Synthesis of Silica Vesicles with Controlled Entrance Size for High Loading, Sustained Release, and Cellular Delivery of Therapeutical Proteins

A rationally designed two-step synthesis of silica vesicles is developed with the formation of vesicular structure in the first step and fine control over the entrance size by tuning the temperature in the second step. The silica vesicles have a uniform size of ≈50 nm with excellent cellular uptake performance. When the entrance size is equal to the wall thickness, silica vesicles after hydrophobic modification show the highest loading amount (563 mg/g) towards Ribonuclease A with a sustained release behavior. Consequently, the silica vesicles are excellent nano-carriers for cellular delivery applications of therapeutical biomolecules.

An explanation for the rare occurrence of cis peptide units in proteins and polypeptides

The rarity of occurrence of cis peptide units is only partially explained by the higher intrinsic energy of the cis over the trans form, which provides a probability of 0·01 for cis peptide units to occur. An additional factor is the conformational restriction imposed by the occurrence of a cis peptide unit in a chain of trans units. Taking a section of three peptide units having the sequences trans-trans-trans (ttt) and trans-cis-trans (tct), conformational energy calculations indicate that the latter can occur only to an extent of 0·1%, unless there occurs the sequence X-Pro, in which case it is of the order of 30%. This explains the extreme rarity of cis peptide units, in general; however, it follows that even with non-prolyl residues, cis peptide units are not forbidden, but can occur in some rare examples and should be looked for.

Spatiotemporal Organization of AT- and GC-rich DNA and Their Association With Transition Proteins TP1 and TP2 in Rat Condensing Spermatids

Transition protein 1 (TP1) and TP2 replace histones during midspermiogenesis (stages 12-15) and are finally replaced by protamines. TPs play a predominant role in DNA condensation and chromatin remodeling during mammalian spermiogenesis. TP2 is a zinc metalloprotein with two novel zinc finger modules that condenses DNA in vitro in a GC-preference manner. TP2 also localizes to the nucleolus in transfected HeLa and Cos-7 cells, suggesting a GC-rich preference, even in vivo. We have now studied the localization pattern of TP2 in the rat spermatid nucleus. Colocalization studies using GC-selective DNA-binding dyes chromomycin A3 and 7-amino actinomycin D and an AT-selective dye, 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole, indicate that TP2 is preferentially localized to GC-rich sequences. Interestingly, as spermatids mature, TP2 and GC-rich DNA moves toward the nuclear periphery, and in the late stages of spermatid maturation, TP2 is predominantly localized at the nuclear periphery. Another interesting observation is the mutually exclusive localization of GC- and AT-rich DNA in the elongating and elongated spermatids. A combined immunofluorescence experiment with anti-TP2 and anti-TP1 antibodies revealed several foci of overlapping localization, indicating that TP1 and TP2 may have concerted functional roles during chromatin remodeling in mammalian spermiogenesis.

Bending the Rules of Cell Protrusions : Molecular Mechanisms and Biological Roles of Inverse-BAR Proteins in Cell Morphogenesis

Plasma membrane adopts myriad of different shapes to carry out essential cellular processes such as nutrient uptake, immunological defence mechanisms and cell migration. Therefore, the details how different plasma membrane structures are made and remodelled are of the upmost importance. Bending of plasma membrane into different shapes requires substantial amount of force, which can be provided by the actin cytoskeleton, however, the molecules that regulate the interplay between the actin cytoskeleton and plasma membrane have remained elusive. Recent findings have placed new types of effectors at sites of plasma membrane remodelling, including BAR proteins, which can directly bind and deform plasma membrane into different shapes. In addition to their membrane-bending abilities, BAR proteins also harbor protein domains that intimately link them to the actin cytoskeleton. The ancient BAR domain fold has evolved into at least three structurally and functionally different sub-groups: the BAR, F-BAR and I-BAR domains. This thesis work describes the discovery and functional characterization of the Inverse-BAR domains (I-BARs). Using synthetic model membranes, we have shown that I-BAR domains bind and deform membranes into tubular structures through a binding-surface composed of positively charged amino acids. Importantly, the membrane-binding surface of I-BAR domains displays an inverse geometry to that of the BAR and F-BAR domains, and these structural differences explain why I-BAR domains induce cell protrusions whereas BAR and most F-BAR domains induce cell invaginations. In addition, our results indicate that the binding of I-BAR domains to membranes can alter the spatial organization of phosphoinositides within membranes. Intriguingly, we also found that some I-BAR domains can insert helical motifs into the membrane bilayer, which has important consequences for their membrane binding/bending functions. In mammals there are five I-BAR domain containing proteins. Cell biological studies on ABBA revealed that it is highly expressed in radial glial cells during the development of the central nervous system and plays an important role in the extension process of radial glia-like C6R cells by regulating lamellipodial dynamics through its I-BAR domain. To reveal the role of these proteins in the context of animals, we analyzed MIM knockout mice and found that MIM is required for proper renal functions in adult mice. MIM deficient mice displayed a severe urine concentration defect due to defective intercellular junctions of the kidney epithelia. Consistently, MIM localized to adherens junctions in cultured kidney epithelial cells, where it promoted actin assembly through its I-BAR andWH2 domains. In summary, this thesis describes the mechanism how I-BAR proteins deform membranes and provides information about the biological role of these proteins, which to our knowledge are the first proteins that have been shown to directly deform plasma membrane to make cell protrusions.

