[Novel view of the structure of the non-catalytic N-terminal region of ATP-dependent LonA proteases]

ATP-Dependent Lon proteases are components of the protein quality control system, which maintains a keeping of cellular proteome. Lon family consists of two subfamilies A and B, differing in subunit architecture and intracellular location. The reinterpretation of the domain organization of the non-catalytic N-terminal region of ATP-dependent LonA proteases is proposed. Using Escherichia coli LonA protease (EcLon) as an example it has been shown that a fragment (alphaN-domain), which is located between the N-terminal domain and the AAA+ module of that protein, is similar to the alpha1-domain of the first AAA+ module of chaperone-disaggregase C1pB. A coiled-coil (CC) region included in the alphaN-domain of LonA is similar to the M domain of C1pB chaperones, which is inserted into the alpha1-domain. This region is suggested to adopt the structure similar to the propeller-like (PL) domain. The typical architecture of the N-terminal region of LonA proteases is postulated to be characterized by the obligatory presence of a PL domain, included in the alphaN-domain, but may vary in the length and topology of the preceding N-terminal domain.

[Isolation and determination of activity of IgA1 protease from Neisseria meningitidis]

A method of the isolation and purification of IgAl protease from a culture of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A has been developed. Three inactivated intermediates of the production of the meningococcal vaccine, a culture liquid, as well as a supernatant and sediment obtained by the precipitation of bacterial cells by cetavlon, served as a starting material. The purity of IgA1 protease was determined by SDS-PAGE. An immunoenzyme assay for determining the IgA1 protease activity has been devised. The yield of the enzyme with a specific activity of 0.5 to 4 million units/mg from 103 g of the cetavlon precipitate (40 l of culture liquid) was about 600 mug. It was shown that IgAl protease isolated from serogroup A meningococcus is capable of protecting experimental animals (mice) infected with meningococcus of serogroup B.

[Molecular chaperones]

Chaperones are unique remodeling proteins that participate in a great number of intracellular processes and are involved in the correction of protein structure, the prevention of the aggregation of misfolded proteins, the destruction of protein aggregates, and also the unfolding of native protein targets for their translocation across a membrane. In addition to this, Chaperones assist in the dismantling of active oligomers into inactive unfolded monomers for their subsequent photolytic degradation and the assembly of folded subunits into protein assemblies and specific complexes. Data on the structure and functioning of molecular chaperones from five basic families are summarized in the review.

[Selective inhibitors of plasmepsin II from Plasmodium falciparum based on pepstatin]

A number of new inhibitors of plasmepsin II (PlmII) from Plasmodium falciparum, one of the key factors of malarial parasite survival, were synthesized. The inhibitors are analogues of pepstatin with various variants of Ala residue substitutions. Effects of the inhibitors on human PlmII and cathepsin D were studied. Inhibition of PlmII by the substrate was found, which required the use of the modified Henderson method for the determination of inhibition constants. Two synthesized inhibitors were shown to exhibit a pronounced selectivity to PlmII (K(i) = 5.5 and 5 nM) in comparison with cathepsin D (K(i) = 230 and 3000 nM, respectively).

[ATP-dependent proteases and proteolytic complexes involved into intracellular protein degradation]

The review characterized the main enzymatic systems of selective proteolysis responsible for maintenance of intracellular proteome in prokaryotes, eukaryotes and archea. The features of proteolytic components of the ATP-dependent proteases as well as similarity and diversity of their regulatory AAA(+)-ATPases are discussed.

[Forms of LonB protease from Archaeoglobus fulgidus devoid of the transmembrane domain: the contribution of the quaternary structure to the regulation of enzyme proteolytic activity]

Deletion of the transmembrane domain (TM-domain) of Archaeoglobus flggidus LonB protease (AfLon) was shown to result in uncontrollable activation of the enzyme proteolytic site and in vivo autolysis yielding a stable and functionally inactive fragment consisting of both alpha-helical and proteolytic domains (alphaP). The deltaTM-AfLonTM-S590A enzyme form, obtained by site-directed mutagenesis of the catalytic Ser residue, is capable of recombination with the alphaP fragment. The mixed oligomers were shown to be proteolytically active, which indicates a crucial role of subunit interactions in the activation of the AfLon proteolytic site. The thermophilic nature of AfLon protease was found to be due to the special features of the enzyme activity regulation, the structure of ATPase domain, and the quaternary structure.

[Proteolysis coupled with ATP. Regulation of activity of proteolytic centers of Escherichia coli lon protease]

Regulation of activity of the proteolytic sites of Lon protease was studied. It was found that ATP-Mg has the properties of a noncompetitive activator of peptidase sites. The processive mechanism of the hydrolysis of protein substrates by Lon protease was experimentally confirmed under the conditions of ATP hydrolysis. It was shown that the oligomeric state of the enzyme is the necessary prerequisite for the processive proteolysis by the native Lon protease. The study of the properties of the mixed mutant Lon-K362Q/S679A confirmed the existence of the intra- and intersubunit pathways of signal transduction from the ATPase to proteolytic sites. The mutual influence of substrates of Lon protease was studied, and the existence of cooperative interactions between the peptidase sites in the oligomeric enzyme was suggested.

