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P L Weber

Publications and source records attributed to P L Weber.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Monitoring excitatory amino acid release in vivo by microdialysis with capillary electrophoresis-electrochemistry.

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) with electrochemical detection (ED) was used to determine extracellular levels of aspartate, glutamate and alanine in samples from the frontoparietal cortex of the rat which were obtained by microdialysis. The method was used to monitor the effect on the overflow of the excitatory amino acids aspartate and glutamate of an influx of high concentrations of potassium ion. Samples were derivatized with naphthalenedialdehyde-cyanide prior to analysis. Detection limits for aspartate and glutamate were 80 and 100 nM, respectively. CE-ED is extremely useful for the analysis of microdialysis samples because of the very small sample volumes required by this analytical technique. The use of ED provides the requisite sensitivity and allows verification of peak purity by voltammetry.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1989

Ubiquitin function studied by disulfide engineering.

Disulfide engineering was used to probe the role of conformational mobility in ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis. Six genes that encode cysteine-containing mutants of ubiquitin were constructed, expressed in Escherichia coli and the proteins purified. Single cysteine-containing mutants and a 4/14 disulfide were active in degradation of a substrate protein in vitro, while the 4/66 disulfide, which cross-links the NH2- and COOH-terminal strands of the protein, was only 20-30% active. The solution structure of the 4/66 mutant was solved: the disulfide is left-handed with no perturbations in the backbone from that of wild type ubiquitin. The results suggest that conformational mobility is required for the activity of ubiquitin in signaling proteolysis.

Computer Simulation↗
PubMed1988

Determining stereo-specific 1H nuclear magnetic resonance assignments from distance geometry calculations.

Stereo-specific 1H nuclear magnetic resonance assignments can be obtained following distance geometry structure calculations. The key to this method is to allow stereo-related atoms or methyls to float between pro-R and pro-S configurations, the final configuration being determined by the experimental constraints. Resonances from stereo-related pairs are given initial random assignments (either pro-R or pro-S) for identifying nuclear Overhauser effects (NOEs). A list of distance constraints using these assignments is compiled and a series of structures calculated where the chirality of non-C alpha chiral centers is not constrained; no pseudoatom corrections are required. Calculated structures are both locally and globally well-determined since the assignments rely upon the structure determination rather than the structure quality relying upon stereo-specific assignments. The method represents a global approach to determining stereo-specific assignments versus previously reported methods where only intraresidue NOEs and J-coupling information are used.

Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy↗
PubMed1987

Sequential 1H NMR assignments and secondary structure identification of human ubiquitin.

1H NMR assignments of human ubiquitin (76 amino acids, Mr 8565) have been made by a combination of DQF-COSY, DQF-RELAY, NOESY, DQ, and isotropic mixing experiments. Complete NH, C alpha H, and C beta H assignments were obtained; resonances not yet assigned are the side-chain amides of Q-40, Q-41, Q-49, N-60, and Q-62 and the peripheral protons (C gamma H and outward) of M-1 and K-27. A total of 558 out of 579 (96%) potentially observable protons were assigned. Particular attention was directed toward obtaining complete assignments of the aliphatic residues (seven Ile, nine Leu, four Val) since these residues form an extensive hydrophobic core and NOEs from these residues are invaluable for structure calculations. The secondary structure elements were also identified from the sequential NOE data and differ slightly in description from the published 2.8 A resolution crystal structure [Vijay-Kumar, S., Bugg, C. E., Wilkinson, K. D., & Cook, W. J. (1985) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 82, 3582-3585]; the NMR data suggest that residues 48-50 form a short fifth strand in the beta-sheet and that residues 56-61 form a helical turn. The sequential assignment results presented here are in agreement with the main chain directed assignments presented in the preceding paper [Di Stephano, D., & Wand, A. J. (1987) Biochemistry (preceding paper in this issue)].

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1987

Gene synthesis, expression, structures, and functional activities of site-specific mutants of ubiquitin.

To study the structure and function of ubiquitin we have chemically synthesized a ubiquitin gene that encodes the amino acid sequence of animal ubiquitin, inserting a series of restriction enzyme sites that divide the gene into eight "mutagenesis modules." A series of site-specific mutations were constructed to selectively perturb various regions of the molecule. The mutant genes were expressed in a large quantity of Escherichia coli, and the modified proteins were purified. To determine the structural effects of the amino acid substitutions, the solution structure of ubiquitin was investigated by two-dimensional NMR and each of the mutant proteins were screened for structural perturbations. With one exception, virtually no changes were seen other than at the point of mutation. Functional studies of the mutant proteins with the ubiquitin-activating enzyme E1 and in the reticulocyte protein degradation assay were used to identify regions of the molecule important to ubiquitin's activity in intracellular proteolysis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1985

1H NMR studies of lambda cro repressor. 1. Selective optimization of two-dimensional relayed coherence transfer spectroscopy.

