Involvement of the recoverin C-terminal segment in recognition of the target enzyme rhodopsin kinase

2011 ◽  
Vol 435 (2) ◽  
pp. 441-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evgeni Yu. Zernii ◽  
Konstantin E. Komolov ◽  
Sergei E. Permyakov ◽  
Tatiana Kolpakova ◽  
Daniele Dell'orco ◽  
...  

NCS (neuronal Ca2+ sensor) proteins belong to a family of calmodulin-related EF-hand Ca2+-binding proteins which, in spite of a high degree of structural similarity, are able to selectively recognize and regulate individual effector enzymes in a Ca2+-dependent manner. NCS proteins vary at their C-termini, which could therefore serve as structural control elements providing specific functions such as target recognition or Ca2+ sensitivity. Recoverin, an NCS protein operating in vision, regulates the activity of rhodopsin kinase, GRK1, in a Ca2+-dependent manner. In the present study, we investigated a series of recoverin forms that were mutated at the C-terminus. Using pull-down assays, surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy and rhodopsin phosphorylation assays, we demonstrated that truncation of recoverin at the C-terminus significantly reduced the affinity of recoverin for rhodopsin kinase. Site-directed mutagenesis of single amino acids in combination with structural analysis and computational modelling of the recoverin–kinase complex provided insight into the protein–protein interface between the kinase and the C-terminus of recoverin. Based on these results we suggest that Phe3 from the N-terminal helix of rhodopsin kinase and Lys192 from the C-terminal segment of recoverin form a cation–π interaction pair which is essential for target recognition by recoverin. Taken together, the results of the present study reveal a novel rhodopsin-kinase-binding site within the C-terminal region of recoverin, and highlights its significance for target recognition and regulation.

1999 ◽  
Vol 338 (3) ◽  
pp. 591-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen YOUNG ◽  
Vikram ROONGTA ◽  
Thomas J. DALY ◽  
Kevin H. MAYO

Neutrophil-activating peptide 2 (NAP-2), which demonstrates a range of proinflammatory activities, is a 72-residue protein belonging to the α-chemokine family. Although NAP-2, like other α-chemokines, is known to self-associate into dimers and tetramers, it has been shown that the monomeric form is physiologically active. Here we investigate the solution structure of monomeric NAP-2 by multi-dimensional 1H-NMR and 15N-NMR spectroscopy and computational modelling. The NAP-2 monomer consists of an amphipathic, triple-stranded, anti-parallel β-sheet on which is folded a C-terminal α-helix and an aperiodic N-terminal segment. The backbone fold is essentially the same as that found in other α-chemokines. 15N T1, T2 and nuclear Overhauser effects (NOEs) have been measured for backbone NH groups and used in a model free approach to calculate order parameters and conformational exchange terms that map out motions of the backbone. N-terminal residues 1 to 17 and the C-terminus are relatively highly flexible, whereas the β-sheet domain forms the most motionally restricted part of the fold. Conformational exchange occurring on the millisecond time scale is noted at the top of the C-terminal helix and at proximal residues from β-strands 1 and 2 and the connecting loop. Dissociation to the monomeric state is apparently responsible for increased internal mobility in NAP-2 compared with dimeric and tetrameric states in other α-chemokines.


2007 ◽  
Vol 81 (17) ◽  
pp. 8905-8918 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett D. Lindenbach ◽  
Béla M. Prágai ◽  
Roland Montserret ◽  
Rudolf K. F. Beran ◽  
Anna M. Pyle ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Hepatitis C virus (HCV) nonstructural protein 4A (NS4A) is only 54 amino acids (aa) in length, yet it is a key regulator of the essential serine protease and RNA helicase activities of the NS3-4A complex, as well as a determinant of NS5A phosphorylation. Here we examine the structure and function of the C-terminal acidic region of NS4A through site-directed mutagenesis of a Con1 subgenomic replicon and through biophysical characterization of a synthetic peptide corresponding to this region. Our genetic studies revealed that in 8 of the 15 C-terminal residues of NS4A, individual Ala substitutions or charge reversal substitutions led to severe replication phenotypes, as well as decreased NS5A hyperphosphorylation. By selecting for replication-competent mutants, several second-site changes in NS3 were identified and shown to suppress these defects in replication and NS5A hyperphosphorylation. Circular-dichroism spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy on a peptide corresponding to the C-terminal 19 aa of NS4A revealed that this region can adopt an alpha-helical conformation, but that this folding requires neutralization of a cluster of acidic residues. Taken together, these data suggest that the C terminus of NS4A acts as a dynamic regulator of NS3-4A interaction, NS5A hyperphosphorylation, and HCV replicase activity.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (15) ◽  
pp. 4654
Author(s):  
Suthee Mangmee ◽  
Onrapak Reamtong ◽  
Thareerat Kalambaheti ◽  
Sittiruk Roytrakul ◽  
Piengchan Sonthayanon

