Resolving the cofactor-binding site in the proline biosynthetic enzyme human pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase 1

PubMed Central

Christensen, Emily M.; Patel, Sagar M.; Korasick, David A.; Campbell, Ashley C.; Krause, Kurt L.; Becker, Donald F.; Tanner, John J.

2017-01-01

Pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase (PYCR) is the final enzyme in proline biosynthesis, catalyzing the NAD(P)H-dependent reduction of Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate (P5C) to proline. Mutations in the PYCR1 gene alter mitochondrial function and cause the connective tissue disorder cutis laxa. Furthermore, PYCR1 is overexpressed in multiple cancers, and the PYCR1 knock-out suppresses tumorigenic growth, suggesting that PYCR1 is a potential cancer target. However, inhibitor development has been stymied by limited mechanistic details for the enzyme, particularly in light of a previous crystallographic study that placed the cofactor-binding site in the C-terminal domain rather than the anticipated Rossmann fold of the N-terminal domain. To fill this gap, we report crystallographic, sedimentation-velocity, and kinetics data for human PYCR1. Structures of binary complexes of PYCR1 with NADPH or proline determined at 1.9 Å resolution provide insight into cofactor and substrate recognition. We see NADPH bound to the Rossmann fold, over 25 Å from the previously proposed site. The 1.85 Å resolution structure of a ternary complex containing NADPH and a P5C/proline analog provides a model of the Michaelis complex formed during hydride transfer. Sedimentation velocity shows that PYCR1 forms a concentration-dependent decamer in solution, consistent with the pentamer-of-dimers assembly seen crystallographically. Kinetic and mutational analysis confirmed several features seen in the crystal structure, including the importance of a hydrogen bond between Thr-238 and the substrate as well as limited cofactor discrimination. PMID:28258219

Crystal structure of conjugated polyketone reductase (CPR-C1) from Candida parapsilosis IFO 0708 complexed with NADPH.

PubMed

Qin, Hui-Min; Yamamura, Akihiro; Miyakawa, Takuya; Kataoka, Michihiko; Maruoka, Shintaro; Ohtsuka, Jun; Nagata, Koji; Shimizu, Sakayu; Tanokura, Masaru

2013-11-01

Conjugated polyketone reductase (CPR-C1) from Candida parapsilosis IFO 0708 is a member of the aldo-keto reductase (AKR) superfamily and reduces ketopantoyl lactone to d-pantoyl lactone in a NADPH-dependent and stereospecific manner. We determined the crystal structure of CPR-C1.NADPH complex at 2.20 Å resolution. CPR-C1 adopted a triose-phosphate isomerase (TIM) barrel fold at the core of the structure in which Thr25 and Lys26 of the GXGTX motif bind uniquely to the adenosine 2'-phosphate group of NADPH. This finding provides a novel structural basis for NADPH binding of the AKR superfamily. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Characterization of covalent binding of N'-nitrosonornicotine in rat liver microsomes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hughes, M.F.; Brock, W.J.; Marion, L.J.

1986-01-01

The metabolism of the carcinogenic nitrosamine, N'-nitrosonornicotine (NNN), to reactive intermediates which bind covalently was assessed using male Sprague-Dawley rat liver microsomes. The NADPH-dependent covalent binding of (/sup 14/C)NNN was linear with time up to 90 min and protein concentration up to 3.0 mg/ml. The apparent Km and Vmax of the binding were determined from the initial velocities and found to be 0.91 mM and 4.7 pmol/min/mg protein, respectively. Although NNN is not a hepatocarcinogen, this amount of NADPH-dependent covalent binding is 7-fold greater than that reported for dimethylnitrosamine, a potent hepatocarcinogen. Extensive covalent binding of (/sup 14/C)NNN to livermore » and muscle microsomal protein was also present in the absence of an NADPH-generating system and in the presence of 50% methanol, indicating a non-enzymatically mediated reaction. Addition of the nucleophiles glutathione, cysteine and N-acetylcysteine significantly decreased (p less than 0.01) the non-NADPH-dependent binding, but did not affect NADPH-dependent binding. In vitro addition of the cytochrome P-450 inhibitors metyrapone, piperonyl butoxide and SKF-525A significantly decreased (p less than 0.05) NADPH-dependent binding of (14C)NNN by 27-40%. NADH did not replace NADPH in supporting covalent binding. Replacement of an air atmosphere with nitrogen or CO:O2 (8:2) significantly decreased (p less than 0.05) NADPH-dependent binding of (/sup 14/C)NNN by 40 and 27%, respectively. Aroclor 1254 pre-treatment of the rats did not enhance the NADPH-dependent binding of (/sup 14/C)NNN. These data indicate that cytochrome P-450 is at least in part responsible for the metabolic activation of the carcinogen NNN but also suggest additional mechanisms of activation.« less

Structural rearrangements occurring upon cofactor binding in the Mycobacterium smegmatis β-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein reductase MabA.

PubMed

Küssau, Tanja; Flipo, Marion; Van Wyk, Niel; Viljoen, Albertus; Olieric, Vincent; Kremer, Laurent; Blaise, Mickaël

2018-05-01

In mycobacteria, the ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) reductase MabA (designated FabG in other bacteria) catalyzes the NADPH-dependent reduction of β-ketoacyl-ACP substrates to β-hydroxyacyl-ACP products. This first reductive step in the fatty-acid biosynthesis elongation cycle is essential for bacteria, which makes MabA/FabG an interesting drug target. To date, however, very few molecules targeting FabG have been discovered and MabA remains the only enzyme of the mycobacterial type II fatty-acid synthase that lacks specific inhibitors. Despite the existence of several MabA/FabG crystal structures, the structural rearrangement that occurs upon cofactor binding is still not fully understood. Therefore, unlocking this knowledge gap could help in the design of new inhibitors. Here, high-resolution crystal structures of MabA from Mycobacterium smegmatis in its apo, NADP + -bound and NADPH-bound forms are reported. Comparison of these crystal structures reveals the structural reorganization of the lid region covering the active site of the enzyme. The crystal structure of the apo form revealed numerous residues that trigger steric hindrance to the binding of NADPH and substrate. Upon NADPH binding, these residues are pushed away from the active site, allowing the enzyme to adopt an open conformation. The transition from an NADPH-bound to an NADP + -bound form is likely to facilitate release of the product. These results may be useful for subsequent rational drug design and/or for in silico drug-screening approaches targeting MabA/FabG.

Characterization of nicotine binding to the rat brain P/sub 2/ preparation: the identification of multiple binding sites which include specific up-regulatory site(s)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sloan, J.W.

1984-01-01

These studies show that nicotine binds to the rat brain P/sub 2/ preparation by saturable and reversible processes. Multiple binding sites were revealed by the configuration of saturation, kinetic and Scatchard plots. A least squares best fit of Scatchard data using nonlinear curve fitting programs confirmed the presence of a very high affinity site, an up-regulatory site, a high affinity site and one or two low affinity sites. Stereospecificity was demonstrated for the up-regulatory site where (+)-nicotine was more effective and for the high affinity site where (-)-nicotine had a higher affinity. Drugs which selectively up-regulate nicotine binding site(s) havemore » been identified. Further, separate very high and high affinity sites were identified for (-)- and (+)-(/sup 3/H)nicotine, based on evidence that the site density for the (-)-isomer is 10 times greater than that for the (+)-isomer at these sites. Enhanced nicotine binding has been shown to be a statistically significant phenomenon which appears to be a consequence of drugs binding to specific site(s) which up-regulate binding at other site(s). Although Scatchard and Hill plots indicate positive cooperatively, up-regulation more adequately describes the function of these site(s). A separate up-regulatory site is suggested by the following: (1) Drugs vary markedly in their ability to up-regulate binding. (2) Both the affinity and the degree of up-regulation can be altered by structural changes in ligands. (3) Drugs with specificity for up-regulation have been identified. (4) Some drugs enhance binding in a dose-related manner. (5) Competition studies employing cold (-)- and (+)-nicotine against (-)- and (+)-(/sup 3/H)nicotine show that the isomers bind to separate sites which up-regulate binding at the (-)- and (+)-nicotine high affinity sites and in this regard (+)-nicotine is more specific and efficacious than (-)-nicotine.« less

NADPH as a potential intrinsic probe for tumour margin estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stewart, Hazel; Hupp, Ted R.; Birch, David J. S.

2018-03-01

The fluorescent properties of the reduced coenzyme NADH and its phosphorylated derivative (NADPH) have been explored in order to assess their potential as an intrinsic probe for cancer surgery. NADPH production is increased in cancer cells to quench reactive oxygen species and meet higher demands for biosynthesis, and has attractive fluorescent properties such as emission towards the visible part of the spectrum and a relatively long fluorescence lifetime upon binding to enzymes ( 1 - 6.5 ns) that helps discriminate against other endogenous species. Different environmental effects on NAD(P)H fluorescence are reported here, including an increase in lifetime upon oxygen removal, an ability to retain its fluorescent properties in a complex medium (a silica phantom) and its fluorescence lifetime also being distinguishable in a cell environment. In addition, the development of a miniaturized liquid light guide filter-based timecorrelated single photon counting fluorescence lifetime system is reported as a step towards time-resolved visual imaging in cancer surgery. This system has been demonstrated as being capable of accurately measuring NAD(P)H fluorescence lifetimes in both simple solvent and cellular environments.

Regulation of NADPH-dependent Nitric Oxide and reactive oxygen species signalling in endothelial and melanoma cells by a photoactive NADPH analogue

PubMed Central

Rouaud, Florian; Romero-Perez, Miguel; Wang, Huan; Lobysheva, Irina; Ramassamy, Booma; Henry, Etienne; Tauc, Patrick; Giacchero, Damien; Boucher, Jean-Luc; Deprez, Eric; Rocchi, Stéphane; Slama-Schwok, Anny

2014-01-01

Nitric Oxide (NO) and Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are endogenous regulators of angiogenesis-related events as endothelial cell proliferation and survival, but NO/ROS defect or unbalance contribute to cancers. We recently designed a novel photoactive inhibitor of NO-Synthases (NOS) called NS1, which binds their NADPH site in vitro. Here, we show that NS1 inhibited NO formed in aortic rings. NS1-induced NO decrease led to an inhibition of angiogenesis in a model of VEGF-induced endothelial tubes formation. Beside this effect, NS1 reduced ROS levels in endothelial and melanoma A375 cells and in aorta. In metastatic melanoma cells, NS1 first induced a strong decrease of VEGF and blocked melanoma cell cycle at G2/M. NS1 decreased NOX4 and ROS levels that could lead to a specific proliferation arrest and cell death. In contrast, NS1 did not perturb melanocytes growth. Altogether, NS1 revealed a possible cross-talk between eNOS- and NOX4 –associated pathways in melanoma cells via VEGF, Erk and Akt modulation by NS1 that could be targeted to stop proliferation. NS1 thus constitutes a promising tool that modulates NO and redox stresses by targeting and directly inhibiting eNOS and, at least indirectly, NADPH oxidase(s), with great potential to control angiogenesis. PMID:25296975

Oral butyrate reduces oxidative stress in atherosclerotic lesion sites by a mechanism involving NADPH oxidase down-regulation in endothelial cells.

PubMed

Aguilar, Edenil C; Santos, Lana Claudinez Dos; Leonel, Alda J; de Oliveira, Jamil Silvano; Santos, Elândia Aparecida; Navia-Pelaez, Juliana M; da Silva, Josiane Fernandes; Mendes, Bárbara Pinheiro; Capettini, Luciano S A; Teixeira, Lilian G; Lemos, Virginia S; Alvarez-Leite, Jacqueline I

2016-08-01

Butyrate is a 4-carbon fatty acid that has antiinflammatory and antioxidative properties. It has been demonstrated that butyrate is able to reduce atherosclerotic development in animal models by reducing inflammatory factors. However, the contribution of its antioxidative effects of butyrate on atherogenesis has not yet been studied. We investigated the influence of butyrate on oxidative status, reactive oxygen species (ROS) release and oxidative enzymes (NADPH oxidase and iNOS) in atherosclerotic lesions of ApoE(-/-) mice and in oxLDL-stimulated peritoneal macrophages and endothelial cells (EA.hy926). The lesion area in aorta was reduced while in the aortic valve, although lesion area was unaltered, superoxide production and protein nitrosylation were reduced in butyrate-supplemented mice. Peritoneal macrophages from the butyrate group presented a lower free radical release after zymosan stimulus. When endothelial cells were pretreated with butyrate before oxLDL stimulus, the CCL-2 and superoxide ion productions and NADPH oxidase subunit p22phox were reduced. In macrophage cultures, in addition to a reduction in ROS release, nitric oxide and iNOS expression were down-regulated. The data suggest that one mechanism related to the effect of butyrate on atherosclerotic development is the reduction of oxidative stress in the lesion site. The reduction of oxidative stress related to NADPH oxidase and iNOS expression levels associated to butyrate supplementation attenuates endothelium dysfunction and macrophage migration and activation in the lesion site. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ethylene binding site affinity in ripening apples

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Blankenship, S.M.; Sisler, E.C.

1993-09-01

Scatchard plots for ethylene binding in apples (Malus domestica Borkh.), which were harvested weekly for 5 weeks to include the ethylene climacteric rise, showed C[sub 50] values (concentration of ethylene needed to occupy 50% of the ethylene binding sites) of 0.10, 0.11, 0.34, 0.40, and 0.57 [mu]l ethylene/liter[sup [minus]1], respectively, for each of the 5 weeks. Higher ethylene concentrations were required to saturate the binding sites during the climacteric rise than at other times. Diffusion of [sup 14]C-ethylene from the binding sites was curvilinear and did not show any indication of multiple binding sites. Ethylene was not metabolized by applemore » tissue.« less

Detecting cis-regulatory binding sites for cooperatively binding proteins

PubMed Central

van Oeffelen, Liesbeth; Cornelis, Pierre; Van Delm, Wouter; De Ridder, Fedor; De Moor, Bart; Moreau, Yves

2008-01-01

Several methods are available to predict cis-regulatory modules in DNA based on position weight matrices. However, the performance of these methods generally depends on a number of additional parameters that cannot be derived from sequences and are difficult to estimate because they have no physical meaning. As the best way to detect cis-regulatory modules is the way in which the proteins recognize them, we developed a new scoring method that utilizes the underlying physical binding model. This method requires no additional parameter to account for multiple binding sites; and the only necessary parameters to model homotypic cooperative interactions are the distances between adjacent protein binding sites in basepairs, and the corresponding cooperative binding constants. The heterotypic cooperative binding model requires one more parameter per cooperatively binding protein, which is the concentration multiplied by the partition function of this protein. In a case study on the bacterial ferric uptake regulator, we show that our scoring method for homotypic cooperatively binding proteins significantly outperforms other PWM-based methods where biophysical cooperativity is not taken into account. PMID:18400778

Deconvoluting AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) adenine nucleotide binding and sensing

PubMed Central

Gu, Xin; Yan, Yan; Novick, Scott J.; Kovach, Amanda; Goswami, Devrishi; Ke, Jiyuan; Tan, M. H. Eileen; Wang, Lili; Li, Xiaodan; de Waal, Parker W.; Webb, Martin R.; Griffin, Patrick R.; Xu, H. Eric

2017-01-01

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a central cellular energy sensor that adapts metabolism and growth to the energy state of the cell. AMPK senses the ratio of adenine nucleotides (adenylate energy charge) by competitive binding of AMP, ADP, and ATP to three sites (CBS1, CBS3, and CBS4) in its γ-subunit. Because these three binding sites are functionally interconnected, it remains unclear how nucleotides bind to individual sites, which nucleotides occupy each site under physiological conditions, and how binding to one site affects binding to the other sites. Here, we comprehensively analyze nucleotide binding to wild-type and mutant AMPK protein complexes by quantitative competition assays and by hydrogen-deuterium exchange MS. We also demonstrate that NADPH, in addition to the known AMPK ligand NADH, directly and competitively binds AMPK at the AMP-sensing CBS3 site. Our findings reveal how AMP binding to one site affects the conformation and adenine nucleotide binding at the other two sites and establish CBS3, and not CBS1, as the high affinity exchangeable AMP/ADP/ATP-binding site. We further show that AMP binding at CBS4 increases AMP binding at CBS3 by 2 orders of magnitude and reverses the AMP/ATP preference of CBS3. Together, these results illustrate how the three CBS sites collaborate to enable highly sensitive detection of cellular energy states to maintain the tight ATP homeostastis required for cellular metabolism. PMID:28615457

Nuclear binding of progesterone in hen oviduct. Binding to multiple sites in vitro.

PubMed Central

Pikler, G M; Webster, R A; Spelsberg, T C

1976-01-01

Steroid hormones, including progesterone, are known to bind with high affinity (Kd approximately 1x10(-10)M) to receptor proteins once they enter target cells. This complex (the progesterone-receptor) then undergoes a temperature-and/or salt-dependent activation which allows it to migrate to the cell nucleus and to bind to the deoxyribonucleoproteins. The present studies demonstrate that binding the hormone-receptor complex in vitro to isolated nuclei from the oviducts of laying hens required the same conditions as do other studies of bbinding in vitro reported previously, e.g. the hormone must be complexed to intact and activated receptor. The assay of the nuclear binding by using multiple concentrations of progesterone receptor reveals the presence of more than one class of binding site in the oviduct nuclei. The affinity of each of these classes of binding sites range from Kd approximately 1x10(-9)-1x10(-8)M. Assays using free steroid (not complexed with receptor) show no binding to these sites. The binding to each of the classes of sites, displays a differential stability to increasing ionic concentrations, suggesting primarily an ionic-type interaction for all classes. Only the highest-affinity class of binding site is capable of binding progesterone receptor under physioligical-saline conditions. This class represent 6000-10000 sites per cell nucleus and resembles the sites detected in vivo (Spelsberg, 1976, Biochem. J. 156, 391-398) which cause maximal transcriptional response when saturated with the progesterone receptor. The multiple binding sites for the progesterone receptor either are not present or are found in limited numbers in the nuclei of non-target organs. Differences in extent of binding to the nuclear material between a target tissue (oviduct) and other tissues (spleen or erythrocyte) are markedly dependent on the ionic conditions, and are probably due to binding to different classes of sites in the nuclei. PMID:182147

CaMELS: In silico prediction of calmodulin binding proteins and their binding sites.

PubMed

Abbasi, Wajid Arshad; Asif, Amina; Andleeb, Saiqa; Minhas, Fayyaz Ul Amir Afsar

2017-09-01

Due to Ca 2+ -dependent binding and the sequence diversity of Calmodulin (CaM) binding proteins, identifying CaM interactions and binding sites in the wet-lab is tedious and costly. Therefore, computational methods for this purpose are crucial to the design of such wet-lab experiments. We present an algorithm suite called CaMELS (CalModulin intEraction Learning System) for predicting proteins that interact with CaM as well as their binding sites using sequence information alone. CaMELS offers state of the art accuracy for both CaM interaction and binding site prediction and can aid biologists in studying CaM binding proteins. For CaM interaction prediction, CaMELS uses protein sequence features coupled with a large-margin classifier. CaMELS models the binding site prediction problem using multiple instance machine learning with a custom optimization algorithm which allows more effective learning over imprecisely annotated CaM-binding sites during training. CaMELS has been extensively benchmarked using a variety of data sets, mutagenic studies, proteome-wide Gene Ontology enrichment analyses and protein structures. Our experiments indicate that CaMELS outperforms simple motif-based search and other existing methods for interaction and binding site prediction. We have also found that the whole sequence of a protein, rather than just its binding site, is important for predicting its interaction with CaM. Using the machine learning model in CaMELS, we have identified important features of protein sequences for CaM interaction prediction as well as characteristic amino acid sub-sequences and their relative position for identifying CaM binding sites. Python code for training and evaluating CaMELS together with a webserver implementation is available at the URL: http://faculty.pieas.edu.pk/fayyaz/software.html#camels. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Gamma-aminobutyric acid-modulated benzodiazepine binding sites in bacteria

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lummis, S.C.R.; Johnston, G.A.R.; Nicoletti, G.

1991-01-01

Benzodiazepine binding sites, which were once considered to exist only in higher vertebrates, are here demonstrated in the bacteria E. coli. The bacterial ({sup 3}H)diazepam binding sites are modulated by GABA; the modulation is dose dependent and is reduced at high concentrations. The most potent competitors of E.Coli ({sup 3}H)diazepam binding are those that are active in displacing ({sup 3}H)benzodiazepines from vertebrate peripheral benzodiazepine binding sites. These vertebrate sites are not modulated by GABA, in contrast to vertebrate neuronal benzodiazepine binding sites. The E.coli benzodiazepine binding sites therefore differ from both classes of vertebrate benzodiazepine binding sites; however the ligandmore » spectrum and GABA-modulatory properties of the E.coli sites are similar to those found in insects. This intermediate type of receptor in lower species suggests a precursor for at least one class of vertebrate benzodiazepine binding sites may have existed.« less

Resolving protein structure-function-binding site relationships from a binding site similarity network perspective.

PubMed

Mudgal, Richa; Srinivasan, Narayanaswamy; Chandra, Nagasuma

2017-07-01

Functional annotation is seldom straightforward with complexities arising due to functional divergence in protein families or functional convergence between non-homologous protein families, leading to mis-annotations. An enzyme may contain multiple domains and not all domains may be involved in a given function, adding to the complexity in function annotation. To address this, we use binding site information from bound cognate ligands and catalytic residues, since it can help in resolving fold-function relationships at a finer level and with higher confidence. A comprehensive database of 2,020 fold-function-binding site relationships has been systematically generated. A network-based approach is employed to capture the complexity in these relationships, from which different types of associations are deciphered, that identify versatile protein folds performing diverse functions, same function associated with multiple folds and one-to-one relationships. Binding site similarity networks integrated with fold, function, and ligand similarity information are generated to understand the depth of these relationships. Apart from the observed continuity in the functional site space, network properties of these revealed versatile families with topologically different or dissimilar binding sites and structural families that perform very similar functions. As a case study, subtle changes in the active site of a set of evolutionarily related superfamilies are studied using these networks. Tracing of such similarities in evolutionarily related proteins provide clues into the transition and evolution of protein functions. Insights from this study will be helpful in accurate and reliable functional annotations of uncharacterized proteins, poly-pharmacology, and designing enzymes with new functional capabilities. Proteins 2017; 85:1319-1335. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Binding Sites Analyser (BiSA): Software for Genomic Binding Sites Archiving and Overlap Analysis

PubMed Central

Khushi, Matloob; Liddle, Christopher; Clarke, Christine L.; Graham, J. Dinny

2014-01-01

Genome-wide mapping of transcription factor binding and histone modification reveals complex patterns of interactions. Identifying overlaps in binding patterns by different factors is a major objective of genomic studies, but existing methods to archive large numbers of datasets in a personalised database lack sophistication and utility. Therefore we have developed transcription factor DNA binding site analyser software (BiSA), for archiving of binding regions and easy identification of overlap with or proximity to other regions of interest. Analysis results can be restricted by chromosome or base pair overlap between regions or maximum distance between binding peaks. BiSA is capable of reporting overlapping regions that share common base pairs; regions that are nearby; regions that are not overlapping; and average region sizes. BiSA can identify genes located near binding regions of interest, genomic features near a gene or locus of interest and statistical significance of overlapping regions can also be reported. Overlapping results can be visualized as Venn diagrams. A major strength of BiSA is that it is supported by a comprehensive database of publicly available transcription factor binding sites and histone modifications, which can be directly compared to user data. The documentation and source code are available on http://bisa.sourceforge.net PMID:24533055

NADPH oxidase activation in neutrophils: Role of the Phosphorylation of its subunits.

PubMed

Belambri, Sahra A; Rolas, Loïc; Raad, Houssam; Hurtado-Nedelec, Margarita; Dang, Pham My-Chan; El-Benna, Jamel

2018-05-14

Neutrophils are key cells of innate immunity and during inflammation. Upon activation, they produce large amounts of superoxide anion (O 2 -. ) and ensuing reactive oxygen species (ROS) to kill phagocytized microbes. The enzyme responsible for O 2 -. production is called the phagocyte NADPH oxidase. This is a multicomponent enzyme system that becomes active after assembly of four cytosolic proteins (p47 phox , p67 phox , p40 phox and Rac2) with the transmembrane proteins (p22 phox and gp91 phox , which form the cytochrome b 558 ). gp91 phox represents the catalytic subunit of the NADPH oxidase and is also called NOX2. NADPH oxidase-derived ROS are essential for microbial killing and innate immunity; however, excessive ROS production induces tissue injury and prolonged inflammatory reactions that contribute to inflammatory diseases. Thus, NADPH oxidase activation must be tightly regulated in time and space in order to limit ROS production. NADPH oxidase activation is regulated by several processes such as phosphorylation of its components, exchange of GDP/GTP on Rac2 and binding of p47 phox and p40 phox to phospholipids. This review aims to provide new insights into the role of the phosphorylation of the NADPH oxidase components, i.e., gp91 phox , p22 phox , p47 phox , p67 phox and p40 phox , in the activation of this enzyme. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Investigation of glucose binding sites on insulin.

PubMed

Zoete, Vincent; Meuwly, Markus; Karplus, Martin

2004-05-15

Possible insulin binding sites for D-glucose have been investigated theoretically by docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Two different docking programs for small molecules were used; Multiple Copy Simultaneous Search (MCSS) and Solvation Energy for Exhaustive Docking (SEED) programs. The configurations resulting from the MCSS search were evaluated with a scoring function developed to estimate the binding free energy. SEED calculations were performed using various values for the dielectric constant of the solute. It is found that scores emphasizing non-polar interactions gave a preferential binding site in agreement with that inferred from recent fluorescence and NMR NOESY experiments. The calculated binding affinity of -1.4 to -3.5 kcal/mol is within the measured range of -2.0 +/- 0.5 kcal/mol. The validity of the binding site is suggested by the dynamical stability of the bound glucose when examined with MD simulations with explicit solvent. Alternative binding sites were found in the simulations and their relative stabilities were estimated. The motions of the bound glucose during molecular dynamics simulations are correlated with the motions of the insulin side chains that are in contact with it and with larger scale insulin motions. These results raise the question of whether glucose binding to insulin could play a role in its activity. The results establish the complementarity of molecular dynamics simulations and normal mode analyses with the search for binding sites proposed with small molecule docking programs. Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

RNA binding protein and binding site useful for expression of recombinant molecules

DOEpatents

Mayfield, Stephen P.

2006-10-17

The present invention relates to a gene expression system in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, preferably plant cells and intact plants. In particular, the invention relates to an expression system having a RB47 binding site upstream of a translation initiation site for regulation of translation mediated by binding of RB47 protein, a member of the poly(A) binding protein family. Regulation is further effected by RB60, a protein disulfide isomerase. The expression system is capable of functioning in the nuclear/cytoplasm of cells and in the chloroplast of plants. Translation regulation of a desired molecule is enhanced approximately 100 fold over that obtained without RB47 binding site activation.

RNA binding protein and binding site useful for expression of recombinant molecules

DOEpatents

Mayfield, Stephen

2000-01-01

The present invention relates to a gene expression system in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, preferably plant cells and intact plants. In particular, the invention relates to an expression system having a RB47 binding site upstream of a translation initiation site for regulation of translation mediated by binding of RB47 protein, a member of the poly(A) binding protein family. Regulation is further effected by RB60, a protein disulfide isomerase. The expression system is capable of functioning in the nuclear/cytoplasm of cells and in the chloroplast of plants. Translation regulation of a desired molecule is enhanced approximately 100 fold over that obtained without RB47 binding site activation.

An alternate binding site for PPARγ ligands

PubMed Central

Hughes, Travis S.; Giri, Pankaj Kumar; de Vera, Ian Mitchelle S.; Marciano, David P.; Kuruvilla, Dana S.; Shin, Youseung; Blayo, Anne-Laure; Kamenecka, Theodore M.; Burris, Thomas P.; Griffin, Patrick R.; Kojetin, Douglas J.

2014-01-01

PPARγ is a target for insulin sensitizing drugs such as glitazones, which improve plasma glucose maintenance in patients with diabetes. Synthetic ligands have been designed to mimic endogenous ligand binding to a canonical ligand-binding pocket to hyperactivate PPARγ. Here we reveal that synthetic PPARγ ligands also bind to an alternate site, leading to unique receptor conformational changes that impact coregulator binding, transactivation and target gene expression. Using structure-function studies we show that alternate site binding occurs at pharmacologically relevant ligand concentrations, and is neither blocked by covalently bound synthetic antagonists nor by endogenous ligands indicating non-overlapping binding with the canonical pocket. Alternate site binding likely contributes to PPARγ hyperactivation in vivo, perhaps explaining why PPARγ full and partial or weak agonists display similar adverse effects. These findings expand our understanding of PPARγ activation by ligands and suggest that allosteric modulators could be designed to fine tune PPARγ activity without competing with endogenous ligands. PMID:24705063

Evolution of Metal(Loid) Binding Sites in Transcriptional Regulators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ordonez, E.; Thiyagarajan, S.; Cook, J.D.

2009-05-22

Expression of the genes for resistance to heavy metals and metalloids is transcriptionally regulated by the toxic ions themselves. Members of the ArsR/SmtB family of small metalloregulatory proteins respond to transition metals, heavy metals, and metalloids, including As(III), Sb(III), Cd(II), Pb(II), Zn(II), Co(II), and Ni(II). These homodimeric repressors bind to DNA in the absence of inducing metal(loid) ion and dissociate from the DNA when inducer is bound. The regulatory sites are often three- or four-coordinate metal binding sites composed of cysteine thiolates. Surprisingly, in two different As(III)-responsive regulators, the metalloid binding sites were in different locations in the repressor, andmore » the Cd(II) binding sites were in two different locations in two Cd(II)-responsive regulators. We hypothesize that ArsR/SmtB repressors have a common backbone structure, that of a winged helix DNA-binding protein, but have considerable plasticity in the location of inducer binding sites. Here we show that an As(III)-responsive member of the family, CgArsR1 from Corynebacterium glutamicum, binds As(III) to a cysteine triad composed of Cys{sup 15}, Cys{sup 16}, and Cys{sup 55}. This binding site is clearly unrelated to the binding sites of other characterized ArsR/SmtB family members. This is consistent with our hypothesis that metal(loid) binding sites in DNA binding proteins evolve convergently in response to persistent environmental pressures.« less

Five of Five VHHs Neutralizing Poliovirus Bind the Receptor-Binding Site

PubMed Central

Strauss, Mike; Schotte, Lise; Thys, Bert; Filman, David J.

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Nanobodies, or VHHs, that recognize poliovirus type 1 have previously been selected and characterized as candidates for antiviral agents or reagents for standardization of vaccine quality control. In this study, we present high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy reconstructions of poliovirus with five neutralizing VHHs. All VHHs bind the capsid in the canyon at sites that extensively overlap the poliovirus receptor-binding site. In contrast, the interaction involves a unique (and surprisingly extensive) surface for each of the five VHHs. Five regions of the capsid were found to participate in binding with all five VHHs. Four of these five regions are known to alter during the expansion of the capsid associated with viral entry. Interestingly, binding of one of the VHHs, PVSS21E, resulted in significant changes of the capsid structure and thus seems to trap the virus in an early stage of expansion. IMPORTANCE We describe the cryo-electron microscopy structures of complexes of five neutralizing VHHs with the Mahoney strain of type 1 poliovirus at resolutions ranging from 3.8 to 6.3Å. All five VHHs bind deep in the virus canyon at similar sites that overlap extensively with the binding site for the receptor (CD155). The binding surfaces on the VHHs are surprisingly extensive, but despite the use of similar binding surfaces on the virus, the binding surface on the VHHs is unique for each VHH. In four of the five complexes, the virus remains essentially unchanged, but for the fifth there are significant changes reminiscent of but smaller in magnitude than the changes associated with cell entry, suggesting that this VHH traps the virus in a previously undescribed early intermediate state. The neutralizing mechanisms of the VHHs and their potential use as quality control agents for the end game of poliovirus eradication are discussed. PMID:26764003

Five of Five VHHs Neutralizing Poliovirus Bind the Receptor-Binding Site.

PubMed

Strauss, Mike; Schotte, Lise; Thys, Bert; Filman, David J; Hogle, James M

2016-01-13

Nanobodies, or VHHs, that recognize poliovirus type 1 have previously been selected and characterized as candidates for antiviral agents or reagents for standardization of vaccine quality control. In this study, we present high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy reconstructions of poliovirus with five neutralizing VHHs. All VHHs bind the capsid in the canyon at sites that extensively overlap the poliovirus receptor-binding site. In contrast, the interaction involves a unique (and surprisingly extensive) surface for each of the five VHHs. Five regions of the capsid were found to participate in binding with all five VHHs. Four of these five regions are known to alter during the expansion of the capsid associated with viral entry. Interestingly, binding of one of the VHHs, PVSS21E, resulted in significant changes of the capsid structure and thus seems to trap the virus in an early stage of expansion. We describe the cryo-electron microscopy structures of complexes of five neutralizing VHHs with the Mahoney strain of type 1 poliovirus at resolutions ranging from 3.8 to 6.3Å. All five VHHs bind deep in the virus canyon at similar sites that overlap extensively with the binding site for the receptor (CD155). The binding surfaces on the VHHs are surprisingly extensive, but despite the use of similar binding surfaces on the virus, the binding surface on the VHHs is unique for each VHH. In four of the five complexes, the virus remains essentially unchanged, but for the fifth there are significant changes reminiscent of but smaller in magnitude than the changes associated with cell entry, suggesting that this VHH traps the virus in a previously undescribed early intermediate state. The neutralizing mechanisms of the VHHs and their potential use as quality control agents for the end game of poliovirus eradication are discussed. Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Acceleration of Binding Site Comparisons by Graph Partitioning.

PubMed

Krotzky, Timo; Klebe, Gerhard

2015-08-01

The comparison of protein binding sites is a prominent task in computational chemistry and has been studied in many different ways. For the automatic detection and comparison of putative binding cavities the Cavbase system has been developed which uses a coarse-grained set of pseudocenters to represent the physicochemical properties of a binding site and employs a graph-based procedure to calculate similarities between two binding sites. However, the comparison of two graphs is computationally quite demanding which makes large-scale studies such as the rapid screening of entire databases hardly feasible. In a recent work, we proposed the method Local Cliques (LC) for the efficient comparison of Cavbase binding sites. It employs a clique heuristic to detect the maximum common subgraph of two binding sites and an extended graph model to additionally compare the shape of individual surface patches. In this study, we present an alternative to further accelerate the LC method by partitioning the binding-site graphs into disjoint components prior to their comparisons. The pseudocenter sets are split with regard to their assigned phyiscochemical type, which leads to seven much smaller graphs than the original one. Applying this approach on the same test scenarios as in the former comprehensive way results in a significant speed-up without sacrificing accuracy. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Oxidation of Са2+-Binding Domain of NADPH Oxidase 5 (NOX5): Toward Understanding the Mechanism of Inactivation of NOX5 by ROS.

PubMed

Petrushanko, Irina Yu; Lobachev, Vladimir M; Kononikhin, Alexey S; Makarov, Alexander A; Devred, Francois; Kovacic, Hervé; Kubatiev, Aslan A; Tsvetkov, Philipp O

2016-01-01

NOX5 protein, one of the most active generators of reactive oxygen species (ROS), plays an important role in many processes, including regulation of cell growth, death and differentiation. Because of its central role in ROS generation, it needs to be tightly regulated to guarantee cellular homeostasis. Contrary to other members of NADPH-oxidases family, NOX5 has its own regulatory calcium-binding domain and thus could be activated directly by calcium ions. While several mechanisms of activation have been described, very little is known about the mechanisms that could prevent the overproduction of ROS by NOX5. In the present study using calorimetric methods and circular dichroism we found that oxidation of cysteine and methionine residues of NOX5 decreases binding of Ca2+ ions and perturbs both secondary and tertiary structure of protein. Our data strongly suggest that oxidation of calcium-binding domain of NOX5 could be implicated in its inactivation, serving as a possible defense mechanism against oxidative stress.

Ebselen and congeners inhibit NADPH oxidase 2-dependent superoxide generation by interrupting the binding of regulatory subunits.

PubMed

Smith, Susan M E; Min, Jaeki; Ganesh, Thota; Diebold, Becky; Kawahara, Tsukasa; Zhu, Yerun; McCoy, James; Sun, Aiming; Snyder, James P; Fu, Haian; Du, Yuhong; Lewis, Iestyn; Lambeth, J David

2012-06-22

NADPH oxidases (Nox) are a primary source of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which function in normal physiology and, when overproduced, in pathophysiology. Recent studies using mice deficient in Nox2 identify this isoform as a novel target against Nox2-implicated inflammatory diseases. Nox2 activation depends on the binding of the proline-rich domain of its heterodimeric partner p22phox to p47phox. A high-throughput screen that monitored this interaction via fluorescence polarization identified ebselen and several of its analogs as inhibitors. Medicinal chemistry was performed to explore structure-activity relationships and to optimize potency. Ebselen and analogs potently inhibited Nox1 and Nox2 activity but were less effective against other isoforms. Ebselen also blocked translocation of p47phox to neutrophil membranes. Thus, ebselen and its analogs represent a class of compounds that inhibit ROS generation by interrupting the assembly of Nox2-activating regulatory subunits. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Allosteric binding sites in Rab11 for potential drug candidates

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Rab11 is an important protein subfamily in the RabGTPase family. These proteins physiologically function as key regulators of intracellular membrane trafficking processes. Pathologically, Rab11 proteins are implicated in many diseases including cancers, neurodegenerative diseases and type 2 diabetes. Although they are medically important, no previous study has found Rab11 allosteric binding sites where potential drug candidates can bind to. In this study, by employing multiple clustering approaches integrating principal component analysis, independent component analysis and locally linear embedding, we performed structural analyses of Rab11 and identified eight representative structures. Using these representatives to perform binding site mapping and virtual screening, we identified two novel binding sites in Rab11 and small molecules that can preferentially bind to different conformations of these sites with high affinities. After identifying the binding sites and the residue interaction networks in the representatives, we computationally showed that these binding sites may allosterically regulate Rab11, as these sites communicate with switch 2 region that binds to GTP/GDP. These two allosteric binding sites in Rab11 are also similar to two allosteric pockets in Ras that we discovered previously. PMID:29874286

NADPH oxidase inhibitors: a patent review.

PubMed

Kim, Jung-Ae; Neupane, Ganesh Prasad; Lee, Eung Seok; Jeong, Byeong-Seon; Park, Byung Chul; Thapa, Pritam

2011-08-01

NADPH oxidases, a family of multi-subunit enzyme complexes, catalyze the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which may contribute to the pathogenesis of a variety of diseases. In addition to the first NADPH oxidase found in phagocytes, four non-phagocytic NADPH oxidase isoforms have been identified, which all differ in their catalytic subunit (Nox1-5) and tissue distribution. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the patent literature on NADPH oxidase inhibitors, small molecule Nox inhibitors, peptides and siRNAs. Since each member of the NADPH oxidase family has great potential as a therapeutic target, several different compounds have been registered as NADPH oxidase inhibitors in the patent literature. As yet, none have gone through clinical trials, and some have not completed preclinical trials, including safety and specificity evaluation. Recently, small molecule pyrazolopyridine and triazolopyrimidine derivatives have been submitted as potent NADPH oxidase inhibitors and reported as first-in-class inhibitors for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and acute stroke, respectively. Further clinical efficacy and safety data are warranted to prove their actual clinical utility.

Contrasting Influence of NADPH and a NADPH-Regenerating System on the Metabolism of Carbonyl-Containing Compounds in Hepatic Microsomes

EPA Science Inventory

Carbonyl containing xenobiotics may be susceptible to NADPH-dependent cytochrome P450 (P450) and carbonyl-reduction reactions. In vitro hepatic microsome assays are routinely supplied NADPH either by direct addition of NADPH or via an NADPH-regenerating system (NRS). In contrast ...

Uncoupling metallonuclease metal ion binding sites via nudge mutagenesis.

PubMed

Papadakos, Grigorios A; Nastri, Horacio; Riggs, Paul; Dupureur, Cynthia M

2007-05-01

The hydrolysis of phosphodiester bonds by nucleases is critical to nucleic acid processing. Many nucleases utilize metal ion cofactors, and for a number of these enzymes two active-site metal ions have been detected. Testing proposed mechanistic roles for individual bound metal ions has been hampered by the similarity between the sites and cooperative behavior. In the homodimeric PvuII restriction endonuclease, the metal ion dependence of DNA binding is sigmoidal and consistent with two classes of coupled metal ion binding sites. We reasoned that a conservative active-site mutation would perturb the ligand field sufficiently to observe the titration of individual metal ion binding sites without significantly disturbing enzyme function. Indeed, mutation of a Tyr residue 5.5 A from both metal ions in the enzyme-substrate crystal structure (Y94F) renders the metal ion dependence of DNA binding biphasic: two classes of metal ion binding sites become distinct in the presence of DNA. The perturbation in metal ion coordination is supported by 1H-15N heteronuclear single quantum coherence spectra of enzyme-Ca(II) and enzyme-Ca(II)-DNA complexes. Metal ion binding by free Y94F is basically unperturbed: through multiple experiments with different metal ions, the data are consistent with two alkaline earth metal ion binding sites per subunit of low millimolar affinity, behavior which is very similar to that of the wild type. The results presented here indicate a role for the hydroxyl group of Tyr94 in the coupling of metal ion binding sites in the presence of DNA. Its removal causes the affinities for the two metal ion binding sites to be resolved in the presence of substrate. Such tuning of metal ion affinities will be invaluable to efforts to ascertain the contributions of individual bound metal ions to metallonuclease function.

Biophysical Fitness Landscapes for Transcription Factor Binding Sites

PubMed Central

Haldane, Allan; Manhart, Michael; Morozov, Alexandre V.

2014-01-01

Phenotypic states and evolutionary trajectories available to cell populations are ultimately dictated by complex interactions among DNA, RNA, proteins, and other molecular species. Here we study how evolution of gene regulation in a single-cell eukaryote S. cerevisiae is affected by interactions between transcription factors (TFs) and their cognate DNA sites. Our study is informed by a comprehensive collection of genomic binding sites and high-throughput in vitro measurements of TF-DNA binding interactions. Using an evolutionary model for monomorphic populations evolving on a fitness landscape, we infer fitness as a function of TF-DNA binding to show that the shape of the inferred fitness functions is in broad agreement with a simple functional form inspired by a thermodynamic model of two-state TF-DNA binding. However, the effective parameters of the model are not always consistent with physical values, indicating selection pressures beyond the biophysical constraints imposed by TF-DNA interactions. We find little statistical support for the fitness landscape in which each position in the binding site evolves independently, indicating that epistasis is common in the evolution of gene regulation. Finally, by correlating TF-DNA binding energies with biological properties of the sites or the genes they regulate, we are able to rule out several scenarios of site-specific selection, under which binding sites of the same TF would experience different selection pressures depending on their position in the genome. These findings support the existence of universal fitness landscapes which shape evolution of all sites for a given TF, and whose properties are determined in part by the physics of protein-DNA interactions. PMID:25010228

The protein inhibitor of nNOS (PIN/DLC1/LC8) binding does not inhibit the NADPH-dependent heme reduction in nNOS, a key step in NO synthesis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Parhad, Swapnil S.; Jaiswal, Deepa; TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences, 21 Brundavan Colony, Narsingi, Hyderabad 500075

The neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) is an essential enzyme involved in the synthesis of nitric oxide (NO), a potent neurotransmitter. Although previous studies have indicated that the dynein light chain 1 (DLC1) binding to nNOS could inhibit the NO synthesis, the claim is challenged by contradicting reports. Thus, the mechanism of nNOS regulation remained unclear. nNOS has a heme-bearing, Cytochrome P450 core, and the functional enzyme is a dimer. The electron flow from NADPH to Flavin, and finally to the heme of the paired nNOS subunit within a dimer, is facilitated upon calmodulin (CaM) binding. Here, we show thatmore » DLC1 binding to nNOS-CaM complex does not affect the electron transport from the reductase to the oxygenase domain. Therefore, it cannot inhibit the rate of NADPH-dependent heme reduction in nNOS, which results in L-Arginine oxidation. Also, the NO release activity does not decrease with increasing DLC1 concentration in the reaction mix, which further confirmed that DLC1 does not inhibit nNOS activity. These findings suggest that the DLC1 binding may have other implications for the nNOS function in the cell. - Highlights: • The effect of interaction of nNOS with DLC1 has been debatable with contradicting reports in literature. • Purified DLC1 has no effect on electron transport between reductase and oxygenase domain of purified nNOS-CaM. • The NO release activity of nNOS was not altered by DLC1, supporting that DLC1 does not inhibit the enzyme. • These findings suggest that the DLC1 binding may have other implications for the nNOS function in the cell.« less

The crystal structure of NAD(P)H oxidase from Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis: insights into the conversion of O2 into two water molecules by the flavoenzyme.

PubMed

Lountos, George T; Jiang, Rongrong; Wellborn, William B; Thaler, Tracey L; Bommarius, Andreas S; Orville, Allen M

2006-08-15

The FAD-dependent NAD(P)H oxidase from Lactobacillus sanfrancisensis (L.san-Nox2) catalyzes the oxidation of 2 equivalents of either NADH or NADPH and reduces 1 equivalent of O(2) to yield 2 equivalents of water. During steady-state turnover only 0.5% of the reducing equivalents are detected in solution as hydrogen peroxide, suggesting that it is not released from the enzyme after the oxidation of the first equivalent of NAD(P)H and reaction with O(2). Here we report the crystal structure of L.san-Nox2 to 1.8 A resolution. The enzyme crystallizes as a dimer with each monomer consisting of a FAD binding domain (residues 1-120), a NAD(P)H binding domain (residues 150-250), and a dimerization domain (residues 325-451). The electron density for the redox-active Cys42 residue located adjacent to the si-face FAD is consistent with oxidation to the sulfenic acid (Cys-SOH) state. The side chain of Cys42 is also observed in two conformations; in one the sulfenic acid is hydrogen bonded to His10 and in the other it hydrogen bonds with the FAD O2' atom. Surprisingly, the NAD(P)H binding domains each contain an ADP ligand as established by electron density maps and MALDI-TOF analysis of the ligands released from heat-denatured enzyme. The ADP ligand copurifies with the enzyme, and its presence does not inhibit enzyme activity. Consequently, we hypothesize that either NADPH or NADH substrates bind via a long channel that extends from the enzyme exterior and terminates at the FAD re-face. A homology model of the NADH oxidase from Lactococcus lactis (L.lac-Nox2) was also generated using the crystal structure of L.san-Nox2, which reveals several important similarities and differences between the two enzymes. HPLC analysis of ligands released from denatured L.lac-Nox2 indicates that it does not bind ADP, which correlates with the specificity of the enzyme for oxidation of NADH.

Bacterial periplasmic sialic acid-binding proteins exhibit a conserved binding site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gangi Setty, Thanuja; Cho, Christine; Govindappa, Sowmya

2014-07-01

Structure–function studies of sialic acid-binding proteins from F. nucleatum, P. multocida, V. cholerae and H. influenzae reveal a conserved network of hydrogen bonds involved in conformational change on ligand binding. Sialic acids are a family of related nine-carbon sugar acids that play important roles in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. These sialic acids are incorporated/decorated onto lipooligosaccharides as terminal sugars in multiple bacteria to evade the host immune system. Many pathogenic bacteria scavenge sialic acids from their host and use them for molecular mimicry. The first step of this process is the transport of sialic acid to the cytoplasm, which oftenmore » takes place using a tripartite ATP-independent transport system consisting of a periplasmic binding protein and a membrane transporter. In this paper, the structural characterization of periplasmic binding proteins from the pathogenic bacteria Fusobacterium nucleatum, Pasteurella multocida and Vibrio cholerae and their thermodynamic characterization are reported. The binding affinities of several mutations in the Neu5Ac binding site of the Haemophilus influenzae protein are also reported. The structure and the thermodynamics of the binding of sugars suggest that all of these proteins have a very well conserved binding pocket and similar binding affinities. A significant conformational change occurs when these proteins bind the sugar. While the C1 carboxylate has been identified as the primary binding site, a second conserved hydrogen-bonding network is involved in the initiation and stabilization of the conformational states.« less

Pyridine Nucleotide Complexes with Bacillus anthracis Coenzyme A-Disulfide Reductase: A Structural Analysis of Dual NAD(P)H Specificity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wallen,J.; Paige, C.; Mallett, T.

2008-01-01

We have recently reported that CoASH is the major low-molecular weight thiol in Bacillus anthracis, and we have now characterized the kinetic and redox properties of the B. anthracis coenzyme A-disulfide reductase (CoADR, BACoADR) and determined the crystal structure at 2.30 Angstroms resolution. While the Staphylococcus aureus and Borrelia burgdorferi CoADRs exhibit strong preferences for NADPH and NADH, respectively, B. anthracis CoADR can use either pyridine nucleotide equally well. Sequence elements within the respective NAD(P)H-binding motifs correctly reflect the preferences for S. aureus and Bo. burgdorferi CoADRs, but leave questions as to how BACoADR can interact with both pyridine nucleotides.more » The structures of the NADH and NADPH complexes at ca. 2.3 Angstroms resolution reveal that a loop consisting of residues Glu180-Thr187 becomes ordered and changes conformation on NAD(P)H binding. NADH and NADPH interact with nearly identical conformations of this loop; the latter interaction, however, involves a novel binding mode in which the 2'-phosphate of NADPH points out toward solvent. In addition, the NAD(P)H-reduced BACoADR structures provide the first view of the reduced form (Cys42-SH/CoASH) of the Cys42-SSCoA redox center. The Cys42-SH side chain adopts a new conformation in which the conserved Tyr367'-OH and Tyr425'-OH interact with the nascent thiol(ate) on the flavin si-face. Kinetic data with Y367F, Y425F, and Y367, 425F BACoADR mutants indicate that Tyr425' is the primary proton donor in catalysis, with Tyr367' functioning as a cryptic alternate donor in the absence of Tyr425'.« less

FOLLITROPIN RECEPTORS CONTAIN CRYPTIC LIGAND BINDING SITES1

PubMed Central

Lin, Win; Bernard, Michael P.; Cao, Donghui; Myers, Rebecca V.; Kerrigan, John E.; Moyle, William R.

2007-01-01

Human choriogonadotropin (hCG) and follitropin (hFSH) have been shown to contact different regions of the extracellular domains of G-protein coupled lutropin (LHR) and follitropin (FSHR) receptors. We report here that hCG and hFSH analogs interact with an FSHR/LHR chimera having only two unique LHR residues similar to the manners in which they dock with LHR and FSHR, respectively. This shows that although the FSHR does not normally bind hCG, it contains a cryptic lutropin binding site that has the potential to recognize hCG in a manner similar to the LHR. The presence of this cryptic site may explain why equine lutropins bind many mammalian FSHR and why mutations in the transmembrane domain distant from the extracellular domain enable the FSHR to bind hCG. The leucine-rich repeat domain (LRD) of the FSHR also appears to contain a cryptic FSH binding site that is obscured by other parts of the extracellular domain. This will explain why contacts seen in crystals of hFSH complexed with an LRD fragment of the human FSHR are hard to reconcile with the abilities of FSH analogs to interact with membrane G-protein coupled FSHR. We speculate that cryptic lutropin binding sites in the FSHR, which are also likely to be present in thyrotropin receptors (TSHR), permit the physiological regulation of ligand binding specificity. Cryptic FSH binding sites in the LRD may enable alternate spliced forms of the FSHR to interact with FSH. PMID:17059863

Discovery of the ammonium substrate site on glutamine synthetase, a third cation binding site.

PubMed Central

Liaw, S. H.; Kuo, I.; Eisenberg, D.

1995-01-01

Glutamine synthetase (GS) catalyzes the ATP-dependent condensation of ammonia and glutamate to yield glutamine, ADP, and inorganic phosphate in the presence of divalent cations. Bacterial GS is an enzyme of 12 identical subunits, arranged in two rings of 6, with the active site between each pair of subunits in a ring. In earlier work, we have reported the locations within the funnel-shaped active site of the substrates glutamate and ATP and of the two divalent cations, but the site for ammonia (or ammonium) has remained elusive. Here we report the discovery by X-ray crystallography of a binding site on GS for monovalent cations, Tl+ and Cs+, which is probably the binding site for the substrate ammonium ion. Fourier difference maps show the following. (1) Tl+ and Cs+ bind at essentially the same site, with ligands being Glu 212, Tyr 179, Asp 50', Ser 53' of the adjacent subunit, and the substrate glutamate. From its position adjacent to the substrate glutamate and the cofactor ADP, we propose that this monovalent cation site is the substrate ammonium ion binding site. This proposal is supported by enzyme kinetics. Our kinetic measurements show that Tl+, Cs+, and NH4+ are competitive inhibitors to NH2OH in the gamma-glutamyl transfer reaction. (2) GS is a trimetallic enzyme containing two divalent cation sites (n1, n2) and one monovalent cation site per subunit. These three closely spaced ions are all at the active site: the distance between n1 and n2 is 6 A, between n1 and Tl+ is 4 A, and between n2 and Tl+ is 7 A. Glu 212 and the substrate glutamate are bridging ligands for the n1 ion and Tl+. (3) The presence of a monovalent cation in this site may enhance the structural stability of GS, because of its effect of balancing the negative charges of the substrate glutamate and its ligands and because of strengthening the "side-to-side" intersubunit interaction through the cation-protein bonding. (4) The presence of the cofactor ADP increases the Tl+ binding to GS

Caffeine inhibits glucose transport by binding at the GLUT1 nucleotide-binding site

PubMed Central

Sage, Jay M.; Cura, Anthony J.; Lloyd, Kenneth P.

2015-01-01

Glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) is the primary glucose transport protein of the cardiovascular system and astroglia. A recent study proposes that caffeine uncompetitive inhibition of GLUT1 results from interactions at an exofacial GLUT1 site. Intracellular ATP is also an uncompetitive GLUT1 inhibitor and shares structural similarities with caffeine, suggesting that caffeine acts at the previously characterized endofacial GLUT1 nucleotide-binding site. We tested this by confirming that caffeine uncompetitively inhibits GLUT1-mediated 3-O-methylglucose uptake in human erythrocytes [Vmax and Km for transport are reduced fourfold; Ki(app) = 3.5 mM caffeine]. ATP and AMP antagonize caffeine inhibition of 3-O-methylglucose uptake in erythrocyte ghosts by increasing Ki(app) for caffeine inhibition of transport from 0.9 ± 0.3 mM in the absence of intracellular nucleotides to 2.6 ± 0.6 and 2.4 ± 0.5 mM in the presence of 5 mM intracellular ATP or AMP, respectively. Extracellular ATP has no effect on sugar uptake or its inhibition by caffeine. Caffeine and ATP displace the fluorescent ATP derivative, trinitrophenyl-ATP, from the GLUT1 nucleotide-binding site, but d-glucose and the transport inhibitor cytochalasin B do not. Caffeine, but not ATP, inhibits cytochalasin B binding to GLUT1. Like ATP, caffeine renders the GLUT1 carboxy-terminus less accessible to peptide-directed antibodies, but cytochalasin B and d-glucose do not. These results suggest that the caffeine-binding site bridges two nonoverlapping GLUT1 endofacial sites—the regulatory, nucleotide-binding site and the cytochalasin B-binding site. Caffeine binding to GLUT1 mimics the action of ATP but not cytochalasin B on sugar transport. Molecular docking studies support this hypothesis. PMID:25715702

Influence of sulfhydryl sites on metal binding by bacteria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nell, Ryan M.; Fein, Jeremy B.

