BMB Reports
Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (KSBMB)
1976-670X(eISSN)
Life Science > Developmental/Neuronal Biology
BMB Reports is an international journal devoted to the very rapid dissemination of timely and significant results in diverse fields of biochemistry and molecular biology. For speedy publication of novel knowledge, we aim to offer a first decision to the authors in less than 3 weeks from the submission date. BMB Reports is an open access, online-only journal. The journal publishes peer-reviewed Original Articles and Contributed Mini Reviews by two or more reviewers.
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In vitro Constructive Approaches to the Origin of Coding Sequences
Shiba, Kiyotaka 209
How did nature create the first set of genes at the beginning of life on Earth? One of the goals of molecular biology is to elucidate the fundamental rules governing how genes and, therefore, proteins were created. Through experiments carried out in the emerging field of "in vitro" or "benchtop" evolution studies, we are gaining new insights into the origins of genes and proteins as well as the origins of their functions (e.g., catalysis). In this review, I present an overview of recent experimental approaches to the question of the origin and evolution of genes. In addition, I will introduce a novel in vitro protein emergence system that was recently developed in my laboratory.
Three Protein Kinases from the Etiolated Oat Seedlings Phosphorylate Oat Phytochrome A In Vitro
Park, Young-Il;Kim, Jae-Hun;Lee, Jae-Deok;Kim, Yong-Woo;Kim, In-Soo 221
Phosphorylation of phytochrome may play important functional roles to control plant photomorphogenesis. Many attempts have failed to identify the protein kinase that phosphorylates phytochrome in vivo. It has been reported that a polycation-stimulated protein kinase activity was associated with the purified phytochrome. However, it is not known if the kinase activity is an intrinsic property of phytochrome or whether it comes from a contaminant of the purified phytochrome. In the present study, three protein kinases that phosphorylate phytochrome have been identified from etiolated oat seedlings. A polycationstimulated protein kinase that had very similar enzymatic properties with that associated with the purified phytochrome was identified in the cytosolic extract. It phosphorylated several contaminant proteins in the kinase preparation as well as phytochrome and had a broad substrate specificity. A CK II-type protein kinase phosphorylated phytochrome and the exogenously added casein. It is likely that this kinase may not be a feasible candidate for the kinase phosphorylating phytochrome in vivo since the content of the kinase seemed to well exceed the content of phytochrome in the etiolated oat seedlings. Another protein kinase that had unique enzymatic properties phosphorylated phytochrome very specifically and seemed to be present in a small quantity in the etiohlted seedlings. It is expected that one of three kinases may be responsible for the phytochrome phosphorylation in vivo.
Change in the Conformation of $p47^{phox}$ by Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate, an Activator of the Leukocyte NADPH Oxidase
Park, Jeen-Woo;Park, Hee-Sae 227
The leukocyte NADPH oxidase of neutrophils is a membrane-bound enzyme that catalyzes the production of $O_2^-$ from oxygen using NADPH as an electron donor. Dormant in resting neutrophils, the enzyme acquires catalytic activity when the cells are exposed to appropriate stimuli. During activation, the cytosolic oxidase components $p47^{phox}$ and $p67^{phox}$ migrate to the plasma membrane, where they associate with cytochrome $b_{558}$, a membrane-bound flavohemoprotein, to assemble the active oxidase. The oxidase can be activated in a cell-free system; the activating agent usually employed is an anionic amphiphile such as sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Because $p47^{phox}$ can translocate by itself during activation, the conformational change in $p47^{phox}$ may be responsible for the activation of NADPH oxidase. We show here that the treatment of $p47^{phox}$ with SDS leads to an increase in the reactivity of the sutbydryl group of cysteines toward N-ethylmaleimide, indicating that the conformational change occurs when $p47^{phox}$ is exposed to SDS. We propose that this change in conformation results in the appearance of a binding site through which $p47^{phox}$ interacts with cytochrome $b_{558}$during the activation process.
