Use of caged nucleotides to characterize unstable intermediates by X-ray crystallography.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to R S Goody.
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We performed intrinsic peptide fluorescence experiments to characterize the interaction between variants of the HIV-1 Tat(32-72) peptide BP1 and TAR RNA. Kd values for wild-type BP1 and cysteine-modified BP1 were found to be in the range of 60 to 70 nM for both peptides, indicating that free sulfhydryl groups of the cysteines within the peptide are not required for high affinity TAR binding. Thus, the mutant peptide BP1 (C34S, C37W) (BP1SW) was used to further investigate peptide RNA interaction by fluorescence studies. Titration of BP1SW with TAR resulted in a dissociation constant (Kd = 9 nM) nearly an order of magnitude lower than that of the wild-type peptide. The change of the BP1SW fluorescence intensity on TAR binding was used to investigate the kinetics of this interaction by stopped-flow experiments. The results can be explained in terms of a two-step binding model, with a rapid diffusion-limited initial formation of a tight, but unspecific peptide RNA complex, followed by a relatively slow structural rearrangement step (k approximately 60 s-1) in order to form the specific BP1SW-TAR complex. Comparison of heteronuclear two-dimensional NMR spectra of BP1SW and BP1SW bound to TAR shows that only resonances from amino acid residues of the core and basic sequence regions are shifted on TAR binding.
We have employed ESR spectroscopy using guanine nucleotides that contain a spin label at the 2',3'-position of the ribose to investigate structural changes in the proto-oncogene product p21(ras) that are dependent on nucleotide hydrolysis. The three nucleotide analogs used were 2',3'-(2,2,5, 5-tetramethyl-3-pyrroline-1-oxyl-3-carboxylic acid ester (SL) GTP, SL-GDP, and the non-hydrolyzable analog SL-guanylylimidodiphosphate. SL-GTP was hydrolyzed by p21 with rates similar to those for GTP hydrolysis and appears to be an excellent substrate analog. The ESR spectra of SL-GTP and SL-GDP in complex with p21 differ significantly when acquired at 0 degrees C or 5 degrees C indicating different environments (conformations) of the protein-bound radicals depending on the phosphorylation state of the bound nucleotide. We calculated the rate constant for the conformational change as deduced from the changes in the corresponding ESR spectra upon incubation of the p21.SL-GTP complex at 25 degrees C and compared it to the rate constant of hydrolysis of SL-GTP at the same temperature. The rate constant deduced from the ESR method was similar to that determined by a high performance liquid chromatography technique. The data are in agreement with the idea that a conformational change during GTP hydrolysis by p21 occurs simultaneously with the actual hydrolysis step.
Targeting of many secretory and membrane proteins to the inner membrane in Escherichia coli is achieved by the signal recognition particle (SRP) and its receptor (FtsY). In E. coli SRP consists of only one polypeptide (Ffh), and a 4.5S RNA. Ffh and FtsY each contain a conserved GTPase domain (G domain) with an alpha-helical domain on its N terminus (N domain). The nucleotide binding kinetics of the NG domain of the SRP receptor FtsY have been investigated, using different fluorescence techniques. Methods to describe the reaction kinetically are presented. The kinetics of interaction of FtsY with guanine nucleotides are quantitatively different from those of other GTPases. The intrinsic guanine nucleotide dissociation rates of FtsY are about 10(5) times higher than in Ras, but similar to those seen in GTPases in the presence of an exchange factor. Therefore, the data presented here show that the NG domain of FtsY resembles a GTPase-nucleotide exchange factor complex not only in its structure but also kinetically. The I-box, an insertion present in all SRP-type GTPases, is likely to act as an intrinsic exchange factor. From this we conclude that the details of the GTPase cycle of FtsY and presumably other SRP-type GTPases are fundamentally different from those of other GTPases.
