DNA sequence variation in the promoter region of the VEGF gene impacts VEGF gene expression and maximal oxygen consumption.
AuthorsPrior SJ, Hagberg JM, Paton CM, Douglass LW, Brown MD, McLenithan JC, Roth SM,
JournalAm J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol
PubMed ID16339827
'In its role as an endothelial cell proliferation and migration factor, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) can affect peripheral circulation, and therefore impact maximal oxygen consumption (Vo2max). Because of the role of VEGF, and because variation in the VEGF gene has the ability to alter VEGF gene expression and VEGF ... More
Identification of coenzyme M biosynthetic phosphosulfolactate synthase: a new family of sulfonate-biosynthesizing enzymes.
Authors Graham David E; Xu Huimin; White Robert H;
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID11830598
'The hyperthermophilic euryarchaeon Methanococcus jannaschii uses coenzyme M (2-mercaptoethanesulfonic acid) as the terminal methyl carrier in methanogenesis. We describe an enzyme from that organism, (2R)-phospho-3-sulfolactate synthase (ComA), that catalyzes the first step in coenzyme M biosynthesis. ComA catalyzed the stereospecific Michael addition of sulfite to phosphoenolpyruvate over a broad range ... More
Biosynthesis of riboflavin in archaea studies on the mechanism of 3,4-dihydroxy-2-butanone-4-phosphate synthase of Methanococcus jannaschii.
AuthorsFischer M, Romisch W, Schiffmann S, Kelly M, Oschkinat H, Steinbacher S, Huber R, Eisenreich W, Richter G, Bacher A,
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID12200440
'The hypothetical protein predicted by the open reading frame MJ0055 of Methanococcus jannaschii was expressed in a recombinant Escherichia coli strain under the control of a synthetic gene optimized for translation in an eubacterial host. The recombinant protein catalyzes the formation of the riboflavin precursor 3,4-dihydroxy-2-butanone 4-phosphate from ribulose 5-phosphate ... More
Characterization of the SECIS binding protein 2 complex required for the co-translational insertion of selenocysteine in mammals.
AuthorsKinzy SA, Caban K, Copeland PR,
JournalNucleic Acids Res
PubMed ID16155186
'Selenocysteine is incorporated into at least 25 human proteins by a complex mechanism that is a unique modification of canonical translation elongation. Selenocysteine incorporation requires the concerted action of a kink-turn structural RNA (SECIS) element in the 3'' untranslated region of each selenoprotein mRNA, a selenocysteine-specific translation elongation factor (eEFSec) ... More
Substantially enhanced cloning efficiency of SAGE (Serial Analysis of Gene Expression) byadding a heating step to the original protocol.
AuthorsKenzelmann M, Muhlemann K
JournalNucleic Acids Res
PubMed ID9889294
'The efficiency of the original SAGE (Serial Analysis of Gene Expression) protocol was limited by a small average size of cloned concatemers. We describe a modification of the technique that overcomes this problem. Ligation of ditags yields concatemers of various sizes. Small concatemers may aggregate and migrate with large ones ... More
Cleavage of the carboxyl tail from the G3 domain of aggrecan but not versican and identification of the amino acids involved in the degradation.
Authors Lee Vivian; Chen Liwen; Paiwand Frouz; Cao Liu; Wu Yaojiong; Inman Robert; Adams Mark E; Yang Burton B;
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID11932252
'Aggrecan, a major structural proteoglycan in cartilage, contains three globular domains, G1, G2, and G3, as well as sequences for glycosaminoglycan modification. A large number of proteases are implicated in aggrecan cleavage in normal metabolism, aging, and arthritis. These proteases are known to cleave at the IGD, KS, and CS ... More
Cloning and Characterization of a Cryptic Haloacid Dehalogenase from Burkholderia cepacia MBA4
AuthorsJ. Tsang and L. Sam
JournalJ Bacteriol
PubMed ID10498712
Burkholderia cepacia MBA4 has been shown to produce a single dehalogenase batch culture.Moreover, other cryptic dehalogenases were also detected when the cells were grown in continuousculture. In this paper, we report the cloning and characterization of one of the cryptic dehalogenases inMBA4. This cryptic haloacid dehalogenase, designated Chd1, was expressed ... More
Intragenic recombination generated two distinct Cf genes that mediate AVR9 recognition in the natural population of Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium.
Authors Van der Hoorn R A; Kruijt M; Roth R; Brandwagt B F; Joosten M H; De Wit P J;
JournalProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
PubMed ID11517316
Resistance gene Cf-9 of cultivated tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) confers recognition of the AVR9 elicitor protein of the fungal pathogen Cladosporium fulvum. The Cf-9 locus, containing Cf-9 and four homologs (Hcr9s), originates from Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium (Lp). We examined naturally occurring polymorphism in Hcr9s that confer AVR9 recognition in the Lp population. ... More
A 15-Residue Bifunctional Element in D-AKAP1 Is Required for Both Endoplasmic Reticulum and Mitochondrial Targeting.
Authors Ma Yuliang; Taylor Susan;
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID11994283
The cAMP-dependent protein kinase anchoring protein, d-AKAP1, has two N-terminal splice variants. The shorter forms (N0, d-AKAP1a, and -1c) target to mitochondria, and the longer forms (N1, d-AKAP1b, and -1d) with 33 additional residues N-terminal to N0 target to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) (Huang, L. J., Wang, L., Ma, Y., ... More
Insertional mutagenesis and immunochemical analysis of visual arrestin interaction with rhodopsin.
Authors Dinculescu Astra; McDowell J Hugh; Amici Stephanie A; Dugger Donald R; Richards Nigel; Hargrave Paul A; Smith W Clay;
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID11809770
Visual arrestin inactivates the phototransduction cascade by specifically binding to light-activated phosphorylated rhodopsin. This study describes the combined use of insertional mutagenesis and immunochemical approaches to probe the structural determinants of arrestin function. Recombinant arrestins with insertions of a 10-amino acid c-Myc tag (EQKLISEEDL) were expressed in yeast and characterized. ... More
Characterization of new cell permeable C3-like proteins that inactivate Rho and stimulate neurite outgrowth on inhibitory substrates.
The activation state of Rho is an important determinant of axon growth and regeneration in neurons. Axons can extend neurites on growth inhibitory substrates when Rho is inactivated by C3-ADP-ribosyltransferase (C3). We found by Rho-GTP pull-down assay that inhibitory substrates activate Rho. To inactivate Rho, scrape-loading of C3 was necessary ... More
Binding of low affinity N-formyl peptide receptors to G protein. Characterization of a novel inactive receptor intermediate.
Authors Prossnitz E R; Schreiber R E; Bokoch G M; Ye R D;
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID7738006
G protein-coupled seven-transmembrane-containing receptors, such as the N-formyl peptide receptor (FPR) of neutrophils, likely undergo a conformational change upon binding of ligand, which enables the receptor to transmit a signal to G proteins. We have examined the functional significance of numerous conserved charged amino acid residues proposed to be located ... More
The donor substrate specificity of the human beta 1,3-glucuronosyltransferase I toward UDP-glucuronic acid is determined by two crucial histidine and arginine residues.
The human beta1,3-glucuronosyltransferase I (GlcAT-I) plays a key role in proteoglycan biosynthesis by catalyzing the transfer of glucuronic acid onto the trisaccharide-protein linkage structure Galbeta1,3Galbeta1,4Xylbeta-O-Ser, a prerequisite step for polymerization of glycosaminoglycan chains. In this study, we identified His(308) and Arg(277) residues as essential determinants for the donor substrate (UDP-glucuronic ... More