Requirements for antiribosomal activity of pokeweed antiviral protein

It has been known for some time that pokeweed antiviral protein acts by enzymatically inhibiting protein synthesis on eucaryotic ribosome systems. The site of this action is known to be the ribosome itself. In this paper we show that the pokeweed antiviral protein reaction against ribosomes is a strong function of salt concentrations, where 160 mM K⁺ and 3 mM Mg²⁺ retards the reaction, while 20 mM K⁺ and 2 mM Mg²⁺ allows maximum reaction rate. It is also shown, however, that an unidentified protein in the postribosomal supernatant solution, together with ATP, allows the ribosome to be attacked even in the presence of high salt. Kinetic analysis of the antiviral protein reaction has been carried out under both sets of conditions, and reveals that the turnover number for the enzyme is about 300–400 mol/mol per min. in each case. The K_m for ribosomes is 1 μM in the presence of low salt and 0.2 μM at higher salt in the presence of postribosomal supernatant factors plus ATP. The antiviral protein reaction is also shown to be pH dependent and is controlled by a residue with pK_a value of approx. 7.0, apparently a histidine. Stoichiometric reaction of the enzyme with iodoacetamide results in a significant loss of antiribosomal activity.     

商陆抗病毒蛋白基因导入百合愈伤组织初报

利用美洲商陆抗病毒蛋白(Pokeweed antiviral protein,PAP)具有广谱的抗病毒特性,通过冻融法将含有PAP基因的重组表达载体PBll21转入土壤农杆菌LBA4404中,利用叶盘法在农杆菌的介导下转比麝香百合愈伤组织,通过抗性筛选和PCR输测获得了转PAP基因的百合植株。     

商陆根中抗真菌蛋白的分离和特性研究

从美洲商陆(Phytolacca americana L.)夏天采集的2—4年生宿根中分离了二种抗真菌蛋白,称为PAFP-R_1和PAFP-R_2。分离程序包括用盐溶液提取,经CM-Sephadex离子交换层析、凝胶过滤层析和羟基磷灰石柱层析纯化。在PGA培养基上,0.1mg/ml蛋白明显抑制木霉菌丝的生长;但对细菌的增殖,即使1mg/ml也无抑制作用。用SDS-PAGE测得二者的相对分子量各为13kD和15kD,单多肽链,等电点约为5.8。用酚-硫酸法未测出含糖。二种蛋白均高含半胱氨酸(19mol/mol)。用Edman降解法测得二者的N末端均为Ala。秋天采集的根中,这二种蛋白含量均很低,但富含由二条PAFP-R_1肽链以双硫键联结的二聚体,它无抗真菌活性。冬天宿根中抗真菌蛋白主要成分是Mr为17kD的单肽链蛋白。上述蛋白对于人红血球均无凝集活性,因此不是PWM的成分。以上结果说明,商陆根中有多种具抗真菌活性的蛋白,成分随季节发生变化,它们都是不含糖,高含半胱氨酸,分子量小于20kD的单肽链蛋白。     

Adenine recognition: a motif present in ATP-, CoA-, NAD-, NADP-, and FAD-dependent proteins.

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) plays an essential role in energy transfer within the cell. In the form of NAD, adenine participates in multiple redox reactions. Phosphorylation and ATP-hydrolysis reactions have key roles in signal transduction and regulation of many proteins, especially enzymes. In each cell, proteins with many different functions use adenine and its derivatives as ligands; adenine, of course, is present in DNA and RNA. We show that an adenine binding motif, which differs according to the backbone chain direction of a loop that binds adenine (and in one variant by the participation of an aspartate side-chain), is common to many proteins; it was found from an analysis of all adenylate-containing protein structures from the Protein Data Bank. Indeed, 224 protein-ligand complexes (86 different proteins) from a total of 645 protein structure files bind ATP, CoA, NAD, NADP, FAD, or other adenine-containing ligands, and use the same structural elements to recognize adenine, regardless of whether the ligand is a coenzyme, cofactor, substrate, or an allosteric effector. The common adenine-binding motif shown in this study is simple to construct. It uses only (1) backbone polar interactions that are not dependent on the protein sequence or particular properties of amino acid side-chains, and (2) nonspecific hydrophobic interactions. This is probably why so many different proteins with different functions use this motif to bind an adenylate-containing ligand. The adenylate-binding motif reported is present in "ancient proteins" common to all living organisms, suggesting that adenine-containing ligands and the common motif for binding them were exploited very early in evolution. The geometry of adenine binding by this motif mimics almost exactly the geometry of adenine base-pairing seen in DNA and RNA.     

