Role of hydrophobic interactions in protein chain folding during biosynthesis

It has been found that hydrophobic potentials of 30- to 40-amino acid fragments of amino acid sequences of myoglobin, cytochrome b5, alpha-chymotrypsin, and seven other globular proteins analyzed are similar and correspond to free energies of formation of limited hydrophobic nuclei.

Transient regulation of c-fos, alpha B-crystallin, and hsp70 in muscle during recovery from contractile activity

Endurance exercise training increases the oxidative capacity of skeletal muscles, reflecting the induction of genes encoding enzymes of intermediary metabolism. To test the hypothesis that changes in gene expression may be triggered specifically during recovery from contractile activity, we quantified c-fos, alpha B-crystallin, 70-kDa heat shock protein (hsp70), myoglobin, and citrate synthase RNA in rabbit tibialis anterior muscle during recovery from intermittent (8 h/day), low-frequency (10 Hz) motor nerve stimulation. Recovery from a single 8-h bout of stimulation was characterized by large (> 10-fold) transient increases in c-fos, alpha B-crystallin, and hsp70 mRNA. Similar changes were noted during recovery after 7 or 14 days of stimulation (8 h/day). Myoglobin and citrate synthase mRNA were also induced during recovery, but the changes were of lesser magnitude (2- to 2.5-fold) and were observed only following repeated bouts of muscle activity (7th or 14th day) that promoted sustained (> 24 h) increases in these transcripts. These findings indicate that recovery from exercise is associated with specific transient changes in the expression of immediate early and stress protein genes, suggesting that the products of these genes may have specific roles in the remodeling process evoked by repeated bouts of contractile activity.

[Effects of hypoxia on myoglobin in cultured rat myocytes]

The effects of hyoxia and reoxygenation on myoglobin (Mb), cAMP, myocardial contractility and the effects of theophylline (an inhibitor of phosphodiesterase), procaine (an inhibitor of SR calcium release) on Mb expression were studied in cultured myocytes under hypoxic condition. Our results showed that hypoxia increased the Mb expression, but decreased cAMP and myocardial contractility. All these effects of hypoxia were recovered upon reoxygenation. The increase of Mb expression requires the participation of intracellular calcium and cAMP.

High-level expression and deuteration of sperm whale myoglobin. A study of its solvent structure by X-ray and neutron diffraction methods

Neutron diffraction has become one of the best ways to study light atoms, such as hydrogens. Hydrogen however has a negative coherent scattering factor, and a large incoherent scattering factor, while deuterium has virtually no incoherent scattering, but a large positive coherent scattering factor. Beside causing high background due to its incoherent scattering, the negative coherent scattering of hydrogen tends to cancel out the positive contribution from other atoms in a neutron density map. Therefore a fully deuterated sample will yield better diffraction data with stronger density in the hydrogen position. On this basis, a sperm whale myoglobin gene modified to include part of the A c11 protein gene has been cloned into the T7 expression system. Milligram amounts of fully deuterated holo-myoglobin have been obtained and used for crystallization. The synthetic sperm whale myoglobin crystallized in P2(1) space group isomorphous with the native protein crystal. A complete X-ray diffraction dataset at 1.5A has been collected. This X-ray dataset, and a neutron data set collected previously on a protonated carbon-monoxymyoglobin crystal have been used for solvent structure studies. Both X-ray and neutron data have shown that there are ordered hydration layers around the protein surface. Solvent shell analysis on the neutron data further has shown that the first hydration layer behaves differently around polar and apolar regions of the protein surface. Finally, the structure of per-deuterated myoglobin has been refined using all reflections to a R factor of 17%.

Postnatal development and plasticity of specialized muscle fiber characteristics in the hindlimb

