1
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Konttinen O, Carmody J, Kurnik M, Johnson KA, Reich N. High fidelity DNA strand-separation is the major specificity determinant in DNA methyltransferase CcrM's catalytic mechanism. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:6883-6898. [PMID: 37326016 PMCID: PMC10359602 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Revised: 04/29/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Strand-separation is emerging as a novel DNA recognition mechanism but the underlying mechanisms and quantitative contribution of strand-separation to fidelity remain obscure. The bacterial DNA adenine methyltransferase, CcrM, recognizes 5'GANTC'3 sequences through a DNA strand-separation mechanism with unusually high selectivity. To explore this novel recognition mechanism, we incorporated Pyrrolo-dC into cognate and noncognate DNA to monitor the kinetics of strand-separation and used tryptophan fluorescence to follow protein conformational changes. Both signals are biphasic and global fitting showed that the faster phase of DNA strand-separation was coincident with the protein conformational transition. Non-cognate sequences did not display strand-separation and methylation was reduced > 300-fold, providing evidence that strand-separation is a major determinant of selectivity. Analysis of an R350A mutant showed that the enzyme conformational step can occur without strand-separation, so the two events are uncoupled. A stabilizing role for the methyl-donor (SAM) is proposed; the cofactor interacts with a critical loop which is inserted between the DNA strands, thereby stabilizing the strand-separated conformation. The results presented here are broadly applicable to the study of other N6-adenine methyltransferases that contain the structural features implicated in strand-separation, which are found widely dispersed across many bacterial phyla, including human and animal pathogens, and some Eukaryotes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia Konttinen
- Biomolecular Science and Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Jason Carmody
- Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Martin Kurnik
- Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Kenneth A Johnson
- Life Sciences Interdisciplinary Graduate Program, Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Norbert Reich
- Biomolecular Science and Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
- Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
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2
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Leung KK, Downs AM, Ortega G, Kurnik M, Plaxco KW. Elucidating the Mechanisms Underlying the Signal Drift of Electrochemical Aptamer-Based Sensors in Whole Blood. ACS Sens 2021; 6:3340-3347. [PMID: 34491055 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.1c01183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The ability to monitor drugs, metabolites, hormones, and other biomarkers in situ in the body would greatly advance both clinical practice and biomedical research. To this end, we are developing electrochemical aptamer-based (EAB) sensors, a platform technology able to perform real-time, in vivo monitoring of specific molecules irrespective of their chemical or enzymatic reactivity. An important obstacle to the deployment of EAB sensors in the challenging environments found in the living body is signal drift, whereby the sensor signal decreases over time. To date, we have demonstrated a number of approaches by which this drift can be corrected sufficiently well to achieve good measurement precision over multihour in vivo deployments. To achieve a much longer in vivo measurement duration, however, will likely require that we understand and address the sources of this effect. In response, here, we have systematically examined the mechanisms underlying the drift seen when EAB sensors and simpler, EAB-like devices are challenged in vitro at 37 °C in whole blood as a proxy for in vivo conditions. Our results demonstrate that electrochemically driven desorption of a self-assembled monolayer and fouling by blood components are the two primary sources of signal loss under these conditions, suggesting targeted approaches to remediating this degradation and thus improving the stability of EAB sensors and other, similar electrochemical biosensor technologies when deployed in the body.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaylyn K. Leung
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Alex M. Downs
- Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Gabriel Ortega
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Martin Kurnik
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Kevin W. Plaxco
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
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3
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Ortega G, Kurnik M, Gautam BK, Plaxco KW. Attachment of Proteins to a Hydroxyl-Terminated Surface Eliminates the Stabilizing Effects of Polyols. J Am Chem Soc 2020; 142:15349-15354. [PMID: 32786756 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.0c05719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
The physics of proteins interacting with surfaces can differ significantly from those seen when the same proteins are free in bulk solution. As an example, we describe here the extent to which site-specific attachment to a chemically well-defined macroscopic surface alters the ability of several stabilizing and destabilizing cosolutes to modulate protein folding thermodynamics. We determined this via guanidinium denaturations performed in the presence of varying concentrations of cosolutes when proteins were either site-specifically attached to self-assembled monolayers on gold or free in bulk solution. Doing this we found that the extent to which guanidinium (a destabilizing Hofmeister cation), sulfate (a stabilizing Hofmeister anion), and urea (a neutral denaturant) alter the folding free energy remains indistinguishable whether proteins are surface-attached or free in bulk solution. In sharp contrast, however, neutral osmolytes sucrose and glycerol, which significantly stabilize proteins in bulk solution, do not measurably affect their stability when they are attached to a hydroxyl-terminated surface. In contrast, we recovered bulk solution-like stabilization when the attachment surface was instead carboxyl-terminated. It thus appears that chemistry-specific surface interactions can dramatically alter the way in which biomolecules interact with other components of the system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Ortega
