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1. A new diagonal etectrophoretic technique for determining the order of the lysine-containing tryptic peptides of a protein is described. The protein is converted into its trifluoracetyl derivative, digested enzymatically (or chemically), and the resulting peptides separated by paper electrophoresis. The paper is then treated with ammonia vapour, which re-exposes the ε-amino groups of the lysine residues, and submitted to a second electrophoresis at right angles to the first direction. Peptides containing lysine residues, together with the N-terminal peptide of the protein, are found to lie off a diagonal formed by all other peptides, whence they may be readily purified. A study of these peptides enables the order of the lysine-containing tryptic peptides in the protein to be deduced. 2. The technique has been successfully tested with insulin. 3. When the method was applied to porcine pepsin, the four tryptic peptides isolated were easily ordered and the carboxyl-terminal sequence of the protein shown to be Arg-Gln-Tyr-TyrThr-Val-Phe-Asp-Arg-Ala-Asn-Asn-Lys-Val-Gly-Leu-Ala-Pro-Val-Ala. The thee basic ammo acid residues in the molecule are thus found clustering towards the C-terminus of the polypeptide chain. 4. A common ancestral gene for porcine pepsin and bovine (calf) rennin is suggested by the close homology between the C-terminal sequents of the two proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents information on forthcoming papers to be published in coming issues of the periodical "European Journal of Biochemistry." Some of the papers are: "Localization of Histone HS in the Subunit Organization of Chromatin Using ImmunoeIectron Microscopy"; "Presence of an Amino Acid Oxidase in Photosystem II of Anacystis nidutans"; "Aldoximes: Active-Site Probes of Alcohol Dehydrogenases"; and "Quinone Reductases of Higher Plants."

The article presents the forthcoming papers that will be published in the "European Journal of Biochemistry." Some of these articles to be published are "Purification and Characterization of Thermus Caldophilus GK24 DNA Polymerase," by J.H. Park, J.S. Kim, S.-T. Kwon and D.-S. Lee, "Lactotransferrin Binding to Its Platelet Receptor Inhibits Platelet Aggregation," by B. Leveugle, J. Mazurier, D. Legrand, C. Mazurier, J. Montreuil and G. Spik and "Does Escherichia Coli Possess a Second Critrate Synthase Gene?," by A.J. Patton, D.W. Hough, P. Towner and M.J. Danson.

The article presents information on several research papers related to biochemistry that would be published in coming issues of the European Journal of Biochemistry. Some of the research topics include: differentiation of ovine brown adipocyte precursor cells in a chemically defined serum-free medium; production and purification of recombinant human interleukin-6 secreted by the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae; binding of sugar phosphates, inositol phosphates and phosphorylated amino acids to actin; etc.

The article presents information on the forthcoming papers and articles that will be published by the "European Journal of Biochemistry." Some of them are Ionic-strength-dependent substrate inhibition of the lysis of Micrococcus luteus by hen egg-white lysozyme by I. M.A. Verhamme, G. W. K. van Dedem and A. R. Lauwers, A maximum of two tryptophan residues in gene-32 protein from phage T4 undergo stacking interactions with single-stranded polynucleotides, Cell-cycle-related metabolic and enzymatic events in proliferating rat thymocytes.

Presents articles for publication in future issues of the "European Journal of Biochemistry". Chemical structure of the lipopolysaccharide of Haemophilus influenzae strain; Progression of mammalian DNA replication intermediates to mature chromatin; Purification, characterization and induction of phenylalanine ammonia lyase in Phaseolus vulgaris.

A new approach of predicting structural classes of protein domain sequences is presented in this paper. Besides the amino acid composition, the composition of several dipeptides, tripeptides, tetrapeptides, pentapeptides and hexapeptides are taken into account based on the stepwise discriminant analysis. The result of jackknife test shows that this new approach can lead to higher predictive sensitivity and specificity for reduced sequence similarity datasets. Considering the dataset PDB40-B constructed by Brenner and colleagues, 75.2% protein domain sequences are correctly assigned in the jackknife test for the four structural classes: all-α, all-β, α/β and α + β, which is improved by 19.4% in jackknife test and 25.5% in resubstitution test, in contrast with the component-coupled algorithm using amino acid composition alone (AAC approach) for the same dataset. In the cross-validation test with dataset PDB40-J constructed by Park and colleagues, more than 80% predictive accuracy is obtained. Furthermore, for the dataset constructed by Chou and Maggiona, the accuracy of 100% and 99.7% can be easily achieved, respectively, in the resubstitution test and in the jackknife test merely taking the composition of dipeptides into account. Therefore, this new method provides an effective tool to extract valuable information from protein sequences, which can be used for the systematic analysis of small or medium size protein sequences. The computer programs used in this paper are available on request. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turnip isoperoxidase TP 7 had its hemin group removed and was cleaved by trypsin. The digest was fractionated by gel filtration and high-voltage paper electrophoresis and yielded 24 peptides, which counted for all 296 amino acid residues of the enzyme. Sequence analyses on the tryptic peptides and, when necessary, on their thermolytic derivatives were carried out by manual Edman degradation followed by dansylation or by quantitative amino acid analysis of thiazolinones convened by HI. The four disulfide bridges and the only site of carbohydrate attachment of turnip peroxidase 7 are located. The present analysis of tryptic peptides has been complemented by cyanogen bromide fragments cleaved by chymotrypsin as described in the accompanying paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a previous paper we have characterized five plant peroxidases, P1, P2, P3 and P7 of turnip and horseradish isoperoxidase C by peptide mapping studies, and only found two highly homologous sequences present in all. Both contained histidine. The findings supported previous suggestions of two histidine sequences near the peroxidase heme prostetic group, in the present paper we present the amino acid sequences around the histidine residues of all four turnip peroxidases, i. e. of 25 residues around the histidine proximal to heine, and 34 residues around the probably distally located histidine, and compare them with the histidine-containing sequences of the complete amino acid sequence of horseradish isoperoxidase C. Substitutions of residues are rare close to these histidines, but more abundant with greater distances. The probably distal sequences of P1, P2, P3 and horseradish peroxidase C all contain two histidine residues, at positions 40 and 42. In P7, however, residue 40 is phenylalanine, a substitution presumably important to its abnormal physico-chemical and enzymic properties. Gel filtration profiles of tryptic digests of the turnip isoperoxidases confirm their previous classification into a P1, P2 and P3 group and a distinct P7 enzyme, but further prove the presence of several sites of carbohydrate attachment in P1, P2 and P3 peroxidases, like in horeseradish peroxidase C which has eight sites. P7 has one such site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Desmosine and isodesmosine were separated by ion-exchange and paper chromatography, after acid hydrolysis of purified elastin from beef ligamentum nuchae. The fractions obtained by ion- exchange chromatography were clearly mixtures of related compounds. The desmosine fraction could be resolved into seven compounds and the isodesmote into four by paper charmatography. 2. Desmosine was maximally degraded by irradiation at 274 nm and isodesmosine at 285 nm. These wavelengths did not correspond to the absorption maxima of the cross links, but to shoulders of the main absorption peaks. 3. When irradiated at their optimum wavelengths, but at various pH, both desmosine and isodesmosine seemed quite stable at pH greater than 8.5. Between pH 8 and 5, the photolytic rate was maximum and decreased slightly at more acidic pH. Below pH 4.0, one of the products of photolysis was free lysine. 4. In analogy to the mechanism of the photolytic degradation of N-methyl pyridinium chloride, it appears that the (iso)desmosines were degraded via the formation of an open amino aldehyde, which was hydrolysed at acid pH to give free lysine and a substituted glutaconic aldehyde. