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M Inouye

Publications and source records attributed to M Inouye.

At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

TIP 1, a cold shock-inducible gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Using differential hybridization, genes whose expression is induced at low temperatures were identified in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. One of these genes that corresponds to an mRNA that is induced 6-8-fold within 2 h after shifting the culture temperature from 30 to 10 degrees C was further characterized. Surprisingly, its expression was also induced by heat shock, and thus the gene was designated TIP 1 (temperature shock-inducible protein gene). Southern hybridization analysis demonstrated that there are several genes homologous to the TIP 1 gene on the yeast genome. A TIP 1 disruption mutation exerted an observable effect neither on growth nor on viability after being exposed to freezing temperatures. The TIP 1 gene encodes a protein of 210 amino acid residues with a molecular weight of 20,727, containing 20.0% alanine and 23.3% serine. The TIP 1 protein has a typical signal peptide at the amino-terminal end and an extremely hydrophobic sequence at the carboxyl-terminal end. The TIP 1 protein is thus likely to be secreted across the membrane and anchored on the outside surface of the plasma membrane. These results indicate that the TIP 1 protein is a new type of stress inducible protein in yeast.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

The protein sequence responsible for lipoprotein membrane localization in Escherichia coli exhibits remarkable specificity.

Structural information defining an N-terminal sequence required for the membrane sorting of bacterial lipoproteins has been previously garnered through the study of a hybrid outer membrane (OM) lipo-beta-lactamase (LL) (Ghrayeb and Inouye (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 463-467). Introduction of an aspartate as the second residue of mature LL (D2 mutant) causes an inner membrane (IM) localization of this protein (Yamaguchi, K., Yu, F., and Inouye, M. (1988) Cell 53, 423-432). Introduction of as aspartate at the third residue of mature LL (D3) causes a weaker IM sorting signal and when present as the fourth residue (D4), normal OM sorting occurs. A positively charged residue at the second position (K2) has no effect on OM localization. Remarkably, glutamate substitution at either the second (E2) or third (E3) position does not interfere with OM sorting. Sorting of the mutant D2 LL can be partially suppressed by introduction of a positively charged histidine (D2H3) or lysine (D2K3) at residue 3 of the mature protein. These results indicate that both the negative charge of the aspartate residue and some structural feature not present in a glutamate residue are required for sorting to the IM. The suppression of IM localization of the D2H3 LL double mutant can be eliminated by growing Escherichia coli at pH 8.4 to reduce the histidine partial positive charge. This result supports the essentiality of a negative charge in IM localization and indicates that the committed step in lipoprotein sorting is made in a cellular compartment, the periplasm, at equilibrium with the external pH.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Nucleoside diphosphate kinase from Escherichia coli; its overproduction and sequence comparison with eukaryotic enzymes.

The gene encoding nucleoside diphosphate (NDP) kinase of Escherichia coli was identified by polymerase chain reaction using oligodeoxyribonucleotide primers synthesized on the basis of consensus sequences from Myxococcus xanthus and various eukaryotic NDP kinases. The gene (ndk), mapped at 54.2 min on the E. coli chromosome, was cloned and sequenced. The E. coli NDP kinase was found to consist of 143 amino acid residues that are 57, 45, 45, 42, 43, and 43% identical to the M. xanthus, Dictyostelium discoideum, Drosophila melanogaster, mouse, rat, and human enzymes, respectively. The ndk gene appears to be in a monocistronic operon and, when cloned in a pUC vector, NDP kinase was overproduced at a level of approx. 25% of total cellular proteins. The protein could be labeled with [gamma-32P]ATP and migrated at a 16.5 kDa when electrophoresed in SDS-polyacrylamide gel, which is in good agreement with the Mr of the purified E. coli NDP kinase previously reported.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

In vivo effect of asparagine in the hydrophobic region of the signal sequence.

