Identification of the reactive cysteine residue (Cys227) in human carbonyl reductase.
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Carbonyl reductase is highly susceptible to inactivation by organomercurials suggesting the presence of a reactive cysteine residue in, or close to, the active site. This residue is also close to a site which binds glutathione. Structurally, carbonyl reductase belongs to the short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase family and contains five cysteine residues, none of which is conserved within the family. In order to identify the reactive residue and investigate its possible role in glutathione binding, alanine was substituted for each cysteine residue of human carbonyl reductase by site-directed mutagenesis. The mutant enzymes were expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. Four of the five mutants (C26A, C122A C150A and C226A) exhibited wild-type-like enzyme activity, although K(m) values of C226A for three structurally different substrates were increased threefold to 10-fold. The fifth mutant, C227A, showed a 10-15-fold decrease in kcat and a threefold to 40-fold increase in K(m), resulting in a 30-500-fold drop in kcat/K(m). NaCl (300 mM) increased the activity of C227A 16-fold, whereas the activity of the wild-type enzyme was only doubled. Substitution of serine rather than alanine for Cys227 similarly affected the kinetic constants with the exception that NaCl did not activate the enzyme. Both C227A and C227S mutants were insensitive to inactivation by 4-hydroxymercuribenzoate. Unlike the parent carbonyl compounds, the glutathione adducts of menadione and prostaglandin A1 were better substrates for the C227A and C227S mutants than the wild-type enzyme. Conversely, the binding of free glutathione to both mutants was reduced. Our findings indicate that Cys227 is the reactive residue and suggest that it is involved in the binding of both substrate and glutathione. (+info)
Induction of maturation (meiosis) in Xenopus laevis oocytes by three organomercurials.
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Three organomercurials, p-hydroxymercuribenzoate, p-hydroxymercuriphenylsulfonate, and mersalyl, induce maturation (meiosis) in a large percentage (20-100 percent) of Xenopus laevis oocytes. Maturation takes place even when the follicle cells which surround the oocytes have been withdrawn. Organomercurial- and progesterone-induced maturations have many features in common: they do not occur when the inducer is injected into the oocytes, they require the presence of Ca++ in the medium, they are inhibited by cycloheximide but not by actinomycin D. In both cases, the maturation producing factor and the pseudomaturation inducing factor are produced. Organomercurial-treated oocytes react normally to activating stimuli; their protein synthesis increases, but uptake of amino acids is strongly inhibited. Progesterone and p-hydroxymercuriphenyl-sulfonate act synergically in inducing maturation. The main difference between the two agents is that p-hydroxymercuriphenylsulfonate must act for several hours, whereas, short contact with progesterone is sufficient to induce maturation. (+info)
The conserved RING-H2 finger of ROC1 is required for ubiquitin ligation.
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ROC1 is a common component of a large family of ubiquitin E3 ligases that regulate cell cycle progression and signal transduction pathways. Here we present evidence suggesting that a conserved RING-H2 structure within ROC1 is critical for its ubiquitin ligation function. Mercury-containing sulfhydryl modification agents (rho-hydroxymercuribenzoate and mercuric chloride) irreversibly inhibit the ROC1-CUL1 ubiquitin ligase activity without disrupting the complex. Consistent with this, these reagents also eliminate the ability of the Skp1-CUL1-HOS-ROC1 E3 ligase complex to support the ubiquitination of IkappaBalpha. Site-directed mutagenesis analysis identifies RING-H2 finger residues Cys(42), Cys(45), Cys(75), His(77), His(80), Cys(83), Cys(94), and Asp(97) as being essential for the ROC1-dependent ubiquitin ligase activity. Furthermore, C42S/C45S and H80A mutations reduce the ability of ROC1 to interact with CUL1 in transfected cells and diminish the capacity of ROC1-CUL1 to form a stable complex with Cdc34 in vitro. However, C75S, H77A, C94S, and D97A substitutions have no detectable effect on ROC1 binding activities. Thus, the ROC1 RING-H2 finger may possess multiple biochemical properties that include stabilizing an interaction with CUL1 and recruiting Cdc34. A possible role of the RING finger in facilitating the Ub transfer reaction is discussed. (+info)
Isolation and properties of a species produced by the partial dissociation of aspartate transcarbamylase from Escherichia coli.
