scholarly journals Efficacy of Mutant HPV-16 E6 Proteins in p53 Degradation

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Lange ◽  
Anne Rietz ◽  
Elliot Androphy

Background and Objective:   High-risk human papilloma viruses (HPV) are the causative agent in the majority of anal, cervical, vaginal, vulvar, penile, and oropharyngeal cancers with an annual incidence of 630,000 cases world-wide. These viruses initially cause dysplasia that subsequently increases neoplasia risk. HPV’s encode eight major viral proteins with the E6 protein being crucial for replication. E6 binding to ubiquitin ligase E6AP initiates polyubiquitination of p53, targeting the protein for proteasomal degradation. We are taking a novel approach to inhibit HPV16+ dysplasia and cancers by designing inhibitors targeting specific amino acids of 16E6, which reside in the E6-E6AP binding pocket, thereby preventing p53 degradation. To affirm interaction with the targeted side chain, we generated E6 point mutations that serve as specificity controls. These mutations are designed to disrupt interaction with the compound. To ensure their suitability for our studies, we are herein characterizing their capacity to bind E6AP and bind and degrade p53.     Methods:   E6 mutants were generated by site-directed mutagenesis and analyzed by sequencing. H1299 cells were transfected with GFP, wild-type (WT) E6, or mutant HPV-16 E6 plasmids +/- WT p53 plasmid. After 48 hours, cells are lysed and 16E6 was immunoprecipitated. Proteins bound to 16 E6 were separated by SDS-PAGE and subjected to western blot. Binding to E6AP and p53 was analyzed and presence of 16E6 was confirmed by immunoblotting. To test for p53 degradation, H1299 cells were transfected with firefly luciferase (Fluc) (transfection control) and p53-luciferase along with WT E6, mutant E6 proteins, or empty LXSN plasmid. After 24 hours p53-luciferase was measured with Dual-Glo Luciferase Assay.     Results:    To be determined    Conclusion:     To be determined 

2012 ◽  
Vol 443 (3) ◽  
pp. 769-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Márcia A. Liz ◽  
Sérgio C. Leite ◽  
Luiz Juliano ◽  
Maria J. Saraiva ◽  
Ana M. Damas ◽  
...  

TTR (transthyretin) was found recently to possess proteolytic competency besides its well-known transport capabilities. It was described as a cryptic serine peptidase cleaving multiple natural substrates (including β-amyloid and apolipoprotein A-I) involved in diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and atherosclerosis. In the present study, we aimed to elucidate the catalytic machinery of TTR. All attempts to identify a catalytic serine residue were unsuccessful. However, metal chelators abolished TTR activity. Proteolytic inhibition by EDTA or 1,10-phenanthroline could be reversed with Zn2+ and Mn2+. These observations, supported by analysis of three-dimensional structures of TTR complexed with Zn2+, led to the hypothesis that TTR is a metallopeptidase. Site-directed mutagenesis of selected amino acids unambiguously confirmed this hypothesis. The TTR active site is inducible and constituted via a protein rearrangement resulting in ~7% of proteolytically active TTR at pH 7.4. The side chain of His88 is shifted near His90 and Glu92 establishing a Zn2+-chelating pattern HXHXE not found previously in any metallopeptidase and only conserved in TTR of humans and some other primates. Point mutations of these three residues yielded proteins devoid of proteolytic activity. Glu72 was identified as the general base involved in activation of the catalytic water. Our results unveil TTR as a metallopeptidase and define its catalytic machinery.


1992 ◽  
Vol 283 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Bourguignon-Bellefroid ◽  
B Joris ◽  
J Van Beeumen ◽  
J M Ghuysen ◽  
J M Frère

Incubation of the exocellular DD-carboxypeptidase/transpeptidase of Streptomyces R61 with phenylglyoxal resulted in a time-dependent decrease in the enzyme activity. This inactivation was demonstrated to be due to modification of the Arg-99 side chain. In consequence, the role of that residue was investigated by site-directed mutagenesis. Mutation of Arg-99 into leucine appeared to be highly detrimental to enzyme stability, reflecting a determining structural role for this residue. The conserved Arg-103 residue was also substituted by using site-directed mutagenesis. The modification to a serine residue yielded a stable enzyme, the catalytic properties of which were similar to those of the wild-type enzyme. Thus Arg-103, although strictly conserved or replaced by a lysine residue in most of the active-site penicillin-recognizing proteins, did not appear to fulfil any essential role in either the enzyme activity or structure.


2008 ◽  
Vol 414 (3) ◽  
pp. 383-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Frazzetto ◽  
Cenk Suphioglu ◽  
Jiuxiang Zhu ◽  
Oleg Schmidt-Kittler ◽  
Ian G. Jennings ◽  
...  

