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At least 1,333 records · Page 74Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Structure, functionality, and evolution of the BARE-1 retrotransposon of barley.

The BARE-1 retrotransposon is a major, active component of the genome of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and other Hordeum species. Copia-like in its organization, it consists of 1.8-kb long terminal repeats bounding an internal domain of 5275 bp which encodes a predicted polyprotein of 1301 residues. The polyprotein contains the key residues, structural motifs, and conserved regions associated with retroviral and retrotransposon GAG, aspartic proteinase, integrase, reverse transcriptase, and RNaseH polypeptides. BARE-1 is actively transcribed and translated. As part of our effort to understand the evolution and function of BARE-1, we have examined its copy number and localization. Full-length members of the BARE-1 family constitute 2.8% of the barley genome. Globally, they are dispersed throughout the genome, excepting the centromeric, telomeric, and NOR regions. Locally, BARE-1 occurs more commonly in repetitive DNA than in coding regions, forming clusters of nested insertions. Both barley and other Hordeum genomes contain a high proportion of BARE-1 solo LTRs. New techniques have been developed which exploit the insertion site polymorphism generated by BARE-1 integration to produce molecular markers for breeding, biodiversity, and mapping applications.

Evolution, Molecular↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Structure and evolutionary role of the Penelope mobile element in Drosophila species of the virilis group].

The mobile element Penelope is activated and mobilizes several other transposons in dysgenic crosses in Drosophila virilis. Its structure proved to be complex and to vary greatly in all examined species of the virilis group. Phylogenetic analysis of the reverse transcriptase (RT) domain assigned Penelope to a new branch, rather than to any known family, of LTR-lacking retroelements. Amino acid sequence analysis showed that the C-terminal domain of the Penelope polyprotein is an active endonuclease, which is related to intron-encoded endonucleases and to bacterial repair endonuclease UrvC, and may act as an integras. Retroelements coding for a putative endonuclease that differs from typical integrase have thus far not been known. The N-terminal domain of the Penelope polyprotein was shown to contain a protease with significant homology to HIV-1 protease. Phylogenetic analysis divided the Penelope copies from several virilis species into two subfamilies, one including virtually identical full-length copies, and the other comprising highly divergent defective copies. The results suggest both vertical and horizontal transfer of the element. Possibly, Penelope invasion recurred during evolution and contributed to genome rearrangement in the virilis species. Chromosome aberrations detected in D. virilis, which is now being invaded by Penelope, is direct evidence for this assumption.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Expression of hepatitis A virus procapsids in the insect cells infected by recombinant baculovirus].

The recombinant baculocvirus containing genome P1-2A-P3 of hepatitis A virus (HAV) was constructed and used for infecting the Sf9 insect cells. It was demonstrated that the deletion of 2BC from HAV polyprotein and the insertion of a new 3C protease cleavage site between P1-2A and P3 did not interfere with the processing of polyprotein or with forming the 70S-procapsids. The identity of the protein contents as well as of morphological and antigen characteristics, obtained in Sf9-cells, to HAV empty capsids, which take shape in the infected mammal cells, proves that it is possible to use them in making the vaccine and diagnostic preparations.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Mutation analysis of 20 SARS virus genome sequences: evidence for negative selection in replicase ORF1b and spike gene.

AIM: Recently, more SARS-CoV virus genome sequences are released to the GenBank database. The aim of this study is to reveal the evolution forces of SARS-CoV virus by analyzing the nucleotide mutations in these sequences. METHODS: We obtained 20 SARS-CoV virus genome sequences from NCBI database, and calculated the ratio of non-synonymous nucleotide substitution per non-synonymous site (Ka) and synonymous nucleotide substitution per synonymous site (Ks) for SARS-CoV virus genes. RESULTS: The Ka/Ks ratios for replicase polyprotein ORF1a, ORF1b, and spike protein gene are 1.09 (P=0.6501), 0.38 (P=0.0074), 0.65 (P=0.0685) respectively. CONCLUSION: SARS-CoV virus replicase polyprotein ORF1b is undergoing negative selection; negative selection force is also probably operating on spike protein gene. These results provide basis for future developing a new drug and vaccine against SARS.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Mechanism of inhibition of the retroviral protease by a Rous sarcoma virus peptide substrate representing the cleavage site between the gag p2 and p10 proteins.

