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L H Pearl

Publications and source records attributed to L H Pearl.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Crystal structure of the fission yeast mitochondrial Holliday junction resolvase Ydc2.

Resolution of Holliday junctions into separate DNA duplexes requires enzymatic cleavage of an equivalent strand from each contributing duplex at or close to the point of strand exchange. Diverse Holliday junction-resolving enzymes have been identified in bacteria, bacteriophages, archaea and pox viruses, but the only eukaryotic examples identified so far are those from fungal mitochondria. We have now determined the crystal structure of Ydc2 (also known as SpCce1), a Holliday junction resolvase from the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe that is involved in the maintenance of mitochondrial DNA. This first structure of a eukaryotic Holliday junction resolvase confirms a distant evolutionary relationship to the bacterial RuvC family, but reveals structural features which are unique to the eukaryotic enzymes. Detailed analysis of the dimeric structure suggests mechanisms for junction isomerization and communication between the two active sites, and together with site-directed mutagenesis identifies residues involved in catalysis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1999

Regulation of Hsp90 ATPase activity by tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR)-domain co-chaperones.

The in vivo function of the heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) molecular chaperone is dependent on the binding and hydrolysis of ATP, and on interactions with a variety of co-chaperones containing tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) domains. We have now analysed the interaction of the yeast TPR-domain co-chaperones Sti1 and Cpr6 with yeast Hsp90 by isothermal titration calorimetry, circular dichroism spectroscopy and analytical ultracentrifugation, and determined the effect of their binding on the inherent ATPase activity of Hsp90. Sti1 and Cpr6 both bind with sub-micromolar affinity, with Sti1 binding accompanied by a large conformational change. Two co-chaperone molecules bind per Hsp90 dimer, and Sti1 itself is found to be a dimer in free solution. The inherent ATPase activity of Hsp90 is completely inhibited by binding of Sti1, but is not affected by Cpr6, although Cpr6 can reactivate the ATPase activity by displacing Sti1 from Hsp90. Bound Sti1 makes direct contact with, and blocks access to the ATP-binding site in the N-terminal domain of Hsp90. These results reveal an important role for TPR-domain co-chaperones as regulators of the ATPase activity of Hsp90, showing that the ATP-dependent step in Hsp90-mediated protein folding occurs after the binding of the folding client protein, and suggesting that ATP hydrolysis triggers client-protein release.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1999

Structural basis for inhibition of the Hsp90 molecular chaperone by the antitumor antibiotics radicicol and geldanamycin.

The cellular activity of several regulatory and signal transduction proteins, which depend on the Hsp90 molecular chaperone for folding, is markedly decreased by geldanamycin and by radicicol (monorden). We now show that these unrelated compounds both bind to the N-terminal ATP/ADP-binding domain of Hsp90, with radicicol displaying nanomolar affinity, and both inhibit the inherent ATPase activity of Hsp90 which is essential for its function in vivo. Crystal structure determinations of Hsp90 N-terminal domain complexes with geldanamycin and radicicol identify key aspects of their nucleotide mimicry and suggest a rational basis for the design of novel antichaperone drugs.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗
PubMed1998

ATP binding and hydrolysis are essential to the function of the Hsp90 molecular chaperone in vivo.

Hsp90 is an abundant molecular chaperone essential to the establishment of many cellular regulation and signal transduction systems, but remains one of the least well described chaperones. The biochemical mechanism of protein folding by Hsp90 is poorly understood, and the direct involvement of ATP has been particularly contentious. Here we demonstrate in vitro an inherent ATPase activity in both yeast Hsp90 and the Escherichia coli homologue HtpG, which is sensitive to inhibition by the Hsp90-specific antibiotic geldanamycin. Mutations of residues implicated in ATP binding and hydrolysis by structural studies abolish this ATPase activity in vitro and disrupt Hsp90 function in vivo. These results show that Hsp90 is directly ATP dependent in vivo, and suggest an ATP-coupled chaperone cycle for Hsp90-mediated protein folding.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1998

Crystal structure of a G:T/U mismatch-specific DNA glycosylase: mismatch recognition by complementary-strand interactions.

