Protein synthesis upon acute nutrient restriction relies on proteasome function

The mechanisms that protect mammalian cells against amino acid deprivation are only partially understood. We found that during an acute decrease in external amino acid supply, before up-regulation of the autophagosomal-lysosomal pathway, efficient translation was ensured by proteasomal protein degradation. Amino acids for the synthesis of new proteins were supplied by the degradation of preexisting proteins, whereas nascent and newly formed polypeptides remained largely protected from proteolysis. Proteasome inhibition during nutrient deprivation caused rapid amino acid depletion and marked impairment of translation. Thus, the proteasome plays a crucial role in cell survival after acute disruption of amino acid supply.     

Activation of the cellular proto-oncogene product p21Ras by addition of a myristylation signal

The 21-kD proteins encoded by ras oncogenes (p21Ras) are modified covalently by a palmitate attached to a cysteine residue near the carboxyl terminus. Changing cysteine at position 186 to serine in oncogenic forms produces a nonpalmitylated protein that fails to associate with membranes and does not transform NIH 3T3 cells. Nonpalmitylated p21Ras derivatives were constructed that contained myristic acid at their amino termini to determine if a different form of lipid modification could restore either membrane association or transforming activity. An activated p21Ras, altered in this way, exhibited both efficient membrane association and full transforming activity. Surprisingly, myristylated forms of normal cellular Ras were also transforming. This demonstrates that Ras must bind to membranes in order to transmit a signal for transformation, but that either myristate or palmitate can perform this role. However, the normal function of cellular Ras is diverted to transformation by myristate and therefore must be regulated ordinarily by some unique property of palmitate that myristate does not mimic. Myristylation thus represents a novel mechanism by which Ras can become transforming.     

Identification of geranylgeranyl-modified proteins in HeLa cells

Previous studies have shown that animal cells contain isoprenoid-modified proteins and that one of these proteins, lamin B, contains a thioether-linked farnesyl group that is attached to cysteine. In the present study, a novel isoprenoid-modification was identified by labeling HeLa cells with [3H]mevalonic acid and analyzing proteolytic digests of the total cell protein. Radioactive fragments were purified from these digests and treated with Raney nickel. The released, labeled material was analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography (GC) and mass spectrometry (MS). This approach revealed that an all-trans geranylgeranyl group was a major isoprenoid modification.     

大眼鰤鲈鱼真皮肿瘤病毒（WDSV）辅助基因orfA和orfC多抗的制备及初步应用

【目的】制备大眼鰤鲈鱼真皮肿瘤病毒(WDSV)辅助基因orfA和orfC的多克隆抗体,并用其检测酵母和肿瘤细胞中目的蛋白的表达。【方法】以WDSV基因组序列为模板,PCR扩增WDSV orfA和orfC基因,分别构建其原核表达载体,转化Rosseta（DE3）感受态细胞,经IPTG诱导表达并纯化重组蛋白后,采用皮下多点注射结合耳静脉加强免疫的方法免疫新西兰白兔,制备抗orfA和抗orfC的多克隆抗体,用Western blot法检测抗体的特异性。用制备的多克隆抗体检测orfA和orfC融合蛋白在酵母和HeLa299、SPC-A-1肿瘤细胞中的表达。【结果】PCR扩增获得了WDSV orfA和orfC基因。成功构建了orfA和orfC基因的原核表达载体并进行了诱导表达,orfA和orfC重组融合蛋白以包涵体形式存在;采用皮下注射结合耳静脉加强免疫有效地提高了抗体效价,成功制备得到了兔抗orfA和兔抗orfC血清,抗体效价达1∶8 000～1∶10 000;通过Western blot法,利用上述抗血清分别检测到了原核表达的目的蛋白及酵母和肿瘤细胞中表达的目的蛋白。【结论】制备得到的抗orfA和抗orfC多克隆抗体具有很好的特异性,能够用于原核表达、酵母和肿瘤细胞中表达的目的蛋白的Western blot检测。     

A mitochondrial pyruvate carrier required for pyruvate uptake in yeast, Drosophila, and humans

