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E Dufour

Publications and source records attributed to E Dufour.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Autocatalytic processing of recombinant human procathepsin L. Contribution of both intermolecular and unimolecular events in the processing of procathepsin L in vitro.

The autocatalytic processing of procathepsin L was investigated in vitro using purified recombinant proenzyme expressed in Pichia pastoris. Pure intermolecular processing was studied by incubating the mutant procathepsin L (C25S), which cannot autoactivate with a small amount of mature active cathepsin L. The results clearly establish that, contrary to recent reports, intermolecular processing of procathepsin L is possible. The main cleavage sites are located at or near the N terminus of the mature enzyme, in an accessible portion of the proregion, which contains sequences corresponding to the known substrate specificity of cathepsin L. Contrary to procathepsins B, K, and S, autocatalytic processing of procathepsin L can generate the natural mature form of the enzyme. A continuous assay using the substrate benzyloxycarbonyl-Phe-Arg 4-methylcoumarinyl-7-amide hydrochloride has also been used to obtain information on the nature of the steps involved in the autocatalytic processing of wild-type procathepsin L. Processing is initiated by decreasing the pH from 8.0 to 5.3. The influence of proenzyme concentration on the rate of processing indicates the existence of both unimolecular and bimolecular steps in the mechanism of processing. The nature of the unimolecular event that triggers processing remains elusive. Circular dichroism and fluorescence measurements indicate the absence of large scale conformational change in the structure of procathepsin L on reduction of pH. However, the bimolecular reaction can be attributed to intermolecular processing of the zymogen.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1998

p66/p51 and p51/p51 recombinant forms of reverse transcriptase from human immunodeficiency virus type 1--interactions with primer tRNA(Lys3), initiation of cDNA synthesis, and effect of inhibitors.

Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase (RT) initiates reverse transcription from tRNA(Lys3). HIV-1 RT is a heterodimer consisting of two polypeptides, p66 and p51. In this work, the possible role of each subunit of RT in the interaction with its natural primer tRNA(Lys3) was studied. Two recombinant forms of HIV-1 RT, heterodimer p66/p51 and homodimer p51/p51, were used. Previously we have expressed and purified recombinant RT p51/p51 which possesses DNA polymerase activity [El Dirani-Diab, R., Andreola, M. L., Nevinsky, G., Tharaud, D., Barr, P. J., Litvak, S. & Tarrago-Litvak, L. (1992) FEBS Lett. 301, 23-28]. Here we show that HIV-1 RT p51/p51 displays certain properties very similar to the p66/p51 recombinant enzyme. The homodimer was able to anneal tRNA(Lys3) to the primer-binding site of the HIV-1 RNA template leading to a functional complex capable of synthesizing cDNA. Further, the p51/p51 enzyme behaved like RT p66/p51 concerning the strong inhibition produced by a non-nucleoside RT inhibitor. These data show that for RT p51/p51, one of the subunits of the homodimer adopts a conformation similar to the catalytic subunit (p66) present in the heterodimeric form. Part of this work was devoted to the study of the complex between the recombinant forms of HIV-1 RT and its primer tRNA. Each enzymatic form was cross-linked to tRNA(Lys3) in the presence of a platinum derivative, giving different ribonucleoprotein complexes of molecular masses higher than 100 kDa, suggesting that primer tRNA may interact with both subunits in the heterodimeric enzyme. After RNase A treatment of the complex RT p66/p51 x tRNA, the label was mainly found to migrate with the p66 subunit, although some cross-linking was also found associated to the p51 subunit. These results show that the p66 and p51 subunits of RT interact with tRNA(Lys3). Moreover, cross-linking of tRNA(Lys3) with HIV-1 RT p66/p51 in the presence of a DNA template containing the primer-binding-site sequence yielded an enzymatically active complex.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Diversity of the cytotoxic melanoma-specific immune response: some CTL clones recognize autologous fresh tumor cells and not tumor cell lines.

