[Structural transformations of ribonucleoproteins, formed in the process of self-assembly of small subparticles of Escherichia coli ribosomes].
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The process of flagellar assembly was investigated in Salmonella typhimurium. Seven types of flagellar precursors produced by various flagellar mutants were purified by CsCl density gradient protocol. They were characterized morphologically by electron microscopy, and biochemically by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The MS ring is formed in the absence of any other flagellar components, including the switch complex and the putative export apparatus. Four proteins previously identified as rod components, FlgB, FlgC, FlgF, FlgG, and another protein, FliE, assemble co-operatively into a stable structure. The hook is formed in two distinct steps; formation of its proximal part and elongation. Proximal part formation occurs, but elongation does not occur, in the absence of the LP ring. FlgD is necessary for hook formation, but not for LP-ring formation. A revised pathway of flagellar assembly is proposed based on these and other results.
Assembly of poliovirus virions requires proteolytic cleavage of the P1 capsid precursor polyprotein between two separate glutamine-glycine (QG) amino acid pairs by the viral protease 3CD. In this study, we have investigated the effects on P1 polyprotein processing and subsequent assembly of processed capsid proteins caused by substitution of the glycine residue at the individual QG cleavage sites with valine (QG-->QV). P1 cDNAs encoding the valine substitutions were created by site-directed mutagenesis and were recombined into wild-type vaccinia virus to generate recombinant vaccinia viruses which expressed the mutant P1 precursors. The recombinant vaccinia virus-expressed mutant P1 polyproteins were analyzed for proteolytic processing defects in cells coinfected with a recombinant vaccinia virus (VVP3) that expresses the poliovirus 3CD protease and for processing and assembly defects by using a trans complementation system in which P1-expressing recombinant vaccinia viruses provide capsid precursor to a defective poliovirus genome that does not express functional capsid proteins (D. C. Ansardi, D. C. Porter, and C. D. Morrow, J. Virol. 67:3684-3690, 1993). The QV-substituted precursors were proteolytically processed at the altered sites both in cells coinfected with VVP3 and in cells coinfected with defective poliovirus, although the kinetics of cleavage at the altered sites were slower than those of cleavage at the wild-type QG site in the precursor. Completely processed capsid proteins VP0, VP3, and VP1 derived from the mutant precursor containing a valine at the amino terminus of VP3 (VP3-G001V) were unstable and failed to assemble stable subviral structures in cells coinfected with defective poliovirus. In contrast, capsid proteins derived from the P1 precursor with a valine substitution at the amino terminus of VP1 (VP1-G001V) assembled empty capsid particles but were deficient in assembling RNA-containing virions. The assembly characteristics of the VP1-G001V mutant were compared with those of a previously described VP3-VP1 cleavage site mutant (K. Kirkegaard and B. Nelsen, J. Virol. 64:185-194, 1990) which contained a deletion of the first four amino-terminal residues of VP1 (VP1-delta 1-4) and which was reconstructed for our studies into the recombinant vaccinia virus system. Complete proteolytic processing of the VP1-delta 1-4 precursor also occurred more slowly than complete cleavage of the wild-type precursor, and formation of virions was delayed; however, capsid proteins derived from the VP1-G001V mutant assembled RNA-containing virions less efficiently than those derived from the VP1-delta 1-4 precursor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Scaffolding proteins are proteins that are required to catalyse, regulate or modulate some step in the assembly of a macromolecular complex. They associate specifically with the nascent protein complex during assembly, but are subsequently removed, and are absent from the mature structure. Scaffolding proteins have been described primarily from viral systems, in particular from the double-stranded DNA bacteriophages, but most likely play a more general role in macromolecular assembly, a fundamental process in all biological systems. Scaffolding proteins may act in a specific fashion, by actively encouraging the formation of correct protein-protein interactions, or more generally by nucleating and promoting assembly. They may also work to ensure the fidelity of the assembly process by preventing the formation of improper interactions, in many ways similar to the role of molecular chaperones in protein folding. In viruses, scaffolding proteins are found both in the form of internal cores and external bracing, and may form elaborate and complex structures. This review will focus on the viral scaffolding proteins, for which an increasing amount of structural and functional information has recently become available.
