Modular construction of extended DNA recognition surfaces: mutant DNA-binding domains of the 434 repressor as building blocks.

Single-chain derivatives of the 434 repressor containing one wild-type and one mutant DNA-binding domain recognize the general operator ACAA-6 base pairs-NNNN, where the ACAA operator subsite is contacted by the wild-type and the NNNN tetramer by the mutant domain. The DNA-binding specificities of several single-chain mutants were studied in detail and the optimal subsites of the mutant domains were determined. The characterized mutant domains were used as building units to obtain homo- and heterodimeric single-chain derivatives. The DNA-binding properties of these domain-shuffled derivatives were tested with a series of designed operators of NNNN-6 base pairs-NNNN type. It was found that the binding specificities of the mutant domains were generally maintained in the new environments and the binding affinities for the optimal DNA ligands were high (with K(d) values in the range of 10(-11)-10(-10) M). Considering that only certain sequence motifs in place of the six base pair spacer can support optimal contacts between the mutant domains and their subsites, the single-chain 434 repressor mutants are highly specific for a limited subset of 14 base pair long DNA targets.

Proteins of circularly permuted sequence present within the same organism: the major serine proteinase inhibitor from Capsicum annuum seeds.

The major serine proteinase inhibitor from bell pepper (Capsicum annuum, paprika) seeds was isolated, characterized, and sequenced, and its disulfide bond topology was determined. PSI-1.2 is a 52-amino-acid-long, cysteine-rich polypeptide that inhibits both trypsin (K(i) = 4.6 x 10(-9) M) and chymotrypsin (K(i) = 1.1 x 10(-8) M) and is a circularly permuted member of the potato type II inhibitor family. Mature proteins of this family are produced from precursor proteins containing two to eight repeat units that are proteolytically cleaved within, rather than between, the repeats. In contrast, PSI-1.2 corresponds to a complete repeat that was predicted as the putative ancestral protein of the potato type II family. To our knowledge, this is the first case in which two proteins related to each other by circular permutation are shown to exist in the same organism and are expressed within the same organ. PSI-1.2 is not derived from any of the known precursors, and it contains a unique amphiphilic segment in one of its loops. A systematic comparison of the related precursor repeat-sequences reveals common evolutionary patterns that are in agreement with the ancestral gene-duplication hypothesis.

Covalent joining of the subunits of a homodimeric type II restriction endonuclease: single-chain PvuII endonuclease.

The PvuII restriction endonuclease has been converted from its natural homodimeric form into a single polypeptide chain by tandemly linking the two subunits through a short peptide linker. The arrangement of the single-chain PvuII (sc PvuII) is (2-157)-GlySerGlyGly-(2-157), where (2-157) represents the amino acid residues of the enzyme subunit and GlySerGlyGly is the peptide linker. By introducing the corresponding tandem gene into Escherichia coli, PvuII endonuclease activity could be detected in functional in vivo assays. The sc enzyme was expressed at high level as a soluble protein. The purified enzyme was shown to have the molecular mass expected for the designed sc protein. Based on the DNA cleavage patterns obtained with different substrates, the cleavage specificity of the sc PvuII is indistinguishable from that of the wild-type (wt) enzyme. The sc enzyme binds specifically to the cognate DNA site under non-catalytic conditions, in the presence of Ca2+, with the expected 1:1 stoichiometry. Under standard catalytic conditions, the sc enzyme cleaves simultaneously the two DNA strands in a concerted manner. Steady-state kinetic parameters of DNA cleavage by the sc and wt PvuII showed that the sc enzyme is a potent, but somewhat less efficient catalyst; the k(cat)/K(M) values are 1.11 x 10(9) and 3.50 x 10(9) min(-1) M(-1) for the sc and wt enzyme, respectively. The activity decrease is due to the lower turnover number and to the lower substrate affinity. The sc arrangement provides a facile route to obtain asymmetrically modified heterodimeric enzymes.

Selection and design of high affinity DNA ligands for mutant single-chain derivatives of the bacteriophage 434 repressor.

