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Biomedical subjects

L A Pinna

Publications and source records attributed to L A Pinna.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Mapping the residues of protein kinase CK2 implicated in substrate recognition: mutagenesis of conserved basic residues in the alpha-subunit.

Six mutants of protein kinase CK2 alpha subunit in which basic residues have been mutated into alanines were assayed for their capability to phosphorylate the peptide RRRADDSDDDDD. Two mutants (R228A and R278K279R280A) behaved more or less as alpha wild type and one (H160,166A) was nearly inactive, hampering the calculation of kinetic parameters. In contrast 3 mutants (K74-77A, K79R80K83A and R191,195K198A) phosphorylated the peptide with reduced efficiency accounted for by increased Km and decreased Vmax values. By using derivatives of the RRRADDSDDDDD peptide in which individual aspartyl residues were variably replaced by alanine(s) and two peptide substrates derived from I-2 (KYRIREQESSGEEDSDL and RRKDLHDDEEDEEMSETADGE) it was shown that mutations in the 191-198, 74-77 and 79-83 regions were the least detrimental whenever the acidic determinants were lacking at positions +1, +4/+5 and +3, respectively. These data support the conclusion that the basic residues present in the p+1 loop of CK2 alpha specifically recognize the acidic determinant adjacent to the C-terminal side of serine, while the specificity determinants located more down-stream are variably recognized by different residues of the unique basic cluster spanning between Lys74 and Lys83.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Linear and cyclic synthetic peptides related to the main autophosphorylation site of the Src tyrosine kinases as substrates and inhibitors of Lyn.

Tyrosine protein kinases (TPKs) of the src family contain two major phosphoacceptor sites which are homologous to the Tyr 416 and Tyr 527 of pp60c-src. The former represents the main autophosphorylation sites of these enzymes, and its phosphorylation correlates with increased kinase activity. It has previously been demonstrated that the Src-like tyrosine kinase expressed by the oncogene lyn displays a high affinity toward the heptapeptide H-Glu-Asp-Asn-Glu-Tyr-Thr-Ala-OH, which reproduces the main autophosphorylation site of the Src family enzymes [Donella-Deana, A., Marin, O., Brunati, A.M. & Pinna, L.A. (1992) Eur. J. Biochem. 204, 1159-1163]. Our study was addressed to the synthesis of some derivatives of this sequence in order to obtain both peptide substrates suitable for the detection of the Src-like tyrosine kinase activity and active site-directed inhibitors specific for this class of enzymes. For this purpose we synthesized by classical solution methods the heptapeptide and its dimeric form. Moreover, in order to improve the proteolytic resistance of these peptides we also synthesized their cyclic derivatives and their N-terminal acetylated and C-terminal amidated analogs. The correlation between the different structural properties induced by the modifications of the native sequence and the propensity of the peptides to act as Lyn substrates was examined. The kinetic data obtained indicate that the extent of the peptide phosphorylation varies considerably depending on the flexibility and length of the analogs. While the cyclization and the C-terminal amidation of the heptapeptide are detrimental for the Lyn activity, dimeric derivatives display very favourable kinetic constants. In particular the cyclic dimer is an especially suitable substrate for the tyrosine kinase and a powerful inhibitor of both the phosphorylation activity of Lyn and the enzyme autophosphorylation.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Synthetic Tyr-phospho and non-hydrolyzable phosphonopeptides as PTKs and TC-PTP inhibitors.

Tyrosine-specific protein kinases and phosphatases are important signal transducing enzymes in normal cellular growth and differentiation and have been implicated in the etiology of a number of human neoplastic processes. In order to develop agents which inhibits the function of these two classes of enzymes by interfering with the binding of their substrates, we synthesized analogs derived from the peptide EDNEYTA. This sequence reproduces the main autophosphorylation site of Src tyrosine kinases. In this work we report the synthesis, by classical solution methods, of the phosphotyrosyl peptide EDNEYpTA as well as of three analogs in which the phosphotyrosine is replaced by a phosphinotyrosine and by two unnatural, non-hydrolyzable amino acids 4-phosphonomethyl-L-phenylalanine and 4-phosphono-L-phenylalanine. The Src peptide and its derivatives were tested as inhibitors of three non-receptor tyrosine kinases (Lyn, belonging to the Src family, CSK and PTK-IIB) and a non-receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase obtained from human T-cell (TC-PTP). The biomimetic analogues, which do not significantly affect the activity of CSK, PTK-IIB and TC-PTP, act as efficient inhibitors on Lyn, influencing both the exogenous phosphorylation and, especially, its autophosphorylation. In particular, the Pphe derivative may provide a basis for the design of a class of inhibitors specific for Lyn and possibly Src tyrosine kinases, capable of being used in vivo and in vitro conditions.