Adenosine kinase (AK) catalyzes the phosphorylation of adenosine to AMP with ATP as phosphate donor. Intrinsic fluorescence of bovine liver AK was shown previously to be a sensitive probe to quantify the binding of substrates to the enzyme [Elaloui, A., Divita, G., Maury, G., Imbach, J.-L. & Goody, R. S. (1994) Eur. J Biochem. 221, 839-846]. AK contains two catalytic, sites: a high-affinity site, which binds adenosine and AMP selectively; and a site for ATP and ADP. In the present work, these two sites were characterized by combining the quenching of protein fluorescence induced by the binding of the ligands and the fluorescence enhancement observed upon binding of the N-methylanthraniloyl-derivated nucleotides or adenosine. A new fluorescent analog of adenosine, 5'-N-methylanthraniloyl-adenosine, was synthesized and shown to bind selectively to the high-affinity adenosine-binding site with an affinity similar to that of adenosine (Kd 1 microM). In contrast, 2'(3')-N-methylanthraniloyl derivatives of ATP, adenosine (5')tetraphospho(5')adenosine (Ap4A), and adenosine (5')pentaphospho(5')adenosine (Ap5A), bind to the enzyme at the ATP site. Methylantraniloyl derivatives of ATP and adenosine were used as tools for selective characterization of a series of adenosine analogues. The bisubstrate inhibitors Ap4A and Ap5A bind to the ATP site with high affinity and apparently not to the adenosine site, thus acting more as ATP analogues than true bisubstrate ligands. The binding properties of a series of adenosine analogues were strongly dependent on the structural modifications on adenosine. The analogues modified at positions 2' or 3' show similar affinities for AK as that of adenosine, whereas adenosine analogues modified at the base present a relatively low affinity for the enzyme.
Two mutants of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) associated with high-level resistance of the virus to AZT (RT-AZT: D67N, K70R, T215Y, K219Q, and M41L) or 3-TC (RT-3TC: M184V) were expressed in Escherichia coli and purified. None of these mutants showed significant changes in the affinity and kinetics of binding to a DNA/DNA primer/template. RT-AZT was investigated in detail with respect to its kinetics of incorporation of nucleotides. No change in the relative rates of TMP and AZTMP incorporation could be detected for RT-AZT with respect to wild type RT. These results imply that there is no increased discrimination against AZTTP in the mutant. This was found for DNA/DNA and DNA/RNA primer/template. Additionally, rapid kinetics of incorporation of 3'-amino-3'-deoxythymidine 5'-monophosphate (a possible metabolite of AZT) were investigated and compared with TMP incorporation, but no difference in its relative rates of incorporation between wild type RT and RT-AZT was detected. In contrast, the already very slow rate of incorporation of 3-TCMP seen with wild type enzyme was drastically reduced (by a factor of 23 and 36 with DNA/DNA primer/template and DNA/RNA primer/template, respectively) for RT-3TC, showing a clear correlation between in vitro and in vivo effects. The affinity of 3-TCTP to the RT-3TC-primer/template complex was not affected by the mutation M184V. A 1.6-fold cross-resistance to ddATP, the converted form of the prodrug ddI, could also be shown for RT-3TC, but no cross-resistance to ddCTP was detected. Additionally, rapid kinetics of AZTMP incorporation by RT-3TC were investigated. There was an indication of a slightly higher rate of incorporation of AZTMP by RT-3TC than wild type RT.
The highly conserved primer grip region in the p66 subunit of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) is formed by the beta12-beta13 hairpin (residues 227-235). It has been proposed to play a role in aligning the 3'-OH end of the primer in a position for nucleophilic attack on an incoming dNTP. To analyze the importance of the primer grip for RT function, mutant RTs were used that contain single alanine substitutions of residues Trp229, Met230, Gly231, and Tyr232 in the p66 subunit of the heterodimeric p66/51 enzyme. Steady-state and pre-steady-state kinetic analyses of the enzymes were performed. All mutant enzymes revealed reduced polymerase activity. Mutation of Y232A showed the smallest effect on polymerase function. Equilibrium fluorescence titrations demonstrated that the affinity of the mutants for tRNA was only slightly affected. However, the affinity for primer-template DNA was reduced 27-fold for mutant p66(W229A)/51 and 23-fold for mutant p66(G231A)/51, and the maximal pre-steady-state rate of nucleotide incorporation, kpol, was reduced 27-fold for p66(W229A)/51 and 70-fold for p66(G231A)/51, respectively. Mutant p66(M230A)/51 revealed no reduced affinity for primer-template but showed a 71-fold reduced affinity for dTTP. Additionally, the mutations Trp229 and Gly231 affected the stability of the RT heterodimer.