On the basis of the biophysical studies on the synthetic mutant (Ile-8----Asn) OmpA signal peptide in the preceding paper (Hoyt, D. C., and Gierasch, L.M. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 14406-14412), the in vivo effects of the same mutation were examined by fusing the mutant OmpA signal sequence to Staphylococcus aureus nuclease or TEM beta-lactamase. The mutation in which the isoleucine residue at position 8 of the OmpA signal sequence of Escherichia coli was replaced with a neutral polar residue, asparagine, resulted in a defective signal peptide. The mutant signal sequence was unable to be processed, and the precursor molecule accumulated in the cytoplasmic as well as in the membrane fractions, indicating that the Ile-8----Asn OmpA signal sequence is not competent for translocating nuclease A or beta-lactamase across the membrane. This result is consistent with the in vitro studies on the Ile-8----Asn OmpA signal peptide, which indicated that the mutant signal peptide was unable to penetrate into the hydrophobic core of the lipid bilayer. Other asparagine or glutamine substitution mutations in the hydrophobic region of the OmpA signal sequence were also examined. Interestingly, the OmpA signal sequence with either Ile-8----Gln, Val-10----Asn, or Leu-12----Asn mutation was completely defective as the Ile-8----Asn OmpA signal sequence, while the Ile-6----Asn and Ala-9----Asn OmpA nucleases were able to be processed to secrete nuclease, although the processing occurred at a much slower rate than the wild-type OmpA nuclease. These results indicate that the defects depend on the position of the lesion in the hydrophobic core of the OmpA signal sequence.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of oucleoside diphosphate kinase from Myxococcus xanthus.

Nucleoside diphosphate (NDP) kinase catalyzes the transfer of the gamma-phosphate from a nucleoside triphosphate to a nucleoside diphosphate. Human and rodent forms of this enzyme have been shown to be suppressors of metastasis. Crystals that diffract X-rays to high resolution have been obtained for the recombinant Myxococcus xanthus NDP kinase expressed in and purified from Escherichia coli. Two crystal forms have been obtained. Both forms are orthorhombic, space group I222 (or I2(1)2(1)2(1)) with a = 267.1 A, b = 74.0 A and c = 75.1 A for form I and a = 53.5 A, b = 74.0 A and c = 75.1 A for form II. Form I appears to have five molecules in the asymmetric unit approximately related to each other by a translation of 0.2 along the a axis. Diffraction data have been recorded to 1.9 A for form I and to 2.2 A for form II.

Crystallization↗
PubMed1991

Retronphage phi R73: an E. coli phage that contains a retroelement and integrates into a tRNA gene.

Some strains of Escherichia coli contain retroelements (retrons) that encode genes for reverse transcriptase and branched, multicopy, single-stranded DNA (msDNA) linked to RNA. However, the origin of retrons is unknown. A P4-like cryptic prophage was found that contains a retroelement (retron Ec73) for msDNA-Ec73 in an E. coli clinical strain. The entire genome of this prophage, named phi R73, is 12.7 kilobase pairs and is flanked by 29-base pair direct repeats derived from the 3' end of the selenocystyl transfer RNA gene (selC). P2 bacteriophage caused excision of the phi R73 prophage and acted as a helper to package phi R73 DNA into an infectious virion. The newly formed phi R73 closely resembled P4 as a virion and in its lytic growth. Retronphage phi R73 lysogenized a new host strain, reintegrating its genome into the selC gene of the host chromosome and enabling the newly formed lysogens to produce msDNA-Ec73. Hence, retron Ec73 can be transferred intercellularly as part of the genome of a helper-dependent retronphage.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Ca2(+)-enhanced phosphorylation of a chimeric protein kinase involved with bacterial signal transduction.

