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Biomedical subjects

M Schiffer

Publications and source records attributed to M Schiffer.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Proline in a transmembrane helix compensates for cavities in the photosynthetic reaction center.

A site-specific double mutant, in which the large aromatic residues M208Tyr and L181Phe in the interior of the photosynthetic reaction center (RC) complex were replaced by smaller threonine residues, showed a dramatic reduction in the number of assembled complexes and was incapable of photosynthetic growth. The cavity created by the smaller side-chains was thought to interfere with the stability and/or assembly of the complex. Phenotypic revertants were recovered in which a spontaneous second-site mutation restored photocompetence in the presence of the original site-specific mutations. In these strains, an Ala-->Pro substitution in a neighboring transmembrane helix (at M271) resulted in an increased yield of RC complexes. To test the hypothesis that the original phenotype was due to a cavity, other mutants were constructed that created similar-sized voids at other positions in the membrane-spanning interior. These substitutions caused the same phenotype. Coupling of the above proline substitution to these new cavity mutants also resulted in photocompetent strains that carry increased levels of RC complexes. Therefore, the proline substitution at M271 serves as a global suppressor of the phenotype caused by these internal cavities. The proline substitution slightly increases the thermal stability of the complex at higher temperatures, but the mutant and suppressor strains have about the same stability at the optimal culture temperature, where both are less stable than the wild-type strain. Therefore, the proline substitution may suppress the non-photosynthetic phenotype of cavity mutants by facilitating folding of the nascent polypeptides as they assemble with cofactors to form the transmembranar RC complex. The proline replacement occurs at a pre-existing kink in a transmembrane helix where it can be accommodated without introducing a strain in the structure. The function of proline residues in transmembrane helices might be to promote folding and/or assembly in general.

Cell Membrane↗
PubMed1995

Electrostatic dominoes: long distance propagation of mutational effects in photosynthetic reaction centers of Rhodobacter capsulatus.

Two point mutants from the purple bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus, both modified in the M protein of the photosynthetic reaction center, have been studied by flash-induced absorbance spectroscopy. These strains carry either the M231Arg --> Leu or M43ASN --> Asp mutations, which are located 9 and 15 A, respectively, from the terminal electron acceptor QB. In the wild-type Rb. sphaeroides structure, M231Arg is involved in a conserved salt bridge with H125Glu and H232Glu and M43Asn is located among several polar residues that form or surround the QB binding site. These substitutions were originally uncovered in phenotypic revertants isolated from the photosynthetically incompetent L212Glu-L213Asp --> Ala-Ala site-specific double mutant. As second-site suppressor mutations, they have been shown to restore the proton transfer function that is interrupted in the L212Ala-L213Ala double mutant. The electrostatic effects that are induced in reaction centers by the M231Arg --> Leu and M43Asn --> Asp substitutions are roughly the same in either the double-mutant or wild-type backgrounds. In a reaction center that is otherwise wild type in sequence, they decrease the free energy gap between the QA- and QB- states by 24 +/- 5 and 45 +/- 5 meV, respectively. The pH dependences of K2, the QA-QB <--> QAQB- equilibrium constant, are altered in reaction centers that carry either of these substitutions, revealing differences in the pKas of titratable groups compared to the wild type.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Engineering a domain-locking disulfide into a bacterial malate dehydrogenase produces a redox-sensitive enzyme.

Light-dependent reduction of cystine disulfide bonds results in activation of several of the enzymes of photosynthetic carbon metabolism within the chloroplast. We have modeled the tertiary structure of four of these light-activated enzymes, namely NADP-linked malate dehydrogenase, glyceraldehyde-3-P dehydrogenase, fructosebisphosphatase, and sedoheptulosebisphosphatase, and identified cysteines in each enzyme that be expected to form inactivating disulfide bonds (Li, D., F. J. Stevens, M. Schiffer, and L. E. Anderson, 1994. Biophys. J. 67:29-35). We have now converted two residues in the Escherichia coli NAD-linked malate dehydrogenase to cysteines and produced a redox-sensitive enzyme. Oxidation of domain-locking cysteine residues in the mutant enzyme clearly mimics dark inactivation of the redox-sensitive chloroplast dehydrogenase. This result is completely consistent with our proposed mechanism.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Comparison of crystal structures of two homologous proteins: structural origin of altered domain interactions in immunoglobulin light-chain dimers.

