Key drivers of cloud response to surface-active organics.

Aerosol-cloud interactions constitute the largest source of uncertainty in global radiative forcing estimates, hampering our understanding of climate evolution. Recent empirical evidence suggests surface tension depression by organic aerosol to significantly influence the formation of cloud droplets, and hence cloud optical properties. In climate models, however, surface tension of water is generally assumed when predicting cloud droplet concentrations. Here we show that the sensitivity of cloud microphysics, optical properties and shortwave radiative effects to the surface phase are dictated by an interplay between the aerosol particle size distribution, composition, water availability and atmospheric dynamics. We demonstrate that accounting for the surface phase becomes essential in clean environments in which ultrafine particle sources are present. Through detailed sensitivity analysis, quantitative constraints on the key drivers - aerosol particle number concentrations, organic fraction and fixed updraft velocity - are derived for instances of significant cloud microphysical susceptibilities to the surface phase.

Myositis ossificans as a complication of hamstring autograft harvest for open primary anterior and posterior cruciate ligament and posterolateral corner reconstruction.

Post-traumatic myositis ossificans is a benign condition of heterotopic ossification of unknown aetiology which typically is related to trauma from a single blow or repeated episodes of microtrauma. A case of myositis ossificans that developed after hamstring autograft harvest for an open cruciate ligament and posterolateral corner reconstruction is described, a previously unrecognised complication of this procedure.

Viracept (nelfinavir mesylate, AG1343): a potent, orally bioavailable inhibitor of HIV-1 protease.

Using a combination of iterative structure-based design and an analysis of oral pharmacokinetics and antiviral activity, AG1343 (Viracept, nelfinavir mesylate), a nonpeptidic inhibitor of HIV-1 protease, was identified. AG1343 is a potent enzyme inhibitor (Ki = 2 nM) and antiviral agent (HIV-1 ED50 = 14 nM). An X-ray cocrystal structure of the enzyme-AG1343 complex reveals how the novel thiophenyl ether and phenol-amide substituents of the inhibitor interact with the S1 and S2 subsites of HIV-1 protease, respectively. In vivo studies indicate that AG1343 is well absorbed orally in a variety of species and possesses favorable pharmacokinetic properties in humans. AG1343 (Viracept) has recently been approved for marketing for the treatment of AIDS.

Structure-based design and synthesis of substituted 2-butanols as nonpeptidic inhibitors of HIV protease: secondary amide series.

The design, synthesis, and crystallographic analysis of protein-inhibitor complexes is described for a novel series of nonpeptidic HIV protease (HIV Pr)inhibitors. Beginning with a cocrystal structure of a Phe-Pro peptidomimetic bound to the HIV Pr, design was initiated that resulted in the substituted 2-butanol compound 8 as the lead compound (Ki = 24.5 microM, racemic mixture). Modifications on the initial compound were then made on the basis of its cocrystal structure with HIV Pr and inhibition data, resulting in compounds with enhanced potency against the enzyme (compound 18, Ki = 0.48 microM). These inhibitors were found to bind to the enzyme essentially as predicted on the basis of the original design hypothesis. Stereospecific synthesis of individual enantiomers confirmed the prediction of a binding preference for the S alcohol stereochemistry. Modest antiviral activity was demonstrated for several of the more potent HIV Pr inhibitors in a HIV-1 infected CEM-SS cell line.

Bis tertiary amide inhibitors of the HIV-1 protease generated via protein structure-based iterative design.

A series of potent nonpeptide inhibitors of the HIV protease have been identified. Using the structure of compound 3 bound to the HIV protease, bis tertiary amide inhibitor 9 was designed and prepared. Compound 9 was found to be about 17 times more potent than 3, and the structure of the protein-ligand complex of 9 revealed the inhibitor binds in an inverted binding mode relative to 3. Examination of the protein-ligand complex of 9 suggested several modifications in the P1 and P1' pockets. Through these modifications it was possible to improve the activity of the inhibitors another 100-fold, highlighting the utility of crystallographic feedback in inhibitor design. These compounds were found to have good antiviral activity in cell culture, were selective for the HIV protease, and were orally available in three animal models.

