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Identification of a putative membrane-inserted segment in the alpha-toxin of Staphylococcus aureus.
1994
To gain a fuller understanding of the regions of the Staphylococcus aureus alpha-toxin important in pore formation, we have used Forster dipole-dipole energy transfer to demonstrate that a central glycine-rich region of alpha-toxin (the so-called "hinge" region) inserts deeply into the bilayer on association of toxin with liposomes. Mutant alpha-toxins with unique cysteine (C) residues at positions 69 and 130 [Palmer, M., et al. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 11959) were reacted with the C-specific fluorophore acrylodan, which acted as an energy donor. The chosen acceptor was N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-13- diazol-4-yl)-1,2-bis(hexadecanoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamin e (NBD-PE). Measurement of t…
Coupling of endothelin receptors to the ERK/MAP kinase pathway. Roles of palmitoylation and G(alpha)q.
2001
Endothelins are potent mitogens that stimulate extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK/MAP kinases) through their cognate G-protein-coupled receptors, ET(A) and ET(B). To address the role of post-translational ET receptor modifications such as acylation on ERK activation and to identify relevant downstream effectors coupling the ET receptor to the ERK signaling cascades we have constructed a panel of palmitoylation-deficient ET receptor mutants with differential G(alpha) protein binding capacity. Endothelin-1 stimulation of wild-type ET(A) or ET(B) induced a fivefold to sixfold increase in ERK in COS-7 and CHO cells whereas full-length nonpalmitoylated ET(A) and ET(B) mutants failed to …
p42 MAPK phosphorylates 80 kDa MARCKS at Ser-113.
1996
Abstract It is demonstrated here that p42 MAPKinase (p42 MAPK) phosphorylates the M yristoylated A lanine- R ich C - K inase S ubstrate (MARCKS) at Ser-113. In permeabilised Swiss 3T3 cells activation of protein kinase C (PKC) leads to p42 MAPK activation, but only the protein kinase C sites in MARCKS become phosphorylated and not Ser-113. The mitogen platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) elicits the same response. These results demonstrate that while Ser-113 is a substrate for p42 MAPK in vitro and can be phosphorylated in vivo as shown by Taniguchi et al. [(1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 18299–18302], its phosphorylation is not subject to acute regulation by p42 MAPK in Swiss 3T3 cells.
Synthesis and biological evaluation of cycloalkylidene carboxylic acids as novel effectors of Ras/Raf interaction.
2002
The protooncogenes Ras and Raf play important roles in signal transduction pathways regulated by mitogen-activated protein kinases. Mutations of Ras that arrest the protein in its active state are frequently implicated in tumor formation. We used Ras and Raf proteins in the yeast two-hybrid system to search for natural or synthesized substances capable of modulating Ras/Raf interaction by specifically binding to one of the interacting partners. We found that cycloalkylidene carboxylic acids enhanced Ras/Raf interaction by acting on the cysteine-rich domain of Raf. Several analogues of the active substance 2-cyclohexylidene propanoic acid were synthesized and the importance of the semicyclic…
Genetics for Pseudoalteromonas provides tools to manipulate marine bacterial virus PM2
2008
ABSTRACT The genetic manipulation of marine double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) bacteriophage PM2 ( Corticoviridae ) has been limited so far. The isolation of an autonomously replicating DNA element of Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis TAC125 and construction of a shuttle vector replicating in both Escherichia coli and Pseudoalteromonas enabled us to design a set of conjugative shuttle plasmids encoding tRNA suppressors for amber mutations. Using a host strain carrying a suppressor plasmid allows the introduction and analysis of nonsense mutations in PM2. Here, we describe the isolation and characterization of a suppressor-sensitive PM2 sus2 mutant deficient in the structural protein P10. To infect an…
The N-terminal domain of mammalian soluble epoxide hydrolase is a phosphatase
2003
The mammalian soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) is an enzyme with multiple functions, being implicated in detoxification of xenobiotic epoxides as well as in regulation of physiological processes such as blood pressure. The enzyme is a homodimer, in which each subunit is composed of two domains. The 35-kDa C-terminal domain has an α/β hydrolase fold and harbors the catalytic center for the EH activity. The 25-kDa N-terminal domain has a different α/β fold and belongs to the haloacid dehalogenase superfamily of enzymes. The catalytic properties of the enzyme reported so far can all be explained by the action of the C-terminal domain alone. The function of the N-terminal domain, other than in …
Construction of hevein (Hev b 6.02) with reduced allergenicity for immunotherapy of latex allergy by comutation of six amino acid residues on the con…
2004
Abstract Recently we have established that IgE Abs bind to conformational epitopes in the N- and C-terminal regions of the major natural rubber latex allergen, hevein (Hev b 6.02). To identify the critical amino acid residues that interact with IgE, the hevein sequence was scanned by using site-specific mutations. Twenty-nine hevein mutants were designed and produced by a baculovirus expression system in insect cells and tested by IgE inhibition-ELISA using sera from 26 latex allergic patients. Six potential IgE-interacting residues of hevein (Arg5, Lys10, Glu29, Tyr30, His35, and Gln38) were identified and characterized further in detail. Based on these six residues, two triple mutants (HΔ…
Natural and engineered carboxy-terminal variants: decreased secretion and gain-of-function result in asymptomatic coagulation factor VII deficiency.
2012
We report 2 asymptomatic homozygotes for the nonsense p.R462X mutation affecting the carboxy-terminus of coagulation factor VII (FVII, 466 aminoacids). FVII levels of 3-5% and 2.7 ± 0.4% were found in prothrombin time-based and activated factor X (FXa) generation assays with human thromboplastins. Noticeably, FVII antigen levels were barely detectable (0.7 ± 0.2%) which suggested a gain-of-function effect. This effect was more pronounced with bovine thromboplastin (4.8 ± 0.9%) and disappeared with rabbit thromboplastin (0.7 ± 0.2%). This suggests that the mutation influences tissue factor/FVII interactions. Whereas the recombinant rFVII-462X variant confirmed an increase in specific activit…
Haploinsufficiency of ATP1A2 encoding the Na+/K+ pump alpha2 subunit associated with familial hemiplegic migraine type 2.
2003
Headache attacks and autonomic dysfunctions characterize migraine, a very common, disabling disorder with a prevalence of 12% in the general population of Western countries(1,2). About 20% of individuals affected with migraine experience aura, a visual or sensory-motor neurological dysfunction that usually precedes or accompanies the headache(3). Although the mode of transmission is controversial(4), population-based and twin studies have implicated genetic factors, especially in migraine with aura(5,6). Familial hemiplegic migraine is a hereditary form of migraine characterized by aura and some hemiparesis. Here we show that mutations in the gene ATP1A2 that encodes the alpha2 subunit of t…
The soluble loop BC region guides, but not dictates, the assembly of the transmembrane cytochrome b6
2017
Studying folding and assembly of naturally occurring α-helical transmembrane proteins can inspire the design of membrane proteins with defined functions. Thus far, most studies have focused on the role of membrane-integrated protein regions. However, to fully understand folding pathways and stabilization of α–helical membrane proteins, it is vital to also include the role of soluble loops. We have analyzed the impact of interhelical loops on folding, assembly and stability of the heme-containing four-helix bundle transmembrane protein cytochrome b6 that is involved in charge transfer across biomembranes. Cytochrome b6 consists of two transmembrane helical hairpins that sandwich two heme mol…