The Tar-EnvZ hybrid molecule (Taz1) is an inner membrane transducer that activates OmpR, a transcriptional activator for porin gene expression (ompC), in response to an aspartic acid signal. Signal transduction by Taz1 most likely involves a phosphorylated Taz1 intermediate that donates its phosphate to OmpR. Phosphorylated OmpR has already been implicated in transcriptional activation of porin genes. Using a cell-free system containing Taz1-enriched membrane fractions, we have examined the phosphorylation properties of Taz1 and the stimulatory effects of divalent and monovalent ions. Highest activation of Taz1 phosphorylation was observed with CaCl2, and its stimulation could be observed with as low as 60 microM of CaCl2. Phosphorylated Taz1 could readily donate its phosphate group to OmpR in the presence of calcium. CaCl2 was also able to enhance phosphorylation of intact membrane-bound EnvZ and a cytoplasmic fragment of EnvZ lacking the receptor and transmembrane domains. These results indicate that the site for CaCl2 stimulation is within the cytoplasmic region of EnvZ and probably involves an enhanced rate of EnvZ phosphorylation.

Autoradiography↗
PubMed1991

Developmental disturbance of rat cerebral cortex following prenatal low-dose gamma-irradiation: a quantitative study.

Pregnant rats were exposed to a single whole-body gamma-irradiation on Day 15 of gestation at a dose of 0.27, 0.48, 1.00, or 1.46 Gy. They were allowed to give birth and the offspring were killed at 6 or 12 weeks of age for microscopic and electron microscopic examinations of the cerebrum. Their body weight, brain weight, cortical thickness, and numerical densities of whole cells and synapses in somatosensory cortex were examined. Growth of the dendritic arborization of layer V pyramidal cells was also examined quantitatively with Golgi-Cox specimens. A significant dose-related reduction in brain weight was found in all irradiated groups. Neither gross malformation nor abnormality of cortical architecture was observed in the groups exposed to 0.27 Gy. A significant change was found in thickness of cortex in the groups exposed to 0.48 Gy or more. Cell packing density increased significantly in the group exposed to 1.00 Gy. Significant reduction in the number of intersections of dendrites with the zonal boundaries were found in the groups exposed to 0.27 Gy or more. There was no difference in the numerical density of synapses in layer I between the control and irradiated groups. These results suggested that doses as low as 0.27 Gy could cause a morphologically discernible change in the mammalian cerebrum.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Protein secretion in bacteria.

Most secretory proteins are synthesized as precursors with an amino-terminal signal peptide. Genetic identification of proteins essential for signal peptide dependent translocation to the Escherichia coli periplasm has led to the biochemical dissection of the secretion pathway. Additional mechanisms exist in Gram-negative bacteria for protein secretion to the extracellular environment.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1991

Retroelements in bacteria.

A peculiar type of satellite DNA, called msDNA, has been discovered in myxobacteria and some natural isolates of E. coli. These molecules are characterized by the presence of single-stranded DNA branching out from an internal guanosine residue of an RNA molecule by a unique 2',5'-phosphodiester linkage. Reverse transcriptase is required for the synthesis of msDNA. The discovery of retroelements in bacterial populations raises many intriguing questions concerning the evolutionary origin of reverse transcriptase, the function and the biosynthesis of msDNA, and the nature of the mechanisms generating the extensive diversity found in msDNA and reverse transcriptase genes among different bacterial strains.

Biological Evolution↗
PubMed1991

msDNA of bacteria.

