Biomedical subjects

A Holmgren

Publications and source records attributed to A Holmgren.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1992

Structural and functional characterization of the mutant Escherichia coli glutaredoxin (C14----S) and its mixed disulfide with glutathione.

Glutaredoxin is essential for the glutathione (GSH)-dependent synthesis of deoxyribonucleotides by ribonucleotide reductase, and in addition, it displays a general GSH disulfide oxidoreductase activity. In Escherichia coli glutaredoxin, the active site contains a redox-active disulfide/dithiol of the sequence Cys11-Pro12-Tyr13-Cys14. In this paper, we have prepared and characterized the Cys14----Ser mutant of E. coli glutaredoxin and its mixed disulfide with glutathione. The Cys14----Ser mutant of glutaredoxin is shown to retain 38% of the GSH disulfide oxidoreductase activity of the wild-type protein with hydroxyethyl disulfide as substrate but to be completely inactive with ribonucleotide reductase, demonstrating that dithiol glutaredoxin is the hydrogen donor for ribonucleotide reductase. The covalent structure of the mixed disulfide of glutaredoxin(C14S) with GSH prepared with 15N-labeling of the protein was confirmed with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, establishing a basis for NMR structural studies of the glutathione binding site on glutaredoxin.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1992

Selenite is a substrate for calf thymus thioredoxin reductase and thioredoxin and elicits a large non-stoichiometric oxidation of NADPH in the presence of oxygen.

The thioredoxin system, comprising NADPH, thioredoxin reductase and thioredoxin reduces protein disulfides via redox-active dithiols. We have discovered that sodium selenite is a substrate for the thioredoxin system; 10 microM selenite plus 0.05 microM calf thymus thioredoxin reductase at pH 7.5 caused a non-stoichiometric oxidation of NADPH (100 microM after 30 min). In contrast, thioredoxin reductase from Escherichia coli showed no direct reaction with selenite, but addition of 3 microM E. coli thioredoxin also resulted in non-stoichiometric oxidation of NADPH, consistent with oxidation of the two active-site thiol groups in thioredoxin to a disulfide. Kinetically, the reaction was complex with a lag phase at low selenite concentrations. Under anaerobic conditions the reaction stopped after 1 mol selenite had oxidized 3 mol NADPH; the admission of air then resulted in continued consumption of NADPH consistent with autooxidation of selenium intermediate(s). Ferricytochrome c was effectively reduced by calf thymus thioredoxin reductase and selenite in the presence of oxygen. Selenite caused a strong dose-dependent inhibition of the formation of thiol groups from insulin disulfides with either the E. coli or calf-thymus thioredoxin system. Thus, under aerobic conditions selenite catalyzed, NADPH-dependent redox cycling with oxygen, a large oxygen-dependent consumption of NADPH and oxidation of reduced thioredoxin inhibiting its disulfide-reductase activity.

Anaerobiosis↗

PubMed1992

A Pro to His mutation in active site of thioredoxin increases its disulfide-isomerase activity 10-fold. New refolding systems for reduced or randomly oxidized ribonuclease.

Thioredoxin (Trx) from Escherichia coli was compared with bovine protein disulfide-isomerase (PDI) for its ability to catalyze native disulfide formation in either reduced or randomly oxidized (scrambled) ribonuclease A (RNase). On a molar basis, a 100-fold higher concentration of Trx than of PDI was required to give the same rate of native disulfide formation measured as recovery of RNase activity. A Pro-34 to His (P34H Trx) mutation in the active site of E. coli Trx (WCGPC), mimicking the two suggested active sites in PDI (WCGHC), increased the catalytic activity in disulfide formation about 10-fold. The mutant P34H Trx displayed a 35-mV higher redox potential (E'0) of the active site disulfide/dithiol relative to wild type Trx, making it more similar to the redox potential observed for PDI. This higher redox potential correlates well with the enhanced activity and suggests a role for the histidine side chain. Enzymatic isomerization of disulfides in scrambled, oxidized RNase requires the presence of a catalytic thiol such as GSH to initiate the thiol-disulfide interchange. Bovine thioredoxin reductase, together with NADPH, could replace GSH. For oxidative folding of reduced RNase in air with Trx, P34H Trx, or PDI, catalytic amounts of sodium selenite (1 microM) resulted in rapid disulfide formation and high yields of ribonuclease activity equivalent to previously known redox buffers of GSH and GSSG. These results demonstrate no obligatory role for glutathione in disulfide formation. A possible mechanism for the unknown thiol oxidative process accompanying folding and protein disulfide formation in vivo is discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1992

Selenodiglutathione is a highly efficient oxidant of reduced thioredoxin and a substrate for mammalian thioredoxin reductase.