Single-chain repressor RR(Tres) is a derivative of bacteriophage 434 repressor, which contains covalently dimerized DNA-binding domains (amino acids 1-69) of the phage 434 repressor. In this single-chain molecule, the wild type domain R is connected to the mutant domain R(TRES) by a recombinant linker in a head-to-tail arrangement. The DNA-contacting amino acids of R(TRES) at the -1, 1, 2, and 5 positions of the a3 helix are T, R, E, S respectively. By using a randomized DNA pool containing the central sequence -CATACAAGAAAGNNNNNNTTT-, a cyclic,in vitro DNA-binding site selection was performed. The selected population was cloned and the individual members were characterized by determining their binding affinities to RR(Tres) The results showed that the optimal operators contained the TTAC or TTCC sequences in the underlined positions as above, and that the Kd values were in the 1 x 10(-12) mol/L-1 x 10(11) mol/L concentration range. Since the affinity of the natural 434 repressor to its natural operator sites is in the 1 x 10(-9) mol/L range, the observed binding affinity increase is remarkable. It was also found that binding affinity was strongly affected by the flanking bases of the optimal tetramer binding sites, especially by the base at the 5' position. We constructed a new homodimeric single-chain repressor R(TRES)R(TRES) and its DNA-binding specificity was tested by using a series of new operators designed according to the recognition properties previously determined for the R(TREs) domain. These operators containing the consensus sequenceGTAAGAAARNTTACN orGGAAGAAARNTTCCN (R is A or G) were recognized by R(TRES)R(TRES) specifically, and with high binding affinity. Thus, by using a combination of random selection and rational design principles, we have discovered novel, high affinity protein-DNA interactions with new specificity. This method can potentially be used to obtain new binding specificity for other DNA-binding proteins.

A thermodynamic study of the 434-repressor N-terminal domain and of its covalently linked dimers.

The isolated N-terminal 1-69 domain of the 434-phage repressor, R69, and its covalently linked (head-to-tail and tail-to-tail) dimers have been studied by differential scanning microcalorimetry (DSC) and CD. At neutral solvent conditions the R69 domain maintains its native structure, both in isolated form and within the dimers. The stability of the domain depends highly upon pH within the acidic range, thus at pH 2 and low ionic strength R69 is already partially unfolded at room temperature. The thermodynamic parameters of unfolding calculated from the DSC data are typical for small globular proteins. At neutral pH and moderate ionic strength, the domains of the dimers behave as two independent units with unfolding parameters similar to those of the isolated domain, which means that linking two R69 domains, either by a long peptide linker or by a designed C-terminal disulfide bridge, does not induce any cooperation between them.

Isolation of altered specificity mutants of the single-chain 434 repressor that recognize asymmetric DNA sequences containing the TTAA and TTAC subsites.

A novel single-chain (sc) protein framework containing covalently dimerized DNA-binding domains (DBD) of the phage 434 repressor was used to construct combinatorial mutant libraries in order to isolate mutant DBDs with altered specificities. The library members contain one wild-type DBD and one mutant domain with randomized amino acids in the DNA-contacting region. Based on previous studies, the mutant sc derivatives are expected to recognize a general ACAA-6 bp-NNNN sequence, where ACAA is contacted by the wild-type and NNNN by the mutant domain. In principle, any sequence can stand for NNNN and serve as a selection target. Here an in vivo library screening method was used to isolate mutant sc repressors that interact with an asymmetric operator containing the TTAA target. Several mutants showed high affinity in vitro binding to operators containing the target and strong (up to 80-fold) preference for the TTAA target over the wild-type TTGT. Specificity studies revealed that certain mutants bound with substantially higher affinities (K(d) approximately 10(-11)M) to operators containing the TTAC sequence, a close homolog of the TTAA target. Thus, we have fortuitously isolated mutant sc repressors that show up to a several hundred-fold preference for TTAC over TTGT.

Single-chain 434 repressors with altered DNA-binding specificities. Isolation of mutant single-chain repressors by phenotypic screening of combinatorial mutant libraries.

Combinatorial mutant libraries of the single-chain 434 repressor were used to discover novel DNA-binding specificities. Members of the library contain one wild type domain and one mutant domain which are connected by a recombinant peptide linker. The mutant domain contains randomized amino acids in place of the DNA-contacting residues. The single-chain derivatives are expected to recognize artificial operators containing the DNA sequence of ACAA--6 base-pairs--NNNN, where ACAA is bound by the wild-type and NNNN by the mutant domain. An in vivo library screening method was used to isolate mutant DNA-binding domains which recognize the TTAA site of an asymmetric operator. Several mutants showed high affinity binding to the selection target and also strong (up to 80 fold) preference for TTAA over the wild type TTGT sequence. Some of the isolated mutants bound with very high affinities (10-50 pM) to operators containing the TTAC sequence, a close homologue of the TTAA selection target.

