0000000000267999

AUTHOR

Juan J. Calvete

Expression of a plant serine O-acetyltransferase inSaccharomyces cerevisiae confers osmotic tolerance and creates an alternative pathway for cysteine biosynthesis

Screening of a sugar beet (Beta vulgaris cv. Dita) cDNA library for clones able to confer osmotic tolerance to the osmosensitive gpd1 mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae identified a novel serine O-acetyltransferase (BvSAT; EC 2.3.1.30). This enzyme is involved in cysteine biosynthesis in plants and bacteria, producing O-acetylserine, which is converted into cysteine in a reaction catalysed by O-acetylserine sulphydrylase (EC 4.2.99.8). This pathway is not conserved in yeast, where cysteine is synthesized in a four-step pathway starting with homoserine and having O-acetylhomoserine, homocysteine and cystathionine as intermediates. Expression of BvSAT in yeast takes advantage of the activity …

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Amino acid sequence and homology modeling of obtustatin, a novel non-RGD-containing short disintegrin isolated from the venom of Vipera lebetina obtusa

Disintegrins represent a group of cysteine-rich peptides occurring in Crotalidae and Viperidae snake venoms, and are potent antagonists of several integrin receptors. A novel disintegrin, obtustatin, was isolated from the venom of the Vipera lebetina obtusa viper, and represents the first potent and selective inhibitor of the binding of integrin alpha(1)beta(1) to collagen IV. The primary structure of obtustatin contains 41 amino acids and is the shortest disintegrin described to date. Obtustatin shares the pattern of cysteines of other short disintegrins. However, in contrast to known short disintegrins, the integrin-binding loop of obtustatin is two residues shorter and does not express t…

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Conformation and concerted dynamics of the integrin-binding site and the C-terminal region of echistatin revealed by homonuclear NMR

Copyright © by Portland Press. The final version of record is available at http://www.biochemj.org/bj/default.htm

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Production and characterisation of recombinant forms of human pulmonary surfactant protein C (SP-C):Structure and surface activity

  Udgivelsesdato: 2006-Apr Surfactant protein C (SP-C) is an essential component for the surface tension-lowering activity of the pulmonary surfactant system. It contains a valine-rich alpha helix that spans the lipid bilayer, and is one of the most hydrophobic proteins known so far. SP-C is also an essential component of various surfactant preparations of animal origin currently used to treat neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) in preterm infants. The limited supply of this material and the risk of transmission of infectious agents and immunological reactions have prompted the development of synthetic SP-C-derived peptides or recombinant humanized SP-C for inclusion in new prepar…

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Snake venom disintegrins: evolution of structure and function.

Disintegrins represent a family of polypeptides present in the venoms of various vipers that selectively block the function of integrin receptors. Here, we review our current view and hypothesis on the emergence and the structural and functional diversification of disintegrins by accelerated evolution and the selective loss of disulfide bonds of duplicated genes. Research on disintegrins is relevant for understanding the biology of viper venom toxins, but also provides information on new structural determinants involved in integrin recognition that may be useful in basic and clinical research. The role of the composition, conformation, and dynamics of the integrin inhibitory loop acting in …

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NMR Solution Structure of the Non-RGD Disintegrin Obtustatin

The solution structure of obtustatin, a novel non-RGD disintegrin of 41 residues isolated from Vipera lebetina obtusa venom, and a potent and selective inhibitor of the adhesion of integrin alpha(1)beta(1) to collagen IV, has been determined by two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance. Almost the whole set of chemical shifts for 1H, 13C and 15N were assigned at natural abundance from 2D homonuclear and heteronuclear 500 MHz, 600 MHz and 800 MHz spectra at pH 3.0 recorded at 298 K and 303 K. Final structural constraints consisted of 302 non-redundant NOE (95 long-range, 60 medium, 91 sequential and 56 intra-residue), four disulfide bond distances, five chi1 dihedral angles and four hydroge…

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Characterization of the Proteomic and Genomic Profiles of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Patients with Distinct Clinical Prognosis According to the Mutational Status of the IgVH and BCL6 and Expression Level of CD38 and ZAP70.

Abstract Introduction: In recent years several molecular prognostic factors have been identified in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia B (B-CLL). These include mutations in the variable region of the immunoglobulin genes (IgVH), somatic mutations in the BCL6 gene (Leukemia (2004) 18, 743–746) and the expression level of CD38 and ZAP70. However its biological significance is not clear. In order to identify novel molecular markers with prognostic and therapeutic value we have analyzed the proteomic and genomic profile of 40 B-CLL patients (Binet stage A). Material and methods: 100 μg of total PBMC proteins were used for IEF followed by 2D electrophoresis. Image analysis of scanned gels was used to …

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Concerted motions of the integrin-binding loop and the C-terminal tail of the non-RGD disintegrin obtustatin.

