Inhibition of heat-induced phosphorylation of stathmin by the bioflavonoid quercetin

Effects of quercetin on heat-induced phosphorylation of stathmin in JURKAT cells were examined. Two-dimensional electrophoresis of stathmin showed that heat shock increases mono- and diphosphorylation of stathmin. Monophosphorylation induced by heat shock was inhibited by the presence of 0.1 mM quercetin, but not by the presence of 0.1 microM staurosporine. Immunoblot analysis of phosphorylated stathmin showed that heat-induced phosphorylation at Ser-38 was inhibited by quercetin but not by staurosporine. Quercetin enhanced heat-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of MAP kinase. These observations indicate that quercetin inhibits heat-induced phosphorylation at Ser-38 of stathmin but mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase is not involved in its phosphorylation.     

Phosphopeptide detection and sequencing by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry

A prototype matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization quadrupole time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) tandem mass spectrometer was used to sequence a series of phosphotyrosine-, phosphothreonine- and phosphoserine-containing peptides. The high mass resolution and mass accuracy of the instrument allowed the localization of one, three or four phosphorylated amino acid residues in phosphopeptides up to 3.1 kDa. Tandem mass spectra of two different phosphotyrosine peptides permitted amino acid sequence determination and localization of one and three phosphorylation sites, respectively. The phosphotyrosine immonium ion at m/z 216.04 was observed in these MALDI low-energy CID tandem mass spectra. Elimination of phosphate groups was evident from the triphosphorylated peptide but not from the monophosphorylated species. The main fragmentation pathway for the synthetic phosphothreonine-containing peptide and for phosphoserine-containing peptides derived from beta-casein and ovalbumin was the beta-elimination of phosphoric acid with concomitant conversion of phosphoserine to dehydroalanine and phosphothreonine to 2-aminodehydrobutyric acid. Peptide fragment ions of the b- and y-type allowed, in all cases, the localization of phosphorylation sites. Ion signals corresponding to (b-17), (b-18) and (y-17) fragment ions were also observed. The abundant neutral loss of phosphoric acid (-98 Da) is useful for femtomole level detection of phosphoserine-peptides in crude peptide mixtures generated by gel in situ digestion of phosphoproteins.     

The molecular recognition of phosphorylated proteins by designed polypeptides conjugated to a small molecule that binds phosphate

The conjugation of polypeptides from a designed set to the small molecule ligand 3,5-bis[[bis(2-pyridylmethyl)amino]methyl]benzoic acid, which in the presence of Zn(2+) ions binds inorganic phosphate, has been shown to provide a polypeptide conjugate that binds α-casein, a multiply phosphorylated protein, with a dissociation constant K(D) of 17 nM. The measured affinity is more than three orders of magnitude higher than that of the small molecule ligand for phosphate and the binding of 500 nM of α-casein was not inhibited by 10 mM phosphate buffer, providing a 2000-fold excess of phosphate ion over protein. The selectivity for phosphoproteins was demonstrated by extraction of α-casein from solutions of various complexity, including milk and human serum spiked with α-casein. In addition to α-casein, β-casein was also recognized but not ovoalbumin. Conjugation of a polypeptide to the zinc chelating ligand was therefore shown to give rise to dramatically increased affinity and also increased selectivity. A set of polypeptide conjugates is expected to be able to capture a large number of phosphorylated proteins, perhaps all, and in combination with electrophoresis or mass spectrometry become a powerful tool for the monitoring of phosphorylation levels. The presented binder can easily be attached to various types of surfaces; here demonstrated for the case of polystyrene particles. The example of phosphoproteins was selected since posttranslational phosphorylation is of fundamental importance in cell biology due to its role in signaling and therefore of great interest in drug development. The reported concept for binder development is, however, quite general and high-affinity binders can conveniently be developed for a variety of proteins including those with posttranslational modifications for which small molecule recognition elements are available.     

