Structural and Biochemical study of human RECQ4

2013/2014RecQ helicases belong to a ubiquitous family of DNA unwinding enzymes that are essential to maintain genome stability by acting at the interface between DNA replication, recombination and repair. Humans have five different paralogues of RecQ helicases namely RecQ1, BLM, WRN, RecQ4 and RecQ5. This work focuses on the structural and biochemical study of human RecQ4. Germ-line mutations in the RECQ4 gene give rise to three distinct human genetic disorders (Rothmund-Thomson, RAPADILINO and Baller-Gerold syndromes). Despite the important roles of RecQ4 in various cellular processes, RecQ4 have never been fully characterized. In addition to the helicase domain, RecQ4 has a unique N-terminal part that is essential for viability and is constituted by a region homologous to the yeast Sld2 replication initiation factor, followed by a cysteine-rich region, predicted to fold as a Zn knuckle. A part of this work focuses on the structural and biochemical analysis of both the human and Xenopus RecQ4 cysteine-rich regions, and shows by NMR spectroscopy that the Xenopus fragment does indeed assumes the canonical Zn knuckle fold, whereas the human sequence remains unstructured, consistent with the mutation of one of the Zn ligands. Both the human and Xenopus Zn knuckles bind to a variety of nucleic acid substrates, with a preference for RNA. We also investigated the effect of an additional Sld2 homologous region upstream the Zn knuckle. In both the human and Xenopus system, the presence of this region strongly enhances binding to nucleic acids. These results reveal novel possible roles of RecQ4 in DNA replication and genome stability. Recently the catalytic core of RecQ4 has been predicted to include RecQ-like-C-terminal (RQC) domain at the C-terminus of the helicase domain, similar to other RecQ helicases. This domain is composed of a Zn-binding region and a winged helix (WH) domain. Another part of this thesis centers on the structural and biochemical characterization of the catalytic core of RecQ4 including the helicase and RQC domain. The results provide an insight in the Zn binding ligands present in the RQC domain that plays a role in DNA binding and unwinding activity of the protein. Also the presence of the characteristic aromatic residue at the tip of the WH β hairpin and its role in DNA binding and unwinding has been established. Finally, it provides a low resolution SAXS model of the catalytic core of RecQ4.Elicasi RecQ appartengono a una famiglia ubiquitaria di DNA svolgimento enzimi che sono essenziali per mantenere la stabilità del genoma agendo all'interfaccia tra replicazione del DNA, ricombinazione e riparazione. Gli esseri umani hanno cinque diversi paralogues di RecQ elicasi cioè RecQ1, BLM, WRN, RecQ4 e RecQ5. Questo lavoro si concentra sullo studio strutturale e biochimica di RecQ4 umana. Mutazioni germinali nel gene RECQ4 danno luogo a tre malattie genetiche umane distinte (Rothmund-Thomson, RAPADILINO e sindromi Baller-Gerold). Nonostante i ruoli importanti di RecQ4 in diversi processi cellulari, RecQ4 non sono mai stati pienamente caratterizzato. In aggiunta al dominio elicasi, RecQ4 ha una parte unica N-terminale che è essenziale per la vitalità ed è costituito da una regione omologa al lievito Sld2 fattore di iniziazione replica, seguita da una regione ricca di cisteina, previsto per piegare come stinco Zn . Una parte di questo lavoro si concentra sull'analisi strutturale e biochimica sia della regioni ricche di cisteina Xenopus RecQ4 umana e, e spettacoli di spettroscopia NMR che il frammento Xenopus effettivamente assume la canonica Zn nocca volte, mentre la sequenza di resti umani non strutturato, coerente con la mutazione di uno dei ligandi Zn. Sia il nocche Xenopus Zn umana e si legano ad una varietà di substrati di acido nucleico, con una preferenza per l'RNA. Abbiamo anche studiato l'effetto di un ulteriore regione omologa Sld2 monte la nocca Zn. Sia il sistema Xenopus umano e, la presenza di questa regione migliora fortemente legame ad acidi nucleici. Questi risultati rivelano possibili ruoli nuovi di RecQ4 nella replicazione del DNA e la stabilità del genoma. Recentemente il nucleo catalitico di RecQ4 stato previsto per includere RecQ-like-C-terminale (RQC) dominio al C-terminale del dominio elicasi, simile ad altri elicasi RecQ. Questo dominio è costituito da una regione-Zn vincolanti e un'elica alato (WH) dominio. Un'altra parte di questa tesi incentrata sulla caratterizzazione strutturale e biochimica del nucleo catalitico della RecQ4 compreso il elicasi e il dominio RQC. I risultati forniscono una descrizione nel Zn ligandi presenti nel dominio RQC che svolge un ruolo nel legame al DNA e l'attività svolgimento della proteina legante. Inoltre è stata stabilita la presenza della caratteristica residuo aromatico sulla punta della forcella WH β e il suo ruolo nel legame al DNA e di svolgimento. Infine, esso fornisce una bassa risoluzione SAXS modello del nucleo catalitico di RecQ4.XXVII Ciclo198

Modeling cancer genomic data in yeast reveals selection against ATM function during tumorigenesis

