Search results for "Erich"
showing 10 items of 805 documents
Identification of residues in the putative 5th helical region of human interleukin-6, important for activation of the IL-6 signal transducer, gp130
1996
AbstractWe have previously shown that L58 in the putative 5th helical region of human interleukin-6 (IL-6) is important for activation of the IL-6 signal transducer gp130 [de Hon et al. (1995) FEBS Lett. 369, 187–191]. To further explore the importance of individual residues in this region for gp130 activation we have now combined Ala substitutions of residues E52, S53, S54, K55, E56, L58 and E60 with other substitutions in IL-6, known to affect gp130 activation (Q160E and T163P). The combination mutant protein with L58A completely lost the capacity to induce the proliferation of XG-1 myeloma cells, and could effectively antagonize wild type IL-6 activity on these cells. Moreover, the data …
Distant downstream sequence determinants can control N-tail translocation during protein insertion into the endoplasmic reticulum membrane.
2000
We have studied the membrane insertion of ProW, an Escherichia coli inner membrane protein with seven transmembrane segments and a large periplasmic N-terminal tail, into endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-derived dog pancreas microsomes. Strikingly, significant levels of N-tail translocation is seen only when a minimum of four of the transmembrane segments are present; for constructs with fewer transmembrane segments, the N-tail remains mostly nontranslocated and the majority of the molecules adopt an 'inverted' topology where normally nontranslocated parts are translocated and vice versa. N-tail translocation can also be promoted by shortening of the N-tail and by the addition of positively charg…
The Escherichia coli Envelope Stress Sensor CpxA Responds to Changes in Lipid Bilayer Properties
2015
The Cpx stress response system is induced by various environmental and cellular stimuli. It is also activated in Escherichia coli strains lacking the major phospholipid, phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). However, it is not known whether CpxA directly senses changes in the lipid bilayer or the presence of misfolded proteins due to the lack of PE in their membranes. To address this question, we used an in vitro reconstitution system and vesicles with different lipid compositions to track modulations in the activity of CpxA in different lipid bilayers. Moreover, the Cpx response was validated in vivo by monitoring expression of a PcpxP-gfp reporter in lipid-engineered strains of E. coli. Our comb…
Unraveling the role of protein dynamics in dihydrofolate reductase catalysis
2013
Protein dynamics have controversially been proposed to be at the heart of enzyme catalysis, but identification and analysis of dynamical effects in enzyme-catalyzed reactions have proved very challenging. Here, we tackle this question by comparing an enzyme with its heavy ((15)N, (13)C, (2)H substituted) counterpart, providing a subtle probe of dynamics. The crucial hydride transfer step of the reaction (the chemical step) occurs more slowly in the heavy enzyme. A combination of experimental results, quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics simulations, and theoretical analyses identify the origins of the observed differences in reactivity. The generally slightly slower reaction in the heavy e…
Reiterative transcription initiation from galP2 promoter of Escherichia coli
2000
The expression of gal operon in Escherichia coli is driven by two promoters, P1 and P2 separated by 5 bp. The transcription initiated from the P2 generates a large amount of abortive transcripts to produce a comparable amount of full-length transcript as P1 in vitro. In this study, we investigated the source of the abortive transcripts by employing a quantitative potassium permanganate footprinting method that determines the extent of open promoter complex formation. The extents of open promoter complex formation at the two gal promoters were about the same during the given reaction time while the amount of transcription initiation determined by in vitro transcription assay showed a conside…
Plasticity of the PAS domain and a potential role for signal transduction in the histidine kinase DcuS
2008
The mechanistic understanding of how membrane-embedded sensor kinases recognize signals and regulate kinase activity is currently limited. Here we report structure-function relationships of the multidomain membrane sensor kinase DcuS using solid-state NMR, structural modeling and mutagenesis. Experimental data of an individual cytoplasmic Per-Arnt-Sim (PAS) domain were compared to structural models generated in silico. These studies, together with previous NMR work on the periplasmic PAS domain, enabled structural investigations of a membrane-embedded 40-kDa construct by solid-state NMR, comprising both PAS segments and the membrane domain. Structural alterations are largely limited to prot…
Flexible Structure of Peptide-Bound Filamin A Mechanosensor Domain Pair 20-21.
2015
Filamins (FLNs) are large, multidomain actin cross-linking proteins with diverse functions. Besides regulating the actin cytoskeleton, they serve as important links between the extracellular matrix and the cytoskeleton by binding cell surface receptors, functioning as scaffolds for signaling proteins, and binding several other cytoskeletal proteins that regulate cell adhesion dynamics. Structurally, FLNs are formed of an amino terminal actin-binding domain followed by 24 immunoglobulin-like domains (IgFLNs). Recent studies have demonstrated that myosin-mediated contractile forces can reveal hidden protein binding sites in the domain pairs IgFLNa18-19 and 20-21, enabling FLNs to transduce me…
Cinoxacin complexes with divalent metal ions. Spectroscopic characterization. Crystal structure of a new dinuclear Cd(II) complex having two chelate-…
1998
Several cinoxacin (HCx) complexes with divalent metal ions have been prepared and characterized by spectroscopic techniques. The crystal structure of [Cd 2 (Cx) 4 (H 2 O) 2 ] · 10H 2 O has been determined by X-ray diffraction. The complex is triclinic, space group with unit-cell dimensions: a =10.412(2), b =11.119(2), c =13.143(6)A, α=76.78(4)°, β =74.59(3)°, γ =77.12(3)°, V =1406.0(8) A 3 . In this complex each cadmium atom is heptacoordinated; the metal environment is formed by two O keto and two O carbox atoms from two different cinoxacinate monoanions, two carboxylate oxygen atoms from a third cinoxacinate ligand and by one water oxygen atom on the seventh position. Two of the cinoxacin…
Solution Structure of the R3H Domain from Human Sμbp-2
2003
The R3H domain is a conserved sequence motif, identified in over 100 proteins, that is thought to be involved in polynucleotide-binding, including DNA, RNA and single-stranded DNA. In this work the 3D structure of the R3H domain from human Smubp-2 was determined by NMR spectroscopy. It is the first 3D structure determination of an R3H domain. The fold presents a small motif, consisting of a three-stranded antiparallel beta-sheet and two alpha-helices, which is related to the structures of the YhhP protein and the C-terminal domain of the translational initiation factor IF3. The similarities are non-trivial, as the amino acid identities are below 10%. Three conserved basic residues cluster o…
Asp333, Asp495, and His52.3 Form the Catalytic Triad of Rat Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase
1996
On the basis of the sequence similarity between mammalian epoxide hydrolases and bacterial haloalkane dehalogenase reported earlier (Arand, M., Grant, D. F., Beetham, J. K., Friedberg, T., Oesch, F., and Hammock, B. D. (1994) FEBS Lett. 338, 251-256; Beetham, J. K., Grant, D., Arand, M., Garbarino, J., Kiyosue, T., Pinot, F., Oesch, F., Belknap, W. R., Shinozaki, K., and hammock, B. D. (1995) DNA Cell. Biol. 14, 61-71) we selected candidate amino acid residues for the putative catalytic triad of the rat soluble epoxide hydrolase. The predicted amino acid residues were exchanged by site-directed mutagenesis of the epoxide hydrolase cDNA, followed by the expression of the respective mutant en…