scholarly journals Structural and functional studies of pyruvate carboxylase regulation by cyclic di-AMP in lactic acid bacteria

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (35) ◽  
pp. E7226-E7235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip H. Choi ◽  
Thu Minh Ngoc Vu ◽  
Huong Thi Pham ◽  
Joshua J. Woodward ◽  
Mark S. Turner ◽  
...  

Cyclic di-3′,5′-adenosine monophosphate (c-di-AMP) is a broadly conserved bacterial second messenger that has been implicated in a wide range of cellular processes. Our earlier studies showed that c-di-AMP regulates central metabolism inListeria monocytogenesby inhibiting its pyruvate carboxylase (LmPC), a biotin-dependent enzyme with biotin carboxylase (BC) and carboxyltransferase (CT) activities. We report here structural, biochemical, and functional studies on the inhibition ofLactococcus lactisPC (LlPC) by c-di-AMP. The compound is bound at the dimer interface of the CT domain, at a site equivalent to that in LmPC, although it has a distinct binding mode in the LlPC complex. This binding site is not well conserved among PCs, and only a subset of these bacterial enzymes are sensitive to c-di-AMP. Conformational changes in the CT dimer induced by c-di-AMP binding may be the molecular mechanism for its inhibitory activity. Mutations of residues in the binding site can abolish c-di-AMP inhibition. InL. lactis, LlPC is required for efficient milk acidification through its essential role in aspartate biosynthesis. The aspartate pool inL. lactisis negatively regulated by c-di-AMP, and high aspartate levels can be restored by expression of a c-di-AMP–insensitive LlPC. LlPC has high intrinsic catalytic activity and is not sensitive to acetyl-CoA activation, in contrast to other PC enzymes.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Burcu Ozden ◽  
Ramachandran Boopathi ◽  
Ayse Bercin Barlas ◽  
Imtiaz N. Lone ◽  
Jan Bednar ◽  
...  

Pioneer transcription factors (PTFs) have the remarkable ability to directly bind to chromatin for stimulating vital cellular processes. Expanding on the recent findings, we aim to unravel the universal binding mode of the famous Sox PTF. Our findings show that the base specific hydrogen bonding (base reading) and the local DNA changes (shape reading) are required for sequence-specific nucleosomal DNA recognition by Sox. Among different nucleosomal positions, base and shape reading can be satisfied at super helical location 2 (SHL2). This indicates that due to distinct histone-DNA interactions, SHL2 acts transparently to Sox binding, where SHL4 permits solely shape reading, and SHL0 (dyad) allows no reading. We also show that at SHL2, Sox binds to its recognition sequence without imposing any major conformational changes, if its consensus DNA sequence is located at the solvent-facing nucleosomal DNA strand. These data explain how Sox have evolved to perfectly adapt for chromatin binding.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Qi ◽  
Pia Lavriha ◽  
Ved Mehta ◽  
Basavraj Khanppnavar ◽  
Inayathulla Mohammed ◽  
...  

Adenylyl cyclase 9 (AC9) is a membrane-bound enzyme that converts ATP into cAMP. The enzyme is weakly activated by forskolin, fully activated by the G protein Gαs subunit and is autoinhibited by the AC9 C-terminus. Although our recent structural studies of the AC9-Gαs complex provided the framework for understanding AC9 autoinhibition, the conformational changes that AC9 undergoes in response to activator binding remains poorly understood. Here, we present the cryo-EM structures of AC9 in several distinct states: (i) AC9 bound to a nucleotide inhibitor MANT-GTP, (ii) bound to an artificial activator (DARPin C4) and MANT-GTP, (iii) bound to DARPin C4 and a nucleotide analogue ATPαS, (iv) bound to Gαs and MANT-GTP. The artificial activator DARPin C4 partially activates AC9 by binding at a site that overlaps with the Gαs binding site. Together with the previously observed occluded and forskolin-bound conformations, structural comparisons of AC9 in the four new conformations show that secondary structure rearrangements in the region surrounding the forskolin binding site are essential for AC9 activation.


