No abstract

By recombinant DNA techniques, a disulfide bond was introduced at a specific site in T4 lysozyme, a disulfide-free enzyme. This derivative retained full enzymatic activity and was more stable toward thermal inactivation than the wild-type protein. The derivative, T4 lysozyme (Ile3----Cys), was prepared by substituting a Cys codon for an Ile codon at position 3 in the cloned lysozyme gene by means of oligonucleotide-dependent, site-directed mutagenesis. The new gene was expressed in Escherichia coli under control of the (trp-lac) hybrid tac promoter, and the protein was purified. Mild oxidation generated a disulfide bond between the new Cys3 and Cys97, one of the two unpaired cysteines of the native molecule. Oxidized T4 lysozyme (Ile3----Cys) exhibited specific activity identical to that of the wild-type enzyme when measured at 20 degrees C in a cell-clearing assay. The cross-linked protein was more stable than the wild type during incubation at elevated temperatures as determined by recovered enzymatic activity at 20 degrees C.

Thermophilic organisms flourish in varied high-temperature environmental niches that are deadly to other organisms. Recently, genomic evidence has implicated a critical role for disulfide bonds in the structural stabilization of intracellular proteins from certain of these organisms, contrary to the conventional view that structural disulfide bonds are exclusively extracellular. Here both computational and structural data are presented to explore the occurrence of disulfide bonds as a protein-stabilization method across many thermophilic prokaryotes. Based on computational studies, disulfide-bond richness is found to be widespread, with thermophiles containing the highest levels. Interestingly, only a distinct subset of thermophiles exhibit this property. A computational search for proteins matching this target phylogenetic profile singles out a specific protein, known as protein disulfide oxidoreductase, as a potential key player in thermophilic intracellular disulfide-bond formation. Finally, biochemical support in the form of a new crystal structure of a thermophilic protein with three disulfide bonds is presented together with a survey of known structures from the literature. Together, the results provide insight into biochemical specialization and the diversity of methods employed by organisms to stabilize their proteins in exotic environments. The findings also motivate continued efforts to sequence genomes from divergent organisms.

Background: Rubisco fixes atmospheric CO 2 to organic carbon and sustains life on earth. Results: A form II Rubisco structure has been solved, and functional analysis was conducted with divergent residues. Conclusion: The unique structure combined with functional analysis can help better understand and improve Rubisco catalysis. Significance: This is the first high resolution structure of an activated transition-state analog (CABP)-bound form II Rubisco.

Disulfide bonds are thought to serve a stabilizing role in extracellular globular proteins, but little is known about the modes of stabilization or their mechanisms. Thermodynamic data presented here demonstrate that an engineered 3-97 disulfide bond previously shown to stabilize T4 lysozyme in vitro against irreversible thermal inactivation also stabilizes the molecule against reversible thermal unfolding. In this paper, we explore the relationship between the disulfide's thermodynamic contribution to protein folding and its role in providing resistance to irreversible thermal inactivation. In T4 lysozyme (C54V/C97S), a non-crosslinked mutant lacking the two cysteines found in the wild type, sensitivity toward irreversible thermal inactivation increases dramatically at temperatures above the melting temperature of the molecule. In addition, most of the lost activity can be restored by denaturation/renaturation with guanidine hydrochloride. In contrast, the crosslinked mutant T4 lysozyme (13C-97C/C54V) inactivates relatively slowly, even above its melting temperature, and the lost activity is not restored by denaturation/ renaturation. These observations suggest that the predominant inactivation pathways for non-crosslinked T4 lysozymes are conformation related, while those for the crosslinked variant are insensitive to the conformational route and thus are susceptible only to slower processes of a chemical nature. We also show that multiple mutants, constructed to contain the 3-97 disulfide plus a temperature-sensitive lesion, are more stable than the wild type to irreversible inactivation even though they are less stable to reversible thermal unfolding. These rmdings together suggest that the 3-97 disulfide provides stability to irreversible inactivation primarily via a pathway that is independent of its thermodynamic contribution. The 3-97 disulfide may stabilize T4 lysozyme by restricting the unfolded state to a class of more compact structures with less exposed hydrophobic surface, compared to the unfolded states of non-crosslinked T4 lysozymes. The results have implications both for the use of the stabilizing potential of disulfide bonds in protein engineering and for their roles in protein function and evolution.Many extracellular globular proteins contain disulfide bonds, which are thought to provide additional stability against environmental insults (1, 2). This hypothesis is based on observations that the disruption of disulfide crosslinks is often accompanied by a decrease in thermodynamic stability-that is, stability to reversible denaturation (2-5). In turn, thermodynamic stability is important because unfolded proteins are generally more susceptible to at least some of the irreversible processes (e.g., proteolysis, aggregation, adsorption, precipitation) by which protein structure and activity can be lost in vitro (6-8) and in vivo (9-12). Previously we have shown that the introduction, by directed mutagenesis, of a 3-97 disulfide bond into the normally disulfide-free enzyme T4 lysozyme sta...