Individual rate constants for the interaction of H-, K-, and N-Ras with GAP-334 and NF1-333 were determined using fluorescent derivatives of guanine nucleotides at the active site of the Ras proteins. Stopped-flow experiments with NF1-333 show a fast concentration-dependent initial phase corresponding to the binding reaction followed by a slower phase, which corresponds to the hydrolysis reaction. With Ras bound to the nonhydrolyzable analogue mant-GppNHp, only the concentration-dependent first phase was observed. The Ras x mant-GppNHp x NF1-333 complexes were also used to measure dissociation rate constants of the Ras-GAP complexes. Using GAP-334 as the catalyst, the concentration-dependent first phase was too fast to be measured by the stopped-flow method, but the subsequent chemical cleavage reaction occurred at a similar rate (5-10 s(-1)) to that seen with NF1-333. With both GAP-334 and NF1-333, after rapidly reaching the initial equilibrium, there was no further time-dependent change on mixing GAPs with Ras x mant-GppNHp. The results obtained provide new insights into the individual steps of the GAP-catalyzed GTPase reaction on Ras. They do not require the postulation of a rate-limiting step occurring before GTP hydrolysis.
The ATP hydrolysis and protein-binding and release cycle of the molecular chaperone DnaK is regulated by the accessory proteins GrpE and DnaJ. Here we describe a study of the formation of complexes between the molecular chaperone DnaK, its nucleotide exchange factor GrpE, and the fluorescent ADP analog N8-[4-[(N'-methylanthraniloyl)amino]butyl]-8-aminoadenosine 5'-diphosphate (MABA-ADP) by equilibrium and stopped flow kinetic experiments. The catalytic cycle of the GrpE-stimulated nucleotide exchange involves a ternary DnaK x GrpE x ADP complex as well as the binary DnaK x GrpE and DnaK x ADP complexes. The equilibrium data of the interaction of GrpE with DnaK x ADP and the nucleotide-free DnaK can be described by a simple equilibrium system where GrpE reduces the affinity of ADP for DnaK 200-fold. However, transient kinetic studies revealed that the functional cycle of GrpE in addition includes at least two distinct ternary DnaK x GrpE x ADP complexes. Our data indicate that the initial weak binding of GrpE to DnaK x ADP is followed by an isomerization of the ternary complex which leads to weakening of nucleotide binding and finally to its rapid dissociation. The maximal stimulation for nucleotide exchange brought about by GrpE was found to be 5000-fold. We propose that this kinetically observed isomerization represents a structural change (opening) of the nucleotide binding pocket of DnaK that allows for fast nucleotide exchange.
Nucleoside-based inhibitors of reverse transcriptase were the first drugs to be used in the chemotherapy of AIDS. After entering the cell, these substances are activated to their triphosphate form by cellular kinases, after which they are potent chain terminators for the growing viral DNA. The two main factors limiting their efficacy are probably interrelated. These are the insufficient degree of reduction of viral load at the commencement of treatment and the emergence of resistant variants of the virus. The reason for the relatively poor suppression of viral replication appears to be inefficient metabolic activation. Thus, for the most extensively used drug, 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT), whereas phosphorylation to the monophosphate is facile, the product is a very poor substrate for the next kinase in the cascade, thymidylate kinase. Because of this, although high concentrations of the monophosphate can be reached in the cell, the achievable concentration of the active triphosphate is several orders of magnitude lower. Determination of the structure of thymidylate kinase as a complex with AZT monophosphate (AZTMP) together with studies on the kinetics of its phosphorylation have now led to a detailed understanding of the reasons for and consequences of the poor substrate properties.
