基于蛋白质交联的氧化酶特性与应用

蛋白质交联属于蛋白质改性修饰的一部分,是重组食品与新型食品制造的重要内容。与化学交联、物理交联相比,酶法交联因其反应条件温和、不产生副产物、交联效果好等特点,成为最为容易接受的一种蛋白质交联方式。除谷氨酰胺转胺酶外,一些氧化酶也被证明能够在蛋白质分子间形成共价键而形成交联。介绍了目前应用较多的酚氧化酶(酪氨酸酶、漆酶)、过氧化物酶以及赖氨酰氧化酶的酶学性质、交联机制等,并对其在食品蛋白质交联中研究现状以及潜在应用进行总结与展望。     

A novel domain-based method for predicting the functional classes of proteins

Prediction of protein functions from known genomic sequences is an important mission of bioinformatics. One approach is to classify proteins into functional categories. We have therefore developed a method based on protein domain composition and the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) algorithm to classify proteins according to functions. Using the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome, we compared the effectiveness of the MLE approach with that of an intuitive and simple method. The MLE method outperformed the simple method, achieving an estimated specificity of 75.45 % and an estimated sensitivity of 40.26 %. These results indicate that domain is an important feature of proteins and is closely related to protein function.     

Myoglobin-like aerotaxis transducers in Archaea and Bacteria

Haem-containing proteins such as haemoglobin and myoglobin play an essential role in oxygen transport and storage. Comparison of the amino-acid sequences of globins from Bacteria and Eukarya suggests that they share an early common ancestor, even though the proteins perform different functions in these two kingdoms. Until now, no members of the globin family have been found in the third kingdom, Archaea. Recent studies of biological signalling in the Bacteria and Eukarya have revealed a new class of haem-containing proteins that serve as sensors. Until now, no haem-based sensor has been described in the Archaea. Here we report the first myoglobin-like, haem-containing protein in the Archaea, and the first haem-based aerotactic transducer in the Bacteria (termed HemAT-Hs for the archaeon Halobacterium salinarum, and HemAT-Bs for Bacillus subtilis). These proteins exhibit spectral properties similar to those of myoglobin and trigger aerotactic responses.     

F-box proteins in flowering plants

In eukaryotes, the ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation pathway has been shown to control several key biological processes such as cell division, development, metabolism and immune response. F-box proteins, as a part of SCF (Skp1-Cullin (or Cdc53)-F-box) complex, functioned by interacting with substrate proteins, leading to their subsequent degradation by the 26S proteasome. To date, several F-box proteins identified in Arabidopsis and Antirrhinum have been shown to play important roles in auxin signal transduction, floral organ formation, flowering and leaf senescence. Arabidopsis genome sequence analysis revealed that it encodes over 1000 predicted F-box proteins accounting for about 5% of total predicted proteins. These results indicate that the ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation involving the F-box proteins is an important mechanism controlling plant gene expression. Here, we review the known F-box proteins and their functionsin flowering plants.     

酪氨酸酶和漆酶的直接电化学研究

首次报道了吸附在活性炭表面的酪氨酸酶(Tyr)和漆酶(Lac)能进行准可逆的直接电化学反应，并保持对氧还原的电催化作用．本文所用的固定酶的方法具有简单、易于操作和酶活性保持良好等优点，可用于研究氧化还原蛋白质和酶的直接电化学和用于制备生物燃料电池的催化剂．     

Sequence and topology of a model intracellular membrane protein, E1 glycoprotein, from a coronavirus

In the eukaryotic cell, both secreted and plasma membrane proteins are synthesized at the endoplasmic reticulum, then transported, via the Golgi complex, to the cell surface. Each of the compartments of this transport pathway carries out particular metabolic functions, and therefore presumably contains a distinct complement of membrane proteins. Thus, mechanisms must exist for localizing such proteins to their respective destinations. However, a major obstacle to the study of such mechanisms is that the isolation and detailed analysis of such internal membrane proteins pose formidable technical problems. We have therefore used the E1 glycoprotein from coronavirus MHV-A59 as a viral model for this class of protein. Here we present the primary structure of the protein, determined by analysis of cDNA clones prepared from viral mRNA. In combination with a previous study of its assembly into the endoplasmic reticulum membrane, the sequence reveals several unusual features of the protein which may be related to its intracellular localization.     

