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W Hengstenberg

Publications and source records attributed to W Hengstenberg.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

The 1.6 A structure of histidine-containing phosphotransfer protein HPr from Streptococcus faecalis.

The histidine-containing phosphocarrier protein (HPr) is a central component of the phosphoenolpyruvate: sugar phosphotransferase system (PTS) that transports carbohydrates across the cell membrane of bacteria. The three-dimensional structure of Gram-positive Streptococcus faecalis HPr has been determined using the method of multiple isomorphous replacement. The R factor for all data is 0.156 for S. faecalis HPr at 1.6 A resolution with very good geometry. The overall folding topology of HPr is a classical open-faced beta-sandwich, consisting of four antiparallel beta-strands and three alpha-helices. Remarkable disallowed Ramachandran torsion angles of Ala16 at the active center, revealed by the X-ray structure of S. faecalis HPr, demonstrate a unique example of torsion-angle strain that is likely involved directly in protein function. A brief report concerning the torsion-angle strain has been presented recently. A newly-determined pH 7.0 structure is shown to have the same open conformation of the active center and the same torsion-angle strain at Ala16, suggesting that pH is not responsible for the structural observations. The current structure suggests a role for residues 12 and 51 in HPr's function, since they are involved in the active center through direct and indirect hydrogen-bonding interactions with the imidazole ring of His15. It is found that Ser46, the regulatory site in HPr from Gram-positive bacteria, N-caps the minor alpha-B helix and is also involved in the Asn43-Ser46 beta-turn. This finding, in conjunction with the proposed routes of communication between the regulatory site Ser46 and the active center in S. faecalis HPr, provides new insight into the understanding of how Ser46 might function. The putative involvement of the C-terminal alpha-carboxyl group and the related Gly67-Glu70 reverse beta-turn with respect to the function of HPr are described.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Purification and characterisation of the restriction endonuclease ItaI from Ilyobacter tartaricus recognizing 5'-GC decreases NGC-3'.

ItaI, an isoschizomer of the subclass IIW [Kessler and Manta, Gene 92 (1990) 1-248] restriction endonuclease (ENase), Fnu4HI [Leung et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 6 (1979) 17-25], has been isolated from Ilyobacter tartaricus. The ENase has the five-base palindromic recognition sequence, 5'GC decreases NGC-3'. It cleaves behind the second nucleotide and produces a one-nt 5' overhang.

Deoxyribonucleases, Type II Site-Specific↗
PubMed1993

Deamidation of HPr, a phosphocarrier protein of the phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system, involves asparagine 38 (HPr-1) and asparagine 12 (HPr-2) in isoaspartyl acid formation.

Histidine-containing protein, HPr, of the phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system in Escherichia coli, when incubated at elevated temperatures forms many species of protein. The two major species are HPr-1 and HPr-2, which have been shown to lack one or two amides, respectively (Anderson, B., Weigel, N., Kundig, W., and Roseman, S. (1971) J. Biol. Chem. 246, 7023-7033). The formation of HPr-1 and HPr-2 is shown to be pH-dependent and does not occur readily below pH 6. Investigation of the identities and properties of the two residues that deamidate involved creation of site-directed mutants at the 6 glutamine and 2 asparagine residues of HPr; description of their deamidation species by isoelectric focusing; determination of their relative antibody binding properties; assay of their phosphoacceptor and phosphodonor activities; characterization of tryptic and V8-protease peptides; obtaining two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of HPr, HPr-1, and several mutants. It was determined that the sequential deamidation of Asn-38 and Asn-12 yields HPr-1 and HPr-2. Both residues exist as Asn-Gly pairs, and both deamidations probably form isoaspartyl acid. HPr from Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus carnosus which also have Asn-Gly at residues 38 and 39 form HPr-1 species presumably by deamidation. HPr from Streptococcus faecalis which does not have Asn-38 does not form a HPr-1 species. The E. coli mutant HPrs, N12D and Q51E, residues that may be involved in the active site, had impaired phosphohydrolysis properties and decreased phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system activity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

The solution structure of the histidine-containing protein (HPr) from Staphylococcus aureus as determined by two-dimensional 1H-NMR spectroscopy.