Protein structure-based design of potent orally bioavailable, nonpeptide inhibitors of human immunodeficiency virus protease.

A class of potent nonpeptidic inhibitors of human immunodeficiency virus protease has been designed by using the three-dimensional structure of the enzyme as a guide. By employing iterative protein cocrystal structure analysis, design, and synthesis the binding affinity of the lead compound was incrementally improved by over four orders of magnitude. An inversion in inhibitor binding mode was observed crystallographically, providing information critical for subsequent design and highlighting the utility of structural feedback in inhibitor optimization. These inhibitors are selective for the viral protease enzyme, possess good antiviral activity, and are orally available in three species.

2.3 A crystal structure of the catalytic domain of DNA polymerase beta.

The crystal structure of the catalytic domain of rat DNA polymerase beta (pol beta) has been determined at 2.3 A resolution and refined to an R factor of 0.22. The mixed alpha/beta protein has three subdomains arranged in an overall U shape reminiscent of other polymerase structures. The folding topology of pol beta, however, is unique. Two divalent metals bind near three aspartic acid residues implicated in the catalytic activity. In the presence of Mn2+ and dTTP, interpretable electron density is seen for two metals and the triphosphate, but not the deoxythymidine moiety. The principal interaction of the triphosphate moiety is with the bound divalent metals.

Crystal structures of chicken liver dihydrofolate reductase: binary thioNADP+ and ternary thioNADP+.biopterin complexes.

The role of the 3'-carboxamide substituent of NADPH in the reduction of pteridine substrates as catalyzed by dihydrofolate reductase (EC 1.5.1.3, DHFR) has been investigated by determining crystal structures at 2.3 A of chicken liver DHFR in a binary complex with oxidized thionicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (thioNADP+) and in a ternary complex with thioNADP+ and biopterin. These structures are isomorphous with those previously reported for chicken liver DHFR [Volz, K.W., Matthews, D.A., Alden, R.A., Freer, S. T., Hansch, C., Kaufman, B. T., & Kraut, J. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 2528-2536]. ThioNADPH, which has a 3'-carbothioamide substituent in place of a 3'-carboxamide, functions very poorly as a coenzyme for DHFR [Williams, T. J., Lee, T. K., & Dunlap, R. B. (1977) Arch, Biochem. Biophys. 181, 569-579; Stone, S. R., Mark, A., & Morrison, J. F. (1984) Biochemistry 23, 4340-4346]. Comparisons show that, while NADP+ and NADPH bind to DHFR with the pyridine ring and 3'-carboxamide coplanar, the thioamide group is twisted by 23 degrees from the pyridine plane in both the binary and ternary complexes. This twist appears to be due to steric conflict between the thioamide sulfur atom and both the pyridine ring at C4 and the adjacent protein backbone at Ala-9. It results in an unfavorably close contact between the sulfur and the biopterin pteridine ring (0.9 A less than the van der Waals separation) which, on the basis of the refined structure, greatly destabilizes the binding of biopterin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Crystal structure of chicken liver dihydrofolate reductase complexed with NADP+ and biopterin.