Proteome survey reveals modularity of the yeast cell machinery

Protein complexes are key molecular entities that integrate multiple gene products to perform cellular functions. Here we report the first genome-wide screen for complexes in an organism, budding yeast, using affinity purification and mass spectrometry. Through systematic tagging of open reading frames (ORFs), the majority of complexes were purified several times, suggesting screen saturation. The richness of the data set enabled a de novo characterization of the composition and organization of the cellular machinery. The ensemble of cellular proteins partitions into 491 complexes, of which 257 are novel, that differentially combine with additional attachment proteins or protein modules to enable a diversification of potential functions. Support for this modular organization of the proteome comes from integration with available data on expression, localization, function, evolutionary conservation, protein structure and binary interactions. This study provides the largest collection of physically determined eukaryotic cellular machines so far and a platform for biological data integration and modelling.     

Ecto-protein kinase activity on the external surface of neural cells

ATP is secreted in association with neurotransmitters at certain synapses and neuromuscular junctions. Extracellular ATP is known to exert potent effects on the activity of cells in the nervous system, where it can act as a neurotransmitter or as a modulator regulating the activity of other neurohormones. We have suggested that such modulation may involve the activity of extracellular protein phosphorylation systems. It is well known that intracellular protein kinases are important in the regulation of various neuronal functions, but protein kinases which use extracellular ATP to phosphorylate proteins localized at the external surface of the plasma membrane (ecto-protein kinases) have not been demonstrated in neuronal cells. Here we present direct evidence for the existence of an ecto-protein kinase and demonstrate endogenous substrates for its activity at the surface of intact neural cells. The phosphorylation of one of these surface proteins is selectively stimulated during cell depolarization. In addition, neuronal cell adhesion molecules (N-CAMs) appear to be among the substrates of ecto-protein kinase activity. These results suggest a role for surface protein phosphorylation in regulating specific functions of developing and mature neurones.     

Expanding the diversity of chemical protein modification allows post-translational mimicry

One of the most important current scientific paradoxes is the economy with which nature uses genes. In all higher animals studied, we have found many fewer genes than we would have previously expected. The functional outputs of the eventual products of genes seem to be far more complex than the more restricted blueprint. In higher organisms, the functions of many proteins are modulated by post-translational modifications (PTMs). These alterations of amino-acid side chains lead to higher structural and functional protein diversity and are, therefore, a leading contender for an explanation for this seeming incongruity. Natural protein production methods typically produce PTM mixtures within which function is difficult to dissect or control. Until now it has not been possible to access pure mimics of complex PTMs. Here we report a chemical tagging approach that enables the attachment of multiple modifications to bacterially expressed (bare) protein scaffolds: this approach allows reconstitution of functionally effective mimics of higher organism PTMs. By attaching appropriate modifications at suitable distances in the widely-used LacZ reporter enzyme scaffold, we created protein probes that included sensitive systems for detection of mammalian brain inflammation and disease. Through target synthesis of the desired modification, chemistry provides a structural precision and an ability to retool with a chosen PTM in a manner not available to other approaches. In this way, combining chemical control of PTM with readily available protein scaffolds provides a systematic platform for creating probes of protein-PTM interactions. We therefore anticipate that this ability to build model systems will allow some of this gene product complexity to be dissected, with the aim of eventually being able to completely duplicate the patterns of a particular protein's PTMs from an in vivo assay into an in vitro system.     