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A species produced by the reaction of aspartate transcarbamylase (C6R6) with 6 to 12 eq of p-hydroxymercuribenzoate was isolated by DEAE-Sephadex chromatography. Purified material was completely dissociated with mercurials and the relative amounts of catalytic (C) and regulatory (R) subunits were determined by three methods: (a) quantitative cellulose acetate electrophoresis; (b) Lowry analysis after separating the catalytic and regulatory subunits by sucrose gradient centrifugation; (c) dissociation of the species with sodium dodecyl sulfate and determination of the relative amounts of catalytic and regulatory chain by sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis. All three methods gave consistent results, indicating that the molecule consists of 75% (by weight) catalytic chain and 25% regulatory chain. The molecular weight determined by gel filtration, sedimentation velocity, and sedimentation equilibrium experiments was found to be approximately 270,000. These observations establish that this species has the structure C6R4, and is produced by the release of a single regulatory dimer R2 from the intact aspartate transcarbamylase complex. This protein (C6R4) contains 20 cysteines and four zinc ions, consistent with the proposed subunit structure. The purified intermediate C6R4 contains no mercury. The parent molecule C6R6 can be reconstituted from C6R4 by incubation with isolated regulatory subunit (R2) in the presence of zinc and beta-mercaptoethanol. Titration of C6R4 yields an end point which corresponds to the addition of 1 mol of regulatory subunit (R2) per mol of C6R4. The intermediate is quite stable at neutral pH but tends to disproportionate into aspartate transcarbamylase and catalytic subunit after prolonged storage or at elevated pH. The kinetic properties of this species have been investigated. The specific activity of C6R4 is virtually identical with that of the native enzyme but the regulatory properties are substantially reduced. Both homotropic and heterotropic interactions are reduced but not abolished, indicating that the intact structure C6R6 is not required for the allosteric transitions involved in regulation. (+info)
Conformational change of dihydrofolate reductase near the active site after thiol modification: detected by limited proteolysis.
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Kinetic studies of chicken liver dihydrofolate reductase (CL-DHFR) and Chinese hamster ovary DHFR (CH-DHFR) activated following p-hydroxymercuribenzoate (p-HMB) modification indicate a conformational change at the active site, suggesting a loosening of the enzyme structure upon SH modification. In the present study, limited proteolysis was applied to detect the subtle conformational changes in SH-modified DHFRs. The digested peptide fragments were separated by Tricine SDS-PAGE and sequenced by Edman auto-degradation. The thiol modifier N-iodoacetyl-N'-(5-sulfo-1-nophthyl) ethylenediamine (IAEANS), which activates these DHFRs only weakly, was used as a control. The results of sequencing showed that compared to native enzyme, there is one additional cleavage site near the active site in p-HMB-modified CL-DHFR, two additional sites in p-HMB-modified CH-DHFR, but no additional site for IAEANS-modified DHFRs. These results indicate that activation of DHFRs following thiol modification is accompanied by a conformational change at or near the active site. This subtle change in the active site conformation results in a pronounced change in enzyme activity. This provides further evidence that flexibility at the active site is essential for full expression of enzyme catalytic activity. Comparing results obtained from previous experiments on guanidine- and urea-activated CL-DHFR, this shows that a conformational change near helix(28-39) is sufficient for full activation of DHFR. (+info)
Guanine nucleotide transport by atractyloside-sensitive and -insensitive carriers in isolated heart mitochondria.