Purification and characterization of a nuclease from Lentinus edodes.

An endonuclease with 3'-nucleotidase activity (nuclease Le1) was purified from fruit bodies of Lentinus edodes in a single band on sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The apparent molecular weight of nuclease Le1 was about 27000. The nuclease was inactivated in the presence of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and reactivated by the addition of Zn2+. Hydrolysis of poly U by the nuclease showed many intermediate size oligomers prior to the formation of 5'-uridine monophosphate (UMP). Therefore, it was concluded that nuclease Le1 was a Zn(2+)-endonuclease similar to P1-nuclease from Penicillium citrinum. The nuclease was very sensitive to ionic strength, but pH-profiles of the hydrolysis of four 3'-nucleotides were very similar to those of P1 nuclease from P. citrinum.     

Tandem mass spectrometry of multiply phosphorylated forms of a 'histidine-tag' derived from a recombinant protein kinase expressed in bacteria

When a histidine-tagged form of the protein kinase Aurora-2 was expressed in Escherichia coli, the purified product carried four to nine phosphate groups, although many fewer were expected. The amino-terminal tag had the sequence GSSHHHHHHSSGLVPRGSHMK-. Tryptic digestion of the product followed by analysis by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) showed that phosphorylation could occur on the five serine residues of the tag. Mono-, bis-, tris-, tetra- and pentaphosphorylated forms of the tag were detected, and their behavior in MS/MS was studied using a quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The MS/MS spectra were dominated by the products of neutral loss events (in 98 Da increments, each equivalent to loss of H3PO4), but sufficient b- and y-type sequence ions were detected to allow the locations of the phosphates to be specified in some cases. The assignment of phosphorylation sites for incompletely phosphorylated forms of the tag peptide was challenging, but it appeared that Ser-10 and Ser-11 of the tag were more likely to be phosphorylated than Ser-2 and Ser-3.     

A highly sensitive method for quantification of myosin light chain phosphorylation by capillary isoelectric focusing with laser-induced fluorescence detection

Activation of myosin II by phosphorylation of the 20 kDa regulatory light chains (LC20) has been implicated in numerous contractile and motile events, e.g., smooth muscle contraction, cytokinesis, and cell migration. The ability to analyze LC20 phosphorylation in minute samples is critical to determine the importance of LC20 phosphorylation in diverse physiological processes. We have developed a method for the separation and quantification of unphosphorylated, monophosphorylated, and diphosphorylated LC20 with a detection limit of 1 pg (50 amol). LC20 is initially isolated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and transblotted to a polyvinlyidene difluoride (PVDF) membrane. The region of the membrane containing the LC20 band (identified by electrophoresis of purified LC20 in a neighboring lane) is cut out and fluorescently labeled with Alexa Fluor 488 C5 maleimide. The labeled LC20 is eluted from the membrane with detergent and subjected to capillary isoelectric focusing (CIEF) to separate unphosphorylated, mono-, and diphosphorylated LC20, which are detected and quantified by laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). A linear relationship between log(peak area) and log(LC20 amount) is observed over the range of 50 amol-150 fmol. Quantification of LC20 phosphorylation by CIEF with LIF detection was compared with three commonly used methods with much lower levels of sensitivity: urea/glycerol-PAGE with Western blotting, phosphorylation by [gamma-32P]ATP with Cerenkov counting, and phosphorylation by [gamma-32P]ATP followed by SDS-PAGE, autoradiography, and scanning densitometry. All four methods gave very similar quantitative results, the major difference being that the new method exhibits 3000-fold enhanced sensitivity. This method is therefore applicable to quantitative analysis of phosphorylation of minute quantities of LC20.     

