Recently we screened a combinatorial library of R(1)-(Ser/Thr)-Xaa-His-Zaa-R(2) peptides (Xaa = 17 common alpha-amino acids, except Asp, Glu, and Cys; Zaa =19 common alpha-amino acids, except Cys; R(1) = CH(3)CO-Gly-Ala, R(2) = Lys-Phe-Leu-NH(2)) and established criteria for selecting Ser/Thr, Xaa, and Zaa substitutions optimal for specific R(1)-Ser/Thr peptide bond hydrolysis in the presence of Ni(II) ions (Krezel, A.; Kopera, E.; Protas, A. M.; Poznanski, J.; Wysłouch-Cieszynska, A.; Bal, W. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 3355-3366). The screening results were confirmed by kinetic studies of hydrolysis of seven peptides: R(1)-Ser-Arg-His-Trp-R(2), R(1)-Ser-Lys-His-Trp-R(2), R(1)-Ser-Ala-His-Trp-R(2), R(1)-Ser-Arg-His-Ala-R(2), R(1)-Ser-Gly-His-Ala-R(2), R(1)-Thr-Arg-His-Trp-R(2), and R(1)-Thr-His-His-Trp-R(2). In this paper, we used the same seven peptides to investigate the molecular mechanism of the hydrolysis reaction. We studied temperature dependence of the reaction rate at temperatures between 24 and 75 degrees C, measured stability constants of Ni(II) complexes with hydrolysis substrates and products, and studied the course of R(1)-Ser-Arg-His-Trp-R(2) peptide hydrolysis under a broad range of conditions. We established that the specific square planar complex containing the Ni(II) ion bonded to the His imidazole nitrogen and three preceding peptide bond nitrogens (4N complex) is required for the reaction to occur. The reaction mechanism includes the N-O acyl shift, yielding an intermediate ester of R(1) with the Ser/Thr hydroxyl group. This ester hydrolyzes spontaneously, yielding final products. The Ni(II) ion activates the R(1)-Ser peptide bond by destabilizing it directly through peptide nitrogen coordination and, indirectly, by imposing a strain in the peptide chain.

XPA is one of the key members of the protein complex of the nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway of DNA repair. The CCCC zinc finger domain of XPA is involved in the interactions with other NER proteins. To study the possible molecular mechanisms of XPA inhibition, we previously investigated Zn(II) and Ni(II) interactions with the synthetic 37 amino acid peptide (XPAzf), AcDYVICEECGKEFMDSYLMNHFDLPTCDNCRDADDKHKam, representing the XPA zinc finger sequence (Bal, W., Schwerdtle, T., and Hartwig, A. (2003) Mechanism of nickel assault on the zinc finger of DNA repair protein XPA. Chem. Res. Toxicol. 16, 242-248). In this work, we extended these studies on other carcinogenic metal ions, Co(II) and Cd(II). The binding constants and complex geometries were determined using UV-vis and CD spectroscopies, and oxidative damage to XPAzf was studied with HPLC. The conditional binding constants determined for Co(II) and Cd(II) in 50 mM phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, are 10(7.4)+/-(0.4) and 10(12.8)+/-(0.5), respectively, yielding binding constant ratios Zn(II)/Co(II) of 100 and Zn(II)/ Cd(II) of 0.001, which are the lowest values reported for zinc fingers so far. The Co(II) ion forms a tetrahedral complex with the sulfurs of XPAzf, which is isostructural with the native zinc finger. The Cd(II) complex is somewhat less structured. The oxidation of Zn(II)-saturated XPAzf by H2O2 is accelerated in the presence of Co(II), but the concentration profile of this effect indicates the formation of an active Co(II) complex external to the metal-sulfur center. The Cd(II)-saturated XPAzf is very resistant to oxidation by H2O2. Overall, our results indicate that XPAzf can undergo Co(II) and Cd(II) assault under specific conditions.

Phytochelatins, heavy-metal-binding polypeptides, are synthesized by phytochelatin synthase (PCS) (EC 2.3.2.15). Previous studies on plants overexpressing PCS genes yielded contrasting phenotypes, ranging from enhanced cadmium tolerance and accumulation to cadmium hypersensitivity. This paper compares the effects of overexpression of AtPCS1 and CePCS in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum var. Xanthi), and demonstrates how the introduction of single homologous genes affects to a different extent cellular metabolic pathways leading to the opposite of the desired effect. In contrast to WT and CePCS transformants, plants overexpressing AtPCS1 were Cd-hypersensitive although there was no substantial difference in cadmium accumulation between studied lines. Plants exposed to cadmium (5 and 25 μM CdCl2) differed, however, in the concentration of non-protein thiols (NPT). In addition, PCS activity in AtPCS1 transformants was around 5-fold higher than in CePCS and WT plants. AtPCS1 expressing plants displayed a dramatic accumulation of γ-glutamylcysteine and concomitant strong depletion of glutathione. By contrast, in CePCS transformants, a smaller reduction of the level of glutathione was noticed, and a less pronounced change in γ-glutamylcysteine concentration. There was only a moderate and temporary increase in phytochelatin levels due to AtPCS1 and CePCS expression. Marked changes in NPT composition due to AtPCS1 expression led to moderately decreased Cd-detoxification capacity reflected by lower SH:Cd ratios, and to higher oxidative stress (assessed by DAB staining), which possibly explains the increase in Cd-sensitivity. The results indicate that contrasting responses to cadmium of plants overexpressing PCS genes might result from species-dependent differences in the activity of phytochelatin synthase produced by the transgenes.

Transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv. LA Burley 21) lines expressing three genes encoding enzymes thought to be critical for the efficient production of phytochelatins, (i) serine acetyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.30) involved in the production of O-acetylserine, the cysteine precursor, (ii) gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (EC 6.3.2.2) involved in the production of gamma-glutamylcysteine, the precursor of glutathione, and (iii) phytochelatin synthase (EC 2.3.2.15), were obtained and analysed for non-protein thiol content and cadmium accumulation. After a 3 week exposure to 15 microM CdCl2, plants expressing transgenes (either separately or in combination) had increased cadmium concentration in roots but not in shoots compared with the wild type. Nearly all transgenic lines analysed had more non-protein thiols than the wild type. The greatest effects (about 8-fold elevation of thiols) were found in one of the lines simultaneously expressing the three transgenes. Despite the fact that a multi-transgene strategy described in this work resulted in a strong increase in the levels of several classes of non-protein thiols in transgenic plants, other factors appeared to restrict cadmium accumulation in shoots.

Previously we demonstrated that Ni(II) complexes of Ac-Thr-Glu-Ser-His-His-Lys-NH2 hexapeptide, representing residues 120-125 of human histone H2A, and some of its analogs undergo E-S peptide bond hydrolysis. In this work we demonstrate a similar coordination and reactivity pattern in Ni(II) complexes of Ac-Thr-Glu-Thr-His-His-Lys-NH2, its threonine analogue, studied using potentiometry, electronic absorption spectroscopy and HPLC. For the first time we present the detailed temperature and pH dependence of such Ni(II)-dependent hydrolysis reactions. The temperature dependence of the rate of hydrolysis yielded activation energy E(a) = 92.0 kJ mol(-1) and activation entropy DeltaS# = 208 J mol(-1) K(-1). The pH profile of the reaction rate coincided with the formation of the four-nitrogen square-planar Ni(II) complex of Ac-Thr-Glu-Thr-His-His-Lys-NH2. These results expand the range of protein sequences susceptible to Ni(II) dependent cleavage by those containing threonine residues and permit predictions of the course of this reaction at various temperatures and pH values.

In this study, we demonstrate a non-enzymatic method for hydrolytic peptide bond cleavage, applied to the removal of an affinity tag from a recombinant fusion protein, SPI2-SRHWAP-His6. This method is based on a highly specific Ni(II) reaction with (S/T)XHZ peptide sequences. It can be applied for the protein attached to an affinity column or to the unbound protein in solution. We studied the effect of pH, temperature and Ni(II) concentration on the efficacy of cleavage and developed an analytical protocol, which provides active protein with a 90% yield and ∼100% purity. The method works well in the presence of non-ionic detergents, DTT and GuHCl, therefore providing a viable alternative for currently used techniques.

No abstract

Previously we demonstrated for several examples that peptides having a general internal sequence R(N)-Yaa-Ser/Thr-Xaa-His-Zaa-R(C) (Yaa = Glu or Ala, Xaa = Ala or His, Zaa = Lys, R(N) and R(C) = any N- and C-terminal amino acid sequence) were hydrolyzed specifically at the Yaa-Ser/Thr peptide bond in the presence of Ni(II) ions at alkaline pH (Krezel, A., Mylonas, M., Kopera, E. and Bal, E. Acta Biochim. Polon. 2006, 53, 721-727 and references therein). Hereby we report the synthesis of a combinatorial library of CH(3)CO-Gly-Ala-(Ser/Thr)-Xaa-His-Zaa-Lys-Phe-Leu-NH(2) peptides, where Xaa residues included 17 common alpha-amino acids (except Asp, Glu, and Cys) and Zaa residues included 19 common alpha-amino acids (except Cys). The Ni(II)-dependent hydrolysis at 37 and 45 degrees C of batches of combinatorial peptide mixtures randomized at Zaa was monitored by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The correctness of library-based predictions was confirmed by accurate measurements of hydrolysis rates of seven selected peptides using HPLC. The hydrolysis was strictly limited to the Ala-Ser/Thr bond in all library and individual peptide experiments. The effects of individual residues on hydrolysis rates were quantified and correlated with physical properties of their side chains according to a model of independent contributions of Xaa and Zaa residues. The principal component analysis calculations demonstrated partial molar side chain volume and the free energy of amino acid vaporization for both Xaa and Zaa residues and the amine pK(a) for Zaa residues to be the most significant empirical parameters influencing the hydrolysis rate. Therefore, efficient hydrolysis required bulky and hydrophobic residues at both variable positions Xaa and Zaa, which contributed independently to the hydrolysis rate. This relationship between the peptide sequence and the hydrolysis rate provides a basis for further research, aimed at the elucidation of the reaction mechanism and biotechnological applications of Ni(II)-dependent peptide bond hydrolysis.