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States.,Center for Bioengineering, University of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Martin Kurnik
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States.,Center for Bioengineering, University of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Bishal K Gautam
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Kevin W Plaxco
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States.,Center for Bioengineering, University of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
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4
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Kurnik M, Pang EZ, Plaxco KW. An Electrochemical Biosensor Architecture Based on Protein Folding Supports Direct Real‐Time Measurements in Whole Blood. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.202007256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Martin Kurnik
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry University of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
- Center for Bioengineering University of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
| | - Eric Z. Pang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry University of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
- Center for Bioengineering University of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
| | - Kevin W. Plaxco
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry University of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
- Center for Bioengineering University of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
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5
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Kurnik M, Pang EZ, Plaxco KW. An Electrochemical Biosensor Architecture Based on Protein Folding Supports Direct Real-Time Measurements in Whole Blood. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2020; 59:18442-18445. [PMID: 32668060 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202007256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2020] [Revised: 07/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The ability to monitor drug and biomarker concentrations in the body with high frequency and in real time would revolutionize our understanding of biology and our capacity to personalize medicine. The few in vivo molecular sensors that currently exist, however, all rely on the specific chemical or enzymatic reactivity of their targets and thus are not generalizable. In response, we demonstrate here an electrochemical sensing architecture based on binding-induced protein folding that is 1) independent of the reactivity of its targets, 2) reagentless, real-time, and with a resolution of seconds, and 3) selective enough to deploy in undiluted bodily fluids. As a proof of principle, we use the SH3 domain from human Fyn kinase to build a sensor that discriminates between the protein's peptide targets and responds rapidly and quantitatively even when challenged in whole blood. The resulting sensor architecture could drastically expand the chemical space accessible to continuous, real-time biosensors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Kurnik
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.,Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Eric Z Pang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.,Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Kevin W Plaxco
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.,Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
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6
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Konttinen OR, Reich NO, Carmody J, Kurnik M. Investigation of the DNA strand separation step by DNA methyltransferase
Caulobacter Crescentus. FASEB J 2020. [DOI: 10.1096/fasebj.2020.34.s1.00658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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7
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Abstract
The faster a disease can be diagnosed, the sooner effective treatment can be initiated, motivating a drive to replace standard laboratory techniques with point-of-care technologies that return answers in minutes rather than hours. Thus motivated, we describe the development of an E-DNA scaffold sensor for the rapid and convenient measurement of antibodies diagnostic of syphilis. To achieve this (and in contrast to previous sensors of this class, which relied on single, linear epitopes for detection), we utilized a near full-length antigen as the sensor's recognition element, allowing us to simultaneously display multiple epitopes. The resultant sensor is able to detect antibodies against Treponema pallidum pallidum, the causative agent of syphilis, at clinically relevant concentrations in samples in less than 10 min. Preliminary results obtained using sero-positive and sero-negative human samples suggest the clinical sensitivity and specificity of the approach compare well to current gold-standard tests, while being simple and rapid enough to deploy at the point of care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan E Ogden
- Department of Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
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8
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Dauphin-Ducharme P, Yang K, Arroyo-Currás N, Ploense KL, Zhang Y, Gerson J, Kurnik M, Kippin TE, Stojanovic MN, Plaxco KW. Electrochemical Aptamer-Based Sensors for Improved Therapeutic Drug Monitoring and High-Precision, Feedback-Controlled Drug Delivery. ACS Sens 2019; 4:2832-2837. [PMID: 31556293 PMCID: PMC6886665 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.9b01616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 113] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