Enzyme Inhibitors↗

Androgenic regulation of protein kinase CK1 in the prostatic cell.

We examined the androgenic regulation of protein kinase CK1 in rat ventral prostate cytosolic and chromatin fractions. On androgen deprivation, CK1 in both the nuclear and cytoplasmic compartments decreases slowly at a similar rate. Stimulation of regrowth in the prostate does not evoke an early differential modulation in the CK1 because it increased in both the cytosol and chromatin only by 24 h after androgenic stimulus. These changes in CK1 relate to its proposed role in cell regulation at mitosis and differ from those in protein kinase CK2 that demonstrates rapid modulations in the nuclear compartment under similar conditions.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

A membrane-bound protein phosphatase type 2C from Paramecium tetraurelia. Purification, characterization, and cloning.

We isolated the first membrane-bound type 2C serine/threonine protein phosphatase from the ciliated protozoan Paramecium tetraurelia (PtPP2C). Three isozymes of 33, 32, and 31 kDa with a specific activity of 1 mumol.min-1.mg1 were purified from the ciliary membrane. All enzymatic properties including (a) insensitivity toward inhibitors of other protein phosphatase families such as okadaic acid and microcystin, (b) absolute requirement for divalent cations, and (c) substrate specificity tested with synthetic phosphopeptides were identical to mammalian PP2C enzymes and identified the PtPP2C as a canonical PP2C in spite of it being about 25% smaller. The NH2-terminal was blocked. Microsequencing of six tryptic peptides established a relationship to other PP2C enzymes. The PtPP2C gene was obtained using degenerate oligonucleotide primers and the polymerase chain reaction. The gene coded for a 33-kDa protein with 300 amino acids and had an (A+T) content of 62%, typical for this protozoan. Nine of 15 Gln residues are encoded by TAA, a universal stop codon which codes for Gln in Paramecium. A large truncation at the COOH-terminal is responsible for the smaller size of the PtPP2C. Only a single transcript of 1 kilobase was detected with a Northern blot indicating that the 32- and 31-kDa proteins were proteolytic products of the 33-kDa enzyme. Sequence comparisons with PP2C enzymes from rat, rabbit, yeast, Arabidopsis, and Leishmania defined a highly diverged enzyme family which shares three conserved domains, I, II, and III, accounting for about 25% of the primary structure. We demonstrated further that the distances between domains I/II and II/III are very similar in all PP2C enzymes (9-13 and 74-80 amino acids, respectively). However, the amino acid sequences of the spacer regions are unrelated. In addition, the COOH-terminal ends of 100-200 amino acids which comprise 30-50% of the enzyme, display no identity. A dendrogramm shows that PtPP2C surprisingly is most closely related to the mammalian PP2C, and enzymes from Leishmania, Arabidopsis, and yeast are more distant relatives.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Substrate recognition by casein kinase-II: the role of histidine-160.

Casein kinase-II (CK-II) belongs to the protein kinases recognizing serine/threonine in proximity to acidic residues in protein substrates. Crystallography and mutagenesis studies on the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) disclosed that glutamic acid-170 (E170), is important for interaction of substrates with the enzyme. At a position corresponding to E170 in PKA most Ser/Thr kinases have an aspartic or glutamic acid, while CK-II has a histidine residue (H160). In order to examine the relevance of this substitution for CK-II substrate specificity, a mutant of the catalytic alpha subunit (H160D), in which H160 was changed to aspartic acid, was made. Our results show that H160 is not primarily involved in canonical substrate recognition, but does interact with an acidic residue located at position -2 with respect to the target Ser/Thr.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Phosphorylation of synthetic fragments of inhibitor-2 of protein phosphatase-1 by casein kinase-1 and -2. Evidence that phosphorylated residues are not strictly required for efficient targeting by casein kinase-1.