G:U mismatches resulting from deamination of cytosine are the most common promutagenic lesions occurring in DNA. Uracil is removed in a base-excision repair pathway by uracil DNA-glycosylase (UDG), which excises uracil from both single- and double-stranded DNA. Recently, a biochemically distinct family of DNA repair enzymes has been identified, which excises both uracil and thymine, but only from mispairs with guanine. Crystal structures of the mismatch-specific uracil DNA-glycosylase (MUG) from E. coli, and of a DNA complex, reveal a remarkable structural and functional homology to UDGs despite low sequence identity. Details of the MUG structure explain its thymine DNA-glycosylase activity and the specificity for G:U/T mispairs, which derives from direct recognition of guanine on the complementary strand.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1998

Direct measurement of the substrate preference of uracil-DNA glycosylase.

Site-directed mutants of the herpes simplex virus type 1 uracil-DNA glycosylase lacking catalytic activity have been used to probe the substrate recognition of this highly conserved and ubiquitous class of DNA-repair enzyme utilizing surface plasmon resonance. The residues aspartic acid-88 and histidine-210, implicated in the catalytic mechanism of the enzyme (Savva, R., McAuley-Hecht, K., Brown, T., and Pearl, L. (1995) Nature 373, 487-493; Slupphaug, G., Mol, C. D., Kavli, B., Arvai, A. S., Krokan, H. E. and Tainer, J. A. (1996) Nature 384, 87-92) were separately mutated to asparagine to allow investigations of substrate recognition in the absence of catalysis. The mutants were shown to be correctly folded and to lack catalytic activity. Binding to single- and double-stranded oligonucleotides, with or without uracil, was monitored by real-time biomolecular interaction analysis using surface plasmon resonance. Both mutants exhibited comparable rates of binding and dissociation on the same uracil-containing substrates. Interaction with single-stranded uracil-DNA was found to be stronger than with double-stranded uracil-DNA, and the binding to Gua:Ura mismatches was significantly stronger than that to Ade:Ura base pairs suggesting that the stability of the base pair determines the efficiency of interaction. Also, there was negligible interaction between the mutants and single- or double-stranded DNA lacking uracil, or with DNA containing abasic sites. These results suggest that it is uracil in the DNA, rather than DNA itself, that is recognized by the uracil-DNA glycosylases.

Catalysis↗
PubMed1998

Crystal structure of an octameric RuvA-Holliday junction complex.

Holliday junctions occur as intermediates in homologous recombination and DNA repair. In bacteria, resolution of Holliday junctions is accomplished by the RuvABC system, consisting of a junction-specific helicase complex RuvAB, which promotes branch migration, and a junction-specific endonuclease RuvC, which nicks two strands. The crystal structure of a complex between the RuvA protein of M. leprae and a synthetic four-way junction has now been determined. Rather than binding on the open surface of a RuvA tetramer as previously suggested, the DNA is sandwiched between two RuvA tetramers, which form a closed octameric shell, stabilized by a conserved tetramer-tetramer interface. Interactions between the DNA backbone and helix-hairpin-helix motifs from both tetramers suggest a mechanism for strand separation promoted by RuvA.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1998

Structure of a DNA base-excision product resembling a cisplatin inter-strand adduct.

Base-excision of a self-complementary oligonucleotide with central G:T mismatches by the G:T/U-specific mismatch DNA glycosylase (MUG), generates an unusual DNA structure which is remarkably similar in conformation to an interstrand DNA adduct of the anti-tumor drug cis-diamminedichloroplatinum. The abasic sugars generated by excision of the mismatched thymines are extruded from the double-helix, and the 'widowed' deoxyguanosines rotate so that their N7 and O6 groups protrude into the minor groove of the duplex and restack in an interleaved intercalative geometry, generating a kink in the helix axis.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1997

Crystal structure of the beta-glycosidase from the hyperthermophilic archeon Sulfolobus solfataricus: resilience as a key factor in thermostability.

Enzymes from hyperthermophilic organisms must operate at temperatures which rapidly denature proteins from mesophiles. The structural basis of this thermostability is still poorly understood. Towards a further understanding of hyperthermostability, we have determined the crystal structure of the beta-glycosidase (clan GH-1A, family 1) from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus at 2.6 A resolution. The enzyme is a tetramer with subunit molecular mass at 60 kDa, and crystallises with half of the tetramer in the asymmetric unit. The structure is a (betaalpha)8 barrel, but with substantial elaborations between the beta-strands and alpha-helices in each repeat. The active site occurs at the centre of the top face of the barrel and is connected to the surface by a radial channel which becomes a blind-ended tunnel in the tetramer, and probably acts as the binding site for extended oligosaccharide substrates. Analysis of the structure reveals two features which differ significantly from mesophile proteins; (1) an unusually large proportion of surface ion-pairs involved in networks that cross-link sequentially separate structures on the protein surface, and (2) an unusually large number of solvent molecules buried in hydrophilic cavities between sequentially separate structures in the protein core. These factors suggest a model for hyperthermostability via resilience rather than rigidity.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1997

Identification and structural characterization of the ATP/ADP-binding site in the Hsp90 molecular chaperone.

