scholarly journals A photochemical C=C cleavage process: toward access to backbone N-formyl peptides

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 2932-2938
Author(s):  
Haopei Wang ◽  
Zachary T Ball

Photo-responsive modifications and photo-uncaging concepts are useful for spatiotemporal control of peptides structure and function. While side chain photo-responsive modifications are relatively common, access to photo-responsive modifications of backbone N–H bonds is quite limited. This letter describes a new photocleavage pathway, affording N-formyl amides from vinylogous nitroaryl precursors under physiologically relevant conditions via a formal oxidative C=C cleavage. The N-formyl amide products have unique properties and reactivity, but are difficult or impossible to access by traditional synthetic approaches.

1998 ◽  
Vol 76 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 359-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Bruce Waygood

Histidine-containing phosphocarrier protein, HPr, was one of the early protein tertiary structures determined by two-dimensional 1H-NMR. Tertiary structures for HPrs from Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus have been obtained by 1H NMR and the overall folding pattern of HPr is highly conserved, a beta alpha beta beta alpha beta alpha arrangement of three alpha-helices overlaying a four-stranded beta-sheet. High-resolution structures for HPrs from E. coli and B. subtilis have been obtained using 15N- and 13C-labeled proteins. The first application of NMR to the understanding of the structure and function of HPr was to describe the phosphohistidine isomer, Ndelta1-P-histidine in S. aureus phospho-HPr, and the unusual pKas of the His-15 side chain. The pKa values for the His-15 imidazole from more recent studies are 5.4 for HPr and 7.8 for phospho-HPr from E. coli, for example. A consensus description of the active site is proposed for HPr and phospho-HPr. In HPr, His-15 has a defined conformation and N-caps helix A, and is thus affected by the helix dipole. His-15 undergoes a small conformational change upon phosphorylation, a movement to allow the phosphoryl group to be positioned such that it forms hydrogen bonds with the main chain amide nitrogens of residue 16 (not conserved) and Arg-17. Interactions between residue 12 side chain (not conserved: asparagine, serine, and threonine) and His-15, and between the Arg-17 guanidinium group and the phosphoryl group, are either weak or transitory.Key words: HPr, NMR, phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system, phosphohistidine, phosphoserine.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lie Wang ◽  
Kehan Chen ◽  
Ming Zhou

AbstractPlant sulfate transporters (SULTR) mediate absorption and distribution of sulfate (SO42−) and are essential for plant growth; however, our understanding of their structures and functions remains inadequate. Here we present the structure of a SULTR from Arabidopsis thaliana, AtSULTR4;1, in complex with SO42− at an overall resolution of 2.8 Å. AtSULTR4;1 forms a homodimer and has a structural fold typical of the SLC26 family of anion transporters. The bound SO42− is coordinated by side-chain hydroxyls and backbone amides, and further stabilized electrostatically by the conserved Arg393 and two helix dipoles. Proton and SO42− are co-transported by AtSULTR4;1 and a proton gradient significantly enhances SO42− transport. Glu347, which is ~7 Å from the bound SO42−, is required for H+-driven transport. The cytosolic STAS domain interacts with transmembrane domains, and deletion of the STAS domain or mutations to the interface compromises dimer formation and reduces SO42− transport, suggesting a regulatory function of the STAS domain.


2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 870-875 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.J. Schofield ◽  
M.A. McDonough

Phytanic acid (PA) is an epimeric metabolite of the isoprenoid side chain of chlorophyll. Owing to the presence of its epimeric β-methyl group, PA cannot be metabolized by β-oxidation. Instead, it is metabolized in peroxisomes via α-oxidation to give pristanic acid, which is then oxidized by β-oxidation. PhyH (phytanoyl-CoA 2-hydroxylase, also known as PAHX), an Fe(II) and 2OG (2-oxoglutarate) oxygenase, catalyses hydroxylation of phytanoyl-CoA. Mutations of PhyH ablate its role in α-oxidation, resulting in PA accumulation and ARD (adult Refsum's disease). The structure and function of PhyH is discussed in terms of its clinical importance and unusual selectivity. Most point mutations of PhyH causing ARD cluster in two distinct groups around the Fe(II)- and 2OG-binding sites. Therapaeutic possibilities for the treatment of Refsum's disease involving PhyH are discussed.


