• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.57-61
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• 2005

The number of sites at which a protein can be readily cleaved by a proteolytic enzyme is greatly influenced by its three-dimensional structure. For native, properly-folded proteins both the rate of cleavage and number of sites at which cleavage takes place are usually much less than for the denatured protein. In order to compare the tertiary structure of recombinant HepG2 type glucose transporter with that of its native counterpart in the erythrocyte, the pattern of tryptic cleavage of the protein expressed in insect cell membranes was therefore examined. After 30 minutes digestion, a fragment of approximate Mr 19,000-21,000 was generated. In addition to this, there were two less intensely stained fragments of apparent Mr 28,000 and 17,000. The pattern of labelling was similar up to 2 hours of digestion. However, the fragments of Mr 19,000-21,000 and Mr 17,000 were no longer detectable after 4 hours digestion. The observation of a very similar pattern of fragments yielded by tryptic digestion of the HepG2 type transporter expressed in insect cells suggests that the recombinant protein exhibits a tertiary structure similar if not identical to that of its human counterpart. Also, the endogenous sugar transporter(s) present in Sf21 cells did not bind cytochalasin B, the potent transporter inhibitor. Therefore, the baculovirus/Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf) cell expression system could be very useful for production of large amounts of human glucose transporters, heterologously.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.50-55
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• 2019

The fragmentation statistics of ion trap CID (Collision-Induced Dissociation) spectra using 87,661 tandem mass spectra of doubly charged tryptic peptides are analyzed here. In contrast to the usual method of using intensity information, the frequency of occurrence of fragment ions, with respect to the position of the cleavage site and the residues at these sites is studied in this paper. The analysis shows that the frequency of occurrence of fragment ion peaks is more towards the middle of the peptide than its ends. It was noted that amino acid with an aromatic and basic side chain at N- & C- terminal end of the peptide stimulates more peaks at the lower end of the spectrum. The residue pair effect was shown when the amide bond occurs between acidic and basic residues. The fragmentation at these sites (D/E-H/R/K) stimulates the generation of the y-ion peak. Also, the cleavage site H-H/R/K stimulates the generation of b-ions. K-P environment in the peptide sequence has more tendency to generate y-ions than b-ions. Statistical analysis helps in the visualization of the CID fragmentation pattern. Cleavage pattern along the length of the peptide and the residue pair effects, enhance the knowledge of fragmentation behavior, which is useful for the better interpretation of tandem mass spectra.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.270-277
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• 2006

Helices 4 and 5 of the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry4Ba $\delta$-endotoxin have been shown to be important determinants for mosquito-larvicidal activity, likely being involved in membrane-pore formation. In this study, the Cry4Ba mutant protein containing an additional engineered tryptic cleavage site was used to produce the $\alpha4$-$\alpha5$ hairpin peptide by an efficient alternative strategy. Upon solubilization of toxin inclusions expressed in Escherichia coli and subsequent digestion with trypsin, the 130-kDa mutant protoxin was processed to protease-resistant fragments of ca. 47, 10 and 7 kDa. The 7-kDa fragment was identified as the $\alpha4$-loop-$\alpha5$ hairpin via N-terminal sequencing and mass spectrometry, and was successfully purified by size-exclusion FPLC and reversed-phase HPLC. Using circular dichroism spectroscopy, the 7-kDa peptide was found to exist predominantly as an $\alpha$-helical structure. Membrane perturbation studies by using fluorimetric calcein-release assays revealed that the 7-kDa helical hairpin is highly active against unilamellar liposomes compared with the 65-kDa activated full-length toxin. These results directly support the role of the $\alpha4$-loop-$\alpha5$ hairpin in membrane perturbation and pore formation of the full-length Cry4Ba toxin.

• BMB Reports
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.573-578
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• 1999

Treatment of Hafnia alvei aspartase with limited tryptic digestion resulted in a marked increase in enzymatic activity. The activation required a few minutes to attain maximum level and, thereafter, the activity gradually decreased to complete inactivation. The degree of cleavage associated with the activation was extremely small as judged by SDS-PAGE. Upon activation, the optimum pH and temperature were essentially unchanged. When trypsin-activated enzyme was denatured in 4 M guanidine-HCI followed by removal of the denaturant by dilution, the restoration of activity was similar (40%) to that of the native enzyme, indicating a degree of stability. The $pK_a$ obtained on the acidic side and the $pK_b$ obtained on the basic side of trypsin-activated aspartase were 6.6 and 8.6, respectively, the same as those of the native aspartase, indicating that aspartase may exist in a stable conformation after limited tryptic digestion. These results indicate that the activation of H. alvei may be mediated by a conformational change away from the active site of individual subunits.

• BMB Reports
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.304-313
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• 2004

Three-dimensional (3D) models for the 65-kDa activated Cry4A and Cry4B $\delta$-endotoxins from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis that are specifically toxic to mosquito-larvae were constructed by homology modeling, based on atomic coordinates of the Cry1Aa and Cry3Aa crystal structures. They were structurally similar to the known structures, both derived 3D models displayed a three-domain organization: the N-terminal domain (I) is a seven-helix bundle, while the middle and C-terminal domains are primarily comprise of anti-parallel $\beta$-sheets. Circular dichroism spectroscopy confirmed the secondary structural contents of the two homology-based Cry4 structures. A structural analysis of both Cry4 models revealed the following: (a) Residues Arg-235 and Arg-203 are located in the interhelical 5/6 loop within the domain I of Cry4A and Cry4B, respectively. Both are solvent exposed. This suggests that they are susceptible to tryptic cleavage. (b) The unique disulphide bond, together with a proline-rich region within the long loop connecting ${\alpha}4$ and ${\alpha}5$ of Cry4A, were identified. This implies their functional significance for membrane insertion. (c) Significant structural differences between both models were found within domain II that may reflect their different activity spectra. Structural insights from this molecular modeling study would therefore increase our understanding of the mechanic aspects of these two closely related mosquito-larvicidal proteins.