Membrane Insertion of C-tail Anchored Proteins

The correct localization of proteins is essential for cell viability. In order to achieve correct protein localization to cellular membranes, conserved membrane targeting and translocation mechanisms have evolved. The focus of this work was membrane targeting and translocation of a group of proteins that circumvent the known targeting and translocation mechanisms, the C-tail anchored protein family. Members of this protein family carry out a wide range of functions, from protein translocation and recognition events preceding membrane fusion, to the regulation of programmed cell death. In this work, the mechanisms of membrane insertion and targeting of two C-tail anchored proteins were studied utilizing in vivo and in vitro methods, in yeast and mammalian cell systems. The proteins studied were cytochrome b(5), a well characterized C-tail anchored model protein, and N-Bak, a novel member of the Bcl-2 family of regulators of programmed cell death. Membrane insertion of cytochrome b(5) into the endoplasmic reticulum membrane was found to occur independently of the known protein conducting channels, through which signal peptide-containing polypeptides are translocated. In fact, the membrane insertion process was independent of any protein components and did not require energy. Instead membrane insertion was observed to be dependent on the lipid composition of the membrane. The targeting of N-Bak was found to depend on the cellular context. Either the mitochondrial or endoplasmic reticulum membranes were targeted, which resulted in morphological changes of the target membranes. These findings indicate the existence of a novel membrane insertion mechanism for C-tail anchored proteins, in which membrane integration of the transmembrane domain, and the translocation of C-terminal fragments, appears to be spontaneous. This mode of membrane insertion is regulated by the target membrane fluidity, which depends on the lipid composition of the bilayer, and the hydrophobicity of the transmembrane domain of the C-tail anchored protein, as well as by the availability of the C-tail for membrane integration. Together these mechanisms enable the cell to achieve spatial and temporal regulation of sub-cellular localization of C-tail anchored proteins.

Folding and Selective Exit of Reporter Proteins from the Yeast Endoplasmic Reticulum

The present study analyses the traffic of Hsp150 fusion proteins through the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of yeast cells, from their post-translational translocation and folding to their exit from the ER via a selective COPI-independent pathway. The reporter proteins used in the present work are: Hsp150p, an O-glycosylated natural secretory protein of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as well as fusion proteins consisting of a fragment of Hsp150 that facilitates in the yeast ER proper folding of heterologous proteins fused to it. It is thought that newly synthesized polypeptides are kept in an unfolded form by cytosolic chaperones to facilitate the post-translational translocation across the ER membrane. However, beta-lactamase, fused to the Hsp150 fragment, folds in the cytosol into bioactive conformation. Irreversible binding of benzylpenicillin locked beta-lactamase into a globular conformation, and prevented the translocation of the fusion protein. This indicates that under normal conditions the beta-lactamase portion unfolds for translocation. Cytosolic machinery must be responsible for the unfolding. The unfolding is a prerequisite for translocation through the Sec61 channel into the lumen of the ER, where the polypeptide is again folded into a bioactive and secretion-competent conformation. Lhs1p is a member of the Hsp70 family, which functions in the conformational repair of misfolded proteins in the yeast ER. It contains Hsp70 motifs, thus it has been thought to be an ATPase, like other Hsp70 members. In order to understand its activity, authentic Lhs1p and its recombinant forms expressed in E. coli, were purified. However, no ATPase activity of Lhs1p could be detected. Nor could physical interaction between Lhs1p and activators of the ER Hsp70 chaperone Kar2p, such as the J-domain proteins Sec63p, Scj1p, and Jem1p and the nucleotide exchange factor Sil1p, be demonstrated. The domain structure of Lhs1p was modelled, and found to consist of an ATPase-like domain, a domain resembling the peptide-binding domain (PBD) of Hsp70 proteins, and a C-terminal extension. Crosslinking experiments showed that Lhs1p and Kar2p interact. The interacting domains were the C-terminal extension of Lhs1p and the ATPase domain of Kar2p, and this interaction was independent of ATPase activity of Kar2p. A model is presented where the C-terminal part of Lhs1p forms a Bag-like 3 helices bundle that might serve in the nucleotide exchange function for Kar2p in translocation and folding of secretory proteins in the ER. Exit of secretory proteins in COPII-coated vesicles is believed to be dependent of retrograde transport from the Golgi to the ER in COPI-coated vesicles. It is thought that receptors escaping to the Golgi must be recycled back to the ER exit sites to recruit cargo proteins. We found that Hsp150 leaves the ER even in the absence of functional COPI-traffic from the Golgi to the ER. Thus, an alternative, COPI-independent ER exit pathway must exists, and Hsp150 is recruited to this route. The region containing the signature guiding Hsp150 to this alternative pathway was mapped.