Selenium compounds like selenite (SeO3(2-) may form a covalent adduct with glutathione (GSH) in the form of selenodiglutathione (GS-Se-SG), which is assumed to be important in the metabolism of selenium. We have isolated GS-Se-SG and studied its reactions with NADPH and thioredoxin reductase from calf thymus or with thioredoxin reductase and thioredoxin from Escherichia coli. Incubation of 0.1 microM calf thymus thioredoxin reductase or 0.1 microM thioredoxin reductase and 1 microM thioredoxin from E. coli with 5, 10, or 20 microM GS-Se-SG resulted in a fast initial reaction, followed by a large and continued oxidation of NADPH. However, anaerobic incubation of 0.1 microM calf thymus thioredoxin reductase and 20 microM GS-Se-SG resulted only in oxidation of a stoichiometric amount of NADPH; admission of oxygen started continuous NADPH oxidation. Contrary to the mammalian enzyme, GS-Se-SG was not a substrate for thioredoxin reductase from E. coli. The rate of the oxygen-dependent reaction between calf thymus thioredoxin reductase and GS-Se-SG was increased 2-fold in the presence of 4 mM GSH, indicating that HSe- was the reactive intermediate. Glutathione reductase from rat liver reduced GS-Se-SG with a very slow continued oxidation of NADPH, and the presence of the enzyme did not affect the oxygen-dependent nonstoichiometric oxidation of NADPH by GS-Se-SG and thioredoxin reductase. Fluorescence spectroscopy showed GS-Se-SG to be a very efficient oxidant of reduced thioredoxin from E. coli and kinetically superior to insulin disulfides. Thioredoxin-dependent reduction of CDP to dCDP by ribonucleotide reductase was effectively inhibited by GS-Se-SG.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Stimulation of the dithiol-dependent reductases in the vitamin K cycle by the thioredoxin system. Strong synergistic effects with protein disulphide-isomerase.

It has been shown previously that the thioredoxin system (thioredoxin + thioredoxin reductase + NADPH) may replace dithiothreitol (DTT) as a cofactor for vitamin KO and K reductase in salt-washed detergent-solubilized bovine liver microsomes. Here we demonstrate that the system can be improved further by adding protein disulphide-isomerase (PDI) to the components mentioned above. Moreover, NADPH may be replaced by reduced RNAase as a hydrogen donor. In our in vitro system the various protein cofactors were required at concentrations 2-5 orders of magnitude lower than that of DDT, whereas the maximal reaction rate was about 3-fold higher. PDI stimulated the thioredoxin-driven reaction about 10-fold, with an apparent Km value of 8 microM. These data suggest that in the vitro system the formation of disulphide bonds is somehow linked to the vitamin K-dependent carboxylation of glutamate residues. In vivo, both disulphide formation and vitamin K-dependent carboxylation are post-translational modifications taking place at the luminal side of the endoplasmic reticulum of mammalian secretory cells. The possibility that the reactions are also coupled in vivo is discussed.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Conserved immunoglobulin-like features in a family of periplasmic pilus chaperones in bacteria.

Detailed structural analyses revealed a family of periplasmic chaperones in Gram-negative prokaryotes which are structurally and possibly evolutionarily related to the immunoglobulin superfamily and assist in the assembly of adhesive pili. The members of this family have similar structures consistent with the overall topology of an immunoglobulin fold. Seven pilus chaperone sequences from Escherichia coli, Haemophilus influenzae and Klebsiella pneumoniae were aligned and their consensus sequence was superimposed onto the known three-dimensional structure of PapD, a representative member of the family. The molecular details of the conserved and variable structural motifs in this family of periplasmic chaperones give important insight into their structure, function, mechanism of action and evolutionary relationship with the immunoglobulin superfamily.

