DevR (DosR) mimetic peptides impair transcriptional regulation and survival of Mycobacterium tuberculosis under hypoxia by inhibiting the autokinase activity of DevS sensor kinase.

BACKGROUND: Two-component systems have emerged as compelling targets for antibacterial drug design for a number of reasons including the distinct histidine phosphorylation property of their constituent sensor kinases. The DevR-DevS/DosT two component system of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) is essential for survival under hypoxia, a stress associated with dormancy development in vivo. In the present study a combinatorial peptide phage display library was screened for DevS histidine kinase interacting peptides with the aim of isolating inhibitors of DevR-DevS signaling. RESULTS: DevS binding peptides were identified from a phage display library after three rounds of panning using DevS as bait. The peptides showed sequence similarity with conserved residues in the N-terminal domain of DevR and suggested that they may represent interacting surfaces between DevS and DevR. Two DevR mimetic peptides were found to specifically inhibit DevR-dependent transcriptional activity and restrict the hypoxic survival of M. tb. The mechanism of peptide action is majorly attributed to an inhibition of DevS autokinase activity. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that DevR mimetic peptides impede DevS activation and that intercepting DevS activation at an early step in the signaling cascade impairs M. tb survival in a hypoxia persistence model.

Activated p53 induces NF-kappaB DNA binding but suppresses its transcriptional activation.

NF-kappaB plays an important role in oncogenesis. Recently, we have demonstrated that loss of p53 function enhances DNA binding and transcriptional activities of NF-kappaB via IKKalpha and IKKbeta, and that glycolysis, activated by NF-kappaB, has an integral role in oncogene-induced cell transformation. Here, we show that ectopically expressed p53 induces acetylation and phosphorylation at Ser 536 of p65, an NF-kappaB component, and enhances DNA-binding activity of NF-kappaB. However, activated p53 suppresses transcriptional activity of NF-kappaB. Under non-stimulating conditions, p65 formed a complex with IKKalpha and IKKbeta. Activated p53 bound to p65 on DNA and disrupted binding of p65 to IKKbeta. Moreover, histone H3 kinase activity, which requires transcriptional activation of NF-kappaB, was diminished by p53. Thus, activated p53 may suppress transcriptional activity of NF-kappaB through inhibition of IKK and histone H3 kinase on DNA, suggesting a novel p53-mediated suppression system for tumorigenesis.

Phospholipase C-mediated hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine is a target of transforming growth factor beta 1 inhibitory signals.

Cell growth and tumor transformation can be restrained in certain cell systems by the action of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta). It has been established that the mechanism whereby TGF-beta 1 inhibits cell growth does not interfere with the triggering of early mitogenic signal transduction mechanisms. Phospholipase C-catalyzed hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine (PC) is a relatively late step in the cascade activated by growth factors. Therefore, conceivably activation of phospholipase C-catalyzed hydrolysis of PC could be the target of TGF-beta 1 action. In the study reported here, we demonstrate that TGF-beta 1 inhibits the coupling of ras p21 to the activation of PC hydrolysis, which appears to be critical for the antiproliferative effects of TGF-beta 1.

Negative regulation of histone H1 kinase expression by mimosine, a plant amino acid.

The plant amino acid mimosine has been shown to reversibly arrest mammalian cells in late G1 phase of the cell cycle. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of this block are not as yet understood. Here we show that mimosine prevents the serum-stimulated synthesis and activation of histone H1 kinase, a crucial regulator of cell cycle progression. The same effect is observed in logarithmically growing primary cells as well as transformed cells. Concomitantly, hyperphosphorylation of the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor gene product is partially inhibited. These effects are fully reversible, because removal of mimosine restores histone H1 kinase activity and the cells resume growth. Because the activity of histone H1 kinase has been shown to be absolutely required for cell cycle progression, it is conceivable that the cytostatic effect of mimosine is due to its negative effects on synthesis and activity of this enzyme.

Irreversible G2-M arrest and cytoskeletal reorganization induced by cytotoxic nucleoside analogues.

The mechanisms by which cytotoxic agents perturb the normal cell biology and cell cycle progression of cancer cells were explored using B16F10 cells genetically modified to express the Herpes Simplex Virus-thymidine kinase gene. Culture in the presence of the nucleoside analogue ganciclovir induced a profound morphological change that required entry of treated cells into S phase and was dependent on prenylated proteins such as those of the rho gene family. Cell cycle arrest occurred in late S phase or G2 phase due to the activation of the G2-M DNA damage checkpoint. This checkpoint control operated at the level of inhibition of the activity of Cdc2/cyclin B and occurred by two mechanisms: (a) p53-mediated up-regulation of p21CIP/WAF1 expression and its association with Cdc2/cyclin B; and (b) prevention of the dephosphorylation of tyrosine 15 of Cdc2. These events occurred in vitro and in vivo, and were shown to mediate bystander killing in this model. The mechanism of cell death seemed to be due to the irreversible cell cycle arrest at the G2-M checkpoint, rather than induction of apoptosis. These data link DNA damage checkpoints with cytoskeletal signaling pathways and the core cell cycle machinery and may represent a general mechanism of cytotoxicity of this class of nucleoside analogues.

