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R C O'Neill

Publications and source records attributed to R C O'Neill.

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Identification of essential residues in 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase. Chemical modification and site-directed mutagenesis to investigate the role of cysteine and histidine residues in enzymatic activity.

2',3'-Cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase (CNP; EC ) catalyzes in vitro hydrolysis of 3'-phosphodiester bonds in 2',3'-cyclic nucleotides to produce 2'-nucleotides exclusively. N-terminal deletion mapping of the C-terminal two-thirds of recombinant rat CNP1 identified a region that possesses the catalytic domain, with further truncations abolishing activity. Proteolysis and kinetic analysis indicated that this domain forms a compact globular structure and contains all of the catalytically essential features. Subsequently, this catalytic fragment of CNP1 (CNP-CF) was used for chemical modification studies to identify amino acid residues essential for activity. 5,5'-Dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) modification studies and kinetic analysis of cysteine CNP-CF mutants revealed the nonessential role of cysteines for enzymatic activity. On the other hand, modification studies with diethyl pyrocarbonate indicated that two histidines are essential for CNPase activity. Consequently, the only two conserved histidines, His-230 and His-309, were mutated to phenylalanine and leucine. All four histidine mutants had k(cat) values 1000-fold lower than wild-type CNP-CF, but K(m) values were similar. Circular dichroism studies demonstrated that the low catalytic activities of the histidine mutants were not due to gross changes in secondary structure. Taken together, these results demonstrate that both histidines assume critical roles for catalysis.

2',3'-Cyclic Nucleotide 3'-Phosphodiesterase↗

Selective synthesis of 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase isoform 2 and identification of specifically phosphorylated serine residues.

2',3'-Cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase (CNP) is a protein found abundantly in the cytoplasmic compartments of CNS myelin. Two isoforms of this protein, CNP1 and CNP2, are detectable. They differ by a 20-amino acid extension exclusive to CNP2. Additionally, CNP2 is essentially the only isoform to be phosphorylated in vivo. In this study, we examine the phosphorylation of CNP2 in transfected cells. CNP2 was selectively expressed ectopically in 293T cells and labeled with 32P. Immunoprecipitation of labeled CNP2 and tryptic phosphopeptide mapping analyses identified serines 9 and 22 as the major sites of phosphorylation. Only serine 22 was phosphorylated initially in oligodendrocyte-enriched cultures of neonatal rat brain glial cells. However, 4beta-phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDB) induced the phosphorylation of serine 9, thereby producing the same pattern seen in 293T cells. These results suggest that serine 9 is phosphorylated by a PDB-sensitive kinase, likely protein kinase C, and that serine 22 appears to be constitutively phosphorylated.

2',3'-Cyclic Nucleotide 3'-Phosphodiesterase↗

CNP2 mRNA directs synthesis of both CNP1 and CNP2 polypeptides.

The ribosome scanning model for translational initiation predicts that eukaryotic mRNAs should, as a rule, be monocistronic. However, cases have recently been described of eukaryotic mRNAs producing more than one protein through alternative translational initiation at several different AUG codons. The present work reports the occurrence of two translational start sites on the mRNA encoding isoform 2 of the myelin marker enzyme 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase (CNP) in rat and mouse. We show that the CNP2 mRNA is able to direct synthesis of not only CNP2, but also CNP1 polypeptide. Immunoprecipitation experiments using a polyclonal antibody directed against CNP detect both CNP isoforms in tissues or cell lines expressing only the CNP2 transcript. Thus, the synthesis of CNP1 and CNP2 polypeptides must be encoded by the CNP2 transcript. In vitro translation of synthetic CNP2 mRNA demonstrates that both CNP isoforms are synthesized by initiation at different AUG codons. Furthermore, by introducing mutations to "switch off" translation from the second in-frame AUG codon in the CNP2 cDNA, and transfecting 293T cells with those constructs, we are able to correlate the production of CNP1 and CNP2 with different translational start sites. These results lead us to conclude that the CNP2 mRNA is able to produce both CNP1 and CNP2 polypeptides. This investigation has altered our understanding of the temporal expression of the CNP protein isoforms during development of the central nervous system (CNS).

2',3'-Cyclic-Nucleotide Phosphodiesterases↗

The effect of topical steroids on cutaneous oxygen tension.

The precise mode of action of topically applied steroids is unknown. We have applied clobetasol propionate 0.05% ointment (Dermovate; Glaxo Pharmaceuticals) under occlusion to the forearm skin of 10 healthy volunteers for 6 h and monitored transcutaneous oxygen tension at the site for 19 h after its removal. Compared to the ointment base, the steroid-treated area was significantly hypoxic up to 13 h after application. The profound hypoxia present at the site of application of clobetasol propionate 0.05% ointment may account for some of its anti-inflammatory effects, and its atrophogenicity.

Administration, Topical↗