scholarly journals Characterization of the Klebsiella aerogenes Urease Accessory Protein UreD in Fusion with the Maltose Binding Protein

2010 ◽  
Vol 192 (9) ◽  
pp. 2294-2304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric L. Carter ◽  
Robert P. Hausinger
Keyword(s):  
Binding Protein ◽  
Equilibrium Dialysis ◽  
Maltose Binding Protein ◽  
Accessory Protein ◽  
Klebsiella Aerogenes ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Cell Extracts ◽  
Recombinant Cells

ABSTRACT Assembly of the Klebsiella aerogenes urease metallocenter requires four accessory proteins, UreD, UreE, UreF, and UreG, to effectively deliver and incorporate two Ni2+ ions into the nascent active site of the urease apoprotein (UreABC). Each accessory protein has been purified and characterized with the exception of UreD due to its insolubility when it is overproduced in recombinant cells. In this study, a translational fusion was made between the maltose binding protein (MBP) and UreD, with the resulting MBP-UreD found to be soluble in Escherichia coli cell extracts and able to complement a ΔureD-urease cluster in this host microorganism. MBP-UreD was purified as a large multimer (>670 kDa) that bound approximately 2.5 Ni2+ ions (Kd of ∼50 μM, where Kd is the dissociation constant) per UreD protomer according to equilibrium dialysis measurements. Zn2+ directly competes with 10-fold higher affinity (∼4 Zn2+ ions per protomer; Kd of 5 μM) for the Ni2+ binding sites. MBP pulldown experiments demonstrated that the UreD domain of MBP-UreD formed in vivo complexes with UreF, UreG, UreF plus UreG, or UreABC when these proteins were overproduced in the same E. coli cells. In addition, a UreABC-(MBP-UreD)-UreFG complex was observed in cells producing all urease components. Comparative in vitro binding experiments with purified proteins demonstrated an approximate 1:1 binding ratio between the UreD domain of MBP-UreD and the UreF domain of the UreEF fusion, only weak or transient interaction between MBP-UreD and UreG, and no binding with UreABC. These studies are the first to describe the properties of purified UreD, and they extend our understanding of its binding partners both in vitro and in the cell.

scholarly journals Esterases in Serum-Containing Growth Media Counteract Chloramphenicol Acetyltransferase Activity In Vitro

1999 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 655-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles D. Sohaskey ◽  
Alan G. Barbour
Keyword(s):  
Human Serum ◽  
Horse Serum ◽  
Chloramphenicol Acetyltransferase ◽  
Rabbit Serum ◽  
Growth Media ◽  
Chloramphenicol Resistance ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Cell Extracts

ABSTRACT The spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi was unexpectedly found to be as susceptible to diacetyl chloramphenicol, the product of the enzyme chloramphenicol acetyltransferase, as it was to chloramphenicol itself. The susceptibilities of Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis, as well as that ofB. burgdorferi, to diacetyl chloramphenicol were then assayed in different media. All three species were susceptible to diacetyl chloramphenicol when growth media were supplemented with rabbit serum or, to a lesser extent, human serum. Susceptibility ofE. coli and B. subtilis to diacetyl chloramphenicol was not observed in the absence of serum, when horse serum was used, or when the rabbit or human serum was heated first. In the presence of 10% rabbit serum, a strain of E. colibearing the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (cat) gene had a fourfold-lower resistance to chloramphenicol than in the absence of serum. A plate bioassay for chloramphenicol activity showed the conversion by rabbit, mouse, and human sera but not bacterial cell extracts or heated serum of diacetyl chloramphenicol to an inhibitory compound. Deacetylation of acetyl chloramphenicol by serum components was demonstrated by using fluorescent substrates and thin-layer chromatography. These studies indicate that esterases of serum can convert diacetyl chloramphenicol back to an active antibiotic, and thus, in vitro findings may not accurately reflect the level of chloramphenicol resistance by cat-bearing bacteria in vivo.

