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PubMed1985

The ompA signal peptide directed secretion of Staphylococcal nuclease A by Escherichia coli.

The hybrid pre-enzyme formed by fusion of the signal peptide of the OmpA protein, a major outer membrane protein of Escherichia coli, to Staphylococcal nuclease A, a protein secreted by Staphylococcus aureus, is translocated across the cytoplasmic membrane of E. coli with concomitant cleavage of the signal peptide. A DNA fragment containing the coding sequence for the ompA signal peptide was initially ligated to a DNA fragment containing the coding sequence for nuclease A, with a linker sequence of 33 nucleotides separating the coding sequences. When this fused gene was induced, an enzymatically active nuclease was secreted into the periplasmic space; sequential Edman degradation of this protein revealed that the ompA signal peptide was removed at its normal cleavage site resulting in a modified version of the nuclease having 11 extra amino acid residues attached to the amino terminus of nuclease A. The 33 nucleotides between the coding sequences for the ompA signal peptide and the structural gene for nuclease A were subsequently deleted by synthetic oligonucleotide-directed site-specific mutagenesis. The nuclease produced by this hybrid gene was secreted into the periplasmic space and by sequential Edman degradation was identical to nuclease A. Thus, the ompA signal peptide is able to direct the secretion of fused staphylococcal nuclease A, and signal peptide processing occurs at the normal cleavage site. When the hybrid gene is expressed under the control of the lpp promoter, nuclease A is produced to the extent of 10% of the total cellular protein.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1988

Purification and characterization of a signal peptide, a product of protein secretion across the cytoplasmic membrane of Escherichia coli.

A signal peptide, a processing product of the precursor of the lipoprotein in the cytoplasmic membrane of Escherichia coli, has been purified through extractions with butanol and ethyl ether and chromatographies with a Sephadex LH-60 column and Sep-pak C18. Analysis of the amino acid composition and sequencing of the N- and C-termini indicate that the signal peptide was intact, suggesting that the first step of the signal peptide catabolism in the cytoplasmic membrane is the cleavage of the intact signal peptide. During the purification, the signal peptide exhibited unique features, including strong interaction with phospholipids. The possible importance of such features in the process of protein translocation across membranes is discussed.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1992

A positive residue in the hydrophobic core of the Escherichia coli lipoprotein signal peptide suppresses the secretion defect caused by an acidic amino terminus.

The signal peptide of secretory proteins requires a basic amino terminus followed by a stretch of hydrophobic residues to effect efficient translocation of precursor proteins. Replacement of the positively charged amino-terminal residues of prolipoprotein by acidic amino acids decreased the rate of precursor translocation (Inouye, S., Soberon, X., Franceschini, T., Nakamura, K., Itakura, K., and Inouye, M. (1982) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 79, 3438-3441; Vlasuk, G. P., Inouye, S., Ito, H., Itakura, K., and Inouye, M. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 7141-7148). We demonstrate here that an arginine residue, but not an aspartate, when localized at position 9 of the hydrophobic region of the lipoprotein signal peptide, is able to suppress intramolecularly the processing defect caused by an acidic amino terminus. Furthermore, when present at position 14 of the signal peptide, this positive residue, but not aspartate, was able to support efficient translocation of unmodified prolipoprotein. This demonstrates that a positive residue can restore the function of a severely defective signal peptide and need not be localized at the amino terminus to do so. Both aspartate and arginine substitution at position 14 of the lipoprotein signal peptide stimulated prolipoprotein synthesis. This effect was position-specific, did not require precursor translocation, and was dominant to the inhibition of synthesis caused by an acidic amino terminus.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1985

An alternate pathway for the processing of the prolipoprotein signal peptide in Escherichia coli.

