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Thermotolerance in mammalian cells. Protein denaturation and aggregation, and stress proteins.

Cells that have been pre-exposed to thermal stress can acquire a transient resistance against the killing effect of a subsequent thermal stress. The cause for this phenomenon, called thermotolerance, seems to be an enhanced resistance of proteins against thermal denaturation and aggregation. This resistance can be expressed as an attenuation of damage formation (less initial damage) or as a better repair of the protein damage (facilitated recovery). Heat Shock (or better, Stress) Proteins (HSPs) may play a role in and even be required for thermal resistance. However, rather than stress-induced enhanced synthesis and elevated total levels of HSPs per se, the concentration of, both constitutive and inducible, HSPs at and/or (re)distributed to specific subcellular sites may be the most important factor for the acquisition of thermotolerance. Specific HSPs may be involved either in damage protection or in damage repair.

Animals↗

Ligand-induced biphasic protein denaturation.

The results of a thermodynamic calculation of the excess heat capacity that is based on experimental observations and that incorporates the effects of ligand binding on the two-state, thermal denaturation of a protein are presented. For a protein with a single-binding site on the native species and at subsaturating concentrations of ligand, bimodal or unimodal thermograms were computed merely by assuming a larger or smaller ligand association constant, respectively. The calculated thermograms for this simplified case show the salient features of those observed by differential scanning calorimetry for defatted human albumin monomer in the absence and presence of three ligands for which the protein has higher, intermediate, and lower affinity (Shrake, A., and Ross, P. D. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 15392-15399). The computation demonstrates that biphasic unfolding can result from a significant increase in the free energy of denaturation (and the transition temperature) during the course of unfolding due to a substantial increase in free ligand concentration caused by the release of bound ligand by denaturing protein. Such ligand-induced biphasic denaturation does not relate to macromolecular substructure but derives from a perturbation, during unfolding, of the ligand binding equilibrium, which is coupled to the equilibrium between the folded and unfolded protein species. Thus, this bimodality is not limited to thermally induced unfolding but is operative independent of the means used to effect denaturation and therefore must be considered when studying any macromolecular folding/unfolding reaction in the presence of ligand.

Kinetics↗

Site-specific dimensions across a highly denatured protein; a single molecule study.

Do highly denatured proteins adopt random coil configurations? Here, we address this question by measuring residue-to-residue separations across the denatured FynSH3 domain. Using single-molecule Forster resonance energy transfer techniques, we have collected transfer efficiency probability distributions for dye-labeled, denatured protein. Applying maximum likelihood analysis to the interpretation of these distributions, we have determined the through-space distance between five residue pairs in the protein's guanidine hydrochloride-unfolded and trifluoroethanol-unfolded states. We find that, while the dimensions of the guanidine hydrochloride -unfolded molecule generally coincide with the dimensions predicted for a random coil ensemble, potentially statistically significant deviations from random coil behavior are also evident. These small, site-specific deviations may provide a means of reconciling earlier, scattering-based evidence for the random coil nature of the unfolded state with more site-specific spectroscopic evidence suggesting residual structure. We have also studied the unfolded ensemble populated in 50% trifluoroethanol, a denaturant that induces a highly helical unfolded state. We find that the size and shape of the unfolded ensemble under these conditions is effectively indistinguishable from that populated in guanidinium hydrochloride solutions, suggesting that the gross structure of the denatured state is, perhaps surprisingly, independent of the chemistry of the cosolvent.

Escherichia coli Proteins↗

Heat-shock preconditioning reduces oxidative protein denaturation and ameliorates liver injury by carbon tetrachloride in rats.