The major phosphorylation site for both casein kinase-2 (CK2) and casein kinase-1 (CK1) in protein phosphatase-1 (PP-1) inhibitor-2 (I-2) is Ser86. Minor phosphorylation sites affected by either CK2 or CK1 are Ser120/Ser121 and Ser174, respectively. A synthetic peptide of 25 amino acids encompassing residues 67-93 of I-2 is phosphorylated by either CK2 or CK1 at its seryl residue corresponding to Ser86 with higher Vmax and Km values similar to those of the intact protein (9 vs 7.2 microM and 14.2 vs 5.3 microM with CK2 and CK1, respectively). No detectable phosphorylation of this peptide which also includes the glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) site (Thr72), could be observed with either GSK-3 or p34cdc2 kinase whether or not its seryl residue equivalent to Ser86 had been previously phosphorylated by CK2. Shorter derivatives of I-2(67-93), encompassing residues 72-93 and 78-93, are also readily phosphorylated by both CK1 and CK2, with phosphorylation efficiencies similar to those of the parent peptide. A synthetic heptadecapeptide reproducing the phosphoacceptor site around Ser120/Ser121 is phosphorylated by CK2, but not to any detectable extent by CK1, with a Km value fivefold higher than that of the corresponding pentadecapeptide including Ser86 (78-93). A synthetic pentadecapeptide (166-180) reproducing the phosphoacceptor site around Ser174 is phosphorylated by CK1 less efficiently than the pentadecapeptide including its main phosphorylation site (78-93) (Km 280 microM vs 33 microM). This peptide is readily phosphorylated by CK2 as well, although it lacks the canonical consensus sequence for CK2 and its Ser174 is almost unaffected by CK2 in intact I-2. These data provide the clear-cut demonstration that the consensus sequence with N-terminal prephosphorylated residue(s), SerP/ThrP-Xaa-Xaa-Ser/Thr, [Flotow, H., Graves, P. R., Wang, A., Fiol, C. J., Roeske, R. W. & Roach, P. J. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 14264-14269; Meggio, F., Perich, J. W., Reynolds, E. C. & Pinna, L. A. (1991) FEBS Lett. 283, 303-306] is not always required to achieve efficient and high-affinity phosphorylation by CK1. They also show that the specificity determinants for I-2 phosphorylation by either CK2 or CK1, but not by GSK3, are entirely grounded on local structural features of the phosphoacceptor site, being only marginally affected by the overall structure of I-2.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Regulation of c-Fgr protein kinase by c-Src kinase (CSK) and by polycationic effectors.

The protein tyrosine kinase expressed by the protooncogene c-fgr is phosphorylated and down-regulated in vitro by the c-Src kinase (CSK). CSK catalyzed phosphorylation affects Tyr-511 of c-Fgr, homologous to Tyr-527 of c-Src and it prevents the autophosphorylation normally occurring at c-Fgr Tyr-400, homologous to c-Src Tyr-416. Polylysine, histones H1 and H2A and other polycationic proteins on the other hand stimulate c-Fgr activity while promoting enhanced autophosphorylation of both Tyr-400 and Tyr-511. Once phosphorylated at Tyr-511 and down-regulated by CSK, c-Fgr is no more susceptible to polylysine stimulation. Previous autophosphorylation (at Tyr-400) reduces c-Fgr susceptibility to down-regulation by CSK, although Tyr-511 can be still phosphorylated by it. If a more exhaustive autophosphorylation (of both Tyr-400 and Tyr-511) is performed in the presence of polylysine, c-Fgr becomes totally insensitive to CSK down-regulation. These data support the concept that down-regulation of c-Fgr by Tyr-511 phosphorylation is prevented if Tyr-400 is also phosphorylated and they are consistent with an outcompetition of phospho-Tyr-511 from the Src homology 2 domain by phospho-Tyr-400, which, in c-Fgr, is surrounded by an amino acid sequence divergent from that of the other Src-related protein tyrosine kinases.

Adenosine↗

4,5-Dianilinophthalimide: a protein-tyrosine kinase inhibitor with selectivity for the epidermal growth factor receptor signal transduction pathway and potent in vivo antitumor activity.

Deregulated signal transduction via the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) family of protein-tyrosine kinase growth factor receptors is associated with proliferative diseases. We describe a class of compounds (4,5-dianilinophthalimides) that inhibit the EGF-R protein-tyrosine kinase in vitro with high selectivity. In cells, 4,5-dianilinophthalmide selectively inhibited both ligand-induced EGF-R and p185c-erbB2 autophosphorylation and c-fos mRNA induction. Antitumor activity could be demonstrated in vivo against xenografts of the A431 and SK-OV-3 tumors, which overexpress the EGF-R and p185c-erbB2, respectively. In contrast, a platelet-derived growth factor-driven tumor was not inhibited by 4,5-dianilinophthalimide, which is compatible with its cellular selectivity and hypothesized mechanism of action. No overt cumulative toxicity was observed during treatment even though high efficacy was observed, indicating a good therapeutic window. 4,5-Dianilinophthalimides may offer therapeutic agents for the treatment of hyperproliferative diseases that overexpress EGF-R family protein-tyrosine kinases or their ligands.

