Karin Welfle

In vitro and in vivo stability of the epsilon2zeta2 protein complex of the broad host-range Streptococcus pyogenes pSM19035 addiction system

Abstract Streptococcus pyogenes pSM19035-encoded (10.7 kDa) and ζ (32.4 kDa) proteins are necessary to secure stable plasmid inheritance in bacteria, with ζ acting as toxin that kills plasmiddeprived cells and as an antitoxin that neutralises the activity of ζ. The and ζ proteins copurify as a stable complex that, according to analytical ultracentrifugation and gel filtration, exists as 2ζ2 heterotetramer in solution. Cocrystals of the 2ζ2 complex contain and ζ in 1:1 molar ratio. Unfolding studies monitoring circular dichroic and fluorescence changes show that the ζ protein has a significantly lower thermodynamic stability than the protein both in free state and in the complex. Proteolytic studies indicate that ζ protein is more stable in the the 2ζ2 complex than in the free state. In vivo studies reveal a short halflife of the antitoxin (~18min) and a long lifetime of the ζ toxin (>60min). When transcriptiontranslation of a plasmid containing the and ζ genes was inhibited, cell death was observed after a short lag phase that correlates with the disappearance of the protein from the background.

The C-terminal Subdomain (IF2 C-2) Contains the Entire fMet-tRNA Binding Site of Initiation Factor IF2

Previous protein unfolding studies had suggested that IF2 C, the 24.5-kDa fMet-tRNA binding domain of Bacillus stearothermophilus translation initiation factor IF2, may consist of two subdomains. In the present work, the four Phe residues of IF2 C (positions 531, 599, 657, and 721) were replaced with Trp, yielding four variant proteins having intrinsic fluorescence markers in different positions of the molecule. Comparison of the circular dichroism and Trp fluorescence changes induced by increasing concentrations of guanidine hydrochloride demonstrated that IF2 C indeed consists of two subdomains: the more stable N-terminal (IF2 C-1) subdomain containing Trp-599, and the less stable C-terminal (IF2 C-2) subdomain containing Trp-721. Isolated subdomain IF2 C-2, which consists of just 110 amino acids (from Glu-632 to Ala-741), was found to bind fMet-tRNA with the same specificity and affinity as native IF2 or IF2 C-domain. Trimming IF2 C-2 from both N and C termini demonstrated that the minimal fragment still capable of fMet-binding consists of 90 amino acids. IF2 C-2 was further characterized by circular dichroism; by urea-, guanidine hydrochloride-, and temperature-induced unfolding; and by differential scanning calorimetry. The results indicate that IF2 C-2 is a globular molecule containing predominantly β structures (25% antiparallel and 8% parallel β strands) and turns (19%) whose structural properties are not grossly affected by the presence or absence of the N-terminal subdomain IF2 C-1.

Limited proteolysis of streptokinase and properties of some fragments

Limited proteolysis of streptokinase (Sk) by trypsin and thermolysin was performed under various incubation conditions and analysed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Several fragments (Sk1, Tr27, Tr17, Th26, and Th16) were isolated and characterized further. The N-terminal sequences of Tr27, Tr17, Th26, Th16 and the C-terminal sequences of Tr27 and Th26 were determined by partial sequencing. The evidence available allows the positioning of these fragments within the Sk sequence. Fragment Sk1 is obtained by carefully standardized tryptic digestion of Sk and gel chromatography under non-denaturing conditions. Sk1 is formed by a large polypeptide Ser60-Lys293 and non-covalently bonded smaller polypeptides composed of amino acids from the N-terminal region Ile1-Lys59 of Sk. Fragment Tr27 consists of the large polypeptide Ser60-Lys293 of Sk1, and can be obtained from Sk1 by removal of the smaller N-terminal polypeptides under denaturing conditions. Fragment Th26 is composed of amino acids Phe63-His291. The N-termini of fragments Tr17 and Th16 start with Glu148 and Ile151. From their electrophoretically-determined sizes it can be concluded that they most probably have the same C-terminal amino acids, Lys293 and His291, as fragments Tr27 and Th26, respectively. Secondary structure elements of similar composition were found in all the fragments studied using circular dichroism (c.d.) and infrared (i.r.) measurements. Differential scanning calorimetric (d.s.c.) measurements were performed in order to correlate the sequence regions of Sk to energetic folding units of the protein. Fragments Sk1, Tr27, Th26, Tr17, and Th16 show one melting peak in the temperature range from 42.8 to 46.1 degrees C (thermal unfolding stage). For fragment Sk1, this melting peak can be separated by deconvolution into two transitions at T1 = 46.1 degree C and T2 = 47.3 degrees C with delta H1 = 450 kJ/mol and delta H2 = 219 kJ/mol, respectively. Fragments Tr17 and Th16 show one two-state transition at T = 42.8 degrees C with delta H = 326 kJ/mol.