Recent progress in defining molecular components of pathways controlling early stages of myogenesis has been substantial, but regulatory factors that govern the striking functional specialization of adult skeletal muscle fibers in vertebrate organisms have not yet been identified. A more detailed understanding of the temporal and spatial patterns by which specialized fiber characteristics arise may provide clues to the identity of the relevant regulatory factors. In this study, we used immunohistochemical, in situ hybridization, and Northern blot analyses to examine the time course and spatial characteristics of expression of myoglobin protein and mRNA during development of the distal hindlimb in the mouse. In adult animals, myoglobin is expressed selectively in oxidative, mitochondria-rich, fatigue-resistant myofibers, and it provides a convenient marker for this particular subset of specialized fibers. We observed only minimal expression of myoglobin in the hindlimb prior to the second day after birth, but a rapid and large (50-fold) induction of this gene in the ensuing neonatal period. Myoglobin expression was limited, however, to fibers located centrally within the limb which coexpress myosin isoforms characteristic of type I, IIA, and IIX fibers. This induction of myoglobin expression within the early postnatal period was accompanied by increased expression of nuclear genes encoding mitochondrial proteins, and exhibited a time course similar to the upregulation of myoglobin and mitochondrial proteins, and exhibited a time course similar to the upregulation of myoglobin and mitochondrial protein expression that can be induced in adult muscle fibers by continuous motor nerve stimulation. This comparison suggests that progressive locomotor activity of neonatal animals may provide signals which trigger the development of the specialized features of oxidative, fatigue-resistant skeletal muscle fibers.

Overexpression of myoglobin and assignment of its amide, C alpha and C beta resonances

Sperm whale apomyoglobin was expressed to high levels on minimal media and isotopically labeled with 13C and 15N nuclei. The isotopically labeled apoprotein was purified to homogeneity in a single step by reversed-phase chromatography and reconstituted with hemin and carbon monoxide gas for NMR analysis. Sequence-specific backbone 1HN, 15N and 13C alpha as well as side-chain 13C beta resonance assignments have been made for over 90% of the amino acids in the carbon monoxide complex of the protein. Resonance assignments were made by analysis of a series of 3D triple resonance spectra measured on the uniformly labeled sample. These assignments will provide the basis for analyzing the effects of point site mutations on the structure, stability and dynamics of the protein in solution.

Nuclear magnetic dipole interactions in field-oriented proteins: information for structure determination in solution

The measurement of dipolar contributions to the splitting of 15N resonances of 1H-15N amide pairs in multidimensional high-field NMR spectra of field-oriented cyanometmyoglobin is reported. The splittings appear as small field-dependent perturbations of normal scalar couplings. Assignment of more than 90 resonances to specific sequential sites in the protein allows correlation of the dipolar contributions with predictions based on the known susceptibility and known structure of the protein. Implications as an additional source of information for protein structure determination in solution are discussed.

Synergistic interactions between heterologous upstream activation elements and specific TATA sequences in a muscle-specific promoter

Previous investigations have defined three upstream activation elements--CCAC, A/T, and TATA sequences--necessary for muscle-specific transcription of the myoglobin gene. In the present study, we demonstrate that these three sequences elements, prepared as synthetic oligonucleotide cassettes, function synergistically to constitute a cell-type-specific transcription unit. Previously, cognate binding factors that recognize the CCAC and TATA elements were identified. In this study we determine that the A/T element binds two nuclear factors, including myocyte enhancer factor-2 (MEF-2) and an apparently unknown factor we provisionally termed ATF35 (A/T-binding factor, 35 kDa). Mutations that alter in vitro binding of either MEF-2 or ATF35 to this site diminish promoter function in vivo. Functional synergism between factors binding the CCAC and A/T elements is sensitive to subtle mutations in the TATA sequence, recapitulating the unusual preference for specific TATA variants exhibited by the native myoglobin promoter. These results provide new insights into mechanisms that underlie the distinctive pattern of myoglobin gene regulation in mammalian muscle development and lay a foundation for further studies to elucidate general principles of transcriptional control of complex mammalian promoters through combinatorial actions of heterologous transcriptional factors.

A method for probing the topography and interactions of proteins: footprinting of myoglobin

We describe a procedure for mapping residues on the surface of a protein molecule to its sequence, using a scheme that is analogous to nucleic acid footprinting. The protein is end labeled radioactively and subjected to limited proteolysis, and the products are analyzed by denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and autoradiography. The method is tested with the heme protein myoglobin and applied to mapping the (unknown) surface of the molecule lacking the heme group: apomyoglobin. Sites of protein-protein interaction can be identified, as illustrated by footprinting the association between myoglobin and an anti-myoglobin monoclonal antibody.