3T3 Cells↗

Efficient autophosphorylation and phosphorylation of the beta-subunit by casein kinase-2 require the integrity of an acidic cluster 50 residues downstream from the phosphoacceptor site.

Various beta-mutants were investigated either as subunits or as substrates for casein kinase 2 (CK-2), in the absence of presence of polylysine. A total of 21 beta-mutants were characterized for their susceptibility to autophosphorylation, by combining them in equimolar amounts with the recombinant alpha-subunit. Six mutants, i.e. beta A5,6, beta A59-61,63,64, beta A55,57, beta 55-57, beta delta 171-215, and beta delta 150-215 exhibited a > 70% reduction in autophosphorylation. This strongly suggests that in addition to amino acid residues 5,6, distant amino acid residues within the sequence 55-64 are also involved in the process of autophosphorylation, possibly by means of a loop formation. The results obtained with the COOH-terminal-deleted mutants support the view that reconstitution of a functional holoenzyme must occur to allow efficient autophosphorylation. Polylysine prevents the autophosphorylation of beta wt (86% inhibition) inducing a parallel increase of the alpha-subunit autophosphorylation. The autophosphorylation of all mutants, with the exception of beta A55-57 and beta A59-61,63,64, is also inhibited by polylysine (>64%). The alpha-subunit autophosphorylation is increased with all mutants reconstituting a tetrameric holoenzyme. Only with the three largest COOH-terminal deletion mutants beta delta 150-215, beta delta 171-215, and beta delta 181-215 is no significant alpha-subunit autophosphorylation observed. The phosphorylation of the beta-subunit mutants added in large molar excess to CK-2 holoenzyme (either native or recombinant) is also severely impaired by Ala for Glu/Asp substitutions at position 5,6 and in the 55-64 region and by the deletion of the COOH-terminal segments 150-215 and 171-215. Such a phosphorylation is inhibited by polylysine, with the exception of mutants beta delta 171-215 and beta delta 150-215, whose phosphorylation is conversely stimulated by polylysine. The decreased phosphorylation efficiency of those mutants that are poor substrates is invariably accounted for by lower Vmax values, whereas the affinity for CK-2 is actually increased (Km values lower than that of beta wt).

Animals↗

Design and synthesis of two new peptide substrates for the specific and sensitive monitoring of casein kinases-1 and -2.

The available information about the specificity determinants of casein kinases-1 and -2 (CK1 and CK2) has been utilized to obtain two new peptide substrates optimally suited for the specific monitoring of these two pleiotropic enzymes. The best substrate developed for CK1 is the inhibitor-2 derived peptide RRKDLHDDEEDEAMSITA which is superior in every respect to all the non phosphorylated CK1 peptide substrates used so far. Its Km is 172 microM and the Vmax is 6-fold higher than that of casein. The dodecapeptide RRRADDSDDDDD, on the other hand, is totally refractory to CK1 while it is an excellent substrate for CK2, exhibiting, under basal conditions, a Km value of 19 microM and a Vmax higher than those obtained with all the routinely used substrates of CK2. Both the novel CK1 and CK2 peptide substrates are suited for the phosphocellulose paper assay.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Dephosphorylation of phosphopeptides by calcineurin (protein phosphatase 2B).

