scholarly journals An aromatic, but not a basic, residue is involved in the toxicity of group-II phospholipase A2 neurotoxins

1999 ◽  
Vol 341 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jože PUNGERĆAR ◽  
Igor KRIAJ ◽  
Ning-Sheng LIANG ◽  
Franc GUBENŠEK

Ammodytoxins (Atxs) A, B and C are basic phospholipase A2s from Vipera ammodytes ammodytes snake venom, and they exhibit presynaptic toxicity. The most toxic is AtxA, followed by AtxC, its naturally occurring F124 → I/K128 → E mutant, which is 17 times less toxic. Two mutants of AtxA have been produced in bacteria and characterized. The specific enzymic activity of the K128 → E mutant on mixed phosphatidylcholine/Triton X-100 micelles is similar to that of the wild type. The K108 → N/K111 → N mutant, however, possesses 160% of the wild-type activity. Replacement of the two basic residues by uncharged, polar residues on the opposite side of the protein to the enzyme active site and interfacial adsorption surface results in increased enzymic activity at the water/lipid aggregate interface, due to a redistribution of electrostatic charge. The binding affinity of the double mutant for the specific acceptor in bovine brain was similar to that of AtxA, whereas the affinity of the single mutant was similar to that of AtxC, which was slightly weaker than that of AtxA. Interestingly, the substitution of any of these three basic surface residues did not significantly change the lethal potency of AtxA. Since the single mutant AtxA(K128 → E) is equivalent to the AtxC(I124 → F) mutant, this indicates that the residue at position 124 is important for presynaptic toxicity of Atxs. The more than 10-fold lower toxicity of AtxC, compared with AtxA, is a consequence of the substitution of Phe-124 (aromatic ring) with Ile (aliphatic chain). Exposed aromatic residues in the C-terminal region may also be important for the neurotoxicity of other similar toxins.

2002 ◽  
Vol 363 (2) ◽  
pp. 353-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toni PETAN ◽  
Igor KRIŽAJ ◽  
Franc GUBENŠEK ◽  
Jože PUNGERČAR

Ammodytoxins (Atxs) are group II phospholipases A2 (PLA2s) with presynaptic toxicity from venom of the snake Vipera ammodytes ammodytes. The molecular basis of their neurotoxicity, and that of similar PLA2 toxins, is still to be explained. To address this problem, a surface-exposed aromatic residue, Phe24, in the N-terminal region of the most potent Atx, AtxA, was replaced by other aromatic (tyrosine, tryptophan), hydrophobic (alanine) and polar uncharged (serine, asparagine) residues. The mutants were produced in the bacterial expression system, refolded in vitro and purified to homogeneity. All but the Trp24 mutant, whose activity was similar to that of the wild type, showed a considerable decrease (40–80%) in enzymic activity on a micellar phosphatidylcholine substrate. This result indicates an important role for the aromatic side chains of phenylalanine or tryptophan, but not tyrosine, in PLA2 activity, very likely at a stage of interfacial adsorption of the enzyme to zwitterionic aggregated substrates. The substitutions of Phe24 also significantly decreased toxicity in mice, with the most prominent decrease, of 130-fold, observed in the case of the Asn24 mutant. The results with the mutants show that there is no correlation between enzymic activity, lethality and binding affinity for three AtxA neuronal receptors (R180, R25 and calmodulin). Our results suggest a critical involvement of Phe24 in the neurotoxicity of AtxA, apparently at a stage which does not involve the interaction with the known Atx-binding neuronal proteins and catalytic activity.


2013 ◽  
Vol 454 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Masson ◽  
Sofya Lushchekina ◽  
Lawrence M. Schopfer ◽  
Oksana Lockridge

