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The production of biofuels using sugarcane bagasse (SCB) as substrate can be considered an environmentally friendly approach, due to the possibility of combining energy production with the reuse of agroindustrial wastes. This study was undertaken to explore the applicability of a new extract with the enzymes (Lac

Background In Alzheimer's Disease there is an impairment of the cholinergic system, causing loss of neurons, impairment of intellectual abilities. In this context, the mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and its applications in cell therapies become target of the research, which may contribute to the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Through the differentiation potential of MSCs, prospecting functional repair of the injured tissue from cholinergic neuronal cells could be a potential treatment. The aims was to evaluate the possibility of differentiation of MSCs from the human umbilical cord in nestin-positive neural precursor cells (NPCN+) through the NFBX into cholinergic ‘like’ cells. Methods The isolation of hMSCs from Wharton's jelly (WJ) was by the explant and mononuclear cells by density gradient. hMSCs were plating in natural matrix as NFBX for neurospheres production. Neural precursor cells were subjected to standard cholinergic differentiation protocol. Dissociated neurospheres, neural precursor cells and cholinergic-like cells were characterized by immunocytochemistry. The RT-PCR was done. Results hMSCs were CD73+, CD90+, CD105+, CD34- and CD45- and demonstrated the trilineage differentiation. Neurospheres and their isolated cells were nestin positive, and also expressed NESTIN, MAP2, ßIII-TUBULIN, GFAPgenes. Neural precursor cells that were differentiated in cholinergic-like cells expressed ßIII-TUBULIN protein and choline acetyltransferase enzyme. Conclusions hMSCs on the natural matrix were capable of differentiating hMSC into neurospheres, obtaining neural precursor cells without growth factors or gene transfection before cholinergic differentiation.

Made available in DSpace on 2021-06-25T12:21:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2020-10-01. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2021-07-15T15:06:02Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 S0103-50532020001001979.pdf: 5479103 bytes, checksum: fd9e849507677a0629b1dc4309a5aa1a (MD5) Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) Chitin synthase (CHS) is the enzyme specifically associated with chitin synthesis, an important component of diverse organisms including insects. Two alternative spliced transcripts of the CHS gene (AsCHS-A1 and AsCHS-A2) were identified by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) during the development of the leaf-cutting ant Ana sermons. Expression profiles of AsCHS-A transcripts increased from larva to pupae and decay in workers. Phylogenetic analysis showed both transcripts are classified within class A insect CASs. AsCI IS-A1 showed the highest expression level in larvae and pupae, while AsCHS-A2 is the main CHS transcript in workers. Our results suggest that these variants should be under regulation of different promoters. AsCHS-A1 has topology expected for insect CHSs, while the predicted AsCHS-A2 topology. with a missing A domain, is similar to some fungal CHSs. CHS-B (class B) was not identified in A. sexdens transcriptome. Ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi)-mediated gene silencing in pupae revealed that low reduction in CHS transcript levels (18%) was enough to cause morphological changes in the pupa exoskeleton impairing the process of cuticle sclerotization. To our knowledge, this work was the first to use and to show the feasibility of using RNA interference techniques on leaf-cutting ants. Univ Fed Sao Carlos, Dept Quim, BR-13565905 Sao Carlos, SP, Brazil Univ Fed Sao Carlos, Dept Fis Quim & Matemat, BR-18052780 Sorocaba, SP, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Ctr Estudos Insetos Sociais, BR-13506900 Rio Claro, SP, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Ctr Estudos Insetos Sociais, BR-13506900 Rio Claro, SP, Brazil CNPq: 160662/2013-3 FAPESP: 2014/12169-2 FAPESP: 2012/25299-6 FAPESP: 2017/06198-8 CAPES: 001

Snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs) represent a diverse group of multi-domain proteins with several biological activities such as the ability to induce hemorrhage, proteolytic degradation of fibrinogen and fibrin, induction of apoptosis and inhibition of platelet aggregation. Due to these activities, SVMPs are responsible for many of the well-known pathological phenotypes in snake envenomations caused particularly by species from the Viperidae family and the Crotalinae subfamily. These proteins have been classified based on their size and domain structure into P–I, P-II and P-III classes. Comparatively, members of the P–I SVMPs possess the simplest structures, formed by the catalytic metalloproteinase domain only; the P-II SVMPs are moderately more complex, having the canonical disintegrin domain in addition to the metalloproteinase domain; members of the P-III class are more structurally varied, comprising the metalloproteinase, disintegrin-like, and cysteine-rich domains. Proteolytic cleavage, repeated domain loss and presence of other ancillary domains are responsible for structural diversities in the P-III class. However, studies continue to unveil the relationship between the structure and function of these proteins. In this review, we recovered evidences from literature on the structural peculiarities and functional classification of Snake Venom Metalloproteinases. In addition, we reflect on diversities that exist among each class while taking into account specific and up-to-date class-based activities., In this review we highlight the main studies on SVMPs activities and the structure-function relationship of the protein domains.

Made available in DSpace on 2019-10-04T12:30:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2018-12-01 Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) Brazilian funding agency FAPEG (Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Goias) The inhibition of arginase from Leishmania spp. is considered a promising approach to the leishmaniasis treatment. In this study, the potential of a fucogalactan isolated from the medicinal mushroom Agrocybe aegerita was evaluated against arginase (ARG) from Leishmania amazonensis. The polysaccharide was obtained via aqueous extraction, and purified by freeze thawing and precipitation with Fehling solution. Its chemical structure was established by monosaccharide composition, methylation analysis, partial acid hydrolysis, and NMR spectroscopy. The data indicated that it is a fucogalactan (FG-Aa; M-w = 13.8 kDa), having a (1 -> 6)-linked alpha-D-Galp main-chain partially substituted in O-2 by non-reducing end-units of alpha-L-Fucp. FG-Aa showed significant inhibitory activity on ARG with IC50 potency of 5.82 +/- 0.57 mu M. The mechanism of ARG inhibition by the heterogalactan was the competitive type, with K(i)of 1.54 +/- 0.15 mu M. This is the first report of an inhibitory activity of arginase from L. amazonensis by biopolymers, which encourages us to investigate further polysaccharides as a new class of ARG inhibitors. Univ Fed Goias, Unidade Acad Especial Quim, BR-75704020 Catalao, Go, Brazil Univ Fed Goias, Inst Quim, Lab Ressonancia Magnet Nucl, Campus Samambaia, BR-74001970 Goiania, Go, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Fac Ciencias Agron, Dept Engn Rural, BR-18610307 Botucatu, SP, Brazil Univ Fed Sao Carlos, Dept Quim, Rodovia Washington Luis,Km 235, BR-13565905 Sao Carlos, SP, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Fac Ciencias & Tecnol, Dept Quim & Bioquim, BR-19060900 Presidente Prudente, SP, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Fac Ciencias Agron, Dept Engn Rural, BR-18610307 Botucatu, SP, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Fac Ciencias & Tecnol, Dept Quim & Bioquim, BR-19060900 Presidente Prudente, SP, Brazil

Atta sexdens rubropilosa is an important leaf-cutting ant species considered as a pest in agricultural crop or reforestation areas. Quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is a technique that can help us to understand the regulation and the function of a gene. However, its reliability depend on the data normalization. Different normalization strategies can be adopted for qPCR, reference genes has been cited as one of the most effective methods. It has not been identified a universal reference for all organism and experiment. In this way, the validation of reference gene is crucial step. This is the first study to evaluate reference genes for leaf-cutting ants. To this, we analyzed the expression levels of candidate reference genes (act, ef1-alpha, ef1-beta, GAPDH and rpl18) in different developmental stages (larva, pupa and worker) and tissues (head, mesosoma and worker without gaster) of A. sexdens rubropilosa. Four different algorithms (BestKeeper, geNorm, NormFinder and comparative ΔCt method) were used in statistical analysis of the stability of the genes and RefFinder was used to propose a consensus list for ranking the reference genes. Our results showed that the most suitable combinations of reference gene candidates were rpl18 and ef1-alpha for the different developmental stages and rpl18 and ef1-beta for the different tissues. In this work, we also report the obtaining from a putative acetylcholinesterase from A.sexdens rubropilosa (GenBank KY464935), which was used as a target gene to confirm the reliability of reference genes suggested.

Made available in DSpace on 2022-04-29T08:28:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2019-01-01 Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is responsible for catalyzing the hydrolysis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) leading to acetate and choline (Ch) release. The inhibition of AChE produces a generalized synaptic collapse that can lead to insect death. Herein we report for the first time the isolation of two AChEs from Atta sexdens which were purified by sulphate ammonium precipitation followed by ion exchange chromatography. AsAChE-A and AsAChE-B enzymes have optimum pH of 9.5 and 9.0 and higher activities in 30/50°C and 20°C, respectively, using acetylthiocholine (ATCh) as substrate. Immobilized capillary enzyme reactors (ICERs) were obtained for both enzymes (AsAChE-A-ICER and AsAChE-B-ICER) and their activities were measured by LC-MS/MS through hydrolysis product quantification of the natural substrate ACh. The comparison of activities by LC-MS/MS of both AChEs using ACh as substrate showed that AsAChE-B (free or immobilized) had the highest affinity. The inverse result was observed when the colorimetric assay (Elman method) was used for ATCh as substrate. Moreover, by mass spectrometry and phylogenetic studies, AsAChE-A and AsAChE-B were classified as belonging to AChE-2 and AChE-1 classes, respectively. Federal University of São Carlos Department of Chemistry São Paulo University Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB) São Paulo State University Center for the Study of Social Insects São Paulo State University Center for the Study of Social Insects

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) is a ubiquitous enzyme found in all known groups of organisms, acting in the reversible conversion of oxaloacetate (OAA) to phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) in the presence of divalent metal ion, and dependent of adenosine 5’-triphosphate (ATP) or guanosine-5’-triphosphate (GTP). PEPCK is an important enzyme in the metabolism of some organisms, such as Trypanosoma cruzi, being suggested as a potential drug target to treat Chagas’ disease. Its catalytic activity is, classically, measured by coupled assays. Herein, a direct assay by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) capable of quantifying PEP, in co-elution with OAA by the differentiation obtained by the mass spectra, is reported. The developed assay was used throughout the purification protocol in order to measure the activity of PEPCK of T. cruzi, which was expressed in Escherichia coli. The purified enzyme was kinetically characterized by the developed method with Michaelis-Menten constant (KMapp) values of 96 ± 4 and 275 ± 18 µmol L-1 to OAA and ATP as substrates, respectively. The developed assay was also used for ligand screening and proved to be able to identify very low inhibitions for small molecules (50 µmol L-1).

