Crystal structures of the CBS and DRTGG domains of the regulatory region of Clostridiumperfringens pyrophosphatase complexed with the inhibitor, AMP, and activator, diadenosine tetraphosphate.

Nucleotide-binding cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) domains serve as regulatory units in numerous proteins distributed in all kingdoms of life. However, the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain to be established. Recently, we described a subfamily of CBS domain-containing pyrophosphatases (PPases) within family II PPases. Here, we express a novel CBS-PPase from Clostridium perfringens (CPE2055) and show that the enzyme is inhibited by AMP and activated by a novel effector, diadenosine 5',5-P1,P4-tetraphosphate (AP(4)A). The structures of the AMP and AP(4)A complexes of the regulatory region of C. perfringens PPase (cpCBS), comprising a pair of CBS domains interlinked by a DRTGG domain, were determined at 2.3 A resolution using X-ray crystallography. The structures obtained are the first structures of a DRTGG domain as part of a larger protein structure. The AMP complex contains two AMP molecules per cpCBS dimer, each bound to a single monomer, whereas in the activator-bound complex, one AP(4)A molecule bridges two monomers. In the nucleotide-bound structures, activator binding induces significant opening of the CBS domain interface, compared with the inhibitor complex. These results provide structural insight into the mechanism of CBS-PPase regulation by nucleotides.

Cross-Linking study of cytochrome P450 1A2 in proteoliposomes.

Proteoliposomes, containing cytochrome P450 1A2, were obtained by the cholate-dialysis technique. The effect of bifunctional cross-linking reagents on the purified hexameric cytochrome P450 1A2 in an aqueous medium and on the proteoliposomal P450 1A2 have been compared. Electrophoretic analysis of the modified proteins demonstrated the same oligomeric (hexameric) organization of the hemoprotein in each case.

Reciprocal effects of substitutions at the subunit interfaces in hexameric pyrophosphatase of Escherichia coli. Dimeric and monomeric forms of the enzyme.

A homohexameric molecule of Escherichia coli pyrophosphatase is arranged as a dimer of trimers, with an active site present in each of its six monomers. Earlier we reported that substitution of His(136) and His(140) in the intertrimeric subunit interface splits the molecule into active trimers (Velichko, I. S., Mikalahti, K., Kasho, V. N., Dudarenkov, V. Y., Hyytiä, T., Goldman, A., Cooperman, B. S., Lahti, R., and Baykov, A. A. (1998) Biochemistry 37, 734-740). Here we demonstrate that additional substitutions of Tyr(77) and Gln(80) in the intratrimeric interface give rise to moderately active dimers or virtually inactive monomers, depending on pH, temperature, and Mg(2+) concentration. Successive dissociation of the hexamer into trimers, dimers, and monomers progressively decreases the catalytic efficiency (by 10(6)-fold in total), and conversion of a trimer into dimer decreases the affinity of one of the essential Mg(2+)-binding sites/monomer. Disruptive substitutions predominantly in the intratrimeric interface stabilize the intertrimeric interface and vice versa, suggesting that the optimal intratrimeric interaction is not compatible with the optimal intertrimeric interaction. Because of the resulting "conformational strain," hexameric wild-type structure appears to be preformed to bind substrate. A hexameric triple variant substituted at Tyr(77), Gln(80), and His(136) exhibits positive cooperativity in catalysis, consistent with this model.

Directed mutagenesis studies of the metal binding site at the subunit interface of Escherichia coli inorganic pyrophosphatase.

Recent crystallographic studies on Escherichia coli inorganic pyrophosphatase (E-PPase) have identified three Mg2+ ions/enzyme hexamer in water-filled cavities formed by Asn24, Ala25, and Asp26 at the trimer-trimer interface (Kankare, J., Salminen, T., Lahti, R., Cooperman, B., Baykov, A. A., and Goldman, A. (1996) Biochemistry 35, 4670-4677). Here we show that D26S and D26N substitutions decrease the stoichiometry of tight Mg2+ binding to E-PPase by approximately 0.5 mol/mol monomer and increase hexamer stability in acidic medium. Mg2+ markedly decelerates the dissociation of enzyme hexamer into trimers at pH 5.0 and accelerates hexamer formation from trimers at pH 7.2 with wild type E-PPase and the N24D variant, in contrast to the D26S and D26N variants, when little or no effect is seen. The catalytic parameters describing the dependences of enzyme activity on substrate and Mg2+ concentrations are of the same magnitude for wild type E-PPase and the three variants. The affinity of the intertrimer site for Mg2+ at pH 7.2 is intermediate between those of two Mg2+ binding sites found in the E-PPase active site. It is concluded that the metal ion binding site found at the trimer-trimer interface of E-PPase is a high affinity site whose occupancy by Mg2+ greatly stabilizes the enzyme hexamer but has little effect on catalysis.