A flow process for the multi-step synthesis of the alkaloid natural product (+/-)-oxomaritidine is described, mediated through the use of microfluidic pumping systems that progress material through various packed columns containing immobilized reagents, catalysts, scavengers or catch and release agents; our route involves the combination of seven separate synthetic steps linked into one continuous sequence utilizing flow chemistry.
Electrochemical oxidative formation and reductive desorption processes of a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of hexanethiol on a Au(111) surface in KOH ethanol solutions containing various concentrations of hexanethiol were investigated by in situ scanning tunneling microscopy in real time. The generation and disappearance of vacancy islands (VIs), corresponding to the formation and desorption of the SAM, respectively, were observed as anodic and cathodic current, respectively, flowed when the thiol concentration was higher than ca. 1 microM. When the VIs disappeared after the reductive desorption of the SAMs, the herringbone structure corresponding to the (radical3 x 23) structure of Au(111), was observed on the surface, indicating that a clean reconstructed surface was exposed even in the hexanethiol ethanol solution. During both oxidative adsorption and reductive desorption of the SAMs, the shape of the steps of the gold substrate changed drastically and the step lines became parallel to the 121 direction of the Au(111) surface, suggesting that gold atoms on the surface were extremely mobile during these processes. The coalescence of adjacent vacancy islands and growth of larger islands triangular in shape accompanied with the disappearance of nearby smaller islands were observed, confirming that the VIs grew according to the Ostward ripening model.
Processing and assembly of bovine leukaemia virus-like particles were studied in African green monkey kidney cells using recombinant vaccinia viruses (rVVs) expressing regions of the bovine leukaemia virus genome. Unprocessed gag precursor protein (Pr44) was detected in immunoblot analysis of lysed cells and particles sedimented from culture supernatants after infection with a rVV carrying the gag and truncated protease (pro) gene. Processing of Pr44 was observed after infection of cells with a rVV carrying the gag and pro gene or a rVV expressing the gag, pro and polymerase (pol) gene. Reverse transcriptase activity was detected only in association with particles produced by gag-, pro- and pol-expressing recombinants. Thin section electron microscopic analysis of infected cells and pelleted particles revealed that Pr44 and processed gag proteins assembled at the cell membrane. Pr44 was released into the cell culture media as immature virus-like particles, whereas processed gag proteins from rVVs expressing gag and pro or gag, pro and pol formed mature particles.
Aggregation of abnormally phosphorylated tau in the form of tangs of paired helical filaments (PHFs) is one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other tauopathies. It is of fundamental importance to study the mechanism of PHF formation and its modulation by phosphorylation. In this work, we have focused on the first microtubule-binding repeat of tau encompassing an abnormal phosphorylation site Ser262. The assembly propensities of this repeat and its corresponding phosphorylated form were investigated by turbidity and electron microscopy. Additionally, conformation of the two peptides is also analyzed through circular dichroism (CD) and NMR spectroscopy. Our results reveal that both of them are capable of self-assembly and phosphorylation at Ser262 could speed up the process of assembly. A possible mechanism of PHF formation is proposed and enhancing effect of phosphorylation on assembly provides an explanation to its toxicity in Alzheimer's disease.
In chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections, one of the most common mutations to the virus occurs at amino acid 97 of the core protein, where leucine replaces either phenylalanine or isoleucine, depending on strain. This mutation correlates with changes in viral nucleic acid metabolism and/or secretion. We hypothesize that this phenotype is due in part to altered core assembly, a process required for DNA synthesis. We examined in vitro assembly of empty HBV capsids from wild-type and F97L core protein assembly domains. The mutation enhanced both the rate and extent of assembly relative to those for the wild-type protein. The difference between the two proteins was most obvious in the temperature dependence of assembly, which was dramatically stronger for the mutant protein, indicating a much more positive enthalpy. Since the structures of the mutant and wild-type capsids are essentially the same and the mutation is not involved in the contact between dimers, we suggest that the F97L mutation affects the dynamic behavior of dimer and capsid.
The supramolecular assembly of a ferrocene-porphyrin conjugate allowed ferrocene-based electrochemical sensing of the metalloporphyrin axial coordination via a "tail on-tail off" binding process.
HIV-1 particles have been studied by structural and chemical approaches, however, the processes of assembly, budding and maturation are just beginning to be characterized, and molecular details of these processes remain poorly defined. This brief review summarizes some recent findings on the final steps of the HIV-1 life cycle and touches upon some unanswered questions, particularly regarding the processes involved in virus maturation and infectivity.
The 37-kilodalton (kDa) assembly protein of cytomegalovirus (strain Colburn) B capsids is shown to have a 40-kDa precursor. Pulse-chase radiolabeling experiments revealed that conversion of the precursor to the product was slow, requiring over 6 h for completion, and correlated with movement from the cytoplasmic to the nuclear fraction of Nonidet P-40-disrupted cells. Of these two proteins, only the 40-kDa precursor was synthesized in vitro from infected-cell RNA, consistent with its being the primary translation product. Amino acid sequence data obtained from CNBr-treated, high-performance liquid chromatography-purified assembly protein indicated that precursor translation begins at the first of two closely spaced potential initiation sites and that precursor maturation involves the loss of at least 32 amino acids from its carboxy-terminal end. It is also shown by immunological cross-reactivity and peptide similarity that three low-abundance B-capsid proteins (i.e., the 45-kilodalton [45K], 39K, and 38K proteins) are closely related to the assembly protein; the nature of this relatedness is discussed.
The biosynthesis, processing, and assembly of the TCR alpha- and beta-chains with each other and with the CD3 complex were investigated on both cell surface positive (TCR+CD3-) and negative (TCR-CD3-) cell lines. The results indicate that 1) in cell surface TCR-CD3- cell lines (MOLT 3, CCRF-CEM), TCR-beta, but not alpha-chains are present intracellularly. TCR-beta-CD3 complexes are readily found in these cell lines, but no evidence for final processing or cell surface expression of such incomplete TCR-CD3 complexes is observed. 2) In the cell surface TCR+CD3+ cell line HPB-ALL, both alpha- and beta-chains are present intracellularly. Whereas non-glycosylated forms of TCR-beta chain can be detected, only more mature forms of TCR alpha-chains are detected indicating that the alpha-chains are more rapidly glycosylated than the beta-chains. 3) The large majority of the intracellular alpha- and beta-chains is not disulfide linked and a small fraction of these is associated with CD3. 4) Only small amounts of the total intracellular TCR chains are found as CD3-associated disulfide-linked alpha beta-heterodimers. 5) Final processing of TCR chains for cell surface expression takes place after formation of these TCR-alpha beta-CD3 complexes. Thus, both the TCR alpha- and beta-chains are over-produced and only relatively small amounts of these chains form CD3-associated heterodimers that are processed for cell surface expression. Analogous results were obtained with a non-leukemic CTL clone. Based on these observations, a model for the biosynthesis and assembly of the TCR-CD3 complex is presented.
Role of lysine residues in the colchicine binding site and in the assembly-disassembly process was examined. It was observed that at 4 degrees C (pH 7.5-8, 8 +/- 1) lysine residues and the N-terminal methionine residue of tubulin were all buried within the molecule. Evidence indicates that epsilon-amino groups of lysine residues of tubulin are shared by both the colchicine binding site and the polymerisation process.