1987 ◽  
Vol 89 (6) ◽  
pp. 873-903 ◽  
Author(s):  
W N Green ◽  
L B Weiss ◽  
O S Andersen

The guanidinium toxin-induced inhibition of the current through voltage-dependent sodium channels was examined for batrachotoxin-modified channels incorporated into planar lipid bilayers that carry no net charge. To ascertain whether a net negative charge exists in the vicinity of the toxin-binding site, we studied the channel closures induced by tetrodotoxin (TTX) and saxitoxin (STX) over a wide range of [Na+]. These toxins carry charges of +1 and +2, respectively. The frequency and duration of the toxin-induced closures are voltage dependent. The voltage dependence was similar for STX and TTX, independent of [Na+], which indicates that the binding site is located superficially at the extracellular surface of the sodium channel. The toxin dissociation constant, KD, and the rate constant for the toxin-induced closures, kc, varied as a function of [Na+]. The Na+ dependence was larger for STX than for TTX. Similarly, the addition of tetraethylammonium (TEA+) or Zn++ increased KD and decreased kc more for STX than for TTX. These differential effects are interpreted to arise from changes in the electrostatic potential near the toxin-binding site. The charges giving rise to this potential must reside on the channel since the bilayers had no net charge. The Na+ dependence of the ratios KDSTX/KDTTX and kcSTX/kcTTX was used to estimate an apparent charge density near the toxin-binding site of about -0.33 e X nm-2. Zn++ causes a voltage-dependent block of the single-channel current, as if Zn++ bound at a site within the permeation path, thereby blocking Na+ movement. There was no measurable interaction between Zn++ at its blocking site and STX or TTX at their binding site, which suggests that the toxin-binding site is separate from the channel entrance. The separation between the toxin-binding site and the Zn++ blocking site was estimated to be at least 1.5 nm. A model for toxin-induced channel closures is proposed, based on conformational changes in the channel subsequent to toxin binding.


2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (47) ◽  
pp. 29677-29683
Author(s):  
Yiling Xiao ◽  
Sandra Rocha ◽  
Catherine C. Kitts ◽  
Anna Reymer ◽  
Tamás Beke-Somfai ◽  
...  

Yeast prions provide self-templating protein-based mechanisms of inheritance whose conformational changes lead to the acquisition of diverse new phenotypes. The best studied of these is the prion domain (NM) of Sup35, which forms an amyloid that can adopt several distinct conformations (strains) that confer distinct phenotypes when introduced into cells that do not carry the prion. Classic dyes, such as thioflavin T and Congo red, exhibit large increases in fluorescence when bound to amyloids, but these dyes are not sensitive to local structural differences that distinguish amyloid strains. Here we describe the use of Michler’s hydrol blue (MHB) to investigate fibrils formed by the weak and strong prion fibrils of Sup35NM and find that MHB differentiates between these two polymorphs. Quantum mechanical time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations indicate that the fluorescence properties of amyloid-bound MHB can be correlated to the change of binding site polarity and that a tyrosine to phenylalanine substitution at a binding site could be detected. Through the use of site-specific mutants, we demonstrate that MHB is a site-specific environmentally sensitive probe that can provide structural details about amyloid fibrils and their polymorphs.


2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (a1) ◽  
pp. C700-C700
Author(s):  
Ruchi Anand ◽  
Hussain Bhukya

