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Structural basis of inducible costimulator ligand costimulatory function: determination of the cell surface oligomeric state and functional mapping of the receptor binding site of the protein.

Inducible costimulator (ICOS) ligand (ICOSL), a B7-related transmembrane glycoprotein with extracellular IgV and IgC domains, binds to ICOS on activated T cells and delivers a positive costimulatory signal for optimal T cell function. Toward determining the structural features of ICOSL crucial for its costimulatory function, the present study shows that ICOSL displays a marked oligomerization potential, resembling more like B7-1 than B7-2. Use of ICOSL constructs lacking either the IgC or IgV domain demonstrates that receptor binding is mediated solely by the IgV domain but requires the IgC domain for maintaining the structural integrity of the protein. To map further the receptor recognition surface on ICOSL, a homology-based protein structure model of the ICOS:ICOSL complex was constructed. Based on predictions from the model, a series of mutations were generated targeting the potential receptor binding surface on ICOSL, and the mutants were tested for their biological function in terms of ICOS binding and T cell costimulation ability. The results provide experimental validation of the model and show that the receptor binding site on ICOSL is constituted chiefly by aromatic/hydrophobic residues. Critical ICOSL residues essential for ICOS binding map to the GFCC'C'' beta-sheet face of the IgV domain and approximately overlap with the B7-1/B7-2 motif(s) that recognize CD28/CTLA-4. Altogether, similar structural features of ICOSL and B7 isoforms suggest a close evolutionary relationship between these costimulatory ligands, yet differences at the same time explain their unique specificity for the cognate binding partners, ICOS and CD28/CTLA-4, respectively.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Functional maps of the junctions between interglobular contacts and active sites in glycolytic enzymes -- a comparative analysis of the biochemical and structural data.

BACKGROUND: Oligomers and separate subunits of the glycolytic enzymes often have different catalytic properties. However, spectral data show an apparent lack of significant conformational changes during oligomerization. Since the conformation of an enzyme determines its catalytic properties, the structural mechanism(s) influencing the activity is of considerable interest. MATERIAL/METHODS: Analysis of the spatial structures of the junctions between interglobular contacts and binding sites may give a clue to the mechanism(s) of the activation. In this work, the problem was studied using available structural and biochemical data for the oligomeric enzymes of glycolysis. RESULTS: Computational analysis of the structures of the junctions has identified three structurally distinct types of junctions: 1. interglobular binding site (2 of 8 enzymes); 2. domain-domain stabilization (5 of 8); and 3. 'sequence overlap' or a local conformational change (all enzymes). Thus the catalytic activity may be influenced through the shifts of the modules of protein structure (types 1, 2) and/or due to a slight change in the local structure (type 3). The more common junctions of types 2 and 3 are well conserved among eukaryotic enzymes, which suggests their biological importance. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that a profound and a complex change in conformation in subunits of an oligomeric enzyme may not be necessary for a significant change in the catalytic properties. The analysis maps the residues important for the junctions and thus for the link between the catalytic activity and the oligomeric state of the enzymes.

Animals↗

Mapping histone fold TAFs within yeast TFIID.

The transcription factor TFIID is a large multiprotein complex, composed of the TATA box-binding protein (TBP) and 14 TBP-associated factors (TAFs), which plays a key role in the regulation of gene expression by RNA polymerase II. The three-dimensional structure of yeast (y) TFIID, determined at approximately 3 nm resolution by electron microscopy and image analysis, resembles a molecular clamp formed by three major lobes connected by thin linking domains. The yTFIID is structurally similar to the human factor although the clamp appears more closed in the yeast complex, probably reflecting the conformational flexibility of the structure. Immunolabelling experiments showed that nine TAFs that contain the histone fold structural motif were located in three distinct substructures of TFIID. The distribution of these TAFs showed that the previously reported pair-wise interactions between histone fold domain (HFD)-containing TAFs are likely to occur in the native yTFIID complex. Most of the HFD-containing TAFs have been found in two distinct lobes, thus revealing an unexpected and novel molecular organization of TFIID.