Adhesins, Escherichia coli↗

PubMed1992

NMR structure of oxidized Escherichia coli glutaredoxin: comparison with reduced E. coli glutaredoxin and functionally related proteins.

The determination of the NMR structure of oxidized Escherichia coli glutaredoxin in aqueous solution is described, and comparisons of this structure with that of reduced E. coli glutaredoxin and the related proteins E. coli thioredoxin and T4 glutaredoxin are presented. Based on nearly complete sequence-specific 1H-NMR assignments, 804 nuclear Overhauser enhancement distance constraints and 74 dihedral angle constraints were obtained as the input for the structure calculations, for which the distance geometry program DIANA was used followed by simulated annealing with the program X-PLOR. The molecular architecture of oxidized glutaredoxin is made up of three helices and a four-stranded beta-sheet. The three-dimensional structures of oxidized and the recently described reduced glutaredoxin are very similar. Quantitative analysis of the exchange rates of 34 slowly exchanging amide protons from corresponding series of two-dimensional [15N,1H]-correlated spectra of oxidized and reduced glutaredoxin showed close agreement, indicating almost identical hydrogen-bonding patterns. Nonetheless, differences in local dynamics involving residues near the active site and the C-terminal alpha-helix were clearly manifested. Comparison of the structure of E. coli glutaredoxin with those of T4 glutaredoxin and E. coli thioredoxin showed that all three proteins have a similar overall polypeptide fold. An area of the protein surface at the active site containing Arg 8, Cys 11, Pro 12, Tyr 13, Ile 38, Thr 58, Val 59, Pro 60, Gly 71, Tyr 72, and Thr 73 is proposed as a possible site for interaction with other proteins, in particular ribonucleotide reductase. It was found that this area corresponds to previously proposed interaction sites in T4 glutaredoxin and E. coli thioredoxin. The solvent-accessible surface area at the active site of E. coli glutaredoxin showed a general trend to increase upon reduction. Only the sulfhydryl group of Cys 11 is exposed to the solvent, whereas that of Cys 14 is buried and solvent inaccessible.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1992

Immunolocalization of thioredoxin and glutaredoxin in mammalian hypophysis.

Thioredoxin (TRX) and glutaredoxin (GRX) are two small proteins catalyzing thiol-disulfide oxidoreductions. A role of both proteins in secretory processes has been suggested and recently it has been demonstrated that thioredoxin functions as a growth factor for lymphocytes in cell cultures. Here we report on the immunolocalization by light microscopy of both proteins in the hypophysis of mammals. We have used affinity purified specific antibodies that give a single band on immunoblots against crude extracts from pig and calf neurohypophysis and adenohypophysis. Thioredoxin was prominently localized in the folliculo-stellatae cells of the adenohypophysis while only a minor proportion of the glandular cells were positive. In the neurohypophysis, thioredoxin immunoreactivity was very intense in the pituicytes and moderate in the clusters of synaptic terminals. Glutaredoxin localization in the adenohypophysis resembled that of thioredoxin whereas in the neurohypophysis there was a clear differential localization: the neurosecretory terminals and Herring bodies were intensely stained for glutaredoxin but not the pituicytes. These results suggest that thioredoxin may be involved in the paracrine modulatory action of folliculo-stellatae cells and that these cells and pituicytes may have similar functions in their respective parts of the hypophysis; the association of glutaredoxin with secretory processes is further documented.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Secretion of thioredoxin after in vitro activation of human B cells.

The redox-active enzyme thioredoxin (Trx) is secreted by various virus-transformed cell lines of B- and T-cell origin and has been considered to play an autoregulatory role as a cofactor during cellular growth processes. We show in this paper that exposure of B lymphocytes from normal, healthy donors and B cells from B-type chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) to Staphylococcus aureus Cowan I (SAC) induced expression of Trx mRNA. By combining SAC, or the phorbol ester TPA, with IL-2 and the conditioned medium of a T-cell hybridoma (BSF-MP6), we could strongly enhance the Trx expression. After [35S]methionine labeling of stimulated B-CLL cells in vitro, Trx was immunoprecipitated both from cell extracts and from the medium with antibodies against human placenta Trx. Secretion of newly synthesized Trx was also confirmed by a quantitative radioimmunoassay for human Trx. During 24 h cultivation experiments, treatment with SAC induced a 5-fold increase of the Trx content of normal B lymphocytes as well as in B-CLL cells. Approximately two-thirds of the total amount of the enzyme was released into the medium.