2017-02-01

The role of sulfhydryl sites within bacterial cell envelopes is still unknown, but the sites may control the fate and bioavailability of metals. Organic sulfhydryl compounds are important complexing ligands in aqueous systems and they can influence metal speciation in natural waters. Though representing only approximately 5-10% of the total available binding sites on bacterial surfaces, sulfhydryl sites exhibit high binding affinities for some metals. Due to the potential importance of bacterial sulfhydryl sites in natural systems, metal-bacterial sulfhydryl site binding constants must be determined in order to construct accurate models of the fate and distribution of metals in these systems. To date, only Cd-sulfhydryl binding has been quantified. In this study, the thermodynamic stabilities of Mn-, Co-, Ni-, Zn-, Sr- and Pb-sulfhydryl bacterial cell envelope complexes were determined for the bacterial species Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. Metal adsorption experiments were conducted as a function of both pH, ranging from 5.0 to 7.0, and metal loading, from 0.5 to 40.0 μmol/g (wet weight) bacteria, in batch experiments in order to determine if metal-sulfhydryl binding occurs. Initially, the data were used to calculate the value of the stability constants for the important metal-sulfhydryl bacterial complexes for each metal-loading condition studied, assuming a single binding reaction for the dominant metal-binding site type under the pH conditions of the experiments. For most of the metals that we studied, these calculated stability constant values increased significantly with decreasing metal loading, strongly suggesting that our initial assumption was not valid and that more than one type of binding occurs at the assumed binding site. We then modeled each dataset with two distinct site types with identical acidity constants: one site with a high metal-site stability constant value, which we take to represent metal-sulfhydryl binding and which dominates under low

Binding-Site Assessment by Virtual Fragment Screening

PubMed Central

Huang, Niu; Jacobson, Matthew P.

2010-01-01

The accurate prediction of protein druggability (propensity to bind high-affinity drug-like small molecules) would greatly benefit the fields of chemical genomics and drug discovery. We have developed a novel approach to quantitatively assess protein druggability by computationally screening a fragment-like compound library. In analogy to NMR-based fragment screening, we dock ∼11000 fragments against a given binding site and compute a computational hit rate based on the fraction of molecules that exceed an empirically chosen score cutoff. We perform a large-scale evaluation of the approach on four datasets, totaling 152 binding sites. We demonstrate that computed hit rates correlate with hit rates measured experimentally in a previously published NMR-based screening method. Secondly, we show that the in silico fragment screening method can be used to distinguish known druggable and non-druggable targets, including both enzymes and protein-protein interaction sites. Finally, we explore the sensitivity of the results to different receptor conformations, including flexible protein-protein interaction sites. Besides its original aim to assess druggability of different protein targets, this method could be used to identifying druggable conformations of flexible binding site for lead discovery, and suggesting strategies for growing or joining initial fragment hits to obtain more potent inhibitors. PMID:20404926

Hydrolysis at One of the Two Nucleotide-binding Sites Drives the Dissociation of ATP-binding Cassette Nucleotide-binding Domain Dimers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zoghbi, M. E.; Altenberg, G. A.

The functional unit of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters consists of two transmembrane domains and two nucleotide-binding domains (NBDs). ATP binding elicits association of the two NBDs, forming a dimer in a head-to-tail arrangement, with two nucleotides “sandwiched” at the dimer interface. Each of the two nucleotide-binding sites is formed by residues from the two NBDs. We recently found that the prototypical NBD MJ0796 from Methanocaldococcus jannaschii dimerizes in response to ATP binding and dissociates completely following ATP hydrolysis. However, it is still unknown whether dissociation of NBD dimers follows ATP hydrolysis at one or both nucleotide-binding sites. Here, we usedmore » luminescence resonance energy transfer to study heterodimers formed by one active (donor-labeled) and one catalytically defective (acceptor-labeled) NBD. Rapid mixing experiments in a stop-flow chamber showed that NBD heterodimers with one functional and one inactive site dissociated at a rate indistinguishable from that of dimers with two hydrolysis-competent sites. Comparison of the rates of NBD dimer dissociation and ATP hydrolysis indicated that dissociation followed hydrolysis of one ATP. We conclude that ATP hydrolysis at one nucleotide-binding site drives NBD dimer dissociation.« less

Discovering amino acid patterns on binding sites in protein complexes

PubMed Central

Kuo, Huang-Cheng; Ong, Ping-Lin; Lin, Jung-Chang; Huang, Jen-Peng

2011-01-01

Discovering amino acid (AA) patterns on protein binding sites has recently become popular. We propose a method to discover the association relationship among AAs on binding sites. Such knowledge of binding sites is very helpful in predicting protein-protein interactions. In this paper, we focus on protein complexes which have protein-protein recognition. The association rule mining technique is used to discover geographically adjacent amino acids on a binding site of a protein complex. When mining, instead of treating all AAs of binding sites as a transaction, we geographically partition AAs of binding sites in a protein complex. AAs in a partition are treated as a transaction. For the partition process, AAs on a binding site are projected from three-dimensional to two-dimensional. And then, assisted with a circular grid, AAs on the binding site are placed into grid cells. A circular grid has ten rings: a central ring, the second ring with 6 sectors, the third ring with 12 sectors, and later rings are added to four sectors in order. As for the radius of each ring, we examined the complexes and found that 10Å is a suitable range, which can be set by the user. After placing these recognition complexes on the circular grid, we obtain mining records (i.e. transactions) from each sector. A sector is regarded as a record. Finally, we use the association rule to mine these records for frequent AA patterns. If the support of an AA pattern is larger than the predetermined minimum support (i.e. threshold), it is called a frequent pattern. With these discovered patterns, we offer the biologists a novel point of view, which will improve the prediction accuracy of protein-protein recognition. In our experiments, we produced the AA patterns by data mining. As a result, we found that arginine (arg) most frequently appears on the binding sites of two proteins in the recognition protein complexes, while cysteine (cys) appears the fewest. In addition, if we discriminate the shape

RBind: computational network method to predict RNA binding sites.

PubMed

Wang, Kaili; Jian, Yiren; Wang, Huiwen; Zeng, Chen; Zhao, Yunjie

2018-04-26

Non-coding RNA molecules play essential roles by interacting with other molecules to perform various biological functions. However, it is difficult to determine RNA structures due to their flexibility. At present, the number of experimentally solved RNA-ligand and RNA-protein structures is still insufficient. Therefore, binding sites prediction of non-coding RNA is required to understand their functions. Current RNA binding site prediction algorithms produce many false positive nucleotides that are distance away from the binding sites. Here, we present a network approach, RBind, to predict the RNA binding sites. We benchmarked RBind in RNA-ligand and RNA-protein datasets. The average accuracy of 0.82 in RNA-ligand and 0.63 in RNA-protein testing showed that this network strategy has a reliable accuracy for binding sites prediction. The codes and datasets are available at https://zhaolab.com.cn/RBind. yjzhaowh@mail.ccnu.edu.cn. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Muscarinic binding sites in cultured bovine pulmonary arterial endothelial cells

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aronstam, R.S.; Catravas, J.D.; Ryan, U.S.

The authors have previously reported a) the presence of muscarinic binding sites on cultured bovine pulmonary arterial endothelial cells (BPAE; 2,000 sites/cell) and b) that acetylcholine inhibits the release of thromboxane B/sub 2/ fro BPAE. Since the authors findings could reflect muscarinic receptors (mAChR) on BPAE, they have further investigated the nature of BPAE muscarinic binding sites and contrast them to those of known functional mAChR. Muscarinic binding sites on BPAE resembled mAChR in that a) the binding of 3 nM /sup 3/H QNB was inhibited by muscarinic agonists and antagonists; b) /sup 3/H QNB binding was 30 times moremore » sensitive to R(-)- than to S(+)-QNB; c) carbamylcholine binding was resolved into high and low affinity components (IC50's = 0.04 and 2 ..mu..M; d) 5'-guanylylimidodiphosphate (100 ..mu..M) shifted agonist binding curves to the right by a factor of 3; 4) the atropine-sensitive binding of /sup 3/H oxotremorine-M (/sup 3/H-OXO-M) was depressed by the guanine nucleotide (IC50 + 60 ..mu..M). However, although gallamine allosterically regulates mAChR binding in other tissues, it did not affect the rates of dissociation of /sup 3/H QNB, /sup 3/H methylscopolamine or /sup 3/H OXO-M from BPAE binding sites. Thus, BPAE muscarinic binding sites posses many but not all of the properties associated with functional mAChR.« less

Architecture of a Fur Binding Site: a Comparative Analysis

PubMed Central

Lavrrar, Jennifer L.; McIntosh, Mark A.

2003-01-01

Fur is an iron-binding transcriptional repressor that recognizes a 19-bp consensus site of the sequence 5′-GATAATGATAATCATTATC-3′. This site can be defined as three adjacent hexamers of the sequence 5′-GATAAT-3′, with the third being slightly imperfect (an F-F-F configuration), or as two hexamers in the forward orientation separated by one base pair from a third hexamer in the reverse orientation (an F-F-x-R configuration). Although Fur can bind synthetic DNA sequences containing the F-F-F arrangement, most natural binding sites are variations of the F-F-x-R arrangement. The studies presented here compared the ability of Fur to recognize synthetic DNA sequences containing two to four adjacent hexamers with binding to sequences containing variations of the F-F-x-R arrangement (including natural operator sequences from the entS and fepB promoter regions of Escherichia coli). Gel retardation assays showed that the F-F-x-R architecture was necessary for high-affinity Fur-DNA interactions and that contiguous hexamers were not recognized as effectively. In addition, the stoichiometry of Fur at each binding site was determined, showing that Fur interacted with its minimal 19-bp binding site as two overlapping dimers. These data confirm the proposed overlapping-dimer binding model, where the unit of interaction with a single Fur dimer is two inverted hexamers separated by a C:G base pair, with two overlapping units comprising the 19-bp consensus binding site required for the high-affinity interaction with two Fur dimers. PMID:12644489

NADPH-generating systems in bacteria and archaea

PubMed Central

Spaans, Sebastiaan K.; Weusthuis, Ruud A.; van der Oost, John; Kengen, Servé W. M.

2015-01-01

Reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) is an essential electron donor in all organisms. It provides the reducing power that drives numerous anabolic reactions, including those responsible for the biosynthesis of all major cell components and many products in biotechnology. The efficient synthesis of many of these products, however, is limited by the rate of NADPH regeneration. Hence, a thorough understanding of the reactions involved in the generation of NADPH is required to increase its turnover through rational strain improvement. Traditionally, the main engineering targets for increasing NADPH availability have included the dehydrogenase reactions of the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway and the isocitrate dehydrogenase step of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. However, the importance of alternative NADPH-generating reactions has recently become evident. In the current review, the major canonical and non-canonical reactions involved in the production and regeneration of NADPH in prokaryotes are described, and their key enzymes are discussed. In addition, an overview of how different enzymes have been applied to increase NADPH availability and thereby enhance productivity is provided. PMID:26284036

Identification of a Second Substrate-binding Site in Solute-Sodium Symporters*

PubMed Central

Li, Zheng; Lee, Ashley S. E.; Bracher, Susanne; Jung, Heinrich; Paz, Aviv; Kumar, Jay P.; Abramson, Jeff; Quick, Matthias; Shi, Lei

2015-01-01

The structure of the sodium/galactose transporter (vSGLT), a solute-sodium symporter (SSS) from Vibrio parahaemolyticus, shares a common structural fold with LeuT of the neurotransmitter-sodium symporter family. Structural alignments between LeuT and vSGLT reveal that the crystallographically identified galactose-binding site in vSGLT is located in a more extracellular location relative to the central substrate-binding site (S1) in LeuT. Our computational analyses suggest the existence of an additional galactose-binding site in vSGLT that aligns to the S1 site of LeuT. Radiolabeled galactose saturation binding experiments indicate that, like LeuT, vSGLT can simultaneously bind two substrate molecules under equilibrium conditions. Mutating key residues in the individual substrate-binding sites reduced the molar substrate-to-protein binding stoichiometry to ∼1. In addition, the related and more experimentally tractable SSS member PutP (the Na+/proline transporter) also exhibits a binding stoichiometry of 2. Targeting residues in the proposed sites with mutations results in the reduction of the binding stoichiometry and is accompanied by severely impaired translocation of proline. Our data suggest that substrate transport by SSS members requires both substrate-binding sites, thereby implying that SSSs and neurotransmitter-sodium symporters share common mechanistic elements in substrate transport. PMID:25398883

Autoradiographic localization of endothelin-1 binding sites in porcine skin

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhao, Y.D.; Springall, D.R.; Wharton, J.

Autoradiographic techniques and {sup 125}I-labeled endothelin-1 were used to study the distribution of endothelin-1 binding sites in porcine skin. Specific endothelin-1 binding sites were localized to blood vessels (capillaries, deep cutaneous vascular plexus, arteries, and arterioles), the deep dermal and connective tissue sheath of hair follicles, sebaceous and sweat glands, and arrector pili muscle. Specific binding was inhibited by endothelin-2 and endothelin-3 as well as endothelin-1. Non-specific binding was found in the epidermis and the medulla of hair follicles. No binding was found in connective tissue or fat. These vascular binding sites may represent endothelin receptors, in keeping with themore » known cutaneous vasoconstrictor actions of the peptide. If all binding sites are receptors, the results suggest that endothelin could also regulate the function of sweat glands and may have trophic effects in the skin.« less

LHRH-pituitary plasma membrane binding: the presence of specific binding sites in other tissues.

PubMed

Marshall, J C; Shakespear, R A; Odell, W D

1976-11-01

Two specific binding sites for LHRH are present on plasma membranes prepared from rat and bovine anterior pituitary glands. One site is of high affinity (K = 2X108 1/MOL) and the second is of lower affinity (8-5X105 1/mol) and much greater capacity. Studies on membrane fractions prepared from other tissues showed the presence of a single specific site for LHRH. The kinetics and specificity of this site were similar to those of the lower affinity pituitary receptor. These results indicate that only pituitary membranes possess the higher affinity binding site and suggest that the low affinity site is not of physiological importance in the regulation of gonadotrophin secretion. After dissociation from membranes of non-pituitary tissues 125I-LHRH rebound to pituitary membrane preparations. Thus receptor binding per se does not result in degradation of LHRH and the function of these peripheral receptors remains obscure.

A novel substance P binding site in bovine adrenal medulla.

PubMed

Geraghty, D P; Livett, B G; Rogerson, F M; Burcher, E

1990-05-04

Radioligand binding techniques were used to characterize the substance P (SP) binding site on membranes prepared from bovine adrenal medullae. 125I-labelled Bolton-Hunter substance P (BHSP), which recognises the C-terminally directed, SP-preferring NK1 receptor, showed no specific binding. In contrast, binding of [3H]SP was saturable (at 6 nM) and reversible, with an equilibrium dissociation constant (Kd) 1.46 +/- 0.73 nM, Bmax 0.73 +/- 0.06 pmol/g wet weight and Hill coefficient 0.98 +/- 0.01. Specific binding of [3H]SP was displaced by SP greater than neurokinin A (NKA) greater than SP(3-11) approximately SP(1-9) greater than SP(1-7) approximately SP(1-4) approximately SP(1-6), with neurokinin B (NKB) and SP(1-3) very weak competitors and SP(5-11), SP(7-11) and SP(9-11) causing negligible inhibition (up to 10 microM). This potency order is quite distinct from that seen with binding to an NK1 site, a conclusion confirmed by the lack of BHSP binding. It appears that Lys3 and/or Pro4 are critical for binding, suggesting an anionic binding site. These data suggest the existence of an unusual binding site which may represent a novel SP receptor. This site appears to require the entire sequence of the SP molecule for full recognition.

Protein-Binding RNA Aptamers Affect Molecular Interactions Distantly from Their Binding Sites

PubMed Central

Dupont, Daniel M.; Thuesen, Cathrine K.; Bøtkjær, Kenneth A.; Behrens, Manja A.; Dam, Karen; Sørensen, Hans P.; Pedersen, Jan S.; Ploug, Michael; Jensen, Jan K.; Andreasen, Peter A.

2015-01-01

Nucleic acid aptamer selection is a powerful strategy for the development of regulatory agents for molecular intervention. Accordingly, aptamers have proven their diligence in the intervention with serine protease activities, which play important roles in physiology and pathophysiology. Nonetheless, there are only a few studies on the molecular basis underlying aptamer-protease interactions and the associated mechanisms of inhibition. In the present study, we use site-directed mutagenesis to delineate the binding sites of two 2´-fluoropyrimidine RNA aptamers (upanap-12 and upanap-126) with therapeutic potential, both binding to the serine protease urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA). We determine the subsequent impact of aptamer binding on the well-established molecular interactions (plasmin, PAI-1, uPAR, and LRP-1A) controlling uPA activities. One of the aptamers (upanap-126) binds to the area around the C-terminal α-helix in pro-uPA, while the other aptamer (upanap-12) binds to both the β-hairpin of the growth factor domain and the kringle domain of uPA. Based on the mapping studies, combined with data from small-angle X-ray scattering analysis, we construct a model for the upanap-12:pro-uPA complex. The results suggest and highlight that the size and shape of an aptamer as well as the domain organization of a multi-domain protein such as uPA, may provide the basis for extensive sterical interference with protein ligand interactions considered distant from the aptamer binding site. PMID:25793507

Zampanolide Binding to Tubulin Indicates Cross-Talk of Taxane Site with Colchicine and Nucleotide Sites.

PubMed

Field, Jessica J; Pera, Benet; Gallego, Juan Estévez; Calvo, Enrique; Rodríguez-Salarichs, Javier; Sáez-Calvo, Gonzalo; Zuwerra, Didier; Jordi, Michel; Andreu, José M; Prota, Andrea E; Ménchon, Grégory; Miller, John H; Altmann, Karl-Heinz; Díaz, J Fernando

2018-03-23

The marine natural product zampanolide and analogues thereof constitute a new chemotype of taxoid site microtubule-stabilizing agents with a covalent mechanism of action. Zampanolide-ligated tubulin has the switch-activation loop (M-loop) in the assembly prone form and, thus, represents an assembly activated state of the protein. In this study, we have characterized the biochemical properties of the covalently modified, activated tubulin dimer, and we have determined the effect of zampanolide on tubulin association and the binding of tubulin ligands at other binding sites. Tubulin activation by zampanolide does not affect its longitudinal oligomerization but does alter its lateral association properties. The covalent binding of zampanolide to β-tubulin affects both the colchicine site, causing a change of the quantum yield of the bound ligand, and the exchangeable nucleotide binding site, reducing the affinity for the nucleotide. While these global effects do not change the binding affinity of 2-methoxy-5-(2,3,4-trimethoxyphenyl)-2,4,6-cycloheptatrien-1-one (MTC) (a reversible binder of the colchicine site), the binding affinity of a fluorescent analogue of GTP (Mant-GTP) at the nucleotide E-site is reduced from 12 ± 2 × 10 5 M -1 in the case of unmodified tubulin to 1.4 ± 0.3 × 10 5 M -1 in the case of the zampanolide tubulin adduct, indicating signal transmission between the taxane site and the colchicine and nucleotide sites of β-tubulin.

A tool for calculating binding-site residues on proteins from PDB structures.

PubMed

Hu, Jing; Yan, Changhui

2009-08-03

In the research on protein functional sites, researchers often need to identify binding-site residues on a protein. A commonly used strategy is to find a complex structure from the Protein Data Bank (PDB) that consists of the protein of interest and its interacting partner(s) and calculate binding-site residues based on the complex structure. However, since a protein may participate in multiple interactions, the binding-site residues calculated based on one complex structure usually do not reveal all binding sites on a protein. Thus, this requires researchers to find all PDB complexes that contain the protein of interest and combine the binding-site information gleaned from them. This process is very time-consuming. Especially, combing binding-site information obtained from different PDB structures requires tedious work to align protein sequences. The process becomes overwhelmingly difficult when researchers have a large set of proteins to analyze, which is usually the case in practice. In this study, we have developed a tool for calculating binding-site residues on proteins, TCBRP http://yanbioinformatics.cs.usu.edu:8080/ppbindingsubmit. For an input protein, TCBRP can quickly find all binding-site residues on the protein by automatically combining the information obtained from all PDB structures that consist of the protein of interest. Additionally, TCBRP presents the binding-site residues in different categories according to the interaction type. TCBRP also allows researchers to set the definition of binding-site residues. The developed tool is very useful for the research on protein binding site analysis and prediction.

Disulfide bridge regulates ligand-binding site selectivity in liver bile acid-binding proteins.

PubMed

Cogliati, Clelia; Tomaselli, Simona; Assfalg, Michael; Pedò, Massimo; Ferranti, Pasquale; Zetta, Lucia; Molinari, Henriette; Ragona, Laura

2009-10-01

Bile acid-binding proteins (BABPs) are cytosolic lipid chaperones that play central roles in driving bile flow, as well as in the adaptation to various pathological conditions, contributing to the maintenance of bile acid homeostasis and functional distribution within the cell. Understanding the mode of binding of bile acids with their cytoplasmic transporters is a key issue in providing a model for the mechanism of their transfer from the cytoplasm to the nucleus, for delivery to nuclear receptors. A number of factors have been shown to modulate bile salt selectivity, stoichiometry, and affinity of binding to BABPs, e.g. chemistry of the ligand, protein plasticity and, possibly, the formation of disulfide bridges. Here, the effects of the presence of a naturally occurring disulfide bridge on liver BABP ligand-binding properties and backbone dynamics have been investigated by NMR. Interestingly, the disulfide bridge does not modify the protein-binding stoichiometry, but has a key role in modulating recognition at both sites, inducing site selectivity for glycocholic and glycochenodeoxycholic acid. Protein conformational changes following the introduction of a disulfide bridge are small and located around the inner binding site, whereas significant changes in backbone motions are observed for several residues distributed over the entire protein, both in the apo form and in the holo form. Site selectivity appears, therefore, to be dependent on protein mobility rather than being governed by steric factors. The detected properties further establish a parallelism with the behaviour of human ileal BABP, substantiating the proposal that BABPs have parallel functions in hepatocytes and enterocytes.

Nickel binding to NikA: an additional binding site reconciles spectroscopy, calorimetry and crystallography.

PubMed

Addy, Christine; Ohara, Masato; Kawai, Fumihiro; Kidera, Akinori; Ikeguchi, Mitsunori; Fuchigami, Sotaro; Osawa, Masanori; Shimada, Ichio; Park, Sam-Yong; Tame, Jeremy R H; Heddle, Jonathan G

2007-02-01

Intracellular nickel is required by Escherichia coli as a cofactor for a number of enzymes and is necessary for anaerobic respiration. However, high concentrations of nickel are toxic, so both import and export systems have evolved to control the cellular level of the metal. The nik operon in E. coli encodes a nickel-uptake system that includes the periplasmic nickel-binding protein NikA. The crystal structures of wild-type NikA both bound to nickel and in the apo form have been solved previously. The liganded structure appeared to show an unusual interaction between the nickel and the protein in which no direct bonds are formed. The highly unusual nickel coordination suggested by the crystal structure contrasted strongly with earlier X-ray spectroscopic studies. The known nickel-binding site has been probed by extensive mutagenesis and isothermal titration calorimetry and it has been found that even large numbers of disruptive mutations appear to have little effect on the nickel affinity. The crystal structure of a binding-site mutant with nickel bound has been solved and it is found that nickel is bound to two histidine residues at a position distant from the previously characterized binding site. This novel site immediately resolves the conflict between the crystal structures and other biophysical analyses. The physiological relevance of the two binding sites is discussed.

MONKEY: Identifying conserved transcription-factor binding sitesin multiple alignments using a binding site-specific evolutionarymodel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moses, Alan M.; Chiang, Derek Y.; Pollard, Daniel A.

2004-10-28

We introduce a method (MONKEY) to identify conserved transcription-factor binding sites in multispecies alignments. MONKEY employs probabilistic models of factor specificity and binding site evolution, on which basis we compute the likelihood that putative sites are conserved and assign statistical significance to each hit. Using genomes from the genus Saccharomyces, we illustrate how the significance of real sites increases with evolutionary distance and explore the relationship between conservation and function.

Cofactor-binding sites in proteins of deviating sequence: comparative analysis and clustering in torsion angle, cavity, and fold space.

PubMed

Stegemann, Björn; Klebe, Gerhard

2012-02-01

Small molecules are recognized in protein-binding pockets through surface-exposed physicochemical properties. To optimize binding, they have to adopt a conformation corresponding to a local energy minimum within the formed protein-ligand complex. However, their conformational flexibility makes them competent to bind not only to homologous proteins of the same family but also to proteins of remote similarity with respect to the shape of the binding pockets and folding pattern. Considering drug action, such observations can give rise to unexpected and undesired cross reactivity. In this study, datasets of six different cofactors (ADP, ATP, NAD(P)(H), FAD, and acetyl CoA, sharing an adenosine diphosphate moiety as common substructure), observed in multiple crystal structures of protein-cofactor complexes exhibiting sequence identity below 25%, have been analyzed for the conformational properties of the bound ligands, the distribution of physicochemical properties in the accommodating protein-binding pockets, and the local folding patterns next to the cofactor-binding site. State-of-the-art clustering techniques have been applied to group the different protein-cofactor complexes in the different spaces. Interestingly, clustering in cavity (Cavbase) and fold space (DALI) reveals virtually the same data structuring. Remarkable relationships can be found among the different spaces. They provide information on how conformations are conserved across the host proteins and which distinct local cavity and fold motifs recognize the different portions of the cofactors. In those cases, where different cofactors are found to be accommodated in a similar fashion to the same fold motifs, only a commonly shared substructure of the cofactors is used for the recognition process. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Nicotinic Cholinergic Receptor Binding Sites in the Brain: Regulation in vivo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwartz, Rochelle D.; Kellar, Kenneth J.

1983-04-01

Tritiated acetylcholine was used to measure binding sites with characteristics of nicotinic cholinergic receptors in rat brain. Regulation of the binding sites in vivo was examined by administering two drugs that stimulate nicotinic receptors directly or indirectly. After 10 days of exposure to the cholinesterase inhibitor diisopropyl fluorophosphate, binding of tritiated acetylcholine in the cerebral cortex was decreased. However, after repeated administration of nicotine for 10 days, binding of tritiated acetylcholine in the cortex was increased. Saturation analysis of tritiated acetylcholine binding in the cortices of rats treated with diisopropyl fluorophosphate or nicotine indicated that the number of binding sites decreased and increased, respectively, while the affinity of the sites was unaltered.

DeepSite: protein-binding site predictor using 3D-convolutional neural networks.

PubMed

Jiménez, J; Doerr, S; Martínez-Rosell, G; Rose, A S; De Fabritiis, G

2017-10-01

An important step in structure-based drug design consists in the prediction of druggable binding sites. Several algorithms for detecting binding cavities, those likely to bind to a small drug compound, have been developed over the years by clever exploitation of geometric, chemical and evolutionary features of the protein. Here we present a novel knowledge-based approach that uses state-of-the-art convolutional neural networks, where the algorithm is learned by examples. In total, 7622 proteins from the scPDB database of binding sites have been evaluated using both a distance and a volumetric overlap approach. Our machine-learning based method demonstrates superior performance to two other competitive algorithmic strategies. DeepSite is freely available at www.playmolecule.org. Users can submit either a PDB ID or PDB file for pocket detection to our NVIDIA GPU-equipped servers through a WebGL graphical interface. gianni.defabritiis@upf.edu. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

Regulation of superoxide anion production by NADPH oxidase in monocytes/macrophages: contributions to atherosclerosis.

PubMed

Cathcart, Martha K

2004-01-01

Monocyte extravasation into the vessel wall has been shown to be a critical step in the development of atherosclerosis. Upon activation, monocytes produce a burst of superoxide anion due to activation of the NADPH oxidase enzyme complex. Monocyte-derived superoxide anion contributes to oxidant stress in inflammatory sites, is required for monocyte-mediated LDL oxidation, and alters basic cell functions such as adhesion and proliferation. We hypothesize that monocyte-derived superoxide anion production contributes to atherosclerotic lesion formation. In this brief review, we summarize our current understanding of the signal transduction pathways regulating NADPH oxidase activation and related superoxide anion production in activated human monocytes. Novel pathways are identified that may serve as future targets for therapeutic intervention in this pathogenic process. The contributions of superoxide anion and NADPH oxidase to atherogenesis are discussed. Future experiments are needed to clarify the exact role of NADPH oxidase-derived superoxide anion in atherogenesis, particularly that derived from monocytes.

Functional identification and characterization of sodium binding sites in Na symporters

PubMed Central

Loo, Donald D. F.; Jiang, Xuan; Gorraitz, Edurne; Hirayama, Bruce A.; Wright, Ernest M.

2013-01-01

Sodium cotransporters from several different gene families belong to the leucine transporter (LeuT) structural family. Although the identification of Na+ in binding sites is beyond the resolution of the structures, two Na+ binding sites (Na1 and Na2) have been proposed in LeuT. Na2 is conserved in the LeuT family but Na1 is not. A biophysical method has been used to measure sodium dissociation constants (Kd) of wild-type and mutant human sodium glucose cotransport (hSGLT1) proteins to identify the Na+ binding sites in hSGLT1. The Na1 site is formed by residues in the sugar binding pocket, and their mutation influences sodium binding to Na1 but not to Na2. For the canonical Na2 site formed by two –OH side chains, S392 and S393, and three backbone carbonyls, mutation of S392 to cysteine increased the sodium Kd by sixfold. This was accompanied by a dramatic reduction in the apparent sugar and phlorizin affinities. We suggest that mutation of S392 in the Na2 site produces a structural rearrangement of the sugar binding pocket to disrupt both the binding of the second Na+ and the binding of sugar. In contrast, the S393 mutations produce no significant changes in sodium, sugar, and phlorizin affinities. We conclude that the Na2 site is conserved in hSGLT1, the side chain of S392 and the backbone carbonyl of S393 are important in the first Na+ binding, and that Na+ binding to Na2 promotes binding to Na1 and also sugar binding. PMID:24191006

A maize gene encoding an NADPH binding enzyme highly homologous to isoflavone reductases is activated in response to sulfur starvation.

PubMed

Petrucco, S; Bolchi, A; Foroni, C; Percudani, R; Rossi, G L; Ottonello, S

1996-01-01

we isolated a novel gene that is selectively induced both in roots and shoots in response to sulfur starvation. This gene encodes a cytosolic, monomeric protein of 33 kD that selectively binds NADPH. The predicted polypeptide is highly homologous ( > 70%) to leguminous isoflavone reductases (IFRs), but the maize protein (IRL for isoflavone reductase-like) belongs to a novel family of proteins present in a variety of plants. Anti-IRL antibodies specifically recognize IFR polypeptides, yet the maize protein is unable to use various isoflavonoids as substrates. IRL expression is correlated closely to glutathione availability: it is persistently induced in seedlings whose glutathione content is about fourfold lower than controls, and it is down-regulated rapidly when control levels of glutathione are restored. This glutathione-dependent regulation indicates that maize IRL may play a crucial role in the establishment of a thiol-independent response to oxidative stress under glutathione shortage conditions.

Drug Promiscuity in PDB: Protein Binding Site Similarity Is Key.

PubMed

Haupt, V Joachim; Daminelli, Simone; Schroeder, Michael

2013-01-01

Drug repositioning applies established drugs to new disease indications with increasing success. A pre-requisite for drug repurposing is drug promiscuity (polypharmacology) - a drug's ability to bind to several targets. There is a long standing debate on the reasons for drug promiscuity. Based on large compound screens, hydrophobicity and molecular weight have been suggested as key reasons. However, the results are sometimes contradictory and leave space for further analysis. Protein structures offer a structural dimension to explain promiscuity: Can a drug bind multiple targets because the drug is flexible or because the targets are structurally similar or even share similar binding sites? We present a systematic study of drug promiscuity based on structural data of PDB target proteins with a set of 164 promiscuous drugs. We show that there is no correlation between the degree of promiscuity and ligand properties such as hydrophobicity or molecular weight but a weak correlation to conformational flexibility. However, we do find a correlation between promiscuity and structural similarity as well as binding site similarity of protein targets. In particular, 71% of the drugs have at least two targets with similar binding sites. In order to overcome issues in detection of remotely similar binding sites, we employed a score for binding site similarity: LigandRMSD measures the similarity of the aligned ligands and uncovers remote local similarities in proteins. It can be applied to arbitrary structural binding site alignments. Three representative examples, namely the anti-cancer drug methotrexate, the natural product quercetin and the anti-diabetic drug acarbose are discussed in detail. Our findings suggest that global structural and binding site similarity play a more important role to explain the observed drug promiscuity in the PDB than physicochemical drug properties like hydrophobicity or molecular weight. Additionally, we find ligand flexibility to have a minor

Impact of germline and somatic missense variations on drug binding sites.

PubMed

Yan, C; Pattabiraman, N; Goecks, J; Lam, P; Nayak, A; Pan, Y; Torcivia-Rodriguez, J; Voskanian, A; Wan, Q; Mazumder, R

2017-03-01

Advancements in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies are generating a vast amount of data. This exacerbates the current challenge of translating NGS data into actionable clinical interpretations. We have comprehensively combined germline and somatic nonsynonymous single-nucleotide variations (nsSNVs) that affect drug binding sites in order to investigate their prevalence. The integrated data thus generated in conjunction with exome or whole-genome sequencing can be used to identify patients who may not respond to a specific drug because of alterations in drug binding efficacy due to nsSNVs in the target protein's gene. To identify the nsSNVs that may affect drug binding, protein-drug complex structures were retrieved from Protein Data Bank (PDB) followed by identification of amino acids in the protein-drug binding sites using an occluded surface method. Then, the germline and somatic mutations were mapped to these amino acids to identify which of these alter protein-drug binding sites. Using this method we identified 12 993 amino acid-drug binding sites across 253 unique proteins bound to 235 unique drugs. The integration of amino acid-drug binding sites data with both germline and somatic nsSNVs data sets revealed 3133 nsSNVs affecting amino acid-drug binding sites. In addition, a comprehensive drug target discovery was conducted based on protein structure similarity and conservation of amino acid-drug binding sites. Using this method, 81 paralogs were identified that could serve as alternative drug targets. In addition, non-human mammalian proteins bound to drugs were used to identify 142 homologs in humans that can potentially bind to drugs. In the current protein-drug pairs that contain somatic mutations within their binding site, we identified 85 proteins with significant differential gene expression changes associated with specific cancer types. Information on protein-drug binding predicted drug target proteins and prevalence of both somatic and

Correlation of enteric NADPH-d positive cell counts with the duration of incubation period in NADPH-d histochemistry.

PubMed

Cserni, Tamas; O' Donnel, Annemarie; Paran, Sri; Puri, Prem

2009-03-01

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase (NADPH-d) staining can be used in the enteric nervous system to determine nitrergic neuronal counts, critical in motility disorders such as intestinal neuronal dysplasia and hypoganglionosis. The reported incubation periods of specimens with NADPH-d staining solution has varied from 2 to 24 h. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of the incubation period on the overall NADPH-d positive cell counts in porcine rectal submucosal plexus. The submucosal plexus of rectal specimens from 12-week-old pigs (n = 5) were studied. Conventional frozen sections were used to identify nitrergic neurons while whole-mount preparations were used to quantify the effect of prolonged duration of incubation on positively identified ganglion cells with NADPH-d histochemistry. The same submucosal ganglia on the conventional sections, and a minimum of 12 ganglia per whole-mount preparation specimen were photographed sequentially at 2, 6, and 24 h and used to count the number of nitrergic cells per ganglion. The same staining solution was used throughout the experiment. Results were analysed using a one-way ANOVA test. Prolonged incubation with the staining solution revealed new NADPH-d positive cells in the ganglia on the conventional sections. The total number of neurons counted in the 12 adjacent ganglia in the whole-mount specimens was 180 +/- 55, the mean neuronal cell per ganglion was 15 +/- 8 after 2 h of incubation. This increased to 357 +/- 17, and to 29 +/- 12 after 6 h (p < 0.05). A further increase was observed of 515 +/- 19 and 43 +/- 17 after 24 h (p < 0.05). When the photomicrographs were retrospectively analysed, not even the outline of the neuronal cells that stained with prolonged incubation was evident at the earlier time points. NADPH-d positive cell counts increase in proportion to the duration of incubation in NADPH-d histochemistry. Comparative studies attempting to quantify nitrergic cell counts in

Target-mediated drug disposition model for drugs with two binding sites that bind to a target with one binding site.

PubMed

Gibiansky, Leonid; Gibiansky, Ekaterina

2017-10-01

The paper extended the TMDD model to drugs with two identical binding sites (2-1 TMDD). The quasi-steady-state (2-1 QSS), quasi-equilibrium (2-1 QE), irreversible binding (2-1 IB), and Michaelis-Menten (2-1 MM) approximations of the model were derived. Using simulations, the 2-1 QSS approximation was compared with the full 2-1 TMDD model. As expected and similarly to the standard TMDD for monoclonal antibodies (mAb), 2-1 QSS predictions were nearly identical to 2-1 TMDD predictions, except for times of fast changes following initiation of dosing, when equilibrium has not yet been reached. To illustrate properties of new equations and approximations, several variations of population PK data for mAbs with soluble (slow elimination of the complex) or membrane-bound (fast elimination of the complex) targets were simulated from a full 2-1 TMDD model and fitted to 2-1 TMDD models, to its approximations, and to the standard (1-1) QSS model. For a mAb with a soluble target, it was demonstrated that the 2-1 QSS model provided nearly identical description of the observed (simulated) free drug and total target concentrations, although there was some minor bias in predictions of unobserved free target concentrations. The standard QSS approximation also provided a good description of the observed data, but was not able to distinguish between free drug concentrations (with no target attached and both binding site free) and partially bound drug concentrations (with one of the binding sites occupied by the target). For a mAb with a membrane-bound target, the 2-1 MM approximation adequately described the data. The 2-1 QSS approximation converged 10 times faster than the full 2-1 TMDD, and its run time was comparable with the standard QSS model.

Quantitative flux analysis reveals folate-dependent NADPH production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Jing; Ye, Jiangbin; Kamphorst, Jurre J.; Shlomi, Tomer; Thompson, Craig B.; Rabinowitz, Joshua D.

2014-06-01

ATP is the dominant energy source in animals for mechanical and electrical work (for example, muscle contraction or neuronal firing). For chemical work, there is an equally important role for NADPH, which powers redox defence and reductive biosynthesis. The most direct route to produce NADPH from glucose is the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway, with malic enzyme sometimes also important. Although the relative contribution of glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation to ATP production has been extensively analysed, similar analysis of NADPH metabolism has been lacking. Here we demonstrate the ability to directly track, by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, the passage of deuterium from labelled substrates into NADPH, and combine this approach with carbon labelling and mathematical modelling to measure NADPH fluxes. In proliferating cells, the largest contributor to cytosolic NADPH is the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway. Surprisingly, a nearly comparable contribution comes from serine-driven one-carbon metabolism, in which oxidation of methylene tetrahydrofolate to 10-formyl-tetrahydrofolate is coupled to reduction of NADP+ to NADPH. Moreover, tracing of mitochondrial one-carbon metabolism revealed complete oxidation of 10-formyl-tetrahydrofolate to make NADPH. As folate metabolism has not previously been considered an NADPH producer, confirmation of its functional significance was undertaken through knockdown of methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase (MTHFD) genes. Depletion of either the cytosolic or mitochondrial MTHFD isozyme resulted in decreased cellular NADPH/NADP+ and reduced/oxidized glutathione ratios (GSH/GSSG) and increased cell sensitivity to oxidative stress. Thus, although the importance of folate metabolism for proliferating cells has been long recognized and attributed to its function of producing one-carbon units for nucleic acid synthesis, another crucial function of this pathway is generating reducing power.

Role of the Rho GTPase Rac in the activation of the phagocyte NADPH oxidase

PubMed Central

Pick, Edgar

2014-01-01

The superoxide-generating NADPH oxidase of phagocytes consists of the membrane-associated cytochrome b558 (a heterodimer of Nox2 and p22phox) and 4 cytosolic components: p47phox, p67phox, p40phox, and the small GTPase, Rac, in complex with RhoGDI. Superoxide is produced by the NADPH-driven reduction of molecular oxygen, via a redox gradient located in Nox2. Electron flow in Nox2 is initiated by interaction with cytosolic components, which translocate to the membrane, p67phox playing the central role. The participation of Rac is expressed in the following sequence: (1) Translocation of the RacGDP-RhoGDI complex to the membrane; (2) Dissociation of RacGDP from RhoGDI; (3) GDP to GTP exchange on Rac, mediated by a guanine nucleotide exchange factor; (4) Binding of RacGTP to p67phox; (5) Induction of a conformational change in p67phox, promoting interaction with Nox2. The particular involvement of Rac in NADPH oxidase assembly serves as a paradigm for signaling by Rho GTPases, in general. PMID:24598074

Molecular Interface of S100A8 with Cytochrome b558 and NADPH Oxidase Activation

PubMed Central

Berthier, Sylvie; Hograindleur, Marc-André; Paclet, Marie-Hélène; Polack, Benoît; Morel, Françoise

2012-01-01

S100A8 and S100A9 are two calcium binding Myeloid Related Proteins, and important mediators of inflammatory diseases. They were recently introduced as partners for phagocyte NADPH oxidase regulation. However, the precise mechanism of their interaction remains elusive. We had for aim (i) to evaluate the impact of S100 proteins on NADPH oxidase activity; (ii) to characterize molecular interaction of either S100A8, S100A9, or S100A8/S100A9 heterocomplex with cytochrome b 558; and (iii) to determine the S100A8 consensus site involved in cytochrome b 558/S100 interface. Recombinant full length or S100A9-A8 truncated chimera proteins and ExoS-S100 fusion proteins were expressed in E. coli and in P. aeruginosa respectively. Our results showed that S100A8 is the functional partner for NADPH oxidase activation contrary to S100A9, however, the loading with calcium and a combination with phosphorylated S100A9 are essential in vivo. Endogenous S100A9 and S100A8 colocalize in differentiated and PMA stimulated PLB985 cells, with Nox2/gp91phox and p22phox. Recombinant S100A8, loaded with calcium and fused with the first 129 or 54 N-terminal amino acid residues of the P. aeruginosa ExoS toxin, induced a similar oxidase activation in vitro, to the one observed with S100A8 in the presence of S100A9 in vivo. This suggests that S100A8 is the essential component of the S100A9/S100A8 heterocomplex for oxidase activation. In this context, recombinant full-length rS100A9-A8 and rS100A9-A8 truncated 90 chimera proteins as opposed to rS100A9-A8 truncated 86 and rS100A9-A8 truncated 57 chimeras, activate the NADPH oxidase function of purified cytochrome b 558 suggesting that the C-terminal region of S100A8 is directly involved in the molecular interface with the hemoprotein. The data point to four strategic 87HEES90 amino acid residues of the S100A8 C-terminal sequence that are involved directly in the molecular interaction with cytochrome b558 and then in the phagocyte NADPH oxidase

Amyloid tracers detect multiple binding sites in Alzheimer's disease brain tissue.

PubMed

Ni, Ruiqing; Gillberg, Per-Göran; Bergfors, Assar; Marutle, Amelia; Nordberg, Agneta

2013-07-01

Imaging fibrillar amyloid-β deposition in the human brain in vivo by positron emission tomography has improved our understanding of the time course of amyloid-β pathology in Alzheimer's disease. The most widely used amyloid-β imaging tracer so far is (11)C-Pittsburgh compound B, a thioflavin derivative but other (11)C- and (18)F-labelled amyloid-β tracers have been studied in patients with Alzheimer's disease and cognitively normal control subjects. However, it has not yet been established whether different amyloid tracers bind to identical sites on amyloid-β fibrils, offering the same ability to detect the regional amyloid-β burden in the brains. In this study, we characterized (3)H-Pittsburgh compound B binding in autopsied brain regions from 23 patients with Alzheimer's disease and 20 control subjects (aged 50 to 88 years). The binding properties of the amyloid tracers FDDNP, AV-45, AV-1 and BF-227 were also compared with those of (3)H-Pittsburgh compound B in the frontal cortices of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Saturation binding studies revealed the presence of high- and low-affinity (3)H-Pittsburgh compound B binding sites in the frontal cortex (K(d1): 3.5 ± 1.6 nM; K(d2): 133 ± 30 nM) and hippocampus (K(d1):5.6 ± 2.2 nM; K(d2): 181 ± 132 nM) of Alzheimer's disease brains. The relative proportion of high-affinity to low-affinity sites was 6:1 in the frontal cortex and 3:1 in the hippocampus. One control showed both high- and low-affinity (3)H-Pittsburgh compound B binding sites (K(d1): 1.6 nM; K(d2): 330 nM) in the cortex while the others only had a low-affinity site (K(d2): 191 ± 70 nM). (3)H-Pittsburgh compound B binding in Alzheimer's disease brains was higher in the frontal and parietal cortices than in the caudate nucleus and hippocampus, and negligible in the cerebellum. Competitive binding studies with (3)H-Pittsburgh compound B in the frontal cortices of Alzheimer's disease brains revealed high- and low-affinity binding sites for BTA

Discovery and information-theoretic characterization of transcription factor binding sites that act cooperatively.

PubMed

Clifford, Jacob; Adami, Christoph

2015-09-02

Transcription factor binding to the surface of DNA regulatory regions is one of the primary causes of regulating gene expression levels. A probabilistic approach to model protein-DNA interactions at the sequence level is through position weight matrices (PWMs) that estimate the joint probability of a DNA binding site sequence by assuming positional independence within the DNA sequence. Here we construct conditional PWMs that depend on the motif signatures in the flanking DNA sequence, by conditioning known binding site loci on the presence or absence of additional binding sites in the flanking sequence of each site's locus. Pooling known sites with similar flanking sequence patterns allows for the estimation of the conditional distribution function over the binding site sequences. We apply our model to the Dorsal transcription factor binding sites active in patterning the Dorsal-Ventral axis of Drosophila development. We find that those binding sites that cooperate with nearby Twist sites on average contain about 0.5 bits of information about the presence of Twist transcription factor binding sites in the flanking sequence. We also find that Dorsal binding site detectors conditioned on flanking sequence information make better predictions about what is a Dorsal site relative to background DNA than detection without information about flanking sequence features.

An additional substrate binding site in a bacterial phenylalanine hydroxylase

PubMed Central

Ronau, Judith A.; Paul, Lake N.; Fuchs, Julian E.; Corn, Isaac R.; Wagner, Kyle T.; Liedl, Klaus R.; Abu-Omar, Mahdi M.; Das, Chittaranjan

2014-01-01

Phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) is a non-heme iron enzyme that catalyzes phenylalanine oxidation to tyrosine, a reaction that must be kept under tight regulatory control. Mammalian PAH features a regulatory domain where binding of the substrate leads to allosteric activation of the enzyme. However, existence of PAH regulation in evolutionarily distant organisms, such as certain bacteria in which it occurs, has so far been underappreciated. In an attempt to crystallographically characterize substrate binding by PAH from Chromobacterium violaceum (cPAH), a single-domain monomeric enzyme, electron density for phenylalanine was observed at a distal site, 15.7Å from the active site. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) experiments revealed a dissociation constant of 24 ± 1.1 µM for phenylalanine. Under the same conditions, no detectable binding was observed in ITC for alanine, tyrosine, or isoleucine, indicating the distal site may be selective for phenylalanine. Point mutations of residues in the distal site that contact phenylalanine (F258A, Y155A, T254A) lead to impaired binding, consistent with the presence of distal site binding in solution. Kinetic analysis reveals that the distal site mutants suffer a discernible loss in their catalytic activity. However, x-ray structures of Y155A and F258A, two of the mutants showing more noticeable defect in their activity, show no discernible change in their active site structure, suggesting that the effect of distal binding may transpire through protein dynamics in solution. PMID:23860686

Autoradiographic demonstration of oxytocin-binding sites in the macula densa

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stoeckel, M.E.; Freund-Mercier, M.J.

1989-08-01

Specific oxytocin (OT)-binding sites were localized in the rat kidney with use of a selective {sup 125}I-labeled OT antagonist ({sup 125}I-OTA). High concentrations of OT binding sites were detected on the juxtaglomerular apparatus with use of the conventional film autoradiographic technique. No labeling occurred on other renal structures. The cellular localization of the OT binding sites within the juxtaglomerular apparatus was studied in light microscope autoradiography, on semithin sections from paraformaldehyde-fixed kidney slices incubated in the presence of {sup 125}I-OTA. These preparations revealed selective labeling of the macula densa, mainly concentrated at the basal pole of the cells. Control experimentsmore » showed first that {sup 125}I-OTA binding characteristics were not noticeably altered by prior paraformaldehyde fixation of the kidneys and second that autoradiographic detection of the binding sites was not impaired by histological treatments following binding procedures. In view of the role of the macula densa in the tubuloglomerular feedback, the putative OT receptors of this structure might mediate the stimulatory effect of OT on glomerular filtration.« less

Receptor-ligand binding sites and virtual screening.

PubMed

Hattotuwagama, Channa K; Davies, Matthew N; Flower, Darren R

2006-01-01

Within the pharmaceutical industry, the ultimate source of continuing profitability is the unremitting process of drug discovery. To be profitable, drugs must be marketable: legally novel, safe and relatively free of side effects, efficacious, and ideally inexpensive to produce. While drug discovery was once typified by a haphazard and empirical process, it is now increasingly driven by both knowledge of the receptor-mediated basis of disease and how drug molecules interact with receptors and the wider physiome. Medicinal chemistry postulates that to understand a congeneric ligand series, or set thereof, is to understand the nature and requirements of a ligand binding site. Likewise, structural molecular biology posits that to understand a binding site is to understand the nature of ligands bound therein. Reality sits somewhere between these extremes, yet subsumes them both. Complementary to rules of ligand design, arising through decades of medicinal chemistry, structural biology and computational chemistry are able to elucidate the nature of binding site-ligand interactions, facilitating, at both pragmatic and conceptual levels, the drug discovery process.

Probing binding hot spots at protein-RNA recognition sites.

PubMed

Barik, Amita; Nithin, Chandran; Karampudi, Naga Bhushana Rao; Mukherjee, Sunandan; Bahadur, Ranjit Prasad

2016-01-29

We use evolutionary conservation derived from structure alignment of polypeptide sequences along with structural and physicochemical attributes of protein-RNA interfaces to probe the binding hot spots at protein-RNA recognition sites. We find that the degree of conservation varies across the RNA binding proteins; some evolve rapidly compared to others. Additionally, irrespective of the structural class of the complexes, residues at the RNA binding sites are evolutionary better conserved than those at the solvent exposed surfaces. For recognitions involving duplex RNA, residues interacting with the major groove are better conserved than those interacting with the minor groove. We identify multi-interface residues participating simultaneously in protein-protein and protein-RNA interfaces in complexes where more than one polypeptide is involved in RNA recognition, and show that they are better conserved compared to any other RNA binding residues. We find that the residues at water preservation site are better conserved than those at hydrated or at dehydrated sites. Finally, we develop a Random Forests model using structural and physicochemical attributes for predicting binding hot spots. The model accurately predicts 80% of the instances of experimental ΔΔG values in a particular class, and provides a stepping-stone towards the engineering of protein-RNA recognition sites with desired affinity. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

A maize gene encoding an NADPH binding enzyme highly homologous to isoflavone reductases is activated in response to sulfur starvation.

PubMed Central

Petrucco, S; Bolchi, A; Foroni, C; Percudani, R; Rossi, G L; Ottonello, S

1996-01-01

we isolated a novel gene that is selectively induced both in roots and shoots in response to sulfur starvation. This gene encodes a cytosolic, monomeric protein of 33 kD that selectively binds NADPH. The predicted polypeptide is highly homologous ( > 70%) to leguminous isoflavone reductases (IFRs), but the maize protein (IRL for isoflavone reductase-like) belongs to a novel family of proteins present in a variety of plants. Anti-IRL antibodies specifically recognize IFR polypeptides, yet the maize protein is unable to use various isoflavonoids as substrates. IRL expression is correlated closely to glutathione availability: it is persistently induced in seedlings whose glutathione content is about fourfold lower than controls, and it is down-regulated rapidly when control levels of glutathione are restored. This glutathione-dependent regulation indicates that maize IRL may play a crucial role in the establishment of a thiol-independent response to oxidative stress under glutathione shortage conditions. PMID:8597660

An NMR-Based Structural Rationale for Contrasting Stoichiometry and Ligand Binding Site(s) in Fatty Acid-binding Proteins†

PubMed Central

He, Yan; Estephan, Rima; Yang, Xiaomin; Vela, Adriana; Wang, Hsin; Bernard, Cédric; Stark, Ruth E.

2011-01-01

Liver fatty acid-binding protein (LFABP) is a 14-kDa cytosolic polypeptide, differing from other family members in number of ligand binding sites, diversity of bound ligands, and transfer of fatty acid(s) to membranes primarily via aqueous diffusion rather than direct collisional interactions. Distinct two-dimensional 1H-15N NMR signals indicative of slowly exchanging LFABP assemblies formed during stepwise ligand titration were exploited, without solving the protein-ligand complex structures, to yield the stoichiometries for the bound ligands, their locations within the protein binding cavity, the sequence of ligand occupation, and the corresponding protein structural accommodations. Chemical shifts were monitored for wild-type LFABP and a R122L/S124A mutant in which electrostatic interactions viewed as essential to fatty acid binding were removed. For wild-type LFABP the results compared favorably with previous tertiary structures of oleate-bound wild-type LFABP in crystals and in solution: there are two oleates, one U-shaped ligand that positions the long hydrophobic chain deep within the cavity and another extended structure with the hydrophobic chain facing the cavity and the carboxylate group lying close to the protein surface. The NMR titration validated a prior hypothesis that the first oleate to enter the cavity occupies the internal protein site. In contrast, 1H/15N chemical shift changes supported only one liganded oleate for R122L/S124A LFABP, at an intermediate location within the protein cavity. A rationale based on protein sequence and electrostatics was developed to explain the stoichiometry and binding site trends for LFABPs and to put these findings into context within the larger protein family. PMID:21226535

Distinct roles of beta1 metal ion-dependent adhesion site (MIDAS), adjacent to MIDAS (ADMIDAS), and ligand-associated metal-binding site (LIMBS) cation-binding sites in ligand recognition by integrin alpha2beta1.