In the present work, to analyze the heterogeneity of the tumor-specific cytotoxic immune response, a large number of T cell clones were generated from the infiltrate of a tumor-proximal invaded lymph node, and two kinds of melanoma-specific CD8+ CTL clones were derived. The majority of T cell clones (about a hundred) are characterized by a specific lysis of the autologous tumor cell lines. Among 34 of the latter clones, HLA-A2 molecule and MART-1(27-35) peptide have been shown to play a predominant role in tumor recognition. However, no significant amplification at the tumor site was observed for 3 of these CTL. The other kind of tumor-specific CTL (1 oligoclonal and 2 clonal cell lines) did not lyse the autologous melanoma cell lines but lysed the "fresh" autologous tumor cells in a MHC class I-dependent manner. Functional analysis of the two different CTL clones have shown that they did not lyse NK targets, autologous peripheral monocytes, activated T cells, and transformed B cells or any of the few allogeneic cultured and uncultured melanoma cells we tested. TCR repertoire analysis has shown that one of these CTL clones was significantly detectable "in situ" among tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, while not detectable among PBMC. Such melanoma-specific lymphocytes, which could not have been picked out through conventional screening procedures using tumor cell lines, could potentially play a role in tumor rejection. These results suggest that the immune response analyzed toward melanoma cell lines does not totally reflect the in situ immune status.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Potency and selectivity of the cathepsin L propeptide as an inhibitor of cysteine proteases.

The cathepsin L propeptide (phcl-2) was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using a human procathepsin L/alpha-factor fusion construct containing a stop codon at position -1 (the C-terminal amino acid of the proregion). Since the yield after purification was very low, the cathepsin L propeptide was also obtained by an alternate procedure through controlled processing of an inactive mutant of procathepsin L (Cys25Ser/Thrl10Ala) expressed in Pichia pastoris, by small amounts of cathepsin L. The peptide resulting from the cleavage of the proenzyme (phcl-1) was then purified by HPLC. The purified propeptides were characterized by N-terminal sequencing and mass spectrometry and correspond to incomplete forms of the proregion (87 and 81 aa for phcl-1 and phcl-2 respectively, compared to 96 aa for the complete cathepsin L propeptide). The two peptides were found to be potent and selective inhibitors of cathepsin L at pH 5.5, with Ki values of 0.088 nM for phcl-1 and 0.66 nM for phcl-2. The Ki for inhibition of cathepsin S was much higher (44.6 nM with phcl-1), and no inhibition of cathepsin B or papain could be detected at up to 1 microM of the propeptide. The inhibitory activity was also found to be strongly pH-dependent. Two synthetic peptides of 75 and 44 aa corresponding to N-terminal truncated versions of the propeptide were also prepared by solid phase synthesis and displayed Ki values of 11 nM and 2900 nM, respectively, against cathepsin L. The data obtained for the 4 propeptide derivatives of various lengths indicate that the first 20 residues in the N-terminal region of the propeptide are more important for inhibition than the C-terminal region which contributes little to the overall inhibitory activity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Engineering nitrile hydratase activity into a cysteine protease by a single mutation.

A peptide nitrile hydratase activity has been engineered into the cysteine protease papain by a single carefully selected mutation at the active site of the enzyme. The papain variant Gln19Glu hydrolyzes the substrate MeOCO-PheAla-CN to the corresponding amide with a kcat/KM value of 1.15 x 10(3) M-1 s-1. The reaction leads to an accumulation of the corresponding amide, which is then further hydrolyzed to the acid by the natural amidase activity of the enzyme. The pH-dependency of the nitrile hydratase activity of Gln19Glu supports the involvement of the acid form of the Glu19 residue in the reaction. The wild type enzyme displays very weak nitrile hydratase activity, and the introduction of a glutamic acid residue in the oxyanion hole of papain causes the kcat at pH 5 to increase by a factor of at least 4 x 10(5). Peptide nitriles react with cysteine proteases to form thioimidates, and the role of the glutamic acid residue introduced at position 19 in the Gln19Glu enzyme is to participate in the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of the thiomidate to the amide by the provision of a proton to form the more reactive protonated thioimidate. This dramatically decreases the energy barrier for the hydrolysis of the thioimidate, as shown by the impressive increase in kcat. The success of the rational approach undertaken is a consequence of the level of understanding of the basic catalytic properties of cysteine proteases of the papain family.