Pyruvate constitutes a critical branch point in cellular carbon metabolism. We have identified two proteins, Mpc1 and Mpc2, as essential for mitochondrial pyruvate transport in yeast, Drosophila, and humans. Mpc1 and Mpc2 associate to form an ~150-kilodalton complex in the inner mitochondrial membrane. Yeast and Drosophila mutants lacking MPC1 display impaired pyruvate metabolism, with an accumulation of upstream metabolites and a depletion of tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates. Loss of yeast Mpc1 results in defective mitochondrial pyruvate uptake, and silencing of MPC1 or MPC2 in mammalian cells impairs pyruvate oxidation. A point mutation in MPC1 provides resistance to a known inhibitor of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier. Human genetic studies of three families with children suffering from lactic acidosis and hyperpyruvatemia revealed a causal locus that mapped to MPC1, changing single amino acids that are conserved throughout eukaryotes. These data demonstrate that Mpc1 and Mpc2 form an essential part of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier.     

Adhesive and mammalian transglutaminase substrate properties of Candida albicans Hwp1

The pathogenesis of candidiasis involves invasion of host tissues by filamentous forms of the opportunistic yeast Candida albicans. Morphology-specific gene products may confer proinvasive properties. A hypha-specific surface protein, Hwp1, with similarities to mammalian small proline-rich proteins was shown to serve as a substrate for mammalian transglutaminases. Candida albicans strains lacking Hwp1 were unable to form stable attachments to human buccal epithelial cells and had a reduced capacity to cause systemic candidiasis in mice. This represents a paradigm for microbial adhesion that implicates essential host enzymes.     

Heat shock is lethal to fibroblasts microinjected with antibodies against hsp70

Synthesis of a small group of highly conserved proteins in response to elevated temperature and other agents that induce stress is a universal feature of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Although correlative evidence suggests that these proteins play a role in enhancing survival during and after stress, there is no direct evidence to support this in mammalian cells. To assess the role of the most highly conserved heat shock protein (hsp) family during heat shock, affinity-purified monoclonal antibodies to hsp70 were introduced into fibroblasts by needle microinjection. In addition to impairing the heat-induced translocation of hsp70 proteins into the nucleus after mild heat shock treatment, injected cells were unable to survive a brief incubation at 45 degrees C. Cells injected with control antibodies survived a similar heat shock. These results indicate that functional hsp70 is required for survival of these cells during and after thermal stress.     

Propolypeptide of von Willebrand factor circulates in blood and is identical to von Willebrand antigen II

The generally mild bleeding disorder of von Willebrand disease is associated with abnormalities of two distinct plasma proteins, the large multimeric von Willebrand factor (vWF), which mediates platelet adhesion, and von Willebrand antigen II (vW AgII), which is of unknown function. The two proteins were found to have a common biosynthetic origin in endothelial cells and megakaryocytes, which explains their simultaneous absence in the severe form of this hereditary disease. Shared amino acid sequences from a 100-kilodalton plasma glycoprotein and from vW AgII are identical to amino acid sequences predicted from a complementary DNA clone encoding the 5' end of vWF. In addition, these proteins have identical molecular weights and immunologic cross reactivities. Monoclonal antibodies prepared against both proteins recognize epitopes on the pro-vWF subunit and on a 100-kilodalton protein that are not present on the mature vWF subunit in endothelial cell lysates. In contrast, polyclonal antibodies against vWF recognize both pro-vWF and vWF subunits. Thus, the 100-kilodalton plasma glycoprotein and vW AgII are identical proteins and represent an extremely large propolypeptide that is first cleaved from pro-vWF during intracellular processing and then released into plasma.     