Comparison of Vibrio and Firefly Luciferases as Reporter Gene Systems for Use in Bacteria and Plants

1996 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 75 ◽  
Author(s):  
SR Mudge ◽  
WR Lewis-Henderson ◽  
RG Birch
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Reporter Gene ◽  
Ccd Camera ◽  
Reporter Gene Expression ◽  
In Vitro Assays ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Cell Extracts ◽  
Cooled Ccd

Luciferase genes from Vibrio harveyi (luxAB) and firefly (luc) were introduced into E. coli, Agrobacteriurn, Arabidopsis and tobacco. Transformed bacteria and plants were quantitatively assayed for luciferase activity using a range of in vitro and in vivo assay conditions. Both lux and luc proved efficient reporter genes in bacteria, although it is important to be aware that the sensitive assays may detect expression due to readthrough from distant promoters. LUX activity was undetectable by liquid nitrogen-cooled CCD camera assays on intact tissues of plants which showed strong luxAB expression by in vitro assays. The decanal substrate for the lux assay was toxic to many plant tissues, and caused chemiluminescence in untransformed Arabidopsis leaves. These are serious limitations to application of the lux system for sensitive, non-toxic assays of reporter gene expression in plants. In contrast, LUC activity was readily detectable in intact tissues of all plants with luc expression detectable by luminometer assays on cell extracts. Image intensities of luc-expressing leaves were commonly two to four orders of magnitude above controls under the CCD camera. Provided adequate penetration of the substrate luciferin is obtained, luc is suitable for applications requiring sensitive, non-toxic assays of reporter gene expression in plants.

scholarly journals The N-Terminal Domain of p73 Interacts with the CH1 Domain of p300/CREB Binding Protein and Mediates Transcriptional Activation and Apoptosis

2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 1299-1310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoya Zeng ◽  
Xiaorong Li ◽  
Ashley Miller ◽  
Zhimin Yuan ◽  
Wuchao Yuan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Binding Protein ◽  
Small Cell Lung Carcinoma ◽  
Creb Binding Protein ◽  
Cell Lung Carcinoma ◽  
Cell Extracts ◽  
N Terminus ◽  
Mcf 7

ABSTRACT The newly identified p53 homolog p73 mimics the transcriptional function of p53. We have investigated the regulation of p73's transcriptional activity by p300/CREB binding protein (CBP). p73-p300 complexes were identified in HeLa cell extracts by cofractionation and coimmunoprecipitation assays. The p73-p300 interaction was confirmed in vitro by glutathione S-transferase–protein association assays and in vivo by coimmunoprecipitating the overexpressed p300 and p73 in human p53-free small-cell lung carcinoma H1299 or osteosarcoma Saos-2 cells. The N terminus but not the N-terminal truncation of p73 bound to the CH1 domain (amino acids [aa] 350 to 450) of p300/CBP. Accordingly, this p73 N-terminal deletion was unable to activate transcription or to induce apoptosis. Overexpression of either p300 or CBP stimulated transcription mediated by p73 but not its N-terminally deleted mutant in vivo. The N-terminal fragment from aa 19 to 597, but not the truncated fragment from aa 242 to 1700 of p300, reduced p73-mediated transcription markedly. p73-dependent transcription or apoptosis was partially impaired in either p300- or CBP-deficient human breast carcinoma MCF-7 or H1299 cells, suggesting that both coactivators mediate transcription by p73 in cells. These results demonstrate that the N terminus of p73 directly interacts with the N-terminal CH1 domain of p300/CBP to activate transcription.

scholarly journals Effect of immunization of hamsters against recombinant P26h on fertility rates

Reproduction ◽  
2002 ◽  
pp. 307-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Gaudreault ◽  
L Montfort ◽  
R Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Zona Pellucida ◽  
Binding Protein ◽  
Maltose Binding Protein ◽  
Fertilization Rate ◽  
Active Immunization ◽  
Antigenic Determinants ◽  
Binding Assays ◽  
Contraceptive Vaccine

