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Biomedical subjects

E Appella

Publications and source records attributed to E Appella.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

MHC class II molecules bind indiscriminately self and non-self peptide homologs: effect on the immunogenicity of non-self peptides.

Synthetic peptides spanning the entire sequence of both human and mouse beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2M) have been tested for their capacity to bind to three different mouse (I-Ad, I-Ed, and I-Ak) or human (DR1, DR2, and DR5) class II molecules. The results demonstrate that class II molecules do not discriminate between self and non-self peptides. When the immunogenicity of the human beta 2M peptides was measured by their ability to prime H-2d mice for in vitro T cell proliferation, it was found that peptides incapable of binding class II molecules in vitro were also non-immunogenic in vivo. Interestingly, however, several binders, including the human beta 2M peptide 1-16, the best binder in this series to Iad molecules, were found to be non-immunogenic. Since the corresponding mouse beta 2M peptide 1-16 was also capable of binding to Iad molecules, this suggested that lack of responsiveness to the non-self peptide could arise either from central or peripheral tolerance induced by the self homolog. Alternatively, lack of responsiveness could arise from other mechanisms, such as negative selection by other non-homolog sequences or lack of suitable T cell receptor genes. To discriminate between these possibilities, H-2d mice with disrupted beta 2M genes were immunized with the human beta 2M peptide 1-16. This peptide also failed to prime for T cell responsiveness in beta 2M-negative mice, suggesting that a hole in the T cell repertoire for this antigen was not mediated by negative selection or peripheral tolerance induced by self beta 2M peptides.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

The ezrin-like family of tyrosine kinase substrates: receptor-specific pattern of tyrosine phosphorylation and relationship to malignant transformation.

A method for the isolation of tyrosine kinases substrates was developed. The method takes advantage of immuno-affinity purification of an entire set of proteins phosphorylated by tyrosine kinases, followed by generation of antisera against the purified protein pool and immunological screening of bacterial expression libraries with these antisera. By applying this methodology to the study of the phosphorylation events triggered by activation of the epidermal growth factor receptors, we have isolated several cDNAs encoding novel putative tyrosine kinase substrates. One of these cDNAs encodes radixin, a protein belonging to the band 4.1 family of proteins and highly related to ezrin and moesin. We demonstrated that, despite a high degree of relatedness, these three proteins exhibit a distinct receptor-specific pattern of phosphorylation, raising the possibility that they might mediate receptor-specific cellular changes. In addition the generation of antibodies specific for either radixin, ezrin or moesin allowed us to show that a previously described tumor transplantation antigen is indeed ezrin, thus implicating this protein in the determination of the biological phenotype of certain tumors.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Mutation of the serine 15 phosphorylation site of human p53 reduces the ability of p53 to inhibit cell cycle progression.

Overexpression of wild-type p53 prevents cells from entering the S phase of the cell cycle. The amino-terminal transactivation region of p53 is phosphorylated by several protein kinases, including DNA-PK, a nuclear serine/threonine protein kinase that in vitro requires DNA for activity. DNA-PK was recently shown to phosphorylate serines 15 and 37 of human p53 (Lees-Miller et al., 1992. Mol. Cell. Biol., 12, 5041-5049). To prevent phosphorylation at these sites, mutants were constructed that changed the codons for serine 15 or serine 37 to alanine codons. Expression of p53-Ala-37 in stably transformed T98G cells blocked progression of the cells into S phase as well as did the expression of wild-type p53. In contrast, p53-Ala-15 was partially defective in blocking cell cycle progression. Several cell clones transformed with the mutant p53-Ala-15 gene expressed normal levels of p53 mRNA but accumulated little or no detectable p53 protein. However, by using a transient expression system driven by a strong cytomegalovirus promoter, we showed that the inability of p53-Ala-15 to fully block cell cycle progression was not due to inadequate levels of expression or to a failure of the mutant protein to accumulate in the nucleus. These results suggest that phosphorylation of Ser-15 may affect p53 function.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Human interferon consensus sequence binding protein is a negative regulator of enhancer elements common to interferon-inducible genes.