In T. cruzi, a causative agent of Chagas disease, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (TcPEPCK) is associated with carbohydrate catabolism. Due to its importance in the metabolism of the parasite, it has become a promising target for the development of new drugs against Chagas disease. Aiming to investigate different approaches for ligands screening, TcPEPCK was immobilized on amine-terminated magnetic beads (TcPEPCK-MB) and kinetically characterized by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry activity assay with a KMapp value of 10 ± 1 μM to oxaloacetate as substrate. Natural products library affords highly diverse molecular frameworks through their secondary metabolites, herein a ligand fishing TcPEPCK-MB assay is described for prospecting ligands in four ethanolic extracts of Brazilian Cerrado plants: Qualea grandiflora (Vochysiaceae), Diospyros burchellii (Ebenaceae), Anadenanthera falcata (Fabaceae) and Byrsonima coccolobifolia (Malpighiaceae). The chemical characterization of eleven identified ligands was carried out by liquid chromatography tandem high-resolution mass spectrometry experiments. Senecic acid, syneilesinolide A, phytosphingosine and vanillic acid 4-glucopyranoside are herein reported for the first time for Q. grandiflora, D. burchellii, A. falcata, respectively. In addition, the specificity of the assay was observed since only catechin was fished out from the ethanolic extract of B. coccolobifolia leaves, despite the presence of epicatechin epimer.

In this paper, we present the optimization of porous anodic alumina membranes for ultrafiltration prepared by anodically oxidized aluminum foils. The membranes were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy to measure the pore diameter and the membrane thicknesses. The liquid fluxes were estimated through gas permeability measurements using Darcy's and Forchheimerś equations. A 2(3) factorial design we used to optimize the membrane properties: pore diameter, membrane thickness, and liquid flux using as control variables the applied current density, solution composition and concentration. It was observed that the most import variables to control the pore diameter were current density and electrolyte composition. After the anodization both, metallic aluminum substrate and the barrier layer of alumina were removed using adequate solutions to obtain the free standing membrane. Then, Escherichia coli a common bacterial contamination of drinking water was removed using these PAA membranes with 100% of efficiency to obtain bacteria-free water.

The present study aimed to purify and characterize one polygalacturonase from L. gongylophorus (PGaseLg), the symbiotic fungus of Atta sexdens. The enzyme was isolated by salting out of crude extract followed by two chromatographic steps. PGaseLG was identified with MS analysis and molecular exclusion chromatography revealed the monomeric nature of a protein with an estimated molecular weight of about 39 kDa. PGaseLg has an optimum temperature of 60°C and optimum pH activity at 5.0. Using polygalacturonate as a substrate, the calculations of KM, Vmax and kcat were 0.65 mg·mL-1, 1800 μmol·min-1·mg-1 and 35.97 s-1, respectively. The enzyme was stable for more than 3 h at 50°C at pH 5.0; otherwise, at lower or higher pH values, the PGaseLg was less stable. The influence of several metals, EDTA and β-mercaptoethanol on enzyme activity was also determined. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) analyses indicated that PGaseLg is an exopolygalacturonase.

Laccases produced by Leucoagaricus gongylophorus act in lignocellulose degradation and detoxification processes. Therefore, the use of L. gongylophorus laccase (Lac1Lg) was proposed in this work for degradation of anthracene and others polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons without the use of mediators. Degradation reactions were performed in buffer aqueous solution with 10 ppm of anthracene and other PAHs, Tween-20 in 0.25% v/v and a laccase preparation of 50 U. The optimum condition (pH 6.0 and 30 °C) was determined by response surface methodology with an excellent coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.97 and an adjusted coefficient of determination (R2adj) of 0.93. In addition, the employment of the mediator ABTS decreased the anthracene biodegradation from 44 ± 1% to 30 ± 1%. This optimum pH of 6.0 suggests that the reaction occurs by a hydrogen atom transfer mechanism. Additionally, in 24 h Lac1Lg biodegraded 72 ± 1% anthracene, 40 ± 3% fluorene and 25 ± 3% phenanthrene. The yellow laccase from L. gongylophorus biodegraded anthracene and produced anthrone and anthraquinone, which are interesting compounds for industrial applications. Moreover, this enzyme also biodegraded the PAHs phenanthrene and fluorene justifying the study of Lac1Lg for bioremediation of these compounds in the environment.

The role of Alpha folate receptors (FRα) in folate metabolism and cancer development has been extensively studied. The reason for this is not only associated to its direct relation to disease development but also to its potential use as a highly sensitive and specific biomarker for cancers therapies. Over the recent years, the crystal structures of human FRα complexed with different ligands were described relying on an expensive and time-consuming production process. Here, we constructed an efficient system for the expression and purification of a human FRα in E. coli. Unlike a conventional expression method we used a specific protein fusion expressing the target protein together with a trigger factor (TF). This factor is a chaperone from E. coli that assists the correct folding of newly synthesized polypeptide chains. The activity of rTFFRα was comparable to glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchored proteins extracted from HeLa tumor cells. Our work demonstrates a straightforward and versatile approach for the production of active human FRα by heterologous expression; this approach further enhances the development of inhibition studies and biotechnological applications. The purified product was then conjugated to liposomes, obtaining a 35% higher signal from densitometry measurement on the immunoblotting assay in the contruct containing the Ni-NTA tag, as a mimesis of an exosome, which is of vital importance to nanotherapeutic techniques associated to treatment and diagnosis of tumors.

We have previously demonstrated that alternagin-C (ALT-C), a disintegrin-like, Cys-rich protein isolated from Bothrops alternatus snake venom, induces human vascular endothelial cell (HUVEC) proliferation and angiogenesis in in vitro and in vivo assays. Therefore this protein could be interesting as a new approach for tissue regeneration studies. However, its primary sequence was not completely determined since the protein isolated from crude venom is usually a mixture of isoforms. Here we describe the transcriptome analysis of B. alternatus from the venom glands of a single male specimen. About 800 good-quality contigs were screened for snake venom metalloproteases/disintegrins, resulting in the following expression profile for these enzymes: 4% for P-I, 7% for P-II and 89% for P-III SVMPs. The PII-SVMP sequence code for RGD-disintegrins and all the expressed PIII-sequences have the ECD adhesive motif. A cDNA sequence coding for an ALT-C homolog was completely sequenced and characterized. Comparative sequence and structural analyses suggested new features that distinguish SVMP classes such as two prolyl endopetidase cleavage sites. All these data add new information on the expression pattern of metalloproteases of B. alternatus venom and may have practical applications for the production of recombinant disintegrins for cell adhesion studies.

Background The mesenchymal stem cell therapy has proven to be an effective option in the treatment of skin injuries. The combination of these cells with nanostructured membranes seems to be the future for tissues recovery. The aim of this project was to use biomolecules of polysaccharides to be incorporated on regenerated cellulose membranes and to prospect the improvement as bioactive wound dressings with mesenchymal stem cells. Methods The biocomposites were obtained after defibrillation with the use of never-dried bacterial cellulose to form a pulp, and, after the films were regenerated, in the presence of gellan gum with or without fluconazole. Membrane atomic force microscopy was performed for comparison of their structures. Results Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells were obtained from human adipose tissue liposuction in accordance with Zuk et al. The flow cytometric analysis and induction tests for adipocytes and osteocytes were performed. In vitro assays were performed on different membranes to evaluate the ability of these cells to adhere at 2 hours and proliferate at 7 days; the results were obtained by use of the MTT cell counting technique. In vivo testing allowed us to observe cell migration and participation in wound-healing by fluorescence labeling of the cells with BrdU. The bioactive curative, seeded with cells, was tested in skin burned in a murine model. Conclusions The bacterial cellulose with gelan gum membrane incorporated with fluconazole presented the best performance in adhesion and proliferation tests. The cells can be identified in burned host tissue after occurrence of the wound.

Xylella fastidiosa is a gram-negative bacterium that causes serious diseases in economically important crops, including grapevine, coffee, and citrus fruits. X. fastidiosa colonizes the xylem vessels of the infected plants, thereby blocking water and nutrient transport. The genome sequence of X. fastidiosa has revealed an operon containing nine genes possibly involved in the synthesis of an exopolisaccharide (EPS) named fastidian gum that can be related with the pathogenicity of this bacterium. The α-1,3-mannosyltransferase (GumH) enzyme from X. fastidiosa is involved in fastidian gum production. GumH is responsible for the transfer of mannose from guanosine diphosphate mannose (GDP-man) to the cellobiose–pyrophosphate–polyprenol carrier lipid (CPP-Lip) during the assembly and biosynthesis of EPS. In this work, a method for real-time detection of recombinant GumH enzymatic activity was successfully developed using a Quartz Crystal Microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D). The QCM-D transducer was strategically modified with CPP-Lip by using a solid-supported lipid bilayer that makes use of a self-assembled monolayer of 1-undecanethiol. Monitoring the real-time CPP-Lip QCM-D transducer in the presence of GDP-man and GumH enzyme shows a mass increase, indicating the transfer of mannose. The real-time QCM-D determination of mannosyltransferase function was validated by a High Performance Liquid Chromatography (LC) method developed for determination of GDP produced by enzymatic reaction. LC results confirmed the activity of recombinant GumH protein, which is the first enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of the EPS from X. fastidiosa enzymatically characterized.