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry of phosphorylated compounds using a novel phosphate capture molecule

This paper introduces a simple, rapid, and sensitive procedure for the analysis of phosphorylated compounds (ROPO(3) (2-)) by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS). The method is based on a characteristic mass shift and a total-charge change (from -2 to +1) of the phosphate residue due to complexation of ROPO(3) (2-) with a dinuclear zinc(II) complex (1,3-bis[bis(2-pyridinylmethyl)amino]-2-propanolato dizinc(II) complex, Zn(2)L(3+)) in aqueous solution at physiological pH. Furthermore, the use of single zinc-isotope derivatives ((64)Zn(2)L(3+) and (68)Zn(2)L(3+)) enables improvement of the sensitivity and accuracy of the analysis.     

Molecular recognition and fluorescence sensing of monophosphorylated peptides in aqueous solution by bis(zinc(II)-dipicolylamine)-based artificial receptors

The phosphorylation of proteins represents a ubiquitous mechanism for the cellular signal control of many different processes, and thus selective recognition and sensing of phosphorylated peptides and proteins in aqueous solution should be regarded as important targets in the research field of molecular recognition. We now describe the design of fluorescent chemosensors bearing two zinc ions coordinated to distinct dipicolylamine (Dpa) sites. Fluorescence titration experiments show the selective and strong binding toward phosphate derivatives in aqueous solution. On the basis of (1)H NMR and (31)P NMR studies, and the single-crystal X-ray structural analysis, it is clear that two Zn(Dpa) units of the binuclear receptors cooperatively act to bind a phosphate site of these derivatives. Good agreement of the binding affinity estimated by isothermal titration calorimetry with fluorescence titration measurements revealed that these two receptors can fluorometrically sense several phosphorylated peptides that have consensus sequences modified with natural kinases. These chemosensors display the following significant features: (i) clear distinction between phosphorylated and nonphosphorylated peptides, (ii) sequence-dependent recognition, and (iii) strong binding to a negatively charged phosphorylated peptide, all of which can be mainly ascribed to coordination chemistry and electrostatic interactions between the receptors and the corresponding peptides. Detailed titration experiments clarified that the phosphate anion-assisted coordination of the second Zn(II) to the binuclear receptors is crucial for the fluorescence intensification upon binding to the phosphorylated derivatives. In addition, it is demonstrated that the binuclear receptors can be useful for the convenient fluorescent detection of a natural phosphatase (PTP1B) catalyzed dephosphorylation.     

Design of a hybrid biosensor for enhanced phosphopeptide recognition based on a phosphoprotein binding domain coupled with a fluorescent chemosensor

Protein-based fluorescent biosensors with sufficient sensing specificity are useful analytical tools for detection of biologically important substances in complicated biological systems. Here, we present the design of a hybrid biosensor, specific for a bis-phosphorylated peptide, based on a natural phosphoprotein binding domain coupled with an artificial fluorescent chemosensor. The hybrid biosensor consists of a phosphoprotein binding domain, the WW domain, into which has been introduced a fluorescent stilbazole having Zn(II)-dipicolylamine (Dpa) as a phosphate binding motif. It showed strong binding affinity and high sensing selectivity toward a specific bis-phosphorylated peptide in the presence of various phosphate species such as the monophosphorylated peptide, ATP, and others. Detailed fluorescence titration experiments clearly indicate that the binding-induced fluorescence enhancement and the sensing selectivity were achieved by the cooperative action of both binding sites of the hybrid biosensor, i.e., the WW domain and the Zn(II)-Dpa chemosensor unit. Thus, it is clear that the tethered Zn(II)-Dpa-stilbazole unit operated not only as a fluorescence signal transducer, but also as a sub-binding site in the hybrid biosensor. Taking advantage of its selective sensing property, the hybrid biosensor was successfully applied to real-time and label-free fluorescence monitoring of a protein kinase-catalyzed phosphorylation.     