Membrane lipids and cytosolic proteins are major targets of oxidative injury. This study examined the effect of heat-shock preconditioning associated with the induction of heat-shock protein 72 on liver injury, from the aspect of lipid peroxidation and protein denaturation after carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) administration in rats--one of the representative oxidative injuries. Male Wistar rats were divided into two groups, group HS (preconditioned by heat exposure) and group C (not preconditioned). Expression of HSP72 in the liver tissue was confirmed by Western blot analysis. After a 48-h recovery period, all rats were given CCl4 intragastrically. Liver damage was assessed by measuring serum liver-related enzyme levels and adenine nucleotide concentration in the liver tissue. Lipid peroxidation and protein denaturation were evaluated by measuring tiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and by immunohistochemical staining of 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal(HNE)-modified proteins in the liver. Survival rates of the rats after CCl4 administration were also compared. Expression of HSP72 was clearly detected in group HS, but not in group C. Heat-shock preconditioning significantly improved the survival rate, suppressed the increase in liver-related enzyme levels and maintained adenosine triphosphate levels (P<0.01 each). HNE-modified proteins--denatured proteins by free radical attack--were significantly less stained in group HS than in group C (P<0.05). However, TBARS levels did not differ between groups. Because heat-shock preconditioning did not alter TBARS levels but reduced HNE-modified proteins in association with the expression of HSP72, it is suggested that HSP72 did not prevent lipid peroxidation but decreased the lipid peroxidation-induced denaturation of proteins. This seemed to be a mechanism of heat-shock preconditioning to ameliorate oxidative liver injury.

Alanine Transaminase↗

Degradation of oxidatively denatured proteins in Escherichia coli.

When exposed to oxidative stress, by oxygen radicals or H2O2, E. coli exhibited decreased growth, decreased protein synthesis, and dose-dependent increases in protein degradation. The quinone menadione induced proteolysis when cells were incubated in air, but was not effective when cells were incubated without oxygen. Anaerobically grown cells also exhibited significantly lower proteolytic capacity than did cells that were grown aerobically. Xanthine plus xanthine oxidase (which generate O2- and H2O2) caused a stimulation of proteolysis which was inhibitable by catalase, but not by superoxide dismutase: Indicating that H2O2 was responsible for the increased protein degradation. Indeed, H2O2 alone was effective in inducing increased intracellular proteolysis. Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of [3H]leucine labeled E. coli revealed greater than 50% decreases in the concentrations of 10-15 cell proteins following H2O2 or menadione exposure, while several other proteins were less severely affected. To test for the presence of soluble proteases, we prepared cell-free extracts of E. coli and incubated them with radio-labeled protein substrates. E. coli extracts degraded casein and globin polypeptides at rapid rates but showed little activity with native proteins such as superoxide dismutase, hemoglobin, bovine serum albumin, or catalase. When these same proteins were denatured by exposure to oxygen radicals or H2O2, however, they became excellent substrates for degradation in E. coli extracts. Studies with albumin revealed correlations greater than 0.95 between the degree of oxidative denaturation and proteolytic susceptibility. Pretreatment of E. coli with menadione or H2O2 did not increase the proteolytic capacity of cell extracts; indicating that neither protease activation, nor protease induction were required.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Bacterial Proteins↗

Hyperthermia (heat shock)-induced protein denaturation in liver, muscle and lens tissue as determined by differential scanning calorimetry.

Protein denaturation has been shown to occur in cells during heat shock and is closely correlated with the cellular responses to hyperthermia; however, little is known about protein denaturation in tissue. This study describes an analysis of endothermic transitions in the hyperthermic region using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in liver, white muscle, and lens tissue from Wistar rat, New Zealand white rabbit, and Rainbow trout. Complex DSC profiles consisting of several transitions were obtained for each tissue. Evidence is given that these transitions are due primarily to protein denaturation. Onset temperatures of denaturation (Tl) for rat liver, muscle, and lens are about 38, 39 and 48 degrees C, respectively. Thus, significant protein denaturation occurs in liver and muscle during mild hyperthermia (40-45 degrees C) with lens considerably more stable. The values of Tl for the same tissue from the different animals correlates well with body temperature (rabbit 39.4, rat 38.2, and trout grown at 11 degrees C); Tl increased in the same order as the body temperature for each tissue. Thus, there is correlation between the onset temperature for protein denaturation in these tissues and body temperature.