In this work we have identified, using mass spectrometry, two laccases produced by Leucoagaricus gongylophorus. One of them, Lac1Lg, was isolated, purified and characterized. Lac1Lg, a monomeric enzyme, was studied using ABTS and syringaldazine substrates. Lac1Lg presented kcat/Km almost threefold higher for syringaldazine than for ABTS, showing a higher catalytic efficiency of Lac1Lg for syringaldazine. The interference of several metal ions and substances in the laccase activity were evaluated. Lac1Lg did not absorb at 600 nm, which is a characteristic of so-called yellow laccases. Lac1Lg also was able to oxidize non-phenolic substrate (anthracene) in the absence of an exogenous mediator, showing that the enzyme has potential to explore in biotechnological processes. Our Lac1Lg three-dimensional molecular model, constructed using homology modeling, showed that the Lac1Lg catalytic site is very closed to blue laccases.

An Asp49 PLA2 (ACL-I PLA2) was purified from the venom of Agkistrodon contortrix laticinctus by gel filtration and cation-exchange chromatography. It has a relative molecular mass of 14,000, and its N-terminal sequence has more than 65% of identity with other snake venom PLA2s. ACL-I PLA2 injected into the Tibialis anterior muscle of rats and mice at doses of 0.3 and 1.6 mg/kg, respectively, induced muscle fiber necrosis, cellular infiltration and edema 3 and 48 h after injection. The effect of the purified enzyme on water permeability was tested in the isolated toad urinary bladder. Water flow through the membrane was measured gravimetrically in bag preparations of the bladder. ACL-I PLA2 (20 nM) did not significantly alter the water permeability in the bladder preparations, whereas ACL myotoxin (ACLMT), a Lys49 PLA2 isolated from the same venom, at similar concentration significantly increased (81%) the water permeability. However, both toxins inhibited the AVP-stimulated water permeability. These results strongly suggest that PLA2 activity is not involved in the ACLMT effect on water transport and the effect of ACL-I PLA2 myotoxin on membrane permeability is mediated by mechanisms that are different in comparison to ACLMT.

Our taxonomic interest in the Neoraputia stimulated an investigation of N. paraensis searching for alkaloids. Fractions were monitored by 1H NMR and ESI-MS/MS and only those which showed features of anthranilate alkaloids and flavonoids absent in the previous investigations were examined. Stems afforded the alkaloids flindersine, skimmianine, 8-methoxyflindersine and dictamnine; leaves yielded 3',4',7,8-tetramethoxy-5,6-(2",2"-dimethylpyrano)-flavone, 3',4',5,7,8-pentamethoxyflavone, 5-hydroxy-3',4',6,7-tetramethoxyflavone, 3',4'-methylenedioxy-5,6,7-trimethoxyflavone and 5-hydroxy-3',4'-methylenedioxy-6,7-dimethoxyflavone. The alkaloids have remained undiscovered for 10 years. A number of flavonoids isolated from N. paraensis, N. magnifica, Murraya paniculata, Citrus sinensis graft (Rutaceae), Lonchocarpus montanus (Leguminosae) were evaluated for their ability to inhibit the enzymatic activity of the protein glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Trypanosoma cruzi. Highly oxygenated flavones and isoflavone were the most actives.

Byrsonima coccolobifolia leaf and stem extracts were studied in the search for possible leishmanicidal compounds using arginase (ARG) from Leishmania amazonensis as a molecular target. Flavonoids 1b, 1e-1g, 2a, 2b, and 2d-2f showed significant inhibitory activity, with IC50 values ranging from 0.9 to 4.8 μM. The kinetics of the most active compounds were determined. Flavonoids 1e, 1f, 2a, 2b, and 2e were characterized as noncompetitive inhibitors of ARG with dissociation constants (Ki) ranging from 0.24 to 3.8 μM, demonstrating strong affinity. Structure-activity relationship studies revealed some similarities in the structural features of flavonoids related to ARG activity.

In this work, the xylanolytic profile of Leucoagaricus gongylophorus was studied, and two extracellular enzymes with xylanolytic activity (XyLg1 and XyLg2) were isolated, purified, and characterized. XyLg1 has a molecular mass of about 38 kDa and pI greater than 4.8. For beechwood xylan substrate, XyLg1 showed an optimum temperature of 40 °C, optimum pH between 8.5 and 10.5, and Km = 14.7 ± 7.6 mg mL(-1). Kinetic studies of the XyLg1 using polygalacturonic acid as substrate were developed, and the enzyme showed optimum pH 5.5, optimum temperature between 50 and 60 °C, and Km = 2.2 ± 0.5 mg mL(-1). XyLg2 has molecular weight of about 24 kDa and pI less than 4.8, and thus is an acid protein. Parameters such as optimum temperature (70 °C) and pH (4.0), as well as the kinetic parameters (Km = 7.4 ± 2.0 mg mL(-1)) using beechwood xylan as substrate, were determined for XyLg2. This enzyme has no activity for polygalacturonic acid as substrate. XyLg1 and XyLg2 are the first native xylanases isolated and characterized from L. gongylophorus fungi and, due to their biochemistry and kinetic features, they have potential to be used in biotechnological processes.

Leishmanicidal galloylquinic acids were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of Byrsonima coccolobifolia. These phenols and gallic acid showed to be a new class of potent noncompetitive inhibitors of arginase ARG (Ki ranging from 0.10 to 0.68 µmol L -1 ) from Leishmania amazonensis. Quinic acid did not exhibit significant inhibition of ARG, indicating that galloyl moiety has important features that allows the enzyme-inhibitor interactions. The significant inhibitory activity of gallic acid on ARG can be a clue to understand the immune response previously observed on L. donovani, since ARG activity is associated with the decrease of the levels of NO in Leishmania infection.

ACL myotoxin (ACLMT) is a K49 phospholipase A 2 -like protein isolated from the venom of the snake Agkistrodon contortrix laticinctus (broad-banded copperhead) that induces necrosis of skeletal muscle. We have previously cloned and sequenced the cDNA coding for ACLMT from a venom gland cDNA library. In order to perform structure and function studies, we have developed an expression system for production of ACLMT as a fusion protein with maltose binding protein (MBP) from the periplasm of bacteria, using the pMAL-p2 expression vector. The cDNA coding for the mature toxin without the signal peptide was amplified by PCR and subcloned into the pMAL-p2 vector. The new plasmid (pMAL-MT) was used to transform BL21(DE3) E. coli cells. Culture of transformed cells induced with IPTG led to the expression of a 60 kDa fusion protein which strongly reacts with anti-native ACLMT antibodies. The fusion protein was purified from the bacterial periplasm by affinity chromatography in an amylose column and by gel filtration. The purified fusion protein (MBP-rACLMT) was able to induce necrosis of skeletal muscle of mice very similar to that caused by the native myotoxin.

The alpha2beta1 integrin is a major collagen receptor that plays an essential role in the adhesion of normal and tumor cells to the extracellular matrix. Here we describe the isolation of a novel metalloproteinase/disintegrin, which is a potent inhibitor of the collagen binding to alpha2beta1 integrin. This 55-kDa protein (alternagin) and its disintegrin domain (alternagin-C) were isolated from Bothrops alternatus snake venom. Amino acid sequencing of alternagin-C revealed the disintegrin structure. Alternagin and alternagin-C inhibit collagen I-mediated adhesion of K562-alpha2beta1-transfected cells. The IC50 was 134 and 100 nM for alternagin and alternagin-C, respectively. Neither protein interfered with the adhesion of cells expressing alphaIIbeta3, alpha1beta1, alpha5beta1, alpha4beta1 alphavbeta3, and alpha9beta1 integrins to other ligands such as fibrinogen, fibronectin, and collagen IV. Alternagin and alternagin-C also mediated the adhesion of the K562-alpha2beta1-transfected cells. Our results show that the disintegrin-like domain of alternagin is responsible for its ability to inhibit collagen binding to alpha2beta1 integrin.

Protein crystallography has significantly contributed to the development of many areas of biochemical research, particularly in the understanding of phenomena related to molecular recognition. Examples include the formation of enzyme–substrate complexes (and their subsequent catalysis), host cell invasion by viruses, antigen neutralization and peptide display by proteins of the immune system and many others. More recently, protein crystallography has also proved to be of great value in unraveling the molecular basis of many diseases as well as in the development of new drugs for their treatment. The X-ray diffraction technique in the elucidation of macromolecular structures is situated at the interface between the traditional research fields of biology, biochemistry, chemistry and physics where researchers are united by a common interest in the detailed understanding of macromolecule function and its relationship to three-dimensional structure. The purpose of this review is to describe, without resort to mathematical detail, all of the necessary steps for the complete determination of a three-dimensional structure by X-ray diffraction techniques. The basic procedures used for protein isolation and crystallization, crystallographic data collection and analysis and, finally, structure determination and refinement are all briefly reviewed. As such our efforts are not directed towards the specialist. Rather, it is our hope that the information presented will aid interested readers from other fields in the understanding of more specialized literature and who may wish to employ the information contained therein in the planning of their biological research. We hope that in so doing we will make clear both the power and limitations of the technique.

