scholarly journals p-NN′-phenylenebismaleimide, a specific cross-linking agent for F-actin

1978 ◽  
Vol 175 (3) ◽  
pp. 1023-1032 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Knight ◽  
G Offer

Covalent cross-links can be inserted between the subunits of F-actin by using p-NN′-phenylenebismaleimide. Cross-linking reaches its maximum value when one molecule of reagent has reacted with each actin subunit. p-NN′-Phenylenebismaleimide reacts initially with a cysteine residue on one subunit, the slower cross-linking reaction involving a lysine residue on a neighbouring subunit. Hydrolysis of the actin-bound reagent limits the extent of cross-linking. Quantitative analysis of the amounts of cross-linked oligomers seen on polyacrylamide gels containing sodium dodecyl sulphate suggests that neither the binding of the reagent to actin nor the formation of cross-links introduces strain into the structure. The cross-links do not join together different F-actin filaments, and evidence is presented that suggests that the cross-links join subunits of the same long-pitched helix.

1972 ◽  
Vol 126 (3) ◽  
pp. 553-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. P. Griffith

The effect of reduction of intramolecular disulphide bridges on the mobility of proteins in 5% (w/v) polyacrylamide gels in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate was investigated. A series of polypeptide polymers, containing up to 68 intramolecular disulphide bridges, was prepared by cross-linking proteins of known structure with glutaraldehyde. These model polypeptides were denatured with heat, sodium dodecyl sulphate and urea, and their mobilities in sodium dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide gels compared before and after reduction with dithiothreitol. The mobilities of polypeptides containing no cystine were unaffected by reduction. However, reduction generally decreased the mobilities of polypeptides containing cystine; the extent of this decrease depended on the number of cystine residues originally present in the polypeptide polymer, and on the protein from which the latter was derived. In contrast with their higher oligomers, the monomer of lysozyme and the dimer of ribonuclease increased in mobility after reduction. The reduced polypeptide oligomers formed by reaction with glutaraldehyde were generally found to migrate at a rate significantly faster than was expected from their calculated molecular weights. It was concluded that the use of unreduced proteins and protein aggregates for molecular-weight measurements by the sodium dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide-gel method may give erroneous estimates of the molecular weight of any protein being investigated.


1972 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 416-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregg E. DaVies ◽  
J. Gordin Kaplan

Rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase, a tetramer of highly similar or identical subunits, is known to dissociate in urea via a dimeric intermediate. To provide additional evidence regarding the structure of the native oligomer, we have treated pyruvate kinase with dimethyl pimelimidate and examined the yields of cross-linked species resolved by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. Of four products resolved, predominating species are dimers and tetramers of the pyruvate kinase subunit, while monomers and trimers are present in lesser amounts. These relative yields are consistent with a dimeric structure of the tetramer.In a typical cross-linking reaction, about 86 of the 148 primary amino groups in the pyruvate kinase tetramer are amidinated. Of 53 moles of cross-linking reagent incorporated per mole of tetramer, 38% have reacted monofunctionally, with hydrolysis of the second imidoester group, and 62% have reacted bifunctionally to form intra- and intersubunit cross-links.


1980 ◽  
Vol 187 (1) ◽  
pp. 227-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
P R McIntosh ◽  
R B Freedman

1. In liver microsomal membranes from adult rabbits treated with beta-naphthoflavone, reaction with Cu2+ salts plus 1,10-phenanthroline leads to the cross-linking of the two specifically beta-naphthoflavone-inducible cytochrome P-450 species, form 4 and form 6, to form homo- and hetero-dimer species. 2. The cross-linking is not reversed by treatment with 2-mercaptoethanol, so that it can be observed conveniently and specifically on conventional reducing sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide gels. 3. The reaction occurs rapidly, and significant cross-linking is observed after 30s at all temperatures from −10 to 40 degrees C. 4. The cross-linking can be brought about by Cu2+ alone at concentrations greater than 0.5 mM, but not by 1,10-phenanthroline alone; at low Cu2+ concentrations, 1,10-phenanthroline enhances the cross-linking reaction, but high concentrations of 1,10-phenanthroline are inhibitory; the optimal molar ratio of Cu2+ to 1,10-phenanthroline is 4:1.5. The effect of Cu2+ is not mimicked by Mn2+, Fe3+, Fe2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Zn2+ or Ag+; Cu+ is probably also ineffective. 6. The cross-linking reaction is inhibited by the prior addition of high concentrations of EDTA or thiol compounds, by sodium dodecyl sulphate at greater than or equal to 0.1% and by sodium deoxycholate and non-ionic detergents at greater than or equal to 1%; the reaction cannot be reversed by incubation with EDTA or with thiol compounds after reaction with cupric phenanthroline; the cross-linking reaction is not inhibited by prior treatment of microsomal membranes with N-ethylmaleimide. 7. The chemical nature of the cross-linking reaction is unknown, but it is most unlikely that it involves the formation of intermolecular disulphide bonds. 8. The great specificity of the reaction makes it a promising tool for the study of molecular interactions between cytochrome P-450 species in intact microsomal membranes.


