Crystallization and preliminary X-ray study of AaH IT2, and insect-specific toxin from the scorpion Androctonus australis Hector.

An insect-specific toxin from the venom of the scorpion Androctonus australis Hector has been crystallized. The crystals are orthorhombic, space groups P2(1)2(1)2(1), with cell dimensions a = 66.4 A, b = 52.5 A and c = 36.1 A. Calculations based on the unit cell volume and toxin molecular mass suggest that there are two molecules in the asymmetric unit.

Laminin-mediated adhesion in metastatic rat rhabdomyosarcoma cell lines involves prominent interactions with the laminin E8 fragment.

In vitro attachment assays were carried out to assess adhesion between two basement membrane proteins, type IV collagen and laminin, and rat rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) cell lines with different metastatic potentials. Whereas cells did not adhere to type IV collagen, adhesion to laminin appeared to be very sensitive as maximal adhesion was achieved in dose-response assays with only nanograms of laminin. Adhesion was mediated by interactions between coated laminin and cell surface components, probably receptors, but not endogenous laminin. Laminin-mediated adhesion of RMS cell lines was compared with that of the MCF-7 (human mammary carcinoma) and the L6 (rat myoblast) cell lines. In dose-response assays, RMS cell lines required 10 times less laminin to reach half-maximal attachment rates than MCF-7 and L6 cell lines. Two laminin fragments, P1 and E8, which are structurally and immunologically distinct as shown by alpha-helix content, SDS-PAGE and monoclonal antibody mapping, supported adhesion by RMS cells and L6 myoblasts, but MCF-7 adhered only to P1. This fragment was 10 times less active than laminin in RMS cell lines. Attachment in dose-response assays and adhesion inhibition studies by antibodies revealed that E8 accounted for the activity of laminin in RMS cell adhesion. Adhesion in the RMS cell lines was dominated by interaction with E8 regardless of metastatic potential.

Tat-specific binding IgG and disease progression in HIV type 1-infected Ugandans.

There are data to suggest that both the humoral and cellular immune responses directed against Tat are beneficial in delaying HIV disease progression. We examined the association between the occurrence of Tat-specific binding antibodies (Abs) and different parameters of HIV-1 disease progression. We generated eight Tat proteins, derived from HIV-1 subtypes A, B, C, and D, and circulating recombinant form CRF01_AE. These proteins were used to screen for Tat-specific binding Abs by an ELISA. Using five Tat proteins, we investigated whether the occurrence of Tat-specific Abs within 2 years after seroconversion for the majority, affected disease progression over time among 126 participants using survival analysis and rate of CD4 decline. Of these, 52 participants with a sample at 1.5 and 4.5 years after seroconversion were further examined to study the effect of Tat-specific Ab loss or maintenance on disease progression. Finally, using all the eight Tat proteins, we also investigated whether specific Abs to these Tat proteins among 48 participants, grouped as rapid progressors (RP, n = 26) and long-term survivors (LTS, n = 22) according to their CD4 decline over time, affected disease progression. Survival analysis did not reveal any evidence of protection from progression by Tat-specific Abs. Comparison of rate of CD4 declines between individuals with and without Abs to any Tat protein showed only a small and borderline significant advantage of having Tat-specific Abs (p = 0.043). There was no correlation between either loss or maintenance of Tat-specific Abs and disease progression. Comparison of LTS with RP showed no evidence that Tat-specific Abs slows participants' disease progression. This study showed no evidence of a protective effect of having Tat-specific Abs among these Ugandan subjects.

Conformational heterogeneity in two regions of TAT results in structural variations of this protein as a function of HIV-1 isolates.

TAT protein is an essential regulatory protein of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Inhibition of TAT activity blocks the virus cycle, and a drug that blocks TAT is one of the possibilities to cure AIDS. Circular dichroism (CD) was measured for TAT peptides covering the TAT sequence with overlaps. The CD spectrum of each peptide was measured in different solvents to evaluate the ability of each TAT region to form different secondary structures. The most variation or conformational heterogeneity is observed with the two regions adjacent to the TAT basic region. CD data show that the basic region can adopt an extended structure in a full TAT protein, which is not the case for the isolated peptide. TAT sequences from the different HIV-1 isolates were analyzed, and the results showed that the sequences could be gathered into six groups. Molecular modeling was done on the various isolates based on a TAT structure from two-dimensional NMR. After minimization and dynamic steps, the modeled three-dimensional structures were compared. The results showed structural variations of the TAT protein as a function of the HIV-1 isolates. These structural variations were mainly in the two regions adjacent to the basic region, confirming the conformational heterogeneity indicated by the CD measurements. Furthermore, Chou-Fasman analysis shows significant changes in propensities for each secondary structure only for regions III and V. This conformational heterogeneity should be essential for TAT activity and points out that regions III and V are a poor potential target to design a TAT ligand. We propose a target involving TAT structurally conserved regions, accessible whatever the size of the TAT C terminus.

