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J Hofsteenge

Publications and source records attributed to J Hofsteenge.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Correct folding of circularly permuted variants of a beta alpha barrel enzyme in vivo.

An important question in protein folding is whether the natural amino and carboxyl termini and the given order of secondary structure segments are critical to the stability and to the folding pathway of proteins. Here it is shown that two circularly permuted versions of the gene of a single-domain beta alpha barrel enzyme can be expressed in Escherichia coli. The variants are enzymically active and are practically indistinguishable from the original enzyme by several structural and spectroscopic criteria, despite the creation of new termini and the cleavage of a surface loop. This novel genetic approach should be useful for protein folding studies both in vitro and in vivo.

Aldose-Ketose Isomerases↗
PubMed1989

Effect of heparin on the glia-derived-nexin-thrombin interaction.

In order to determine the specificity of the interaction between thrombin and glia-derived nexin (GdN), the inactivation of proteolytically modified human thrombin species by GdN has been studied. The second-order rate constants for the inactivation of alpha-, beta T-, gamma T- and epsilon-thrombin by GdN were 1.41, 0.63, 0.33 and 1.91 microM-1.s-1 respectively. The kinetic properties of gdN were also investigated in the presence of different types of heparin, fractionated according to antithrombin III-binding affinity. Association rate constants of both gdN and antithrombin III with alpha-thrombin were obtained using unfractionated, low- and high-affinity heparin types. The different heparin types gave optimal rates of inhibition at similar heparin concentrations for both inhibitors. At optimal heparin concentrations, the rate of inactivation of alpha-thrombin by GdN was 0.5-1.2 nM-1.s-1, which suggests that, under these conditions, the interaction is diffusion-controlled.

Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor↗
PubMed1989

The refined 1.9 A crystal structure of human alpha-thrombin: interaction with D-Phe-Pro-Arg chloromethylketone and significance of the Tyr-Pro-Pro-Trp insertion segment.

A stoichiometric complex formed between human alpha-thrombin and D-Phe-Pro-Arg chloromethylketone was crystallized in an orthorhombic crystal form. Orientation and position of a starting model derived from homologous modelling were determined by Patterson search methods. The thrombin model was completed in a cyclic modelling-crystallographic refinement procedure to a final R-value of 0.171 for X-ray data to 1.92 A. The structure is in full agreement with published cDNA sequence data. The A-chain, ordered only in its central part, is positioned along the molecular surface opposite to the active site. The B-chain exhibits the characteristic polypeptide fold of trypsin-like proteinases. Several extended insertions form, however, large protuberances; most important for interaction with macromolecular substrates is the characteristic thrombin loop around Tyr60A-Pro60B-Pro60C-Trp60D (chymotrypsinogen numbering) and the enlarged loop around the unique Trp148. The former considerably restricts the active site cleft and seems likely to be responsible for poor binding of most natural proteinase inhibitors to thrombin. The exceptional specificity of D-Phe-Pro-Arg chloromethylketone can be explained by a hydrophobic cage formed by Ile174, Trp215, Leu99, His57, Tyr60A and Trp60D. The narrow active site cleft, with a more polar base and hydrophobic rims, extends towards the arginine-rich surface of loop Lys70-Glu80 that probably represents part of the anionic binding region for hirudin and fibrinogen.

Amino Acid Chloromethyl Ketones↗
PubMed1988

Amino acid sequence of the ribonuclease inhibitor from porcine liver reveals the presence of leucine-rich repeats.

The primary structure of the ribonuclease inhibitor from pig liver has been determined by amino acid sequence analysis. The N alpha-acetylated polypeptide chain of 456 amino acids consists of 15 homologous leucine-rich repeats, characterized by leucyl residues at constant positions. Two types of alternating repeats occur, 29 (A) and 28 (B) residues long. The degree of identity between repeats of a given type ranged from 25 to 60%. Only one deletion in the B-repeat was necessary to perfectly align the leucyl residues between the two repeats. Leucine-rich repeats have previously been found in four membrane-bound proteins and one extracellular protein, and their amphiphilic character suggested that they could be involved in membrane binding. Ribonuclease inhibitor is the first example of a cytoplasmic protein containing this type of repeat. It seems likely, therefore, that leucine-rich repeats can have functions other than forming membrane binding structures.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1988

The use of sequence-specific antibodies to identify a secondary binding site in thrombin.