The promoter regions of many interferon-inducible genes share a short DNA sequence motif, termed the interferon consensus sequence (ICS) to which several regulatory proteins bind. A murine cDNA which encodes an ICS binding protein has been reported (M-ICSBP). The cloning of the human homologue of ICSBP (H-ICSBP) is described. H-ICSBP shares high sequence homology with its murine cognate. The derived sequence of H-ICSBP reveals restricted homology within the first 120 amino acids to three other interferon regulatory factors, IRF-1, IRF-2, and ISGF3 gamma. Truncated ICSBP lacking the first 33 amino-terminal amino acids fails to bind to the ICS, indicating that at least part of the DNA binding domain is located within the well conserved amino terminus. H-ICSBP is expressed exclusively in cell lines of hematopoietic origin. The results of transient transfection assays carried out either in hematopoietic or nonhematopoietic cells suggest that ICSBP acts as a negative regulatory factor on ICS-containing promoters. Furthermore, either interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) or IFN-beta can alleviate the repression mediated by ICSBP. Therefore, ICSBP may be involved in maintaining submaximal transcriptional activity of IFN-inducible genes in hematopoietic cells. IFN treatment would then alleviate repression allowing maximal transcriptional activity of these genes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Invariant chain peptides in most HLA-DR molecules of an antigen-processing mutant.

Class II major histocompatibility complexes bind peptides in an endosome-like compartment. When the class II null cell line 721.174 was transfected with class II DR3 genes, DR molecules were produced in normal amounts. However, the DR molecules were abnormally conformed and unstable because deletion of an antigen-processing gene had impaired intracellular formation of most class II-peptide complexes. Yet, 70 percent of the DR molecules still bore peptides, 80 percent of which were 21- to 24-amino acid fragments of the class II-associated invariant chain. These peptides were rare on DR3 from control cells. Thus, a defect in the main antigen-processing pathway revealed a process in which DR molecules bind long peptides derived from proteins present in the same compartment.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Conformational studies of the interdomain linker peptides in the dihydrolipoyl acetyltransferase component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex of Escherichia coli.

Two peptides (PEP1, 26 residues, and PEP2, 22 residues) were synthesized with amino acid sequences identical to two of the long segments of polypeptide chain rich in alanine, proline, and charged amino acids that link the lipoyl domains together in the dihydrolipoyl acetyltransferase component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex of Escherichia coli. The circular dichroism and 400-MHz 1H NMR spectra of the peptides indicated that they lacked regular secondary structure. Even in the presence of 45% (v/v) hexafluoroisopropanol, they appeared to acquire a helical content of only 23-25%. However, 13C NMR spectroscopy revealed that the Ala-Pro peptide bonds were all (> 95%) in the trans configuration, compared with a value of 87% for the Ala-Pro bond in the model peptide AAPA, which is a recurrent sequence motif in PEP1 and PEP2. Likewise in peptides representing the N- and C-terminal halves of peptide PEP2, the Ala-Pro bonds were again all (> 95%)-trans, suggesting that peptide length is the essential determinant of the cis:trans ratio. Antisera were raised against peptides PEP2 and PEP3, the latter representing a third interdomain segment of polypeptide chain (Radford, S. E., Laue, E. D., Perham, R. N., Martin, S. R., and Appella, E. (1989a) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 767-775). Despite extensive sequence similarity among peptides PEP1, PEP2, and PEP3, only limited immunological cross-reactivity was observed, which suggests that the antigenic epitope(s) in the peptides are different and distinct. It is likely that these peptides are representative of a class of inter-domain linkers or spacers found in a wide variety of proteins and endowed with varying degrees of flexibility and stiffness to match their particular biological purpose.

Acetyltransferases↗
PubMed1992

Growth arrest induced by wild-type p53 protein blocks cells prior to or near the restriction point in late G1 phase.

Conditional expression of wild-type (wt) p53 protein in a glioblastoma tumor cell line has been shown to be growth inhibitory. We have now more precisely localized the position in the cell cycle where growth arrest occurs. We show that growth arrest occurs prior to or near the restriction point in late G1 phase of the cell cycle. The effect of wt p53 protein on the expression of four immediate-early genes (c-FOS, c-JUN, JUN-B, and c-MYC), one delayed-early gene (ornithine decarboxylase), and two late-G1/S-phase genes (B-MYB and DNA polymerase alpha) was also examined. Of this subset of growth response genes, only the expression of B-MYB and DNA polymerase alpha was significantly repressed. The possibility that decreased expression of B-MYB may be an important component of growth arrest mediated by wt p53 protein is discussed.

Blotting, Northern↗
PubMed1992

Immunogenic tumor variants induced by drug treatment of the L5178Y lymphoma: search for serologically defined antigens at the clonal level.