Snake venoms are rich sources of proteases that strongly affect the vascular system, by promoting blood coagulation, hemorrhage, and fibrinolysis. Hemorrhagic activity is mostly due to the enzymatic action of metalloproteases on capillary basement membrane components, such as collagen IV, laminin, and fibronectin. A few low-molecular-weight snake venom metalloproteases (svMP) have been described as being devoid of hemorrhagic activity, but they have strong direct-acting fibrinolytic activity that could be very helpful in thrombosis therapy. We have developed an expression system for production of a recombinant svMP from a cDNA (ACLPREF) coding for a small metalloprotease (ACLF) with three disulfide bonds from an Agkistrodon contortrix laticinctus (broad-banded copperhead) venom gland cDNA library. The mature protein-coding region was amplified by PCR and subcloned into the pET28a vector, and the resulting plasmid was used to transform BL21(DE3) Escherichia coli cells. Culture of the transformants at either 37 or 20°C led to the overexpression of an insoluble and inactive 30-kDa protein after 1.0 mM IPTG induction. The expressed protein (rACLF) was recovered from inclusion bodies with 6 M buffered urea solution and purified on a nickel–Sepharose column followed by gel filtration chromatography, both under denaturing conditions. After treatment with dithiothreitol, protein refolding was performed by gradual removal of the denaturing agent by dialysis. The refolded recombinant protein was active in fibrin–agarose plates. The purified protein achieved a conformation similar to that of the native enzyme as judged by circular dichroism analysis.

We have purified a cytotoxic L-amino acid oxidase (LAO) from Agkistrodon contortrix laticinctus snake venom by means of Superdex-200 gel filtration, followed by phenyl-Sepharose CL-4B chromatography. The purified enzyme (ACL LAO) is a dimer on gel filtration, with a M(r) of 60,000 for the monomer as estimated by SDS-PAGE. LAO activity was tested against 15 amino acids, but only 9 were oxidized by the enzyme, suggesting that it presents some degree of specificity. ACL LAO has apoptosis-inducing activity in an HL-60 cell culture assay. After 24 h treatment with 25 micrograms/ml of ACL LAO, the typical DNA fragmentation pattern of apoptotic cells was observed on agarose gel electrophoresis. NMR analysis showed the presence of a flavin mononucleotide prosthetic group. To solve its 3-D structure, crystals of the purified protein were grown in 0.1 M Tris-HCl, pH 8.5, and 2 M (NH(4))(2)SO(4). Diffraction data collected to 3.5 A showed that the protein crystallized in the tetragonal system, with unit cell a = b = 103.22 A, c = 183.45 A. This is the first report of preliminary crystallization data for a snake venom L-amino acid oxidase.

The structure of the enzyme glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) from glycosomes of the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, causative agent of Chagas' disease, is reported. The final model at 2.8 Å includes the bound cofactor NAD+ and 90 water molecules per monomer and resulted in an Rfactor of 20.1%, Rfree=22.3%, with good geometry indicators. The structure has no ions bound at the active site resulting in a large change in the side chain conformation of Arg249 which as a consequence forms a salt bridge to Asp210 in the present structure. We propose that this conformational change could be important for the reaction mechanism and possibly a common feature of many GAPDH structures. Comparison with the human enzyme indicates that interfering with this salt bridge could be a new approach to specific inhibitor design, as the equivalent to Asp210 is a leucine in the mammalian enzymes.

In this paper, we present a cDNA sequence encoding a full-length precursor form of a new member (ACLD) of the metalloproteinase-disintegrin-like protein family from the venom glands of Agkistrodon contortrix laticinctus (broad-banded copperhead) snake. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence of ACLD with those of other members of the metalloproteinase-disintegrin protein family from both mammalian and snake venom origin suggests that some conserved residues may be involved in processing of the disintegrin domain.

The X-ray crystal structures of N,N′-bis(2-hydroxybenzyl)-N,N′-bis(2-methyl-pyridyl)ethylenediamine (H2BBPEN) and the complex [Ru(BBPEN)][PF6]·H2O have been determined. In this complex the two phenolate oxygens, the two aliphatic nitrogens and the pyridine rings lie in cis positions. Two reversible processes at E 1 2 + 0.854 V (RuIV/RuIII) and −0.056 V (RuIII/RuII) versus Fc+/Fc, consistent with one-electron transfer, were detected by cyclic voltammetry. The EPR measurements for the RuIII complex in solid state at room temperature have shown three g-tensor values: gx = 2.4503, gy = 2.2077 and gz = 1.19131, which are in agreement with the distortion of the structure for the complex determined by X-ray diffraction.

The structure of the title compound, [RuCl 3 (NO)(AsPh 3 ) 2 ], has been determined by X-ray diffraction. The ruthenium atom is octahedrally coordinated with the arsine ligands in the trans configuration. The ν(NO) was found at 1869 cm −1 in the IR spectrum, which is consistent with the linearity of the RuNO bond angle.

Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos, Rodovia Washington Luiz Km 235, Departametno de Quimica, 13.56O-Sao Carlos, SP

Bothropasin is a 48 kDa hemorrhagic PIII snake venom metalloprotease (SVMP) isolated from Bothrops jararaca, containing disintegrin/cysteine-rich adhesive domains. Here we present the crystal structure of bothropasin complexed with the inhibitor POL647. The catalytic domain consists of a scaffold of two subdomains organized similarly to those described for other SVMPs, including the zinc and calcium-binding sites. The free cysteine residue Cys 189 is located within a hydrophobic core and it is not available for disulfide bonding or other interactions. There is no identifiable secondary structure for the disintegrin domain, but instead it is composed mostly of loops stabilized by seven disulfide bonds and by two calcium ions. The ECD region is in a loop and is structurally related to the RGD region of RGD disintegrins, which are derived from PII SVMPs. The ECD motif is stabilized by the Cys 277 –Cys 310 disulfide bond (between the disintegrin and cysteine-rich domains) and by one calcium ion. The side chain of Glu 276 of the ECD motif is exposed to solvent and free to make interactions. In bothropasin, the HVR (hyper-variable region) described for other PIII SVMPs in the cysteine-rich domain, presents a well-conserved sequence with respect to several other PIII members from different species. We propose that this subset be referred to as PIII-HCR (highly conserved region) SVMPs. The differences in the disintegrin-like, cysteine-rich or disintegrin-like cysteine-rich domains may be involved in selecting target binding, which in turn could generate substrate diversity or specificity for the catalytic domain.

Agkistrodon contortrix laticinctus myotoxin is a Lys(49)-phospholipase A(2) (EC 3.1.1.4) isolated from the venom of the serpent A. contortrix laticinctus (broad-banded copperhead). We present here three monomeric crystal structures of the myotoxin, obtained under different crystallization conditions. The three forms present notable structural differences and reveal that the presence of a ligand in the active site (naturally presumed to be a fatty acid) induces the exposure of a hydrophobic surface (the hydrophobic knuckle) toward the C terminus. The knuckle in A. contortrix laticinctus myotoxin involves the side chains of Phe(121) and Phe(124) and is a consequence of the formation of a canonical structure for the main chain within the region of residues 118-125. Comparison with other Lys(49)-phospholipase A(2) myotoxins shows that although the knuckle is a generic structural motif common to all members of the family, it is not readily recognizable by simple sequence analyses. An activation mechanism is proposed that relates fatty acid retention at the active site to conformational changes within the C-terminal region, a part of the molecule that has long been associated with Ca(2+)-independent membrane damaging activity and myotoxicity. This provides, for the first time, a direct structural connection between the phospholipase "active site" and the C-terminal "myotoxic site," justifying the otherwise enigmatic conservation of the residues of the former in supposedly catalytically inactive molecules.

The GumH enzyme from Xylella fastidiosa catalyzes the transfer reaction of a mannose from GDP-mannose to the carrier lipid cellobiose-pyrophosphate-polyprenol (Glc(2)-PP-Lip), an intermediary in the reaction for the synthesis of the exopolysaccharide (EPS) fastidian gum. The gumH gene was subcloned in the pMal-c2x vector, allowing the expression of the GumH-MBP fusion protein. Various attempts were made to obtain protein with the necessary degree of purity for crystallographic studies but the yield was very low. The gumH gene was then subcloned in the pET28a vector allowing the expression of the GumH enzyme in fusion with a histidine-rich peptide. The protein was purified and characterized. The three-dimensional structure of the X. fastidiosa GumH enzyme was modeled by threading studies. The model consists of N- and C-terminal domains similar in size and topology and separated by a deep cleft, which includes the EX(7)E motif that can be involved in the catalysis of GumH.

Jararhagin is a toxic protein, isolated from the venom of the snake Bothrops jararaca, which is composed of a metalloprotease domain coupled to a disintegrin/cysteine-rich domain. It induces local haemorrhage owing to the proteolytic digestion of the basement membrane of capillaries. Jararhagin also cleaves the alpha(2)beta(1) integrin on the surface of platelets, thereby acting as a potent inhibitor of collagen-induced platelet aggregation. Crystals of jararhagin were obtained by the vapour-diffusion technique at 273 K in 200 mM sodium acetate, 100 mM cacodylate buffer pH 6.5 and 30% PEG 8000. Diffraction data have been obtained to a resolution of 2.8 A from a single frozen crystal, which belonged to space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) with unit-cell parameters a = 73.7, b = 100.3, c = 133.4 A. The asymmetric unit contains two jararhagin molecules and has a solvent content of 45%. A molecular-replacement solution has been obtained using a homology-built model based on the crystal structure of acutolysin, a haemorrhagic zinc metalloproteinase from the venom of the snake Agkistrodon acutus; attempts are under way to locate the remaining domains.

