The mitochondrial activity of leukocytes from Artibeus jamaicensis bats remains unaltered after several weeks of flying restriction.

Bats are the only flying mammals known. They have longer lifespan than other mammals of similar size and weight and can resist high loads of many pathogens, mostly viruses, with no signs of disease. These distinctive characteristics have been attributed to their metabolic rate that is thought to be the result of their flying lifestyle. Compared with non-flying mammals, bats have lower production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and high levels of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase. This anti-oxidative vs. oxidative profile may help to explain bat's longer than expected lifespans. The aim of this study was to assess the effect that a significant reduction in flying has on bats leukocytes mitochondrial activity. This was assessed using samples of lymphoid and myeloid cells from peripheral blood from Artibeus jamaicensis bats shortly after capture and up to six weeks after flying deprivation. Mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm), mitochondrial calcium (mCa2+), and mitochondrial ROS (mROS) were used as key indicators of mitochondrial activity, while total ROS and glucose uptake were used as additional indicators of cell metabolism. Results showed that total ROS and glucose uptake were statistically significantly lower at six weeks of flying deprivation (p < 0.05), in both lymphoid and myeloid cells, however no significant changes in mitochondrial activity associated with flying deprivation was observed (p > 0.05). These results suggest that bat mitochondria are stable to sudden changes in physical activity, at least up to six weeks of flying deprivation. However, decrease in total ROS and glucose uptake in myeloid cells after six weeks of captivity suggest a compensatory mechanism due to the lack of the highly metabolic demands associated with flying.

In crystallo-screening for discovery of human norovirus 3C-like protease inhibitors.

Outbreaks of human epidemic nonbacterial gastroenteritis are mainly caused by noroviruses. Viral replication requires a 3C-like cysteine protease (3CLpro) which processes the 200 kDa viral polyprotein into six functional proteins. The 3CLpro has attracted much interest due to its potential as a target for antiviral drugs. A system for growing high-quality crystals of native Southampton norovirus 3CLpro (SV3CP) has been established, allowing the ligand-free crystal structure to be determined to 1.3 Å in a tetrameric state. This also allowed crystal-based fragment screening to be performed with various compound libraries, ultimately to guide drug discovery for SV3CP. A total of 19 fragments were found to bind to the protease out of the 844 which were screened. Two of the hits were located at the active site of SV3CP and showed good inhibitory activity in kinetic assays. Another 5 were found at the enzyme's putative RNA-binding site and a further 11 were located in the symmetric central cavity of the tetramer.

Crystal structure of zinc-α2-glycoprotein in complex with a fatty acid reveals multiple different modes of protein-lipid binding.

Human zinc-α2-glycoprotein (ZAG) is a 42 kDa adipokine which regulates body fat mass and is associated with cachexia and obesity. ZAG belongs to the major histocompatibility complex class I protein family and binds long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in its groove formed from the α1 and α2 domains. To identify the molecular basis of its lipid-binding function, we determined the first crystal structure at 2.49 Šresolution for fatty acid-bound ZAG, where the ligand was the fluorescent 11-(dansylamino)undecanoic acid (DAUDA). The 192 kDa crystallographic asymmetric unit contained six ZAG and eight fatty acid molecules in unique conformations. Six fatty acid molecules were localised to the ZAG grooves, where their tails were bound in two distinct conformations. The carboxylate groups of three fatty acids projected out of the groove, while the fourth was hydrogen bonded with R73 inside the groove. Other ligand-residue contacts were primarily hydrophobic. A new fatty acid site was revealed for two further DAUDA molecules at the ZAG α3 domains. Following conformational changes from unbound ZAG, the α3 domains formed tetrameric ß-barrel structures lined by fatty acid molecules that doubled the binding capacity of ZAG. Analytical ultracentrifugation revealed that ZAG in solution was a monomer in the absence of DAUDA, but formed small amounts of tetramers with DAUDA. By showing that ZAG binds fatty acids in different locations, we demonstrate an augmented mechanism for fatty acid binding in ZAG that is distinct from other known fatty acid binding proteins, and may be relevant to cachexia.

Rapid Covalent-Probe Discovery by Electrophile-Fragment Screening.

