scholarly journals Human ciliary neurotrophic factor: a structure-function analysis

1995 ◽  
Vol 309 (1) ◽  
pp. 215-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Krüttgen ◽  
J Grötzinger ◽  
G Kurapkat ◽  
J Weis ◽  
R Simon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Neurotrophic Factor ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Leukaemia Inhibitory Factor ◽  
Amino Acid Residues ◽  
C Terminus

Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) promotes survival in vitro and in vivo of several neuronal cell types including sensory and motor neurons. The primary structure of CNTF suggests it to be a cytosolic protein with strong similarity to the alpha-helical cytokine family which is characterized by a bundle of four anti-parallel helices. CNTF exerts its activity via complexation with CNTF receptor (CNTF-R). This complex consists of a CNTF-binding protein (CNTF-R) and two proteins important for signal transduction [gp130 and leukaemia inhibitory factor receptor (LIF-R)]. We have shortened the cDNA coding for CNTF at both the 5′ and the 3′ end and expressed the truncated proteins in bacteria. Biological activities of the protein preparations were determined by their ability to induce proliferation of BAF/3 cells that were stably transfected with CNTF-R, gp130 and LIF-R cDNAs. CNTF proteins with 14 amino acid residues removed from the N-terminus were biologically active whereas the removal of 23 amino acids resulted in an inactive protein. In addition, 18 amino acid residues could be removed from the C-terminus of the CNTF protein without apparent loss of bioactivity, but further truncation at the C-terminus yielded biologically inactive proteins. The introduction of two point mutations into the CNTF protein at a site that presumably interacts with one of the two signal-transducing proteins resulted in a CNTF mutant with no measurable bioactivity. In addition, a model of the three-dimensional structure of human CNTF was constructed using the recently established structural co-ordinates of the related cytokine, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. CD spectra of CNTF together with our mutational analysis and our three-dimensional model fully support the view that CNTF belongs to the family of alpha-helical cytokines. It is expected that our results will facilitate the rational design of CNTF mutants with agonistic or antagonistic properties.

scholarly journals Balteatide: A Novel Antimicrobial Decapeptide from the Skin Secretion of the Purple-Sided Leaf Frog,Phyllomedusa baltea

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lilin Ge ◽  
Xiaole Chen ◽  
Chengbang Ma ◽  
Mei Zhou ◽  
Xinping Xi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Frog Skin ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Single Amino Acid ◽  
Haemolytic Activity ◽  
Amino Acid Difference ◽  
Amino Acid Residues ◽  
Skin Secretion ◽  
Skin Secretions

The skin secretions of Neotropical phyllomedusine leaf frogs have proven to be a rich source of biologically active peptides, including antimicrobials. The major families of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) reported are the dermaseptins and phylloseptins and the minor families are the dermatoxins, phylloxins, plasticins, distinctins, and medusins. Here, we report a novel AMP of 10 amino acid residues (LRPAILVRIKamide), named balteatide, from the skin secretion of wild Peruvian purple-sided leaf frogs,Phyllomedusa baltea. Balteatide was found to exhibit a 90% sequence identity with sauvatide, a potent myotropic peptide from the skin secretion ofPhyllomedusa sauvagei. However, despite both peptides exhibiting only a single amino acid difference (I/T at position 9), sauvatide is devoid of antimicrobial activity and balteatide is devoid of myotropic activity. Balteatide was found to have differential activity against the Gram-positive bacterium,Staphylococcus aureus; the Gram-negative bacterium,Escherichia coli; and the yeast,Candida albicans, and unusual for phyllomedusine frog skin AMPs, was most potent (MIC 32 mg/L) against the yeast. Balteatide was also devoid of haemolytic activity up to concentrations of 512 mg/L. Phyllomedusine frog skin secretions thus continue to provide novel AMPs, some of which may provide templates for the rational design of new classes of anti-infective therapeutics.