The activity of the avian myeloblastosis virus (AMV) or the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) protease on peptide substrates which represent cleavage sites found in the gag and gag-pol polyproteins of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) and HIV-1 has been analyzed. Each protease efficiently processed cleavage site substrates found in their cognate polyprotein precursors. Additionally, in some instances heterologous activity was detected. The catalytic efficiency of the RSV protease on cognate substrates varied by as much as 30-fold. The least efficiently processed substrate, p2-p10, represents the cleavage site between the RSV p2 and p10 proteins. This peptide was inhibitory to the AMV as well as the HIV-1 and HIV-2 protease cleavage of other substrate peptides with Ki values in the 5-20 microM range. Molecular modeling of the RSV protease with the p2-p10 peptide docked in the substrate binding pocket and analysis of a series of single-amino acid-substituted p2-p10 peptide analogues suggested that this peptide is inhibitory because of the potential of a serine residue in the P1' position to interact with one of the catalytic aspartic acid residues. To open the binding pocket and allow rotational freedom for the serine in P1', there is a further requirement for either a glycine or a polar residue in P2' and/or a large amino acid residue in P3'. The amino acid residues in P1-P4 provide interactions for tight binding of the peptide in the substrate binding pocket.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2004

Molecular cloning, expression and purification of protein 2A of hepatitis A virus.

Expression of the protein 2A of Hepatitis A virus (HAV), spanning amino acids 764 through 981 of the viral polyprotein results in a strong inhibition of cap-dependent translation (Maltese et al., 2000). However, the molecular mechanism responsible has remained unclear, in part because the HAV 2A protein was not available in amounts large enough to allow biological or structural studies. To address this issue, a cDNA representation of the sequences encoding HAV 2A was generated by PCR, using primers that introduced an AUG triplet, and a sequence coding for 6 histidine residues at the 5'- and 3'-termini of the genomic sequence, respectively. The cDNA fragment was introduced by cassette exchange in the inducible expression vector pQE-60, and the construct was propagated in bacteria E. coli M15 which constitutively expresses the lac repressor. Upon induction with IPTG (1 mM), HAV 2A was visualized by SDS-PAGE of bacterial lysates as a prominent band M(r) = 21 kDa. The identity of the polypeptide was confirmed by both MALDI-TOF peptide mapping and direct amino acid sequencing. The His-tagged HAV 2A was extracted from bacterial pellets under totally denaturing conditions (6 M urea), subjected to Ni(++)-Sepharose affinity chromatography, allowed to refold while still attached to the matrix, and eluted with 250 mM Imidazole. Contaminant material was partly removed by differential ammonium sulfate precipitation. The protein was further concentrated (Vivaspin centrifugal concentrator), the insoluble material (if present) was discarded, and the homogeneity of the dispersion was ascertained by light scattering. SDS-PAGE revealed that in addition to the main protein (Mr = 21 kDa), a second one of apparent Mr = 14 kDa was always present in variable amounts. The proportion of the latter tended to increase with aging of the preparation. Edman degradation analysis proved that the 14 kDa protein resulted from the cleavage of HAV 2A at a so far undetected scissile bond Gly856/Val857 of the viral polyprotein. A first attempt to crystallize the protein by the hanging drop procedure yielded only small crystals containing exclusively the 14 kDa derivative of HAV 2A. Western blot analysis of HeLa cell extracts that had been incubated with the His-tagged HAV 2A so purified failed to reveal any change in the electrophoretic mobility of the eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF) 4G I.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Molecular mimicry between a uveitopathogenic site of S-antigen and viral peptides. Induction of experimental autoimmune uveitis in Lewis rats.