Highly immunogenic tumor variants are generated by in vitro or in vivo treatment of the murine L5178Y lymphoma line with triazene derivatives. Most of these variants express new transplantation- and antibody-defined antigens that previous studies have shown to be closely related. One such 80-kDa protein on the surface of clone-D cells was found to be related to xenotropic MuLV gp70 molecules. To investigate the possible relevance of clone-D data to general properties of immunogenic variants in this tumor model system, polyclonal syngeneic antisera raised to a panel of immunogenic clones (including clone D) of the drug-treated L5178Y lymphoma line were employed in the immunoprecipitation of cell-surface and intrinsically labeled variant cells. In all clones, 1- and 2-dimensional electrophoretic analysis of the immunoprecipitates detected an antigen of approximately 80 kDa, and 35S-labeled 80-kDa molecules could be cross-precipitated from all clones by the panel of clone-specific antisera. In addition, 45- and 30-kDa components were also found in metabolically labeled variant cells. While the surface 80-kDa component was reactive with anti-xenotropic gp70 antibodies, the 30-kDa molecule was removed by anti-gag p30 antibody in sequential immunoprecipitation experiments. These data suggest that expression of aberrant, retrovirus-related proteins is a common finding in immunogenic cells of the drug-treated L5178Y lymphoma line.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Thymocyte costimulating antigen is CD26 (dipeptidyl-peptidase IV). Costimulation of granulocyte, macrophage, and T lineage cell proliferation via CD26.

The rat thymocyte costimulating protein appears to be involved in the regulation of CD4-/CD8- thymocyte proliferation in vitro. We show that thymocyte costimulating protein is dipeptidyl peptidase IV (E.C.N.3.4.14.5) also known as CD26. Some bone marrow cells as well as CD4-/CD8- and, and to a lesser extent, more differentiated T cells respond by proliferating to a CD26 specific mAb-mediated costimulus that does not influence dipeptidyl dipeptidase IV enzyme activity. This suggests the existence of a CD26-linked regulatory mechanism of proliferation that is operational on granulocyte- and macrophage-lineage cells and throughout T cell development.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Peptides presented to the immune system by the murine class II major histocompatibility complex molecule I-Ad.

Between 650 and 2000 different peptides are associated with the major histocompatibility complex class II molecule I-Ad. Sequences for nine of these were obtained by a combination of automated Edman degradation and tandem mass spectrometry. All of the peptides are derived from secretory or integral membrane proteins that are synthesized by the antigen-presenting cell itself. Peptides were 16 to 18 residues long, had ragged NH2-and COOH-termini, and contained a six-residue binding motif that was variably placed within the peptide chain. Binding data on truncated peptides suggest that the peptide binding groove on class II molecules can be open at both ends.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Three-dimensional structures of bulge-containing DNA fragments.

The three-dimensional structure of a DNA tridecamer d(CGCAGAATTCGCG)2 containing bulged adenine bases was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction methods, at 120 K, to 2.6 A resolution. The structure is a B-DNA type double helix with a single duplex in the asymmetric unit. One of the bulged adenine bases loops out from the double helix, while the other stacks in to it. This is in contrast to our preliminary finding, which indicated that both adenine bases were looped out. This revised model was confirmed by the use of a covalently bound heavy-atom derivative. The conformation of the looped-out bulge hardly disrupts base stacking interactions of the bases flanking it. This is achieved by the backbone making a "loop-the-loop" curve with the extra adenine flipping over with respect to the other nucleotides in the strand. The looped-out base intercalates into the stacked-in bulge site of a symmetrically related duplex. The looped-out and stacked-in bases form an A.A reversed Hoogsteen base-pair that stacks between the surrounding base-pairs, thus stabilizing both bulges. The double helix is frayed at one end with the two "melted" bases participating in intermolecular interactions. A related structure, of the same tridecamer, after soaking the crystals with proflavin, was determined to 3.2 A resolution. The main features of this B-DNA duplex are basically similar to the native tridecamer but differ in detail especially in the conformation of the bulged-out base. Accommodation of a large perturbation such as that described here with minimal disruption of the double helix shows both the flexibility and resiliency of the DNA molecule.

Base Composition↗
PubMed1992

Internalization of the urokinase-plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 complex is mediated by the urokinase receptor.

The role of the urokinase receptor (uPAR) in the internalization of the urokinase-plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (uPA.PAI-1) complex has been investigated. First, exploiting the species specificity of uPA binding, we show that mouse LB6 cells (that express a mouse uPAR) were unable to bind or degrade the human uPA.PAI-1 complex. On the other hand, LB6 clone 19 cells, which express a transfected human uPAR, degraded uPA.PAI-1 complexes with kinetics identical to the human monocytic U937 cells. We also show by immunofluorescence experiments with anti-uPA antibodies that in LB6 clone 19 cells, the uPA.PAI-1 complex is indeed internalized. While at 4 degrees C uPA fluorescence was visible at the cell surface, shift of the temperature to 37 degrees C caused a displacement of the immunoreactivity to the cytoplasmic compartment, with a pattern indicating lysosomal localization. If uPA.PAI-1 internalization/degradation is mediated by uPAR, inhibition of uPA.PAI-1 binding to uPAR should block degradation. Three different treatments, competition with the agonist amino-terminal fragment of uPA, treatment with a monoclonal antibody directed toward the binding domain of uPAR or release of uPAR from the cell surface with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C completely prevented uPA.PAI-1 degradation. The possibility that a serpin-enzyme complex receptor might be primarily or secondarily involved in the internalization process was excluded since a serpin-enzyme complex peptide failed to inhibit uPA.PAI-1 binding and degradation. Similarly, complexes of PAI-1 with low molecular mass uPA (33 kDa uPA), which lacks the uPAR binding domain, were neither bound nor degraded. Finally we also show that treatment of cells with uPA.PAI-1 complex caused a specific but partial down-regulation of uPAR. A similar result was obtained when PAI-1 was allowed to complex to uPA that had been previously bound to the receptor. The possibility therefore exists that the entire complex uPA.PAI-1-uPAR is internalized. All these data allow us to conclude that internalization of the uPA.PAI-1 complex is mediated by uPAR.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

