PDZ domain of neuronal nitric oxide synthase recognizes novel C-terminal peptide sequences.

PDZ domains are multifunctional protein-interaction motifs that often bind to the C-terminus of protein targets. Nitric oxide (NO), an endogenous signaling molecule, plays critical roles in nervous, immune, and cardiovascular function. Although there are numerous physiological functions for neuron-derived NO, produced primarily by the neuronal NO synthase (nNOS), excess nNOS activity mediates brain injury in cerebral ischemia and in animal models of Parkinson's disease. Subcellular localization of nNOS activity must therefore be tightly regulated. To determine ligands for the PDZ domain of nNOS, we screened 13 billion distinct peptides and found that the nNOS-PDZ domain binds tightly to peptides ending Asp-X-Val. This differs from the only known (Thr/Ser)-X-Val consensus that interacts with PDZ domains from PSD-95. Preference for Asp at the -2 peptide position is mediated by Tyr-77 of nNOS. A Y77D78 to H77E78 substitution changes the binding specificity from Asp-X-Val to Thr-X-Val. Guided by the Asp-X-Val consensus, candidate nNOS interacting proteins have been identified including glutamate and melatonin receptors. Our results demonstrate that PDZ domains have distinct peptide binding specificity.

The kinetic cycle of cardiac troponin C: calcium binding and dissociation at site II trigger slow conformational rearrangements.

The goal of this study is to characterize the kinetic mechanism of Ca2+ activation and inactivation of cardiac troponin C (cTnC), the Ca2+ signaling protein which triggers heart muscle contraction. Previous studies have shown that IAANS covalently coupled to Cys84 of wild-type cTnC is sensitive to conformational change caused by Ca2+ binding to the regulatory site II; the present study also utilizes the C35S mutant, in which Cys84 is the lone cysteine, to ensure the specificity of IAANS labeling. Site II Ca2+ affinities for cTnC-wt, cTnC-C35S, cTnC-wt-IAANS2, and cTnC-C35S-IAANS were similar (KD = 2-5 microM at 25 degrees C; KD = 2-8 microM at 4 degrees C), indicating that neither the IAANS label nor the C35S mutation strongly perturbs site II Ca2+ affinity. To directly determine the rate of Ca2+ dissociation from site II, the Ca2+-loaded protein was rapidly mixed with a spectroscopically sensitive chelator in a stopped flow spectrometer. The resulting site II Ca2+ off-rates were k(off) = 700-800 s(-1) (4 degrees C) for both cTnC-wt and cTnC-C35S, yielding calculated macroscopic site II Ca2+ on-rates of k(on) = k(off)/KD = 2-4 x 10(8) M(-1) s(-1) (4 degrees C). As observed for Ca2+ affinities, neither the C35S mutation nor IAANS labeling significantly altered the Ca2+ on- and off-rates. Using IAANS fluorescence as a monitor of the protein conformational state, the intramolecular conformational changes (delta) induced by Ca2+ binding and release at site II were found to be significantly slower than the Ca2+ on- and off-rates. The conformational rate constants measured for cTnC-wt-IAANS2 and cTnC-C35S-IAANS were k(delta on) = 120-210 s(-1) and k(delta off) = 90-260 s(-1) (4 degrees C) . Both conformational events were slowed in cTnC-wt-IAANS2 relative to cTnC-C35S-IAANS, presumably due to the bulky IAANS probe coupled to Cys35. Together, the results provide a nearly complete kinetic description of the Ca2+ activation cycle of isolated cTnC, revealing rapid Ca2+ binding and release at site II accompanied by slow conformational steps that are likely to be retained by the full troponin complex during heart muscle contraction and relaxation.

Using the Lac repressor system to identify interacting proteins.

The present protocol describes a series of procedures to identify peptides interacting with PDZ domains. It is conceivable that the procedures can be applied to other purified protein modules or intact proteins without substantial modifications. With the deduced consensus combined with sequence information, it is possible to identify proteins present in the database with compatible sequences. If the expression of target protein and potential interacting candidate overlap temporally and spatially, biochemical and molecular experiments can be designed to study their physical and functional interactions.

Genetic and morphological findings in progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (Byler disease [PFIC-1] and Byler syndrome): evidence for heterogeneity.

Byler disease (ByD) is an autosomal recessive disorder in which cholestasis of onset in infancy leads to hepatic fibrosis and death. Children who have a clinically similar disorder, but are not members of the Amish kindred in which ByD was described, are said to have Byler syndrome (ByS). Controversy exists as to whether ByD and ByS (subtypes of progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis [PFIC]) represent one clinicopathological entity. The gene for ByD has been mapped to a 19-cM region of 18q21-q22. PFIC caused by a lesion in this region, including ByD, can be designated PFIC-1. Examination of haplotypes in siblings with ByS in two unrelated non-Amish families showed that the gene(s) responsible for their disorder(s) did not lie in the PFIC-1 candidate region. On light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), liver tissue differed between Amish children with PFIC-1, who had coarsely granular bile and at presentation had bland intracanalicular cholestasis, and the children with ByS in the two non-Amish families, who had amorphous or finely filamentous bile and at presentation had neonatal hepatitis. Bile acid composition of bile also differed: In the Amish children with PFIC-1 and in one ByS family, the proportional concentration of chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) in bile was low compared with normal bile; in the other ByS family, it was only slightly reduced. Genetic analysis and light microscopy and TEM of liver may help distinguish PFIC-1 from other forms of ByS.

Fine-resolution mapping by haplotype evaluation: the examples of PFIC1 and BRIC.

Loci for two inherited liver diseases, benign recurrent intrahepatic cholestasis (BRIC) and progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 1 (PFIC1), have previously been mapped to 18q21 by a search for shared haplotypes in patients in two isolated populations. This paper describes the use of further haplotype evaluation with a larger sample of patients for both disorders, drawn from several different populations. Our assessment places both loci in the same interval of less than 1 cM and has led to the discovery of the PFIC1/BRIC gene, FIC1; this discovery permits retrospective examination of the general utility of haplotype evaluation and highlights possible caveats regarding this method of genetic mapping.