朊病毒增殖机制的研究现状

朊病毒为一不含核酸的蛋白感染因子，能引起哺乳动物中枢神经组织病变，它是由正常形式的蛋白（PrPC)错误折叠成致病蛋白（PrPSc)而组成的，两种结构异型蛋白来源于同一基因，朊病毒抚养殖是通过PrPC构象转变成为PrPSc而实现的。     

Direct activation of mammalian atrial muscarinic potassium channels by GTP regulatory protein Gk

The mammalian heart rate is regulated by the vagus nerve, which acts via muscarinic acetylcholine receptors to cause hyperpolarization of atrial pacemaker cells. The hyperpolarization is produced by the opening of potassium channels and involves an intermediary guanosine triphosphate-binding regulatory (G) protein. Potassium channels in isolated, inside-out patches of membranes from atrial cells now are shown to be activated by a purified pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein of subunit composition alpha beta gamma, with an alpha subunit of 40,000 daltons. Thus, mammalian atrial muscarinic potassium channels are activated directly by a G protein, not indirectly through a cascade of intermediary events. The G protein regulating these channels is identified as a potent Gk; it is active at 0.2 to 1 pM. Thus, proteins other than enzymes can be under control of receptor coupling G proteins.     

Site-specific mutagenesis of the human interleukin-2 gene: structure-function analysis of the cysteine residues

The gene encoding human interleukin-2 (IL-2) has been cloned from human spleen cells, peripheral blood lymphocytes, and the Jurkat cell line. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the gene revealed that the encoded IL-2 protein has three cysteines located at amino acid residues 58, 105, and 125 of the mature protein. Site-specific mutagenesis procedures were used to modify the IL-2 gene by changing each of the cysteine codons individually to serine codons. Substitution of serine for cysteine residues at either position 58 or 105 of the IL-2 protein substantially reduced biological activity, indicating that the cysteines at these positions are necessary for maintenance of the biologically active conformation and may therefore be linked by a disulfide bridge. The modified IL-2 protein containing a substitution at position 125 retained full biological activity, suggesting that the cysteine at this position is not involved in a disulfide bond and that a free sulfhydryl group at that position is not necessary for receptor binding.     

Directed mutagenesis of dihydrofolate reductase

Three mutations of the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase were constructed by oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis of the cloned Escherichia coli gene. The mutations--at residue 27, aspartic acid replaced with asparagine; at residue 39, proline replaced with cysteine; and at residue 95, glycine replaced with alanine--were designed to answer questions about the relations between molecular structure and function that were raised by the x-ray crystal structures. Properties of the mutant proteins show that Asp-27 is important for catalysis and that perturbation of the local structure at a conserved cis peptide bond following Gly-95 abolishes activity. Substitution of cysteine for proline at residue 39 results in the appearance of new forms of the enzyme that correspond to various oxidation states of the cysteine. One of these forms probably represents a species cross-linked by an intrachain disulfide bridge between the cysteine at position 85 and the new cysteine at position 39.     

Substrate binding properties of mutant and wild-type A proteins of Escherichia coli tryptophan synthetase

Most of the mutant A proteins studied appear to be similar to the normal enzyme both in their apparent conformation about the critical cysteine residues and their ability to bind substrate. Two mutant proteins, in which a glutamic acid or arginine residue is substituted for a glycine residue, do appear abnormal suggesting that these primary structural changes radically affect the conformation in regions at or near the site or sites of substrate binding.     

Inhibition of secretion of hepatitis B surface antigen by a related presurface polypeptide

The presurface (preS) proteins of hepatitis B virus are structural components of the viral envelope that may play important roles in virion assembly and infectivity. They are specified by a large open reading frame that includes the coding region for the major surface (S) protein in its 3' half. Translation of the preS proteins initiates upstream from the S region, giving rise to proteins that are composed of the S domain and an additional 163 (preS1) or 55 (preS2) amino acids. Little is known about the biosynthesis and assembly of these proteins. The expression of the S and preS1 proteins was examined by transfecting cultured mammalian cells with viral DNA and injecting synthetic messenger RNA's into Xenopus oocytes. In contrast to the proteins encoded by the S region, the preS1 proteins are not detectably secreted into the culture medium. Furthermore, when the S and preS1 proteins are synthesized together, secretion of the S proteins is specifically and strongly inhibited. The results suggest a unique molecular interaction during secretion of the S and preS proteins that may be important for virus assembly.     