Biosorption of metals (Cu(2+), Zn(2+)) and anions (F(-), H(2)PO(4)(-)) by viable and autoclaved cells of the Gram-negative bacterium Shewanella putrefaciens

Microbial biomass represents a potentially cost-effective sorbent for water treatment applications. High sorption capacities for both cations and anions are demonstrated here for viable and autoclaved cell suspensions of the Gram-negative bacterium Shewanella putrefaciens. FTIR absorption spectra and pH-dependent zeta-potentials are similar for the viable and killed bacterial cells. Potentiometric titrations, however, reveal a two to three times higher OH(-) buffering capacity for the living cells. The Cu(2+) sorption capacity of the viable cells is also about twice that of the autoclaved cells. Sorption of fluoride and phosphate is not pH-dependent, although an initial addition of acid or base was needed to activate the anion binding sites. Uptake of fluoride is comparable for viable and killed cells. For the viable cells, the isotherms of Zn(2+) and Cu(2+) indicate the presence of at least two distinct populations of cell wall binding sites. In competitive sorption experiments, Cu(2+) completely inhibits the binding of Zn(2+) to the cells at aqueous concentrations above 150 mg L(-1). The release of dissolved organic compounds by the viable cells depends on the concentrations of metal cations or fluoride to which the cells are exposed. In particular, the presence of Cu(2+) nearly completely suppresses the release of protein-like substances, possibly reflecting Cu(2+) toxicity.     

Separation of phosphorylated histone H1 variants by high-performance capillary electrophoresis.

High-performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE) was used to separate successfully distinct phosphorylated derivatives of individual histone H1 variants. With an untreated capillary (50 cm x 75 microns I.D.) the electrophoresis was performed in about 15 min. Inconvenient interactions of these highly basic proteins with the capillary wall were eliminated by using 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer (pH 2.0) containing 0.03% hydroxypropylmethylcellulose. Under these experimental conditions the histone H1 variants H1b and H1c obtained from mitotic enriched NIH 3T3 fibroblasts and isolated by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography were clearly separated in their non-phosphorylated and different phosphorylated forms. This result was confirmed by acid-urea gel electrophoresis, comparison with non-phosphorylated histones H1b and H1c, isolated from quiescent NIH 3T3 cells, and incubation of multi-phosphorylated histone H1b with alkaline phosphatase and subsequent acid-urea and capillary electrophoresis. The results illustrate that the application of HPCE to the analysis of histone modifications provides a new alternative to traditional gel electrophoresis.     

A novel serine phosphorylation site detected in the n-terminal domain of estrogen receptor isolated from human breast cancer cells

Activated estrogen receptor (ERalpha) plays a critical role in breast cancer development and is a major target for drug treatment. Serine phosphorylation within the N-terminal domain (NTD) contributes to ERalpha activation and may also cause drug resistance. Previous biochemical identification of phosphorylated ERalpha residues was limited to protein artificially overexpressed in transfected cell lines. We report mass spectrometric methods that have allowed the identification of a new site within the NTD of ERalpha isolated from cultured human breast cancer cells. Immunoprecipitation, trypsin digestion, and analysis by nano-LC-ESI-MS/MS (Q-STAR, MDS Sciex) and vMALDI-MS(n) (Finnigan LTQ, Thermo-Electron) identified peptides containing 8 of 14 serine residues within the NTD, one being partially phosphorylated Ser-167, known but not previously reported by MS. Chymotrypsin digestion revealed other known sites at Ser-102/104/106 and 118. Tandem methods developed for the peptide containing Ser-118 and the use of hypothesis-driven experiments--i.e., the assumption that an intact phosphopeptide showing no molecular ion might yield fragment ions including loss of phosphoric acid in vMALDI-MS/MS--allowed the identification of a novel site at Ser-154. Quantitation by selected reaction monitoring demonstrated 6-fold and 2.5-fold increases in Ser-154 phosphorylation in estradiol- and EGF-treated cells, respectively, compared to controls, confirmed by immunoblotting with a novel rabbit polyclonal antibody. Thus, the protein isolation and MS strategies described here can facilitate discovery of novel phosphorylation sites within low abundance, clinically important cancer targets like ERalpha, and may thereby contribute to our understanding of the role of phosphorylation in the development of breast cancer.     