Nucleotide sequence of the 3' terminal region of belladonna mottle virus-Iowa (renamed Physalis mottle virus) RNA and an analysis of the relationships of tymoviral coat proteins

The 3prime terminal 1255nt sequence of Physalis mottle virus (PhMV) genomic RNA has been determined from a set of overlapping cDNA clones. The open reading frame (ORF) at the 3prime terminus corresponds to the amino acid sequence of the coat protein (CP) determined earlier except for the absence of the dipeptide, Lys-Leu, at position 110-111. In addition, the sequence upstream of the CP gene contains the message coding for 178 amino acid residues of the C-terminus of the putative replicase protein (RP). The sequence downstream of the CP gene contains an untranslated region whose terminal 80 nucleotides can be folded into a characteristic tRNA-like structure. A phylogenetic tree constructed after aligning separately the sequence of the CP, the replicase protein (RP) and the tRNA-like structure determined in this study with the corresponding sequences of other tymoviruses shows that PhMV wrongly named belladonna mottle virus [BDMV(I)] is a separate tymovirus and not another strain of BDMV(E) as originally envisaged. The phylogenetic tree in all the three cases is identical showing that any subset of genomic sequence of sufficient length can be used for establishing evolutionary relationships among tymoviruses.

The structure of glycosaminoglycans and their interactions with proteins

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are important complex carbohydrates that participate in many biological processes through the regulation of their various protein partners. Biochemical, structural biology and molecular modelling approaches have assisted in understanding the molecular basis of such interactions, creating an opportunity to capitalize on the large structural diversity of GAGs in the discovery of new drugs. The complexity of GAG–protein interactions is in part due to the conformational flexibility and underlying sulphation patterns of GAGs, the role of metal ions and the effect of pH on the affinity of binding. Current understanding of the structure of GAGs and their interactions with proteins is here reviewed: the basic structures and functions of GAGs and their proteoglycans, their clinical significance, the three-dimensional features of GAGs, their interactions with proteins and the molecular modelling of heparin binding sites and GAG–protein interactions. This review focuses on some key aspects of GAG structure–function relationships using classical examples that illustrate the specificity of GAG–protein interactions, such as growth factors, anti-thrombin, cytokines and cell adhesion molecules. New approaches to the development of GAG mimetics as possible new glycotherapeutics are also briefly covered.

Prediction of heparin binding sites in bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs)

Heparin is a glycosaminoglycan known to bind bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) and the growth and differentiation factors (GDFs) and has strong and variable effects on BMP osteogenic activity. In this paper we report our predictions of the likely heparin binding sites for BMP-2 and 14. The N-terminal sequences upstream of TGF-β-type cysteine-knot domains in BMP-2, 7 and 14 contain the basic residues arginine and lysine, which are key components of the heparin/HS-binding sites, with these residues being highly non-conserved. Importantly, evolutionary conserved surfaces on the beta sheets are required for interactions with receptors and antagonists. Furthermore, BMP-2 has electropositive surfaces on two sides compared to BMP-7 and BMP-14. Molecular docking simulations suggest the presence of high and low affinity binding sites in dimeric BMP-2. Histidines were found to play a role in the interactions of BMP-2 with heparin; however, a pKa analysis suggests that histidines are likely not protonated. This is indicative that interactions of BMP-2 with heparin do not require acidic pH. Taken together, non-conserved amino acid residues in the N-terminus and residues protruding from the beta sheet (not overlapping with the receptor binding sites and the dimeric interface) and not C-terminal are found to be important for heparin–BMP interactions.

A common epitope of beta-lactoglobulin and serum retinol-binding proteins: Elucidation of its core sequence using synthetic peptides

One of the monoclonal antibodies raised against bovine beta-lactoglobulin reacted with human serum retinol binding protein. The finding that this monoclonal antibody also reacted with the serum retinol binding proteins isolated from other animals, suggested that this epitopic conformation is conserved among these proteins. Using ELISA and various synthetic peptides of defined sequence, we show in this paper that the epitope defined by this monoclonal antibody comprises of the highly conserved core sequence of DTDY present in beta-lactoglobulin and retinol binding proteins.