The three-dimensional solution structure of the heat-stable phosphocarrier protein HPr from Staphylococcus aureus was determined from two-dimensional NMR data by restrained molecular dynamics. It consists of a large twisted antiparallel beta-pleated sheet with four strands A, B, C, and D of amino acids 2-7, 34-37, 40-42 and 60-65. Three right-handed helices A, B, C (amino acids 18-27, 47-53 and 71-85) are positioned on top of this sheet. The aromatic ring of His15 is located in a cleft formed by amino acids 12-17 and 55-58, only the nitrogen (N delta 1) atom which can be phosphorylated by enzyme I is exposed to the water. The side chains of Thr12 and Arg17 are located close to the histidine ring. The regulatory serine residue (Ser46) is located in a hydrophobic patch, its hydroxyl group is water-accessible but forms hydrogen bonds with the amide groups of the backbone. The general features of the three-dimensional structure are similar to those found in HPr proteins from different microorganisms such as Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Streptococcus faecalis.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1993

Involvement of various amino- and carboxyl-terminal residues in the active site of the histidine-containing protein HPr of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system of Staphylococcus carnosus: site-directed mutagenesis with the ptsH gene, biochemical characterization and NMR studies of the mutant proteins.

The phosphocarrier HPr (heat stable protein) of Staphylococcus carnosus was modified by site-directed mutagenesis of the corresponding ptsH gene in order to analyse the importance of amino acids which were supposed to be part of the active centre of the protein. Three residues which are conserved in all HPrs, Arg17, Pro18 and Glu84, were mutated: Arg17 was changed to His (17RH) and Pro18 and Glu84 were changed into Ala (18PA and 84EA). In addition, Leu86 was changed into Ala (86LA) and one mutant protein was missing the last six residues of the HPr (delta 83). The wild type gene and all mutant genes were overexpressed and the gene products purified to homogeneity. Three-dimensional structures of wild type and mutant proteins were monitored by NMR spectroscopy. All five mutant HPrs had native conformations. The ATP-dependent HPr kinase can phosphorylate all HPr derivatives at Ser46. The PTS activity of the amino-terminal HPr mutant proteins 17RH and 18PA was different compared to wild type HPr. In contrast, the carboxy-terminal mutant HPrs possessed a similar enzyme activity to the wild type HPr. The 17RH and 18PA HPrs with substitution near the active centre His15 showed a very slow phosphorylation by enzyme I but the further transfer of the phosphoryl group to enzyme III was also strongly inhibited. The enzyme activity of the HPr 17RH was significantly improved at low pH. NMR pH-titration experiments showed that Arg17 is not responsible for the low pKa of the active centre His15 but this positively charged residue is essential in this position for the HPr activity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

6-Phospho-beta-galactosidases of gram-positive and 6-phospho-beta-glucosidase B of gram-negative bacteria: comparison of structure and function by kinetic and immunological methods and mutagenesis of the lacG gene of Staphylococcus aureus.

The 6-phospho-beta-galactosidase of Staphylococcus aureus, Lactococcus lactis and Lactobacillus casei and 6-phospho-beta-glucosidase B of Escherichia coli build a subfamily inside a greater enzyme family, named the glycosal hydrolase family 1, which, in addition, contains nine beta-glycosidases of different origins. Kinetic and immunological evidence is provided in this report which strengthens the relationship of the four 6-phospho-beta-glycosidases. It is shown that the 6-phospho-beta-galactosidases and 6-phospho-beta-glucosidase B are able to split aromatic beta-galactoside phosphates and beta-glucoside phosphates. The turnover numbers of hydrolysis of substrates with different epimerization at C-4 of the glycon vary up to 15-fold only. Two polyclonal antisera, one derived against the native 6-phospho-beta-galactosidase from S. aureus and the other derived against the 6-phospho-beta-glucosidase B, cross-reacted with both enzymes. Peptides of the proteins were separated by reverse phase HPLC. The cross-reacting peptides were sequenced and shown to be localized at almost the same position in the aligned primary structures of both enzymes. An insertion of nine amino acids near these antigenic domains is unique for the 6-phospho-beta-glycosidases and missing within the sequences of the beta-glycoside-specific members of the family. The lacG gene of a 6-phospho-beta-galactosidase negative S. aureus mutant was cloned into E. coli and sequenced. In the totally inactive mutant protein only the glycine at position 332 was changed to an arginine. This amino acid is part of the sequence insertion near the antigenic domain reacting with both antisera.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Structure and function of proteins of the phosphotransferase system and of 6-phospho-beta-glycosidases in gram-positive bacteria.

