scholarly journals Structure of a group C streptococcal protein that binds to fibrinogen, albumin and immunoglobulin G via overlapping modules

1996 ◽  
Vol 315 (2) ◽  
pp. 577-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne R. TALAY ◽  
Melanie P. GRAMMEL ◽  
Gursharan S. CHHATWAL

Pathogenic streptococci express surface proteins that bind to host serum proteins. A novel multiple-ligand-binding protein has now been identified in a species belonging to serotype C streptococci. This protein binds to fibrinogen, albumin and IgG and was therefore designated FAI protein. The structure of the fai gene has been determined, and deletion analysis and expression of FAI fusion polypeptides revealed that the binding domain for fibrinogen and IgG is located within the non-repetitive N-terminal half of the protein. A 93-amino acid peptide retained the ability to bind both proteins, whereas a 56-amino acid subpeptide only bound fibrinogen. IgG-binding activity required the complete fibrinogen-binding domain and an additional 37 amino acids C-terminal to it, and albumin-binding activity was only obtained with a polypeptide reflecting the complete surface-exposed region of FAI protein indicating that the binding sites for each ligand were located on overlapping modules. Signal sequence, C repeat region and C-terminus revealed high homology to group A streptococcal M proteins whereas the N-terminal region containing the fibrinogen/IgG-binding domains is completely different and exhibits no similarity to any other previously characterized protein. Thus FAI protein exhibits a framework structure that might have evolved in group C streptococci via fusion of unrelated sequences, thereby generating an albumin-binding domain in the functional context of multiple-ligand-binding activity.

1998 ◽  
Vol 330 (3) ◽  
pp. 1461-1467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kari KEINÄNEN ◽  
Annukka JOUPPILA ◽  
Arja KUUSINEN

Recombinant fragments of the kainate-selective glutamate recep-tor subunit GluR-6 were expressed in insect cells and analysed for [3H]kainate binding activity in order to characterize the structural determinants responsible for ligand recognition. Deletion of the N-terminal ~ 400 amino-acid-residue segment and the C-terminal ~ 90 residues resulted in a membrane-bound core fragment which displayed pharmacologically native-like [3H]kainate binding properties. Further replacement of the membrane-embedded segments M1-M3 by a hydrophilic linker peptide gave rise to a soluble polypeptide which was accumulated in the culture medium. When bound to chelating Sepharose beads via a C-terminal histidine tag, the soluble fragment showed low-affinity binding of [3H]kainate, which was displaced in a concentration-dependent manner by unlabelled domoic acid, L-glutamate and 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione. Our results indicate that the kainate-binding site is formed exclusively by the two discontinuous extracellular segments (S1 and S2) which are homologous to bacterial amino-acid-binding proteins. Ligand binding characteristics of soluble S1-S2 chimaeras between the GluR-6 and GluR-D subunits showed that, whereas both S1 and S2 segments contribute to agonist-selectivity, the N-terminal one-third of the GluR-D S2 segment is sufficient to confer α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate-binding capacity to the chimaeric ligand-binding domain.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 598-608
Author(s):  
J D Chen ◽  
C S Chan ◽  
V Pirrotta

The zeste gene product is involved in two types of genetic effects dependent on chromosome pairing: transvection and the zeste-white interaction. Comparison of the predicted amino acid sequence with that of the Drosophila virilis gene shows that several blocks of amino acid sequence have been very highly conserved. One of these regions corresponds to the DNA binding domain. Site-directed mutations in this region indicate that a sequence resembling that of the homeodomain DNA recognition helix is essential for DNA binding activity. The integrity of an amphipathic helical region is also essential for binding activity and is likely to be responsible for dimerization of the DNA binding domain. Another very strongly conserved domain of zeste is the C-terminal region, predicted to form a long helical structure with two sets of heptad repeats that constitute two long hydrophobic ridges at opposite ends and on opposite faces of the helix. We show that this domain is responsible for the extensive aggregation properties of zeste that are required for its role in transvection phenomena. A model is proposed according to which the hydrophobic ridges induce the formation of open-ended coiled-coil structures holding together many hundreds of zeste molecules and possibly anchoring these complexes to other nuclear structures.