Stimulatory Effects of Ginsenosides on Bovine Brain Glutamate Decarboxylase
Choi, Soo-Young;Bahn, Jae-Hoon;Jeon, Seong-Gyu;Chung, Young-Mee;Hong, Joung-Woo;Ahn, Jee-Yin;Hwang, Eun-Joo;Cho, Sung-Woo;Park, Jin-Kyu;Baek, Nam-In 233
A GABA synthesizing enzyme, glutamate decarboxylase, has been purified from bovine brain by several chromatographic procedures. The preparation appeared homogeneous on SDS-PAGE. The enzyme is a homodimeric protein with a molecular mass of 120 kDa. The activation of glutamate decarboxylase by ginesenosides from Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer has been studied. Preincubation of the enzyme with total ginsenoside, $Rb_2$ and Rc ginsenosides, increased glutamate decarboxylase activities in a dose-dependent manner. There was a reproducible decrease in $K_m$, in addition to a increase in $V_{max}$, in response to increasing concentrations of the Rc ginsenoside fraction. Upon addition of the ginsenoside to the enzyme, a decrease in flurorescence intensity was discernible, together with an increase in emission anisotropy. Judging from the anisotropy values, the ginsenoside is rapidly trapped by the protein matrix. Total ginsenoside was administered to rats and the rat brains were removed for the measurement of the changes of GABA shunt regulating enzyme activities. Among the GABA shunt regulating enzymes, only the glutamate decarboxylase activities were increased after ginsenoside treatment. Therefore, it is suggested that the ginsenosides may elevate the GABA level in brain by activation of glutamate decarboxylase and the enzymatic activation might be due to the conformational change induced by binding of ginsenoside to the enzyme.
Polyclonal Antibody Against the Active Recombinant Helicobacter pylori Urease Expressed in Escherichia coli
Lim, Yu-Mi;Sung, Jae-Young;Lee, Mann-Hyung 240
Helicobacter pylori is the etiologic agent of human gastritis and peptic ulceration and produces urease as the major protein component on its surface. H. pylori urease is known to serve as a major virulence factor and in a potent immunogen. In order to express the recombinant urease at a higher level, a DNA fragment containing the minimal H. pylori urease gene cluster was subcloned into a high copy-number vector. The recombinant H. pylori urease expressed in an E. coli strain that was grown in a rich medium supplemented with added nickel was purified to near homogeneity by using DEAE-Sepharose, Superdex HR200, and Mono-Q (FPLC) columns and the purified enzyme possessed the specific activity of 1255 U/mg. Polyclonal antibodies raised against the purified recombinant H. pylori urease were shown to be very specific when subjected to Western blot analysis, in which crude extracts from the H. pylori ATCC strain and the recombinant E. coli strains expressing various bacterial ureases were exnmined for cross-reactivity.
Epidermal Growth Factor Decreases the Level of DNA Topoisomerase $II{\alpha}$ in Human Carcinoma A431 Cells
Chang, Jong-Soo 245
Human epidermoid carcinoma A431 cells have an extraordinarily large number of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors, and their growth is inhibited by EGF, which results in growth arrest at the Gl phase. In order to investigate the EGF-mediated inhibition mechanism, the expression level of DNA topoisomerase (topo) II was analyzed after EGF treatment. As a result, it was shown that EGF treatment lowered the amount of 170 kDa topo II (topo $II{\alpha}$) but not 180 kDa (topo $II{\beta}$). However, the A431 cell variant resistant to EGF was not sensitive to EGF treatment. These results suggest that EGF-induced growth arrest of A431 cells may be closely related to the depletion of topo $II{\alpha}$.