The sequence and structure of a second human kappa 1 immunoglobulin light-chain variable domain, Wat, has been determined. The R-factor is 15.7% for 1.9-A data. One hundred and ninety-five water molecules were identified; 30 water molecules were located in identical positions in each of the monomers. Some of the water molecules are integral parts of the domains. This light chain is encoded by the same variable domain gene that encoded the previously characterized kappa I variable domain, Rei. Due to limited somatic mutation, the two highly homologous proteins differ in only 20 of the 108 residues. Wat crystallized in space group P6(4) while Rei crystallized in space group P6(1); in both crystals, the asymmetric unit was the noncovalent dimer. Although the basic domain structure is the same for both proteins, the relative positions of the domains within the two dimers differ. This difference is most likely accounted for by the replacement of Tyr36 in Rei by Phe in the Wat protein. Residue Tyr36 is part of the hydrogen-bonding network in the interface between the domains in Rei. Losing the hydrogen-bonding capability of residue 36 by replacement of Tyr by Phe alters the network of hydrogen bonds between the domains, resulting in a different domain-domain contact. The details of lattice contacts in the two crystals were compared. One type of contact that extends the beta-sheet of the individual domains was conserved, but because it involved different symmetry elements within the crystal, different crystal packing resulted. In the Wat crystal, one of the contacts shows an example of how a symmetrical binding site can "bind" an asymmetrical object. Further, the examination of the Wat crystal also illustrates how the different crystalline environments of the domains of the dimer results in different distributions of temperature factors for the residues within the domains.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Proton conduction within the reaction centers of Rhodobacter capsulatus: the electrostatic role of the protein.

Light-induced charge separation in the photosynthetic reaction center results in delivery of two electrons and two protons to the terminal quinone acceptor QB. In this paper, we have used flash-induced absorbance spectroscopy to study three strains that share identical amino acid sequences in the QB binding site, all of which lack the protonatable amino acids Glu-L212 and Asp-L213. These strains are the photosynthetically incompetent site-specific mutant Glu-L212/Asp-L213-->Ala-L212/Ala-L213 and two different photocompetent derivatives that carry both alanine substitutions and an intergenic suppressor mutation located far from QB (class 3 strain, Ala-Ala + Arg-M231-->Leu; class 4 strain, Ala-Ala + Asn-M43-->Asp). At pH 8 in the double mutant, we observe a concomitant decrease of nearly 4 orders of magnitude in the rate constants of second electron and proton transfer to QB compared to the wild type. Surprisingly, these rates are increased to about the same extent in both types of suppressor strains but remain > 2 orders of magnitude smaller than those of the wild type. In the double mutant, at pH 8, the loss of Asp-L213 and Glu-L212 leads to a substantial stabilization (> or = 60 meV) of the semiquinone energy level. Both types of compensatory mutations partially restore, to nearly the same level, the original free energy difference for electron transfer from primary quinone QA to QB. The pH dependence of the electron and proton transfer processes in the double-mutant and the suppressor strains suggests that when reaction centers of the double mutant are shifted to lower pH (1.5-2 units), they function like those of the suppressor strains at physiological pH. Our data suggest that the main effect of the compensatory mutations is to partially restore the negative electrostatic environment of QB and to increase an apparent "functional" pK of the system for efficient proton transfer to the active site. This emphasizes the role of the protein in tuning the electrostatic environment of its cofactors and highlights the possible long-range electrostatic effects.

Cytochromes↗
PubMed1994

Pathogenic potential of human monoclonal immunoglobulin light chains: relationship of in vitro aggregation to in vivo organ deposition.