Hsp90 molecular chaperones in eukaryotic cells play essential roles in the folding and activation of a range of client proteins involved in cell cycle regulation, steroid hormone responsiveness, and signal transduction. The biochemical mechanism of Hsp90 is poorly understood, and the involvement of ATP in particular is controversial. Crystal structures of complexes between the N-terminal domain of the yeast Hsp90 chaperone and ADP/ATP unambiguously identify a specific adenine nucleotide binding site homologous to the ATP-binding site of DNA gyrase B. This site is the same as that identified for the antitumor agent geldanamycin, suggesting that geldanamycin acts by blocking the binding of nucleotides to Hsp90 and not the binding of incompletely folded client polypeptides as previously suggested. These results finally resolve the question of the direct involvement of ATP in Hsp90 function.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗
PubMed1997

Oligomerization of the amide sensor protein AmiC by x-ray and neutron scattering and molecular modeling.

AmiC is the negative regulator of the amidase operon which is involved in amide metabolism in the cytosol of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Crystal structures show that AmiC contains two large domains that are very similar to the periplasmic leucine-isoleucine-valine binding protein (LivJ) of Escherichia coli. Synchrotron X-ray and neutron (in 100% 2H2O buffer) scattering data were obtained for AmiC in the presence of its substrate acetamide and its anti-inducer butyramide which binds more weakly to AmiC than acetamide. Guinier analyses to obtain radius of gyration RG and molecular weight Mr values showed that AmiC formed trimers whose formation was favored in the presence of acetamide and which exhibited concentration-dependent properties at concentrations between 0.4 and 2 mg/mL. Above 2 mg/mL, where trimers predominated, the RG data were identical within 0.05 nm for AmiC-acetamide and AmiC-butyramide with mean X-ray and neutron RG values of 3.35 and 3. 28 nm, respectively. Scattering curve fits constrained by the crystal structure of AmiC-acetamide were evaluated in order to describe a model for trimeric AmiC. A translational search of parallel alignments of three monomers to form a symmetric AmiC homotrimer gave a good X-ray curve fit. Combinations of calculated curves for monomeric, dimeric, trimeric, and tetrameric AmiC as seen in the crystal structure of AmiC gave reasonable but weaker X-ray curve fits which did not favor the existence of tetrameric AmiC. It is concluded that AmiC exhibits novel ligand-dependent oligomerization properties in solution when these are compared to other members of the periplasmic binding protein superfamily, where AmiC exists in monomeric and trimeric forms, the proportions of which depend on the presence of acetamide or butyramide.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1997

A molecular clamp in the crystal structure of the N-terminal domain of the yeast Hsp90 chaperone.

Hsp90 is a highly specific chaperone for many signal transduction proteins, including steroid hormone receptors and a broad range of protein kinases. The crystal structure of the N-terminal domain of the yeast Hsp90 reveals a dimeric structure based on a highly twisted sixteen stranded beta-sheet, whose topology suggests a possible 30-domain-swapped structure for the intact Hsp90 dimer. The opposing faces of the beta-sheets in the dimer define a potential peptide-binding cleft, suggesting that the N-domain may serve as a molecular 'clamp' in the binding of ligand proteins to Hsp90.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Transcription antitermination regulation of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa amidase operon.

In vivo titration experiments have demonstrated a direct interaction between the Pseudomonas aeruginosa transcription antiterminator, AmiR, and the mRNA leader sequence of the amidase operon. A region of 39 nucleotides has been identified which is sufficient to partially titrate out the AmiR available for antitermination. Site-directed mutagenesis has shown that the leader open reading frame has no role in the antitermination reaction, and has identified two critical elements at the 5' and 3' ends of the proposed AmiR binding site which are independently essential for antitermination. A T7 promoter/RNA polymerase-driven system shows AmiR-mediated antitermination, demonstrating a lack of promoter/polymerase specificity. Using the operon negative regulator, AmiC, immobilized on a solid support and gel filtration chromatography, an AmiC-AmiR complex has been identified and isolated. Complex stability and molecular weight assayed by gel filtration alter depending on the type of amide bound to AmiC. AmiC-AmiR-anti-inducer is a stable dimer-dimer complex and the addition of the inducer, acetamide, causes a conformational change which alters the complex stability and either this new configuration or dissociated AmiR interacts with the leader mRNA to cause antitermination.