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The annexins are a widespread family of calcium-dependent membrane-binding proteins. No common function has been identified for the family and, until recently, no crystallographic data existed for an annexin. In this paper we draw together 22 available annexin sequences consisting of 88 similar repeat units, and apply the techniques of multiple sequence alignment, pattern matching, secondary structure prediction and conservation analysis to the characterisation of the molecules. The analysis clearly shows that the repeats cluster into four distinct families and that greatest variation occurs within the repeat 3 units. Multiple alignment of the 88 repeats shows amino acids with conserved physicochemical properties at 22 positions, with only Gly at position 23 being absolutely conserved in all repeats. Secondary structure prediction techniques identify five conserved helices in each repeat unit and patterns of conserved hydrophobic amino acids are consistent with one face of a helix packing against the protein core in predicted helices a, c, d, e. Helix b is generally hydrophobic in all repeats, but contains a striking pattern of repeat-specific residue conservation at position 31, with Arg in repeats 4 and Glu in repeats 2, but unconserved amino acids in repeats 1 and 3. This suggests repeats 2 and 4 may interact via a buried salt- bridge. The loop between predicted helices a and b of repeat 3 shows features distinct from the equivalent loop in repeats 1, 2 and 4, suggesting an important structural and/or functional role for this region. No compelling evidence emerges from this study for uteroglobin and the annexins sharing similar tertiary structures, or for uteroglobin representing a derivative of a primordial one-repeat structure that underwent duplication to give the present day annexins. The analyses performed in this paper are re-evaluated in the Appendix, in the light of the recently published X-ray structure for human annexin V. The structure confirms most of the predictions and shows the power of techniques for the determination of tertiary structural information from the amino acid sequences of an aligned protein family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A subset of the spin systems assigned in the ¹H NMR of the trp repressor in the first paper in this series (our penultimate preceding paper in this journal) can be identified as surface or buried residues on the basis of four independent types of measurement: (a) selective spin-lattice relaxation times; (b) the dependence of line widths on temperature and the concentration of manganous ion; (c) fluorescence quenching; and (d) titration behaviour. Criteria are developed for distinguishing surface and buried residues. The significance for the function of DNA biding proteins is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activity of mammalian pyruvate dehydrogenase complexes from all sources so far tested is regulated by phosphorylation involving three sites. To facilitate understanding of the precise biological roles of the individual phosphorylation sites a method has now been developed, using pig heart [32P]phosphorylated complexes, which enables unambigous measurement of their occupancies. Established methods of tryptic digestion give two peptides that contain the three phosphorylation sites: TA contains sites 1 and 2; TB contains site 3. Thus, while occupancy of site 3 may be determined unequivocally by tryptic digestion, occupancies of sites 1 and 2 cannot. The present paper shows that peptide TA may be specifically and quantitatively cleaved by formic acid at an Asp-Pro bond located between the two phosphorylation sites. Equal amounts of two new peptides each containing a different phosphorylation site (site 1 or site 2) are produced. The 32P-labelled peptides may be completely separated and quantified by high-voltage paper electrophoresis at pH 2. A combination of tryptic digestion (determination of 32P in site 3) and-formic acid cleavage of peptide TA (determination of 32P in sites 1 and 2) thus enables unequivocal assignment of occupancies of individual phosphorylation sites to >95 % accuracy. This method has been used to show that during phosphorylation and inactivation of pig heart complexes (inactivated to between 1.5% and 90%) >98% of the observed inactivation was primarily attributable to phosphorylation of site 1; the contribution of site 2 was <2 % if at all. Relative initial rates of phosphorylation, site 1:site 2:site 3 were approximately 90:3:1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. The purification of a halidohydrolase from cell-free extracts of Pseudomonas dehalogenans NCIB 9061 grown on glucose and monochloroacetate as carbon source, is described. 2. This enzyme catalyses the hydrolysis of some 2-halogen substituents on aliphatic carboxylic acids, releasing a halide ion and a hydrogen ion and causing inversion of the configuration. 3. The molecular weight as determined by chromatography on Sephadex G-100 was about 15000. 4. The optimum activity was at pH 9.4. Activity was rapidly and irreversibly lost below PH6.0. 5. The amino acid composition of the purified enzyme in its native state and after photooxidation in the presence of methylene blue is presented. 6. The variation of the kinetic parameters, V and Km between pH 7.0 and pH 10.0 suggest that a group with a pKa of about 7.8 is involved in its base form in the catalytic reaction. 7. The enzyme is rapidly inactivated by reaction with iodine and upon photooxidation in the presence of methylene blue, but the effect of thiol reagents suggests that a thiol group is not directly responsible for catalysis. 8. It is suggested that a histidine residue is implicated in the catalytic reaction and a mechanism is proposed which is consistent with the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In paper [5] a simplified model for the hydrophobic binding sites of trypsin was proposed, showing where 1-amino-n-alkanes and α,ω-diamino-n-alkanes are bound while they competitively inhibit the catalyzed hydrolysis of a substrate ester. In the model, the enzyme bas two hydrophobic binding sites separated by an aqueous region which presumably contains the catalytic important residues. The first site binds up to 4 methylene groups of the aliphatic side chain adjacent to the ω-amino group: additional—CH2 groups in t, he chain extend into the aqueous region. If the chain is larger than 7 carbon atoms, the additional methylene or methyl groups are bound to the second hydrophobic site. This site is found to bind less strongly than the first site. This paper presents a thermodynamic investigation of the binding properties of trypsin in the formation of complexes with cationic esters and amids which bear an ammonium group on either the end of the acid side chain or the end of the alcohol or amine component. Free energy and in addition enthalpy and entropy of binding were measured as a function of the length of the inhibitor molecule and as a function of the position of the ester or amide carbonyl group. It was found that thc stability of a complex increases linearly with length of the molecule, and that the magnitude of increase depends on the position of the carbonyl group. Amides always exhibit a smaller increase than esters. Inhibitors with the ammonium group on the alcohol component, were bound with about, the same stability than the corresponding ω-aminoacidesters. The results are consistent, with the model. Positioning of the carbonyl group within the first or second binding site reduces stability due to restricted interaction of the hydrophobic residues on enzyme and inhibitor. Only when the carbonyl group falls into the aqueous region, the free energy for an inhibitor containing the ester group is similar to that for a 1-amino-n-alkane with identical chain length. Enthalpy and entropy as functions of the position of the carbonyl group show minima for the position within the aqueous region. This observation is correlated with the jump of enthalpy and entropy of complex formation of trypsin in the series of 1-amino-n-alkanes reported earlier. It is shown that the magnitude of free energy of complex formation with specific substrates is well estimated on basis of the model. As a consequence, the alternative binding of either the 2-N-acyl group or the alcohol or amine component, to the second hydrophobic site may imply a mode of less productive binding. It is emphasized that unproductive binding should be reflected in the Michaelis Menten constants for substrate amides whereas thc Michaelis Menten constant, for a substrate ester is normally not perturbed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malonic acid as well as its model substrate methylmalonic acid are covalently bound to two chemically different sites of the fatty acid synthetase complex of yeast. When radioactively labeled malonyl CoA or methylmalonyl CoA are incubated with the multienzyme complex, radio- active malonyl and methyhnalonyl enzymes are formed and may be precipitated with trichloro- acetic acid. Treatment with performic acid splits only a minor proportion of the (methyl) malonyl enzyme bonds. Most of them are resistant to the oxidant and, hence, prove to be non-thioester linkages. Methyl- [3-14C]malonyl enzyme was digested with pepsin. By DEAE-Sephadex chromatography of the peptic hydrolysate the radioactive (methyl)malonyl peptides. were separated into three different fractions A, B and C. In peptides B and C (methyl)malonic acid is bound by performic acid stable linkages, whereas (methyl)malonyl peptide A apparently is a thioester and can be split by oxidation. Peptide C is always a minor sateffite of peptide B, the quantitative relation of both varying somewhat in different preparations. it is concluded that both are derived from a common original peptide sequence in the enzyme. Methyl- [3-14C]malonyl peptide B was further purified by the following procedures: Dowex-50X2 chromatography, subtilisin S digestion, DEAB-Sephadex chromatography, Dowex-50X2 chromatography, high voltage paper electrophoresis and paper chromatography. Two methylmalonyl peptides, B1and B2, resulted from subtilisin S treatment. They finally were obtained in analytically pure form and proved to be a pentapeptide and a heptapeptide, respectively, with the following amino acid composition: B1 = Leu,AIa,Gly,Ser,His and B2 = Leu, Ala,Gly(2 × ),Glu,Ser,His, Leucine was the C-terminal amino acid in peptide B1. No cysteine was found in either peptide. A preparation of [3-14C]malonyl peptide B was found to be analytically pure after DEAE- Sephadex, Dowex-50X2 and paper chromatography. Its amino acid composition was identical to that of methylmalonyl B1peptide B2. The acyl peptides B and C were highly sensitive against alkaline hydrolysis. It is concluded that the (methyl)malonic acid in peptides B and C is bound to serine by an O-ester linkage which is unusually activated by some surrounding amino acid, possibly histidine, [3-14C]Malonal peptide A was shown to contain stoichiometric amounts of cysteamine, β-alanine, and organic phosphate, corresponding to the quantity of malonate bound. These data suggest a thioester linkage between malonate and the SH-group of enzyme-bound 4'-phospho- pantetheine. 4'- Phospho-pantetheine, therefore, represents the so called "central" SR-group in yeast fatty acid synthetase, The other malonyl binding site is thought to be the active center of the malonyl transferase in the complex. After alkali treatment of the purified fatty acid synthetase under defined conditions 4' -phospho - pantetheine was isolated from the bydrolysate and characterized as S-benzoyl-4'-phospho- pantetheine. One molecule of the multienzyme complex contained between 3.5 and 6 molecules of 4'-phospho-pantetheine. According to the amount of malonyl enzyme formed, not all of the enzyme-bound phospho-pantetheine residues accept malonic acid. Some may be involved in other functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the first one of a series devoted to the primary structure of the major protein of cow's milk, αs1-casein, a single-chain phosphoprotein, formerly reposed to have arginine as an NH2-termimal, and Leu-TrpOH as COOH-terminal residues. ryptic digestion of maleyl αs1-casein (genetic variant B), in theory bruited to arginyl bonds, yields eight peptidic fragments, Tm1 to Tm8, which were fractionated by column chromatography and, in some cases, more thoroughly purified by preparative paper electrophoresis and/or chromatography. The ammo acid composition and the phosphate content of these fragments were determined. The fragments Tm3 and Tm8 arise from a partial non specific cleavage of Tm5. Thus, six fragments only—2, 4, 5, 6 and 7—arise from the specific cleavage of the αs1-casein chain at arginyl bonds, a result in accordance with the reported number of six arginyl residues in the chain, one being NH2-terminal. The fragment Tm7, with two arginyl residues, and Tm2 devoid of arginine appear to rcpresent respectively the NH2- and COOH-terminal parts of the αs1-casein chain. These peptidic fragments—except Tm4 which is devoid of lysine—were further digested by trypsin at lysyl bonds, after eliminating the blocking maleyl groups. The resulting peptides were purified by the same methods as mentioned above, and the composition of these tryptic peptides was established. As a control, the tryptic peptides of αs1-casein were simultaneously purified by the same methods from a hydrolysate of the protein which had not been treated with maleic anhydride. In summary, this first step of our work gives: (a) the composition of ail the bovine αs1-casein tryptic peptides; (b) partial information on the location of these peptides in the protein chain: (c) confirmation that the molecular weight of the bovine αs1-casein monomer is approximately 23600. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the first purification of the mitochondrial branched‐chain amino acid aminotransferase (BCATm) from sheep placenta. It is a homodimer with an apparent subunit molecular mass of 41 kDa. The enzyme differs from those of the rat and human as it appears to form at least one intermolecular disulfide bond. The sheep BCATm cDNA (1.4 kb) encodes a mature polypeptide of 366 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 41 329 Da and a partial mitochondrial targeting sequence of seven amino acids. The sheep BCATm sequence shares higher identity with other mammalian BCATm isoenzymes (82–85%) than with the cytosolic isoenzymes (60%). By Northern blot analysis, a message of 1.7 kb was detected in sheep placenta and skeletal muscle. Measurements of BCAT activity, mRNA and BCATm protein in sheep placenta and skeletal muscle revealed that BCATm is the sole BCAT isoenzyme expressed in placenta, whereas it contributes 57 and 71% of the BCAT activity in tensor fascia latae and masseter muscles from weaned lambs respectively. Skeletal muscle, the main site of branched‐chain amino acid transamination, exhibits significantly lower BCAT activity in sheep than in rat. Our results suggest that the low BCATm mRNA level probably accounts for the low BCAT activity in sheep skeletal muscle, and that the metabolic scheme for branched‐chain amino acid catabolism is specific to each species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trypanosoma brucei contains an ATP-dependent phosphofructokinase (PFK), located in its glycosomes, which are peroxisome-like organelles sequestering the majority of its glycolytic enzymes. In this paper, we report the cloning and sequencing of the single-copy gene encoding this enzyme. Its amino-acid sequence is more similar to pyrophosphate (PPi)-dependent PFKs than to other ATP-dependent PFKs. a phylogenetic analysis suggests that the enzyme must have been derived from a PPi-dependent ancestral PFK, which changed its phospho-donor specificity during evolution. The enzyme is no longer capable of using PPi as phospho substrate, nor can it catalyze the reverse reaction as PPi-PFKs generally can. Moreover, the presence of a high pyrophosphatase activity in the cell renders it unlikely that PPi can function as free-energy source in present-day trypanosomes. It remains to be determined which mutations were responsible for the chage in phospho-substrate specificity of the trypanosomatid PFK. As a result of its particular evolutionary hitory, the T. brucei PFK shows many structural differences, even at the active site, when compared with other ATP-dependent PFKs. These differences offer great potential for the structure-based design of trypanocidal drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have previously isolated a form of protein phosphatase-1 (PP1M) from avian smooth muscle myofibrils that is composed of the catalytic subunit of PP1 (PP1C) bound to an M-complex consisting of 110-kDa (M110) and 21-kDa (M21) subunits. The interaction of PP1C with an N-terminal region of the M110 subunit enhances the dephosphorylation of myosin and suppresses the dephosphorylation of other substrates [Alessi, D. R., MacDougall, L. K., Sola, M. M., Ikebe, M. & Cohen, P. (1992) Eur. J. Biochem. 210, 1023–1035; Chen, Y. H., Chen, M. X., Alessi, D. R., Campbell, D. G., Shanahan, C., Cohen, P. & Cohen, P. T. W. (1994) FEBS Lett. 356, 51–56; Johnson, D. F., Moorhead, G., Caudwell, F. B., Cohen, P., Chen, Y. H., Chen, M. X. & Cohen, P. T. W. (1996) Eur. J. Biochem. 