New information about the proteins of the phosphotransferase system (PTS) and of phosphoglycosidases of homofermentative lactic acid bacteria and related species is presented. Tertiary structures were elucidated from soluble PTS components. They help to understand regulatory processes and PTS function in lactic acid bacteria. A tertiary structure of a membrane-bound enzyme II is still not available, but expression of Gram-positive genes encoding enzymes II can be achieved in Escherichia coli and enables the development of effective isolation procedures which are necessary for crystallization experiments. Considerable progress was made in analysing the functions of structural genes which are in close vicinity of the genes encoding the sugar-specific PTS components, such as the genes encoding the tagatose-6-P pathway and the 6-phospho-beta-glycosidases. These phosphoglycosidases belong to a subfamily of the beta-glycosidase family I among about 300 different glycosidases. The active site nucleophile was recently identified to be Glu 358 in Agrobacterium beta-glucosidase. This corresponds to Glu 375 in staphylococcal and lactococcal 6-phospho-beta-galactosidase. This enzyme is inactivated by mutating Glu 375 to Gln. Diffracting crystals of the lactococcal 6-P-beta-galactosidase allow the elucidation of its tertiary structure which helps to derive the structures for the entire glycosidase family 1. In addition, a fusion protein with 6-phospho-beta-galactosidase and staphylococcal protein A was constructed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Mannitol-specific enzyme II of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system of Staphylococcus carnosus. Sequence and expression in Escherichia coli and structural comparison with the enzyme IImannitol of Escherichia coli.

The enzyme IImannitol (EIImtl) of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system (PTS) catalyses the uptake and concomitant phosphorylation of mannitol by bacteria; it is specified by the gene mtlA. MtlA is located near the genes mtlF and mtlD in the staphylococcal genome, encoding the enzyme IIImtl and the mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase, respectively. We present the cloning of the whole operon by a novel complementation system which is generally suitable for cloning Gram-positive PTS genes. The nucleotide sequence of a 2.5-kbp subclone spanning mtlA has been determined. From the deduced amino acid sequence, it is predicted that the membrane-protein EIImtl consists of 505 amino acid residues (54112 Da). The protein has the expected hydropathy profile of an integral-membrane protein. The NH2-terminal part of the enzyme resides within the membrane, whereas the COOH-terminus of the enzyme has the properties of a soluble protein. Comparison with the known amino acid sequence of EIImtl of Escherichia coli [Lee, C. A. & Saier, M. H. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 10761-10767] showed significant similarity. The motif containing the cysteine, which is the putative second phosphorylation site in EIImtl of E. coli [Pas, H. H. & Robillard, G. T. (1988) Biochemistry 27, 5835-5839], is well conserved in EIImtl of Staphylococcus carnosus. Chemical modification of the single active site cysteine residue by Ellman's reagent leads to total inactivation, which can be reversed by treatment with 2-mercaptoethanol.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

A new protein conjugate that replaces the use of secondary antibodies engineered from the two staphylococcal enzymes protein A and 6-phospho-beta-galactosidase.

The lacG gene encoding the 6-phospho-beta-galactosidase (E.C.3.2.1.85) of Staphylococcus aureus was fused to the protein A gene in the plasmid pRIT2T. Escherichia coli cells containing this plasmid produce a fusion protein with both IgG binding and 6-phospho-beta-galactosidase activities after heat induction. The recombinant gene was overexpressed and the hybrid protein was purified to homogeneity in high yield. The chimeric protein was shown to have almost identical enzymatic characteristics to pure 6-phospho-beta-galactosidase. This result leads to the conclusion that a free N-terminus of the 6-phospho-beta-galactosidase is not required for biological activity. The hybrid protein of protein A and 6-phospho-beta-galactosidase was used as an enzyme conjugate in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). The experiments presented demonstrate that the 6-phospho-beta-galactosidase is a suitable fusion partner in various diagnostic applications where an unique biological activity is required.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Staphylococcal phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system: molecular cloning and nucleotide sequence of the Staphylococcus carnosus ptsI gene and expression and complementation studies of the gene product.