A somatostatin analogue induces translocation of Ku 86 autoantigen from the cytosol to the nucleus in colon tumour cells.

Flow cytometric and electron microscopic immunocytochemical studies have been performed in HT-29 human colon tumour cells in vitro, to determine and localise p86 Ku protein, which is a regulatory subunit of DNA-dependent kinase and a specific binding site for somatostatin. We have demonstrated that HT-29 cells contain p86 Ku and that the distribution between the cytoplasm and the nucleus is even. After administration of the somatostatin analogues Sandostatin and TT-232 to HT-29 cells, the p86 Ku content of the cytoplasmic compartment decreased in the first 4 h. An increase in the content of this protein in the nuclear compartment was observed at hour 1 followed by a decrease at hour 4 after treatment. Quantitative differences between the two analogues have been observed in this respect. The practical significance of these findings is discussed.

Functional properties of the separate subunits of human DNA helicase II/Ku autoantigen.

The Ku antigen consists of two subunits of 70 and 83 kDa and is endowed with both duplex DNA end-binding capacity and helicase activity (human DNA helicase II). HeLa Ku can be isolated from in vitro cultured human cells uniquely as a heterodimer, and the subunits can be separated by electrophoresis only under denaturing conditions. To dissect the molecular functions of the two subunits of the heterodimer, we have cloned and expressed their cDNAs separately in Escherichia coli. The two activities of Ku (DNA binding and unwinding) were reconstituted by mixing and refolding both subunits in equimolar amounts (Tuteja, N., Tuteja, R., Ochem, A., Taneja, P., Huang, N-W., Simoncsits, A., Susic, S., Rahman, K., Marusic, L., Chen, J., Zang, J., Wang, S., Pongor, S., and Falaschi, A. (1994) EMBO J. 13, 4991-5001). Renaturation of the separate subunits can be achieved in the presence of a synthetic solubilizing and stabilizing agent, dimethyl ethylammonium propane sulfonate (NDSB 195). The helicase activity of the Ku protein resides uniquely in the 70-kDa subunit, whereas the DNA end-binding activity can be reconstituted only through renaturation of the two subunits in the heterodimeric form and is practically absent in the separate subunits. The 83-kDa subunit, when refolded in the absence of the 70-kDa subunit, forms homodimers unable to unwind DNA and bind duplex ends. The three separate species (heterodimer, 70-kDa subunit, and 83-kDa subunit homodimer) all have ssDNA-dependent ATPase activity.

Recognition of DNA by single-chain derivatives of the phage 434 repressor: high affinity binding depends on both the contacted and non-contacted base pairs.

Single-chain derivatives of the phage 434 repressor, termed single-chain repressors, contain covalently dimerized DNA-binding domains (DBD) which are connected with a peptide linker in a head-to-tail arrangement. The prototype RR69 contains two wild-type DBDs, while RR*69 contains a wild-type and an engineered DBD. In this latter domain, the DNA- contacting amino acids of thealpha3 helix of the 434 repressor are replaced by the corresponding residues of the related P22 repressor. We have used binding site selection, targeted mutagenesis and binding affinity studies to define the optimum DNA recognition sequence for these single-chain proteins. It is shown that RR69 recognizes DNA sequences containing the consensus boxes of the 434 operators in a palindromic arrangement, and that RR*69 optimally binds to non-palindromic sequences containing a 434 operator box and a TTAA box of which the latter is present in most P22 operators. The spacing of these boxes, as in the 434 operators, is 6 bp. The DNA-binding of both single-chain repressors, similar to that of the 434 repressor, is influenced indirectly by the sequence of the non-contacted, spacer region. Thus, high affinity binding is dependent on both direct and indirect recognition. Nonetheless, the single-chain framework can accommodate certain substitutions to obtain altered DNA-binding specificity and RR*69 represents an example for the combination of altered direct and unchanged indirect readout mechanisms.

Single-chain repressors containing engineered DNA-binding domains of the phage 434 repressor recognize symmetric or asymmetric DNA operators.