PubMed

Valdramidou, Dimitra; Humphries, Martin J; Mould, A Paul

2008-11-21

Integrin-ligand interactions are regulated in a complex manner by divalent cations, and previous studies have identified ligand-competent, stimulatory, and inhibitory cation-binding sites. In collagen-binding integrins, such as alpha2beta1, ligand recognition takes place exclusively at the alpha subunit I domain. However, activation of the alphaI domain depends on its interaction with a structurally similar domain in the beta subunit known as the I-like or betaI domain. The top face of the betaI domain contains three cation-binding sites: the metal-ion dependent adhesion site (MIDAS), the ADMIDAS (adjacent to MIDAS), and LIMBS (ligand-associated metal-binding site). The role of these sites in controlling ligand binding to the alphaI domain has yet to be elucidated. Mutation of the MIDAS or LIMBS completely blocked collagen binding to alpha2beta1; in contrast mutation of the ADMIDAS reduced ligand recognition but this effect could be overcome by the activating monoclonal antibody TS2/16. Hence, the MIDAS and LIMBS appear to be essential for the interaction between alphaI and betaI, whereas occupancy of the ADMIDAS has an allosteric effect on the conformation of betaI. An activating mutation in the alpha2 I domain partially restored ligand binding to the MIDAS and LIMBS mutants. Analysis of the effects of Ca(2+), Mg(2+), and Mn(2+) on ligand binding to these mutants showed that the MIDAS is a ligand-competent site through which Mn(2+) stimulates ligand binding, whereas the LIMBS is a stimulatory Ca(2+)-binding site, occupancy of which increases the affinity of Mg(2+) for the MIDAS.

Platelet binding sites for factor VIII in relation to fibrin and phosphatidylserine

PubMed Central

Novakovic, Valerie A.; Shi, Jialan; Rasmussen, Jan; Pipe, Steven W.

2015-01-01

Thrombin-stimulated platelets expose very little phosphatidylserine (PS) but express binding sites for factor VIII (fVIII), casting doubt on the role of exposed PS as the determinant of binding sites. We previously reported that fVIII binding sites are increased three- to sixfold when soluble fibrin (SF) binds the αIIbβ3 integrin. This study focuses on the hypothesis that platelet-bound SF is the major source of fVIII binding sites. Less than 10% of fVIII was displaced from thrombin-stimulated platelets by lactadherin, a PS-binding protein, and an fVIII mutant defective in PS-dependent binding retained platelet affinity. Therefore, PS is not the determinant of most binding sites. FVIII bound immobilized SF and paralleled platelet binding in affinity, dependence on separation from von Willebrand factor, and mediation by the C2 domain. SF also enhanced activity of fVIII in the factor Xase complex by two- to fourfold. Monoclonal antibody (mAb) ESH8, against the fVIII C2 domain, inhibited binding of fVIII to SF and platelets but not to PS-containing vesicles. Similarly, mAb ESH4 against the C2 domain, inhibited >90% of platelet-dependent fVIII activity vs 35% of vesicle-supported activity. These results imply that platelet-bound SF is a component of functional fVIII binding sites. PMID:26162408

Nucleotide Interdependency in Transcription Factor Binding Sites in the Drosophila Genome.

PubMed

Dresch, Jacqueline M; Zellers, Rowan G; Bork, Daniel K; Drewell, Robert A

2016-01-01

A long-standing objective in modern biology is to characterize the molecular components that drive the development of an organism. At the heart of eukaryotic development lies gene regulation. On the molecular level, much of the research in this field has focused on the binding of transcription factors (TFs) to regulatory regions in the genome known as cis-regulatory modules (CRMs). However, relatively little is known about the sequence-specific binding preferences of many TFs, especially with respect to the possible interdependencies between the nucleotides that make up binding sites. A particular limitation of many existing algorithms that aim to predict binding site sequences is that they do not allow for dependencies between nonadjacent nucleotides. In this study, we use a recently developed computational algorithm, MARZ, to compare binding site sequences using 32 distinct models in a systematic and unbiased approach to explore nucleotide dependencies within binding sites for 15 distinct TFs known to be critical to Drosophila development. Our results indicate that many of these proteins have varying levels of nucleotide interdependencies within their DNA recognition sequences, and that, in some cases, models that account for these dependencies greatly outperform traditional models that are used to predict binding sites. We also directly compare the ability of different models to identify the known KRUPPEL TF binding sites in CRMs and demonstrate that a more complex model that accounts for nucleotide interdependencies performs better when compared with simple models. This ability to identify TFs with critical nucleotide interdependencies in their binding sites will lead to a deeper understanding of how these molecular characteristics contribute to the architecture of CRMs and the precise regulation of transcription during organismal development.

Nucleotide Interdependency in Transcription Factor Binding Sites in the Drosophila Genome

PubMed Central

Dresch, Jacqueline M.; Zellers, Rowan G.; Bork, Daniel K.; Drewell, Robert A.

2016-01-01

A long-standing objective in modern biology is to characterize the molecular components that drive the development of an organism. At the heart of eukaryotic development lies gene regulation. On the molecular level, much of the research in this field has focused on the binding of transcription factors (TFs) to regulatory regions in the genome known as cis-regulatory modules (CRMs). However, relatively little is known about the sequence-specific binding preferences of many TFs, especially with respect to the possible interdependencies between the nucleotides that make up binding sites. A particular limitation of many existing algorithms that aim to predict binding site sequences is that they do not allow for dependencies between nonadjacent nucleotides. In this study, we use a recently developed computational algorithm, MARZ, to compare binding site sequences using 32 distinct models in a systematic and unbiased approach to explore nucleotide dependencies within binding sites for 15 distinct TFs known to be critical to Drosophila development. Our results indicate that many of these proteins have varying levels of nucleotide interdependencies within their DNA recognition sequences, and that, in some cases, models that account for these dependencies greatly outperform traditional models that are used to predict binding sites. We also directly compare the ability of different models to identify the known KRUPPEL TF binding sites in CRMs and demonstrate that a more complex model that accounts for nucleotide interdependencies performs better when compared with simple models. This ability to identify TFs with critical nucleotide interdependencies in their binding sites will lead to a deeper understanding of how these molecular characteristics contribute to the architecture of CRMs and the precise regulation of transcription during organismal development. PMID:27330274

Searching for transcription factor binding sites in vector spaces

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Computational approaches to transcription factor binding site identification have been actively researched in the past decade. Learning from known binding sites, new binding sites of a transcription factor in unannotated sequences can be identified. A number of search methods have been introduced over the years. However, one can rarely find one single method that performs the best on all the transcription factors. Instead, to identify the best method for a particular transcription factor, one usually has to compare a handful of methods. Hence, it is highly desirable for a method to perform automatic optimization for individual transcription factors. Results We proposed to search for transcription factor binding sites in vector spaces. This framework allows us to identify the best method for each individual transcription factor. We further introduced two novel methods, the negative-to-positive vector (NPV) and optimal discriminating vector (ODV) methods, to construct query vectors to search for binding sites in vector spaces. Extensive cross-validation experiments showed that the proposed methods significantly outperformed the ungapped likelihood under positional background method, a state-of-the-art method, and the widely-used position-specific scoring matrix method. We further demonstrated that motif subtypes of a TF can be readily identified in this framework and two variants called the k NPV and k ODV methods benefited significantly from motif subtype identification. Finally, independent validation on ChIP-seq data showed that the ODV and NPV methods significantly outperformed the other compared methods. Conclusions We conclude that the proposed framework is highly flexible. It enables the two novel methods to automatically identify a TF-specific subspace to search for binding sites. Implementations are available as source code at: http://biogrid.engr.uconn.edu/tfbs_search/. PMID:23244338

Substance P binding sites in the nucleus tractus solitarius of the cat

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maley, B.E.; Sasek, C.A.; Seybold, V.S.

1988-11-01

Substance P binding sites in the nucleus tractus solitarius were visualized with receptor autoradiography using Bolton-Hunter (/sup 125/I)substance P. Substance P binding sites were found to have distinct patterns within the cat nucleus tractus solitarius. The majority of substance P binding sites were present in the medial, intermediate and the peripheral rim of the parvocellular subdivisions. Lower amounts of substance P binding sites were present in the commissural, ventrolateral, interstitial and dorsolateral subdivisions. No substance P binding sites were present in the central region of the parvocellular subdivision or the solitary tract. The localization of substance P binding sites inmore » the nucleus tractus solitarius is very similar to the patterns of substance P immunoreactive fibers previously described for this region. Results of this study add further support for a functional role of substance P in synaptic circuits of the nucleus tractus solitarius.« less

DNA-binding regulates site-specific ubiquitination of IRF-1.

PubMed

Landré, Vivien; Pion, Emmanuelle; Narayan, Vikram; Xirodimas, Dimitris P; Ball, Kathryn L

2013-02-01

Understanding the determinants for site-specific ubiquitination by E3 ligase components of the ubiquitin machinery is proving to be a challenge. In the present study we investigate the role of an E3 ligase docking site (Mf2 domain) in an intrinsically disordered domain of IRF-1 [IFN (interferon) regulatory factor-1], a short-lived IFNγ-regulated transcription factor, in ubiquitination of the protein. Ubiquitin modification of full-length IRF-1 by E3 ligases such as CHIP [C-terminus of the Hsc (heat-shock cognate) 70-interacting protein] and MDM2 (murine double minute 2), which dock to the Mf2 domain, was specific for lysine residues found predominantly in loop structures that extend from the DNA-binding domain, whereas no modification was detected in the more conformationally flexible C-terminal half of the protein. The E3 docking site was not available when IRF-1 was in its DNA-bound conformation and cognate DNA-binding sequences strongly suppressed ubiquitination, highlighting a strict relationship between ligase binding and site-specific modification at residues in the DNA-binding domain. Hyperubiquitination of a non-DNA-binding mutant supports a mechanism where an active DNA-bound pool of IRF-1 is protected from polyubiquitination and degradation.

Multiple binding sites for transcriptional repressors can produce regular bursting and enhance noise suppression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lengyel, Iván M.; Morelli, Luis G.

2017-04-01

Cells may control fluctuations in protein levels by means of negative autoregulation, where transcription factors bind DNA sites to repress their own production. Theoretical studies have assumed a single binding site for the repressor, while in most species it is found that multiple binding sites are arranged in clusters. We study a stochastic description of negative autoregulation with multiple binding sites for the repressor. We find that increasing the number of binding sites induces regular bursting of gene products. By tuning the threshold for repression, we show that multiple binding sites can also suppress fluctuations. Our results highlight possible roles for the presence of multiple binding sites of negative autoregulators.

Cryptic binding sites on proteins: definition, detection, and druggability.

PubMed

Vajda, Sandor; Beglov, Dmitri; Wakefield, Amanda E; Egbert, Megan; Whitty, Adrian

2018-05-22

Many proteins in their unbound structures lack surface pockets appropriately sized for drug binding. Hence, a variety of experimental and computational tools have been developed for the identification of cryptic sites that are not evident in the unbound protein but form upon ligand binding, and can provide tractable drug target sites. The goal of this review is to discuss the definition, detection, and druggability of such sites, and their potential value for drug discovery. Novel methods based on molecular dynamics simulations are particularly promising and yield a large number of transient pockets, but it has been shown that only a minority of such sites are generally capable of binding ligands with substantial affinity. Based on recent studies, current methodology can be improved by combining molecular dynamics with fragment docking and machine learning approaches. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ligand Binding Phenomena that Pertain to the Metabolic Function of Renalase

PubMed Central

Beaupre, Brett A.; Roman, Joseph V.; Hoag, Matthew R.; Meneely, Kathleen M.; Silvaggi, Nicholas R.; Lamb, Audrey L.; Moran, Graham R.

2017-01-01

Renalase catalyzes the oxidation of isomers of β-NAD(P)H that carry the hydride in the 2 or 6 positions of the nicotinamide base to form β-NAD(P)+. This activity is thought to alleviate inhibition of multiple β-NAD(P)-dependent enzymes of primary and secondary metabolism by these isomers. Here we present evidence for a variety of ligand binding phenomena relevant to the function of renalase. We offer evidence of the potential for primary metabolism inhibition with structures of malate dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase bound to the 6-dihydroNAD isomer. The previously observed preference of renalase from Pseudomonas for NAD-derived substrates over those derived from NADP is accounted for by the structure of the enzyme in complex with NADPH. We also show that nicotinamide nucleosides and mononucloetides reduced in the 2- and 6-positions are renalase substrates, but bind weakly. A seven-fold enhancement of acquisition (kred/Kd) for 6-dihydronicotinamide riboside was observed for human renalase in the presence of ADP. However, generally the addition of complement ligands, ADP for mononucloetide or AMP for nucleoside substrates, did not enhance the reductive half-reaction. Non-substrate nicotinamide nucleosides or nucleotides bind weakly suggesting that only β-NADH and β-NADPH compete with dinucleotide substrates for access to the active site. PMID:27769837

Ligand binding phenomena that pertain to the metabolic function of renalase.

PubMed

Beaupre, Brett A; Roman, Joseph V; Hoag, Matthew R; Meneely, Kathleen M; Silvaggi, Nicholas R; Lamb, Audrey L; Moran, Graham R

2016-12-15

Renalase catalyzes the oxidation of isomers of β-NAD(P)H that carry the hydride in the 2 or 6 positions of the nicotinamide base to form β-NAD(P) + . This activity is thought to alleviate inhibition of multiple β-NAD(P)-dependent enzymes of primary and secondary metabolism by these isomers. Here we present evidence for a variety of ligand binding phenomena relevant to the function of renalase. We offer evidence of the potential for primary metabolism inhibition with structures of malate dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase bound to the 6-dihydroNAD isomer. The previously observed preference of renalase from Pseudomonas for NAD-derived substrates over those derived from NADP is accounted for by the structure of the enzyme in complex with NADPH. We also show that nicotinamide nucleosides and mononucleotides reduced in the 2- and 6-positions are renalase substrates, but bind weakly. A seven-fold enhancement of acquisition (k red /K d ) for 6-dihydronicotinamide riboside was observed for human renalase in the presence of ADP. However, generally the addition of complement ligands, AMP for mononucleotide or ADP for nucleoside substrates, did not enhance the reductive half-reaction. Non-substrate nicotinamide nucleosides or nucleotides bind weakly suggesting that only β-NADH and β-NADPH compete with dinucleotide substrates for access to the active site. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

RhoA/ROCK downregulates FPR2-mediated NADPH oxidase activation in mouse bone marrow granulocytes.

PubMed

Filina, Julia V; Gabdoulkhakova, Aida G; Safronova, Valentina G

2014-10-01

Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) express the high and low affinity receptors to formylated peptides (mFPR1 and mFPR2 in mice, accordingly). RhoA/ROCK (Rho activated kinase) pathway is crucial for cell motility and oxidase activity regulated via FPRs. There are contradictory data on RhoA-mediated regulation of NADPH oxidase activity in phagocytes. We have shown divergent Rho GTPases signaling via mFPR1 and mFPR2 to NADPH oxidase in PMNs from inflammatory site. The present study was aimed to find out the role of RhoA/ROCK in the respiratory burst activated via mFPR1 and mFPR2 in the bone marrow PMNs. Different kinetics of RhoA activation were detected with 0.1μM fMLF and 1μM WKYMVM operating via mFPR1 and mFPR2, accordingly. RhoA was translocated in fMLF-activated cells towards the cell center and juxtamembrane space versus uniform allocation in the resting cells. Specific inhibition of RhoA by CT04, Rho inhibitor I, weakly depressed the respiratory burst induced via mFPR1, but significantly increased the one induced via mFPR2. Inhibition of ROCK, the main effector of RhoA, by Y27632 led to the same effect on the respiratory burst. Regulation of mFPR2-induced respiratory response by ROCK was impossible under the cytoskeleton disruption by cytochalasin D, whereas it persisted in the case of mFPR1 activation. Thus we suggest RhoA to be one of the regulatory and signal transduction components in the respiratory burst through FPRs in the mouse bone marrow PMNs. Both mFPR1 and mFPR2 binding with a ligand trigger the activation of RhoA. FPR1 signaling through RhoA/ROCK increases NADPH-oxidase activity. But in FPR2 action RhoA/ROCK together with cytoskeleton-linked systems down-regulates NADPH-oxidase. This mechanism could restrain the reactive oxygen species dependent damage of own tissues during the chemotaxis of PMNs and in the resting cells. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Targeting NADPH oxidases in vascular pharmacology

PubMed Central

Schramm, Agata; Matusik, Paweł; Osmenda, Grzegorz; Guzik, Tomasz J

2012-01-01

Oxidative stress is a molecular dysregulation in reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism, which plays a key role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, vascular inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. It is characterized by a loss of nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability. Large clinical trials such as HOPE and HPS have not shown a clinical benefit of antioxidant vitamin C or vitamin E treatment, putting into question the role of oxidative stress in cardiovascular disease. A change in the understanding of the molecular nature of oxidative stress has been driven by the results of these trials. Oxidative stress is no longer perceived as a simple imbalance between the production and scavenging of ROS, but as a dysfunction of enzymes involved in ROS production. NADPH oxidases are at the center of these events, underlying the dysfunction of other oxidases including eNOS uncoupling, xanthine oxidase and mitochondrial dysfunction. Thus NADPH oxidases are important therapeutic targets. Indeed, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) as well as drugs interfering with the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibit NADPH oxidase activation and expression. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, AT1 receptor antagonists (sartans) and aliskiren, as well as spironolactone or eplerenone, have been discussed. Molecular aspects of NADPH oxidase regulation must be considered, while thinking about novel pharmacological targeting of this family of enzymes consisting of several homologs Nox1, Nox2, Nox3, Nox4 and Nox5 in humans. In order to properly design trials of antioxidant therapies, we must develop reliable techniques for the assessment of local and systemic oxidative stress. Classical antioxidants could be combined with novel oxidase inhibitors. In this review, we discuss NADPH oxidase inhibitors such as VAS2870, VAS3947, GK-136901, S17834 or plumbagin. Therefore, our efforts must focus on generating small molecular weight inhibitors of NADPH oxidases, allowing the

Characterization of N-glycosylation sites on the extracellular domain of NOX1/NADPH oxidase.

PubMed

Matsumoto, Misaki; Katsuyama, Masato; Iwata, Kazumi; Ibi, Masakazu; Zhang, Jia; Zhu, Kai; Nauseef, William M; Yabe-Nishimura, Chihiro

2014-03-01

Extensive evidence demonstrates the pathophysiological importance of NOX1, the catalytic subunit of superoxide-generating enzyme NADPH oxidase, as a source of reactive oxygen species in nonphagocytic cells. However, the biochemical properties of NOX1 have not been extensively characterized due to a lack of specific immunological tools. We used a newly raised NOX1 polyclonal antibody to investigate posttranslational modifications of NOX1 overexpressed in cultured cells and in the colon, where endogenous NOX1 is highly expressed. Immunoblots of lysates from cells expressing NOX1 revealed a doublet of 56 and 60kDa accompanied by a broad band of 60-90kDa. Based on differential sensitivity to glycosidases, the doublet was identified as two high-mannose-type glycoforms of NOX1, whereas the broad band represented NOX1 with complex-type N-linked oligosaccharides. Deglycosylated NOX1 migrated at ~53kDa and N-glycosylation was demonstrated in NOX1 derived from both rat and human. Site-directed mutagenesis identified N-glycosylation sites at Asn(161) and Asn(241) on the extracellular loop of mouse NOX1. Elimination of N-glycosylation on NOX1 did not affect its electron transferase activity, protein stability, targeting to the cell surface, or localization in F-actin-positive membrane protrusions. Taken together, these data identify the two specific sites of N-linked glycosylation of murine NOX1 and demonstrate that they are not required for normal enzyme activity, protein stability, and membrane trafficking. As is true for NOX2, the contribution of glycosylation in NOX1 to its biologic function(s) merits further study. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evidence that Chemical Chaperone 4-Phenylbutyric Acid Binds to Human Serum Albumin at Fatty Acid Binding Sites

PubMed Central

James, Joel; Shihabudeen, Mohamed Sham; Kulshrestha, Shweta; Goel, Varun; Thirumurugan, Kavitha

2015-01-01

Endoplasmic reticulum stress elicits unfolded protein response to counteract the accumulating unfolded protein load inside a cell. The chemical chaperone, 4-Phenylbutyric acid (4-PBA) is a FDA approved drug that alleviates endoplasmic reticulum stress by assisting protein folding. It is found efficacious to augment pathological conditions like type 2 diabetes, obesity and neurodegeneration. This study explores the binding nature of 4-PBA with human serum albumin (HSA) through spectroscopic and molecular dynamics approaches, and the results show that 4-PBA has high binding specificity to Sudlow Site II (Fatty acid binding site 3, subdomain IIIA). Ligand displacement studies, RMSD stabilization profiles and MM-PBSA binding free energy calculation confirm the same. The binding constant as calculated from fluorescence spectroscopic studies was found to be kPBA = 2.69 x 105 M-1. Like long chain fatty acids, 4-PBA induces conformational changes on HSA as shown by circular dichroism, and it elicits stable binding at Sudlow Site II (fatty acid binding site 3) by forming strong hydrogen bonding and a salt bridge between domain II and III of HSA. This minimizes the fluctuation of HSA backbone as shown by limited conformational space occupancy in the principal component analysis. The overall hydrophobicity of W214 pocket (located at subdomain IIA), increases upon occupancy of 4-PBA at any FA site. Descriptors of this pocket formed by residues from other subdomains largely play a role in compensating the dynamic movement of W214. PMID:26181488

Cloud computing for protein-ligand binding site comparison.

PubMed

Hung, Che-Lun; Hua, Guan-Jie

2013-01-01

The proteome-wide analysis of protein-ligand binding sites and their interactions with ligands is important in structure-based drug design and in understanding ligand cross reactivity and toxicity. The well-known and commonly used software, SMAP, has been designed for 3D ligand binding site comparison and similarity searching of a structural proteome. SMAP can also predict drug side effects and reassign existing drugs to new indications. However, the computing scale of SMAP is limited. We have developed a high availability, high performance system that expands the comparison scale of SMAP. This cloud computing service, called Cloud-PLBS, combines the SMAP and Hadoop frameworks and is deployed on a virtual cloud computing platform. To handle the vast amount of experimental data on protein-ligand binding site pairs, Cloud-PLBS exploits the MapReduce paradigm as a management and parallelizing tool. Cloud-PLBS provides a web portal and scalability through which biologists can address a wide range of computer-intensive questions in biology and drug discovery.

Oligomycin frames a common drug-binding site in the ATP synthase

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Symersky, Jindrich; Osowski, Daniel; Walters, D. Eric

We report the high-resolution (1.9 {angstrom}) crystal structure of oligomycin bound to the subunit c10 ring of the yeast mitochondrial ATP synthase. Oligomycin binds to the surface of the c10 ring making contact with two neighboring molecules at a position that explains the inhibitory effect on ATP synthesis. The carboxyl side chain of Glu59, which is essential for proton translocation, forms an H-bond with oligomycin via a bridging water molecule but is otherwise shielded from the aqueous environment. The remaining contacts between oligomycin and subunit c are primarily hydrophobic. The amino acid residues that form the oligomycin-binding site are 100%more » conserved between human and yeast but are widely different from those in bacterial homologs, thus explaining the differential sensitivity to oligomycin. Prior genetics studies suggest that the oligomycin-binding site overlaps with the binding site of other antibiotics, including those effective against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and thereby frames a common 'drug-binding site.' We anticipate that this drug-binding site will serve as an effective target for new antibiotics developed by rational design.« less

The RNA-Binding Site of Poliovirus 3C Protein Doubles as a Phosphoinositide-Binding Domain.

PubMed

Shengjuler, Djoshkun; Chan, Yan Mei; Sun, Simou; Moustafa, Ibrahim M; Li, Zhen-Lu; Gohara, David W; Buck, Matthias; Cremer, Paul S; Boehr, David D; Cameron, Craig E

2017-12-05

Some viruses use phosphatidylinositol phosphate (PIP) to mark membranes used for genome replication or virion assembly. PIP-binding motifs of cellular proteins do not exist in viral proteins. Molecular-docking simulations revealed a putative site of PIP binding to poliovirus (PV) 3C protein that was validated using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The PIP-binding site was located on a highly dynamic α helix, which also functions in RNA binding. Broad PIP-binding activity was observed in solution using a fluorescence polarization assay or in the context of a lipid bilayer using an on-chip, fluorescence assay. All-atom molecular dynamics simulations of the 3C protein-membrane interface revealed PIP clustering and perhaps PIP-dependent conformations. PIP clustering was mediated by interaction with residues that interact with the RNA phosphodiester backbone. We conclude that 3C binding to membranes will be determined by PIP abundance. We suggest that the duality of function observed for 3C may extend to RNA-binding proteins of other viruses. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization of diadenosine tetraphosphate (Ap4A) binding sites in cultured chromaffin cells: evidence for a P2y site.

PubMed Central

Pintor, J.; Torres, M.; Castro, E.; Miras-Portugal, M. T.

1991-01-01

1. Diadenosine tetraphosphate (Ap4A) a dinucleotide, which is stored in secretory granules, presents two types of high affinity binding sites in chromaffin cells. A Kd value of 8 +/- 0.65 x 10(-11) M and Bmax value of 5420 +/- 450 sites per cell were obtained for the high affinity binding site. A Kd value of 5.6 +/- 0.53 x 10(-9) M and a Bmax value close to 70,000 sites per cell were obtained for the second binding site with high affinity. 2. The diadenosine polyphosphates, Ap3A, Ap4A, Ap5A and Ap6A, displaced [3H]-Ap4A from the two binding sites, the Ki values being 1.0 nM, 0.013 nM, 0.013 nM and 0.013 nM for the very high affinity binding site and 0.5 microM, 0.13 microM, 0.062 microM and 0.75 microM for the second binding site. 3. The ATP analogues displaced [3H]-Ap4A with the potency order of the P2y receptors, adenosine 5'-O-(2 thiodiphosphate) (ADP-beta-S) greater than 5'-adenylyl imidodiphosphate (AMP-PNP) greater than alpha, beta-methylene ATP (alpha, beta-MeATP), in both binding sites. The Ki values were respectively 0.075 nM, 0.2 nM and 0.75 nM for the very high affinity binding site and 0.125 microM, 0.5 microM and 0.9 microM for the second binding site. PMID:1912985

Purification and characterization of NADPH--cytochrome c reductase from the midgut of the southern armyworm (Spodoptera eridania).

PubMed Central

Crankshaw, D L; Hetnarski, K; Wilkinson, C F

1979-01-01

1. NADPH-cytochrome c reductase was solubilized with bromelain and purified about 400-fold from sucrose/pyrophosphate-washed microsomal fractions from southern armyworm (Spodoptera eridania) larval midguts. 2. The enzyme has a mol.wt. of 70 035 +/- 1300 and contained 2 mol of flavin/mol of enzyme consisting of almost equimolar amounts of FMN and FAD. 3. Aerobic titration of the enzyme with NADPH caused the formation of a stable half-reduced state at 0.5 mol of NADPH/mol of flavin. 4. Kinetic analysis showed that the reduction of cytochrome c proceeded by a Bi Bi Ping Pong mechanism. 5. Apparent Km values for NADPH and cytochrome c and Ki values for NADP+ and 2'-AMP were considerably higher for the insect reductase than for the mammalian liver enzyme. 6. These are discussed in relation to possible differences in the active sites of the enzymes. Images Fig. 3. PMID:117798

Purification and characterization of NADPH--cytochrome c reductase from the midgut of the southern armyworm (Spodoptera eridania).

PubMed

Crankshaw, D L; Hetnarski, K; Wilkinson, C F

1979-09-01

1. NADPH-cytochrome c reductase was solubilized with bromelain and purified about 400-fold from sucrose/pyrophosphate-washed microsomal fractions from southern armyworm (Spodoptera eridania) larval midguts. 2. The enzyme has a mol.wt. of 70 035 +/- 1300 and contained 2 mol of flavin/mol of enzyme consisting of almost equimolar amounts of FMN and FAD. 3. Aerobic titration of the enzyme with NADPH caused the formation of a stable half-reduced state at 0.5 mol of NADPH/mol of flavin. 4. Kinetic analysis showed that the reduction of cytochrome c proceeded by a Bi Bi Ping Pong mechanism. 5. Apparent Km values for NADPH and cytochrome c and Ki values for NADP+ and 2'-AMP were considerably higher for the insect reductase than for the mammalian liver enzyme. 6. These are discussed in relation to possible differences in the active sites of the enzymes.

Rate constants for proteins binding to substrates with multiple binding sites using a generalized forward flux sampling expression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vijaykumar, Adithya; ten Wolde, Pieter Rein; Bolhuis, Peter G.

2018-03-01

To predict the response of a biochemical system, knowledge of the intrinsic and effective rate constants of proteins is crucial. The experimentally accessible effective rate constant for association can be decomposed in a diffusion-limited rate at which proteins come into contact and an intrinsic association rate at which the proteins in contact truly bind. Reversely, when dissociating, bound proteins first separate into a contact pair with an intrinsic dissociation rate, before moving away by diffusion. While microscopic expressions exist that enable the calculation of the intrinsic and effective rate constants by conducting a single rare event simulation of the protein dissociation reaction, these expressions are only valid when the substrate has just one binding site. If the substrate has multiple binding sites, a bound enzyme can, besides dissociating into the bulk, also hop to another binding site. Calculating transition rate constants between multiple states with forward flux sampling requires a generalized rate expression. We present this expression here and use it to derive explicit expressions for all intrinsic and effective rate constants involving binding to multiple states, including rebinding. We illustrate our approach by computing the intrinsic and effective association, dissociation, and hopping rate constants for a system in which a patchy particle model enzyme binds to a substrate with two binding sites. We find that these rate constants increase as a function of the rotational diffusion constant of the particles. The hopping rate constant decreases as a function of the distance between the binding sites. Finally, we find that blocking one of the binding sites enhances both association and dissociation rate constants. Our approach and results are important for understanding and modeling association reactions in enzyme-substrate systems and other patchy particle systems and open the way for large multiscale simulations of such systems.

High-affinity cannabinoid binding site in brain: A possible marijuana receptor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nye, J.S.

The mechanism by which delta{sup 9} tetrahydrocannabinol (delta{sup 9}THC), the major psychoactive component of marijuana or hashish, produces its potent psychological and physiological effects is unknown. To find receptor binding sites for THC, we designed a water-soluble analog for use as a radioligand. 5{prime}-Trimethylammonium-delta{sup 8}THC (TMA) is a positively charged analog of delta-{sup 8}THC modified on the 5{prime} carbon, a portion of the molecule not important for its psychoactivity. We have studied the binding of ({sup 3}H)-5{prime}-trimethylammonium-delta-{sup 8}THC (({sup 3}H)TMA) to rat neuronal membranes. ({sup 3}H)TMA binds saturably and reversibly to brain membranes with high affinity to apparently one classmore » of sites. Highest binding site density occurs in brain, but several peripheral organs also display specific binding. Detergent solubilizes the sites without affecting their pharmacologial properties. Molecular sieve chromatography reveals a bimodal peak of ({sup 3}H)TMA binding activity of approximately 60,000 daltons apparent molecular weight.« less

Rapid comparison of protein binding site surfaces with Property Encoded Shape Distributions (PESD)

PubMed Central

Das, Sourav; Kokardekar, Arshad

2009-01-01

Patterns in shape and property distributions on the surface of binding sites are often conserved across functional proteins without significant conservation of the underlying amino-acid residues. To explore similarities of these sites from the viewpoint of a ligand, a sequence and fold-independent method was created to rapidly and accurately compare binding sites of proteins represented by property-mapped triangulated Gauss-Connolly surfaces. Within this paradigm, signatures for each binding site surface are produced by calculating their property-encoded shape distributions (PESD), a measure of the probability that a particular property will be at a specific distance to another on the molecular surface. Similarity between the signatures can then be treated as a measure of similarity between binding sites. As postulated, the PESD method rapidly detected high levels of similarity in binding site surface characteristics even in cases where there was very low similarity at the sequence level. In a screening experiment involving each member of the PDBBind 2005 dataset as a query against the rest of the set, PESD was able to retrieve a binding site with identical E.C. (Enzyme Commission) numbers as the top match in 79.5% of cases. The ability of the method in detecting similarity in binding sites with low sequence conservations were compared with state-of-the-art binding site comparison methods. PMID:19919089

Solubilization and characterization of haloperidol-sensitive (+)-( sup 3 H)SKF-10,047 binding sites (sigma sites) from rat liver membranes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McCann, D.J.; Su, T.P.

1991-05-01

The zwitterionic detergent 3-((3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylamino)-1-propanesulfonate (CHAPS) produced optimal solubilization of (+)-({sup 3}H)SKF-10,047 binding sites from rat liver membranes at a concentration of 0.2%, well below the critical micellular concentration of the detergent. The pharmacological selectivity of the liver (+)-({sup 3}H)SKF-10,047 binding sites corresponds to that of sigma sites from rat and guinea pig brain. When the affinities of 18 different drugs at (+)-({sup 3}H)SKF-10,047 binding sites in membranes and solubilized preparations were compared, a correlation coefficient of 0.99 and a slope of 1.03 were obtained, indicating that the pharmacological selectivity of rat liver sigma sites is retained after solubilization. In addition,more » the binding of 20 nM ({sup 3}H)progesterone to solubilized rat liver preparations was found to exhibit a pharmacological selectivity appropriate for sigma sites. A stimulatory effect of phenytoin on (+)-({sup 3}H)SKF-10,047 binding to sigma sites persisted after solubilization. When the solubilized preparation was subjected to molecular sizing chromatography, a single peak exhibiting specific (+)-({sup 3}H)SKF-10,047 binding was obtained. The binding activity of this peak was stimulated symmetrically when assays were performed in the presence of 300 microM phenytoin. The molecular weight of the CHAPS-solubilized sigma site complex was estimated to be 450,000 daltons. After solubilization with CHAPS, rat liver sigma sites were enriched to 12 pmol/mg of protein. The present results demonstrate a successful solubilization of sigma sites from rat liver membranes and provide direct evidence that the gonadal steroid progesterone binds to sigma sites. The results also suggest that the anticonvulsant phenytoin binds to an associated allosteric site on the sigma site complex.« less

In vivo binding of PRDM9 reveals interactions with noncanonical genomic sites

PubMed Central

Grey, Corinne; Clément, Julie A.J.; Buard, Jérôme; Leblanc, Benjamin; Gut, Ivo; Gut, Marta; Duret, Laurent

2017-01-01

In mouse and human meiosis, DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) initiate homologous recombination and occur at specific sites called hotspots. The localization of these sites is determined by the sequence-specific DNA binding domain of the PRDM9 histone methyl transferase. Here, we performed an extensive analysis of PRDM9 binding in mouse spermatocytes. Unexpectedly, we identified a noncanonical recruitment of PRDM9 to sites that lack recombination activity and the PRDM9 binding consensus motif. These sites include gene promoters, where PRDM9 is recruited in a DSB-dependent manner. Another subset reveals DSB-independent interactions between PRDM9 and genomic sites, such as the binding sites for the insulator protein CTCF. We propose that these DSB-independent sites result from interactions between hotspot-bound PRDM9 and genomic sequences located on the chromosome axis. PMID:28336543

Tales of Dihydrofolate Binding to R67 Dihydrofolate Reductase

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Homotetrameric R67 dihydrofolate reductase possesses 222 symmetry and a single active site pore. This situation results in a promiscuous binding site that accommodates either the substrate, dihydrofolate (DHF), or the cofactor, NADPH. NADPH interacts more directly with the protein as it is larger than the substrate. In contrast, the p-aminobenzoyl-glutamate tail of DHF, as monitored by nuclear magnetic resonance and crystallography, is disordered when bound. To explore whether smaller active site volumes (which should decrease the level of tail disorder by confinement effects) alter steady state rates, asymmetric mutations that decreased the half-pore volume by ∼35% were constructed. Only minor effects on kcat were observed. To continue exploring the role of tail disorder in catalysis, 1-ethyl-3-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]carbodiimide-mediated cross-linking between R67 DHFR and folate was performed. A two-folate, one-tetramer complex results in the loss of enzyme activity where two symmetry-related K32 residues in the protein are cross-linked to the carboxylates of two bound folates. The tethered folate could be reduced, although with a ≤30-fold decreased rate, suggesting decreased dynamics and/or suboptimal positioning of the cross-linked folate for catalysis. Computer simulations that restrain the dihydrofolate tail near K32 indicate that cross-linking still allows movement of the p-aminobenzoyl ring, which allows the reaction to occur. Finally, a bis-ethylene-diamine-α,γ-amide folate adduct was synthesized; both negatively charged carboxylates in the glutamate tail were replaced with positively charged amines. The Ki for this adduct was ∼9-fold higher than for folate. These various results indicate a balance between folate tail disorder, which helps the enzyme bind substrate while dynamics facilitates catalysis. PMID:26637016

Site-specific fab fragment biotinylation at the conserved nucleotide binding site for enhanced Ebola detection.

PubMed

Mustafaoglu, Nur; Alves, Nathan J; Bilgicer, Basar

2015-07-01

The nucleotide binding site (NBS) is a highly conserved region between the variable light and heavy chains at the Fab domains of all antibodies, and a small molecule that we identified, indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), binds specifically to this site. Fab fragment, with its small size and simple production methods compared to intact antibody, is good candidate for use in miniaturized diagnostic devices and targeted therapeutic applications. However, commonly used modification techniques are not well suited for Fab fragments as they are often more delicate than intact antibodies. Fab fragments are of particular interest for sensor surface functionalization but immobilization results in damage to the antigen binding site and greatly reduced activity due to their truncated size that allows only a small area that can bind to surfaces without impeding antigen binding. In this study, we describe an NBS-UV photocrosslinking functionalization method (UV-NBS(Biotin) in which a Fab fragment is site-specifically biotinylated with an IBA-EG11-Biotin linker via UV energy exposure (1 J/cm(2)) without affecting its antigen binding activity. This study demonstrates successful immobilization of biotinylated Ebola detecting Fab fragment (KZ52 Fab fragment) via the UV-NBS(Biotin) method yielding 1031-fold and 2-fold better antigen detection sensitivity compared to commonly used immobilization methods: direct physical adsorption and NHS-Biotin functionalization, respectively. Utilization of the UV-NBS(Biotin) method for site-specific conjugation to Fab fragment represents a proof of concept use of Fab fragment for various diagnostic and therapeutic applications with numerous fluorescent probes, affinity molecules and peptides. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A de novo NADPH generation pathway for improving lysine production of Corynebacterium glutamicum by rational design of the coenzyme specificity of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase.

PubMed

Bommareddy, Rajesh Reddy; Chen, Zhen; Rappert, Sugima; Zeng, An-Ping

2014-09-01

Engineering the cofactor availability is a common strategy of metabolic engineering to improve the production of many industrially important compounds. In this work, a de novo NADPH generation pathway is proposed by altering the coenzyme specificity of a native NAD-dependent glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) to NADP, which consequently has the potential to produce additional NADPH in the glycolytic pathway. Specifically, the coenzyme specificity of GAPDH of Corynebacterium glutamicum is systematically manipulated by rational protein design and the effect of the manipulation for cellular metabolism and lysine production is evaluated. By a combinatorial modification of four key residues within the coenzyme binding sites, different GAPDH mutants with varied coenzyme specificity were constructed. While increasing the catalytic efficiency of GAPDH towards NADP enhanced lysine production in all of the tested mutants, the most significant improvement of lysine production (~60%) was achieved with the mutant showing similar preference towards both NAD and NADP. Metabolic flux analysis with (13)C isotope studies confirmed that there was no significant change of flux towards the pentose phosphate pathway and the increased lysine yield was mainly attributed to the NADPH generated by the mutated GAPDH. The present study highlights the importance of protein engineering as a key strategy in de novo pathway design and overproduction of desired products. Copyright © 2014 International Metabolic Engineering Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

NADPH Oxidases in Vascular Pathology

PubMed Central

Konior, Anna; Schramm, Agata; Czesnikiewicz-Guzik, Marta

2014-01-01

Abstract Significance: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a critical role in vascular disease. While there are many possible sources of ROS, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidases play a central role. They are a source of “kindling radicals,” which affect other enzymes, such as nitric oxide synthase endothelial nitric oxide synthase or xanthine oxidase. This is important, as risk factors for atherosclerosis (hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and smoking) regulate the expression and activity of NADPH oxidases in the vessel wall. Recent Advances: There are seven isoforms in mammals: Nox1, Nox2, Nox3, Nox4, Nox5, Duox1 and Duox2. Nox1, Nox2, Nox4, and Nox5 are expressed in endothelium, vascular smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts, or perivascular adipocytes. Other homologues have not been found or are expressed at very low levels; their roles have not been established. Nox1/Nox2 promote the development of endothelial dysfunction, hypertension, and inflammation. Nox4 may have a role in protecting the vasculature during stress; however, when its activity is increased, it may be detrimental. Calcium-dependent Nox5 has been implicated in oxidative damage in human atherosclerosis. Critical Issues: NADPH oxidase-derived ROS play a role in vascular pathology as well as in the maintenance of normal physiological vascular function. We also discuss recently elucidated mechanisms such as the role of NADPH oxidases in vascular protection, vascular inflammation, pulmonary hypertension, tumor angiogenesis, and central nervous system regulation of vascular function and hypertension. Future Directions: Understanding the role of individual oxidases and interactions between homologues in vascular disease is critical for efficient pharmacological regulation of vascular NADPH oxidases in both the laboratory and clinical practice. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 20, 2794–2814. PMID:24180474

Elucidation of the Hsp90 C-terminal Inhibitor Binding Site

PubMed Central

Matts, Robert L.; Dixit, Anshuman; Peterson, Laura B.; Sun, Liang; Voruganti, Sudhakar; Kalyanaraman, Palgunan; Hartson, Steve D.; Verkhivker, Gennady M.; Blagg, Brian S. J.

2011-01-01

The Hsp90 chaperone machine is required for the folding, activation and/or stabilization of more than 50 proteins directly related to malignant progression. Hsp90 contains small molecule binding sites at both its N- and C-terminal domains, however, limited structural and biochemical data regarding the C-terminal binding site is available. In this report, the small molecule binding site in the Hsp90 C-terminal domain was revealed by protease fingerprinting and photoaffinity labeling utilizing LC-MS/MS. The identified site was characterized by generation of a homology model for hHsp90α using the SAXS open structure of HtpG and docking the bioactive conformation of NB into the generated model. The resulting model for the bioactive conformation of NB bound to Hsp90α is presented herein. PMID:21548602

Structure of Chlorobium tepidum sepiapterin reductase complex reveals the novel substrate binding mode for stereospecific production of L-threo-tetrahydrobiopterin.

PubMed

Supangat, Supangat; Seo, Kyung Hye; Choi, Yong Kee; Park, Young Shik; Son, Daeyoung; Han, Chang-deok; Lee, Kon Ho

2006-01-27

Sepiapterin reductase (SR) is involved in the last step of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH(4)) biosynthesis by reducing the di-keto group of 6-pyruvoyl tetrahydropterin. Chlorobium tepidum SR (cSR) generates a distinct BH(4) product, L-threo-BH(4) (6R-(1'S,2'S)-5,6,7,8-BH(4)), whereas animal enzymes produce L-erythro-BH(4) (6R-(1'R,2'S)-5,6,7,8-BH(4)) although it has high amino acid sequence similarities to the other animal enzymes. To elucidate the structural basis for the different reaction stereospecificities, we have determined the three-dimensional structures of cSR alone and complexed with NADP and sepiapterin at 2.1 and 1.7 A resolution, respectively. The overall folding of the cSR, the binding site for the cofactor NADP(H), and the positions of active site residues were quite similar to the mouse and the human SR. However, significant differences were found in the substrate binding region of the cSR. In comparison to the mouse SR complex, the sepiapterin in the cSR is rotated about 180 degrees around the active site and bound between two aromatic side chains of Trp-196 and Phe-99 so that its pterin ring is shifted to the opposite side, but its side chain position is not changed. The swiveled sepiapterin binding results in the conversion of the side chain configuration, exposing the opposite face for hydride transfer from NADPH. The different sepiapterin binding mode within the conserved catalytic architecture presents a novel strategy of switching the reaction stereospecificities in the same protein fold.

An Unprecedented NADPH Domain Conformation in Lysine Monooxygenase NbtG Provides Insights into Uncoupling of Oxygen Consumption from Substrate Hydroxylation

DOE PAGES

Binda, Claudia; Robinson, Reeder M.; Martin del Campo, Julia S.; ...

2015-03-23

N-hydroxylating monooxygenases (NMOs) are involved in the biosynthesis of iron-chelating hydroxamate-containing siderophores that play a role in microbial virulence. These flavoenzymes catalyze the NADPH- and oxygen-dependent hydroxylation of amines, such as those found on the side chains of lysine and ornithine. In this work we report the biochemical and structural characterization of Nocardia farcinica Lys monooxygenase (NbtG), which has similar biochemical properties to mycobacterial homologs. NbtG is also active on D-Lys although it binds L-Lys with a higher affinity. Differently from the ornithine monooxygenases PvdA, SidA and KtzI, NbtG can use both NADH and NADPH and is highly uncoupled, producingmore » more superoxide and hydrogen peroxide than hydroxylated Lys. The crystal structure of NbtG solved at 2.4 Å resolution revealed an unexpected protein conformation with a 30° rotation of the NAD(P)H domain with respect to the FAD domain that precludes binding of the nicotinamide cofactor. This “occluded” structure may explain the biochemical properties of NbtG, specifically with regard to the substantial uncoupling and limited stabilization of the C4a-hydroperoxyflavin intermediate. We discuss the biological implications of these findings.« less

Cloud Computing for Protein-Ligand Binding Site Comparison

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

The proteome-wide analysis of protein-ligand binding sites and their interactions with ligands is important in structure-based drug design and in understanding ligand cross reactivity and toxicity. The well-known and commonly used software, SMAP, has been designed for 3D ligand binding site comparison and similarity searching of a structural proteome. SMAP can also predict drug side effects and reassign existing drugs to new indications. However, the computing scale of SMAP is limited. We have developed a high availability, high performance system that expands the comparison scale of SMAP. This cloud computing service, called Cloud-PLBS, combines the SMAP and Hadoop frameworks and is deployed on a virtual cloud computing platform. To handle the vast amount of experimental data on protein-ligand binding site pairs, Cloud-PLBS exploits the MapReduce paradigm as a management and parallelizing tool. Cloud-PLBS provides a web portal and scalability through which biologists can address a wide range of computer-intensive questions in biology and drug discovery. PMID:23762824

Chromatin-Specific Regulation of Mammalian rDNA Transcription by Clustered TTF-I Binding Sites

PubMed Central

Diermeier, Sarah D.; Németh, Attila; Rehli, Michael; Grummt, Ingrid; Längst, Gernot

2013-01-01

Enhancers and promoters often contain multiple binding sites for the same transcription factor, suggesting that homotypic clustering of binding sites may serve a role in transcription regulation. Here we show that clustering of binding sites for the transcription termination factor TTF-I downstream of the pre-rRNA coding region specifies transcription termination, increases the efficiency of transcription initiation and affects the three-dimensional structure of rRNA genes. On chromatin templates, but not on free rDNA, clustered binding sites promote cooperative binding of TTF-I, loading TTF-I to the downstream terminators before it binds to the rDNA promoter. Interaction of TTF-I with target sites upstream and downstream of the rDNA transcription unit connects these distal DNA elements by forming a chromatin loop between the rDNA promoter and the terminators. The results imply that clustered binding sites increase the binding affinity of transcription factors in chromatin, thus influencing the timing and strength of DNA-dependent processes. PMID:24068958

Structure and function of NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase and nitric oxide synthase reductase domain

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Iyanagi, Takashi

2005-12-09

NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR) and the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) reductase domains are members of the FAD-FMN family of proteins. The FAD accepts two reducing equivalents from NADPH (dehydrogenase flavin) and FMN acts as a one-electron carrier (flavodoxin-type flavin) for the transfer from NADPH to the heme protein, in which the FMNH {sup {center_dot}}/FMNH{sub 2} couple donates electrons to cytochrome P450 at constant oxidation-reduction potential. Although the interflavin electron transfer between FAD and FMN is not strictly regulated in CPR, electron transfer is activated in neuronal NOS reductase domain upon binding calmodulin (CaM), in which the CaM-bound activated form canmore » function by a similar mechanism to that of CPR. The oxygenated form and spin state of substrate-bound cytochrome P450 in perfused rat liver are also discussed in terms of stepwise one-electron transfer from CPR. This review provides a historical perspective of the microsomal mixed-function oxidases including CPR and P450. In addition, a new model for the redox-linked conformational changes during the catalytic cycle for both CPR and NOS reductase domain is also discussed.« less

Exercise training decreases NADPH oxidase activity and restores skeletal muscle mass in heart failure rats.

PubMed

Cunha, Telma F; Bechara, Luiz R G; Bacurau, Aline V N; Jannig, Paulo R; Voltarelli, Vanessa A; Dourado, Paulo M; Vasconcelos, Andrea R; Scavone, Cristóforo; Ferreira, Júlio C B; Brum, Patricia C

2017-04-01

We have recently demonstrated that NADPH oxidase hyperactivity, NF-κB activation, and increased p38 phosphorylation lead to atrophy of glycolytic muscle in heart failure (HF). Aerobic exercise training (AET) is an efficient strategy to counteract skeletal muscle atrophy in this syndrome. Therefore, we tested whether AET would regulate muscle redox balance and protein degradation by decreasing NADPH oxidase hyperactivity and reestablishing NF-κB signaling, p38 phosphorylation, and proteasome activity in plantaris muscle of myocardial infarcted-induced HF (MI) rats. Thirty-two male Wistar rats underwent MI or fictitious surgery (SHAM) and were randomly assigned into untrained (UNT) and trained (T; 8 wk of AET on treadmill) groups. AET prevented HF signals and skeletal muscle atrophy in MI-T, which showed an improved exercise tolerance, attenuated cardiac dysfunction and increased plantaris fiber cross-sectional area. To verify the role of inflammation and redox imbalance in triggering protein degradation, circulating TNF-α levels, NADPH oxidase profile, NF-κB signaling, p38 protein levels, and proteasome activity were assessed. MI-T showed a reduced TNF-α levels, NADPH oxidase activity, and Nox2 mRNA expression toward SHAM-UNT levels. The rescue of NADPH oxidase activity induced by AET in MI rats was paralleled by reducing nuclear binding activity of the NF-κB, p38 phosphorylation, atrogin-1, mRNA levels, and 26S chymotrypsin-like proteasome activity. Taken together our data provide evidence for AET improving plantaris redox homeostasis in HF associated with a decreased NADPH oxidase, redox-sensitive proteins activation, and proteasome hyperactivity further preventing atrophy. These data reinforce the role of AET as an efficient therapy for muscle wasting in HF. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study demonstrates, for the first time, the contribution of aerobic exercise training (AET) in decreasing muscle NADPH oxidase activity associated with reduced reactive oxygen

[3H]MK-801 binding sites in post-mortem human frontal cortex.

PubMed

Kornhuber, J; Mack-Burkhardt, F; Kornhuber, M E; Riederer, P

1989-03-29

The binding of [3H]MK-801 ((+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10-imine maleate) was investigated in extensively washed homogenates of post-mortem human frontal cortex. The association of [3H]MK-801 proceeded slowly (t1/2 = 553 min) and reached equilibrium only after a prolonged incubation (greater than 24 h). The dissociation of [3H]MK-801 from the binding site was also slow (t1/2 = 244 min). Glutamate, glycine and magnesium markedly increased the rate of association (t1/2 = 14.8 min) and dissociation (t1/2 = 36.5 min). At equilibrium, the binding was not altered by these substances. Specific binding was linear with protein concentration, was saturable, reversible, stereoselective, heat-labile and was nearly absent in the white matter. Scatchard analysis of the saturation curves obtained at equilibrium indicated that there was a high-affinity (Kd1 1.39 +/- 0.21 nM, Bmax1 0.483 +/- 0.084 pmol/mg protein) and a low-affinity (Kd2 116.25 +/- 50.79 nM, Bmax2 3.251 +/- 0.991 pmol/mg protein) binding site. All competition curves obtained with (+)-MK-801, (-)-MK-801, phencyclidine and ketamine had Hill coefficients of less than unity and were best explained by a two-site model. Thus, our results demonstrate the presence of binding sites for MK-801 in post-mortem human brains and provide evidence for binding site heterogeneity. Furthermore, glutamate, glycine and magnesium accelerate the association and dissociation of [3H]MK-801 to and from its binding sites. The results add support to the hypothesis that MK-801, glutamate, glycine and magnesium all bind to different sites on the NMDA receptor-ion channel complex.

NADPH oxidases of the brain: distribution, regulation, and function.

PubMed

Infanger, David W; Sharma, Ram V; Davisson, Robin L

2006-01-01

The NADPH oxidase is a multi-subunit enzyme that catalyzes the reduction of molecular oxygen to form superoxide (O(2)(-)). While classically linked to the respiratory burst in neutrophils, recent evidence now shows that O(2)(-) (and associated reactive oxygen species, ROS) generated by NADPH oxidase in nonphagocytic cells serves myriad functions in health and disease. An entire new family of NADPH Oxidase (Nox) homologues has emerged, which vary widely in cell and tissue distribution, as well as in function and regulation. A major concept in redox signaling is that while NADPH oxidase-derived ROS are necessary for normal cellular function, excessive oxidative stress can contribute to pathological disease. This certainly is true in the central nervous system (CNS), where normal NADPH oxidase function appears to be required for processes such as neuronal signaling, memory, and central cardiovascular homeostasis, but overproduction of ROS contributes to neurotoxicity, neurodegeneration, and cardiovascular diseases. Despite implications of NADPH oxidase in normal and pathological CNS processes, still relatively little is known about the mechanisms involved. This paper summarizes the evidence for NADPH oxidase distribution, regulation, and function in the CNS, emphasizing the diversity of Nox isoforms and their new and emerging role in neuro-cardiovascular function. In addition, perspectives for future research and novel therapeutic targets are offered.

Incorporating evolution of transcription factor binding sites into annotated alignments.

PubMed

Bais, Abha S; Grossmann, Stefen; Vingron, Martin

2007-08-01

Identifying transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) is essential to elucidate putative regulatory mechanisms. A common strategy is to combine cross-species conservation with single sequence TFBS annotation to yield "conserved TFBSs". Most current methods in this field adopt a multi-step approach that segregates the two aspects. Again, it is widely accepted that the evolutionary dynamics of binding sites differ from those of the surrounding sequence. Hence, it is desirable to have an approach that explicitly takes this factor into account. Although a plethora of approaches have been proposed for the prediction of conserved TFBSs, very few explicitly model TFBS evolutionary properties, while additionally being multi-step. Recently, we introduced a novel approach to simultaneously align and annotate conserved TFBSs in a pair of sequences. Building upon the standard Smith-Waterman algorithm for local alignments, SimAnn introduces additional states for profiles to output extended alignments or annotated alignments. That is, alignments with parts annotated as gaplessly aligned TFBSs (pair-profile hits)are generated. Moreover,the pair- profile related parameters are derived in a sound statistical framework. In this article, we extend this approach to explicitly incorporate evolution of binding sites in the SimAnn framework. We demonstrate the extension in the theoretical derivations through two position-specific evolutionary models, previously used for modelling TFBS evolution. In a simulated setting, we provide a proof of concept that the approach works given the underlying assumptions,as compared to the original work. Finally, using a real dataset of experimentally verified binding sites in human-mouse sequence pairs,we compare the new approach (eSimAnn) to an existing multi-step tool that also considers TFBS evolution. Although it is widely accepted that binding sites evolve differently from the surrounding sequences, most comparative TFBS identification methods do

Thermodynamic compensation upon binding to exosite 1 and the active site of thrombin

PubMed Central

Treuheit, Nicholas A.; Beach, Muneera A.; Komives, Elizabeth A.