四川小麦地方品种AS1643中α/β醇溶蛋白基因

用PCR方法从四川小麦地方品种AS1643中克隆到3个α/β-醇溶蛋白基因，即Gli-AS1643-1（GenBank No.DQ166376）、Gli-AS1643-2（GenBank No.DQ166377）和Gli-AS1643-3（GenBank No.DQ166378）。其中，Gli-AS1643-1和Gli-AS1643-2的编码区长度分别为873bp和852bp，可编码270和263个氨基酸残基的成熟蛋白。Gli-AS1643-3由于在编码区内有一个提前终止密码子，为不可编码成熟蛋白的假基因。序列比较显示Gli-AS1643-1、Gli-AS1643-2和 Gli-AS1643-3分别与GenBank中的α/β-醇溶蛋白基因具有较高的一致性，且序列结构非常相似。它们的N-端氨基酸序列与各种α-、β-、γ-和α/β-醇溶蛋白的基本一致，但与ω-醇溶蛋白和低分子量谷蛋白亚基的明显不同。N-端12肽串联重复紧密相关的5个脯氨酸框和类似于微卫星序列编码的2个多聚谷氨酰胺区域。在Gli-AS1643-2的N-端存在腹泻疾病活性序列，C-端含有12型腺病毒感染序列。Gli-AS1643-1、Gli-AS1643-2和Gli-AS1643-3各由6个保守的半胱氨酸残基形成3个分子内二硫键。     

Transient morphological features of identified ganglion cells in living fetal and neonatal retina

The function and morphology of retinal ganglion cells in the adult mammalian visual system has been well studied, but little is known about how the adult state is achieved. To address this question, the morphological changes that retinal ganglion cells undergo during development were studied. Ganglion cells were first identified by retrograde labeling with rhodamine latex microspheres deposited in retinorecipient targets in fetal and early postnatal cats. The structure of ganglion cells was then revealed by intracellular injection of Lucifer yellow in living retinas removed and maintained in vitro. As early as 2 weeks before birth, a morphologically diverse assortment of ganglion cells is present, some of which resemble the alpha, beta, and gamma classes found in the adult. However, in contrast to the adult, developing ganglion cells exhibit several transient features, including excessive axonal and dendritic branching and exuberant somatic and dendritic spines. These morphological features indicate that there is a transient network of connectivity that could play an important role in the final determination of retinal ganglion cell form and function.     

嗜水气单胞菌S蛋白的生化特性

致病性嗜水气单胞菌(Aerom onashydrophila, Ah) J-1 株具有S层结构。用甘氨酸缓冲液处理AhJ-1 株菌体细胞,离心, 上清即为粗提的S蛋白。用自制兔抗AhJ-1 株S蛋白抗体建立间接ELISA法, 检测结果显示, 20～30 h S蛋白表达量较高。粗提的S蛋白经离心、Sephadex G100 凝胶层析获纯化的S蛋白。经SDS-PAGE电泳分析为单一多肽, 相对分子质量51 500。等电聚焦分析为单一条带, 等电点 (pI) 为5.01。氨基酸组分分析表明, S蛋白由天门冬氨酸等16种氨基酸组成, 其中疏水性氨基酸占42.1% , 不含半胱氨酸。N端序列分析结果为ADFQLNEKSA。     

Beta-adrenergic receptor kinase: primary structure delineates a multigene family

The beta-adrenergic receptor kinase (beta-ARK), which specifically phosphorylates only the agonist-occupied form of the beta-adrenergic and closely related receptors, appears to be important in mediating rapid agonist-specific (homologous) desensitization. The structure of this enzyme was elucidated by isolating clones from a bovine brain complementary DNA library through the use of oligonucleotide probes derived from partial amino acid sequence. The beta-ARK cDNA codes for a protein of 689 amino acids (79.7 kilodaltons) with a protein kinase catalytic domain that bears greatest sequence similarity to protein kinase C and the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cyclic AMP)--dependent protein kinase. When this clone was inserted into a mammalian expression vector and transfected into COS-7 cells, a protein that specifically phosphorylated the agonist-occupied form of the beta 2-adrenergic receptor and phosphorylated, much more weakly, the light-bleached form of rhodopsin was expressed. RNA blot analysis revealed a messenger RNA of four kilobases with highest amounts in brain and spleen. Genomic DNA blot analysis also suggests that beta-ARK may be the first sequenced member of a multigene family of receptor kinases.