Structural characterization of an Ascaris myoglobin

Globin was purified from the body wall of adults of the parasitic nematode Ascaris suum. Internal peptide fragments were sequenced and cDNAs encoding a polypeptide of 154 amino acids isolated by polymerase chain reaction. The polypeptide lacks a signal sequence, identifying it as a cytosolic myoglobin-like species. The native protein is a dimer. The predicted amino acid sequence shares several unusual substitutions with other nematode globins. Like the abundant pseudocoelomic A. suum hemoglobin it has a Tyr at B10 and a Gln at E7, substitutions thought to be determinants of high affinity. However, the 10-fold lower oxygen affinity of body wall globin suggests that in this molecule Tyr(B10) does not form an additional hydrogen bond with the heme bound oxygen. Evolutionary analysis of the nematode globins suggests that the monodomain myoglobin-like molecules and the two-domain hemoglobin-like molecules diverged about 500 million years ago, well before the divergence of the ascarid genera Ascaris and Pseudoterranova. The absence of introns in the A. suum myoglobin, in contrast to other nematode globin genes, is consistent with the hypothesis that during evolution intron elimination was the predominant event.

Ultrastructural localization of myoglobin mRNA in human skeletal muscle

The intracellular localization of myoglobin mRNA in the skeletal muscles of normal subjects was examined by in situ hybridization using a biotin-labeled cDNA probe. By phase-contrast microscopy, myoglobin mRNA signals were demonstrated to be located preferentially on the A-band. Two different methods of tissue preparation, i.e., pre-embedding method and post-embedding method, were used for the electron microscopic study. With the pre-embedding method, only a few gold particles were found to be associated with cytoskeletal filaments in the intermyofibrillar space. With the post-embedding method, superior preservation of sections and higher signal intensities were obtained. Although most of the gold particles were localized on the A-band, some were seen in other regions; i.e., in the intermyofibrillar space, perinuclear space, or the I-band, where myoglobin is localized. These findings suggest that myoglobin is primarily synthesized on the A-band, where ribosomes predominantly exist, although myoglobin is also localized on the I-band. The predominant localization of myoglobin mRNA on the A-band may aid in the mRNA transcription and may be related to the regulation of myoglobin synthesis in skeletal muscle cells.

Effects of different doses of thiopentone on the increase in serum myoglobin induced by suxamethonium in children

We have studied the effects of different doses of thiopentone on the increase in serum myoglobin after administration of suxamethonium during inhalation induction of anaesthesia in children. Forty-three children were anaesthetized with halothane and nitrous oxide in oxygen and allocated to four groups: group S received suxamethonium 1 mg kg-1 to facilitate intubation; group ST2 received thiopentone 2 mg kg-1 and group ST4 received thiopentone 4 mg kg-1, before administration of suxamethonium 1 mg kg-1; group N did not receive thiopentone or suxamethonium. Serum myoglobin and creatine kinase (CK) concentrations were measured until 60 min after the injection of suxamethonium. Both myoglobin and CK concentrations increased in the three groups receiving suxamethonium. There were no significant differences between groups S and ST2, but the myoglobin concentration was less in group ST4 than in groups S and ST2. A significant difference in CK concentration was found only between groups ST2 and ST4 at 60 min. In group N, both values remained reasonably constant. Thiopentone 4 mg kg-1, but not 2 mg kg-1, attenuated the increase. The results indicate that to prevent a marked elevation in serum myoglobin after administration of suxamethonium, thiopentone 4 mg kg-1 should be administered.

Myoglobin and enzyme adaptations in erector spinae muscles in thoracal scoliosis

Bilateral biopsies from the erector spinae muscles were taken during surgery from 10 females and two males (mean age 14, range 13-17 years) with thoracal scoliosis for 6 years (range 2-11 years). The biopsies were analysed for myoglobin (MYO), citrate synthase (CS) and creatine kinase MB (CK-MB). The severity of scioliosis was estimated by Cobb's angle, the greater the angle the more severe the disease. The convex/concave side ratio (CVX/CCV) was for CS 1.3 +/- 0.4 (P less than 0.01), CK 0.9 +/- 0.1 (P less than 0.05), CK-MB 1.6 +/- 0.4 (P less than 0.01) and for MYO 1.1 +/- 0.2 (P greater than 0.05). No significant correlations were found between the CVX/CCV for CS, CK or CK-MB on the one hand and the Cobb's angle on the other. The CVX/CCV for MYO was, however, directly related to the angle (r = 0.80, P less than 0.01). For the lower range of angles (less than or equal to 59 degrees) the CVX/CCV for MYO was below unity (0.88, P greater than 0.05) and for the larger angles (greater than 59 degrees) above unity (1.23, P less than 0.05). In conclusion, a dissociation in the adaptive response of m. erector spinae in scoliosis between mitochondrial enzyme and myoglobin content was demonstrated.