Analogues of the cholecystokinin octapeptide modified in the central part of the molecule

1991 ◽  
Vol 56 (9) ◽  
pp. 1963-1970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Hlaváček ◽  
Václav Čeřovský ◽  
Jana Pírková ◽  
Pavel Majer ◽  
Lenka Maletínská ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Side Chain ◽  
Amino Acid Residues ◽  
Cholecystokinin Octapeptide ◽  
Biological Tests ◽  
Biological Potency ◽  
Biologically Active Conformation

In a series of analogues of the cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8) the amino acid residues were gradually modified by substituting Gly by Pro in position 4, Trp by His in position 5, Met by Cle in position 6, or the Gly residue was inserted between Tyr and Met in positions 2 and 3 of the peptide chain, and in the case of the cholecystokinin heptapeptide (CCK-7) the Met residues were substituted by Nle or Aib. These peptides were investigated from the point of view of their biological potency in the peripheral and central region. From the results of the biological tests it follows that the modifications carried out in these analogues and in their Nα-Boc derivatives mean a suppression of the investigated biological activities by 2-3 orders of magnitude (at a maximum dose of the tested substance of 2 . 10-2 mg per animal).This means that a disturbance of the assumed biologically active conformation of CCK-8, connected with a considerable decrease of the biological potency of the molecule, takes place not only after introduction of the side chain into its centre (substitution of Gly4), but also after the modification of the side chains of the amino acids or by extension of the backbone in further positions around this central amino acid.

scholarly journals Primary- and secondary-structural analysis of a unique prokaryotic metallothionein from a Synechococcus sp. cyanobacterium

1988 ◽  
Vol 251 (3) ◽  
pp. 691-699 ◽  
Author(s):  
R W Olafson ◽  
W D McCubbin ◽  
C M Kay
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Metal Binding ◽  
Helical Structure ◽  
Basic Amino Acid ◽  
Cysteine Residues ◽  
Amino Acid Residues ◽  
C Terminus ◽  
Empirical Relations ◽  
Heavy Metal Binding ◽  
Synechococcus Sp

Biochemical and physiological studies of Synechococcus cyanobacteria have indicated the presence of a low-Mr heavy-metal-binding protein with marked similarity to eukaryotic metallothioneins (MTs). We report here the characterization of a Synechococcus prokaryotic MT isolated by gel-permeation and reverse-phase chromatography. The large number of variants of this molecule found during chromatographic separation could not be attributed to the presence of major isoproteins as assessed by amino acid analysis and amino acid sequencing of isoforms. Two of the latter were shown to have identical primary structures that differed substantially from the well-described eukaryotic MTs. In addition to six long-chain aliphatic residues, two aromatic residues were found adjacent to one another near the centre of the molecule, making this the most hydrophobic MT to be described. Other unusual features included a pair of histidine residues located in repeating Gly-His-Thr-Gly sequences near the C-terminus and a complete lack of association of hydroxylated residues with cysteine residues, as is commonly found in eukaryotes. Similarly, aside from a single lysine residue, no basic amino acid residues were found adjacent to cysteine residues in the sequence. Most importantly, sequence alignment analyses with mammalian, invertebrate and fungal MT sequences showed no statistically significant homology aside from the presence of Cys-Xaa-Cys structures common to all MTs. On the other hand, like other MTs, the prokaryotic molecule appears to be free of alpha-helical structure but has a considerable amount of beta-structure, as predicted by both c.d. measurements and the Chou & Fasman empirical relations. Considered together, these data suggested that some similarity between the metal-thiolate clusters of the prokaryote and eukaryote MTs may exist.

Synthesis of a Biologically Active Nonadecapeptide Corresponding to the First Nineteen Amino Acid Residues of Adrenocorticotropins1a

1961 ◽  
Vol 83 (21) ◽  
pp. 4449-4457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Choh Hao Li ◽  
Johannes Meienhofer ◽  
Eugen Schnabel ◽  
David Chung ◽  
Tung-Bin Lo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Amino Acid Residues

scholarly journals Rational design of novel amphipathic antimicrobial peptides focused on the distribution of cationic amino acid residues

MedChemComm ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 896-900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Misawa ◽  
Chihiro Goto ◽  
Norihito Shibata ◽  
Motoharu Hirano ◽  
Yutaka Kikuchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Activity ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Human Cell ◽  
Hemolytic Activity ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Cell Cytotoxicity ◽  
Amino Acid Residues ◽  
High Antimicrobial Activity ◽  
Cationic Amino Acid ◽  
Helical Peptide

Amphipathic helical peptideStripeshowed high antimicrobial activity, low hemolytic activity, and low human cell cytotoxicity.

scholarly journals Deletion of the Actin-Associated Tropomyosin Tpm3 Leads to Reduced Cell Complexity in Cultured Hippocampal Neurons—New Insights into the Role of the C-Terminal Region of Tpm3.1

