To better understand the relationship between archaeal and eucaryal tRNA introns and their processing systems, we have cloned the gene encoding the tRNA intron endonucleases from the archaeon H. volcanii. The gene encodes a 37 kDa protein that appears to be present as a homodimer under native conditions. Recombinant forms of this protein were expressed in E. coli and found to cleave precursor tRNAs lacking full mature tRNA structure, a property observed for the native endonuclease. Comparative sequence analysis revealed that similar proteins existed in other Archaea and that these proteins have significant similarity with two subunits of the yeast tRNA intron endonuclease. These results provide evidence that the archaeal and eucaryal tRNA intron processing systems are related and suggest a common origin for tRNA introns in these organisms.

ATP depletion and ADP formation are generic detection methods used for the identification of kinase and other ATP-utilizing enzyme inhibitors in high-throughput screening campaigns. However, the most widely used nucleotide detection approaches require high ATP consumption rates or involve the use of coupling enzymes, which can complicate the selection of lead compounds. As an alternative, we have developed the Transcreener (BellBrook Labs, Madison, WI) platform, which relies on the direct immunodetection of nucleotides. Here we describe the development of antibodies with >100-fold selectivity for ADP versus ATP, which enable robust detection of initial velocity rates (Z' > 0.7 at 10% substrate consumption) at ATP concentrations ranging from 0.1 microM to 1,000 microM in a competitive fluorescence polarization (FP) immunoassay. Competitive binding experiments indicate similar affinities for other nucleotide diphosphates, including 2' -deoxy ADP, GDP, and UDP. The antibody-tracer complex and the red-shifted, ratiometric FP signal are stable for at least 24 h at room temperature, providing suitable conditions for high-throughput screening. A method for calculating a kinase ATP Km with this FP immunoassay is also presented. The Transcreener ADP assay provides a simple, generic assay platform for inhibitor screening and selectivity profiling that can be used for any ADP-generating enzyme.

Screening of AMP-and GMP-producing enzymes such as phosphodiesterases (PDEs), ligases, and synthetases would be

Methylation is a ubiquitous covalent modification used to control the function of diverse biomolecules including hormones, neurotransmitters, xenobiotics, proteins, nucleic acids and lipids. Histone methyltransferases (HMTs) are currently of high interest as drug targets because of their role in epigenetic regulation, however most HMT assay methods are either not amenable to an HTS environment or are applicable to a limited number of enzymes. We developed a generic methyltransferase assay method using fluorescent immunodetection of AMP, which is formed from the MT reaction product S-adenosylhomocysteine in a dual enzyme coupling step. The detection range of the assay, its suitability for HTS, including stability of reagents following dispensing and after addition to reactions as well as the potential for interference from drug like molecules was investigated. In addition, the use of the assay for measuring inhibitor potencies with peptide or intact protein substrates was examined through pilot screening with selected reference enzymes including HMT G9a. By combining a novel enzymatic coupling step with the well characterized Transcreener® AMP/GMP assay, we have developed a robust HTS assay for HMTs which should be broadly applicable to other types of methyltransferases as well.

The kinetics of cotton cellulose depolymerization by the brown rot fungus Postia placenta and the white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium were investigated with solid-state cultures. The degree of polymerization (DP; the average number of glucosyl residues per cellulose molecule) of cellulose removed from soil-block cultures during degradation by P. placenta was first determined viscosimetrically. Changes in molecular size distribution of cellulose attacked by either fungus were then determined by size exclusion chromatography as the tricarbanilate derivative. The first study with P. placenta revealed two phases of depolymerization: a rapid decrease to a DP of approximately 800 and then a slower decrease to a DP of approximately 250. Almost all depolymerization occurred before weight loss. Determination of the molecular size distribution of cellulose during attack by the brown rot fungus revealed single major peaks centered over progressively lower DPs. Cellulose attacked by P. chrysosporium was continuously consumed and showed a different pattern of change in molecular size distribution than cellulose attacked by P. placenta. At first, a broad peak which shifted at a slightly lower average DP appeared, but as attack progressed the peak narrowed and the average DP increased

Enzymes that catalyse group transfer reactions comprise a significant fraction of the human proteome and are a rich source of drug targets because of their role in covalent regulatory cycles. Phosphorylation, glycosylation, sulfonation, methylation and acetylation represent some of the key types of group transfer reactions that modulate the function of diverse biomolecules through covalent modification. Development of high-throughput screening methods for these enzymes has been problematic because of the diversity of acceptor substrates. Recently, the authors developed a novel assay platform called Transcreener that relies upon fluorescence detection of the invariant reaction product of a group transfer reaction, usually a nucleotide. This platform enables screening of any isoform in a family of group transfer enzymes, with any acceptor substrate, using the same assay reagents.

Development of drugs targeting lipid kinases has been delayed by the lack of robust screening assays. Methods are needed that can accommodate the presentation of different acceptor substrates in the optimal lipid environment. The Transcreener ADP Assay relies on homogeneous immunodetection of adenosine diphosphate (ADP), using either fluorescence polarization (FP) or time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer (TR-FRET) as a signal output. Detection of ADP--the invariant product of all kinase reactions--provides complete flexibility for varying lipid substrate parameters. The authors used this assay to optimize dispersal methods for C8 and C16 phosphatidylinositol 4,5 bisphosphate substrates and to assess the effects of chain length on the activity and inhibition of phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K) isoforms. The nonphysiological C8 substrate supported the highest activity. Known inhibitors were profiled using both the FP- and TR-FRET-based assays, and there was excellent concordance (r(2)=0.93) in the IC(50) values. The overall rank order of inhibitors was the same using the C8 and C16 substrates, except for minor deviations. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) hydrolysis in the absence of substrate was detected with the PI3Kalpha isoform, and inhibitors affected PI3Kalpha intrinsic ATP hydrolysis activity similarly to lipid phosphorylation.

Three extracellular cellulose-depolymerizing enzymes from cotton undergoing decay by the brown rot fungus Merulipona (Serpula) incrassata were isolated by anion-exchange and hydrophobic interaction chromatographies. Depolymerization was detected by analyzing the changes in the molecular size distribution of cotton cellulose by high-performance size-exclusion chromatography. The average degree of polymerization (DP; number of glucosyl residues per cellulose chain) was calculated from the size-exclusion chromatography data. The very acidic purified endoglucanases, Cel 25, Cel 49, and Cel 57, were glycosylated and had molecular weights of 25,200, 48,500, and 57,100, respectively. Two, Cel 25 and Cel 49, depolymerized cotton cellulose and were also very active on carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). Cel 57, by contrast, significantly depolymerized cotton cellulose but did not release reducing sugars from CMC and only very slightly reduced the viscosity of CMC solutions. Molecular size distributions of cotton cellulose attacked by the three endoglucanases revealed single major peaks that shifted to lower DP positions. A second smaller peak (DP, 10 to 20) was also observed in the size-exclusion chromatograms of cotton attacked by Cel 49 and Cel 57. Under the reaction conditions used, Cel 25, the most active of the cellulases, reduced the weight average DP from 3,438 to 315, solubilizing approximately 20%o of the cellulose. The weight average DP values of cotton attacked under the same conditions by Cel 49 and Cel 57 were 814 and 534; weight losses were 9 and 11%, respectively.