[Certain features of monoclonal rheumatoid immunoglobulin M fragmentation by "hot" trypsin]. / Nekotorye osobennosti fragmentatsii monklonal'nogo revmatoidnogo immunoglobulina M "goriachim" tripsinom.

Using analytical ultracentrifugation and affinity chromatography, it has been shown that "hot" trypsin (hydrolysis at 58-60 degrees C) releases two types of fragments from the monoclonal (Waldenstrom disease) immunoglobulin M possessing a rheumatoid activity (IgM-RF). The first fragment corresponds to a normal Fab-fragment as can be judged from its molecular weight. The other fragment designated as a (Fc)*5-fragment has a much higher molecular weight as compared with typical (Fc)*5-fragment released from non-rheumatoid IgM. According to calculations, the (Fc)*5-fragment retains two uncleaved Fab-regions and displays a rheumatoid activity. The Fab-fragments pool cleaved from IgM-RF consists of non-rheumatoid and rheumatoid components at an approximate ratio of 3:1. It seems, therefore, likely, that ten Fab-regions of IgM-RF are nonidentical with regard to their functional and structural properties. Most of those do not possess a rheumatoid activity and are more readily cleaved from IgM-RF by "hot" trypsin in comparison with rheumatoid active fragments.

Synthesis and physicochemical properties of protein conjugates with water-soluble poly(alkylene oxides).

Conjugates of proteins (bovine serum albumin (BSA) and alpha-chymotrypsin (CHT) with poly(ethylene glycol) and amphiphilic block copolymers of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide (proxanols) were synthesized, using monoaldehyde polymer derivatives as the amino group modifying reagents. Four types of conjugates varying in the placement of hydrophobic block and type of polymer chain distribution were obtained. Methods of purification and characterization of proteins conjugated with proxanols were developed. It was shown that conjugates based on CHT retain high enzymatic activity toward both substrates investigated--N-benzoyl-L-tyrosine and casein-up to high degrees of modification (11 polymer chains per protein molecule). At the same time, CHT--proxanol conjugates were characterized by higher thermostability, the stabilizing effect increasing in parallel with the degree of modification. It was shown that the alteration of sedimentation coefficients of proteins caused by modification was negligible. On the basis of data obtained by the methods of hydrophobic chromatography, sedimentation, and differential scanning calorimetry, conformational models of protein-proxanol conjugates were suggested. It was supposed that conjugates form compact structures in aqueous solutions, which resemble intramolecular micelles, stabilized by hydrophobic interactions between poly(propylene oxide) blocks of proxanols.

[The effect of modifying the lysine-83 residue on the thermal stability of myosin subfragment 1 and changes in it caused by nucleotide binding]. / Vliianie modifikatsii ostatka lizina-83 na termostabil'nost' subfragmenta 1 miozina i ee izmeneniia, vyzvaemye sviazyvaniem nukleotidov.

The effects of trinitrophenylation of lysyl residues of rabbit skeletal myosin subfragment 1 (S1) on thermal denaturation of S1 in the absence of nucleotides, in the presence of ADP and within S1 complexes with ADP and Pi analogues, orthovanadate (Vi) or beryllium fluoride (BeFx), have been studied by differential scanning calorimetry. It has been shown that lysyl trinitrophenylation significantly affects the thermal stability of S1, changes its domain structure, promotes the decomposition of S1.ADP.Vi and S1.ADP.BeFx complexes, and strongly prevents the structural changes in the S1 molecule induced by the formation of the S1.ADP.Vi complex without any effect on the thermal stability of S1 within S1.ADP and S1.ADP.BeFx complexes. It has been demonstrated that the effects of trinitrophenylation on the S1 structure are mainly due to specific modification of the epsilon-amino group of the Lys-83 residue.

Cold lability of the mutant forms of Escherichia coli inorganic pyrophosphatase.

The variants of Escherichia coli pyrophosphatase carrying the substitutions Glu20-->Asp, His136-->Gln or His140-->Gln are inactivated, in contrast to the wild-type enzyme, at temperatures below 25 degrees C: their activity measured at 25 degrees C decreases with decreasing the temperature of the stock enzyme solution. The inactivation is completely reversible and is explained by cold-induced dissociation of these hexameric enzymes into less active trimers.

[Dissociation of hexamers of cytochrome P-450 LM2 in the presence of the non-ionic detergent emulgin 913]. / Dissotsiatsiia geksamerov tsitokhroma P-450 LM2 v prisutstvii neionnogo detergenta émul'gena 913.