Is hypoxia a stimulus for synthesis of oxidative enzymes and myoglobin?

To compare two situations with similar magnitudes of mitochondrial substrate flux but different blood oxygen contents, one-legged training was employed. Ten healthy subjects trained one leg under normobaric conditions and the other under hypobaric conditions. At each session the subjects trained each leg for 30 min. The absolute work intensity was the same for both legs and was chosen to correspond to 65% of the average (right and left) pretraining one-legged maximal work capacity. There were three to four training sessions per week for 4 wk. Muscle biopsies from each leg were taken before and after training and analyzed for fiber types, capillaries, myoglobin, and oxidative and glycolytic enzymes. The most striking finding was a greater increase of citrate synthase activity under hypobaric conditions than under normobaric conditions. In addition, the myoglobin content increased in the leg trained under hypobaric conditions, whereas it tended to decrease in the normobarically trained leg. Because both legs were trained at the same intensity, the oxygen turnover and the substrate flux through the carboxylic acid cycle and the respiratory chain must have been of similar magnitude. Thus a difference in substrate flux is less likely to have caused the differences in enzyme activities and myoglobin content between training under normobaric and hypobaric conditions. Instead, the stimulus seems to be related to the blood oxygen content or tension.

Expression of bovine myoglobin cDNA as a functionally active holoprotein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We isolated a cDNA clone for myoglobin mRNA from fetal bovine skeletal muscle using a DNA fragment of human myoglobin exon 2 as a probe. The complete coding sequence of myoglobin as well as the 3'- and part of the 5'-nontranslatable sequences (546 and 66 basepairs, respectively) were determined. The amino acid sequence predicted from the nucleotide sequence was in agreement with that determined in the purified protein from adult bovine cardiac muscle (Han, K. K., Dautrevaux, M., Chaila, X., & Biserte, G. [1970] Eur. J. Biochem. 16, 465-471), except for eight amino acid residues: Val-99----Ile,Ile-101----Val, Asn-122----Asp, Ala-124----Gly, Gly-129----Ala, Ala-142----Met, Glu-144----Ala, and Lys-145----Gln. When the myoglobin cDNA was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae under the control of the GAL7 promoter, myoglobin was synthesized as a functionally active holoprotein which bound molecular oxygen reversibly. The amount of myoglobin reached nearly 1% of the total extractable protein in the yeast. N-terminal sequence analysis of the produced myoglobin revealed a glycine residue at the terminus, indicating that as in native muscle the N-terminal Met was removed in yeast by processing.

Enzymatic capacity and protein synthesis in human muscle postoperatively

The glycolytic and aerobic oxidative capacity in skeletal muscle was investigated to reveal if the decrease seen in muscle protein synthesis is accompanied by a fall in the enzymatic capacity to oxidize substrates. Six patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery were investigated by percutaneous muscle biopsies taken before surgery and on the first and third postoperative days. Protein synthesis as assessed by the polyribosome concentration was 40% lower on the third day postoperatively than before surgery (p less than 0.01). The glycolytic and oxidative capacity was evaluated by determining the activity of eight key enzymes in the intracellular oxidative metabolism, namely total creatine kinase (CK), the isozymes CK-MB and mitochondrial CK, lactate dehydrogenase, citrate synthase, aspartate aminotransferase, and phosphofructokinase, and also the concentration of myoglobin. None of these parameters were affected in the immediate postoperative period independently of the provision of nutritional support. It was concluded that the decrease in protein synthesis is not accompanied by a concomitant decline in the enzymatic oxidative capacity in skeletal muscle in the period immediately following elective surgery.