Conformational analysis of T immunogenic peptides by circular dichroism spectroscopy.

The structure of two T-immunogenic peptides, one from the gag p24 protein of the human immunodeficiency virus, the other from the 11.1 gene product of Plasmodium falciparum, was studied by circular dichroism spectroscopy in various pH and solvent conditions. Although both sequences are predicted to adopt an alpha-helical conformation and one of them is a repeat of a perfect alpha-amphipathic sequence pattern, these two peptides exhibit a strong propensity to adopt an extended, turn or aperiodical conformation in solution.

Neurotoxins active on insects: amino acid sequences, chemical modifications, and secondary structure estimation by circular dichroism of toxins from the scorpion Androctonus australis Hector.

Two scorpion neurotoxins active only on insects, the insect toxins AaH IT1 and AaH IT2, were purified from the venom of scorpions Androctonus australis Hector collected in Tozeur (Tunisia) and characterized. AaH IT2 was sequenced and found to differ in four amino acid positions from AaH IT, the single previously sequenced insect toxin [Darbon, H., Zlotkin, E., Kopeyan, C., Van Rietschoten, J., & Rochat, H. (1982) Int. J. Pept. Protein Res. 20, 320-330] which possessed an equal potential for paralyzing fly larvae. The basic amino acid residues of AaH IT1, which differs from AaH IT by one amino acid residue, were selectively chemically modified. Six derivatives were characterized. Their toxicity toward fly larvae and cockroach was determined, and their affinity for the AaH IT1 synaptosomal receptor from cockroach nerve cord was measured. Modification of His-30, Lys-34, and Arg-60 showed no significant effect on biological activity. However, the modification of Lys-28 or Lys-51 demonstrated that these two amino acids are important for toxicity. Furthermore, simultaneous modifications of both Lys-28 and Lys-51 led to a cumulative decrease in biological activity. AaH IT1 and AaH IT2 show similar CD spectra. The secondary structures content of AaH IT2 was estimated from circular dichroism data. Results showed that this class of toxin should possess an additional alpha-helical region and a beta-sheet strand, not found in toxins active on mammals. Attempts to localize these secondary structural features in the amino acid sequence of AaH IT2 indicated that these two regions would be located within the last 20 C-terminal amino acid residues. From these studies on secondary structures, it is possible to consider that toxins active on insects are more structurally constrained than those active on mammals; a decreased molecular flexibility may be, at least partially, responsible for the observed specificity of these toxins for the insect sodium channel. Furthermore, the two alpha-helices found in insect toxins enclosed the two conserved Lys-28 and Lys-51 and might thus be implicated in the toxic site of insect toxins.

No tRNA3Lys unwinding in a complex with HIV NCp7.

The nucleocapsid protein NCp7 of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 is important for the annealing of HIV RNA and tRNA3Lys, the tRNA acting as a primer during reverse transcription of HIV RNA. A wild type NCp7 and a Cys23 mutant having a disrupted zinc finger were analyzed with far UV circular dichroism (CD). CD data analysis revealed that NCp7 has a high content of extended structures in aqueous buffer, decreasing in Cys23 NCp7 and in NCp7 in the absence of zinc. An increase in beta-turn structures is observed in NCp7 bound to tRNA3Lys. Furthermore, CD data shows that Cys23 NCp7 binds tRNA3Lys. The CD spectrum of tRNA3Lys is typical of an A-form helix and retains this structure after binding of NCp7, which demonstrates that NCp7 does not induce tRNA3Lys unwinding. CD spectra of tRNA3Lys were measured from 5 to 80 degrees C to observe CD changes resulting from tRNA3Lys melting. Molecular modeling of the complex identifies two potential tRNA anticodon binding sites in the NCp7 N-terminal region and first zinc finger. In this model, both binding sites can interact with 12 nucleotides in the anticodon domain without requiring a base specificity.