2011-01-01

Several lines of experimental evidence including amide exchange and NMR suggest that ligands binding to thrombin cause reduced backbone dynamics. Binding of the covalent inhibitor dPhe-Pro-Arg chloromethylketone to the active site serine, as well as non-covalent binding of a fragment of the regulatory protein, thrombomodulin, to exosite 1 on the back side of the thrombin molecule both cause reduced dynamics. However, the reduced dynamics do not appear to be accompanied by significant conformational changes. In addition, binding of ligands to the active site does not change the affinity of thrombomodulin fragments binding to exosite 1, however, the thermodynamic coupling between exosite 1 and the active site has not been fully explored. We present isothermal titration calorimetry experiments that probe changes in enthalpy and entropy upon formation of binary ligand complexes. The approach relies on stringent thrombin preparation methods and on the use of dansyl-L-arginine-(3-methyl-1,5-pantanediyl) amide and a DNA aptamer as ligands with ideal thermodynamic signatures for binding to the active site and to exosite 1. Using this approach, the binding thermodynamic signatures of each ligand alone as well as the binding signatures of each ligand when the other binding site was occupied were measured. Different exosite 1 ligands with widely varied thermodynamic signatures cause the same reduction in ΔH and a concomitantly lower entropy cost upon DAPA binding at the active site. The results suggest a general phenomenon of enthalpy-entropy compensation consistent with reduction of dynamics/increased folding of thrombin upon ligand binding to either the active site or to exosite 1. PMID:21526769

Thermodynamic compensation upon binding to exosite 1 and the active site of thrombin.

PubMed

Treuheit, Nicholas A; Beach, Muneera A; Komives, Elizabeth A

2011-05-31

Several lines of experimental evidence including amide exchange and NMR suggest that ligands binding to thrombin cause reduced backbone dynamics. Binding of the covalent inhibitor dPhe-Pro-Arg chloromethyl ketone to the active site serine, as well as noncovalent binding of a fragment of the regulatory protein, thrombomodulin, to exosite 1 on the back side of the thrombin molecule both cause reduced dynamics. However, the reduced dynamics do not appear to be accompanied by significant conformational changes. In addition, binding of ligands to the active site does not change the affinity of thrombomodulin fragments binding to exosite 1; however, the thermodynamic coupling between exosite 1 and the active site has not been fully explored. We present isothermal titration calorimetry experiments that probe changes in enthalpy and entropy upon formation of binary ligand complexes. The approach relies on stringent thrombin preparation methods and on the use of dansyl-l-arginine-(3-methyl-1,5-pantanediyl)amide and a DNA aptamer as ligands with ideal thermodynamic signatures for binding to the active site and to exosite 1. Using this approach, the binding thermodynamic signatures of each ligand alone as well as the binding signatures of each ligand when the other binding site was occupied were measured. Different exosite 1 ligands with widely varied thermodynamic signatures cause a similar reduction in ΔH and a concomitantly lower entropy cost upon DAPA binding at the active site. The results suggest a general phenomenon of enthalpy-entropy compensation consistent with reduction of dynamics/increased folding of thrombin upon ligand binding to either the active site or exosite 1.

Bioinformatic and experimental survey of 14-3-3-binding sites

PubMed Central

Johnson, Catherine; Crowther, Sandra; Stafford, Margaret J.; Campbell, David G.; Toth, Rachel; MacKintosh, Carol

2010-01-01

More than 200 phosphorylated 14-3-3-binding sites in the literature were analysed to define 14-3-3 specificities, identify relevant protein kinases, and give insights into how cellular 14-3-3/phosphoprotein networks work. Mode I RXX(pS/pT)XP motifs dominate, although the +2 proline residue occurs in less than half, and LX(R/K)SX(pS/pT)XP is prominent in plant 14-3-3-binding sites. Proline at +1 is rarely reported, and such motifs did not stand up to experimental reanalysis of human Ndel1. Instead, we discovered that 14-3-3 interacts with two residues that are phosphorylated by basophilic kinases and located in the DISC1 (disrupted-in-schizophrenia 1)-interacting region of Ndel1 that is implicated in cognitive disorders. These data conform with the general findings that there are different subtypes of 14-3-3-binding sites that overlap with the specificities of different basophilic AGC (protein kinase A/protein kinase G/protein kinase C family) and CaMK (Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase) protein kinases, and a 14-3-3 dimer often engages with two tandem phosphorylated sites, which is a configuration with special signalling, mechanical and evolutionary properties. Thus 14-3-3 dimers can be digital logic gates that integrate more than one input to generate an action, and coincidence detectors when the two binding sites are phosphorylated by different protein kinases. Paired sites are generally located within disordered regions and/or straddle either side of functional domains, indicating how 14-3-3 dimers modulate the conformations and/or interactions of their targets. Finally, 14-3-3 proteins bind to members of several multi-protein families. Two 14-3-3-binding sites are conserved across the class IIa histone deacetylases, whereas other protein families display differential regulation by 14-3-3s. We speculate that 14-3-3 dimers may have contributed to the evolution of such families, tailoring regulatory inputs to different physiological demands. PMID:20141511

Photoactivable antibody binding protein: site-selective and covalent coupling of antibody.

PubMed

Jung, Yongwon; Lee, Jeong Min; Kim, Jung-won; Yoon, Jeongwon; Cho, Hyunmin; Chung, Bong Hyun

2009-02-01

Here we report new photoactivable antibody binding proteins, which site-selectively capture antibodies and form covalent conjugates with captured antibodies upon irradiation. The proteins allow the site-selective tagging and/or immobilization of antibodies with a highly preferred orientation and omit the need for prior antibody modifications. The minimal Fc-binding domain of protein G, a widely used antibody binding protein, was genetically and chemically engineered to contain a site-specific photo cross-linker, benzophenone. In addition, the domain was further mutated to have an enhanced Fc-targeting ability. This small engineered protein was successfully cross-linked only to the Fc region of the antibody without any nonspecific reactivity. SPR analysis indicated that antibodies can be site-selectively biotinylated through the present photoactivable protein. Furthermore, the system enabled light-induced covalent immobilization of antibodies directly on various solid surfaces, such as those of glass slides, gold chips, and small particles. Antibody coupling via photoactivable antibody binding proteins overcomes several limitations of conventional approaches, such as random chemical reactions or reversible protein binding, and offers a versatile tool for the field of immunosensors.

Two nucleotide binding sites modulate ( sup 3 H) glyburide binding to rat cortex membranes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Johnson, D.E.; Gopalakrishnan, M.; Triggle, D.J.

1991-03-11

The effects of nucleotides on the binding of the ATP-dependent K{sup +}-channel antagonist ({sup 3}H)glyburide (GLB) to rat cortex membranes were examined. Nucleotide triphosphates (NTPs) and nucleotide diphosphate (NDPs) inhibited the binding of GLB. This effect was dependent on the presence of dithiothreitol (DTT). Inhibition of binding by NTPs, with the exception of ATP{gamma}S, was dependent on the presence of Mg{sup 2+}. GLB binding showed a biphasic response to ADP: up to 3 mM, ADP inhibited binding, and above this concentration GLB binding increased rapidly, and was restored to normal levels by 10 mM ADP. In the presence of Mg{supmore » 2+}, ADP did not stimulate binding. Saturation analysis in the presence of Mg{sup 2+} and increasing concentrations of ADP showed that ADP results primarily in a change of the B{sub max} for GLB binding. The differential effects of NTPS and NDPs indicate that two nucleotide binding sites regulate GLB binding.« less

Rosuvastatin prevents angiotensin II-induced vascular changes by inhibition of NAD(P)H oxidase and COX-1

PubMed Central

Colucci, Rocchina; Fornai, Matteo; Duranti, Emiliano; Antonioli, Luca; Rugani, Ilaria; Aydinoglu, Fatma; Ippolito, Chiara; Segnani, Cristina; Bernardini, Nunzia; Taddei, Stefano; Blandizzi, Corrado; Virdis, Agostino

2013-01-01

Background and Purpose NAD(P)H oxidase and COX-1 participate in vascular damage induced by angiotensin II. We investigated the effect of rosuvastatin on endothelial dysfunction, vascular remodelling, changes in extracellular matrix components and mechanical properties of small mesenteric arteries from angiotensin II-infused rats. Experimental Approach Male rats received angiotensin II (120 ng·kg−1·min−1, subcutaneously) for 14 days with or without rosuvastatin (10 mg·kg−1·day−1, oral gavage) or vehicle. Vascular functions and morphological parameters were assessed by pressurized myography. Key Results In angiotensin II-infused rats, ACh-induced relaxation was attenuated compared with controls, less sensitive to L-NAME, enhanced by SC-560 (COX-1 inhibitor) or SQ-29548 (prostanoid TP receptor antagonist), and normalized by the antioxidant ascorbic acid or NAD(P)H oxidase inhibitors. After rosuvastatin, relaxations to ACh were normalized, fully sensitive to L-NAME, and no longer affected by SC-560, SQ-29548 or NAD(P)H oxidase inhibitors. Angiotensin II enhanced intravascular superoxide generation, eutrophic remodelling, collagen and fibronectin depositions, and decreased elastin content, resulting in increased vessel stiffness. All these changes were prevented by rosuvastatin. Angiotensin II increased phosphorylation of NAD(P)H oxidase subunit p47phox and its binding to subunit p67phox, effects inhibited by rosuvastatin. Rosuvastatin down-regulated vascular Nox4/NAD(P)H isoform and COX-1 expression, attenuated the vascular release of 6-keto-PGF1α, and enhanced copper/zinc-superoxide dismutase expression. Conclusion and Implications Rosuvastatin prevents angiotensin II-induced alterations in resistance arteries in terms of function, structure, mechanics and composition. These effects depend on restoration of NO availability, prevention of NAD(P)H oxidase-derived oxidant excess, reversal of COX-1 induction and its prostanoid production, and stimulation of

Modeling Complex Equilibria in ITC Experiments: Thermodynamic Parameters Estimation for a Three Binding Site Model

PubMed Central

Le, Vu H.; Buscaglia, Robert; Chaires, Jonathan B.; Lewis, Edwin A.

2013-01-01

Isothermal Titration Calorimetry, ITC, is a powerful technique that can be used to estimate a complete set of thermodynamic parameters (e.g. Keq (or ΔG), ΔH, ΔS, and n) for a ligand binding interaction described by a thermodynamic model. Thermodynamic models are constructed by combination of equilibrium constant, mass balance, and charge balance equations for the system under study. Commercial ITC instruments are supplied with software that includes a number of simple interaction models, for example one binding site, two binding sites, sequential sites, and n-independent binding sites. More complex models for example, three or more binding sites, one site with multiple binding mechanisms, linked equilibria, or equilibria involving macromolecular conformational selection through ligand binding need to be developed on a case by case basis by the ITC user. In this paper we provide an algorithm (and a link to our MATLAB program) for the non-linear regression analysis of a multiple binding site model with up to four overlapping binding equilibria. Error analysis demonstrates that fitting ITC data for multiple parameters (e.g. up to nine parameters in the three binding site model) yields thermodynamic parameters with acceptable accuracy. PMID:23262283

Six independent fucose-binding sites in the crystal structure of Aspergillus oryzae lectin

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Makyio, Hisayoshi; Shimabukuro, Junpei; Suzuki, Tatsuya

The crystal structure of AOL (a fucose-specific lectin of Aspergillus oryzae) has been solved by SAD (single-wavelength anomalous diffraction) and MAD (multi-wavelength anomalous diffraction) phasing of seleno-fucosides. The overall structure is a six-bladed β-propeller similar to that of other fucose-specific lectins. The fucose moieties of the seleno-fucosides are located in six fucose-binding sites. Although the Arg and Glu/Gln residues bound to the fucose moiety are common to all fucose-binding sites, the amino-acid residues involved in fucose binding at each site are not identical. The varying peak heights of the seleniums in the electron density map suggest that each fucose-binding sitemore » has a different carbohydrate binding affinity. - Highlights: • The six-bladed β-propeller structure of AOL was solved by seleno-sugar phasing. • The mode of fucose binding is essentially conserved at all six binding sites. • The seleno-fucosides exhibit slightly different interactions and electron densities. • These findings suggest that the affinity for fucose is not identical at each site.« less

Concentration-Dependent Multiple Binding Sites on Saliva-Treated Hydroxyapatite for Streptococcus sanguis

PubMed Central

Gibbons, R. J.; Moreno, E. C.; Etherden, I.

1983-01-01

The influence of bacterial cell concentration on estimates of the number of binding sites and the affinity for the adsorption of a strain of Streptococcus sanguis to saliva-treated hydroxyapatite was determined, and the possible presence of multiple binding sites for this organism was tested. The range of concentrations of available bacteria varied from 4.7 × 106 to 5,960 × 106 cells per ml. The numbers of adsorbed bacteria increased over the entire range tested, but a suggestion of a break in an otherwise smooth adsorption isotherm was evident. Values for the number of binding sites and the affinity varied considerably depending upon the range of available bacterial concentrations used to estimate them; high correlation coefficients were obtained in all cases. The use of low bacterial cell concentrations yielded lower values for the number of sites and much higher values for the affinity constant than did the use of high bacterial cell concentrations. When data covering the entire range of bacterial concentrations were employed, values for the number of sites and the affinity were similar to those obtained by using only high bacterial cell concentrations. The simplest explanation for these results is that there are multiple binding sites for S. sanguis on saliva-treated hydroxyapatite surfaces. When present in low concentration, the streptococci evidently attach to more specific high-affinity sites which become saturated when higher bacterial concentrations are employed. The possibility of multiple binding sites was substantiated by comparing estimates of the adsorption parameters from a computer-simulated isotherm with those derived from the experimentally generated isotherm. A mathematical model describing bacterial adsorption to binary binding sites was further evidence for the existence of at least two classes of binding sites for S. sanguis. Far fewer streptococci adsorbed to experimental pellicles prepared from saliva depleted of bacterial aggregating

Molecular blueprint of allosteric binding sites in a homologue of the agonist-binding domain of the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor

PubMed Central

Spurny, Radovan; Debaveye, Sarah; Farinha, Ana; Veys, Ken; Vos, Ann M.; Gossas, Thomas; Atack, John; Bertrand, Sonia; Bertrand, Daniel; Danielson, U. Helena; Tresadern, Gary; Ulens, Chris

2015-01-01

The α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) belongs to the family of pentameric ligand-gated ion channels and is involved in fast synaptic signaling. In this study, we take advantage of a recently identified chimera of the extracellular domain of the native α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and acetylcholine binding protein, termed α7-AChBP. This chimeric receptor was used to conduct an innovative fragment-library screening in combination with X-ray crystallography to identify allosteric binding sites. One allosteric site is surface-exposed and is located near the N-terminal α-helix of the extracellular domain. Ligand binding at this site causes a conformational change of the α-helix as the fragment wedges between the α-helix and a loop homologous to the main immunogenic region of the muscle α1 subunit. A second site is located in the vestibule of the receptor, in a preexisting intrasubunit pocket opposite the agonist binding site and corresponds to a previously identified site involved in positive allosteric modulation of the bacterial homolog ELIC. A third site is located at a pocket right below the agonist binding site. Using electrophysiological recordings on the human α7 nAChR we demonstrate that the identified fragments, which bind at these sites, can modulate receptor activation. This work presents a structural framework for different allosteric binding sites in the α7 nAChR and paves the way for future development of novel allosteric modulators with therapeutic potential. PMID:25918415

Preorganization of molecular binding sites in designed diiron proteins.

PubMed

Maglio, Ornella; Nastri, Flavia; Pavone, Vincenzo; Lombardi, Angela; DeGrado, William F

2003-04-01

De novo protein design provides an attractive approach to critically test the features that are required for metalloprotein structure and function. Previously we designed and crystallographically characterized an idealized dimeric model for the four-helix bundle class of diiron and dimanganese proteins [Dueferri 1 (DF1)]. Although the protein bound metal ions in the expected manner, access to its active site was blocked by large bulky hydrophobic residues. Subsequently, a substrate-access channel was introduced proximal to the metal-binding center, resulting in a protein with properties more closely resembling those of natural enzymes. Here we delineate the energetic and structural consequences associated with the introduction of these binding sites. To determine the extent to which the binding site was preorganized in the absence of metal ions, the apo structure of DF1 in solution was solved by NMR and compared with the crystal structure of the di-Zn(II) derivative. The overall fold of the apo protein was highly similar to that of the di-Zn(II) derivative, although there was a rotation of one of the helices. We also examined the thermodynamic consequences associated with building a small molecule-binding site within the protein. The protein exists in an equilibrium between folded dimers and unfolded monomers. DF1 is a highly stable protein (K(diss) = 0.001 fM), but the dissociation constant increases to 0.6 nM (deltadeltaG = 5.4 kcalmol monomer) as the active-site cavity is increased to accommodate small molecules.

Using Carbohydrate Interaction Assays to Reveal Novel Binding Sites in Carbohydrate Active Enzymes.

PubMed

Cockburn, Darrell; Wilkens, Casper; Dilokpimol, Adiphol; Nakai, Hiroyuki; Lewińska, Anna; Abou Hachem, Maher; Svensson, Birte

2016-01-01

Carbohydrate active enzymes often contain auxiliary binding sites located either on independent domains termed carbohydrate binding modules (CBMs) or as so-called surface binding sites (SBSs) on the catalytic module at a certain distance from the active site. The SBSs are usually critical for the activity of their cognate enzyme, though they are not readily detected in the sequence of a protein, but normally require a crystal structure of a complex for their identification. A variety of methods, including affinity electrophoresis (AE), insoluble polysaccharide pulldown (IPP) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) have been used to study auxiliary binding sites. These techniques are complementary as AE allows monitoring of binding to soluble polysaccharides, IPP to insoluble polysaccharides and SPR to oligosaccharides. Here we show that these methods are useful not only for analyzing known binding sites, but also for identifying new ones, even without structural data available. We further verify the chosen assays discriminate between known SBS/CBM containing enzymes and negative controls. Altogether 35 enzymes are screened for the presence of SBSs or CBMs and several novel binding sites are identified, including the first SBS ever reported in a cellulase. This work demonstrates that combinations of these methods can be used as a part of routine enzyme characterization to identify new binding sites and advance the study of SBSs and CBMs, allowing them to be detected in the absence of structural data.

Using Carbohydrate Interaction Assays to Reveal Novel Binding Sites in Carbohydrate Active Enzymes

PubMed Central

Wilkens, Casper; Dilokpimol, Adiphol; Nakai, Hiroyuki; Lewińska, Anna; Abou Hachem, Maher; Svensson, Birte

2016-01-01

Carbohydrate active enzymes often contain auxiliary binding sites located either on independent domains termed carbohydrate binding modules (CBMs) or as so-called surface binding sites (SBSs) on the catalytic module at a certain distance from the active site. The SBSs are usually critical for the activity of their cognate enzyme, though they are not readily detected in the sequence of a protein, but normally require a crystal structure of a complex for their identification. A variety of methods, including affinity electrophoresis (AE), insoluble polysaccharide pulldown (IPP) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) have been used to study auxiliary binding sites. These techniques are complementary as AE allows monitoring of binding to soluble polysaccharides, IPP to insoluble polysaccharides and SPR to oligosaccharides. Here we show that these methods are useful not only for analyzing known binding sites, but also for identifying new ones, even without structural data available. We further verify the chosen assays discriminate between known SBS/CBM containing enzymes and negative controls. Altogether 35 enzymes are screened for the presence of SBSs or CBMs and several novel binding sites are identified, including the first SBS ever reported in a cellulase. This work demonstrates that combinations of these methods can be used as a part of routine enzyme characterization to identify new binding sites and advance the study of SBSs and CBMs, allowing them to be detected in the absence of structural data. PMID:27504624

Calcium mobilization and Rac1 activation are required for VCAM-1 (vascular cell adhesion molecule-1) stimulation of NADPH oxidase activity.

PubMed Central

Cook-Mills, Joan M; Johnson, Jacob D; Deem, Tracy L; Ochi, Atsuo; Wang, Lei; Zheng, Yi

2004-01-01

VCAM-1 (vascular cell adhesion molecule-1) plays an important role in the regulation of inflammation in atherosclerosis, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease and transplantation. VCAM-1 activates endothelial cell NADPH oxidase, and this oxidase activity is required for VCAM-1-dependent lymphocyte migration. We reported previously that a mouse microvascular endothelial cell line promotes lymphocyte migration that is dependent on VCAM-1, but not on other known adhesion molecules. Here we have investigated the signalling mechanisms underlying VCAM-1 function. Lymphocyte binding to VCAM-1 on the endothelial cell surface activated an endothelial cell calcium flux that could be inhibited with anti-alpha4-integrin and mimicked by anti-VCAM-1-coated beads. VCAM-1 stimulation of calcium responses could be blocked by an inhibitor of intracellular calcium mobilization, a calcium channel inhibitor or a calcium chelator, resulting in the inhibition of NADPH oxidase activity. Addition of ionomycin overcame the calcium channel blocker suppression of VCAM-1-stimulated NADPH oxidase activity, but could not reverse the inhibitory effect imposed by intracellular calcium blockage, indicating that both intracellular and extracellular calcium mobilization are required for VCAM-1-mediated activation of NADPH oxidase. Furthermore, VCAM-1 specifically activated the Rho-family GTPase Rac1, and VCAM-1 activation of NADPH oxidase was blocked by a dominant negative Rac1. Thus VCAM-1 stimulates the mobilization of intracellular and extracellular calcium and Rac1 activity that are required for the activation of NADPH oxidase. PMID:14594451

Position specific variation in the rate of evolution in transcription factor binding sites

PubMed Central

Moses, Alan M; Chiang, Derek Y; Kellis, Manolis; Lander, Eric S; Eisen, Michael B

2003-01-01

Background The binding sites of sequence specific transcription factors are an important and relatively well-understood class of functional non-coding DNAs. Although a wide variety of experimental and computational methods have been developed to characterize transcription factor binding sites, they remain difficult to identify. Comparison of non-coding DNA from related species has shown considerable promise in identifying these functional non-coding sequences, even though relatively little is known about their evolution. Results Here we analyse the genome sequences of the budding yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae, S. bayanus, S. paradoxus and S. mikatae to study the evolution of transcription factor binding sites. As expected, we find that both experimentally characterized and computationally predicted binding sites evolve slower than surrounding sequence, consistent with the hypothesis that they are under purifying selection. We also observe position-specific variation in the rate of evolution within binding sites. We find that the position-specific rate of evolution is positively correlated with degeneracy among binding sites within S. cerevisiae. We test theoretical predictions for the rate of evolution at positions where the base frequencies deviate from background due to purifying selection and find reasonable agreement with the observed rates of evolution. Finally, we show how the evolutionary characteristics of real binding motifs can be used to distinguish them from artefacts of computational motif finding algorithms. Conclusion As has been observed for protein sequences, the rate of evolution in transcription factor binding sites varies with position, suggesting that some regions are under stronger functional constraint than others. This variation likely reflects the varying importance of different positions in the formation of the protein-DNA complex. The characterization of the pattern of evolution in known binding sites will likely contribute to the

Facilitated dissociation of transcription factors from single DNA binding sites

PubMed Central

Kamar, Ramsey I.; Banigan, Edward J.; Erbas, Aykut; Giuntoli, Rebecca D.; Olvera de la Cruz, Monica; Johnson, Reid C.; Marko, John F.

2017-01-01

The binding of transcription factors (TFs) to DNA controls most aspects of cellular function, making the understanding of their binding kinetics imperative. The standard description of bimolecular interactions posits that TF off rates are independent of TF concentration in solution. However, recent observations have revealed that proteins in solution can accelerate the dissociation of DNA-bound proteins. To study the molecular basis of facilitated dissociation (FD), we have used single-molecule imaging to measure dissociation kinetics of Fis, a key Escherichia coli TF and major bacterial nucleoid protein, from single dsDNA binding sites. We observe a strong FD effect characterized by an exchange rate ∼1×104 M−1s−1, establishing that FD of Fis occurs at the single-binding site level, and we find that the off rate saturates at large Fis concentrations in solution. Although spontaneous (i.e., competitor-free) dissociation shows a strong salt dependence, we find that FD depends only weakly on salt. These results are quantitatively explained by a model in which partially dissociated bound proteins are susceptible to invasion by competitor proteins in solution. We also report FD of NHP6A, a yeast TF with structure that differs significantly from Fis. We further perform molecular dynamics simulations, which indicate that FD can occur for molecules that interact far more weakly than those that we have studied. Taken together, our results indicate that FD is a general mechanism assisting in the local removal of TFs from their binding sites and does not necessarily require cooperativity, clustering, or binding site overlap. PMID:28364020

Inactivation by Phenylglyoxal of the Specific Binding of 1-Naphthyl Acetic Acid with Membrane-Bound Auxin Binding Sites from Maize Coleoptiles

PubMed Central

Navé, Jean-François; Benveniste, Pierre

1984-01-01

The specific binding of 1-[3H]naphthyl acetic acid (NAA) to membrane-bound binding sites from maize (Zea mays cv INRA 258) coleoptiles is inactivated by phenylglyoxal. The inactivation obeys pseudo first-order kinetics. The rate of inactivation is proportional to phenylglyoxal concentration. Under conditions at which significant binding occurs, NAA, R and S-1-naphthyl 2-propionic acids protect the auxin binding site against inactivation by phenylglyoxal. Scatchard analysis shows that the inhibition of binding corresponds to a decrease in the concentration of sites but not in the affinity. The results of the present chemical modification study indicate that at least one arginyl residue is involved in the positively charged recognition site of the carboxylate anion of NAA. PMID:16663499

[Adenylate cyclase from rabbit heart: substrate binding site].

PubMed

Perfil'eva, E A; Khropov, Iu V; Khachatrian, L; Bulargina, T V; Baranova, L A

1981-08-01

The effects of 17 ATP analogs on the solubilized rabbit heart adenylate cyclase were studied. The triphosphate chain, position 8 of the adenine base and the ribose residue of the ATP molecule were modified. Despite the presence of the alkylating groups in two former types of the analogs tested, no covalent blocking of the active site of the enzyme was observed. Most of the compounds appeared to be competitive reversible inhibitors. The kinetic data confirmed the importance of the triphosphate chain for substrate binding in the active site of adenylate cyclase. (Formula: See Text) The inhibitors with different substituents in position 8 of the adenine base had a low affinity for the enzyme. The possible orientation of the triphosphate chain and the advantages of anti-conformation of the ATP molecule for their binding in the active site of adenylate cyclase are discussed.

Identification and characterization of a novel high affinity metal-binding site in the hammerhead ribozyme.

PubMed Central

Hansen, M R; Simorre, J P; Hanson, P; Mokler, V; Bellon, L; Beigelman, L; Pardi, A

1999-01-01

A novel metal-binding site has been identified in the hammerhead ribozyme by 31P NMR. The metal-binding site is associated with the A13 phosphate in the catalytic core of the hammerhead ribozyme and is distinct from any previously identified metal-binding sites. 31P NMR spectroscopy was used to measure the metal-binding affinity for this site and leads to an apparent dissociation constant of 250-570 microM at 25 degrees C for binding of a single Mg2+ ion. The NMR data also show evidence of a structural change at this site upon metal binding and these results are compared with previous data on metal-induced structural changes in the core of the hammerhead ribozyme. These NMR data were combined with the X-ray structure of the hammerhead ribozyme (Pley HW, Flaherty KM, McKay DB. 1994. Nature 372:68-74) to model RNA ligands involved in binding the metal at this A13 site. In this model, the A13 metal-binding site is structurally similar to the previously identified A(g) metal-binding site and illustrates the symmetrical nature of the tandem G x A base pairs in domain 2 of the hammerhead ribozyme. These results demonstrate that 31P NMR represents an important method for both identification and characterization of metal-binding sites in nucleic acids. PMID:10445883

Current status of NADPH oxidase research in cardiovascular pharmacology.

PubMed

Rodiño-Janeiro, Bruno K; Paradela-Dobarro, Beatriz; Castiñeiras-Landeira, María Isabel; Raposeiras-Roubín, Sergio; González-Juanatey, José R; Alvarez, Ezequiel

2013-01-01

The implications of reactive oxygen species in cardiovascular disease have been known for some decades. Rationally, therapeutic antioxidant strategies combating oxidative stress have been developed, but the results of clinical trials have not been as good as expected. Therefore, to move forward in the design of new therapeutic strategies for cardiovascular disease based on prevention of production of reactive oxygen species, steps must be taken on two fronts, ie, comprehension of reduction-oxidation signaling pathways and the pathophysiologic roles of reactive oxygen species, and development of new, less toxic, and more selective nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase inhibitors, to clarify both the role of each NADPH oxidase isoform and their utility in clinical practice. In this review, we analyze the value of NADPH oxidase as a therapeutic target for cardiovascular disease and the old and new pharmacologic agents or strategies to prevent NADPH oxidase activity. Some inhibitors and different direct or indirect approaches are available. Regarding direct NADPH oxidase inhibition, the specificity of NADPH oxidase is the focus of current investigations, whereas the chemical structure-activity relationship studies of known inhibitors have provided pharmacophore models with which to search for new molecules. From a general point of view, small-molecule inhibitors are preferred because of their hydrosolubility and oral bioavailability. However, other possibilities are not closed, with peptide inhibitors or monoclonal antibodies against NADPH oxidase isoforms continuing to be under investigation as well as the ongoing search for naturally occurring compounds. Likewise, some different approaches include inhibition of assembly of the NADPH oxidase complex, subcellular translocation, post-transductional modifications, calcium entry/release, electron transfer, and genetic expression. High-throughput screens for any of these activities could provide new

Current status of NADPH oxidase research in cardiovascular pharmacology

PubMed Central

Rodiño-Janeiro, Bruno K; Paradela-Dobarro, Beatriz; Castiñeiras-Landeira, María Isabel; Raposeiras-Roubín, Sergio; González-Juanatey, José R; Álvarez, Ezequiel

2013-01-01

The implications of reactive oxygen species in cardiovascular disease have been known for some decades. Rationally, therapeutic antioxidant strategies combating oxidative stress have been developed, but the results of clinical trials have not been as good as expected. Therefore, to move forward in the design of new therapeutic strategies for cardiovascular disease based on prevention of production of reactive oxygen species, steps must be taken on two fronts, ie, comprehension of reduction-oxidation signaling pathways and the pathophysiologic roles of reactive oxygen species, and development of new, less toxic, and more selective nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase inhibitors, to clarify both the role of each NADPH oxidase isoform and their utility in clinical practice. In this review, we analyze the value of NADPH oxidase as a therapeutic target for cardiovascular disease and the old and new pharmacologic agents or strategies to prevent NADPH oxidase activity. Some inhibitors and different direct or indirect approaches are available. Regarding direct NADPH oxidase inhibition, the specificity of NADPH oxidase is the focus of current investigations, whereas the chemical structure-activity relationship studies of known inhibitors have provided pharmacophore models with which to search for new molecules. From a general point of view, small-molecule inhibitors are preferred because of their hydrosolubility and oral bioavailability. However, other possibilities are not closed, with peptide inhibitors or monoclonal antibodies against NADPH oxidase isoforms continuing to be under investigation as well as the ongoing search for naturally occurring compounds. Likewise, some different approaches include inhibition of assembly of the NADPH oxidase complex, subcellular translocation, post-transductional modifications, calcium entry/release, electron transfer, and genetic expression. High-throughput screens for any of these activities could provide new

Inhibition of Human Vascular NADPH Oxidase by Apocynin Derived Oligophenols

PubMed Central

Mora-Pale, Mauricio; Weïwer, Michel; Yu, Jingjing; Linhardt, Robert J.; Dordick, Jonathan S.

2009-01-01

Enzymatic oxidation of apocynin, which may mimic in vivo metabolism, affords a large number of oligomers (apocynin oxidation products, AOP) that inhibit vascular NADPH oxidase. In vitro studies of NADPH oxidase activity were performed to identify active inhibitors, resulting in a trimer hydroxylated quinone (IIIHyQ) that inhibited NADPH oxidase with an IC50 = 31 nM. Apocynin itself possessed minimal inhibitory activity. NADPH oxidase is believed to be inhibited through prevention of the interaction between two NADPH oxidase subunits, p47phox and p22phox. To that end, while apocynin was unable to block the interaction of his-tagged p47phox with a surface immobilized biotinalyted p22phox peptide, the IIIHyQ product strongly interfered with this interaction (apparent IC50 = 1.6 μM). These results provide evidence that peroxidase-catalyzed AOP, which consist of oligomeric phenols and quinones, inhibit critical interactions that are involved in the assembly and activation of human vascular NADPH oxidase. PMID:19523836

sc-PDB: a 3D-database of ligandable binding sites--10 years on.

PubMed

Desaphy, Jérémy; Bret, Guillaume; Rognan, Didier; Kellenberger, Esther

2015-01-01

The sc-PDB database (available at http://bioinfo-pharma.u-strasbg.fr/scPDB/) is a comprehensive and up-to-date selection of ligandable binding sites of the Protein Data Bank. Sites are defined from complexes between a protein and a pharmacological ligand. The database provides the all-atom description of the protein, its ligand, their binding site and their binding mode. Currently, the sc-PDB archive registers 9283 binding sites from 3678 unique proteins and 5608 unique ligands. The sc-PDB database was publicly launched in 2004 with the aim of providing structure files suitable for computational approaches to drug design, such as docking. During the last 10 years we have improved and standardized the processes for (i) identifying binding sites, (ii) correcting structures, (iii) annotating protein function and ligand properties and (iv) characterizing their binding mode. This paper presents the latest enhancements in the database, specifically pertaining to the representation of molecular interaction and to the similarity between ligand/protein binding patterns. The new website puts emphasis in pictorial analysis of data. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Computational design of trimeric influenza-neutralizing proteins targeting the hemagglutinin receptor binding site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Strauch, Eva-Maria; Bernard, Steffen M.; La, David

Many viral surface glycoproteins and cell surface receptors are homo-oligomers1, 2, 3, 4, and thus can potentially be targeted by geometrically matched homo-oligomers that engage all subunits simultaneously to attain high avidity and/or lock subunits together. The adaptive immune system cannot generally employ this strategy since the individual antibody binding sites are not arranged with appropriate geometry to simultaneously engage multiple sites in a single target homo-oligomer. We describe a general strategy for the computational design of homo-oligomeric protein assemblies with binding functionality precisely matched to homo-oligomeric target sites5, 6, 7, 8. In the first step, a small protein ismore » designed that binds a single site on the target. In the second step, the designed protein is assembled into a homo-oligomer such that the designed binding sites are aligned with the target sites. We use this approach to design high-avidity trimeric proteins that bind influenza A hemagglutinin (HA) at its conserved receptor binding site. The designed trimers can both capture and detect HA in a paper-based diagnostic format, neutralizes influenza in cell culture, and completely protects mice when given as a single dose 24 h before or after challenge with influenza.« less

Multiple ligand-binding modes in bacterial R67 dihydrofolate reductase

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alonso, Hernán; Gillies, Malcolm B.; Cummins, Peter L.; Bliznyuk, Andrey A.; Gready, Jill E.

2005-03-01

R67 dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), a bacterial plasmid-encoded enzyme associated with resistance to the drug trimethoprim, shows neither sequence nor structural homology with the chromosomal DHFR. It presents a highly symmetrical toroidal structure, where four identical monomers contribute to the unique central active-site pore. Two reactants (dihydrofolate, DHF), two cofactors (NADPH) or one of each (R67•DHF•NADPH) can be found simultaneously within the active site, the last one being the reactive ternary complex. As the positioning of the ligands has proven elusive to empirical determination, we addressed the problem from a theoretical perspective. Several potential structures of the ternary complex were generated using the docking programs AutoDock and FlexX. The variability among the final poses, many of which conformed to experimental data, prompted us to perform a comparative scoring analysis and molecular dynamics simulations to assess the stability of the complexes. Analysis of ligand-ligand and ligand-protein interactions along the 4 ns trajectories of eight different structures allowed us to identify important inter-ligand contacts and key protein residues. Our results, combined with published empirical data, clearly suggest that multipe binding modes of the ligands are possible within R67 DHFR. While the pterin ring of DHF and the nicotinamide ring of NADPH assume a stacked endo-conformation at the centre of the pore, probably assisted by V66, Q67 and I68, the tails of the molecules extend towards opposite ends of the cavity, adopting multiple configurations in a solvent rich-environment where hydrogen-bond interactions with K32 and Y69 may play important roles.

Coenzyme preference of Streptococcus pyogenes δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase: evidence supporting NADPH as the physiological electron donor.

PubMed

Petrollino, Davide; Forlani, Giuseppe

2012-07-01

The streptococcal enzyme that catalyzes the last step in proline biosynthesis was heterologously expressed and the recombinant protein was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity and characterized thoroughly. As for δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductases from other sources, it was able to use either NADH or NADPH as the electron donor in vitro. However, with NADH the activity was markedly inhibited by physiological levels of NADP+. Results also strengthen the possibility that an unusual ordered substrate binding occurs, in which the dinucleotide binds last.

Common Anesthetic-binding Site for Inhibition of Pentameric Ligand-gated Ion Channels.

PubMed

Kinde, Monica N; Bu, Weiming; Chen, Qiang; Xu, Yan; Eckenhoff, Roderic G; Tang, Pei

2016-03-01

Identifying functionally relevant anesthetic-binding sites in pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs) is an important step toward understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying anesthetic action. The anesthetic propofol is known to inhibit cation-conducting pLGICs, including a prokaryotic pLGIC from Erwinia chrysanthemi (ELIC), but the sites responsible for functional inhibition remain undetermined. We photolabeled ELIC with a light-activated derivative of propofol (AziPm) and performed fluorine-19 nuclear magnetic resonance experiments to support propofol binding to a transmembrane domain (TMD) intrasubunit pocket. To differentiate sites responsible for propofol inhibition from those that are functionally irrelevant, we made an ELIC-γ-aminobutyric acid receptor (GABAAR) chimera that replaced the ELIC-TMD with the α1β3GABAAR-TMD and compared functional responses of ELIC-GABAAR and ELIC with propofol modulations. Photolabeling showed multiple AziPm-binding sites in the extracellular domain (ECD) but only one site in the TMD with labeled residues M265 and F308 in the resting state of ELIC. Notably, this TMD site is an intrasubunit pocket that overlaps with binding sites for anesthetics, including propofol, found previously in other pLGICs. Fluorine-19 nuclear magnetic resonance experiments supported propofol binding to this TMD intrasubunit pocket only in the absence of agonist. Functional measurements of ELIC-GABAAR showed propofol potentiation of the agonist-elicited current instead of inhibition observed on ELIC. The distinctly different responses of ELIC and ELIC-GABAAR to propofol support the functional relevance of propofol binding to the TMD. Combining the newly identified TMD intrasubunit pocket in ELIC with equivalent TMD anesthetic sites found previously in other cationic pLGICs, we propose this TMD pocket as a common site for anesthetic inhibition of pLGICs.

Fold independent structural comparisons of protein-ligand binding sites for exploring functional relationships.

PubMed

Gold, Nicola D; Jackson, Richard M

2006-02-03

The rapid growth in protein structural data and the emergence of structural genomics projects have increased the need for automatic structure analysis and tools for function prediction. Small molecule recognition is critical to the function of many proteins; therefore, determination of ligand binding site similarity is important for understanding ligand interactions and may allow their functional classification. Here, we present a binding sites database (SitesBase) that given a known protein-ligand binding site allows rapid retrieval of other binding sites with similar structure independent of overall sequence or fold similarity. However, each match is also annotated with sequence similarity and fold information to aid interpretation of structure and functional similarity. Similarity in ligand binding sites can indicate common binding modes and recognition of similar molecules, allowing potential inference of function for an uncharacterised protein or providing additional evidence of common function where sequence or fold similarity is already known. Alternatively, the resource can provide valuable information for detailed studies of molecular recognition including structure-based ligand design and in understanding ligand cross-reactivity. Here, we show examples of atomic similarity between superfamily or more distant fold relatives as well as between seemingly unrelated proteins. Assignment of unclassified proteins to structural superfamiles is also undertaken and in most cases substantiates assignments made using sequence similarity. Correct assignment is also possible where sequence similarity fails to find significant matches, illustrating the potential use of binding site comparisons for newly determined proteins.

Complementation analysis of mutants of nitric oxide synthase reveals that the active site requires two hemes.

PubMed Central

Xie, Q W; Leung, M; Fuortes, M; Sassa, S; Nathan, C

1996-01-01

For catalytic activity, nitric oxide synthases (NOSs) must be dimeric. Previous work revealed that the requirements for stable dimerization included binding of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), arginine, and heme. Here we asked what function is served by dimerization. We assessed the ability of individually inactive mutants of mouse inducible NOS (iNOS; NOS2), each deficient in binding a particular cofactor or cosubstrate, to complement each other by generating NO upon cotransfection into human epithelial cells. The ability of the mutants to homodimerize was gauged by gel filtration and/or PAGE under partially denaturing conditions, both followed by immunoblot. Their ability to heterodimerize was assessed by coimmunoprecipitation. Heterodimers that contained only one COOH-terminal hemimer and only one BH4-binding site could both form and function, even though the NADPH-, FAD-, and FMN-binding domains (in the COOH-terminal hemimer) and the BH4-binding sites (in the NH2-terminal hemimer) were contributed by opposite chains. Heterodimers that contained only one heme-binding site (Cys-194) could also form, either in cis or in trans to the nucleotide-binding domains. However, for NO production, both chains had to bind heme. Thus, NO production by iNOS requires dimerization because the active site requires two hemes. Images Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 7 PMID:8643499

AutoSite: an automated approach for pseudo-ligands prediction—from ligand-binding sites identification to predicting key ligand atoms

PubMed Central

Ravindranath, Pradeep Anand; Sanner, Michel F.

2016-01-01

Motivation: The identification of ligand-binding sites from a protein structure facilitates computational drug design and optimization, and protein function assignment. We introduce AutoSite: an efficient software tool for identifying ligand-binding sites and predicting pseudo ligand corresponding to each binding site identified. Binding sites are reported as clusters of 3D points called fills in which every point is labelled as hydrophobic or as hydrogen bond donor or acceptor. From these fills AutoSite derives feature points: a set of putative positions of hydrophobic-, and hydrogen-bond forming ligand atoms. Results: We show that AutoSite identifies ligand-binding sites with higher accuracy than other leading methods, and produces fills that better matches the ligand shape and properties, than the fills obtained with a software program with similar capabilities, AutoLigand. In addition, we demonstrate that for the Astex Diverse Set, the feature points identify 79% of hydrophobic ligand atoms, and 81% and 62% of the hydrogen acceptor and donor hydrogen ligand atoms interacting with the receptor, and predict 81.2% of water molecules mediating interactions between ligand and receptor. Finally, we illustrate potential uses of the predicted feature points in the context of lead optimization in drug discovery projects. Availability and Implementation: http://adfr.scripps.edu/AutoDockFR/autosite.html Contact: sanner@scripps.edu Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:27354702

Pharmacophore screening of the protein data bank for specific binding site chemistry.

PubMed

Campagna-Slater, Valérie; Arrowsmith, Andrew G; Zhao, Yong; Schapira, Matthieu

2010-03-22

A simple computational approach was developed to screen the Protein Data Bank (PDB) for putative pockets possessing a specific binding site chemistry and geometry. The method employs two commonly used 3D screening technologies, namely identification of cavities in protein structures and pharmacophore screening of chemical libraries. For each protein structure, a pocket finding algorithm is used to extract potential binding sites containing the correct types of residues, which are then stored in a large SDF-formatted virtual library; pharmacophore filters describing the desired binding site chemistry and geometry are then applied to screen this virtual library and identify pockets matching the specified structural chemistry. As an example, this approach was used to screen all human protein structures in the PDB and identify sites having chemistry similar to that of known methyl-lysine binding domains that recognize chromatin methylation marks. The selected genes include known readers of the histone code as well as novel binding pockets that may be involved in epigenetic signaling. Putative allosteric sites were identified on the structures of TP53BP1, L3MBTL3, CHEK1, KDM4A, and CREBBP.

EXPRESSION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF FULL-LENGTH HUMAN HEME OXYGENASE-1: PRESENCE OF INTACT MEMBRANE-BINDING REGION LEADS TO INCREASED BINDING AFFINITY FOR NADPH-CYTOCHROME P450 REDUCTASE

PubMed Central

Huber, Warren J.; Backes, Wayne L.

2009-01-01

Heme oxygenase (HO) is the chief regulatory enzyme in the oxidative degradation of heme to biliverdin. In the process of heme degradation, this NADPH and cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR)-dependent oxidation of heme also releases free iron and carbon monoxide. Much of the recent research involving heme oxygenase is done using a 30-kDa soluble form of the enzyme, which lacks the membrane binding region (C-terminal 23 amino acids). The goal of this study was to express and purify a full-length human HO-1 (hHO-1) protein; however, due to the lability of the full-length form, a rapid purification procedure was required. This was accomplished by use of a GST-tagged hHO-1 construct. Although the procedure permitted the generation of a full-length HO-1, this form was contaminated with a 30-kDa degradation product that could not be eliminated. Therefore, we attempted to remove a putative secondary thrombin cleavage site by a conservative mutation of amino acid 254, which replaces lysine with arginine. This mutation allowed the expression and purification of a full length hHO-1 protein. Unlike wild-type HO-1, the K254R mutant could be purified to a single 32-kDa protein capable of degrading heme at the same rate as the wild-type enzyme. The K254R full-length form had a specific activity of ~200–225 nmol bilirubin hr−1nmol−1 HO-1 as compared to ~140–150 nmol bilirubin hr−1nmol−1 for the WT form, which contains the 30-kDa contaminant. This is a 2–3-fold increase from the previously reported soluble 30-kDa HO-1, suggesting that the C-terminal 23 amino acids are essential for maximal catalytic activity. Because the membrane spanning domain is present, the full-length hHO-1 has the potential to incorporate into phospholipid membranes, which can be reconstituted at known concentrations, in combination with other ER-resident enzymes. PMID:17915953

Statistical Profiling of One Promiscuous Protein Binding Site: Illustrated by Urokinase Catalytic Domain.

PubMed

Cerisier, Natacha; Regad, Leslie; Triki, Dhoha; Petitjean, Michel; Flatters, Delphine; Camproux, Anne-Claude

2017-10-01

While recent literature focuses on drug promiscuity, the characterization of promiscuous binding sites (ability to bind several ligands) remains to be explored. Here, we present a proteochemometric modeling approach to analyze diverse ligands and corresponding multiple binding sub-pockets associated with one promiscuous binding site to characterize protein-ligand recognition. We analyze both geometrical and physicochemical profile correspondences. This approach was applied to examine the well-studied druggable urokinase catalytic domain inhibitor binding site, which results in a large number of complex structures bound to various ligands. This approach emphasizes the importance of jointly characterizing pocket and ligand spaces to explore the impact of ligand diversity on sub-pocket properties and to establish their main profile correspondences. This work supports an interest in mining available 3D holo structures associated with a promiscuous binding site to explore its main protein-ligand recognition tendency. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Self-Assembly of Coordinative Supramolecular Polygons with Open Binding Sites.

PubMed

Zheng, Yao-Rong; Wang, Ming; Kobayashi, Shiho; Stang, Peter J

2011-04-27

The design and synthesis of coordinative supramolecular polygons with open binding sites is described. Coordination-driven self-assembly of 2,6-bis(pyridin-4-ylethynyl)pyridine with 60° and 120° organoplatinum acceptors results in quantitative formation of a supramolecular rhomboid and hexagon, respectively, both bearing open pyridyl binding sites. The structures were determined by multinuclear ((31)P and (1)H) NMR spectroscopy and electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry, along with a computational study.

ROS mediated selection for increased NADPH availability in Escherichia coli.

PubMed

Reynolds, Thomas S; Courtney, Colleen M; Erickson, Keesha E; Wolfe, Lisa M; Chatterjee, Anushree; Nagpal, Prashant; Gill, Ryan T

2017-11-01

The economical production of chemicals and fuels by microbial processes remains an intense area of interest in biotechnology. A key limitation in such efforts concerns the availability of key co-factors, in this case NADPH, required for target pathways. Many of the strategies pursued for increasing NADPH availability in Escherichia coli involve manipulations to the central metabolism, which can create redox imbalances and overall growth defects. In this study we used a reactive oxygen species based selection to search for novel methods of increasing NADPH availability. We report a loss of function mutation in the gene hdfR appears to increase NADPH availability in E. coli. Additionally, we show this excess NADPH can be used to improve the production of 3HP in E. coli. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Prediction of the binding sites of huperzine A in acetylcholinesterase by docking studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pang, Yuan-Ping; Kozikowski, Alan P.

1994-12-01

We have performed docking studies with the SYSDOC program on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) to predict the binding sites in AChE of huperzine A (HA), which is a potent and selective, reversible inhibitor of AChE. The unique aspects of our docking studies include the following: (i) Molecular flexibility of the guest and the host is taken into account, which permits both to change their conformations upon binding. (ii) The binding energy is evaluated by a sum of energies of steric, electrostatic and hydrogen bonding interactions. In the energy calculation no grid approximation is used, and all hydrogen atoms of the system are treated explicitly. (iii) The energy of cation-π interactions between the guest and the host, which is important in the binding of AChE, is included in the calculated binding energy. (iv) Docking is performed in all regions of the host's binding cavity. Based on our docking studies and the pharmacological results reported for HA and its analogs, we predict that HA binds to the bottom of the binding cavity of AChE (the gorge) with its ammonium group interacting with Trp84, Phe330, Glu199 and Asp72 (catalytic site). At the the opening of the gorge with its ammonium group partially interacting with Trp279 (peripheral site). At the catalytic site, three partially overlapping subsites of HA were identified which might provide a dynamic view of binding of HA to the catalytic site.

Identification of an allosteric binding site for RORγt inhibition

PubMed Central

Scheepstra, Marcel; Leysen, Seppe; van Almen, Geert C.; Miller, J. Richard; Piesvaux, Jennifer; Kutilek, Victoria; van Eenennaam, Hans; Zhang, Hongjun; Barr, Kenneth; Nagpal, Sunil; Soisson, Stephen M.; Kornienko, Maria; Wiley, Kristen; Elsen, Nathaniel; Sharma, Sujata; Correll, Craig C.; Trotter, B. Wesley; van der Stelt, Mario; Oubrie, Arthur; Ottmann, Christian; Parthasarathy, Gopal; Brunsveld, Luc

2015-01-01

RORγt is critical for the differentiation and proliferation of Th17 cells associated with several chronic autoimmune diseases. We report the discovery of a novel allosteric binding site on the nuclear receptor RORγt. Co-crystallization of the ligand binding domain (LBD) of RORγt with a series of small-molecule antagonists demonstrates occupancy of a previously unreported allosteric binding pocket. Binding at this non-canonical site induces an unprecedented conformational reorientation of helix 12 in the RORγt LBD, which blocks cofactor binding. The functional consequence of this allosteric ligand-mediated conformation is inhibition of function as evidenced by both biochemical and cellular studies. RORγt function is thus antagonized in a manner molecularly distinct from that of previously described orthosteric RORγt ligands. This brings forward an approach to target RORγt for the treatment of Th17-mediated autoimmune diseases. The elucidation of an unprecedented modality of pharmacological antagonism establishes a mechanism for modulation of nuclear receptors. PMID:26640126

The interaction of substituted benzamides with brain benzodiazepine binding sites in vitro.

PubMed

Horton, R W; Lowther, S; Chivers, J; Jenner, P; Marsden, C D; Testa, B

1988-08-01

1. The interaction of substituted benzamides with brain benzodiazepine (BDZ) binding sites was examined by their ability to displace [3H]-flunitrazepam ([3H]-FNM) from specific binding sites in bovine cortical membranes in vitro. 2. Clebopride, Delagrange 2674, Delagrange 2335 and BRL 20627 displayed concentration-dependent displacement of [3H]-FNM with IC50 values of 73 nM, 132 nM, 7.7 microM and 5.9 microM, respectively. Other substituted benzamides including metoclopramide, sulpiride, tiapride, sultopride and cisapride were inactive at 10(-5) M. 3. Inhibition by clebopride and Delagrange 2674 of [3H]-FNM binding was apparently competitive and readily reversible. 4. In the presence of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the ability of diazepam and Delagrange 2674 to displace [3H]-Ro 15-1788 binding was increased 3.6 and 1.6 fold respectively, compared to the absence of GABA, while ethyl beta-carboline-3-carboxylate (beta CCE) and clebopride were less potent in the presence of GABA. 5. Diazepam was 30 fold less potent at displacing [3H]-Ro 15-1788 in membranes that had been photoaffinity labelled with FNM than in control membranes, whereas the potency of beta CCE did not differ. Clebopride and Delagrange 2674 showed a less than two fold loss of potency in photoaffinity labelled membranes. 6. The pattern of binding of clebopride and Delagrange 2674 in these in vitro tests is similar to that found previously with partial agonists or antagonists at BDZ binding sites. 7. Clebopride and Delagrange 2674 inhibited [3H]-FNM binding with similar potency in rat cerebellar and hippocampal membranes, suggesting they have no selectivity for BDZ1 and BDZ2 binding sites. 8. Clebopride and Delagrange 2674 are structurally dissimilar to other BDZ ligands and represent another chemical structure to probe brain BDZ binding sites.

n-Dodecyl β-D-maltoside specifically competes with general anesthetics for anesthetic binding sites.

PubMed

Xu, Longhe; Matsunaga, Felipe; Xi, Jin; Li, Min; Ma, Jingyuan; Liu, Renyu

2014-01-01

We recently demonstrated that the anionic detergent sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) specifically interacts with the anesthetic binding site in horse spleen apoferritin, a soluble protein which models anesthetic binding sites in receptors. This raises the possibility of other detergents similarly interacting with and occluding such sites from anesthetics, thereby preventing the proper identification of novel anesthetic binding sites. n-Dodecyl β-D-maltoside (DDM) is a non-ionic detergent commonly used during protein-anesthetic studies because of its mild and non-denaturing properties. In this study, we demonstrate that SDS and DDM occupy anesthetic binding sites in the model proteins human serum albumin (HSA) and horse spleen apoferritin and thereby inhibit the binding of the general anesthetics propofol and isoflurane. DDM specifically interacts with HSA (Kd = 40 μM) with a lower affinity than SDS (Kd = 2 μM). DDM exerts all these effects while not perturbing the native structures of either model protein. Computational calculations corroborated the experimental results by demonstrating that the binding sites for DDM and both anesthetics on the model proteins overlapped. Collectively, our results indicate that DDM and SDS specifically interact with anesthetic binding sites and may thus prevent the identification of novel anesthetic sites. Special precaution should be taken when undertaking and interpreting results from protein-anesthetic investigations utilizing detergents like SDS and DDM.

