10,509 research outputs found
CHAPTER 1.1. Disulfide Bonds in Protein Folding and Stability
No full textDisulfide bonds are unique among post-translational modifications, as they add covalent crosslinks to the polypeptide chain. Accordingly, they can exert pronounced effects on protein folding and stability. This is of particular importance for secreted or cell surface proteins, where disulfide bonds are abundant and serve to stabilize proteins against unfolding and dissociation in the extracellular milieu. However, in addition to these bonds providing security to a natively folded protein or aiding the folding process by stabilizing folding intermediates, the cysteines that form these bonds can be perilous during the maturation of nascent polypeptide chains as they enter the endoplasmic reticulum where the concentration of unfolded proteins approaches millimolar levels. This danger is even greater if the native bonds ultimately form between non-consecutive cysteines that are distant in the linear sequence or if non-native bonds are a prerequisite to achieving the final, functional structure of a protein. A wealth of exquisite detail has been obtained from in vitro studies on the biophysical effects of disulfide bonds on protein folding. Correspondingly, in-depth in vivo studies have established that the same principles apply to oxidative folding in a cell, but reveal a much more complex folding trajectory for many of the proteins that have been examined. In this chapter, we review the biophysical properties of disulfide bonds and how they affect the structure and folding of individual proteins. Based on this, we discuss similarities and differences between in vitro and in vivo folding reactions. The types of disulfide bonds that form during co-translational protein folding are described, as are the cellular strategies for accommodating this risk-laden covalent modification. We conclude with a discussion of the impact of disulfide bonds on protein misfolding and human disease
Studying protein-protein interactions using peptide arrays
No full textScreening of arrays and libraries of compounds is well-established as a high-throughput method for detecting and analyzing interactions in both biological and chemical systems. Arrays and libraries can be composed from various types of molecules, ranging from small organic compounds to DNA, proteins and peptides. The applications of libraries for detecting and characterizing biological interactions are wide and diverse, including for example epitope mapping, carbohydrate arrays, enzyme binding and protein–protein interactions. Here, we will focus on the use of peptide arrays to study protein–protein interactions. Characterization of protein–protein interactions is crucial for understanding cell functionality. Using peptides, it is possible to map the precise binding sites in such complexes. Peptide array libraries usually contain partly overlapping peptides derived from the sequence of one protein from the complex of interest. The peptides are attached to a solid support using various techniques such as SPOT-synthesis and photolithography. Then, the array is incubated with the partner protein from the complex of interest. Finally, the detection of the protein-bound peptides is carried out by using immunodetection assays. Peptide array screening is semi-quantitative, and quantitative studies with selected peptides in solution are required to validate and complement the screening results. These studies can improve our fundamental understanding of cellular processes by characterizing amino acid patterns of protein–protein interactions, which may even develop into prediction algorithms. The binding peptides can then serve as a basis for the design of drugs that inhibit or activate the target protein–protein interactions. In the current review, we will introduce the recent work on this subject performed in our and in other laboratories. We will discuss the applications, advantages and disadvantages of using peptide arrays as a tool to study protein–protein interaction
Picky Hsp90-Every Game with Another Mate
No full textIn this issue of Molecular Cell, Sahasrabudhe et al. (2017) present a dramatically renovated functional cycle for the molecular chaperone Hsp90, which stimulates re-thinking of the mechanism of this vital protein folding machine
Pyramidalization of the Glycosidic Nitrogen Provides the Way for Efficient Cleavage of the N‑Glycosidic Bond of 8‑OxoG with the hOGG1 DNA Repair Protein
No full textA mechanistic pathway for cleavage of the N-glycosidic bond of 8-oxo-2′-deoxyguanosine (oxoG) catalyzed with the human 8-oxoguanine glycosylase 1 DNA repair protein (hOGG1) is proposed in this theoretical study. The reaction scheme suggests direct proton addition to the glycosidic nitrogen N9 of oxoG from the Nε-ammonium of Lys249 residue of hOGG1 that is enabled owing to the N9 pyramidal geometry. The N9-pyramidalization of oxoG is induced within hOGG1 active site. The coordination of N9 nitrogen to the Nε-ammonium of Lys249 unveiled by available crystal structures enables concerted, synchronous substitution of the N9−C1′ bond by the N9−H bond. The reaction is compared with other pathways already proposed by means of calculated activation energies. The ΔG# energy for the newly proposed reaction mechanism calculated with the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) method 17.0 kcal mol−1 is significantly lower than ΔG# energies for other reactions employing attack of the Nε-amino group to the anomeric carbon C1′ of oxoG and attack of the Nε-ammonium to the N3 nitrogen of oxoG base. Moreover, activation energy for the oxoG cleavage proceeding via N9-pyramidalization is lower than energy calculated for normal G because the electronic state of the five-membered aromatic ring of oxoG is better suited for the reaction. The modification of aromatic character introduced by oxidation to the nucleobase thus seems to be the factor that is checked by hOGG1 to achieve base-specific cleavage
