Biomedical subjects

Silvia Spinelli

Publications and source records attributed to Silvia Spinelli.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

Quaternary structure of alpha-crustacyanin from lobster as seen by small-angle X-ray scattering.

The structure of alpha-crustacyanin, the blue carotenoprotein of lobster (Homarus gammarus) carapace, has been investigated for the first time using small-angle X-ray scattering. In this paper, we have determined the dimensions of this protein composed of eight heterodimeric subunits of beta-crustacyanin. Analysis of the scattering spectra and estimation of the shape of alpha-crustacyanin show that the protein fits into a cylinder with an axial length of 238 A and a radius of 47.5 A, in which the eight beta-crustacyanin molecules are probably arranged in a helical manner.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

The crystal structure of a cockroach pheromone-binding protein suggests a new ligand binding and release mechanism.

Pheromone-binding proteins (PBPs) are small helical proteins found in sensorial organs, particularly in the antennae, of moth and other insect species. They were proposed to solubilize and carry the hydrophobic pheromonal compounds through the antennal lymph to receptors, participating thus in the peri-receptor events of signal transduction. The x-ray structure of Bombyx mori PBP (BmorPBP), from male antennae, revealed a six-helix fold forming a cavity that contains the pheromone bombykol. We have identified a PBP (LmaPBP) from the cockroach Leucophaea maderae in the antennae of the females, the gender attracted by pheromones in this species. Here we report the crystal structure of LmaPBP alone or in complex with a fluorescent reporter (amino-naphthalen sulfonate, ANS) or with a component of the pheromonal blend, 3-hydroxy-butan-2-one. Both compounds bind in the internal cavity of LmaPBP, which is more hydrophilic than BmorPBP cavity. LmaPBP structure ends just after the sixth helix (helix F). BmorPBP structure extends beyond the sixth helix with a stretch of residues elongated at neutral pH and folding as a seventh internalized helix at low pH. These differences between LmaPBP and BmorPBP structures suggest that different binding and release mechanism may be adapted to the hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity of the pheromonal ligand.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2003

Optimization of crystals from nanodrops: crystallization and preliminary crystallographic study of a pheromone-binding protein from the honeybee Apis mellifera L.

Pheromone-binding proteins (PBPs) are small helical proteins ( approximately 13-17 kDa) present in various sensory organs from moths and other insect species. They are involved in the transport of pheromones from the sensillar lymph to the olfactory receptors. Here, crystals of a PBP (Amel-ASP1) originating from honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) antennae and expressed as recombinant protein using the yeast Pichia pastoris are reported. Crystals of Amel-ASP1 have been obtained by the sitting-drop vapour-diffusion method using a nanodrop-dispensing robot under the following conditions: 200 nl of 40 mg ml(-1) protein solution in 10 mM Tris, 25 mM NaCl pH 8.0 was mixed with 100 nl of well solution containing 0.15 M sodium citrate, 1.5 M ammonium sulfate pH 5.5. The protein crystallizes in space group C222(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 74.8, b = 85.8, c = 50.2 A. With one molecule in the asymmetric unit, V(M) is 3.05 A(3) Da(-1) and the solvent content is 60%. A complete data set has been collected at 1.6 A resolution on beamline ID14-2 (ESRF, Grenoble). The nanodrop crystallization technique used with a novel optimization procedure made it possible to consume small amounts of protein and to obtain a unique crystal per nanodrop, suitable directly for data collection in-house or at a synchrotron-radiation source.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2002

A medium-throughput crystallization approach.

The first results of a medium-scale structural genomics program clearly demonstrate the value of using a medium-throughput crystallization approach based on a two-step procedure: a large screening step employing robotics, followed by manual or automated optimization of the crystallization conditions. The structural genomics program was based on cloning in the Gateway vectors pDEST17, introducing a long 21-residue tail at the N-terminus. So far, this tail has not appeared to hamper crystallization. In ten months, 25 proteins were subjected to crystallization; 13 yielded crystals, of which ten led to usable data sets and five to structures. Furthermore, the results using a robot dispensing 50-200 nl drops indicate that smaller protein samples can be used for crystallization. These still partial results might indicate present and future directions for those who have to make crucial choices concerning their crystallization platform in structural genomics programs.

Crystallization↗

PubMed2002

Direct in vivo screening of intrabody libraries constructed on a highly stable single-chain framework.

Single-chain Fv antibody fragments (scFv) represent a convenient antibody format for intracellular expression in eukaryotic or prokaryotic cells. These so-called intrabodies have great potential in functional genomics as a tool to study the function of newly identified proteins in vivo, for example by binding-induced modulation of their activity or by blocking interactions with other proteins. However, the intracellular expression and activity of many single-chain Fvs are limited by their instability and folding efficiency in the reducing intracellular environment, where the highly conserved intrachain disulfide bonds do not form. In the present work, we used an in vivo selection system to isolate novel antigen-binding intrabodies. We screened two intrabody libraries carrying a randomized third hypervariable loop onto the heavy chain of a stable framework, which had been further optimized by random mutagenesis for better behavior in the selection system, and we biophysically characterized the selected variants to interpret the outcome of the selection. Our results show that single-framework intrabody libraries can be directly screened in vivo to rapidly select antigen-specific intrabodies.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2002

Three camelid VHH domains in complex with porcine pancreatic alpha-amylase. Inhibition and versatility of binding topology.