Identification of structural elements of a scorpion alpha-neurotoxin important for receptor site recognition.

alpha-Neurotoxins from scorpion venoms constitute the most studied group of modifiers of the voltage-sensitive sodium channels, and yet, their toxic site has not been characterized. We used an efficient bacterial expression system for modifying specific amino acid residues of the highly insecticidal alpha-neurotoxin LqhalphaIT from the scorpion Leiurus quinquestriatus hebraeus. Toxin variants modified at tight turns, the C-terminal region, and other structurally related regions were subjected to neuropharmacological and structural analyses. This approach highlighted both aromatic (Tyr10 and Phe17) and positively charged (Lys8, Arg18, Lys62, and Arg64) residues that (i) may interact directly with putative recognition points at the receptor site on the sodium channel; (ii) are important for the spatial arrangement of the toxin polypeptide; and (iii) contribute to the formation of an electrostatic potential that may be involved in biorecognition of the receptor site. The latter was supported by a suppressor mutation (E15A) that restored a detrimental effect caused by a K8D substitution. The feasibility of producing anti-insect scorpion neurotoxins with augmented toxicity was demonstrated by the substitution of the C-terminal arginine with histidine. Altogether, the present study provides for the first time an insight into the putative toxic surface of a scorpion neurotoxin affecting sodium channel gating.

Conformational flexibility of a scorpion toxin active on mammals and insects: a circular dichroism study.

Three scorpion toxins have been analyzed by circular dichroism in water and in 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) solutions. These toxins were chosen because they are representative of three kinds of pharmacological activities: (1) toxin AaH IT2, an antiinsect toxin purified from the venom of Androctonus australis Hector, which is able to bind to insect nervous system preparation, (2) toxin Css II, from the venom of Centruroides suffusus suffusus, which is a beta-type antimammal toxin capable of binding to mammal nervous system preparation, and (3) the toxin Ts VII from the venom of Tityus serrulatus, which is able to bind to both types of nervous systems. In order to minimize bias, CD data were analyzed by a predictive algorithm to assess secondary structure content. Among the three molecules, Ts VII presented the most unordered secondary structure in water, but it gained in ordered forms when solubilized in TFE. These results indicated that the Ts VII backbone is the most flexible, which might result in a more pronounced tendency for this toxin molecule to undergo conformational changes. This is consistent with the fact that it competes with both antiinsect and beta-type antimammal toxins for the binding to the sodium channel.

Circular dichroism and molecular modeling yield a structure for the complex of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 trans-activation response RNA and the binding region of Tat, the trans-acting transcriptional activator.

Transcription in the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) retrovirus is regulated by binding the viral Tat protein (trans-acting transcriptional activator) to the trans-activation response (TAR) RNA sequence. Here, vacuum UV circular dichroism (VUV-CD) is used to study the structure of TAR and its complex with two peptide fragments that are important for Tat binding to TAR. The VUV-CD spectrum of TAR is typical of A-form RNA and is minimally perturbed when bound to either the short or the long Tat peptide. The CD spectra of the complexes indicate an extended structure in the arginine-rich region of Tat from amino acid residue 47 through residue 58 and a short alpha-helix within the adjacent 59-72 region. Models of TAR and its peptide complexes are constructed to integrate these spectroscopic results with current biochemical data. The model suggests that (i) the arginine-rich 49-58 region is primarily responsible for electrostatic interactions with the phosphates of the RNA, (ii) the arginine side chains can additionally interact with substituent groups of the nucleotide bases to confer base recognition in the complex, (iii) the recognition of uracil-23 in TAR is facilitated by the peptide backbone, and (iv) the glutamine-rich face of an alpha-helix within the 59-72 region pairs to bases UGG at nucleotide positions 31-33 in the TAR loop and thus provides an additional motif in the Tat trans-activating protein to recognize TAR RNA.

Conformational analysis of the Campylobacter jejuni porin.

The major outer membrane protein (MOMP) of Campylobacter jejuni was purified to homogeneity by selective solubilization and fast protein liquid chromatography. The amino acid composition of the MOMP indicates the presence of cysteine residues. The amino-terminal sequence, determined over 31 residues, shows no significant homology with any other porin from gram-negative bacteria except in a discrete region. Immunocross-reactivity between Escherichia coli OmpC and the MOMP was analyzed, and a common antigenic site between these two porins was identified with an anti-peptide antibody. From circular dichroism and immunological investigations, the existence of a stable folded monomer, containing a high level of beta-sheet secondary structure, is evident. Conformational analyses show the presence of a native trimeric state generated by association of the three folded monomers; the stability of this trimer is reduced compared with that of E. coli porins. This study clearly reveals that the C. jejuni MOMP is related to the family of trimeric bacterial porins.

Systematic use of the incomplete factorial approach in the design of protein crystallization experiments.

