PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

A Brisson

Publications and source records attributed to A Brisson.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

A 9 A two-dimensional projected structure of cholera toxin B-subunit-GM1 complexes determined by electron crystallography.

Highly ordered two-dimensional crystals of cholera toxin B-subunit pentamers have been grown by specific interaction with planar lipid films containing monosialoganglioside GM1. Electron diffractograms of frozen-hydrated crystals show diffraction peaks extending to beyond 4 A, while electron images diffract to 8 A. A two-dimensional projected structure of cholera toxin B-subunit-GM1 complex has been calculated at 9 A resolution by combining electron diffraction and image data. Crystals present an approximate pgg projection symmetry, with unit cell dimensions a = 119(+/- 1) A, b = 123(+/- 1) A, gamma = 90 degrees. Each pentameric assembly presents two concentric rings of electron scattering density, separated by an area of lower density. The outer and inner rings are centered at 25 A and and 11 A from the pentamer centre, respectively. The apparent projected density of the outer ring is larger than that of the inner ring. We propose that the outer and inner density rings correspond respectively to the peripheral beta-sheet arrangement and the central alpha-helix barrel, recently identified in the crystal structure of the heat-labile enterotoxin from Escherichia coli.

Cholera Toxin

Higher specific activity of the Escherichia coli glutamyl-tRNA synthetase purified to homogeneity by a six-hour procedure.

The glutamyl-tRNA synthetase (EC 6.1.1.17) of Escherichia coli was purified to homogeneity from the overproducing strain DH5 alpha(pLQ7612) by a two-step procedure that takes only about 6 h and yields 10 mg of enzyme per gram of wet cells. The process consists of a two-phase polyethylene glycol-dextran partition, the top phase of which is diluted and directly applied to an anion-exchange FPLC MonoQ column. The purified enzyme has a specific activity about twice that of the same enzyme purified to homogeneity by the lengthy conventional procedure from either a normal strain or this overproducing strain. This difference is discussed in relation to the generation of microheterogeneity in proteins during their purification.

Bacterial Proteins

Structure of soluble and membrane-bound human annexin V.

Annexins are a family of water-soluble proteins that bind to membranes in a calcium-dependent manner. Some members have been shown to exhibit voltage-dependent calcium channel activity, a property characteristic of integral membrane proteins. The structures of human annexin V in crystals obtained from aqueous solution and in two-dimensional crystals when bound to phospholipid layers have been determined by X-ray and electron crystallography, respectively. They are compared here. Both structures show close correspondence, suggesting that annexins attach to phospholipid membranes without substantial structural change. These observations, together with biochemical data, lead to the conclusion that annexin V interacts with phospholipid membranes with its convex face. We propose that binding is mediated by direct interaction between the phosphoryl headgroups and the calcium bound to polypeptide loops protruding from the convex face. The membrane area covered by annexin may thus become disordered and permeable allowing calcium flux through the membrane and the central channel-like structure found in annexin molecules.

Amino Acid Sequence

Sub-domain structure of lipid-bound annexin-V resolved by electron image analysis.

Two-dimensional crystals of annexin-V bound to lipid layers containing dioleoylphosphatidylserine have been obtained in the presence of Ca2+. The crystals diffract to 20 A resolution and have the symmetry of the plane group p3 (unit cell dimensions: a = b = 94 A, gamma = 120 degrees). Electron image analysis revealed that the crystals are composed of trimers of annexin-V forming triskelion-like motifs. Each annexin-V molecule has a characteristic elongated shape, about 65 A by 20 A, when observed perpendicularly to the crystal plane. It is composed of two staggered domains of similar size, about 40 A by 20 A. Both domains are made of two sub-domains. The present data suggest that the four resolved sub-domains represent the folding units corresponding to the four 70 amino acid repeating segments characteristic of all annexins.

Annexin A5

Structural analysis of two-dimensional arrays of cholera toxin B-subunit.

Two-dimensional arrays of cholera toxin B-subunit (CTB) have been obtained by specific interaction with lipid films, as described by Ludwig et al. (1986). The relationship between two types of array, of either rectangular or hexagonal geometry, was analyzed using crystallographic methods of electron image analysis. Our results showed that the type of array obtained was highly dependent on the negative stain used and that both arrays presented related lattice parameters, indicating that they originated from a common unstained structure. Image analysis of hexagonal arrays at 17 A resolution revealed variable CTB projected structures, ranging from annularly symmetric particles to highly asymmetric particles, very distinct from the pentameric structure resolved from rectangular crystals. The present data suggest that hexagonal arrays result from an imperfect staining of CTB rectangular crystals. The staining distortion is such that the stain layer does not match faithfully the pentameric protein distribution whereas the regular organization of the specimen is maintained.

Cholera Toxin

Thyroidal iodine metabolism during the development of the chick embryo.

Stable iodine was measured in the thyroid gland of the chick embryo from day 9 to day 20 of incubation in order to evaluate quantitatively the functional development of the gland. Total iodine content increased progressively during incubation. From day 9 to day 17 of incubation, this increase resulted from the increases of pellet-bound iodine and of soluble iodine. Afterwards, it essentially paralleled the increase of the soluble thyroglobulin-bound iodine which reflected the increase in both thyroglobulin content and the degree of iodination of the thyroglobulin. The total iodine, thyroglobulin-bound iodine and thyroglobulin (TG) content, increased as power functions of time during incubation, with critical times on days 11 and 15. Their concentrations also increased during the whole incubation period, while the iodide concentration remained roughly constant (25 ng/mg) from day 13 to day 19. Only one iodoprotein, 19.5 S TG, was found, and its heterogeneity of iodination was demonstrated during the whole period of incubation studied (from day 11 to day 20). The degree of dissociation with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) of the TG into 12 S subunits decreased as the degree of iodination of the TG increased. Throughout embryonic development, iodine was bound more and more to TG molecules, which were resistant to dissociation with SDS. While the average iodine content of the TG increased, no appreciable changes were found in iodotyrosine and iodothyronine percentages of TG-bound iodine: monoiodotyrosine, 26%; diiodotyrosine, 43%; thyroxine 12%; 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine, 2.5%. As a consequence, a linear relationship existed for each iodoamino acid between the number of its residues per mole of TG and the iodine content of TG (127I atoms per mole)-- about 30 atoms of iodine was required to form 1 mole of T4. The low efficiency of the TG of the chick embryo as a thyroidal hormone-forming protein was compensated for by its high degree of iodination.

Amino Acids

[Local anesthetic effect of several lipid-soluble compounds on the carbamylcholine response of the Electrophorus electroplax and the acetylcholine binding to the cholinergic receptor of Torpedo].

Several lipid soluble compounds: "Triton X-100", "Emulphogene BC-720" and 8-doxyl-palmitic acid behave-like local anesthetics on the in vivo response of Electrophorus electroplax to carbamylcholine and on the in vitro binding of 3-H acetylcholine to the membrane-bound cholinergic receptor from Torpedo.

Acetylcholine