Новые липофильные конъюгаты флуоресцирующего NBD-пиперазина: синтез, in silico взаимодействие с липидным бислоем и цитохромами P450

Two new fluorescent NBD-piperazine derivatives with lipophilic substituents of formylcholesterol and hexanoic acid (compounds 2 and 3, respectively) were synthesized. Using in silico calculations, their abilities to permeate through lipid bilayer and to be bound affinely with some cytochromes P450 of human (2 with lanosterol 14α-demethylase CYP51, 3 with drug-metabolizing CYP1A1, CYP2D6, CYP3A4; energy of binding Ebind from –14.4 to –10 kcal/mol) and of mycobacteria (2 with sterol 27-hydroxylase CYP125, 3 with “orphan” CYP164; Ebind from –13.3 to –9.1 kcal/mol) were demonstrated. The synthesized compounds and calculated computational data will contribute to prioritization of in vitro investigations aiming to revealing properties of the proteins.Синтезированы два новых флуоресцирующих производных NBD-пиперазина с липофильными остатками формилхолестерола и гексановой кислоты (соединения 2 и 3 соответственно). Расчетно-теоретическими методами показана их возможность проникать через липидный бислой, а также аффинно связываться с некоторыми цитохромами P450 человека (2 с ланостерол 14α-деметилазой CYP51, 3 c лекарство-превращающими CYP1A1, CYP2D6, CYP3A4; энергия связывания Ebind в диапазоне –14,4…–10 ккал/моль) и микобактерий (2 со стерол-27 гидроксилазой CYP125, 3 с «орфанным» CYP164; Ebind в диапазоне –13,3…–9,1 ккал/моль). Полученные вещества и соответствующие расчетно-теоретические данные будут способствовать приоритезации исследований in vitro для целей исследования функций этих белков

A homologue of the Parkinson's disease-associated protein LRRK2 undergoes a monomer-dimer transition during GTP turnover.

Mutations in LRRK2 are a common cause of genetic Parkinson's disease (PD). LRRK2 is a multi-domain Roco protein, harbouring kinase and GTPase activity. In analogy with a bacterial homologue, LRRK2 was proposed to act as a GTPase activated by dimerization (GAD), while recent reports suggest LRRK2 to exist under a monomeric and dimeric form in vivo. It is however unknown how LRRK2 oligomerization is regulated. Here, we show that oligomerization of a homologous bacterial Roco protein depends on the nucleotide load. The protein is mainly dimeric in the nucleotide-free and GDP-bound states, while it forms monomers upon GTP binding, leading to a monomer-dimer cycle during GTP hydrolysis. An analogue of a PD-associated mutation stabilizes the dimer and decreases the GTPase activity. This work thus provides insights into the conformational cycle of Roco proteins and suggests a link between oligomerization and disease-associated mutations in LRRK2

Insights into the Molecular Activation Mechanism of the RhoA-specific Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor, PDZRhoGEF

PDZRhoGEF (PRG) belongs to a small family of RhoA-specific nucleotide exchange factors that mediates signaling through select G-protein-coupled receptors via Gα(12/13) and activates RhoA by catalyzing the exchange of GDP to GTP. PRG is a multidomain protein composed of PDZ, regulators of G-protein signaling-like (RGSL), Dbl-homology (DH), and pleckstrin-homology (PH) domains. It is autoinhibited in cytosol and is believed to undergo a conformational rearrangement and translocation to the membrane for full activation, although the molecular details of the regulation mechanism are not clear. It has been shown recently that the main autoregulatory elements of PDZRhoGEF, the autoinhibitory "activation box" and the "GEF switch," which is required for full activation, are located directly upstream of the catalytic DH domain and its RhoA binding surface, emphasizing the functional role of the RGSL-DH linker. Here, using a combination of biophysical and biochemical methods, we show that the mechanism of PRG regulation is yet more complex and may involve an additional autoinhibitory element in the form of a molten globule region within the linker between RGSL and DH domains. We propose a novel, two-tier model of autoinhibition where the activation box and the molten globule region act synergistically to impair the ability of RhoA to bind to the catalytic DH-PH tandem. The molten globule region and the activation box become less ordered in the PRG-RhoA complex and dissociate from the RhoA-binding site, which may constitute a critical step leading to PRG activation