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In previous work (McKee EE, Bentley AT, Smith RM Jr, and Ciaccio CE, Biochem Biophys Res Commun 257: 466-472, 1999), the transport of guanine nucleotides into the matrix of intact isolated heart mitochondria was demonstrated. In this study, the time course and mechanisms of guanine nucleotide transport are characterized. Two distinct mechanisms of transport were found to be capable of moving guanine nucleotides across the inner membrane. The first carrier was saturable, displayed temperature dependence, preferred GDP to GTP, and did not transport GMP or IMP. When incubated in the absence of exogenous ATP, this carrier had a V(max) of 946 +/- 53 pmol. mg(-1). min(-1) with a K(m) of 2.9 +/- 0.3 mM for GDP. However, transport of GTP and GDP on this carrier was completely inhibited by physiological concentrations of ATP, suggesting that this carrier was not involved with guanine nucleotide transport in vivo. Because transport on this carrier was also inhibited by atractyloside, this carrier was consistent with the well-characterized ATP/ADP translocase. The second mechanism of guanine nucleotide uptake was insensitive to atractyloside, displayed temperature dependence, and was capable of transporting GMP, GDP, and GTP at approximately equal rates but did not transport IMP, guanine, or guanosine. GTP transport via this mechanism was slow, with a V(max) of 48.7 +/- 1.4 pmol. mg(-1). min(-1) and a K(m) = 4.4 +/- 0.4 mM. However, because the requirement for guanine nucleotide transport is low in nondividing tissues such as the heart, this transport process is nevertheless sufficient to account for the matrix uptake of guanine nucleotides and may represent the physiological mechanism of transport. (+info)
Conformation and polarity of the active site of xylanase I from Thermomonospora sp. as deduced by fluorescent chemoaffinity labeling. Site and significance of a histidine residue.
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A fluorescent chemoaffinity label o-phthalaldehyde (OPTA) was used to ascertain the conformational flexibility and polarity at the active site of xylanase I (Xyl I). The kinetics of inactivation of Xyl I with OPTA revealed that complete inactivation occurred due to the binding of one molecule of OPTA to the active site of Xyl I. The formation of a single fluorescent isoindole derivative corroborated these findings. OPTA has been known to form a fluorescent isoindole derivative by crosslinking the proximal thiol and amino groups of cysteine and lysine. The involvement of cysteine in the formation of a Xyl I-isoindole derivative has been negated by fluorometric and chemical modification studies on Xyl I with group-specific reagents and by amino-acid analysis. The kinetic analysis of diethylpyrocarbonate-modified Xyl I established the presence of an essential histidine at or near the catalytic site of Xyl I. Modification of histidine and lysine residues by diethylpyrocarbonate and 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid, respectively, abolished the ability of the enzyme to form an isoindole derivative with OPTA, indicating that histidine and lysine participate in the formation of the isoindole complex. A mechanism for the reaction of OPTA with histidine and lysine residues present in the protein structure has been proposed. Experimental evidence presented here suggests for the first time that the active site of Xyl I is conformationally more flexible and more easily perturbed in the presence of denaturants than the molecule as a whole. The changes in the fluorescence emission maxima of a model compound (isoindole adduct) in solvents of different polarity were compared with the fluorescence behaviour of the Xyl I-isoindole derivative, leading to the conclusion that the active site is located in a microenvironment of low polarity. (+info)
Comparative kinetics and reciprocal inhibition of nitrate and nitrite uptake in roots of uninduced and induced barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) seedlings.
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Nitrate and NO2- transport by roots of 8-day-old uninduced and induced intact barley (Hordeum vulgare L. var CM 72) seedlings were compared to kinetic patterns, reciprocal inhibition of the transport systems, and the effect of the inhibitor, p-hydroxymercuribenzoate. Net uptake of NO3- and NO2- was measured by following the depletion of the ions from the uptake solutions. The roots of uninduced seedlings possessed a low concentration, saturable, low Km, possibly a constitutive uptake system, and a linear system for both NO3- and NO2-. The low Km system followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics and approached saturation between 40 and 100 micromolar, whereas the linear system was detected between 100 and 500 micromolar. In roots of induced seedlings, rates for both NO3- and NO2- uptake followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics and approached saturation at about 200 micromolar. In induced roots, two kinetically identifiable transport systems were resolved for each anion. At the lower substrate concentrations, less than 10 micromolar, the apparent low Kms of NO3- and NO2- uptake were 7 and 9 micromolar, respectively, and were similar to those of the low Km system in uninduced roots. At substrate concentrations between 10 and 200 micromolar, the apparent high Km values of NO3- uptake ranged from 34 to 36 micromolar and of NO2- uptake ranged from 41 to 49 micromolar. A linear system was also found in induced seedlings at concentrations above 500 micromolar. Double reciprocal plots indicated that NO3- and NO2- inhibited the uptake of each other competitively in both uninduced and induced seedlings; however, Ki values showed that NO3- was a more effective inhibitor than NO2-. Nitrate and NO2- transport by both the low and high Km systems were greatly inhibited by p-hydroxymercuribenzoate, whereas the linear system was only slightly inhibited. (+info)