High-resolution solution structure of the double Cys2His2 zinc finger from the human enhancer binding protein MBP-1.

The high-resolution three-dimensional structure of a synthetic 57-residue peptide comprising the double zinc finger of the human enhancer binding protein MBP-1 has been determined in solution by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy on the basis of 1280 experimental restraints. A total of 30 simulated annealing structures were calculated. The backbone atomic root-mean-square distributions about the mean coordinate positions are 0.32 and 0.33 A for the N- and C-terminal fingers, respectively, and the corresponding values for all atoms, excluding disordered surface side chains, are 0.36 and 0.40 A. Each finger comprises an irregular antiparallel sheet and a helix, with the zinc tetrahedrally coordinated to two cysteines and two histidines. The overall structure is nonglobular in nature, and the angle between the long axes of the helices is 47 +/- 5 degrees. The long axis of the antiparallel sheet in the N-terminal finger is approximately parallel to that of the helix in the C-terminal finger. Comparison of this structure with the X-ray structure of the Zif-268 triple finger complexed with DNA indicates that the relative orientation of the individual zinc fingers is clearly distinct in the two cases. This difference can be attributed to the presence of a long Lys side chain in the C-terminal finger of MBP-1 at position 40, instead of a short Ala or Ser side chain at the equivalent position in Zif-268. This finding suggests that different contacts may be involved in the binding of the zinc fingers of MBP-1 and Zif-268 to DNA, consistent with the findings from methylation interference experiments that the two fingers of MBP-1 contact 10 base pairs, while the three fingers of Zif-268 contact only 9 base pairs.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Three-dimensional solution structure of the E3-binding domain of the dihydrolipoamide succinyltransferase core from the 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex of Escherichia coli.

The three-dimensional solution structure of a 51-residue synthetic peptide comprising the dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (E3)-binding domain of the dihydrolipoamide succinyltransferase (E2) core of the 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex of Escherichia coli has been determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and hybrid distance geometry-dynamical simulated annealing calculations. The structure is based on 630 approximate interproton distance and 101 torsion angle (phi, psi, chi 1) restraints. A total of 56 simulated annealing structures were calculated, and the atomic rms distribution about the mean coordinate positions for residues 12-48 of the synthetic peptide is 1.24 A for the backbone atoms, 1.68 A for all atoms, and 1.33 A for all atoms excluding the six side chains which are disordered at chi 1 and the seven which are disordered at chi 2; when the irregular partially disordered loop from residues 31 to 39 is excluded, the rms distribution drops to 0.77 A for the backbone atoms, 1.55 A for all atoms, and 0.89 A for ordered side chains. Although proton resonance assignments for the N-terminal 11 residues and the C-terminal 3 residues were obtained, these two segments of the polypeptide are disordered in solution as evidenced by the absence of nonsequential nuclear Overhauser effects. The solution structure of the E3-binding domain consists of two parallel helices (residues 14-23 and 40-48), a short extended strand (24-26), a five-residue helical-like turn, and an irregular (and more disordered) loop (residues 31-39). This report presents the first structure of an E3-binding domain from a 2-oxo acid dehydrogenase complex.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acyltransferases↗
PubMed1992

Characterization of peptides bound to the class I MHC molecule HLA-A2.1 by mass spectrometry.

Antigens recognized by T cells are expressed as peptides bound to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. Microcapillary high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry was used to fractionate and sequence subpicomolar amounts of peptides isolated from the MHC molecule HLA-A2.1. Of 200 different species quantitated, eight were sequenced and four were found in cellular proteins. All were nine residues long and shared a distinct structural motif. The sensitivity and speed of this approach should enhance the analysis of peptides from small quantities of virally infected and transformed cells as well as those associated with autoimmune disease states.

Amino Acid Sequence↗