Obtustatin is a potent and selective inhibitor of the alpha1beta1 integrin in vitro and of angiogenesis in vivo. It possesses an integrin recognition loop that harbors, in a lateral position, the inhibitory 21KTS23 motif. We report an analysis of the dynamics of the backbone and side-chain atoms of obtustatin by homonuclear NMR methods. Angular mobility has been calculated for 90 assigned cross-peaks from 22 off-resonance rotating frame nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy spectra recorded at three magnetic fields. Our results suggest that the integrin binding loop and the C-terminal tail display concerted motions, which can be interpreted by hinge effects. Among the integrin-binding moti…

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Evolution of Snake Venom Disintegrins by Positive Darwinian Selection

PII-disintegrins, cysteine-rich polypeptides broadly distributed in the venoms of geographically diverse species of vipers and rattlesnakes, antagonize the adhesive functions of beta(1) and beta(3) integrin receptors. PII-disintegrins evolved in Viperidae by neofunctionalization of disintegrin-like domains of duplicated PIII-snake venom hemorrhagic metalloproteinase (SVMP) genes recruited into the venom proteome before the radiation of the advanced snakes. Minimization of the gene (loss of introns and coding regions) and the protein structures (successive loss of disulfide bonds) underpins the postduplication divergence of disintegrins. However, little is known about the underlying genetic …

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Increased protein kinase A regulatory subunit content and cGMP binding in erythrocyte membranes in liver cirrhosis

Abstract Background/Aims : Patients with liver disease show increased plasma cGMP and decreased intracellular cGMP in lymphocytes. The initial aim of this work was to assess whether decreased intracellular cGMP and increased plasma cGMP may be due to increased ATP-dependent release of cGMP from cells. The results obtained led to a new aim: to identify and quantify a protein responsible for the increased cGMP binding found in erythrocyte membranes from patients with liver disease. Methods : ATP-dependent cGMP transport was determined in inside-out vesicles from erythrocyte membranes. cGMP-binding proteins were isolated from the membranes and identified by MALDI-TOF peptide mass fingerprint. …

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Proteomic Profile Study of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia-B Patients with IGVH and BCL6 Mutated or Unmutated Genes.

Abstract Introduction: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia B (CLL-B) is the most frequent chronic lymphoproliferative disorder in western countries. The majority of patients are diagnosed in incipient Binet stage A. Some prognostic factors have been identified, as mutations in the genes coding for immunoglobulin variable regions (IgVH). Complementary somatic mutations in the BCL6 gene have been observed in 25% of CLL-B patients, although its clinical relevance remains unclear. Objective: To identify molecular markers of different patient groups of lymphoproliferative disorder through analysis of their proteomic profiles. Material and Methods: 15 samples of peripheral blood lymphocytes B from Binet…

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Hydrodynamic liver gene transfer mechanism involves transient sinusoidal blood stasis and massive hepatocyte endocytic vesicles

The present study contributes to clarify the mechanism underlying the high efficacy of hepatocyte gene transfer mediated by hydrodynamic injection. Gene transfer experiments were performed employing the hAAT gene, and the efficacy and differential identification in mouse plasma of human transgene versus mouse gene was assessed by ELISA and proteomic procedures, respectively. By applying different experimental strategies such as cumulative dose-response efficacy, hemodynamic changes reflected by venous pressures, intravital microscopy, and morphological changes established by transmission electron microscopy, we found that: (a) cumulative multiple doses of transgene by hydrodynamic injection…

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cDNA Cloning and Functional Expression of Jerdostatin, a Novel RTS-disintegrin from Trimeresurus jerdonii and a Specific Antagonist of the α1β1 Integrin

Jerdostatin represents a novel RTS-containing short disintegrin cloned by reverse transcriptase-PCR from the venom gland mRNA of the Chinese Jerdons pit viper Trimeresurus jerdonii. The jerdostatins precursor cDNA contained a 333-bp open reading frame encoding a signal peptide, a pre-peptide, and a 43-amino acid disintegrin domain, whose amino acid sequence displayed 80% identity with that of the KTS-disintegrins obtustatin and viperistatin. The jerdostatin cDNA structure represents the first complete open reading frame of a short disintegrin and points to the emergence of jerdostatin from a short-coding gene. The different residues between jerdostatin and obtustatin/viperistatin are segreg…

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Analysis of chronic lymphotic leukemia transcriptomic profile: differences between molecular subgroups

B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a lymphoproliferative disorder with a variable clinical course. Patients with unmutated IgV(H) gene show a shorter progression-free and overall survival than patients with immunoglobulin heavy chain variable regions (IgV(H)) gene mutated. In addition, BCL6 mutations identify a subgroup of patients with high risk of progression. Gene expression was analysed in 36 early-stage patients using high-density microarrays. Around 150 genes differentially expressed were found according to IgV(H) mutations, whereas no difference was found according to BCL6 mutations. Functional profiling methods allowed us to distinguish KEGG and gene ontology terms showing…

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