All-Electron Calculations of the Nucleation Structures in Metal-Induced Zinc-Finger Folding:  Role of the Peptide Backbone

2007 ◽  
Vol 129 (41) ◽  
pp. 12497-12504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todor Dudev ◽  
Carmay Lim
Keyword(s):  
Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1092
Author(s):  
János András Mótyán ◽  
Márió Miczi ◽  
Stephen Oroszlan ◽  
József Tőzsér

To explore the sequence context-dependent nature of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) protease’s specificity and to provide a rationale for viral mutagenesis to study the potential role of the nucleocapsid (NC) processing in HIV-1 replication, synthetic oligopeptide substrates representing the wild-type and modified versions of the proximal cleavage site of HIV-1 NC were assayed as substrates of the HIV-1 protease (PR). The S1′ substrate binding site of HIV-1 PR was studied by an in vitro assay using KIVKCF↓NCGK decapeptides having amino acid substitutions of N17 residue of the cleavage site of the first zinc-finger domain, and in silico calculations were also performed to investigate amino acid preferences of S1′ site. Second site substitutions have also been designed to produce “revertant” substrates and convert a non-hydrolysable sequence (having glycine in place of N17) to a substrate. The specificity constants obtained for peptides containing non-charged P1′ substitutions correlated well with the residue volume, while the correlation with the calculated interaction energies showed the importance of hydrophobicity: interaction energies with polar residues were related to substantially lower specificity constants. Cleavable “revertants” showed one residue shift of cleavage position due to an alternative productive binding mode, and surprisingly, a double cleavage of a substrate was also observed. The results revealed the importance of alternative binding possibilities of substrates into the HIV-1 PR. The introduction of the “revertant” mutations into infectious virus clones may provide further insights into the potential role of NC processing in the early phase of the viral life-cycle.


Genetics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 155 (4) ◽  
pp. 1831-1839
Author(s):  
Emily Harms ◽  
Tehyen Chu ◽  
Gwénola Henrion ◽  
Sidney Strickland

Abstract The grauzone and cortex genes are required for the completion of meiosis in Drosophila oocytes. The grauzone gene encodes a C2H2-type zinc-finger transcription factor that binds to the cortex promoter and is necessary for high-level activation of cortex transcription. Here we define the region of the cortex promoter to which Grauzone binds and show that the binding occurs through the C-terminal, zinc-finger-rich region of the protein. Mutations in two out of the five grauzone alleles result in single amino acid changes within different zinc-finger motifs. Both of these mutations result in the inability of Grauzone to bind DNA effectively. To determine the mechanism by which Grauzone regulates meiosis, transgenic flies were produced with an extra copy of the cortex gene in homozygous grauzone females. This transgene rescued the meiosis arrest of embryos from these mutants and allowed their complete development, indicating that activation of cortex transcription is the primary role of Grauzone during Drosophila oogenesis. These experiments further define a new transcriptional pathway that controls the meiotic cell cycle in Drosophila oocytes.


1991 ◽  
Vol 266 (28) ◽  
pp. 18460-18468
Author(s):  
A.R. Dentino ◽  
P.A. Raj ◽  
K.K. Bhandary ◽  
M.E. Wilson ◽  
M.J. Levine

Blood ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 126 (24) ◽  
pp. 2561-2569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tarik Möröy ◽  
Lothar Vassen ◽  
Brian Wilkes ◽  
Cyrus Khandanpour

AbstractThe DNA-binding zinc finger transcription factors Gfi1 and Gfi1b were discovered more than 20 years ago and are recognized today as major regulators of both early hematopoiesis and hematopoietic stem cells. Both proteins function as transcriptional repressors by recruiting histone-modifying enzymes to promoters and enhancers of target genes. The establishment of Gfi1 and Gfi1b reporter mice made it possible to visualize their cell type–specific expression and to understand their function in hematopoietic lineages. We now know that Gfi1 is primarily important in myeloid and lymphoid differentiation, whereas Gfi1b is crucial for the generation of red blood cells and platelets. Several rare hematologic diseases are associated with acquired or inheritable mutations in the GFI1 and GFI1B genes. Certain patients with severe congenital neutropenia carry mutations in the GFI1 gene that lead to the disruption of the C-terminal zinc finger domains. Other mutations have been found in the GFI1B gene in families with inherited bleeding disorders. In addition, the Gfi1 locus is frequently found to be a proviral integration site in retrovirus-induced lymphomagenesis, and new, emerging data suggest a role of Gfi1 in human leukemia and lymphoma, underlining the role of both factors not only in normal hematopoiesis, but also in a wide spectrum of human blood diseases.


2013 ◽  
Vol 185 (2) ◽  
pp. 717-725 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Liu ◽  
Dianming Jiang ◽  
Yunsheng Ou ◽  
Zhenming Hu ◽  
Jianxin Jiang ◽  
...  

Development ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 113 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 59-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Angela Nieto ◽  
Leila C. Bradley ◽  
David G. Wilkinson

The zinc-finger gene Krox-20 is expressed in two alternating segments, rhombomeres (r) 3 and 5, in the developing mouse hindbrain. This expression pattern is established prior to rhombomere formation in the mouse, but it is not known how the timing of expression relates to cellular events of segmentation, such as lineage restriction. We have cloned Krox-20 sequences from Xenopus and the chick and shown that its alternating expression pattern is conserved in these systems, suggesting that its role in hindbrain development is conserved. Analysis of the early stages of Krox-20 expression in the chick show that both domains of expression precede the restriction of cell lineage to specific rhombomeres, consistent with a role of this gene in early events of hindbrain segmentation. The finding that expression is not coincident with lineage restriction indicates that early expression may not reflect an irreversible commitment of cells to r3 and r5 and/or may be mosaic.


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