1981 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 459-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
S S Lehrer

Reaction of F-actin and the F-actin-tropomyosin complex with 20 mM glutaraldehyde for 19-22 h at 0 degrees C and 25 degrees C results in extensively cross-linked filaments, as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Electron micrographs show shorter, more irregular filaments for glutaraldehyde-treated F-actin in the absence of tropomyosin as compared to the presence of tropomyosin or untreated controls. There was a 40% drop in viscosity of glutaraldehyde-treated F-actin solutions but a 90% increase in viscosity for the glutaraldehyde-treated F-actin-tropomyosin complex in solution, as compared to the untreated controls, indicating different effects of cross-linking. SDS gels indicate that intrasubunit cross-links are introduced into F-actin and that when tropomyosin is present, intramolecular cross-link formation is inhibited. Inhibition of the salt-induced G leads to F polymerization results when intramolecular cross-links are introduced into G-actin under similar or milder reaction conditions. These data indicate that, under conditions for which extensive F-actin filament cross-linking (fixing) occurs, the filaments become damaged due to the concurrent formation of intrasubunit cross-links that cause local depolymerization and distortion and that tropomyosin protects against this damage.


2016 ◽  
Vol 89 (4) ◽  
pp. 671-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. L. Verbruggen ◽  
L. van der Does ◽  
W. K. Dierkes ◽  
J. W. M. Noordermeer

ABSTRACT The theoretical model developed by Charlesby to quantify the balance between cross-links creation of polymers and chain scission during radiation cross-linking and further modifications by Horikx to describe network breakdown from aging were merged to characterize the balance of both types of scission on the development of the sol content during de-vulcanization of rubber networks. There are, however, disturbing factors in these theoretical considerations vis-à-vis practical reality. Sulfur- and peroxide-cured NR and EPDM vulcanizates were de-vulcanized under conditions of selective cross-link and random main-chain scissions. Cross-link scission was obtained using thiol-amine reagents for selective cleavage of sulfur cross-links. Random main-chain scission was achieved by heating peroxide vulcanizates of NR with diphenyldisulfide, a method commonly employed for NR reclaiming. An important factor in the analyses of these experiments is the cross-linking index. Its value must be calculated using the sol fraction of the cross-linked network before de-vulcanization to obtain reliable results. The values for the cross-linking index calculated with sol-gel data before de-vulcanization appear to fit the experimentally determined modes of network scission during de-vulcanization very well. This study confirms that the treatment of de-vulcanization data with the merged Charlesby and Horikx models can be used satisfactorily to characterize the de-vulcanization of NR and EPDM vulcanizates.


2006 ◽  
Vol 188 (21) ◽  
pp. 7609-7616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia Monroe ◽  
Peter Setlow

ABSTRACT The Bacillus subtilis spore coat protein GerQ is necessary for the proper localization of CwlJ, an enzyme important in the hydrolysis of the peptidoglycan cortex during spore germination. GerQ is cross-linked into high-molecular-mass complexes in the spore coat late in sporulation, and this cross-linking is largely due to a transglutaminase. This enzyme forms an ε-(γ-glutamyl) lysine isopeptide bond between a lysine donor from one protein and a glutamine acceptor from another protein. In the current work, we have identified the residues in GerQ that are essential for transglutaminase-mediated cross-linking. We show that GerQ is a lysine donor and that any one of three lysine residues near the amino terminus of the protein (K2, K4, or K5) is necessary to form cross-links with binding partners in the spore coat. This leads to the conclusion that all Tgl-dependent GerQ cross-linking takes place via these three lysine residues. However, while the presence of any of these three lysine residues is essential for GerQ cross-linking, they are not essential for the function of GerQ in CwlJ localization.