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 715
Author(s):  
Tamara Tomanić ◽  
Claire Martin ◽  
Holly Stefen ◽  
Esmeralda Parić ◽  
Peter Gunning ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Growth Cones ◽  
Amino Acid Residues ◽  
Terminal Amino Acid ◽  
C Terminus ◽  
Primary Mouse ◽  
Terminal Amino

Tropomyosins (Tpms) have been described as master regulators of actin, with Tpm3 products shown to be involved in early developmental processes, and the Tpm3 isoform Tpm3.1 controlling changes in the size of neuronal growth cones and neurite growth. Here, we used primary mouse hippocampal neurons of C57/Bl6 wild type and Bl6Tpm3flox transgenic mice to carry out morphometric analyses in response to the absence of Tpm3 products, as well as to investigate the effect of C-terminal truncation on the ability of Tpm3.1 to modulate neuronal morphogenesis. We found that the knock-out of Tpm3 leads to decreased neurite length and complexity, and that the deletion of two amino acid residues at the C-terminus of Tpm3.1 leads to more detrimental changes in neurite morphology than the deletion of six amino acid residues. We also found that Tpm3.1 that lacks the 6 C-terminal amino acid residues does not associate with stress fibres, does not segregate to the tips of neurites, and does not impact the amount of the filamentous actin pool at the axonal growth cones, as opposed to Tpm3.1, which lacks the two C-terminal amino acid residues. Our study provides further insight into the role of both Tpm3 products and the C-terminus of Tpm3.1, and it forms the basis for future studies that aim to identify the molecular mechanisms underlying Tpm3.1 targeting to different subcellular compartments.

scholarly journals Primary Structure Analysis of Antifungal Peptides from Cultivated and Wild Cereals

Plants ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene Rogozhin ◽  
Dmitry Ryazantsev ◽  
Alexey Smirnov ◽  
Sergey Zavriev
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Activity ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Antifungal Activity ◽  
Antimicrobial Peptides ◽  
Structure Analysis ◽  
Primary Structure ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Amino Acid Residues ◽  
Wild Cereals ◽  
Determining Factor

Cereal-derived bioactive peptides with antimicrobial activity have been poorly explored compared to those from dicotyledonous plants. Furthermore, there are a few reports addressing the structural differences between antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) from cultivated and wild cereals, which may shed light on significant varieties in the range and level of their antimicrobial activity. We performed a primary structure analysis of some antimicrobial peptides from wild and cultivated cereals to find out the features that are associated with the much higher antimicrobial resistance characteristic of wild plants. In this review, we identified and analyzed the main parameters determining significant antifungal activity. They relate to a high variability level in the sequences of C-terminal fragments and a high content of hydrophobic amino acid residues in the biologically active defensins in wild cereals, in contrast to AMPs from cultivated forms that usually exhibit weak, if any, activity. We analyzed the similarity of various physicochemical parameters between thionins and defensins. The presence of a high divergence on a fixed part of any polypeptide that is close to defensins could be a determining factor. For all of the currently known hevein-like peptides of cereals, we can say that the determining factor in this regard is the structure of the chitin-binding domain, and in particular, amino acid residues that are not directly involved in intermolecular interaction with chitin. The analysis of amino acid sequences of alpha-hairpinins (hairpin-like peptides) demonstrated much higher antifungal activity and more specificity of the peptides from wild cereals compared with those from wheat and corn, which may be associated with the presence of a mini cluster of positively charged amino acid residues. In addition, at least one hydrophobic residue may be responsible for binding to the components of fungal cell membranes.

scholarly journals Cloning, post-translational modifications, heterologous expression and ligand-binding of boar salivary lipocalin

2000 ◽  
Vol 350 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dietrich LOEBEL ◽  
Andrea SCALONI ◽  
Sara PAOLINI ◽  
Carlo FINI ◽  
Lino FERRARA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Protein Isoforms ◽  
Cysteine Residues ◽  
Protein Chemistry ◽  
Single Individual ◽  
Amino Acid Residues ◽  
Three Dimensional Model ◽  
Submaxillary Glands

