scholarly journals Structure-Function Analysis of the C-Terminal Domain of LcrV from Yersinia pestis

2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (18) ◽  
pp. 6734-6739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamad A. Hamad ◽  
Matthew L. Nilles

ABSTRACT LcrV, a multifunctional protein, acts as a positive regulator of effector protein secretion for the type III secretion system (T3SS) in Yersinia pestis by interaction with the negative regulator LcrG. In this study, LcrV was analyzed to identify regions required for LcrG interaction. Random-linker insertion mutagenesis, deletion analysis, and site-directed mutagenesis of hydrophobic amino acids between residues 290 and 311 allowed the isolation of an LcrV mutant (LcrV L291R F308R) defective for LcrG interaction. The new residues identified in LcrG interaction lie in helix 12 of LcrV; residues in helix 7 of LcrV are known to be involved in LcrG interaction. Helix 7 and helix 12 of LcrV interact to form an intramolecular coiled coil; these new results suggest that the intramolecular coiled coil in LcrV is required for LcrG interaction and activation of the T3SS.

2011 ◽  
Vol 79 (8) ◽  
pp. 3028-3035 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim H. Szeto ◽  
Andréa Dessen ◽  
Vladimir Pelicic

ABSTRACTType IV pili (Tfp) are widespread filamentous bacterial organelles that mediate multiple functions and play a key role in pathogenesis in several important human pathogens, includingNeisseria meningitidis. Tfp biology remains poorly understood at a molecular level because the roles of the numerous proteins that are involved remain mostly obscure. Guided by the high-resolution crystal structure we recently reported forN. meningitidisPilW, a widely conserved protein essential for Tfp biogenesis, we have performed a structure/function analysis by targeting a series of key residues through site-directed mutagenesis and analyzing the corresponding variants using an array of phenotypic assays. Here we show that PilW's involvement in the functionality of Tfp can be genetically uncoupled from its concurrent role in the assembly/stabilization of the secretin channels through which Tfp emerge on the bacterial surface. These findings suggest that PilW is a multifunctional protein.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1393
Author(s):  
Thanyaporn Dechtawewat ◽  
Sittiruk Roytrakul ◽  
Yodying Yingchutrakul ◽  
Sawanya Charoenlappanit ◽  
Bunpote Siridechadilok ◽  
...  

Dengue virus (DENV) infection causes a spectrum of dengue diseases that have unclear underlying mechanisms. Nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) is a multifunctional protein of DENV that is involved in DENV infection and dengue pathogenesis. This study investigated the potential post-translational modification of DENV NS1 by phosphorylation following DENV infection. Using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), 24 potential phosphorylation sites were identified in both cell-associated and extracellular NS1 proteins from three different cell lines infected with DENV. Cell-free kinase assays also demonstrated kinase activity in purified preparations of DENV NS1 proteins. Further studies were conducted to determine the roles of specific phosphorylation sites on NS1 proteins by site-directed mutagenesis with alanine substitution. The T27A and Y32A mutations had a deleterious effect on DENV infectivity. The T29A, T230A, and S233A mutations significantly decreased the production of infectious DENV but did not affect relative levels of intracellular DENV NS1 expression or NS1 secretion. Only the T230A mutation led to a significant reduction of detectable DENV NS1 dimers in virus-infected cells; however, none of the mutations interfered with DENV NS1 oligomeric formation. These findings highlight the importance of DENV NS1 phosphorylation that may pave the way for future target-specific antiviral drug design.


1992 ◽  
Vol 283 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
J A Feild ◽  
R H Reid ◽  
D J Rieman ◽  
T P Kline ◽  
G Sathe ◽  
...  

Site-directed mutants of transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha) were expressed in an Escherichia coli outer membrane protein A (ompA) expression/secretion vector under the transcriptional control of the lambda PL promoter. TGF-alpha mutant proteins were isolated from cell pellets using alkaline extraction with 0.1 M-Tris (pH 10.5). The levels of protein expression of 23 TGF-alpha mutants were comparable with those of wild-type TGF-alpha, as determined by immunoblotting and radioimmunoassay. An analysis of biological activity using as assays radioreceptor binding competition and colony formation in soft agar showed that the following mutations destroy the activity of TGF-alpha: Gly-19 to Val, Val-33 to Pro and Gly-40 to Val. Mutations of Arg-42 to Lys, Leu-48 to Ala, Tyr-38 to Trp or Phe-17 to Tyr significantly decrease, but do not destroy, biological activity when compared with the wild-type. Mutations in 14 other residues did not significantly alter receptor binding or colony-forming activity. These studies suggest that two domains localized at the surface of TGF-alpha are important in receptor binding and colony-forming activity. Domain I involves amino acid residues which include Tyr-38 and Leu-48; domain II includes residues Phe-15, Phe-17 and Arg-42.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2316
Author(s):  
Nodoka Kasajima ◽  
Keita Matsuno ◽  
Hiroko Miyamoto ◽  
Masahiro Kajihara ◽  
Manabu Igarashi ◽  
...  

