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Austen F Riggs

Publications and source records attributed to Austen F Riggs.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Properties and regulation of a transiently assembled ERK2.Ets-1 signaling complex.

ERK2 is a proline-directed protein kinase that displays a high specificity for a single threonine (Thr-38) on the substrate Ets-1, which lies within the consensus sequence 36phi-chi-Thr-Pro39 (where phi is typically a small hydrophobic residue and chi appears to be unrestricted). Thr-38 lies in a long flexible N-terminal tail (residues 1-52), which also contains a second potential phosphorylation site, Ser-26. How Ets-1 binds ERK2 to promote the phosphorylation of Thr-38 while simultaneously discriminating against the phosphorylation of Ser-26 is unclear. To delineate the details of the molecular recognition of Ets-1 by ERK2, the binding of various mutants and truncations of Ets-1 were analyzed by fluorescence anisotropy. The data that were obtained support the notion that the N-terminal tail contains a previously unrecognized docking site that promotes the phosphorylation of Thr-38. This new docking site helps assemble the complex of Ets-1 and ERK2 and makes a similar contribution to the stabilization of the complex as does the pointed domain of Ets-1. The in vitro activation of ERK2 by MKK1 induces a large conformational transition of the activation segment (DFG-APE), but neither induces self-association of ERK2 nor destabilizes the stability of the ERK2.Ets-1 complex. This latter observation suggests that interactions intrinsic to the active site are not important for complex assembly, a notion further supported by the observation that the substitution of a number of different amino acids for Pro-39 does not destabilize the complex. Mutagenesis of ERK2 within loop 13 suggests that Ets-1 binds the substrate-binding groove. These data suggest that ERK2 uses two weak docking interactions to specifically assemble the complex, perhaps in doing so denying Ser-26 access to the active site. Displacement of residues 1-138 of Ets-1 (EtsDelta138) from ERK2 by the peptide N-QKGKPRDLELPLSPSL-C, derived from Elk-1, suggests that Ets-1 engages the D-recruitment site (beta7-beta8 reverse turn and the alphaD-alphaE helix) of ERK2. Displacement of EtsDelta138 from ERK2 by the peptide N-AKLSFQFPS-C derived from Elk-1 shows that EtsDelta138 communicates with the F-recruitment site of ERK2 also.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2006

Linker chains of the gigantic hemoglobin of the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris: primary structures of linkers L2, L3, and L4 and analysis of the connectivity of the disulfide bonds in linker L1.

The extracellular hemoglobin (Hb) of the earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris, has four major kinds of globin chains: a, b, c, and d, present in equimolar proportions, and additional non-heme, non-globin scaffolding chains called linkers that are required for the calcium-dependent assembly of the full-sized molecule. The amino acid sequences of all four of the globin chains and one of the linkers (L1) have previously been determined. The amino acid sequences via cDNA of each of the three remaining linkers, L2, L3, and L4, have been determined so that the sequences of all constituent polypeptides of the hemoglobin are now known. Each linker has a highly conserved cysteine-rich segment of approximately 40 residues that is homologous with the seven ligand-binding repeats of the human low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR). Analysis of linker L1 shows that the connectivity of the three disulfide bonds is exactly the same as in the LDLR ligand-binding repeats. The presence of a calcium-binding site comprising one glutamyl and three aspartyl residues in both the LDLR repeats and in the linkers supports the suggestion that calcium is required for the folding and disulfide connectivity of the linkers as in the LDLR repeats. Linker L2 is markedly heterogeneous and contains unusual glycine-rich sequences near the NH2-terminus and a polar zipper-like sequence with imperfect repeats of Asp-Asp-His at the carboxyl terminus. Similar Asp-Asp-His repeats have been found in a protein homologous to superoxide dismutase in the hemolymph of certain mussels. These repeats may function as metal-binding sites.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2004

Thr-E11 regulates O2 affinity in Cerebratulus lacteus mini-hemoglobin.

The mini-hemoglobin from Cerebratulus lacteus (CerHb) belongs to a class of globins containing the polar Tyr-B10/Gln-E7 amino acid pair that normally causes low rates of O2 dissociation and ultra-high O2 affinity, which suggest O2 sensing or NO scavenging functions. CerHb, however, has high rates of O2 dissociation (kO2 = 200-600 s(-1)) and moderate O2 affinity (KO2) approximately 1 microm(-1)) as a result of a third polar amino acid in its active site, Thr-E11. When Thr-E11 is replaced by Val, kO2 decreases 1000-fold and KO2 increases 130-fold at pH 7.0, 20 degrees C. The mutation also shifts the stretching frequencies of both heme-bound and photodissociated CO, indicating marked changes of the electrostatic field at the active site. The crystal structure of Thr-E11 --> Val CerHbO2 at 1.70 A resolution is almost identical to that of the wild-type protein (root mean square deviation of 0.12 A). The dramatic functional and spectral effects of the Thr-E11 --> Val mutation are due exclusively to changes in the hydrogen bonding network in the active site. Replacing Thr-E11 with Val "frees" the Tyr-B10 hydroxyl group to rotate toward and donate a strong hydrogen bond to the heme-bound ligand, causing a selective increase in O2 affinity, a decrease of the rate coefficient for O2 dissociation, a 40 cm(-1) decrease in nuCO of heme-bound CO, and an increase in ligand migration toward more remote intermediate sites.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

The 109 residue nerve tissue minihemoglobin from Cerebratulus lacteus highlights striking structural plasticity of the alpha-helical globin fold.

A very short hemoglobin (CerHb; 109 amino acids) binds O(2) cooperatively in the nerve tissue of the nemertean worm Cerebratulus lacteus to sustain neural activity during anoxia. Sequence analysis suggests that CerHb tertiary structure may be unique among the known globin fold evolutionary variants. The X-ray structure of oxygenated CerHb (R factor 15.3%, at 1.5 A resolution) displays deletion of the globin N-terminal A helix, an extended GH region, a very short H helix, and heme solvent shielding based on specific aromatic residues. The heme-bound O(2) is stabilized by hydrogen bonds to the distal TyrB10-GlnE7 pair. Ligand access to heme may take place through a wide protein matrix tunnel connecting the distal site to a surface cleft located between the E and H helices.

Amino Acid Sequence↗