Amino Acid Motifs↗

Novel cytosolic binding partners of the neural cell adhesion molecule: mapping the binding domains of PLC gamma, LANP, TOAD-64, syndapin, PP1, and PP2A.

The neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) is implicated in important functions during development and maintenance of the nervous system. Two of the three major isoforms, NCAM 140 and NCAM 180, are transmembrane glycoproteins with large cytoplasmic domains of different length. The purpose of this study was to identify novel intracellular binding partners of NCAM 140 and NCAM 180. We expressed both cytoplasmic domains, as well as cytoplasmic fragments of NCAM, as fusion proteins in Escherichia coli and used them for ligand affinity chromatography or glutathione S-transferase (GST) pull-down assays. By peptide mass fingerprinting Western blot analysis, or both, we identified PLCgamma, LANP, syndapin, PP1, and PP2A as binding partners for both NCAM 140 and NCAM 180, whereas TOAD-64 was identified as a NCAM 180-specific interacting protein. Furthermore, we were able to show that binding of these novel binding proteins, as well as the previously described interaction partners ROK alpha (rho A binding kinase alpha) and alpha- and beta-tubulin, bind to specific cytosolic sequences of NCAM. For this purpose, we performed GST pull-down experiments using cytosolic fragments of NCAM as GST-fusion proteins and cytosolic- or cytoskeleton-enriched protein fractions of rat brain.

Animals↗

Distance mapping of protein-binding sites using spin-labeled oligosaccharide ligands.

The binding of a nitroxide spin-labeled analog of N-acetyllactosamine to galectin-3, a mammalian lectin of 26 kD size, is studied to map the binding sites of this small oligosaccharide on the protein surface. Perturbation of intensities of cross-peaks in the (15)N heteronuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC) spectrum of full-length galectin-3 owing to the bound spin label is used qualitatively to identify protein residues proximate to the binding site for N-acetyllactosamine. A protocol for converting intensity measurements to a more quantitative determination of distances between discrete protein amide protons and the bound spin label is then described. This protocol is discussed as part of a drug design strategy in which subsequent perturbation of chemical shifts of distance mapped amide cross-peaks can be used effectively to screen a library of compounds for other ligands that bind to the target protein at distances suitable for chemical linkage to the primary ligand. This approach is novel in that it bypasses the need for structure determination and resonance assignment of the target protein.

Amino Sugars↗

Functional interdependence of the DBLbeta domain and c2 region for binding of the Plasmodium falciparum variant antigen to ICAM-1.

Cytoadherence of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes is associated with severe malaria and is primarily mediated through binding of the variant surface antigen P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) to specific host ligands. Infected erythrocyte binding to Intercellular Adhesion Molecule 1 (ICAM-1) has been implicated as having a role in cerebral malaria, a major cause of death from P. falciparum infection. We have examined ICAM-1-binding PfEMP1 proteins in the cytoadhesive P. falciparum strain IT4/25/5 in order to extend our understanding of binding. For A4tres, the ICAM-1 binding region was previously shown to reside within contiguous DBL2beta and c2 domains. We determined the gene sequence encoding IT-ICAM var, and showed that ICAM-1 binding in this protein also maps to DBL2betac2 domains that have 48% amino acid identity to A4tres. By truncation and chimera analysis, most of the DBL2beta and the first half of the c2 region were required for A4tres binding to ICAM-1, suggesting this tandem should be considered a structural-functional combination for ICAM-1 binding. Of interest, a chimera formed between two different ICAM-1 binding domains did not bind ICAM-1, suggesting a functional interdependence between DBL2beta and c2 from the same protein. As gene recombination and gene conversion are important mechanisms for generating diversity in the PfEMP1 protein family, this finding implies an extra level of constraint on the functional evolution of binding traits. Knowledge about the PfEMP1::ICAM-1 interaction may allow the development of interventions to prevent binding and disease.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

A bi-recursive neural network architecture for the prediction of protein coarse contact maps.