Viral protein 35 (VP35) of Ebola virus (EBOV) is a multifunctional protein that mainly acts as a viral polymerase cofactor and an interferon antagonist. VP35 interacts with the viral nucleoprotein (NP) and double-stranded RNA for viral RNA transcription/replication and inhibition of type I interferon (IFN) production, respectively. The C-terminal portion of VP35, which is termed the IFN-inhibitory domain (IID), is important for both functions. To further identify critical regions in this domain, we analyzed the physical properties of the surface of VP35 IID, focusing on hydrophobic patches, which are expected to be functional sites that are involved in interactions with other molecules. Based on the known structural information of VP35 IID, three hydrophobic patches were identified on its surface and their biological importance was investigated using minigenome and IFN-β promoter-reporter assays. Site-directed mutagenesis revealed that some of the amino acid substitutions that were predicted to disrupt the hydrophobicity of the patches significantly decreased the efficiency of viral genome replication/transcription due to reduced interaction with NP, suggesting that the hydrophobic patches might be critical for the formation of a replication complex through the interaction with NP. It was also found that the hydrophobic patches were involved in the IFN-inhibitory function of VP35. These results highlight the importance of hydrophobic patches on the surface of EBOV VP35 IID and also indicate that patch analysis is useful for the identification of amino acid residues that directly contribute to protein functions.


1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 4744-4756
Author(s):  
J Schultz ◽  
L Marshall-Carlson ◽  
M Carlson

The SSN6 protein functions as a negative regulator of a variety of genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and is required for normal growth, mating, and sporulation. It is a member of a family defined by a repeated amino acid sequence, the TPR (tetratricopeptide repeat) motif. Here, we have used specific antibody to identify and characterize the SSN6 protein. Both SSN6 and a bifunctional SSN6-beta-galactosidase fusion protein were localized in the nucleus by immunofluorescence staining. The N-terminal one-third of the protein containing the TPR units was identified as the region that is important for SSN6 function. Analysis of four nonsense alleles, isolated as intragenic suppressors of an ssn6::URA3 insertion, revealed that polypeptides truncated after TPR unit 7 provide SSN6 function. Deletion analysis suggested that TPR units are required but that 4 of the 10 TPR units are sufficient. In addition, deletion studies indicated that three very long, homogeneous tracts of polyglutamine and poly(glutamine-alanine) are dispensable. Previous genetic evidence suggested the SSN6 protein as a possible target of the SNF1 protein kinase. Here, we show that the C terminus of SSN6 is phosphorylated in vivo and that the SNF1 kinase is not responsible for most of the phosphorylation. Finally, SSN6 has a modest effect on the maintenance of minichromosomes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
István Hajdú ◽  
András Szilágyi ◽  
Barbara M. Végh ◽  
András Wacha ◽  
Dániel Györffy ◽  
...  

AbstractRho-associated protein kinase 2 (ROCK2) is a membrane-anchored, long, flexible, multidomain, multifunctional protein. Its functions can be divided into two categories: membrane-proximal and membrane-distal. A recent study concluded that membrane-distal functions require the fully extended conformation, and this conclusion was supported by electron microscopy. The present solution small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) study revealed that ROCK2 population is a dynamic mixture of folded and partially extended conformers. Binding of RhoA to the coiled-coil domain shifts the equilibrium towards the partially extended state. Enzyme activity measurements suggest that the binding of natural protein substrates to the kinase domain breaks up the interaction between the N-terminal kinase and C-terminal regulatory domains, but smaller substrate analogues do not. The present study reveals the dynamic behaviour of this long, dimeric molecule in solution, and our structural model provides a mechanistic explanation for a set of membrane-proximal functions while allowing for the existence of an extended conformation in the case of membrane-distal functions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (7) ◽  
pp. 677-687
Author(s):  
Lipei Xu ◽  
Tingting Zhang ◽  
Wensi Huang ◽  
Xiaohui Liu ◽  
Junlei Lu ◽  
...  

AbstractLung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 80%–85% of diagnostic cases. The molecular mechanisms of NSCLC pathogenesis are not well understood. Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K (hnRNPK) is a multifunctional protein that regulates gene expression and signal transduction and closely associated with tumorigenesis, but its mechanism of action in the pathogenesis of NSCLC is unclear. In this study, we observed that the expression pattern of hnRNPK in H1299 lung adenocarcinoma cells varied depending on the cell density in culture. Moreover, hnRNPK stimulated the ability of proliferation and colony formation of H1299 cells, which is important for the multilayered cell growth in culture. We further investigated whether there is an association between hnRNPK and the elements involved in the cell contact inhibition pathway. By using quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assay and a YAP activity reporter system, we found that hnRNPK upregulated the mRNA and protein levels and transcriptional activity of Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP), a master negative regulator of Hippo contact inhibition pathway. Furthermore, YAP knockdown with siRNA abolished the stimulatory effect of hnRNPK on H1299 cell proliferation. These results suggested that YAP could be one of the effectors of hnRNPK. Our data may provide new clues for further understanding the biological functions of hnRNPK, particularly in the context of lung adenocarcinoma oncogenesis.


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