Previous studies showed that when the signal sequence plus 9 amino acid residues from the amino terminus of the major lipoprotein of Escherichia coli was fused to beta-lactamase, the resulting hybrid protein was modified, proteolytically processed, and assembled into the outer membrane as was the wild-type lipoprotein (Ghrayeb, J., and Inouye, M. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 463-467). We have constructed several hybrid proteins with mutations at the cleavage site of the prolipoprotein signal peptide. These mutations are known to block the lipid modification of the lipoprotein at the cysteine residue, resulting in the accumulation of unprocessed, unmodified prolipoprotein in the outer membrane. The mutations blocked the lipid modification of the hybrid protein. However, in contrast to the mutant lipoproteins, the cleavage of the signal peptides for the mutant hybrid proteins did occur, although less efficiently than the unaltered prolipo-beta-lactamase. The mutant prolipo-beta-lactamase proteins were cleaved at a site 5 amino acid residues downstream of the prolipoprotein signal peptide cleavage site. This new cleavage between alanine and lysine residues was resistant to globomycin, a specific inhibitor for signal peptidase II. This indicates that signal peptidase II, the signal peptidase which cleaves the unaltered prolipo-beta-lactamase, is not responsible for the new cleavage. The results demonstrate that the cleavage of the signal peptide is a flexible process that can occur by an alternative pathway when the normal processing pathway is blocked.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

The roles of signal peptide and mature protein in RNase (barnase) export from Bacillus subtilis.

Barnase, an extracellular RNAse from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens is secreted post-translationally from B. subtilis. The rate of secretion of barnase from B. subtilis was improved by replacement of the barnase signal peptide with a heterologous signal peptide. However, the barnase signal peptide exported Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase faster than mature barnase. Heat shock of B. subtilis cells did not significantly alter the export of barnase using the barnase signal peptide. The slow rate of export of barnase from B. subtilis is due to both the signal peptide and the mature protein sequence rather than either alone.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Escherichia coli expression and processing of human interleukin-1 beta fused to signal peptides.

Escherichia coli expression, processing, and secretion of human interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) fused to the signal peptide of E. coli OmpA or PhoA protein were studied. With fusion to either signal sequence, high-level expression was observed and the products accumulated to about 20% of total cell protein. In the fusion to OmpA leader sequence, more than 50% of the product has the OmpA signal peptide removed precisely. The majority of the processed material is not released by osmotic shock. On the other hand, very little of the material from the fusion to PhoA has the PhoA signal peptide removed. Use of the host with a mutation in prlA or prlF, variation of temperature for cell growth, and alteration of the amino acid residues around the cleavage site do not facilitate processing of the PhoA signal peptide. These results suggest that some component in the PhoA signal peptide, interacting with the Il-1 beta sequence, is interfering with the processing of the signal peptide.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

A new type of signal peptide: central role of a twin-arginine motif in transfer signals for the delta pH-dependent thylakoidal protein translocase.

The delta pH-driven and Sec-related thylakoidal protein translocases recognise distinct types of thylakoid transfer signal, yet all transfer signals resemble bacterial signal peptides in structural terms. Comparison of known transfer signals reveals a single concrete difference: signals for the delta pH-dependent system contain a common twin-arginine motif immediately before the hydrophobic region. We show that this motif is critical for the delta pH-driven translocation process; substitution of the arg-arg by gln-gln or even arg-lys totally blocks translocation across the thylakoid membrane, and replacement by lys-arg reduces the rate of translocation by > 100-fold. The targeting information in this type of signal thus differs fundamentally from that of bacterial signal peptides, where the required positive charge can be supplied by any basic amino acid. Insertion of a twin-arg motif into a Sec-dependent substrate does not alter the pathway followed but reduces translocation efficiency, suggesting that the motif may also repel the Sec-type system. Other information must help to specify the choice of translocation mechanism, but this information is unlikely to reside in the hydrophobic region because substitution by a hydrophobic section from an integral membrane protein does not affect the translocation pathway.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2005

Signal peptide increases the efficacy of angiogenic gene transfer for treatment of myocardial ischemia.

We have previously shown that intracoronary delivery of recombinant adenoviruses encoding angiogenic proteins that contain signal peptides (fibroblast growth factor-4 and fibroblast growth factor-5) ameliorate myocardial ischemia. In the present paper, we test the hypothesis that the presence of the signal peptide is an important element in the favorable effects that transgene expression has on regional flow and function in an animal model of myocardial ischemia. We performed intracoronary delivery of two different recombinant adenoviruses encoding a fibroblast growth factor-2 variant, one with a signal peptide, FGF-2LI(+sp), and one without a signal peptide, FGF-2LI(-sp). In a model of stress-induced myocardial ischemia, intracoronary injection of these recombinants resulted in mRNA and protein expression of the transferred gene. Two weeks after gene transfer, regional abnormalities in stress-induced function and blood flow were improved after delivery of FGF-2LI containing the signal peptide. In the absence of the signal peptide, perfusion was not improved, and function was improved to a lesser degree than with FGF-2LI containing the signal peptide. These studies indicate that the presence of a signal peptide increases the efficacy of treatment and may reduce the required recombinant adenovirus dose for a given effect, and thereby provide an important safety margin for clinical application.

