immunostimulation, thus far clinically useful, immunologically relevant biomarkers that predict treatment efficiency have been elusive. Here, we show that neutralization of IL-2 or blocking the α and β subunits of the IL-2 receptor (CD25 and CD122, respectively) abolished the antitumor effects and the accompanying improvement of the ratio of intratumoral T effector versus regulatory cells (Tregs), which were otherwise induced by CTLA-4 blockade in preclinical mouse models. CTLA-4 blockade led to the reduction of a suppressive CD4⁺ T cell subset expressing Lag3, ICOS, IL-10 and Egr2 with a concomitant rise in IL-2-producing effector cells that lost FoxP3 expression and accumulated in regressing tumors. While recombinant IL-2 improved the therapeutic efficacy of CTLA-4 blockade, the decoy IL-2 receptor α (IL-2Rα, sCD25) inhibited the anticancer effects of CTLA-4 blockade. In 262 metastatic melanoma patients receiving ipilimumab, baseline serum concentrations of sCD25 represented an independent indicator of overall survival, with high levels predicting resistance to therapy. Altogether, these results unravel a role for IL-2 and IL-2 receptors in the anticancer activity of CTLA-4 blockade. Importantly, our study provides the first immunologically relevant biomarker, namely elevated serum sCD25, that predicts resistance to CTLA-4 blockade in patients with melanoma.     

Activation of hypothalamic RIP‐Cre neurons promotes beiging of WAT via sympathetic nervous system

Activation of brown adipose tissue (BAT) and beige fat by cold increases energy expenditure. Although their activation is known to be differentially regulated in part by hypothalamus, the underlying neural pathways and populations remain poorly characterized. Here, we show that activation of rat‐insulin‐promoter‐Cre (RIP‐Cre) neurons in ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) preferentially promotes recruitment of beige fat via a selective control of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) outflow to subcutaneous white adipose tissue (sWAT), but has no effect on BAT. Genetic ablation of APPL2 in RIP‐Cre neurons diminishes beiging in sWAT without affecting BAT, leading to cold intolerance and obesity in mice. Such defects are reversed by activation of RIP‐Cre neurons, inactivation of VMH AMPK, or treatment with a β3‐adrenergic receptor agonist. Hypothalamic APPL2 enhances neuronal activation in VMH RIP‐Cre neurons and raphe pallidus, thereby eliciting SNS outflow to sWAT and subsequent beiging. These data suggest that beige fat can be selectively activated by VMH RIP‐Cre neurons, in which the APPL2–AMPK signaling axis is crucial for this defending mechanism to cold and obesity.