Streptomyces species are well-known for their wide variety of biologically active secondary metabolites and contribute to two-third of naturally occurring antibiotics. Production of antibiotics and resistance pathways in these species are dictated by interplay of transcriptional regulatory proteins that trigger downstream responses to either small diffusible molecules (autoinducers) or by binding to the antibiotic intermediates. These regulators have a ligand binding site and a DNA binding site and they carry out their transcription regulation via conformational changes induced upon ligand or DNA binding. To decipher the structural mechanism of action here we present the crystal structure of CprB in complex with its consensus DNA element to a resolution of 3.2 Å. The structure revealed that CprB belongs to the tetracycline family of antibiotic resistance efflux pumps regulators. CprB binds to the DNA as a tetramer via the helix-turn-helix (HTH) motif with the mode of DNA binding is most analogous to that observed for the broad spectrum multidrug resistance regulator QacR from Staphylococcus aureus. The binding of the DNA induces the restructuring of the CprB dimeric interface, thereby inducing a pendulum like motion of the HTH motif that inserts into the major grove of the DNA. A genome wide search for the cognate DNA element revealed that CprB serves as an autoregulatory protein and binds to its own promoter sequence. Our studies suggest that CprB is a part of a network of proteins that regulate the antibiotic production and resistance pathways in Streptomyces. Fluorescence anisotropy lifetime studies performed with both consensus and CprB promoter helped in concluding that both the sequence have an analogous mode of binding with the CprB DNA exhibiting a stronger binding profile as supported by ITC studies. A sequential binding mode, similar to a clamp and click model of binding was proposed.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Shen ◽  
Zhi Yue ◽  
Helen Zgurskaya ◽  
Wei Chen

AcrB is the inner-membrane transporter of E. coli AcrAB-TolC tripartite efflux complex, which plays a major role in the intrinsic resistance to clinically important antibiotics. AcrB pumps a wide range of toxic substrates by utilizing the proton gradient between periplasm and cytoplasm. Crystal structures of AcrB revealed three distinct conformational states of the transport cycle, substrate access, binding and extrusion, or loose (L), tight (T) and open (O) states. However, the specific residue(s) responsible for proton binding/release and the mechanism of proton-coupled conformational cycling remain controversial. Here we use the newly developed membrane hybrid-solvent continuous constant pH molecular dynamics technique to explore the protonation states and conformational dynamics of the transmembrane domain of AcrB. Simulations show that both Asp407 and Asp408 are deprotonated in the L/T states, while only Asp408 is protonated in the O state. Remarkably, release of a proton from Asp408 in the O state results in large conformational changes, such as the lateral and vertical movement of transmembrane helices as well as the salt-bridge formation between Asp408 and Lys940 and other sidechain rearrangements among essential residues.Consistent with the crystallographic differences between the O and L protomers, simulations offer dynamic details of how proton release drives the O-to-L transition in AcrB and address the controversy regarding the proton/drug stoichiometry. This work offers a significant step towards characterizing the complete cycle of proton-coupled drug transport in AcrB and further validates the membrane hybrid-solvent CpHMD technique for studies of proton-coupled transmembrane proteins which are currently poorly understood. <p><br></p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 743-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Remya Radha ◽  
Sathyanarayana N. Gummadi

Background:pH is one of the decisive macromolecular properties of proteins that significantly affects enzyme structure, stability and reaction rate. Change in pH may protonate or deprotonate the side group of aminoacid residues in the protein, thereby resulting in changes in chemical and structural features. Hence studies on the kinetics of enzyme deactivation by pH are important for assessing the bio-functionality of industrial enzymes. L-asparaginase is one such important enzyme that has potent applications in cancer therapy and food industry.Objective:The objective of the study is to understand and analyze the influence of pH on deactivation and stability of Vibrio cholerae L-asparaginase.Methods:Kinetic studies were conducted to analyze the effect of pH on stability and deactivation of Vibrio cholerae L-asparaginase. Circular Dichroism (CD) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) studies have been carried out to understand the pH-dependent conformational changes in the secondary structure of V. cholerae L-asparaginase.Results:The enzyme was found to be least stable at extreme acidic conditions (pH< 4.5) and exhibited a gradual increase in melting temperature from 40 to 81 °C within pH range of 4.0 to 7.0. Thermodynamic properties of protein were estimated and at pH 7.0 the protein exhibited ΔG37of 26.31 kcal mole-1, ΔH of 204.27 kcal mole-1 and ΔS of 574.06 cal mole-1 K-1.Conclusion:The stability and thermodynamic analysis revealed that V. cholerae L-asparaginase was highly stable over a wide range of pH, with the highest stability in the pH range of 5.0–7.0.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 761-773
Author(s):  
Huda K. Mahmoud ◽  
Hanadi A. Katouah ◽  
Marwa F. Harras ◽  
Thoraya A. Farghaly