The peptide comprising residues 62-73 of the B-chain of human alpha-thrombin was synthesized and polyclonal antibodies raised against it. These antibodies were found to bind to the synthetic peptide, a CNBr fragment, and a proteolytic subfragment containing this sequence, as well as the entire thrombin molecule. The purified antibodies had no effect on the hydrolysis by thrombin of D-Phe-pipecolyl-Arg-p-nitroanilide and caused only a minimal decrease (20%) in the second-order rate constant for inactivation by antithrombin III. On the other hand, the antibodies competitively inhibited the binding of hirudin over the concentration range tested (0-43 nM), and a dissociation constant of 3.4 +/- 0.5 nM was found for the antibodies. The release of fibrinopeptide A from the A alpha-chain of fibrinogen by thrombin was competitively inhibited with an inhibition constant of 11.7 +/- 0.4 nM. The activation of protein C by thrombin in the presence of thrombomodulin was also inhibited by the antibodies, and an apparent inhibition constant of 10.7 +/- 1.5 nM was found. In contrast, the antibodies had no effect on the activation of protein C in the absence of thrombomodulin. These results are discussed in relation to data obtained recently on the interaction of well defined proteolytic derivatives of human alpha-thrombin with the ligands described above.

Antibodies↗
PubMed1988

Use of site-directed mutagenesis to investigate the basis for the specificity of hirudin.

Regions of hirudin important for its inhibitory activity with thrombin have been examined by site-directed mutagenesis. Since thrombin has a primary specificity for basic amino acids, each of the three basic residues and the histidine in hirudin were mutated to glutamine. Mutation of Lys-47 caused a small increase (9-fold) in the dissociation constant whereas the other mutations were without effect. These results indicate that hirudin is different from most other inhibitors of serine proteases in that interactions with the primary specificity pocket of its target enzyme are not crucial to its inhibitory activity. The acidic nature of the carboxyl region of hirudin was found to be important for its interaction with thrombin. Single and multiple mutations of carboxyl-terminal glutamate residues (57, 58, 61, and 62) to glutamine caused increases in the dissociation constant. This value increased with the number of mutations and reached a maximum of 61-fold when all four glutamate residues were mutated. Kinetic studies indicated that in all cases where an increase in dissociation constant was observed, it was predominantly due to a decrease in the association rate constant.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1988

Identification of the 40 S ribosomal protein S6 phosphorylation sites induced by cycloheximide.

Injection of cycloheximide into rats induced the incorporation of up to 5 mol of phosphate/mol of liver 40 S ribosomal protein S6. Treatment of the protein with cyanogen bromide generated three phosphopeptides of Mr approximately 31,000, approximately 27,000, and approximately 4,000. Increasing the concentration of cyanogen bromide or redigestion of the larger peptides with additional cyanogen bromide converted almost all the phosphate-containing peptides into the Mr approximately 4,000 peptide. This peptide was isolated by reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography, and the phosphoserines were identified by amino acid sequence analysis after being converted to S-ethyl-cysteine. The results show that the phosphate is incorporated into 5 of 7 serines clustered in a small 13-amino acid segment of the protein. By aligning the sequence of the Mr approximately 4,000 peptide with the recently published mouse cDNA sequence of S6, it is shown that this peptide resides at the carboxyl terminus of the protein. The relevance of the cycloheximide-induced sites of S6 phosphorylation to those stimulated by a variety of mitogens and oncogenes is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Amino acid sequence of the nonsecretory ribonuclease of human urine.