B-Lymphocytes↗

PubMed1991

Sequence-specific 1H n.m.r. assignments and determination of the three-dimensional structure of reduced Escherichia coli glutaredoxin.

The determination of the nuclear magnetic resonance structure of reduced E. coli glutaredoxin in aqueous solution is described. Based on nearly complete, sequence-specific resonance assignments, 813 nuclear Overhauser effect distance constraints and 191 dihedral angle constraints were employed as the input for the structure calculations, for which the distance geometry program DIANA was used followed by simulated annealing with the program X-PLOR. The molecular architecture of reduced glutaredoxin is made up of three helices and four-stranded beta-sheet. The first strand of the beta-sheet (residues 2 to 7) runs parallel to the second strand (32 to 37) and antiparallel to the third strand (61 to 64), and the sheet is extended in an antiparallel fashion with a fourth strand (67 to 69). The first helix with residues 13 to 28 and the last helix (71 to 83) run parallel to each other on one side of the beta-sheet, with their direction opposite to that of the two parallel beta-strands, and the helix formed by residues 44 to 53 fills space available due to the twist of the beta-sheet and the reduced length of the last two beta-strands. The active site Cys11-Pro-Tyr-Cys14 is located after the first beta-strand and occupies the latter part of the loop connecting this strand with the first helix.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1991

Motion of aromatic side chains, picosecond fluorescence, and internal energy transfer in Escherichia coli thioredoxin studied by site-directed mutagenesis, time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, and molecular dynamics simulations.

We have determined the picosecond fluorescence of the four aromatic amino acid residues (W28, W31, Y49, and Y70) in wild-type Escherichia coli thioredoxin (wt Trx) and a mutant Trx with W31 replaced by phenylalanine, Trx-W28-W31F. The internal motions of the four aromatic side chains were also analyzed. We examined the possibility of using internal energy transfer from tyrosine to tryptophan as a measure of long-range distances. The major features of the lifetime distribution of tryptophan fluorescence were unchanged in the W31F mutation, indicating that the environment of W28 is similar in both wt Trx and Trx-W28-W31F. However, the mutation of W31F changed the mobility of W28, situated close to the active-site disulfide/dithiol, but not the mobility of two tyrosines, Y49 and Y70, situated on the other side of the molecule. The mobility of the two tyrosine residues increased upon reduction of the active-site disulfide, indicating a looser structure with reduction. This increased motion could also be seen from molecular dynamics simulations. The change in energy transfer rates, as judged by tyrosine fluorescence lifetimes, was in agreement with energy transfer rates calculated from the molecular dynamics simulations. The anisotropy of tryptophan and tyrosine fluorescence could be separated in three parts: (I) overall rotation of the protein (10(-9)s), (II) internal mobility of side chains (10(-10)s), and (III) a very fast relaxation (10(-12)s). We can only experimentally detect this very fast relaxation when the internal motion is not present.

Amino Acids↗

PubMed1991

Nuclear magnetic resonance studies of recombinant Escherichia coli glutaredoxin. Sequence-specific assignments and secondary structure determination of the oxidized form.

Escherichia coli glutaredoxin (85 amino acid residues, Mr = 9100), the glutathione-dependent hydrogen donor for ribonucleotide reductase, was purified from an inducible lambda PL, expression system both with a natural isotope content and with uniform 15N labelling. This material was used for obtaining sequence-specific 1H magnetic resonance assignments and the identification of regular secondary structures in the oxidized form of the protein, which contains the redox-active disulfide Cys11-Pro-Tyr-Cys14. Oxidized glutaredoxin contains a four-stranded beta-sheet, with the peripheral strand 32-37 arranged parallel to the strand 2-7, which further combines with the two additional strands 61-64 and 67-69 in an antiparallel fashion. The protein further contains three helices extending approximately from residues 13-28, 45-54 and 72-84.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1991

Assignment of the 15N NMR spectra of reduced and oxidized Escherichia coli thioredoxin.

