Trypsiligase-Catalyzed Labeling of Proteins on Living Cells.

Fluorescent fusion proteins are powerful tools for studying biological processes in living cells, but universal application is limited due to the voluminous size of those tags, which might have an impact on the folding, localization or even the biological function of the target protein. The designed biocatalyst trypsiligase enables site-directed linkage of small-sized fluorescence dyes on the N terminus of integral target proteins located in the outer membrane of living cells through a stable native peptide bond. The function of the approach was tested by using the examples of covalent derivatization of the transmembrane proteins CD147 as well as the EGF receptor, both presented on human HeLa cells. Specific trypsiligase recognition of the site of linkage was mediated by the dipeptide sequence Arg-His added to the proteins' native N termini, pointing outside the cell membrane. The labeling procedure takes only about 5 minutes, as demonstrated for couplings of the fluorescence dye tetramethyl rhodamine and the affinity label biotin as well.

A thermostable d-polymerase for mirror-image PCR.

Biological evolution resulted in a homochiral world in which nucleic acids consist exclusively of d-nucleotides and proteins made by ribosomal translation of l-amino acids. From the perspective of synthetic biology, however, particularly anabolic enzymes that could build the mirror-image counterparts of biological macromolecules such as l-DNA or l-RNA are lacking. Based on a convergent synthesis strategy, we have chemically produced and characterized a thermostable mirror-image polymerase that efficiently replicates and amplifies mirror-image (l)-DNA. This artificial enzyme, dubbed d-Dpo4-3C, is a mutant of Sulfolobus solfataricus DNA polymerase IV consisting of 352 d-amino acids. d-Dpo4-3C was reliably deployed in classical polymerase chain reactions (PCR) and it was used to assemble a first mirror-image gene coding for the protein Sso7d. We believe that this d-polymerase provides a valuable tool to further investigate the mysteries of biological (homo)chirality and to pave the way for potential novel life forms running on a mirror-image genome.

N-terminal protein modification by substrate-activated reverse proteolysis.

Although site-specific incorporation of artificial functionalities into proteins is an important tool in both basic and applied research, it can be a major challenge to protein chemists. Enzymatic protein modification is an attractive goal due to the inherent regio- and stereoselectivity of enzymes, yet their specificity remains a problem. As a result of the intrinsic reversibility of enzymatic reactions, proteinases can in principle catalyze ligation reactions. While this makes them attractive tools for site-specific protein bioconjugation, competing hydrolysis reactions limits their general use. Here we describe the design and application of a highly specific trypsin variant for the selective modification of N-terminal residues of diverse proteins with various reagents. The modification proceeds quantitatively under native (aqueous) conditions. We show that the variant has a disordered zymogen-like activation domain, effectively suppressing the hydrolysis reaction, which is converted to an active conformation in the presence of appropriate substrates.

Structural basis for membrane binding and catalytic activation of the peripheral membrane enzyme pyruvate oxidase from Escherichia coli.

The thiamin- and flavin-dependent peripheral membrane enzyme pyruvate oxidase from E. coli catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of the central metabolite pyruvate to CO(2) and acetate. Concomitant reduction of the enzyme-bound flavin triggers membrane binding of the C terminus and shuttling of 2 electrons to ubiquinone 8, a membrane-bound mobile carrier of the electron transport chain. Binding to the membrane in vivo or limited proteolysis in vitro stimulate the catalytic proficiency by 2 orders of magnitude. The molecular mechanisms by which membrane binding and activation are governed have remained enigmatic. Here, we present the X-ray crystal structures of the full-length enzyme and a proteolytically activated truncation variant lacking the last 23 C-terminal residues inferred as important in membrane binding. In conjunction with spectroscopic results, the structural data pinpoint a conformational rearrangement upon activation that exposes the autoinhibitory C terminus, thereby freeing the active site. In the activated enzyme, Phe-465 swings into the active site and wires both cofactors for efficient electron transfer. The isolated C terminus, which has no intrinsic helix propensity, folds into a helical structure in the presence of micelles.

Ionic liquids and proteases: a clean alliance for semisynthesis.

Herein we present the first report on protease-catalysed ligation of cleavage-sensitive peptide and protein fragments in ionic-liquid-containing solvent systems. By applying the newly established [MMIM][Me2PO4]/buffer mixture as a reaction medium, significant advantages over purely aqueous or conventional organic solvent-containing media could be identified, including in particular the use of active wild-type proteases as biocatalysts, the suppression of any competitive proteolytic side reactions, the high turnover rates compared to classical organic solvents and the high stability of chemically labile reactants.