CSP (cresyl saligenin phosphate) is an irreversible inhibitor of human BChE (butyrylcholinesterase) that has been involved in the aerotoxic syndrome. Inhibition under pseudo-first-order conditions is biphasic, reflecting a slow equilibrium between two enzyme states E and E′. The elementary constants for CSP inhibition of wild-type BChE and D70G mutant were determined by studying the dependence of inhibition kinetics on viscosity and osmotic pressure. Glycerol and sucrose were used as viscosogens. Phosphorylation by CSP is sensitive to viscosity and is thus strongly diffusion-controlled (kon≈108 M−1·min−1). Bimolecular rate constants (ki) are about equal to kon values, making CSP one of the fastest inhibitors of BChE. Sucrose caused osmotic stress because it is excluded from the active-site gorge. This depleted the active-site gorge of water. Osmotic activation volumes, determined from the dependence of ki on osmotic pressure, showed that water in the gorge of the D70G mutant is more easily depleted than that in wild-type BChE. This demonstrates the importance of the peripheral site residue Asp70 in controlling the active-site gorge hydration. MD simulations provided new evidence for differences in the motion of water within the gorge of wild-type and D70G enzymes. The effect of viscosogens/osmolytes provided information on the slow equilibrium E⇌E′, indicating that alteration in hydration of a key catalytic residue shifts the equilibrium towards E′. MD simulations showed that glycerol molecules that substitute for water molecules in the enzyme active-site gorge induce a conformational change in the catalytic triad residue His438, leading to the less reactive form E′.


2001 ◽  
Vol 356 (1) ◽  
pp. 217-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo FRANCO ◽  
Alice S. PEREIRA ◽  
Pedro TAVARES ◽  
Arianna MANGRAVITA ◽  
Michael J. BARBER ◽  
...  

Ferrochelatase (EC 4.99.1.1) is the terminal enzyme of the haem biosynthetic pathway and catalyses iron chelation into the protoporphyrin IX ring. Glutamate-287 (E287) of murine mature ferrochelatase is a conserved residue in all known sequences of ferrochelatase, is present at the active site of the enzyme, as inferred from the Bacillus subtilis ferrochelatase three-dimensional structure, and is critical for enzyme activity. Substitution of E287 with either glutamine (Q) or alanine (A) yielded variants with lower enzymic activity than that of the wild-type ferrochelatase and with different absorption spectra from the wild-type enzyme. In contrast to the wild-type enzyme, the absorption spectra of the variants indicate that these enzymes, as purified, contain protoporphyrin IX. Identification and quantification of the porphyrin bound to the E287-directed variants indicate that approx. 80% of the total porphyrin corresponds to protoporphyrin IX. Significantly, rapid stopped-flow experiments of the E287A and E287Q variants demonstrate that reaction with Zn2+ results in the formation of bound Zn-protoporphyrin IX, indicating that the endogenously bound protoporphyrin IX can be used as a substrate. Taken together, these findings suggest that the structural strain imposed by ferrochelatase on the porphyrin substrate as a critical step in the enzyme catalytic mechanism is also accomplished by the E287A and E287Q variants, but without the release of the product. Thus E287 in murine ferrochelatase appears to be critical for the catalytic process by controlling the release of the product.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 504-516
Author(s):  
Fabrizio Biuso ◽  
Laura Palladino ◽  
Alessandro Manenti ◽  
Valerio Stanzani ◽  
Giulia Lapini ◽  
...  

1990 ◽  
Vol 268 (1) ◽  
pp. 245-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Chantry ◽  
P Glynn

A monoclonal antibody, CG4, was raised to a novel 60 kDa metalloproteinase purified from a bovine brain myelin glycoprotein fraction. Glycoproteins extracted from both myelin and nine different bovine tissues showed the 60 kDa CG4-immunoreactive band by immunoblotting in amounts that broadly paralleled enzymic activity of this metalloproteinase and varied relatively little among the tissues.


1992 ◽  
Vol 282 (2) ◽  
pp. 361-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Bourguignon-Bellefroid ◽  
J M Wilkin ◽  
B Joris ◽  
R T Aplin ◽  
C Houssier ◽  
...  

Modification of the Streptomyces R61 DD-peptidase by N-bromosuccinimide resulted in a rapid loss of enzyme activity. In consequence, the role of the enzyme's two tryptophan residues was investigated by site-directed mutagenesis. Trp271 was replaced by Leu. The modification yielded a stable enzyme whose structural and catalytic properties were similar to those of the wild-type protein. Thus the Trp271 residue, though almost invariant among the beta-lactamases of classes A and C and the low-Mr penicillin-binding proteins, did not appear to be essential for enzyme activity. Mutations of the Trp233 into Leu and Ser strongly decreased the enzymic activity, the affinity for beta-lactams and the protein stability. Surprisingly, the benzylpenicilloyl-(W233L)enzyme deacylated at least 300-fold more quickly than the corresponding acyl-enzyme formed with the wild-type protein and gave rise to benzylpenicilloate instead of phenylacetylglycine. This mutant DD-peptidase thus behaved as a weak beta-lactamase.