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Initiation of minus (-) strand DNA synthesis was examined on templates containing R, U5, and primer-binding site regions of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), and equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) genomic RNA. DNA synthesis was initiated from (i) an oligoribonucleotide complementary to the primer-binding sites, (ii) synthetic tRNA(3Lys), and (iii) natural tRNA(3Lys), by the reverse transcriptases of HIV-1, FIV, EIAV, simian immunodeficiency virus, HIV type 2 (HIV-2), Moloney murine leukemia virus, and avian myeloblastosis virus. All enzymes used an oligonucleotide on wild-type HIV-1 RNA, whereas only a limited number initiated (-) strand DNA synthesis from either tRNA(3Lys). In contrast, all enzymes supported efficient tRNA(3Lys)-primed (-) strand DNA synthesis on the genomes of FIV and EIAV. This may be in part attributable to the observation that the U5-inverted repeat stem-loop of the EIAV and FIV genomes lacks an A-rich loop shown with HIV-1 to interact with the U-rich tRNA anticodon loop. Deletion of this loop in HIV-1 RNA, or disrupting a critical loop-loop complex by tRNA(3Lys) extended by 9 nt, restored synthesis of HIV-1 (-) strand DNA from primer tRNA(3Lys) by all enzymes. Thus, divergent evolution of lentiviruses may have resulted in different mechanisms to use the same host tRNA for initiation of reverse transcription.
We describe here the kinetics of the interaction of GTP and GDP with the small GTP-binding proteins Rab5 and Rab7. It was possible to make use of the intrinsic fluorescence of these proteins, since Rab5 contains two and Rab7 three tryptophan residues, respectively. With both enzymes, there is a significant decrease in fluorescence on binding GTP and an increase on binding GDP. As with the small GTP-binding protein Ha-Ras p21 and with EF-Tu, nucleotide binding occurs in at least two steps and is describable in terms of a relatively weak initial interaction followed by a highly irreversible isomerization of the protein-nucleotide complex, which results in a change in the fluorescence properties. Dissociation of GDP and GTP could be followed in a time-dependent manner using fluorescently labeled GDP (methylanthraniloyl GDP) as displacing agent and taking advantage of substantial fluorescent energy transfer from tryptophan to the nucleotide. Fluorescence techniques could also be used to quantitate the interaction of Mg2+ ions with the GTP and GDP forms of Rab7, and it was shown that the metal ion was bound approximately 1000-fold more strongly to the GTP than the GDP form. The rate of GTP cleavage by the two proteins differed by a factor of approximately 20 (2 x 10(-3)s-1 for Rab5 and 9 x 10(-4)s-1 for Rab7 at 37 degrees C). Both proteins showed significant discrimination against xanthosine 5'-O-diphosphate (Kd approximately 10(3)-fold higher than that of GDP) and dramatic discrimination against ADP or ATP (Kd approximately 10(6)-fold higher than that of GDP). The results demonstrate a high degree of mechanistic similarity between the Rab proteins and other GTP-binding proteins, which have been examined in detail, including Ha-Ras p21, Ran, and EF-Tu.
Unlike the alpha subunits of heterotrimeric guanosine triphosphate (GTP)-binding proteins, Ras-related GTP-binding proteins have hitherto been considered not to bind or become activated by tetrafluoroaluminate (AIF4-). However, the product of the proto-oncogene ras in its guanosine diphosphate (GDP)-bound form interacted with AIF4 - in the presence of stoichiometric amounts of either of the guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase)-activating proteins (GAPs) p120GAP and neurofibromin. Neither oncogenic Ras nor a GAP mutant without catalytic activity produced such a complex. Together with the finding that the Ras-binding domain of the protein kinase c-Raf, whose binding site on Ras overlaps that of the GAPs, did not induce formation of such a complex, this result suggests that GAP and neurofibromin stabilize the transition state of the GTPase reaction of Ras.