Developmental Regulation of Caenorhabditis elegans DNA Topoisomerase I Expression
Jang, Yeon-Joo;Park, Hyung-Ki;Lee, Jun-Ho;Koo, Hyeon-Sook 249
The developmental regulation of Caenorhabditis elegans DNA topoisomerase I expression was examined using synchronized Caenorhabditis elegans cultures. Variations of the relative mRNA and protein levels of the enzyme during their development were measured by Northern and Western analyses, respectively. The mRNA level was the highest at the embryonic stage, decreasing rapidly to the one tenth level at the L1 stage, and then increasing by a few fold at the L4 and young adult stages. The protein level was the highest at the L1 stage, with gradual decreasing at the following stages until it showed a slight increase at the young adult stage. Based on our results of the expressional regulation, the possible roles of DNA topoisomerase I in the development of C. elegans are discussed.
Site-Specific Mutagenesis of the gshI Gene for Increasing the Activity of ${\gamma}$-Glutamylcysteine Synthetase in Escherichia coli K-12
Kwak, Joon-Hyeok;Nam, Yong-Suk;Lee, Se-Yong 254
The gshI gene from the Escherichia coli K-12 strain codes for ${\gamma}-glutamylcysteine$ synthetase which mediates the rate-limiting step of glutathione biosynthesis. The isolated gshI gene from E. coli K-12 has an unusual translation initiation codon, UUG. The 494th amino acid is Ala rather than Gly which was found in a mutant strain E. coli B. In order to improve the translational rate of the gshI gene of E. coli K-12, the initiation codon, UUG, was changed to the usual AUG codon by the site-specific mutagenesis. This change has resulted in a 53% increase of ${\gamma}-glutamylcysteine$ synthetase activity. The enzyme activity was also improved by replacing $Ala^{494}$ with Val (A494V) or Leu (A494L). The replacement of $Ser^{495}$ with Thr (S495T) also resulted in a 62% increase of the enzyme activity. Therefore, the specific activity of ${\gamma}-glutamylcysteine$ synthetase was increased with the increasing chain length of the aliphathic amino acid at the site of the 494th amino acid (Ala<$Val{\leq}Leu$).
Functional Amino Acid Residues of Recombinant Tobacco Acetolactate Synthase
Chong, Chom-Kyu;Chang, Soo-Ik;Choi, Jung-Do 258
Acetolactate synthase (ALS) is the common enzyme in the biosynthetic pathways leading to leucine, valine, and isoleucine. Tobacco ALS was expressed in E. coli and purified to homogeneity. The recombinant tobacco ALS was inactivated by thiol-specific reagents, N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) and 5,5'-dithio-bis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB). Inactivation of the ALS by NEM followed pseudo-first order kinetics and was first order with respect to the modifier. The substrate pyruvate protected the enzyme against the inactivation by NEM and DTNB. Extrapolation to complete inactivation of the enzyme by DTNB showed modification of approximately 2 out of 4 total cysteinyl residues (or 2 cysteinyl and 1 cysteinyl residues), with approximately 1 residue protected by pyruvate. The tobacco ALS was also inactivated by the tryptophanspecific reagent, N-bromosuccinimide (NBS), and was similarly protected by pyruvate. The kinetics of the inactivation was first-order with respect to NBS. The present data suggest that cysteinyl and tryptophanyl residues play a key role in the catalytic function of the enzyme.
Action of Dopamine as Inhibitory Neuromodulator in Jellyfish Synapse
Chung, Jun-mo;Spencert, Andrew N. 264
Dopamine (DA) acts on swimming motor neurons (SMNs) of Polyorchis penicillatus as an inhibitory neurotransmitter by hyperpolarizing their membrane potentials, which results from the activation of voltagesensitive potassium channels mediated through a $D_2-type$ receptor. In addition, DA, and not the hyperpolarized membrane potential, directly decreased the input resistance of SMNs by ca. 50% from 1.42 to 0.68 $G{\Omega}$. It strongly indicates that DA can shunt other excitatory synaptic signals onto SMNs where DA usually elicited much greater responses in their neurites than soma. All these evidences suggest that DA may operate in this primitive nervous system in dual modes as an inhibitory neurotransmitter and neuromodulator as well.