[Catalytic dyad Ser-Lys at the active site of Escherichia coli ATP-dependent Lon-proteinase]

Two subfamilies of Lon proteases that differ in the structure of the fragments containing the catalytically active Ser residue were revealed by the comparison of more than sixty sequences of Lon proteases from various sources. The absence of the classic catalytic triad in the active site of Lon proteases was confirmed. The catalytic site of Lon proteases was shown to be represented by the Ser-Lys dyad.

[Coupling of proteolysis and hydrolysis of ATP upon functioning of Lon proteinase of Escherichia coli. II. Hydrolysis of ATP and activity of peptide hydrolase sites of the enzyme]

The absence of direct correlation between the efficiency of functioning of ATPase and peptidehydrolase sites of Lon protease was revealed. It was shown that Lon protease is an allosteric enzyme, in which the catalytic activity of peptidehydrolase sites is determined by the binding of nucleotides, their magnesium complexes, and free magnesium ions in the enzyme's ATPase sites. It was revealed that complex ADP-Mg, an inhibitor of the native enzyme, is an activator of the Lon-K362Q form of the Lon protease mutant in the ATPase site. Considered are variants of intersite functional contacts realizing in the enzyme. The existence of two ways of signal transduction was established from the ATPase sites to peptidehydrolase ones in the Lon protease oligomer--intra- and intersubunit ways. Location of the enzyme ATPase sites is suggested in the areas of the complementary surfaces of subunits. It is hypothesized that ATP hydrolysis upon degradation of protein substrates by the E. coli Lon protease in vivo acts as a factor of restriction of the enzyme's degrading activity.

[Coupling of proteolysis with ATP hydrolysis by Escherichia coli Lon proteinase. I. Kinetic aspects of ATP hydrolysis]

Some aspects of the ATPase function of the Escherichia coli Lon protease were studied around the optimum pH value. It was revealed that, in the absence of the protein substrate, the maximum ATPase activity of the enzyme is observed at an equimolar ratio of ATP and Mg2+ ions in the area of their millimolar concentrations. Free components of the substrate complex (ATP-Mg)2- inhibit the enzyme ATPase activity. It is hypothesized that the effector activity of free Mg2+ ions is caused by the formation of the "ADP-Mg-form" of the ATPase centers. It was shown that the activation of ATP hydrolysis in the presence of the protein substrate is accompanied by an increase in the affinity of the (ATP-Mg)2- complex to the enzyme, by the elimination of the inhibiting action of free Mg2+ ions without altering the efficiency of catalysis of ATP hydrolysis (based on the kcat value), and by a change in the type of inhibition of ATP hydrolysis by the (ADP-Mg)- complex (without changing the Ki value). Interaction of the Lon protease protein substrate with the enzyme area located outside the peptide hydrolase center was demonstrated by a direct experiment.

[A test system based on the lux-regulon from Vibrio fischeri for studying the functional activity of mutant forms of Escherichia coli lon-proteinase]

The possibility of application of the bioluminescence method (Lux-test) for studying in vivo functional activity of Escherichia coli protease Lon and its mutants was demonstrated. This assay is based on the capacity of protease Lon and its mutant forms for specific degradation of the LuxR protein, a positive transcriptional activator of the right operon luxICDABE from the marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri, and thus to affect the level of AB luciferase in the cells. A correlation between in vitro activity of the protease Lon mutants and the intensity of bioluminescence measured by the Lux-test was revealed.

[Suc-Phe-Leu-Phe-SBzl--a new substrate for functional study of Escherichia coli ATP-dependent Lon-proteinase and its modified forms]

A new efficient substrate, Suc-Phe-Leu-Phe-SBzl, was proposed for studying the function of the Escherichia coli ATP-dependent Lon protease and its modified forms. The kinetic parameters of hydrolysis of the substrate were determined. The esterase activity of protease Lon was found to be nucleotide-regulated.

[Synthesis and characterisation of ATP-dependent forms of Lon-proteinase with modified N-terminal domain from Escherichia coli]

The functional domain boundaries of the ATP-dependent Lon proteases were identified by comparative analysis of the amino acid sequences of the enzymes from evolutionarily distant organisms. Modified forms of the Escherichia coli Lon protease with the elongated or substituted N-terminal domain and a truncated enzyme lacking the N-terminal domain were obtained through genetic engineering methods. Analysis of the enzymatic properties of the resulting modified forms of Lon protease revealed the importance of the N-terminal domain in its function.

[In vitro coupling of ATP hydrolysis to proteolysis of ATP site mutant forms of Lon-proteinase from E.coli]

In order to identify amino acid residues involved in ATP hydrolysis by Escherichia coli protease Lon or participating in the signal transduction from the ATPase domain to the proteolytic one, potentially important residues of the ATPase domain were substituted using site-directed mutagenesis, and the properties of the resulting mutant enzymes were studied. It was found that residues K362, T363 (Walker's motif A), and D423 (motif B) are involved in the catalysis of ATP hydrolysis. K362 and T363 also participate in the system of domain-domain coupling, whereas D423 does not play a significant role in this process. Residue D387 is important for ATPase activity; however, it is not a catalytically active residue, as was earlier postulated in the literature. Residue Y493 is also involved in the signal transduction from the ATPase domain to the proteolytic one.