Background: Proteases trigger inflammation and pain by cleaving protease-activated receptors (PARs) at defined sites. Results: Cathepsin S (Cat-S) cleaved PAR 2 at a unique site E 56 2T 57 , leading to G␣s-mediated cAMP accumulation and TRPV4-dependent inflammation and pain. Conclusion: Cat-S is a biased agonist of PAR 2 -and TRPV4-dependent inflammation and pain. Significance: PARs integrate responses to diverse proteases.

Stop-flow fluorescence and rapid-filtration methods have been used to establish the kinetics of Ca2+ binding to, and dissociation from, the (Ca(2+)-Mg2+)-ATPase of skeletal-muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum and to define the effects of H+ and Mg2+ on Ca2+ binding and dissociation rates. The kinetics have been interpreted in terms of the scheme: E2 E2<==>E1<==>E1Ca<==>E1'Ca<==>E1'Ca2. The kinetics of the E2<==>E1 E1 transition have been determined by measuring the rate of change of the fluorescence of the ATPase labelled with 4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole after a pH jump or the addition of Ca2+ to the labelled ATPase in the presence of thapsigargin or thapsivillosin A. It has been shown that Mg2+ has a marked effect on Ca2+ dissociation at pH 7.2 and that changes in the tryptophan fluorescence of the ATPase follow the same time course as the dissociation of 45Ca2+. It is proposed that the effect of Mg2+ follows from binding to a 'gating' site, as detected by changes in the fluorescence of the ATPase labelled with 4-(bromomethyl)-6,7-dimethoxycoumarin. The rate of dissociation of Ca2+ from the ATPase increases with increasing pH. The rate of dissociation of Ca2+ decreases with increasing Ca2+ concentration in the medium, with an apparent affinity for Ca2+ greater than that seen for the change in fluorescence amplitude. It is shown that this follows if the first, inner, Ca(2+)-binding site on the ATPase has a lower affinity for Ca2+ than the second, outer, site. Effects of H+ and Mg2+ on Ca2+ dissociation can be treated by the quasiequilibrium approach. Mg2+ and H+ also affect the rate of Ca2+ binding to the ATPase, and effects of H+ and Mg2+ on the E2<==>E1 equilibrium explain the results of experiments in which the concentrations of H+ and Mg2+ are jumped.

The role of electrostatic interactions between the ionizable Asp158 and the active site thiolate-imidazolium ion pair of some cysteine proteinases has been the subject of controversy for some time. This study reports the expression of wild type procaricain and Asp158Glu, Asp158Asn and Asp158Ala mutants from Escherichia coli. Purification of autocatalytically matured enzymes yielded sufficient fully active material for pH (kcat/Km) profiles to be obtained. Use of both uncharged and charged substrates allowed the effects of different reactive enzyme species to be separated from the complications of electrostatic effects between enzyme and substrate. At least three ionizations are detectable in the acid limb of wild type caricain and the Glu and Asn mutants. Only two pKa values, however, are detectable in the acid limb using the Ala mutant. Comparison of pH activity profiles shows that whilst an ionizable residue at position 158 is not essential for the formation of the thiolate-imidazolium ion pair, it does form a substantial part of the electrostatic field responsible for increased catalytic competence. Changing the position of this ionizable group in any way reduces activity. Complete removal of the charged group reduces catalytic competence even further. This work indicates that hydronations distant to the active site are contributing to the electrostatic effects leading to multiple active ionization states of the enzyme.

The steady-state ATPase activity of sarcoplasmic-reticulum (Ca2+-Mg2+)-ATPase is inhibited by thapsigargin at a molar ratio of 1:1, with a dissociation constant for thapsigargin estimated to be in the sub-nanomolar range. In the presence of thapsigargin, only a single Ca2+ ion binds to the ATPase. Similarly, addition of thapsigargin to the ATPase incubated in the presence of Ca2+ results in the release of one of the two originally bound Ca2+ ions. As monitored by the fluorescence of nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole-labelled ATPase, thapsigargin appears to shift the transition between El and E2 conformations towards E2. Addition of thapsigargin prevents phosphorylation of the ATPase by Pi and results in a very low steady-state level of phosphorylation of the ATPase by ATP, as observed previously for nonylphenol.

Regression equations are presented for the estimation of dry weight from head width and body length for 20 common New Zealand streamdwelling macroinvertebrate taxa. Equations for taxa grouped at order level are also provided. A power equation, y = a x b is used to express the relationship between dry weight and body size. For the majority of taxa, dry weight could be estimated with more precision from body length than from head width.

