Biomedical subjects

W T Self

Publications and source records attributed to W T Self.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Transcriptional regulation of the moe (molybdate metabolism) operon of Escherichia coli.

Regulation of transcription of the Escherichia coli moe operon, which codes for proteins connecting molybdate metabolism, molybdopterin synthesis, and apomolybdoenzyme synthesis, was investigated. Expression of the moe operon was independent of genes coding for molybdate transport and Mo-cofactor biosynthesis. Expression of moeA-lacZ increased during anaerobic growth (2.5-fold over the aerobic value) and in the presence of nitrate and trimethylamine N-oxide (3.5- and 1.5-fold, respectively). The nitrate-dependent increase in moe expression required the NarL protein, while the anaerobiosis-dependent increase in moeA-lacZ expression required Arc proteins. ArcA-phosphate and not ArcA bound to the DNA upstream of moe, shifted the electrophoretic mobility of moe promoter DNA, and protected the DNA from DNase I hydrolysis. Nitrate-independent transcription of moeA-lacZ was repressed by the FNR protein, which also protected moe operator DNA from DNase I hydrolysis. These results show that ArcA-phosphate and FNR have opposite effects on the transcriptional regulation of the moe operon, and the combined action of the two redox regulators modulate the level of Mo-cofactor in the cell. Apparently, the control of synthesis of Mo-cofactor and the apomolybdoenzymes nitrate reductase and trimethylamine N-oxide reductase are coupled at the level of the moe operon.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed2001

N-terminal truncations in the FhlA protein result in formate- and MoeA-independent expression of the hyc (formate hydrogenlyase) operon of Escherichia coli.

The formate hydrogenlyase complex of Escherichia coli catalyses the cleavage of formate to CO2 and H2 and consists of a molybdoenzyme formate dehydrogenase-H, hydrogenase 3 and intermediate electron carriers. The structural genes of this enzyme complex are activated by the FhlA protein in the presence of both formate and molybdate; ModE-Mo serves as a secondary activator. Mutational analysis of the FhlA protein established that the unique N-terminal region of this protein was responsible for formate- and molybdenum-dependent transcriptional control of the hyc operon. Analysis of the N-terminal sequence of the FhlA protein revealed a unique motif (amino acids 7-37), which is also found in ATPases associated with several members of the ABC-type transporter family. A deletion derivative of FhlA lacking these amino acids (FhlA9-2) failed to activate the hyc operon in vivo, although the FhlA9-2 did bind to hyc promoter DNA in vitro. The ATPase activity of the FhlA9-2-DNA-formate complex was at least three times higher than that of the native protein-DNA-formate complex, and this degree of activity was achieved at a lower formate level. Extending the deletion to amino acid 117 (FhlA167) not only reversed the FhlA(-) phenotype of FhlA9-2, but also led to both molybdenum- and formate-independence. Deleting the entire N-terminal domain (between amino acids 5 and 374 of the 692 amino acid protein) also led to an effector-independent transcriptional activator (FhlA165), which had a twofold higher level of hyc operon expression than the native protein. Both FhlA165 and FhlA167 still required ModE-Mo as a secondary activator for an optimal level of hyc-lac expression. The FhlA165 protein also had a twofold higher affinity to hyc promoter DNA than the native FhlA protein, while the FhlA167 protein had a significantly lower affinity for hyc promoter DNA in vitro. Although the ATPase activity of the native protein was increased by formate, the ATPase activity of neither FhlA165 or FhlA167 responded to formate. Removal of the first 117 amino acids of the FhlA protein appears to result in a constitutive, effector-independent activation of transcription of the genes encoding the components of the formate hydrogenlyase complex. The sequence similarity to ABC-ATPases, combined with the properties of the FhlA deletion proteins, led to the proposal that the N-terminal region of the native FhlA protein interacts with formate transport proteins, both as a formate transport facilitator and as a cytoplasmic acceptor.

ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters↗

PubMed2000

Synthesis and characterization of selenotrisulfide-derivatives of lipoic acid and lipoamide.