The msDNA-retron element represents the first prokaryotic member of the large and diverse retroelement family found in many eukaryotic genomes (Table II). This prokaryotic retroelement exists as a single copy element in the chromosome of two different bacterial groups: the common soil microbe M. xanthus and the enteric bacterium E. coli. It encodes an RT similar to the polymerases found in retroviruses, containing most of the strictly conserved amino acids found in all RTs. The RT is responsible for the production of an unusual extrachromosomal RNA-DNA molecule known as msDNA. Each composed of a short single strand of RNA and a short single strand of DNA, msDNAs vary considerably in their primary nucleotide sequences, but all share certain secondary structural features, including the unique 2',5' branch linkage that joins the 5' end of the DNA chain to the 2' position of an internal guanosine residue of the RNA strand. It is proposed that msDNA is synthesized by reverse transcription of a precursor RNA transcribed from a region of the retron containing the genes msr (encoding the RNA portion) and msd (encoding the DNA portion) and the ORF (encoding the RT). The precursor RNA transcript folds into a stable secondary structure that serves as both the primer and the template for the synthesis of msDNA. The msDNA-retron elements of E. coli are found in less than 10% of all strains observed, are heterogeneous in nature, and have an atypical aminoacid codon usage for this species, suggesting that this element was transmitted to E. coli by some other source. The presence of directly repeated 26-base-pair sequences flanking the junctions of the Ec67-retron of E. coli also suggests that it may be a mobile element. However, the msDNA-retrons of M. xanthus appear to be as old as other genes native to this species, based on codon-usage data for the RT genes and the fact that every strain of M. xanthus appears to have the same type of msDNA. If the msDNA-retron element originated with the myxobacteria, it would place the existence of retrons before the appearance of eukaryotic cells, suggesting that the bacterial element is perhaps the ancestral gene from which eukaryotic retroviruses and other retroelements evolved.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Combined effects of low-level methylmercury and x-radiation on the developing mouse cerebellum.

The effects of low-level methylmercury and x-radiation in combination on the developing mouse cerebellum were studied. Pregnant BALB/cJcl mice were divided into two groups. Dams of a group were orally given 9 micrograms Hg/g body weight of methylmercuric chloride on d 17 of pregnancy. The other dams were not treated. They were allowed to give birth, and the male pups were exposed to a single x-radiation at doses of 0.125 or 0.5 Gy on the day following birth. Sham-exposed pups were also prepared. The pups were killed at various postexposure periods, and their cerebella were removed and processed for microscopy and mercury analysis. Mercury was retained in the pup cerebellum at levels of 4-8 micrograms/g for 4 d and then lowered. Appearance and incidence of cell death in the external granular layer (EGL) were similar in groups exposed to 0.125 Gy alone or 0.125 Gy and methylmercury in combination. Fourteen percent of cells in the EGL were killed by exposure to 0.5 Gy with or without methylmercury. Restoration of the EGL from the damage was slightly retarded by methylmercury, but by 10 d of age these cerebella overtook the normal ones in development. These findings indicate that methylmercury does not modify the apoptotic cell death caused by x-radiation in the EGL but retards the tissue restoration from the damage.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Pleiotropic changes resulting from depletion of Era, an essential GTP-binding protein in Escherichia coli.

Phenotypic analysis of a temperature-sensitive era mutant strain indicates that Escherichia coli cells depleted of Era undergo many physiological changes. At 43 degrees C, a completely non-permissive temperature, growth is arrested because of loss of the gene and depletion of the Era protein. Depletion of Era at 43 degrees C results in depressed synthesis of heat-shock proteins DnaK, GroEL/ES, D33.4 and C62.5, lack of thermal induction of ppGpp pool levels, and increased capacity for carbon source metabolism through the citric acid cycle. Thus, in addition to inhibition of cell growth and viability, loss of Era function results in pleiotropic changes including abnormal adaptation to thermal stress.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1991

Pro-peptide as an intramolecular chaperone: renaturation of denatured subtilisin E with a synthetic pro-peptide [corrected].

The amino-terminal pro-sequence consisting of 77 amino acid residues is required to guide the folding of secreted subtilisin E, a serine protease, into active, mature enzyme (ikemura et al., 1987). Furthermore, denatured subtilisin E can be folded to active enzyme in an intermolecular process with the aid of an exogenously added pro-subtilisin E, the active site of which was mutated (Zhu et al., 1989). In this report, we have synthesized the pro-peptide of 77 residues (corresponding to -1 to -77 in the sequence, where residue +1 is the N-terminal amino acid residue of the mature protein), and have found that it could intermolecularly complement the folding of denatured subtilisin E to active enzyme. Furthermore, we have found that the synthetic pro-peptide exhibits specific strong binding to the active mature enzyme by inhibiting it competitively at its active centre with an upper limit to a Ki of 5.4 x 10(-7). In contrast, synthetic pro-peptides corresponding to -44 to -77, -1 to -64 and -1 to -43 inhibited the enzyme with Ki values weaker by two orders of magnitude. The results indicate that the sequence extending from -1 to -77 is essential for specificity of interaction, perhaps generating a conformation that accounts for both roles found hitherto, i.e. specific binding to the active centre, and guiding of the refolding to active enzyme. Thus these results suggest that the pro-peptide functions as an intramolecular chaperone [corrected].

