scholarly journals Mutation of the Zinc-Binding Metalloprotease Motif Affects Bacteroides fragilis Toxin Activity but Does Not Affect Propeptide Processing

2005 ◽  
Vol 73 (8) ◽  
pp. 5273-5277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Augusto A. Franco ◽  
Simy L. Buckwold ◽  
Jai W. Shin ◽  
Miguel Ascon ◽  
Cynthia L. Sears

ABSTRACT To evaluate the role of the zinc-binding metalloprotease in Bacteroides fragilis toxin (BFT) processing and activity, the zinc-binding consensus sequences (H348, E349, H352, G355, H358, and M366) were mutated by site-directed-mutagenesis. Our results indicated that single point mutations in the zinc-binding metalloprotease motif do not affect BFT processing but do reduce or eliminate BFT biologic activity in vitro.

Blood ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 114 (22) ◽  
pp. 1312-1312
Author(s):  
Vincent Jallu ◽  
Alexandre De Brevern ◽  
Simon Panzer ◽  
Marie-Francoise Torchet ◽  
Cecile Kaplan-Gouet

Abstract Abstract 1312 Poster Board I-336 Introduction Glanzmann thrombasthenia (GT) is an autosomal recessive inherited bleeding disorder characterized by an impaired platelet aggregation. GT results from defects of the platelet fibrinogen receptor αIIbβ3. GT mutations provide useful tools for structure-function relationship studies of αIIbβ3. Patient and methods Genomic DNA from 6 patients has been amplified for αIIb and β3 promoters and exons sequences. PCR products were directly sequenced. Potential RNA processing alterations have been studied in silico by using Genscan, NNSPLICE and ESEFinder online tools. When no RNA splicing anomaly was predicted, the effect of single point mutation on αIIbβ3 expression has been studied by using transiently transfected Cos cells. Finally, structural consequences of amino acid substitutions has been studied using the published model of αIIbβ3 (code PDB 2VDL) and structural modelling. Results 7 new mutations have been characterized. 1 deletion / insertion, 2 single point mutations inducing stop codon and 1 resulting in splicing site disruption were identified. The 3 last identified single point mutations were not predicted to affect normal RNA processing but has been shown to prevent normal expression of mutant αIIbβ3 at the surface of Cos cells. The p.Meth118Arg and p.Gly221Asp substitutions that induce both important steric hindrance and charge modifications, are located inside the β-I domain of β3. So they should deeply alter the proper folding of the β-I domain, preventing the complex expression at the platelet surface. On the other hand, the p.Lys253Met protrudes from the β-I domain toward the αIIb β-propeller. A structural model of the Met253 β-I mutant has been done. An estimation of the direct electrostatic and desolvation free energies of interaction between the β-I domain surface and the αIIb β-propeller indicated that rather than the presence of a methionine, it is the lost of the Lys253 which is responsible for the complex expression defect. Conclusion Seven new GT mutations have been identified and the p.Lys253Met substitution helped to define a key role of the Lys253 in the αIIb β-propeller / β3 β-I domains interaction. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


1999 ◽  
Vol 340 (2) ◽  
pp. 417-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer A. COBB ◽  
Chang-Hoon HAN ◽  
David M. WILLS ◽  
Daniel M. ROBERTS