Prediction of contact maps may be seen as a strategic step towards the solution of fundamental open problems in structural genomics. In this paper we focus on coarse grained maps that describe the spatial neighborhood relation between secondary structure elements (helices, strands, and coils) of a protein. We introduce a new machine learning approach for scoring candidate contact maps. The method combines a specialized noncausal recursive connectionist architecture and a heuristic graph search algorithm. The network is trained using candidate graphs generated during search. We show how the process of selecting and generating training examples is important for tuning the precision of the predictor.

Algorithms↗

Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM).

Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) is a technique to map the spatial distribution of nanosecond excited state lifetimes within microscopic images. FLIM systems have been implemented both in the frequency domain, using sinusoidally intensity-modulated excitation light and modulated detectors, and in the time domain, using pulsed excitation sources and time-correlated or time-gated detection. In this review we describe the different modes in which both frequency-domain and time-domain FLIM instruments have been constructed in wide-field and in point-scanning (confocal) microscopes. Also, novel additional strategies for constructing FLIM-instruments are discussed. In addition to technical implementation, this chapter gives an overview of the application of FLIM in cell biological en biomedical studies. Especially for in situ protein-protein interaction studies using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), FLIM has proven to be a robust and established technique in modern cell biology. Other application areas, including usage of lifetime contrast for ion-imaging, quantitative imaging, tissue characterization and medical applications, are discussed.

Equipment Design↗

Latency-associated nuclear antigen of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus up-regulates transcription of human telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter through interaction with transcription factor Sp1.

Telomerase is required for the maintenance of telomere length and is an important determinant for cell immortalization. In human cells, telomerase activity is due to the expression of its enzymatic subunit, human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT). The expression of hTERT is not typically detectable in healthy somatic human cells but is present in cancerous tissues and immortalized cells. We have previously shown that hTERT promoter activity is up-regulated by the Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)-encoded latency-associated nuclear antigen (LANA). LANA is expressed in all forms of human malignancies associated with KSHV. The hTERT promoter sequence located at positions -130 to +5 contains several Sp1 binding motifs and was shown be important for up-regulation by LANA. In this report, we demonstrate that hTERT promoter activity is due to the direct interaction of LANA with Sp1. The interaction of LANA with Sp1 was demonstrated through in vitro binding experiments and coimmunoprecipitation and is supported by the colocalization of these two molecules in the nuclei of KSHV-infected cells. Moreover, LANA modulates Sp1-mediated transcription in transient GAL4 fusion reporter assays. Mapping of the regions involved in binding and transcriptional activation showed that the amino terminus of LANA is the major site for interaction and up-regulation but that it can cooperate with the carboxy terminus to enhance these functions. An analysis of Sp1 binding to its cognate sequence corroborated the binding data. Together, our results suggest that the interaction of LANA with Sp1 up-regulates the telomerase promoter, potentially contributing to the immortalization of KSHV-infected cells.

Antigens, Viral↗

Mapping of heme-binding domains in soluble guanylyl cyclase beta1 subunit.

Soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) is activated upon the interaction of NO with heme in the sGC beta1 subunit. To identify the domains contributing to heme-binding, we constructed a series of deletion mutants of the beta1 subunit, and evaluated their heme-binding capability. Deletion mutants consisting of residues 1-120 [beta1(1-120)] and 80-385 [beta1(80-385)] were the shortest mutants exhibiting heme binding among the C-terminal and N-terminal-truncated mutants, respectively. The region common to both beta1(1-120) and beta1(80-385), i.e., residues 80-120, is therefore essential for heme binding, although the residues 341-385 play an auxiliary role in heme binding. Two deletion mutants, beta1(80-195) and beta1(60-195), which include only the essential region, exhibited strong heme binding and spectral properties similar to those of the nitrosyl complex of native sGC. Thus, these heme-binding core proteins may serve as model proteins for future studies on the tertiary structure of the nitrosyl complex of sGC.

Animals↗

Photoaffinity scanning in the mapping of the peptide receptor interface of class II G protein-coupled receptors.