Microbiology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 157 (9) ◽  
pp. 2702-2707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sujoy Kumar Sarkar ◽  
Mouparna Dutta ◽  
Chiranjit Chowdhury ◽  
Akash Kumar ◽  
Anindya S. Ghosh

Escherichia coli PBP5, PBP6 and DacD, encoded by dacA, dacC and dacD, respectively, share substantial amino acid identity and together constitute ~50 % of the total penicillin-binding proteins of E. coli. PBP5 helps maintain intrinsic β-lactam resistance within the cell. To test if PBP6 and DacD play simlar roles, we deleted dacC and dacD individually, and dacC in combination with dacA, from E. coli 2443 and compared β-lactam sensitivity of the mutants and the parent strain. β-Lactam resistance was complemented by wild-type, but not dd-carboxypeptidase-deficient PBP5, confirming that enzymic activity of PBP5 is essential for β-lactam resistance. Deletion of dacC and expression of PBP6 during exponential or stationary phase did not alter β-lactam resistance of a dacA mutant. Expression of DacD during mid-exponential phase partially restored β-lactam resistance of the dacA mutant. Therefore, PBP5 dd-carboxypeptidase activity is essential for intrinsic β-lactam resistance of E. coli and DacD can partially compensate for PBP5 in this capacity, whereas PBP6 cannot.


Blood ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 126 (23) ◽  
pp. 2759-2759
Author(s):  
Ran Wu ◽  
Sheng Guo ◽  
Jie Cai ◽  
Xuesong Huang ◽  
Jie Yang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background. Activated B cell-like (ABC) is a subtype of DLBCL difficult to treat. Activation of B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling pathway, including CD79 transmembrane proteins (A/B subunits) and Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK), are required for the disease maintenance. The MYD88 (an adapter for Toll-like receptors in a separate pathway from BCR pathway) activating mutation, L265P, has been suggested to activate BCR pathway (29% of ABC-DLBCL) and thus drives the disease. These DLBCLs seem responsive to ibrutinib (a BTK inhibitor) in the clinics1,2. Majority of MYD88-L265P mutant DLBCL patients also have CD79B mutation (e.g. Y197N), i.e. double mutants (21% of total ABC-DLBCL), hinting collaborative oncogenesis, while some are MYD88-L265P single mutant with wild type CD79B. It remains unclear whether the single and double mutant ABC-DLBCL differ in their molecular pathogenesis as well as response to ibrutinib. Method. We created DLBCL patient derived xenografts (PDX) as experimental system mimicking patients in order to investigate the molecular pathogenesis/response to ibrutinib. We first transcriptome-sequenced the established PDXs. We categorized them into ABC/GCB subtypes along with mutation status of CD79B/MYD88 per transcriptome profiles. We then assessed these PDXs for their response to ibrutinib and trying to correlate antitumor activity to molecular signature. Results. We have created 20 NHL-PDX, with 5 of them transcriptome-sequenced. Clustering analysis per expression profile of 14-genes have classified all these 5 into subclass ABC-DLBCL. Among the 5, one is MYD88-L265P/CD79B-Y197N double mutants (LY2298), one MYD88-L265P single mutant (LY0257), and three wild types (LY2345, LY2214, LY2266). Among the 3 models tested so far, LY2214 (wildtype) and LY0257 (single mutation) did not respond to ibrutinib, but LY2298 (double mutations) did. These results, although small sample sizes, seem to suggest that double mutations are required for the response to ibrutinib, while single mutant and wild type does not. These observation seem to be consistent with the implication from recent clinical study1. We are currently profile and test the remaining models to further confirm these observations. We will also further elucidate the downstream signaling along with the drug response. Conclusion. Our preliminary results confirmed that ibrutinib sensitivity correlates with the concomitant double mutation of CD79B and MYD88. References 1. Wilson, W.H., et al. Targeting B cell receptor signaling with ibrutinib in diffuse large B cell lymphoma. Nature medicine (2015). 2. Aalipour, A. & Advani, R.H. Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors and their clinical potential in the treatment of B-cell malignancies: focus on ibrutinib. Therapeutic advances in hematology5, 121-133 (2014). Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2006 ◽  
Vol 87 (4) ◽  
pp. 823-831 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle A. Peters ◽  
Brendan S. Crabb ◽  
Elizabeth A. Washington ◽  
Glenn F. Browning