38 (6-32 residues) enzymically phosphorylated synthetic peptides have been assayed as substrates for calcineurin, a Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase (PP-2B) belonging to the family of Ser/Thr-specific enzymes but also active on phosphotyrosine residues. Many peptides reproduce, with suitable modifications, naturally occurring phosphoacceptor sites. While protein phosphatases 2A and 2C are also very active on short phosphopeptides, an extended N-terminal stretch appears to be a necessary, albeit not sufficient, condition for an optimal dephosphorylation, comparable to that of protein substrates, of both phosphoseryl and phosphotyrosyl peptides by calcineurin. This finding corroborates the view that higher-order structure is an important determinant for the substrate specificity of calcineurin. However, a number of shorter peptides are also appreciably dephosphorylated by this enzyme, their efficiency as substrates depending on local structural features. All the peptides that are appreciably dephosphorylated by calcineurin contain basic residue(s) on the N-terminal side. A basic residue located at position -3 relative to the phosphorylated residue plays a particularly relevant positive role in determining the dephosphorylation of short phosphopeptides. Acidic residue(s) adjacent to the C-terminal side of the phosphoamino acid are conversely powerful negative determinants, preventing the dephosphorylation of otherwise suitable peptide substrates. However, calcineurin displays an only moderate preference for phosphothreonyl peptides which are conversely strikingly preferred over their phosphoseryl counterparts by the other classes of Ser/Thr-specific protein phosphatases. Moreover calcineurin does not perceive as a strong negative determinant the motif Ser/Thr-Pro in peptides where this motif prevents dephosphorylation by the other classes of Ser/Thr protein phosphatases. Whenever tested on phosphotyrosyl peptides, calcineurin exhibits a specificity which is strikingly different from that of T-cell protein tyrosine phosphatase, a bona fide protein tyrosine phosphatase. In particular while the latter enzyme is especially active toward a number of phosphopeptides reproducing the phosphoacceptor sites of src products and of calmodulin whose N-terminal moieties are predominantly acidic, the artificial substrate phospho-angiotensin II, bearing an arginine residue at position -2, is far preferred by calcineurin over all phosphotyrosyl peptides of similar size. Collectively taken these results show that the specificity of calcineurin, rather than resting on a given consensus sequence, is determined by a variety of primary and higher-order structural features conferring to it an overall selectivity that is different from those of any other known protein phosphatase.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Efficient Fmoc/solid-phase peptide synthesis of O-phosphotyrosyl-containing peptides and their use as phosphatase substrates.

A general synthetic method for the efficient preparation of Tyr(P)-containing peptides is described by the use of Fmoc-Tyr(PO3tBu2)-OH in Fmoc/solid-phase synthesis followed by simultaneous cleavage of the peptide from the resin and peptide deprotection by acidolytic treatment. The applicability of this approach is demonstrated by the synthesis of H-Ser-Ser-Ser-Tyr(P)-Tyr(P)-OH.TFA and the synthesis of the phosphorylated forms of the two physiological peptides, angiotensin II and neurotensin 8-13. In addition, the three phosphorylated peptides were used as substrates in the study of the local specificity determinants of T-cell protein tyrosine phosphatase. In a competition assay using 32P-radiolabeled [Tyr(P)]4-angiotensin II, both unlabeled synthetic [Tyr(P)]4-angiotensin II and Ser-Ser-Ser-Tyr(P)-Tyr(P) reduced the release of 32P and indicated that they efficiently competed as substrates for the phosphatase. Conversely, [Tyr(P)]4-neurotensin 8-13 was ineffective as a competitive substrate and indicated that this particular Tyr(P)-containing peptide sequence was not recognized by the enzyme. The marked difference in the recognition of Asp-Arg-Val-Tyr(P)-Ile-His-Pro-Phe and Arg-Arg-Pro-Tyr(P)-Ile-Leu is consistent with the presence of an acidic residue in the -3 position relative to the Tyr(P) residue.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

A historical view of protein kinase CK2.

The enzyme termed nowadays protein kinase CK2 was first described in liver extracts (as a mixture with protein kinase CK1), using casein as artificial substrate, by Burnett and Kennedy (1954). In 1960 it was shown that such casein/phosvitin phosphorylating activity was ubiquitous and distinct from phosphorylase kinase, i.e., the only other protein kinase known at that time. CK1 and CK2 were distinguished from each other at the end of the sixties, and during the seventies CK2 was purified to homogeneity in several laboratories and thoroughly characterized as far as its subunit structure (alpha 2 beta 2), site specificity, and in vitro responsiveness to various effectors were concerned. The first endogenous substrate for CK2 (eIF-3) was described in 1976, but it was during the eighties that it became clear that CK2 is a pleiotropic protein kinase committed with the phosphorylation of a myriad of cellular targets. More than 100 CK2 substrates are known, sharing typical phosphoacceptor sites specified by multiple acidic residues on the C terminal side of Ser/Thr. The definition of the primary structure of CK2 catalytic subunit, in 1987, definitely included CK2 in the big family of eukariotic protein kinases. The growing interest for CK2 is accounted for by its unusual properties, by the increasing number of its substrates, and by several coincidental arguments suggesting that this pleiotropic protein kinase plays a fundamental role in cellular regulation. A major and intriguing problem concerning CK2 is its apparent lack of regulation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Protein kinase CK2 structure-function relationship: effects of the beta subunit on reconstitution and activity.