S-Antigen (S-Ag) is a well characterized 45,000 m.w. photoreceptor cell protein. When injected into susceptible animal species, including primates, it induces an experimental autoimmune uveitis, a predominantly T cell-mediated autoimmune disease of the retina and uveal tract of the eye, and of the pineal gland. In this study we found an amino acid sequence homology between a uveitopathogenic site of S-Ag, several viral proteins and one additional nonviral protein. An experimental autoimmune uveitis and pinealitis was induced in Lewis rats with these different synthetic peptides, corresponding to the amino sequence of hepatitis B virus DNA polymerase, gag-pol polyprotein of Baboon endogenous virus and gag-pol polyprotein of AKV murine leukemia virus and potato proteinase inhibitor IIa, which contain three or more consecutive amino acids identical to peptide M in S-Ag. Lymph node cells from rats immunized with either peptide M or the different synthetic peptides showed a significant degree of cross-reaction. Mononuclear cells from monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) immunized with peptide M also showed significant proliferation when incubated with either peptide M or synthetic peptides as measured by in vitro lymphocyte mitogenesis assay using [3H]TdR. Based on our findings we conclude that a viral infection may sensitize the mononuclear cells that can cross-react with self proteins by a mechanism termed molecular mimicry. Tissue injury from the resultant autoantigenic event can take place in the absence of the infectious virus that initiated the immune response.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Interdomain hydrolysis of a truncated Pseudomonas exotoxin by the human immunodeficiency virus-1 protease.

The specificity of HIV-1 (human immunodeficiency virus-1) protease has been evaluated relative to its ability to cleave the three-domain Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE66) and related proteins in which the first domain has been deleted or replaced by a segment of CD4. Native PE66 is not hydrolyzed by the HIV-1 protease. However, removal of its first domain produces a molecule which is an excellent substrate for the enzyme. The major site of cleavage in this truncated exotoxin, called LysPE40, occurs in a segment that connects its two major domains, the translocation domain (II), and the ADP-ribosyltransferase (III). This interdomain region contains the sequence ...Asn-Tyr-Pro-Thr... which is similar to that surrounding the scissile Tyr-Pro bond in the gag precursor polyprotein, a natural substrate of the HIV-1 protease. Nevertheless, it is not this sequence that is recognized and cleaved by the enzyme, but one 6 residues away, ...Ala-Leu-Leu-Glu... in which the Leu-Leu peptide bond is hydrolyzed. A second, slower cleavage takes place at the Leu-Ala bond 3 residues in from the NH2 terminus of LysPE40. When domain I of PE66 is replaced by a segment comprising the first two domains of CD4, the resulting chimeric protein is hydrolyzed at the same Leu-Leu bond by HIV-1 protease. Enzyme activities toward synthetic peptides modeled after the sequences defined above in LysPE40 are in complete accord, relative to specificity, kinetics, and pH optimum, with results obtained in the hydrolysis of the parent protein. These findings demonstrate that ideas concerning the specificity of the HIV-1 protease that are based solely upon its processing of natural viral polyproteins can be expanded by evaluation of other multidomain proteins as substrates. Moreover, it would appear that it is not a particular conformation, but sequence and accessibility that play the dominant role in defining sites in a protein substrate that are susceptible to hydrolysis by the enzyme.

ADP Ribose Transferases↗
PubMed1987

Biosynthesis of rat alpha 1-macroglobulin. Identification of an intracellular precursor.