Chicken anemia virus (CAV) is an immunosuppressive pathogen of chickens. To further examine the role of viral protein 2 (VP2), which possesses dual-specificity protein phosphatase (DSP) activity, in viral cytopathogenicity and its influence on viral growth and virulence, an infectious genomic clone of CAV was subjected to site-directed mutagenesis. Substitution mutations C87R, R101G, K102D and H103Y were introduced into the DSP catalytic motif and R129G, Q131P, R/K/K150/151/152G/A/A, D/E161/162G/G, L163P, D169G and E186G into a region predicted to have a high degree of secondary structure. All mutant constructs were infectious, but their growth curves differed. The growth curve for mutant virus R/K/K150/151/152G/A/A was similar to that for wild-type virus, a second cluster of mutant viruses had an extended latent period and a third cluster of mutant viruses had extended latent and eclipse periods. All mutants had a reduced cytopathogenic effect in infected cells and VP3 was restricted to the cytoplasm. Mutation of the second basic residue (K102D) in the atypical DSP signature motif resulted in a marked reduction in virus replication efficiency, whereas mutation of the first basic residue (R101G) attenuated cytopathogenicity, but did not reduce replication efficiency. Expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I was markedly downregulated in cells infected with wild-type CAV, but not in those infected with mutants. This study further demonstrates the significance of VP2 in CAV replication and shows that specific mutations introduced into the gene encoding this protein can reduce virus replication, cytopathogenicity and downregulation of MHC I in infected cells.


1996 ◽  
Vol 314 (3) ◽  
pp. 993-1000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghee T. TAN ◽  
Sangkook LEE ◽  
Ik-Soo LEE ◽  
Jingwen CHEN ◽  
Pete LEITNER ◽  
...  

Enzymic activity mediated by recombinant human DNA ligase I (hLI), in conjunction with tannin removal procedures, has been applied to a natural-product screen involving ~1000 plant extracts and various pure compounds. The primary hLI activity assay involved the measurement of the amount of radiolabelled phosphate in a synthetic nucleic acid hybrid that becomes resistant to alkaline phosphatase as a result of ligation. A bioactivity-guided fractionation scheme resulted in the isolation of ursolic [IC50 = 100 μg/ml (216 μM)] and oleanolic [IC50 = 100 μg/ml (216 μM)] acids from Tricalysia niamniamensis Hiern (Rubiaceae), which demonstrated similar DNA ligase inhibition profiles to other triterpenes such as aleuritolic acid. Protolichesterinic acid [IC50 = 6 μg/ml (20 μM)], swertifrancheside [IC50 = 8 μg/ml (11 μM)] and fulvoplumierin [IC50 = 87 μg/ml (357 μM)] represent three additional natural-product structural classes that inhibit hLI. Fagaronine chloride [IC50 = 10 μg/ml (27 μM)] and certain flavonoids are also among the pure natural products that were found to disrupt the activity of the enzyme, consistent with their nucleic acid intercalative properties. Further analyses revealed that some of the hLI-inhibitory compounds interfered with the initial adenylation step of the ligation reaction, indicating a direct interaction with the enzyme protein. However, in all cases, this enzyme–inhibitor interaction did not disrupt the DNA relaxation activity mediated by hLI. These results indicate that, although the same enzyme active site may be involved in both enzyme adenylation and DNA relaxation, inhibitors may exert allosteric effects by inducing conformational changes that disrupt only one of these activities. Studies with inhibitors are important for the assignment of specific cellular functions to these enzymes, as well as for their development into clinically useful antitumour agents.


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