Molecular simulations of multimodal ligand-protein binding: elucidation of binding sites and correlation with experiments.

PubMed

Freed, Alexander S; Garde, Shekhar; Cramer, Steven M

2011-11-17

Multimodal chromatography, which employs more than one mode of interaction between ligands and proteins, has been shown to have unique selectivity and high efficacy for protein purification. To test the ability of free solution molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in explicit water to identify binding regions on the protein surface and to shed light on the "pseudo affinity" nature of multimodal interactions, we performed MD simulations of a model protein ubiquitin in aqueous solution of free ligands. Comparisons of MD with NMR spectroscopy of ubiquitin mutants in solutions of free ligands show a good agreement between the two with regard to the preferred binding region on the surface of the protein and several binding sites. MD simulations also identify additional binding sites that were not observed in the NMR experiments. "Bound" ligands were found to be sufficiently flexible and to access a number of favorable conformations, suggesting only a moderate loss of ligand entropy in the "pseudo affinity" binding of these multimodal ligands. Analysis of locations of chemical subunits of the ligand on the protein surface indicated that electrostatic interaction units were located on the periphery of the preferred binding region on the protein. The analysis of the electrostatic potential, the hydrophobicity maps, and the binding of both acetate and benzene probes were used to further study the localization of individual ligand moieties. These results suggest that water-mediated electrostatic interactions help the localization and orientation of the MM ligand to the binding region with additional stability provided by nonspecific hydrophobic interactions.

The binding sites of inhibitory monoclonal antibodies on acetylcholinesterase. Identification of a novel regulatory site at the putative "back door".

PubMed

Simon, S; Le Goff, A; Frobert, Y; Grassi, J; Massoulié, J

1999-09-24

We investigated the target sites of three inhibitory monoclonal antibodies on Electrophorus acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Previous studies showed that Elec-403 and Elec-410 are directed to overlapping but distinct epitopes in the peripheral site, at the entrance of the catalytic gorge, whereas Elec-408 binds to a different region. Using Electrophorus/rat AChE chimeras, we identified surface residues that differed between sensitive and insensitive AChEs: the replacement of a single Electrophorus residue by its rat homolog was able to abolish binding and inhibition, for each antibody. Reciprocally, binding and inhibition by Elec-403 and by Elec-410 could be conferred to rat AChE by the reverse mutation. Elec-410 appears to bind to one side of the active gorge, whereas Elec-403 covers its opening, explaining why the AChE-Elec-410 complex reacts faster than the AChE-Elec-403 or AChE-fasciculin complexes with two active site inhibitors, m-(N,N, N-trimethyltammonio)trifluoro-acetophenone and echothiophate. Elec-408 binds to the region of the putative "back door," distant from the peripheral site, and does not interfere with the access of inhibitors to the active site. The binding of an antibody to this novel regulatory site may inhibit the enzyme by blocking the back door or by inducing a conformational distortion within the active site.

Evaluation of the Significance of Starch Surface Binding Sites on Human Pancreatic α-Amylase.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiaohua; Caner, Sami; Kwan, Emily; Li, Chunmin; Brayer, Gary D; Withers, Stephen G

2016-11-01

Starch provides the major source of caloric intake in many diets. Cleavage of starch into malto-oligosaccharides in the gut is catalyzed by pancreatic α-amylase. These oligosaccharides are then further cleaved by gut wall α-glucosidases to release glucose, which is absorbed into the bloodstream. Potential surface binding sites for starch on the pancreatic amylase, distinct from the active site of the amylase, have been identified through X-ray crystallographic analyses. The role of these sites in the degradation of both starch granules and soluble starch was probed by the generation of a series of surface variants modified at each site to disrupt binding. Kinetic analysis of the binding and/or cleavage of substrates ranging from simple maltotriosides to soluble starch and insoluble starch granules has allowed evaluation of the potential role of each such surface site. In this way, two key surface binding sites, on the same face as the active site, are identified. One site, containing a pair of aromatic residues, is responsible for attachment to starch granules, while a second site featuring a tryptophan residue around which a malto-oligosaccharide wraps is shown to heavily influence soluble starch binding and hydrolysis. These studies provide insights into the mechanisms by which enzymes tackle the degradation of largely insoluble polymers and also present some new approaches to the interrogation of the binding sites involved.

Study of DNA binding sites using the Rényi parametric entropy measure.

PubMed

Krishnamachari, A; moy Mandal, Vijnan; Karmeshu

2004-04-07

Shannon's definition of uncertainty or surprisal has been applied extensively to measure the information content of aligned DNA sequences and characterizing DNA binding sites. In contrast to Shannon's uncertainty, this study investigates the applicability and suitability of a parametric uncertainty measure due to Rényi. It is observed that this measure also provides results in agreement with Shannon's measure, pointing to its utility in analysing DNA binding site region. For facilitating the comparison between these uncertainty measures, a dimensionless quantity called "redundancy" has been employed. It is found that Rényi's measure at low parameter values possess a better delineating feature of binding sites (of binding regions) than Shannon's measure. The critical value of the parameter is chosen with an outlier criterion.

SITEHOUND-web: a server for ligand binding site identification in protein structures.

PubMed

Hernandez, Marylens; Ghersi, Dario; Sanchez, Roberto

2009-07-01

SITEHOUND-web (http://sitehound.sanchezlab.org) is a binding-site identification server powered by the SITEHOUND program. Given a protein structure in PDB format SITEHOUND-web will identify regions of the protein characterized by favorable interactions with a probe molecule. These regions correspond to putative ligand binding sites. Depending on the probe used in the calculation, sites with preference for different ligands will be identified. Currently, a carbon probe for identification of binding sites for drug-like molecules, and a phosphate probe for phosphorylated ligands (ATP, phoshopeptides, etc.) have been implemented. SITEHOUND-web will display the results in HTML pages including an interactive 3D representation of the protein structure and the putative sites using the Jmol java applet. Various downloadable data files are also provided for offline data analysis.

Self-Assembly of Coordinative Supramolecular Polygons with Open Binding Sites

PubMed Central

Zheng, Yao-Rong; Wang, Ming; Kobayashi, Shiho; Stang, Peter J.

2011-01-01

The design and synthesis of coordinative supramolecular polygons with open binding sites is described. Coordination-driven self-assembly of 2,6-bis(pyridin-4-ylethynyl)pyridine with 60° and 120° organoplatinum acceptors results in quantitative formation of a supramolecular rhomboid and hexagon, respectively, both bearing open pyridyl binding sites. The structures were determined by multinuclear (31P and 1H) NMR spectroscopy and electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry, along with a computational study. PMID:21516167

Exploiting algal NADPH oxidase for biophotovoltaic energy

DOE PAGES

Anderson, Alexander; Laohavisit, Anuphon; Blaby, Ian K.; ...

2015-01-29

Photosynthetic microbes exhibit light-dependent electron export across the cell membrane, which can generate electricity in biological photovoltaic (BPV) devices. How electrons are exported remains to be determined; the identification of mechanisms would help selection or generation of photosynthetic microbes capable of enhanced electrical output. We show that plasma membrane NADPH oxidase activity is a significant component of light-dependent generation of electricity by the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. NADPH oxidases export electrons across the plasma membrane to form superoxide anion from oxygen. The C. reinhardtii mutant lacking the NADPH oxidase encoded by RBO1 is impaired in both extracellular superoxide anionmore » production and current generation in a BPV device. Complementation with the wild-type gene restores both capacities, demonstrating the role of the enzyme in electron export. Monitoring light-dependent extracellular superoxide production with a colorimetric assay is shown to be an effective way of screening for electrogenic potential of candidate algal strains. Furthermore, the results show that algal NADPH oxidases are important for superoxide anion production and open avenues for optimizing the biological component of these devices.« less

Computational investigation of cholesterol binding sites on mitochondrial VDAC.

PubMed

Weiser, Brian P; Salari, Reza; Eckenhoff, Roderic G; Brannigan, Grace

2014-08-21

The mitochondrial voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) allows passage of ions and metabolites across the mitochondrial outer membrane. Cholesterol binds mammalian VDAC, and we investigated the effects of binding to human VDAC1 with atomistic molecular dynamics simulations that totaled 1.4 μs. We docked cholesterol to specific sites on VDAC that were previously identified with NMR, and we tested the reliability of multiple docking results in each site with simulations. The most favorable binding modes were used to build a VDAC model with cholesterol occupying five unique sites, and during multiple 100 ns simulations, cholesterol stably and reproducibly remained bound to the protein. For comparison, VDAC was simulated in systems with identical components but with cholesterol initially unbound. The dynamics of loops that connect adjacent β-strands were most affected by bound cholesterol, with the averaged root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF) of multiple residues altered by 20-30%. Cholesterol binding also stabilized charged residues inside the channel and localized the surrounding electrostatic potentials. Despite this, ion diffusion through the channel was not significantly affected by bound cholesterol, as evidenced by multi-ion potential of mean force measurements. Although we observed modest effects of cholesterol on the open channel, our model will be particularly useful in experiments that investigate how cholesterol affects VDAC function under applied electrochemical forces and also how other ligands and proteins interact with the channel.

NADPH oxidases: novel therapeutic targets for neurodegenerative diseases.

PubMed

Gao, Hui-Ming; Zhou, Hui; Hong, Jau-Shyong

2012-06-01

Oxidative stress is a key pathologic factor in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases (AD, PD). The failure of free-radical-scavenging antioxidants in clinical trials pinpoints an urgent need to identify and to block major sources of oxidative stress in neurodegenerative diseases. As a major superoxide-producing enzyme complex in activated phagocytes, phagocyte NADPH oxidase (PHOX) is essential for host defense. However, recent preclinical evidence has underscored a pivotal role of overactivated PHOX in chronic neuroinflammation and progressive neurodegeneration. Deficiency in PHOX subunits mitigates neuronal damage induced by diverse insults/stresses relevant to neurodegenerative diseases. More importantly, suppression of PHOX activity correlates with reduced neuronal impairment in models of neurodegenerative diseases. The discovery of PHOX and non-phagocyte NADPH oxidases in astroglia and neurons further reinforces the crucial role of NADPH oxidases in oxidative stress-mediated chronic neurodegeneration. Thus, proper modulation of NADPH oxidase activity might hold therapeutic potential for currently incurable neurodegenerative diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Phyloscan: locating transcription-regulating binding sites in mixed aligned and unaligned sequence data.

PubMed

Palumbo, Michael J; Newberg, Lee A

2010-07-01

The transcription of a gene from its DNA template into an mRNA molecule is the first, and most heavily regulated, step in gene expression. Especially in bacteria, regulation is typically achieved via the binding of a transcription factor (protein) or small RNA molecule to the chromosomal region upstream of a regulated gene. The protein or RNA molecule recognizes a short, approximately conserved sequence within a gene's promoter region and, by binding to it, either enhances or represses expression of the nearby gene. Since the sought-for motif (pattern) is short and accommodating to variation, computational approaches that scan for binding sites have trouble distinguishing functional sites from look-alikes. Many computational approaches are unable to find the majority of experimentally verified binding sites without also finding many false positives. Phyloscan overcomes this difficulty by exploiting two key features of functional binding sites: (i) these sites are typically more conserved evolutionarily than are non-functional DNA sequences; and (ii) these sites often occur two or more times in the promoter region of a regulated gene. The website is free and open to all users, and there is no login requirement. Address: (http://bayesweb.wadsworth.org/phyloscan/).

Arabidopsis Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 binding sites contain putative GAGA factor binding motifs within coding regions of genes

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) is an essential regulator of gene expression that maintains genes in a repressed state by marking chromatin with trimethylated Histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3). In Arabidopsis, loss of PRC2 function leads to pleiotropic effects on growth and development thought to be due to ectopic expression of seed and embryo-specific genes. While there is some understanding of the mechanisms by which specific genes are targeted by PRC2 in animal systems, it is still not clear how PRC2 is recruited to specific regions of plant genomes. Results We used ChIP-seq to determine the genome-wide distribution of hemagglutinin (HA)-tagged FERTLIZATION INDEPENDENT ENDOSPERM (FIE-HA), the Extra Sex Combs homolog protein present in all Arabidopsis PRC2 complexes. We found that the FIE-HA binding sites co-locate with a subset of the H3K27me3 sites in the genome and that the associated genes were more likely to be de-repressed in mutants of PRC2 components. The FIE-HA binding sites are enriched for three sequence motifs including a putative GAGA factor binding site that is also found in Drosophila Polycomb Response Elements (PREs). Conclusions Our results suggest that PRC2 binding sites in plant genomes share some sequence features with Drosophila PREs. However, unlike Drosophila PREs which are located in promoters and devoid of H3K27me3, Arabidopsis FIE binding sites tend to be in gene coding regions and co-localize with H3K27me3. PMID:24001316

Regiospecificity determinants of human heme oxygenase: differential NADPH- and ascorbate-dependent heme cleavage by the R183E mutant.

PubMed

Wang, Jinling; Lad, Latesh; Poulos, Thomas L; Ortiz de Montellano, Paul R

2005-01-28

The ability of the human heme oxygenase-1 (hHO-1) R183E mutant to oxidize heme in reactions supported by either NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase or ascorbic acid has been compared. The NADPH-dependent reaction, like that of wild-type hHO-1, yields exclusively biliverdin IXalpha. In contrast, the R183E mutant with ascorbic acid as the reductant produces biliverdin IXalpha (79 +/- 4%), IXdelta (19 +/- 3%), and a trace of IXbeta. In the presence of superoxide dismutase and catalase, the yield of biliverdin IXdelta is decreased to 8 +/- 1% with a corresponding increase in biliverdin IXalpha. Spectroscopic analysis of the NADPH-dependent reaction shows that the R183E ferric biliverdin complex accumulates, because reduction of the iron, which is required for sequential iron and biliverdin release, is impaired. Reversal of the charge at position 183 makes reduction of the iron more difficult. The crystal structure of the R183E mutant, determined in the ferric and ferrous-NO bound forms, shows that the heme primarily adopts the same orientation as in wild-type hHO-1. The structure of the Fe(II).NO complex suggests that an altered active site hydrogen bonding network supports catalysis in the R183E mutant. Furthermore, Arg-183 contributes to the regiospecificity of the wild-type enzyme, but its contribution is not critical. The results indicate that the ascorbate-dependent reaction is subject to a lower degree of regiochemical control than the NADPH-dependent reaction. Ascorbate may be able to reduce the R183E ferric and ferrous dioxygen complexes in active site conformations that cannot be reduced by NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase.

Impact of disruption of secondary binding site S2 on dopamine transporter function.

PubMed

Zhen, Juan; Reith, Maarten E A

2016-09-01

The structures of the leucine transporter, drosophila dopamine transporter, and human serotonin transporter show a secondary binding site (designated S2 ) for drugs and substrate in the extracellular vestibule toward the membrane exterior in relation to the primary substrate recognition site (S1 ). The present experiments are aimed at disrupting S2 by mutating Asp476 and Ile159 to Ala. Both mutants displayed a profound decrease in [(3) H]DA uptake compared with wild-type associated with a reduced turnover rate kcat . This was not caused by a conformational bias as the mutants responded to Zn(2+) (10 μM) similarly as WT. The dopamine transporters with either the D476A or I159A mutation both displayed a higher Ki for dopamine for the inhibition of [3H](-)-2-β-carbomethoxy-3-β-(4-fluorophenyl)tropane binding than did the WT transporter, in accordance with an allosteric interaction between the S1 and S2 sites. The results provide evidence in favor of a general applicability of the two-site allosteric model of the Javitch/Weinstein group from LeuT to dopamine transporter and possibly other monoamine transporters. X-ray structures of transporters closely related to the dopamine (DA) transporter show a secondary binding site S2 in the extracellular vestibule proximal to the primary binding site S1 which is closely linked to one of the Na(+) binding sites. This work examines the relationship between S2 and S1 sites. We found that S2 site impairment severely reduced DA transport and allosterically reduced S1 site affinity for the cocaine analog [(3) H]CFT. Our results are the first to lend direct support for the application of the two-site allosteric model, advanced for bacterial LeuT, to the human DA transporter. The model states that, after binding of the first DA molecule (DA1 ) to the primary S1 site (along with Na(+) ), binding of a second DA (DA2 ) to the S2 site triggers, through an allosteric interaction, the release of DA1 and Na(+) into the cytoplasm. © 2016

Footprinting reveals that nogalamycin and actinomycin shuffle between DNA binding sites.

PubMed Central

Fox, K R; Waring, M J

1986-01-01

The hypothesis that sequence-selective DNA-binding antibiotics locate their preferred binding sites by a process involving migration from nonspecific sites has been tested by footprinting with DNAase I. Footprinting patterns on the tyrT DNA fragment produced by nogalamycin and actinomycin change with time after mixing the antibiotic with the DNA. Sites of protection as well as enhanced cleavage are seen to develop in a fashion which is both temperature and concentration-dependent. At certain sites cutting is transiently enhanced, then blocked. Limited evidence for slow reaction with echinomycin and mithramycin is presented, but the kinetics of footprinting with daunomycin and distamycin appear instantaneous. The feasibility of adducing direct evidence for shuffling by footprinting seems to be governed by slow dissociation of the antibiotic-DNA complex. It may also be dependent upon the mode of binding, be it intercalative or non-intercalative in character. Images PMID:2421246

Binding site and affinity prediction of general anesthetics to protein targets using docking.

PubMed

Liu, Renyu; Perez-Aguilar, Jose Manuel; Liang, David; Saven, Jeffery G

2012-05-01

The protein targets for general anesthetics remain unclear. A tool to predict anesthetic binding for potential binding targets is needed. In this study, we explored whether a computational method, AutoDock, could serve as such a tool. High-resolution crystal data of water-soluble proteins (cytochrome C, apoferritin, and human serum albumin), and a membrane protein (a pentameric ligand-gated ion channel from Gloeobacter violaceus [GLIC]) were used. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) experiments were performed to determine anesthetic affinity in solution conditions for apoferritin. Docking calculations were performed using DockingServer with the Lamarckian genetic algorithm and the Solis and Wets local search method (http://www.dockingserver.com/web). Twenty general anesthetics were docked into apoferritin. The predicted binding constants were compared with those obtained from ITC experiments for potential correlations. In the case of apoferritin, details of the binding site and their interactions were compared with recent cocrystallization data. Docking calculations for 6 general anesthetics currently used in clinical settings (isoflurane, sevoflurane, desflurane, halothane, propofol, and etomidate) with known 50% effective concentration (EC(50)) values were also performed in all tested proteins. The binding constants derived from docking experiments were compared with known EC(50) values and octanol/water partition coefficients for the 6 general anesthetics. All 20 general anesthetics docked unambiguously into the anesthetic binding site identified in the crystal structure of apoferritin. The binding constants for 20 anesthetics obtained from the docking calculations correlate significantly with those obtained from ITC experiments (P = 0.04). In the case of GLIC, the identified anesthetic binding sites in the crystal structure are among the docking predicted binding sites, but not the top ranked site. Docking calculations suggest a most probable binding site

Binding Site and Affinity Prediction of General Anesthetics to Protein Targets Using Docking

PubMed Central

Liu, Renyu; Perez-Aguilar, Jose Manuel; Liang, David; Saven, Jeffery G.

2012-01-01

Background The protein targets for general anesthetics remain unclear. A tool to predict anesthetic binding for potential binding targets is needed. In this study, we explore whether a computational method, AutoDock, could serve as such a tool. Methods High-resolution crystal data of water soluble proteins (cytochrome C, apoferritin and human serum albumin), and a membrane protein (a pentameric ligand-gated ion channel from Gloeobacter violaceus, GLIC) were used. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) experiments were performed to determine anesthetic affinity in solution conditions for apoferritin. Docking calculations were performed using DockingServer with the Lamarckian genetic algorithm and the Solis and Wets local search method (https://www.dockingserver.com/web). Twenty general anesthetics were docked into apoferritin. The predicted binding constants are compared with those obtained from ITC experiments for potential correlations. In the case of apoferritin, details of the binding site and their interactions were compared with recent co-crystallization data. Docking calculations for six general anesthetics currently used in clinical settings (isoflurane, sevoflurane, desflurane, halothane, propofol, and etomidate) with known EC50 were also performed in all tested proteins. The binding constants derived from docking experiments were compared with known EC50s and octanol/water partition coefficients for the six general anesthetics. Results All 20 general anesthetics docked unambiguously into the anesthetic binding site identified in the crystal structure of apoferritin. The binding constants for 20 anesthetics obtained from the docking calculations correlate significantly with those obtained from ITC experiments (p=0.04). In the case of GLIC, the identified anesthetic binding sites in the crystal structure are among the docking predicted binding sites, but not the top ranked site. Docking calculations suggest a most probable binding site located in the

NO nerves in a tapeworm. NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry in adult Hymenolepis diminuta.

PubMed

Gustafsson, M K; Lindholm, A M; Terenina, N B; Reuter, M

1996-12-01

The free radical nitric oxide (NO), which is synthesized by nitric oxide synthase (NOS), has recently been discovered to function as a neuronal messenger. The presence of NOS was detected in the nervous system of adult Hymenolepis diminuta with NADPH-diaphorase (NADPH-d) histochemistry. The NADPH-d histochemical reaction is regarded as a selective marker for NOS in neuronal tissue. NADPH-d staining was observed in nerve fibres in the main and minor nerve cords and the transverse ring commissures, and in cell bodies in the brain commissure, along the main nerve cords, in the suckers and the rostellar sac. NADPH-d staining was also observed in the wall of the internal seminal vesicle and the genital atrium. The pattern of NADPH-d staining was compared with that of the 5-HT immunoreactive nervous elements. The NADPH-d staining reaction and the 5-HT immunoreactivity occur in separate sets of neurons. This is the first time the NADPH-d reaction has been demonstrated in the nervous system of a flatworm, indicating that NOS is present and that NO can be produced at this level of evolution.

A web server for analysis, comparison and prediction of protein ligand binding sites.

PubMed

Singh, Harinder; Srivastava, Hemant Kumar; Raghava, Gajendra P S

2016-03-25

One of the major challenges in the field of system biology is to understand the interaction between a wide range of proteins and ligands. In the past, methods have been developed for predicting binding sites in a protein for a limited number of ligands. In order to address this problem, we developed a web server named 'LPIcom' to facilitate users in understanding protein-ligand interaction. Analysis, comparison and prediction modules are available in the "LPIcom' server to predict protein-ligand interacting residues for 824 ligands. Each ligand must have at least 30 protein binding sites in PDB. Analysis module of the server can identify residues preferred in interaction and binding motif for a given ligand; for example residues glycine, lysine and arginine are preferred in ATP binding sites. Comparison module of the server allows comparing protein-binding sites of multiple ligands to understand the similarity between ligands based on their binding site. This module indicates that ATP, ADP and GTP ligands are in the same cluster and thus their binding sites or interacting residues exhibit a high level of similarity. Propensity-based prediction module has been developed for predicting ligand-interacting residues in a protein for more than 800 ligands. In addition, a number of web-based tools have been integrated to facilitate users in creating web logo and two-sample between ligand interacting and non-interacting residues. In summary, this manuscript presents a web-server for analysis of ligand interacting residue. This server is available for public use from URL http://crdd.osdd.net/raghava/lpicom .

[3H]aniracetam binds to specific recognition sites in brain membranes.

PubMed

Fallarino, F; Genazzani, A A; Silla, S; L'Episcopo, M R; Camici, O; Corazzi, L; Nicoletti, F; Fioretti, M C

1995-08-01

[3H]Aniracetam bound to specific and saturable recognition sites in membranes prepared from discrete regions of rat brain. In crude membrane preparation from rat cerebral cortex, specific binding was Na+ independent, was still largely detectable at low temperature (4 degrees C), and underwent rapid dissociation. Scatchard analysis of [3H]aniracetam binding revealed a single population of sites with an apparent KD value of approximately 70 nM and a maximal density of 3.5 pmol/mg of protein. Specifically bound [3H]aniracetam was not displaced by various metabolites of aniracetam, nor by other pyrrolidinone-containing nootropic drugs such as piracetam or oxiracetam. Subcellular distribution studies showed that a high percentage of specific [3H]aniracetam binding was present in purified synaptosomes or mitochondria, whereas specific binding was low in the myelin fraction. The possibility that at least some [3H]aniracetam binding sites are associated with glutamate receptors is supported by the evidence that specific binding was abolished when membranes were preincubated at 37 degrees C under fast shaking (a procedure that substantially reduced the amount of glutamate trapped in the membranes) and could be restored after addition of either glutamate or alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate (AMPA) but not kainate. The action of AMPA was antagonized by DNQX, which also reduced specific [3H]aniracetam binding in unwashed membranes. High levels of [3H]aniracetam binding were detected in hippocampal, cortical, or cerebellar membranes, which contain a high density of excitatory amino acid receptors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

ATP and AMP Mutually Influence Their Interaction with the ATP-binding Cassette (ABC) Adenylate Kinase Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) at Separate Binding Sites*

PubMed Central

Randak, Christoph O.; Dong, Qian; Ver Heul, Amanda R.; Elcock, Adrian H.; Welsh, Michael J.

2013-01-01

Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is an anion channel in the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter protein family. In the presence of ATP and physiologically relevant concentrations of AMP, CFTR exhibits adenylate kinase activity (ATP + AMP ⇆ 2 ADP). Previous studies suggested that the interaction of nucleotide triphosphate with CFTR at ATP-binding site 2 is required for this activity. Two other ABC proteins, Rad50 and a structural maintenance of chromosome protein, also have adenylate kinase activity. All three ABC adenylate kinases bind and hydrolyze ATP in the absence of other nucleotides. However, little is known about how an ABC adenylate kinase interacts with ATP and AMP when both are present. Based on data from non-ABC adenylate kinases, we hypothesized that ATP and AMP mutually influence their interaction with CFTR at separate binding sites. We further hypothesized that only one of the two CFTR ATP-binding sites is involved in the adenylate kinase reaction. We found that 8-azidoadenosine 5′-triphosphate (8-N3-ATP) and 8-azidoadenosine 5′-monophosphate (8-N3-AMP) photolabeled separate sites in CFTR. Labeling of the AMP-binding site with 8-N3-AMP required the presence of ATP. Conversely, AMP enhanced photolabeling with 8-N3-ATP at ATP-binding site 2. The adenylate kinase active center probe P1,P5-di(adenosine-5′) pentaphosphate interacted simultaneously with an AMP-binding site and ATP-binding site 2. These results show that ATP and AMP interact with separate binding sites but mutually influence their interaction with the ABC adenylate kinase CFTR. They further indicate that the active center of the adenylate kinase comprises ATP-binding site 2. PMID:23921386

Identification and characterization of Hoxa9 binding sites in hematopoietic cells

PubMed Central

Huang, Yongsheng; Sitwala, Kajal; Bronstein, Joel; Sanders, Daniel; Dandekar, Monisha; Collins, Cailin; Robertson, Gordon; MacDonald, James; Cezard, Timothee; Bilenky, Misha; Thiessen, Nina; Zhao, Yongjun; Zeng, Thomas; Hirst, Martin; Hero, Alfred; Jones, Steven

2012-01-01

The clustered homeobox proteins play crucial roles in development, hematopoiesis, and leukemia, yet the targets they regulate and their mechanisms of action are poorly understood. Here, we identified the binding sites for Hoxa9 and the Hox cofactor Meis1 on a genome-wide level and profiled their associated epigenetic modifications and transcriptional targets. Hoxa9 and the Hox cofactor Meis1 cobind at hundreds of highly evolutionarily conserved sites, most of which are distant from transcription start sites. These sites show high levels of histone H3K4 monomethylation and CBP/P300 binding characteristic of enhancers. Furthermore, a subset of these sites shows enhancer activity in transient transfection assays. Many Hoxa9 and Meis1 binding sites are also bound by PU.1 and other lineage-restricted transcription factors previously implicated in establishment of myeloid enhancers. Conditional Hoxa9 activation is associated with CBP/P300 recruitment, histone acetylation, and transcriptional activation of a network of proto-oncogenes, including Erg, Flt3, Lmo2, Myb, and Sox4. Collectively, this work suggests that Hoxa9 regulates transcription by interacting with enhancers of genes important for hematopoiesis and leukemia. PMID:22072553

Binding of dinitrogen to an iron-sulfur-carbon site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Čorić, Ilija; Mercado, Brandon Q.; Bill, Eckhard; Vinyard, David J.; Holland, Patrick L.

2015-10-01

Nitrogenases are the enzymes by which certain microorganisms convert atmospheric dinitrogen (N2) to ammonia, thereby providing essential nitrogen atoms for higher organisms. The most common nitrogenases reduce atmospheric N2 at the FeMo cofactor, a sulfur-rich iron-molybdenum cluster (FeMoco). The central iron sites that are coordinated to sulfur and carbon atoms in FeMoco have been proposed to be the substrate binding sites, on the basis of kinetic and spectroscopic studies. In the resting state, the central iron sites each have bonds to three sulfur atoms and one carbon atom. Addition of electrons to the resting state causes the FeMoco to react with N2, but the geometry and bonding environment of N2-bound species remain unknown. Here we describe a synthetic complex with a sulfur-rich coordination sphere that, upon reduction, breaks an Fe-S bond and binds N2. The product is the first synthetic Fe-N2 complex in which iron has bonds to sulfur and carbon atoms, providing a model for N2 coordination in the FeMoco. Our results demonstrate that breaking an Fe-S bond is a chemically reasonable route to N2 binding in the FeMoco, and show structural and spectroscopic details for weakened N2 on a sulfur-rich iron site.

Analysis of functional importance of binding sites in the Drosophila gap gene network model.

PubMed

Kozlov, Konstantin; Gursky, Vitaly V; Kulakovskiy, Ivan V; Dymova, Arina; Samsonova, Maria

2015-01-01

The statistical thermodynamics based approach provides a promising framework for construction of the genotype-phenotype map in many biological systems. Among important aspects of a good model connecting the DNA sequence information with that of a molecular phenotype (gene expression) is the selection of regulatory interactions and relevant transcription factor bindings sites. As the model may predict different levels of the functional importance of specific binding sites in different genomic and regulatory contexts, it is essential to formulate and study such models under different modeling assumptions. We elaborate a two-layer model for the Drosophila gap gene network and include in the model a combined set of transcription factor binding sites and concentration dependent regulatory interaction between gap genes hunchback and Kruppel. We show that the new variants of the model are more consistent in terms of gene expression predictions for various genetic constructs in comparison to previous work. We quantify the functional importance of binding sites by calculating their impact on gene expression in the model and calculate how these impacts correlate across all sites under different modeling assumptions. The assumption about the dual interaction between hb and Kr leads to the most consistent modeling results, but, on the other hand, may obscure existence of indirect interactions between binding sites in regulatory regions of distinct genes. The analysis confirms the previously formulated regulation concept of many weak binding sites working in concert. The model predicts a more or less uniform distribution of functionally important binding sites over the sets of experimentally characterized regulatory modules and other open chromatin domains.

Cancer-associated Isocitrate Dehydrogenase Mutations Inactivate NADPH-dependent Reductive Carboxylation*

PubMed Central

Leonardi, Roberta; Subramanian, Chitra; Jackowski, Suzanne; Rock, Charles O.

2012-01-01

Isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) is a reversible enzyme that catalyzes the NADP+-dependent oxidative decarboxylation of isocitrate (ICT) to α-ketoglutarate (αKG) and the NADPH/CO2-dependent reductive carboxylation of αKG to ICT. Reductive carboxylation by IDH1 was potently inhibited by NADP+ and, to a lesser extent, by ICT. IDH1 and IDH2 with cancer-associated mutations at the active site arginines were unable to carry out the reductive carboxylation of αKG. These mutants were also defective in ICT decarboxylation and converted αKG to 2-hydroxyglutarate using NADPH. These mutant proteins were thus defective in both of the normal reactions of IDH. Biochemical analysis of heterodimers between wild-type and mutant IDH1 subunits showed that the mutant subunit did not inactivate reductive carboxylation by the wild-type subunit. Cells expressing the mutant IDH are thus deficient in their capacity for reductive carboxylation and may be compromised in their ability to produce acetyl-CoA under hypoxia or when mitochondrial function is otherwise impaired. PMID:22442146

NADPH OXIDASE: STRUCTURE AND ACTIVATION MECHANISMS (REVIEW). NOTE I.

PubMed

Filip-Ciubotaru, Florina; Manciuc, Carmen; Stoleriu, Gabriela; Foia, Liliana

2016-01-01

NADPH oxidase (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-oxidase), with its generically termed NOX isoforms, is the major source of ROS (reactive oxigen species) in biological systems. ROS are small oxygen-derived molecules with an important role in various biological processes (physiological or pathological). If under physiological conditions some processes are beneficial and necessary for life, under pathophysiological conditions they are noxious, harmful. NADPH oxidases are present in phagocytes and in a wide variety of nonphagocytic cells. The enzyme generates superoxide by transferring electrons from NADPH inside the cell across the membrane and coupling them to molecular oxygen to produce superoxide anion, a reactive free-radical. Structurally, NADPH oxidase is a multicomponent enzyme which includes two integral membrane proteins, glycoprotein gp9 1 Phox and adaptor protein p22(phox), which together form the heterodimeric flavocytochrome b558 that constitutes the core of the enzyme. During the resting state, the multidomain regulatory subunits p40P(phox), p47(phox), p67(Phox) are located in the cytosol organized as a complex. The activation of phagocytic NADPH oxidase occurs through a complex series of protein interactions.

Specific phospholipid binding to Na,K-ATPase at two distinct sites.

PubMed

Habeck, Michael; Kapri-Pardes, Einat; Sharon, Michal; Karlish, Steven J D

2017-03-14

Membrane protein function can be affected by the physical state of the lipid bilayer and specific lipid-protein interactions. For Na,K-ATPase, bilayer properties can modulate pump activity, and, as observed in crystal structures, several lipids are bound within the transmembrane domain. Furthermore, Na,K-ATPase activity depends on phosphatidylserine (PS) and cholesterol, which stabilize the protein, and polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholine (PC) or phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), known to stimulate Na,K-ATPase activity. Based on lipid structural specificity and kinetic mechanisms, specific interactions of both PS and PC/PE have been inferred. Nevertheless, specific binding sites have not been identified definitively. We address this question with native mass spectrometry (MS) and site-directed mutagenesis. Native MS shows directly that one molecule each of 18:0/18:1 PS and 18:0/20:4 PC can bind specifically to purified human Na,K-ATPase (α 1 β 1 ). By replacing lysine residues at proposed phospholipid-binding sites with glutamines, the two sites have been identified. Mutations in the cytoplasmic αL8-9 loop destabilize the protein but do not affect Na,K-ATPase activity, whereas mutations in transmembrane helices (TM), αTM2 and αTM4, abolish the stimulation of activity by 18:0/20:4 PC but do not affect stability. When these data are linked to crystal structures, the underlying mechanism of PS and PC/PE effects emerges. PS (and cholesterol) bind between αTM 8, 9, 10, near the FXYD subunit, and maintain topological integrity of the labile C terminus of the α subunit (site A). PC/PE binds between αTM2, 4, 6, and 9 and accelerates the rate-limiting E 1 P-E 2 P conformational transition (site B). We discuss the potential physiological implications.

Identification and characterization of the sodium-binding site of activated protein C.

PubMed

He, X; Rezaie, A R

1999-02-19

Activated protein C (APC) requires both Ca2+ and Na+ for its optimal catalytic function. In contrast to the Ca2+-binding sites, the Na+-binding site(s) of APC has not been identified. Based on a recent study with thrombin, the 221-225 loop is predicted to be a potential Na+-binding site in APC. The sequence of this loop is not conserved in trypsin. We engineered a Gla domainless form of protein C (GDPC) in which the 221-225 loop was replaced with the corresponding loop of trypsin. We found that activated GDPC (aGDPC) required Na+ (or other alkali cations) for its amidolytic activity with dissociation constant (Kd(app)) = 44.1 +/- 8.6 mM. In the presence of Ca2+, however, the requirement for Na+ by aGDPC was eliminated, and Na+ stimulated the cleavage rate 5-6-fold with Kd(app) = 2.3 +/- 0.3 mM. Both cations were required for efficient factor Va inactivation by aGDPC. In the presence of Ca2+, the catalytic function of the mutant was independent of Na+. Unlike aGDPC, the mutant did not discriminate among monovalent cations. We conclude that the 221-225 loop is a Na+-binding site in APC and that an allosteric link between the Na+ and Ca2+ binding loops modulates the structure and function of this anticoagulant enzyme.

Computational Investigation of Cholesterol Binding Sites on Mitochondrial VDAC

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

The mitochondrial voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) allows passage of ions and metabolites across the mitochondrial outer membrane. Cholesterol binds mammalian VDAC, and we investigated the effects of binding to human VDAC1 with atomistic molecular dynamics simulations that totaled 1.4 μs. We docked cholesterol to specific sites on VDAC that were previously identified with NMR, and we tested the reliability of multiple docking results in each site with simulations. The most favorable binding modes were used to build a VDAC model with cholesterol occupying five unique sites, and during multiple 100 ns simulations, cholesterol stably and reproducibly remained bound to the protein. For comparison, VDAC was simulated in systems with identical components but with cholesterol initially unbound. The dynamics of loops that connect adjacent β-strands were most affected by bound cholesterol, with the averaged root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF) of multiple residues altered by 20–30%. Cholesterol binding also stabilized charged residues inside the channel and localized the surrounding electrostatic potentials. Despite this, ion diffusion through the channel was not significantly affected by bound cholesterol, as evidenced by multi-ion potential of mean force measurements. Although we observed modest effects of cholesterol on the open channel, our model will be particularly useful in experiments that investigate how cholesterol affects VDAC function under applied electrochemical forces and also how other ligands and proteins interact with the channel. PMID:25080204

OnTheFly: a database of Drosophila melanogaster transcription factors and their binding sites.

PubMed

Shazman, Shula; Lee, Hunjoong; Socol, Yakov; Mann, Richard S; Honig, Barry

2014-01-01

We present OnTheFly (http://bhapp.c2b2.columbia.edu/OnTheFly/index.php), a database comprising a systematic collection of transcription factors (TFs) of Drosophila melanogaster and their DNA-binding sites. TFs predicted in the Drosophila melanogaster genome are annotated and classified and their structures, obtained via experiment or homology models, are provided. All known preferred TF DNA-binding sites obtained from the B1H, DNase I and SELEX methodologies are presented. DNA shape parameters predicted for these sites are obtained from a high throughput server or from crystal structures of protein-DNA complexes where available. An important feature of the database is that all DNA-binding domains and their binding sites are fully annotated in a eukaryote using structural criteria and evolutionary homology. OnTheFly thus provides a comprehensive view of TFs and their binding sites that will be a valuable resource for deciphering non-coding regulatory DNA.

Characterization and autoradiographic localization of neurotensin binding sites in human sigmoid colon.

PubMed

Azriel, Y; Burcher, E

2001-06-01

Radioiodinated neurotensin ((125)I-NT) was used to characterize and localize NT binding sites in normal human sigmoid colon. Specimens were obtained from patients (30-77 years old) undergoing resection for colon carcinoma. Specific binding of (125)I-NT to sigmoid circular muscle membranes was enhanced by o-phenanthroline (1 mM) but other peptidase inhibitors were ineffective. (125)I-NT bound to a high-affinity site of K(d) = 0.88 +/- 0.09 nM and B(max) = 4.03 +/- 0.66 fmol/mg of wet weight tissue (n = 14), although in the majority of patients another site, of low but variable affinity, could also be detected. Specific binding of 50 pM (125)I-NT was inhibited by NT(8-13) > NT > SR142948A > or = neuromedin N > or = SR48692, consistent with binding to the NT1 receptor. In autoradiographic studies, dense specific binding of (125)I-NT was seen over myenteric and submucosal ganglia, moderate binding over circular muscle, and sparse binding over longitudinal muscle and taenia coli. Levocabastine, which has affinity for the NT2 receptor, did not inhibit specific binding of (125)I-NT in membrane competition or autoradiographic studies. NT contracted sigmoid colon circular muscle strips with a pD(2) value of 6.8 +/- 0.2 nM (n = 25). The contractile responses to NT were significantly potentiated in the presence of tetrodotoxin (1 microM), indicating a neural component. Results from functional studies support actions for NT on both muscle and enteric neurons, consistent with the presence of NT receptors on circular muscle and ganglia of human sigmoid colon. The lack of inhibition by levocabastine suggests that the second binding site detected does not correspond to the NT2 receptor.

Biochemical study of prolactin binding sites in Xenopus laevis brain and choroid plexus

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Muccioli, G.; Guardabassi, A.; Pattono, P.

1990-03-01

The occurrence of prolactin binding sites in some brain structures (telencephalon, ventral hypothalamus, myelencephalon, hypophysis, and choroid plexus) from Xenopus laevis (anuran amphibian) was studied by the in vitro biochemical technique. The higher binding values were obtained at the level of the choroid plexus and above all of the hypothalamus. On the bases of hormonal specificity and high affinity, these binding sites are very similar to those of prolactin receptors of classical target tissues as well as of those described by us in other structures from Xenopus. To our knowledge, the present results provide the first demonstration of the occurrencemore » of prolactin specific binding sites in Xenopus laevis choroid plexus cells.« less

Insulin Mimetic Peptide Disrupts the Primary Binding Site of the Insulin Receptor*

PubMed Central

Lawrence, Callum F.; Margetts, Mai B.; Menting, John G.; Smith, Nicholas A.; Smith, Brian J.; Ward, Colin W.; Lawrence, Michael C.

2016-01-01

Sets of synthetic peptides that interact with the insulin receptor ectodomain have been discovered by phage display and reported in the literature. These peptides were grouped into three classes termed Site 1, Site 2, and Site 3 based on their mutual competition of binding to the receptor. Further refinement has yielded, in particular, a 36-residue Site 2-Site 1 fusion peptide, S519, that binds the insulin receptor with subnanomolar affinity and exhibits agonist activity in both lipogenesis and glucose uptake assays. Here, we report three-dimensional crystallographic detail of the interaction of the C-terminal, 16-residue Site 1 component (S519C16) of S519 with the first leucine-rich repeat domain (L1) of the insulin receptor. Our structure shows that S519C16 binds to the same site on the L1 surface as that occupied by a critical component of the primary binding site, namely the helical C-terminal segment of the insulin receptor α-chain (termed αCT). In particular, the two phenylalanine residues within the FYXWF motif of S519C16 are seen to engage the insulin receptor L1 domain surface in a fashion almost identical to the respective αCT residues Phe701 and Phe705. The structure provides a platform for the further development of peptidic and/or small molecule agents directed toward the insulin receptor and/or the type 1 insulin-like growth factor receptor. PMID:27281820

Characterization of melatonin binding sites in the Harderian gland and median eminence of the rat

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lopez-Gonzalez, M.A.; Calvo, J.R.; Rubio, A.

The characterization of specific melatonin binding sites in the Harderian gland (HG) and median eminence (ME) of the rat was studied using ({sup 125}I)melatonin. Binding of melatonin to membrane crude preparations of both tissues was dependent on time and temperature. Thus, maximal binding was obtained at 37{degree}C after 30-60 min incubation. Binding was also dependent on protein concentration. The specific binding of ({sup 125}I)melatonin was saturable, exhibiting only the class of binding sites in both tissues. The dissociation constants (Kd) were 170 and 190 pM for ME and HG, respectively. The concentration of the binding sites in ME was 8more » fmol/mg protein, and in the HG 4 fmol/mg protein. In competition studies, binding of ({sup 125}I)melatonin to ME or HG was inhibited by increasing concentration of native melatonin; 50% inhibition was observed at about 702 and 422 nM for ME and HG, respectively. Additionally, the ({sup 125}I)melatonin binding to the crude membranes was not affected by the addition of different drugs such as norepinephrine, isoproterenol, phenylephrine, propranolol, or prazosin. The results confirm the presence of melatonin binding sites in median eminence and show, for the first time, the existence of melatonin binding sites in the Harderian gland.« less

Receptor binding sites for atrial natriuretic factor are expressed by brown adipose tissue

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bacay, A.C.; Mantyh, C.R.; Vigna, S.R.

1988-09-01

To explore the possibility that atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) is involved in thermoregulation we used quantitative receptor autoradiography and homogenate receptor binding assays to identify ANF bindings sites in neonatal rat and sheep brown adipose tissue, respectively. Using quantitative receptor autoradiography were were able to localize high levels of specific binding sites for {sup 125}I-rat ANF in neonatal rat brown adipose tissue. Homogenate binding assays on sheep brown fat demonstrated that the radioligand was binding to the membrane fraction and that the specific binding was not due to a lipophilic interaction between {sup 125}I-rat ANF and brown fat. Specific bindingmore » of {sup 125}I-rat ANF to the membranes of brown fat cells was inhibited by unlabeled rat ANF with a Ki of 8.0 x 10(-9) M, but not by unrelated peptides. These studies demonstrate that brown fat cells express high levels of ANF receptor binding sites in neonatal rat and sheep and suggest that ANF may play a role in thermoregulation.« less

Mathematical description of drug-target interactions: application to biologics that bind to targets with two binding sites.

PubMed

Gibiansky, Leonid; Gibiansky, Ekaterina

2018-02-01

The emerging discipline of mathematical pharmacology occupies the space between advanced pharmacometrics and systems biology. A characteristic feature of the approach is application of advance mathematical methods to study the behavior of biological systems as described by mathematical (most often differential) equations. One of the early application of mathematical pharmacology (that was not called this name at the time) was formulation and investigation of the target-mediated drug disposition (TMDD) model and its approximations. The model was shown to be remarkably successful, not only in describing the observed data for drug-target interactions, but also in advancing the qualitative and quantitative understanding of those interactions and their role in pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of biologics. The TMDD model in its original formulation describes the interaction of the drug that has one binding site with the target that also has only one binding site. Following the framework developed earlier for drugs with one-to-one binding, this work aims to describe a rigorous approach for working with similar systems and to apply it to drugs that bind to targets with two binding sites. The quasi-steady-state, quasi-equilibrium, irreversible binding, and Michaelis-Menten approximations of the model are also derived. These equations can be used, in particular, to predict concentrations of the partially bound target (RC). This could be clinically important if RC remains active and has slow internalization rate. In this case, introduction of the drug aimed to suppress target activity may lead to the opposite effect due to RC accumulation.

Characterizing multiple metal ion binding sites within a ribozyme by cadmium-induced EPR silencing

PubMed Central

Kisseleva, Natalia; Kraut, Stefanie; Jäschke, Andres; Schiemann, Olav

2007-01-01

In ribozyme catalysis, metal ions are generally known to make structural and∕or mechanistic contributions. The catalytic activity of a previously described Diels-Alderase ribozyme was found to depend on the concentration of divalent metal ions, and crystallographic data revealed multiple binding sites. Here, we elucidate the interactions of this ribozyme with divalent metal ions in solution using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Manganese ion titrations revealed five high-affinity Mn2+ binding sites with an upper Kd of 0.6±0.2 μM. In order to characterize each binding site individually, EPR-silent Cd2+ ions were used to saturate the other binding sites. This cadmium-induced EPR silencing showed that the Mn2+ binding sites possess different affinities. In addition, these binding sites could be assigned to three different types, including innersphere, outersphere, and a Mn2+ dimer. Based on simulations, the Mn2+-Mn2+ distance within the dimer was found to be ∼6 Å, which is in good agreement with crystallographic data. The EPR-spectroscopic characterization reveals no structural changes upon addition of a Diels-Alder product, supporting the concept of a preorganized catalytic pocket in the Diels-Alder ribozyme and the structural role of these ions. PMID:19404418

Strong Ligand-Protein Interactions Derived from Diffuse Ligand Interactions with Loose Binding Sites.

PubMed

Marsh, Lorraine

2015-01-01

Many systems in biology rely on binding of ligands to target proteins in a single high-affinity conformation with a favorable ΔG. Alternatively, interactions of ligands with protein regions that allow diffuse binding, distributed over multiple sites and conformations, can exhibit favorable ΔG because of their higher entropy. Diffuse binding may be biologically important for multidrug transporters and carrier proteins. A fine-grained computational method for numerical integration of total binding ΔG arising from diffuse regional interaction of a ligand in multiple conformations using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach is presented. This method yields a metric that quantifies the influence on overall ligand affinity of ligand binding to multiple, distinct sites within a protein binding region. This metric is essentially a measure of dispersion in equilibrium ligand binding and depends on both the number of potential sites of interaction and the distribution of their individual predicted affinities. Analysis of test cases indicates that, for some ligand/protein pairs involving transporters and carrier proteins, diffuse binding contributes greatly to total affinity, whereas in other cases the influence is modest. This approach may be useful for studying situations where "nonspecific" interactions contribute to biological function.

Cooperativity in Monomeric Enzymes with Single Ligand-Binding Sites

PubMed Central

Porter, Carol M.

2011-01-01

Cooperativity is widespread in biology. It empowers a variety of regulatory mechanisms and impacts both the kinetic and thermodynamic properties of macromolecular systems. Traditionally, cooperativity is viewed as requiring the participation of multiple, spatially distinct binding sites that communicate via ligand-induced structural rearrangements; however, cooperativity requires neither multiple ligand binding events nor multimeric assemblies. An underappreciated manifestation of cooperativity has been observed in the non-Michaelis-Menten kinetic response of certain monomeric enzymes that possess only a single ligand-binding site. In this review, we present an overview of kinetic cooperativity in monomeric enzymes. We discuss the primary mechanisms postulated to give rise to monomeric cooperativity and highlight modern experimental methods that could offer new insights into the nature of this phenomenon. We conclude with an updated list of single subunit enzymes that are suspected of displaying cooperativity, and a discussion of the biological significance of this unique kinetic response. PMID:22137502

External location of sites on pig erythrocyte membranes that bind nitrobenzylthioinosine

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Agbanyo, F.R.; Cass, C.E.; Paterson, A.R.

1988-03-01

Nucleoside transport in erythrocytes of various species is inhibited by the binding of nitrobenzylthioinosine (NBMPR) to high affinity sites associated with nucleoside transport elements of the plasma membrane. The present study examined binding of (/sup 3/H)NBMPR to unsealed ghosts and to sealed right-side-out vesicles (ROVs) and inside-out vesicles (IOVs) prepared from pig erythrocytes. Kd values for NBMPR dissociation from the ligand-site complex in unsealed ghosts, ROVs and IOVs were similar (1.6-2.4 nM), and Bmax values (mean +/- SD) were, respectively, 22.2 +/- 5.5, 25.8 +/- 6.4, and 37.3 +/- 4.0 molecules/fg of protein, reflecting differences in the protein content ofmore » the membrane preparations. When temperatures were decreased from 22 degrees to 4 degrees, NBMPR binding to erythrocyte membrane preparations was reduced in IOVs relative to that in unsealed ghosts and ROVs. At 22 degrees, the association of NBMPR molecules with IOVs was slower than with ROVs and unsealed ghosts, differences that were virtually eliminated by permeabilization of the membrane preparations with saponin. Thus, the binding sites were more accessible to external NBMPR in sealed ROVs and unsealed ghosts than in sealed IOVs, indicating that the NBMPR sites are located on the extracellular aspect of the membrane.« less

Analysis of zinc binding sites in protein crystal structures.

PubMed

Alberts, I L; Nadassy, K; Wodak, S J

1998-08-01

The geometrical properties of zinc binding sites in a dataset of high quality protein crystal structures deposited in the Protein Data Bank have been examined to identify important differences between zinc sites that are directly involved in catalysis and those that play a structural role. Coordination angles in the zinc primary coordination sphere are compared with ideal values for each coordination geometry, and zinc coordination distances are compared with those in small zinc complexes from the Cambridge Structural Database as a guide of expected trends. We find that distances and angles in the primary coordination sphere are in general close to the expected (or ideal) values. Deviations occur primarily for oxygen coordinating atoms and are found to be mainly due to H-bonding of the oxygen coordinating ligand to protein residues, bidentate binding arrangements, and multi-zinc sites. We find that H-bonding of oxygen containing residues (or water) to zinc bound histidines is almost universal in our dataset and defines the elec-His-Zn motif. Analysis of the stereochemistry shows that carboxyl elec-His-Zn motifs are geometrically rigid, while water elec-His-Zn motifs show the most geometrical variation. As catalytic motifs have a higher proportion of carboxyl elec atoms than structural motifs, they provide a more rigid framework for zinc binding. This is understood biologically, as a small distortion in the zinc position in an enzyme can have serious consequences on the enzymatic reaction. We also analyze the sequence pattern of the zinc ligands and residues that provide elecs, and identify conserved hydrophobic residues in the endopeptidases that also appear to contribute to stabilizing the catalytic zinc site. A zinc binding template in protein crystal structures is derived from these observations.

A Large-Scale Assessment of Nucleic Acids Binding Site Prediction Programs

PubMed Central

Miao, Zhichao; Westhof, Eric

2015-01-01

Computational prediction of nucleic acid binding sites in proteins are necessary to disentangle functional mechanisms in most biological processes and to explore the binding mechanisms. Several strategies have been proposed, but the state-of-the-art approaches display a great diversity in i) the definition of nucleic acid binding sites; ii) the training and test datasets; iii) the algorithmic methods for the prediction strategies; iv) the performance measures and v) the distribution and availability of the prediction programs. Here we report a large-scale assessment of 19 web servers and 3 stand-alone programs on 41 datasets including more than 5000 proteins derived from 3D structures of protein-nucleic acid complexes. Well-defined binary assessment criteria (specificity, sensitivity, precision, accuracy…) are applied. We found that i) the tools have been greatly improved over the years; ii) some of the approaches suffer from theoretical defects and there is still room for sorting out the essential mechanisms of binding; iii) RNA binding and DNA binding appear to follow similar driving forces and iv) dataset bias may exist in some methods. PMID:26681179

Recognition of AT-Rich DNA Binding Sites by the MogR Repressor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shen, Aimee; Higgins, Darren E.; Panne, Daniel

2009-07-22

The MogR transcriptional repressor of the intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes recognizes AT-rich binding sites in promoters of flagellar genes to downregulate flagellar gene expression during infection. We describe here the 1.8 A resolution crystal structure of MogR bound to the recognition sequence 5' ATTTTTTAAAAAAAT 3' present within the flaA promoter region. Our structure shows that MogR binds as a dimer. Each half-site is recognized in the major groove by a helix-turn-helix motif and in the minor groove by a loop from the symmetry-related molecule, resulting in a 'crossover' binding mode. This oversampling through minor groove interactions is important for specificity.more » The MogR binding site has structural features of A-tract DNA and is bent by approximately 52 degrees away from the dimer. The structure explains how MogR achieves binding specificity in the AT-rich genome of L. monocytogenes and explains the evolutionary conservation of A-tract sequence elements within promoter regions of MogR-regulated flagellar genes.« less

Evaluation of a novel virtual screening strategy using receptor decoy binding sites.