Despite the various contraceptive methods available, an effective and inexpensive method remains to be established. Immunocontraception may help to achieve this goal. P26h has been proposed as a candidate for the development of a male contraceptive vaccine. P26h, a hamster sperm protein, interacts with the zona pellucida. Furthermore, in vivo fertilization can be blocked completely by active immunization of male hamsters against P26h. Maltose binding protein (MBP)-P26 shares antigenic determinants with the native P26h present on cauda epididymal spermatozoa. The aim of the present study was to reproduce the immunocontraceptive properties of native P26h by immunizing male hamsters against a recombinant P26h fused with a maltose binding protein (MBP). Active immunization of male hamsters with the MBP-P26h showed that specific anti-P26h circulating IgGs could be generated. Mating of immunized male hamsters with superovulated females resulted in a significant decrease, 20-25%, in the fertilization rate. This result is in agreement with results from in vitro sperm-zona pellucida binding assays. Indeed, the anti-recombinant P26h IgGs showed lower inhibitory properties when compared with anti-native P26h IgG. Despite the high anti-P26h IgG titres generated in hamsters, histological studies showed that active immunization has no pathological sequelae to the reproductive tissues. The potential of P26h as a candidate for a contraceptive vaccine is discussed.

scholarly journals Binding of FAD to 6-hydroxy-d-nicotine oxidase apoenzyme prevents degradation of the holoenzyme

1989 ◽  
Vol 258 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Brandsch ◽  
V Bichler ◽  
B Krauss
Keyword(s):  
Proteinase Inhibitors ◽  
Cysteine Proteinase ◽  
Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitor ◽  
Western Blots ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Cell Extracts ◽  
Arthrobacter Oxidans ◽  
Cloned Gene

Expression of the 6-hydroxy-D-nicotine oxidase (6-HDNO) gene from Arthrobacter oxidans cloned into Escherichia coli showed a marked temperature-dependence. Transformed E. coli cells grown at 30 degrees C exhibited a several-fold higher 6-HDNO activity than did cells grown at 37 degrees C. This effect did not depend on the promoter used for expression of the cloned gene in E. coli, nor was it an effect of 6-HDNO mRNA instability at 37 degrees C. Studies performed in vivo and in vitro revealed that an increased susceptibility of apo-6-HDNO to proteolytic attack at 37 degrees C was responsible for the observed phenomenon. Extracts from cells grown at 37 degrees C showed on Western blots a decrease in immunologically detectable 6-HDNO polypeptide when compared with extracts from cells grown at 30 degrees C. The 6-HDNO polypeptide is covalently modified by attachment of the cofactor FAD to a histidine residue. It could be shown that covalent flavinylation of the apoenzyme in vitro, i.e. formation of holoenzyme, by incubation of cell extracts with FAD and phosphoenolpyruvate protected the 6-HDNO polypeptide from degradation at 37 degrees C. Of a variety of proteinase inhibitors tested only the cysteine-proteinase inhibitor L-3-trans-carboxyoxiran-2-carbonyl-L-leucylagmatine (E64) prevented degradation, by up to 70%, of the apoenzyme.

scholarly journals The Function of Cytoplasmic Flavin Reductases in the Reduction of Azo Dyes by Bacteria

2000 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 1429-1434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rainer Russ ◽  
Jörg Rau ◽  
Andreas Stolz
Keyword(s):  
Azo Dyes ◽  
Reduction Rate ◽  
Constitutive Expression ◽  
Azo Compounds ◽  
Flavin Reductase ◽  
Whole Cells ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Cell Extracts

ABSTRACT A flavin reductase, which is naturally part of the ribonucleotide reductase complex of Escherichia coli, acted in cell extracts of recombinant E. coli strains under aerobic and anaerobic conditions as an “azo reductase.” The transfer of the recombinant plasmid, which resulted in the constitutive expression of high levels of activity of the flavin reductase, increased the reduction rate for different industrially relevant sulfonated azo dyes in vitro almost 100-fold. The flavin reductase gene (fre) was transferred to Sphingomonas sp. strain BN6, a bacterial strain able to degrade naphthalenesulfonates under aerobic conditions. The flavin reductase was also synthesized in significant amounts in theSphingomonas strain. The reduction rates for the sulfonated azo compound amaranth were compared for whole cells and cell extracts from both recombinant strains, E. coli, and wild-typeSphingomonas sp. strain BN6. The whole cells showed less than 2% of the specific activities found with cell extracts. These results suggested that the cytoplasmic anaerobic “azo reductases,” which have been described repeatedly in in vitro systems, are presumably flavin reductases and that in vivo they have insignificant importance in the reduction of sulfonated azo compounds.

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