The last few years have seen the identification of numerous small molecules that selectively inhibit specific class I isoforms of PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase), yet little has been revealed about the molecular basis for the observed selectivities. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we have investigated one of the areas postulated as being critical to the observed selectivity. The residues Thr886 and Lys890 of the PI3Kγ isoform project towards the ATP-binding pocket at the entrance to the catalytic site, but are not conserved. We have made reciprocal mutations between those residues in the β isoform (Glu858 and Asp862) and those in the α isoform (His855 and Gln859) and evaluated the potency of a range of reported PI3K inhibitors. The results show that the potencies of β-selective inhibitors TGX221 and TGX286 are unaffected by this change. In contrast, close analogues of these compounds, particularly the α-isoform-selective compound (III), are markedly influenced by the point mutations. The collected data suggests two distinct binding poses for these inhibitor classes, one of which is associated with potent PI3Kβ activity and is not associated with the mutated residues, and a second that, in accord with earlier hypotheses, does involve this pair of non-conserved amino acids at the catalytic site entrance and contributes to the α-isoform-selectivity of the compounds studied.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
JrGang Cheng ◽  
Steven M. Hollenback ◽  
Yaohong Wu ◽  
Vladimir Ghukasyan ◽  
Suzanne Lyman

Site-directed mutagenesis with DNA oligos is a powerful tool to generate subtle alterations in DNA. Taking advantage of strand replacement during lambda-red recombineering, mutations on DNA (donor) can be introduced into another DNA construct (acceptor) via targeting.  We describe a novel approach that takes advantage of the specificity of homologous recombination and the convenience of positive selection to insert mutations into existing DNA constructs.  With simple procedures, we generated a “transitory” selection marker that is used to carry modifications into acceptor DNA and then removed by enzyme manipulation, leaving only the desired mutation without any scar.  Overall, this method of targeting mutagenesis via recombineering provides a precision manipulation of DNA and avoids the extensive PCR reaction.  Not only can this method be used to make point mutations, truncations or Epitope-tags, but it can also be used to import existing mutations, generate in-frame fusion, or repair missing components.


1996 ◽  
Vol 75 (02) ◽  
pp. 313-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
D J Kim ◽  
A Girolami ◽  
H L James

SummaryNaturally occurring plasma factor XFriuli (pFXFr) is marginally activated by both the extrinsic and intrinsic coagulation pathways and has impaired catalytic potential. These studies were initiated to obtain confirmation that this molecule is multi-functionally defective due to the substitution of Ser for Pro at position 343 in the catalytic domain. By the Nelson-Long site-directed mutagenesis procedure a construct of cDNA in pRc/CMV was derived for recombinant factor XFriuli (rFXFr) produced in human embryonic (293) kidney cells. The rFXFr was purified and shown to have a molecular size identical to that of normal plasma factor X (pFX) by gel electrophoretic, and amino-terminal sequencing revealed normal processing cleavages. Using recombinant normal plasma factor X (rFXN) as a reference, the post-translational y-carboxy-glutamic acid (Gla) and (β-hydroxy aspartic acid (β-OH-Asp) content of rFXFr was over 85% and close to 100%, respectively, of expected levels. The specific activities of rFXFr in activation and catalytic assays were the same as those of pFXFr. Molecular modeling suggested the involvement of a new H-bond between the side-chains of Ser-343 and Thr-318 as they occur in anti-parallel (3-pleated sheets near the substrate-binding pocket of pFXFr. These results support the conclusion that the observed mutation in pFXFr is responsible for its dysfunctional activation and catalytic potentials, and that it accounts for the moderate bleeding tendency in the homozygous individuals who possess this variant procoagulant.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Bitam ◽  
Ahmad Elbahnsi ◽  
Geordie Creste ◽  
Iwona Pranke ◽  
Benoit Chevalier ◽  
...  

AbstractC407 is a compound that corrects the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) protein carrying the p.Phe508del (F508del) mutation. We investigated the corrector effect of c407 and its derivatives on F508del-CFTR protein. Molecular docking and dynamics simulations combined with site-directed mutagenesis suggested that c407 stabilizes the F508del-Nucleotide Binding Domain 1 (NBD1) during the co-translational folding process by occupying the position of the p.Phe1068 side chain located at the fourth intracellular loop (ICL4). After CFTR domains assembly, c407 occupies the position of the missing p.Phe508 side chain. C407 alone or in combination with the F508del-CFTR corrector VX-809, increased CFTR activity in cell lines but not in primary respiratory cells carrying the F508del mutation. A structure-based approach resulted in the synthesis of an extended c407 analog G1, designed to improve the interaction with ICL4. G1 significantly increased CFTR activity and response to VX-809 in primary nasal cells of F508del homozygous patients. Our data demonstrate that in-silico optimized c407 derivative G1 acts by a mechanism different from the reference VX-809 corrector and provide insights into its possible molecular mode of action. These results pave the way for novel strategies aiming to optimize the flawed ICL4–NBD1 interface.