Single-chain (sc) DNA-binding proteins containing covalently dimerized N-terminal domains of the bacteriophage 434 repressor cI have been constructed. The DNA-binding domains (amino acid residues 1 to 69) were connected in a head-to-tail arrangement with a part of the natural linker sequence that connects the N and C-terminal domains of the intact repressor. Compared to the isolated N-terminal DNA-binding domain, the sc molecule showed at least 100-fold higher binding affinity in vitro and a slightly stronger repression in vivo. The recognition of the symmetric O(R)1 operator sequence by this sc homodimer was indistinguishable from that of the naturally dimerized repressor in terms of binding affinity, DNase I protection pattern and in vivo repressor function. Using the new, sc framework, mutant proteins with altered DNA-binding specificity have also been constructed. Substitution of the DNA-contacting amino acid residues of the recognition helix in one of the domains with the corresponding residues of the Salmonella phage P22 repressor c2 resulted in a sc heterodimer of altered specificity. This new heterodimeric molecule recognized an asymmetric, artificial 434-P22 chimeric operator with high affinity. Similar substitutions in both 434 domains have led to a new sc homodimer which showed high affinity binding to a natural, symmetric P22 operator. These findings, supported by both in vitro and in vivo experiments, show that the sc architecture allows for the introduction of independent changes in the binding domains and suggest that this new protein framework could be used to generate new specificities in protein-DNA interaction.

Distribution of bending propensity in DNA sequences.

Local bending propensity and curvature of DNA can be characterized using a vector description of DNA bendability, based on a set of parameters derived from deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I) cleavage experiments. Two characteristics-arithmetic and vector averages of bendability-were successfully used to predict experimentally known bendable, rigid and curved segments in DNA. A characteristic distribution of bendability is conserved in evolutionarily related kinetoplast sequences. An analysis of the M. genitalium and H. influenzae genomes as well as fragments of human and yeast genomes shows, on the other hand, that highly curved segments--similar to artificially designed curved oligonucleotides--are extremely rare in natural DNA.

The type I interleukin-1 receptor mediates fever in the rat as shown by interleukin-1 receptor subtype selective ligands.

The interleukin-1 (IL-1) system possesses two distinct receptors (type I and type II) which, together with the accessory protein, mediate a multitude of responses to IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta, including fever. So far, no receptor subtype-specific ligands have been described. Since both types of IL-1 receptors occur in the thermoregulatory areas it was unclear which IL-1 receptor type mediates fever. We report here that for a series of deletion mutants of human recombinant IL-1 beta (hrIL-1 beta), the affinity of these ligands for the type I IL-1 receptor correlates with their efficacy to evoke the fever response (hrIL-1 beta > des-SND52-54 > des-QGE48-50 > des-I56). Thus, the results suggest that agonist occupancy of the type I IL-1 receptor is essential for IL-1 beta-mediated fever.

Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein and mRNA in the rat adrenal gland.

The occurrence of the endogenous receptor antagonist for the cytokine interleukin-1 in the rat adrenal gland was analyzed y polymerase chain reaction and by immunohistochemistry using a rabbit polyclonal antiserum. Expression of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist mRNA was demonstrated in both adrenal medulla and cortex, and a marked increase in the transcription was observed after systemic administration of lipopolysaccharides. Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist immunoreactivity was seen in the adrenal medulla, and the immunofluorescence intensity was stronger in the adrenergic, phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase-positive cells than in the noradrenergic chromaffin cells. The distribution of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein is complementary to that of interleukin-1 alpha-like immunoreactivity found in phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase-negative cells and overlaps with and resembles the distribution of interleukin-1 beta-immunoreactive material. The expression of the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist in the adrenal gland complements previous findings of large constitutive pools of interleukin-1 alpha and interleukin-1 beta in this neuroendocrine organ and also suggests participation of adrenal interleukin-1 receptor antagonist in neuroimmune modulation.

Rationally designed helix-turn-helix proteins and their conformational changes upon DNA binding.

Circular dichroism and electrophoretic mobility shift studies were performed to confirm that dimerized N-terminal domains of bacterial repressors containing helix-turn-helix motifs are capable of high-affinity and specific DNA recognition as opposed to the monomeric N-terminal domains. Specific, high-affinity DNA binding proteins were designed and produced in which two copies of the N-terminal 1-62 domain of the bacteriophage 434 repressor are connected either in a dyad-symmetric fashion, with a synthetic linker attached to the C-termini, or as direct sequence repeats. Both molecules bound to their presumptive cognate nearly as tightly as does the natural (full-length and non-covalently dimerized) 434 repressor, showing that covalent dimerization can be used to greatly enhance the binding activity of individual protein segments. Circular dichroism spectroscopy showed a pronounced increase in the alpha-helix content when these new proteins interacted with their cognate DNA and a similar, although 30% lower, increase was also seen upon their interaction with non-cognate DNA. These results imply that a gradual conformational change may occur when helix-turn-helix motifs bind to DNA, and that a scanning mechanism is just as plausible for this motif class as that which is proposed for the more flexible basic-leucine zipper and basic-helix-loop-helix motifs.