Amidohydrolases↗
PubMed1995

High-affinity interaction of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 reverse transcriptase with partially complementary primers.

The comparison of Km and Vmax values for various primers in the reaction of polymerization catalyzed by the human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase was carried out. The primers were: (a) complementary to the template, (b) partially complementary with mismatched nucleotides at different positions from the 3' end or (c) non-complementary. Non-complementary primers were not elongated by HIV-1 reverse transcriptase. However, if they contained only one residue complementary to the template or an abasic unit at the 3' end, they could serve as primers. The most effective discrimination between matched and mismatched primers, due to a decrease in the affinity and Vmax, was found in the case of oligonucleotides containing non-complementary bases at the second or third position from the 3' end of the primer. The efficiency of discrimination by HIV-1 reverse transcriptase between matched and mismatched base-paired primers was about 1-1.5 orders of magnitude lower than that of procaryotic, eucaryotic and archaebacterial DNA polymerases and avian myeloblastosis virus reverse transcriptase. Oligonucleotides such as (dT)4(dCdG)k(dT)4 showed higher affinity for the enzyme than (dT)4 or (dT)8 primers. These data suggest that HIV-1 reverse transcriptase, in contrast to procaryotic, eucaryotic and archaebacterial DNA polymerases, forms additional contacts with the 5'-end region of the non-complementary primer. In addition, using tRNA(3Lys), the natural primer of HIV-1, it was shown that the p66 subunit of reverse transcriptase can be crosslinked, in the presence of a platinum derivative, to the 5' end of tRNA. Thus, besides the normal binding site for the 3' end of tRNA, which is crucial for the initiation of cDNA synthesis, the 5' end of the tRNA also interacts with a specific site on the enzyme.

DNA, Complementary↗
PubMed1995

Peptide aldehydes and nitriles as transition state analog inhibitors of cysteine proteases.

Enzymes efficiently catalyze reactions by stabilizing inherently unstable transition states. For cysteine proteases, part of the stabilization is provided by a region of the enzyme termed the oxyanion hole. Site-directed mutagenesis has been used to investigate further the role of the oxyanion hole of papain in the binding of putative transition state analog inhibitors of cysteine proteases. The dissociation constants Ki(obs) for inhibition of wild-type and mutant enzymes (Gln19Ala, Gln19Glu, and Gln19His) by the aldehyde Ac-Phe-Gly-CHO and the nitrile MeOCO-Phe-Gly-CN have been determined in the pH range 3.5-9.0. For the peptide nitrile inhibitor, mutation of Gln19 was found to cause important increases in Ki(obs), and thioimidate adducts with the papain mutants Gln19Ala and Gln19Glu are less stable by 1.4-2.4 kcal/mol. However, for the peptide aldehyde inhibitor, the mutations resulted in a small but significant increase in stability of the tetrahedral hemithioacetal adduct (0.4-1.2 kcal/mol). In that respect, the hemithioacetal formed between papain and a peptide aldehyde cannot be considered a good model of the transition state for cysteine protease-catalyzed reactions. The influence of the mutations on the pH dependency of inhibition also indicates that with respect to oxyanion hole interaction, the inhibition of papain by peptide nitriles is a process closer to that of substrate hydrolysis than is the inhibition by the corresponding peptide aldehydes. The nature of the intermediates and transition states in hydrolysis reactions catalyzed by cysteine proteases, as well as the use of enzyme-inhibitor adducts as their models, is discussed.

Aldehydes↗
PubMed1994

High-pressure effects on beta-lactoglobulin interactions with ligands studied by fluorescence.