The deposition of certain Bence Jones proteins as tubular casts, basement membrane precipitates, or amyloid fibrils results in the human light-chain-associated renal and systemic diseases--myeloma (cast) nephropathy, light-chain deposition disease, and immunocyte-derived (primary or AL) amyloidosis. To determine if light-chain nephrotoxicity or amyloidogenicity is related to the propensity of these components to form high molecular weight aggregates under physiological conditions, we used a size-exclusion chromatographic system to study 40 different Bence Jones proteins. Each samples was tested over a wide range of protein concentration in three different buffers varying in pH, osmolality, and the presence or absence of low concentrations of urea. Thirty-three of the 35 proteins found clinically and/or experimentally to form in vivo pathologic light-chain deposits were shown to undergo high-order self-association and form high molecular weight aggregates. In contrast, of five nonpathologic proteins, one showed polymerization under the chromatographic conditions used. The correlation between the in vivo results achieved by size-exclusion chromatography and that found in vivo provides (i) a rapid diagnostic method to identify potential nephrotoxic or amyloidogenic Bence Jones proteins and (ii) an experimental means to gain new insight into the physicochemical basis of light-chain aggregation and the treatment of those invariably fatal disorders associated with pathologic light-chain deposition.

Bence Jones Protein↗
PubMed1994

Structure and function of the photosynthetic reaction center from Rhodobacter sphaeroides.

The three-dimensional structure of the photosynthetic reaction center from Rhodobacter sphaeroides is described. The reaction center is a transmembrane protein that converts light into chemical energy. The protein has three subunits: L, M, and H. The mostly helical L and M subunits provide the scaffolding and the finely tuned environment in which the chromophores carry out electron transfer. The details of the protein-chromophore interactions are from studies of a trigonal crystal form that diffracted to 2.65-A resolution. Functional studies of the multi-subunit complex by site-specific replacement of key amino acid residues are summarized in the context of the molecular structure.

Crystallography, X-Ray↗
PubMed1994

Mechanism of light modulation: identification of potential redox-sensitive cysteines distal to catalytic site in light-activated chloroplast enzymes.

Light-dependent reduction of target disulfides on certain chloroplast enzymes results in a change in activity. We have modeled the tertiary structure of four of these enzymes, namely NADP-linked glyceraldehyde-3-P dehydrogenase, NADP-linked malate dehydrogenase, sedoheptulose bisphosphatase, and fructose bisphosphatase. Models are based on x-ray crystal structures from non-plant species. Each of these enzymes consists of two domains connected by a hinge. Modeling suggests that oxidation of two crucial cysteines to cystine would restrict motion around the hinge in the two dehydrogenases and influence the conformation of the active site. The cysteine residues in the two phosphatases are located in a region known to be sensitive to allosteric modifiers and to be involved in mediating structural changes in mammalian and microbial fructose bisphosphatases. Apparently, the same region is involved in covalent modification of phosphatase activity in the chloroplast.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Site-specific and compensatory mutations imply unexpected pathways for proton delivery to the QB binding site of the photosynthetic reaction center.

In photosynthetic reaction centers, a quinone molecule, QB, is the terminal acceptor in light-induced electron transfer. The protonatable residues Glu-L212 and Asp-L213 have been implicated in the binding of QB and in proton transfer to QB anions generated by electron transfer from the primary quinone QA. Here we report the details of the construction of the Ala-L212/Ala-L213 double mutant strain by site-specific mutagenesis and show that its photosynthetic incompetence is due to an inability to deliver protons to the QB anions. We also report the isolation and biophysical characterization of a collection of revertant and suppressor strains that have regained the photosynthetic phenotype. The compensatory mutations that restore function are diverse and show that neither Glu-L212 nor Asp-L213 is essential for efficient light-induced electron or proton transfer in Rhodobacter capsulatus. Second-site mutations, located within the QB binding pocket or at more distant sites, can compensate for mutations at L212 and L213 to restore photocompetence. Acquisition of a single negatively charged residue (at position L213, across the binding pocket at position L225, or outside the pocket at M43) or loss of a positively charged residue (at position M231) is sufficient to restore proton transfer activity to the complex. The proton transport pathways in the suppressor strains cannot, in principle, be identical to that of the wild type. The apparent mutability of this pathway suggests that the reaction center can serve as a model system to study the structural basis of protein-mediated proton transport.

Alanine↗