Polygalacturonases (EC 3.2.1.15) hydrolyze the α-1,4-glycosidic linkages in polygalacturonic acid chains. The interest on specific inhibitors of pectinase and the versatility of magnetic support for enzyme immobilization endorsed the preparation of an immobilized enzyme reactor (IMER). This work presents the synthesis of CoFe(2)O(4) amino-derivatives, which was employed as the support for the immobilization of pectinases from Leucoagaricus gongylophorus. Amino-functionalized CoFe(2)O(4) was obtained from glyceryl-derivatized CoFe(2)O(4) and was characterized by infrared spectroscopy and electronic microscopy. The immobilized enzyme maintained the same thermal, chemical and kinetic behaviour of the free enzyme (T(opt) 60 °C; pH(opt) 5.0; K(app)(M) = 0.5 mg min(-1); V(app)(M) ≈ 5.0 μmol min(-1) mL(-1)). The straightforward synthesis of CoFe(2)O(4) derivatives and the efficiency of immobilization offer wide perspectives for the use of the developed new IMER.

Proteínas quinases são importantes alvos de estudo devido atuarem como reguladores diretos do ciclo celular. A progressão do ciclo de divisão celular é conduzida por ciclinas, que ligam e ativam seus parceiros catalíticos, as quinases dependentes de ciclina (CDKs). As CDKs compreendem uma família de proteínas que podem ser subdivididas em dois grupos funcionais majoritários baseados na sua função no ciclo celular e/ou controle transcricional. Os complexos heterodiméricos específicos de CDK-ciclina fosforilam diversas proteínas celulares, as quais promovem a entrada no ciclo celular, a regulação da síntese de DNA e a segregação dos cromossomos recém-duplicados durante a mitose. A ciclina D3 tem como função atuar na fase G1 como subunidade reguladora de CDK4 e CDK6, e também como parceiro da CDK11p58 na fase G2/M durante a progressão do ciclo celular. A superexpressão da ciclina D3 se correlaciona com o aumento da proliferação celular e crescimento tumoral, além de ser capaz de inibir a atividade de transativação do receptor de andrógenos. O objetivo do presente estudo é a superexpressão da ciclina D3 utilizando o sistema de expressão bacteriano (Escherichia coli) a fim de obter a proteina purificada e com pureza adequada para a realização de ensaios de caracterização estrutural e de atividade quinase do complexo CDK11Δ-ciclinaD3. A utilização de diferentes tipos de vetores permitiu obter a proteina de interesse por meio de processo de reenovelamento e de forma nativa. Os resultados obtidos para a expressão em ambos os vetores, produziram proteinas com mais de 95% de pureza. Os ensaios de caracterização por espectroscopia de dicroísmo circular (CD) da proteína ciclina D3 na forma nativa (solúvel) apresentou um padrão muito parecido de estruturas secundárias por CD quando comparado ao resultado da proteína reenovelada, com cerca de 39% de hélices α e 15% de fitas β. Por espectroscopia de emissão de fluorescência, foi demonstrado que a proteína é estável frente ao agente caotrópico ureia, porém instável na presença de concentrações crescentes de cloreto de guanidina. O ensaio de atividade quinase do complexo CDK11Δ-ciclinaD3 permitiu assegurar a conformaçao correta das proteinas recombinates obtidas em ambos os vetores. Esses dados validam o protocolo de reenovelamento, servindo de base para estudos futuros envolvendo a produção de proteínas recombinantes e para estudos envolvendo possíveis inibidores para este complexo. Protein kinases are important targets for study due they act as direct regulators of the cell cycle. The progression of the cell division cycle is driven by cyclins, which bind and activate their catalytic partners, cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs). CDKs comprise a family of proteins that can be subdivided into two major functional groups based on their function in the cell cycle and / or transcriptional control. The CDK- cyclin specific heterodimeric complexes phosphorylate several cellular proteins, which promote entry into the cell cycle, regulation of DNA synthesis and segregation of newly duplicated chromosomes during mitosis. Cyclin D3 has the function of acting in phase G1 as a regulatory subunit of CDK4 and CDK6, and also as a partner of CDK11p58 in phase G2 / M during the progression of the cell cycle. Overexpression of cyclin D3 correlates with increased cell proliferation and tumor growth, in addition to being able to inhibit the androgen receptor transactivation activity. The aim of the present study is to overexpress cyclin D3 using the bacterial expression system (Escherichia coli) in order to obtain the purified protein with adequate purity for structural characterization and kinase activity of the CDK11Δ-cyclinD3 complex. The use of different vectors types allowed obtaining the interest protein of through a refolding process and in a native way. The results obtained for the expression in both vectors, produced proteins with more than 95% of purity. The result of the circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy characterization assays of the cyclin D3 protein in the native (soluble) form showed a very similar pattern of secondary structures per CD when compared to the result of the refolded protein, with about 39% of α helices and 15% β-strands. By fluorescence emission spectroscopy, it was shown that the protein is stable against the chaotropic agent urea, but unstable in the presence of increasing concentrations of guanidine chloride. The kinase activity assay of the CDK11Δ-cyclinD3 complex allowed to ensure the correct conformation of the recombinant proteins obtained in both vectors. These data validate the refolding protocol, serving as a basis for future studies involving the production of recombinant proteins and for studies involving possible inhibitors for this complex.

A estrutura nativa de uma proteína é essencial para o correto funcionamento e em ambiente celular, essa estrutura é adquirida durante um processo denominado de enovelamento proteico. Contudo, falhas durante o enovelamento da proteína podem ocorrer, levando a formação de agregados, que apresentam relação com o surgimento de algumas doenças. Para contornar esse problema a evolução desenvolveu uma maquinaria celular para auxiliar as proteínas nascentes ou mal enoveladas a adquirirem a estrutura nativa. As chaperonas moleculares são um grupo de proteínas que estão envolvidas em diversos processos, como no enovelamento de proteínas nascentes ou mal enoveladas, na prevenção da agregação proteica, no encaminhamento de proteínas agregadas para o processo de degradação, entre outros. As Hsp70, sendo uma das principais famílias de chaperonas moleculares, têm participação em vários desses processos celulares e necessitam de auxílio de cofatores e co-chaperonas para a realização do seu ciclo funcional. A elucidação do mecanismo e a interação dos fatores presentes se fazem necessário para o entendimento do seu ciclo funcional. O objetivo deste trabalho foi a obtenção de uma co-chaperona das Hsp70, de origem humana, pertencente à família das J-proteins, conhecida por atuar na mitocôndria. A proteína recombinante hDjC20 humana (hDjC20) foi expressa sem o peptídeo sinal de encaminhamento para a mitocôndria, purificada e submetida a caracterização biofísica inicial utilizando as técnicas de dicroísmo circular (CD), fluorescência intrínseca do triptofano, cromatografia de exclusão por tamanho analítica (aSEC) e calorimetria de varredura diferencial (DSC). Os resultados indicam que a hDjC20 recombinante foi obtida com um alto grau de pureza, enovelada e monomérica em solução. Testes de desnaturação química e térmica indicam que a hDjC20, que tem um domínio zinc-finger, se apresenta provavelmente ligada ao zinco que contribui para a estabilidade estrutural da proteína. The native structure of a protein is essential for proper cellular functioning, this structure is acquired during a process known folding. However, failure during protein folding may occur, leading to the formation of protein aggregates, which are related to the onset of some diseases. To order to overcome this problem, the cellular machinery has developed a way to lead nascent or badly folded proteins to acquire their native structure. Molecular chaperones are a group of proteins that are involved in several processes, such as in the folding of nascent or badly folded proteins, in the prevention of protein aggregation, in the routing of aggregated proteins to the degradation process, among others. Hsp70, being one of the main families of molecular chaperones, participate in several of these cellular processes and require the help of cofactors and co-chaperones to perform their functional cycle. The elucidation of the mechanism and the interaction of the present factors are necessary for the understanding of its functional cycle. The objective of this study was to obtain a human-origin Hsp70 co-chaperone from the J-protein family, known to act in mitochondria. The recombinant human protein hDjC20 was expressed without the mitochondrial signaling peptide, purified and subjected to initial biophysical characterization using circular dichroism (CD), tryptophan intrinsic fluorescence, size exclusion chromatography (aSEC) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results indicate that recombinant hDjC20 was obtained with a high purity, folded and monomeric solution. Chemical and thermal denaturation tests indicate that hDjC20, which has a zinc-finger domain, is probably linked to zinc which contributes to the structural stability of the protein.