Accumulation and interaction of calcium and manganese in Phytolacca americana

To further understand the hyperaccumulation of Mn, the present study investigated the accumulation of Ca and Mn and their interaction in Mn hyperaccumulator pokeweed (Phytolacca americana Linn.). Exogenous Ca was observed to have a distinctive impact on the Mn phytotoxicity and accumulation in pokeweed, but exogenous Mn had little influence on the accumulation of Ca. Both Ca and Mn accumulated in pokeweed were detected to be mainly in the form of oxalate. Investigation with SEM and TEM found there were two kinds of crystals in the leaves, Ca oxalate crystals and Mn-containing crystals. Further detection showed that there was no inclusion of Mn inside the Ca oxalate crystals, and that other elements, such as C, O and P, were present in the Mn-containing crystals. These results suggest that Ca oxalate crystals in pokeweed have no direct effect on the detoxification of Mn. In addition, the finding of element P and O in the Mn-containing crystals indicates that excess Mn could be deposited by phosphate, which could contribute to Mn accumulation and detoxification in pokeweed.     

Inhibition of Pokeweed Antiviral Protein (PAP) by Turnip Mosaic Virus Genome-linked Protein (VPg)

Pokeweed antiviral protein (PAP) from Phytolacca americana is a ribosome-inactivating protein (RIP) and an RNA N-glycosidase that removes specific purine residues from the sarcin/ricin loop of large rRNA, arresting protein synthesis at the translocation step. PAP is also a cap-binding protein and is a potent antiviral agent against many plant, animal, and human viruses. To elucidate the mechanism of RNA depurination, and to understand how PAP recognizes and targets various RNAs, the interactions between PAP and turnip mosaic virus genome-linked protein (VPg) were investigated. VPg can function as a cap analog in cap-independent translation and potentially target PAP to uncapped IRES-containing RNA. In this work, fluorescence spectroscopy and HPLC techniques were used to quantitatively describe PAP depurination activity and PAP-VPg interactions. PAP binds to VPg with high affinity (29.5 nm); the reaction is enthalpically driven and entropically favored. Further, VPg is a potent inhibitor of PAP depurination of RNA in wheat germ lysate and competes with structured RNA derived from tobacco etch virus for PAP binding. VPg may confer an evolutionary advantage by suppressing one of the plant defense mechanisms and also suggests the possible use of this protein against the cytotoxic activity of ribosome-inactivating proteins.     

Regulation of DNA synthesis by guanosine-5′-diphosphate, cyclic guanosine-3′,5′-monophosphate, and cyclic adenosine-3′,5′-monophosphate in mouse lymphoid cells

The effect of various adenine and guanine nucleotides and nucleosides on DNA synthesis was studied in various types of mouse lymphoid cells. Two out of the ten compounds tested, namely guanosine-5′-diphosphate (GDP) and cyclic guanosine-3′,5′-monophosphate (cGMP) increased the thymidine incorporation into the DNA of the spleen cells and counteracted completely or partially the inhibitory action of cyclic adenosine-3′,5′-monophosphate (cAMP) on spleen cells stimulated by various B or T cell mitogens. GDP seems to act preferentially on thymus cells while cGMP acts better on bone marrow cells. The possible significance of the results for the mechanism of the mitogenic signal is discussed.     