Conformational properties of streptokinase--differential scanning calorimetric investigations.

The two-domain structure of streptokinase (Sk) was demonstrated by scanning calorimetric investigations at neutral pH and low ionic strength. The melting pattern of the protein is composed of two two-state transitions at TtrS1 = 45.9 +/- 0.4 degrees C with delta H1 = 431 +/- 18 kJ/mol, and TtrS2 = 60.1 +/- 1.3 degrees C with delta H2 = 306 +/- 16 kJ/mol. The partial specific heat capacity of native Sk was determined to be Cp = 1.42 +/- 0.17 J/K/g and the denaturational heat capacity change associated with the two transitions, delta Cp1 = 0.21 J/K/g and delta Cp2 = 0.38 J/K/g, respectively. The overall melting pattern of Sk remains almost unchanged at a variety of tested solvent compositions, except at pH 4 (and below) and in the presence of denaturants. The two domains show different susceptibility to urea. It is proposed that the less thermostable domain is located within the N-terminal part (residues 1-230), and the more thermostable one, within the C-terminal region.

Role of the N-terminal region and of beta-sheet residue Thr29 on the activity of the omega2 global regulator from the broad-host range Streptococcus pyogenes plasmid pSM19035.

Abstract The dimeric regulatory protein wild-type ω (wt ω2) binds to arrays of 7-bp sequences (heptads) present in the operator DNA region of copy control and partition functions of plasmid pSM19035. Each ω2 protein probably binds with an antiparallel β-sheet structure in the major groove of the 7-bp subsite of the operator DNA. Exchange of threonine at position 29 to alanine (T29A) drastically affects the activity of variant protein ω2T29A both in vivo and in vitro, and reduces the thermodynamic stability ΔGu0, but does not change the conformation. Likewise, the binding affinity to DNA is reduced and the association of the two monomeric subunits of the ω2T29A dimer is weakened, as manifested by an increase in the dissociation constant from 3.2 μM for wt ω2 to 6.3 μM for ω2T29A. Denatured dimers are formed upon thermal unfolding of wt ω2 and ω2T29A at ca. 45 μM (Dn↔Du). Removal of 8 (ω2ΔN8), or even 18 (ω2ΔN18) N-terminal amino acids has no obvious effect either on the core structure or on the activity in comparison to wt ω2. The stability of variants ω2ΔN8 and ω2ΔN18 is similar to that of wt ω2, and their binding to operator DNA is not impaired.

The structure of the anti-c-myc antibody 9E10 Fab fragment/epitope peptide complex reveals a novel binding mode dominated by the heavy chain hypervariable loops

The X‐ray structure of the Fab fragment from the anti‐c‐myc antibody 9E10 was determined both as complex with its epitope peptide and for the free Fab. In the complex, two Fab molecules adopt an unusual head to head orientation with the epitope peptide arranged between them. In contrast, the free Fab forms a dimer with different orientation. In the Fab/peptide complex the peptide is bound to one of the two Fabs at the “back” of its extended CDR H3, in a cleft with CDR H1, thus forming a short, three‐stranded antiparallel β‐sheet. The N‐ and C‐terminal parts of the peptide are also in contact with the neighboring Fab fragment. Comparison between the CDR H3s of the two Fab molecules in complex with the peptide and those from the free Fab reveals high flexibility of this loop. This structural feature is in line with thermodynamic data from isothermic titration calorimetry. Proteins 2008.