Protein kinase CK2 subunits alpha and beta were expressed either separately or together in a bacterial expression system (pT7-7/BL21(DE3)) and purified to homogeneity. After mixing the subunits, a CK2 holoenzyme (alpha 2 beta 2) was spontaneously reconstituted, which displays identical features as the native enzyme. The alpha subunit alone, although catalytically active by itself, has different biochemical and biophysical properties than the holoenzyme, e.g., it is extremely salt sensitive, already 50 mM monovalent salt can lead to a 50% inhibition of the catalytic activity. Furthermore, it is readily inactivated through urea, protease, and heat treatment. In contrast, the holoenzyme, either reconstituted or native, is much more stable when similar negative insults prevail. The beta subunit has at least three functions: (a) it is necessary for maximum activity of the enzyme under physiological salt conditions, (b) it protects the alpha subunit against denaturing agents or conditions, and (c) it alters the substrate specificity of the alpha subunit. By site-directed mutagenesis, certain functions of the beta subunit could be assigned to specific amino acids or domains. Twenty one mutants of the beta subunit have been prepared and assayed for their ability to assemble with the catalytic alpha subunit to give a fully competent CK2 holoenzyme. The beta subunit contains an acidic stretch (amino acid 55-64), which is obviously responsible for a negative control of enzyme activity since mutations of certain acidic amino acids within this stretch to alanine lead to a hyperactive CK2 holoenzyme.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Substrate specificity of protein kinase CK2.

Unlike most Ser/Thr protein kinases which recognize phosphoacceptor sites specified by basic residues, protein kinase CK2 is extraordinarily acidophilic in nature. By combining the analysis of more than 100 CK2 natural phosphorylation sites with the kinetic behaviour of a large number of model peptide substrates, it can be concluded that although the most crucial specificity determinant is an acidic residue (Glu, Asp, TyrP, or SerP) at position +3, additional acidic residues at positions spanning from -2 to +7 (and probably farther) also act as positive specificity determinants for CK2, whereas basic residues at these positions, prolyl residue at position +1, and a bulky hydrophobic doublet at position +1 and +2, are powerful negative determinants. It also appears that the nature of the acidic determinants may variably influence their effect depending on the position occupied: Thus, multiple aspartic acids are, in general, determinants as good as, or even better, than an equivalent number of glutamic acids; an individual Asp at position +3 flanked by Glu residues is ineffective; and phosphorylated residues appear to be much more effective if adjacent to the target residue (positions -2 to +2). In some instances, the local determinants alone are insufficient to account for the phosphorylation efficiency of the substrate which is greatly improved by the overall protein conformation, as illustrated by the examples of CK2 beta-subunit and protein p53, the latter exhibiting no consensus sequence around its phosphorylation site.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Reconstitution of normal and hyperactivated forms of casein kinase-2 by variably mutated beta-subunits.

Twenty-one mutants of the noncatalytic beta-subunit of human casein kinase-2 have been created, expressed in Escherichia coli, and purified to homogeneity. They are either modified at the autophosphorylation site (mutants beta delta 1-4 and beta A 5,6) or bear variable deletions in their C-terminal part (mutants beta delta 209-215, beta delta 194-215, beta delta 181-215, beta delta 171-215, beta delta 150-215) or have undergone Ala substitutions for the acidic and basic residues which are concentrated in the sequences 55-70 and 171-180, respectively. All these mutants have been examined for their ability to functionally replace the wild type beta-subunit. All substitutions and the deletions delta 1-4, delta 194-215, and delta 209-215 are compatible with effective binding of the catalytic alpha-subunit, as judged by sucrose density gradient analysis, stimulation of catalytic activity, and protection against thermal denaturation. Deletions delta 171-215 and delta 150-215, however, give rise to truncated molecules which are unable to associate with the alpha-subunit. The intermediate deletion delta 181-215 is still compatible with association, albeit the reconstituted holoenzyme exhibits an altered sedimentation coefficient. The holoenzymes reconstituted with substituted mutants beta A 55,57, beta A55-57, and, to a lesser extent, beta A 59-61, beta A63,64, and beta A5,6 display a basal activity which is higher (up to 4-fold) than that of the wild type holoenzyme.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amino Acid Sequence↗