Calmodulin is trimethylated by a specific methyltransferase on Lys115, a residue located in a six amino acid loop (LGEKLT) between EF hands III and IV. To investigate the structural requirements for methylation, domain exchange mutants as well as single point mutations of conserved methylation loop residues (E114A, Glu114 → Ala; L116T, Leu116 → Thr) were generated. E114A and L116T activated cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE) and NAD+ kinase (NADK) similar to wild-type calmodulin, but lost their ability to be methylated. Domain exchange mutants in which EF hand III or IV was replaced by EF hand I or II respectively (CaM1214 and CaM1232 respectively) showed a modest effect on PDE and NADK activation (50 to 100% of wild-type), but calmodulin methylation was abolished. A third domain exchange mutant, CaMEKL, has the methylation loop sequence placed at a symmetrical position between EF hands I and II in the N-terminal lobe [residues QNP(41-43) replaced by EKL]. CaMEKL activated PDE normally, but did not activate NADK. However, CaMEKL retained the ability to bind to NADK and inhibited activation by wild-type calmodulin. Site-directed mutagenesis of single residues showed that Gln41 and Pro43 substitutions had the strongest effect on NADK activation. Additionally, CaMEKL was not methylated, suggesting that the introduction of the methylation loop between EF hands I and II is not adequate for methyltransferase recognition. Overall the data indicate that residues in the methylation loop are essential but not sufficient for methyltransferase recognition, and that additional residues unique to EF hands III and IV are required. Secondly, the QNP sequence in the loop between EF hands I and II is necessary for NADK activation.


2009 ◽  
Vol 424 (3) ◽  
pp. 439-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aiko Sato ◽  
Yuki Sato ◽  
Yoichiro Fukao ◽  
Masayuki Fujiwara ◽  
Taishi Umezawa ◽  
...  

The Arabidopsis thaliana K+ channel KAT1 has been suggested to have a key role in mediating the aperture of stomata pores on the surface of plant leaves. Although the activity of KAT1 is thought to be regulated by phosphorylation, the endogenous pathway and the primary target site for this modification remained unknown. In the present study, we have demonstrated that the C-terminal region of KAT1 acts as a phosphorylation target for the Arabidopsis calcium-independent ABA (abscisic acid)-activated protein kinase SnRK2.6 (Snf1-related protein kinase 2.6). This was confirmed by LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatography tandem MS) analysis, which showed that Thr306 and Thr308 of KAT1 were modified by phosphorylation. The role of these specific residues was examined by single point mutations and measurement of KAT1 channel activities in Xenopus oocyte and yeast systems. Modification of Thr308 had minimal effect on KAT1 activity. On the other hand, modification of Thr306 reduced the K+ transport uptake activity of KAT1 in both systems, indicating that Thr306 is responsible for the functional regulation of KAT1. These results suggest that negative regulation of KAT1 activity, required for stomatal closure, probably occurs by phosphorylation of KAT1 Thr306 by the stress-activated endogenous SnRK2.6 protein kinase.


2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 1359-1375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shreoshi Majumdar ◽  
Tae Kim ◽  
Zhe Chen ◽  
Sarah Munyoki ◽  
Shih-Chia Tso ◽  
...  

Microtubules are heavily regulated dynamic polymers of αβ-tubulin that are required for proper chromosome segregation and organization of the cytoplasm. Polymerases in the XMAP215 family use arrayed TOG domains to promote faster microtubule elongation. Regulatory factors in the cytoplasmic linker associated protein (CLASP) family that reduce catastrophe and/or increase rescue also contain arrayed TOGs, but how CLASP TOGs contribute to activity is poorly understood. Here, using Saccharomyces cerevisiae Stu1 as a model CLASP, we report structural, biochemical, and reconstitution studies that clarify functional properties of CLASP TOGs. The two TOGs in Stu1 have very different tubulin-binding properties: TOG2 binds to both unpolymerized and polymerized tubulin, and TOG1 binds very weakly to either. The structure of Stu1-TOG2 reveals a CLASP-specific residue that likely confers distinctive tubulin-binding properties. The isolated TOG2 domain strongly suppresses microtubule catastrophe and increases microtubule rescue in vitro, contradicting the expectation that regulatory activity requires an array of TOGs. Single point mutations on the tubulin-binding surface of TOG2 ablate its anti-catastrophe and rescue activity in vitro, and Stu1 function in cells. Revealing that an isolated CLASP TOG can regulate polymerization dynamics without being part of an array provides insight into the mechanism of CLASPs and diversifies the understanding of TOG function.