2004 ◽  
Vol 385 (12) ◽  
pp. 1171-1175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhan-Yun Guo ◽  
Xiao-Yuan Jia ◽  
You-Min Feng

Abstract Insulin contains three disulfide bonds, one intrachain bond, A6–A11, and two interchain bonds, A7–B7 and A20–B19. Site-directed mutagenesis results (the two cysteine residues of disulfide A7–B7 were replaced by serine) showed that disulfide A7–B7 is crucial to both the structure and activity of insulin. However, chemical modification results showed that the insulin analogs still retained relatively high biological activity when A7Cys and B7Cys were modified by chemical groups with a negative charge. Did the negative charge of the modification groups restore the loss of activity and/or the disturbance of structure of these insulin analogs caused by deletion of disulfide A7–B7? To answer this question, an insulin analog with both A7Cys and B7Cys replaced by Glu, which has a long side-chain and a negative charge, was prepared by protein engineering, and its structure and activity were analyzed. Both the structure and activity of the present analog are very similar to that of the mutant with disulfide A7–B7 replaced by Ser, but significantly different from that of wild-type insulin. The present results suggest that removal of disulfide A7–B7 will result in serious loss of biological activity and the native conformation of insulin, even if the disulfide is replaced by residues with a negative charge.


2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Siebring-van Olst ◽  
Christie Vermeulen ◽  
Renee X. de Menezes ◽  
Michael Howell ◽  
Egbert F. Smit ◽  
...  

The firefly luciferase gene is commonly used in cell-based reporter assays. Convenient luciferase assay reagents for use in high-throughput screening (HTS) are commercially available. However, the high cost of these reagents is not within the means of some academic laboratories. Therefore, we set out to develop an affordable luciferase assay reagent applicable in an HTS format using simple liquid-handling steps. The reagent was homemade from individual chemical components and optimized for luminescence intensity and stability. We determined the minimal concentrations of the most expensive components, dithiothreitol (DTT) and D-luciferin, resulting in a total assay reagent cost of less than 1 cent per sample. Signal stability was maximized by omission of coenzyme A and reduction of DTT concentration. The assay was validated in a high-throughput setting using two cancer cell lines carrying a p53-dependent luciferase reporter construct and siRNAs modulating p53 transcriptional activity. Induction of p53 activity by silencing PPM1D or SYVN1 and reduction of p53 activity by silencing p53 remained constant over a 2-h measurement period, with good assay quality (Z′ factors mostly above 0.5). Hence, the luciferase assay described herein can be used for affordable reporter readout in cell-based HTS.


2010 ◽  
Vol 136 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natascia Vedovato ◽  
David C. Gadsby

Interactions of the three transported Na ions with the Na/K pump remain incompletely understood. Na/K pump crystal structures show that the extended C terminus of the Na,K–adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) α subunit directly contacts transmembrane helices. Deletion of the last five residues (KETYY in almost all Na/K pumps) markedly lowered the apparent affinity for Na activation of pump phosphorylation from ATP, a reflection of cytoplasmic Na affinity for forming the occluded E1P(Na3) conformation. ATPase assays further suggested that C-terminal truncations also interfere with low affinity Na interactions, which are attributable to extracellular effects. Because extracellular Na ions traverse part of the membrane’s electric field to reach their binding sites in the Na/K pump, their movements generate currents that can be monitored with high resolution. We report here electrical measurements to examine how Na/K pump interactions with extracellular Na ions are influenced by C-terminal truncations. We deleted the last two (YY) or five (KESYY) residues in Xenopus laevis α1 Na/K pumps made ouabain resistant by either of two kinds of point mutations and measured their currents as 10-mM ouabain–sensitive currents in Xenopus oocytes after silencing endogenous Xenopus Na/K pumps with 1 µM ouabain. We found the low affinity inhibitory influence of extracellular Na on outward Na/K pump current at negative voltages to be impaired in all of the C-terminally truncated pumps. Correspondingly, voltage jump–induced transient charge movements that reflect pump interactions with extracellular Na ions were strongly shifted to more negative potentials; this signals a several-fold reduction of the apparent affinity for extracellular Na in the truncated pumps. Parallel lowering of Na affinity on both sides of the membrane argues that the C-terminal contacts provide important stabilization of the occluded E1P(Na3) conformation, regardless of the route of Na ion entry into the binding pocket. Gating measurements of palytoxin-opened Na/K pump channels additionally imply that the C-terminal contacts also help stabilize pump conformations with occluded K ions.


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