Covalent probes can display unmatched potency, selectivity, and duration of action; however, their discovery is challenging. In principle, fragments that can irreversibly bind their target can overcome the low affinity that limits reversible fragment screening, but such electrophilic fragments were considered nonselective and were rarely screened. We hypothesized that mild electrophiles might overcome the selectivity challenge and constructed a library of 993 mildly electrophilic fragments. We characterized this library by a new high-throughput thiol-reactivity assay and screened them against 10 cysteine-containing proteins. Highly reactive and promiscuous fragments were rare and could be easily eliminated. In contrast, we found hits for most targets. Combining our approach with high-throughput crystallography allowed rapid progression to potent and selective probes for two enzymes, the deubiquitinase OTUB2 and the pyrophosphatase NUDT7. No inhibitors were previously known for either. This study highlights the potential of electrophile-fragment screening as a practical and efficient tool for covalent-ligand discovery.

Structure and function of L-threonine-3-dehydrogenase from the parasitic protozoan Trypanosoma brucei revealed by X-ray crystallography and geometric simulations.

Two of the world's most neglected tropical diseases, human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) and Chagas disease, are caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Trypanosoma. These organisms possess specialized metabolic pathways, frequently distinct from those in humans, which have potential to be exploited as novel drug targets. This study elucidates the structure and function of L-threonine-3-dehydrogenase (TDH) from T. brucei, the causative pathogen of HAT. TDH is a key enzyme in the metabolism of L-threonine, and an inhibitor of TDH has been shown to have trypanocidal activity in the procyclic form of T. brucei. TDH is a nonfunctional pseudogene in humans, suggesting that it may be possible to rationally design safe and specific therapies for trypanosomiasis by targeting this parasite enzyme. As an initial step, the TDH gene from T. brucei was expressed and the three-dimensional structure of the enzyme was solved by X-ray crystallography. In multiple crystallographic structures, T. brucei TDH is revealed to be a dimeric short-chain dehydrogenase that displays a considerable degree of conformational variation in its ligand-binding regions. Geometric simulations of the structure have provided insight into the dynamic behaviour of this enzyme. Furthermore, structures of TDH bound to its natural substrates and known inhibitors have been determined, giving an indication of the mechanism of catalysis of the enzyme. Collectively, these results provide vital details for future drug design to target TDH or related enzymes.

Structure and function of the type III pullulan hydrolase from Thermococcus kodakarensis.

Pullulan-hydrolysing enzymes, more commonly known as debranching enzymes for starch and other polysaccharides, are of great interest and have been widely used in the starch-saccharification industry. Type III pullulan hydrolase from Thermococcus kodakarensis (TK-PUL) possesses both pullulanase and α-amylase activities. Until now, only two enzymes in this class, which are capable of hydrolysing both α-1,4- and α-1,6-glycosidic bonds in pullulan to produce a mixture of maltose, panose and maltotriose, have been described. TK-PUL shows highest activity in the temperature range 95-100°C and has a pH optimum in the range 3.5-4.2. Its unique ability to hydrolyse maltotriose into maltose and glucose has not been reported for other homologous enzymes. The crystal structure of TK-PUL has been determined at a resolution of 2.8 Šand represents the first analysis of a type III pullulan hydrolyse. The structure reveals that the last part of the N-terminal domain and the C-terminal domain are significantly different from homologous structures. In addition, the loop regions at the active-site end of the central catalytic domain are quite different. The enzyme has a well defined calcium-binding site and possesses a rare vicinal disulfide bridge. The thermostability of TK-PUL and its homologues may be attributable to several factors, including the increased content of salt bridges, helical segments, Pro, Arg and Tyr residues and the decreased content of serine.

Structural studies of domain movement in active-site mutants of porphobilinogen deaminase from Bacillus megaterium.

The enzyme porphobilinogen deaminase (PBGD) is one of the key enzymes in tetrapyrrole biosynthesis. It catalyses the formation of a linear tetrapyrrole from four molecules of the substrate porphobilinogen (PBG). It has a dipyrromethane cofactor (DPM) in the active site which is covalently linked to a conserved cysteine residue through a thioether bridge. The substrate molecules are linked to the cofactor in a stepwise head-to-tail manner during the reaction, which is catalysed by a conserved aspartate residue: Asp82 in the B. megaterium enzyme. Three mutations have been made affecting Asp82 (D82A, D82E and D82N) and their crystal structures have been determined at resolutions of 2.7, 1.8 and 1.9 Å, respectively. These structures reveal that whilst the D82E mutant possesses the DPM cofactor, in the D82N and D82A mutants the cofactor is likely to be missing, incompletely assembled or disordered. Comparison of the mutant PBGD structures with that of the wild-type enzyme shows that there are significant domain movements and suggests that the enzyme adopts `open' and `closed' conformations, potentially in response to substrate binding.