酪氨酸酶抑制剂的研究进展

酪氨酸酶(EC 1.14.18.1,PPO),是一种含铜糖蛋白,广泛存在于自然界中.它是生物体合成黑色素的关键酶,而且与果蔬褐化、昆虫表皮鞣化、人的色素障碍性疾病及恶性黑色素肿瘤的发生与治疗有重要关系.目前,酪氨酸酶抑制剂已被用于果蔬保鲜、化妆品中的增白剂、生物农药的杀虫剂添加物.对酪氨酸酶抑制剂的研究已引起国内外的广泛重视,现已研究出许多具有新型结构的酪氨酸酶抑制剂.为了得到高效的酪氨酸酶抑制剂,对各种类型的化合物构效关系及抑制机理的研究是非常必要的.     

Cell-specific ATP7A transport sustains copper-dependent tyrosinase activity in melanosomes

Copper is a cofactor for many cellular enzymes and transporters. It can be loaded onto secreted and endomembrane cuproproteins by translocation from the cytosol into membrane-bound organelles by ATP7A or ATP7B transporters, the genes for which are mutated in the copper imbalance syndromes Menkes disease and Wilson disease, respectively. Endomembrane cuproproteins are thought to incorporate copper stably on transit through the trans-Golgi network, in which ATP7A accumulates by dynamic cycling through early endocytic compartments. Here we show that the pigment-cell-specific cuproenzyme tyrosinase acquires copper only transiently and inefficiently within the trans-Golgi network of mouse melanocytes. To catalyse melanin synthesis, tyrosinase is subsequently reloaded with copper within specialized organelles called melanosomes. Copper is supplied to melanosomes by ATP7A, a cohort of which localizes to melanosomes in a biogenesis of lysosome-related organelles complex-1 (BLOC-1)-dependent manner. These results indicate that cell-type-specific localization of a metal transporter is required to sustain metallation of an endomembrane cuproenzyme, providing a mechanism for exquisite spatial control of metalloenzyme activity. Moreover, because BLOC-1 subunits are mutated in subtypes of the genetic disease Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome, these results also show that defects in copper transporter localization contribute to hypopigmentation, and hence perhaps other systemic defects, in Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome.     

Mimicking the alloantigenicity of proteins with chemically synthesized peptides differing in single amino acids

Recent studies have shown that short chemically synthesized peptides very often induce antibodies which react with the cognate sequence in the intact folded protein. Since such antibodies react with known regions of proteins, they are of predetermined specificity and offer a precision not previously possible with immunological probes. A basic concept emerging from the use of such antibodies in viral systems is that the differential immunogenicity of closely related proteins can be mimicked by short peptides which span the regions of sequence variation. To generalize this concept, we have studied the two Thy-1 proteins which vary by only a single amino acid. Chemically synthesized peptides differing in only one out of 19 amino acids were able to induce allospecific antisera. Thus, single amino acid changes have similar effects on the immunogenicity of proteins and small peptides, even though the latter are free from constraints provided by neighbouring structures in the tertiary configuration of the intact folded proteins.     

Alternative pre-mRNA splicing and proteome expansion in metazoans

The protein coding sequences of most eukaryotic messenger RNA precursors (pre-mRNAs) are interrupted by non-coding sequences called introns. Pre-mRNA splicing is the process by which introns are removed and the protein coding elements assembled into mature mRNAs. Alternative pre-mRNA splicing selectively joins different protein coding elements to form mRNAs that encode proteins with distinct functions, and is therefore an important source of protein diversity. The elaboration of this mechanism may have had a significant role in the expansion of metazoan proteomes during evolution.     

Evolutionary conservation of biogenesis of beta-barrel membrane proteins

The outer membranes of mitochondria and chloroplasts are distinguished by the presence of beta-barrel membrane proteins. The outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria also harbours beta-barrel proteins. In mitochondria these proteins fulfil a variety of functions such as transport of small molecules (porin/VDAC), translocation of proteins (Tom40) and regulation of mitochondrial morphology (Mdm10). These proteins are encoded by the nucleus, synthesized in the cytosol, targeted to mitochondria as chaperone-bound species, recognized by the translocase of the outer membrane, and then inserted into the outer membrane where they assemble into functional oligomers. Whereas some knowledge has been accumulated on the pathways of insertion of proteins that span cellular membranes with alpha-helical segments, very little is known about how beta-barrel proteins are integrated into lipid bilayers and assembled into oligomeric structures. Here we describe a protein complex that is essential for the topogenesis of mitochondrial outer membrane beta-barrel proteins (TOB). We present evidence that important elements of the topogenesis of beta-barrel membrane proteins have been conserved during the evolution of mitochondria from endosymbiotic bacterial ancestors.     