Animals↗

In vivo reactivation of heat-denatured protein in the endoplasmic reticulum of yeast.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells grown at 24 degrees C acquire thermotolerance and survive exposure to 50 degrees C, but only if they are first incubated at 30 degrees C, the temperature where heat shock genes are activated. We show here that the enzymatic activity of a secretory beta-lactamase fusion protein, pre-accumulated at 37 degrees C in the endoplasmic reticulum, was abolished by exposure of the cells to 50 degrees C. When the cells were returned to 24 degrees C, beta-lactamase activity was resumed. Reactivation occurred in the endoplasmic reticulum, but not in the Golgi apparatus. It was dependent on metabolic energy, but did not require de novo protein synthesis. According to co-immunoprecipitation experiments, immuno-globulin-binding protein (BiP/Kar2p) was associated with the fusion protein. We suggest that recovery from thermal insult involves, in addition to cytoplasmic and nuclear events, refolding of heat-damaged proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum by a heat-resistant machinery, which forms part of a fundamental survival mechanism.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Heteronuclear three-dimensional NMR spectroscopy of a partially denatured protein: the A-state of human ubiquitin.

Human ubiquitin is a 76-residue protein that serves as a protein degradation signal when conjugated to another protein. Ubiquitin has been shown to exist in at least three states: native (N-state), unfolded (U-state), and, when dissolved in 60% methanol:40% water at pH 2.0, partially folded (A-state). If the A-state represents an intermediate in the folding pathway of ubiquitin, comparison of the known structure of the N-state with that of the A-state may lead to an understanding of the folding pathway. Insights into the structural basis for ubiquitin's role in protein degradation may also be obtained. To this end we determined the secondary structure of the A-state using heteronuclear three-dimensional NMR spectroscopy of uniformly 15N-enriched ubiquitin. Sequence-specific 1H and 15N resonance assignments were made for more than 90% of the residues in the A-state. The assignments were made by concerted analysis of three-dimensional 1H-15N NOESY-HMQC and TOCSY-HMQC data sets. Because of 1H chemical shift degeneracies, the increased resolution provided by the 15N dimension was critical. Analysis of short- and long-range NOEs indicated that only the first two strands of beta-sheet, comprising residues 2-17, remain in the A-state, compared to five strands in the N-state. NOEs indicative of an alpha-helix, comprising residues 25-33, were also identified. These residues were also helical in the N-state. In the N-state, residues in this helix were in contact with residues from the first two strands of beta-sheet. It is likely, therefore, that residues 1-33 comprise a folded domain in the A-state of ubiquitin. On the basis of 1H alpha chemical shifts and weak short-range NOEs, residues 34-76 do not adopt a rigid secondary structure but favor a helical conformation. This observation may be related to the helix-inducing effects of the methanol present. The secondary structure presented here differs from and is more thorough than that determined previously by two-dimensional 1H methods [Harding et al. (1991) Biochemistry, 30, 3120-3128].

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Determination of denaturated proteins and biotoxins by on-line size-exclusion chromatography-digestion-liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry.

A multidimensional analytical method for the rapid determination and identification of proteins has been developed. The method is based on the size-exclusion fractionation of protein-containing samples, subsequent on-line trypsin digestion and desalination, and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry detection. The present system reduces digestion times to 20 min and the total analysis time to less than 100 min. Using bovine serum albumin and myoglobin as model proteins, optimization of key parameters such as digestion times and interfacing conditions between the different pretreatment steps was performed. The automated system was tested for the identification of infectious disease agents such as cholera toxin and staphylococcal enterotoxin B. This resulted typically in a positive identification by a total sequence coverage of approximately 40%.

Amino Acid Sequence↗