PubMed

Patel, Hershna; Kukol, Andreas

2016-08-23

Virtual screening is used in biomedical research to predict the binding affinity of a large set of small organic molecules to protein receptor targets. This report shows the development and evaluation of a novel yet straightforward attempt to improve this ranking in receptor-based molecular docking using a receptor-decoy strategy. This strategy includes defining a decoy binding site on the receptor and adjusting the ranking of the true binding-site virtual screen based on the decoy-site screen. The results show that by docking against a receptor-decoy site with Autodock Vina, improved Receiver Operator Characteristic Enrichment (ROCE) was achieved for 5 out of fifteen receptor targets investigated, when up to 15 % of a decoy site rank list was considered. No improved enrichment was seen for 7 targets, while for 3 targets the ROCE was reduced. The extent to which this strategy can effectively improve ligand prediction is dependent on the target receptor investigated.

Expression and GTP sensitivity of peptide histidine isoleucine high-affinity-binding sites in rat.

PubMed

Debaigt, Colin; Meunier, Annie-Claire; Goursaud, Stephanie; Montoni, Alicia; Pineau, Nicolas; Couvineau, Alain; Laburthe, Marc; Muller, Jean-Marc; Janet, Thierry

2006-07-01

High-affinity-binding sites for the vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) analogs peptide histidine/isoleucine-amide (PHI)/carboxyterminal methionine instead of isoleucine (PHM) are expressed in numerous tissues in the body but the nature of their receptors remains to be elucidated. The data presented indicate that PHI discriminated a high-affinity guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GTP)-insensitive-binding subtype that represented the totality of the PHI-binding sites in newborn rat tissues but was differentially expressed in adult animals. The GTP-insensitive PHI/PHM-binding sites were also observed in CHO cells over expressing the VPAC2 but not the VPAC1 VIP receptor.

Differences between high-affinity forskolin binding sites in dopamine-riche and other regions of rat brain

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Poat, J.A.; Cripps, H.E.; Iversen, L.L.

1988-05-01

Forskolin labelled with (/sup 3/H) bound to high- and low-affinity sites in the rat brain. The high-affinity site was discretely located, with highest densities in the striatum, nucleus accumbens, olfactory tubercule, substantia nigra, hippocampus, and the molecular layers of the cerebellum. This site did not correlate well with the distribution of adenylate cyclase. The high-affinity striatal binding site may be associated with a stimulatory guanine nucleotide-binding protein. Thus, the number of sites was increased by the addition of Mg/sup 2 +/ and guanylyl imidodiphosphate. Cholera toxin stereotaxically injected into rat striatum increased the number of binding sites, and no furthermore » increase was noted following the subsequent addition of guanyl nucleotide. High-affinity forskolin binding sites in non-dopamine-rich brain areas (hippocampus and cerebullum) were modulated in a qualitatively different manner by guanyl nucleotides. In these areas the number of binding sites was significantly reduced by the addition of guanyl nucleotide. These results suggest that forskolin may have a potential role in identifying different functional/structural guanine nucleotide-binding proteins.« less

Specific strychnine binding sites on acrosome-associated membranes of golden hamster spermatozoa.

PubMed

Llanos, Miguel N; Ronco, Ana M; Aguirre, María C

2003-06-27

This study demonstrates for the first time, that membrane vesicles originated from the hamster sperm head after the occurrence of the acrosome reaction, possess specific strychnine binding sites. [3H]Strychnine binding was saturable and reversible, being displaced by unlabeled strychnine (IC(50)=26.7+/-2.3 microM). Kinetic analysis revealed one binding site with K(d)=120nM and B(max)=142fmol/10(6) spermatozoa. Glycine receptor agonists beta-alanine and taurine inhibited strychnine binding by 20-30%. Surprisingly, glycine stimulated binding by about 40-50%. Results obtained in this study strongly suggest the presence of glycine receptors-with distinctive kinetic properties on the periacrosomal plasma membrane of hamster spermatozoa. Localization of this receptor fits well with its previously proposed role in acrosomal exocytosis during mammalian fertilization.

GenProBiS: web server for mapping of sequence variants to protein binding sites.

PubMed

Konc, Janez; Skrlj, Blaz; Erzen, Nika; Kunej, Tanja; Janezic, Dusanka

2017-07-03

Discovery of potentially deleterious sequence variants is important and has wide implications for research and generation of new hypotheses in human and veterinary medicine, and drug discovery. The GenProBiS web server maps sequence variants to protein structures from the Protein Data Bank (PDB), and further to protein-protein, protein-nucleic acid, protein-compound, and protein-metal ion binding sites. The concept of a protein-compound binding site is understood in the broadest sense, which includes glycosylation and other post-translational modification sites. Binding sites were defined by local structural comparisons of whole protein structures using the Protein Binding Sites (ProBiS) algorithm and transposition of ligands from the similar binding sites found to the query protein using the ProBiS-ligands approach with new improvements introduced in GenProBiS. Binding site surfaces were generated as three-dimensional grids encompassing the space occupied by predicted ligands. The server allows intuitive visual exploration of comprehensively mapped variants, such as human somatic mis-sense mutations related to cancer and non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms from 21 species, within the predicted binding sites regions for about 80 000 PDB protein structures using fast WebGL graphics. The GenProBiS web server is open and free to all users at http://genprobis.insilab.org. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

The interaction of substituted benzamides with brain benzodiazepine binding sites in vitro.

PubMed Central

Horton, R. W.; Lowther, S.; Chivers, J.; Jenner, P.; Marsden, C. D.; Testa, B.

1988-01-01

1. The interaction of substituted benzamides with brain benzodiazepine (BDZ) binding sites was examined by their ability to displace [3H]-flunitrazepam ([3H]-FNM) from specific binding sites in bovine cortical membranes in vitro. 2. Clebopride, Delagrange 2674, Delagrange 2335 and BRL 20627 displayed concentration-dependent displacement of [3H]-FNM with IC50 values of 73 nM, 132 nM, 7.7 microM and 5.9 microM, respectively. Other substituted benzamides including metoclopramide, sulpiride, tiapride, sultopride and cisapride were inactive at 10(-5) M. 3. Inhibition by clebopride and Delagrange 2674 of [3H]-FNM binding was apparently competitive and readily reversible. 4. In the presence of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the ability of diazepam and Delagrange 2674 to displace [3H]-Ro 15-1788 binding was increased 3.6 and 1.6 fold respectively, compared to the absence of GABA, while ethyl beta-carboline-3-carboxylate (beta CCE) and clebopride were less potent in the presence of GABA. 5. Diazepam was 30 fold less potent at displacing [3H]-Ro 15-1788 in membranes that had been photoaffinity labelled with FNM than in control membranes, whereas the potency of beta CCE did not differ. Clebopride and Delagrange 2674 showed a less than two fold loss of potency in photoaffinity labelled membranes. 6. The pattern of binding of clebopride and Delagrange 2674 in these in vitro tests is similar to that found previously with partial agonists or antagonists at BDZ binding sites. 7. Clebopride and Delagrange 2674 inhibited [3H]-FNM binding with similar potency in rat cerebellar and hippocampal membranes, suggesting they have no selectivity for BDZ1 and BDZ2 binding sites.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) PMID:2850059

Localizing Carbohydrate Binding Sites in Proteins Using Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jingjing; Kitova, Elena N.; Li, Jun; Eugenio, Luiz; Ng, Kenneth; Klassen, John S.

2016-01-01

The application of hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) to localize ligand binding sites in carbohydrate-binding proteins is described. Proteins from three bacterial toxins, the B subunit homopentamers of Cholera toxin and Shiga toxin type 1 and a fragment of Clostridium difficile toxin A, and their interactions with native carbohydrate receptors, GM1 pentasaccharides (β-Gal-(1→3)-β-GalNAc-(1→4)[α-Neu5Ac-(2→3)]-β-Gal-(1→4)-Glc), Pk trisaccharide (α-Gal-(1→4)-β-Gal-(1→4)-Glc) and CD-grease (α-Gal-(1→3)-β-Gal-(1→4)-β-GlcNAcO(CH2)8CO2CH3), respectively, served as model systems for this study. Comparison of the differences in deuterium uptake for peptic peptides produced in the absence and presence of ligand revealed regions of the proteins that are protected against deuterium exchange upon ligand binding. Notably, protected regions generally coincide with the carbohydrate binding sites identified by X-ray crystallography. However, ligand binding can also result in increased deuterium exchange in other parts of the protein, presumably through allosteric effects. Overall, the results of this study suggest that HDX-MS can serve as a useful tool for localizing the ligand binding sites in carbohydrate-binding proteins. However, a detailed interpretation of the changes in deuterium exchange upon ligand binding can be challenging because of the presence of ligand-induced changes in protein structure and dynamics.

Sugar-binding sites on the surface of the carbohydrate-binding module of CBH I from Trichoderma reesei.

PubMed

Tavagnacco, Letizia; Mason, Philip E; Schnupf, Udo; Pitici, Felicia; Zhong, Linghao; Himmel, Michael E; Crowley, Michael; Cesàro, Attilio; Brady, John W

2011-05-01

Molecular dynamics simulations were carried out for a system consisting of the carbohydrate-binding module (CBM) of the cellulase CBH I from Trichoderma reesei (Hypocrea jecorina) in a concentrated solution of β-D-glucopyranose, to determine whether there is any tendency for the sugar molecules to bind to the CBM. In spite of the general tendency of glucose to behave as an osmolyte, a marked tendency for the sugar molecules to bind to the protein was observed. However, the glucose molecules tended to bind only to specific sites on the protein. As expected, the hydrophobic face of the sugar molecules, comprising the axial H1, H3, and H5 aliphatic protons, tended to adhere to the flat faces of the three tyrosine side chains on the planar binding surface of the CBM. However, a significant tendency to bind to a groove-like feature on the upper surface of the CBM was also observed. These results would not be inconsistent with a model of the mechanism for this globular domain in which the cellodextrin chain being removed from the surface of crystalline cellulose passes over the upper surface of the CBM, presumably then available for hydrolysis in the active site tunnel of this processive cellulase. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

sc-PDB: a database for identifying variations and multiplicity of 'druggable' binding sites in proteins.

PubMed

Meslamani, Jamel; Rognan, Didier; Kellenberger, Esther

2011-05-01

The sc-PDB database is an annotated archive of druggable binding sites extracted from the Protein Data Bank. It contains all-atoms coordinates for 8166 protein-ligand complexes, chosen for their geometrical and physico-chemical properties. The sc-PDB provides a functional annotation for proteins, a chemical description for ligands and the detailed intermolecular interactions for complexes. The sc-PDB now includes a hierarchical classification of all the binding sites within a functional class. The sc-PDB entries were first clustered according to the protein name indifferent of the species. For each cluster, we identified dissimilar sites (e.g. catalytic and allosteric sites of an enzyme). SCOPE AND APPLICATIONS: The classification of sc-PDB targets by binding site diversity was intended to facilitate chemogenomics approaches to drug design. In ligand-based approaches, it avoids comparing ligands that do not share the same binding site. In structure-based approaches, it permits to quantitatively evaluate the diversity of the binding site definition (variations in size, sequence and/or structure). The sc-PDB database is freely available at: http://bioinfo-pharma.u-strasbg.fr/scPDB.

Comprehensive human transcription factor binding site map for combinatory binding motifs discovery.

PubMed

Müller-Molina, Arnoldo J; Schöler, Hans R; Araúzo-Bravo, Marcos J

2012-01-01

To know the map between transcription factors (TFs) and their binding sites is essential to reverse engineer the regulation process. Only about 10%-20% of the transcription factor binding motifs (TFBMs) have been reported. This lack of data hinders understanding gene regulation. To address this drawback, we propose a computational method that exploits never used TF properties to discover the missing TFBMs and their sites in all human gene promoters. The method starts by predicting a dictionary of regulatory "DNA words." From this dictionary, it distills 4098 novel predictions. To disclose the crosstalk between motifs, an additional algorithm extracts TF combinatorial binding patterns creating a collection of TF regulatory syntactic rules. Using these rules, we narrowed down a list of 504 novel motifs that appear frequently in syntax patterns. We tested the predictions against 509 known motifs confirming that our system can reliably predict ab initio motifs with an accuracy of 81%-far higher than previous approaches. We found that on average, 90% of the discovered combinatorial binding patterns target at least 10 genes, suggesting that to control in an independent manner smaller gene sets, supplementary regulatory mechanisms are required. Additionally, we discovered that the new TFBMs and their combinatorial patterns convey biological meaning, targeting TFs and genes related to developmental functions. Thus, among all the possible available targets in the genome, the TFs tend to regulate other TFs and genes involved in developmental functions. We provide a comprehensive resource for regulation analysis that includes a dictionary of "DNA words," newly predicted motifs and their corresponding combinatorial patterns. Combinatorial patterns are a useful filter to discover TFBMs that play a major role in orchestrating other factors and thus, are likely to lock/unlock cellular functional clusters.

Comprehensive Human Transcription Factor Binding Site Map for Combinatory Binding Motifs Discovery

PubMed Central

Müller-Molina, Arnoldo J.; Schöler, Hans R.; Araúzo-Bravo, Marcos J.

2012-01-01

To know the map between transcription factors (TFs) and their binding sites is essential to reverse engineer the regulation process. Only about 10%–20% of the transcription factor binding motifs (TFBMs) have been reported. This lack of data hinders understanding gene regulation. To address this drawback, we propose a computational method that exploits never used TF properties to discover the missing TFBMs and their sites in all human gene promoters. The method starts by predicting a dictionary of regulatory “DNA words.” From this dictionary, it distills 4098 novel predictions. To disclose the crosstalk between motifs, an additional algorithm extracts TF combinatorial binding patterns creating a collection of TF regulatory syntactic rules. Using these rules, we narrowed down a list of 504 novel motifs that appear frequently in syntax patterns. We tested the predictions against 509 known motifs confirming that our system can reliably predict ab initio motifs with an accuracy of 81%—far higher than previous approaches. We found that on average, 90% of the discovered combinatorial binding patterns target at least 10 genes, suggesting that to control in an independent manner smaller gene sets, supplementary regulatory mechanisms are required. Additionally, we discovered that the new TFBMs and their combinatorial patterns convey biological meaning, targeting TFs and genes related to developmental functions. Thus, among all the possible available targets in the genome, the TFs tend to regulate other TFs and genes involved in developmental functions. We provide a comprehensive resource for regulation analysis that includes a dictionary of “DNA words,” newly predicted motifs and their corresponding combinatorial patterns. Combinatorial patterns are a useful filter to discover TFBMs that play a major role in orchestrating other factors and thus, are likely to lock/unlock cellular functional clusters. PMID:23209563

Discovery and validation of information theory-based transcription factor and cofactor binding site motifs.

PubMed

Lu, Ruipeng; Mucaki, Eliseos J; Rogan, Peter K

2017-03-17

Data from ChIP-seq experiments can derive the genome-wide binding specificities of transcription factors (TFs) and other regulatory proteins. We analyzed 765 ENCODE ChIP-seq peak datasets of 207 human TFs with a novel motif discovery pipeline based on recursive, thresholded entropy minimization. This approach, while obviating the need to compensate for skewed nucleotide composition, distinguishes true binding motifs from noise, quantifies the strengths of individual binding sites based on computed affinity and detects adjacent cofactor binding sites that coordinate with the targets of primary, immunoprecipitated TFs. We obtained contiguous and bipartite information theory-based position weight matrices (iPWMs) for 93 sequence-specific TFs, discovered 23 cofactor motifs for 127 TFs and revealed six high-confidence novel motifs. The reliability and accuracy of these iPWMs were determined via four independent validation methods, including the detection of experimentally proven binding sites, explanation of effects of characterized SNPs, comparison with previously published motifs and statistical analyses. We also predict previously unreported TF coregulatory interactions (e.g. TF complexes). These iPWMs constitute a powerful tool for predicting the effects of sequence variants in known binding sites, performing mutation analysis on regulatory SNPs and predicting previously unrecognized binding sites and target genes. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Twin hydroxymethyluracil-A base pair steps define the binding site for the DNA-binding protein TF1.

PubMed

Grove, A; Figueiredo, M L; Galeone, A; Mayol, L; Geiduschek, E P

1997-05-16

The DNA-bending protein TF1 is the Bacillus subtilis bacteriophage SPO1-encoded homolog of the bacterial HU proteins and the Escherichia coli integration host factor. We recently proposed that TF1, which binds with high affinity (Kd was approximately 3 nM) to preferred sites within the hydroxymethyluracil (hmU)-containing phage genome, identifies its binding sites based on sequence-dependent DNA flexibility. Here, we show that two hmU-A base pair steps coinciding with two previously proposed sites of DNA distortion are critical for complex formation. The affinity of TF1 is reduced 10-fold when both of these hmU-A base pair steps are replaced with A-hmU, G-C, or C-G steps; only modest changes in affinity result when substitutions are made at other base pairs of the TF1 binding site. Replacement of all hmU residues with thymine decreases the affinity of TF1 greatly; remarkably, the high affinity is restored when the two hmU-A base pair steps corresponding to previously suggested sites of distortion are reintroduced into otherwise T-containing DNA. T-DNA constructs with 3-base bulges spaced apart by 9 base pairs of duplex also generate nM affinity of TF1. We suggest that twin hmU-A base pair steps located at the proposed sites of distortion are key to target site selection by TF1 and that recognition is based largely, if not entirely, on sequence-dependent DNA flexibility.

Analysis of the Binding Sites of Porcine Sialoadhesin Receptor with PRRSV

PubMed Central

Jiang, Yibo; Khan, Faheem Ahmed; Pandupuspitasari, Nuruliarizki Shinta; Kadariya, Ishwari; Cheng, Zhangrui; Ren, Yuwei; Chen, Xing; Zhou, Ao; Yang, Liguo; Kong, Dexin; Zhang, Shujun

2013-01-01

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) can infect pigs and cause enormous economic losses to the pig industry worldwide. Porcine sialoadhesin (pSN) and CD163 have been identified as key viral receptors on porcine alveolar macrophages (PAM), a main target cell infected by PRRSV. In this study, the protein structures of amino acids 1–119 from the pSN and cSN (cattle sialoadhesin) N-termini (excluding the 19-amino acid signal peptide) were modeled via homology modeling based on mSN (mouse sialoadhesin) template structures using bioinformatics tools. Subsequently, pSN and cSN homology structures were superposed onto the mSN protein structure to predict the binding sites of pSN. As a validation experiment, the SN N-terminus (including the wild-type and site-directed-mutant-types of pSN and cSN) was cloned and expressed as a SN-GFP chimera protein. The binding activity between SN and PRRSV was confirmed by WB (Western blotting), FAR-WB (far Western blotting), ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and immunofluorescence assay. We found that the S107 amino acid residue in the pSN N-terminal played a crucial role in forming a special cavity, as well as a hydrogen bond for enhancing PRRSV binding during PRRSV infection. S107 may be glycosylated during PRRSV infection and may also be involved in forming the cavity for binding PRRSV along with other sites, including W2, Y44, S45, R97, R105, W106 and V109. Additionally, S107 might also be important for pSN binding with PRRSV. However, the function of these binding sites must be confirmed by further studies. PMID:24351868

Site-directed mutagenesis of the regulatory light-chain Ca2+/Mg2+ binding site and its role in hybrid myosins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reinach, Fernando C.; Nagai, Kiyoshi; Kendrick-Jones, John

1986-07-01

The regulatory light chains, small polypeptides located on the myosin head, regulate the interaction of myosin with actin in response to either Ca2+ or phosphorylation. The demonstration that the regulatory light chains on scallop myosin can be replaced by light chains from other myosins has allowed us to compare the functional capabilities of different light chains1, but has not enabled us to probe the role of features, such as the Ca2+/Mg2+ binding site, that are common to all of them. Here, we describe the use of site-directed mutagenesis to study the function of that site. We synthesized the chicken skeletal myosin light chain in Escherichia coli and constructed mutants with substitutions within the Ca2+/Mg2+ binding site. When the aspartate residues at the first and sixth Ca2+ coordination positions are replaced by uncharged alanines, the light chains have a reduced Ca2+ binding capacity but still bind to scallop myosin with high affinity. Unlike the wild-type skeletal light chain which inhibits myosin interaction with actin, the mutants activate it. Thus, an intact Ca2+/Mg2+ binding site in the N-terminal region of the light chain is essential for regulating the interaction of myosin with actin.

The influence of repressor DNA binding site architecture on transcriptional control.

PubMed

Park, Dan M; Kiley, Patricia J

2014-08-26

How the architecture of DNA binding sites dictates the extent of repression of promoters is not well understood. Here, we addressed the importance of the number and information content of the three direct repeats (DRs) in the binding and repression of the icdA promoter by the phosphorylated form of the global Escherichia coli repressor ArcA (ArcA-P). We show that decreasing the information content of the two sites with the highest information (DR1 and DR2) eliminated ArcA binding to all three DRs and ArcA repression of icdA. Unexpectedly, we also found that DR3 occupancy functions principally in repression, since mutation of this low-information-content site both eliminated DNA binding to DR3 and significantly weakened icdA repression, despite the fact that binding to DR1 and DR2 was intact. In addition, increasing the information content of any one of the three DRs or addition of a fourth DR increased ArcA-dependent repression but perturbed signal-dependent regulation of repression. Thus, our data show that the information content and number of DR elements are critical architectural features for maintaining a balance between high-affinity binding and signal-dependent regulation of icdA promoter function in response to changes in ArcA-P levels. Optimization of such architectural features may be a common strategy to either dampen or enhance the sensitivity of DNA binding among the members of the large OmpR/PhoB family of regulators as well as other transcription factors. In Escherichia coli, the response regulator ArcA maintains homeostasis of redox carriers under O2-limiting conditions through a comprehensive repression of carbon oxidation pathways that require aerobic respiration to recycle redox carriers. Although a binding site architecture comprised of a variable number of sequence recognition elements has been identified within the promoter regions of ArcA-repressed operons, it is unclear how this variable architecture dictates transcriptional regulation. By

Calorimetric studies of the interactions of metalloenzyme active site mimetics with zinc-binding inhibitors.

PubMed

Robinson, Sophia G; Burns, Philip T; Miceli, Amanda M; Grice, Kyle A; Karver, Caitlin E; Jin, Lihua

2016-07-19

The binding of drugs to metalloenzymes is an intricate process that involves several interactions, including binding of the drug to the enzyme active site metal, as well as multiple interactions between the drug and the enzyme residues. In order to determine the free energy contribution of Zn(2+) binding by known metalloenzyme inhibitors without the other interactions, valid active site zinc structural mimetics must be formed and binding studies need to be performed in biologically relevant conditions. The potential of each of five ligands to form a structural mimetic with Zn(2+) was investigated in buffer using Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC). All five ligands formed strong 1 : 1 (ligand : Zn(2+)) binary complexes. The complexes were used in further ITC experiments to study their interaction with 8-hydroxyquinoline (8-HQ) and/or acetohydroxamic acid (AHA), two bidentate anionic zinc-chelating enzyme inhibitors. It was found that tetradentate ligands were not suitable for creating zinc structural mimetics for inhibitor binding in solution due to insufficient coordination sites remaining on Zn(2+). A stable binary complex, [Zn(BPA)](2+), which was formed by a tridentate ligand, bis(2-pyridylmethyl)amine (BPA), was found to bind one AHA in buffer or a methanol : buffer mixture (60 : 40 by volume) at pH 7.25 or one 8-HQ in the methanol : buffer mixture at pH 6.80, making it an effective structural mimetic for the active site of zinc metalloenzymes. These results are consistent with the observation that metalloenzyme active site zinc ions have three residues coordinated to them, leaving one or two sites open for inhibitors to bind. Our findings indicate that Zn(BPA)X2 can be used as an active site structural mimetic for zinc metalloenzymes for estimating the free energy contribution of zinc binding to the overall inhibitor active site interactions. Such use will help aid in the rational design of inhibitors to a variety of zinc metalloenzymes.

The Binding Sites of miR-619-5p in the mRNAs of Human and Orthologous Genes.

PubMed

Atambayeva, Shara; Niyazova, Raigul; Ivashchenko, Anatoliy; Pyrkova, Anna; Pinsky, Ilya; Akimniyazova, Aigul; Labeit, Siegfried

2017-06-01

Normally, one miRNA interacts with the mRNA of one gene. However, there are miRNAs that can bind to many mRNAs, and one mRNA can be the target of many miRNAs. This significantly complicates the study of the properties of miRNAs and their diagnostic and medical applications. The search of 2,750 human microRNAs (miRNAs) binding sites in 12,175 mRNAs of human genes using the MirTarget program has been completed. For the binding sites of the miR-619-5p the hybridization free energy of the bonds was equal to 100% of the maximum potential free energy. The mRNAs of 201 human genes have complete complementary binding sites of miR-619-5p in the 3'UTR (214 sites), CDS (3 sites), and 5'UTR (4 sites). The mRNAs of CATAD1, ICA1L, GK5, POLH, and PRR11 genes have six miR-619-5p binding sites, and the mRNAs of OPA3 and CYP20A1 genes have eight and ten binding sites, respectively. All of these miR-619-5p binding sites are located in the 3'UTRs. The miR-619-5p binding site in the 5'UTR of mRNA of human USP29 gene is found in the mRNAs of orthologous genes of primates. Binding sites of miR-619-5p in the coding regions of mRNAs of C8H8orf44, C8orf44, and ISY1 genes encode the WLMPVIP oligopeptide, which is present in the orthologous proteins. Binding sites of miR-619-5p in the mRNAs of transcription factor genes ZNF429 and ZNF429 encode the AHACNP oligopeptide in another reading frame. Binding sites of miR-619-5p in the 3'UTRs of all human target genes are also present in the 3'UTRs of orthologous genes of mammals. The completely complementary binding sites for miR-619-5p are conservative in the orthologous mammalian genes. The majority of miR-619-5p binding sites are located in the 3'UTRs but some genes have miRNA binding sites in the 5'UTRs of mRNAs. Several genes have binding sites for miRNAs in the CDSs that are read in different open reading frames. Identical nucleotide sequences of binding sites encode different amino acids in different proteins. The binding sites of miR-619-5p

ProMateus—an open research approach to protein-binding sites analysis

PubMed Central

Neuvirth, Hani; Heinemann, Uri; Birnbaum, David; Tishby, Naftali; Schreiber, Gideon

2007-01-01

The development of bioinformatic tools by individual labs results in the abundance of parallel programs for the same task. For example, identification of binding site regions between interacting proteins is done using: ProMate, WHISCY, PPI-Pred, PINUP and others. All servers first identify unique properties of binding sites and then incorporate them into a predictor. Obviously, the resulting prediction would improve if the most suitable parameters from each of those predictors would be incorporated into one server. However, because of the variation in methods and databases, this is currently not feasible. Here, the protein-binding site prediction server is extended into a general protein-binding sites research tool, ProMateus. This web tool, based on ProMate's infrastructure enables the easy exploration and incorporation of new features and databases by the user, providing an evaluation of the benefit of individual features and their combination within a set framework. This transforms the individual research into a community exercise, bringing out the best from all users for optimized predictions. The analysis is demonstrated on a database of protein protein and protein-DNA interactions. This approach is basically different from that used in generating meta-servers. The implications of the open-research approach are discussed. ProMateus is available at http://bip.weizmann.ac.il/promate. PMID:17488838

Cholesterol-Binding Sites in GIRK Channels: The Devil is in the Details.

PubMed

Rosenhouse-Dantsker, Avia

2018-01-01

In recent years, it has become evident that cholesterol plays a direct role in the modulation of a variety of ion channels. In most cases, cholesterol downregulates channel activity. In contrast, our earlier studies have demonstrated that atrial G protein inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channels are upregulated by cholesterol. Recently, we have shown that hippocampal GIRK currents are also upregulated by cholesterol. A combined computational-experimental approach pointed to putative cholesterol-binding sites in the transmembrane domain of the GIRK2 channel, the primary subunit in hippocampal GIRK channels. In particular, the principal cholesterol-binding site was located in the center of the transmembrane domain in between the inner and outer α-helices of 2 adjacent subunits. Further studies pointed to a similar cholesterol-binding site in GIRK4, a major subunit in atrial GIRK channels. However, a close look at a sequence alignment of the transmembrane helices of the 2 channels reveals surprising differences among the residues that interact with the cholesterol molecule in these 2 channels. Here, we compare the residues that form putative cholesterol-binding sites in GIRK2 and GIRK4 and discuss the similarities and differences among them.

A ternary metal binding site in the C2 domain of phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C-delta1.

PubMed

Essen, L O; Perisic, O; Lynch, D E; Katan, M; Williams, R L

1997-03-11

We have determined the crystal structures of complexes of phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C-delta1 from rat with calcium, barium, and lanthanum at 2.5-2.6 A resolution. Binding of these metal ions is observed in the active site of the catalytic TIM barrel and in the calcium binding region (CBR) of the C2 domain. The C2 domain of PLC-delta1 is a circularly permuted topological variant (P-variant) of the synaptotagmin I C2A domain (S-variant). On the basis of sequence analysis, we propose that both the S-variant and P-variant topologies are present among other C2 domains. Multiple adjacent binding sites in the C2 domain were observed for calcium and the other metal/enzyme complexes. The maximum number of binding sites observed was for the calcium analogue lanthanum. This complex shows an array-like binding of three lanthanum ions (sites I-III) in a crevice on one end of the C2 beta-sandwich. Residues involved in metal binding are contained in three loops, CBR1, CBR2, and CBR3. Sites I and II are maintained in the calcium and barium complexes, whereas sites II and III coincide with a binary calcium binding site in the C2A domain of synaptotagmin I. Several conformers for CBR1 are observed. The conformation of CBR1 does not appear to be strictly dependent on metal binding; however, metal binding may stabilize certain conformers. No significant structural changes are observed for CBR2 or CBR3. The surface of this ternary binding site provides a cluster of freely accessible liganding positions for putative phospholipid ligands of the C2 domain. It may be that the ternary metal binding site is also a feature of calcium-dependent phospholipid binding in solution. A ternary metal binding site might be a conserved feature among C2 domains that contain the critical calcium ligands in their CBR's. The high cooperativity of calcium-mediated lipid binding by C2 domains described previously is explained by this novel type of calcium binding site.

Multiple sup 3 H-oxytocin binding sites in rat myometrial plasma membranes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Crankshaw, D.; Gaspar, V.; Pliska, V.

1990-01-01

The affinity spectrum method has been used to analyse binding isotherms for {sup 3}H-oxytocin to rat myometrial plasma membranes. Three populations of binding sites with dissociation constants (Kd) of 0.6-1.5 x 10(-9), 0.4-1.0 x 10(-7) and 7 x 10(-6) mol/l were identified and their existence verified by cluster analysis based on similarities between Kd, binding capacity and Hill coefficient. When experimental values were compared to theoretical curves constructed using the estimated binding parameters, good fits were obtained. Binding parameters obtained by this method were not influenced by the presence of GTP gamma S (guanosine-5'-O-3-thiotriphosphate) in the incubation medium. The bindingmore » parameters agree reasonably well with those found in uterine cells, they support the existence of a medium affinity site and may allow for an explanation of some of the discrepancies between binding and response in this system.« less

Two classes of binding sites for [3H]substance P in rat cerebral cortex.

PubMed

Geraghty, D P; Burcher, E

1993-01-22

The binding characteristics of [3H]substance P ([3H]SP) were investigated in membranes prepared from rat cerebral cortex. Binding of [3H]SP reached equilibrium after 50 min at 25 degrees C and was saturable at 8 nM. Saturation data could be resolved into high affinity (equilibrium dissociation constant, Kd, 0.22 nM) and low affinity sites (Kd, 2.65 nM). The low affinity sites were more numerous than the high affinity sites, with a ratio of 4:1. The non-hydrolyzable GTP analogue GppNHp had no effect on binding, indicating that the high and low affinity sites are not guanine nucleotide-regulated states of the same (NK-1) receptor. The low affinity sites are unlikely to represent NK-3 receptors since coincubation with the selective NK-3 receptor agonist senktide did not alter the biphasic nature of [3H]SP binding. The rank order of potency for inhibition of [3H]SP (2 nM) binding was SP > or = [Sar9, Met(O2)11]-SP > or = physalaemin > SP(3-11) > NP gamma = [Ala3]-SP > or = SP(4-11) > or = NPK > or = SP(5-11) > or = NKB approximately NKA > SP(1-9), compatible with binding to an NK-1 site. N-terminal fragments and non-amidated analogues were ineffective competitors for [3H]SP binding. However, competition data for several peptides including substance P (SP) and the NK-1 selective agonist [Sar9, Met(O2)11]-SP could be resolved into two components.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Prediction of Ordered Water Molecules in Protein Binding Sites from Molecular Dynamics Simulations: The Impact of Ligand Binding on Hydration Networks.

PubMed

Rudling, Axel; Orro, Adolfo; Carlsson, Jens

2018-02-26

Water plays a major role in ligand binding and is attracting increasing attention in structure-based drug design. Water molecules can make large contributions to binding affinity by bridging protein-ligand interactions or by being displaced upon complex formation, but these phenomena are challenging to model at the molecular level. Herein, networks of ordered water molecules in protein binding sites were analyzed by clustering of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation trajectories. Locations of ordered waters (hydration sites) were first identified from simulations of high resolution crystal structures of 13 protein-ligand complexes. The MD-derived hydration sites reproduced 73% of the binding site water molecules observed in the crystal structures. If the simulations were repeated without the cocrystallized ligands, a majority (58%) of the crystal waters in the binding sites were still predicted. In addition, comparison of the hydration sites obtained from simulations carried out in the absence of ligands to those identified for the complexes revealed that the networks of ordered water molecules were preserved to a large extent, suggesting that the locations of waters in a protein-ligand interface are mainly dictated by the protein. Analysis of >1000 crystal structures showed that hydration sites bridged protein-ligand interactions in complexes with different ligands, and those with high MD-derived occupancies were more likely to correspond to experimentally observed ordered water molecules. The results demonstrate that ordered water molecules relevant for modeling of protein-ligand complexes can be identified from MD simulations. Our findings could contribute to development of improved methods for structure-based virtual screening and lead optimization.

Altered binding of thioflavin t to the peripheral anionic site of acetylcholinesterase after phosphorylation of the active site by chlorpyrifos oxon or dichlorvos

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sultatos, L.G.; Kaushik, R.

2008-08-01

The peripheral anionic site of acetylcholinesterase, when occupied by a ligand, is known to modulate reaction rates at the active site of this important enzyme. The current report utilized the peripheral anionic site specific fluorogenic probe thioflavin t to determine if the organophosphates chlorpyrifos oxon and dichlorvos bind to the peripheral anionic site of human recombinant acetylcholinesterase, since certain organophosphates display concentration-dependent kinetics when inhibiting this enzyme. Incubation of 3 nM acetylcholinesterase active sites with 50 nM or 2000 nM inhibitor altered both the B{sub max} and K{sub d} for thioflavin t binding to the peripheral anionic site. However, thesemore » changes resulted from phosphorylation of Ser203 since increasing either inhibitor from 50 nM to 2000 nM did not alter further thioflavin t binding kinetics. Moreover, the organophosphate-induced decrease in B{sub max} did not represent an actual reduction in binding sites, but instead likely resulted from conformational interactions between the acylation and peripheral anionic sites that led to a decrease in the rigidity of bound thioflavin t. A drop in fluorescence quantum yield, leading to an apparent decrease in B{sub max}, would accompany the decreased rigidity of bound thioflavin t molecules. The organophosphate-induced alterations in K{sub d} represented changes in binding affinity of thioflavin t, with diethylphosphorylation of Ser203 increasing K{sub d}, and dimethylphosphorylation of Ser203 decreasing K{sub d}. These results indicate that chlorpyrifos oxon and dichlorvos do not bind directly to the peripheral anionic site of acetylcholinesterase, but can affect binding to that site through phosphorylation of Ser203.« less

Priming of the neutrophil NADPH oxidase activation: role of p47phox phosphorylation and NOX2 mobilization to the plasma membrane.

PubMed

El-Benna, Jamel; Dang, Pham My-Chan; Gougerot-Pocidalo, Marie-Anne

2008-07-01

Neutrophils play an essential role in host defense against microbial pathogens and in the inflammatory reaction. Upon activation, neutrophils produce superoxide anion (O*2), which generates other reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), hydroxyl radical (OH*) and hypochlorous acid (HOCl), together with microbicidal peptides and proteases. The enzyme responsible for O2* production is called the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase or respiratory burst oxidase. This multicomponent enzyme system is composed of two trans-membrane proteins (p22phox and gp91phox/NOX2, which form the cytochrome b558), three cytosolic proteins (p47phox, p67phox, p40phox) and a GTPase (Rac1 or Rac2), which assemble at membrane sites upon cell activation. NADPH oxidase activation in phagocytes can be induced by a large number of soluble and particulate factors. Three major events accompany NAPDH oxidase activation: (1) protein phosphorylation, (2) GTPase activation, and (3) translocation of cytosolic components to the plasma membrane to form the active enzyme. Actually, the neutrophil NADPH oxidase exists in different states: resting, primed, activated, or inactivated. The resting state is found in circulating blood neutrophils. The primed state can be induced by neutrophil adhesion, pro-inflammatory cytokines, lipopolysaccharide, and other agents and has been characterized as a "ready to go" state, which results in a faster and higher response upon exposure to a second stimulus. The active state is found at the inflammatory or infection site. Activation is induced by the pathogen itself or by pathogen-derived formylated peptides and other agents. Finally, inactivation of NADPH oxidase is induced by anti-inflammatory agents to limit inflammation. Priming is a "double-edged sword" process as it contributes to a rapid and efficient elimination of the pathogens but can also induce the generation of large quantities of toxic ROS by hyperactivation of

The involvement of coordinative interactions in the binding of dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase to titanium dioxide-Localization of a putative binding site.

PubMed

Dayan, Avraham; Babin, Gilad; Ganoth, Assaf; Kayouf, Nivin Samir; Nitoker Eliaz, Neta; Mukkala, Srijana; Tsfadia, Yossi; Fleminger, Gideon

2017-08-01

Titanium (Ti) and its alloys are widely used in orthodontic and orthopedic implants by virtue to their high biocompatibility, mechanical strength, and high resistance to corrosion. Biointegration of the implants with the tissue requires strong interactions, which involve biological molecules, proteins in particular, with metal oxide surfaces. An exocellular high-affinity titanium dioxide (TiO 2 )-binding protein (TiBP), purified from Rhodococcus ruber, has been previously studied in our lab. This protein was shown to be homologous with the orthologous cytoplasmic rhodococcal dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (rhDLDH). We have found that rhDLDH and its human homolog (hDLDH) share the TiO 2 -binding capabilities with TiBP. Intrigued by the unique TiO 2 -binding properties of hDLDH, we anticipated that it may serve as a molecular bridge between Ti-based medical structures and human tissues. The objective of the current study was to locate the region and the amino acids of the protein that mediate the protein-TiO 2 surface interaction. We demonstrated the role of acidic amino acids in the nonelectrostatic enzyme/dioxide interactions at neutral pH. The observation that the interaction of DLDH with various metal oxides is independent of their isoelectric values strengthens this notion. DLDH does not lose its enzymatic activity upon binding to TiO 2 , indicating that neither the enzyme undergoes major conformational changes nor the TiO 2 binding site is blocked. Docking predictions suggest that both rhDLDH and hDLDH bind TiO 2 through similar regions located far from the active site and the dimerization sites. The putative TiO 2 -binding regions of both the bacterial and human enzymes were found to contain a CHED (Cys, His, Glu, Asp) motif, which has been shown to participate in metal-binding sites in proteins. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[Oxygen and the superoxide anion. Modulation of NADPH oxidase?].

PubMed

Delbosc, S; Cristol, J P; Descomps, B; Chénard, J; Sirois, P

2001-01-01

Oxidative stress which results from an imbalance between oxidant production and antioxidant defense mechanisms can promote modifications of lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. This review focuses on the different pathways leading to Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) production in particular on NADPH oxidase activation. This enzyme is localized in numerous cells including phagocytes and vascular cells and composed of membrane and cytosolic sub-units. The activation of the NADPH oxidase is largely involved in inflammation associated diseases such as asthma, Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome and aging associated diseases such as atherosclerosis and neurodeneratives diseases. The modulation of NADPH oxidase could be a way to limit or prevent the development of these diseases.

Characterization of angiotensin-binding sites in the bovine adrenal and the rat brain

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rogulja, I.

1989-01-01

The first study was designed to determine whether systemically administered MSG affects neurons in the CVOs that are potentially important in mediating angiotensin-dependent responses. Rats were pretreated with MSG and the receptors for angiotensin II were assayed by radioligand binding in brain homogenates from the septum anteroventral third ventricular region (AV3V) and the thalamus/hypothalamus region using {sup 125}I-angiotensin II as the radioligand. The results of this experiment indicate that systematically administered MSG in the rat significantly reduced the number (Bmax) of Ang II receptors in a tissue sample which contained both extra blood-brain barrier organs as well as tissue withinmore » the blood-brain barrier with no change in the affinity (Kd) of the binding sites. The second chapter reports the successful solubilization of bovine adrenal {sup 125}I Ang II and {sup 125}I Sar{sup 1},Ile{sup 8}-Ang II binding sites with the detergent CHAPS. The results of our studies indicate the presence of two angiotensin binding sites. The one site is specific for naturally occurring angiotensins as well as sarcosine-1 substituted angiotensin analogues. The other site which can be optimally stabilized be re-addition of 0.3% CHAPS into the incubation assay binds sarcosine-1 substituted angiotensins exclusively. Hydrophobic interaction chromatography experiments suggest that these sites, possibly, represent distinct proteins. The third chapter discusses the successful solubilization and partial characterization of the rat brain angiotensin receptor.« less

Volatile anesthetics compete for common binding sites on bovine serum albumin: a 19F-NMR study.

PubMed Central

Dubois, B W; Cherian, S F; Evers, A S

1993-01-01

There is controversy as to the molecular nature of volatile anesthetic target sites. One proposal is that volatile anesthetics bind directly to hydrophobic binding sites on certain sensitive target proteins. Consistent with this hypothesis, we have previously shown that a fluorinated volatile anesthetic, isoflurane, binds saturably [Kd (dissociation constant) = 1.4 +/- 0.2 mM, Bmax = 4.2 +/- 0.3 sites] to fatty acid-displaceable domains on serum albumin. In the current study, we used 19F-NMR T2 relaxation to examine whether other volatile anesthetics bind to the same sites on albumin and, if so, whether they vary in their affinity for these sites. We show that three other fluorinated volatile anesthetics bind with varying affinity to fatty acid-displaceable domains on serum albumin: halothane, Kd = 1.3 +/- 0.2 mM; methoxyflurane, Kd = 2.6 +/- 0.3 mM; and sevoflurane, Kd = 4.5 +/- 0.6 mM. These three anesthetics inhibit isoflurane binding in a competitive manner: halothane, K(i) (inhibition constant) = 1.3 +/- 0.2 mM; methoxyflurane, K(i) = 2.5 +/- 0.4 mM; and sevoflurane, K(i) = 5.4 +/- 0.7 mM--similar to each anesthetic's respective Kd of binding to fatty acid displaceable sites. These results illustrate that a variety of volatile anesthetics can compete for binding to specific sites on a protein. PMID:8341659

Sequences Flanking the Gephyrin-Binding Site of GlyRβ Tune Receptor Stabilization at Synapses

PubMed Central

Grünewald, Nora; Salvatico, Charlotte; Kress, Vanessa

2018-01-01

Abstract The efficacy of synaptic transmission is determined by the number of neurotransmitter receptors at synapses. Their recruitment depends upon the availability of postsynaptic scaffolding molecules that interact with specific binding sequences of the receptor. At inhibitory synapses, gephyrin is the major scaffold protein that mediates the accumulation of heteromeric glycine receptors (GlyRs) via the cytoplasmic loop in the β-subunit (β-loop). This binding involves high- and low-affinity interactions, but the molecular mechanism of this bimodal binding and its implication in GlyR stabilization at synapses remain unknown. We have approached this question using a combination of quantitative biochemical tools and high-density single molecule tracking in cultured rat spinal cord neurons. The high-affinity binding site could be identified and was shown to rely on the formation of a 310-helix C-terminal to the β-loop core gephyrin-binding motif. This site plays a structural role in shaping the core motif and represents the major contributor to the synaptic confinement of GlyRs by gephyrin. The N-terminal flanking sequence promotes lower affinity interactions by occupying newly identified binding sites on gephyrin. Despite its low affinity, this binding site plays a modulatory role in tuning the mobility of the receptor. Together, the GlyR β-loop sequences flanking the core-binding site differentially regulate the affinity of the receptor for gephyrin and its trapping at synapses. Our experimental approach thus bridges the gap between thermodynamic aspects of receptor-scaffold interactions and functional receptor stabilization at synapses in living cells. PMID:29464196

Mutation of the C/EBP binding sites in the Rous sarcoma virus long terminal repeat and gag enhancers.

PubMed Central

Ryden, T A; de Mars, M; Beemon, K

1993-01-01

Several C/EBP binding sites within the Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) long terminal repeat (LTR) and gag enhancers were mutated, and the effect of these mutations on viral gene expression was assessed. Minimal site-specific mutations in each of three adjacent C/EBP binding sites in the LTR reduced steady-state viral RNA levels. Double mutation of the two 5' proximal LTR binding sites resulted in production of 30% of wild-type levels of virus. DNase I footprinting analysis of mutant DNAs indicated that the mutations blocked C/EBP binding at the affected sites. Additional C/EBP binding sites were identified upstream of the 3' LTR and within the 5' end of the LTRs. Point mutations in the RSV gag intragenic enhancer region, which blocked binding of C/EBP at two of three adjacent C/EBP sites, also reduced virus production significantly. Nuclear extracts prepared from both chicken embryo fibroblasts (CEFs) and chicken muscle contained proteins binding to the same RSV DNA sites as did C/EBP, and mutations that prevented C/EBP binding also blocked binding of these chicken proteins. It appears that CEFs and chicken muscle contain distinct proteins binding to these RSV DNA sites; the CEF binding protein was heat stable, as is C/EBP, while the chicken muscle protein was heat sensitive. Images PMID:8386280

Penicillin-binding site on the Escherichia coli cell envelope

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Amaral, L.; Lee, Y.; Schwarz, U.

The binding of /sup 35/S-labeled penicillin to distinct penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) of the cell envelope obtained from the sonication of Escherichia coli was studied at different pHs ranging from 4 to 11. Experiments distinguishing the effect of pH on penicillin binding by PBP 5/6 from its effect on beta-lactamase activity indicated that although substantial binding occurred at the lowest pH, the amount of binding increased with pH, reaching a maximum at pH 10. Based on earlier studies, it is proposed that the binding at high pH involves the formation of a covalent bond between the C-7 of penicillin and freemore » epsilon amino groups of the PBPs. At pHs ranging from 4 to 8, position 1 of penicillin, occupied by sulfur, is considered to be the site that establishes a covalent bond with the sulfhydryl groups of PBP 5. The use of specific blockers of free epsilon amino groups or sulfhydryl groups indicated that wherever the presence of each had little or no effect on the binding of penicillin by PBP 5, the presence of both completely prevented binding. The specific blocker of the hydroxyl group of serine did not affect the binding of penicillin.« less

NADPH Oxidase Activation Contributes to Heavy Ion Irradiation–Induced Cell Death

PubMed Central

Wang, Yupei; Liu, Qing; Zhao, Weiping; Zhou, Xin; Miao, Guoying; Sun, Chao

2017-01-01

Increased oxidative stress plays an important role in heavy ion radiation–induced cell death. The mechanism involved in the generation of elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) is not fully illustrated. Here we show that NADPH oxidase activation is closely related to heavy ion radiation–induced cell death via excessive ROS generation. Cell death and cellular ROS can be greatly reduced in irradiated cancer cells with the preincubation of diphenyleneiodium, an inhibitor of NADPH oxidase. Most of the NADPH oxidase (NOX) family proteins (NOX1, NOX2, NOX3, NOX4, and NOX5) showed increased expression after heavy ion irradiation. Meanwhile, the cytoplasmic subunit p47phox was translocated to the cell membrane and localized with NOX2 to form reactive NADPH oxidase. Our data suggest for the first time that ROS generation, as mediated by NADPH oxidase activation, could be an important contributor to heavy ion irradiation–induced cell death. PMID:28473742

Structure of tropinone reductase-II complexed with NADP+ and pseudotropine at 1.9 A resolution: implication for stereospecific substrate binding and catalysis.

PubMed

Yamashita, A; Kato, H; Wakatsuki, S; Tomizaki, T; Nakatsu, T; Nakajima, K; Hashimoto, T; Yamada, Y; Oda, J

1999-06-15

Tropinone reductase-II (TR-II) catalyzes the NADPH-dependent reduction of the carbonyl group of tropinone to a beta-hydroxyl group. The crystal structure of TR-II complexed with NADP+ and pseudotropine (psi-tropine) has been determined at 1.9 A resolution. A seven-residue peptide near the active site, disordered in the unliganded structure, is fixed in the ternary complex by participation of the cofactor and substrate binding. The psi-tropine molecule is bound in an orientation which satisfies the product configuration and the stereochemical arrangement toward the cofactor. The substrate binding site displays a complementarity to the bound substrate (psi-tropine) in its correct orientation. In addition, electrostatic interactions between the substrate and Glu156 seem to specify the binding position and orientation of the substrate. A comparison between the active sites in TR-II and TR-I shows that they provide different van der Waals surfaces and electrostatic features. These differences likely contribute to the correct binding mode of the substrates, which are in opposite orientations in TR-II and TR-I, and to different reaction stereospecificities. The active site structure in the TR-II ternary complex also suggests that the arrangement of the substrate, cofactor, and catalytic residues is stereoelectronically favorable for the reaction.

Identification of the heparin binding site on adeno-associated virus serotype 3B (AAV-3B)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lerch, Thomas F.; Chapman, Michael S., E-mail: chapmami@ohsu.edu

2012-02-05

Adeno-associated virus is a promising vector for gene therapy. In the current study, the binding site on AAV serotype 3B for the heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) receptor has been characterized. X-ray diffraction identified a disaccharide binding site at the most positively charged region on the virus surface. The contributions of basic amino acids at this and other sites were characterized using site-directed mutagenesis. Both heparin and cell binding are correlated to positive charge at the disaccharide binding site, and transduction is significantly decreased in AAV-3B vectors mutated at this site to reduce heparin binding. While the receptor attachment sites ofmore » AAV-3B and AAV-2 are both in the general vicinity of the viral spikes, the exact amino acids that participate in electrostatic interactions are distinct. Diversity in the mechanisms of cell attachment by AAV serotypes will be an important consideration for the rational design of improved gene therapy vectors.« less

Identification of the heparin binding site on adeno-associated virus serotype 3B (AAV-3B)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lerch, Thomas F.; Chapman, Michael S.

2012-05-24

Adeno-associated virus is a promising vector for gene therapy. In the current study, the binding site on AAV serotype 3B for the heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) receptor has been characterized. X-ray diffraction identified a disaccharide binding site at the most positively charged region on the virus surface. The contributions of basic amino acids at this and other sites were characterized using site-directed mutagenesis. Both heparin and cell binding are correlated to positive charge at the disaccharide binding site, and transduction is significantly decreased in AAV-3B vectors mutated at this site to reduce heparin binding. While the receptor attachment sites ofmore » AAV-3B and AAV-2 are both in the general vicinity of the viral spikes, the exact amino acids that participate in electrostatic interactions are distinct. Diversity in the mechanisms of cell attachment by AAV serotypes will be an important consideration for the rational design of improved gene therapy vectors.« less

The voltage dependence of NADPH oxidase reveals why phagocytes need proton channels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeCoursey, Thomas E.; Morgan, Deri; Cherny, Vladimir V.

2003-04-01

The enzyme NADPH oxidase in phagocytes is important in the body's defence against microbes: it produces superoxide anions (O2-, precursors to bactericidal reactive oxygen species). Electrons move from intracellular NADPH, across a chain comprising FAD (flavin adenine dinucleotide) and two haems, to reduce extracellular O2 to O2-. NADPH oxidase is electrogenic, generating electron current (Ie) that is measurable under voltage-clamp conditions. Here we report the complete current-voltage relationship of NADPH oxidase, the first such measurement of a plasma membrane electron transporter. We find that Ie is voltage-independent from -100mV to >0mV, but is steeply inhibited by further depolarization, and is abolished at about +190mV. It was proposed that H+ efflux mediated by voltage-gated proton channels compensates Ie, because Zn2+ and Cd2+ inhibit both H+ currents and O2- production. Here we show that COS-7 cells transfected with four NADPH oxidase components, but lacking H+ channels, produce O2- in the presence of Zn2+ concentrations that inhibit O2- production in neutrophils and eosinophils. Zn2+ does not inhibit NADPH oxidase directly, but through effects on H+ channels. H+ channels optimize NADPH oxidase function by preventing membrane depolarization to inhibitory voltages.

Functional analysis of the EspR binding sites upstream of espR in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

PubMed

Cao, Guangxiang; Howard, Susan T; Zhang, Peipei; Hou, Guihua; Pang, Xiuhua

2013-11-01

The ESX-1 secretion system exports substrate proteins into host cells and is crucial for the pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. EspR is one of the characterized transcriptional regulators that modulates the ESX-1 system by binding the conserved EspR binding sites in the promoter of espA, the encoding gene of EspA, which is also a substrate protein of the ESX-1 system and is required for the ESX-1 activity. EspR is autoregulatory and conserved EspR binding sites are present upstream of espR. In this study, we showed that these EspR sites had varying affinities for EspR, with site B being the strongest one. Point mutations of the DNA sequence at site B abolished binding of EspR to oligonucleotides containing site B alone or with other sites, further suggesting that site B is a major binding site for EspR. Complementation studies showed that constructs containing espR, and the upstream intergenic region fully restored espR expression in a ΔespR mutant strain. Although recombinant strains with mutations at more than one EspR site showed minimal differences in espR expression, reduced expression of other EspR target genes was observed, suggesting that slight changes in EspR levels can have downstream regulatory effects. These findings contribute to our understanding of the regulation of the ESX-1 system.

Substance P receptor binding sites are expressed by glia in vivo after neuronal injury

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mantyh, P.W.; Johnson, D.J.; Boehmer, C.G.