Structure and function of the thermostable L-asparaginase from Thermococcus kodakarensis.

L-Asparaginases catalyse the hydrolysis of asparagine to aspartic acid and ammonia. In addition, L-asparaginase is involved in the biosynthesis of amino acids such as lysine, methionine and threonine. These enzymes have been used as chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and other haematopoietic malignancies since the tumour cells cannot synthesize sufficient L-asparagine and are thus killed by deprivation of this amino acid. L-Asparaginases are also used in the food industry and have potential in the development of biosensors, for example for asparagine levels in leukaemia. The thermostable type I L-asparaginase from Thermococcus kodakarensis (TkA) is composed of 328 amino acids and forms homodimers in solution, with the highest catalytic activity being observed at pH 9.5 and 85°C. It has a Km value of 5.5 mM for L-asparagine, with no glutaminase activity being observed. The crystal structure of TkA has been determined at 2.18 Šresolution, confirming the presence of two α/ß domains connected by a short linker region. The N-terminal domain contains a highly flexible ß-hairpin which adopts `open' and `closed' conformations in different subunits of the solved TkA structure. In previously solved L-asparaginase structures this ß-hairpin was only visible when in the `closed' conformation, whilst it is characterized with good electron density in all of the subunits of the TkA structure. A phosphate anion resides at the active site, which is formed by residues from both of the neighbouring monomers in the dimer. The high thermostability of TkA is attributed to the high arginine and salt-bridge content when compared with related mesophilic enzymes.

Frutapin, a lectin from Artocarpus incisa (breadfruit): cloning, expression and molecular insights.

Artocarpus incisa (breadfruit) seeds contain three different lectins (Frutalin, Frutapin (FTP) and Frutackin) with distinct carbohydrate specificities. The most abundant lectin is Frutalin, an α-D-galactose-specific carbohydrate-binding glycoprotein with antitumour properties and potential for tumour biomarker discovery as already reported. FTP is the second most abundant, but proved difficult to purify with very low yields and contamination with Frutalin frustrating its characterization. Here, we report for the first time high-level production and isolation of biologically active recombinant FTP in Escherichia coli BL21, optimizing conditions with the best set yielding >40 mg/l culture of soluble active FTP. The minimal concentration for agglutination of red blood cells was 62.5 µg/ml of FTP, a process effectively inhibited by mannose. Apo-FTP, FTP-mannose and FTP-glucose crystals were obtained, and they diffracted X-rays to a resolution of 1.58 (P212121), 1.70 (P3121) and 1.60 (P3121) Å respectively. The best solution showed four monomers per asymmetric unit. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation suggested that FTP displays higher affinity for mannose than glucose. Cell studies revealed that FTP was non-cytotoxic to cultured mouse fibroblast 3T3 cells below 0.5 mg/ml and was also capable of stimulating cell migration at 50 µg/ml. In conclusion, our optimized expression system allowed high amounts of correctly folded soluble FTP to be isolated. This recombinant bioactive lectin will now be tested in future studies for therapeutic potential; for example in wound healing and tissue regeneration.

Structure of the family B DNA polymerase from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrobaculum calidifontis.