Thiol-containing compounds, such as glutathione and cysteine, react with selenite under specific conditions to form selenotrisulfides. Previous studies have focused on isolation and characterization of intermolecular selenotrisulfides. This study describes the preparation and characterization of intramolecular selenotrisulfide derivatives of lipoic acid and lipoamide. These derivatives, after separation from other reaction products by reverse-phase HPLC, exhibit an absorbance maximum at 288 nm with an extinction coefficient of 1,500 M(-1) small middle dotcm(-1). The selenotrisulfide derivative of lipoic acid was significantly stable at or below pH 8.0 in contrast to several other previously studied selenotrisulfides. Mass spectral analysis of the lipoic acid and lipoamide derivatives confirmed both the expected molecular weights and also the presence of a single atom of selenium as revealed by its isotopic distribution. The selenotrisulfide derivative of lipoic acid was found to serve as an effective substrate for recombinant human thioredoxin reductase as well as native rat thioredoxin reductase in the presence of NADPH. Likewise, the lipoamide derivative was efficiently reduced by NADH-dependent bovine lipoamide dehydrogenase. The significant in vitro stability of these intramolecular selenotrisulfide derivatives of lipoic acid can serve as an important asset in the study of such selenium adducts as model selenium donor compounds for selenophosphate biosynthesis and as rate enhancement effectors in various redox reactions.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Selenium-dependent metabolism of purines: A selenium-dependent purine hydroxylase and xanthine dehydrogenase were purified from Clostridium purinolyticum and characterized.

During purification of the selenium-dependent xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) from Clostridium purinolyticum, another hydroxylase was uncovered that also contained selenium and exhibited similar spectral properties. This enzyme was purified to homogeneity. It uses purine, 2OH-purine, and hypoxanthine as substrates, and based on its substrate specificity, this selenoenzyme is termed purine hydroxylase (PH). The product of hydroxylation of purine by PH is xanthine. A concomitant release of selenium from the enzyme and loss of catalytic activity on treatment with cyanide indicates that selenium is essential for PH activity. Selenium-dependent XDH, also purified from C. purinolyticum, was found to be insensitive to oxygen during purification and to use both potassium ferricyanide and 2,6-dichloroindophenol as electron acceptors. Selenium is required for the xanthine-dependent reduction of 2, 6-dichloroindophenol by XDH. Kinetic analyses of both enzymes revealed that xanthine is the preferred substrate for XDH and purine and hypoxanthine are preferred by PH. This characterization of these selenium-requiring hydroxylases involved in the interconversion of purines describes an extension of the pathway for purine fermentation in the purinolytic clostridia.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗

PubMed2000

Isolation and characterization of mutated FhlA proteins which activate transcription of the hyc operon (formate hydrogenlyase) of Escherichia coli in the absence of molybdate(1).

Escherichia coli growing under anaerobic conditions produces H(2) and CO(2) by the enzymatic cleavage of formate catalyzed by formate hydrogenlyase (FHL) consisting of a molybdoenzyme formate dehydrogenase H (fdhF), hydrogenase 3 (hyc), and intermediate electron carriers (hyc). Transcription of both the fdhF and hyc operons requires the activator, FhlA protein, as well as formate and molybdate. Several fhlA mutants with an altered response to the required effector molybdate were isolated and these FhlA mutated proteins activated hyc transcription in the absence of molybdate, but only in the presence of formate. Mutated protein FhlA126 carries a single mutation (R495C) in the conserved central domain of the modular, sigma(54)-dependent, enhancer-binding protein. FhlA57 contains two mutations; one in the unique N-terminal domain (E205K) and a second in the central domain (P442S). Both mutations in FhlA132 are located in the N-terminal domain (A42T and E363K). Both FhlA126 and FhlA132 proteins activated the hyc operon even in the absence of ModE and MoeA, two components of Mo-metabolism which are required for hyc-lac expression in wild-type E. coli. Based on these results, a model is proposed in which the native FhlA protein interacts with a unique form of Mo (MoeA product?) as a second effector for optimum expression of the hyc operon in E. coli.