239, 317–325]. In this paper, we establish that PP1M accounts for nearly all the myosin phosphatase activity in myofibrils, that the M110 and M21 subunits are present at similar concentrations in the myofibritlar fraction, and that these subunits are entirely bound to PP1. We demonstrate that the M21 subunit does not interact with PP1C, but with the C-terminal 72 residues of the M110 m subunit, a region which is 43 % identical to residues 87–161 of the M21 subunit. A fragment of the M21 subunit, M21-(M1–L146), which lacks the C-terminal leucine zipper, also bound to the M110 subunit, but two other fragments M21-(M1–E110) and M21-(E110–K186) did not. The M110 and M21 subunits were both found to be myosin-binding proteins. The C-terminal 291 residues of the M110 subunit, but not the C-terminal 72 residues, bound to myosin, but the N-terminal fragments M110-(M1—E309) and M110-(M1—S477) did not. Thus, the region of the M110 subunit that stimulates the dephosphorylation of myosin by PP1C is distinct from the region that targets PP1M to myosin. Remarkably, each myosin dimer was capable of binding about 20 tool M21 subunit and many of the M21-binding sites were located in the myosin rod domain. The potential significance of this observation is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a previous paper, we reported on the structural properties of a 35-residue peptide corresponding to a modified basic subdomain (bSD) of the basic zipper protein c-Jun (residues 252–281) as determined by combined use of 1H-NMR, circular dichroism (CD) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopies [Krebs, D., Dahmani, B., El Antri, S., Monnot, M., Convert, O., Mauffret, O., Troalen, F. & Fermandjian, S. (1995) Eur. J. Biochem. 231, 370–380]. The fragments NP and CP (the N-terminal residues 1–19 and C-terminal residues 16–35 of bSD, respectively) proved to be particularly useful for the assignment of the 1H-NMR spectra of the full-length bSD, which has been achieved completely in aqueous solution and partially in trifluoroethanol. Here, we report on the structural properties of NP and CP in aqueous solution and under varying H2O/trifluoroethanol conditions, again using 1H-NMR, CD and FT-IR experiments. Both CD and FT-IR results established that the fragments are weakly structured in aqueous solution. Addition of trifluoroethanol to aqueous solutions of the peptides produced their stabilization into helix, following a profile sigmoidal for NP and nearly linear for CP. Quantitative NOEs, secondary · Hα chemical shifts, NH temperature coefficients and 3JαN coupling constants for the peptides in aqueous solutions provided indications for weak helix features (nascent helices) manifested within two sites (continuous dNN NOEs) in both NP and CP. For each peptide, an excellent agreement was observed between experiments and predictions with the AGADIR program for the location of these nascent helices in the sequences. Trifluoroethanol provoked both the α-helix stabilization within these sites and the α-helix propagation to adjacent amino acid residues. Finally, our results reflected the high flexibility and helix potential of the NP and CP fragments, these two properties seeming crucial for the accomodation of c-Jun to its specific DNA targets. The results demonstrated also the fragmentation's benefits in dissecting a protein or a complex peptide into smaller fragments and analyzing their structure individually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Syringopeptin 25-A is a phytotoxic amphiphilic lipodepsipeptide containing 25 amino acid residues, produced by some isolates of the plant pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae. Previous papers have reported its covalent structure and some of its biological properties. Attention has now been directed to define its conformation in solution, a structural feature regarded as important for understanding its possible role in the bacterial colonization of host plants, and its toxic action on the plant cell. Here we report the stereochemistry of its amino acid components, the complete interpretation of the two-dimensional NMR spectra and NOE data, and finally the structure obtained by computer simulations applying distance geometry and molecular dynamics procedures. The confirmation of the syringopeptin 25-A in aqueous solution includes three different structural regions interrupted by rigid 2,3-dehydro-aminobutyric acid residues: a loop from residue 2 to 6, a helicoidal zone from 8 to 15, and the lactone ring from 18 to 25. The three dimentional structure of the lactone moiety is very similar to that of two previously studied bioactive lipodepsinonapeptides. Preliminary circular dichroism evidence of conformational variations in solution of trifluoroethanol, which stimulates a membrane-like environment, are also reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biosynthetically directed fractional 13C labeling of proteinogenic amino acids is achieved by expression of proteins on a minimal medium which contains a mixture of [13C6]glucose and glucose with natural isotope abundance as the sole carbon source. Subsequent hydrolysis of the proteins yields the free amino acids. The observation of 13C-13C spin-spin scalar coupling fine structures in sensitive two-dimensional heteronuclear [13C,1H]-correlation spectroscopy (2D [13C,1H]-COSY) allows one to identify non-random 13C-labeling patterns arising from the incorporation of intact two-carbon and three-carbon fragments from a single source molecule of glucose into the amino acids. Since 2D [13C,1H]-COSY suffices to resolve all relevant resonances, the mixture of amino acids can be analyzed without further separation of its components. Probabilistic equations relate the observed multiplet intensities of the 13C fine structures to the relative abundance of the intact carbon fragments. They enable a quantitative analysis of the carbon flux in the network of biosynthetic pathways, thus using the proteinogenic amino acids as probes to study intermediary metabolism. This paper shows that biosynthetically directed fractional 13C labeling of amino acids provides an efficient analytical tool to quantitatively investigate glycolysis, pyruvate metabolism, pentose phosphate pathway, tricarboxylic acid cycle and C1 metabolism. Possible applications of the method include both the exploration of unknown biosynthetic pathways and the rapid elucidation of the response of a known biosynthetic reaction network to changes in growth conditions or genetic manipulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monoamine oxidases (MAO) A and B show a high degree of amino acid similarity. Apart from the NH2-terminus, which contains an ADP-binding consensus sequence, little is known about their structural features or the sequences involved in the binding of substrates. In the present paper, we have studied the structure/function relationships of MAOs by constructing 18 different chimeric forms of MAO, engineered by moving progressively the junction between the NH2-terminus of one MAO form with the COOH-terminus of its isoenzyme. After transient expression in HEK-293 cells, the properties of these chimeric enzymes were investigated using both selective and nonselective substrates and inhibitors. Whereas exchange of the ADP-binding sequence did not modify the catalytic properties of either MAO isoforms, chimeras with increasing length of the NH2-terminus of MAO-A (up to residue 256) showed a marked decrease in affinity towards the MAO-B substrate phenylethylamine and the inhibitor N-(2-aminoethyl)-5-chloro-2-pyridine carboxamide · HCI (lazabemide) when compared to wild-type MAO-B. No major changes were observed in the kcat, values of these chimeras. From the data obtained, two sequences, i.e. 62–103 and 146–220, appeared of particular importance in constituting the binding site of MAO-B. On the other hand, the catalytic properties and specificity of MAO-A appeared to be relatively insensitive to substitution of both the NH2-- (up to position 112) and COOH-termini (from residue 395) of MAO-A with the corresponding MAO-B sequences. However, further modification of the central 283-residue sequence of MAO-A did not appear compatible with enzymic activity. None of the engineered chimeras showed a shift in specificity from one isoform to the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The brain specific S-100 protein is a mixture of two components S-100a and S-100 b with a subunit composition αβ or β2 respectively. The amino acid sequence of the β subunit has been previously determined. This paper presents the sequence of the α subunit in the S-100a protein. The α subunit consists of 93 amino-acid residues and has a relative molecular mass of 10400. The sequence shows extensive homology (58 %) with that of the β-subunit and shares an apparent calcium binding site in the C-terminal half of the molecule, suggesting a close evolutionary relationship between these subunits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative phosphorylation operates at optimal efficiency if and only if the condition of conductance matching L33/L11 = √1-q⊃ is fulfilled. In this relation L11 is the phenomenological conductance of phosphorylation, L33 the phenomenological conductance of the load, i.e. the irreversible ATP-utilizing processes in the cell, and q the degree of coupling of oxidative phosphorylation driven by respiration. Since during short time intervals L11 and q are constant whereas L33 fluctuates in the cell, oxidative phosphorylation would only rarely operate at optimal efficiency due to violation of conductance matching. This paper demonstrates that the reversible ATP-utilizing reaction catalyzed by adenylate kinase can effectively compensate deviations from conductance matching in the presence of a