Adenoviridae↗
PubMed1998

Synthetic signal peptides specifically recognize SecA and stimulate ATPase activity in the absence of preprotein.

Although it is known that virtually all exported proteins require a signal peptide, it is not clearly understood how the signal peptide interfaces with the translocation machinery to achieve transport. In this study we document a direct interaction between the signal peptide and SecA, a primary component of the translocase in Escherichia coli, and show that the signal peptide itself can stimulate SecA-lipid ATPase activity. Using synthetic signal peptides corresponding to the wild type alkaline phosphatase signal sequence and two model sequences, we find that the extent of stimulation of SecA ATPase activity by the different peptides parallels the hierarchy of results found for in vivo function (Izard, J. W., Doughty, M. B., and Kendall, D. A. (1995) Biochemistry 34, 9904-9912). The peptide-induced activity requires a lipid to protein molar ratio of at least 300:1 and liposomes enriched in negatively charged phospholipids. Furthermore, specific binding of the signal peptide to SecA was demonstrated using chemical cross-linking and competition with unlabeled peptides.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1999

Processing, secretion, and anti-HIV-1 activity of IL-16 with or without a signal peptide in CD4+ T cells.

CD4+ T cells transfected with the C-terminal 130 aa of human IL-16 are rendered resistant to HIV infection. Whether the constitutively expressed IL-16 acts intracellularly, extracellularly, or both is not clear. To address this question and to further study the processing of IL-16, new constructs containing either the C-terminal 130 aa or the C-terminal 100 aa (PDZ-like motif) were constructed with and without a signal peptide. Pulse-chase experiments and treatment of cells with brefeldin A and/or tunicamycin showed that IL-16 is secreted despite the absence of a signal peptide, but with a signal peptide IL-16 is processed through the endoplasmic reticulum-golgi pathway and is glycosylated. Cells expressing IL-16 linked to a signal peptide secrete considerably more IL-16 into the supernatant than cells expressing IL-16 without a signal peptide and are considerably more resistant to HIV replication. Resistance extends to almost 25 days for cells expressing IL-16 with signal peptide as compared with only 15 days for cells without signal peptide. Cells expressing the C-terminal 100 aa not linked to a signal peptide are poor secretors of IL-16 and show little if any resistance to HIV. In contrast, cells expressing the C-terminal 100 aa linked to a signal peptide secrete IL-16 and are resistant to HIV replication. It is concluded that the secretion of IL-16 is required for HIV inhibition.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2001

A proteomic view on genome-based signal peptide predictions.

The availability of complete genome sequences has allowed the prediction of all exported proteins of the corresponding organisms with dedicated algorithms. Even though numerous studies report on genome-based predictions of signal peptides and cell retention signals, they lack a proteomic verification. For example, 180 secretory and 114 lipoprotein signal peptides were predicted recently for the Gram-positive eubacterium Bacillus subtilis. In the present studies, proteomic approaches were used to define the extracellular complement of the B. subtilis secretome. Using different growth conditions and a hyper-secreting mutant, approximately 200 extracellular proteins were visualized by two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis, of which 82 were identified by mass spectrometry. These include 41 proteins that have a potential signal peptide with a type I signal peptidase (SPase) cleavage site, and lack a retention signal. Strikingly, the remaining 41 proteins were predicted previously to be cell associated because of the apparent absence of a signal peptide (22), or the presence of specific cell retention signals in addition to an export signal (19). To test the importance of the five type I SPases and the unique lipoprotein-specific SPase of B. subtilis, the extracellular proteome of (multiple) SPase mutants was analyzed. Surprisingly, only the processing of the polytopic membrane protein YfnI was strongly inhibited in Spase I mutants, showing for the first time that a native eubacterial membrane protein is a genuine Spase I substrate. Furthermore, a mutation affecting lipoprotein modification and processing resulted in the shedding of at least 23 (lipo-)proteins into the medium. In conclusion, our observations show that genome-based predictions reflect the actual composition of the extracellular proteome for approximately 50%. Major problems are currently encountered with the prediction of extracellular proteins lacking signal peptides (including cytoplasmic proteins) and lipoproteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Stereochemical analysis of interaction of signal peptide with phospholipids at the initiation of protein translocation across the membrane.