We have used the Incomplete Factorial Approach (Carter, C. W., and Carter, C. W., Jr. (1979) J. Biol. Chem. 254, 12219-12223) in conjunction with the program Cristal (Roussel, A., Serre, L., Frey M., and Fontecilla-Camps, J. (1990) J. Crystal Growth 106, 405-409) to crystallize six different proteins. We were able to obtain crystals and to identify the critical factors for crystallization for each of these six proteins. In some of the cases, we succeeded on the first try while using only minute amounts of protein. This study proves that the Incomplete Factorial Approach is a powerful tool in identifying the factors that need to be varied to achieve crystallization. Single crystals of adequate size were obtained for all the proteins reported here, although some did not diffract well enough to be studied by x-ray diffraction methods; the asymmetric units of these latter crystals contain a large metric units of these latter crystals contain a large number of molecules, which is most likely due to the presence of significant amounts of carbohydrate in the proteins.

Positively charged amino acid residues located similarly in sea anemone and scorpion toxins.

Specific groups of sea anemone and scorpion toxins compete on the same pharmacological site, on the voltage-gated sodium channel of mammal excitable membranes. However, these scorpion and sea anemone toxins are two distinct protein families. Here we purified and sequenced a new sea anemone toxin, Bg II, highly toxic to mammals and also a less toxic mutant, Bg III. Two Bg II models were determined from sequence homologies with two sea anemone toxin two-dimensional NMR structures. Only one model conformed to circular dichroism data obtained from Bg II and was compared with an x-ray structure of a scorpion toxin. The comparison of the two structures shows that 5 amino acid residues are located similarly in the sea anemone toxin and the scorpion toxin. From these 5 residues, 4 are basic residues, constituting two distinct positively charged poles on the surface of these toxins. In the sea anemone mutant isolated, a negative charge beside one of the positive poles decreases the toxicity. These results show that positively charged amino acid residues could be essential for the activity of these toxins and outline the role of electrostatic bonds in the interaction of sea anemone and scorpion toxins with their receptor.

Circular dichroism and molecular modeling of the E. coli TolA periplasmic domains.

Colicins are killer proteins that use envelope proteins from the outer and the inner membranes to reach their cellular target in susceptible cells of Escherichia coli. Each group A colicin uses a combination of Tol proteins to cross the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria and to exert their killing activity. The TolA protein, necessary for the import of all the group A colicins, is a 421-amino acid residue protein composed of three domains (TolAI, TolAII, and TolAIII). TolAIII interacts with the N-terminal domain of colicin A (AT1). Analytical ultracentrifugation reveals that TolAII and TolAIII are monomer structures, TolAII has an elongated structure, and TolAIII is rather globular. Circular dichroism (CD) spectra were done with TolAII-III, TolAII, TolAIII, AT1, and the AT1-TolAII-III complex. TolA CD spectra reveal the presence of alpha-helix structure in aqueous solution and the intensity of the a-helix signal is the highest with TolAII. Few structural changes are observed with the complex AT1-TolAII-III. Molecular modeling was done for TolAII-III, taking into account CD and ultracentrifugation data and show that domain II can adopt a barrel structure made of three twisted alpha-helices similar to coiled coil helices while domain III can adopt a globular structure.

Cutting edge: HIV-1 Tat protein differentially modulates the B cell response of naive, memory, and germinal center B cells.

Critical steps of B cell differentiation occur within lymphoid organs that are also major sites of HIV-1 replication. Because Tat can be released by infected cells, we investigated whether extracellular HIV-1 Tat modulates cell proliferation of B cells at critical stages of their differentiation. Here we show that extracellular Tat inhibited the proliferation of B cell receptor-triggered naive and memory B cells by >80% but had no effect on their CD40 mAb and IL-4-mediated proliferation. In striking contrast, Tat doubled the germinal center B cell proliferation induced by CD40 mAb and IL-4. These effects were dose dependent and required the addition of Tat at the initiation of the culture, suggesting that Tat acts on early stages of cell cycle progression. By its effects on B cell subsets, Tat might directly affect the normal B cell differentiation process in HIV-positive patients and favor the occurrence of AIDS-associated B cell lymphomas.

Correlation of antiviral activity with beta-turn types for V3 synthetic multibranched peptides from HIV-1 gp120.