The family B DNA polymerase from Pyrobaculum calidifontis (Pc-polymerase) consists of 783 amino acids and is magnesium-ion dependent. It has an optimal pH of 8.5, an optimal temperature of 75°C and a half-life of 4.5 h at 95°C, giving it greater thermostability than the widely used Taq DNA polymerase. The enzyme is also capable of PCR-amplifying larger DNA fragments of up to 7.5 kb in length. It was shown to have functional, error-correcting 3'-5' exonuclease activity, as do the related high-fidelity DNA polymerases from Pyrococcus furiosus, Thermococcus kodakarensis KOD1 and Thermococcus gorgonarius, which have extensive commercial applications. Pc-polymerase has a quite low sequence identity of approximately 37% to these enzymes, which, in contrast, have very high sequence identity to each other, suggesting that the P. calidifontis enzyme is distinct. Here, the structure determination of Pc-polymerase is reported, which has been refined to an R factor of 24.47% and an Rfree of 28.81% at 2.80 Šresolution. The domains of the enzyme are arranged in a circular fashion to form a disc with a narrow central channel. One face of the disc has a number of connected crevices in it, which allow the protein to bind duplex and single-stranded DNA. The central channel is thought to allow incoming nucleoside triphosphates to access the active site. The enzyme has a number of unique structural features which distinguish it from other archaeal DNA polymerases and may account for its high processivity. A model of the complex with the primer-template duplex of DNA indicates that the largest conformational change that occurs upon DNA binding is the movement of the thumb domain, which rotates by 7.6° and moves by 10.0 Å. The surface potential of the enzyme is dominated by acidic groups in the central region of the molecule, where catalytic magnesium ions bind at the polymerase and exonuclease active sites. The outer regions are richer in basic amino acids that presumably interact with the sugar-phosphate backbone of DNA. The large number of salt bridges may contribute to the high thermal stability of this enzyme.

The 1.1†Šresolution structure of a periplasmic phosphate-binding protein from Stenotrophomonas maltophilia: a crystallization contaminant identified by molecular replacement using the entire Protein Data Bank.

During efforts to crystallize the enzyme 2,4-dihydroxyacetophenone dioxygenase (DAD) from Alcaligenes sp. 4HAP, a small number of strongly diffracting protein crystals were obtained after two years of crystal growth in one condition. The crystals diffracted synchrotron radiation to almost 1.0 Šresolution and were, until recently, assumed to be formed by the DAD protein. However, when another crystal form of this enzyme was eventually solved at lower resolution, molecular replacement using this new structure as the search model did not give a convincing solution with the original atomic resolution data set. Hence, it was considered that these crystals might have arisen from a protein impurity, although molecular replacement using the structures of common crystallization contaminants as search models again failed. A script to perform molecular replacement using MOLREP in which the first chain of every structure in the PDB was used as a search model was run on a multi-core cluster. This identified a number of prokaryotic phosphate-binding proteins as scoring highly in the MOLREP peak lists. Calculation of an electron-density map at 1.1 Šresolution based on the solution obtained with PDB entry 2q9t allowed most of the amino acids to be identified visually and built into the model. A BLAST search then indicated that the molecule was most probably a phosphate-binding protein from Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (UniProt ID B4SL31; gene ID Smal_2208), and fitting of the corresponding sequence to the atomic resolution map fully corroborated this. Proteins in this family have been linked to the virulence of antibiotic-resistant strains of pathogenic bacteria and with biofilm formation. The structure of the S. maltophilia protein has been refined to an R factor of 10.15% and an Rfree of 12.46% at 1.1 Šresolution. The molecule adopts the type II periplasmic binding protein (PBP) fold with a number of extensively elaborated loop regions. A fully dehydrated phosphate anion is bound tightly between the two domains of the protein and interacts with conserved residues and a number of helix dipoles.

Binding of Gd(3+) to the neuronal signalling protein calexcitin identifies an exchangeable Ca(2+)-binding site.

Calexcitin was first identified in the marine snail Hermissenda crassicornis as a neuronal-specific protein that becomes upregulated and phosphorylated in associative learning. Calexcitin possesses four EF-hand motifs, but only the first three (EF-1 to EF-3) are involved in binding metal ions. Past work has indicated that under physiological conditions EF-1 and EF-2 bind Mg(2+) and Ca(2+), while EF-3 is likely to bind only Ca(2+). The fourth EF-hand is nonfunctional owing to a lack of key metal-binding residues. The aim of this study was to use a crystallographic approach to determine which of the three metal-binding sites of calexcitin is most readily replaced by exogenous metal ions, potentially shedding light on which of the EF-hands play a `sensory' role in neuronal calcium signalling. By co-crystallizing recombinant calexcitin with equimolar Gd(3+) in the presence of trace Ca(2+), EF-1 was shown to become fully occupied by Gd(3+) ions, while the other two sites remain fully occupied by Ca(2+). The structure of the Gd(3+)-calexcitin complex has been refined to an R factor of 21.5% and an Rfree of 30.4% at 2.2 Šresolution. These findings suggest that EF-1 of calexcitin is the Ca(2+)-binding site with the lowest selectivity for Ca(2+), and the implications of this finding for calcium sensing in neuronal signalling pathways are discussed.

