X-Ray study on an artificial mung bean inhibitor complex with bovine beta-trypsin in neat cyclohexane

The active trypsin inhibiting component, SPC1, was obtained during the synthesis of a 22-residue peptide with three disulfide bridges according to the mimic mung bean Bowman-Birk type inhibitor. The K(i) value of SPC1 is 1.2x10(-7) M. In order to determine the topological structure of SPC1, X-ray diffraction studies were carried out on the complex of SPC1 with bovine beta-trypsin. Only the binding loop of SPC1 resolved at 2.2 A resolution due to conformational flexibility of the other residues [1]. The amino acid sequence was re-determined and electrospray mass spectroscopy was also performed to ensure that no cleaving occurred on SPC1 and the primary sequence of SPC1 is correct. Because the protein is more rigid in nonaqueous medium as has been proved by others [2], we treated the complex of SPC1 with neat cyclohexane and then subjected it to X-ray diffraction analysis, and the result showed that all the 22 residues of SPC1 were located in the electron density map. So the topological structure of SPC1 has been determined, suggesting that crystal treatment with cyclohexane may be used as a method to determine the conformation of the disordered regions in protein crystal structures.

Bilirubin-Cu(II) complex degrades DNA

It has recently been reported that bilirubin forms a complex with Cu(II). In this paper we show that the formation of the complex results in the reduction of Cu(II) to Cu(I) and the redox cycling of the metal gives rise to the formation of reactive oxygen species, particularly hydroxyl radical. The bilirubin-Cu(II) complex causes strand breakage in calf thymus DNA and supercoiled plasmid DNA. Cu(I) was shown to be an essential intermediate in the DNA cleavage reaction by using the Cu(I) specific sequestering reagent neocuproine. Bilirubin-Cu(II) produced hydroxyl radical and the involvement of active oxygen species was established by the inhibition of DNA breakage by various oxygen radical quenchers.

Active-site characterization of S1 nuclease. II. Involvement of histidine in catalysis

Modification of the histidine residues of purified S1 nuclease resulted in loss of its single-stranded (ss)DNAase, RNAase and phosphomonoesterase activities. Kinetics of inactivation indicated the involvement of a single histidine residue in the catalytic activity of the enzyme. Furthermore, histidine modification was accompanied by the concomitant loss of all the activities of the enzyme, indicating the presence of a common catalytic site responsible for the hydrolysis of ssDNA, RNA and 3'-AMP. Substrate protection was not observed against Methylene Blue- and diethyl pyrocarbonate (DEP)-mediated inactivation. The histidine (DEP)-modified enzyme could effectively bind 5'-AMP, a competitive inhibitor of S1 nuclease, whereas the lysine (2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid)-modified enzyme showed a significant decrease in its ability to bind 5'-AMP. The inability of the substrates to protect the enzyme against DEP-mediated inactivation, coupled with the ability of the modified enzyme to bind 5'-AMP effectively, suggests the involvement of histidine in catalysis.

Active-site characterization of S1 nuclease. I. Affinity purification and influence of amino-group modification

A simple procedure, involving heat-treatment, DEAE-Sephadex, AMP-Sepharose and Bio-Gel P-60 chromatography, was developed for the purification of S1 nuclease to homogeneity from commercially available Takadiastase powder. Chemical modification of the amino groups of purified S1 nuclease revealed that lysine is essential for single-stranded DNAase, RNAase and phosphomonoesterase activities associated with the enzyme. The kinetics of inactivation suggested the involvement of a single lysine residue in the active site of the enzyme. Additionally, lysine modification was accompanied by a concomitant loss of all the activities of the enzyme, indicating the presence of a common catalytic site responsible for the hydrolysis of single-stranded DNA, RNA and 3'-AMP. Substrate-protection and inhibitor-binding studies on enzyme modified with 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid showed that lysine may be involved in the substrate binding.

Structure of mouse vasopressin and oxytocin genes

Mouse vasopressin (VP) and oxytocin (OT) genes were isolated from a genomic library and the nucleotide sequences of the two genes were determined. The two genes have similar three exon structures and a high similarity in the part of exon 1 encoding vasopressin or oxytocin nonapeptide and in exon 2 encoding the central core of neurophysin. They are linked together in a tail to tail orientation separated by a short 3.5 kb intergenic sequence and are transcribed from opposite strands. Both genes have a single transcription initiation site downstream from a TATA-like sequence and a single polyadenylated transcript of about 760 bp for the vasopressin mRNA and about 700 bp for the oxytocin mRNA.