Materials ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1992 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexey Kondyurin ◽  
Anastasia Eliseeva ◽  
Alexander Svistkov

A model of rubber with a cross-linked rubber layer on a carbon black filler has been proposed. The cross-links are the result of free radical reactions generated by carbon atoms with unpaired electrons at the edge of graphitic sheets in a carbon black filler. The experimental study of the cross-linking reactions in polyisoprene was done on a flat carbonized surface after ion beam implantation. The cross-linking process in the polyisoprene macromolecules between two particles was simulated. The model with a cross-linked rubber layer on a carbon filler as a “glassy layer” explains the mechanical properties of the rubber materials.


1969 ◽  
Vol 39 (11) ◽  
pp. 1023-1030 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edith Honold ◽  
Stanley P. Rowland ◽  
James N. Grant

Differences in the ability of formaldehyde-crosslinked cotton fibers to swell are demonstrated in terms of alkali centrifuge values (ACV), i.e., the sorption of caustic solution of mercerizing strength. The wide range in ACV (310–50) emphasizes the extremes in sorptivity that can be achieved by differences in formaldehyde content and in method of introducing the cross links. In general, the ACV decreases with increasing formaldehyde content. However, ACV higher than that of the noncross-linked control cotton are reached for those samples in which a low percentage of formaldehyde was introduced into water-swollen fibers. Various hypotheses, based on ACV and related data, are presented pertaining to the alterations in fiber structure during the cross-linking processes and during the alkali swelling centrifuge test


1977 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Furlan ◽  
T. Jakab ◽  
E.A. Beck

Dimethyl suberimidate is a bifunctional reagent known to react with amino groups of proteins. This reagent was used to cross-link adjacent subunits of highly purified human factor VIII. Reaction products were reduced with 3-mercaptoethanol and examined by Polyacrylamide electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. Low concentrations of dimethyl suberimidate (< 0.5 mM) produced dimers of the subunit polypeptide chains and virtually no oligomers of larger size. Treatment with higher concentrations of the cross-linking agent resulted in an almost simultaneous appearance of both trimeric and tetrameric products, suggesting the existence of specific intradimer contacts. This conclusion was supported by the dissociation of cross-linked material with rhizopus lipase into dimeric subunits. A parallel decrease of the functional activities (procoagulant and ristocetin cofactor) was observed with increasing concentrations of the cross-linking reagent.


1997 ◽  
Vol 322 (2) ◽  
pp. 535-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynda KNOTT ◽  
John F. TARLTON ◽  
Allen J. BAILEY

With age, the proximal sections of turkey leg tendons become calcified, and this phenomenon has led to their use as a model for collagen mineralization. Mineralizing turkey leg tendon was used in this study to characterize further the composition and cross-linking of collagen in calcified tissues. The cross-link profiles of mineralizing collagen are significantly different from those of other collagenous matrices with characteristically low amounts of hydroxylysyl-pyridinoline and the presence of lysyl-pyridinoline and pyrrolic cross-links. However, the presence of the immature cross-link precursors previously reported in calcifying tissues was not supported in the present study, and was found to be due to the decalcification procedure using EDTA. Analysis of tendons from young birds demonstrated differences in the cross-link profile which indicated a higher level of hydroxylation of specific triple-helical lysines involved in cross-linking of the proximal tendon. This may be related to later calcification, suggesting that this part of the tendon is predestined to be calcified. The minimal changes in lysyl hydroxylation in both regions of the tendon with age were in contrast with the large changes in the cross-link profile, indicating differential hydroxylation of the helical and telopeptide lysine residues. Changes with age in the collagen matrix, its turnover and thermal properties in both the proximal and distal sections of the tendon clearly demonstrate that a new and modified matrix is formed throughout the tendon, and that a different type of matrix is formed at each site.


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