Purification and Biochemical Characterization of Methionine Aminopeptidase (MetAP) from Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155

The methionine aminopeptidase (MetAP) catalyzes the removal of amino terminal methionine from newly synthesized polypeptide. MetAP from Mycobacterium smegmatis mc(2) 155 was purified from the culture lysate in four sequential steps to obtain a final purification fold of 22. The purified enzyme exhibited a molecular weight of approximately 37 kDa on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Activity staining was performed to detect the methionine aminopeptidase activity on native polyacrylamide gel. The enzyme was characterized biochemically, using L-methionine p-nitroanilide as substrate. The enzyme was found to have a temperature and pH optimum of 50 degrees C and 8.5, respectively, and was found to be stable at 50 degrees C with half-life more than 8 h. The enzyme activity was enhanced by Mg(2+) and Co(2+) and was inhibited by Fe(2+) and Cu(2+). The enzyme activity inhibited by EDTA is restored in presence of Mg(2+) suggesting the possible role of Mg(2+) as metal cofactor of the enzyme in vitro.     

Separation of intact pyruvate dehydrogenase complex using blue native agarose gel electrophoresis

We show that the blue native gel polyacrylamide electrophoresis system (BN-PAGE) can be applied to pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC). BN-PAGE has been used extensively to study the multisubunit enzymes of oxidative phosphorylation, as nondenaturing separation in the first dimension maintains holoenzyme integrity. However, the standard protocol was inappropriate for PDC as, at 10 MDa, it is approximately ten times larger than the largest respiratory chain enzyme complex. Therefore, agarose was substituted for polyacrylamide. Moreover, a substantial decrease in salt concentration was necessary to prevent dissociation of PDC. As with standard BN-PAGE, immunoblots of second-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate-PAGE (SDS-PAGE) provided more detailed information on specific subunits and subcomplexes. The method was applied to human heart mitochondrial fragments, control cultured human cells, rho0 cells that lack mitochondrial DNA, and two cell lines derived from patients with PDC deficiency. The PDC deficient cell lines showed a clear correlation between amount of PDC holoenzyme and disease severity. In cells lacking mitochondrial DNA, synthesis and assembly of all PDC subunits (all nuclearly encoded) appeared normal, suggesting that respiratory function has no regulatory role in PDC biogenesis. Blue native agarose gel electrophoresis coupled with standard second-dimensional SDS-PAGE provides a new tool to be used in conjunction with biochemical assays and immunoblots of one-dimensional SDS-PAGE to further elucidate the nature of PDC in normal and disease states. Furthermore, other cellular protein complexes of 1 MDa or more can be analysed by this method.     

Electrophoretic analysis of phosphorylation of the yeast 20S proteasome

The 26S proteasome complex, consisting of two multisubunit complexes, a 20S proteasome and a pair of 19S regulatory particles, plays a major role in the nonlysosomal degradation of intracellular proteins. The 20S proteasome was purified from yeast and separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE). A total of 18 spots separated by 2-DE were identified as the 20S proteasome subunits by peptide mass fingerprinting with matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). The alpha2-, alpha4- and alpha7-subunits gave multiple spots, which converged into one spot for each subunit when treated with alkaline phosphatase. The difference of pI between phosphorylated and dephosphorylated spots and their reaction against anti-phosphotyrosine antibody suggested that the alpha2- and alpha4-subunits are phosphorylated either at Ser or at Thr residue, and the alpha7-subunit is phosphorylated at Tyr residue(s). These phosphorylated subunits were analyzed by electrospray ionization-quadrupole time of flight-tandem MS (ESI-QTOF-MS/MS) to deduce the phosphorylation sites. The 20S proteasome has three different protease activities: chymotrypsin-like, trypsin-like and peptidylglutamyl peptide-hydrolyzing activities. The phosphatase treatment increased K(m) value for chymotrypsin-like activity of the 20S proteasome, indicating that phosphorylation may play an important role in regulating the proteasome activity.     