Hsp90 Breaks the Deadlock of the Hsp70 Chaperone System
No full textProtein folding in the cell requires ATP-driven chaperone machines such as the conserved Hsp70 and Hsp90. It is enigmatic how these machines fold proteins. Here, we show that Hsp90 takes a key role in protein folding by breaking an Hsp70-inflicted folding block, empowering protein clients to fold on their own. At physiological concentrations, Hsp70 stalls productive folding by binding hydrophobic, core-forming segments. Hsp90 breaks this deadlock and restarts folding. Remarkably, neither Hsp70 nor Hsp90 alters the folding rate despite ensuring high folding yields. In fact, ATP-dependent chaperoning is restricted to the early folding phase. Thus, the Hsp70-Hsp90 cascade does not fold proteins, but instead prepares them for spontaneous, productive folding. This stop-start mechanism is conserved from bacteria to man, assigning also a general function to bacterial Hsp90, HtpG. We speculate that the decreasing hydrophobicity along the Hsp70-Hsp90 cascade may be crucial for enabling spontaneous folding
Hsp90 interaction with clients
No full textThe conserved Hsp90 chaperone is an ATP-controlled machine that assists the folding and controls the stability of select proteins. Emerging data explain how Hsp90 achieves client specificity and its role in the cellular chaperone cascade. Interestingly, Hsp90 has an extended substrate binding interface that crosses domain boundaries, exhibiting specificity for proteins with hydrophobic residues spread over a large area regardless of whether they are disordered, partly folded, or even folded. This specificity principle ensures that clients preferentially bind to Hsp70 early on in the folding path, but downstream folding intermediates bind Hsp90. Discussed here, the emerging model is that the Hsp90 ATPase does not modulate client affinity but instead controls substrate influx from Hsp70
Towards characterization of DNA structure under physiological conditions in vivo at the single-molecule level using single-pair FRET
No full textFluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) under in vivo conditions is a well-established technique for the evaluation of populations of protein bound/unbound nucleic acid (NA) molecules or NA hybridization kinetics. However, in vivo FRET has not been applied to in vivo quantitative conformational analysis of NA thus far. Here we explored parameters critical for characterization of NA structure using single-pair (sp)FRET in the complex cellular environment of a living Escherichia coli cell. Our measurements showed that the fluorophore properties in the cellular environment differed from those acquired under in vitro conditions. The precision for the interprobe distance determination from FRET efficiency values acquired in vivo was found lower (∼31%) compared to that acquired in diluted buffers (13%). Our numerical simulations suggest that despite its low precision, the in-cell FRET measurements can be successfully applied to discriminate among various structural models. The main advantage of the in-cell spFRET setup presented here over other established techniques allowing conformational analysis in vivo is that it allows investigation of NA structure in various cell types and in a native cellular environment, which is not disturbed by either introduced bulk NA or by the use of chemical transfectants
Peroxisomal membrane proteins insert into the endoplasmic reticulum
No full textWe show that a comprehensive set of 16 peroxisomal membrane proteins (PMPs) encompassing all types of membrane topologies first target to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. These PMPs insert into the ER membrane via the protein import complexes Sec61p and Get3p (for tail-anchored proteins). This trafficking pathway is representative for multiplying wild-type cells in which the peroxisome population needs to be maintained, as well as for mutant cells lacking peroxisomes in which new peroxisomes form after complementation with the wild-type version of the mutant gene. PMPs leave the ER in a Pex3p-Pex19p–dependent manner to end up in metabolically active peroxisomes. These results further extend the new concept that peroxisomes derive their basic framework (membrane and membrane proteins) from the ER and imply a new functional role for Pex3p and Pex19p
Evaluating the effects of the nonplanarity of nucleic acid bases on NMR, IR, and vibrational circular dichroism spectra: a density functional theory computational study
No full textThe pyramidalizations of N9/1 glycosidic nitrogens in DNA and RNA nucleosides, recently discovered and analyzed in their ultrahigh-resolution X-ray crystal structures (Sychrovsky´; et al. Nucleic Acid Res. 2009, 37, 7321.), were found to have significant effects on the structural interpretation of the 3J(C4/2-H1′) and 3J(C8/ 6-H1′) NMR scalar couplings in purine/pyrimidine nucleosides. The calculated effects on IR and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra were only minor. The calculated structural deformations in nucleosides, depending on sugar-to-base orientation, gave rise to corrections in the phase shift of the Karplus equations for the 3J(C8/6-H1′) and 3J(C4/2-H1′) couplings ranging from -26° to +25° and from -5.7° to +2.0°, respectively. The sign alternation of this correction in syn and anti nucleosides arises from the stereoinversion of the N9/1 glycosidic nitrogen occurring upon reorientation of the glycosidic torsion. The effect was calculated consistently in the dG, dA, dC, dT, rA, and rG nucleosides. Utilization of the calculated phase-shift corrections in the design of Karplus equations for the 3J couplings was suggested, and the effects on structural interpretation of the experimental couplings were evaluated
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