Quinases dependentes de ciclinas (CDKs) são enzimas que possuem funções específicas ou redundantes no ciclo celular e na transcrição genética, e possuem atividade de serina/treonina quinase, a qual é regulada por uma outra proteína denominada ciclina. No genoma humano já foram identificadas 21 CDKs, sendo as CDKs 1-6, 11P58, 11P110 e 14-18 reguladoras do ciclo celular, e as CDKs 7-10, 12, 13, 19, 20 reguladoras da transcrição. Este trabalho de pesquisa buscou expressar a CDK9 no sistema bacteriano de Escherichia coli, purifica-la por cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência, estudar sua estrutura nativa e verificar sua interação com o ATP. Diversos testes de expressão da CDK9 na cepa de E. coli BL21(DE3) foram realizados, nos quais as variáveis foram temperatura e tempo de indução. Nos experimentos, a CDK9 foi obtida insolúvel; portanto, após a lise celular, foram testados métodos de solubilização e de cromatografia (de interação hidrofóbica, de afinidade a íon metálico e de exclusão molecular), em várias condições experimentais, para o reenovelamento e purificação da proteína de interesse. Após a otimização das etapas de expressão e purificação, foram realizados experimentos de caracterização e estabilidade estruturais. O espectro de dicroísmo circular (CD) da CDK9, purificada e reenovelada em coluna de afinidade, apresentou elementos de estrutura secundária muito próximos aos encontrados na literatura. A desnaturação térmica monitorada por CD se mostrou um processo de dois estados (nativo e desenovelado); com a temperatura de desnaturação da CDK9 determinada em aproximadamente 65,9°C, na concentração de 6 µM. A desnaturação química induzida por ureia, medida por fluorescência, foi também caracterizada como um processo de dois estados. O experimento de titulação da proteína com ATP mostrou a supressão da fluorescência intrínseca da CDK9 como resultado da interação proteína-ligante. Os resultados obtidos neste trabalho demonstraram que a expressão heteróloga da CDK9 em E. coli, e os métodos de reenovelamento e purificação, os quais apresentam procedimentos simples e não requerem materiais de alto custo, foram eficazes na obtenção da CDK9 nativa em alto rendimento, podendo assim, ser aplicados para novos estudos in vitro da CDK9. Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are enzymes that have specific or redundant roles in cell cycle and gene transcription, and possess serine/threonine kinase activity, which is regulated by another protein named cyclin. In human genome, 21 CDKs have already been identified, among which CDKs 1-6, 11P58, 11P110 and 14-18 are cell cycle regulators, and CDKs 7-10, 12, 13, 19, 20 are transcription regulators. This research aimed to express CDK9 in Escherichia coli bacterial system, purify it by high performance liquid chromatography, study its native structure and verify its interaction with ATP. Several tests were performed to induce CDK9 expression in the E. coli strain BL21(DE3), in which temperature and induction time were the variables. CDK9 was obtained insoluble in the experiments; therefore several solubilization methods and chromatography techniques (hydrophobic interaction, metal affinity and size exclusion), in various experimental conditions, were applied to refold and purify the protein of interest after cell lysis. After optimization of the expression and purification steps, structural characterization and stability experiments were performed. The circular dichroism spectrum of CDK9, purified and refolded by affinity chromatography, presented secondary structure elements very close to those found in the literature. Thermal denaturation monitored by CD showed to be a two state (native and unfolded) process, with CDK9 melting temperature determined to be approximately 65,9°C, at concentration of 6 µM. Urea-induced CDK9 denaturation, monitored by fluorescence, was also characterized as a two state process. Titration of CDK9 with ATP showed the CDK9 intrinsic fluorescence quenching upon protein-ligand interaction. The results obtained in this research proved that CDK9 heterologous expression in E. coli, and the refolding/purification methods, which have simple procedures and do not require any expensive materials, were effective in obtaining native CDK9 in high yields; therefore, they can be applied in new in vitro studies of CDK9.

O uso desenfreado dos recursos naturais durante as últimas décadas têm impactado drasticamente o meio ambiente, direcionando a humanidade a investir no desenvolvimento de tecnologias para produção sustentável e ecológica de novas fontes de energia renovável e de produtos verdes. Nesse âmbito, o uso de resíduos derivados da biomassa vegetal tem sido apresentado como uma promissora alternativa à substituição de combustíveis, componentes químicos e polímeros de origem fóssil. Esse material é barato, abundante e não compete direta ou indiretamente com a segurança alimentar. Hoje, mais de 200 compostos químicos e biopolímeros de valor agregado podem ser obtidos a partir do processamento de material lignocelulósico. Todavia, essa tecnologia ainda não é plenamente desenvolvida, afetando sua competitividade econômica, sendo que o maior custo atribui-se à despolimerização enzimática dos polissacarídeos que formam a parede celular vegetal (PCV). Essa etapa requer preparados enzimáticos compostos por diversas enzimas, que agem sinergicamente sobre a complexa estrutura da PCV. Dentre essas enzimas, as pectinases e xilanases desempenham um importante papel na desconstrução dos polímeros pécticos e da hemicelulose. O presente trabalho objetivou o estudo funcional e estrutural de diferentes classes de pectinases e xilanases com potencial biotecnológico, no intuito de contribuir para o desenvolvimento pleno da despolimerização enzimática da PCV. Dentro dessa perspectiva, foram estudadas: uma pectina metilesterase (Sl-PME) e uma endo-poligalacturonase (Sl-EndoPG) do inseto Sphenophorus levis; uma exo-poligalacturonase (Bl-ExoPG) de Bacillus licheniformis; uma xilanase GH10 (MT-Xyn10) e duas GH11 (MT-Xyn11a e MT-Xyn11b) identificadas no metatranscriptoma de um consórcio microbiótico derivado de compostagem de bagaço de cana-de-açúcar. A estrutura cristalográfica da Sl-PME evidenciou alta semelhança com outra PME de inseto. Também foi concluído que as PMEs de inseto são mais similares às bacterianas, quando comparadas às fúngicas e vegetais, principalmente em relação ao sulco catalítico. Além disso, PMEs de inseto, exclusivamente, apresentam uma permutação circular, possívelmente realcionada a um evento de transferência horizontal. A Bl-ExoPG apresentou-se monomérica em solução, com atividade ótima em pH neutro a 60°C, sendo estável em uma ampla faixa de pH (5-10) e com considerável termoestabilidade em elevadas temperaturas. Essa enzima, também, apresentou especificidade por pectina não-metilada, liberando unicamente monômeros de ácido galacturônico. As três xilanases estudadas apresentaram-se monoméricas em solução, com maior atividade entre 30 e 45°C e pHs de 6 a 9, retendo atividade acima de 50% nos pHs 5 e 10. Além disso, todas elas apresentam especificidade por xilano, sendo que a MT-Xyn10 apresentou, também, alta atividade sobre arabinoxilano. A MT-Xyn10 apresentou um conjunto de propriedades enzimáticas bastante atrativas às aplicações industriais, uma vez que é altamente estável em uma ampla faixa de pH (4-10), termoestável em temperaturas de até 50°C e sua ação catalítica produz diversos xilo-oligossacarídeos de alto valor agregado. A análise da estrutura cristalográfica da MT-Xyn11a revela três particularidades estruturais, compartilhadas com a MT-Xyn11b, mas não descritas para outras GH11. Dentre essas particularidades, um loop parece limitar o acesso do substrato ao sítio catalítico, contribuindo diretamente para a baixa afinidade ao substrato apresentada por essas duas enzimas. Decades of unbridled use of natural resources have drastically affected the global environment, driving humanity to invest in the development of novel technologies for production of sustainable and ecofriendly renewable energy sources and green products. In this context, plant biomass residues have been presented as a promising alternative to fuels, chemicals and polymers derived from fossil reserves. This feedstock is abundant, cheap and does not compete directly or indirectly with food security. Today, more than 200 value-added chemicals and biopolymers can be generated by processing lignocellulosic material. However, this technology is not fully developed yet; its major costs stem from the enzymatic depolymerization of the polysaccharides that constitute the plant cell wall (PCW). This step requires enzymatic cocktails composed of several enzymes that synergistically deconstruct the complex PCW. Among these enzymes, pectinases and xylanases play an important role in the depolymerization of pectic polymers and hemicellulose. The present work is a functional and structural study of different classes of pectinase and xylanases with biotechnological potential. It intends to contribute to the full development of PCW enzymatic depolymerization. With this perspective, we studied a pectin methylesterase (Sl-PME) and an endo-polygalacturonase (Sl-EndoPG) from the insect Sphenophorus levis; an exo-polygalacturonase (Bl-ExoPG) from Bacillus licheniformis; a GH10 xylanase (MT-Xyn10); and two GH11 xylanases (MT-Xyn11a and MT-Xyn11b) from the metatranscriptome of sugarcane bagasse compost-derived microbial consortia. The Sl-PME crystallographic structure showed high similarity with other insect PME. It was also concluded that insect PMEs are more similar to bacterial PMEs than fungi or plant PMEs, especially in relation to the catalytic groove. Moreover, insect PMEs exclusively presented a circular permutation that is possibly related to an event of horizontal gene transfer. Bl-ExoPG is monomeric in solution, with optimal activity on neutral pH and 60°C, being stable in a wide pH range (5-10) and with considerable thermostability at high temperatures. This enzyme, also presented specificity for non-methylated pectin substrates, releasing only monomers of galacturonic acid as catalytic product. All three xylanases studied here are monomeric in solution, with optimal activity between 30°C and 45°C and between pHs 6 and 9, retaining more than 50% of original activity in the pHs 5 and 10. Besides, they all showed specificity for xylan, and MT-Xyn10 also showed high activity on arabinoxylan. MT-Xyn10 revealed a set of enzymatic properties attractive for industrial applications, such as high stability in a wide pH range (4-10), thermostability up to 50°C and released products that are high value-added xilo-oligosaccharides. The MT-Xyn11a crystallographic structure revealed three structural particularities shared with MT-Xyn11b, but not previously described in other GH11. Among these particularities, a loop seems to limit the substrate access to the catalytic site, contributing to the low enzyme affinity presented by both MT-Xyn11a and MT-Xyn11b.

