Nonsecretors have no ABH blood group substances in their saliva and milk, but their erythrocytes contain the blood group substances. It has been generally believed that the secretor gene, Se, is a regulatory gene, not a structural gene, controlling the expression of (a1-+2)fucosyltransferase, which synthesizes the blood group H substance from its precursor, in secretions. To account for the existence of the blood type of "para Bombay" phenotype-i.e., H-negative in erythrocytes but H-positive in secretory fluids, another regulatory gene, Z, which would regulate the expression of the enzyme in the hematopoietic tissues, has been proposed. Contrary to this, a more simple model, in which the H gene and Se gene are both structural genes, encoding two separate fucosyltransferases in different tissues, was recently proposed. To settle the controversy, (a1-*2)fucosyltransferases were partially purified from human plasma and milk. The two enzymes differed from each other in the following respects: (i) the milk enzyme adsorbed to SP-Sephadex at pH 6.0, while the plasma enzyme did not; (it) pH-activity profiles, with phenyl 3-D-galactoside as an acceptor, differed between the two enzymes; (iii) the milk enzyme exhibited lower thermal stability than the plasma enzyme; and (iv) Km values for several oligosaccharides with Gal(.81-*3)GlcNAc and Gal(.1--4)GlcNAc as acceptors differed between the two enzymes. These results support the model that the Se gene is a structural gene encoding a distinctive (al--2)fucosyltransferase, refuting the classical regulatory gene model for the Se locus. The anomeric configuration of the fucosylated galactose residue produced by the action of enzyme was identifed, thus establishing the specificity of the enzyme.The blood group ABH substances are produced by stepwise glycosylation of terminal carbohydrate chains of glycoproteins and glycolipids in erythrocyte membranes, tissues, and body fluids (for review see ref. 1). The blood group H substance, a common precursor for the A and B substances, is synthesized from its precursor by the action of (al-c2)fucosyltransferase (2-4). The majority of subjects are secretors and have the blood group substances and the enzyme in their secretory tissues and secretory fluids as well as in the erythrocytes, hematopoietic tissues, and plasma. The remainder, ranging from 0% to 50%, depending upon their ethnic background, are nonsecretors, and the blood group substances and the enzyme are absent from their secretory tissues and secretory fluids. The gene that governs secretion character is designated Se. It has been generally accepted that the Se gene controls expression of the fucosyltransferase and the H substance in the secretory tissues and secretory fluids and does not encode any enzyme (1). Individuals with the rare Bombay phenotype, Oh, who have no ABH substances in either erythrocytes or secretory fluids, are assumed to be homozygous defective at the Hh locus, which governs the synthesis of the fucosyltransferase. To account for the existence of t...
Anemonia elastase inhibitor (AEI) is a "nonclassical" Kazal-type elastase inhibitor from Anemonia sulcata. Unlike many nonclassical inhibitors, AEI does not have a cystine-stabilized alpha-helical (CSH) motif in the sequence. We chemically synthesized AEI and determined its three-dimensional solution structure by two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. The resulting structure of AEI was characterized by a central alpha-helix and a three-stranded antiparallel beta-sheet of a typical Kazal-type inhibitor such as silver pheasant ovomucoid third domain (OMSVP3), even though the first and fifth half-cystine residues forming a disulfide bond in AEI are shifted both toward the C-terminus in comparison with those of OMSVP3. Synthesized AEI exhibited unexpected strong inhibition toward Streptomyces griseus protease B (SGPB). Our previous study [Hemmi, H., et al. (2003) Biochemistry 42, 2524-2534] demonstrated that the site-specific introduction of the engineered disulfide bond into the OMSVP3 molecule to form the CSH motif could produce an inhibitor with a narrower specificity. Thus, the CSH motif-containing derivative of AEI (AEI analogue) was chemically synthesized when a Cys(4)-Cys(34) bond was changed to a Cys(6)-Cys(31) bond. The AEI analogue scarcely inhibited porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE), even though it exhibited almost the same potent inhibitory activity toward SGPB. For the molecular scaffold, essentially no structural difference was detected between the two, but the N-terminal loop from Pro(5) to Ile(7) near the putative reactive site (Met(10)-Gln(11)) in the analogue moved by 3.7 A toward the central helix to form the introduced Cys(6)-Cys(31) bond. Such a conformational change in the restricted region correlates with the specificity change of the inhibitor.
The ovomucoid third domain from silver pheasant (OMSVP3), a typical Kazal-type inhibitor, strongly inhibits different serine proteases of various specificities, i.e., chymotrypsin, Streptomyces griseus protease, subtilisin, and elastase. Structural studies have suggested that conformational flexibility in the reactive site loop of the free inhibitor may be related to broad specificity of the ovomucoid. On the basis of the structural homology between OMSVP3 and ascidian trypsin inhibitor (ATI), which has a cystine-stabilized alpha-helical (CSH) motif in the sequence, we prepared the disulfide variant of OMSVP3, introducing an engineered disulfide bond between positions 14 and 39 near the reactive site (Met18-Glu19) by site-directed mutagenesis. The disulfide variant P14C/N39C retained potent inhibitory activities toward alpha-chymotrypsin (CHT) and S. griseus proteases A and B (SGPA and SGPB), while this variant lost most of its inhibitory activity toward porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE). We determined the solution structure of P14C/N39C, as well as that of wild-type OMSVP3, by two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (2D NMR) methods and compared their structures to elucidate the structural basis of the inhibitory specificity change. For the molecular core consisting of a central alpha-helix and a three-stranded antiparallel beta-sheet, essentially no structural difference was detected between the two (pairwise rmsd value = 0.41 A). In contrast to this, a significant difference was detected in the loop from Cys8 to Thr17, where in P14C/N39C it has drawn approximately 4 A nearer the central helix to form the engineered Cys14-Cys39 bond. Concomitantly, the Tyr11-Pro12 cis-peptide linkage, which is highly conserved in ovomucoid third domains, was isomerized to the trans configuration. Such structural change in the loop near the reactive site may possibly affect the inhibitory specificity of P14C/N39C for the corresponding proteases.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.