The effects of pressure (0.1 MPa to 400 MPa) on intrinsic fluorescence of beta-lactoglobulin and on its binding of retinol and cis-parinaric acid have been studied at neutral and acid pHs. In neutral pH, fluorescence emission spectra of beta-lactoglobulin tryptophanes are characterized by an irreversible 14 nm red-shift indicating pressure-induced folding changes. The intensity of the fluorescence of retinol in beta-lactoglobulin-retinol complex is enhanced by a pressure increase up to 150 MPa. It decreases at higher pressures and disappears altogether at 300 MPa. beta-Lactoglobulin-retinol complex does not reassociate after decompression at neutral pH. At acid pH condition, the fluorescence quenching by pressure of beta-lactoglobulin tryptophans is coupled with a 2 nm spectral shift and is fully reversible demonstrating almost complete restoration of globulin folding. The evolution of retinol fluorescence in beta-lactoglobulin-retinol complex is also entirely reversible between 0.1 MPa and 400 MPa and the complex never dissociates in the studied pressure range. beta-lactoglobulin-cis-parinaric acid complexes at neutral and acid pH values dissociate irreversibly at 200 MPa and 350 MPa, respectively.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1994

beta-Lactoglobulin binding properties during its folding changes studied by fluorescence spectroscopy.

The milk protein, beta-lactoglobulin (BLG) exhibits structural and binding properties which vary widely, depending on the medium. These properties of BLG are reflected in fluorescence intensities, steady-state anisotropies and phase lifetimes of BLG tryptophan residues and of retinol and diphenyl hexatriene (DPH) bound to BLG, as functions of pH, ethanol concentration and protein modifications (22% ethylated, 90% methylated and 85% acetylated BLGs). Tryptophan quenching experiments show that retinol and DPH bind to BLG in 1:1 molar ratios with apparent dissociation constants around 10(-7) - 10(-8) M. The strength of retinol binding is pH-dependent in the range 3-8, whereas that of DPH binding is not. Two different binding sites for these two ligands coexist on the protein. Modified BLGs exhibit higher affinities for DPH than the unmodified protein. At all pH values investigated, the fluorescence emission at 480 nm of retinol/BLG mixtures and retinol, DPH and tryptophan anisotropies and lifetimes change dramatically with midpoint at 27% ethanol for the first parameter and 35% for the others, suggesting simultaneous beta-strand to alpha-helix transition and the dissociation of BLG complexes at 35% ethanol. An intermediate state, possibly 'molten globular', occurs around 20% ethanol, as deduced from anisotropy and lifetime measurements.

Diphenylhexatriene↗
PubMed1994

Binding of heme-CO to bovine and porcine beta-lactoglobulins.

Two molecules of heme-CO bind to bovine or porcine beta-lactoglobulin (BLG) with an average affinity of 0.5 microM. The affinity increases with pH, with a transition near pH 7.5, indicating a conformational change in the protein. Heme-CO does not bind to the predominantly alpha-helix conformation of BLG, which occurs in solutions with more than 40% ethanol or methanol. Fluorescence energy transfer measurements have been made for the complex of BLG with retinol and/or heme-CO. Two species of BLG were used. While bovine BLG possesses two tryptophans (at positions 19 and 61) which are quenched by about a factor of 2 by either retinol or heme-CO, the porcine species has only one tryptophan (at position 19) whose fluorescence is decreased by a factor of 15 when both hemes are bound, indicating that at least one of the heme-binding sites is near (< 20 A) to this tryptophan. The fluorescence of retinol (complexed to BLG) is also quenched by the addition of heme-CO, indicating that BLG can bind both molecules simultaneously; a separation of 25 A between retinol and heme was calculated. The results suggest at least two hydrophobic pockets for this protein.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Conformation changes of beta-lactoglobulin: an ATR infrared spectroscopic study of the effect of pH and ethanol.