Alpha 1-macroglobulin was purified from rat plasma by gel filtration (Sephacryl S-300) and ion exchange chromatography (DE52). Analysis of the purified alpha 1-macroglobulin by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed two polypeptides: a light chain which could be resolved into a double band (36/38 kDa) and a heavy chain (160 kDa). Under non-reducing conditions complexes of 200 and 400 kDa could be demonstrated. Antibodies were raised against both chains of alpha 1-macroglobulin which did not cross-react with either rat alpha 2-macroglobulin or rat alpha 1-inhibitor 3. It was shown that in the medium of [35S]methionine-labeled hepatocytes the two subunits of alpha 1-macroglobulin are linked by disulfide bridges. Intracellularly, however, a high molecular mass polypeptide (185 kDa) could be immunoprecipitated with either the antiserum to the heavy or the light chain of alpha 1-macroglobulin, indicating the existence of a polyprotein precursor. Also in a cell-free translation system alpha 1-macroglobulin was synthesized as a polyprotein consisting of heavy and light chains (162 kDa). In a pulse-chase experiment using tunicamycin to block N-glycosylation, alpha 1-macroglobulin secretion was totally inhibited. This finding reflects the importance of the oligosaccharide side chains for the proteolytic processing to the two subunits and/or secretion of alpha 1-macroglobulin.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Purification and characterization of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) core precursor (p55) expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The core structure of retroviruses, including the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), consists of proteins that are initially synthesized as polyprotein precursors and then processed by a virally encoded protease yielding the mature core polypeptides. To obtain sufficient quantities of the purified HIV core precursor p55 for detailed studies, a segment of HIV DNA encoding the full length core precursor polyprotein p55 was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using a plasmid containing a constitutive galactose promoter. The expression of this DNA produced a protein with an estimated molecular size of 55,000, as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE); this protein was immunoreactive to anti-HIV p24 antisera. Following cell lysis, freezing, and thawing, the expressed protein was an insoluble aggregate that served as the starting material for the purification process. Solubilization of the insoluble p55 with guanidine HCl followed by phenyl-Sepharose column chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography resulted in a preparation of p55 that was greater than 95% pure by SDS-PAGE, immunoreactive to anti-HIV core protein antibodies, and completely soluble in aqueous solution. The expressed p55 appeared to be myristoylated as evidenced by the incorporation of radiolabel following incubation of recombinant yeast cells with [3H]myristic acid; in addition the amino terminus of the final purified protein was blocked. Proteolytic digestion of purified p55 with synthetic HIV protease yielded the predicted amino- and carboxyl-terminal products; these were confirmed by amino acid sequence analysis. In contrast, digestion of purified p55 by the protease derived from the avian myeloblastosis virus resulted in fragments that were different in size from those produced by the HIV protease. The availability of the purified, full length water-soluble HIV core precursor will be useful in identifying agents that inhibit its processing by the HIV protease.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1987

Neoplasms with neuroendocrine differentiation: implications of molecular pathology.

Anatomically widespread groups of extra-neural cells produce a spectrum of hormonal oligopeptides and monoamines comparable to those found in the central nervous system. Such cells express the capacity to cleave bioactive oligopeptides from polyprotein precursors, and the designation "neuroendocrine cells" has been widely adopted. Extra-neural cellular proliferations which exhibit the phenotypic manifestations of a neuroendocrine terminal differentiation also occur in a broad topographic distribution. Traditional tumor classifications reflected the wholistic concept of a "diffuse neuroendocrine system" in pathology. Newer results, however, including monoclonal antibody and in situ nucleic acid hybridization studies demonstrate that a variety of otherwise unrelated neoplasms can express the capacity to synthesize "ectopic" monoamines or hormonal oligopeptides. The molecular biological mechanisms which stimulate such cellular proliferations and regulate neuroendocrine expressions must be more diverse and complex than previously supposed. Critical alterations may involve multiple somatic mutations, abnormal gene transpositions or microenvironmental factors which could condition polyprotein gene transcription or post-transcriptional regulation. Accordingly, convergent patterns of neuroendocrine terminal differentiation in proliferative lesions and familial tumor complexes need not be pathogenetically homogenous. Molecular pathologic techniques now offer the potential to individualize diagnostic categories, and ultimately will facilitate more accurate clinical assessments of genetic risks, biologic progression, and therapeutic trials.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1984

Glucagon gene sequence. Four of six exons encode separate functional domains of rat pre-proglucagon.

Glucagon, a peptide of 29 amino acids that is produced and secreted by the pancreas, is a regulator of carbohydrate and protein metabolism. Recently, we determined the nucleotide sequence of a mRNA of 1300 nucleotides that encodes rat pre-proglucagon, a polyprotein precursor of glucagon. The polyprotein contains the sequences of glucagon and two glucagon-like peptides arranged in tandem and separated by intervening peptides. Now we report the structure of the gene encoding rat pre-proglucagon. The unique transcriptional unit of the gene spans 10 kilobase pairs and consists of six exons and five introns. Four of the six exons encode distinct functional domains of the pre-proglucagon. The signal sequence, glucagon, and two glucagon-like sequences arranged in tandem are each encoded by a separate exon. A promoter sequence TA-TAAA is located 26 base pairs upstream from the mRNA cap site, and two polyadenylation signals AA-TAAA are present in the 3' untranslated region of the encoded mRNA. The 3' flanking region of the gene contains repetitive sequence DNA.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1981

Proteolytic precursor processing in the biosynthesis of mitochondria.