A species-addition experiment showed that prairie grasslands have a structured, nonneutral assembly process in which resident species inhibit, via resource consumption, the establishment and growth of species with similar resource use patterns and in which the success of invaders decreases as diversity increases. In our experiment, species in each of four functional guilds were introduced, as seed, into 147 prairie-grassland plots that previously had been established and maintained to have different compositions and diversities. Established species most strongly inhibited introduced species from their own functional guild. Introduced species attained lower abundances when functionally similar species were abundant and when established species left lower levels of resources unconsumed, which occurred at higher [corrected] species richness. Residents of the C4 grass functional guild, the dominant guild in nearby native grasslands, reduced the major limiting resource, soil nitrate, to the lowest levels in midsummer and exhibited the greatest inhibitory effect on introduced species. This simple mechanism of greater competitive inhibition of invaders that are similar to established abundant species could, in theory, explain many of the patterns observed in plant communities.
Recent experiments have defined cytoplasmic foci, referred to as processing bodies (P-bodies), wherein mRNA decay factors are concentrated and where mRNA decay can occur. However, the physical nature of P-bodies, their relationship to translation, and possible roles of P-bodies in cellular responses remain unclear. We describe four properties of yeast P-bodies that indicate that P-bodies are dynamic structures that contain nontranslating mRNAs and function during cellular responses to stress. First, in vivo and in vitro analysis indicates that P-bodies are dependent on RNA for their formation. Second, the number and size of P-bodies vary in response to glucose deprivation, osmotic stress, exposure to ultraviolet light, and the stage of cell growth. Third, P-bodies vary with the status of the cellular translation machinery. Inhibition of translation initiation by mutations, or cellular stress, results in increased P-bodies. In contrast, inhibition of translation elongation, thereby trapping the mRNA in polysomes, leads to dissociation of P-bodies. Fourth, multiple translation factors and ribosomal proteins are lacking from P-bodies. These results suggest additional biological roles of P-bodies in addition to being sites of mRNA degradation.
The present work shows that monomers of cpn60 (groEL) formed at 2.5 M urea could be assembled to tetradecamers in a process that was independent of ATP. Reassembled cpn60 was able to assist the folding of urea unfolded rhodanese. When cpn60 was incubated at urea concentrations higher than 2.75 M, assembly of tetradecameric cpn60 did not occur after dialysis, and the presence of ATP did not stimulate the assembly process. The cpn60 used here did not display the previously reported ATP-dependent self-assembly of cpn60 monomers that required a higher urea concentration (4 M) for formation (Lissen et al. (1990) Nature 348, 339-342). Assembly and disassembly of cpn60 tetradecamers were followed as a function of the urea concentration by ultracentrifugation and gel electrophoresis in the presence of urea. The electrophoresis results demonstrate that there is rapid assembly of tetradecamers following preincubation and rapid removal of urea at concentrations lower than 2.5 M. Thus, previous methods monitored irreversible dissociation of cpn60, and the present results indicate that the cpn60 assembly requirements for ATP are dependent on pretreatment conditions.
When the in vitro synthesized precursor of a light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b binding protein (LHCP) from Lemna gibba is imported into barley etiochloroplasts, it is processed to a single form. Both the processed form and the precursor are found in the thylakoid membranes, assembled into the light-harvesting complex of photosystem II. Neither form can be detected in the stromal fraction. The relative amounts of precursor and processed forms observed in the thylakoids are dependent on the developmental stage of the plastids used for uptake. The precursor as well as the processed form can also be detected in thylakoids of greening maize plastids used in similar uptake experiments. This detection of a precursor in the thylakoids, which has not been previously reported, could be a result of using rapidly developing plastids and/or using an heterologous system. Our results demonstrate that the extent of processing of LHCP precursor is not a prerequisite for its inclusion in the complex. They are also consistent with the possibility that the processing step can occur after insertion of the protein into the thylakoid membrane.