Effect of ${\alpha}$-Glycosidase Inhibitor in Multidrug Resistant Cell Lines
Paek, Nam-Soo;Namgung, Jun;Lee, Jung-Joon;Choi, Yong-Jin;Kim, Tae-Han;Kim, Kee-Won 269
The objective of this study was to evaluate the reversal of multi drug resistance of human cell lines by specific inhibitors of ${\alpha}-glycosidase$ and mannosidases that had been reported to be involved in N-linked oligosaccharide processing of glycoproteins. N-methyldeoxynojirimycin, I-deoxynojirimycin, and castanospermine, which were known to be potent inhibitors of both ${\alpha}-glycosidase$ I and II, showed no activity against the multidrug resistant phenotype of the cell lines of SNU1DOX, KB-V1, and MCF-7/ADR. In contrast, I-deoxymannojirimycin, an inhibitor of mannosidase I, resulted in a slight reversal for the vinblastine resistance of the KB-V1 cell line, but did not show any activity toward the other cell lines. Parallel experiments with tunicamycin, an inhibitor of N-linked glycosylation, also resulted in no significant changes in multidrug resistant (MDR) phenotype of the cell lines tested in this work. These observations suggest that the unglycosylation of P-glycoprotein associated with the inhibitor treatments might not be correlated with the reversal of multidrug resistance of the cell lines tested in this study.
Rat Duodenal Mucosa Inositol Monophosphatase; Novel Enzyme of Which Properties are Distinct from Brain Enzyme
Kwon, Hyeok-Yil;Lim, Bong-Hee;Park, Hyung-Seo;Lee, Yun-Lyul;Lee, Eun-Hee;Choi, Soo-Young;Park, Hyoung-Jin 274
An inositol monophosphatase (IMPase) was purified to homogeneity from rat duodenal mucosa for the first time and its enzymatic properties were investigated. Rat duodenal mucosa peculiarly exhibited the highest IMPase activity among various rat tissues examined. By means of ammonium sulfate precipitation, followed by Q-Sepharose, polylysine agarose, reactive-red agarose column chromatography, Uno-Q FPLC, and Bio-Silect FPLC, duodenal IMPase was purified 223-fold to a specific activity of 13.6 U/mg protein. The molecular mass of the native enzyme was estimated to be 48,000 Da on gel filtration. The subunit molecular mass was determined by SDS-PAGE to be 24,000 Da. These results indicate that duodenal IMPase is a dime ric protein made up of identical subunits. Rat duodenal IMPase has distinct properties from brain IMPase. It has a broad spectrum of substrate specificity and is insensitive to $Li^+$. Duodenal IMPase does not absolutely require $Mg^{2+}$ for its catalytic activity. Furthermore, duodenal IMPase is less stable to heat than brain enzyme. It is suggested that the rat duodenal mucosa needs a large amount of IMPase whose properties are quite different from that of the brain enzyme.
Expression and Characterization of Hepatitis C Virus Core Proteins: Effects of Single Amino Acid Substitution on Protein Conformation and Subcellular Localization
Hwang, Soon-Bong 281
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) core proteins from two different isolates (HCV-1 and HCV-RH) were expressed in Spotioptera Jrugiperda (Sf9) insect cells. The RH core consisted of two major species of proteins (21 kDa and 19 kDa). On the other hand, the HCV-1 core was approximately 16 kDa in a SDS-PAGE gel. Both core proteins were phosphorylated in vivo on serine residues. Furthermore, the RH core but not HCV-1 core formed dimers, indicating that the protein conformation of the core in these two isolates is dfferent from one another. Immunofluorescence studies showed that the RH core was present in the cytoplasm, whereas the HCV-1 core was localized predominantly to the nucleus in recombinant baculovirus-infected insect cells. Since the major difference between the two isolates is the codon 9 of the core protein, a single amino acid substitution appears to play a major role in the protein conformation and these properties may reflect the different biological functions of core proteins in HCV-infected cells.