Essentially all polypeptides synthesized in the cytoplasm and imported into either the matrix or into the inner or outer membrane of mitochondria are made as larger molecular weight precursors. All known examples of in vivo or in vitro synthesized precursors are summarized. Little information on the nature of the proteolytic enzymes involved in the processing of the larger precursor polypeptides exists. The biosynthesis of rat liver cytochrome c oxidase is discussed in detail. In contrast to reported data, the cytoplasmic subunits of rat liver cytochrome c oxidase are synthesized as larger molecular weight precursors and not as a polyprotein. Precursors to subunits IV and V show an extra-peptide sequence of about 3000 daltons. Evidence against the existence of a polyprotein precursor was also obtained, when messenger RNAs for the individual subunits IV and V were isolated and analyzed in respect to their size. A length of 990 +/- 80 and 830 +/- 70 nucleotides was estimated for the poly(A)+-RNA of cytochrome c oxidase subunits IV and V, respectively. In experiments on the site of synthesis, it was found that cytochrome c oxidase subunits IV and V are made on free, loosely and tightly membrane-bound polyribosomes.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

The role of protein glycosylation in the compartmentalization and processing of mouse mammary tumor virus glycoproteins in mouse mammary tumor virus-infected rat hepatoma cells.

The relationship of protein glycosylation to compartmentalization and processing of mouse mammary tumor virus (MTV) glycoproteins has been examined in M1.54, a cloned line of MTV-infected rat hepatoma tissue culture cells. Previous work established that full maturation of MTV glycoproteins in this cell line requires dexamethasone, a synthetic glucocorticoid (Firestone, G. L., Payvar, F., and Yamamoto, K. R. (1982) Nature (Lond.) 300, 221-225). The ability to regulate production of the full complement of five mature membrane-associated and secreted viral glycoproteins from one initially synthesized precursor has been used to advantage in the present work. At concentrations of tunicamycin that specifically inhibit N-linked protein glycosylation, incorporation of [35S]methionine into total cellular and secreted protein is not detectably affected, MTV-specific mRNAs are produced normally, and the nonglycosylated form of the glycosylated viral precursor polyprotein accumulates within the cells. However, tunicamycin inhibits the site-specific cleavage of the glycosylated polyprotein and distribution of MTV polypeptides to the cell surface and extracellular fractions. Thus, when tunicamycin-treated cultures of M1.54 are exposed to dexamethasone and [35S]methionine, no labeled viral antigens are detected in the culture medium. Similarly, tunicamycin prevents the appearance of membrane-associated viral antigens that can be labeled externally by lactoperoxidase-mediated iodination and it protects the cells against the cytolytic effects of MTV-specific antiserum and complement. Taken together, these results are consistent with the view that while glycosylation of some proteins may be unessential for their compartmentalization and processing, it does appear to be correlated with proper maturation of others. The hormone-dependent maturation of MTV glycoproteins in M1.54 may be particularly useful for study of this latter class since glycosylation is stringently associated with their compartmentalization and cleavage.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Processing of the hepatitis C virus precursor protein.

Proteins of hepatitis C virus (HCV) are produced from a polyprotein precursor by post-translational processing. Production of HCV proteins was analyzed with in vitro translation, as well as plasmid-based transient gene expression, in mammalian cell lines. A minimum of three different processing pathways yielded at least 10 viral proteins from the polyprotein precursor. One pathway depended on signal protease processing, and the other two pathways utilized viral proteinases. The signal peptidase cleaved the viral structural proteins, and two viral activities broke up the viral nonstructural proteins. With staggered cleavages, the signal peptidase produced two E2 products from the E2 region, gp70 type A and type B, differing in the C-terminal structure. Two viral proteinases partially overlapped in the N-terminal region of NS3; the functional amino acid residues required for those two activities differed. Most of the processed viral proteins bound together; some of the associated proteins were membrane bound.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Specific inhibition of hepatitis C viral gene expression by antisense phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides.

