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Incorporation of 32P into telokin, a smooth muscle-specific, 17-18-kDa, acidic (pI 4.2-4.4) protein, was increased by forskolin (20 microM) in intact rabbit ileum smooth muscle (ileum) and by 8-bromo-cyclic GMP (100 microM) in alpha-toxin-permeabilized ileum. Native telokin (5-20 microM), purified from turkey gizzard, and recombinant rabbit telokin, expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to >90% purity, induced dose-dependent relaxation, associated with a significant decrease in regulatory myosin light chain phosphorylation, without affecting the rate of thiophosphorylation of regulatory myosin light chain of ileum permeabilized with 0.1% Triton X-100. Endogenous telokin was lost from ileum during prolonged permeabilization (>20 min) with 0.1% Triton X-100, and the time course of loss was correlated with the loss of 8-bromo-cyclic GMP-induced calcium desensitization. Recombinant and native gizzard telokins were phosphorylated, in vitro, by the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase, cGMP-dependent protein kinase, and p42/44 mitogen-activated protein kinase; the recombinant protein was also phosphorylated by calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II. Exogenous cGMP-dependent protein kinase (0.5 microM) activated by 8-bromo-cyclic GMP (50 microM) phosphorylated recombinant telokin (10 microM) when added concurrently to ileum depleted of its endogenous telokin, and their relaxant effects were mutually potentiated. Forskolin (20 microM) also increased phosphorylation of telokin in intact ileum. We conclude that telokin induces calcium desensitization in smooth muscle by enhancing myosin light chain phosphatase activity, and cGMP- and/or cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of telokin up-regulates its relaxant effect.

RhoA, a ubiquitous intracellular GTPase, mediates cytoskeletal responses to extracellular signals. A 2.1 A resolution crystal structure of the human RhoA-GDP complex shows unique stereochemistry in the switch I region, which results in a novel mode of Mg2+ binding.

The ATP-binding cassette subfamily B member 1 (ABCB1) multidrug transporter P-glycoprotein plays a central role in clearance of xenobiotics in humans and is implicated in cancer resistance to chemotherapy. We used double electron electron resonance spectroscopy to uncover the basis of stimulation of P-glycoprotein adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) hydrolysis by multiple substrates and illuminate how substrates and inhibitors differentially affect its transport function. Our results reveal that substrate-induced acceleration of ATP hydrolysis correlates with stabilization of a high-energy, post-ATP hydrolysis state characterized by structurally asymmetric nucleotide-binding sites. By contrast, this state is destabilized in the substrate-free cycle and by high-affinity inhibitors in favor of structurally symmetric nucleotide binding sites. Together with previous data, our findings lead to a general model of substrate and inhibitor coupling to P-glycoprotein.

The F O F 1 ATP synthase is a large complex of at least 22 subunits, more than half of which are in the membranous F O sector. This nearly ubiquitous transporter is responsible for the majority of ATP synthesis in oxidative and photo-phosphorylation, and its overall structure and mechanism have remained conserved throughout evolution. Most examples utilize the proton motive force to drive ATP synthesis except for a few bacteria, which use a sodium motive force. A remarkable feature of the complex is the rotary movement of an assembly of subunits that plays essential roles in both transport and catalytic mechanisms. This review addresses the role of rotation in catalysis of ATP synthesis/hydrolysis and the transport of protons or sodium. KeywordsATP synthase; kinetic mechanism; rotation; transport Like many transporters, the F O F 1 ATP synthase (or F-type ATPase) has been a fascinating subject for the study of a complex membrane-associated process. The ATP synthase is a critically important activity that carries out synthesis of ATP from ADP and Pi driven by a proton motive force, Δµ H+ , or sodium motive force, Δµ Na+ . This final step of oxidative or photo-phosphorylation provides the vast majority of ATP in the cell. The proton or sodium motive force is also needed to power other membrane processes such as secondary transporters or in the case of bacteria, flagellum rotation. In anaerobic conditions, facultative bacteria use the ATP synthase as an ATP-driven H + or Na + pump to generate the Δµ H+ , or Δµ Na+ (see [1] for a textbook review.) The F O F 1 complex is nearly ubiquitous in the cell membranes of eubacteria, in the thylakoid membrane of chloroplasts, and the inner membrane of mitochondria. The transporter has remained structurally and mechanistically conserved, except for a few additional domains or subunits in mitochondria, which may play roles in regulation or assembly.Many years of innovative biochemical, genetic, kinetic, and thermodynamic studies led to the first structural solution of the catalytic F 1 portion of the complex by Walker, Leslie and coworkers [2] in 1994. This landmark structure provided critical information on the catalytic portion of the complex but the subunit arrangement of much of the rest of the complex was still not elucidated. The partial F 1 structure, which at the time was the largest asymmetric unit solved, provided the impetus and the structural information needed to test the notion that the

Replacement of the F 0 F 1 ATP synthase ␥ subunit Met-23 with Lys (␥M23K) perturbs coupling efficiency between transport and catalysis (Shin, K., Nakamoto, R. K., Maeda, M., and Futai, M. (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 20835-20839). We demonstrate here that the ␥M23K mutation causes altered interactions between subunits. Binding of ␦ or ⑀ subunits stabilizes the ␣ 3 ␤ 3 ␥ complex, which becomes destabilized by the mutation. Significantly, the inhibition of F 1 ATP hydrolysis by the ⑀ subunit is no longer relieved when the ␥M23K mutant F 1 is bound to F 0 . Steady state Arrhenius analysis reveals that the ␥M23K enzyme has increased activation energies for the catalytic transition state. These results suggest that the mutation causes the formation of additional bonds within the enzyme that must be broken in order to achieve the transition state. Based on the x-ray crystallographic structure of Abrahams et al. (Abrahams, J. P., Leslie, A. G. W., Lutter, R., and Walker, J. E. (1994) Nature 370, 621-628), the additional bond is likely due to ␥M23K forming an ionized hydrogen bond with one of the ␤Glu-381 residues. Two second site mutations, ␥Q269R and ␥R242C, suppress the effects of ␥M23K and decrease activation energies for the ␥M23K enzyme. We conclude that ␥M23K is an added function mutation that increases the energy of interaction between ␥ and ␤ subunits. The additional interaction perturbs transmission of conformational information such that ⑀ inhibition of ATPase activity is not relieved and coupling efficiency is lowered.The F 0 F 1 ATP synthase links two disparate functions: transport of protons across a membrane and catalysis of ATP synthesis or hydrolysis (for reviews see Refs. 1-5). The fully cooperative mechanism of ATP hydrolysis requires a minimum of three different subunits in a complex containing ␣ 3 ␤ 3 ␥ 1 . The transport mechanism is most likely assembled from F 0 sector subunits. In the Escherichia coli complex, transport requires three different membrane-spanning subunits, a 1 b 2 c ϳ10 (6). In addition, two more soluble subunits, ␦ and ⑀, are needed to reconstitute catalytic and transport sectors so that they are coupled to carry out ATP-driven proton pumping or ⌬ Hϩ -driven ATP synthesis (7-10).Catalysis and transport mechanisms most likely communicate indirectly through a series of conformational and electrostatic interactions. Conformational changes relevant to the catalytic state of the enzyme or the presence of a ⌬ H ϩ have been detected by several methods including altered cross-linking patterns, protease susceptibility, environmentally sensitive fluorescent probes, accessibility of epitopes, x-ray diffraction, cryoelectron microscopy, and spectroscopic analyses (reviewed in Refs. 11 and 12). High resolution structural information based on crystals of the bovine mitochondrial F 1 has also provided a great deal of information about possible subunit interactions that may be involved in linking transport and catalysis (13).Mutagenic analysis has also yielded important information about the coupl...

Rationale De-differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) leading to a proliferative cell phenotype significantly contributes to the development of atherosclerosis. Mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphorylation of proteins including connexin 43 (Cx43) has been associated with VSMC proliferation in atherosclerosis. Objective To investigate whether MAPK phosphorylation of Cx43 is directly involved in VSMC proliferation. Methods and Results We show in vivo that MAPK phosphorylated Cx43 forms complexes with the cell cycle control proteins cyclin E and CDK2 in carotids of apolipoprotein-E receptor null (ApoE−/−) mice and in C57Bl/6 mice treated with platelet-derived growth factor–BB (PDGF). We tested the involvement of Cx43 MAPK phosphorylation in vitro using constructs for full length Cx43 (Cx43) or the Cx43 C-terminus (Cx43CT) and produced null phosphorylation Ser>Ala (Cx43MK4A/ Cx43CTMK4A) and phospho-mimetic Ser>Asp (Cx43MK4D/Cx43CTMK4D) mutations. Co-immunoprecipitation studies in primary VSMC isolated from Cx43 wild type (Cx43+/+) and Cx43 null (Cx43−/−) mice and analytical size exclusion studies of purified proteins identify that interactions between cyclin E and Cx43 requires Cx43 MAPK phosphorylation. We further demonstrate that Cx43 MAPK phosphorylation is required for PDGF mediated VSMC proliferation. Finally using a novel knock-in mouse containing Cx43-MK4A mutation we show in vivo that interactions between Cx43 and cyclin E are lost and VSMC proliferation does not occur following treatment of carotids with PDGF and that neointima formation is significantly reduced in carotids following injury. Conclusions We identify MAPK phosphorylated Cx43 as a novel interacting partner of cyclin E in VSMC and show that this interaction is critical for VSMC proliferation. This novel interaction may be important in the development of atherosclerotic lesions.

The Escherichia coli FOF1 ATP synthase uncoupling mutation, gammaM23K, was found to increase the energy of interaction between gamma and beta subunits, prevent the proper utilization of binding energy to drive catalysis, and block the enzyme in a Pi release mode. In this paper, the effects of this mutation on substrate binding in cooperative ATP synthesis are assessed. Activation of ATP synthesis by ADP and Pi was determined for the gammaM23K FOF1. The K0.5 for ADP was not affected, but K0.5 for Pi was approximately 7-fold higher even though the apparent Vmax was close to the wild-type level. Wild-type enzyme had a turnover number of 82 s-1 at pH 7.5 and 30 degrees C. During oxidative phosphorylation, the apparent dissociation constant (KI) for ATP was not affected and was 5-6 mM for both wild-type and gammaM23K enzymes. Thus, the apparent binding affinity for ATP in the presence of DeltamuH+ was lowered by 7 orders of magnitude from the affinity measured at the high-affinity catalytic site. Arrhenius analysis of ATP synthesis for the gammaM23K FOF1 revealed that, like those of ATP hydrolysis, the transition state DeltaH was much more positive and TDeltaS was much less negative, adding up to little change in DeltaG. These results suggested that ATP synthesis is inefficient because of an extra bond between gamma and beta subunits which must be broken to achieve the transition state. Analysis of the transition state structures using isokinetic plots demonstrate that ATP hydrolysis and synthesis utilize the same kinetic pathway. Incorporating this information into a model for rotational catalysis suggests that at saturating substrate concentrations, the rate-limiting step for hydrolysis and synthesis is the rotational power stroke where each of the beta subunits changes conformation and affinity for nucleotide.