Background: One of the most successful reagents used in the synthesis of the reactive enaminone is DMF-DMA, but it is very expensive with harmful effects on the human health and reacts with special compounds to generate the enaminone such as active methylene centers. Aim: In this article, we synthesized a new ketenaminal by simple method with inexpensive reagents (through desulfurization in diphenylether). Methods: Thus, a novel reactive ketenaminal (enaminone) was synthesized from the desulfurization of 2-((2-(4-chlorophenyl)-2-oxoethyl)thio)-5,7-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin- 4(3H)-one with diphenylether. The starting keteneaminal was coupled with diazotized anilines via the known coupling conditions to give a new series of 2-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-(2-(arylhydrazono)-2- oxoethyl)-5,7-bis(4-methoxy-phenyl)pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4(1H)-ones. Results: The structures of the new compounds were elucidated based on their IR, 1H-NMR, 13CNMR, and Mass spectra. Moreover, the potency of these compounds as antimicrobial agents has been evaluated. The results showed that some of the products have high activity nearly equal to that of the used standard antibiotic. Additionally, the docking study was done to get the binding mode of the synthesized compounds with the binding site of the DHFR enzyme. The results of molecular docking of the synthesized arylhydrazono compounds are able to fit in DHFR binding site with binding energies ranging from -4.989 to -8.178 Kcal/mol. Conclusion: Our goal was achieved in this context by the synthesis of new ketenaminal from inexpensive reagents, which was utilized in the preparation of bioactive arylhydrazone derivatives.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (13) ◽  
pp. 6973
Author(s):  
Alberto Mills ◽  
Federico Gago

eEF1A1 and eEF1A2 are paralogous proteins whose presence in most normal eukaryotic cells is mutually exclusive and developmentally regulated. Often described in the scientific literature under the collective name eEF1A, which stands for eukaryotic elongation factor 1A, their best known activity (in a monomeric, GTP-bound conformation) is to bind aminoacyl-tRNAs and deliver them to the A-site of the 80S ribosome. However, both eEF1A1 and eEF1A2 are endowed with multitasking abilities (sometimes performed by homo- and heterodimers) and can be located in different subcellular compartments, from the plasma membrane to the nucleus. Given the high sequence identity of these two sister proteins and the large number of post-translational modifications they can undergo, we are often confronted with the dilemma of discerning which is the particular proteoform that is actually responsible for the ascribed biochemical or cellular effects. We argue in this review that acquiring this knowledge is essential to help clarify, in molecular and structural terms, the mechanistic involvement of these two ancestral and abundant G proteins in a variety of fundamental cellular processes other than translation elongation. Of particular importance for this special issue is the fact that several de novo heterozygous missense mutations in the human EEF1A2 gene are associated with a subset of rare but severe neurological syndromes and cardiomyopathies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anurag Kumar Sinha ◽  
Kristoffer Skovbo Winther

AbstractBacteria synthesize guanosine tetra- and penta phosphate (commonly referred to as (p)ppGpp) in response to environmental stresses. (p)ppGpp reprograms cell physiology and is essential for stress survival, virulence and antibiotic tolerance. Proteins of the RSH superfamily (RelA/SpoT Homologues) are ubiquitously distributed and hydrolyze or synthesize (p)ppGpp. Structural studies have suggested that the shift between hydrolysis and synthesis is governed by conformational antagonism between the two active sites in RSHs. RelA proteins of γ-proteobacteria exclusively synthesize (p)ppGpp and encode an inactive pseudo-hydrolase domain. Escherichia coli RelA synthesizes (p)ppGpp in response to amino acid starvation with cognate uncharged tRNA at the ribosomal A-site, however, mechanistic details to the regulation of the enzymatic activity remain elusive. Here, we show a role of the enzymatically inactive hydrolase domain in modulating the activity of the synthetase domain of RelA. Using mutagenesis screening and functional studies, we identify a loop region (residues 114–130) in the hydrolase domain, which controls the synthetase activity. We show that a synthetase-inactive loop mutant of RelA is not affected for tRNA binding, but binds the ribosome less efficiently than wild type RelA. Our data support the model that the hydrolase domain acts as a molecular switch to regulate the synthetase activity.


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