2006 ◽  
Vol 189 (3) ◽  
pp. 958-967 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dietmar Hillmann ◽  
Iris Eschenbacher ◽  
Anja Thiel ◽  
Michael Niederweis

ABSTRACT MspA is the major porin of Mycobacterium smegmatis and is important for diffusion of small and hydrophilic solutes across its unique outer membrane. The start point of transcription of the mspA gene was mapped by primer extension and S1 nuclease experiments. The main promoter driving transcription of mspA was identified by single point mutations in lacZ fusions and resembled σA promoters of M. smegmatis. However, a 500-bp upstream fragment including P mspA in a transcriptional fusion with lacZ yielded only low β-galactosidase activity, whereas activity increased 12-fold with a 700-bp fragment. Activation of P mspA by the 200-bp element was almost eliminated by increasing the distance by 14 bp, indicating binding of an activator protein. The chromosomal mspA transcript had a size of 900 bases and was very stable with a half-life of 6 minutes, whereas the stabilities of episomal mspA transcripts with three other 5′ untranslated region (UTRs) were three- to sixfold reduced, indicating a stabilizing role of the native 5′ UTR of mspA. Northern blot experiments revealed that the amount of mspA mRNA was increased under nitrogen limitation but reduced under carbon and phosphate limitation at 42°C in stationary phase in the presence of 0.5 M sodium chloride, 18 mM hydrogen peroxide, and 10% ethanol and at acidic pH. These results show for the first time that M. smegmatis regulates porin gene expression to optimize uptake of certain nutrients and to protect itself from toxic solutes.


2008 ◽  
Vol 294 (2) ◽  
pp. G576-G588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lelita T. Braiterman ◽  
Sean Heffernan ◽  
Lydia Nyasae ◽  
David Johns ◽  
Alfred P. See ◽  
...  

Junctional adhesion molecule (JAM) is involved in tight junction (TJ) formation in epithelial cells. Three JAMs (A, B, and C) are expressed in rat hepatocytes, but only rat JAM-A is present in polarized WIF-B cells, a rat-human hepatic line. We used knockdown (KD) and overexpression in WIF-B cells to determine the role of JAM-A in the development of hepatic polarity. Expression of rat JAM-A short hairpin RNA resulted in ∼50% KD of JAM-A and substantial loss of hepatic polarity, as measured by the absence of apical cysts formed by adjacent cells and sealed by TJ belts. When inhibitory RNA-resistant human JAM-A (huWT) was expressed in KD cells, hepatic polarity was restored. In contrast, expression of JAM-A that either lacked its PDZ-binding motif (huΔC-term) or harbored a point mutation (T273A) did not complement, indicating that multiple sites within JAM-A's cytoplasmic tail are required for the development of hepatic polarity. Overexpression of huWT in normal WIF-B cells unexpectedly blocked WIF-B maturation to the hepatic phenotype, as did expression of three huJAM-A constructs with single point mutations in putative phosphorylation sites. In contrast, huΔC-term was without effect, and the T273A mutant only partially blocked maturation. Our results show that JAM-A is essential for the development of polarity in cultured hepatic cells via its possible phosphorylation and recruitment of relevant PDZ proteins and that hepatic polarity is achieved within a narrow range of JAM-A expression levels. Importantly, formation/maintenance of TJs and the apical domain in hepatic cells are linked, unlike simple epithelia.


2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 383-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael F. Minnick ◽  
Zachary R. Wilson ◽  
Laura S. Smitherman ◽  
D. Scott Samuels

ABSTRACT We isolated and characterized mutants of Bartonella bacilliformis that are resistant to the fluoroquinolone antibiotic ciprofloxacin, which targets the A subunit of DNA gyrase. Mutants had single point mutations in the gyrA gene that changed either Asp-90 to Gly or Asp-95 to Asn and had 3- or 16-fold higher resistance, respectively, to ciprofloxacin than did wild-type B. bacilliformis. Asp-95 is homologous to Asp-87 of Escherichia coli GyrA and is a common residue mutated in fluoroquinolone-resistant strains of other bacteria. This is the first report of a mutation at an Asp-90 homologue, which corresponds to Asp-82 in E. coli GyrA.


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