Assessing the activation/inhibition of tyrosine kinase-related pathways with a newly developed platform.

The phosphorylation of cellular proteins plays a crucial role in the transduction of various signals from outside the cell into the nucleus. The signals are transduced by phosphorylation chain reactions within multiple pathways; however, determining which pathways are responsible for each defined signal has proven challenging. To estimate the activity of each pathway, we developed a phosphorylation array platform comprising a protein array with 1200 proteins belonging to 376 signalling pathways and an analytical method to estimate pathway activity based on the phosphorylation levels of proteins. The performance of our system was assessed by reconstructing kinase-substrate relationships, as well as by estimating pathway activity upon epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulation and the pharmacological inhibition of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). As a result, kinase-substrate relationships were reliably reconstructed based on the precise measurement of phosphorylation levels of constituent proteins on the array. Furthermore, the pathway activities associated with EGF stimulation and EGFR inhibition were successfully traced through the related pathways from the outer membrane to the nucleus along a time course. Thus, our phosphorylation array system can effectively assess the activity of specific signalling pathways that are perturbed by extracellular stimuli, such as various drugs.

Targeting the cryptic sites: NMR-based strategy to improve protein druggability by controlling the conformational equilibrium.

Cryptic ligand binding sites, which are not evident in the unligated structures, are beneficial in tackling with difficult but attractive drug targets, such as protein-protein interactions (PPIs). However, cryptic sites have thus far not been rationally pursued in the early stages of drug development. Here, we demonstrated by nuclear magnetic resonance that the cryptic site in Bcl-xL exists in a conformational equilibrium between the open and closed conformations under the unligated condition. While the fraction of the open conformation in the unligated wild-type Bcl-xL is estimated to be low, F143W mutation that is distal from the ligand binding site can substantially elevate the population. The F143W mutant showed a higher hit rate in a phage-display peptide screening, and the hit peptide bound to the cryptic site of the wild-type Bcl-xL. Therefore, by controlling the conformational equilibrium in the cryptic site, the opportunity to identify a PPI inhibitor could be improved.

Relationship between redox function and protein stability of cytochromes c.

Electrochemical, 1H NMR, and optical studies on mesophile Pseudomonas aeruginosa cytochrome c551, its single (F34Y) and quintuple (F7A/V13M/F34Y/E43Y/V78I) mutants, and thermophile Hydrogenobacter thermophilus cytochrome c552 at wide temperature range demonstrated that the stable protein exhibits the low redox potential predominantly due to the enthalpic contribution to the redox reaction. The overall stability of the oxidized form was shown to determine the stability of the Fe-methionine coordination bond, which then directly regulates the redox function.

Structure and binding mode of a ribosome recycling factor (RRF) from mesophilic bacterium.

X-ray and NMR analyses on ribosome recycling factors (RRFs) from thermophilic bacteria showed that they display a tRNA-like L-shaped conformation consisting of two domains. Since then, it has been accepted that domain I, consisting of a three-helix bundle, corresponds to the anticodon arm of tRNA and domain II and a beta/alpha/beta sandwich structure, corresponds to the acceptor arm. In this study, we obtained a RRF from a mesophilic bacterium, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, by gene cloning and carried out an x-ray analysis on it at 2.2 A resolution. This RRF was shown to be active in an in vitro assay system using Escherichia coli polysomes and elongation factor G (EF-G). In contrast, the above-mentioned RRFs from thermophilic bacteria were inactive in such a system. Analysis of the relative orientations between the two domains in the structures of various RRFs, including this RRF from mesophilic bacterium, revealed that domain II rotates about the long axis of the helix bundle of domain I. To elucidate the ribosome binding site of RRF, the peptide fragment (RRF-DI) corresponding to domain I of RRF was expressed and characterized. RRF-DI is bound to 70 S ribosome and the 50 S subunit with an affinity similar to that of wild-type RRF. But it does not bind to the 30 S subunit. These findings caused us to reinvestigate the concept of the mimicry of RRF to tRNA and to propose a new model where domain I corresponds to the acceptor arm of tRNA and domain II corresponds to the anticodon arm. This is just the reverse of a model that is now widely accepted. However, the new model is in better agreement with published biological findings.

Influence of amino acid side chain packing on Fe-methionine coordination in thermostable cytochrome C.

Paramagnetic NMR and optical studies of the oxidized forms of mesophile Pseudomonas aeruginosa cytochrome c(551) and its quintuple mutant (F7A/V13M/F34Y/E43Y/V78I), and thermophile Hydrogenobacter thermophilus cytochrome c(552) demonstrated that the amino acid side chain packings in the protein interior influence the coordination bond between the heme iron and the axial methionine in the proteins. The strength of heme axial coordinations was found to correlate with the overall protein thermostability.