Human DNA helicase II: a novel DNA unwinding enzyme identified as the Ku autoantigen.

Human DNA helicase II (HDH II) is a novel ATP-dependent DNA unwinding enzyme, purified to apparent homogeneity from HeLa cells, which (i) unwinds exclusively DNA duplexes, (ii) prefers partially unwound substrates and (iii) proceeds in the 3' to 5' direction on the bound strand. HDH II is a heterodimer of 72 and 87 kDa polypeptides. It shows single-stranded DNA-dependent ATPase activity, as well as double-stranded DNA binding capacity. All these activities comigrate in gel filtration and glycerol gradients, giving a sedimentation coefficient of 7.4S and a Stokes radius of approximately 46 A, corresponding to a native molecular weight of 158 kDa. The antibodies raised in rabbit against either polypeptide can remove from the solution all the activities of HDH II. Photoaffinity labelling with [alpha-32P]ATP labelled both polypeptides. Microsequencing of the separate polypeptides of HDH II and cross-reaction with specific antibodies showed that this enzyme is identical to Ku, an autoantigen recognized by the sera of scleroderma and lupus erythematosus patients, which binds specifically to duplex DNA ends and is regulator of a DNA-dependent protein kinase. Recombinant HDH II/Ku protein expressed in and purified from Escherichia coli cells showed DNA binding and helicase activities indistinguishable from those of the isolated protein. The exclusively nuclear location of HDH II/Ku antigen, its highly specific affinity for double-stranded DNA, its abundance and its newly demonstrated ability to unwind exclusively DNA duplexes, point to an additional, if still unclear, role for this molecule in DNA metabolism.

Deletion mutants of human interleukin 1 beta with significantly reduced agonist properties: search for the agonist/antagonist switch in ligands to the interleukin 1 receptors.

The existence of an endogenous high affinity interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) suggests that this molecule lacks some structural motif(s) which are present in the closely homologous agonist interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta) and which serve as the 'agonist switch' causing signal transduction by the agonist-receptor complex. The primary sequence alignment of IL-1 beta and IL-1ra sequences from different species reveals a six amino acid long motif that is quasi conserved among IL-1 beta sequences, but is missing from the IL-1ra sequences. The three-dimensional structure of human IL-1 beta was used as a template for building structural models of deletion mutants (delta SND 52-54 and delta EESNDK 50-55) using molecular graphics. These models indicated that the middle three residues SND 52-54 from the EESNDK 50-55 loop may be deleted without causing major changes in the tertiary structure of the mutant as compared to that of IL-1 beta. Residues SND 52-54 from the above loop were deleted. When compared with IL-1 beta the IL-1 beta-delta SND analog (delta SND 52-54) binds with the same affinity to type 2 IL-1 receptor but with a more than 10-fold lower affinity to type 1 IL-1 receptor. Despite of this small decrease in affinity at the type 1 receptor the delta SND 52-54 has a 1000-fold lower biological activity than IL-1 beta when tested in a thymocyte activating factor assay.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Selection of human anti-hapten antibodies from semisynthetic libraries.

Semisynthetic human Fab libraries were constructed, displayed on the surface of filamentous phage and selected for binding to three hapten conjugates. A number of Fabs were isolated and characterized with respect to affinity and specificity. Fabs exhibited affinities of between 80 and 29 nM, as determined by surface plasmon resonance, for the conjugate on which they were selected. Conservation of Asp101 in the third heavy-chain complementarity determining region (HCDR3) appears to be important in the construction of synthetically diverse repertoires.

Binding studies with recombinant human serum albumin obtained by expression of a synthetic gene in yeast. Stereoselective binding and allosteric interaction with benzodiazepine and coumarin ligands.

The specific ligand binding ability of recombinant human serum albumin produced in yeast using the synthetic gene was studied by affinity chromatographic method. It was found that synthetic protein possesses those stereoselective binding and binding interactions for several chiral benzodiazepine and coumarin compounds which are characteristic of the natural human serum albumin, suggesting identical tertiary structures.