1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 1852-1860
Author(s):  
K Nakagomi ◽  
Y Kohwi ◽  
L A Dickinson ◽  
T Kohwi-Shigematsu

The nuclear matrix attachment DNA (MAR) binding protein SATB1 is a sequence context-specific binding protein that binds in the minor groove, making virtually no contact with the DNA bases. The SATB1 binding sites consist of a special AT-rich sequence context in which one strand is well-mixed A's, T's, and C's, excluding G's (ATC sequences), which is typically found in clusters within different MARs. To determine the extent of conservation of the SATB1 gene among different species, we cloned a mouse homolog of the human STAB1 cDNA from a cDNA expression library of the mouse thymus, the tissue in which this protein is predominantly expressed. This mouse cDNA encodes a 764-amino-acid protein with a 98% homology in amino acid sequence to the human SATB1 originally cloned from testis. To characterize the DNA binding domain of this novel class of protein, we used the mouse SATB1 cDNA and delineated a 150-amino-acid polypeptide as the binding domain. This region confers full DNA binding activity, recognizes the specific sequence context, and makes direct contact with DNA at the same nucleotides as the whole protein. This DNA binding domain contains a novel DNA binding motif: when no more than 21 amino acids at either the N- or C-terminal end of the binding domain are deleted, the majority of the DNA binding activity is lost. The concomitant presence of both terminal sequences is mandatory for binding. These two terminal regions consist of hydrophilic amino acids and share homologous sequences that are different from those of any known DNA binding motifs. We propose that the DNA binding region of SATB1 extends its two terminal regions toward DNA to make direct contact with DNA.


1995 ◽  
Vol 108 (10) ◽  
pp. 3267-3278 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.P. Evans ◽  
R.M. Schultz ◽  
G.S. Kopf

The guinea pig sperm protein, PH-30 (also known as fertilin), is postulated to participate in the interaction between the sperm and egg plasma membranes. The beta subunit of guinea pig PH-30 (gpPH-30 beta) contains a domain with homology to disintegrins, snake venom proteins that bind to integrins via an integrin-binding domain containing the tripeptide RGD. This raises the question of whether an egg integrin serves as a receptor for PH-30. Although mouse eggs express integrin subunits, their role in mouse fertilization is unresolved. Therefore, we examined fertilization for two different hallmarks of integrin function, namely, dependence of ligand binding on divalent cations and the ability to inhibit ligand binding with RGD peptides. We demonstrate that sperm binding to zona pellucida-free eggs is supported by Ca2+, Mg2+, or Mn2+. Ca2+ was necessary and sufficient for sperm-egg fusion, with 2.5 mM Ca2+ being the most effective concentration. In addition, fertilization could be partially inhibited with various RGD peptides, which caused a decrease in sperm-egg fusion by 30–58%. This partial inhibition of fusion with RGD peptides prompted the cloning of the mouse homologue of gpPH-30 beta (hereafter referred to as mPH-30 beta) to determine if it possessed the tripeptide RGD or a different amino acid sequence in its disintegrin domain. mPH-30 beta, which is expressed during meiotic and post-meiotic phases of spermatogenesis, shares significant similarities to gpPH-30 beta throughout the length of the molecule, from the signal sequence to the cytoplasmic tail. The full-length deduced amino acid sequence of mPH-30 beta. The disintegrin domain of mPH-30 beta has the tripeptide QDE (instead of RGD) in its cell recognition region. Peptides containing this QDE sequence decrease the binding and fusion of sperm with zona pellucida-free eggs by approximately 70%, suggesting that the disintegrin domain of mPH-30 beta participates in the interaction between sperm and egg membranes.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 598-608 ◽  
Author(s):  
J D Chen ◽  
C S Chan ◽  
V Pirrotta