Antimicrobial peptides are promising molecules to address the global antibiotic resistance problem, however, optimization to achieve favorable potency and safety is required. Here, a peptide-template modification approach was employed to design physicochemical variants based on net charge, hydrophobicity, enantiomer, and terminal group. All variants of the scorpion venom peptide BmKn-2 with amphipathic α-helical cationic structure exhibited an increased antibacterial potency when evaluated against multidrug-resistant Salmonella isolates at a MIC range of 4–8 µM. They revealed antibiofilm activity in a dose-dependent manner. Sheep red blood cells were used to evaluate hemolytic and cell selectivity properties. Peptide Kn2-5R-NH2, dKn2-5R-NH2, and 2F-Kn2-5R-NH2 (variants with +6 charges carrying amidated C-terminus) showed stronger antibacterial activity than Kn2-5R (a variant with +5 charges bearing free-carboxyl group at C-terminus). Peptide dKn2-5R-NH2 (d-enantiomer) exhibited slightly weaker antibacterial activity with much less hemolytic activity (higher hemolytic concentration 50) than Kn2-5R-NH2 (l-enantiomer). Furthermore, peptide Kn2-5R with the least hydrophobicity had the lowest hemolytic activity and showed the highest specificity to Salmonella (the highest selectivity index). This study also explained the relationship of peptide physicochemical properties and bioactivities that would fulfill and accelerate progress in peptide antibiotic research and development.


Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1025
Author(s):  
Ahmed Alalaiwe ◽  
Jia-You Fang ◽  
Hsien-Ju Lee ◽  
Chun-Hui Chiu ◽  
Ching-Yun Hsu

Curcumin is a known anti-adipogenic agent for alleviating obesity and related disorders. Comprehensive comparisons of the anti-adipogenic activity of curcumin with other curcuminoids is minimal. This study compared adipogenesis inhibition with curcumin, demethoxycurcumin (DMC), and bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC), and their underlying mechanisms. We differentiated 3T3-L1 cells in the presence of curcuminoids, to determine lipid accumulation and triglyceride (TG) production. The expression of adipogenic transcription factors and lipogenic proteins was analyzed by Western blot. A significant reduction in Oil red O (ORO) staining was observed in the cells treated with curcuminoids at 20 μM. Inhibition was increased in the order of curcumin < DMC < BDMC. A similar trend was observed in the detection of intracellular TG. Curcuminoids suppressed differentiation by downregulating the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα), leading to the downregulation of the lipogenic enzymes acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and fatty acid synthase (FAS). AMP-activated protein kinase α (AMPKα) phosphorylation was also activated by BDMC. Curcuminoids reduced the release of proinflammatory cytokines and leptin in 3T3-L1 cells in a dose-dependent manner, with BDMC showing the greatest potency. BDMC at 20 μM significantly decreased leptin by 72% compared with differentiated controls. Molecular docking computation indicated that curcuminoids, despite having structural similarity, had different interaction positions to PPARγ, C/EBPα, and ACC. The docking profiles suggested a possible interaction of curcuminoids with C/EBPα and ACC, to directly inhibit their expression.


1987 ◽  
Vol 252 (2) ◽  
pp. G237-G243
Author(s):  
R. E. Bailey ◽  
R. A. Levine ◽  
J. Nandi ◽  
E. H. Schwartzel ◽  
D. H. Beach ◽  
...  