fluctuating L33 and hence allows oxidative phosphorylation to operate at optimal efficiency in the cell. Since the adenylate kinase reaction was found to buffer a thermodynamic potential, i.e. the phosphate potential, this finding was generalized to the concept of thermodynamic buffering. The thermodynamic buffering ability of the adenylate kinase reaction was demonstrated by experiments with incubated rat-liver mitochondria. Considerations of changes introduced in the entropy production by the adenylate kinase reaction allowed to establish the theoretical framework for thermodynamic buffering. The ability of thermodynamic buffering to compensate deviations from conductance matching in the presence of fluctuating loads was demonstrated by computer simulations. The possibility of other reversible ATP-utilizing reactions, like the ones catalyzed by creatine kinase and arginine kinase, to contribute to thermodynamic buffering is discussed. Finally, the comparison of the theoretically calculated steady-state cytosolic adenine nucleotide concentrations with experimental data from perfused livers demonstrated that in livers from fed rats conductance matching is fulfilled on a time average and that the degree of coupling corresponded to qpec = 0.97 permitting the most economic maintenance of a maximal output power of oxidative phosphorylation. For the case of livers from starved rats this analysis suggested that the degree of coupling corresponded to qfec = 0.95, permitting the most economic maintenance of a maximal net rate of ATP synthesis at optimal efficiency of oxidative phosphorylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have developed a semi-empirical method to determine the subunit molecular weight of a protein. The method is a minor modification of the Edman degradation and is based on a simple chemical procedure to modify specifically the N-terminal NH2 group. Initially, all NH2 groups, including the ε-NH2 groups of lysine residues and the N-terminal α-NH2 group, are reacted with phenylisothiocyanate and the protein derivative is subjected to one step of the Edman degradation. The newly exposed N terminus is then reacted with radioactively labelled phenylisothiocyanate. A value for the subunit molecular weight can be obtained from an analysis of the incorporated radioactivity and the amount of the protein in the sample. The molecular weight of five different proteins have been determined by this method. Our method is particularly useful for proteins containing lipid or sugar components and also for relatively small peptides. The procedure described in this paper for the specific modification of the N terminus has been found to be a powerful tool for protein sequencing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly(uridylic acid) [poly(U)] and poly(xanthidylic acid) [poly(X)] strongly stimulate the IF-2-dependent binding of fMet-tRNA to 30-S ribosomal subunits from Escherichia coli [Van der Laken et al. (1979) FEBS Lett. 100, 230–234]. The N-formylmethionine moiety is incorporated into poly(phenylalanine) upon subsequent addition of other components required for protein synthesis when poly(U) is used as template. This paper shows that N-acetylated Phe-tRNAPhe (AcPhe-tRNA), but not Phe-tRNAPhe or tRNAPhe, competes with fMet-tRNA for binding to poly(U)-programmed 30-S ribosomal subunits. The two species of N-blocked aminoacyl-tRNA are bound to poly(U)-programmed and poly(X)-programmed 30-S subunits in a ratio that is linearly dependent on the ratio of the two species added. With poly(U) as template there is no apparent preference for either fMet-tRNA or AcPhe-tRNA, whereas with poly(X) there is a 2–3-fold preference for fMet-tRNA. The initiation factor IF-2, which is strictly required for the binding of N-blocked aminoacyi-tRNAs, has a higher affinity for fMet-tRNA than for AcPhe-tRNA. It is concluded that (a) interaction of the 30-S ribosomal subunit with poly(U) or poly(X) leads to IF-2-dependent binding of N-blocked aminoacyl-tRNA; (b) the initiation factor IF-2 discriminates in favour of fMet-tRNA; (c) the presence of the cognate codon discriminates in favour of the corresponding N-blocked aminoacyl-tRNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In eukaryotes, the levels of specific tRNAs are closely correlated with the demands for their cognate amino acids in protein synthesis. To account for this phenomenon, we have proposed that the extent of aminoacylation of a given tRNA species in vivo controls the relative rate of synthesis or turnover of that species. Previously, we reported that Friend leukemia cells respond to histidine deprivation by increasing their relative level of tRNAHis by as much as two-fold, with no change in the relative level of tRNALeu. In this paper, we show that deprivation of leucine or tryptophan also causes a specific increase in the relative level of tRNAs cognate to the deprived amino acid. At least in the case of tRNATrp, the increases in relative tRNA levels are preceded by extensive declines in the steady-state extent of aminoacylation of the tRNA in vivo. We also find that different isoacceptors may respond differently to amino acid deprivation. These results suggest that decreased extents of aminoacylation of a given tRNA species in vivo cause increases in the relative rate of synthesis or decreases in the relative rate of degradation of that species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The preceding paper in this journal has reported that pyruvate could be substituted for 2-oxoglutarate as a substrate of saccharopine dehydrogenase [ε-N-(L-glutaryl-2)-L-lysine:NAD oxidoreductase (L-lysine-forming)] in the direction of reductive condensation. In the present communication, the kinetic mechanism of saccharopine dehydrogenase reaction with NADH, L-lysine and pyruvate as reactants is reported. The results of initial velocity study, inhibition studies with lysine analogs and a reaction product, NAD+M, are consistent with an ordered mechanism with the coenzyme binding first and pyruvate last. The reaction mechanism is at variance with that of the normal reaction in which 2-oxoglutarate is the substrate, in that the order of addition of the amino and oxo acid substrates is reversed. This fact suggests that there exists a small degree of randomness in the binding of amino and oxo acid substrates. From a product inhibition study, NAD+M was shown to be the last reactant released. Saccharopine [ε-N-(L-glutaryl-2)-L-lysine] was found to act as a potent dead-end inhibitor of the condensation reactions (of lysine and 2-oxoglutarate, and of lysine and pyruvate) by forming an abortive E · NADH · saccharopine complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Yeast cells were labelled with radioactive amino acids in the presence of cycloheximide and the cytochrome bc1 complex was isolated from them as described in the preceding paper [Katan, M. B., Pool, L. & Groot, G. S, P. (1976) Eur. J. Biochem. 65, 95–105]. After analysis of this preparation by sodium dodecylsulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis only one band, with an apparent Mr of 32000, was found to have incorporated radioactivity. The amount of label in the band was low, but could be increased approximately 5-fold by preincubating the cells in erythromycin before the labelling period. 2. Cells were labelled in the presence of chloramphenicol and the cytochrome bc1 complex was isolated by (NH4)2SO4 fractionation. Upon electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecylsulphate only four of the six bands that belong to the complex were found to have incorporated radioactivity; no radioactivity was found in the bands with an Mr of 40000 and 17000. The same result was obtained after labelling in the presence of acriflavin. If, however, the cytochrome bc1 complex was isolated by immunoprecipitation, all bands were found to have incorporated radioactivity in the presence of chloramphenicol. The amount of radioactivity in the Mr 32000 band was now clearly depressed. 3. It is concluded that of the seven polypeptides of the cytochrome bc1 complex of yeast only one is made on mitochondrial ribosomes. This polypeptide has an Mr of 32000 and is probably associated with cytochrome b. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was demonstrated that an enzyme system(s) extracted from etiolated seedlings of Stizolobium hassjoo catalyzed the conversion of L-dihydroxyphenylalanine into stizolobinic acid. α-amino-6-carboxy-2-oxo-2H-pyran-3-propionic acid, and stizolobic acid, α-amino-6-earboxy-2-oxo-2H-pyran-4-propionic acid, in the presence of NADP+ or NAD+ under aerobic condition. Enzymically synthesized radioactive stizolobinic acid and stizolobic acid isolated from the reaction mixtures were purified and confirmed to have constant specific radioactivities by cocrystallization with authentic samples. Maximal activity of the enzyme preparation was obtained by using an insoluble polyphenol adsorbent (Polyclar AT) and a reducing agent (araboascorbic acid) in the extraction medium and by subsequent fractionation of the extract with ammonium sulfate followed by Sephadex G-25 gel filtration. Catalytic activity of the enzyme preparation was more unstable under aerobic condition than anaerobic, Attempts to stabilise the enzyme activity were made by the use of many substances which are known to stabilise other enzymes or expected to arrest the inactivation. Evidence is provided in this paper that the previously proposed biosynthetic pathways of stizolobinic acid and stizolobic acid from dihydroxyphenylalanine proceeded in the cell-free system from etiolated seedlings of S. hassjoo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sheep-serum transferrin shows marked polymorphism and more than 20 alleles have been identified although only 4 or 5 of these have a frequency higher than 1%. Each of the alleles has two bands in starch-gel electrophoresis, corresponding to a major and a minor fraction. This paper describes the isolation and partial characterisation of the two fractions from the transferrin of sheep homozygous for Tf B. The purification consisted of: (a) precipitation by ammonium sulphate, (b) chromatography on CM-cellulose and, finally (c) chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex. The purification procedure had no effect on the electrophoretic mobility of the two fractions and they appeared homogeneous by starch-gel and polyamide-gel electrophoresis and by immuno-electrophoresis. The amino-acid compositions of both fractions were very similar and the sequences of the first eight amino-acid residues: Ser-Pro-Glu-Lys-Thr-Val-Arg-Trp-were identical for both bands. These results, and the fact that the two fractions are found in all genetic variants and always have the same relative mobility strongly suggest that the differences do not lie in the polypeptide chain. From the results of hydrolysis by neuraminidase and assay of sialic acid, the major and minor fractions most probably contain two and three sialic acid residues (exclusively N-acetylneuraminic acid) respectively, thus explaining the different electrophoretic mobilities. The sialic-acid content has been calculated on the basis of a molecular weight of 77500 as determined both by low-speed equilibrium ultracentrifugation and by Archibald's method. The following physico-chemical constants have been established: absorption coefficient at 280nm, A1 mg/cm³1 cm = 1.25 ± 0.01 cm² · mg-1; partial specific volume, &vmacr; = 0.734 cm³ · g-1; sedimentation coefficient s20.wo = 5.15 S; refractive-index increment, dn/dc = 0.173 cm³ · g-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A low-molecular-weight and a high-molecular-weight 1,4-β-glucan glucanohydrolase (Cχ enzyme) have been isolated from a commercial cellulase preparation derived from culture filtrates of the fungus THchoderma vMde. The purification method for the isolation of the low-molecular-weight enzyme is a three-step procedure including chromatography on Bio-Gel P-10, chromatography on a dipolar adsorbent (arginine-fiepharose 6 B) and isoelectric focusing. The starting material for the isolation of the high-molecular-weight enzyme was pre-fractionated by chromatography on Bio-Gel P-10, by DEAE-Sephadex chromatography and by SE-Sephadex chromatography as described previously by us. Further fractionation of this material was achieved by affinity chromatography and repeated isoelectric focusing. Free zone electrophoresis of the low-molecular-weight enzyme indicated a homogeneous protein. The high-molecular-weight enzyme was homogeneous in sedimentation equilibrium analysis. The molecular weights of the enzymes were 12 500 and 50 000 ± 2000 respectively. The former value was determined by chromatography on a calibrated column of Bio-Gel P-100 and the latter value by sedimentation equilibrium analysis. The low-molecular-weight enzyme was isoelectric at pH 4.60 (10°C) and contained 21% carbohydrate. The corresponding values for the high-molecular-weight enzyme were pH 3.39 and 12%. Both enzymes were active in releasing free fibers from filter-paper. The low-molecular-weight enzyme was estimated to be about twice as effective as the high-molecular-weight enzyme in this regard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The apamin sequence has been synthesized by the solid-phase procedure. The synthetic peptide showed the same physicochemical and chemical properties as natural apamin in the following tests: paper electrophoresis, amino acid analyses after acid and enzymatic hydrolyses, sequence analysis, electrophoreses after tryptic and chymotryptic digestions. Synthetic apamin was as active as natural apamin in the neurotoxic assay in mice (LD50, after subcutaneous injection, for the 20-g mouse: 58 μg). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serine sulphhydrase from chicken liver and cysteine lyase from chicken-embryo yolk sac catalyse the exchange of α-H atoms of the amino acid substrate with 3H2O. The degree of labelling of the unreacted substrate approaches a maximum of one atom per mol of amino acid. In the absence of replacing agent there is practically no H-exchange in the substrate. The α-H of the accumulating j8-substitution product is completely replaced by the labelled hydrogen of the solvent water, irrespective of the duration of incubation. The amount of labelled α-hydrogen incorporated into excess (unreacted) amino acids substrate within 3.5-h incubation is somewhat less than the amount incorporated into the product of the complete enzymic β-replacement reaction. Within the sensitivity limits of detection, the enzymes do not induce any isotopic exchange either of β-H atoms in the amino substrate or of 18O-labelled β-HO groups, in the case of L-serine. Neither serine sulphhydrase nor cysteine lyase will catalyse α-hydrogen exchange in close structural analogues of their substrates, e.g. L-alanine, D-serine, threonine, 3-phosphoserine. A special case is the interaction of cysteine lyase with the competitive inhibitor, L-serine (whose inhibitor constant, Ki, is equal to the Michaelis constant, Km, of L-cysteine): the lyase catalyses, only in presence of a cosubstrate thiol, α-H exchange in L-serine at approximately the same rate as in L-cysteine. The present data concerning isotopic α-H exchange in substrate amino acids, and evidence published earlier, suggest that the catalytic mechanism of replacement-specific β-lyases may significantly differ from that of the eliminating or ambivalent (mixed-function) lyases. Formation of α,β-unsaturated pyridoxylidene aldimines as real reaction intermediates is unlikely in the case of lyases specifically catalysing β-replacement reactions; these may proceed by some alternative mechanism of the type suggested in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two isoenzymes of phospholipase A (fraction DE-I and DE-JI) were isolated from the venom of Hemachatus haemachatus (Riughals) by gel filtration on Sephadex 0-50 and by ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose. Fraction DE-I was homogeneous by various physicochemical criteria. The enzyme comprises 119 amino acid residues and is cross-linked by seven disulphide bridges. The values of the molecular weight of fraction DE-I from gel filtration in the presence of calcium ions, also by the dodecylsulphate gel method and calculated from the amino acid composition were close to 13500. The complete amino acid sequence of phospholipase A (fraction DE-I) was elucidated. The reduced and S-carboxymethylated enzyme was digested with trypsin, chymotrypsin, thermolysin and subtilisin and the peptides purified by DEAE-cellulose chromatography, gel filtration and chromatography or electrophoresis on paper. The amino acid sequences of the intact enzyme and the pure peptides were determined by the Edman procedure, either through the use of the automatic sequencer or by manual manipulation. The chymotryptic digest provided the necessary overlapping peptides for aligning the tryptic peptides. The amino acid sequence of Hemachatus haemachatus phos- pholipase A (fraction DE-I) shows a high degree of homology with the three isoenzymes of phospho- lipase A from Naja melanoleuca and is also homologous with the phospholipase A from Bitis gabonica and porcine pancreas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate inhibits glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase from Leuconostoc mesonteroides reversibly which Ki = 0.04-0.06 mM. 2. This inhibition is competitive with respect to glucose 6-phosphate and non-competitive with respect to NADP+ or NAD+ Interaction between enzyme and excess pyridoxal 5'-phosphate follows pseudo-first-order kinetics and indicates that one molecule of inhibitor reacts with each active unit of enzyme. 3. Substrate and coenzyme protect the enzyme from inhibition by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. Dissociation constants for NADP+ and glucose 6-phosphate were determined from their effects on the kinetics of enzyme- inhibitor interaction. 