A digoxigenin-labeled DNA probe that was complementary to the gene ptsH and the beginning of the gene ptsI was used to clone a 3.2-kb HincII-BamHI restriction fragment containing the complete ptsI gene of Staphylococcus carnosus. The restriction fragment was cloned in the antisense orientation to the lac promoter in the low-copy-number vector pSU18. The nucleotide sequences of the ptsI gene, which encodes enzyme I (EC 2.7.3.9), and the corresponding flanking regions were determined. The primary translation product, derived from the nucleotide sequence, consists of 574 amino acids and has a calculated molecular weight of 63,369. Amino acid sequence comparison showed 47% similarity to enzyme I of Escherichia coli and 37% similarity to the enzyme I domain of the multiphosphoryl transfer protein of Rhodobacter capsulatus. The histidinyl residue at position 191 could be identified as the probable phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphorylation site of enzyme I of S. carnosus because of sequence homologies with the peptide sequences of enzyme I-active sites of Enterococcus faecalis and Lactococcus lactis. Several in vivo and in vitro complementation studies with the enzyme I ptsI genes of S. carnosus and the E. coli ptsI mutant JLT2 were carried out. The generation times and interaction between enzyme I with histidine-containing protein from gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria were measured in a phosphoryl group transfer test.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Two-dimensional 1H NMR studies on HPr protein from Staphylococcus aureus: complete sequential assignments and secondary structure.

Complete sequence-specific assignments of the 1H NMR spectrum of HPr protein from Staphylococcus aureus were obtained by two-dimensional NMR methods. Important secondary structure elements that can be derived from the observed nuclear Overhauser effects are a large antiparallel beta-pleated sheet consisting of four strands, A, B, C, D, a segment SAB consisting of an extended region around the active-center histidine (His-15) and an alpha-helix, a half-turn between strands B and C, a segment SCD which shows no typical secondary structure, and the alpha-helical, C-terminal segment S(term). These general structural features are similar to those found earlier in HPr proteins from different microorganisms such as Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Streptococcus faecalis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Staphylococcal phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system. Purification and protein sequencing of the Staphylococcus carnosus histidine-containing protein, and cloning and DNA sequencing of the ptsH gene.

The histidine-containing protein (HPr) of the bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system (PTS) was isolated from Staphylococcus carnosus and purified to homogeneity. The protein sequence was determined by Edman degradation of peptides obtained by proteolytic digestion with proteases V8, trypsin and chemical cleavage with BrCN. Furthermore, immunological screening of a chromosomal S. carnosus DNA gene library in pUC19 vector enabled us to isolate S. carnosus HPr-expressing colonies. The nucleotide sequence of this ptsH gene and its flanking regions was determined by the dideoxy-chain-termination technique. Upstream, the 264-bp open reading frame of the ptsH gene is flanked by a putative S. carnosus promoter structure and a putative ptsI gene downstream suggesting that ptsH gene is the first gene in the PTS operon of S. carnosus. Comparison of the amino acid sequence of S. carnosus HPr with the HPr sequence of Staphylococcus aureus (derived from peptide sequencing) showed a high degree of similarity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Exchange of phosphoryl groups between HPr molecules of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system is an autocatalytic process.

HPr, a central component of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system, can exist in Escherichia coli in a phosphorylated (PHPr) and a nonphosphorylated form. We show that, beside the normal transfer of the phosphoryl group from PHPr to enzymes II and III, PHPr can phosphorylate other HPr molecules in an autocatalytic exchange reaction. The reaction is very fast but is inhibited by labeling the protein with Bolton-Hunter reagent. We demonstrate that the exchange reaction can be used to determine the delta G degree of the phosphoryl group of mutant forms of PHPr relative to wild-type PHPr. Two HPr mutants were constructed by site-directed mutagenesis, HPr P11E and HPr E68A. Both show altered phosphoryl group potentials but show no significantly altered KM or Vmax values compared to wild-type HPr, illustrating the sensitivity of the exchange process. The exchange reaction does not occur between HPr from E. coli and HPr from Staphylococcus carnosus.

Autoradiography↗
PubMed1991

Enzyme IIIlac of the staphylococcal phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system: site-specific mutagenesis of histidine residues, biochemical characterization and 1H-NMR studies.

The lactose-specific phosphocarrier protein enzyme III of the bacterial phosphoenol-pyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system of Staphylococcus aureus was modified by site-specific mutagenesis on the corresponding lacF gene in order to replace the histidine residues 78 and 82 of the amino acid sequence with a serine residue. Wild-type and both mutant genes were overexpressed in Escherichia coli and the gene products were purified to homogeneity. The conformation of wild-type and mutant proteins were monitored by 1H-NMR spectroscopy. In vitro phosphorylation studies on mutant lactose-specific enzyme III, as well as evidence from NMR spectroscopy, lead to the conclusion that His78 is the active-site for phosphorylation of lactose-specific enzyme III by phospho-HPr (histidine-containing protein). The role of His82 probably is the enhancement of velocity and efficiency of the phosphotransfer from lactose-specific enzyme III to lactose-specific enzyme II. This result refutes the conclusion of former work based on data by protelytic cleavage and sequencing of the 32P-labeled peptide of lactose-specific enzyme III that His82 is the active-site for phosphorylation.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1991

Staphylococcal lactose phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system: site-specific mutagenesis on the lacE gene gives evidence that a cysteine residue is responsible for phosphorylation.