Ácido clavulânico (AC) é um potente inibidor de β-lactamases, produzido por Streptomyces clavuligerus, usado clinicamente em combinação com antibióticos β-lactâmicos para tratar infecções bacterianas resistentes. Apesar da produção industrial de AC já ser bem estabelecida muitos aspectos importantes relacionados com sua biossíntese permanecem carentes de estudo. Sabe-se que a via de síntese do AC envolve no mínimo 8 passos enzimáticos sendo os primeiros passos mais abordados. Por exemplo, as enzimas N2-(2-carboxietil) arginina sintase (CEAS), β-lactama sintase (BLS) e proclavaminato amidino hidrolase (PAH) são as responsáveis pela primeira, segunda e quarta reações enzimáticas respectivamente. Estudos mutagênicos recentes em S.clavuligerus relacionaram cópias extras dos genes ceas, bls e pah (ceas1, bls1 e pah1) com essa via porém nenhum ensaio enzimático foi relatado. Embora os passos finais da via ainda não estejam completamente estabelecidos, a ação de algumas enzimas putativas, como a codificada por orf12, mostraram ser essenciais a produção do AC. Assim, com o objetivo de aumentar a informação disponível sobre a biossíntese do AC estudamos quatro de seus membros: CEAS1, BLS1, PAH1 e a proteína putativa codificada pela orf12. Os genes foram isolados a partir do DNA genômico de S. clavuligerus por PCR e clonados em vetores para produção das proteínas recombinantes em E.coli. Os protocolos de expressão foram estabelecidos para CEAS1, PAH1 e ORF12 e as proteínas recombinantes foram purificadas por cromatografia de afinidade por metal. BLS foi obtida de forma isolúvel. As proteínas solúveis foram caracterizadas por meio de técnicas bioquímicas e estruturais. As análises de CEAS1 e PAH1 foram comparadas com informações já obtidas para as isozimas CEAS2 e PAH2, respectivamente. Assim, as análises de oligomerização das proteínas resultaram em uma mistura de oligômeros (monômero, dímero e tetrâmero) para CEAS1, na forma hexamérica para PAH1 e na forma dimérica para ORF12, estando de acordo com as formas solúvel e cristalográfica de CEAS2 (dímero e tetrâmero) e PAH2 (hexâmero). Espectros de dicroísmo circular mostraram que CEAS1 e PAH1 possuem um enovelamento do tipo α/β sendo estáveis até 35ºC e numa ampla faixa de pH. Os parâmetros termodinâmicos da interação entre CEAS1 e o cofator Mg+2 foram determinados mostrando que é entropicamente dirigida, com uma estequiometria de ligação de 4 : 1, com uma constante de afinidade na ordem de micromolar (KD = 1,76 ± 0.23 µM). Análises realizadas com as técnicas de reação acoplada, de Cromatografia Líquida de Alta Pressão acoplada a Espectrometria de Massas (LC-MS) e de Calorimetria de Titulação Isotérmica mostraram que CEAS1, assim como CEAS2, apresenta atividade sob o substrato gliceraldeído-3-fosfato, porém sem a formação do produto final N2-(2-carboxietil)arginina. Por outro lado, a proteína recombinante PAH1 mostrou ser inativa sobre o substrato análogo, N-α-acetil-L-arginina. Assim, apesar das isozimas manterem um padrão estrutural, podem ter mecanismos de ação distintos. Em relação a ORF12 esta proteína foi classificada com uma β-lactamase com atividade esterase de acordo com nossos estudos realizados com os substratos cefalosporina C e p-nitrofenil acetato. Clavulanic acid (CA) is a potent inhibitor of β-lactamases, produced by Streptomyces clavuligerus, clinically used in combination with β-lactam antibiotics to treat resistant bacterial infections. Although CA industrial production is well-established, many important aspects related to its biosynthesis remains under study. It is known that CA pathway involves at least 8 enzymatic steps, being the earliest stages more addressed. For instance, N2-(2-carboxyethyl) arginine synthase (CEAS), β-lactam synthase (BLS) and proclavaminate amidinohydrolase (PAH) are responsible for the first, second and fourth enzymatic reaction, respectively. Recent mutagenic studies in S.clavuligerus have related extra copies of ceas, bls and pah genes ((ceas1, bls1 e pah1) to this pathway but none enzymatic assay was further reported. Although later stages the pathway remain unclear, the action of some putative enzymes like the codified by orf12 showed essential to CA production. Thus, aiming to increase the information available about CA biosynthesis we studied four of its members: CEAS1, BLS1, PAH1, and the putative protein codified by orf12. The genes were isolated from S.clavuligerus genomic DNA by PCR and further cloned into expression vectors in order to produce recombinant proteins in E.coli. Protocols of protein expression were established to CEAS1, PAH1 and ORF12 and recombinant proteins were purified by metal affinity chromatography. BLS was obtained as an insoluble form. Soluble proteins were characterized by means of biochemical and structural approaches. Analyses of CEAS1 and PAH1 were compared with information ever conducted to the isozymes CEAS2 and PAH2, respectively. Thus, oligomerization analysis of proteins resulted respectively in a mix of oligomers forms (monomer, dimer, tetramer) to CEAS1, hexameric form to PAH1 and dimeric form to ORF12, according to the soluble and crystallographic form of CEAS2 (dimer and tetramer) and PAH2 (hexamer). Circular Dichroism spectra showed that CEAS1 and PAH1 have an α-β conformation and were stable up to 35ºC over a wide pH range. Thermodynamic parameters of CEAS1 cofactor (Mg+2) binding were determined showing that is entropic driven, with a 4:1 binding stoichiometry, with a micro-molar affinity (KD = 1.76 ± 0.23 µM). Analyses by coupled assay, High Pressure Liquid Chromatography coupled to Mass Spectroscopy (LC-MS) and Isothermal Titration Calorimetry showed that CEAS1, as well as the CEAS2, presents activity at the substrate glyceraldehydes-3-phosphate, however without formation of final product, N2-(2-carboxyethyl)arginine. Meanwhile recombinant PAH1 showed none activity at analogous substrate, N-α-acetil-L-arginine. Thus despite isozymes maintain a structural pattern, they may have distinct action mechanism. Regards to ORF12, this protein was classified as a β-lactamase with an esterase activity according to our studies performed with the substrates cephalosporin C and p-nitrophenyl acetate.

As chaperonas moleculares são proteínas que auxiliam no enovelamento correto de outras proteínas, entre outras funções importantes para as células, motivo pelo qual elas têm sido alvo para o combate de várias doenças. As Hsp90 (82-96 kDa) são chaperonas abundantes que interagem com diversas proteínas-cliente. São constituídas por três domínios: N-terminal, intermediário ou central (M) e C-terminal, o qual é responsável pela dimerização da proteína. A atividade da Hsp90 está diretamente relacionada à sua atividade ATPásica. Durante o ciclo funcional, as Hsp90 podem interagir com inúmeras co-chaperonas. Uma delas é a co-chaperona p23 (18-22 kDa) que interage com o dímero da Hsp90 e algumas das suas funções são a inibição da atividade ATPásica e atividade chaperona. O objetivo do trabalho foi obter a proteína recombinante Hsp90 de Leishmania braziliensis e os domínios N e N+M, determinar fatores importantes que relacionam mudanças conformacionais e função da Hsp90 e as bases moleculares da inibição por GA. Também obter as co-chaperonas Lbp23A e Lbp23B e investigar a interação com a LbHsp90 e suas funções. As proteínas produzidas foram purificadas e caracterizadas por técnicas biofísicas. Em solução, a LbHsp90 foi caracterizada como dímero assimétrico e as demais proteínas como monômeros assimétricos.A interação da LbHsp90 e domínios com nucleotídeos foi analisada por fluorescência e as constantes de dissociação ficaram em torno de 150 µM. A afinidade por GA foi maior que a verificada para ATP e em ordem crescente para LbHsp90, LbHsp90_NM e LbHsp90_N. A LbHsp90 apresentou grande atividade chaperona em relação à citrato sintase, de maneira independente de ATP. A LbHsp90 mostrou baixa atividade ATPásica, a qual foi inibida pela GA com IC50 de 0,7 µM. Tanto a Lbp23A quanto a Lbp23B inibiram a atividade ATPásica da LbHsp90, porém a Lbp23A aproximou-se de 100% de inibição e a Lbp23B apenas 30%. A interação in vitro entre a LbHsp90 e a Lbp23B foi observada por pull-down na presença/ausência de nucleotídeos e essa técnica não se mostrou adequada para a Lbp23A.O pioneirismo do trabalho com a Hsp90/p23 de L. braziliensis oferece uma grande contribuição para futuros trabalhos que visam o entendimento das relações funcionais entre essas proteínas e o contexto das Hsp90 no desenvolvimento da leishmaniose. Molecular chaperones are proteins involved in proper folding of other proteins, and others important cellular functions, why they have been targeted for combating various diseases. The Hsp90 (82-96 kDa) are ubiquitous chaperones that interact with a wide range of client proteins. They are formed by three domains: N-terminal, central or middle (M), and C-terminal, which is responsible by its dimerization. The Hsp90 activity is related to its ATPase activity. During the Hsp90 functional cycle, diverse co-chaperones. One of them is the p23 (18 kDa), that interacts with one Hsp90 dimer, and some p23 functions are the inhibition of Hsp90 ATPase activity and chaperone activity. The aim of this work was obtain the Hsp90 recombinant Leishmania braziliensis Hsp90, the N and N+M domains, to determine the important factors related to conformational changes and Hsp90 function, and the molecular basis of GA inhibition. Also, to obtain the Lbp23A and Lbp23B co-chaperones in order to establish relevant aspects for LbHsp90 interaction and its co-chaperones functions. The recombinant proteins were produced, purified and characterized by biophysics techniques. The LbHsp90 was identified as an asymmetric dimer for whereas the others were identified as asymmetric monomers. The interactions between LbHsp90 and domains with nucleotides were determined by fluorescence and the dissociation constants were about 150 µM. The GA-affinity was greater than ATP one, in increasing order for LbHsp90, LbHsp90_NM, and LbHsp90_N. The LbHsp90 showed large chaperone activity related to citrate synthase independently of ATP. The LbHsp90 presented low ATPase activity, which was inhibited by GA with a IC50 of 0,7. The Lbp23A and Lbp23B inhibited the ATPase activity with different values, the Lbp23A inhibition was closed to 100% whereas the Lbp23B one was 30%. The in vitro interaction between the LbHsp90 and Lbp23B was observed by pull-down, in the absence or presence of nucleotides, and for Lbp23A this technique was not appropriated. The pioneering work with Hsp90/p23 from L. braziliensis offers an important contribution to future studies aimed at understanding the functional relationships between these proteins and the context of Hsp90 in the development of leishmaniasis.