Dissociation of p34cdc2 complex formation from phosphorylation and histone H1 kinase activity.

The cell cycle inhibitor mimosine was used to examine the activation of the p34cdc2 protein kinase in S phase of the cell cycle. Addition of mimosine to cycling epithelial cells halted cell cycle traverse in S phase, coincident with an inhibition of p34cdc2 histone H1 kinase activity. Mimosine treatment did not alter p34cdc2 synthesis or turnover; however, overall phosphorylation of p34cdc2 was decreased to near undetectable levels. Although activity of p34cdc2 was inhibited, the ability of the protein to form high molecular weight complexes, a phenomenon associated with kinase activation in vivo, was not affected. These results indicate that p34cdc2 complex formation can occur in the absence of phosphorylation and that phosphorylation of p34cdc2 is then required to activate these preformed complexes.

Butyrolactone I, a selective inhibitor of cdk2 and cdc2 kinase.

We screened cdc2 kinase inhibitors from cultured mediums of micro organisms using purified mouse cyclin B-cdc2 kinase and a specific substrate peptide for cdc2 kinase. A selective inhibitor of cdc2 kinase was isolated from the cultured medium of Aspergillus species F-25799, and identified as butyrolactone I. Butyrolactone I inhibited cdc2 and cdk2 kinases but it had little effect on mitogen-activated protein kinase, protein kinase C, cyclic-AMP dependent kinase, casein kinase II, casein kinase I or epidermal growth factor-receptor tyrosine kinase. Its inhibitory effect was found to be due to competition with ATP. Butyrolactone I selectively inhibited the H1 histone phosphorylation in nuclear extracts. It also inhibited the phosphorylation of the product of retinoblastoma susceptibility gene in nuclear extracts and intact cells. Thus butyrolactone I should be very useful for elucidating the function of cdc2 and cdk2 kinases in cell cycle regulation.

Inhibition of histone H1 kinase expression, retinoblastoma protein phosphorylation, and cell proliferation by the phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid.

Phosphorylation events are major regulatory mechanisms of signal transduction pathways that regulate gene expression and cell growth. To study the potential involvement of serine-threonine specific phosphatases in these processes we used okadaic acid (OA), an inhibitor of type 1 and type 2A protein phosphatases. Here we present evidence that OA arrests cells at defined points in the cell cycle. Concomitantly, expression and associated histone H1 kinase activity of cdc2 and cyclin A, two cell cycle regulatory proteins, are repressed by this agent. Furthermore, phosphorylation of the tumor suppressor protein retinoblastoma, an event thought to be necessary in order to permit cells to proliferate, is inhibited when OA is present. These effects are fully reversible since removal of OA restores cdc2 and cyclin A expression as well as histone H1 kinase activity, and the cells resume growth. Since cdc2 and cyclin A have previously been shown to be absolutely required for cell cycle progression it is likely that blockage of synthesis of these components contributes to the cytostatic effects of OA. Furthermore, our results suggest a positive role for OA sensitive protein phosphatases in the regulation of expression of these cell cycle regulatory proteins.

In vitro activation of a 60-70 kDa histone H4 protein kinase from neutrophils by limited proteolysis.

Neutrophils stimulated with the chemotactic peptide fMet-Leu-Phe (fMLP) are known to exhibit a rapid and transient activation of a histone H4 kinase that may function in a stimulatory pathway downstream of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. The activity of this histone kinase in unstimulated neutrophils and cells treated with 1.0 microM fMLP for 10 sec was 8.8 +/- 5 and 43 +/- 2 pmol P/min per 10(7) cells, respectively. In this paper, we report that unstimulated neutrophils contain a latent H4 kinase in the 100,000 x g soluble fraction that can be markedly activated by treatment with trypsin. The values for the untreated and trypsin treated enzyme were 5.5 +/- 1.0 and 63.6 +/- 18 pmol P/min per 10(7) cell-equivalents, respectively. This kinase was insensitive to a selective antagonist of protein kinase C (i.e., 50 microM 1-(5-isoquinolinylsulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine (H-7)) but completely blocked by 100 nM staurosporine. Only a single peak of activity was observed for this enzyme when the 100,000 x g supernatant fraction was fractionated on either an exclusion (KW-803) or an anion exchange column (DEAE), or during isoelectric focusing. The molecular weight of the latent kinase was 64 +/- 6 kDa and the isoelectric point was 7.6 +/- 0.1. During all fractionation procedures, the H4 kinase co-chromatographed with a trypsin-activated kinase that catalyzed the phosphorylation of a peptide which corresponds to residues 297-331 of the 47 kDa subunit of the NADPH-oxidase complex (p47-phox). The properties of the trypsin-activated H4 kinase from unstimulated neutrophils are very similar to those reported for this enzyme from fMLP-stimulated cells.