Apomyoglobin as a molecular recognition surface: expression, reconstitution and crystallization of recombinant porcine myoglobin in Escherichia coli

Recombinant porcine myoglobin has been produced in Escherichia coli using the lambda cII fusion expression system of Nagai and Thøgersen [Nature, 309, 810-812 (1984)]. After processing and reconstitution with haem, the protein is gel-electrophoretically and spectrophotometrically indistinguishable from native pig myoglobin. Large crystals of both native and recombinant porcine myoglobin were grown from 50 mM sodium phosphate, pH 7.1, 80% ammonium sulphate. The crystals belong to space group C2 (a = 156.9 A, b = 42.0 A, c = 92.2 A, beta = 127.9 degrees) and diffract to a nominal 2.5 A resolution. We plan to explore apomyoglobin as a binding surface in studies combining site-directed mutagenesis and X-ray analysis. These experiments will be extended by studying the binding of haem analogues to the mutant apoproteins.

Effects of inhibition of mitochondrial protein synthesis in skeletal muscle

To evaluate the participation of proteins derived from mitochondrial genes in the adaptive response of skeletal muscle to increased contractile activity, we administered chloramphenicol (CAP; 200-1,000 mg.kg-1.day-1), an inhibitor of translation from mitochondrial ribosomes, to adult rabbits undergoing electrical stimulation of the tibialis anterior muscle of one hind limb. In unmedicated animals, 10 days of electrical stimulation increased maximum velocity (Vmax) of cytochrome oxidase and citrate synthase by 214 +/- 17 and 201 +/- 16% (P less than 0.01). In a dose-dependent manner, CAP abolished activity-induced increases in cytochrome oxidase Vmax, suggesting that augmented mitochondrial protein synthesis is necessary for the adaptive response of enzymes that require protein subunits encoded by mitochondrial genes. However, CAP failed to inhibit activity-induced changes in Vmax of enzymes derived exclusively from nuclear genes (citrate synthase and aldolase). CAP also failed to inhibit activity-induced increases in mRNA transcribed from the nuclear genes encoding beta-F1 ATPase or myoglobin, or from the mitochondrial genes encoding 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, or cytochrome b. These latter findings suggest that mitochondrial translation products do not participate in pretranslational regulation of these nuclear or mitochondrial genes in response to changes in contractile activity of skeletal muscle.

Myoglobin expression in L6 muscle cells. Role of differentiation and heme

Analysis of myoglobin levels in L6 cells (derived from rat skeletal muscle) by radioimmunoassay shows that myoglobin is not synthesized until after the cells differentiate to form multinucleated myotubes. Thereafter, myoglobin accumulates in a linear fashion for up to 20 days, the longest time for which the cultures may be reliably maintained. Treatment of cultures with hemin increased myoglobin levels in a dose-dependent manner resulting in a 70% increase in myoglobin with 20 microM hemin. Succinyl acetone, a heme synthesis inhibitor, reduced myoglobin levels by 40% while simultaneous treatment with hemin restored myoglobin levels to control values. Treatment of cultures with a variety of Fe(III) chelates known to enhance both iron accumulation and ferritin synthesis in L6 cells had no effect on myoglobin levels. delta-Aminolevulinic acid also had no effect on myoglobin levels. None of the treatments had any effect on either the total soluble protein or DNA content of the cultures, and, therefore, the observed effects appear to be specific for myoglobin. These results suggest that myoglobin is expressed as a function of differentiation and that intracellular heme exerts a regulatory effect on myoglobin levels.

Identification of photoproducts liberated by in vitro argon laser irradiation of atherosclerotic plaque, calcified cardiac valves and myocardium

To determine how laser light effects alterations in cardiovascular tissue, photoproducts liberated as the result of argon laser irradiation of atherosclerotic plaque, myocardium and calcified aortic valve leaflets were analyzed by gas chromatography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and absorbance spectroscopy. The products formed in gas phase are those expected when proteins and porphyrins are pyrolyzed--light hydrocarbon fragments, carbon monoxide and water vapor. The laser-generated products dissolved in solution are those expected when a protein chain or porphyrin ring is degraded in a thermal reaction, namely protein fragments and nitrogen heterocyclic ring fragments. These photoproducts are those typical of combustion or thermal degradation, and indicate that the fundamental nature of laser irradiation of coronary plaque, myocardium and calcified valve leaflets is thermal rather than photochemical. Thermal degradation of myocardium is more extensive than thermal degradation of atherosclerotic arteries or calcified valves because the red hue of myoglobin-containing myocardium enhances the absorption of the blue-green argon laser light. In contrast, the yellow-white hue of both atherosclerotic plaque and calcified aortic valve leaflets allows less complete absorbance of the argon laser light, leading to a lesser amount of converted heat and, therefore, less complete thermal degradation.