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy has been applied to investigate the secondary structural changes of beta-lactoglobulin in water/ethanol mixtures. The studies were carried out at two different pHs and at high protein concentrations. The spectra were recorded using an attenuated total reflection cell. The amide I band of beta-lactoglobulin in water reveals large amounts of intra extended beta-sheet structure. About 20% ethanol, beta-lactoglobulin unfolds and beta-strand formation is observed. alpha-Helices are built up by increasing the ethanol concentration up to 30%. In 50% ethanol, beta-lactoglobulin gels providing the apparent pH are neutral. The secondary structural changes of beta-lactoglobulin were observed on the similarity maps obtained by Principal Component Analysis.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Limited proteolysis of beta-lactoglobulin using thermolysin. Effects of calcium on the outcome of proteolysis.

Bovine beta-lactoglobulin variant B was hydrolysed with thermolysin at various concentrations of calcium ions ranging between 0 and 50 mM. The changes in calcium concentration did not influence the overall rates of beta-lactoglobulin proteolysis. However, HPLC analyses of the hydrolysates, obtained at nine different calcium concentrations, indicated that the rates of production and/or lysis of 3 of 17 identified peptides were calcium concentration-dependent. Proteolysis at low calcium concentrations yielded peptides V41-E45 and V43-L57. The peptide V43-L57, containing a cluster of dicarboxylic amino acids, was resistant to further hydrolysis by thermolysin even after 10 h incubation. An increase in calcium concentration triggered gradual hydrolysis of this peptide. Its hydrolytic product (peptide V43-D53) was obtained only by proteolysis of beta-lactoglobulin with thermolysin at high calcium concentration.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 reverse transcriptase copies very short templates: kinetic and crosslinking analysis.

We describe in this article some properties concerning the cDNA elongation activity of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase (RT). The kinetic parameters of the polymerization reaction catalyzed by HIV-1 RT, using short templates, were studied. Values of Km and Vmax were measured as a function of the oligoadenylate template length: the logarithm of Km increased linearly, with an incremental factor of 2.2, when the template length differs by one nucleotide. Using short templates, olig(A)n (n = 7-14) and primers shorter or longer than the template, HIV-1 reverse transcriptase was able to synthesize polymer products longer than 200 nucleotides. We showed that an oligonucleotide as short as (pA)3 was long enough to serve as template for cDNA synthesis by RT. In the binding of RT to template of different lengths (5 to 14 nucleotides long), two constants were determined differing in each case by a factor of about 10. The three recombinant forms of HIV-1 RT (p66/p51, p66/p66 and p51/p51) were crosslinked to a short template, (pA)14, in the presence of cis-aquahydroxydiamminoplatinum. The efficiency of crosslink of [32P](pA)14 template with each of the subunits of RT correlated well with the affinity of this template to the different forms of RT. In the case of p66/p51, the crosslink occurred mainly with the p66 subunit. These results confirm the important catalytic role of the p66 subunit in the heterodimeric human retroviral polymerase.

Cisplatin↗
PubMed1993

Reversible effects of medium dielectric constant on structural transformation of beta-lactoglobulin and its retinol binding.

The secondary structure transformation of beta-lactoglobulin from a predominantly beta-structure into a predominantly alpha-helical one, under the influence of solvent polarity changes is reversible. Independent of the alcohol used--methanol, ethanol, or 2-propanol--the midpoints of the observed structural transformation occur around dielectric constant epsilon approximately 60. The structural change destroying the hydrophobic core formed by the beta-barrel structure leads, at room temperature, to the dissociation of the retinol/beta-lactoglobulin complex in the neighborhood of dielectric constant epsilon approximately 50. However, when the dielectric constant of the medium is raised back to epsilon approximately 70 by the decrease of the temperature, both the refolding of BLG into a beta-structure and the reassociation of the retinol/beta-lactoglobulin complex are observed. The esterification of beta-lactoglobulin carboxyl groups has two effects: on the one hand it accelerates the beta-strand<==>alpha-helix transition induced by alcohols. On the other hand, the esterification of beta-lactoglobulin strengthens its interaction with retinol as it may be deduced from the smaller apparent dissociation constant of retinol/methylated beta-lactoglobulin complex. The binding of retinol to modified or unmodified beta-lactoglobulin has no influence (stabilizing or destabilizing) on the folding changes induced by alcohol.