As a necessary first step in the use of heteronuclear correlated spectra to obtain high resolution solution structures of the protein, assignment of the 15N NMR spectra of reduced and oxidized Escherichia coli thioredoxin (Mr 12,000) uniformly labeled with 15N has been performed. The 15N chemical shifts of backbone amide nitrogen atoms have been determined for both oxidation states of thioredoxin using 15N-1H correlated and two-dimensional heteronuclear single-quantum coherence (HSQC) TOCSY and NOESY spectra. The backbone assignments are complete, except for the proline imide nitrogen resonances and include Gly33, whose amide proton resonance is difficult to observe in homonuclear 1H spectra. The differences in the 15N chemical shift between oxidized and reduced thioredoxin, which occur mainly in the vicinity of the two active site cysteines, including residues distant in the amino acid sequence which form a hydrophobic surface close to the active site, are consistent with the differences observed for proton chemical shifts in earlier work on thioredoxin.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1991

Mimicking the active site of protein disulfide-isomerase by substitution of proline 34 in Escherichia coli thioredoxin.

To mimic the active sites (Trp-Cys-Gly-His-Cys) contained in two thioredoxin-like domains of the eukaryotic enzyme protein disulfide-isomerase (PDI, EC 5.3.4.1), the Pro-34 residue of Escherichia coli thioredoxin (Trx) was replaced by His using site-directed mutagenesis. The mutant P34H Trx was isolated in high yield and was stable. The equilibrium between Trx and NADPH in the thioredoxin reductase (TR)-catalyzed reaction revealed that the redox potential (E'o) or P34H Trx at pH 7.0 was -235 mV as compared with -270 mV for wild type (wt) Trx. The higher E'o value made P34H Trx more similar to PDI and contributed to prominent changes in Trx functions, e.g. improved activity with TR and slower reduction of protein disulfides. Compared to wt Trx, the P34H oxidized Trx was about twice as good a substrate for TR from E. coli and four times as efficient with calf thymus TR. A novel fluorimetric assay permitted direct recording of the reaction between insulin disulfide(s) and reduced Trx. At pH 8 and 15 degrees C, second-order rate constants for wt Trx of 2 x 10(4) M-1 s-1 and for P34H Trx of 3 x 10(3) M-1 s-1 were obtained, and a different equilibrium was observed consistent with differences in E'o values. Also when the reduction mechanism of insulin was examined using NADPH and TR, P34H Trx behaved differently from wt Trx or PDI. P34H Trx may be useful as an analogue of PDI for disulfide formation in vivo and in vitro.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1991

Proton-transfer effects in the active-site region of Escherichia coli thioredoxin using two-dimensional 1H NMR.

A series of two-dimensional (2D) correlated 1H NMR spectra of reduced and oxidized Escherichia coli thioredoxin have been used to probe the effects of pH in the vicinity of the active site, -Cys32-Gly-Pro-Cys35-, using the complete proton resonance assignments available for thioredoxin. In either oxidation state, the majority of residues of the thioredoxin molecule remain unchanged between pH 5.7 and pH 10, as indicated by the identical chemical shifts of the C alpha H, C beta H, and other protons. In reduced thioredoxin, a fairly widespread region around the active-site dithiol is affected by the titration of a group or groups with pKa approximately 7.1-7.4 in 2H2O. Another titration, with pKa approximately 8.4, affects a smaller region of the protein. Oxidized thioredoxin contains a disulfide and no free thiol groups; nevertheless, the proton resonances of many groups in the active-site region were observed to titrate with a pKa of 7.5, probably as a result of an abnormally high pKa value for the carboxyl group of the buried Asp-26 residue. For reduced thioredoxin, the results indicate that Asp-26 is titrating in this pH range, as well as both thiol groups. The new results are strongly suggestive that the mechanism of thioredoxin-catalyzed protein disulfide reduction may be critically dependent on proton transfer as well as electron transfer within the active site.