1989-07-01

In vitro studies have demonstrated that glia can express functional receptors for a variety of neurotransmitters. To determine whether similar neurotransmitter receptors are also expressed by glia in vivo, the authors examined the glial scar in the transected optic nerve of the albino rabbit by quantitative receptor autoradiography. Receptor binding sites for radiolabeled calcitonin gene-related peptide, cholecystokinin, galanin, glutamate, somatostatin, substance P, and vasoactive intestinal peptide were examined. Specific receptor binding sites for each of these neurotransmitters were identified in the rabbit forebrain but were not detected in the normal optic nerve or tract. In the transected optic nerve andmore » tract, only receptor binding sites for substance P were expressed at detectable levels. The density of substance P receptor binding sites observed in this glial scar is among the highest observed in the rabbit forebrain. Ligand displacement and saturation experiments indicate that the substance P receptor binding site expressed by the glial scar has pharmacological characteristics similar to those of substance P receptors in the rabbit striatum, rat brain, and rat and canine gut. The present study demonstrates that glial cells in vivo express high concentrations of substance P receptor binding sites after transection of retinal ganglion cell axons. Because substance P has been shown to regulate inflammatory and immune responses in peripheral tissues, substance P may also, by analogy, be involved in regulating the glial response to injury in the central nervous system.« less

A computational model of the nicotinic acetylcholine binding site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gálvez-ruano, Enrique; Iriepa-Canalda, Isabel; Morreale, Antonio; Lipkowitz, Kenny B.

1999-01-01

We have derived a model of the nicotinic acetylcholine binding site. This was accomplished by using three known agonists (acetylcholine, nicotine and epibatidine) as templates around which polypeptide side chains, found to be part of the receptor cavity from published molecular biology studies, are allowed to flow freely in molecular dynamics simulations and mold themselves around these templates. The resulting supramolecular complex should thus be a complement, both in terms of steric effects as well as electronic effects, to the agonists and it should be a good estimation of the true receptor cavity structure. The shapes of those minireceptor cavities equilibrated rapidly on the simulation time scale and their structural congruence is very high, implying that a satisfactory model of the nicotinic acetylcholine binding site has been achieved. The computational methodology was internally tested against two rigid and specific antagonists (dihydro-β-erytroidine and erysoidine), that are expected to give rise to a somewhat differently shaped binding site compared to that derived from the agonists. Using these antagonists as templates there were structural reorganizations of the initial receptor cavities leading to distinctly different cavities compared to agonists. This indicates that adequate times and temperatures were used in our computational protocols to achieve equilibrium structures for the agonists. Overall, both minireceptor geometries for agonists and antagonists are similar with the exception of one amino acid (ARG209).

The binding sites for benztropines and dopamine in the dopamine transporter overlap

PubMed Central

Bisgaard, Heidi; Larsen, M. Andreas B.; Mazier, Sonia; Beuming, Thijs; Newman, Amy Hauck; Weinstein, Harel; Shi, Lei; Loland, Claus J.; Gether, Ulrik

2013-01-01

Analogues of benztropines (BZTs) are potent inhibitors of the dopamine transporter (DAT) but are less effective than cocaine as behavioral stimulants. As a result, there have been efforts to evaluate these compounds as leads for potential medication for cocaine addiction. Here we use computational modeling together with site-directed mutagenesis to characterize the binding site for BZTs in DAT. Docking into molecular models based on the structure of the bacterial homologue LeuT supported a BZT binding site that overlaps with the substrate binding pocket. In agreement, mutations of residues within the pocket, including Val1523.46* to Ala or Ile, Ser4228.60 to Ala and Asn1573.51 to Cys or Ala, resulted in decreased affinity for BZT and the analog JHW007, as assessed in [3H]dopamine uptake inhibition assays and/or [3H]CFT competition binding assay. A putative polar interaction of one of the phenyl ring fluorine substituents in JHW007 with Asn1573.51 was used as a criterion for determining likely binding poses and establish a structural context for the mutagenesis findings. The analysis positioned the other fluorine substituted phenyl ring of JHW007 in close proximity to Ala47910.51/Ala48010.52 in transmembrane segment (TM) 10. The lack of such an interaction for BZT led to a more tilted orientation, as compared to JHW007, bringing one of the phenyl rings even closer to Ala47910.51/Ala48010.52. Mutation of Ala47910.51 and Ala48010.52 to valines supported these predictions with a larger decrease in the affinity for BZT than for JHW007. Summarized, our data suggest that BZTs display a classical competitive binding mode with binding sites overlapping those of cocaine and dopamine. PMID:20816875

DNA binding site characterization by means of Rényi entropy measures on nucleotide transitions.

PubMed

Perera, A; Vallverdu, M; Claria, F; Soria, J M; Caminal, P

2008-06-01

In this work, parametric information-theory measures for the characterization of binding sites in DNA are extended with the use of transitional probabilities on the sequence. We propose the use of parametric uncertainty measures such as Rényi entropies obtained from the transition probabilities for the study of the binding sites, in addition to nucleotide frequency-based Rényi measures. Results are reported in this work comparing transition frequencies (i.e., dinucleotides) and base frequencies for Shannon and parametric Rényi entropies for a number of binding sites found in E. Coli, lambda and T7 organisms. We observe that the information provided by both approaches is not redundant. Furthermore, under the presence of noise in the binding site matrix we observe overall improved robustness of nucleotide transition-based algorithms when compared with nucleotide frequency-based method.

Rac1 GTPase activates the WAVE regulatory complex through two distinct binding sites.

PubMed

Chen, Baoyu; Chou, Hui-Ting; Brautigam, Chad A; Xing, Wenmin; Yang, Sheng; Henry, Lisa; Doolittle, Lynda K; Walz, Thomas; Rosen, Michael K

2017-09-26

The Rho GTPase Rac1 activates the WAVE regulatory complex (WRC) to drive Arp2/3 complex-mediated actin polymerization, which underpins diverse cellular processes. Here we report the structure of a WRC-Rac1 complex determined by cryo-electron microscopy. Surprisingly, Rac1 is not located at the binding site on the Sra1 subunit of the WRC previously identified by mutagenesis and biochemical data. Rather, it binds to a distinct, conserved site on the opposite end of Sra1. Biophysical and biochemical data on WRC mutants confirm that Rac1 binds to both sites, with the newly identified site having higher affinity and both sites required for WRC activation. Our data reveal that the WRC is activated by simultaneous engagement of two Rac1 molecules, suggesting a mechanism by which cells may sense the density of active Rac1 at membranes to precisely control actin assembly.

Gonadotropin binding sites in human ovarian follicles and corpora lutea during the menstrual cycle

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shima, K.; Kitayama, S.; Nakano, R.

Gonadotropin binding sites were localized by autoradiography after incubation of human ovarian sections with /sup 125/I-labeled gonadotropins. The binding sites for /sup 125/I-labeled human follicle-stimulating hormone (/sup 125/I-hFSH) were identified in the granulosa cells and in the newly formed corpora lutea. The /sup 125/I-labeled human luteinizing hormone (/sup 125/I-hLH) binding to the thecal cells increased during follicular maturation, and a dramatic increase was preferentially observed in the granulosa cells of the large preovulatory follicle. In the corpora lutea, the binding of /sup 125/I-hLH increased from the early luteal phase and decreased toward the late luteal phase. The changes in 3more » beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity in the corpora lutea corresponded to the /sup 125/I-hLH binding. Thus, the changes in gonadotropin binding sites in the follicles and corpora lutea during the menstrual cycle may help in some important way to regulate human ovarian function.« less

Localization and characterization of (/sup 3/H)desmethylimipramine binding sites in rat brain by quantitative autoradiography

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Biegon, A.; Rainbow, T.C.

1983-05-01

The high affinity binding sites for the antidepressant desmethlyimipramine (DMI) have been localized in rat brain by quantitative autoradiography. There are high concentrations of binding sites in the locus ceruleus, the anterior ventral thalamus, the ventral portion of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, the paraventricular and the dorsomedial nuclei of the hypothalamus. The distribution of DMI binding sites is in striking accord with the distribution of norepinephrine terminals. Pretreatment of rats with the neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine, which causes a selective degeneration of catecholamine terminals, results in 60 to 90% decrease in DMI binding. These data support the idea thatmore » high affinity binding sites for DMI are located on presynaptic noradrenergic terminals.« less

High-Affinity Quasi-Specific Sites in the Genome: How the DNA-Binding Proteins Cope with Them

PubMed Central

Chakrabarti, J.; Chandra, Navin; Raha, Paromita; Roy, Siddhartha

2011-01-01

Many prokaryotic transcription factors home in on one or a few target sites in the presence of a huge number of nonspecific sites. Our analysis of λ-repressor in the Escherichia coli genome based on single basepair substitution experiments shows the presence of hundreds of sites having binding energy within 3 Kcal/mole of the OR1 binding energy, and thousands of sites with binding energy above the nonspecific binding energy. The effect of such sites on DNA-based processes has not been fully explored. The presence of such sites dramatically lowers the occupation probability of the specific site far more than if the genome were composed of nonspecific sites only. Our Brownian dynamics studies show that the presence of quasi-specific sites results in very significant kinetic effects as well. In contrast to λ-repressor, the E. coli genome has orders of magnitude lower quasi-specific sites for GalR, an integral transcription factor, thus causing little competition for the specific site. We propose that GalR and perhaps repressors of the same family have evolved binding modes that lead to much smaller numbers of quasi-specific sites to remove the untoward effects of genomic DNA. PMID:21889449

Identification of Candidate Transcription Factor Binding Sites in the Cattle Genome

PubMed Central

Bickhart, Derek M.; Liu, George E.

2013-01-01

A resource that provides candidate transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) does not currently exist for cattle. Such data is necessary, as predicted sites may serve as excellent starting locations for future omics studies to develop transcriptional regulation hypotheses. In order to generate this resource, we employed a phylogenetic footprinting approach—using sequence conservation across cattle, human and dog—and position-specific scoring matrices to identify 379,333 putative TFBSs upstream of nearly 8000 Mammalian Gene Collection (MGC) annotated genes within the cattle genome. Comparisons of our predictions to known binding site loci within the PCK1, ACTA1 and G6PC promoter regions revealed 75% sensitivity for our method of discovery. Additionally, we intersected our predictions with known cattle SNP variants in dbSNP and on the Illumina BovineHD 770k and Bos 1 SNP chips, finding 7534, 444 and 346 overlaps, respectively. Due to our stringent filtering criteria, these results represent high quality predictions of putative TFBSs within the cattle genome. All binding site predictions are freely available at http://bfgl.anri.barc.usda.gov/BovineTFBS/ or http://199.133.54.77/BovineTFBS. PMID:23433959

Identification of the quinolinedione inhibitor binding site in Cdc25 phosphatase B through docking and molecular dynamics simulations.

PubMed

Ge, Yushu; van der Kamp, Marc; Malaisree, Maturos; Liu, Dan; Liu, Yi; Mulholland, Adrian J

2017-11-01

Cdc25 phosphatase B, a potential target for cancer therapy, is inhibited by a series of quinones. The binding site and mode of quinone inhibitors to Cdc25B remains unclear, whereas this information is important for structure-based drug design. We investigated the potential binding site of NSC663284 [DA3003-1 or 6-chloro-7-(2-morpholin-4-yl-ethylamino)-quinoline-5, 8-dione] through docking and molecular dynamics simulations. Of the two main binding sites suggested by docking, the molecular dynamics simulations only support one site for stable binding of the inhibitor. Binding sites in and near the Cdc25B catalytic site that have been suggested previously do not lead to stable binding in 50 ns molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. In contrast, a shallow pocket between the C-terminal helix and the catalytic site provides a favourable binding site that shows high stability. Two similar binding modes featuring protein-inhibitor interactions involving Tyr428, Arg482, Thr547 and Ser549 are identified by clustering analysis of all stable MD trajectories. The relatively flexible C-terminal region of Cdc25B contributes to inhibitor binding. The binding mode of NSC663284, identified through MD simulation, likely prevents the binding of protein substrates to Cdc25B. The present results provide useful information for the design of quinone inhibitors and their mechanism of inhibition.

Identification of the quinolinedione inhibitor binding site in Cdc25 phosphatase B through docking and molecular dynamics simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ge, Yushu; van der Kamp, Marc; Malaisree, Maturos; Liu, Dan; Liu, Yi; Mulholland, Adrian J.

2017-11-01

Cdc25 phosphatase B, a potential target for cancer therapy, is inhibited by a series of quinones. The binding site and mode of quinone inhibitors to Cdc25B remains unclear, whereas this information is important for structure-based drug design. We investigated the potential binding site of NSC663284 [DA3003-1 or 6-chloro-7-(2-morpholin-4-yl-ethylamino)-quinoline-5, 8-dione] through docking and molecular dynamics simulations. Of the two main binding sites suggested by docking, the molecular dynamics simulations only support one site for stable binding of the inhibitor. Binding sites in and near the Cdc25B catalytic site that have been suggested previously do not lead to stable binding in 50 ns molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. In contrast, a shallow pocket between the C-terminal helix and the catalytic site provides a favourable binding site that shows high stability. Two similar binding modes featuring protein-inhibitor interactions involving Tyr428, Arg482, Thr547 and Ser549 are identified by clustering analysis of all stable MD trajectories. The relatively flexible C-terminal region of Cdc25B contributes to inhibitor binding. The binding mode of NSC663284, identified through MD simulation, likely prevents the binding of protein substrates to Cdc25B. The present results provide useful information for the design of quinone inhibitors and their mechanism of inhibition.

Regulation of the NADPH Oxidase RBOHD During Plant Immunity.

PubMed

Kadota, Yasuhiro; Shirasu, Ken; Zipfel, Cyril

2015-08-01

Pathogen recognition induces the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by NADPH oxidases in both plants and animals. ROS have direct antimicrobial properties, but also serve as signaling molecules to activate further immune outputs. However, ROS production has to be tightly controlled to avoid detrimental effects on host cells, but yet must be produced in the right amount, at the right place and at the right time upon pathogen perception. Plant NADPH oxidases belong to the respiratory burst oxidase homolog (RBOH) family, which contains 10 members in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The perception of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) leads to a rapid, specific and strong production of ROS, which is dependent on RBOHD. RBOHD is mainly controlled by Ca(2+) via direct binding to EF-hand motifs and phosphorylation by Ca(2+)-dependent protein kinases. Recent studies have, however, revealed a critical role for a Ca(2+)-independent regulation of RBOHD. The plasma membrane-associated cytoplasmic kinase BIK1 (BOTRYTIS-INDUCED KINASE1), which is a direct substrate of the PRR complex, directly interacts with and phosphorylates RBOHD upon PAMP perception. Impairment of these phosphorylation events completely abolishes the function of RBOHD in immunity. These results suggest that RBOHD activity is tightly controlled by multilayered regulations. In this review, we summarize recent advances in our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms controlling RBOHD activation. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Activation of phenylalanine hydroxylase by phenylalanine does not require binding in the active site.

PubMed

Roberts, Kenneth M; Khan, Crystal A; Hinck, Cynthia S; Fitzpatrick, Paul F

2014-12-16

Phenylalanine hydroxylase (PheH), a liver enzyme that catalyzes the hydroxylation of excess phenylalanine in the diet to tyrosine, is activated by phenylalanine. The lack of activity at low levels of phenylalanine has been attributed to the N-terminus of the protein's regulatory domain acting as an inhibitory peptide by blocking substrate access to the active site. The location of the site at which phenylalanine binds to activate the enzyme is unknown, and both the active site in the catalytic domain and a separate site in the N-terminal regulatory domain have been proposed. Binding of catecholamines to the active-site iron was used to probe the accessibility of the active site. Removal of the regulatory domain increases the rate constants for association of several catecholamines with the wild-type enzyme by ∼2-fold. Binding of phenylalanine in the active site is effectively abolished by mutating the active-site residue Arg270 to lysine. The k(cat)/K(phe) value is down 10⁴ for the mutant enzyme, and the K(m) value for phenylalanine for the mutant enzyme is >0.5 M. Incubation of the R270K enzyme with phenylalanine also results in a 2-fold increase in the rate constants for catecholamine binding. The change in the tryptophan fluorescence emission spectrum seen in the wild-type enzyme upon activation by phenylalanine is also seen with the R270K mutant enzyme in the presence of phenylalanine. Both results establish that activation of PheH by phenylalanine does not require binding of the amino acid in the active site. This is consistent with a separate allosteric site, likely in the regulatory domain.

Activation of Phenylalanine Hydroxylase by Phenylalanine Does Not Require Binding in the Active Site

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Phenylalanine hydroxylase (PheH), a liver enzyme that catalyzes the hydroxylation of excess phenylalanine in the diet to tyrosine, is activated by phenylalanine. The lack of activity at low levels of phenylalanine has been attributed to the N-terminus of the protein’s regulatory domain acting as an inhibitory peptide by blocking substrate access to the active site. The location of the site at which phenylalanine binds to activate the enzyme is unknown, and both the active site in the catalytic domain and a separate site in the N-terminal regulatory domain have been proposed. Binding of catecholamines to the active-site iron was used to probe the accessibility of the active site. Removal of the regulatory domain increases the rate constants for association of several catecholamines with the wild-type enzyme by ∼2-fold. Binding of phenylalanine in the active site is effectively abolished by mutating the active-site residue Arg270 to lysine. The kcat/Kphe value is down 104 for the mutant enzyme, and the Km value for phenylalanine for the mutant enzyme is >0.5 M. Incubation of the R270K enzyme with phenylalanine also results in a 2-fold increase in the rate constants for catecholamine binding. The change in the tryptophan fluorescence emission spectrum seen in the wild-type enzyme upon activation by phenylalanine is also seen with the R270K mutant enzyme in the presence of phenylalanine. Both results establish that activation of PheH by phenylalanine does not require binding of the amino acid in the active site. This is consistent with a separate allosteric site, likely in the regulatory domain. PMID:25453233

Anatomy of an engineered NAD-binding site.

PubMed Central

Mittl, P. R.; Berry, A.; Scrutton, N. S.; Perham, R. N.; Schulz, G. E.

1994-01-01

The coenzyme specificity of Escherichia coli glutathione reductase was switched from NADP to NAD by modifying the environment of the 2'-phosphate binding site through a set of point mutations: A179G, A183G, V197E, R198M, K199F, H200D, and R204P (Scrutton NS, Berry A, Perham RN, 1990, Nature 343:38-43). In order to analyze the structural changes involved, we have determined 4 high-resolution crystal structures, i.e., the structures of the wild-type enzyme (1.86 A resolution, R-factor of 16.8%), of the wild-type enzyme ligated with NADP (2.0 A, 20.8%), of the NAD-dependent mutant (1.74 A, 16.8%), and of the NAD-dependent mutant ligated with NAD (2.2 A, 16.9%). A comparison of these structures reveals subtle differences that explain details of the specificity change. In particular, a peptide rotation occurs close to the adenosine ribose, with a concomitant change of the ribose pucker. The mutations cause a contraction of the local chain fold. Furthermore, the engineered NAD-binding site assumes a less rigid structure than the NADP site of the wild-type enzyme. A superposition of the ligated structures shows a displacement of NAD versus NADP such that the electron pathway from the nicotinamide ring to FAD is elongated, which may explain the lower catalytic efficiency of the mutant. Because the nicotinamide is as much as 15 A from the sites of the mutations, this observation reminds us that mutations may have important long-range consequences that are difficult to anticipate. PMID:7833810

De-novo discovery of differentially abundant transcription factor binding sites including their positional preference.

PubMed

Keilwagen, Jens; Grau, Jan; Paponov, Ivan A; Posch, Stefan; Strickert, Marc; Grosse, Ivo

2011-02-10

Transcription factors are a main component of gene regulation as they activate or repress gene expression by binding to specific binding sites in promoters. The de-novo discovery of transcription factor binding sites in target regions obtained by wet-lab experiments is a challenging problem in computational biology, which has not been fully solved yet. Here, we present a de-novo motif discovery tool called Dispom for finding differentially abundant transcription factor binding sites that models existing positional preferences of binding sites and adjusts the length of the motif in the learning process. Evaluating Dispom, we find that its prediction performance is superior to existing tools for de-novo motif discovery for 18 benchmark data sets with planted binding sites, and for a metazoan compendium based on experimental data from micro-array, ChIP-chip, ChIP-DSL, and DamID as well as Gene Ontology data. Finally, we apply Dispom to find binding sites differentially abundant in promoters of auxin-responsive genes extracted from Arabidopsis thaliana microarray data, and we find a motif that can be interpreted as a refined auxin responsive element predominately positioned in the 250-bp region upstream of the transcription start site. Using an independent data set of auxin-responsive genes, we find in genome-wide predictions that the refined motif is more specific for auxin-responsive genes than the canonical auxin-responsive element. In general, Dispom can be used to find differentially abundant motifs in sequences of any origin. However, the positional distribution learned by Dispom is especially beneficial if all sequences are aligned to some anchor point like the transcription start site in case of promoter sequences. We demonstrate that the combination of searching for differentially abundant motifs and inferring a position distribution from the data is beneficial for de-novo motif discovery. Hence, we make the tool freely available as a component of the open

Hydration in drug design. 3. Conserved water molecules at the ligand-binding sites of homologous proteins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poornima, C. S.; Dean, P. M.

1995-12-01

Water molecules are known to play an important rôle in mediating protein-ligand interactions. If water molecules are conserved at the ligand-binding sites of homologous proteins, such a finding may suggest the structural importance of water molecules in ligand binding. Structurally conserved water molecules change the conventional definition of `binding sites' by changing the shape and complementarity of these sites. Such conserved water molecules can be important for site-directed ligand/drug design. Therefore, five different sets of homologous protein/protein-ligand complexes have been examined to identify the conserved water molecules at the ligand-binding sites. Our analysis reveals that there are as many as 16 conserved water molecules at the FAD binding site of glutathione reductase between the crystal structures obtained from human and E. coli. In the remaining four sets of high-resolution crystal structures, 2-4 water molecules have been found to be conserved at the ligand-binding sites. The majority of these conserved water molecules are either bound in deep grooves at the protein-ligand interface or completely buried in cavities between the protein and the ligand. All these water molecules, conserved between the protein/protein-ligand complexes from different species, have identical or similar apolar and polar interactions in a given set. The site residues interacting with the conserved water molecules at the ligand-binding sites have been found to be highly conserved among proteins from different species; they are more conserved compared to the other site residues interacting with the ligand. These water molecules, in general, make multiple polar contacts with protein-site residues.

A sarcoidosis clinician's perspective of MHC functional elements outside the antigen binding site.

PubMed

Judson, Marc A

2018-05-30

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disease of unknown cause. Evidence supports an integral role for interactions at the MHC binding site in the development of sarcoidosis. However, despite this evidence, there are clinical data that suggest that additional mechanisms are involved in the immunopathogenesis of this disease. This manuscript provides a brief clinical description of sarcoidosis, and a clinician's perspective of the immunopathogenesis of sarcoidosis in terms of the MHC binding site, MHC functional elements beyond the binding site, and other possible alternative mechanisms. Input from clinicians will be essential in establishing the immunologic cause of sarcoidosis as a detailed phenotypic characterization of disease will be required. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Cation binding at the node of Ranvier: I. Localization of binding sites during development.

PubMed

Zagoren, J C; Raine, C S; Suzuki, K

1982-06-17

Cations are known to bind to the node of Ranvier and the paranodal regions of myelinated fibers. The integrity of these specialized structures is essential for normal conduction. Sites of cation binding can be microscopically identified by the electrondense histochemical reaction product formed by the precipitate of copper sulfate/potassium ferrocyanide. This technique was used to study the distribution of cation binding during normal development of myelinating fibers. Sciatic nerves of C57B1 mice, at 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 16, 18, 24 and 30 days of age, were prepared for electron microscopy following fixation in phosphate-buffered 2.5% glutaraldehyde and 1% osmic acid, microdissection and incubation in phosphate-buffered 0.1 M cupric sulfate followed by 0.1 M potassium ferrocyanide. Localization of reaction product was studied by light and electron microscopy. By light microscopy, no reaction product was observed prior to 9 days of age. At 13 days, a few nodes and paranodes exhibited reaction product. This increased in frequency and intensity up to 30 days when almost all nodes or paranodes exhibited reaction product. Ultrastructurally, diffuse reaction product was first observed at 3 days of age in the axoplasm of the node, in the paranodal extracellular space of the terminal loops, in the Schwann cell proper and in the terminal loops of Schwann cell cytoplasm. When myelinated axons fulfilled the criteria for mature nodes, reaction product was no longer observed in the Schwann cell cytoplasm, while the intensity of reaction product in the nodal axoplasm and paranodal extracellular space of the terminal loops increased. Reaction product in the latter site appeared to be interrupted by the transverse bands. These results suggest that cation binding accompanies nodal maturity and that the Schwann cell may play a role in production or storage of the cation binding substance during myelinogenesis and development.

The Binding of Silibinin, the Main Constituent of Silymarin, to Site I on Human Serum Albumin.

PubMed

Yamasaki, Keishi; Sato, Hiroki; Minagoshi, Saori; Kyubun, Karin; Anraku, Makoto; Miyamura, Shigeyuki; Watanabe, Hiroshi; Taguchi, Kazuaki; Seo, Hakaru; Maruyama, Toru; Otagiri, Masaki

2017-01-01

Silibinin is the main constituent of silymarin, an extract from the seeds of milk thistle (Silybum marianum). Because silibinin has many pharmacological activities, extending its clinical use in the treatment of a wider variety of diseases would be desirable. In this study, we report on the binding of silibinin to plasma proteins, an issue that has not previously been extensively studied. The findings indicated that silibinin mainly binds to human serum albumin (HSA). Mutual displacement experiments using ligands that primarily bind to sites I and II clearly revealed that silibinin binds tightly and selectively to site I (subsites Ia and/or Ic) of HSA, which is located in subdomain IIA. Thermodynamic analyses suggested that hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions are major contributors to silibinin-HSA interactions. Furthermore, the binding of silibinin to HSA was found to be decreased with increasing ionic strength and detergent concentration of the media, suggesting that electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions are involved in the binding. Trp214 and Arg218 were identified as being involved in the binding of silibinin to site I, based on binding experiments using chemically modified- and mutant-HSAs. In conclusion, the available evidence indicates that silibinin binds to the region close to Trp214 and Arg218 in site I of HSA with assistance by multiple forces and can displace site I drugs (e.g., warfarin or iodipamide), but not site II drugs (e.g., ibuprofen).

Oxytocin binding sites in bovine mammary tissue

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhao, Xin.

1989-01-01

Oxytocin binding sites were identified and characterized in bovine mammary tissue. ({sup 3}H)-oxytocin binding reached equilibrium by 50 min at 20{degree}C and by 8 hr at 4{degree}C. The half-time of displacement at 20{degree}C was approximately 1 hr. Thyrotropin releasing hormone, adrenocorticotropin, angiotensin I, angiotensin II, pentagastrin, bradykinin, xenopsin and L-valyl-histidyl-L-leucyl-L-threonyl-L-prolyl-L-valyl-L-glutamyl-L-lysine were not competitive. In the presence of 10 nM LiCl, addition of oxytocin to dispersed bovine mammary cells, in which phosphatidylinositol was pre-labelled, caused a time and dose-dependent increase in radioactive inositiol monophosphate incorporation. The possibility that there are distinct vasopressin receptors in bovine mammary tissue was investigated. ({sup 3}H)-vasopressinmore » binding reached equilibrium by 40 min at 20{degree}. The half-time of displacement at 20{degree}C was approximately 1 hr. The ability of the peptides to inhibit ({sup 3}H)-vasopressin binding was: (Thr{sup 4},Gly{sup 7})-oxytocin > Arg{sup 8}-vasopressin > (lys{sup 8})-vasopressin > (Deamino{sup 1},D-arg{sup 8})-vasopressin > oxytocin > d (CH{sub 2}){sub 5}Tyr(Me)AVP.« less

Direct optical mapping of transcription factor binding sites on field-stretched λ-DNA in nanofluidic devices

PubMed Central

Sriram, K. K.; Yeh, Jia-Wei; Lin, Yii-Lih; Chang, Yi-Ren; Chou, Chia-Fu

2014-01-01

Mapping transcription factor (TF) binding sites along a DNA backbone is crucial in understanding the regulatory circuits that control cellular processes. Here, we deployed a method adopting bioconjugation, nanofluidic confinement and fluorescence single molecule imaging for direct mapping of TF (RNA polymerase) binding sites on field-stretched single DNA molecules. Using this method, we have mapped out five of the TF binding sites of E. coli RNA polymerase to bacteriophage λ-DNA, where two promoter sites and three pseudo-promoter sites are identified with the corresponding binding frequency of 45% and 30%, respectively. Our method is quick, robust and capable of resolving protein-binding locations with high accuracy (∼ 300 bp), making our system a complementary platform to the methods currently practiced. It is advantageous in parallel analysis and less prone to false positive results over other single molecule mapping techniques such as optical tweezers, atomic force microscopy and molecular combing, and could potentially be extended to general mapping of protein–DNA interaction sites. PMID:24753422

Identification of metal ion binding sites based on amino acid sequences.

PubMed

Cao, Xiaoyong; Hu, Xiuzhen; Zhang, Xiaojin; Gao, Sujuan; Ding, Changjiang; Feng, Yonge; Bao, Weihua

2017-01-01

The identification of metal ion binding sites is important for protein function annotation and the design of new drug molecules. This study presents an effective method of analyzing and identifying the binding residues of metal ions based solely on sequence information. Ten metal ions were extracted from the BioLip database: Zn2+, Cu2+, Fe2+, Fe3+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Mn2+, Na+, K+ and Co2+. The analysis showed that Zn2+, Cu2+, Fe2+, Fe3+, and Co2+ were sensitive to the conservation of amino acids at binding sites, and promising results can be achieved using the Position Weight Scoring Matrix algorithm, with an accuracy of over 79.9% and a Matthews correlation coefficient of over 0.6. The binding sites of other metals can also be accurately identified using the Support Vector Machine algorithm with multifeature parameters as input. In addition, we found that Ca2+ was insensitive to hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity information and Mn2+ was insensitive to polarization charge information. An online server was constructed based on the framework of the proposed method and is freely available at http://60.31.198.140:8081/metal/HomePage/HomePage.html.

Identification of metal ion binding sites based on amino acid sequences

PubMed Central

Cao, Xiaoyong; Zhang, Xiaojin; Gao, Sujuan; Ding, Changjiang; Feng, Yonge; Bao, Weihua

2017-01-01

The identification of metal ion binding sites is important for protein function annotation and the design of new drug molecules. This study presents an effective method of analyzing and identifying the binding residues of metal ions based solely on sequence information. Ten metal ions were extracted from the BioLip database: Zn2+, Cu2+, Fe2+, Fe3+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Mn2+, Na+, K+ and Co2+. The analysis showed that Zn2+, Cu2+, Fe2+, Fe3+, and Co2+ were sensitive to the conservation of amino acids at binding sites, and promising results can be achieved using the Position Weight Scoring Matrix algorithm, with an accuracy of over 79.9% and a Matthews correlation coefficient of over 0.6. The binding sites of other metals can also be accurately identified using the Support Vector Machine algorithm with multifeature parameters as input. In addition, we found that Ca2+ was insensitive to hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity information and Mn2+ was insensitive to polarization charge information. An online server was constructed based on the framework of the proposed method and is freely available at http://60.31.198.140:8081/metal/HomePage/HomePage.html. PMID:28854211

Deconstructing the DGAT1 enzyme: membrane interactions at substrate binding sites.

PubMed

Lopes, Jose L S; Beltramini, Leila M; Wallace, Bonnie A; Araujo, Ana P U

2015-01-01

Diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) is a key enzyme in the triacylglyceride synthesis pathway. Bovine DGAT1 is an endoplasmic reticulum membrane-bound protein associated with the regulation of fat content in milk and meat. The aim of this study was to evaluate the interaction of DGAT1 peptides corresponding to putative substrate binding sites with different types of model membranes. Whilst these peptides are predicted to be located in an extramembranous loop of the membrane-bound protein, their hydrophobic substrates are membrane-bound molecules. In this study, peptides corresponding to the binding sites of the two substrates involved in the reaction were examined in the presence of model membranes in order to probe potential interactions between them that might influence the subsequent binding of the substrates. Whilst the conformation of one of the peptides changed upon binding several types of micelles regardless of their surface charge, suggesting binding to hydrophobic domains, the other peptide bound strongly to negatively-charged model membranes. This binding was accompanied by a change in conformation, and produced leakage of the liposome-entrapped dye calcein. The different hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions observed suggest the peptides may be involved in the interactions of the enzyme with membrane surfaces, facilitating access of the catalytic histidine to the triacylglycerol substrates.

Ropizine concurrently enhances and inhibits ( sup 3 H) dextromethorpan binding to different structures of the guinea pig brain: Autoradiographic evidence for multiple binding sites

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Canoll, P.D.; Smith, P.R.; and Musacchio, J.M.

1990-01-01

Ropizine produces a simultaneous enhancement and inhibition of ({sup 3}H) dextromethorphan (DM) high-affinity binding to different areas of the guinea pig brain. These results imply that there are two distinct types of high-affinity ({sup 3}H)DM binding sites, which are present in variable proportions in different brain structures. The ropizine-enhances ({sup 3}H)DM binding type was preferentially inhibited by (+)-pentazocine. This is consistent with the presumption that the (+)-pentazocine-sensitive site is identical with the common site for DM and 3-(-3-Hydroxphenyl)-N-(1-propyl)piperidine ((+)-3-PPP). The second binding type, which is inhibited by ropizine and is not so sensitive to (+){minus} pentazocine, has not been fullymore » characterized. This study demonstrates that the biphasic effects to ropizine are due, at least in part, to the effects of ropizine on two different types of ({sup 3}H)DM binding sites. However, this study does not rule out that the common DM/(+)-3-PPP site also might be inhibited by higher concentrations of ropizine.« less

Transcriptome-wide identification of RNA-binding protein and microRNA target sites by PAR-CLIP

PubMed Central

Hafner, Markus; Landthaler, Markus; Burger, Lukas; Khorshid, Mohsen; Hausser, Jean; Berninger, Philipp; Rothballer, Andrea; Ascano, Manuel; Jungkamp, Anna-Carina; Munschauer, Mathias; Ulrich, Alexander; Wardle, Greg S.; Dewell, Scott; Zavolan, Mihaela; Tuschl, Thomas

2010-01-01

Summary RNA transcripts are subject to post-transcriptional gene regulation involving hundreds of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) and microRNA-containing ribonucleoprotein complexes (miRNPs) expressed in a cell-type dependent fashion. We developed a cell-based crosslinking approach to determine at high resolution and transcriptome-wide the binding sites of cellular RBPs and miRNPs. The crosslinked sites are revealed by thymidine to cytidine transitions in the cDNAs prepared from immunopurified RNPs of 4-thiouridine-treated cells. We determined the binding sites and regulatory consequences for several intensely studied RBPs and miRNPs, including PUM2, QKI, IGF2BP1-3, AGO/EIF2C1-4 and TNRC6A-C. Our study revealed that these factors bind thousands of sites containing defined sequence motifs and have distinct preferences for exonic versus intronic or coding versus untranslated transcript regions. The precise mapping of binding sites across the transcriptome will be critical to the interpretation of the rapidly emerging data on genetic variation between individuals and how these variations contribute to complex genetic diseases. PMID:20371350

P2x7 Receptor-NADPH Oxidase-Axis Mediates Protein radical Formation And Kupffer Cell Activation in Carbon Tetrachloride-Mediated Steatohepatitis in Obese Mice

PubMed Central

Chatterjee, Saurabh; Rana, Ritu; Corbett, Jean; Kadiiska, Maria B.; Goldstein, Joyce; Mason, Ronald P.

2012-01-01

While some studies show that carbon tetrachloride-mediated metabolic oxidative stress exacerbates steatohepatitic-like lesions in obese mice, the redox mechanisms that trigger the innate immune system and accentuate the inflammatory cascade remain unclear. Here we have explored the role of the purinergic receptor P2X7-NADPH oxidase axis as a primary event in recognizing the heightened release of extracellular ATP from CCl4-treated hepatocytes and generating redoxmediated Kupffer cell activation in obese mice. We found that an underlying condition of obesity led to the formation of protein radicals and post-translational nitration, primarily in Kupffer cells, at 24 h post-CCl4 administration. The free radical-mediated oxidation of cellular macromolecules, which was NADPH oxidase- and P2X7 receptor-dependent, correlated well with the release of TNF- α and MCP-2 from Kupffer cells. The Kupffer cells in CCl4-treated mice exhibited increased expression of MHC Class II proteins and showed an activated phenotype. Increased expression of MHC Class II was inhibited by the NADPH oxidase inhibitor apocynin , P2X7 receptor antagonist A438709 hydrochloride, and genetic deletions of the NADPH oxidase p47 phox subunit or the P2X7 receptor. The P2X7 receptor acted upstream of NADPH oxidase activation by up-regulating the expression of the p47 phox subunit and p47 phox binding to the membrane subunit, gp91 phox. We conclude that the P2X7 receptor is a primary mediator of oxidative stress-induced exacerbation of inflammatory liver injury in obese mice via NADPH oxidase-dependent mechanisms. PMID:22343416

Protein-bound NAD(P)H Lifetime is Sensitive to Multiple Fates of Glucose Carbon.

PubMed

Sharick, Joe T; Favreau, Peter F; Gillette, Amani A; Sdao, Sophia M; Merrins, Matthew J; Skala, Melissa C

2018-04-03

While NAD(P)H fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) can detect changes in flux through the TCA cycle and electron transport chain (ETC), it remains unclear whether NAD(P)H FLIM is sensitive to other potential fates of glucose. Glucose carbon can be diverted from mitochondria by the pentose phosphate pathway (via glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, G6PDH), lactate production (via lactate dehydrogenase, LDH), and rejection of carbon from the TCA cycle (via pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase, PDK), all of which can be upregulated in cancer cells. Here, we demonstrate that multiphoton NAD(P)H FLIM can be used to quantify the relative concentrations of recombinant LDH and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) in solution. In multiple epithelial cell lines, NAD(P)H FLIM was also sensitive to inhibition of LDH and PDK, as well as the directionality of LDH in cells forced to use pyruvate versus lactate as fuel sources. Among the parameters measurable by FLIM, only the lifetime of protein-bound NAD(P)H (τ 2 ) was sensitive to these changes, in contrast to the optical redox ratio, mean NAD(P)H lifetime, free NAD(P)H lifetime, or the relative amount of free and protein-bound NAD(P)H. NAD(P)H τ 2 offers the ability to non-invasively quantify diversions of carbon away from the TCA cycle/ETC, which may support mechanisms of drug resistance.

Small Molecule Interactome Mapping by Photoaffinity Labeling Reveals Binding Site Hotspots for the NSAIDs.

PubMed

Gao, Jinxu; Mfuh, Adelphe; Amako, Yuka; Woo, Christina M

2018-03-28

Many therapeutics elicit cell-type specific polypharmacology that is executed by a network of molecular recognition events between a small molecule and the whole proteome. However, measurement of the structures that underpin the molecular associations between the proteome and even common therapeutics, such as the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), is limited by the inability to map the small molecule interactome. To address this gap, we developed a platform termed small molecule interactome mapping by photoaffinity labeling (SIM-PAL) and applied it to the in cellulo direct characterization of specific NSAID binding sites. SIM-PAL uses (1) photochemical conjugation of NSAID derivatives in the whole proteome and (2) enrichment and isotope-recoding of the conjugated peptides for (3) targeted mass spectrometry-based assignment. Using SIM-PAL, we identified the NSAID interactome consisting of over 1000 significantly enriched proteins and directly characterized nearly 200 conjugated peptides representing direct binding sites of the photo-NSAIDs with proteins from Jurkat and K562 cells. The enriched proteins were often identified as parts of complexes, including known targets of NSAID activity (e.g., NF-κB) and novel interactions (e.g., AP-2, proteasome). The conjugated peptides revealed direct NSAID binding sites from the cell surface to the nucleus and a specific binding site hotspot for the three photo-NSAIDs on histones H2A and H2B. NSAID binding stabilized COX-2 and histone H2A by cellular thermal shift assay. Since small molecule stabilization of protein complexes is a gain of function regulatory mechanism, it is conceivable that NSAIDs affect biological processes through these broader proteomic interactions. SIM-PAL enabled characterization of NSAID binding site hotspots and is amenable to map global binding sites for virtually any molecule of interest.

Expression and characterization of full-length human heme oxygenase-1: the presence of intact membrane-binding region leads to increased binding affinity for NADPH cytochrome P450 reductase.

PubMed

Huber, Warren J; Backes, Wayne L

2007-10-30

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is the chief regulatory enzyme in the oxidative degradation of heme to biliverdin. In the process of heme degradation, HO-1 receives the electrons necessary for catalysis from the flavoprotein NADPH cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR), releasing free iron and carbon monoxide. Much of the recent research involving heme oxygenase has been done using a 30 kDa soluble form of the enzyme, which lacks the membrane binding region (C-terminal 23 amino acids). The goal of this study was to express and purify a full-length human HO-1 (hHO-1) protein; however, due to the lability of the full-length form, a rapid purification procedure was required. This was accomplished by use of a glutathione-s-transferase (GST)-tagged hHO-1 construct. Although the procedure permitted the generation of a full-length HO-1, this form was contaminated with a 30 kDa degradation product that could not be eliminated. Therefore, attempts were made to remove a putative secondary thrombin cleavage site by a conservative mutation of amino acid 254, which replaces arginine with lysine. This mutation allowed the expression and purification of a full-length hHO-1 protein. Unlike wild type (WT) HO-1, the R254K mutant could be purified to a single 32 kDa protein capable of degrading heme at the same rate as the WT enzyme. The R254K full-length form had a specific activity of approximately 200-225 nmol of bilirubin h-1 nmol-1 HO-1 as compared to approximately 140-150 nmol of bilirubin h-1 nmol-1 for the WT form, which contains the 30 kDa contaminant. This is a 2-3-fold increase from the previously reported soluble 30 kDa HO-1, suggesting that the C-terminal 23 amino acids are essential for maximal catalytic activity. Because the membrane-spanning domain is present, the full-length hHO-1 has the potential to incorporate into phospholipid membranes, which can be reconstituted at known concentrations, in combination with other endoplasmic reticulum resident enzymes.

Endogenously Generated Plasmin at the Vascular Wall Injury Site Amplifies Lysine Binding Site-Dependent Plasminogen Accumulation in Microthrombi

PubMed Central

Brzoska, Tomasz; Tanaka-Murakami, Aki; Suzuki, Yuko; Sano, Hideto; Kanayama, Naohiro; Urano, Tetsumei

2015-01-01

The fibrinolytic system plays a pivotal role in the regulation of hemostasis; however, it remains unclear how and when the system is triggered to induce thrombolysis. Using intra-vital confocal fluorescence microscopy, we investigated the process of plasminogen binding to laser-induced platelet-rich microthrombi generated in the mesenteric vein of transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP). The accumulation of GFP-expressing platelets as well as exogenously infused Alexa Fluor 568-labeled Glu-plasminogen (Glu-plg) on the injured vessel wall was assessed by measuring the increase in the corresponding fluorescence intensities. Glu-plg accumulated in a time-dependent manner in the center of the microthrombus, where phosphatidylserine is exposed on platelet surfaces and fibrin formation takes place. The rates of binding of Glu-plg in the presence of ε-aminocaproic acid and carboxypeptidase B, as well as the rates of binding of mini-plasminogen lacking kringle domains 1-4 and lysine binding sites, were significantly lower than that of Glu-plg alone, suggesting that the binding was dependent on lysine binding sites. Furthermore, aprotinin significantly suppressed the accumulation of Glu-plg, suggesting that endogenously generated plasmin activity is a prerequisite for the accumulation. In spite of the endogenous generation of plasmin and accumulation of Glu-plg in the center of microthrombi, the microthrombi did not change in size during the 2-hour observation period. When human tissue plasminogen activator was administered intravenously, Glu-plg further accumulated and the microthrombi were lysed. Glu-plg appeared to accumulate in the center of microthrombi in the early phase of microthrombus formation, and plasmin activity and lysine binding sites were required for this accumulation. PMID:25806939

Combining fragment homology modeling with molecular dynamics aims at prediction of Ca2+ binding sites in CaBPs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pang, ChunLi; Cao, TianGuang; Li, JunWei; Jia, MengWen; Zhang, SuHua; Ren, ShuXi; An, HaiLong; Zhan, Yong

2013-08-01

The family of calcium-binding proteins (CaBPs) consists of dozens of members and contributes to all aspects of the cell's function, from homeostasis to learning and memory. However, the Ca2+-binding mechanism is still unclear for most of CaBPs. To identify the Ca2+-binding sites of CaBPs, this study presented a computational approach which combined the fragment homology modeling with molecular dynamics simulation. For validation, we performed a two-step strategy as follows: first, the approach is used to identify the Ca2+-binding sites of CaBPs, which have the EF-hand Ca2+-binding site and the detailed binding mechanism. To accomplish this, eighteen crystal structures of CaBPs with 49 Ca2+-binding sites are selected to be analyzed including calmodulin. The computational method identified 43 from 49 Ca2+-binding sites. Second, we performed the approach to large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (BK) channels which don't have clear Ca2+-binding mechanism. The simulated results are consistent with the experimental data. The computational approach may shed some light on the identification of Ca2+-binding sites in CaBPs.

Searching for putative binding sites of the bispyridinium compound MB327 in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.

PubMed

Wein, Thomas; Höfner, Georg; Rappenglück, Sebastian; Sichler, Sonja; Niessen, Karin V; Seeger, Thomas; Worek, Franz; Thiermann, Horst; Wanner, Klaus T

2018-09-01

Irreversible inhibition of the acetylcholine esterase upon intoxication with organophosphorus compounds leads to an accumulation of acetylcholine in the synaptic cleft and a subsequent desensitization of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors which may ultimately result in respiratory failure. The bispyridinium compound MB327 has been found to restore functional activity of nAChR thus representing a promising starting point for the development of new drugs for the treatment of organophosphate poisoning. In order to optimize the resensitizing effect of MB327 on nAChR, it would be very helpful to know the MB327 specific binding site to apply structure based molecular modeling. The binding site for MB327 at the nAChR is not known and so far goal of speculations, but it has been shown that MB327 does not bind to the orthosteric acetylcholine binding site. We have used docking calculations to screen the surface of nAChR for possible binding sites of MB327. The results indicate that at least two potential binding sites for MB327 at nAChR are present inside the channel pore. In these binding sites, MB327 intercalates between the γ-α and β-δ subunits of nAChR, respectively. Both putative MB327 binding sites show an unsymmetrical distribution of surrounding hydrophilic and lipophilic amino acids. This suggests that substitution of MB327-related bispyridinium compounds on one of the two pyridinium rings with polar substituents should have a favorable effect on the pharmacological function. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Localization of basic fibroblast growth factor binding sites in the chick embryonic neural retina.

PubMed

Cirillo, A; Arruti, C; Courtois, Y; Jeanny, J C

1990-12-01

We have investigated the localization of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) binding sites during the development of the neural retina in the chick embryo. The specificity of the affinity of bFGF for its receptors was assessed by competition experiments with unlabelled growth factor or with heparin, as well as by heparitinase treatment of the samples. Two different types of binding sites were observed in the neural retina by light-microscopic autoradiography. The first type, localized mainly to basement membranes, was highly sensitive to heparitinase digestion and to competition with heparin. It was not developmentally regulated. The second type of binding site, resistant to heparin competition, appeared to be associated with retinal cells from the earliest stages studied (3-day-old embryo, stages 21-22 of Hamburger and Hamilton). Its distribution was found to vary during embryonic development, paralleling layering of the neural retina. Binding of bFGF to the latter sites was observed throughout the retinal neuroepithelium at early stages but displayed a distinct pattern at the time when the inner and outer plexiform layers were formed. During the development of the inner plexiform layer, a banded pattern of bFGF binding was observed. These bands, lying parallel to the vitreal surface, seemed to codistribute with the synaptic bands existing in the inner plexiform layer. The presence of intra-retinal bFGF binding sites whose distribution varies with embryonic development suggests a regulatory mechanism involving differential actions of bFGF on neural retinal cells.

The D-galactose specific lectin of field bean (Dolichos lablab) seed binds sugars with extreme negative cooperativity and half-of-the-sites binding.

PubMed

Rao, Devavratha H; Gowda, Lalitha R

2012-08-15

The field bean (Dolichos lablab) lectin designated as PPO-haemagglutinin (DLL-II) is bifunctional, exhibiting both polyphenol oxidase and haemagglutinating activity. The lectin is unusual in that it binds galactose (Gal), lactose (Lac) and N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) only in the presence of (NH₄)₂SO₄ and exhibits negative cooperativity and half-of-the-sites binding. Circular dichroism, isothermal titration calorimetry and fluorescence quenching were used to assess the sugar binding in the presence of (NH₄)₂O₄. Comparison of the near-UV CD spectra with and without bound sugar revealed ligand induced conformational changes. The intrinsic fluorescence quenching data indicate that DLL-II exhibits weak binding to Gal in the presence of (NH₄)₂SO₄ with a stoichiometry of one bound ligand per dimer. ITC data fitted using a two sets of sites binding model presented a similar picture. The K(a)'s for Gal, Lac and GalNAc in the presence of (NH₄)₂SO₄ were 0.16±0.002, 0.21±0.004 and 8.45±0.78 (×10⁻³) M⁻¹ respectively. The Hill plot for the binding of these sugars to DLL-II was curvilinear with a tangent slope <1.0 indicating negative cooperativity. DLL-II thus exhibits half-of-the-site binding, an extreme form of negative cooperativity in which the second ligand does not bind at all. This is the first report of a legume lectin, exhibiting half-of-the-sites binding. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Photoaffinity labeling in target- and binding-site identification

PubMed Central

Smith, Ewan; Collins, Ian

2015-01-01

Photoaffinity labeling (PAL) using a chemical probe to covalently bind its target in response to activation by light has become a frequently used tool in drug discovery for identifying new drug targets and molecular interactions, and for probing the location and structure of binding sites. Methods to identify the specific target proteins of hit molecules from phenotypic screens are highly valuable in early drug discovery. In this review, we summarize the principles of PAL including probe design and experimental techniques for in vitro and live cell investigations. We emphasize the need to optimize and validate probes and highlight examples of the successful application of PAL across multiple disease areas. PMID:25686004

SP-A binding sites on bovine alveolar macrophages.

PubMed

Plaga, S; Plattner, H; Schlepper-Schaefer, J

1998-11-25

Surfactant protein A (SP-A) binding to bovine alveolar macrophages was examined in order to characterize SP-A binding proteins on the cell surface and to isolate putative receptors from these cells that could be obtained in large amounts. Human SP-A, unlabeled or labeled with gold particles, was bound to freshly isolated macrophages and analyzed with ELISA or the transmission electron microscope. Binding of SP-A was inhibited by Ca2+ chelation, by an excess of unlabeled SP-A, or by the presence of 20 mg/ml mannan. We conclude that bovine alveolar macrophages expose binding sites for SP-A that are specific and that depend on Ca2+ and on mannose residues. For isolation of SP-A receptors with homologous SP-A as ligand we isolated SP-A from bovine lung lavage. SDS-PAGE analysis of the purified SP-A showed a protein of 32-36 kDa. Functional integrity of the protein was demonstrated. Bovine SP-A bound to Dynabeads was used to isolate SP-A binding proteins. From the fractionated and blotted proteins of the receptor preparation two proteins bound SP-A in a Ca2+-dependent manner, a 40-kDa protein showing mannose dependency and a 210-kDa protein, showing no mannose sensitivity. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.

Prediction of Carbohydrate Binding Sites on Protein Surfaces with 3-Dimensional Probability Density Distributions of Interacting Atoms

PubMed Central

Tsai, Keng-Chang; Jian, Jhih-Wei; Yang, Ei-Wen; Hsu, Po-Chiang; Peng, Hung-Pin; Chen, Ching-Tai; Chen, Jun-Bo; Chang, Jeng-Yih; Hsu, Wen-Lian; Yang, An-Suei

2012-01-01

Non-covalent protein-carbohydrate interactions mediate molecular targeting in many biological processes. Prediction of non-covalent carbohydrate binding sites on protein surfaces not only provides insights into the functions of the query proteins; information on key carbohydrate-binding residues could suggest site-directed mutagenesis experiments, design therapeutics targeting carbohydrate-binding proteins, and provide guidance in engineering protein-carbohydrate interactions. In this work, we show that non-covalent carbohydrate binding sites on protein surfaces can be predicted with relatively high accuracy when the query protein structures are known. The prediction capabilities were based on a novel encoding scheme of the three-dimensional probability density maps describing the distributions of 36 non-covalent interacting atom types around protein surfaces. One machine learning model was trained for each of the 30 protein atom types. The machine learning algorithms predicted tentative carbohydrate binding sites on query proteins by recognizing the characteristic interacting atom distribution patterns specific for carbohydrate binding sites from known protein structures. The prediction results for all protein atom types were integrated into surface patches as tentative carbohydrate binding sites based on normalized prediction confidence level. The prediction capabilities of the predictors were benchmarked by a 10-fold cross validation on 497 non-redundant proteins with known carbohydrate binding sites. The predictors were further tested on an independent test set with 108 proteins. The residue-based Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) for the independent test was 0.45, with prediction precision and sensitivity (or recall) of 0.45 and 0.49 respectively. In addition, 111 unbound carbohydrate-binding protein structures for which the structures were determined in the absence of the carbohydrate ligands were predicted with the trained predictors. The overall

Activation of erythropoietin receptor in the absence of hormone by a peptide that binds to a domain different from the hormone binding site

PubMed Central

Naranda, Tatjana; Wong, Kenneth; Kaufman, R. Ilene; Goldstein, Avram; Olsson, Lennart

1999-01-01

Applying a homology search method previously described, we identified a sequence in the extracellular dimerization site of the erythropoietin receptor, distant from the hormone binding site. A peptide identical to that sequence was synthesized. Remarkably, it activated receptor signaling in the absence of erythropoietin. Neither the peptide nor the hormone altered the affinity of the other for the receptor; thus, the peptide does not bind to the hormone binding site. The combined activation of signal transduction by hormone and peptide was strongly synergistic. In mice, the peptide acted like the hormone, protecting against the decrease in hematocrit caused by carboplatin. PMID:10377456

Identification of candidate transcription factor binding sites in the cattle genome

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A resource that provides candidate transcription factor binding sites does not currently exist for cattle. Such data is necessary, as predicted sites may serve as excellent starting locations for future 'omics studies to develop transcriptional regulation hypotheses. In order to generate this resour...

Identification of Nucleic Acid Binding Sites on Translin-Associated Factor X (TRAX) Protein

PubMed Central

Gupta, Gagan Deep; Kumar, Vinay

2012-01-01

Translin and TRAX proteins play roles in very important cellular processes such as DNA recombination, spatial and temporal expression of mRNA, and in siRNA processing. Translin forms a homomeric nucleic acid binding complex and binds to ssDNA and RNA. However, a mutant translin construct that forms homomeric complex lacking nucleic acid binding activity is able to form fully active heteromeric translin-TRAX complex when co-expressed with TRAX. A substantial progress has been made in identifying translin sites that mediate its binding activity, while TRAX was thought not to bind DNA or RNA on its own. We here for the first time demonstrate nucleic acid binding to TRAX by crosslinking radiolabeled ssDNA to heteromeric translin-TRAX complex using UV-laser. The TRAX and translin, photochemically crosslinked with ssDNA, were individually detected on SDS-PAGE. We mutated two motifs in TRAX and translin, designated B2 and B3, to help define the nucleic acid binding sites in the TRAX sequence. The most pronounced effect was observed in the mutants of B3 motif that impaired nucleic acid binding activity of the heteromeric complexes. We suggest that both translin and TRAX are binding competent and contribute to the nucleic acid binding activity. PMID:22427937

Deciphering common recognition principles of nucleoside mono/di and tri-phosphates binding in diverse proteins via structural matching of their binding sites.