The lipid profile of isolated gastric superficial epithelial cells (SEC) was evaluated by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMR). The most conspicuous resonance band in SEC spectra was due to the protons of +N(CH3)3 groups of phosphatidylcholine and, to a lesser degree, other phospholipid derivatives, on the basis of their chemical shift and addition of purified phospholipids. NMR of cell lysates and phospholipid extracts of SEC in deutero-chloroform provided further spectral resolution of these components. Phospholipase or ethanol treatments of SEC produced membrane disorganization reflected as increased peak intensity of the phospholipid signals. In addition, ethanol, in a dose-dependent manner, attenuated paranitrophenyl phosphatase activity, which correlated with inhibition of total and ouabain-sensitive 86Rubidium chloride uptake by SEC. This study suggests that NMR used in conjunction with other biochemical techniques can monitor SEC membrane structure-function relationships. NMR is a potentially powerful noninvasive probe to show changes in lipid membrane organization induced by low concentrations of ethanol (1%) and may indicate an early sign of "cytotoxicity" in intact SEC.


2008 ◽  
Vol 82 (21) ◽  
pp. 10803-10810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eun-Gyung Lee ◽  
Maxine L. Linial

ABSTRACT Foamy viruses (FV) differ from orthoretroviruses in many aspects of their replication cycle. A major difference is in the mode of Pol expression, regulation, and encapsidation into virions. Orthoretroviruses synthesize Pol as a Gag-Pol fusion protein so that Pol is encapsidated into virus particles through Gag assembly domains. However, as FV express Pol independently of Gag from a spliced mRNA, packaging occurs through a distinct mechanism. FV genomic RNA contains cis-acting sequences that are required for Pol packaging, suggesting that Pol binds to RNA for its encapsidation. However, it is not known whether Gag is directly involved in Pol packaging. Previously our laboratory showed that sequences flanking the three glycine-arginine-rich (GR) boxes at the C terminus of FV Gag contain domains important for RNA packaging and Pol expression, cleavage, and packaging. We have now shown that both deletion and substitution mutations in the first GR box (GR1) prevented neither the assembly of particles with wild-type density nor packaging of RNA genomes but led to a defect in Pol packaging. Site-directed mutagenesis of GR1 indicated that the clustered positively charged amino acids in GR1 play important roles in Pol packaging. Our results suggest that GR1 contains a Pol interaction domain and that a Gag-Pol complex is formed and binds to RNA for incorporation into virions.


2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 3896-3905 ◽  
Author(s):  
Payal Soni ◽  
Montaha Lakkis ◽  
Matthew N. Poy ◽  
Mats A. Fernström ◽  
Sonia M. Najjar

ABSTRACT pp120 (Ceacam 1) undergoes ligand-stimulated phosphorylation by the insulin receptor, but not by the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R). This differential phosphorylation is regulated by the C terminus of the β-subunit of the insulin receptor, the least conserved domain of the two receptors. In the present studies, deletion and site-directed mutagenesis in stably transfected hepatocytes derived from insulin receptor knockout mice (IR−/−) revealed that Tyr1316, which is replaced by the nonphosphorylatable phenylalanine in IGF-1R, regulated the differential phosphorylation of pp120 by the insulin receptor. Similarly, the nonconserved Tyr1316 residue also regulated the differential effect of pp120 on IGF-1 and insulin mitogenesis, with pp120 downregulating the growth-promoting action of insulin, but not that of IGF-1. Thus, it appears that pp120 phosphorylation by the insulin receptor is required and sufficient to mediate its downregulatory effect on the mitogenic action of insulin. Furthermore, the current studies revealed that the C terminus of the β-subunit of the insulin receptor contains elements that suppress the mitogenic action of insulin. Because IR−/− hepatocytes are derived from liver, an insulin-targeted tissue, our observations have finally resolved the controversy about the role of the least-conserved domain of insulin and IGF-1Rs in mediating the difference in the mitogenic action of their ligands, with IGF-1 being more mitogenic than insulin.


1999 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 1721-1732 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.J. Francis ◽  
E.E. Jones ◽  
E.R. Levy ◽  
R.L. Martin ◽  
S. Ponnambalam ◽  
...  