A DisBa-01, uma desintegrina RGD recombinante ainda não isolada do veneno de Bothrops alternatus, exibe alta afinidade pela integrina aIIbB3, contribuindo para inibição da agregação plaquetária (RAMOS, 2005). DisBa-01 possui também atividades anti-trombótica e anti-metastática comprovadas in vivo (Ramos, 2005). A fim de obter moléculas menores mantendo as atividades da DisBa-01, dois mutantes estão em estudo. Moléculas chamadas DisBa (1-32) e DisBa (1-36) apresentam 32 e 36 resíduos a menos que a DisBa-01, respectivamente, na região N-terminal. Oligonucleotídeos foram construídos e os DNAs foram amplificados por PCR utilizando o plasmídeo pET28a-DisBa-01 como o molde. Os produtos de PCR foram clonados no vetor de expressão pET32a. Análises das seqüências revelaram que os genes e sua fase de leitura estavam completamente corretos. Os plasmídeos recombinantes foram introduzidos em linhagem de E.coli BL21 (DE3). Os plasmídeos recombinantes foram induzidos com IPTG para expressar as proteínas em fusão com a tiorredoxina. As proteínas foram expressas na forma solúvel e com massa molecular coincidente com a previsão. As proteínas de fusão foram purificadas por cromatografia de afinidade em resina de níquel e clivadas com a enzima enteroquinase. As amostras clivadas foram purificadas por cromatografia de filtração a gel. Os passos de purificação e clivagem foram analisados por SDS-PAGE e reação de immunoblotting utilizando o anticorpo anti-Echistatin. Testes de inibição da adesão celular, usando células de melanoma de camundongo B16F10 ricas em integrina avb3, mostraram que a DisBa (1-32) e a DisBa (1-36) são capazes de inibir, aproximadamente, 70% da adesão celular, um resultado semelhante ao encontrado para a molécula de DisBa-01. Portanto, as duas moléculas mutantes da DisBa-01 obtidas apresentaram atividades que podem ser exploradas no desenho de novos medicamentos contra câncer. DisBa-01, a recombinant RGD-disintegrin still not isolated from B. alternatus venom exhibits high affinity for aIIbB3 integrin, contributing for the inhibition of platelet aggregation (Ramos, 2005). DisBa-01 possesses also antithrombotic and antimetatatic activities in vivo (Ramos, 2005). In order to obtain shorter molecules maintaining activities of DisBa-01 two mutants were studied. Molecules called DisBa (1-32) and DisBa (1-36) have 32 and 36 residues unless DisBa-01, respectively, in the N-terminal region. Oligonucleotides were constructed and the DNAs were amplified by PCR using pET28a-DisBa-01 vector as the template. PCR products were cloned into expression vector pET32a. Sequence analysis showed that reading frames were completely correct. The recombinant plasmids were introduced in BL21(DE3) E.coli strain. The recombinant plasmids were induced with IPTG to express the proteins in fusion with thioredoxin. Proteins were expressed in a soluble form and with molecular mass coincident with prediction. Fusion proteins were purified by affinity chromatography in nickel resin and cleaved with enterokinase enzyme. Samples of cleavage were purified by the gel filtration chromatography. Purification and cleavage steps were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting reaction using anti-Echistatin antibody. Tests inhibition of cell adhesion, using cells from mice B16F10 melanoma rich in integrin avb3, showed that DisBa (1-32) and DisBa (1-36) are able to inhibit approximately 70% of cell adhesion. Therefore the two mutants molecules of the DisBa-01 obtained in this work present activities that can be explored in the design of new medicines against cancer.

A bothropasina é uma proteína hemorrágica de 48 kDa, pertencente à classe P-III das metaloproteases, isolada a partir do veneno bruto da serpente brasileira Bothrops jararaca, e que possui os domínios adesivos desintegrina (D) e rico em cisteína (C). Neste trabalho, nós apresentamos a estrutura cristalográfica da bothropasina complexada ao inibidor POL647. O domínio catalítico , metaloprotease (M), pode ser dividido em dois subdomínios, dispostos de maneira muito similar aos descritos para essa família de metaloproteases de venenos de serpentes (em inglês \"SVMPs\"), que inclui os sítios de ligação ao zinco e ao cálcio. A cisteína livre, resíduo Cys189, está localizado em um núcleo hidrofóbico e, sendo assim, impossibilitado de fazer pontes dissulfeto ou qualquer outra interação. O domínio D não apresenta estruturas secundárias bem definidas, sendo constituído, majoritariamente, por estruturas desordenadas como \"loops\", porém estabilizados por 7 pontes dissulfeto e por dois íons cálcio. A região do motivo ECD está localizada em um \"loop\" e é estruturalmente relacionado à região RGD das desintegrinas-RGD, derivadas de SVMPs da classe P-II. O motivo ECD é estabilizado pela ponte dissulfeto Cys277-Cys310 (entre os domínios D e C), além de um íon cálcio. A cadeia lateral do Glu276 do motivo ECD está exposta ao solvente. Na bothropasina, a região hiper variada (em inglês HVR), descrita para outras P-III de SVMPs, presente no domínio C, de fato, é bastante conservada quando comparada a outros membros da classe P-III de diversas espécies. Nós propomos que esse subgrupo deva ser referido como PIII-HCR (região altamente conservada) SVMPs. Ainda é proposto que as diferenças estruturais dos domínios D, C ou DC possam estar envolvidas em uma melhor adaptação da estrutura na interação com diferentes alvos, além do reconhecimento e especificidade a um substrato para o domínio M. Bothropasin is a 48kDa hemorrhagic P-III metalloprotease isolated from the venom of the Brazilian snake Bothrops jararaca, which has the disintegrin (D) and cysteine-rich (C) adhesive domains. We present the crystal structure of the bothropasin complexed with the inhibitor POL647. The catalytic domain, metalloprotease (M), consists of two subdomains in a very similar scaffold to the ones described for other snake venom metalloproteases (SVMPs) including the zinc and calcium binding sites. The free cysteine, residue Cys189, is in a hydrophobic core and it is not available for disulfide bonding or other interactions. The D domain does not have a defined secondary structure, but instead is composed by mostly loops stabilized by seven disulfide bonds and by two calcium ions. The ECD region is in a loop and it is structurally related to the RGD region of RGD-disintegrins, which are derived from P-II SVMPs. The ECD motif is stabilized by the Cys277-Cys310 disulfide bond (between D and C domains) and by one calcium ion. The side chain of the Glu276 of the ECD motif is solvent exposed. In bothropasi, the HVR (hyper-variable region) described for other P-III SVMPs in the C domain in fact presents a well conserved sequence with respect to several other P-III members from different species. We propose that this subset be referred to as PIII-HCR (highly-conserved region) SVMPs. We further propose that the structural differences in the D, C or DC domains may be involved in selecting target binding which in turn could generate substrate diversity or specificity for the M domain.

A bactéria Xylella fastidiosa (X. fastidiosa) é um patógeno de planta que causa a clorose variegada dos citros, também conhecida como amarelinho. Xylella fastidiosa é uma bactéria limitada ao xilema, sendo transmitida de planta a planta através de insetos vetores. Através da determinação experimental da seqüência primária de algumas proteínas marcadamente expressas pela X. fastidiosa e a comparação destas com seqüências de ácidos nucléicos do genoma identificou entre elas três ORFs codificadoras de proteínas que podem estar relacionadas à patogenicidade desta bactéria no seu hospedeiro. No entanto, a função biológica destas proteínas ainda não foi funcionalmente caracterizada. Para investigar o papel biológico e realizar estudos de estrutura e função, as ORFs correspondentes as proteínas hidroxinitrila liase, corismato sintase e proteína D do sistema de transporte e secreção Tat foram clonadas, seqüenciadas e expressas em Escherichia coli. As proteínas recombinantes expressas foram purificadas por cromatografia de afinidade e suas identidades verificadas por seqüenciamento. As proteínas purificadas foram encontradas como uma única banda em SDS-PAGE. As proteínas recombinantes, pela primeira vez isoladas, foram caracterizadas em termos de estabilidade conformacional e comportamento estrutural frente a mudanças de pH e temperatura utilizando-se as espectroscopias de dicroísmo circular e fluorescência. O sucesso na construção do gene sintético e na clonagem em vetores de expressão de E. coli resultou em quantidade satisfatória de expressão das proteínas recombinantes. Duas delas apresentaram-se na formas solúveis, facilmente purificadas e ativas e permitindo suas caracterizações. Xylella fastidiosa is the causal agent of citrus variegated chlorosis, also known as \"amarelinho\". Xylella fastidiosa inhabits exclusively the xylem vessels, and is transmitted by sharpshooter vectors. The experimental determination of the primary sequence of some markedly expressed proteins for X. fastidiosa and the comparison with the nucleic acids sequence of its genome aided the identification of three of them as being proteins involved in host pathogenicity. However, the biological role of these proteins should be assigned experimentally. In order to investigate the biological role, function and structure, ORFs corresponding to hydroxynitrile liase, chorismate synthase and type V secretory pathway proteins were cloned, sequenced and expressed in Escherichia coli. The expressed recombinant proteins were purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (Ni-NTA resin) and their identities were verified by protein sequencing. The purified proteins were found as a single band on SDS-PAGE. The successful cloning and heterologous expression of recombinant HNL in E. coli resulted in a satisfactory amount of expressed protein. Two of the expressed recombinant proteins were soluble, easily purified, and isolated in an active form. X. fastidiosa recombinant proteins, for the first time isolated, were characterized according to enzyme conformational stability and structural behavior as a function of pH and temperature using circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy.