Human acetyl-CoA:glucosamine-6-phosphate N-acetyltransferase 1 has a relaxed donor specificity and transfers acyl groups up to four carbons in length

2016 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inka Brockhausen ◽  
Dileep G. Nair ◽  
Min Chen ◽  
Xiaojing Yang ◽  
John S. Allingham ◽  
...  

Glucosamine-6-phosphate N-acetyltransferase1 (GNA1) catalyses the transfer of an acetyl group from acetyl coenzyme A (AcCoA) to glucosamine-6-phosphate (GlcN6P) to form N-acetylglucosamine-6-phosphate (GlcNAc6P), which is an essential intermediate in UDP-GlcNAc biosynthesis. An analog of GlcNAc, N-butyrylglucosamine (GlcNBu) has shown healing properties for bone and articular cartilage in animal models of arthritis. The goal of this work was to examine whether GNA1 has the ability to transfer a butyryl group from butyryl-CoA to GlcN6P to form GlcNBu6P, which can then be converted to GlcNBu. We developed fluorescent and radioactive assays and examined the donor specificity of human GNA1. Acetyl, propionyl, n-butyryl, and isobutyryl groups were all transferred to GlcN6P, but isovaleryl-CoA and decanoyl-CoA did not serve as donor substrates. Site-specific mutants were produced to examine the role of amino acids potentially affecting the size and properties of the AcCoA binding pocket. All of the wild type and mutant enzymes showed activities of both acetyl and butyryl transfer and can therefore be used for the enzymatic synthesis of GlcNBu for biomedical applications.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Ketkar ◽  
Lane Smith ◽  
Callie Johnson ◽  
Alyssa Richey ◽  
Makayla Berry ◽  
...  

Abstract We previously reported that human Rev1 (hRev1) bound to a parallel-stranded G-quadruplex (G4) from the c-MYC promoter with high affinity. We have extended those results to include other G4 motifs, finding that hRev1 exhibited stronger affinity for parallel-stranded G4 than either anti-parallel or hybrid folds. Amino acids in the αE helix of insert-2 were identified as being important for G4 binding. Mutating E466 and Y470 to alanine selectively perturbed G4 binding affinity. The E466K mutant restored wild-type G4 binding properties. Using a forward mutagenesis assay, we discovered that loss of hRev1 increased G4 mutation frequency >200-fold compared to the control sequence. Base substitutions and deletions occurred around and within the G4 motif. Pyridostatin (PDS) exacerbated this effect, as the mutation frequency increased >700-fold over control and deletions upstream of the G4 site more than doubled. Mutagenic replication of G4 DNA (±PDS) was partially rescued by wild-type and E466K hRev1. The E466A or Y470A mutants failed to suppress the PDS-induced increase in G4 mutation frequency. These findings have implications for the role of insert-2, a motif conserved in vertebrates but not yeast or plants, in Rev1-mediated suppression of mutagenesis during G4 replication.


2015 ◽  
Vol 308 (8) ◽  
pp. C631-C641 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Visentin ◽  
Ersin Selcuk Unal ◽  
Mitra Najmi ◽  
Andras Fiser ◽  
Rongbao Zhao ◽  
...  

The proton-coupled folate transporter (PCFT) mediates intestinal folate absorption and transport of folates across the choroid plexus. This study focuses on the role of Tyr residues in PCFT function. The substituted Cys-accessibility method identified four Tyr residues (Y291, Y362, Y315, and Y414) that are accessible to the extracellular compartment; three of these (Y291, Y362, and Y315) are located within or near the folate binding pocket. When the Tyr residues were replaced with Cys or Ala, these mutants showed similar (up to 6-fold) increases in influx Vmax and Kt/ Ki for [3H]methotrexate and [3H]pemetrexed. When the Tyr residues were replaced with Phe, these changes were moderated or absent. When Y315A PCFT was used as representative of the mutants and [3H]pemetrexed as the transport substrate, this substitution did not increase the efflux rate constant. Furthermore, neither influx nor efflux mediated by Y315A PCFT was transstimulated by the presence of substrate in the opposite compartment; however, substantial bidirectional transstimulation of transport was mediated by wild-type PCFT. This resulted in a threefold greater efflux rate constant for cells that express wild-type PCFT than for cells that express Y315 PCFT under exchange conditions. These data suggest that these Tyr residues, possibly through their rigid side chains, secure the carrier in a high-affinity state for its folate substrates. However, this may be achieved at the expense of constraining the carrier's mobility, thereby decreasing the rate at which the protein oscillates between its conformational states. The Vmax generated by these Tyr mutants may be so rapid that further augmentation during transstimulation may not be possible.


2013 ◽  
Vol 304 (2) ◽  
pp. H253-H259 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Jeshurun Michael ◽  
Sampath K. Gollapudi ◽  
Steven J. Ford ◽  
Katarzyna Kazmierczak ◽  
Danuta Szczesna-Cordary ◽  
...  

The role of cardiac myosin essential light chain (ELC) in the sarcomere length (SL) dependency of myofilament contractility is unknown. Therefore, mechanical and dynamic contractile properties were measured at SL 1.9 and 2.2 μm in cardiac muscle fibers from two groups of transgenic (Tg) mice: 1) Tg-wild-type (WT) mice that expressed WT human ventricular ELC and 2) Tg-Δ43 mice that expressed a mutant ELC lacking 1–43 amino acids. In agreement with previous studies, Ca2+-activated maximal tension decreased significantly in Tg-Δ43 fibers. pCa50 (−log10 [Ca2+]free required for half maximal activation) values at SL of 1.9 μm were 5.64 ± 0.02 and 5.70 ± 0.02 in Tg-WT and Tg-Δ43 fibers, respectively. pCa50 values at SL of 2.2 μm were 5.70 ± 0.01 and 5.71 ± 0.01 in Tg-WT and Tg-Δ43 fibers, respectively. The SL-mediated increase in the pCa50 value was statistically significant only in Tg-WT fibers ( P < 0.01), indicating that the SL dependency of myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity was blunted in Tg-Δ43 fibers. The SL dependency of cross-bridge (XB) detachment kinetics was also blunted in Tg-Δ43 fibers because the decrease in XB detachment kinetics was significant ( P < 0.001) only at SL 1.9 μm. Thus the increased XB dwell time at the short SL augments Ca2+ sensitivity at short SL and thus blunts SL-mediated increase in myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity. Our data suggest that the NH2-terminal extension of cardiac ELC not only augments the amplitude of force generation, but it also may play a role in mediating the SL dependency of XB detachment kinetics and myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity.


Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (2) ◽  
pp. 686-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sridhar Vempati ◽  
Carola Reindl ◽  
Seshu Kumar Kaza ◽  
Ruth Kern ◽  
Theodora Malamoussi ◽  
...  

Abstract FLT3–internal tandem duplications (FLT3-ITDs) comprise a heterogeneous group of mutations in patients with acute leukemias that are prognostically important. To characterize the mechanism of transformation by FLT3-ITDs, we sequenced the juxtamembrane region (JM) of FLT3 from 284 patients with acute leukemias. The length of FLT3-ITDs varied from 2 to 42 amino acids (AAs) with a median of 17 AAs. The analysis of duplicated AAs showed that in the majority of patients, the duplications localize between AAs 591 to 599 (YVDFREYEY). Arginine 595 (R595) within this region is duplicated in 77% of patients. Single duplication of R595 in FLT3 conferred factor-independent growth to Ba/F3 cells and activated STAT5. Moreover, deletion or substitution of the duplicated R595 in 2 FLT3-ITD constructs as well as the deletion of wild-type R595 in FLT3-ITD substantially reduced the transforming potential and STAT5 activation, pointing to a critical role of the positive charge of R595 in stabilizing the active confirmation of FLT3-ITDs. Deletion of R595 in FLT3-WT nearly abrogated the ligand-dependent activation of FLT3-WT. Our data provide important insights into the molecular mechanism of transformation by FLT3-ITDs and show that duplication of R595 is important for the leukemic potential of FLT3-ITDs.


2008 ◽  
Vol 190 (14) ◽  
pp. 5132-5136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey G. Gardner ◽  
Jorge C. Escalante-Semerena

ABSTRACT The acuABC genes of Bacillus subtilis comprise a putative posttranslational modification system. The AcuA protein is a member of the Gcn5-related N-acetyltransferase (GNAT) superfamily, the AcuC protein is a class I histone deacetylase, and the role of the AcuB protein is not known. AcuA controls the activity of acetyl coenzyme A synthetase (AcsA; EC 6.2.1.1) in this bacterium by acetylating residue Lys549. Here we report the kinetic analysis of wild-type and variant AcuA proteins. We contrived a genetic scheme for the identification of AcuA residues critical for activity. Changes at residues H177 and G187 completely inactivated AcuA and led to its rapid turnover. Changes at residues R42 and T169 were less severe. In vitro assay conditions were optimized, and an effective means of inactivating the enzyme was found. The basic kinetic parameters of wild-type and variant AcuA proteins were obtained and compared to those of eukaryotic GNATs. Insights into how the isolated mutations may exert their deleterious effect were investigated by using the crystal structure of an AcuA homolog.


2007 ◽  
Vol 293 (4) ◽  
pp. R1504-R1513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Sclafani ◽  
Steven Zukerman ◽  
John I. Glendinning ◽  
Robert F. Margolskee

Trpm5 and α-gustducin are key to the transduction of tastes of sugars, amino acids, and bitter compounds. This study investigated the role of these signaling proteins in the preference for fat, starch, and starch-derived polysaccharides (Polycose), using Trpm5 knockout (Trpm5 KO) and α-gustducin knockout (Gust KO) mice. In initial two-bottle tests (24 h/day), Trpm5 KO mice showed no preference for soybean oil emulsions (0.313–2.5%), Polycose solutions (0.5–4%), or starch suspensions (0.5–4%). Gust KO mice displayed an attenuated preference for Polycose, but their preferences for soybean oil and starch were comparable to those of C57BL/6J wild-type (WT) mice. Gust KO mice preferred starch to Polycose, whereas WT mice had the opposite preference. After extensive experience with soybean oil emulsions (Intralipid) and Polycose solutions, the Trpm5 KO mice developed preferences comparable to the WT mice, although their absolute intakes remained suppressed. Similarly, Gust KO mice developed a strong Polycose preference with experience, but they continued to consume less than the WT mice. These results implicate α-gustducin and Trpm5 as mediators of polysaccharide taste and Trpm5 in fat taste. The disruption in Polycose, but not starch, preference in Gust KO mice indicates that distinct sensory signaling pathways mediate the response to these carbohydrates. The experience-induced rescue of fat and Polycose preferences in the KO mice likely reflects the action of a postoral-conditioning mechanism, which functions in the absence of α-gustducin and Trpm5.


2003 ◽  
Vol 369 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiang Y. LIU ◽  
Teah L. WITT ◽  
Larry H. MATHERLY