SPC3 is a synthetic multibranched peptide containing eight HIV-1 gp120 V3 loop GPGRAF motifs. SPC3 inhibits HIV-1 infection in human lymphocytes and macrophages, while the monomer counterpart of SPC3, i.e., the GPGRAF peptide, has no effect. Circular dichroism (CD) of these molecules in phosphate buffer, pH 7, and in a water solution containing 50% trifluoroethanol (TFE) showed significant differences. In TFE, the inactive monomer has a CD spectrum associated to type II beta-turn (class B spectrum), while SPC3 has a class C CD spectrum associated to type I beta-turn. To investigate the structure--function relationship, SPC3 analogs were built in solid-phase synthesis, and their activity and structures were compared to SPC3. Analogs having respectively two and four GPGRAF motifs show that polymerization is associated with these structural changes. Analogs with eight motifs but differing in their sequence show also that the sequence is important to stabilize a type I beta-turn structure. The activity tests of these analogs show a remarkable correlation between the antiviral activity and their ability to exhibit a class C CD spectrum associated to type I beta-turn. Taking in account CD results, a model was made using energy minimization and dynamics, which shows that, for SPC3, a model with motifs in a type I beta-turn structure is favored compared to one with a type II beta-turn. These data suggest that the SPC3 antiviral activity is related to the structure of the GPGRAF motif in the polymer, with special emphasis on the presence of a type I beta-turn structure.

In vitro characterization of peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein (PAL)-peptidoglycan and PAL-TolB interactions.

The Tol-peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein (PAL) system of Escherichia coli is a multiprotein complex of the envelope involved in maintaining outer membrane integrity. PAL and the periplasmic protein TolB, two components of this complex, are interacting with each other, and they have also been reported to interact with OmpA and the major lipoprotein, two proteins interacting with the peptidoglycan. All these interactions suggest a role of the Tol-PAL system in anchoring the outer membrane to the peptidoglycan. Therefore, we were interested in better understanding the interaction between PAL and the peptidoglycan. We designed an in vitro interaction assay based on the property of purified peptidoglycan to be pelleted by ultracentrifugation. Using this assay, we showed that a purified PAL protein interacted in vitro with pure peptidoglycan. A peptide competition experiment further demonstrated that the region from residues 89 to 130 of PAL was sufficient to bind the peptidoglycan. Moreover, the fact that this same region of PAL was also binding to TolB suggested that these two interactions were exclusive. Indeed, the TolB-PAL complex appeared not to be associated with the peptidoglycan. This led us to the conclusion that PAL may exist in two forms in the cell envelope, one bound to TolB and the other bound to the peptidoglycan.

An anti-insect toxin purified from the scorpion Androctonus australis Hector also acts on the alpha- and beta-sites of the mammalian sodium channel: sequence and circular dichroism study.

A new anti-insect neurotoxin, AaH IT4, has been isolated from the venom of the North African scorpion Androctonus australis Hector. This polypeptide has a toxic effect on insects and mammals and is capable of competing with anti-insect scorpion toxins for binding to the sodium channel of insects; it also modulates the binding of alpha-type and beta-type anti-mammal scorpion toxins to the mammal sodium channel. This is the first report of a scorpion toxin able to exhibit these three kinds of activity. The molecule is composed of 65 amino acid residues and lacks methionine and, more unexpectedly, proline, which until now has been considered to play a role in the folded structure of all scorpion neurotoxins. The primary structure showed a poor homology with the sequences of other scorpion toxins; however, it had features in common with beta-type toxins. In fact, radioimmunoassays using antibodies directed to scorpion toxins representative of the main structural groups showed that there is a recognition of AaH IT4 via anti-beta-type toxin antibodies only. A circular dichroism study revealed a low content of regular secondary structures, particularly in beta-sheet structures, when compared to other scorpion toxins. This protein might be the first member of a new class of toxins to have ancestral structural features and a wide toxic range.

Activating region of HIV-1 Tat protein: vacuum UV circular dichroism and energy minimization.

Tat protein is a trans-acting transcriptional activator of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and is essential for viral transcription. By homology with other transcriptional activators, Tat is expected to possess a nucleic acid binding region and a separate adjacent activating region. In order to localize the activating region of Tat, we have synthesized the sequences 2-23 and 38-60 of the protein. These two peptides contain the two candidates for the activating regions proposed from mutation experiments in previous studies: sequence 1-13 and sequence 38-45. The argument advanced to justify the location of the activating region within the sequence 1-13 was the periodicity of acidic, polar, and hydrophobic residues consistent with that of an amphipathic alpha-helix, similar to the activating region of many eukaryotic transcriptional activators. We have monitored by vacuum UV circular dichroism the ability of each peptide to adopt an alpha-helical conformation under conditions that strongly favor the formation of secondary structures. Only peptide 38-60 adopts an alpha-helical conformation in these conditions, in keeping with Chou-Fasman prediction. Energy minimization and molecular dynamics were carried out for several possible conformations of sequences 1-14 and 38-60. Our results indicate that only the sequence 38-45 is able to form an alpha-helix with amphipathic characteristics.