Selective Inhibition of the Mitochondrial Permeability Transition Pore Protects against Neurodegeneration in Experimental Multiple Sclerosis.

The mitochondrial permeability transition pore is a recognized drug target for neurodegenerative conditions such as multiple sclerosis and for ischemia-reperfusion injury in the brain and heart. The peptidylprolyl isomerase, cyclophilin D (CypD, PPIF), is a positive regulator of the pore, and genetic down-regulation or knock-out improves outcomes in disease models. Current inhibitors of peptidylprolyl isomerases show no selectivity between the tightly conserved cyclophilin paralogs and exhibit significant off-target effects, immunosuppression, and toxicity. We therefore designed and synthesized a new mitochondrially targeted CypD inhibitor, JW47, using a quinolinium cation tethered to cyclosporine. X-ray analysis was used to validate the design concept, and biological evaluation revealed selective cellular inhibition of CypD and the permeability transition pore with reduced cellular toxicity compared with cyclosporine. In an experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis disease model of neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis, JW47 demonstrated significant protection of axons and improved motor assessments with minimal immunosuppression. These findings suggest that selective CypD inhibition may represent a viable therapeutic strategy for MS and identify quinolinium as a mitochondrial targeting group for in vivo use.

Structure of a Kunitz-type potato cathepsin D inhibitor.

Potato cathepsin D inhibitor (PDI) is a glycoprotein of 188 amino acids which can inhibit both the aspartic protease cathepsin D and the serine protease trypsin. Here we report the first X-ray structure of PDI at a resolution of 2.1 Å showing that PDI adopts a ß-trefoil fold, which is typical of the Kunitz-family protease inhibitors, with the inhibitory loops protruding from the core. Possible reactive-site loops including one involving a unique disulphide and another involving a protruding 310 helix are identified and docking studies indicate the mode of action of this unusual bi-functional inhibitor.

The high-resolution structure of pig heart succinyl-CoA:3-oxoacid coenzyme A transferase.

The enzyme succinyl-CoA:3-oxoacid coenzyme A transferase (SCOT) participates in the metabolism of ketone bodies in extrahepatic tissues. It catalyses the transfer of coenzyme A (CoA) from succinyl-CoA to acetoacetate with a classical ping-pong mechanism. There is biochemical evidence that the enzyme undergoes conformational changes during the reaction, but no domain movements have been reported in the available crystal structures. Here, a structure of pig heart SCOT refined at 1.5 A resolution is presented, showing that one of the four enzyme subunits in the crystallographic asymmetric unit has a molecule of glycerol bound in the active site; the glycerol molecule is hydrogen bonded to the conserved catalytic glutamate residue and is likely to occupy the cosubstrate-binding site. The binding of glycerol is associated with a substantial relative movement (a 13 degrees rotation) of two previously undefined domains that close around the substrate-binding site. The binding orientation of one of the cosubstrates, acetoacetate, is suggested based on the glycerol binding and the possibility that this dynamic domain movement is of functional importance is discussed.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis chaperonin 10 heptamers self-associate through their biologically active loops.

The crystal structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis chaperonin 10 (cpn10(Mt)) has been determined to a resolution of 2.8 A. Two dome-shaped cpn10(Mt) heptamers complex through loops at their bases to form a tetradecamer with 72 symmetry and a spherical cage-like structure. The hollow interior enclosed by the tetradecamer is lined with hydrophilic residues and has dimensions of 30 A perpendicular to and 60 A along the sevenfold axis. Tetradecameric cpn10(Mt) has also been observed in solution by dynamic light scattering. Through its base loop sequence cpn10(Mt) is known to be the agent in the bacterium responsible for bone resorption and for the contribution towards its strong T-cell immunogenicity. Superimposition of the cpn10(Mt) sequences 26 to 32 and 66 to 72 and E. coli GroES 25 to 31 associated with bone resorption activity shows them to have similar conformations and structural features, suggesting that there may be a common receptor for the bone resorption sequences. The base loops of cpn10s in general also attach to the corresponding chaperonin 60 (cpn60) to enclose unfolded protein and to facilitate its correct folding in vivo. Electron density corresponding to a partially disordered protein subunit appears encapsulated within the interior dome cavity of each heptamer. This suggests that the binding of substrates to cpn10 is possible in the absence of cpn60.