4. Reaction of the enzyme with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate produces a typical Schiff-base absorbance peak at 430 nm. Subsequent reduction with sodium borohydride leads to spectral changes characteristic for the formation of a secondary amine. 5. The irreversibly inactivated enzyme thus produced contains two moles of inhibitor per mole of enzyme (two subunits per mole). After protein hydrolysis, N6-pyridoxyllysine can be identified by paper chromatography. 6. The enzyme is inhibited irreversibly by I -fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene, even in the presence of excess 2-mercaptoethanol. At least one dinitrophenyl group is bound per active unit of enzyme; 4 to 5 moles of dinitrophenyl group are bound per mole of enzyme. NADP+ and glucose 6-phosphate protect against inhibition by 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene. The absorption spectrum of dinitrophenyl-enzyme corresponds to that for dinitrophenylated amino groups. 7. These studies indicate that there is an essential lysine at the active site of the enzyme. It is suggested that the function of this lysine is to bind glucose 6-phosphate. 8. It is proposed that a group of "active lysine" proteins may exist (in analogy with the "active serine" enzymes), which share a common structural feature at their substrate-binding site and to which pyridoxal 5'-phosphate binds specifically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Adenylate kinase (ATP: AMP phosphotransferase) has been purified 490-fold from porcine muscle with a final yield of 60 mg/kg muscle. 2. The amino-acid composition is Asp11 Asn2, Thr14, Ser11, Glu19,, Gln6, Pro6, Gly19>, Ala6, Cyst2, Val17, Met6, Ile9, Leu18, Tyr7, Phe5, Lys21, His2, Arrg11. 3. The protein molecules a single polypeptide chain of 194 amino-acid residues with an acetylmethionine at the N-terminus and a lysine residue at the C-terminus. 4. Cyanogen bromide cleavage of carboxymethylated adenylate kinase yielded six fragments which were further degraded by using trypsin, chymotrypsin, thermolysin, subtilisin or α-protease. Sequence data on the resulting peptides are summarized in the present report, full details are given in a supplementary paper which has been deposited at CNRS from where copies can be obtained. 5. The primary structure of porcine adenylate kinase was given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The neurohypophysial hormones of a chondrostean, the sturgeon (Acipenser sp.), have been purified by adsorption onto neurophysin, dissociation of the complex hormone-protein by trichloroacetic acid precipitation and isolation of active peptides, from the supernatant solution, by paper chromatoelectrophoresis. Arginine vasotocin has been characterized by amino acid composition, chromatographic and electrophoretic migrations and pharmacological properties as well. The amount of arginine vasotocin (about 50 nmol per g pituitary powder) is intermediary between those found for bony fishes about 1000 nmo]/g) and cartilaginous fishes (about 5 nmol/g). A second hormone, which can be classified in the oxytocin-likc type by its electrophoretic nigration and its pharmacological properties, has been disclosed. The very weak amount did not allow chemical identification. However the chromatographic behaviour and the pharmacological ‘profile’ indicate that this hormone differs from the six known oxytocin-like peptides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using automated stepwise Edman degradation of suitable overlapping peptides, the complete amino acid sequence of the 268 residue peptida α1-CB7 from calf skin collagen was determined. The preparation and ordering of the chymotryptic, tryptic and thermolytic peptides is described in the preceding paper. As shown previously for other peptides from the helical region of collagen, glycine appears in every third position and proline is present in high amount. Hydroxylation of proline to 4-hydroxyproline and lysine to hydroxylysine only occurred in the Y position of the tripeptide unit Gly-X-Y. Non-random distribution of other amino acids between the X and Y positions was also observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Initiation factors recycle during the assembly of a 70-S initiation complex. At early stages the factors are present, but they are absent in the mature 70-S initiation complex. Experiments described in this paper deal with the sequence of events and the contribution of each factor in the assembly process. Initiation factors IF-1 and IF-2 bind to 30-S subunits independent of the presence of the other components involved in initiation. The fate of IF-2 during 70-S initiation complex formation has been studied in a system devoid of IF-1 and in a system in which GTP is replaced by 5′-guanylylmethylenediphosphonate (Guo-5′-P2-CH2-P). In both cases it is found that IF-2 is not released from the 70-S initiation complex. This leads to the inhibition of the elongation factor EF-Tu dependent binding of the second aminoacyl-tRNA, coded for by the messenger. The data are interpreted by assuming partly overlapping binding sites for EF-Tu and IF-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subcellular distribution of hepatic alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase 1 (AGT) has changed, under the influence of dietary selection pressure, on several o occasions during the evolution of mammals. In some species (e.g. human and rabbit) AGT is entirely peroxisomal; in other species (e.g. marmoset and rat) this enzyme is found in similar amounts in peroxisomes and mitochondria; in yet other species (e.g. cat) it is mainly mitochondrial. The molecular basis of the species-specific dual intracellular targeting of AGT has been partially elucidated in the human and rabbit (as examples of the first group), and in the rat and marmoset (as examples of the second group). As part of a wider study on the molecular evolution of AGT intracellular targeting, we report in the present paper the results of an investigation into the molecular basis of the subcellular distribution of AGT in the cat (as an example of the third group). Cat liver AGT cDNA has been cloned and sequenced, and shown to have a high degree of similarity to AGT from human, rabbit, marmoset and rat. Southern-blotting analysis showed that AGT in the cat is probably encoded by a single gene, as it is in other species. Transcript analysis by RNase protection indicated that almost all of the AGT mRNA would possess an open reading frame encoding a polypeptide of 414 amino acids and a molecular mass of 45,508 Da. The N-terminal 22 amino acids comprised the putative mitochondrial-targeting sequence (by analogy with the equivalent sequence in marmoset and rat pre-mitochondrial AGT). The very low level of peroxisomal AGT in cat liver is compatible with the absence of any RNase-protected transcripts initiating downstream of the first putative translation initiation codon (i.e. absence of any transcripts in which the mitochondrial-targeting sequence is excluded from the open reading frame). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have previously demonstrated that Corynebacterium cyclohexanicum degrades cyclohex-anecarboxylic acid, a bacteriocide, through a pathway including the aromatization of 4-oxocyclohex-anecarboxylic acid to 4-hydroxybenzoic acid [Kaneda, T. (1974) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 58, 140–144]. Aromatization has now been shown to be catalysed by two desaturase enzymes. Under the action of desaturase I, 4-oxocyclohexanecarboxylic acid is converted to (+)-4-oxocyclohex-2-enecarboxylic acid which is then aromatized by desaturase II to 4-hydroxybenzoic acid. The latter reaction is presumed to occur via the unstable intermediate, 4-oxocyclohex-2,5-dienecarboxylic acid, which is spontaneously isomerized to 4-hydroxybenzoic acid. Desaturase I has been purified in an electrophoretically homogeneous form. It is monomeric with a molecular mass of 67 kDa and contains one tryptophan, one histidine and two cysteine residues per enzyme molecule. The enzyme produces an equivalent amount of 4-oxocyclohex-2-enecarboxylic acid and hydrogen peroxide from 4-oxocyclohexanecarboxylic acid. The properties of desaturase I have been studied in detail. Desaturase II is unstable and has been partially purified. Its characterization is therefore limited. However, the molecular mass of desaturase II was estimated to be 43 kDa by gel filtration chromatography. The characterization of both desaturase enzymes is described in this paper. The possible environmental importance of microbial aromatization in the biodegradation of compounds with the cyclohexane structure is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preparations of bovine lung surfactant D (SP-D) and conglutinin were examined by electron microscopy, gel-filtration and SDS/PAGE. SP-D is composed of non-covalently linked subunits, of 160 kDa, which each contain three, disulphide-linked, 44-kDa polypeptide chains. In the electron microscope a single 160-kDa subunit of SP-D