Binding Sites↗

PubMed1991

Substitution of the conserved tryptophan 31 in Escherichia coli thioredoxin by site-directed mutagenesis and structure-function analysis.

All prokaryotic and eukaryotic thioredoxins contain a conserved tryptophan residue, exposed at the active site disulfide/dithiol. The role of this W31 in Escherichia coli thioredoxin (Trx) was studied by site-directed mutagenesis. Four mutant Trx with W31Y, W31F, W31H, and W31A replacements were characterized. Very low tryptophan fluorescence emission from the remaining W28 was observed in all mutant Trx; reduction resulted in large, but variable increases (up to 11-fold) of fluorescence, to levels higher than in native or denatured wild-type Trx, demonstrating a previously postulated change involving W28. All W31 mutant Trx were good substrates for E. coli thioredoxin reductase. Compared with wild type, the apparent Km values were increased less than 2-fold for the W31A, W31H, and W31F Trx and the W31Y Trx showed even slightly higher catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km value). Functions of reduced Trx with ribonucleotide reductase and in reduction of insulin disulfides were more strongly influenced by the W31 replacements, in particular at low pH for A and H residues. T7 DNA polymerase activity generated by T7 gene 5 protein and reduced Trx was lowered by large factors for W31Y, W31A, or W31H compared with W31F or the wild-type protein. The in vivo function of Trx was studied by using pUC118-trxA expression in an E. coli trxA- background. The trxA genes with W31Y and W31F substitutions restored, fully and partly, the methionine sulfoxide utilization of a trxA- metE- test strain; W31A and W31H mutations resulted in no growth. Propagation of M13 was moderately impeded by W31Y and W31F or severely by W31A and W31H replacements. Growth of a phage T3/7 hybrid was possible only with the W31Y and W31F substitutions reflecting the in vitro results for T7 DNA polymerase.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1991

Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy study of dioleoylphosphatidylcholine and monooleoylglycerol in lamellar and cubic liquid crystals.

The liquid-crystalline phases of the systems monooleoylglycerol (MO)/water, dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC)/water, and MO/DOPC/water have been studied by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. In the latter ternary system, the sn-3 OH group of MO competes with water to interact with the polar head group of DOPC, and an intramolecular hydrogen bonding of MO is broken up. The hydration of the ester carbonyl groups in the lamellar phases of both the MO/water and DOPC/water systems increases with increasing water content. Similarly, the addition of small amounts either of MO to a DOPC/water system or of DOPC to an MO/water system also results in an increase in the hydration of the ester carbonyl groups. This leads to an unfavorable hydrocarbon-water contact which is counteracted by the formation of a cubic phase, except for the DOPC/water system, where the lamellar phase is stable also at the highest water concentrations. The phase behavior of the different systems can be described in terms of lipid monolayer curvature and molecular packing in the lipid aggregates. Finally, it is shown by the water association band in the FTIR spectrum that the water hydrogen bonding is considerably different in the liquid-crystalline phases than in bulk water.

Fourier Analysis↗

PubMed1991

Structural and functional relations among thioredoxins of different species.

Three-dimensional models have been constructed of homologous thioredoxins and protein disulfide isomerases based on the high resolution x-ray crystallographic structure of the oxidized form of Escherichia coli thioredoxin. The thioredoxins, from archebacteria to humans, have 27-69% sequence identity to E. coli thioredoxin. The models indicate that all the proteins have similar three-dimensional structures despite the large variation in amino acid sequences. As expected, residues in the active site region of thioredoxins are highly conserved. These include Asp-26, Ala-29, Trp-31, Cys-32, Gly-33, Pro-34, Cys-35, Asp-61, Pro-76, and Gly-92. Similar residues occur in most protein disulfide isomerase sequences. Most of these residues form the surface around the active site that appears to facilitate interactions with other enzymes. Other structurally important residues are also conserved. A proline at position 40 causes a kink in the alpha-2 helix and thus provides the proper position of the active site residues at the amino end of this helix. Pro-76 is important in maintaining the native structure of the molecule. In addition, residues forming the internal contact surfaces between the secondary structural elements are generally unchanged such as Phe-12, Val-25, and Phe-27.

Amino Acid Sequence↗