The protein encoded by the Menkes disease gene (MNK) is localised to the Golgi apparatus and cycles between the trans-Golgi network and the plasma membrane in cultured cells on addition and removal of copper to the growth medium. This suggests that MNK protein contains active signals that are involved in the retention of the protein to the trans-Golgi network and retrieval of the protein from the plasma membrane. Previous studies have identified a signal involved in Golgi retention within transmembrane domain 3 of MNK. To identify a motif sufficient for retrieval of MNK from the plasma membrane, we analysed the cytoplasmic domain, downstream of transmembrane domain 7 and 8. Chimeric constructs containing this cytoplasmic domain fused to the reporter molecule CD8 localised the retrieval signal(s) to 62 amino acids at the C terminus. Further studies were performed on putative internalisation motifs, using site-directed mutagenesis, protein expression, chemical treatment and immunofluorescence. We observed that a di-leucine motif (L1487L1488) was essential for rapid internalisation of chimeric CD8 proteins and the full-length Menkes cDNA from the plasma membrane. We suggest that this motif mediates the retrieval of MNK from the plasma membrane into the endocytic pathway, via the recycling endosomes, but is not sufficient on its own to return the protein to the Golgi apparatus. These studies provide a basis with which to identify other motifs important in the sorting and delivery of MNK from the plasma membrane to the Golgi apparatus.


Genetics ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 165 (2) ◽  
pp. 707-720
Author(s):  
Jose Oca-Cossio ◽  
Lesley Kenyon ◽  
Huiling Hao ◽  
Carlos T Moraes

Abstract The possibility of expressing mitochondrial DNA-coded genes in the nuclear-cytoplasmic compartment provides an attractive system for genetic treatment of mitochondrial disorders associated with mitochondrial DNA mutations. In theory, by recoding mitochondrial genes to adapt them to the universal genetic code and by adding a DNA sequence coding for a mitochondrial-targeting sequence, one could achieve correct localization of the gene product. Such transfer has occurred in nature, and certain species of algae and plants express a number of polypeptides that are commonly coded by mtDNA in the nuclear-cytoplasmic compartment. In the present study, allotopic expression of three different mtDNA-coded polypeptides (ATPase8, apocytochrome b, and ND4) into COS-7 and HeLa cells was analyzed. Among these, only ATPase8 was correctly expressed and localized to mitochondria. The full-length, as well as truncated forms, of apocytochrome b and ND4 decorated the periphery of mitochondria, but also aggregated in fiber-like structures containing tubulin and in some cases also vimentin. The addition of a hydrophilic tail (EGFP) to the C terminus of these polypeptides did not change their localization. Overexpression of molecular chaperones also did not have a significant effect in preventing aggregations. Allotopic expression of apocytochrome b and ND4 induced a loss of mitochondrial membrane potential in transfected cells, which can lead to cell death. Our observations suggest that only a subset of mitochondrial genes can be replaced allotopically. Analyses of the hydrophobic patterns of different polypeptides suggest that hydrophobicity of the N-terminal segment is the main determinant for the importability of peptides into mammalian mitochondria.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 3902 ◽  
Author(s):  
José L. Neira ◽  
A. Marcela Giudici ◽  
Felipe Hornos ◽  
Arantxa Arbe ◽  
Bruno Rizzuti

The 191-residue-long LrtA protein of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 is involved in post-stress survival and in stabilizing 70S ribosomal particles. It belongs to the hibernating promoting factor (HPF) family, intervening in protein synthesis. The protein consists of two domains: The N-terminal region (N-LrtA, residues 1101), which is common to all the members of the HPF, and seems to be well-folded; and the C-terminal region (C-LrtA, residues 102-191), which is hypothesized to be disordered. In this work, we studied the conformational preferences of isolated C-LrtA in solution. The protein was disordered, as shown by computational modelling, 1D-1H NMR, steady-state far- UV circular dichroism (CD) and chemical and thermal denaturations followed by fluorescence and far-UV CD. Moreover, at physiological conditions, as indicated by several biochemical and hydrodynamic techniques, isolated C-LrtA intervened in a self-association equilibrium, involving several oligomerization reactions. Thus, C-LrtA was an oligomeric disordered protein.


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