Studies on in vitro proteolytic sensitivity of peptides inhibiting herpes simplex virus ribonucleotide reductases lead to discovery of a stable and potent inhibitor

Metal binding and structure-activity relationship of the metalloantibiotic peptide bacitracin

Bacitracin is a widely used metallopeptide antibiotic produced by Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus licheniformis with a potent bactericidal activity directed primarily against Gram-positive organisms. This antibiotic requires a divalent metal ion such as Zn(2+) for its biological activity, and has been reported to bind several other transition metal ions, including Mn(2+), Co(2+), Ni(2+), and Cu(2+). Despite the widespread use of bacitracin since its discovery in the early 1940s, the structure-activity relationship of this drug has not been established and the coordination chemistry of its metal complexes was not fully determined until recently. This antibiotic has been suggested to influence cell functioning through more than one route. Since bacterial resistance against bacitracin is still rare despite several decades of widespread use, this antibiotic can serve as an ideal lead for the design of potent peptidyl antibiotics lacking bacterial resistance. In this review, the results of physical (including NMR, EPR, and EXAFS) and molecular biological studies regarding the synthesis and structure of bacitracin, the coordination chemistry of its metal derivatives, the mechanism of its antibiotic actions, its influence on membrane function, and its structure and function relationship are discussed.

Affinity purification, overexpression, and characterization of chaperonin 10 homologues synthesized with and without N-terminal acetylation

Utilizing the ability of bacterial chaperonin 60 (GroEL) to functionally interact with chaperonin 10 (Cpn10) homologues in an ATP-dependent fashion, we have purified substantial amounts of mammalian, chloroplast, and thermophilic Cpn10 homologues from their natural host. In addition, large amounts of recombinant rat Cpn10 were produced in Escherichia coli and found to be identical to its authentic counterpart except for the lack of N-terminal acetylation. By comparing these two forms of Cpn10, it was found that acetylation does not influence the oligomeric structure of Cpn10 and is not essential for chaperone activity or mitochondrial import in vitro. In contrast, N-terminal acetylation proved crucial in the protection of Cpn10 against degradation by N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive proteases derived from organellar preparations of rat liver. The availability of large amounts of both affinity-purified and recombinant Cpn10 will facilitate not only further characterization of the eukaryotic folding machinery but also further scrutiny of the reported function of Cpn10 as early pregnancy factor.

Investigation of an octapeptide inhibitor of Escherichia coli ribonucleotide reductase by transferred nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy

Several peptides contained within the C-terminal sequence of the B2 subunit of Escherichia coli ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) were investigated for their ability to inhibit the enzyme, presumably by interfering with association of the B1 and B2 subunits. AcYLVGQIDSE, corresponding by sequence homology to a nonapeptide that inhibits herpes simplex RNR [Gaudreau et al. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 12413] shows no inhibition of the E. coli enzyme (IC50 greater than 3 mM), whereas AcDDLSNFQL, the C-terminal octapeptide of the E. coli B2 subunit, is a noncompetitive inhibitor (Ki = 160 microM). Neither bradykinin (RPPGFSPFR) nor the pentapeptide AcSNFQL inhibits the E. coli enzyme. Transferred nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy was used to probe the conformation of AcDDLSNFQL when it is bound to the B1 subunit. These experiments suggest that the peptide adopts a turn in the region of Asn5 and Phe6 and that a hydrophobic cluster of the phenylalanine and leucine side chains is involved in the interaction surface.