• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.314-320
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• 2001

Macrophages stimulated by lipopolysaccharide(LPS) from gram negative bacteria undergo activation of a group of immediate early genes including Rantes. The mouse Rantes gene promoter region contains an LPS rsponsive element(LPE) We detected 3 specific bands termed B1, B2 and 3 formed by the interaction of the LPE and proteins found in LPS-stimulated RAW 367.7 cells. An additional band B4 was determined to be an Ap-1 binding protein. The B1 band appears within 1 hour of LPS nuclear extracts from LPS-stimulation, and this protein kinase enhances B1 and formation. The B1 band can be converted to band B2/B3 by adding specific heparin column fraction purified Ser/Thr specific protein phosphatases PP-1 and PP-2A can stimulate the same conversion to about the same extent. Thus, the formation of the LRE sequence binding complex appears to be regulated by Ser/Thr protein kinase and one or more Ser/Thr specific phosphatases. At least four proteins are involved in the trgulation of the LRE-dependent Rants experssion: two binding factors that bind directly to the target sequences. and two factors that control their binding. The future purification and characterization of these binding pro-teins will reveal in detail the mechanism of Rantes gene activation after LPS stimulation.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.139-146
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• 2006

The 3' region of Potato virus X (PVX) has the 74 nt 3'-nontranslated region (NTR) that is conserved among all potexviruses and contains several cis-acting elements for minus-strand and plus-strand RNA accumulation. Three stem-loop structures (SL1-SL3), especially formation of SL3 and U-rich sequence of SL2, and near upstream elements in the 3' NTR were previously demonstrated as important cis-acting elements. To Investigate the binding of these cis-acting elements within 3' end with host protein, we used the electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) and UV-cross linking analysis. The EMSA with cellular extracts from tobacco and RNA transcripts corresponding to the 150 nt of the 3' end of PVX RNA showed that the 3' end of PVX formed complexes with cellular proteins. The specificity of protein binding was confirmed through competition assay by using with 50-fold excess of specific and non-specific probes. We also conducted EMSA with RNAs containing various mutants on those cis-acting elements (${\Delta}10$10, SL3B, SL2A and ${\Delta}21$; J Mol Biol 326, 701-720) required for efficient PVX RNA accumulation. These analyses supported that these cis-acting elements are required for interaction with host protein(s). UV-cross linking analysis revealed that at least three major host proteins of about 28, 32, and 42 kDa in mass bound to these cis-elements. These results indicate that cis-acting elements from 3' end which are important for minus and plus-strand RNA accumulation are also required for host protein binding.

• BMB Reports
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2001

Structural and physical properties of type wild type and various selected mutants of the vnd/NK-2 homeodomain, the protein product of the homeobox, and the implication in genetic disease are reviewed. The structure, dynamics and thermodynamics have been Investigated by NMR and by calorimetry. The interactions responsible for the nucleotide sequence-specific binding of the homeodomain to its consensus DNA binding site have been identified. There is a strong correlation between significant structural alterations within the homeodomain or its DNA complex and the appearance of genetic disease. Mutations in positions known to be important in genetic disease have been examined carefully For example, mutation of position 52 of vnd/NK-2 results in a significant structural modification and mutation of position 54 alters the DNA binding specificity and amity The $^{15}N$ relaxation behavior and heteronuclear Overhauser effect data was used to characterize and describe the protein backbone dynamics. These studies were carried out on the wild type and the double mutant proteins both in the free and in the DNA bound states. Finally, the thermodynamic properties associated with DNA binding are described for the vnd/NK-2 homeodomain. These thermodynamic measurements reinforce the hypothesis that water structure around a protein and around DNA significantly contribute to the protein-DNA binding behavior. The results, taken together, demonstrate that structure and dynamic studies of proteins combined with thermodynamic measurements provide a significantly more complete picture of the solution behavior than the individual studies.

• BMB Reports
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.194-198
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• 2002

Eukaryotic replication protein A (RPA) is a single-stranded(ss) DNA binding protein with multiple functions in DNA replication, repair, and genetic recombination. The 70-kDa subunit of eukaryotic RPA contains a conserved four cysteine-type zinc-finger motif that has been implicated in the regulation of DNA replication and repair. Recently, we described a novel function for the zinc-finger motif in the regulation of human RPA's ssDNA binding activity through reduction-oxidation (redox). Here, we show that yeast RPA's ssDNA binding activity is regulated by redox potential through its RPA32 and/or RPA14 subunits. Yeast RPA requires a reducing agent, such as dithiothreitol (DTT), for its ssDNA binding activity. Also, under non-reducing conditions, its DNA binding activity decreases 20 fold. In contrast, the RPA 70 subunit does not require DTT for its DNA binding activity and is not affected by the redox condition. These results suggest that all three subunits are required for the regulation of RPA's DNA binding activity through redox potential.

• BMB Reports
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.166-171
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• 2009

Hsp70s assist in the process of protein folding through nucleotide-controlled cycles of substrate binding and release by alternating from an ATP-bound state in which the affinity for substrate is low to an ADP-bound state in which the affinity for substrate is high. It has been long recognized that the two-domain structure of Hsp70 is critical for these regulated interactions. Therefore, it is important to obtain information about conformational changes in the relative positions of Hsp70 domains caused by nucleotide binding. In this study, analytical ultracentrifugation and dynamic light scattering were used to evaluate the effect of ADP and ATP binding on the conformation of the human stress-induced Hsp70.1 protein. The results of these experiments showed that ATP had a larger effect on the conformation of Hsp70 than ADP. In agreement with previous biochemical experiments, our results suggest that conformational changes caused by nucleotide binding are a consequence of the movement in position of both nucleotide- and substrate-binding domains.