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A host cell-derived tRNA3Lys molecule is utilized by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase (RT) to prime DNA synthesis from the viral RNA genome. We performed fluorescence titration experiments to characterize the interaction between RT and its natural primer, tRNA3Lys, and to address RT's putative role in the required and specific packaging of tRNA3Lys into the budding virus. Titration of RT with tRNA3Lys resulted in a 30% maximal quenching of RT tryptophan fluorescence, from which a dissociation constant (Kd) of 57.6 +/- 7.5 nM was derived. Titration of RT with Escherichia coli tRNA2Glu, E. coli tRNA2Tyr, E. coli tRNALys, yeast tRNAPhe, or in vitro-synthesized human tRNA3Lys (no base modifications) resulted in similar fluorescence changes and Kd values as obtained for the natural tRNA3Lys. The specific interaction between RT and tRNA3Lys during viral assembly suggested by previous in vivo studies is therefore not present in the fully processed, in vitro form of RT. Other factors during viral assembly must therefore cooperate in the packaging of tRNA3Lys. The nonspecific and ionic strength dependent RT-tRNA interaction detected in the present studies suggests that the overall shape and charges of tRNA constitute recognition features for RT binding. The fluorescence of the wyebutine base contained on the anticodon loop of yeast tRNAPhe was found to increase upon RT binding, supporting speculation that RT interacts with the anticodon loop of tRNA. The individual tRNAs also displaced a fluorescent DNA primer/template (p/t) substrate from RT, indicating overlapping tRNA and p/t binding sites. Cubic fit evaluation of the displacement titrations allowed further assessment of the affinities of the two competing ligands. The presence of both overlapping and separate p/t and tRNA binding regions on RT was tested by examination of the affinity of a possible RT bisubstrate type inhibitor, containing motifs proposed to be essential for both tRNA and p/t binding. Reverse transcriptase was found to bind to the mutant tRNA 10-fold more tightly than to the unaltered tRNA (Kd = 4.5 +/- 1.0 and 44.6 +/- 6.6 nM, respectively). Further analyses revealed that the tighter affinity is probably due to a preferred p/t binding mode and not to one expected if separate tRNA and p/t binding regions are accessed simultaneously by the same molecule.
The aceK gene of Escherichia coli, which encodes the isocitrate dehydrogenase kinase/phosphatase (IDH K/P), was cloned in the pQE30 expression vector to overproduce a protein tagged with six histidine residues at its N-terminus. By using a one-step chromatographic procedure, the IDH K/P was purified to near homogeneity. The IDH K/P, which contains nine Trp residues, exhibited a characteristic intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence with a low maximal emission at 326 nm. The low value of the Stern-Volmer quenching constant in the presence of acrylamide (Ksv = 2.1 M-1) indicated that the tryptophan residues were deeply buried in the protein. Furthermore, the intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence was very sensitive to the binding of nucleotide. The quenching of protein fluorescence induced by the binding of nucleotide together with an increased intrinsic fluorescence of fluorescent nucleotide analogues, methylanthraniloyl-derivatives ADP, ATP, GDP and GTP and adenosine-5'-triphosphoro-1-(5-sulfonic-acid) naphthylamidate, were used to investigate the interaction with IDH K/P. The IDH K/P dimer was shown to contain two identical nucleotide binding sites, one on each subunit, with a Kd in the range of 1.7-2.5 microM for unmodified ADP or ATP and of 2.5-3.7 microM for fluorescently labelled nucleotides. In contrast, the affinity for GDP or GTP was 10-fold lower than for adenine nucleotides. The nucleotide binding site was located within residues 315-340 by using limited proteolysis of IDH K/P by endoproteinase Lys-C. Only one main site of cleavage was obtained: the peptide bond K346-E347 which was strongly protected in the presence of ATP.
The D119N mutation of p21ras was prepared by site-directed mutagenesis. Its nucleotide binding properties were investigated using fluorescently labelled guanosine and xanthosine nucleotides. Its affinity for guanosine nucleotides is severely reduced, with a concomitant increase in the affinity for xanthosine nucleotides, which leads to an almost complete reversal of base specificity. The protein is a GTPase as well as a XTPase and the hydrolysis reaction can be efficiently stimulated by GAP. Dissociation of XDP from the mutant is stimulated by the guanine nucleotide exchange factor Cdc25Mm in a similar manner to that of GDP from wildtype. The interaction of the mutant with the effector domain of c-Raf kinase or Ral-GEF is normal. In microinjection experiments in PC12 and NIH3T3 cells the protein behaves as an oncogenic mutant due to its high dissociation rate for GDP. However, when the protein is loaded with XDP before microinjection the onset of the oncogenic signal can be efficiently retarded. Thus, the protein behaves initially as wildtype and later as an oncogenic protein.