The electrochemical aptamer-based (E-AB) sensing platform appears to be a convenient (rapid, single-step, and calibration-free) and modular approach to measure concentrations of specific molecules (irrespective of their chemical reactivity) directly in blood and even in situ in the living body. Given these attributes, the platform may thus provide significant opportunities to render therapeutic drug monitoring (the clinical practice in which dosing is adjusted in response to plasma drug measurements) as frequent and convenient as the measurement of blood sugar has become for diabetics. The ability to measure arbitrary molecules in the body in real time could even enable closed-loop feedback control over plasma drug levels in a manner analogous to the recently commercialized controlled blood sugar systems. As initial exploration of this, we describe here the selection of an aptamer against vancomycin, a narrow therapeutic window antibiotic for which therapeutic monitoring is a critical part of the standard of care, and its adaptation into an electrochemical aptamer-based (E-AB) sensor. Using this sensor, we then demonstrate: (i) rapid (seconds) and convenient (single-step and calibration-free) measurement of plasma vancomycin in finger-prick-scale samples of whole blood, (ii) high-precision measurement of subject-specific vancomycin pharmacokinetics (in a rat animal model), and (iii) high-precision, closed-loop feedback control over plasma levels of the drug (in a rat animal model). The ability to not only track (with continuous-glucose-monitor-like measurement frequency and convenience) but also actively control plasma drug levels provides an unprecedented route toward improving therapeutic drug monitoring and, more generally, the personalized, high-precision delivery of pharmacological interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippe Dauphin-Ducharme
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Center for Bioengineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Kyungae Yang
- Center for Innovative Diagnostic and Therapeutic Approaches, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, United States
| | - Netzahualcóyotl Arroyo-Currás
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Kyle L. Ploense
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Center for Bioengineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Yameng Zhang
- Center for Innovative Diagnostic and Therapeutic Approaches, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, United States
| | - Julian Gerson
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Martin Kurnik
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Center for Bioengineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Tod E. Kippin
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Milan N. Stojanovic
- Center for Innovative Diagnostic and Therapeutic Approaches, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, United States
| | - Kevin W. Plaxco
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Center for Bioengineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
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9
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Curtis SD, Ploense KL, Kurnik M, Ortega G, Parolo C, Kippin TE, Plaxco KW, Arroyo-Currás N. Open Source Software for the Real-Time Control, Processing, and Visualization of High-Volume Electrochemical Data. Anal Chem 2019; 91:12321-12328. [PMID: 31462040 PMCID: PMC7336365 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.9b02553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
![]()
Electrochemical sensors
are major players in the race for improved
molecular diagnostics due to their convenience, temporal resolution,
manufacturing scalability, and their ability to support real-time
measurements. This is evident in the ever-increasing number of health-related
electrochemical sensing platforms, ranging from single-measurement
point-of-care devices to wearable devices supporting immediate and
continuous monitoring. In support of the need for such systems to
rapidly process large data volumes, we describe here an open-source,
easily customizable, multiplatform compatible program for the real-time
control, processing, and visualization of electrochemical data. The
software’s architecture is modular and fully documented, allowing
the easy customization of the code to support the processing of voltammetric
(e.g., square-wave and cyclic) and chronoamperometric data. The program,
which we have called Software for the Analysis and Continuous Monitoring of Electrochemical Systems (SACMES), also includes a graphical interface
allowing the user to easily change analysis parameters (e.g., signal/noise
processing, baseline correction) in real-time. To demonstrate the
versatility of SACMES we use it here to analyze the real-time data
output by (1) the electrochemical, aptamer-based measurement of a
specific small-molecule target, (2) a monoclonal antibody-detecting
DNA-scaffold sensor, and (3) the determination of the folding thermodynamics
of an electrode-attached, redox-reporter-modified protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel D Curtis
- Center for Bioengineering , University of California Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California 93106 , United States.,Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences , Johns Hopkins School of Medicine , Baltimore , Maryland 21205 , United States
| | - Kyle L Ploense
- Center for Bioengineering , University of California Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California 93106 , United States
| | - Martin Kurnik
- Center for Bioengineering , University of California Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California 93106 , United States.,Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , University of California Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California 93106 , United States
| | - Gabriel Ortega
- Center for Bioengineering , University of California Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California 93106 , United States.,Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , University of California Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California 93106 , United States
| | - Claudio Parolo
- Center for Bioengineering , University of California Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California 93106 , United States.,Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , University of California Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California 93106 , United States
| | - Tod E Kippin
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences , University of California Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California 93106 , United States.,Neuroscience Research Institute , University of California Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California 93106 , United States.,Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology , University of California Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California 93106 , United States