Stability and DNA-binding properties of the ω regulator protein from the broad-host range Streptococcus pyogenes plasmid pSM19035

At the transcriptional level, the pSM19035‐encoded ω protein coordinates the expression of proteins required for control of copy number and maintenance of plasmids. Using circular dichroism, fluorescence spectroscopy, ultracentrifugation and an electrophoretic mobility shift assay, the wild‐type ω protein and a variant with a C‐terminal hexa‐histidine tag (ω‐H6) were characterized. The ω protein is mainly α‐helical (42%), occurs as homodimer in solution, unfolds thermally with half transition temperatures, T m, between ∼43 and ∼78°C depending on the ionic strength of the buffer, and binds PcopS‐DNA with high affinity. The ω‐H6 protein has a modified conformation with lower α‐helix content (29%), lower thermal stability, and strongly reduced affinity to PcopS‐DNA.

The fMet-tRNA binding domain of translational initiation factor IF2: role and environment of its two Cys residues.

Mutations of the cysteines (positions 668 and 714) were generated in the IF2 C domain of Bacillus stearothermophilus translation initiation factor IF2. The corresponding proteins were characterized functionally and structurally. Most (yet not all) amino acid replacements at both positions resulted in severe reduction of the fMet‐tRNA binding activity of IF2 C without grossly altering its structure. Our work demonstrates that: (a) both Cys residues are buried within an hydrophobic core and not accessible to protonation or chemical substitution, (b) neither Cys is functionally essential and (c) both Cys residues are located near the active site, probably without participating directly in fMet‐tRNA binding.

Conformations and stabilities of human Glu1- and Lys78-plasminogen and of the fragments mini- and microplasminogen, analysed by circular dichroism and differential scanning calorimetry

The conformations and stabilities of two forms of human plasminogen, Glu1-plasminogen (Glu1-HPg, Glu1-Asn791) and Lys78-plasminogen (Lys78-HPg, Lys78-Asn791), and two enzymatically derived plasminogen fragments, miniplasminogen (mini-HPg, Val443-Asn791) and microplasminogen (micro-HPg, Lys531-Asn791) were analysed by circular dichroism and differential scanning calorimetry. The two plasminogen forms differ by the lack of 77 N-terminal amino acids in Lys78-HPg in comparison to Glu1-HPg. Mini-HPg is composed of kringle 5 and the protease domain of HPg whereas micro-HPg is built from the protease domain of HPg and a stretch of about 15 amino acids from kringle 5. Differential scanning calorimetric measurements of Glu1-HPg and Lys78-HPg reveal seven thermal transitions for both plasminogen forms. The results obtained for Lys78-HPg largely agree with recently published data (Novokhatny, V. V., Kudinov, S. A. and Privalov, P. L. J. Mol. Biol. 1984, 179, 215). Three thermal transitions corresponding to kringle 5 and to two subdomains of the C-terminal protease region were identified for mini-HPg. In micro-HPg, the two thermal transitions of the protease region were found but one of the protease subdomains was modified and its stability was much higher than in any of the other studied proteins. According to the microcalorimetric data obtained for mini-HPg and micro-HPg, transitions 5 and 6 of Glu1-HPg and Lys78-HPg were reassigned to kringle 5 and to a subdomain of the protease region, respectively, in contrast to literature data.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Conformational stability of the DNA-binding histone-like protein, HBsu, from Bacillus subtilis, and of the four HBsu variants [F29W], [F47W], [F50W] and [F79W]

From denaturation studies with urea a free energy delta GuH2O of unfolding of 49.8 kJ.mol-1 at 25C was calculated for the histone-like DNA-binding protein HBsu from Bacillus subtilis. Unfolding was monitored by circular dichroism measurements observing the changes of the molar mean residue ellipticity [theta] at 222 nm. For the calculation of delta Gu a two-state model of unfolding, i.e. the unfolding of native dimers into unfolded monomers, was applied. The validity of this model in high ionic strength buffer was proven by measurements at different protein concentrations yielding the same delta Gu values. Four HBsu variants, each carrying one single point mutation ([F29W], [F47W], [F50W] and [F79W]) were analysed with respect to their stability against unfolding at increasing temperatures and urea concentrations. The delta Gu values of mutants were calculated using the two-state model and show a reduced stability of the variants [F29W], [F47W], [F50W] and [F79W] in comparison to the wild type HBsu with delta delta Gu values of -9.2 kJ.mol-1, -7.5 kJ.mol-1, -5.9 kJ.mol-1, and -7.5 kJ.mol-1, respectively. Similar delta delta Gu values were obtained for the HBsu mutant proteins by thermal unfolding experiments.