The reduced folate carrier (RFC; SLC19A1) is closely related to the thiamine transporter, SLC19A2 (ThTr1). Hydropathy models for these homologous transporters predict up to 12 transmembrane domains (TMDs), with internally oriented N- and C-termini and a large central loop between TMDs 6 and 7. The homologies are localized mostly in the TMDs. However, there is little similarity in their N- and C-terminal domains and the central peptide linkers connecting putative TMDs 1—6 and TMDs 7—12. To explore the functional role of the 61-amino acid central linker in the human RFC (hRFC), we introduced deletions of 49 and 60 amino acids into this region, differing by the presence of a stretch of 11 highly conserved amino acids between the human and rodent RFCs (positions 204—214). An additional hRFC construct was prepared in which only the 11 conserved amino acids were deleted. The resulting hRFCD215—R263Δ, hRFCK204—R263Δ and hRFCK204—R214Δ proteins were transfected into transport-impaired K562 cells. The deletion constructs were all expressed in plasma membranes; however, they were completely inactive for methotrexate and (6S)5-formyl tetrahydrofolate transport. Insertion of non-homologous 73- and 84-amino acid fragments from the structurally analogous ThTr1 linker region into position 204 of hRFCK204—R263Δ restored low levels of transport (16—21% of the wild type). Insertion of the ThTr1 linkers into hRFCD215—R263Δ at position 215 restored 60—80% of wild-type levels of transport. Collectively, our results suggest that the role of the hRFC linker peptide is to provide the proper spatial orientation between the two halves of the hRFC protein for optimal function, and that this is largely independent of amino acid sequence. Our results also demonstrate a critical transport role for the stretch of 11 conserved amino acids starting at position 204 of hRFC.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shikha Jindal ◽  
Poonam Jyoti ◽  
Venkatesh V Kareenhalli ◽  
Shyam Kumar Masakapalli

Microbial metabolism of long-chain fatty acids (LCFA; > C12) is of relevance owing to their presence in various nutrient niches. Microbes have evolved to metabolize LCFA by expressing relevant genes coordinated by various transcriptional regulators. Among the global transcriptional regulators, the metabolic control conferred by arcA (aerobic respiration control) under a LCFA medium is lacking. This work is targeted to unravel the metabolic features of E.coli MG1655 and its knockout strain ΔarcA under oleate (C18:1) as a sole carbon source, providing novel insights into the flexibility of the global regulators in maintaining the cellular physiology. Owing to the availability and cost of stable isotope LCFA tracers, we adopted a novel kinetic 13C dilution strategy. This allowed us to quantify the 13C dilution rates in the amino acids that retro-biosynthetically shed light on the central metabolic pathways in actively growing cells. Our data comprehensively mapped oleate oxidization in E.coli via the pathways of β-oxidation, TCA cycle, anaplerotic and gluconeogenesis. Interestingly, arcA knockout showed expeditious growth (~60%) along with an increased oleate utilization rate (~55%) relative to the wild-type. ΔarcA also exhibited higher 13C dilution rates (> 20%) in proteinogenic amino acids than the wild-type. Overall, the study established the de-repression effect conferred by ΔarcA in E.coli, which resulted in a phenotype with reprogrammed metabolism favouring higher oleate assimilation. The outcomes suggest rational metabolic engineering of regulators as a strategy to develop smart cells for enhanced biotransformation of LCFA. This study also opens an avenue for adopting a kinetic 13C dilution strategy to decipher the cellular metabolism of a plethora of substrates, including other LCFA in microbes.


1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 5182-5191
Author(s):  
P Wang ◽  
M Reed ◽  
Y Wang ◽  
G Mayr ◽  
J E Stenger ◽  
...  