The inhibitory effect of antisense phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides (S-ODN) on hepatitis C viral gene expression and analyzed in an in vitro test system and in cell culture. S-ODN were directed against different stem loop structures in the 5'noncoding region (NCR) of the hepatitis C virus, (HCV) RNA and against a nucleotide stretch, including the start codon of the polyprotein precursor. The inhibitory effect of these S-ODN was quantified employing a viral RNA consisting of the first 407 nucleotides of a HCV type 1b genome fused to the coding sequence of the firefly luciferase gene. For in vitro assays this RNA was generated by in vitro transcription and used as a template in a rabbit reticulocyte lysate in vitro translation system. The production of active luciferase in the absence or presence of S-ODN was monitored using an enzymatic assay. The best results were obtained with S-ODN 4 directed against nucleotides 326 to 348, comprising the start AUG of the polyprotein coding sequence. With this oligonucleotide, a specific and dose-dependent effect was observed with a maximal inhibition of 96 +/- 1% at a S-ODN concentration of 4.14 mumol/L. For cell culture experiments, the hepatoblastoma cell line HepG2 was transfected with a plasmid expressing the HCV-luciferase fusion RNA. In this assay system S-ODN 2, complementary to nucleotides 264 to 282 of the HCV RNA, and S-ODN 4 were most efficient and reduced the viral translation by 96 +/- 0.4% and 94 +/- 0.7%, respectively, at a concentration of 0.3 mumol/L. The inhibition was specific (1) because the expression of the HCV-luciferase fusion RNA was not significantly impaired by the control S-ODN and (2) because the expression of an unrelated messenger RNA was not or only slightly downregulated. These data suggest that HCV gene expression can be inhibited effectively by antisense S-ODN. Therefore, this approach represents a promising perspective for the treatment of hepatitis C.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Molecular characterization of light chain 3. A microtubule binding subunit of MAP1A and MAP1B.

Light chain 3 (LC3) is a subunit of the neuronal microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs), MAP1A and MAP1B. Recent findings show that the cDNAs for MAP1A and MAP1B encode polyproteins that contain the MAP1A or MAP1B heavy chain and a LC2 or LC1 subunit, respectively. We have sequenced a cDNA encoding rat LC3, and its sequence is not found in the MAP1A/LC2 or MAP1B/LC1 polyprotein cDNAs. The deduced amino acid sequence of LC3 is highly conserved between rat and mouse. Rat LC3 is a 16.4-kDa protein with a predicted pI of 9.2. It is encoded on a 1.7-kilobase mRNA. Our anti-LC3 antiserum shows that LC3 is abundant only in neurons and that the majority of LC3 in brain co-purifies with microtubules. Purified recombinant rat LC3 retains the ability to associate with microtubules assembled in the presence of brain MAPs and with microtubules assembled from purified tubulin. We propose that LC3 functions primarily as a MAP1A and MAP1B subunit and that its expression could regulate the microtubule binding activity of MAP1A and MAP1B.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

The encephalomyocarditis virus 3C protease is a substrate for the ubiquitin-mediated proteolytic system.

The encephalomyocarditis virus 3C protease has been shown to be rapidly degraded in infected cells and in vitro in rabbit reticulocyte lysate. The in vitro degradation, at least, is accomplished by a virus-independent, ATP-dependent proteolytic system. Here we identify this proteolytic system as the ubiquitin-mediated system. Incubation of the 3C protease in rabbit reticulocyte or cultured mouse cell lysate preparations, alone or in the presence of added ubiquitin or methylated ubiquitin, resulted in the generation of new higher molecular weight species. These new products were shown to be 3C protease-ubiquitin conjugates by their ability to bind antibodies against both the 3C protease and ubiquitin. Supplemental ubiquitin also stimulated the degradation of the 3C protease in these preparations. Large 3C protease-polyubiquitin conjugates were observed to accumulate in reticulocyte lysate in the presence of adenosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate), an inhibitor of the 26 S multicatalytic protease. This, combined with the fact that the proteolytic activity could be removed from the lysate by sedimentation, implicates the multicatalytic protease in the degradation of the 3C protease-ubiquitin conjugates. It was also found that the slow rate of degradation of a model polyprotein, which resembles the stable viral 3CD diprotein produced in vivo, is likely due to the fact that the polyprotein is a poor substrate for the ubiquitin-conjugating system.

3C Viral Proteases↗