| | - Kevin W Plaxco
- Center for Bioengineering , University of California Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California 93106 , United States.,Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , University of California Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California 93106 , United States
| | - Netzahualcóyotl Arroyo-Currás
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences , Johns Hopkins School of Medicine , Baltimore , Maryland 21205 , United States
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10
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Ortega G, Kurnik M, Dauphin‐Ducharme P, Li H, Arroyo‐Currás N, Caceres A, Plaxco KW. Surface Attachment Enhances the Thermodynamic Stability of Protein L. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201812231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Ortega
- Department of Chemistry and BiochemistryUniversity of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
- Center for BioengineeringUniversity of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
- Protein Stability and Inherited Disease LaboratoryCIC bioGUNE Bizkaia Science and Technology Park, building 800 48160 Derio Spain
| | - Martin Kurnik
- Department of Chemistry and BiochemistryUniversity of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
- Center for BioengineeringUniversity of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
| | - Philippe Dauphin‐Ducharme
- Department of Chemistry and BiochemistryUniversity of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
- Center for BioengineeringUniversity of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
| | - Hui Li
- Department of Chemistry and BiochemistryUniversity of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
- Center for BioengineeringUniversity of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
- Engineering Research Center of Nano-Geomaterials of Ministry of EducationFaculty of Materials Science and ChemistryUniversity of Geosciences Wuhan 430074 China
| | - Netzahualcóyotl Arroyo‐Currás
- Department of Chemistry and BiochemistryUniversity of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
- Center for BioengineeringUniversity of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular SciencesJohns Hopkins School of Medicine Baltimore MD 93106 USA
| | - Amanda Caceres
- Department of Chemistry and BiochemistryUniversity of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
| | - Kevin W. Plaxco
- Department of Chemistry and BiochemistryUniversity of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
- Center for BioengineeringUniversity of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA
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11
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Ortega G, Kurnik M, Dauphin Ducharme P, Li H, Arroyo-Curras N, Gautam B, Plaxco K. Understanding the Biophysics of Protein-Surface Interactions. Biophys J 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2018.11.2508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022] Open
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12
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Ortega G, Kurnik M, Dauphin-Ducharme P, Li H, Arroyo-Currás N, Caceres A, Plaxco KW. Surface Attachment Enhances the Thermodynamic Stability of Protein L. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2019; 58:1714-1718. [PMID: 30549169 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201812231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2018] [Revised: 12/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Despite the importance of protein-surface interactions in both biology and biotechnology, our understanding of their origins is limited due to a paucity of experimental studies of the thermodynamics behind such interactions. In response, we have characterized the extent to which interaction with a chemically well-defined macroscopic surface alters the stability of protein L. To do so, we site-specifically attached a redox-reporter-modified protein variant to a hydroxy-terminated monolayer on a gold surface and then used electrochemistry to monitor its guanidine denaturation and determine its folding free energy. Comparison with the free energy seen in solution indicates that interaction with this surface stabilizes the protein by 6 kJ mol-1 , a value that is in good agreement with theoretical estimates of the entropic consequences of surface-induced excluded volume effects, thus suggesting that chemically specific interactions with this surface (e.g., electrostatic interactions) are limited in magnitude.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Ortega
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.,Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.,Protein Stability and Inherited Disease Laboratory, CIC bioGUNE, Bizkaia Science and Technology Park, building 800, 48160, Derio, Spain
| | - Martin Kurnik
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.,Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Philippe Dauphin-Ducharme
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.,Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Hui Li
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.,Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.,Engineering Research Center of Nano-Geomaterials of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Materials Science and Chemistry, University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Netzahualcóyotl Arroyo-Currás
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.,Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.,Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 93106, USA
| | - Amanda Caceres
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Kevin W Plaxco
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.,Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
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13