It was shown that the maximal degree of dissociation of cytochrome P-450 LM2 hexamers in the presence of the nonionic detergent Emulgene 913 (20 degrees C) is observed at the detergent concentration of about 0.2%. Using equilibrium centrifugation in solutions of different density, the molecular mass of the dissociation product minus that of the bound detergent was found to be equal to 50 +/- 8 kDa, thus corresponding to the molecular mass of the monomer. One cytochrome P-450 LM 2 molecule binds 80 +/- 20 molecules of Emulgene 913.

The quaternary structure of bovine brain kinesin.

In the present work we have studied the subunit composition of kinesin, the microtubule-activated, mechanochemical ATPase, isolated from bovine brain. Polypeptides with mol. wts of 120 and 62 kd are the major components of the kinesin preparation. These polypeptides could not be separated by electrophoresis under nondenaturing conditions or by FPLC on a MonoQ column, and are therefore assumed to form a tight complex. As shown by immunoblotting with polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies to the 120-kd polypeptide and by one-dimensional peptide mapping, the 62-kd polypeptide does not appear to be a proteolytic product of the 120-kd component. Densitometric scanning of polyacrylamide-SDS gels shows that these polypeptides are present in a complex in a 1:1 molar ratio. The mol. wt of native kinesin was studied by sedimentation equilibrium and was found to be 386 +/- 14 kd. A comparison of the mol. wts of individual polypeptides with the mol. wt of the intact molecule indicates that the native molecule contains two 120-kd subunits and two 62-kd subunits.

[Determination of the partial specific volume of cytochrome P450 LM2]. / Opredelenie partsial'nogo udel'nogo ob''ema tsitokhroma P450 LM2.

The partial specific volume (v) of highly purified membrane protein cytochrome P450 LM2 monooxygenase from rabbit liver endoplasmatic reticulum has been estimated by various independent methods. The values of v obtained through our experiments are practically equal to the value calculated from the amino acid composition of the protein (0.75 cm3/g).

[Isolation, purification and physicochemical properties of glutamin-asparaginase from Pseudomonas boreopolis 526]. / Vydelenie, ochistka i nekotorye fiziko-khimicheskie svoistva glutaminasparaginazy iz Pseudomonas boreopolis 526.

A new homogeneous enzyme which is capable of catalyzing the hydrolysis of both glutamine and asparaginase has been purified from extracts of Pseudomonas boreopolis 526 by the improved method. Purification involves few stages. The ratio of glutaminase to asparaginase activity is approximately 1.5:1.0. The enzyme is stable on storage and has a wide pH optimum of action (6-8.5). The molecular weight is about 134 000-145 000 D and the subunit molecular weight is about 34 000 D. No free SH-groups have been detected in the enzyme molecule.

[Autocalibration method of sedimentation equilibrium for determining the molecular weight of proteins. Ideal solutions]. / Avtokalibrovochnyi metod sedimentatsionnogo ravnovesiia dlia opredeleniia molekuliarnogo vesa belkov. Ideal'nye rastvory.

The theory underlying the autocalibration method of sedimentation equilibrium for ideal solutions and its experimental verification for isolated proteins and a mixture of two proteins are described. The method is based on simultaneous calculation of an invisible base level yg which is to be known for calibration of sedimentation equilibrium patterns and parameter q = M (1--upsilon rho) omega 2/RT. It is shown that owing to this "autocalibration" the accuracy of molecular weight measurements increases to about 1% for homogeneous proteins and to 3--4% for mixtures of two proteins. Thus there is no need either in "meniscus depletion" as in the case of a "high speed" equilibrium method, or in determination of C0 and solute preservation in the cell ("low speed" method). The speed may be so low that the optical distortions would be minimized, the initial concentration may be varied over a wide range from approximately 0.1 mg/ml and higher (with interference optics). The autocalibration method allows one to repeat the calculations on intervals truncated from the bottom and from the meniscus, which ensures a good estimation of the homogeneity of the solution.

[Molecular weight and tertiary structure of transketolase from baker's yeast]. / Molekuliariyi ves i chetvertichnaia struktura transketolazy Drozhzhei.

Molecular weight of native apotransketolase from baker's yeast is found to be 159000 +/- 6000 by means of sedimentation equilibrium and sedimentation-diffusion rate. The enzyme in a relatively low concentration reversibly dissociates into two subunits with molecular weight of about 80 000 at pH 7.6 and 20 degrees C. The equilibrium constant of the reaction monomer-dimer is 4.4 . 10(3) M-1. A decrease of the temperature stimulates the association of monomers into dimer, while the shift of pH 7.6 into acid or alkaline region stimulates the dissociation process. Dissociation becames irreversible at pH less than 5 and greater than 10.5.