PubMed

Bhagavat, Raghu; Srinivasan, Narayanaswamy; Chandra, Nagasuma

2017-09-01

Nucleoside triphosphate (NTP) ligands are of high biological importance and are essential for all life forms. A pre-requisite for them to participate in diverse biochemical processes is their recognition by diverse proteins. It is thus of great interest to understand the basis for such recognition in different proteins. Towards this, we have used a structural bioinformatics approach and analyze structures of 4677 NTP complexes available in Protein Data Bank (PDB). Binding sites were extracted and compared exhaustively using PocketMatch, a sensitive in-house site comparison algorithm, which resulted in grouping the entire dataset into 27 site-types. Each of these site-types represent a structural motif comprised of two or more residue conservations, derived using another in-house tool for superposing binding sites, PocketAlign. The 27 site-types could be grouped further into 9 super-types by considering partial similarities in the sites, which indicated that the individual site-types comprise different combinations of one or more site features. A scan across PDB using the 27 structural motifs determined the motifs to be specific to NTP binding sites, and a computational alanine mutagenesis indicated that residues identified to be highly conserved in the motifs are also most contributing to binding. Alternate orientations of the ligand in several site-types were observed and rationalized, indicating the possibility of some residues serving as anchors for NTP recognition. The presence of multiple site-types and the grouping of multiple folds into each site-type is strongly suggestive of convergent evolution. Knowledge of determinants obtained from this study will be useful for detecting function in unknown proteins. Proteins 2017; 85:1699-1712. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Nitric Oxide Synthase and Neuronal NADPH Diaphorase are Identical in Brain and Peripheral Tissues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dawson, Ted M.; Bredt, David S.; Fotuhi, Majid; Hwang, Paul M.; Snyder, Solomon H.

1991-09-01

NADPH diaphorase staining neurons, uniquely resistant to toxic insults and neurodegenerative disorders, have been colocalized with neurons in the brain and peripheral tissue containing nitric oxide synthase (EC 1.14.23.-), which generates nitric oxide (NO), a recently identified neuronal messenger molecule. In the corpus striatum and cerebral cortex, NO synthase immunoreactivity and NADPH diaphorase staining are colocalized in medium to large aspiny neurons. These same neurons colocalize with somatostatin and neuropeptide Y immunoreactivity. NO synthase immunoreactivity and NADPH diaphorase staining are colocalized in the pedunculopontine nucleus with choline acetyltransferase-containing cells and are also colocalized in amacrine cells of the inner nuclear layer and ganglion cells of the retina, myenteric plexus neurons of the intestine, and ganglion cells of the adrenal medulla. Transfection of human kidney cells with NO synthase cDNA elicits NADPH diaphorase staining. The ratio of NO synthase to NADPH diaphorase staining in the transfected cells is the same as in neurons, indicating that NO synthase fully accounts for observed NADPH staining. The identity of neuronal NO synthase and NADPH diaphorase suggests a role for NO in modulating neurotoxicity.

Identification and partial characterization of a low affinity metal-binding site in the light chain of tetanus toxin.

PubMed

Wright, J F; Pernollet, M; Reboul, A; Aude, C; Colomb, M G

1992-05-05

Tetanus toxin was shown to contain a metal-binding site for zinc and copper. Equilibrium dialysis binding experiments using 65Zn indicated an association constant of 9-15 microM, with one zinc-binding site/toxin molecule. The zinc-binding site was localized to the toxin light chain as determined by binding of 65Zn to the light chain but not to the heavy chain after separation by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and transfer to Immobilon membranes. Copper was an efficient inhibitor of 65Zn binding to tetanus toxin and caused two peptide bond cleavages in the toxin light chain in the presence of ascorbate. These metal-catalyzed oxidative cleavages were inhibited by the presence of zinc. Partial characterization of metal-catalyzed oxidative modifications of a peptide based on a putative metal-binding site (HELIH) in the toxin light chain was used to map the metal-binding site in the protein.

How Force Might Activate Talin's Vinculin Binding Sites: SMD Reveals a Structural Mechanism

PubMed Central

Hytönen, Vesa P; Vogel, Viola

2008-01-01

Upon cell adhesion, talin physically couples the cytoskeleton via integrins to the extracellular matrix, and subsequent vinculin recruitment is enhanced by locally applied tensile force. Since the vinculin binding (VB) sites are buried in the talin rod under equilibrium conditions, the structural mechanism of how vinculin binding to talin is force-activated remains unknown. Taken together with experimental data, a biphasic vinculin binding model, as derived from steered molecular dynamics, provides high resolution structural insights how tensile mechanical force applied to the talin rod fragment (residues 486–889 constituting helices H1–H12) might activate the VB sites. Fragmentation of the rod into three helix subbundles is prerequisite to the sequential exposure of VB helices to water. Finally, unfolding of a VB helix into a completely stretched polypeptide might inhibit further binding of vinculin. The first events in fracturing the H1–H12 rods of talin1 and talin2 in subbundles are similar. The proposed force-activated α-helix swapping mechanism by which vinculin binding sites in talin rods are exposed works distinctly different from that of other force-activated bonds, including catch bonds. PMID:18282082

Rpn1 provides adjacent receptor sites for substrate binding and deubiquitination by the proteasome

PubMed Central

Shi, Yuan; Chen, Xiang; Elsasser, Suzanne; Stocks, Bradley B.; Tian, Geng; Lee, Byung-Hoon; Shi, Yanhong; Zhang, Naixia; de Poot, Stefanie A. H.; Tuebing, Fabian; Sun, Shuangwu; Vannoy, Jacob; Tarasov, Sergey G.; Engen, John R.; Finley, Daniel; Walters, Kylie J.

2016-01-01

Structured Abstract INTRODUCTION The ubiquitin-proteasome system comprises hundreds of distinct pathways of degradation, which converge at the step of ubiquitin recognition by the proteasome. Five proteasomal ubiquitin receptors have been identified, two that are intrinsic to the proteasome (Rpn10 and Rpn13) and three reversibly associated proteasomal ubiquitin receptors (Rad23, Dsk2, and Ddi1). RATIONALE We found that the five known proteasomal ubiquitin receptors of yeast are collectively nonessential for ubiquitin recognition by the proteasome. We therefore screened for additional ubiquitin receptors in the proteasome and identified subunit Rpn1 as a candidate. We used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to characterize the structure of the binding site within Rpn1, which we term the T1 site. Mutational analysis of this site showed its functional importance within the context of intact proteasomes. T1 binds both ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like (UBL) proteins, in particular the substrate-delivering shuttle factor Rad23. A second site within the Rpn1 toroid, T2, recognizes the UBL domain of deubiquitinating enzyme Ubp6, as determined by hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry analysis and validated by amino acid substitution and functional assays. The Rpn1 toroid thus serves a critical scaffolding role within the proteasome, helping to assemble multiple proteasome cofactors as well as substrates. RESULTS Our results indicate that proteasome subunit Rpn1 can recognize both ubiquitin and UBL domains of substrate shuttling factors that themselves bind ubiquitin and function as reversibly-associated proteasomal ubiquitin receptors. Recognition is mediated by the T1 site within the Rpn1 toroid, which supports proteasome function in vivo. We found that the capacity of T1 to recognize both ubiquitin and UBL proteins was shared with Rpn10 and Rpn13. The surprising multiplicity of ubiquitin-recognition domains within the proteasome may promote enhanced

Two classes of cholesterol binding sites for the β2AR revealed by thermostability and NMR.

PubMed

Gater, Deborah L; Saurel, Olivier; Iordanov, Iordan; Liu, Wei; Cherezov, Vadim; Milon, Alain

2014-11-18

Cholesterol binding to G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and modulation of their activities in membranes is a fundamental issue for understanding their function. Despite the identification of cholesterol binding sites in high-resolution x-ray structures of the ?2 adrenergic receptor (β2AR) and other GPCRs, the binding affinity of cholesterol for this receptor and exchange rates between the free and bound cholesterol remain unknown. In this study we report the existence of two classes of cholesterol binding sites in β2AR. By analyzing the β2AR unfolding temperature in lipidic cubic phase (LCP) as a function of cholesterol concentration we observed high-affinity cooperative binding of cholesterol with sub-nM affinity constant. In contrast, saturation transfer difference (STD) NMR experiments revealed the existence of a second class of cholesterol binding sites, in fast exchange on the STD NMR timescale. Titration of the STD signal as a function of cholesterol concentration provided a lower limit of 100 mM for their dissociation constant. However, these binding sites are specific for both cholesterol and β2AR, as shown with control experiments using ergosterol and a control membrane protein (KpOmpA). We postulate that this specificity is mediated by the high-affinity bound cholesterol molecules and propose the formation of transient cholesterol clusters around the high-affinity binding sites.

DNA breathing dynamics distinguish binding from nonbinding consensus sites for transcription factor YY1 in cells.

PubMed

Alexandrov, Boian S; Fukuyo, Yayoi; Lange, Martin; Horikoshi, Nobuo; Gelev, Vladimir; Rasmussen, Kim Ø; Bishop, Alan R; Usheva, Anny

2012-11-01

The genome-wide mapping of the major gene expression regulators, the transcription factors (TFs) and their DNA binding sites, is of great importance for describing cellular behavior and phenotypic diversity. Presently, the methods for prediction of genomic TF binding produce a large number of false positives, most likely due to insufficient description of the physiochemical mechanisms of protein-DNA binding. Growing evidence suggests that, in the cell, the double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) is subject to local transient strands separations (breathing) that contribute to genomic functions. By using site-specific chromatin immunopecipitations, gel shifts, BIOBASE data, and our model that accurately describes the melting behavior and breathing dynamics of dsDNA we report a specific DNA breathing profile found at YY1 binding sites in cells. We find that the genomic flanking sequence variations and SNPs, may exert long-range effects on DNA dynamics and predetermine YY1 binding. The ubiquitous TF YY1 has a fundamental role in essential biological processes by activating, initiating or repressing transcription depending upon the sequence context it binds. We anticipate that consensus binding sequences together with the related DNA dynamics profile may significantly improve the accuracy of genomic TF binding sites and TF binding-related functional SNPs.

PolyaPeak: Detecting Transcription Factor Binding Sites from ChIP-seq Using Peak Shape Information

PubMed Central

Wu, Hao; Ji, Hongkai

2014-01-01

ChIP-seq is a powerful technology for detecting genomic regions where a protein of interest interacts with DNA. ChIP-seq data for mapping transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) have a characteristic pattern: around each binding site, sequence reads aligned to the forward and reverse strands of the reference genome form two separate peaks shifted away from each other, and the true binding site is located in between these two peaks. While it has been shown previously that the accuracy and resolution of binding site detection can be improved by modeling the pattern, efficient methods are unavailable to fully utilize that information in TFBS detection procedure. We present PolyaPeak, a new method to improve TFBS detection by incorporating the peak shape information. PolyaPeak describes peak shapes using a flexible Pólya model. The shapes are automatically learnt from the data using Minorization-Maximization (MM) algorithm, then integrated with the read count information via a hierarchical model to distinguish true binding sites from background noises. Extensive real data analyses show that PolyaPeak is capable of robustly improving TFBS detection compared with existing methods. An R package is freely available. PMID:24608116

NADPH oxidase mediates depressive behavior induced by chronic stress in mice.

PubMed

Seo, Ji-Seon; Park, Jin-Young; Choi, Juli; Kim, Tae-Kyung; Shin, Joo-Hyun; Lee, Ja-Kyeong; Han, Pyung-Lim

2012-07-11

Stress is a potent risk factor for depression, yet the underlying mechanism is not clearly understood. In the present study, we explored the mechanism of development and maintenance of depression in a stress-induced animal model. Mice restrained for 2 h daily for 14 d showed distinct depressive behavior, and the altered behavior persisted for >3 months in the absence of intervention. Acute restraint induced a surge of oxidative stress in the brain, and stress-induced oxidative stress progressively increased with repetition of stress. In vitro, the stress hormone glucocorticoid generated superoxide via upregulation of NADPH oxidase. Consistently, repeated restraints increased the expression of the key subunits of NADPH oxidase, p47phox and p67phox, in the brain. Moreover, stressed brains markedly upregulated the expression of p47phox to weak restress evoked in the poststress period, and this molecular response was reminiscent of amplified ROS surge to restress. Pharmacological inhibition of NADPH oxidase by the NADPH oxidase inhibitor apocynin during the stress or poststress period completely blocked depressive behavior. Consistently, heterozygous p47phox knock-out mice (p47phox(+/-)) or molecular inhibition of p47phox with Lenti shRNA-p47phox in the hippocampus suppressed depressive behavior. These results suggest that repeated stress promotes depressive behavior through the upregulation of NADPH oxidase and the resultant metabolic oxidative stress, and that the inhibition of NADPH oxidase provides beneficial antidepression effects.

Ultra-fast HPM detectors improve NAD(P)H FLIM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becker, Wolfgang; Wetzker, Cornelia; Benda, Aleš

2018-02-01

Metabolic imaging by NAD(P)H FLIM requires the decay functions in the individual pixels to be resolved into the decay components of bound and unbound NAD(P)H. Metabolic information is contained in the lifetime and relative amplitudes of the components. The separation of the decay components and the accuracy of the amplitudes and lifetimes improves substantially by using ultra-fast HPM-100-06 and HPM-100-07 hybrid detectors. The IRF width in combination with the Becker & Hickl SPC-150N and SPC-150NX TCSPC modules is less than 20 ps. An IRF this fast does not interfere with the fluorescence decay. The usual deconvolution process in the data analysis then virtually becomes a simple curve fitting, and the parameters of the NAD(P)H decay components are obtained at unprecedented accuracy.

Finding the target sites of RNA-binding proteins

PubMed Central

Li, Xiao; Kazan, Hilal; Lipshitz, Howard D; Morris, Quaid D

2014-01-01

RNA–protein interactions differ from DNA–protein interactions because of the central role of RNA secondary structure. Some RNA-binding domains (RBDs) recognize their target sites mainly by their shape and geometry and others are sequence-specific but are sensitive to secondary structure context. A number of small- and large-scale experimental approaches have been developed to measure RNAs associated in vitro and in vivo with RNA-binding proteins (RBPs). Generalizing outside of the experimental conditions tested by these assays requires computational motif finding. Often RBP motif finding is done by adapting DNA motif finding methods; but modeling secondary structure context leads to better recovery of RBP-binding preferences. Genome-wide assessment of mRNA secondary structure has recently become possible, but these data must be combined with computational predictions of secondary structure before they add value in predicting in vivo binding. There are two main approaches to incorporating structural information into motif models: supplementing primary sequence motif models with preferred secondary structure contexts (e.g., MEMERIS and RNAcontext) and directly modeling secondary structure recognized by the RBP using stochastic context-free grammars (e.g., CMfinder and RNApromo). The former better reconstruct known binding preferences for sequence-specific RBPs but are not suitable for modeling RBPs that recognize shape and geometry of RNAs. Future work in RBP motif finding should incorporate interactions between multiple RBDs and multiple RBPs in binding to RNA. WIREs RNA 2014, 5:111–130. doi: 10.1002/wrna.1201 PMID:24217996

Locating the binding sites of folic acid with milk α- and β-caseins.

PubMed

Bourassa, P; Tajmir-Riahi, H A

2012-01-12

We located the binding sites of folic acid with milk α- and β-caseins at physiological conditions, using constant protein concentration and various folic acid contents. FTIR, UV-visible, and fluorescence spectroscopic methods as well as molecular modeling were used to analyze folic acid binding sites, the binding constant, and the effect of folic acid interaction on the stability and conformation of caseins. Structural analysis showed that folic acid binds caseins via both hydrophilic and hydrophobic contacts with overall binding constants of K(folic acid-α-caseins) = 4.8 (±0.6) × 10(4) M(-1) and K(folic acid-β-caseins) = 7.0 (±0.9) × 10(4) M(-1). The number of bound acid molecules per protein was 1.5 (±0.4) for α-casein and 1.4 (±0.3) for β-casein complexes. Molecular modeling showed different binding sites for folic acid on α- and β-caseins. The participation of several amino acids in folic acid-protein complexes was observed, which was stabilized by hydrogen bonding network and the free binding energy of -7.7 kcal/mol (acid-α-casein) and -8.1 kcal/mol (acid-β-casein). Folic acid complexation altered protein secondary structure by the reduction of α-helix from 35% (free α-casein) to 33% (acid-complex) and 32% (free β-casein) to 26% (acid-complex) indicating a partial protein destabilization. Caseins might act as carriers for transportation of folic acid to target molecules.

SP transcription factor paralogs and DNA-binding sites coevolve and adaptively converge in mammals and birds.

PubMed

Yokoyama, Ken Daigoro; Pollock, David D

2012-01-01

Functional modification of regulatory proteins can affect hundreds of genes throughout the genome, and is therefore thought to be almost universally deleterious. This belief, however, has recently been challenged. A potential example comes from transcription factor SP1, for which statistical evidence indicates that motif preferences were altered in eutherian mammals. Here, we set out to discover possible structural and theoretical explanations, evaluate the role of selection in SP1 evolution, and discover effects on coregulatory proteins. We show that SP1 motif preferences were convergently altered in birds as well as mammals, inducing coevolutionary changes in over 800 regulatory regions. Structural and phylogenic evidence implicates a single causative amino acid replacement at the same SP1 position along both lineages. Furthermore, paralogs SP3 and SP4, which coregulate SP1 target genes through competitive binding to the same sites, have accumulated convergent replacements at the homologous position multiple times during eutherian and bird evolution, presumably to preserve competitive binding. To determine plausibility, we developed and implemented a simple model of transcription factor and binding site coevolution. This model predicts that, in contrast to prevailing beliefs, even small selective benefits per locus can drive concurrent fixation of transcription factor and binding site mutants under a broad range of conditions. Novel binding sites tend to arise de novo, rather than by mutation from ancestral sites, a prediction substantiated by SP1-binding site alignments. Thus, multiple lines of evidence indicate that selection has driven convergent evolution of transcription factors along with their binding sites and coregulatory proteins.

SP Transcription Factor Paralogs and DNA-Binding Sites Coevolve and Adaptively Converge in Mammals and Birds

PubMed Central

Yokoyama, Ken Daigoro; Pollock, David D.

2012-01-01

Functional modification of regulatory proteins can affect hundreds of genes throughout the genome, and is therefore thought to be almost universally deleterious. This belief, however, has recently been challenged. A potential example comes from transcription factor SP1, for which statistical evidence indicates that motif preferences were altered in eutherian mammals. Here, we set out to discover possible structural and theoretical explanations, evaluate the role of selection in SP1 evolution, and discover effects on coregulatory proteins. We show that SP1 motif preferences were convergently altered in birds as well as mammals, inducing coevolutionary changes in over 800 regulatory regions. Structural and phylogenic evidence implicates a single causative amino acid replacement at the same SP1 position along both lineages. Furthermore, paralogs SP3 and SP4, which coregulate SP1 target genes through competitive binding to the same sites, have accumulated convergent replacements at the homologous position multiple times during eutherian and bird evolution, presumably to preserve competitive binding. To determine plausibility, we developed and implemented a simple model of transcription factor and binding site coevolution. This model predicts that, in contrast to prevailing beliefs, even small selective benefits per locus can drive concurrent fixation of transcription factor and binding site mutants under a broad range of conditions. Novel binding sites tend to arise de novo, rather than by mutation from ancestral sites, a prediction substantiated by SP1-binding site alignments. Thus, multiple lines of evidence indicate that selection has driven convergent evolution of transcription factors along with their binding sites and coregulatory proteins. PMID:23019068

Using 15N-Ammonium to Characterise and Map Potassium Binding Sites in Proteins by NMR Spectroscopy

PubMed Central

Werbeck, Nicolas D; Kirkpatrick, John; Reinstein, Jochen; Hansen, D Flemming

2014-01-01

A variety of enzymes are activated by the binding of potassium ions. The potassium binding sites of these enzymes are very specific, but ammonium ions can often replace potassium ions in vitro because of their similar ionic radii. In these cases, ammonium can be used as a proxy for potassium to characterise potassium binding sites in enzymes: the 1H,15N spin-pair of enzyme-bound 15NH4+ can be probed by 15N-edited heteronuclear NMR experiments. Here, we demonstrate the use of NMR spectroscopy to characterise binding of ammonium ions to two different enzymes: human histone deacetylase 8 (HDAC8), which is activated allosterically by potassium, and the bacterial Hsp70 homologue DnaK, for which potassium is an integral part of the active site. Ammonium activates both enzymes in a similar way to potassium, thus supporting this non-invasive approach. Furthermore, we present an approach to map the observed binding site onto the structure of HDAC8. Our method for mapping the binding site is general and does not require chemical shift assignment of the enzyme resonances. PMID:24520048

CTCF Binding Sites in the Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Genome Display Site-Specific CTCF Occupation, Protein Recruitment, and Insulator Function.

PubMed

Washington, Shannan D; Musarrat, Farhana; Ertel, Monica K; Backes, Gregory L; Neumann, Donna M

2018-04-15

There are seven conserved CTCF binding domains in the herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) genome. These binding sites individually flank the latency-associated transcript (LAT) and the immediate early (IE) gene regions, suggesting that CTCF insulators differentially control transcriptional domains in HSV-1 latency. In this work, we show that two CTCF binding motifs in HSV-1 display enhancer blocking in a cell-type-specific manner. We found that CTCF binding to the latent HSV-1 genome was LAT dependent and that the quantity of bound CTCF was site specific. Following reactivation, CTCF eviction was dynamic, suggesting that each CTCF site was independently regulated. We explored whether CTCF sites recruit the polycomb-repressive complex 2 (PRC2) to establish repressive domains through a CTCF-Suz12 interaction and found that Suz12 colocalized to the CTCF insulators flanking the ICP0 and ICP4 regions and, conversely, was removed at early times postreactivation. Collectively, these data support the idea that CTCF sites in HSV-1 are independently regulated and may contribute to lytic-latent HSV-1 control in a site-specific manner. IMPORTANCE The role of chromatin insulators in DNA viruses is an area of interest. It has been shown in several beta- and gammaherpesviruses that insulators likely control the lytic transcriptional profile through protein recruitment and through the formation of three-dimensional (3D) chromatin loops. The ability of insulators to regulate alphaherpesviruses has been understudied to date. The alphaherpesvirus HSV-1 has seven conserved insulator binding motifs that flank regions of the genome known to contribute to the establishment of latency. Our work presented here contributes to the understanding of how insulators control transcription of HSV-1. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Microbiology.

Druggable pockets and binding site centric chemical space: a paradigm shift in drug discovery.

PubMed

Pérot, Stéphanie; Sperandio, Olivier; Miteva, Maria A; Camproux, Anne-Claude; Villoutreix, Bruno O

2010-08-01

Detection, comparison and analyses of binding pockets are pivotal to structure-based drug design endeavors, from hit identification, screening of exosites and de-orphanization of protein functions to the anticipation of specific and non-specific binding to off- and anti-targets. Here, we analyze protein-ligand complexes and discuss methods that assist binding site identification, prediction of druggability and binding site comparison. The full potential of pockets is yet to be harnessed, and we envision that better understanding of the pocket space will have far-reaching implications in the field of drug discovery, such as the design of pocket-specific compound libraries and scoring functions.

Regulation of CCL2 expression by an upstream TALE homeodomain protein-binding site that synergizes with the site created by the A-2578G SNP.

PubMed

Page, Stephen H; Wright, Edward K; Gama, Lucio; Clements, Janice E

2011-01-01

CC Chemokine Ligand 2 (CCL2) is a potent chemoattractant produced by macrophages and activated astrocytes during periods of inflammation within the central nervous system. Increased CCL2 expression is correlated with disease progression and severity, as observed in pulmonary tuberculosis, HCV-related liver disease, and HIV-associated dementia. The CCL2 distal promoter contains an A/G polymorphism at position -2578 and the homozygous -2578 G/G genotype is associated with increased CCL2 production and inflammation. However, the mechanisms that contribute to the phenotypic differences in CCL2 expression are poorly understood. We previously demonstrated that the -2578 G polymorphism creates a TALE homeodomain protein binding site (TALE binding site) for PREP1/PBX2 transcription factors. In this study, we identified the presence of an additional TALE binding site 22 bp upstream of the site created by the -2578 G polymorphism and demonstrated the synergistic effects of the two sites on the activation of the CCL2 promoter. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays, we demonstrated increased binding of the TALE proteins PREP1 and PBX2 to the -2578 G allele, and binding of IRF1 to both the A and G alleles. The presence of TALE binding sites that form inverted repeats within the -2578 G allele results in increased transcriptional activation of the CCL2 distal promoter while the presence of only the upstream TALE binding site within the -2578 A allele exerts repression of promoter activity.

Tb3+-cleavage assays reveal specific Mg2+ binding sites necessary to pre-fold the btuB riboswitch for AdoCbl binding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choudhary, Pallavi K.; Gallo, Sofia; Sigel, Roland K. O.

2017-03-01

Riboswitches are RNA elements that bind specific metabolites in order to regulate the gene expression involved in controlling the cellular concentration of the respective molecule or ion. Ligand recognition is mostly facilitated by Mg2+ mediated pre-organization of the riboswitch to an active tertiary fold. To predict these specific Mg2+ induced tertiary interactions of the btuB riboswitch from E. coli, we here report Mg2+ binding pockets in its aptameric part in both, the ligand-free and the ligand-bound form. An ensemble of weak and strong metal ion binding sites distributed over the entire aptamer was detected by terbium(III) cleavage assays, Tb3+ being an established Mg2+ mimic. Interestingly many of the Mn+ (n = 2 or 3) binding sites involve conserved bases within the class of coenzyme B12-binding riboswitches. Comparison with the published crystal structure of the coenzyme B12 riboswitch of S. thermophilum aided in identifying a common set of Mn+ binding sites that might be crucial for tertiary interactions involved in the organization of the aptamer. Our results suggest that Mn+ binding at strategic locations of the btuB riboswitch indeed facilitates the assembly of the binding pocket needed for ligand recognition. Binding of the specific ligand, coenzyme B12 (AdoCbl), to the btuB aptamer does however not lead to drastic alterations of these Mn+ binding cores, indicating the lack of a major rearrangement within the three-dimensional structure of the RNA. This finding is strengthened by Tb3+ mediated footprints of the riboswitch's structure in its ligand-free and ligand-bound state indicating that AdoCbl indeed induces local changes rather than a global structural rearrangement.

Identification of a 3rd Na+ Binding Site of the Glycine Transporter, GlyT2.

PubMed

Subramanian, Nandhitha; Scopelitti, Amanda J; Carland, Jane E; Ryan, Renae M; O'Mara, Megan L; Vandenberg, Robert J

2016-01-01

The Na+/Cl- dependent glycine transporters GlyT1 and GlyT2 regulate synaptic glycine concentrations. Glycine transport by GlyT2 is coupled to the co-transport of three Na+ ions, whereas transport by GlyT1 is coupled to the co-transport of only two Na+ ions. These differences in ion-flux coupling determine their respective concentrating capacities and have a direct bearing on their functional roles in synaptic transmission. The crystal structures of the closely related bacterial Na+-dependent leucine transporter, LeuTAa, and the Drosophila dopamine transporter, dDAT, have allowed prediction of two Na+ binding sites in GlyT2, but the physical location of the third Na+ site in GlyT2 is unknown. A bacterial betaine transporter, BetP, has also been crystallized and shows structural similarity to LeuTAa. Although betaine transport by BetP is coupled to the co-transport of two Na+ ions, the first Na+ site is not conserved between BetP and LeuTAa, the so called Na1' site. We hypothesized that the third Na+ binding site (Na3 site) of GlyT2 corresponds to the BetP Na1' binding site. To identify the Na3 binding site of GlyT2, we performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Surprisingly, a Na+ placed at the location consistent with the Na1' site of BetP spontaneously dissociated from its initial location and bound instead to a novel Na3 site. Using a combination of MD simulations of a comparative model of GlyT2 together with an analysis of the functional properties of wild type and mutant GlyTs we have identified an electrostatically favorable novel third Na+ binding site in GlyT2 formed by Trp263 and Met276 in TM3, Ala481 in TM6 and Glu648 in TM10.

Polar bear hemoglobin and human Hb A0: same 2,3-diphosphoglycerate binding site but asymmetry of the binding?

PubMed

Pomponi, Massimo; Bertonati, Claudia; Patamia, Maria; Marta, Maurizio; Derocher, Andrew E; Lydersen, Christian; Kovacs, Kit M; Wiig, Oystein; Bårdgard, Astrid J

2002-11-01

Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) hemoglobin (Hb) shows a low response to 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG), compared to human Hb A0, even though these proteins have the same 2,3-DPG-binding site. In addition, polar bear Hb shows a high response to chloride and an alkaline Bohr effect (deltalog P50/deltapH) that is significantly greater than that of human Hb A0. The difference in sequence Pro (Hb A0)-->Gly (polar bear Hb) at position A2 in the A helix seems to be critical for reduced binding of 2,3-DPG. Our results also show that the A2 position may influence not only the flexibility of the A helix, but that differences in flexibility of the first turn of the A helix may affect the unloading of oxygen for the intrinsic ligand affinities of the alpha and beta chains. However, preferential binding to either chain can only take place if there is appreciable asymmetric binding of the phosphoric effector. Regarding this point, 31P NMR data suggest a loss of symmetry of the 2,3-DPG-binding site in the deoxyHb-2,3-DPG complex.

DNA binding sites characterization by means of Rényi entropy measures on nucleotide transitions.

PubMed

Perera, Alexandre; Vallverdu, Montserrat; Claria, Francesc; Soria, José Manuel; Caminal, Pere

2006-01-01

In this work, parametric information-theory measures for the characterization of binding sites in DNA are extended with the use of transitional probabilities on the sequence. We propose the use of parametric uncertainty measure such as Renyi entropies obtained from the transition probabilities for the study of the binding sites, in addition to nucleotide frequency based Renyi measures. Results are reported in this manuscript comparing transition frequencies (i.e. dinucelotides) and base frequencies for Shannon and parametric Renyi for a number of binding sites found in E. Coli, lambda and T7 organisms. We observe that, for the evaluated datasets, the information provided by both approaches is not redundant, as they evolve differently under increasing Renyi orders.

Autoradiographic evidence for two classes of mu opioid binding sites in rat brain using (/sup 125/I)FK33824

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rothman, R.B.; Jacobson, A.E.; Rice, K.C.

1987-11-01

Previous studies demonstrated that pretreatment of brain membranes with the irreversible mu antagonist, beta-funaltrexamine (beta-FNA), partially eliminated mu binding sites (25,35), consistent with the existence of two mu binding sites distinguished by beta-FNA. This paper tests the hypothesis that the FNA-sensitive and FNA-insensitive mu binding sites have different anatomical distributions in rat brain. Prior to autoradiographic visualization of mu binding sites, (/sup 3/H)oxymorphone, (/sup 3/H)D-ala2-MePhe4, Gly-ol5-enkephalin (DAGO), and (/sup 125/I)D-ala2-Me-Phe4-met(o)-ol)enkephalin (FK33824) were shown to selectively label mu binding sites using slide mounted sections of molded minced rat brain. As found using membranes, beta-FNA eliminated only a portion of mu bindingmore » sites. Autoradiographic visualization of mu binding sites using the mu-selective ligand (/sup 125/I)FK33824 in control and FNA-treated sections of rat brain demonstrated that the proportion of mu binding sites sensitive to beta-FNA varied across regions of the brain, particularly the dorsal thalamus, ventrobasal complex and the hypothalamus, providing anatomical data supporting the existence of two classes of mu binding sites in rat brain.« less

Inhibition of ferric ion to oxalate oxidase shed light on the substrate binding site.

PubMed

Pang, Yu; Lan, Wanjun; Huang, Xuelei; Zuo, Guanke; Liu, Hui; Zhang, Jingyan

2015-10-01

Oxalate oxidase (OxOx), a well known enzyme catalyzes the cleavage of oxalate to carbon dioxide with reduction of dioxygen to hydrogen peroxide, however its catalytic process is not well understood. To define the substrate binding site, interaction of Fe(3+) ions with OxOx was systemically investigated using biochemical method, circular dichrosim spectroscopy, microscale thermophoresis, and computer modeling. We demonstrated that Fe(3+) is a non-competitive inhibitor with a milder binding affinity to OxOx, and the secondary structure of the OxOx was slightly altered upon its binding. On the basis of the structural properties of the OxOx and its interaction with Fe(3+) ions, two residue clusters of OxOx were assigned as potential Fe(3+) binding sites, the mechanism of the inhibition of Fe(3+) was delineated. Importantly, the residues that interact with Fe(3+) ions are involved in the substrate orienting based on computer docking. Consequently, the interaction of OxOx with Fe(3+) highlights insight into substrate binding site in OxOx.

Computational investigation of the binding mode of bis(hydroxylphenyl)arenes in 17β-HSD1: molecular dynamics simulations, MM-PBSA free energy calculations, and molecular electrostatic potential maps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Negri, Matthias; Recanatini, Maurizio; Hartmann, Rolf W.

2011-09-01

17β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (17β-HSD1) catalyzes the last step of the estrogen biosynthesis, namely the reduction of estrone to the biologically potent estradiol. As such it is a potentially attractive drug target for the treatment of estrogen-dependent diseases like breast cancer and endometriosis. 17β-HSD1 belongs to the bisubstrate enzymes and exists as an ensemble of conformations. These principally differ in the region of the βFαG'-loop, suggesting a prominent role in substrate and inhibitor binding. Although several classes of potent non-steroidal 17β-HSD1 inhibitors currently exist, their binding mode is still unclear. We aimed to elucidate the binding mode of bis(hydroxyphenyl)arenes, a highly potent class of 17β-HSD1 inhibitors, and to rank these compounds correctly with respect to their inhibitory potency, two essential aspects in drug design. Ensemble docking experiments resulted in a steroidal binding mode for the closed enzyme conformations and in an alternative mode for the opened and occluded conformers with the inhibitors placed below the NADPH interacting with it synergically via π-π stacking and H-bond formation. Both binding modes were investigated by MD simulations and MM-PBSA binding free energy estimations using as representative member for this class compound 1 (50 nM). Notably, only the alternative binding mode proved stable and was energetically more favorable, while when simulated in the steroidal binding mode compound 1 was displaced from the active site. In parallel, ab initio studies of small NADPH-inhibitor complexes were performed, which supported the importance of the synergistic interaction between inhibitors and cofactor.

Use of 2-(/sup 125/I)iodomelatonin to characterize melatonin binding sites in chicken retina

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dubocovich, M.L.; Takahashi, J.S.

2-(/sup 125/I)Iodomelatonin binds with high affinity to a site possessing the pharmacological characteristics of a melatonin receptor in chicken retinal membranes. The specific binding of 2-(/sup 125/I)iodomelatonin is stable, saturable, and reversible. Saturation experiments indicated that 2-(/sup 125/I)iodomelatonin labeled a single class of sites with an affinity constant (Kd) of 434 +/- 56 pM and a total number of binding sites (Bmax) of 74.0 +/- 13.6 fmol/mg of protein. The affinity constant obtained from kinetic analysis was in close agreement with that obtained in saturation experiments. Competition experiments showed a monophasic reduction of 2-(/sup 125/I)iodomelatonin binding with a pharmacological ordermore » of indole amine affinities characteristic of a melatonin receptor: 2-iodomelatonin greater than 6-chloromelatonin greater than or equal to melatonin greater than or equal to 6,7-dichloro-2-methylmelatonin greater than 6-hydroxymelatonin greater than or equal to 6-methoxymelatonin much greater than N-acetyltryptamine greater than N-acetyl-5-hydroxytryptamine greater than 5-methoxytryptamine greater than 5-hydroxytryptamine (inactive). The affinities of these melatonin analogs in competing for 2-(/sup 125/I)iodomelatonin binding sites were correlated closely with their potencies for inhibition of the calcium-dependent release of (3H)dopamine from chicken and rabbit retinas, indicating association of the binding site with a functional response regulated by melatonin. The results indicate that 2-(/sup 125/I)iodomelatonin is a selective, high-affinity radioligand for the identification and characterization of melatonin receptor sites.« less

Involvement of two classes of binding sites in the interactions of cyclophilin B with peripheral blood T-lymphocytes.

PubMed

Denys, A; Allain, F; Carpentier, M; Spik, G

1998-12-15

Cyclophilin B (CyPB) is a cyclosporin A (CsA)-binding protein, mainly associated with the secretory pathway, and is released in biological fluids. We recently reported that CyPB specifically binds to T-lymphocytes and promotes enhanced incorporation of CsA. The interactions with cellular binding sites involved, at least in part, the specific N-terminal extension of the protein. In this study, we intended to specify further the nature of the CyPB-binding sites on peripheral blood T-lymphocytes. We first provide evidence that the CyPB binding to heparin-Sepharose is prevented by soluble sulphated glycosaminoglycans (GAG), raising the interesting possibility that such interactions may occur on the T-cell surface. We then characterized CyPB binding to T-cell surface GAG and found that these interactions involved the N-terminal extension of CyPB, but not its conserved CsA-binding domain. In addition, we determined the presence of a second CyPB binding site, which we termed a type I site, in contrast with type II for GAG interactions. The two binding sites exhibit a similar affinity but the expression of the type I site was 3-fold lower. The conclusion that CyPB binding to the type I site is distinct from the interactions with GAG was based on the findings that it was (1) resistant to NaCl wash and GAG-degrading enzyme treatments, (2) reduced in the presence of CsA or cyclophilin C, and (3) unmodified in the presence of either the N-terminal peptide of CyPB or protamine. Finally, we showed that the type I binding sites were involved in an endocytosis process, supporting the hypothesis that they may correspond to a functional receptor for CyPB.

Paracetamol and cytarabine binding competition in high affinity binding sites of transporting protein

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sułkowska, A.; Bojko, B.; Równicka, J.; Sułkowski, W. W.

2006-07-01

Paracetamol (acetaminophen, AA) the most popular analgesic drug is commonly used in the treatment of pain in patients suffering from cancer. In our studies, we evaluated the competition in binding with serum albumin between paracetamol (AA) and cytarabine, antyleukemic drug (araC). The presence of one drug can alter the binding affinity of albumin towards the second one. Such interaction can result in changing of the free fraction of the one of these drugs in blood. Two spectroscopic methods were used to determine high affinity binding sites and the competition of the drugs. Basing on the change of the serum albumin fluorescence in the presence of either of the drugs the quenching ( KQ) constants for the araC-BSA and AA-BSA systems were calculated. Analysis of UV difference spectra allowed us to describe the changes in drug-protein complexes (araC-albumin and AA-albumin) induced by the presence of the second drug (AA and araC, respectively). The mechanism of competition between araC and AA has been proposed.

Crystal Structures of Wild-type and Mutant Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Dihydrofolate Reductase Reveal an Alternative Conformation of NADPH that may be Linked to Trimethoprim Resistance

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Frey, K.; Liu, J; Lombardo, M

2009-01-01

Both hospital- and community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus infections have become major health concerns in terms of morbidity, suffering and cost. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ) is an alternative treatment for methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infections. However, TMP-resistant strains have arisen with point mutations in dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), the target for TMP. A single point mutation, F98Y, has been shown biochemically to confer the majority of this resistance to TMP. Using a structure-based approach, we have designed a series of novel propargyl-linked DHFR inhibitors that are active against several trimethoprim-resistant enzymes. We screened this series against wild-type and mutant (F98Y) S. aureus DHFR and foundmore » that several are active against both enzymes and specifically that the meta-biphenyl class of these inhibitors is the most potent. In order to understand the structural basis of this potency, we determined eight high-resolution crystal structures: four each of the wild-type and mutant DHFR enzymes bound to various propargyl-linked DHFR inhibitors. In addition to explaining the structure-activity relationships, several of the structures reveal a novel conformation for the cofactor, NADPH. In this new conformation that is predominantly associated with the mutant enzyme, the nicotinamide ring is displaced from its conserved location and three water molecules complete a network of hydrogen bonds between the nicotinamide ring and the protein. In this new position, NADPH has reduced interactions with the inhibitor. An equilibrium between the two conformations of NADPH, implied by their occupancies in the eight crystal structures, is influenced both by the ligand and the F98Y mutation. The mutation induced equilibrium between two NADPH-binding conformations may contribute to decrease TMP binding and thus may be responsible for TMP resistance.« less

Cone arrestin binding to JNK3 and Mdm2: conformational preference and localization of interaction sites

PubMed Central

Song, Xiufeng; Gurevich, Eugenia V.; Gurevich, Vsevolod V.

2008-01-01

Arrestins are multi-functional regulators of G protein-coupled receptors. Receptor-bound arrestins interact with >30 remarkably diverse proteins and redirect the signaling to G protein-independent pathways. The functions of free arrestins are poorly understood, and the interaction sites of the non-receptor arrestin partners are largely unknown. In this study, we show that cone arrestin, the least studied member of the family, binds c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK3) and Mdm2 and regulates their subcellular distribution. Using arrestin mutants with increased or reduced structural flexibility, we demonstrate that arrestin in all conformations binds JNK3 comparably, whereas Mdm2 preferentially binds cone arrestin ‘frozen’ in the basal state. To localize the interaction sites, we expressed separate N- and C-domains of cone and rod arrestins and found that individual domains bind JNK3 and remove it from the nucleus as efficiently as full-length proteins. Thus, the arrestin binding site for JNK3 includes elements in both domains with the affinity of partial sites on individual domains sufficient for JNK3 relocalization. N-domain of rod arrestin binds Mdm2, which localizes its main interaction site to this region. Comparable binding of JNK3 and Mdm2 to four arrestin subtypes allowed us to identify conserved residues likely involved in these interactions. PMID:17680991

Sugar-binding sites of the HA1 subcomponent of Clostridium botulinum type C progenitor toxin.

PubMed

Nakamura, Toshio; Tonozuka, Takashi; Ide, Azusa; Yuzawa, Takayuki; Oguma, Keiji; Nishikawa, Atsushi

2008-02-22

Clostridium botulinum type C 16S progenitor toxin contains a hemagglutinin (HA) subcomponent, designated HA1, which appears to play an important role in the effective internalization of the toxin in gastrointestinal epithelial cells and in creating a broad specificity for the oligosaccharide structure that corresponds to various targets. In this study, using the recombinant protein fused to glutathione S-transferase, we investigated the binding specificity of the HA1 subcomponent to sugars and estimated the binding sites of HA1 based on X-ray crystallography and soaking experiments using various sugars. N-Acetylneuraminic acid, N-acetylgalactosamine, and galactose effectively inhibited the binding that occurs between glutathione S-transferase-HA1 and mucins, whereas N-acetylglucosamine and glucose did not inhibit it. The crystal structures of HA1 complex with N-acetylneuraminic acid, N-acetylgalactosamine, and galactose were also determined. There are two sugar-binding sites, sites I and II. Site I corresponds to the electron densities noted for all sugars and is located at the C-terminal beta-trefoil domain, while site II corresponds to the electron densities noted only for galactose. An aromatic amino acid residue, Trp176, at site I has a stacking interaction with the hexose ring of the sugars. On the other hand, there is no aromatic residue at site II; thus, the interaction with galactose seems to be poor. The double mutant W176A at site I and D271F at site II has no avidity for N-acetylneuraminic acid but has avidity for galactose. In this report, the binding specificity of botulinum C16S toxin HA1 to various sugars is demonstrated based on its structural features.

NADPH Oxidase as a Therapeutic Target for Oxalate Induced Injury in Kidneys

PubMed Central

Peck, Ammon B.; Khan, Saeed R.

2013-01-01

A major role of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase family of enzymes is to catalyze the production of superoxides and other reactive oxygen species (ROS). These ROS, in turn, play a key role as messengers in cell signal transduction and cell cycling, but when they are produced in excess they can lead to oxidative stress (OS). Oxidative stress in the kidneys is now considered a major cause of renal injury and inflammation, giving rise to a variety of pathological disorders. In this review, we discuss the putative role of oxalate in producing oxidative stress via the production of reactive oxygen species by isoforms of NADPH oxidases expressed in different cellular locations of the kidneys. Most renal cells produce ROS, and recent data indicate a direct correlation between upregulated gene expressions of NADPH oxidase, ROS, and inflammation. Renal tissue expression of multiple NADPH oxidase isoforms most likely will impact the future use of different antioxidants and NADPH oxidase inhibitors to minimize OS and renal tissue injury in hyperoxaluria-induced kidney stone disease. PMID:23840917

2-(/sup 125/I)iodomelatonin binding sites in hamster brain membranes: pharmacological characteristics and regional distribution

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Duncan, M.J.; Takahashi, J.S.; Dubocovich, M.L.

1988-05-01

Studies in a variety of seasonally breeding mammals have shown that melatonin mediates photoperiodic effects on reproduction. Relatively little is known, however, about the site(s) or mechanisms of action of this hormone for inducing reproductive effects. Although binding sites for (3H)melatonin have been reported previously in bovine, rat, and hamster brain, the pharmacological selectivity of these sites was never demonstrated. In the present study, we have characterized binding sites for a new radioligand, 2-(125I)iodomelatonin, in brains from a photoperiodic species, the Syrian hamster. 2-(125I)Iodomelatonin labels a high affinity binding site in hamster brain membranes. Specific binding of 2-(125I)iodomelatonin is rapid,more » stable, saturable, and reversible. Saturation studies demonstrated that 2-(125I)iodomelatonin binds to a single class of sites with an affinity constant (Kd) of 3.3 +/- 0.5 nM and a total binding capacity (Bmax) of 110.2 +/- 13.4 fmol/mg protein (n = 4). The Kd value determined from kinetic analysis (3.1 +/- 0.9 nM; n = 5) was very similar to that obtained from saturation experiments. Competition experiments showed that the relative order of potency of a variety of indoles for inhibition of 2-(125I)iodomelatonin binding site to hamster brain membranes was as follows: 6-chloromelatonin greater than or equal to 2-iodomelatonin greater than N-acetylserotonin greater than or equal to 6-methoxymelatonin greater than or equal to melatonin greater than 6-hydroxymelatonin greater than or equal to 6,7-dichloro-2-methylmelatonin greater than 5-methoxytryptophol greater than 5-methoxytryptamine greater than or equal to 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine greater than N-acetyltryptamine greater than serotonin greater than 5-methoxyindole (inactive).« less

Validating metal binding sites in macromolecule structures using the CheckMyMetal web server

PubMed Central

Zheng, Heping; Chordia, Mahendra D.; Cooper, David R.; Chruszcz, Maksymilian; Müller, Peter; Sheldrick, George M.

2015-01-01

Metals play vital roles in both the mechanism and architecture of biological macromolecules. Yet structures of metal-containing macromolecules where metals are misidentified and/or suboptimally modeled are abundant in the Protein Data Bank (PDB). This shows the need for a diagnostic tool to identify and correct such modeling problems with metal binding environments. The "CheckMyMetal" (CMM) web server (http://csgid.org/csgid/metal_sites/) is a sophisticated, user-friendly web-based method to evaluate metal binding sites in macromolecular structures in respect to 7350 metal binding sites observed in a benchmark dataset of 2304 high resolution crystal structures. The protocol outlines how the CMM server can be used to detect geometric and other irregularities in the structures of metal binding sites and alert researchers to potential errors in metal assignment. The protocol also gives practical guidelines for correcting problematic sites by modifying the metal binding environment and/or redefining metal identity in the PDB file. Several examples where this has led to meaningful results are described in the anticipated results section. CMM was designed for a broad audience—biomedical researchers studying metal-containing proteins and nucleic acids—but is equally well suited for structural biologists to validate new structures during modeling or refinement. The CMM server takes the coordinates of a metal-containing macromolecule structure in the PDB format as input and responds within a few seconds for a typical protein structure modeled with a few hundred amino acids. PMID:24356774

Elucidation of the Human Serum Albumin (HSA) Binding Site for the Cu-PTSM and Cu-ATSM Radiopharmaceuticals

PubMed Central

Basken, Nathan E.; Mathias, Carla J.; Green, Mark A.

2008-01-01

The Cu-PTSM (pyruvaldehyde bis(N4-methylthiosemicarbazonato)copper(II)) and Cu-ATSM (diacetyl bis(N4-methylthiosemicarbazonato)copper(II)) radiopharmaceuticals exhibit strong, species-dependent binding to human serum albumin (HSA), while Cu-ETS (ethylglyoxal bis(thiosemicarbazonato)copper(II)) appears to only exhibit non-specific binding to human and animal serum albumins. This study examines the structural basis for HSA binding of Cu-PTSM and Cu-ATSM via competition with drugs having known albumin binding sites. Warfarin, furosemide, ibuprofen, phenylbutazone, benzylpenicillin, and cephmandole were added to HSA solutions at drug:HSA mole ratios from 0 to 8:1, followed by quantification of radiopharmaceutical binding to HSA by ultrafiltration. Warfarin, a site IIA drug, progressively displaced both [64Cu]Cu-PTSM and [64Cu]Cu-ATSM from HSA. At 8:1 warfarin:HSA mole ratios, free [64Cu]Cu-PTSM and [64Cu]Cu-ATSM levels increased 300–500%. This was in contrast to solutions containing ibuprofen, a site IIIA drug; no increase in free [64Cu]Cu-PTSM or [64Cu]Cu-ATSM was observed except at high ibuprofen:HSA ratios, where secondary ibuprofen binding to the IIA site may cause modest radiopharmaceutical displacement. By contrast, and consistent with earlier findings suggesting Cu-ETS exhibits only non-specific associations, [64Cu]Cu-ETS binding to HSA was unaffected by the addition of drugs that bind in either site. We conclude that the species-dependence of Cu-PTSM and Cu-ATSM albumin binding arises from interaction(s) with the IIA site of HSA. PMID:18937368

Conformational Sampling and Binding Site Assessment of Suppression of Tumorigenicity 2 Ectodomain

PubMed Central

Yang, Chao-Yie; Delproposto, James; Chinnaswamy, Krishnapriya; Brown, William Clay; Wang, Shuying; Stuckey, Jeanne A.; Wang, Xinquan

2016-01-01

Suppression of Tumorigenicity 2 (ST2), a member of the interleukin-1 receptor (IL-1R) family, activates type 2 immune responses to pathogens and tissue damage via binding to IL-33. Dysregulated responses contribute to asthma, graft-versus-host and autoinflammatory diseases and disorders. To study ST2 structure for inhibitor development, we performed the principal component (PC) analysis on the crystal structures of IL1-1R1, IL1-1R2, ST2 and the refined ST2 ectodomain (ST2ECD) models, constructed from previously reported small-angle X-ray scattering data. The analysis facilitates mapping of the ST2ECD conformations to PC subspace for characterizing structural changes. Extensive coverage of ST2ECD conformations was then obtained using the accelerated molecular dynamics simulations started with the IL-33 bound ST2ECD structure as instructed by their projected locations on the PC subspace. Cluster analysis of all conformations further determined representative conformations of ST2ECD ensemble in solution. Alignment of the representative conformations with the ST2/IL-33 structure showed that the D3 domain of ST2ECD (containing D1-D3 domains) in most conformations exhibits no clashes with IL-33 in the crystal structure. Our experimental binding data informed that the D1-D2 domain of ST2ECD contributes predominantly to the interaction between ST2ECD and IL-33 underscoring the importance of the D1-D2 domain in binding. Computational binding site assessment revealed one third of the total detected binding sites in the representative conformations may be suitable for binding to potent small molecules. Locations of these sites include the D1-D2 domain ST2ECD and modulation sites conformed to ST2ECD conformations. Our study provides structural models and analyses of ST2ECD that could be useful for inhibitor discovery. PMID:26735493

Analysis of Binding Site Hot Spots on the Surface of Ras GTPase

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Buhrman, Greg; O; #8242

2012-09-17

We have recently discovered an allosteric switch in Ras, bringing an additional level of complexity to this GTPase whose mutants are involved in nearly 30% of cancers. Upon activation of the allosteric switch, there is a shift in helix 3/loop 7 associated with a disorder to order transition in the active site. Here, we use a combination of multiple solvent crystal structures and computational solvent mapping (FTMap) to determine binding site hot spots in the 'off' and 'on' allosteric states of the GTP-bound form of H-Ras. Thirteen sites are revealed, expanding possible target sites for ligand binding well beyond themore » active site. Comparison of FTMaps for the H and K isoforms reveals essentially identical hot spots. Furthermore, using NMR measurements of spin relaxation, we determined that K-Ras exhibits global conformational dynamics very similar to those we previously reported for H-Ras. We thus hypothesize that the global conformational rearrangement serves as a mechanism for allosteric coupling between the effector interface and remote hot spots in all Ras isoforms. At least with respect to the binding sites involving the G domain, H-Ras is an excellent model for K-Ras and probably N-Ras as well. Ras has so far been elusive as a target for drug design. The present work identifies various unexplored hot spots throughout the entire surface of Ras, extending the focus from the disordered active site to well-ordered locations that should be easier to target.« less

The Polar and Electrical Nature of Dye Binding Sites on Human Red Blood Cell Membranes.

DTIC Science & Technology

positive charges at the binding sites. By increasing the concentration of the anionic BPB (or by the addition of the anionic detergent sodium lauryl ... sulfate ) these positive charges appear to be successively titrated, rendering the membrane binding sites electrically neutral at this pH. The average

Laminar and regional distribution of galanin binding sites in cat and monkey visual cortex determined by in vitro receptor autoradiography

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rosier, A.M.; Vandesande, F.; Orban, G.A.

1991-03-08

The distribution of galanin (GAL) binding sites in the visual cortex of cat and monkey was determined by autoradiographic visualization of ({sup 125}I)-GAL binding to tissue sections. Binding conditions were optimized and, as a result, the binding was saturable and specific. In cat visual cortex, GAL binding sites were concentrated in layers I, IVc, V, and VI. Areas 17, 18, and 19 exhibited a similar distribution pattern. In monkey primary visual cortex, the highest density of GAL binding sites was observed in layers II/III, lower IVc, and upper V. Layers IVA and VI contained moderate numbers of GAL binding sites,more » while layer I and the remaining parts of layer IV displayed the lowest density. In monkey secondary visual cortex, GAL binding sites were mainly concentrated in layers V-VI. Layer IV exhibited a moderate density, while the supragranular layers contained the lowest proportion of GAL binding sites. In both cat and monkey, we found little difference between regions subserving central and those subserving peripheral vision. Similarities in the distribution of GAL and acetylcholine binding sites are discussed.« less