The reaction catalyzed by 2-hydroxy-6-keto-nona-2,4-diene-1,9-dioic acid 5,6-hydrolase (MhpC) was analyzed by stopped-flow UV-visible kinetics at 317 nm (substrate depletion) and 270 nm (product formation) at pH 5.0 and 4.0. Comparison of the rates and amplitudes of product formation versus substrate depletion provided evidence for the formation of a discrete keto-intermediate, as predicted from previous isotope exchange experiments [Lam, W. W. Y., & Bugg, T. D. H. (1997) Biochemistry, 36, 12242-12251]. Accurate modeling of the concentration data could only be achieved using a branched kinetic mechanism in which the intermediate is released at a rate comparable to its catalytic turnover, consistent with the earlier isotope exchange data. The apparent "leakiness" of the active site and relatively weak substrate binding (Kd = 30 microM) are consistent with a mechanism in which the enzyme binds the dienol substrate in a strained, nonplanar conformation which promotes ketonization in the C-5 position to give a keto-intermediate.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSEThe chemokine receptor CXCR3 directs migration of T-cells in response to the ligands CXCL9/Mig, CXCL10/IP-10 and CXCL11/I-TAC. Both ligands and receptors are implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammatory disorders, including atherosclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Here, we describe the molecular mechanism by which two synthetic small molecule agonists activate CXCR3.EXPERIMENTAL APPROACHAs both small molecules are basic, we hypothesized that they formed electrostatic interactions with acidic residues within CXCR3. Nine point mutants of CXCR3 were generated in which an acidic residue was mutated to its amide counterpart. Following transient expression, the ability of the constructs to bind and signal in response to natural and synthetic ligands was examined.KEY RESULTSThe CXCR3 mutants D112N, D195N and E196Q were efficiently expressed and responsive in chemotaxis assays to CXCL11 but not to CXCL10 or to either of the synthetic agonists, confirmed with radioligand binding assays. Molecular modelling of both CXCL10 and CXCR3 suggests that the small molecule agonists mimic a region of the ‘30s loop’ (residues 30–40 of CXCL10) which interacts with the intrahelical CXCR3 residue D112, leading to receptor activation. D195 and E196 are located in the second extracellular loop and form putative intramolecular salt bridges required for a CXCR3 conformation that recognizes CXCL10. In contrast, CXCL11 recognition by CXCR3 is largely independent of these residues.CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONSWe provide here a molecular basis for the observation that CXCL10 and CXCL11 are allosteric ligands of CXCR3. Such findings may have implications for the design of CXCR3 antagonists.LINKED ARTICLEThis article is commented on by O'Boyle, pp. 895–897 of this issue. To view this commentary visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1476-5381.2011.01759.x

Three poly(organosiloxanes) (hydromethyl-, dimethyl-, and epoxymethylsiloxane) of different chain lengths and pendant groups and their mixtures of dimethyl (DMC) or diethyl carbonates (DEC) were applied in the modification of fumed silica nanoparticles (FSNs). The resulting modified silicas were studied in depth using 29 Si, 1 H, and 13 C solid-state NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and nitrogen adsorption-desorption (BET) analysis. The obtained results reveal that the type of grafting, grafting density, and structure of the grafted species at the silica surface depend strongly on the length of organosiloxane polymer and on the nature of the “green” additive, DMC or DEC. The spectral changes observed by solid-state NMR spectroscopy suggest that the major products of the reaction of various organosiloxanes and their DMC or DEC mixtures with the surface are D (RR’Si(O 0.5 ) 2 ) and T (RSi(O 0.5 ) 3 ) organosiloxane units. It was found that shorter methylhydro (PMHS) and dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and their mixtures with DMC or DEC form a denser coverage at the silica surface since S BET diminution is larger and grafting density is higher than the longest epoxymethylsiloxane (CPDMS) used for FSNs modification. Additionally, for FSNs modified with short organosiloxane PMHS/DEC and also medium organosiloxane PDMS/DMC, the dense coverage formation is accompanied by a greater reduction of isolated silanols, as shown by solid-state 29 Si NMR spectroscopy, in contrast to reactions with neat organosiloxanes. The surface coverage at FSNs with the longest siloxane (CPDMS) greatly improves with the addition of DMC or DEC. The data on grafting density suggest that molecules in the attached layers of FSNs modified with short PMHS and its mixture of DMC or DEC and medium PDMS and its mixture of DMC form a “vertical” orientation of the grafted methylhydrosiloxane and dimethylsiloxane chains, in contrast to the reaction with PDMS/DEC and epoxide methylsiloxane in the presence of DMC or DEC, which indicates a “horizontal” chain orientation of the grafted methyl and epoxysiloxane molecules. This study highlights the major role of solid-state NMR spectroscopy for comprehensive characterization of solid surfaces. Graphical abstract Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s11671-019-2982-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.