Expression in Escherichia coli, Purification, and Characterization of the Tobacco Sulfonylurea Herbicide-Resistant Recombinant Acetolactate Synthase and Its Interaction with the Triazolopyrimidine Herbicides
Kil, Mee-Wha;Chang, Soo-Ik 287
Acetolactate synthase (ALS) is the first common enzyme in the biosynthesis of L-Ieucine, L-isoleucine, and L-valine. The sulfonylurea-resistant ALS gene from Nicotiana tabacum was cloned into the bacterial expression vector pGEX-2T. The resulting recombinant plasmid pGEX-ALS3 was used to transform Escherichia coli strain XL1-Blue, and the mutant tobacco ALS (mALS) was expressed in the bacteria as a protein fused with glutathione S-transferase (GST). The fusion product GST-mALS was purified in a single step on a glutathione-Sepharose column. ALS activities of 0.9-2.5 ${\mu}mol/min/mg$ protein were observed in the GST-mALS, and the Km values for pyruvate, FAD, and TPP were 10.8-24.1, $(1.9-8.9){\times}10^{-3}$, and 0.14-0.38 mM, respectively. The purified GST-mALS was resistant to both the sulfonylurea and the triazolopyrimidine herbicides, and lost its sensitivity to end products, L-valine and L-leucine. For comparision, the tobacco wild-type recombinant ALS fused with GST, GST-wALS, was also characterized with respect to its pyruvate and cofactor bindings. These results suggest that the purified mutant recombinant tobacco ALS was functionally active, that the mutations resulting in herbicide resistance has affected pyruvate and cofactor bindings," and that the two classes of herbicides interact at a common site on the plant ALS.
Flow Injection Biosensor for the Detection of Anti-Cholinesterases
Chung, Myung-Sun;Lee, Yong-Tae;Lee, Hye-Sung 296
A potentiometric flow injection biosensor for the analysis of anti-cholinesterases (anti-ChEs), based on inhibition of enzyme activity, was developed. The sensor system consists of a reactor with acetylcholinesterase (AChE) immobilized on controlled pore glass and a detector with an $H^{+}-selective$ PVC-based membrane electrode. The principle of the analysis is based on the fact that the degree of inhibition of AChE by an anti-ChE is dependent on the concentration of the anti-ChE in contact with AChE. The sensor system was optimized by changing systematically the operating parameters of the sensor to evaluate the effect of the changes on sensor response to ACh. The optimized biosensor was applied to the analysis of paraoxon, an organophosphorus pesticide. Treatment of the inhibited enzyme with pyridine-2-aldoxime fully restored the enzyme activity allowing repeated use of the sensor.
Cloning and Expression of a Serine Proteinase Gene Fragment from Acanthamoeba culbertsoni
Park, Ki-Won;Kim, Tong-Soo;Na, Byoung-Kuk;Song, Chul-Yong 303
Serine proteinase cDNA fragment from protozoan parasite Acanthamoeba culbertsoni was amplified by the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) using degenerate oligonucleotide primers derived from conserved serine proteinase sequences. The amplified DNA fragment was subcloned and sequenced. The sequence analysis and alignment showed significant sequence similarity to other eukaryotic serine proteinases and conservation of the His, Asp, and Ser residues that form the catalytic triad. The cDNA fragment was cloned into the pGEMEX-1 expression vector and expressed in Escherichia coli. A resulting fusion protein of 56 kDa had proteolytic activity. The fusion protein reacted with sera of mice immunized with purified serine proteinase of A. culbertsoni in Western blot. Immune recognition of the fusion protein by mouse antisera suggested that the fusion protein may be valuable as a diagnostic reagent.