The 40s Omega-loop plays a critical role in the stability and the alkaline conformational transition of cytochrome c

The structural and redox properties of a non-covalent complex reconstituted upon mixing two non-contiguous fragments of horse cytochrome c, the residues 1 - 38 heme-containing N-fragment with the residues 57 - 104 C-fragment, have been investigated. With respect to native cyt c, the complex lacks a segment of 18 residues, corresponding, in the native protein, to an omega ( W)loop region. The fragment complex shows compact structure, native-like alpha-helix content but a less rigid atomic packing and reduced stability with respect to the native protein. Structural heterogeneity is observed at pH 7.0, involving formation of an axially misligated low-spin species and consequent partial displacement of Met80 from the sixth coordination position of the heme-iron. Spectroscopic data suggest that a lysine ( located in the Met80-containing loop, namely Lys72, Lys73, or Lys79) replaces the methionine residue. The residues 1 - 38/57 - 104 fragment complex shows an unusual biphasic alkaline titration characterized by a low (pK(a1)= 6.72) and a high pK(a)-associated state transition (pK(a2)= 8.56); this behavior differs from that of native cyt c, which shows a monophasic alkaline transition ( pK(a)= 8.9). The data indicate that the 40s Omega-loop plays an important role in the stability of cyt c and in ensuring a correct alkaline conformational transition of the protein

The key role played by charge in the interaction of cytochrome c with cardiolipin

Cytochrome c undergoes structural variations upon binding of cardiolipin, one of the phospholipids constituting the mitochondrial membrane. Although several mechanisms governing cytochrome c/cardiolipin (cyt c/CL) recognition have been proposed, the interpretation of the process remains, at least in part, unknown. To better define the steps characterizing the cyt c-CL interaction, the role of Lys72 and Lys73, two residues thought to be important in the protein/lipid binding interaction, were recently investigated by mutagenesis. The substitution of the two (positively charged) Lys residues with Asn revealed that such mutations cancel the CL-dependent peroxidase activity of cyt c; furthermore, CL does not interact with the Lys72Asn mutant. In the present paper, we extend our study to the Lys → Arg mutants to investigate the influence exerted by the charge possessed by the residues located at positions 72 and 73 on the cyt c/CL interaction. On the basis of the present work a number of overall conclusions can be drawn: (i) position 72 must be occupied by a positively charged residue to assure cyt c/CL recognition; (ii) the Arg residues located at positions 72 and 73 permit cyt c to react with CL; (iii) the replacement of Lys72 with Arg weakens the second (low-affinity) binding transition; (iv) the Lys73Arg mutation strongly increases the peroxidase activity of the CL-bound protein

How nanotechnology-enabled concepts could contribute to the prevention, diagnosis and therapy of bacterial infections

This viewpoint summarizes a selection of nanotechnology-based key concepts relevant to critical care medicine. It focuses on novel approaches for a trigger-dependent release of antimicrobial substances from degradable nano-sized carriers, the ultra-sensitive detection of analytes in body fluid samples by plasmonic and fluorescent nanoparticles, and the rapid removal of pathogens from whole blood using magnetic nanoparticles. The concepts presented here could significantly contribute to the prevention, diagnosis and therapy of bacterial infections in future and it is now our turn to bring them from the bench to the bedside

Purification, characterization, and cloning of a bifunctional molybdoenzyme with hydratase and alcohol dehydrogenase activity

A bifunctional hydratase/alcohol dehydrogenase was isolated from the cyclohexanol degrading bacterium Alicycliphilus denitrificans DSMZ 14773. The enzyme catalyzes the addition of water to α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds and the subsequent alcohol oxidation. The purified enzyme showed three subunits in SDS gel, and the gene sequence revealed that this enzyme belongs to the molybdopterin binding oxidoreductase family containing molybdopterins, FAD, and iron-sulfur clusters

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

Meeting abstrac

Dutch modality exclusivity norms : Simulating perceptual modality in space

Perceptual information is important for the meaning of nouns. We present modality exclusivity norms for 485 Dutch nouns rated on visual, auditory, haptic, gustatory, and olfactory associations. We found these nouns are highly multimodal. They were rated most dominant in vision, and least in olfaction. A factor analysis identified two main dimensions: one loaded strongly on olfaction and gustation (reflecting joint involvement in flavor), and a second loaded strongly on vision and touch (reflecting joint involvement in manipulable objects). In a second study, we validated the ratings with similarity judgments. As expected, words from the same dominant modality were rated more similar than words from different dominant modalities; but - more importantly - this effect was enhanced when word pairs had high modality strength ratings. We further demonstrated the utility of our ratings by investigating whether perceptual modalities are differentially experienced in space, in a third study. Nouns were categorized into their dominant modality and used in a lexical decision experiment where the spatial position of words was either in proximal or distal space. We found words dominant in olfaction were processed faster in proximal than distal space compared to the other modalities, suggesting olfactory information is mentally simulated as "close" to the body. Finally, we collected ratings of emotion (valence, dominance, and arousal) to assess its role in perceptual space simulation, but the valence did not explain the data. So, words are processed differently depending on their perceptual associations, and strength of association is captured by modality exclusivity ratings