The family of G protein-coupled receptors constitutes about 50% of the therapeutic drug targets used in clinical medicine today, although the mechanisms of ligand binding, activation and signal transduction for G protein-coupled receptors are not yet well defined. This review discusses ongoing research using the photoaffinity scanning method to map the bimolecular interface between class II G protein-coupled receptors and their ligands. Furthermore the available computer model of class II peptide ligand docking into the receptor, based on the positional constraints imposed by the photoaffinity scanning analyses, will be discussed briefly. The ultimate goal of these efforts is to understand the molecular basis of receptor binding and therefore to generate a template for rational drug design.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

ADP_EM: fast exhaustive multi-resolution docking for high-throughput coverage.

MOTIVATION: Efficient fitting tools are needed to take advantage of a fast growth of atomic models of protein domains from crystallography or comparative modeling, and low-resolution density maps of larger molecular assemblies. Here, we report a novel fitting algorithm for the exhaustive and fast overlay of partial high-resolution models into a low-resolution density map. The method incorporates a fast rotational search based on spherical harmonics (SH) combined with a simple translational scanning. RESULTS: This novel combination makes it possible to accurately dock atomic structures into low-resolution electron-density maps in times ranging from seconds to a few minutes. The high-efficiency achieved with simulated and experimental test cases preserves the exhaustiveness needed in these heterogeneous-resolution merging tools. The results demonstrate its efficiency, robustness and high-throughput coverage. AVAILABILITY: http://sbg.cib.csic.es/Software/ADP_EM. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Algorithms↗

Mapping the interaction of bradykinin 1-5 with the exodomain of human protease activated receptor 4.

The angiotensin converting enzyme breakdown product of bradykinin, bradykinin 1-5 (RPPGF), inhibits thrombin-induced human or mouse platelet aggregation. RPPGF binds to the exodomain of human protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR1). Studies determined if RPPGF also binds to the exodomain of human PAR4. RPPGF binds to a peptide of the thrombin cleavage site on PAR4. Recombinant wild-type and mutated exodomain of human PAR4 was prepared. The N-terminal arginine on RPPGF binds to the P2 position or proline46 on PAR4 to block thrombin cleavage. These data indicate that RPPGF influences thrombin activity by binding to the thrombin cleavage site on both PAR4 and PAR1.

Binding, Competitive↗

Text mining biomedical literature for discovering gene-to-gene relationships: a comparative study of algorithms.

Partitioning closely related genes into clusters has become an important element of practically all statistical analyses of microarray data. A number of computer algorithms have been developed for this task. Although these algorithms have demonstrated their usefulness for gene clustering, some basic problems remain. This paper describes our work on extracting functional keywords from MEDLINE for a set of genes that are isolated for further study from microarray experiments based on their differential expression patterns. The sharing of functional keywords among genes is used as a basis for clustering in a new approach called BEA-PARTITION in this paper. Functional keywords associated with genes were extracted from MEDLINE abstracts. We modified the Bond Energy Algorithm (BEA), which is widely accepted in psychology and database design but is virtually unknown in bioinformatics, to cluster genes by functional keyword associations. The results showed that BEA-PARTITION and hierarchical clustering algorithm outperformed k-means clustering and self-organizing map by correctly assigning 25 of 26 genes in a test set of four known gene groups. To evaluate the effectiveness of BEA-PARTITION for clustering genes identified by microarray profiles, 44 yeast genes that are differentially expressed during the cell cycle and have been widely studied in the literature were used as a second test set. Using established measures of cluster quality, the results produced by BEA-PARTITION had higher purity, lower entropy, and higher mutual information than those produced by k-means and self-organizing map. Whereas BEA-PARTITION and the hierarchical clustering produced similar quality of clusters, BEA-PARTITION provides clear cluster boundaries compared to the hierarchical clustering. BEA-PARTITION is simple to implement and provides a powerful approach to clustering genes or to any clustering problem where starting matrices are available from experimental observations.

Abstracting and Indexing↗

Identification of the secretion and translocation domain of the enteropathogenic and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli effector Cif, using TEM-1 beta-lactamase as a new fluorescence-based reporter.

