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W A Cramer

Publications and source records attributed to W A Cramer.

140 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1970

Response of an Escherichia coli-bound fluorescent probe to colicin E1.

The fluorescent probe, 8-anilino-1-napthalenesulfonate (ANS) binds to Escherichia coli, showing an enhanced fluorescence. The interaction of colicin E1 with sensitive cells causes an increase of about 100% in the fluorescence of the bound ANS, and this change at equilibrium has an apparent "all-or-none" nature as a function of E1 multiplicity. Approximately 6 to 8% of the ANS is bound to the cells at equilibrium. The colicin E1-induced fluorescence increase can be attributed partly to an increase in ANS binding and partly to an increase in the fluorescence yield of the bound ANS. The kinetics of the E1-induced fluorescence increase in sensitive cells are very similar to those of the adenosine triphosphate decrease. The phosphorylation uncoupler p-trifluoromethoxy-carbonylcyanidephenylhydrazone also causes a large change in the fluorescence of bound ANS. Colicin E2 or E3 does not cause any fluorescence change, nor does colicin E1 cause fluorescence change with a colicinogenic strain. ANS appears to be a probe of structural or conformational change in the cell envelope that is closely associated with the colicin E1-induced adenosine triphosphate decrease.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Insertion intermediates of pore-forming colicins in membrane two-dimensional space.

The formation of integral membrane voltage-gated ion channels by the initially soluble C-terminal channel polypeptide (CP) of the pore-forming colicins is a fruitful area for studies on membrane protein import. The dependence of CP import on specific membrane parameters can be better understood using liposomes and planar membranes of defined lipid composition. The membrane surface and interfacial layer provide special conditions for the transition of a pore-forming colicin from the soluble to the integral membrane state. The colicin E1 CP is arranged in the membrane interfacial layer as a conformationally mobile helical array that is extended far more in the two dimensions parallel to the membrane surface than in the third dimension perpendicular to it. The alpha-helical content of CP(E1) increases by approximately 30% upon binding to the membrane. The sequence of kinetically distinguishable events in the CP(E1)-membrane interaction is binding, unfolding to a subtended area of 4200 A(2), helix extension, and insertion, the last three events overlapping in their time course ( approximately 10 s(-1)). The extension into two dimensions and the interaction with the membrane surface may explain the reversible denaturation and refolding of secondary structure that occurs after boiling of the CP-membrane complex. Although DSC showed the presence of helix-helix interactions in the membrane-bound state, the change in secondary structure and the extended surface area argue against a molten-globule intermediate in the CP-membrane interaction. However, the surface-bound state is mobile, as surface conformational mobility is a necessary prerequisite for insertion of CP trans-membrane helices into the bilayer. The requirement for this surface protein mobility, described by "thermal melting" FRET experiments, may provide the explanation for the precipitous decrease in the voltage-gated CP channel formation at high values of surface potential of planar bilayer membranes. Thus, the membrane interfacial layer, with the CP backbone situated near the acyl chain carbonyls, provides a favorable environment for the structure changes necessary for the transition from the soluble to the membrane-inserted state.

Cell Membrane↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Topography of the chloroplast cytochrome b6: orientation of the cytochrome and accessibility of the lumen-side interhelix loops.

The topography of chloroplast cytochromes f and b6 was probed with proteases carboxypeptidase A (CpA), trypsin, and Staph, aureus V8. The cytochrome and its proteolytic products were detected by heme stain and, in most experiments, by immunoreaction. In thylakoids, the only protease that significantly affected the intactness of cytochrome f was CpA that caused a small (delta Mr = -1-2000) decrease in the apparent molecular weight. In SDS-treated thylakoids, both trypsin and V8 degraded cytochrome f. The inferred topography of cytochrome f., with the COOH-terminus on the stromal (n) side, one membrane-spanning alpha-elix near the COOH-terminus, and most of the Cyt f mass on the lumen (p) side, is consistent with that previously inferred by others. Cytochrome b6 was not sensitive to CpA, but was more sensitive to trypsin and V8 protease than cytochrome f, cytochrome b-559, or the 17 kDa OEC extrinsic protein. Trypsin caused a small decrease in size of cytochrome b6, which was observed using whole protein antibody as a single smaller band (delta Mr approximately 2000) or two smaller discrete bands (delta Mr = -1000 and 2500, respectively) which, unlike the untreated protein, did not react with antibody generated to a peptide mimicking Asp-5-Gln-14 near the NH2-terminus. These shortened tryptic fragments were attributed to cleavage after R-10 and K-23 near the NH2-terminus, implying an orientation with the NH2-terminus on the stromal side of the membrane. The sensitivity of cytochrome b6 toward this trypsin cleavage was increased if the membranes were first incubated with CpA, showing that the NH2-terminal region of cytochrome b6 is masked by the COOH-terminal domain of one or more thylakoid proteins.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amino Acid Sequence↗