Camelids produce functional antibodies devoid of light chains and CH1 domains. The antigen-binding fragment of such heavy chain antibodies is therefore comprised in one single domain, the camelid heavy chain antibody VH (VHH). Here we report on the structures of three dromedary VHH domains in complex with porcine pancreatic alpha-amylase. Two VHHs bound outside the catalytic site and did not inhibit or inhibited only partially the amylase activity. The third one, AMD9, interacted with the active site crevice and was a strong amylase inhibitor (K(i) = 10 nm). In contrast with complexes of other proteinaceous amylase inhibitors, amylase kept its native structure. The water-accessible surface areas of VHHs covered by amylase ranged between 850 and 1150 A(2), values similar to or even larger than those observed in the complexes between proteins and classical antibodies. These values could certainly be reached because a surprisingly high extent of framework residues are involved in the interactions of VHHs with amylase. The framework residues that participate in the antigen recognition represented 25-40% of the buried surface. The inhibitory interaction of AMD9 involved mainly its complementarity-determining region (CDR) 2 loop, whereas the CDR3 loop was small and certainly did not protrude as it does in cAb-Lys3, a VHH-inhibiting lysozyme. AMD9 inhibited amylase, although it was outside the direct reach of the catalytic residues; therefore it is to be expected that inhibiting VHHs might also be elicited against proteases. These results illustrate the versatility and efficiency of VHH domains as protein binders and enzyme inhibitors and are arguments in favor of their use as drugs against diabetes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2002

Boar salivary lipocalin. Three-dimensional X-ray structure and androsterol/androstenone docking simulations.

The X-ray structure of variant A of authentic boar salivary lipocalin (SAL), a pheromone-binding protein specifically expressed in the submaxillary glands of the boar, has been solved and refined at 2.1 A resolution. The structure displays a classical lipocalin fold with a nine-stranded sandwiched beta barrel and an alpha helix. A putative glycosylation site, at position 53, has been found to carry a GlcNAc sugar residue. In contrast with what was expected on the basis of mass spectroscopy reports, the internal cavity was found to be devoid of bound pheromonal compound (androstenone or androstenol). Instead, a small electron density volume could be satisfied by a glycerol molecule, a component of the cryoprotecting liquor. The internal cavity was revealed to be very small for steroid compound accommodation. Therefore, docking and molecular dynamics experiments were performed with both pheromonal compounds. These simulations clearly demonstrate a volume increase of the cavity upon steroid binding and the adaptation of the amino-acid side chains to the steroid molecules. This explains the higher affinity of SAL for both steroid molecules compared to other smaller molecules, although no specific interaction is established with either compound.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2001

Crystal structure of the open form of dog gastric lipase in complex with a phosphonate inhibitor.

Fat digestion in humans and some mammals such as dogs requires the successive intervention of two lipases: gastric lipase, which is stable and active despite the highly acidic stomach environment, followed by the classical pancreatic lipase secreted into the duodenum. We previously solved the structure of recombinant human gastric lipase (HGL) at 3.0-A resolution in its closed form; this was the first structure to be described within the mammalian acid lipase family. Here we report on the open structure of the recombinant dog gastric lipase (r-DGL) at 2.7-A resolution in complex with the undecyl-butyl (C11Y4) phosphonate inhibitor. HGL and r-DGL show 85.7% amino acid sequence identity, which makes it relevant to compare the forms from two different species. The open r-DGL structure confirms the previous description of the HGL catalytic triad (Ser(153), His(353), and Asp(324)) with the catalytic serine buried and an oxyanion hole (NH groups of Gln(154) and Leu(67)). In r-DGL, the binding of the C11Y4 phosphonate inhibitor induces part of the cap domain, the lid, to roll over the enzyme surface and to expose a catalytic crevice measuring approximately 20 x 20 x 7 A(3). The C11Y4 phosphonate fits into this crevice, and a molecule of beta-octyl glucoside fills up the crevice. The C11Y4 phosphonate inhibitor and the detergent molecule suggest a possible binding mode for the natural substrates, the triglyceride molecules.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Spontaneous DNA fragmentation in swim-up selected human spermatozoa during long term incubation.

The origin and the meaning of DNA fragmentation in ejaculated human spermatozoa are not yet clear, although some hypotheses have been proposed. In the present study, we used investigated sperm DNA fragmentation by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated fluorescein-dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL)-coupled flow cytometry to investigate DNA fragmentation in spermatozoa that were selected by the swim-up procedure and incubated long-term. In addition, using flow cytometry we detected annexin V binding assay and propidium iodide staining, and we also studied membrane phosphatidylserine translocation and the loss of membrane integrity in the same sperm populations that we used in the TUNEL investigation. We found that in vitro sperm DNA fragmentation 1) occurs after ejaculation under experimental conditions without the involvement of any external factor, 2) is not affected by treatment with the nuclease inhibitor aurintricarboxylic acid, 3) is increased by treatment with the glutathione peroxidase inhibitor mercaptosuccinate, 4) correlates with basal values (ie, just after swim-up selection) of DNA fragmentation in teratozoospermic but not in normospermic semen samples, 5) develops in a sharply associated manner with the in vitro occurrence of sperm necrosis, and 6) is predicted by the basal value of annexin V binding in viable spermatozoa. These findings suggest an involvement of endogenously produced reactive oxygen species as the possible cause of in vitro sperm DNA fragmentation.

Annexin A5↗