The amino acid sequence of a nonsecretory ribonuclease isolated from human urine was determined except for the identity of the residue at position 7. Sequence information indicates that the ribonucleases of human liver and spleen and an eosinophil-derived neurotoxin are identical or very closely related gene products. The sequence is identical at about 30% of the amino acid positions with those of all of the secreted mammalian ribonucleases for which information is available. Identical residues include active-site residues histidine-12, histidine-119, and lysine-41, other residues known to be important for substrate binding and catalytic activity, and all eight half-cystine residues common to these enzymes. Major differences include a deletion of six residues in the (so-called) S-peptide loop, insertions of two, and nine residues, respectively, in three other external loops of the molecule, and an addition of three residues at the amino terminus. The sequence shows the human nonsecretory ribonuclease to belong to the same ribonuclease superfamily as the mammalian secretory ribonucleases, turtle pancreatic ribonuclease, and human angiogenin. Sequence data suggest that a gene duplication occurred in an ancient vertebrate ancestor; one branch led to the nonsecretory ribonuclease, while the other branch led to a second duplication, with one line leading to the secretory ribonucleases (in mammals) and the second line leading to pancreatic ribonuclease in turtle and an angiogenic factor in mammals (human angiogenin). The nonsecretory ribonuclease has five short carbohydrate chains attached via asparagine residues at the surface of the molecule; these chains may have been shortened by exoglycosidase action.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1988

Preparation and characterization of proteolyzed forms of human alpha-thrombin.

The kinetics of the tryptic digestion of human alpha-thrombin were studied. Based on the results of these studies a procedure for the preparation of highly purified, active human beta-thrombin was developed. This beta-thrombin contained less than 5% of other thrombin forms, was active towards tripeptidyl paranitroanilide substrates, but had lost more than 99% of its fibrinogen cleaving activity. Protein-chemical characterization of beta-thrombin showed that it had been cleaved at a single site (Arg73-Asn74) in the beta-chain, in contrast to human beta-thrombin obtained by autolysis, which is cleaved at both Arg-62 and Arg-73.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1988

Enzymatic properties of proteolytic derivatives of human alpha-thrombin.

The use of derivatives of alpha-thrombin obtained by limited proteolysis, that have only a single peptide bond cleaved, allowed the unequivocal correlation between the change in covalent structure and alteration of the enzymatic properties. beta T-Thrombin contains a single cleavage in the surface loop corresponding to residues 65-83 of alpha-chymotrypsin [Birktoft, J. J., & Blow, D. M. (1972) J. Mol. Biol. 68, 187-240]. Compared with alpha-thrombin, this modification had a minor effect on the following: (1) The Michaelis constant (Km) for two tripeptidyl p-nitroanilide substrates increased 2-3 fold, whereas the catalytic constant (k cat) remained unaltered. (2) A 2-3 fold increase in the binding constant (KI) of a tripeptidyl chloromethane inhibitor was observed, but the inactivation rate constant (k i) was the same, which indicated that the nucleophilicity of the active-site histidyl residue had not changed. (3) The second-order rate constant for the inhibition by antithrombin III decreased 2-fold. Heparin accelerated the inactivation, and the degree of acceleration was similar to that obtained with alpha-thrombin. Pronounced effects of the cleavage of this loop were found. (1) The cleavage of fibrinogen was approximately 80-fold slower than that with alpha-thrombin. This was mainly due to a 40-fold decrease in k cat. In contrast, only a 1.9-fold increase in the Michaelis constant was observed. (2) The affinity for thrombomodulin had decreased 39-fold compared to alpha-thrombin. epsilon-Thrombin contains a single cleaved peptide bond in the loop corresponding to residues 146-150 in alpha-chymotrypsin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Enzyme Stability↗
PubMed1988

Tenascin: cDNA cloning and induction by TGF-beta.

cDNA clones coding for tenascin, an extracellular matrix glycoprotein with a restricted tissue distribution, were isolated from a chicken fibroblast cDNA expression library using a specific tenascin antiserum. Antibodies eluted from the cDNA-encoded fusion proteins reacted exclusively with tenascin. Limited trypsin treatment of purified tenascin resulted in a peptide which confirmed the deduced protein sequences. The largest clone encoding 632 amino acids showed a cysteine-rich region containing 13 consecutive epidermal growth factor-like repeats of unusual uniformity. Northern blot analysis revealed 8- to 9-kb messages. Tenascin is shown to be induced in vitro by fetal calf serum as well as by transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta). A 4-fold increase in tenascin secretion by chick embryo fibroblasts was seen after TGF-beta treatment. The induction of tenascin protein synthesis was preceded by an increase of tenascin mRNA as determined by Northern blot analysis. The induction of tenascin was compared with fibronectin. The accumulation of the two extracellular matrix proteins in the medium was differentially affected by fetal calf serum and TGF-beta and the increase was in both cases higher for tenascin.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1988

Evidence for N- and C-terminal processing of a plant defense-related enzyme: Primary structure of tobacco prepro-beta-1,3-glucanase.