Stereochemical analysis of signal peptide interaction with E. coli membrane phospholipids revealed the structural complementarity of N-terminus of signal peptide alpha-helix and acid phospholipids. The formation of their complex leads to neutralization of charges and decrease in hydrophilicity of both components, and promotes insertion of peptide and phospholipid into the membrane, not separately but as a complex. Interaction of acid phospholipids with the E. coli alkaline phosphatase (AP) signal peptide was thoroughly analyzed, and it was shown that in this case a complex of signal peptide alpha-helix with phosphatidylglycerol is inserted into the membrane with the lowest energy expense. On the basis of the results of stereochemical analysis and the available experimental data, a molecular mechanism of protein translocation initiation across the membrane has been proposed, in which the key events are the formation of the complex "signal peptide alpha-helix-acid phospholipid", the coupled insertion of hydrophobic peptide-lipid complex into a nonpolar membrane interior and translocation across the membranes.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1989

Signal peptide subsegments are not always functionally interchangeable. M13 procoat hydrophobic core fails to transport alkaline phosphatase in Escherichia coli.

Bacterial signal peptides display little amino acid sequence homology despite their shared role in mediating protein transport. This heterogeneity may exist to permit the establishment of signal peptide conformations that are appropriate for transport of particular proteins. In this paper we explore how signal peptides are composed of structural units that may interact with each other and with the mature protein to effect transport. Using a new application of cassette mutagenesis, we have replaced the hydrophobic core of the Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase signal peptide with cores from the signals of maltose-binding protein, OmpA, and M13 major coat protein. The core regions from maltose-binding protein and OmpA effectively replaced the alkaline phosphatase core; the resultant hybrid signals performed as well as wild type in periplasmic transport and processing of alkaline phosphatase. However, the core region from M13 major coat protein generated a transport-incompetent hybrid signal peptide. Elimination of a proline-containing portion of the M13 major coat protein core did not improve transport effectiveness. However, restoration of the procoat cleavage region and the negatively charged amino terminus of the mature protein did ameliorate the transport defect. These results suggest that at least in the case of these procoat-derived signal peptide mutants, there is a requirement for complementarity among the hydrophobic core, cleavage region, and part of the mature protein in order for efficient protein transport to occur.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1989

Modification of length, hydrophobic properties and electric charge of Bacillus subtilis alpha-amylase signal peptide and their different effects on the production of secretory proteins in B. subtilis and Escherichia coli cells.

Bacillus subtilis alpha-amylase signal peptide, which consists of 33 amino acids, is functional in Escherichia coli cells. Lysine, glutamic acid, leucine, leucyl-leucine, or leucyl-leucyl-leucine was inserted between positions 28 and 29 of the alpha-amylase signal peptide using site directed mutagenesis. DNAs encoding the wild-type and modified signal peptides were then fused in-frame to DNAs encoding the mature regions of the beta-lactamase of pBR322 and a thermostable alpha-amylase. The secretion of beta-lactamase in E. coli cells was more inhibited by the modified signal peptides than that in B. subtilis cells, although the degree of inhibition varied and the inhibitory effect of each signal peptide was found to be similar in the two strains. In contrast, the difference in the inhibitory effect of each modified signal peptide was no longer detected in the case of the production of thermostable alpha-amylase, except for the insertion of glutamic acid. Nearly 50% of thermostable alpha-amylase in the precursor form was accumulated in the intracellular fraction of E. coli cells containing the DNAs for the modified signal peptides. The insertion of glutamic acid inhibited the secretion of the two enzymes in both B. subtilis and E. coli cells.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Mode of membrane interaction of wild-type and mutant signal peptides of the Escherichia coli outer membrane protein A.