细胞凝集素的生物学特性及应用研究进展

细胞凝集素(Lectin)是一类具有糖结合专一性，可促使细胞凝集的蛋白质，由于它对糖的特异结合性决定了它在动植物体内具有重要而特殊的生物学功能．利用这些功能，凝集素在临床疾病防治、机体生理活动调控以及生物工程等方面展示出了十分广阔的应用前景．     

应力方向对内皮细胞力学传递和功能的影响

剪切力可经由应力感受、信息传递和基因与蛋白质的表达来调控血管内皮细胞的功能。层流剪切力会导致单核细胞趋化蛋白质(MCP-1)及多种增生基因的迅速上调。但有特定方向的持久层流剪切力会使MCP-1及增生基因与蛋白下调, 同时并上调抑制内皮细胞增生的基因与蛋白。复杂的流型没有什么固定的方向,会使MCP-1及增生基因持续上调,因而增加单核细胞的侵入及内皮细胞的分裂及凋亡。在动脉的直管部分,层流剪切力有特定的方向,因此有抗动脉粥样硬化的作用。在动脉分支部位,复杂的流型有促使动脉粥样硬化的作用。所以,应力的方向对内皮细胞在正常及疾病时的功能有重要影响。     

Identification of gamma-tubulin, a new member of the tubulin superfamily encoded by mipA gene of Aspergillus nidulans

Microtubules, which are essential for mitosis and many other cytoskeletal functions, are composed primarily of alpha- and beta-tubulin. The properties of microtubules are due, in part, to proteins other than tubulins that are part of, or interact with, microtubules and the identification and characterization of such proteins is important to understanding how microtubules function. Analyses of mutations at the mipA (microtubule interacting protein) locus of Aspergillus nidulans have suggested that the product of mipA interacts specifically, probably physically, with beta-tubulin in vivo and is involved in microtubule function. We have cloned and sequenced the wild-type mipA gene as well as complementary DNA copies of its messenger RNA. Comparisons of the predicted product of mipA with tubulins from diverse organisms reveal that mipA is a previously undiscovered member of the tubulin superfamily of genes; the only member yet discovered that does not encode alpha- or beta-tubulin. We propose that the product of mipA be called gamma-tubulin.     

酪氨酸酶的研究进展

酪氨酸酶（EC 1.14.18.1）是一种含铜的氧化还原酶，它广泛存在于动植物和微生物中，与生物体合成色素直接相关．在人体中，它与色素障碍性疾病及恶性黑色素肿瘤的发生与治疗有关．因此对编码酪氨酸酶基因的结构、表达及其调控，以及酪氨酸酶的抑制剂和激活剂的研究，引起国内外的广泛重视．目前，对酪氨酸酶活性中心及其催化功能的研究比较透彻，但对酪氨酸酶蛋白的立体结构尚不清楚．     

大米蛋白与蒸煮品质相关性研究进展

大米是中国人的最重要主食之一,其主要食用方式是蒸煮鲜食,因此研究其组分与蒸煮品质的相关性具有重要理论意义和实用价值。蛋白质是水稻种子胚乳中仅次于淀粉的第二大组分,是与大米食用品质相关的指标之一。大米蛋白的主成分是谷蛋白,大约占总蛋白的65%～80%,其余部分由清蛋白、醇溶蛋白、球蛋白构成。大米蛋白是优质的植物蛋白之一,和大豆蛋白及小麦蛋白相比较,大米蛋白的结构与性质的研究还不够深入系统,大米蛋白质与其食用品质的相关性研究更显不足。对大米蛋白组成、结构及其与蒸煮食味品质的相关性研究进展及成果进行了归纳分析,以期发现研究的不足和学术趋向。