Tobacco glucan endo-1,3-beta-glucosidase (beta-1,3-glucanase; 1,3-beta-D-glucan glucanohydrolase; EC 3.2.1.39) exhibits complex hormonal and developmental regulation and is induced when plants are infected with pathogens. We determined the primary structure of this enzyme from the nucleotide sequence of five partial cDNA clones and the amino acid sequence of five peptides covering a total of 70 residues. beta-1,3-Glucanase is produced as a 359-residue preproenzyme with an N-terminal hydrophobic signal peptide of 21 residues and a C-terminal extension of 22 residues containing a putative N-glycosylation site. The results of pulse-chase experiments with tunicamycin provide evidence that the first step in processing is loss of the signal peptide and addition of an oligosaccharide side chain. The glycosylated intermediate is further processed with the loss of the oligosaccharide side chain and C-terminal extension to give the mature enzyme. Heterogeneity in the sequences of cDNA clones and of mature protein and in Southern blot analysis of restriction endonuclease fragments indicates that tobacco beta-1,3-glucanase is encoded by a small gene family. Two or three members of this family appear to have their evolutionary origin in each of the progenitors of tobacco, Nicotiana sylvestris and Nicotiana tomentosiformis.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1987

Effect of heparin on the interaction between thrombin and hirudin.

The effect of heparin on the interaction between thrombin and hirudin has been examined by kinetic methods. Three forms of heparin fractionated on the basis of their affinity for antithrombin III and unfractionated heparin were found to act as noncompetitive inhibitors of the formation of the thrombin-hirudin complex. A three--four fold increase in the dissociation constant of the complex was observed at saturating heparin concentrations. This increase in the dissociation constant was due to a twofold decrease in the rate of association of thrombin and hirudin together with a similar increase in the rate of dissociation of the complex. Implications for the location of the heparin binding site on thrombin and the possible therapeutic use of the hirudin are discussed.

Antithrombin III↗
PubMed1987

Molecular cloning of cDNAs encoding two isoforms of the catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase 2A.

Clones coding for the catalytic subunit of one of the major protein phosphatases (type 2A) were isolated from a porcine cDNA library. Sequence analysis indicated that two different mRNA species coded for this enzyme. The deduced amino acid sequences of the two forms (alpha and beta) of the enzyme were 98% identical and showed 95% identity with the partial sequence of the rabbit enzyme determined by amino acid sequencing. The use of specific oligonucleotide probes indicated that the mRNAs coding for the alpha and beta forms were about 2 kilobases in length, present in equal amounts in a porcine cell line (LLC-PK1), and were the products of two distinct genes. Southern analysis using the coding region of the alpha phosphatase cDNA as a probe suggested the existence of additional related phosphatase genes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1987

cDNA sequence coding for a rat glia-derived nexin and its homology to members of the serpin superfamily.

Rat glial cells release a neurite-promoting factor with serine protease inhibitory activity. By using a rat glioma cDNA clone as a probe, it was possible to isolate rat cDNAs containing the entire sequence coding for this neurite-promoting factor. The largest rat cDNA (approximately 2100 bp) was characterized by DNA sequencing. It contained the entire coding region, 135 bp of the 5' nontranslated region, and about 750 bp of the 3' nontranslated region. The open reading frame coded for 397 amino acids including a putative signal peptide of 19 amino acids. The correct identity of the coding sequence was substantiated by the fact that the sequence of tryptic peptides, derived from the purified rat factor, matched exactly with the deduced amino acid sequence. The rat protein sequence had 84% homology with the corresponding protein from human glioma cells. Both amino acid sequences indicated that the proteins belong to the protease nexins [Baker, B.J., Low, D. A., Simmer, R. L., & Cunningham, D.D. (1980) Cell (Cambridge, Mass.) 21, 37-45] and therefore can be defined as glia-derived nexins (GDNs). Further analysis showed that both rat and human GDN belong to the serpin superfamily and share 41%, 32%, and 25% homology with human endothelial-cell-type plasminogen activator inhibitor, antithrombin III, and alpha-1 proteinase inhibitor, respectively.

Amino Acid Sequence↗