On-column tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine reduction and IC5-maleimide labeling during purification of a RpoC fragment on a nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid Column

In Situ Quenching of Trialkylphosphine Reducing Agents Using Water-Soluble PEG-Azides Improves Maleimide Conjugation to Proteins

Trialkylphosphines tris(2-carboxy-ethyl)-phosphine and tris(3-hydroxypropyl)-phosphine are popular reagents for the reduction of cysteine residues in bioconjugation reactions using maleimides. However, it has been demonstrated that these phosphines are reactive toward maleimide, necessitating their removal before the addition of the Michael acceptor. Here, a method using water-soluble PEG-azides is reported for the quenching of trialkylphosphines in situ, which is demonstrated to improve the level of maleimide conjugation to proteins.

Rapid incorporation of functional rhodopsin into nanoscale apolipoprotein bound bilayer (NABB) particles

Human apolipoprotein A-I (apo A-I) and its engineered constructs form discoidal lipid bilayers upon interaction with lipids in vitro. We now report the cloning, expression, and purification of apo A-I derived from zebrafish (Danio rerio), which combines with phospholipids to form similar discoidal bilayers and may prove to be superior to human apo A-I constructs for rapid reconstitution of seven-transmembrane helix receptors into nanoscale apolipoprotein bound bilayers (NABBs). We characterized NABBs by gel-filtration chromatography, native polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis, UV-visible photobleaching difference spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. We used electron microscopy to determine the stoichiometry and orientation of rhodopsin (rho)-containing NABBs prepared under various conditions and correlated stability and signaling efficiency of rho in NABBs with either one or two receptors. We discovered that the specific activity of G protein coupling for single rhos sequestered in individual NABBs was nearly identical with that of two rhos per NABB under conditions where stoichiometry and orientation could be inferred by electron microscopy imaging. Thermal stability of rho in NABBs was superior to that of rho in various commonly used detergents. We conclude that the NABB system using engineered zebrafish apo A-I is a native-like membrane mimetic system for G-protein-coupled receptors and discuss strategies for rapid incorporation of expressed membrane proteins into NABBs.

Tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine stabilization of RNA: comparison with dithiothreitol for use with nucleic acid and thiophosphoryl chemistry

We assessed the utility of the sulfhydryl reductant Tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine (TCEP) for both nucleic acid and thiophosphate chemistry, including its effects on organomercurial gel electrophoresis, RNA catalysis, RNA backbone stability, and the intrinsic stability of TCEP. The sulfhydryls of dithiothreitol (DTT) compete with thiophosphates for binding to the mercury within [(N-acryloylamino)phenyl] mercuric chloride (APM) polyacrylamide gels, whereas millimolar concentrations of TCEP gave no difference in the fraction of thiophosphorylated RNA retained on the APM interface relative to samples containing no reductant. Ribozyme activity in TCEP, assessed by the self-thiophosphorylating Kin.46 ribozyme, was unaffected by the presence of DTT or TCEP or by the absence of reductant, as measured on APM gels and evaluated by Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Unexpectedly, TCEP more than doubled the half-life of full-length RNA at 50 and 70 degrees C, whether in 5 or 50mM MgCl(2), relative to DTT and the absence of reductant. Under these same conditions, the 5(')-thiophosphate showed negligible decay, and TCEP was more stable than DTT. TCEP thermostability was equivalent in the presence of 5 or 50mM MgCl(2) and 10mM adenosine or ATP.

Luminescence resonance energy transfer-based high-throughput screening assay for inhibitors of essential protein-protein interactions in bacterial RNA polymerase

The binding of sigma factors to core RNA polymerase is essential for the specific initiation of transcription in eubacteria and is thus critical for cell growth. Since the responsible protein-binding regions are highly conserved among all eubacteria but differ significantly from eukaryotic RNA polymerases, sigma factor binding is a promising target for drug discovery. A homogeneous assay for sigma binding to RNA polymerase (Escherichia coli) based on luminescence resonance energy transfer (LRET) was developed by using a europium-labeled sigma70 and an IC5-labeled fragment of the beta' subunit of RNA polymerase (amino acid residues 100 through 309). Inhibition of sigma binding was measured by the loss of LRET through a decrease in IC5 emission. The technical advances offered by LRET resulted in a very robust assay suitable for high-throughput screening, and LRET was successfully used to screen a crude natural-product library. We illustrate this method as a powerful tool to investigate any essential protein-protein interaction for basic research and drug discovery.