Antibody inhibition of protein activity in starfish oocytes.

Antibodies are widely utilized in cell and molecule biology for immunoblots, immunostaining, immunoprecipitation, immunoaffinity purification, and immunoassay. Some antibodies can be used for in vivo inhibition experiments. These antibodies bind to their target molecules and neutralize their functions, providing functional information in the study of their biological role. Here, we describe our methods for obtaining inhibitory antibodies against desired proteins. We then describe in the starfish oocyte system how to inhibit a target protein, even in the nucleus, by injection of antibody into the cytoplasm, and how to evaluate antibody inhibition of cell cycle regulators in small numbers of oocytes.

Structure-based design of DevR inhibitor active against nonreplicating Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Antitubercular treatment is directed against actively replicating organisms. There is an urgent need to develop drugs targeting persistent subpopulations of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The DevR response regulator is believed to play a key role in bacterial dormancy adaptation during hypoxia. We developed a homology-based model of DevR and used it for the rational design of inhibitors. A phenylcoumarin derivative (compound 10) identified by in silico pharmacophore-based screening of 2.5 million compounds employing protocols with some novel features including a water-based pharmacophore query, was characterized further. Compound 10 inhibited DevR binding to target DNA, down-regulated dormancy genes transcription, and drastically reduced survival of hypoxic but not nutrient-starved dormant bacteria or actively growing organisms. Our findings suggest that compound 10 "locks" DevR in an inactive conformation that is unable to bind cognate DNA and induce the dormancy regulon. These results provide proof-of-concept for DevR as a novel target to develop molecules with sterilizing activity against tubercle bacilli.

Concerted action of Aurora B, Polo and NHK-1 kinases in centromere-specific histone 2A phosphorylation.

The spatial and temporal control of histone modifications is crucial for precise regulation of chromatin structure and function. Here we report that phosphorylation of H2A at threonine 119 (T119) is enriched at centromere regions in Drosophila mitosis. We found that the Aurora B kinase complex is essential for this phosphorylation at centromeres, while Polo kinase is required to down-regulate H2A phosphorylation on chromosome arms in mitosis. Cyclin B degradation triggers loss of centromeric H2A phosphorylation at anaphase onset. Epistasis analysis indicated that Polo functions upstream of the H2A kinase NHK-1 but parallel to Aurora B. Therefore, multiple mitotic kinases work together to specify the spatial and temporal pattern of H2A T119 phosphorylation.

[Structure of the active center of the catalytic subunit of histone kinase]. / Issledovanie struktury aktivnogo tsentra kataliticheskoi sub'edinitsy gistonkinazy

A number of unknown ATP analogues is isolated when studying the structure of the active site of catalytic histonekinase subunit. Adenosine-5'-chloromethanepyrophosphonate adenosine-5'-(beta-bromoethanepyrophosphonate) and adenosine-5'-(p-fluorosulphonylphenylphosphate) were isolated under the reaction of chloromethanephosphonic acid, beta-bromoethanephosphonic acid and n-phenolsulphofluoride respectively with AMP imidazolide. Adenosine-5'-(beta-chloroethylphosphate) was obtained from AMP morpholide and ethylenechorohydrine. Adenosine-5'-chloracetylaminomethanephosphonate and adenosine-5'-(p-fluorosulphonylbenzoylaminomethanephosphonate) were obtained in the reaction of chloroacetyc anhydride and n-fluorosulphonylbenzoylchloride. Adenosine-5'-(p-aminophenylphosphate) is synthesized under the reduction of AMP mononitrophenyl ester. The treatment of the former with chloroacetyc anhydride produced adenosine-5'-(p-chloroacetylaminophenylphosphate. Interaction of ATP analogues obtained and also of early synthesized adenosine-5'-chloromethanephosphonate and adenosine-5'-(beta-bromoethanephosphonate) with homogenous catalytic histonekinase subunit is studied. The decrease in the reaction rate of Hi histone phosphorylation is found to take place. pH optimum of the enzyme inactivation with adenosine-5'-chloromethanepyrophosphonate and adenosine-5'-(beta-chloroethylphosphate) and the protective effect of the substrate (ATP) indicate covalent blocking imidazole ring in the active site. The date obtained suggest that the functional group of the active site of catalytic histonekinase subunit is histidine imidazole ring located close to terminal ATP phosphate.