2006 ◽  
Vol 282 (7) ◽  
pp. 4453-4462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Visser ◽  
Valeria Valsecchi ◽  
Lucio Annunziato ◽  
Jonathan Lytton

K+-dependent Na+/Ca2+ exchangers (NCKX) catalyze cytosolic Ca2+ extrusion and are particularly important for neuronal Ca2+ signaling. Of the five mammalian isoforms, the detailed functional characteristics have only been reported for NCKX1 and -2. In the current study, the functional characteristics of recombinant NCKX3 and -4 expressed in HEK293 cells were determined and compared with those of NCKX2. Although the apparent affinities of the three isoforms for Ca2+ and Na+ were similar, NCKX3 and -4 displayed ∼40-fold higher affinities for K+ ions than NCKX2. Functional analysis of various NCKX2 mutants revealed that mutation of Thr-551 to Ala, the corresponding residue in NCKX4, resulted in an apparent K+ affinity shift to one similar to that of NCKX4 without a parallel shift in apparent Ca2+ affinity. In the converse situation, when Gln-476 of NCKX4 was converted to Lys, the corresponding residue in NCKX2, both the K+ and Ca2+ affinities were reduced. These results indicate that the apparently low K+ affinity of NCKX2 requires a Thr residue at position 551 that may reduce the conformational flexibility and/or K+ liganding strength of side-chain moieties on critical neighboring residues. This interaction appears to be specific to the structural context of the NCKX2 K+ binding pocket, because it was not possible to recreate the K+-specific low affinity phenotype with reciprocal mutations in NCKX4. The results of this study provide important information about the structure and function of NCKX proteins and will be critical to understanding their roles in neuronal Ca2+ signaling.


Author(s):  
Peter Sterling

The synaptic connections in cat retina that link photoreceptors to ganglion cells have been analyzed quantitatively. Our approach has been to prepare serial, ultrathin sections and photograph en montage at low magnification (˜2000X) in the electron microscope. Six series, 100-300 sections long, have been prepared over the last decade. They derive from different cats but always from the same region of retina, about one degree from the center of the visual axis. The material has been analyzed by reconstructing adjacent neurons in each array and then identifying systematically the synaptic connections between arrays. Most reconstructions were done manually by tracing the outlines of processes in successive sections onto acetate sheets aligned on a cartoonist's jig. The tracings were then digitized, stacked by computer, and printed with the hidden lines removed. The results have provided rather than the usual one-dimensional account of pathways, a three-dimensional account of circuits. From this has emerged insight into the functional architecture.


Author(s):  
K.E. Krizan ◽  
J.E. Laffoon ◽  
M.J. Buckley

With increase use of tissue-integrated prostheses in recent years it is a goal to understand what is happening at the interface between haversion bone and bulk metal. This study uses electron microscopy (EM) techniques to establish parameters for osseointegration (structure and function between bone and nonload-carrying implants) in an animal model. In the past the interface has been evaluated extensively with light microscopy methods. Today researchers are using the EM for ultrastructural studies of the bone tissue and implant responses to an in vivo environment. Under general anesthesia nine adult mongrel dogs received three Brånemark (Nobelpharma) 3.75 × 7 mm titanium implants surgical placed in their left zygomatic arch. After a one year healing period the animals were injected with a routine bone marker (oxytetracycline), euthanized and perfused via aortic cannulation with 3% glutaraldehyde in 0.1M cacodylate buffer pH 7.2. Implants were retrieved en bloc, harvest radiographs made (Fig. 1), and routinely embedded in plastic. Tissue and implants were cut into 300 micron thick wafers, longitudinally to the implant with an Isomet saw and diamond wafering blade [Beuhler] until the center of the implant was reached.


Author(s):  
Robert L. Ochs

By conventional electron microscopy, the formed elements of the nuclear interior include the nucleolus, chromatin, interchromatin granules, perichromatin granules, perichromatin fibrils, and various types of nuclear bodies (Figs. 1a-c). Of these structures, all have been reasonably well characterized structurally and functionally except for nuclear bodies. The most common types of nuclear bodies are simple nuclear bodies and coiled bodies (Figs. 1a,c). Since nuclear bodies are small in size (0.2-1.0 μm in diameter) and infrequent in number, they are often overlooked or simply not observed in any random thin section. The rat liver hepatocyte in Fig. 1b is a case in point. Historically, nuclear bodies are more prominent in hyperactive cells, they often occur in proximity to nucleoli (Fig. 1c), and sometimes they are observed to “bud off” from the nucleolar surface.


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