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Hybrid Protein (hybrid + protein)
Selected AbstractsFrzZ, a dual CheY-like response regulator, functions as an output for the Frz chemosensory pathway of Myxococcus xanthusMOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2007Yuki F. Inclán Summary Myxococcus xanthus utilizes two distinct motility systems for movement (gliding) on solid surfaces: adventurous motility (A-motility) and social motility (S-motility). Both systems are regulated by the Frz signal transduction pathway, which controls cell reversals required for directed motility and fruiting body formation. The Frz chemosensory system, unlike the Escherichia coli chemotaxis system, contains proteins with multiple response regulator domains: FrzE, a CheA,CheY hybrid protein, and FrzZ, a CheY,CheY hybrid protein. Previously, the CheY domain of FrzE was hypothesized to act as the response regulator output of the Frz system. In this study, using a genetic suppressor screen, we identified FrzZ and showed FrzZ is epistatic to FrzE, demonstrating that FrzZ is the principal output component of the pathway. We constructed M. xanthus point mutations in the phosphoaccepting aspartate residues of FrzZ and demonstrated the respective roles of these residues in group and single cell motility. We also performed in vitro assays and showed rapid phosphotransfer between the CheA domain of FrzE and each of the CheY domains of FrzZ. These experiments showed that FrzZ plays a direct role as an output of the Frz chemosensory pathway and that both CheY domains of FrzZ are functional. [source] Acquisition of double-stranded DNA-binding ability in a hybrid protein between Escherichia coli CspA and the cold shock domain of human YB-1MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2000Nan Wang Escherichia coli CspA, a major cold shock protein, is dramatically induced upon temperature downshift. As it binds co-operatively to single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and RNA without apparent sequence specificity, it has been proposed that CspA acts as an RNA chaperone to facilitate transcription and translation at low temperature. CspA consists of a five-stranded ,-barrel structure containing two RNA-binding motifs, RNP1 and RNP2. Eukaryotic Y-box proteins, such as human YB-1, are a family of nucleic acid-binding proteins that share a region of high homology with CspA (43% identity), termed the cold shock domain (CSD). Their cellular functions are very diverse and are associated with growth-related processes. Here, we replaced the six-residue loop region of CspA between the ,3 and ,4 strands with the corresponding region of the CSD of human YB-1 protein. The resulting hybrid protein became capable of binding to double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) in addition to ssDNA and RNA. The dsDNA-binding ability of an RNP1 point mutant (F20L) of the hybrid was almost unchanged. On the other hand, the dsDNA-binding ability of the hybrid protein was abolished in high salt concentrations in contrast to its ssDNA-binding ability. These results indicate that the loop region between the ,3 and ,4 strands of Y-box proteins, which is a little longer and more basic than that of CspA, plays an important role in their binding to dsDNA. [source] Production of a recombinant cholera toxin B subunit-insulin B chain peptide hybrid protein by Brevibacillus choshinensis expression system as a nasal vaccine against autoimmune diabetesBIOTECHNOLOGY & BIOENGINEERING, Issue 7 2005Yoshikazu Yuki Abstract Mucosally induced tolerance is an attractive strategy for preventing or reducing autoimmune diseases. Here, we produced a recombinant CTB fusion protein linked with autoantigen T cell epitope of insulin B chain peptide 9,23 (C19S) at levels up to 200 mg/L culture media in Brevibacillus choshinensis secretion-expression system. Receptor-competitive assay showed that the CTB-insulin peptide binds to GM1 receptor almost equivalent degree as the native form of CTB. Non-obese diabetes (NOD) mice that spontaneously develop an insulin-dependent diabetes were nasally immunized with CTB-insulin peptide (5 µg) for three times. The nasal treatment significantly reduced the development of insulin-dependent diabetes and peptide specific DTH responses after systemic immunization with the insulin peptide B 9,23(C19S) in CFA. Nasal administration of as high as 50 µg of the peptide alone demonstrated a similar level of the disease inhibition. In contrast, all mice given 5 µg of the insulin peptide alone or 5 µg of insulin peptide with 25 µg of the free form of CTB did not lead to the suppression of diabetes development and DTH responses. Because molecular weight of the insulin peptide is about one tenth of that of the CTB-insulin peptide, the results demonstrate that the recombinant hybrid of autoantigen and CTB increased its tolerogenic potential for nasal administration by up 100-fold on molar base of autoantigen peptide. Taken together, nasally-induced tolerance by administration of the recombinant B.choshinensis -derived hybrid protein of CTB and autoantigen T cell-epitope peptide could be useful mucosal immunetherapy for the control of T cell-mediated autoimmune diseases. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Secretion of the Escherichia coli K-12 SheA hemolysin is independent of its cytolytic activityFEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 2 2001Francisco J del Castillo Abstract The Escherichia coli K-12 sheA gene encodes a pore-forming hemolysin that is secreted to the medium by a hitherto unidentified mechanism. To study SheA secretion, we constructed fusions between SheA and the mature form of the periplasmic enzyme ,-lactamase, and performed site-directed mutagenesis on these constructs. The SheA-Bla and Bla-SheA hybrid proteins displayed hemolytic activity and were efficiently exported to the extracellular medium. Our results with mutant hybrid proteins show that secretion of SheA is independent of its cytolytic activity, that secretion is paralleled by a transient leakage of periplasmic contents to the extracellular medium, and that deletion of the 11 C-terminal residues of SheA has no effect on its secretion and cytolytic activity. [source] Membrane localization itself but not binding to IICBGlc is directly responsible for the inactivation of the global repressor Mlc in Escherichia coliMOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2004Yuya Tanaka Summary Mlc is a global transcriptional repressor involved in the regulation of genes linked to glucose metabolism. The activity of Mlc is modulated through the interaction with a major glucose transporter, IICBGlc, in response to external glucose. To understand how IICBGlc,Mlc interaction controls the repressor activity of Mlc, we attempted to isolate Mlc mutants that retain the ability to repress target genes even in the presence of glucose. The Mlc mutants were tested for their ability to interact with IICBGlc. Mutants in which a single amino acid substitution occurs in the N-terminal portion were no longer able to bind to IICBGlc, suggesting that the N-terminal region of Mlc is primarily responsible for the interaction with IICBGlc. To examine whether the Mlc,IICBGlc interaction and/or the membrane localization of Mlc per se are essential for the inactivation of Mlc, the properties of several hybrid proteins in which either IIBGlc or Mlc is fused to membrane proteins were analysed. The cytoplasmic IIBGlc domain failed to inhibit the Mlc action although it retains the ability to bind Mlc in cells. However, it gained the ability to inhibit the Mlc activity when it was fused to a membrane protein LacY. In addition, we showed that Mlc is inactivated when fused to membrane proteins but not when fused to cytoplasmic proteins. We conclude that the IICBGlc,Mlc interaction is dispensable for the inactivation of Mlc, and that membrane localization is directly responsible for the inactivation of Mlc. [source] Response to culture aeration mediated by the nitrate and nitrite sensor NarQ of Escherichia coli K-12MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 4 2003Valley Stewart Summary Respiratory enzyme synthesis in enterobacteria is controlled in response to electron acceptor availability. The iron,sulphur protein Fnr and the sensor,regulator proteins ArcB,ArcA control respiratory gene transcription in response to oxygen and quinone pool redox status respectively. The sensor,regulator proteins NarX,NarL and NarQ,NarP control anaerobic respiratory gene expression in response to nitrate and nitrite. Our laboratory recently engineered the lac operon to replace the primary operator O1- lac with the NarL and NarP protein binding site from the nirB operon. Expression of the lacZ gene from this construct is repressed by nitrate in Nar+ strains. Here, we found that lacZ gene expression was repressed in aerated cultures of narQ+narX null strains. This repression was not observed in narX+narQ+ or narX+narQ null strains. Thus, the NarQ sensor responds to aeration as well as to nitrate and nitrite. The NarX and NarQ sensors are composed of three distinct modules: an amino-terminal sensory module, a carboxyl-terminal transmitter module and a central module of unknown function. Experiments with NarX,NarQ hybrid proteins suggest that the NarQ protein central module is necessary for response to aeration. The physiological significance of this additional sensory role for the NarQ sensor remains obscure. [source] Effects of segment substitution on the structure and stability of immunoglobulin G binding domain of streptococcal protein GBIOPOLYMERS, Issue 1 2005Hai-Ning Du Abstract Structural formation of segments plays pivotal roles in protein folding and stability, but how the segment influences the structural ensemble remains elusive. We engineered two hybrid proteins by replacing the central helical segment of immunoglobulin G binding domain of streptococcal protein G with an ,-helix or ,2 -strand element of a structural homologue, the immunoglobulin G binding domain of streptococcal protein L. The results show that substitution by the ,-helical sequence retains a folded structure predominantly with a three-stranded ,-sheet but slightly destabilizes the compact ensemble, while substitution by the ,2 -strand sequence completely destroys the structural formation. The finding implies that the local segment may influence the tertiary structure and overall stability, and the tertiary interactions may modulate structural formation of the segment, which might be considered when studying protein folding, prediction, design, and engineering. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 79: 9,17, 2005 This article was originally published online as an accepted preprint. The "Published Online" date corresponds to the preprint version. You can request a copy of the preprint by emailing the Biopolymers editorial office at biopolymers@wiley.com [source] | ||||||||||