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Reich NO, Dang E, Kurnik M, Pathuri S, Woodcock CB. The highly specific, cell cycle-regulated methyltransferase from Caulobacter crescentus relies on a novel DNA recognition mechanism. J Biol Chem 2018; 293:19038-19046. [PMID: 30323065 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra118.005212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2018] [Revised: 10/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Two DNA methyltransferases, Dam and β-class cell cycle-regulated DNA methyltransferase (CcrM), are key mediators of bacterial epigenetics. CcrM from the bacterium Caulobacter crescentus (CcrM C. crescentus, methylates adenine at 5'-GANTC-3') displays 105-107-fold sequence discrimination against noncognate sequences. However, the underlying recognition mechanism is unclear. Here, CcrM C. crescentus activity was either improved or mildly attenuated with substrates having one to three mismatched bp within or adjacent to the recognition site, but only if the strand undergoing methylation is left unchanged. By comparison, single-mismatched substrates resulted in up to 106-fold losses of activity with α (Dam) and γ-class (M.HhaI) DNA methyltransferases. We found that CcrM C. crescentus has a greatly expanded DNA-interaction surface, covering six nucleotides on the 5' side and eight nucleotides on the 3' side of its recognition site. Such a large interface may contribute to the enzyme's high sequence fidelity. CcrM C. crescentus displayed the same sequence discrimination with single-stranded substrates, and a surprisingly large (>107-fold) discrimination against ssRNA was largely due to the presence of two or more riboses within the cognate (DNA) site but not outside the site. Results from C-terminal truncations and point mutants supported our hypothesis that the recently identified C-terminal, 80-residue segment is essential for dsDNA recognition but is not required for single-stranded substrates. CcrM orthologs from Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Brucella abortus share some of these newly discovered features of the C. crescentus enzyme, suggesting that the recognition mechanism is conserved. In summary, CcrM C. crescentus uses a previously unknown DNA recognition mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norbert O Reich
- From the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106
| | - Eric Dang
- From the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106
| | - Martin Kurnik
- From the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106
| | - Sarath Pathuri
- From the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106
| | - Clayton B Woodcock
- From the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106
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Kurnik M, Sahin C, Andersen CB, Lorenzen N, Giehm L, Mohammad-Beigi H, Jessen CM, Pedersen JS, Christiansen G, Petersen SV, Staal R, Krishnamurthy G, Pitts K, Reinhart PH, Mulder FAA, Mente S, Hirst WD, Otzen DE. Potent α-Synuclein Aggregation Inhibitors, Identified by High-Throughput Screening, Mainly Target the Monomeric State. Cell Chem Biol 2018; 25:1389-1402.e9. [PMID: 30197194 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2018.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2018] [Revised: 05/12/2018] [Accepted: 08/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
α-Synuclein (αSN) aggregation is central to the etiology of Parkinson's disease (PD). Large-scale screening of compounds to identify aggregation inhibitors is challenged by stochastic αSN aggregation and difficulties in detecting early-stage oligomers (αSOs). We developed a high-throughput screening assay combining SDS-stimulated αSN aggregation with FRET to reproducibly detect initial stages in αSN aggregation. We screened 746,000 compounds, leading to 58 hits that markedly inhibit αSN aggregation and reduce αSOs' membrane permeabilization activity. The most effective aggregation inhibitors were derivatives of (4-hydroxynaphthalen-1-yl)sulfonamide. They interacted strongly with the N-terminal part of monomeric αSN and reduced αSO-membrane interactions, possibly by affecting electrostatic interactions. Several compounds reduced αSO toxicity toward neuronal cell lines. The inhibitors introduced chemical modifications of αSN that were, however, not a prerequisite for inhibitory activity. We also identified several phenyl-benzoxazol compounds that promoted αSN aggregation (proaggregators). These compounds may be useful tools to modulate αSN aggregation in cellula.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Kurnik
- iNANO, Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 14, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Cagla Sahin
- iNANO, Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 14, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark; Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 10C, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | | | - Nikolai Lorenzen
- iNANO, Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 14, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Lise Giehm
- iNANO, Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 14, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Hossein Mohammad-Beigi
- iNANO, Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 14, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark; Biotechnology Group, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, P.O. Box 14115-143, Tehran, Iran
| | - Christian Moestrup Jessen
- iNANO, Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 14, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark; Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Langelandsgade 140, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Jan Skov Pedersen
- iNANO, Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 14, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark; Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Langelandsgade 140, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | | | | | | | | | - Keith Pitts
- Genentech, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Peter H Reinhart
- Forma Therapeutics, Inc.Institute for Applied Life Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 240 Thatcher Road, Amherst, MA 01003-9364, USA
| | - Frans A A Mulder
- iNANO, Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 14, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark; Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Langelandsgade 140, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Scot Mente
- Forma Therapeutics, Inc., 500 Arsenal Street, Suite 100, Watertown, MA 02472, USA
| | | | - Daniel E Otzen
- iNANO, Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 14, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark; Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 10C, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark.