The zeste gene product is involved in two types of genetic effects dependent on chromosome pairing: transvection and the zeste-white interaction. Comparison of the predicted amino acid sequence with that of the Drosophila virilis gene shows that several blocks of amino acid sequence have been very highly conserved. One of these regions corresponds to the DNA binding domain. Site-directed mutations in this region indicate that a sequence resembling that of the homeodomain DNA recognition helix is essential for DNA binding activity. The integrity of an amphipathic helical region is also essential for binding activity and is likely to be responsible for dimerization of the DNA binding domain. Another very strongly conserved domain of zeste is the C-terminal region, predicted to form a long helical structure with two sets of heptad repeats that constitute two long hydrophobic ridges at opposite ends and on opposite faces of the helix. We show that this domain is responsible for the extensive aggregation properties of zeste that are required for its role in transvection phenomena. A model is proposed according to which the hydrophobic ridges induce the formation of open-ended coiled-coil structures holding together many hundreds of zeste molecules and possibly anchoring these complexes to other nuclear structures.


1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 4778-4787 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Buchman ◽  
P Skroch ◽  
W Dixon ◽  
T D Tullius ◽  
M Karin

CUP2 is a copper-dependent transcriptional activator of the yeast CUP1 metallothionein gene. In the presence of Cu+ and Ag+) ions its DNA-binding domain is thought to fold as a cysteine-coordinated Cu cluster which recognizes the palindromic CUP1 upstream activation sequence (UASc). Using mobility shift, methylation interference, and DNase I and hydroxyl radical footprinting assays, we examined the interaction of wild-type and variant CUP2 proteins produced in Escherichia coli with the UASc. Our results suggest that CUP2 has a complex Cu-coordinated DNA-binding domain containing different parts that function as DNA-binding elements recognizing distinct sequence motifs embedded within the UASc. A single-amino-acid substitution of cysteine 11 with a tyrosine results in decreased Cu binding, apparent inactivation of one of the DNA-binding elements and a dramatic change in the recognition properties of CUP2. This variant protein interacts with only one part of the wild-type site and prefers to bind to a different half-site from the wild-type protein. Although the variant has about 10% of wild-type DNA-binding activity, it appears to be completely incapable of activating transcription.


2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (12) ◽  
pp. 2753-2758 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret L. Eng ◽  
John E. Elliott ◽  
Stephanie P. Jones ◽  
Tony D. Williams ◽  
Ken G. Drouillard ◽  
...  

2009 ◽  
Vol 77 (11) ◽  
pp. 5130-5138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideki Nagata ◽  
Mio Iwasaki ◽  
Kazuhiko Maeda ◽  
Masae Kuboniwa ◽  
Ei Hashino ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Porphyromonas gingivalis forms communities with antecedent oral biofilm constituent streptococci. P. gingivalis major fimbriae bind to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) present on the streptococcal surface, and this interaction plays an important role in P. gingivalis colonization. This study identified the binding domain of Streptococcus oralis GAPDH for P. gingivalis fimbriae. S. oralis recombinant GAPDH (rGAPDH) was digested with lysyl endopeptidase. Cleaved fragments of rGAPDH were applied to a reverse-phase high-pressure liquid chromatograph equipped with a C18 column. Each peak was collected; the binding activity toward P. gingivalis recombinant fimbrillin (rFimA) was analyzed with a biomolecular interaction analysis system. The fragment displaying the strongest binding activity was further digested with various proteinases, after which the binding activity of each fragment was measured. The amino acid sequence of each fragment was determined by direct sequencing, mass spectrometric analysis, and amino acid analysis. Amino acid residues 166 to 183 of S. oralis GAPDH exhibited the strongest binding activity toward rFimA; confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed that the synthetic peptide corresponding to amino acid residues 166 to 183 of S. oralis GAPDH (pep166-183, DNFGVVEGLMTTIHAYTG) inhibits S. oralis-P. gingivalis biofilm formation in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, pep166-183 inhibited interbacterial biofilm formation by several oral streptococci and P. gingivalis strains with different types of FimA. These results indicate that the binding domain of S. oralis GAPDH for P. gingivalis fimbriae exists within the region encompassing amino acid residues 166 to 183 of GAPDH and that pep166-183 may be a potent inhibitor of P. gingivalis colonization in the oral cavity.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document