Alcohols↗
PubMed1993

Probing the fatty acid binding site of beta-lactoglobulins.

The interactions of fatty acids with porcine and bovine beta-lactoglobulins were measured using tryptophan fluorescence enhancement. In the case of bovine beta-lactoglobulin, the apparent binding constants for most of the saturated and unsaturated fatty acids were in the range of 10(-7) M at neutral pH. Bovine beta-lactoglobulin displays only one high affinity binding site for palmitate with an apparent dissociation constant of 1 x 10(-7) M. The strength of the binding was decreasing in the following way: palmitate > stearate > myristate > arachidonate > laurate. Caprylic and capric acids are not bound at all. The affinity of beta-lactoglobulin for palmitate decreased as the pH of the incubation medium was lowered and BLG/palmitate complex was not observed at pH's lower than 4.5. Surprisingly, chemically modified bovine beta-lactoglobulin and porcine beta-lactoglobulin did not bind fatty acids in the applied conditions.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Temperature-induced folding changes of beta-lactoglobulin in hydro-methanolic solutions.

It has been demonstrated using circular dichroism that methanol induces important structural changes of beta-lactoglobulin (BLG). The secondary structure of BLG dissolved in 45% methanol (v/v) at 30 degrees C (dielectric constant epsilon approximately 50) is predominantly alpha-helical and unable to complex retinol any more. However, when the dielectric constant of such a medium is raised back to epsilon approximately 70 by decreasing the temperature, both the refolding of BLG into a beta-structure and the formation of the retinol/BLG complex are observed. On the other hand, in the case of BLG solution in 30% methanol, the decrease of the dielectric constant from epsilon approximately 69 to epsilon approximately 53 by heating from 20 degrees C to 60 degrees C leads to the transition from a predominantly beta-structure into a predominantly random one and the dissociation of the retinol/BLG complex. The reversibility of the conformation changes by cooling was demonstrated by circular dichroism curves and tryptophan fluorescence. The retinol fluorescence intensity could not be completely recovered.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Solubility and reactivity of caseins and beta-lactoglobulin in protic solvents.

The study of the solubility of unstructured proteins (alpha s1-, beta-, and kappa-casein) and well-structured globulin (beta-lactoglobulin) in low water binary solvent systems demonstrated the crucial importance of solvent polarity and neutralization of protein polar functions on the final outcome of solubility experiments. The solubilities up to 38, 56, and 96% in CHCl3/CH3OH (1/1, v/v) acidified with HCl and up to 5, 10, and 25% in CHCl3/CH3OH (1/1, v/v) in the presence of triethylamine (TEA) were obtained for kappa-, alpha s1-, and beta-casein, respectively. The importance of protein charge neutralization was apparent when the solubilization was performed in basified CHCl3/CH3OH media, giving the optimal results when the studied proteins were brought before to their isoionic point. The maximum solubility of beta-casein at its pI in 30-70% methanol in CHCl3 was reaching 50-60% with triethylamine (TEA) added. beta-lactoglobulin could be solubilized up to 70% in CHCl3/CH3OH (7/3, v/v) acidified with HCl and up to 40% in CHCl3/CH3OH (3/7, v/v) in the presence of TEA. The observed yield of reductive alkylation of beta-lactoglobulin was much higher (98%) when performed in studied solvent system than in aqueous conditions (75%). Apparently, steric hindrance of the well-folded beta-barrel (in aqueous conditions) structure masks the portion of epsilon-NH2 groups. In the case of unstructured aqueous media beta-casein, 90% alkylation yields were obtained in organic and aqueous conditions.

Alkylation↗