Enteropathogenic and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EPEC and EHEC) strains are human and animal pathogens that inject effector proteins into host cells via a type III secretion system (TTSS). Cif is an effector protein which induces host cell cycle arrest and reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton. Cif is encoded by a lambdoid prophage present in most of the EPEC and EHEC strains. In this study, we analyzed the domain that targets Cif to the TTSS by using a new reporter system based on a translational fusion of the effector proteins with mature TEM-1 beta-lactamase. Translocation was detected directly in living host cells by using the fluorescent beta-lactamase substrate CCF2/AM. We show that the first 16 amino acids (aa) of Cif were necessary and sufficient to mediate translocation into the host cells. Similarly, the first 20 aa of the effector proteins Map, EspF, and Tir, which are encoded in the same region as the TTSS, mediated secretion and translocation in a type III-dependent but chaperone-independent manner. A truncated form of Cif lacking its first 20 aa was no longer secreted and translocated, but fusion with the first 20 aa of Tir, Map, or EspF restored both secretion and translocation. In addition, the chimeric proteins were fully able to trigger host cell cycle arrest and stress fiber formation. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that Cif is composed of a C-terminal effector domain and an exchangeable N-terminal translocation signal and that the TEM-1 reporter system is a convenient tool for the study of the translocation of toxins or effector proteins into host cells.

Actins↗

Bio-basis function neural network for prediction of protease cleavage sites in proteins.

The prediction of protease cleavage sites in proteins is critical to effective drug design. One of the important issues in constructing an accurate and efficient predictor is how to present nonnumerical amino acids to a model effectively. As this issue has not yet been paid full attention and is closely related to model efficiency and accuracy, we present a novel neural learning algorithm aimed at improving the prediction accuracy and reducing the time involved in training. The algorithm is developed based on the conventional radial basis function neural networks (RBFNNs) and is referred to as a bio-basis function neural network (BBFNN). The basic principle is to replace the radial basis function used in RBFNNs by a novel bio-basis function. Each bio-basis is a feature dimension in a numerical feature space, to which a nonnumerical sequence space is mapped for analysis. The bio-basis function is designed using an amino acid mutation matrix verified in biology. Thus, the biological content in protein sequences can be maximally utilized for accurate modeling. Mutual information (MI) is used to select the most informative bio-bases and an ensemble method is used to enhance a decision-making process, hence, improving the prediction accuracy further. The algorithm has been successfully verified in two case studies, namely the prediction of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) protease cleavage sites and trypsin cleavage sites in proteins.

Artificial Intelligence↗

High-throughput phenomics: experimental methods for mapping fluxomes.

Many technologies have been developed to help explain the phenotypic consequences of genetic and/or environmental modifications in areas like functional genomics, pharmaceutical research and metabolic engineering. The missing link in contemporary functional analyses that focus on the analysis of cellular components is the capacity to directly observe functional units. By linking genes and proteins to higher level biological functions, the molecular fluxes through metabolic networks (the fluxome) determine the cellular phenotype. Quantitative monitoring of such whole network operations by methods of metabolic flux analysis, thus bridges the gap by providing a global perspective of the integrated regulation at the transcriptional, translational and metabolic level. This review highlights recent developments towards high-throughput flux analysis.

Animals↗

Mapping netrin receptor binding reveals domains of Unc5 regulating its tyrosine phosphorylation.

Netrin and its receptors Unc5 and deleted in colorectal carcinoma (DCC) regulate axon guidance and cell migration. We defined domains involved in the interactions between netrin-1, DCC, and Unc5c. We show that Unc5 requires both Ig domains to interact with netrin. DCC binds through the fourth fibronectin type III domain, whereas netrin binds through multiple domains to both receptors. We examined the functional consequences of removing the netrin binding and nonbinding domains from Unc5 in vitro and in vivo. In human embryonic kidney 293 cells, removal of the netrin binding second Ig domain causes an increase in basal tyrosine phosphorylation, whereas removal of the netrin nonbinding thrombospondin domains decreases tyrosine phosphorylation. Moreover, experiments in Caenorhabditis elegans indicate that both netrin binding and nonbinding domains are necessary for phenotypic rescue of an unc-5 loss of function mutation.

Animals↗