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Conversion of Fe ions in solution to the solid phase in ferritin concentrates iron required for cell function. The rate of the Fe phase transition in ferritin is tissue specific and reflects the differential expression of two classes of ferritin subunits (H and L). Early stages of mineralization were probed by rapid freeze-quench Mossbauer, at strong fields (up to 8 T), and EPR spectroscopy in an H-type subunit, recombinant frog ferritin; small numbers of Fe (36 moles/mol of protein) were used to increase Fe3+ in mineral precursor forms. At 25 ms, four Fe3+-oxy species (three Fe dimers and one Fe trimer) were identified. These Fe3+-oxy species were found to form at similar rates and decay subsequently to a distinctive superparamagentic species designated the "young core." The rate of oxidation of Fe2+ (1026 s(-1)) corresponded well to the formation constant for the Fe3+-tyrosinate complex (920 s(-1)) observed previously [Waldo, G. S., & Theil, E. C. (1993) Biochemistry 32, 13261] and, coupled with EPR data, indicates that several or possibly all of the Fe3+-oxy species involve tyrosine. The results, combined with previous Mossbauer studies of Y30F human H-type ferritin which showed decreases in several Fe3+ intermediates and stabilization of Fe2+ [Bauminger, E. R., et al. (1993) Biochem. J. 296, 709], emphasize the involvement of tyrosyl residues in the mineralization of H-type ferritins. The subsequent decay of these multiple Fe3+-oxy species to the superparamagnetic mineral suggests that Fe3+ species in different environments may be translocated as intact units from the protein shell into the ferritin cavity where the conversion to a solid mineral occurs.

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Two hydrophobic residues, W501 and V432, in the nucleic acid (NA) binding pocket of the HCV helicase domain (E) were mutagenized in an effort to investigate contributions of these residues to substrate affinities and to enzymatic activities. The affinities of wild-type [hE(wt)] and mutant enzymes [hE(W501F), hE(W501A), and hE(V432A)] for NA and ATP were determined by monitoring changes in the intrinsic protein fluorescence, in the fluorescence of fluorescently tagged nucleic acid, and in the enzymatic activity. The steady-state kinetic parameters of the mutant enzymes for ATP hydrolysis (at saturating concentrations of NA) were similar to those of hE(wt). hE(W501F), hE(W501A), and hE(V432A) had strand-separating activities that were 136%, 3.8%, and 3.1% of that of hE(wt). The processivities of hE(W501F), hE(W501A), and hE(V432A) were reduced relative to that of hE(wt). The reduced processivities of hE(W501F) and hE(W501A) were primarily due to an increase in the rate of dissociation of E. ATP from E.ATP.NA. The reduced processivity of hE(V432A) was primarily due to a reduction in the intrinsic forward rate constant for strand separation. This result suggested that V432 may constitute part of the forward "stepping" motor of E. hE(W501A) and hE(V432A) did not display a dominant negative phenotype in a steady-state helicase assay with hE(wt). hE(wt) stored in the presence of beta-mercaptoethanol was covalently modified at three cysteinyl residues. The biological significance of the potential reactivity of these cysteinyl residues on hE(wt) is unknown.

High concentrations of salts dramatically affect the interaction of small ligands with HIV-1 protease. For instance, the Km and kcat values for Abz-Thr-Ile-Nle-p-nitro-Phe-Gln-Arg-NH2 (S) increased 120-fold and 3-fold, respectively, as the NaCl concentration in the assay decreased from 4.0 to 0.5 M. The Kd value for the competitive inhibitor amprenavir increased 12-fold over this concentration range of NaCl. The bimolecular rate constant for association of enzyme with amprenavir was independent of NaCl concentration, whereas the dissociation rate constant decreased with increasing NaCl concentration. Polyanionic polymers such as heparin or poly A substituted for NaCl. For example, the value of kcat/Km for S was 0.18 microM(-1) x s(-1) when the enzyme (<10 nM) was assayed in the standard buffer supplemented with 5 mM NaCl. If 0.01% poly A were included, the value of kcat/Km increased to 8.6 microM(-1) x s(-1). A DNA oligomer (23-mer) with an hexachlorofluoresceinyl moiety linked to the 5' end was studied as a model polyanionic polymer. The enzyme bound HF23 (Kd < 1 nM) with concomitant quenching of the hexachlorofluoresceinyl fluorescence. The stoichiometry for binding was 3 mol of enzyme per mol of oligomer. The hydrolytic activity of the enzyme with this oligomer was similar to that observed with poly A or high salt concentration when the molar ratio of oligomer to enzyme was greater than one. The results presented herein demonstrate that polyanionic polymers substitute for salts as effectors of HIV protease.

A series of benzisothiazole- and indolizine-β-d-glucopyranoside inhibitors of human SGLT2 are described. The synthesis of the C-linked heterocyclic glucosides took advantage of a palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction between a glucal boronate and the corresponding bromo heterocycle. The compounds have been evaluated for their human SGLT2 inhibition potential using cell-based functional transporter assays, and their structure-activity relationships have been described. Benzisothiazole-C-glucoside 16d was found to be an inhibitor of SGLT2 with an IC50 of 10 nM.

The arylsulfonamide derivatives described herein were such potent inhibitors of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) protease (enzyme, E) that values for the inhibition constants (K(i)) could not be determined by conventional steady-state kinetic techniques (i.e., the minimal enzyme concentration usable for the activity assay was much greater than the value of the dissociation constant). Consequently, two alternative methods were developed for estimation of K(i) values. The first method employed kinetic determinations of values for k(1) and k(-1), from which K(i) was determined (k(-1)/k(1)). The second method was a competitive displacement assay used to determine binding affinities of other inhibitors relative to that of GW0385. In these assays, the inhibitor of unknown affinity was used to displace [(3)H]GW0385 from E.[(3)H]GW0385. From the concentration of E.[(3)H]GW0385 at equilibrium, the concentrations of enzyme-bound and free inhibitors were calculated, and the ratio of the K(i) value of the unknown to that of GW0385 was determined (K(i,unknown)/K(i,GW0385)). The values of k(1) were calculated from data in which changes in the intrinsic protein fluorescence of the enzyme associated with inhibitor binding were directly or indirectly monitored. In the case of saquinavir, the fluorescence changes associated with complex formation were large enough to monitor directly. The value of k(1) for saquinavir was 62 +/- 2 microM(-1) s(-1). In the case of GW0385, the fluorescence changes associated with complex formation were too small to monitor directly. Consequently, the value of k(1) was estimated from a competition experiment in which the effect of GW0385 on the binding of E to saquinavir was determined. The value of k(1) for GW0385 was estimated from these experiments to be 137 +/- 4 microM(-1) s(-1). Because E.[(3)H]GW0385 was stable in the standard buffer at room temperature for greater than 33 days, the value of the first-order rate constant for dissociation of E.[(3)H]GW0385 (k(-1)) could be estimated from the time-course for exchange of E.[(3)H]GW0385 with excess unlabeled GW0385. The value of k(-1) calculated from these data was (2.1 +/- 0.1) x10(-6) s(-1) (t(1/2) = 91 h). The K(i) value of wild-type HIV-1 protease for GW0385, calculated from these values for k(1) and k(-1), was 15 +/- 1 fM. Three multidrug resistant enzymes had K(i) values for GW0385 that were less than 5 pM.