Evidence for the bilobal nature of diferric rabbit plasma transferrin.

Plasma transferrin is involved in iron transport within the circulatory system of vertebrates, and provides an iron source for haemoglobin synthesis and other metabolic requirements. However, despite extensive studies by spectroscopic, biochemical and physiological techniques, the nature of iron binding and the mechanisms of uptake and release of iron are not fully understood. Plasma transferrins are monomeric glycoproteins with a molecular weight of approximately 80,000 (ref. 2); they have two similar and very strong binding sites for Fe(III), together with two associated anion binding sites. Fragmentation studies on various transferrins have shown that the polypeptide chain is composed of two domains formed from the N-terminal and C-terminal halves of the polypeptide chain. Each domain contains one metal binding site. The marked sequence similarities which exist between the two halves may reflect a doubling of an ancestral structural gene during the phylogenetic development of the protein. Preliminary crystallographic investigations of diferric rabbit plasma transferrin have been reported from this laboratory. We now report initial studies of the X-ray structure determination of dife-ric rabbit plasma transferrin which have led to a 6-A resolution electron density map.     

Laccases of prokaryotic origin: enzymes at the interface of protein science and protein technology

The ubiquitous members of the multicopper oxidase family of enzymes oxidize a range of aromatic substrates such as polyphenols, methoxy-substituted phenols, amines and inorganic compounds, concomitantly with the reduction of molecular dioxygen to water. This family of enzymes can be broadly divided into two functional classes: metalloxidases and laccases. Several prokaryotic metalloxidases have been described in the last decade showing a robust activity towards metals, such as Cu(I), Fe(II) or Mn(II) and have been implicated in the metal metabolism of the corresponding microorganisms. Many laccases, with a superior efficiency for oxidation of organic compounds when compared with metals, have also been identified and characterized from prokaryotes, playing roles that more closely conform to those of intermediary metabolism. This review aims to present an update of current knowledge on prokaryotic multicopper oxidases, with a special emphasis on laccases, anticipating their enormous potential for industrial and environmental applications.     

A recessive contiguous gene deletion causing infantile hyperinsulinism, enteropathy and deafness identifies the Usher type 1C gene

Usher syndrome type 1 describes the association of profound, congenital sensorineural deafness, vestibular hypofunction and childhood onset retinitis pigmentosa. It is an autosomal recessive condition and is subdivided on the basis of linkage analysis into types 1A through 1E. Usher type 1C maps to the region containing the genes ABCC8 and KCNJ11 (encoding components of ATP-sensitive K + (KATP) channels), which may be mutated in patients with hyperinsulinism. We identified three individuals from two consanguineous families with severe hyperinsulinism, profound congenital sensorineural deafness, enteropathy and renal tubular dysfunction. The molecular basis of the disorder is a homozygous 122-kb deletion of 11p14-15, which includes part of ABCC8 and overlaps with the locus for Usher syndrome type 1C and DFNB18. The centromeric boundary of this deletion includes part of a gene shown to be mutated in families with type 1C Usher syndrome, and is hence assigned the name USH1C. The pattern of expression of the USH1C protein is consistent with the clinical features exhibited by individuals with the contiguous gene deletion and with isolated Usher type 1C.     

X-ray analysis of beta B2-crystallin and evolution of oligomeric lens proteins

The beta, gamma-crystallins form a class of homologous proteins in the eye lens. Each gamma-crystallin comprises four topologically equivalent, Greek key motifs; pairs of motifs are organized around a local dyad to give domains and two similar domains are in turn related by a further local dyad. Sequence comparisons and model building predicted that hetero-oligomeric beta-crystallins also had internally quadruplicated subunits, but with extensions at the N and C termini, indicating that beta, gamma-crystallins evolved in two duplication steps from an ancestral protein folded as a Greek key. We report here the X-ray analysis at 2.1 A resolution of beta B2-crystallin homodimer which shows that the connecting peptide is extended and the two domains separated in a way quite unlike gamma-crystallin. Domain interactions analogous to those within monomeric gamma-crystallin are intermolecular and related by a crystallographic dyad in the beta B2-crystallin dimer. This shows how oligomers can evolve by conserving an interface rather than connectivity. A further interaction between dimers suggests a model for more complex aggregates of beta-crystallin in the lens.     

Selective inhibition of cotranslational translocation of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1

Increased expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM1) is associated with a variety of chronic inflammatory conditions, making its expression and function a target for therapeutic intervention. We have recently identified CAM741, a derivative of a fungus-derived cyclopeptolide that acts as a selective inhibitor of VCAM1 synthesis in endothelial cells. Here we show that the compound represses the biosynthesis of VCAM1 in cells by blocking the process of cotranslational translocation, which is dependent on the signal peptide of VCAM1. CAM741 does not inhibit targeting of the VCAM1 nascent chains to the translocon channel but prevents translocation to the luminal side of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), through a process that involves the translocon component Sec61beta. Consequently, the VCAM1 precursor protein is synthesized towards the cytosolic compartment of the cells, where it is degraded. Our results indicate that the inhibition of cotranslational translocation with low-molecular-mass compounds, using specificity conferred by signal peptides, can modulate the biosynthesis of certain secreted and/or membrane proteins. In addition, they highlight cotranslational translocation at the ER membrane as a potential target for drug discovery.