The DNA damage response (DDR) comprises multiple functions that collectively preserve genomic integrity and suppress tumorigenesis. The Mre11 complex and ATM govern a major axis of the DDR and several lines of evidence implicate that axis in tumor suppression. Components of the Mre11 complex are mutated in approximately five percent of human cancers. Inherited mutations of complex members cause severe chromosome instability syndromes, such as Nijmegen Breakage Syndrome, which is associated with strong predisposition to malignancy. And in mice, Mre11 complex mutations are markedly more susceptible to oncogene- induced carcinogenesis. The complex is integral to all modes of DNA double strand break (DSB) repair and is required for the activation of ATM to effect DNA damage signaling. To understand which functions of the Mre11 complex are important for tumor suppression, we undertook mining of cancer genomic data from the clinical sequencing program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, which includes the Mre11 complex among the 468 genes assessed. Twenty five mutations in MRE11 and RAD50 were modeled in S. cerevisiae and in vitro. The mutations were chosen based on recurrence and conservation between human and yeast. We found that a significant fraction of tumor-borne RAD50 and MRE11 mutations exhibited separation of function phenotypes wherein Tel1/ATM activation was severely impaired while DNA repair functions were mildly or not affected. At the molecular level, the gene products of RAD50 mutations exhibited defects in ATP binding and hydrolysis. The data reflect the importance of Rad50 ATPase activity for Tel1/ATM activation and suggest that inactivation of ATM signaling confers an advantage to burgeoning tumor cells

Recycling agro-industrial waste to produce amylase and characterizing amylase–gold nanoparticle composite

Abstract Purpose Amylase being one of the most important industrial enzymes requires large-scale production. When producing an enzyme, high productivity, high purity and low production costs need to be considered. This study focuses on comparing various agro-industrial waste substrates, for production of alpha-amylase using Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. Moreover, it studies the stability and activity of amylase–gold nanoparticles composite. Methods This study is divided into two parts, in the first part various agro-industrial waste substrates, such as wheat bran, rice bran and potato peel were used to produce alpha-amylase using solid-state fermentation (SSF). The production of the enzyme was quantified and compared in specific enzyme activity units. In the second part, change in the stability and activity of amylase in enzyme–gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) composite has been discussed. Results Highest enzyme production was observed in wheat bran and potato peel substrate with specific enzyme activity of almost 1.2 U/ug and 1.1 U/ug. Among combination substrates, wheat bran with potato peel showed a high enzyme production of 1.3 U/ug. On the other hand, the optimum temperature for amylase activity shifted to 55 °C in the composite compared to 37 °C for free enzyme. Conclusions Comparison of specific enzyme activity of extracts from various substrates showed that wheat bran alone, and in combination with potato peel, produces active and pure amylases. To stress on various catalytic activities of alpha-amylase, the capability of the enzyme to synthesize gold nanoparticles and the effect of conjugation of the nanoparticle on its optimum catalytic activity are also discussed in this paper

Nej1 Interacts with Mre11 to Regulate Tethering and Dna2 Binding at DNA Double-Strand Breaks

International audienceHighlights d The MRX complex stabilizes Nej1 at the break site d Nej1 inhibits Dna2 recruitment and HR d Nej1 and the coiled-coil region of Rad50 are important for tethering broken DNA ends d Defects in 5 0 resection and end-tethering lead to large chromosome deletions at the DSB Author

Phage-tail-like bacteriocins as a biomedical platform to counter anti-microbial resistant pathogens

Phage Tail Like bacteriocins (PTLBs) has been an area of interest in the last couple of years owing to their varied application against multi-drug resistant (MDR), anti-microbial resistant (AMR) pathogens and their evolutionary link with the dsDNA virus and bacteriophages. PTLBs are defective phages derived from Myoviridae and Sipho-viridae phages, PTLBs are distinguished into R-type (Rigid type) characterized by a non-flexible contractile nanotube resembling Myoviridae phage contractile tails, and F-type (Flexible type) with a flexible non-contractile rod-like structure similar to Siphoviridae phages. In this review, we have discussed the structural association, mechanism, and characterization of PTLBs. Moreover, we have elucidated the symbiotic biological function and application of PTLBs against MDR and XDR pathogens and highlighted the evolutionary role of PTLBs. The difficulties that must be overcome to implement PTLBs clinically are also discussed. It is imperative that these issues be addressed by academics in future studies before being implemented in clinical settings. This article is novel in its way as it will not only provide us with a gateway that acts as a novel strategy for scholars to mitigate and control the uprising issue of AMR pathogens but also promote the development of clinical studies for PTLBs

Phage delivered CRISPR-Cas system to combat multidrug-resistant pathogens in gut microbiome

The Host-microbiome interactions that exist inside the gut microbiota operate in a synergistic and abnormal manner. Additionally, the normal homeostasis and functioning of gut microbiota are frequently disrupted by the intervention of Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) pathogens. CRISPR-Cas (CRISPR-associated protein with clustered regularly interspersed short palindromic repeats) recognized as a prokaryotic immune system has emerged as an effective genome-editing tool to edit and delete specific microbial genes for the expulsion of bacteria through bactericidal action. In this review, we demonstrate many functioning CRISPR-Cas systems against the antimicrobial resistance of multiple pathogens, which infiltrate the gastrointestinal tract. Moreover, we discuss the advancement in the development of a phage-delivered CRISPR-Cas system for killing a gut MDR pathogen. We also discuss a combinatorial approach to use bacteriophage as a delivery system for the CRISPR-Cas gene for targeting a pathogenic community in the gut microbiome to resensitize the drug sensitivity. Finally, we discuss engineered phage as a plausible potential option for the CRISPR-Cas system for pathogenic killing and improvement of the efficacy of the system