The lactose-specific phosphocarrier protein enzyme II of the bacterial phosphoenol-pyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system of Staphylococcus aureus was modified by site-specific mutagenesis on the corresponding lacE gene in order to replace the histidine residues 245, 274 and 510 and the cysteine residue 476 of the amino acid sequence with a serine residue. The wild-type and mutant genes were expressed in Escherichia coli and the gene products were characterized in different in vitro test systems. In vitro phosphorylation studies on mutant derivatives of the lactose-specific enzyme II led to the conclusion that cysteine residue 476 is the active-site for phosphorylation of this enzyme II by a phospho-enzyme III of the same sugar specificity. A cysteine residue phosphorylated intermediate was first postulated for the mannitol-specific enzyme II of E. coli and studies performed independently concerning the lactose-specific enzyme II of Lactobacillus casei are in agreement with the above results.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Mannitol-specific phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system of Enterococcus faecalis: molecular cloning and nucleotide sequences of the enzyme IIIMtl gene and the mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase gene, expression in Escherichia coli, and comparison of the gene products with similar enzymes.

Enzyme IIIMtl is part of the mannitol phosphotransferase system of Enterococcus faecalis. It is phosphorylated in a reaction sequence requiring enzyme I and heat-stable phosphocarrier protein (HPr). The phospho group is transferred from enzyme IIIMtl to enzyme IIMtl, which then catalyzes the uptake and concomitant phosphorylation of mannitol. The internalized mannitol-1-phosphate is oxidized to fructose-6-phosphate by mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase. In this report we describe the cloning of the mtlF and mtlD genes, encoding enzyme IIIMtl and mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase of E. faecalis, by a complementation system designed for cloning of gram-positive phosphotransferase system genes. The complete nucleotide sequences of mtlF, mtlD, and flanking regions were determined. From the gene sequences, the primary translation products are deduced to consist of 145 amino acids (enzyme IIIMtl) and 374 amino acids (mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase). Amino acid sequence comparison confirmed a 41% similarity of E. faecalis enzyme IIIMtl to the hydrophilic enzyme IIIMtl-like portion of enzyme IIMtl of Escherichia coli and 45% similarity to enzyme IIIMtl of Staphylococcus carnosus. The putative N-terminal NAD+ binding domain of mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase of E. faecalis shows a high degree of similarity with the N terminus of E. coli mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase (T. Davis, M. Yamada, M. Elgort, and M. H. Saier, Jr., Mol. Microbiol. 2:405-412, 1988) and the N-terminal part of the translation product of S. carnosus mtlD, which was also determined in this study. There is 40% similarity between the dehydrogenases of E. faecalis and E. coli over the whole length of the enzymes. The organization of mannitol-specific genes in E. faecalis seems to be similar to the organization in S. carnosus. The open reading frame for enzyme IIIMtl E. faecalis is followed by a stem-loop structure, analogous to a typical Rho-independent terminator. We conclude that the mannitol-specific genes are organized in an operon and that the gene order is mtlA orfX mtlF mtlD.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Studies for the elucidation of the mode of action of the antimycotic hydroxypyridone compound, rilopirox.

Rilopirox is a synthetic, fungicidal antimycotic agent with hydrophobic characteristics. Its chemical name is 6-[4-(4-chlorophenoxy)-phenoxy-methyl]-1-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-pyridone and it has a molecular weight of 357.79. Rilopirox is very soluble in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and dimethylformamide (DMF) but poorly soluble in water. The amount of antimycotic agent remaining in the solution is dependent on the final concentration of the solvent and the amount of rilopirox used. Complexometric studies show that rilopirox has a high affinity for iron ions [unpubl. data]. Catalase, an iron-containing enzyme, is inhibited by the chelating agent rilopirox. Studies on yeast mitochondria and submitochondrial particles show that rilopirox inhibits the respiratory chain. Complex I (NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase) contains iron-sulfur proteins and is the main system which is inhibited.

Antifungal Agents↗