scholarly journals Semisynthesis of Ribonuclease A using Intein-Mediated Protein Ligation

2002 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 1838-1842 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrich Arnold ◽  
Matthew P. Hinderaker ◽  
Ronald T. Raines

The introduction of non-natural amino acid residues or modules into proteins provides a new means to explore the basis for conformational stability, folding/unfolding behavior, or biological function. We exploited intein-mediated protein ligation to produce a semisynthetic ribonuclease A. Of the 124 residues of RNase A, residues 1–94 were linked to an intein. After expression of the fusion protein and thiol-induced cleavage, the RNase A(1–94) fragment possessed a C-terminal thioester. A peptide identical to the C-terminal residues 95–124 of RNase A (with residue 95 being cysteine) was successfully ligated to that thioester thereby reconstituting full-length wild-type RNase A. In mass spectrometry, this semisynthetic RNase A proved to be undistinguishable from the control protein, namely recombinant wild-type RNase A. Recombinant wild-type RNase A was obtained by expression of RNase A(1–124)–intein fusion protein followed by thiol-induced cleavage and hydrolysis of the thioester. Both proteins showed thermal stabilities (Tm) and catalytic activities comparable to the wild-type enzyme, indicating that both proteins folded properly. These results might serve as basis for the semisynthesis of RNase A variants containing non-natural modules in the aforementioned peptide.

Biochemistry ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 37 (51) ◽  
pp. 17958-17964 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Quirk ◽  
Chiwook Park ◽  
James E. Thompson ◽  
Ronald T. Raines

2001 ◽  
Vol 183 (19) ◽  
pp. 5743-5746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Babu S. Antharavally ◽  
Russell R. Poyner ◽  
Yaoping Zhang ◽  
Gary P. Roberts ◽  
Paul W. Ludden

ABSTRACT Site-directed mutagenesis of the draG gene was used to generate altered forms of dinitrogenase reductase-activating glycohydrolase (DRAG) with D123A, H142L, H158N, D243G, and E279R substitutions. The amino acid residues H142 and E279 are not required either for the coordination to the metal center or for catalysis since the variants H142L and E279R retained both catalytic and electron paramagnetic resonance spectral properties similar to those of the wild-type enzyme. Since DRAG-H158N and DRAG-D243G variants lost their ability to bind Mn(II) and to catalyze the hydrolysis of the substrate, H158 and D243 residues could be involved in the coordination of the binuclear Mn(II) center in DRAG.


Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 320
Author(s):  
Thaís Pereira da Silva ◽  
Fernando Jacomini de Castro ◽  
Larissa Vuitika ◽  
Nayanne Louise Costacurta Polli ◽  
Bruno César Antunes ◽  
...  

Phospholipases-D (PLDs) found in Loxosceles spiders’ venoms are responsible for the dermonecrosis triggered by envenomation. PLDs can also induce other local and systemic effects, such as massive inflammatory response, edema, and hemolysis. Recombinant PLDs reproduce all of the deleterious effects induced by Loxosceles whole venoms. Herein, wild type and mutant PLDs of two species involved in accidents—L. gaucho and L. laeta—were recombinantly expressed and characterized. The mutations are related to amino acid residues relevant for catalysis (H12-H47), magnesium ion coordination (E32-D34) and binding to phospholipid substrates (Y228 and Y228-Y229-W230). Circular dichroism and structural data demonstrated that the mutant isoforms did not undergo significant structural changes. Immunoassays showed that mutant PLDs exhibit conserved epitopes and kept their antigenic properties despite the mutations. Both in vitro (sphingomyelinase activity and hemolysis) and in vivo (capillary permeability, dermonecrotic activity, and histopathological analysis) assays showed that the PLDs with mutations H12-H47, E32-D34, and Y228-Y229-W230 displayed only residual activities. Results indicate that these mutant toxins are suitable for use as antigens to obtain neutralizing antisera with enhanced properties since they will be based on the most deleterious toxins in the venom and without causing severe harmful effects to the animals in which these sera are produced.


1989 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. S. Grewal ◽  
P. J. Lowry ◽  
D. Savva

ABSTRACT A large portion of the human pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) peptide corresponding to amino acid residues 59–241 has been cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. A 1·0 kb DNA fragment encoding this peptide was cloned into the expression vectors pUC8 and pUR291. Plasmid pJMBG51 (a pUC8 recombinant) was found to direct the expression of a 24 kDa peptide. The recombinant pUR291 (pJMBG52) was shown to produce a β-galactosidase fusion protein of 140 kDa. Western blot analysis showed that both the 24 kDa and 140 kDa peptides are recognized by antibodies raised against POMC-derived peptides. The β-galactosidase fusion protein has been partially purified from crude E. coli cell lysates using affinity chromatography on p-aminobenzyl-1-thio-β-d-galactopyranoside agarose.