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15
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Kang D, Sun S, Kurnik M, Morales D, Dahlquist FW, Plaxco KW. New Architecture for Reagentless, Protein-Based Electrochemical Biosensors. J Am Chem Soc 2017; 139:12113-12116. [PMID: 28789522 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.7b05953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Here we demonstrate a new class of reagentless, single-step sensors for the detection of proteins and peptides that is the electrochemical analog of fluorescence polarization (fluorescence anisotropy), a versatile optical approach widely employed to this same end. Our electrochemical sensors consist of a redox-reporter-modified protein (the "receptor") site-specifically anchored to an electrode via a short, flexible polypeptide linker. Interaction of the receptor with its binding partner alters the efficiency with which the reporter approaches the electrode surface, thus causing a change in redox current upon voltammetric interrogation. As our first proof-of-principle we employed the bacterial chemotaxis protein CheY as our receptor. Interaction with either of CheY's two binding partners, the P2 domain of the chemotaxis kinase, CheA, or the 16-residue "target region" of the flagellar switch protein, FliM, leads to easily measurable changes in output current that trace Langmuir isotherms within error of those seen in solution. Phosphorylation of the electrode-bound CheY decreases its affinity for CheA-P2 and enhances its affinity for FliM in a manner likewise consistent with its behavior in solution. As expected given the proposed sensor signaling mechanism, the magnitude of the binding-induced signal change depends on the placement of the redox reporter on the receptor. Following these preliminary studies with CheY, we also developed and characterized additional sensors aimed at the detection of specific antibodies using the relevant protein antigens as the receptor. These exhibit excellent detection limits for their targets without the use of reagents or wash steps. This novel, protein-based electrochemical sensing architecture provides a new and potentially promising approach to sensors for the single-step measurement of specific proteins and peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Di Kang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, ‡Interdepartmental Program in Biomolecular Science and Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Sheng Sun
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, ‡Interdepartmental Program in Biomolecular Science and Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Martin Kurnik
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, ‡Interdepartmental Program in Biomolecular Science and Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Demosthenes Morales
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, ‡Interdepartmental Program in Biomolecular Science and Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Frederick W Dahlquist
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, ‡Interdepartmental Program in Biomolecular Science and Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Kevin W Plaxco
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, ‡Interdepartmental Program in Biomolecular Science and Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
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Dauphin-Ducharme P, Arroyo-Currás N, Kurnik M, Ortega G, Li H, Plaxco KW. Simulation-Based Approach to Determining Electron Transfer Rates Using Square-Wave Voltammetry. Langmuir 2017; 33:4407-4413. [PMID: 28391695 PMCID: PMC5660319 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b00359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The efficiency with which square-wave voltammetry differentiates faradic and charging currents makes it a particularly sensitive electroanalytical approach, as evidenced by its ability to measure nanomolar or even picomolar concentrations of electroactive analytes. Because of the relative complexity of the potential sweep it uses, however, the extraction of detailed kinetic and mechanistic information from square-wave data remains challenging. In response, we demonstrate here a numerical approach by which square-wave data can be used to determine electron transfer rates. Specifically, we have developed a numerical approach in which we model the height and the shape of voltammograms collected over a range of square-wave frequencies and amplitudes to simulated voltammograms as functions of the heterogeneous rate constant and the electron transfer coefficient. As validation of the approach, we have used it to determine electron transfer kinetics in both freely diffusing and diffusionless surface-tethered species, obtaining electron transfer kinetics in all cases in good agreement with values derived using non-square-wave methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippe Dauphin-Ducharme
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Netzahualcóyotl Arroyo-Currás
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Martin Kurnik
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Gabriel Ortega
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- CIC bioGUNE, Bizkaia Technology Park, Building 801 A, 48170 Derio, Spain
| | - Hui Li
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Kevin W. Plaxco
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Center for Bioengineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
- Corresponding Author:
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Kurnik M, Arroyo N, Li H, Kang D, Plaxco KW. Experimental Measurement of the Thermodynamics Underlying the Surface-Induced Structural Changes of Nucleic Acids and Proteins. Biophys J 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2015.11.1172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022] Open
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Björnerås J, Kurnik M, Oliveberg M, Gräslund A, Mäler L, Danielsson J. Direct detection of neuropeptide dynorphin A binding to the second extracellular loop of the κ opioid receptor using a soluble protein scaffold. FEBS J 2014; 281:814-24. [PMID: 24616919 DOI: 10.1111/febs.12626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The molecular determinants for selectivity of ligand binding to membrane receptors are of key importance for the understanding of cellular signalling, as well as for rational therapeutic intervention. In the present study, we target the interaction between the κ opioid receptor (KOR) and its native peptide ligand dynorphin A (DynA) using solution state NMR spectroscopy, which is generally made difficult by the sheer size of membrane bound receptors. Our method is based on 'transplantation' of an extracellular loop of KOR into a 'surrogate' scaffold; in this case, a soluble β-barrel. Our results corroborate the general feasibility of the method, showing that the inserted receptor segment has negligible effects on the properties of the scaffold protein, at the same time as maintaining an ability to bind its native DynA ligand. Upon DynA binding, only small induced chemical shift changes of the KOR loop were observed, whereas chemical shift changes of DynA and NMR paramagnetic relaxation data show conclusively that the peptide interacts with the inserted loop. The binding interface is composed of a disordered part of the KOR loop and involves both electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. Even so, simultaneous effects along the DynA sequence upon binding show that control of the recognition is a concerted event.