• Proceedings of the Botanical Society of Korea Conference
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• 1996.07a
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• pp.40-47
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• 1996

The promoters of a variety of plant genes are characterized by the presence of TGACG motif-containing sequences. These genes often exhibit quite diverse expression characteristics and in many case the TGACG-motif has been demonstrated to be essential for expression. Here we report the isolation and characterization of a soybean cDNA that encodes a novel basic/leucine zipper (bZIP) protein, STF1, that specifically interacts with Hex (TGACGTGG) and CRE (TGACGTCA) sequences. This protein contains a bZIP motif at C-teminus and an acidic domain at N-terminus. DNA binding specificities, heterodimer formation, and expression characteristics of STF1 were compared with a soybean TGA1 protein, STGA1. The soybean STF1 interacts with TGACG-sequences containing an ACGT core, while STGA1 requires TGACG as a sufficient binding sequence. The flanking sequences to the TGACG motif affected DNA binding of STF1 siginificantly. The STF1 mRNA is found mainly in dark grown soybean seedling with higher expression in apical and elongating hypocotyl, while STGA1 mRNA is highly abundant in roots of light grown plants. Furthermore, we demonstrate that STF1 heterodimerzes with G-box binding factorss (GBFs) which was not observed with TGA1. The fact that STF1 possesses both distinct DNA binding speficities and heterodimerization properties suggest that STF1 belongs to a new family of plant bZIP proteins which recognize the Hex/CRE motif.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.770-774
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• 2012

Protein loops are often involved in diverse biological functions, and some functional loops show conformational changes upon ligand binding. Since this conformational change is directly related to ligand binding pose and protein function, there have been numerous attempts to predict this change accurately. In this study, we show that it is plausible to obtain meaningful ensembles of loop conformations for flexible, ligand-binding protein loops efficiently by applying a loop modeling method. The loop modeling method employs triaxial loop closure algorithm for trial conformation generation and conformational space annealing for global energy optimization. When loop modeling was performed on the framework of ligand-free structure, loop structures within $3\AA$ RMSD from the crystal loop structure for the ligand-bound state were sampled in 4 out of 6 cases. This result is encouraging considering that no information on the ligand-bound state was used during the loop modeling process. We therefore expect that the present loop modeling method will be useful for future developments of flexible protein-ligand docking methods.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.159-169
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• 2011

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) have ice binding affinity, depress freezing temperature and inhibit ice recystallization which protect cellular membranes in polar organisms. Recent structural studies of antifreeze proteins have significantly expanded our understanding of the structure-function relationship and ice crystal growth inhibition. Although AFPs (Type I-IV AFP from fish, insect AFP and Plant AFP) have completely different fold and no sequence homology, they share a common feature of their surface area for ice binding property. The conserved ice-binding sites are relatively flat and hydrophobic. For example, Type I AFP has an amphipathic, single ${\alpha}$-helix and has regularly spaced Thr-Ala residues which make direct interaction with oxygen atoms of ice crystals. Unlike Type I AFP, Type II and III AFP are compact globular proteins that contain a flat ice-binding patch on the surface. Type II and Type III AFP show a remarkable structural similarity with the sugar binding lectin protein and C-terminal domain of sialic acid synthase, respectively. Type IV is assumed to form a four-helix bundle which has sequence similarity with apolipoprotein. The results of our modeling suggest an ice-binding induced structural change of Type IV AFP. Insect AFP has ${\beta}$-helical structure with a regular array of Thr-X-Thr motif. Threonine residues of each Thr-X-Thr motif fit well into the ice crystal lattice and provide a good surface-surface complementarity. This review focuses on the structural characteristics and details of the ice-binding mechanism of antifreeze proteins.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.138-142
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• 2016

Replication Protein A (RPA) is the eukaryotic single-stranded DNA binding protein. It involves in DNA replication, repair, and damage response. Among three subunits, RPA70 has a protein-protein binding domain (RPA70N) at the N-terminal. It has known that the domain recruits several damage response proteins to the damaged site. Also, it is suggested that there are more candidates that interact with RPA70N. Even though several studies performed on the structural aspects of RPA70N and its ligand binding, the backbone assignments of RPA70N is not available in public. In this study, we present the backbone assignments of RPA70N.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.149-155
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• 2016

In the heart, excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling is mediated by $Ca^{2+}$ release from sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) through the interactions of proteins forming the $Ca^{2+}$ release unit (CRU). Among them, calsequestrin (CSQ) and histidine-rich $Ca^{2+}$ binding protein (HRC) are known to bind the charged luminal region of triadin (TRN) and thus directly or indirectly regulate ryanodine receptor 2 (RyR2) activity. However, the mechanisms of CSQ and HRC mediated regulation of RyR2 activity through TRN have remained unclear. We first examined the minimal KEKE motif of TRN involved in the interactions with CSQ2, HRC and RyR2 using TRN deletion mutants and in vitro binding assays. The results showed that CSQ2, HRC and RyR2 share the same KEKE motif region on the distal part of TRN (aa 202-231). Second, in vitro binding assays were conducted to examine the $Ca^{2+}$ dependence of protein-protein interactions (PPI). The results showed that TRN-HRC interaction had a bell-shaped $Ca^{2+}$ dependence, which peaked at pCa4, whereas TRN-CSQ2 or TRN-RyR2 interaction did not show such $Ca^{2+}$ dependence pattern. Third, competitive binding was conducted to examine whether CSQ2, HRC, or RyR2 affects the TRN-HRC or TRN-CSQ2 binding at pCa4. Among them, only CSQ2 or RyR2 competitively inhibited TRN-HRC binding, suggesting that HRC can confer functional refractoriness to CRU, which could be beneficial for reloading of $Ca^{2+}$ into SR at intermediate $Ca^{2+}$ concentrations.