Pteridines ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-103
Author(s):  
Hye-Lim Kim ◽  
Hyun-Chul Ryu ◽  
Young Shik Park

AbstractDictyostelium discoideum Ax2 is well-known for the synthesis of d-threo-tetrahydrobiopterin (DH4) with a smaller amount of l-erythro-tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4). DH4 synthesis from 6-pyruvoyltetrahydropterin (PPH4) is catalyzed by aldose reductase (AR)-like protein and sepiapterin reductase (SR) via an intermediate 1′-oxo-2′-d-hydroxypropyl tetrahydropterin, which is non-enzymatically oxidized to d-sepiapterin in the absence of SR. However, l-sepiapterin was a dominant product in the reaction of a cellular extract of spr− disrupted in the SR gene. In order to investigate its potential role in tetrahydropteridine synthesis, the enzyme catalyzing l-sepiapterin synthesis from PPH4 was purified from spr−. Via mass spectrometry, the protein was identified to be encoded by alrA. AlrA consists of 297 amino acid residues sharing a high sequence identity with human AR. However, in the co-incubation assay, DH4 synthesis was not detected and, furthermore, the recombinant AlrA was observed to suppress BH4 synthesis by SR, which was known to prefer 1′-oxo-2′-d-hydroxypropyl tetrahydropterin to PPH4. Although intracellular DH4 level in alrA− was decreased to 60% of the wild type, it is presumed to result from the antioxidant function of DH4. Therefore, despite the structural and catalytic identities with human AR, AlrA seems to be involved in neither BH4, nor DH4 synthesis under normal physiological conditions.


2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (15) ◽  
pp. 4885-4893 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takane Katayama ◽  
Akiko Sakuma ◽  
Takatoshi Kimura ◽  
Yutaka Makimura ◽  
Jun Hiratake ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT A genomic library of Bifidobacterium bifidum constructed in Escherichia coli was screened for the ability to hydrolyze the α-(1→2) linkage of 2′-fucosyllactose, and a gene encoding 1,2-α-l-fucosidase (AfcA) was isolated. The afcA gene was found to comprise 1,959 amino acid residues with a predicted molecular mass of 205 kDa and containing a signal peptide and a membrane anchor at the N and C termini, respectively. A domain responsible for fucosidase activity (the Fuc domain; amino acid residues 577 to 1474) was localized by deletion analysis and then purified as a hexahistidine-tagged protein. The recombinant Fuc domain specifically hydrolyzed the terminal α-(1→2)-fucosidic linkages of various oligosaccharides and a sugar chain of a glycoprotein. The stereochemical course of the hydrolysis of 2′-fucosyllactose was determined to be inversion by using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance. The primary structure of the Fuc domain exhibited no similarity to those of any glycoside hydrolases (GHs) but showed high similarity to those of several hypothetical proteins in a database. Thus, it was revealed that the AfcA protein constitutes a novel inverting GH family (GH family 95).


2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (24) ◽  
pp. 8565-8574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony J. Greenberg ◽  
Paul Schedl

ABSTRACT The Drosophila melanogaster GAGA factor (encoded by the Trithorax-like [Trl] gene) is required for correct chromatin architecture at diverse chromosomal sites. The Trl gene encodes two alternatively spliced isoforms of the GAGA factor (GAGA-519 and GAGA-581) that are identical except for the length and sequence of the C-terminal glutamine-rich (Q) domain. In vitro and tissue culture experiments failed to find any functional difference between the two isoforms. We made a set of transgenes that constitutively express cDNAs coding for either of the isoforms with the goal of elucidating their roles in vivo. Phenotypic analysis of the transgenes in Trl mutant background led us to the conclusion that GAGA-519 and GAGA-581 perform different, albeit largely overlapping, functions. We also expressed a fusion protein with LacZ disrupting the Q domain of GAGA-519. This LacZ fusion protein compensated for the loss of wild-type GAGA factor to a surprisingly large extent. This suggests that the Q domain either is not required for the essential functions performed by the GAGA protein or is exclusively used for tetramer formation. These results are inconsistent with a major role of the Q domain in chromatin remodeling or transcriptional activation. We also found that GAGA-LacZ was able to associate with sites not normally occupied by the GAGA factor, pointing to a role of the Q domain in binding site choice in vivo.