The C-terminal end of P proteins mediates ribosome inactivation by trichosanthin but does not affect the pokeweed antiviral protein activity

Ribosome inactivating proteins (RIPs) inhibit protein synthesis depurinating a conserved residue in the sarcin/ricin loop of ribosomes. Some RIPs are only active against eukaryotic ribosomes, but other RIPs inactivate with similar efficiency prokaryotic and eukaryotic ribosomes, suggesting that different RIPs would interact with different proteins. The SRL in Trypanosoma cruzi ribosomes is located on a 178b RNA molecule named 28Sδ. In addition, T. cruzi ribosomes are remarkably resistant to TCS. In spite of these peculiarities, we show that TCS specifically depurinate the predicted A⁵¹ residue on 28Sδ. We also demonstrated that the C-terminal end of ribosomal P proteins is needed for full activity of the toxin. In contrast to TCS, PAP inactivated efficiently T.cruzi ribosomes, and most importantly, does not require from the C-terminal end of P proteins. These results could explain, at least partially, the different selectivity of these toxins against prokaryotic and eukaryotic ribosomes.     

Kynurenine Pathway Enzymes in Brain: Responses to Ischemic Brain Injury Versus Systemic Immune Activation

Accumulation of l -kynurenine and quinolinic acid (QUIN) in the brain occurs after either ischemic brain injury or after systemic administration of pokeweed mitogen. Although conversion of l -[¹³C₆]tryptophan to [¹³C₆]-QUIN has not been demonstrated in brain either from normal gerbils or from gerbils given pokeweed mitogen, direct conversion in brain tissue does occur 4 days after transient cerebral ischemia. Increased activities of enzymes distal to indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase may determine whether l -kynurenine is converted to QUIN. One day after 10 min of cerebral ischemia, the activities of kynureninase and 3-hydroxy-3,4-dioxygenase were increased in the hippocampus, but local QUIN levels and the activities of the indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase and kynurenine-3-hydroxylase were unchanged. By days 2 and 4 after ischemia, however, the activities of all of these enzymes in the hippocampus as well as QUIN levels were significantly increased. Kynurenine aminotransferase activity in the hippocampus was unchanged on days 1 and 2 after ischemia but was decreased on day 4, at a time when local kynurenic acid levels were unchanged. A putative precursor of QUIN, [¹³C₆]anthranilic acid, was not converted to [¹³C₆]-QUIN in the hippocampus of either normal or 4-day postischemic gerbils. Gerbil macrophages stimulated by endo-toxin in vitro converted l -[¹³C₆]tryptophan to [¹³C_e]QUIN. Kinetic analysis of kynurenine-3-hydroxylase activity in the cerebral cortex of postischemic gerbils showed that V_max increased, without changes in K_m. Systemic administration of pokeweed mitogen increased indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase and kynureninase activities in the brain without significant changes in kynurenine-3-hydroxylase or 3-hydroxyanthranilate-3,4-dioxygenase activities. Increases in kynurenine-3-hydroxylase activity, in conjunction with induction of indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase, kynureninase, and 3-hydroxyanthranilate-3,4-dioxygenase in macro-phage infiltrates at the site of brain injury, may explain the ability of postischemic hippocampus to convert l -[¹³C₆]tryptophan to [¹³C₆]QUIN.     

Electron donation to Photosystem II in reaction center preparations

The room-temperature EPR characteristics of Photosystem II reaction center preparations from spinach, pokeweed and Chlamydomonas reinhardii have been investigated. In all preparations a light-induced increase in EPR Signal II, which arises from the oxidized form of a donor to P-680⁺, is observed. Spin quantitation, with potassium nitrosodisulfonate as a spin standard, demonstrates that the Signal II species, Z^?, is present in approx. 60% of the reaction centers. In response to a flash, the increase in Signal II spin concentration is complete within the 98 μs response time of our instrument. The decay of Z^? is dependent on the composition of the particle suspension medium and is accelerated by addition of either reducing agents or lipophilic anions in a process which is first order in these reagents. Comparison of these results with optical data reported previously (Diner, B.A. and Bowes, J.M. (1981) in Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on Photosynthesis (Akoyunoglou, G., ed.), Vol. 3, pp. 875–883, Balaban, Philadelphia), supports the identification of Z with the P-680⁺ donor, D₁. From the polypeptide composition of the particles used in this study, we conclude that Z is an integral component of the reaction center and use this conclusion to construct a model for the organization of Photosystem II.