The 2.2-A crystal structure of chicken liver dihydrofolate reductase (EC 1.5.1.3, DHFR) has been solved as a ternary complex with NADP+ and biopterin (a poor substrate). The space group and unit cell are isomorphous with the previously reported structure of chicken liver DHFR complexed with NADPH and phenyltriazine [Volz, K. W., Matthews, D. A., Alden, R. A., Freer, S. T., Hansch, C., Kaufman, B. T., & Kraut, J. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 2528-2536]. The structure contains an ordered water molecule hydrogen-bonded to both hydroxyls of the biopterin dihydroxypropyl group as well as to O4 and N5 of the biopterin pteridine ring. This water molecule, not observed in previously determined DHFR structures, is positioned to complete a proposed route for proton transfer from the side-chain carboxylate of E30 to N5 of the pteridine ring. Protonation of N5 is believed to occur during the reduction of dihydropteridine substrates. The positions of the NADP+ nicotinamide and biopterin pteridine rings are quite similar to the nicotinamide and pteridine ring positions in the Escherichia coli DHFR.NADP+.folate complex [Bystroff, C., Oatley, S. J., & Kraut, J. (1990) Biochemistry 29, 3263-3277], suggesting that the reduction of biopterin and the reduction of folate occur via similar mechanisms, that the binding geometry of the nicotinamide and pteridine rings is conserved between DHFR species, and that the p-aminobenzoylglutamate moiety of folate is not required for correct positioning of the pteridine ring in ground-state ternary complexes. Instead, binding of the p-aminobenzoylglutamate moiety of folate may induce the side chain of residue 31 (tyrosine or phenylalanine) in vertebrate DHFRs to adopt a conformation in which the opening to the pteridine binding site is too narrow to allow the substrate to diffuse away rapidly. A reverse conformational change of residue 31 is proposed to be required for tetrahydrofolate release.

Proteolytic release and crystallization of the RNase H domain of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase.

The RNase H domain of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase was released from recombinant DHFR-RNase H fusion protein by the action of HIV-1 protease and crystallized as large trigonal prisms that diffract x-rays to at least 2.4-A resolution. The protease cleavage occurred 18 residues away from the Phe440-Tyr441 site reported to be processed during maturation of the reverse transcriptase heterodimer. Mutagenesis of the protease-sensitive region (residues 430-440), which is part of the crystallized domain, indicates that any alteration of the wild-type sequence results in increased proteolysis of the p66 subunit. A model of asymmetric processing in HIV-1 reserve transcriptase which involves partial unfolding of the RNase H domain is proposed based on these results and the recently reported three-dimensional structure of this domain.

Crystal structure of the ribonuclease H domain of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase.

The crystal structure of the ribonuclease (RNase) H domain of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) has been determined at a resolution of 2.4 A and refined to a crystallographic R factor of 0.20. The protein folds into a five-stranded mixed beta sheet flanked by an asymmetric distribution of four alpha helices. Two divalent metal cations bind in the active site surrounded by a cluster of four conserved acidic amino acid residues. The overall structure is similar in most respects to the RNase H from Escherichia coli. Structural features characteristic of the retroviral protein suggest how it may interface with the DNA polymerase domain of p66 in the mature RT heterodimer. These features also offer insights into why the isolated RNase H domain is catalytically inactive but when combined in vitro with the isolated p51 domain of RT RNase H activity can be reconstituted. Surprisingly, the peptide bond cleaved by HIV-1 protease near the polymerase-RNase H junction of p66 is completely inaccessible to solvent in the structure reported here. This suggests that the homodimeric p66-p66 precursor of mature RT is asymmetric with one of the two RNase H domains at least partially unfolded.

Crystal structures of recombinant human dihydrofolate reductase complexed with folate and 5-deazafolate.

The 2.3-A crystal structure of recombinant human dihydrofolate reductase (EC 1.5.1.3, DHFR) has been solved as a binary complex with folate (a poor substrate at neutral pH) and also as a binary complex with an inhibitor, 5-deazafolate. The inhibitor appears to be protonated at N8 on binding, whereas folate is not. Rotation of the peptide plane joining I7 and V8 from its position in the folate complex permits hydrogen bonding of 5-deazafolate's protonated N8 to the backbone carbonyl of I7, thus contributing to the enzyme's greater affinity for 5-deazafolate than for folate. In this respect it is likely that bound 5-deazafolate furnishes a model for 7,8-dihydrofolate binding and, in addition, resembles the transition state for folate reduction. A hypothetical transition-state model for folate reduction, generated by superposition of the DHFR binary complexes human.5-deazafolate and chicken liver.NADPH, reveals a 1-A overlap of the binding sites for folate's pteridine ring and the dihydronicotinamide ring of NADPH. It is proposed that this binding-site overlap accelerates the reduction of both folate and 7,8-dihydrofolate by simultaneously binding substrate and cofactor with a sub van der Waals separation that is optimal for hydride transfer.