1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4826-4835
Author(s):  
C L Hsu ◽  
A Stevens

Analysis of the slowed turnover rates of several specific mRNA species and the higher cellular levels of some of these mRNAs in Saccharomyces cerevisiae lacking 5'-->3' exoribonuclease 1 (xrn1 cells) has led to the finding that these yeast contain higher amounts of essentially full-length mRNAs that do not bind to oligo(dT)-cellulose. On the other hand, the length of mRNA poly(A) chains found after pulse-labeling of cells lacking the exoribonuclease, the cellular rate of synthesis of oligo(dT)-bound mRNA, and the initial rate of its deadenylation appeared quite similar to the same measurements in wild-type yeast cells. Examination of the 5' cap structure status of the poly(A)-deficient mRNAs by comparative analysis of the m7G content of poly(A)- and poly(A)+ RNA fractions of wild-type and xrn1 cells suggested that the xrn1 poly(A)- mRNA fraction is low in cap structure content. Further analysis of the 5' termini by measurements of the rate of 5'-->3' exoribonuclease 1 hydrolysis of specific full-length mRNA species showed that approximately 50% of the xrn1 poly(A)-deficient mRNA species lack the cap structure. Primer extension analysis of the 5' terminus of ribosomal protein 51A (RP51A) mRNA showed that about 30% of the poly(A)-deficient molecules of the xrn1 cells are slightly shorter at the 5' end. The finding of some accumulation of poly(A)-deficient mRNA species partially lacking the cap structure together with the reduction of the rate of mRNA turnover in cells lacking the enzyme suggest a possible role for 5'-->3' exoribonuclease 1 in the mRNA turnover process.


1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 229-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert M Penner ◽  
Nathan J Roth ◽  
Beatrice Rob ◽  
Helga Lay ◽  
Reuben E Huber

Substitutions for Tyr-503 of β-galactosidase caused large decreases of the activity. Both the galactosylation (k2) and degalactosylation (k3) rates were decreased. Substitutions by residues without transferable protons, caused k3 to decrease much more than k2 while substitutions with residues having transferable protons, caused approximately equal decreases of k2 and k3. Several lines of evidence showed this. The Km values of the substituted enzymes were much smaller than those for the wild type if the substituted amino acid residues did not have transferable protons; this was not the case when the substituted residues had transferable protons. Inhibition studies showed that the Km values were not small because of small Ks values but were small because of relatively small k3 values (compared with the k2 values). The conclusion that the k3 values are small relative to k2 upon substitution with residues without transferable protons is also based upon other studies: studies indicating that the reaction rates were similar with different substrates, studies in the presence of alcohol acceptors, studies showing that the rate of inactivation by 2,4-dinitrophenyl-2-deoxy-2-F-β-D-galactopyranoside decreased much less than the rate of reactivation; studies on burst kinetics, and pH studies. The data suggest that Tyr-503 may be important for the degalactosylation reaction because of its ability to transfer protons and thereby facilitate cleavage of the transient covalent bond between galactose and Glu-537. Key words: β-galactosidase, tyrosine, mechanism, acid catalysis.


1987 ◽  
Vol 245 (2) ◽  
pp. 595-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
G J Price ◽  
P Jones ◽  
M D Davison ◽  
B Patel ◽  
I C Eperon ◽  
...  

A chick-embryo fibroblast lambda gt11 cDNA library was screened with affinity-purified antibodies to chick gizzard vinculin. One recombinant was purified to homogeneity and the fusion protein expressed in Escherichia coli strain C600. The fusion protein was unstable, but polypeptides that reacted with vinculin antibodies, but not non-immune immunoglobulin, were detected by Western blotting. The recombinant contained a single EcoRI fragment of 2891 bp with a single open reading frame. The deduced protein sequence could be aligned with that of six CNBr-cleavage peptides and two tryptic peptides derived from chicken gizzard vinculin. AUG-247 has tentatively been identified as the initiation codon, as it is contained within the consensus sequence for initiation sites of higher eukaryotes. The cDNA lacks 3′ sequence and encodes 74% of the vinculin sequence, presuming the molecular mass of vinculin to be 130,000 Da. Analysis of the deduced sequence showed no homologies with other protein sequences, but it does display a triple internal repeat of 112 amino acid residues covering residues 259-589. The sequences surrounding the seven tyrosine residues in the available sequence were aligned with the tyrosine autophosphorylation consensus sequence found in protein tyrosine kinases. Tyr-822 showed a good match to this consensus, and may represent one of the two major sites of tyrosine phosphorylation by pp60v-sre. Northern blots showed that the 2.89 kb vinculin cDNA hybridized to one size of mRNA (approx. 7 kb) in chick-embryo fibroblasts, chick smooth muscle and chick skeletal muscle. Southern blots revealed multiple hybridizing bands in genomic DNA.


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