Amidohydrolases↗
PubMed1996

Uracil-DNA glycosylase activities in hyperthermophilic micro-organisms.

Hyperthermophiles exist in conditions which present an increased threat to the informational integrity of their DNA, particularly by hydrolytic damage. As in mesophilic organisms, specific activities must exist to restore and protect this template function of DNA. In this study we have demonstrated the presence of thermally stable uracil-DNA glycosylase activities in seven hyperthermophiles; one bacterial: Thermotoga maritima, and six archaeal: Sulfolobus solfataricus, Sulfolobus shibatae, Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, Thermococcus litoralis, Pyrococcus furiosus and Pyrobaculum islandicum. Uracil-DNA glycosylase inhibitor protein of the Bacillus subtilis bacteriophage PBS1 shows activity against all of these, suggesting a highly conserved tertiary structure between hyperthermophilic and mesophilic uracil-DNA glycosylases.

Archaea↗
PubMed1996

Synthesis of a modified gene encoding human ornithine transcarbamylase for expression in mammalian mitochondrial and universal translation systems: a novel approach towards correction of a genetic defect.

The mitochondrial (MT) genome is a potential means of gene delivery to human cells for therapeutic expression. As a first step towards this, we have synthesized a gene coding for mature human ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) by recursive PCR using 18 oligodeoxyribonucleotides, each 70-80 nucleotides in length, using codons which should allow translation in accordance with both mammalian mt and universal codon usage. Flanking mt DNA sequences were incorporated which are designed to facilitate site-specific cloning into the mt genome. Expression of this human gene in Escherichia coli leads to an immunoreactive OTC product of the correct size and N-terminal amino-acid sequence, but which forms inclusion bodies and lacks enzymatic activity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Towards meeting the Paracelsus Challenge: The design, synthesis, and characterization of paracelsin-43, an alpha-helical protein with over 50% sequence identity to an all-beta protein.

In response to the Paracelsus Challenge (Rose and Creamer, Proteins, 19:1-3, 1994), we present here the design, synthesis, and characterization of a helical protein, whose sequence is 50% identical to that of an all-beta protein. The new sequence was derived by applying an inverse protein folding approach, in which the sequence was optimized to "fit" the new helical structure, but constrained to retain 50% of the original amino acid residues. The program utilizes a genetic algorithm to optimize the sequence, together with empirical potentials of mean force to evaluate the sequence-structure compatibility. Although the designed sequence has little ordered (secondary) structure in water, circular dichroism and nuclear magnetic resonance data show clear evidence for significant helical content in water/ethylene glycol and in water/methanol mixtures at low temperatures, as well as melting behavior indicative of cooperative folding. We believe that this represents a significant step toward meeting the Paracelsus Challenge.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1996

Expression and crystallization of the yeast Hsp82 chaperone, and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies of the amino-terminal domain.

Expression of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Hsp82 chaperone in a pep4-3- and hsc82-deficient strain of S. cerevisiae yielded over 25% of the total cell protein as intact Hsp82. Similarly, the amino-terminal domain (residues 1-220) of Hsp82 was expressed to 18% of the total cell protein. Crystals of the intact Hsp82 were readily obtained. The crystals were very fragile, suggesting a high solvent content, and diffracted to approximately 8 A. Tetragonal bipyrimidal crystals of the amino-terminal domain of Hsp82 were readily obtained under a variety of different conditions. The crystals have primitive tetragonal space group (P422, P4(1)22, or its enantiomorph P4(3)22) with unit cell dimensions of a = 75.1 A and c = 111.3 A, contain 60% by volume solvent, and diffract to 2.5 A resoltuion. Addition of 25% glycerol to the mother liquor gave rise to large rod-shaped crystals. The crystals diffract to 2.8 A resolution, have an orthorhombic space group (P222(1), P2(1)2(1)2, or P2(1)2(1)2(1)) with cell dimensions of a = 45.2 A, b = 115.4 A, and c = 116.9 A, and a solvent content of 58% by volume.

Amino Acid Sequence↗