appears as a 45.8 ± 3-nm-long rod connected to a small globular ‘head’. Particles were also seen which correspond to non-covalently linked dimmers, trimers and tetramers of the 160-kDa monomer subunit of SP-D. The tetramer structure contains 12 polypeptide chains and is very similar to the electron microscopy images and model reported by Strang et al. [Strang, C. J., Slayter, US., Lachmann, P. J. and Davis, A. E. (1986) Biochem. J. 236, 3811–389] for bovine conglutinin in which four 160-kDa subunits are disulphide-linked to give a molecule of expected molecular mass of 528 kDa. This study confirmed the findings by Strang et al. in the above paper for intact conglutinin and also emphasized that the rod-like structures, of length 37.6 ± 3.7 nm. Seen in the conglutinin subunits were significantly shorter than those in SP-D despite the close similarity in amino acid sequence (79% identity) and chain length between the two proteins. In addition, a truncated form of conglutinin was found in the conglutinin preparations, due to limited proteolysis of the Arg-Ala bond at position 54 in the 44-kDa chains. These truncated conglutinin chains yield a subunit composed of three shortened, non-disulophide-linked, chains and this subunit appears as a monomer with a rod length of 34.2 ± 2.8 nm in the electron microscope. On gel-filtration, a proportion of the SP-D preparation behaved, as expected, as a molecule with an apparent molecular mass of 600 kDa. The remainder of the SP-D preparation behaved as aggregated material with a molecular mass greater than 900 kDa which yielded no distinct structures in the electron microscope. Intact conglutinin was wluted at a position greater than 900 kDa but yet provided clear electron microscopy images of the tetramer structure described above. Although it is difficult to explain fully the anomalous behaviour of SP-D and conglutinin on gel-filtration, it is proposed that the natural form of both Sp-D and conglutinin is the highest distinct oligomer form seen in the electron microscope, i.e. a tetramer of the 160-kDa subunits in which the four rod-like elements are linked in a tail-to-tail fashion to a central core. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 64-kDa membrane-bound glycoprotein (gp64) of the cellular slime mold Polysphondylium pallidum, is a putative cell/cell adhesion protein identified by adhesion-blocking antibody fragments (Fab). gp64 is expressed on the cell surface of growth-phase cells and seems to mediate cell/cell adhesion. This paper describes an improved purification method based on the lipophilic nature of this protein. A critical step in the purification method is to collect an insoluble top layer appearing during ammonium sulfate precipitation. The sequence of cDNA encoding gp64 and its deduced amino acid sequence have been determined previously. Based on cDNA sequence data, the structure of gp64 protein was analyzed: almost all amino acid compositions and partial amino acid sequences of lysyl-endopeptidase-digested peptides of gp64 were determined by protein analysis; all six asparagine- linked glycosylation sites (Asn-Xaa-Ser/Thr) in fact contain carbohydrates, and all 36 cysteine residues were involved in forming disulfide bridges. From these data, gp64 seems to be a unique protein among cell/cell adhesion proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A protein is usually classified into one of the following four structural classes: all α, all β, (a + B) and α/β. In this paper, based on the maximum correlation-coefficient principle, a new formulation is proposed for predicting the structural class of a protein according to its amino acid composition. Calculations have been made for a development set of proteins from which the amino acid compositions for the standard structural classes were derived, and an independent set of proteins which are outside the development set. The former can test the self consistency of a method and the latter can test its extrapolating effectiveness. In both cases, the results showed that the new method gave a considerably higher rate of correct prediction than any of the previous methods, implying that a significant improvement has been achieved by implementing the maximum-correlation-coefficient principle in the new method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we report proton two-dimensional NMR experiments on isolated α chains from human hemoglobin A (HbA) in the monocarboxylated state. Several J-correlated and NOE spectra in water or deuterium water and phosphate buffer (100 mM) at 310 K and pH 5.6 were acquired and analysed for the sequential assignment of the proton resonances. In addition, we used the topological data obtained from the crystal structure of α subunits in the monocarboxylated HbA tetramer. The assigned resonances correspond to 70% of the amino acid residues. The present results provide information on the tertiary structure of isolated α chains in solution, particularly in the heme region. This structure may be compared with that of the a subunits in the tetrameric HbA(CO) in crystal by comparison of observed chemical shifts and those calculated from the X-ray atomic coordinates. Overall, the global folding of the two forms are highly similar. However, this analysis points out several local conformational differences in the heme pocket and the neighboring of the unique Trp residue. Possible explanations of these differences are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In mouse spermatozoa, DNA is compacted by two protamines mP1 and mP2. Protamine mP2 (63 residues) is synthesized in spermatid nuclei as a precursor pmP2 (106 residues) which is subsequently processed at the end of spermiogenesis [Yelick, P. C., Balhorn, R., Johnson, P. A., Corzett, M., Mazrimas, J. A., Kleene, K. C. & Hecht, N. B. (1987) Mol. Cell. Biol. 7, 2173-2179]. Six proteins, three of which were described earlier [Chauvière, M., Martinage, A., Debarle, M., Alimi. E., Sautière, P. & Chevaillier, Ph. (1991) C. R. Acad. Sci. 313, 107-112], have molecular and electrophoretic properties similar to those of pmP2. They were isolated from purified testis nuclei and characterized by amino acid composition, N-terminal sequence and peptide mapping. From the amino acid compositions, it appears that all six proteins are rich in arginine, cysteine and histidine and are closely related to pmP2 and mP2. The N-terminal sequence of each protein overlaps a distinct region of the N-terminal part of pmP2. The C-terminal part of protamine mP2 starting at arginine 15 is common to all proteins as assessed by amino acid compositions and peptide maps, ll these structural data demonstrate that the six isolated proteins are products of pmP2 precursor processing. The six intermediate proteins pmP2/5, pmP2/11, pmP2/16, pmP2/20, pmP2/26 and pmP2/ 32 which contain 102, 96, 91, 87, 81 and 75 residues, respectively, are generated from the pmP2 precursor after N-terminal excision of 4, 10, 15, 19, 25 and 31 residues, respectively. The C-terminal sequence of protamine mP2 is strictly identical to that of its precursor; therefore, no maturation occurs in this part of the molecule. At the present time, the proteolytic pathway involved in the amino-terminal processing leading to the mature form of the protamine mP2 (63 residues) has not been elucidated. However, the different representation of six intermediates in the testis suggests that some stages of processing are faster than others or that some cleavage sites are preferred. The proteins described in this paper could result either from stepwise excision of N-terminal residues or from nonsequential cleavages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyses of unimolecular electron self-exchange reactions provide a comparatively simple and direct approach to understanding biological electron transfer. Such studies are currently limited by a lack of well characterised aggregating systems. In the presence of sodium hexametaphosphate, cytochrome c forms stable protein aggregates as a result of binding hexametaphosphate at a single site on its surface (preceding paper in this issue of the journal). Here we report the location of the principal polyphosphate binding site on the surface of cytochrome c for both hexametaphosphate and a second polyphosphate, tripolyphosphate determined using 1H-NMR spectroscopy in conjunction with the relaxation probe potassium hexacyanochromium(III). Addition of either hexametaphosphate or tripolyphosphate to ferricytochrome c in the presence of the relaxation probe causes a decrease in intensity of several resonances in the paramagnetic difference spectrum, including Phe82 ortho/meta, I1e85 δ methyl and Ile9 γ methyl. Together these effects put the site of polyphosphate binding close to lysines 13, 86, and 87. Additionally the effect of sodium tripolyphosphate and sodium trimetaphosphate on cytochrome c aggregation is described. The potential role of this site in anion-induced cytochrome c aggregation is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]