Boar submaxillary glands produce the sex-specific salivary lipocalin (SAL), which binds steroidal sex pheromones as endogenous ligands. The cDNA encoding SAL was cloned and sequenced. From a single individual, two protein isoforms, differing in three amino acid residues, were purified and structurally characterized by a combined Edman degradation/MS approach. These experiments ascertained that the mature polypeptide is composed of 168 amino acid residues, that one of the three putative glycosylation sites is post-translationally modified and the structure of the bound glycosidic moieties. Two of the cysteine residues are paired together in a disulphide bridge, whereas the remaining two occur as free thiols. SAL bears sequence similarity to other lipocalins; on this basis, a three-dimensional model of the protein has been built. A SAL isoform was expressed in Escherichiacoli in good yields. Protein chemistry and CD experiments verified that the recombinant product shows the same redox state at the cysteine residues and that the same conformation is observed as in the natural protein, thus suggesting similar folding. Binding experiments on natural and recombinant SAL were performed with the fluorescent probe 1-aminoanthracene, which was efficiently displaced by the steroidal sex pheromone, as well as by several odorants.

scholarly journals Efficient Synthesis of Rare Disaccharides by Engineered β-Glucosidase Based on Hydropathy Index

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kangle Niu ◽  
Zhengyao Liu ◽  
Yuhui Feng ◽  
Tianlong Gao ◽  
Zhenzhen Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Catalytic Site ◽  
Scale Production ◽  
Total Production ◽  
Amino Acid Residues ◽  
Hydropathy Index ◽  
Reverse Hydrolysis ◽  
Hydrolysis Activity

<p>Oligosaccharides have important therapeutic applications. A useful route for oligosaccharides synthesis, especially rare disaccharides, is reverse hydrolysis by <i>β</i>-glucosidase. However, the low conversion efficiency of disaccharides from monosaccharides limits its large-scale production because the equilibrium is biased in the direction of hydrolysis. Based on the analysis of the docking results, we hypothesized that the hydropathy index of key amino acid residues in the catalytic site is closely related with disaccharide synthesis and more hydrophilic residues located in the catalytic site would enhance reverse hydrolysis activity. In this study, positive variants<i> Tr</i>Cel1b<sup>I177S</sup>, <i>Tr</i>Cel1b<sup>I177S/I174S</sup>, and <i>Tr</i>Cel1b<sup>I177S/I174S/W173H</sup>, and one negative variant <i>Tr</i>Cel1b<sup>N240I</sup> were designed according to the <u>H</u>ydropathy <u>I</u>ndex <u>F</u>or <u>E</u>nzyme <u>A</u>ctivity (HIFEA) strategy. The reverse hydrolysis with <i>Tr</i>Cel1b<sup>I177S/I174S/W173H </sup>was accelerated and then the maximum total production (<a>195.8 mg/ml/mg enzyme</a>) of the synthesized disaccharides was increased 3.5-fold compared to that of wildtype. On the contrary, <a><i>Tr</i>Cel1b</a><sup>N240I</sup> lost reverse hydrolysis activity. The results demonstrate that<a> </a><a>the average hydropathy index</a> of <a>the key amino acid residues </a>in the catalytic site of<i> Tr</i>Cel1b is an important factor for the synthesis of laminaribiose, sophorose, and cellobiose. The HIFEA strategy provides a new perspective for the rational design of <i>β</i>-glucosidases used for the synthesis of oligosaccharides.</p>

Peroxisome targeting signal of rat liver acyl-coenzyme A oxidase resides at the carboxy terminus

1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-91
Author(s):  
S Miyazawa ◽  
T Osumi ◽  
T Hashimoto ◽  
K Ohno ◽  
S Miura ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Rat Liver ◽  
Coenzyme A ◽  
Terminal Region ◽  
Proteinase K ◽  
Amino Acid Residues ◽  
C Terminus ◽  
Targeting Signal ◽  
Acyl Coenzyme A

To identify the topogenic signal of peroxisomal acyl-coenzyme A oxidase (AOX) of rat liver, we carried out in vitro import experiments with mutant polypeptides of the enzyme. Full-length AOX and polypeptides that were truncated at the N-terminal region were efficiently imported into peroxisomes, as determined by resistance to externally added proteinase K. Polypeptides carrying internal deletions in the C-terminal region exhibited much lower import activities. Polypeptides that were truncated or mutated at the extreme C terminus were totally import negative. When the five amino acid residues at the extreme C terminus were attached to some of the import-negative polypeptides, the import activities were rescued. Moreover, the C-terminal 199 and 70 amino acid residues of AOX directed fusion proteins with two bacterial enzymes to peroxisomes. These results are interpreted to mean that the peroxisome targeting signal of AOX residues at the C terminus and the five or fewer residues at the extreme terminus have an obligatory function in targeting. The C-terminal internal region also has an important role for efficient import, possibly through a conformational effect.

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