Wild-type p53 forms tetramers and multiples of tetramers. Friedman et al. (P. N. Friedman, X. B. Chen, J. Bargonetti, and C. Prives, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90:3319-3323, 1993) have reported that human p53 behaves as a larger molecule during gel filtration than it does during sucrose gradient sedimentation. These differences argue that wild-type p53 has a nonglobular shape. To identify structural and oligomerization domains in p53, we have investigated the physical properties of purified segments of p53. The central, specific DNA-binding domain within murine amino acids 80 to 320 and human amino acids 83 to 323 behaves predominantly as monomers during analysis by sedimentation, gel filtration, and gel electrophoresis. This consistent behavior argues that the central region of p53 is globular in shape. Under appropriate conditions, however, this segment can form transient oligomers without apparent preference for a single oligomeric structure. This region does not enhance transformation by other oncogenes. The biological implications of transient oligomerization by this central segment, therefore, remain to be demonstrated. Like wild-type p53, the C terminus, consisting of murine amino acids 280 to 390 and human amino acids 283 to 393, behaves anomalously during gel filtration and apparently has a nonglobular shape. Within this region, murine amino acids 315 to 350 and human amino acids 323 to 355 are sufficient for assembly of stable tetramers. The finding that murine amino acids 315 to 360 enhance transformation by other oncogenes strongly supports the role of p53 tetramerization in oncogenesis. Amino acids 330 to 390 of murine p53 and amino acids 340 to 393 of human p53, which have been implicated by Sturzbecher et al. in tetramerization (H.-W. Sturzbecher, R. Brain, C. Addison, K. Rudge, M. Remm, M. Grimaldi, E. Keenan, and J. R. Jenkins, Oncogene 7:1513-1523, 1992), do not form stable tetramers under our conditions. Our findings indicate that p53 has at least two autonomous oligomerization domains: a strong tetramerization domain in its C-terminal region and a weaker oligomerization domain in the central DNA binding region of p53. Together, these domains account for the formation of tetramers and multiples of tetramers by wild-type p53. The tetramerization domain is the major determinant of the dominant negative phenotype leading to transformation by mutant p53s.


2015 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 1062-1069 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana N. Raugi ◽  
Robert A. Smith ◽  
Geoffrey S. Gottlieb ◽  

ABSTRACTProtease is essential for retroviral replication, and protease inhibitors (PI) are important for treating HIV infection. HIV-2 exhibits intrinsic resistance to most FDA-approved HIV-1 PI, retaining clinically useful susceptibility only to lopinavir, darunavir, and saquinavir. The mechanisms for this resistance are unclear; although HIV-1 and HIV-2 proteases share just 38 to 49% sequence identity, all critical structural features of proteases are conserved. Structural studies have implicated four amino acids in the ligand-binding pocket (positions 32, 47, 76, and 82). We constructed HIV-2ROD9molecular clones encoding the corresponding wild-type HIV-1 amino acids (I32V, V47I, M76L, and I82V) either individually or together (clone PRΔ4) and compared the phenotypic sensitivities (50% effective concentration [EC50]) of mutant and wild-type viruses to nine FDA-approved PI. Single amino acid replacements I32V, V47I, and M76L increased the susceptibility of HIV-2 to multiple PI, but no single change conferred class-wide sensitivity. In contrast, clone PRΔ4 showed PI susceptibility equivalent to or greater than that of HIV-1 for all PI. We also compared crystallographic structures of wild-type HIV-1 and HIV-2 proteases complexed with amprenavir and darunavir to models of the PRΔ4 enzyme. These models suggest that the amprenavir sensitivity of PRΔ4 is attributable to stabilizing enzyme-inhibitor interactions in the P2 and P2′ pockets of the protease dimer. Together, our results show that the combination of four amino acid changes in HIV-2 protease confer a pattern of PI susceptibility comparable to that of HIV-1, providing a structural rationale for intrinsic HIV-2 PI resistance and resolving long-standing questions regarding the determinants of differential PI susceptibility in HIV-1 and HIV-2.IMPORTANCEProteases are essential for retroviral replication, and HIV-1 and HIV-2 proteases share a great deal of structural similarity. However, only three of nine FDA-approved HIV-1 protease inhibitors (PI) are active against HIV-2. The underlying reasons for intrinsic PI resistance in HIV-2 are not known. We examined the contributions of four amino acids in the ligand-binding pocket of the enzyme that differ between HIV-1 and HIV-2 by constructing HIV-2 clones encoding the corresponding HIV-1 amino acids and testing the PI susceptibilities of the resulting viruses. We found that the HIV-2 clone containing all four changes (PRΔ4) was as susceptible as HIV-1 to all nine PI. We also modeled the PRΔ4 enzyme structure and compared it to existing crystallographic structures of HIV-1 and HIV-2 proteases complexed with amprenavir and darunavir. Our findings demonstrate that four positions in the ligand-binding cleft of protease are the primary cause of HIV-2 PI resistance.


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