Two-dimensional relayed coherence transfer NMR spectroscopy (RELAY) has been used to corroborate side chain spin system identities in crowded regions of the 1H NMR spectrum of the lambda cro repressor protein. The mixing time in the RELAY experiments was optimized for specific preselected spin systems by using recently developed methods [Bax, A., & Drobny, G. (1985) J. Magn. Reson, 61, 306-320], which utilize the transverse relaxation time (T2) of the molecule and relevant J couplings for the defined spin system. We demonstrate that a mixing time of 26 ms gives rise to strong C alpha H-C gamma H3 RELAY cross peaks for all valine, threonine, and isoleucine residues, while RELAY cross peaks for other spin systems are weak or are not observed. This allows for rapid and unambiguous identification of the side chain resonances for valine, isoleucine, threonine, and alanine (by elimination). The use of optimized RELAY for analyzing and identifying spin systems in complex spectra is discussed.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1985

1H NMR studies of lambda cro repressor. 2. Sequential resonance assignments of the 1H NMR spectrum.

The cro repressor protein from bacteriophage lambda has been studied in solution by two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (2D NMR). Following the approach of Wüthrich and co-workers [Wüthrich, K., Wider, G., Wagner, G., & Braun, W. (1982) J. Mol. Biol. 155, 311-319], individual spin systems were identified by J-correlated spectroscopy (COSY) supplemented, where necessary, by relayed coherence transfer spectroscopy (RELAY). Nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY) was used to obtain sequence-specific assignments. From the two-dimensional spectra, the peptide backbone resonances (NH and C alpha H) for 65 of the 66 amino acids were assigned, as well as most of the side chain resonances. The chemical shifts for the assigned protons are reported at 35 degrees C in 10 mM potassium phosphate, pH 6.8, and in 10 mM potassium phosphate, pH 4.6, 0.2 M KCl, and 0.1 mM EDTA. Small shifts were observed for some resonances upon addition of salt, but no major changes in the spectrum were seen, indicating that no global structural change occurs between these ionic strengths. NOE patterns characteristic of alpha-helices, beta-strands, and turns are seen in various regions of the primary sequence. From the location of these regions the secondary structure of cro in solution appears to be virtually identical with the crystal structure [Anderson, W. F., Ohlendorf, D. H., Takeda, Y., & Matthews, B. W. (1981) Nature (London) 290, 754-758]. Missing assignments include the Pro-59 resonances and the peripheral protons of the eight lysine, the three arginine, and three of the five isoleucine residues.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1979

Structural and immunochemical characterization of the acidic arabinomannan of Mycobacterium smegmatis.

A serologically active, acidic arabinomannan has been isolated from Mycobacterium smegmatis. The polysaccharide contains approximately 56 arabinosyl and 11 mannosyl residues, and 2 phosphate, 6 monoesterified succinate, and 4 ether-linked lactate groups. After saponification to remove succinyl groups, the polysaccharide can be separated into phosphorylated (55%) and nonphosphorylated (45%) forms, the former containing a little more arabinose and a little less mannose than the latter. The structures of these polysaccharides were investigated by 1H- and 13C-n.m.r. spectroscopy and methylation analysis, before and after selective cleavage of furanosyl linkages. The phosphorylated and nonphosphorylated forms of the polysaccharide were found to have similar, if not identical, structures. The main structural feature of the polysaccharides is the presence of chains of contiguous arabinofuranosyl residues linked alpha-(1 leads to 5). These chains are attached at 0-4 of arabinopyranosyl residues that are present in a core region of the polysaccharide that also contains mannopyranosyl residues. Immunochemical studies demonstrated that the polysaccharide is an effective, precipitating antigen with antisera from rabbits immunized with cell walls or heat-killed cells of M. smegmatis. The polysaccharide is, however, more effective as a precipitating antigen after removal of the succinate groups, and completely ineffective after removal of arabinofuranosyl residues. The polysaccharide therefore contains an important antigen in common with the arabinogalactan lipopolysaccharide of the cell wall of the bacterium, i.e., chains of contiguous alpha-(1 leads to 5)-linked arabinofuranosyl residues.

Animals↗
PubMed1971

Amino acid requirements of Aeromonas.

Four of the 12 cultures of Aeromonas hydrophila, 5 of the 10 A. shigelloides, and 9 of the 10 A. salmonicida that were studied required arginine and lysine, among other amino acids, for their growth.

Aeromonas↗