Chaperonins↗
PubMed1991

Protein U, a late-developmental spore coat protein of Myxococcus xanthus, is a secretory protein.

Protein U is a spore coat protein produced at the late stage of development of Myxococcus xanthus. This protein was isolated from developmental cells, and its amino-terminal sequence was determined. On the basis of this sequence, the gene for protein U (pru) was cloned and its DNA sequence was determined, revealing an open reading frame of 179 codons. The product from this open reading frame has a typical signal peptide of 25 amino acid residues at the amino terminal end, followed by protein U of 154 residues. This result indicates that protein U is produced as a secretory precursor, pro-protein U, which is then secreted across the membrane to assemble on the spore surface. This is in sharp contrast to protein S, a major spore coat protein produced early in development, which has no signal peptide, indicating that there are two distinct pathways for trafficking of spore coat proteins during the differentiation of M. xanthus.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Intramolecular second-site revertants to the phosphorylation site mutation in OmpR, a kinase-dependent transcriptional activator in Escherichia coli.

OmpR is a transcriptional activator for the ompF and ompC genes of Escherichia coli. Its phosphorylation is mediated by a transmembrane sensory-receptor protein, EnvZ, and is essential for transcriptional activation. In a previous study, when the aspartic acid residue at position 55, the putative phosphorylation site, was replaced with glutamine (D55Q), ompF and ompC expression were completely lost. In this study two pseudorevertants of the D55Q mutation were isolated and identified to be the replacement of threonine at position 83 with alanine (T83A) and glycine at position 94 with serine (G94S). The revertant OmpRs no longer responded to EnvZ function when ompF and ompC expression were examined. The purified D55Q-T83A OmpR was unable to be phosphorylated by EnvZ in vitro. The role of EnvZ as an osmosensor for the environmentally regulated expression of OmpF and OmpC has been indicated in previous studies. The isolation of seemingly EnvZ-independent OmpR revertants in this study, however, made it possible to examine the osmolarity-regulated expression of OmpF and OmpC in the absence of effects exerted by EnvZ. We found that the expression of OmpF and OmpC supported by these revertant OmpRs was clearly regulated in accordance with the change in osmolarity of the growth media. These results indicate that another EnvZ-independent mechanism(s) may also contribute to the regulated expression of the ompF and ompC genes.

Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins↗
PubMed1991

Association of a retroelement with a P4-like cryptic prophage (retronphage phi R73) integrated into the selenocystyl tRNA gene of Escherichia coli.

A new multicopy single-stranded DNA (msDNA-Ec73) was found in a clinical strain of Escherichia coli. Retron-Ec73, consisting of an msDNA-coding region and the gene for reverse transcriptase (RT), was found to be a part of a 12.7-kb foreign DNA fragment flanked by 29-bp direct repeats and integrated into the gene for selenocystyl-tRNA (selC) at 82 min on the E. coli chromosome. Except for the 2.4-kb retron region, the integrated DNA fragment showed remarkable homology to most of the bacteriophage P4 genome. Among the phage genes found in this element, however, the integrase gene had very low identity (40%) to P4 integrase, indicating that the cryptic prophage associated with the retroelement has its own unique site-specific integrase different from P4 integrase. Recently, we have shown that P2 phage can act as a helper to excise the cryptic prophage and to package its genome into an infectious virion. The newly formed phage (retronphage phi R73) can also lysogenize a new host strain, reintegrating its genome into the selC gene and enabling the newly formed lysogen to produce msDNA-Ec73 (S. Inouye, M. G. Sunshine, E. W. Six, and M. Inouye, Science 252:969-971, 1991).

Amino Acid Sequence↗