Bacterial Proteins↗

PubMed1999

An analysis of the binding of repressor protein ModE to modABCD (molybdate transport) operator/promoter DNA of Escherichia coli.

Expression of the modABCD operon in Escherichia coli, which codes for a molybdate-specific transporter, is repressed by ModE in vivo in a molybdate-dependent fashion. In vitro DNase I-footprinting experiments identified three distinct regions of protection by ModE-molybdate on the modA operator/promoter DNA, GTTATATT (-15 to -8; region 1), GCCTACAT (-4 to +4; region 2), and GTTACAT (+8 to +14; region 3). Within the three regions of the protected DNA, a pentamer sequence, TAYAT (Y = C or T), can be identified. DNA-electrophoretic mobility experiments showed that the protected regions 1 and 2 are essential for binding of ModE-molybdate to DNA, whereas the protected region 3 increases the affinity of the DNA to the repressor. The stoichiometry of this interaction was found to be two ModE-molybdate per modA operator DNA. ModE-molybdate at 5 nM completely protected the modABCD operator/promoter DNA from DNase I-catalyzed hydrolysis, whereas ModE alone failed to protect the DNA even at 100 nM. The apparent K(d) for the interaction between the modA operator DNA and ModE-molybdate was 0.3 nM, and the K(d) increased to 8 nM in the absence of molybdate. Among the various oxyanions tested, only tungstate replaced molybdate in the repression of modA by ModE, but the affinity of ModE-tungstate for modABCD operator DNA was 6 times lower than with ModE-molybdate. A mutant ModE(T125I) protein, which repressed modA-lac even in the absence of molybdate, protected the same region of modA operator DNA in the absence of molybdate. The apparent K(d) for the interaction between modA operator DNA and ModE(T125I) was 3 nM in the presence of molybdate and 4 nM without molybdate. The binding of molybdate to ModE resulted in a decrease in fluorescence emission, indicating a conformational change of the protein upon molybdate binding. The fluorescence emission spectra of mutant ModE proteins, ModE(T125I) and ModE(Q216*), were unaffected by molybdate. The molybdate-independent mutant ModE proteins apparently mimic in its conformation the native ModE-molybdate complex, which binds to a DNA sequence motif of TATAT-7bp-TAYAT.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1998

Molybdate-dependent transcription of hyc and nar operons of Escherichia coli requires MoeA protein and ModE-molybdate.

In Escherichia coli, ModE-molybdate, a repressor of modABCD operon (molybdate transport), was previously shown to be an additional transcriptional activator of hyc operon (formate hydrogenlyase) and narGHJI operon (respiratory nitrate reductase). However, in a modE mutant, both operons were expressed at about 50% of the wild-type level in a molybdate-dependent manner. This ModE-independent, molybdate-dependent, expression of hyc, narG and narK operons required MoeA protein. An E. coli modE, moeA double mutant failed to produce formate hydrogenlyase or respiratory nitrate reductase activity irrespective of the growth medium. Tungstate substituted for molybdate in the activation of transcription of hyc and nar operons by ModE could not replace molybdate for MoeA-dependent expression. It is proposed that the MoeA-catalyzed product, an activated form of molybdate, interacts with a transcriptional activator/regulator other than ModE and regulates hyc and nar operons.

Bacterial Proteins↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Molybdate transport.

In both bacteria and archaea, molybdate is transported by an ABC-type transporter comprising three proteins, ModA (periplasmic binding protein), ModB (membrane protein) and ModC, the ATPase. The modABC operon expression is controlled by ModE-Mo. In the absence of the high-affinity molybdate transporter, molybdate is also transported by another ABC transporter which transports sulfate/thiosulfate as well as by a nonspecific anion transporter. Comparative analysis of the molybdate transport proteins in various bacteria and archaea is the focus of this review.

ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters↗