The membrane insertion potentials of the signal peptide of the outer membrane protein A (OmpA) from Escherichia coli and two peptides corresponding to functionally impaired mutant OmpA signal sequences were examined using spin label electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. The wild-type OmpA signal peptide, WT, a deletion mutant lacking the amino acid stretch 6-9, delta 6-9, and a substitution mutant with the isoleucine residue at position 8 replaced by asparagine, I8N, were incorporated into mixed lipid vesicles containing negatively charged 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl phosphatidylglycerol (POPG) and zwitterionic 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl phosphatidylethanolamine (POPE). Spin-labeled derivatives of phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine containing a nitroxide moiety at the 12th position in the sn-2 acyl chain, 12-PGSL and 12-PESL, respectively, were employed for the ESR experiments. The 12-PGSL and 12-PESL exhibited two-component spectra in the presence of the WT and delta 6-9, but not when I8N was present. Using difference spectroscopy, the number of POPG and POPE molecules associated with an ordered lipid layer surrounding the peptides was estimated. The results suggest that WT exists as a transmembrane monomer in the membrane. The delta 6-9 mutant signal peptide appears to exist either as a transmembrane aggregate or partially inserted into the acyl chain region. The substitution mutant, I8N, has a most probable location near the membrane surface. Among these variants of the OmpA signal peptide, the ability to adopt a transmembrane monomeric orientation correlates well with the export activity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2005

YidC-dependent translocation of green fluorescence protein fused to the FliP cleavable signal peptide.

Escherichia coli FliP is a rare bacterial polytopic membrane protein synthesized with a cleavable, highly hydrophobic signal peptide. More hydrophilic Tat-dependent or Sec-dependent signal peptide is functionally capable of substituting for the FliP signal peptide, but a signal anchor of inner membrane protein fails to do so. To assess the intrinsic characteristics of the FliP signal peptide in mediating protein translocation, we fused it to green fluorescence protein and observed that the translocation of the chimera (FliPss-GFP) was dependent of Ffh, SecA, SecY and SecD. In addition, we showed for the first time the involvement of YidC in protein translocation across the inner membrane.

Escherichia coli↗
PubMed1991

A de novo designed signal peptide cleavage cassette functions in vivo.

Leader peptidase (Lep) is a membrane-bound enzyme of the Escherichia coli inner membrane that serves to remove signal peptides from exported proteins. Statistical and experimental studies of known signal peptides have defined a short C-terminal region that seems to provide the information for correct cleavage by Lep. Based on the patterns of conserved amino acids found in this region, we have designed a signal peptide "cleavage cassette." This cassette is processed at the expected site when introduced after an uncleaved signal peptide. Furthermore, processing is blocked in the predicted manner when the (-3, -1)-rule for signal peptide cleavage is violated. This suggests that current understanding of the sequence requirements for signal peptide cleavage is sufficiently advanced to be used in, e.g. protein engineering applications.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1988

Efficient in vitro translocation into Escherichia coli membrane vesicles of a protein carrying an uncleavable signal peptide. Characterization of the translocation process.

The translocation into Escherichia coli cytoplasmic membrane vesicles of a protein containing an uncleavable signal peptide was studied. The signal peptide cleavage site of the ompF-lpp chimeric protein, a model secretory protein, was changed from Ala-Ala to Phe-Pro through oligonucleotide-directed site-specific mutagenesis of the ompF-lpp gene on a plasmid. The mutant protein was no longer processed by the signal peptidase. When proteinase K treatment was adopted as a probe for protein translocation into inverted membrane vesicles, the mutant protein exhibited rapid and almost complete translocation, most likely due to the lack of premature cleavage of the signal peptide before the translocation. This result also indicates that cleavage of the signal peptide is not required for translocation of the mature domain of the protein. The establishment of an efficient system made it possible to perform precise and quantitative analysis of the translocation process. The translocation was time-dependent, vesicle-dependent, and required ATP and NADH. Translocation into membrane vesicles was also observed with the uncleavable precursor protein purified by means of immunoaffinity chromatography, although the efficiency was appreciably low. The translocation required only ATP and NADH. Addition of the cytosolic fraction did not enhance the translocation.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