Ligand-Binding Properties and Conformational Dynamics of Autolysin Repeat Domains in Staphylococcal Cell Wall Recognition

The bifunctional major autolysin Atl plays a key role in staphylococcal cell separation. Processing of Atl yields catalytically active amidase (AM) and glucosaminidase (GL) domains that are each fused to repeating units. The two repeats of AM (R1 and R2) target the enzyme to the septum, where it cleaves murein between dividing cells. We have determined the crystal structure of R2, which reveals that each repeat folds into two half-open β-barrel subunits. We further demonstrate that lipoteichoic acid serves as a receptor for the repeats and that this interaction depends on conserved surfaces in each subunit. Small-angle X-ray scattering of the mature amidase reveals the presence of flexible linkers separating the AM, R1, and R2 units. Different levels of flexibility for each linker provide mechanistic insights into the conformational dynamics of the full-length protein and the roles of its components in cell wall association and catalysis. Our analysis supports a model in which the repeats direct the catalytic AM domain to the septum, where it can optimally perform the final step of cell division

New Photochemical Properties of Azidoaniline and Ciprofloxacin

There is a trend to find new ways of using photocatalysis in order to synthesize valuable products or to control or track live processes with special fluorescence-based molecular probes. The paper presents some results concerning new photochemical properties of azidoaniline, its 7-nitrobenzofurazan (NBD) derivative and ciprofloxacin derivatives

Allosteric competitive inactivation of hematopoietic CSF-1 signaling by the viral decoy receptor BARF1

Hematopoietic human colony-stimulating factor 1 (hCSF-1) is essential for innate and adaptive immunity against viral and microbial infections and cancer. The human pathogen Epstein-Barr virus secretes the lytic-cycle protein BARF1 that neutralizes hCSF-1 to achieve immunomodulation. Here we show that BARF1 binds the dimer interface of hCSF-1 with picomolar affinity, away from the cognate receptor-binding site, to establish a long-lived complex featuring three hCSF-1 at the periphery of the BARF1 toroid. BARF1 locks dimeric hCSF-1 into an inactive conformation, rendering it unable to signal via its cognate receptor on human monocytes. This reveals a new functional role for hCSF-1 cooperativity in signaling. We propose a new viral strategy paradigm featuring an allosteric decoy receptor of the competitive type, which couples efficient sequestration and inactivation of the host growth factor to abrogate cooperative assembly of the cognate signaling complex

Atomic Force Microscopy Study of Protein–Protein Interactions in the Cytochrome CYP11A1 (P450scc)-Containing Steroid Hydroxylase System

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS) were used for monitoring of the procedure for cytochrome CYP11A1 monomerization in solution without phospholipids. It was shown that the incubation of 100 μM CYP11A1 with 12% Emulgen 913 in 50 mM KP, pH 7.4, for 10 min at T = 22°C leads to dissociation of hemoprotein aggregates to monomers with the monomerization degree of (82 ± 4)%. Following the monomerization procedure, CYP11A1 remained functionally active. AFM was employed to detect and visualize the isolated proteins as well as complexes formed between the components of the cytochrome CYP11A1-dependent steroid hydroxylase system. Both Ad and AdR were present in solution as monomers. The typical heights of the monomeric AdR, Ad and CYP11A1 images were measured by AFM and were found to correspond to the sizes 1.6 ± 0.2 nm, 1.0 ± 0.2 nm and 1.8 ± 0.2 nm, respectively. The binary Ad/AdR and AdR/CYP11A1mon complexes with the heights 2.2 ± 0.2 nm and 2.8 ± 0.2 nm, respectively, were registered by use of AFM. The Ad/CYP11A1mon complex formation reaction was kinetically characterized based on optical biosensor data. In addition, the ternary AdR/Ad/CYP11A1 complexes with a typical height of 4 ± 1 nm were AFM registered