A growing number of organisms have been discovered inhabiting extreme environments, including temperatures in excess of 100 °C. How cellular proteins from such organisms retain their native folds under extreme conditions is still not fully understood. Recent computational and structural studies have identified disulfide bonding as an important mechanism for stabilizing intracellular proteins in certain thermophilic microbes. Here, we present the first proteomic analysis of intracellular disulfide bonding in the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrobaculum aerophilum. Our study reveals that the utilization of disulfide bonds extends beyond individual proteins to include many protein-protein complexes. We report the 1.6Å crystal structure of one such complex, a citrate synthase homodimer. The structure contains two intramolecular disulfide bonds, one per subunit, which result in the cyclization of each protein chain in such a way that the two chains are topologically interlinked, rendering them inseparable. This unusual feature emphasizes the variety and sophistication of the molecular mechanisms that can be achieved by evolution.

Chlamydia trachomatis LGV-434 was grown in HeLa 229 cells. Benzylpenicillin completely inhibited the formation of infectious elementary bodies (EBs) at a concentration of 19 pmol/ml or higher and produced abnormally large reticulate bodies (RBs) in the inclusions at 30 pmol/ml or higher. The possible targets for penicillin in C. trachomatis were three penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) which were identified in the Sarkosyl-soluble fractions of both RBs and EBs. The apparent subunit molecular weights were 88,000 (PBP 1), 61,000 (PBP 2), and 36,000 (PBP 3). The 50% binding concentrations of [3H]penicillin for PBPs 1 to 3 in EBs and RBs were between 7 and 70 pmol/ml. Such high susceptibility to penicillin was shown by an organism that did not have detectable muramic acid (<0.02% by weight) in preparations of either whole cells or sodium dodecyl sulfate-insoluble residues.

Carboranes represent a potentially rich but underutilized class of inorganic and catabolism-inert pharmacophores. The regioselectivity and ease of derivatization of carboranes allows for facile syntheses of a wide variety of novel structures. The steric bulk, rigidity, and ease of B-and C-derivatization and lack ofinteractions associated with hydrophobic carboranes may be exploited to enhance the selectivity of previously identified bioactive molecules. Transthyretin (TTR) is a thyroxine-transport protein found in the blood that has been implicated in a variety of amyloid related diseases. Previous investigations have identified a variety of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and structurally related derivatives that imbue kinetic stabilization to TTR, thus inhibiting its dissociative fragmentation and subsequent aggregation to form putative toxic amyloid fibrils. However, the cyclooxygenase (COX) activity associated with these pharmaceuticals may limit their potential as long-term therapeutic agents for TTR amyloid diseases. Here, we report the synthesis and evaluation of carborane-containing analogs of the promising NSAID pharmaceuticals previously identified. The replacement of a phenyl ring in the NSAIDs with a carborane moiety greatly decreases their COX activity with the retention of similar efficacy as an inhibitor of TTR dissociation. The most promising of these compounds, 1-carboxylic acid-7-[3-fluorophenyl]-1,7-dicarba-closo-dodecaborane, showed effectively no COX-1 or COX-2 inhibition at a concentration more than an order of magnitude larger than the concentration at which TTR dissociation is nearly completely inhibited. This specificity is indicative of the potential for the exploitation of the unique properties of carboranes as potent and selective pharmacophores.amyloid ͉ cyclooxygenase ͉ nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug ͉ fibril T he dicarba-closo-dodecaboranes (carboranes) are icosahedral carbon-containing boron clusters with extraordinary characteristic properties (such as resistance to catabolism, kinetic inertness to reagents, strong hydrophobicity, and wellestablished chemistry) that afford the opportunity for their exploitation as novel hydrophobic pharmacophores. The three isomeric dicarbon carboranes, closo-1,2-C 2 B 10 H 12 , closo-1,7-C 2 B 10 H 12 , and closo-1,12-C 2 B 10 H 12 , commonly known as ortho-, meta-, and para-carborane, respectively, share approximately the same volume as a rotated phenyl ring. This, as well as their structural integrity, ease of substitution, and delocalized bonding, suggests their description as three-dimensional analogs of aromatic hydrocarbons (1), allowing their facile substitution for phenyl rings as rigid scaffolding in pharmacological agents. This rigid scaffolding can be easily and selectively derivatized through deprotonation of the slightly acidic C-H vertices by a strong base (alkyllithium reagents, Grignard reagents, etc.) affording a strongly nucleophilic carboranyl anion capable of reaction with a wide range of electrophiles, inclu...