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Danielsson J, Kurnik M, Lang L, Oliveberg M. Cutting off functional loops from homodimeric enzyme superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) leaves monomeric β-barrels. J Biol Chem 2011; 286:33070-83. [PMID: 21700707 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m111.251223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Demetallation of the homodimeric enzyme Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD1) is known to unleash pronounced dynamic motions in the long active-site loops that comprise almost a third of the folded structure. The resulting apo species, which shows increased propensity to aggregate, stands out as the prime disease precursor in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Even so, the detailed structural properties of the apoSOD1 framework have remained elusive and controversial. In this study, we examine the structural interplay between the central apoSOD1 barrel and the active-site loops by simply cutting them off; loops IV and VII were substituted with short Gly-Ala-Gly linkers. The results show that loop removal breaks the dimer interface and leads to soluble, monomeric β-barrels with high structural integrity. NMR-detected nuclear Overhauser effects are found between all of the constituent β-strands, confirming ordered interactions across the whole barrel. Moreover, the breathing motions of the SOD1 barrel are overall insensitive to loop removal and yield hydrogen/deuterium protection factors typical for cooperatively folded proteins (i.e. the active-site loops act as a "bolt-on" domain with little dynamic influence on its structural foundation). The sole exceptions are the relatively low protection factors in β-strand 5 and the turn around Gly-93, a hot spot for ALS-provoking mutations, which decrease even further upon loop removal. Taken together, these data suggest that the cytotoxic function of apoSOD1 does not emerge from its folded ground state but from a high energy intermediate or even from the denatured ensemble.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jens Danielsson
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Arrhenius Laboratories of Natural Sciences, Stockholm University S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
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Gil K, Bugajski A, Kurnik M, Zaraska W, Thor P. Physiological and morphological effects of long-term vagal stimulation in diet induced obesity in rats. J Physiol Pharmacol 2009; 60 Suppl 3:61-66. [PMID: 19996483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2008] [Accepted: 04/23/2009] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Some previous studies have shown suppressive effect of the vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) on long - term feeding regulation in rats. We assessed body weight, interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC), myenteric plexus neurons, mast cells in the stomach, duodenum and colon and c-Fos expression in nodose vagal ganglia in the rats with VNS. Male Wistar rats were implanted with microchip (MC) and kept during the whole study (100 days) on high calorie diet. Left vagal nerve was stimulated by electrical pulses (10ms, 200mV, 0.05Hz) generated by MC. After finishing the experiments tissue samples (stomach, duodenum, colon and nodosal vagal ganglia) were taken. Mast cells were toluidine blue stained and counted in mucosa, muscularis externa and serosa. For immunostaining, antibodies for ICC (CD117), myenteric plexus neurons (PGP9.5) and c-Fos were used. Positive cells were assessed by image analysis. Chronic microchip vagal stimulation significantly decreased epididymal fat pad weight, meal size with effect on decreased weight gain in VNS rat. VNS significantly increased mast cells number in all examined parts of the gastrointestinal wall, mainly in the muscularis. There were no significant differences in ICC and myenteric plexus neurons between VNS and control. Expression of c-Fos in nodosal ganglia was higher in VNS group. The effects observed during long-term VNS concern predominantly mast cells. These data support the theory that VNS can increase vagal afferent satiety signals leading to reduced food intake and body weight gain and mast cells are involved in this process.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Gil
- Department of Pathophysiology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland.
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