Interactions between the photosystem II subunit PsbS and xanthophylls studied in vivo and in vitro

The photosystem II subunit PsbS is essential for excess energy dissipation (qE); however, both lutein and zeaxanthin are needed for its full activation. Based on previous work, two models can be proposed in which PsbS is either 1) the gene product where the quenching activity is located or 2) a proton-sensing trigger that activates the quencher molecules. The first hypothesis requires xanthophyll binding to two PsbS-binding sites, each activated by the protonation of a dicyclohexylcarbodiimide-binding lumen-exposed glutamic acid residue. To assess the existence and properties of these xanthophyll-binding sites, PsbS point mutants on each of the two Glu residues PsbS E122Q and PsbS E226Q were crossed with the npq1/npq4 and lut2/npq4 mutants lacking zeaxanthin and lutein, respectively. Double mutants E122Q/npq1 and E226Q/npq1 had no qE, whereas E122Q/lut2 and E226Q/lut2 showed a strong qE reduction with respect to both lut2 and single glutamate mutants. These findings exclude a specific interaction between lutein or zeaxanthin and a dicyclohexylcarbodiimide-binding site and suggest that the dependence of nonphotochemical quenching on xanthophyll composition is not due to pigment binding to PsbS. To verify, in vitro, the capacity of xanthophylls to bind PsbS, we have produced recombinant PsbS refolded with purified pigments and shown that Raman signals, previously attributed to PsbS-zeaxanthin interactions, are in fact due to xanthophyll aggregation. We conclude that the xanthophyll dependence of qE is not due to PsbS but to other pigment-binding proteins, probably of the Lhcb type

Spectroscopic and kinetic properties of the horseradish peroxidase mutant T171S

Studies on horseradish peroxidase C and other haem peroxidases have been carried out on selected mutants in the distal haem cavity providing insight into the functional importance of the distal residues. Recent work has demonstrated that proximal structural features can also exert an important influence in determining the electronic structure of the haem pocket. To extend our understanding of the significance of proximal characteristics in regulating haem properties the proximal Thr171Ser mutant has been constructed. Thr171 is an important linking residue between the structural proximal Ca2+ ion and the proximal haem ligand, in particular the methyl group of Thr171 interdigitates with other proximal residues in the core of the enzyme. Although the mutation induces no significant changes to the functional properties of the enzyme, electronic absorption and resonance Raman spectroscopy reveal that it has a highly selective affect on the reduced state of the enzyme, effectively stabilizing it, whilst the electronic properties of the Fe(III) state unchanged and essentially identical to those of the native protein. This results in a significant change in the Fe2+/Fe3+ redox potential of the mutant. It is concluded that the unusual properties of the Thr171Ser mutant reflect the loss of a structural restraint in the proximal haem pocket that allows 'slippage' of the proximal haem ligand, but only in the reduced state. This is a remarkably subtle and specific effect that appears to increase the flexibility of the reduced state of the mutant compared to that of the wild-type protein

Anatomy of an iron-sulfur cluster scaffold protein: Understanding the determinants of [2Fe-2S] cluster stability on IscU.

Protein-bound iron sulfur clusters are prosthetic groups involved in several metabolic pathways. Understanding how they interact with the host protein and which factors influence their stability is therefore an important goal in biology. Here, we have addressed this question by studying the determinants of the 2Fe-2S cluster stability in the IscU/Isu protein scaffold. Through a detailed computational study based on a mixed quantum and classical mechanics approach, we predict that the simultaneous presence of two conserved residues, D39 and H105, has a conflicting role in cluster coordination which results in destabilizing cluster-loaded IscU/Isu according to a 'tug-of-war' mechanism. The effect is absent in the D39A mutant already known to host the cluster more stably. Our theoretical conclusions are directly supported by experimental data, also obtained from the H105A mutant, which has properties intermediate between the wild-type and the D39A mutant. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Fe/S proteins: Analysis, structure, function, biogenesis and diseases