Casein and histone kinases of a rat ascites hepatoma as compared with those of rat liver.

Seryl/threonyl-protein kinases in cytosolic and particulate fractions from rat liver and AH-13, a rat ascites hepatoma, have been studied by chromatographing these fractions on DEAE-cellulose and assaying the eluates with casein, phosvitin, histone and protamine as substrates. Liver cytosolic fraction contains a group of well-characterized seryl/threonyl-protein kinases, namely, casein kinases I and II and histone kinases I and II. Liver particulate fraction, on the other hand, is almost totally devoid of casein kinase I and histone kinase I but contains an additional peak of casein kinase tentatively designated casein kinase III. In AH-13, cytosolic casein kinase I is markedly increased and particulate-associated casein kinases II and III are moderately increased as compared with liver. Moreover, it was found that in AH-13, the histone kinase I level is high in the particulate fraction but markedly decreased in the cytosolic fraction. It is suggested that particulate-associated histone kinase I may be of cytosolic origin.

Characterization of a seminal plasma-associated inhibitor of human seminal plasma protein kinase.

Human sperm-free seminal plasma (HSP) contains inhibitors (I) of the seminal plasma histone kinase activity (HK). One I is dialyzable and the other I is nondialyzable and precipitable by dialysis of HSP against a hypotonic buffer. When the nondialyzable, precipitable I fraction is resolubilized, it inhibits HK in a concentration-dependent manner. Sephadex G-25 column chromatography of whole HSP resolves I in both the void (Vo) and inclusion (Vi) volumes. Rechromatography of the VoI resolves I solely in the Vo. These and other data suggest that the ViI does not originate from the VoI, and that both I activities represent separate molecular entities. VoI was further characterized and found to be heat labile, trypsin and neuraminidase insensitive, and alpha-chymotrypsin sensitive. VoI is not soluble in CHCl3 or CHCl3:CH3OH (2:1) and is not adsorbed by charcoal. Chromatography of VoI on Sephadex G-100 yields a broad peak of I that migrates just past the Vo. VoI has no detectable cyclic AMP (cAMP) binding activity and VoI activity is not affected by coincubation of VoI and HK with cAMP. VoI also does not bind to zinc-chelate or phenothiazine affinity columns. These data suggest that VoI is protein in nature with properties distinct from the class of previously described protein kinase inhibitors. Although the identity of VoI is not known, it does not appear to be the regulatory subunit of a cAMP-dependent protein kinase, calsemin or a zinc binding protein.

Inactivation of histone H1 kinase by Ca2+ in rabbit oocytes.

The present study investigated the role of intracellular Ca2+ (Ca2+i) elevation on the inactivation of maturation promoting factor (MPF) in rabbit oocytes. The effects of the number of Ca2+ stimulations and of the amplitude of Ca2+i elevation on the profile of histone H1 kinase activity were determined. A Ca2+ stimulation consisted of transferring mature oocytes from culture medium to 0.3 M mannitol containing 0.1-1.0 mM CaCl2, and pulsing them at 1.25 kV/cm for 10 microseconds, or microinjecting 2-8 mM CaCl2 into the oocyte cytoplasm. The number of electrically-induced Ca2+ stimulations was varied, and amplitude of the Ca2+i rise was controlled by altering Ca2+ concentration in the pulsing medium or the injection pipette. Ca2+i concentration was determined with fura-2 dextran; oocytes were snap-frozen at indicated time points and assayed for H1 kinase activity. The activity was quantified by densitometry and expressed as a fraction of activity in nonstimulated oocytes. Electrically-mediated Ca2+i rises inactivated H1 kinase in a manner dependent on the number of Ca2+ stimulations. A single Ca2+ stimulation inactivated H1 kinase to 30-40% of its initial activity. However, H1 kinase inactivation was only transient, regardless of the amplitude of the electrically- or injection-mediated Ca2+i elevation. Increasing the number of Ca2+ stimulations helped to maintain H1 kinase activity at basal (pronuclear) levels. The results show the necessity of a threshold of Ca2+i concentration to trigger MPF inactivation, and suggest a role for the extended period of time over which Ca2+i oscillates at fertilization.