Effective disruption of phosphoprotein-protein surface interaction using Zn(II) dipicolylamine-based artificial receptors via two-point interaction

Protein phosphorylation is ubiquitously involved in living cells, and it is one of the key events controlling protein-protein surface interactions, which are essential in signal transduction cascades. We now report that the small molecular receptors bearing binuclear Zn(II)-Dpa can strongly bind to a bis-phosphorylated peptide in a cross-linking manner under neutral aqueous conditions when the distance between the two Zn(II) centers can appropriately fit in that of the two phosphate groups of the phosphorylated peptide. The binding property was quantitatively determined by ITC (isothermal titration calorimetry), induced CD (circular dichroism), and NMR. On the basis of these findings, we demonstrated that these types of small molecules were able to effectively disrupt the phosphoprotein-protein interaction in a phosphorylated CTD peptide and the Pin1 WW domain, a phosphoprotein binding domain, at a micromolar level. The strategy based on a small molecular disruptor that directly interacts with phosphoprotein is unique and should be promising in developing a designer inhibitor for phosphoprotein-protein interaction.     

Synaptic vesicle proteins under conditions of rest and activation: analysis by 2-D difference gel electrophoresis

Synaptic vesicles are organelles of the nerve terminal that secrete neurotransmitters by fusion with the presynaptic plasma membrane. Vesicle fusion is tightly controlled by depolarization of the plasma membrane and a set of proteins that may undergo post-translational modifications such as phosphorylation. In order to identify proteins that undergo modifications as a result of synaptic activation, we induced massive exocytosis and analysed the synaptic vesicle compartment by benzyldimethyl-n-hexadecylammonium chloride (BAC)/SDS-PAGE and difference gel electrophoresis (DIGE) followed by MALDI-TOF-MS. We identified eight proteins that revealed significant changes in abundance following nerve terminal depolarization. Of these, six were increased and two were decreased in abundance. Three of these proteins were phosphorylated as detected by Western blot analysis. In addition, we identified an unknown synaptic vesicle protein whose abundance increased on synaptic activation. Our results demonstrate that depolarization of the presynaptic compartment induces changes in the abundance of synaptic vesicle proteins and post-translational protein modification.     

A versatile water soluble fluorescent probe for ratiometric sensing of Hg2+ and bovine serum albumin

A novel tetraazamacrocycle fluorescent sensor (6-(1-(dimethylamino)-5-naphthalene sulfonyl)-3,6,9,15-tetraazabicyclo[9.3.1] pentadeca-1(15),11,13-triene, 1) has been designed and prepared, which can be utilized for selective and ratiometric sensing of Hg(2+) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) with two different responsive modes in aqueous solution at physiological pH (50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.6). Above 0.5 ppb Hg(2+) can be discerned by coordination with 1 and the emission color changes enable 1 to be applied to a fast Hg(2+) test paper assay. Sensor 1 has also been demonstrated to be easily cell-penetrable and applicable for Hg(2+) imaging in living cells. Imaging of BSA in the gel using SDS-PAGE (sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis) stained in the medium containing 1 verified that the binding of 1 and BSA was successful in the presence of nonprotein substances. The linear range of 1 towards BSA utilizing ratiometric fluorescent calibration via noncovalent interaction in solution is 0-100 μg mL(-1) with a detection limit of 1 μg mL(-1), and has been successfully employed to determine the albumin concentration in blood serum by means of ratiometric fluorescent measurements for the first time. Finally, sensor 1 behaves as a fluorescent molecular switch composed of triple logic gates upon chemical inputs of Hg(2+) and BSA, which potentially provides intelligent diagnostics for Hg(2+) contaminated serum on the nanoscale.