Cis-trans Isomerization Of Peptide Bonds Research Articles

Prolyl isomerase Pin1 in metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells.

Pin1 is one member of a group consisting of three prolyl isomerases. Pin1 interacts with the motif containing phospho-Ser/Thr-Pro of substrates and enhances cis-trans isomerization of peptide bonds, thereby controlling the functions of these substrates. Importantly, the Pin1 expression level is highly upregulated in most cancer cells and correlates with malignant properties, and thereby with poor outcomes. In addition, Pin1 was revealed to promote the functions of multiple oncogenes and to abrogate tumor suppressors. Accordingly, Pin1 is well recognized as a master regulator of malignant processes. Recent studies have shown that Pin1 also binds to a variety of metabolic regulators, such as AMP-activated protein kinase, acetyl CoA carboxylase and pyruvate kinase2, indicating Pin1 to have major impacts on lipid and glucose metabolism in cancer cells. In this review, we focus on the roles of Pin1 in metabolic reprogramming, such as "Warburg effects", of cancer cells. Our aim is to introduce these important roles of Pin1, as well as to present evidence supporting the possibility of Pin1 inhibition as a novel anti-cancer strategy.

Green‐lighting green fluorescent protein: Faster and more efficient folding by eliminating a cis–trans peptide isomerization event

Wild-type green fluorescent protein (GFP) folds on a time scale of minutes. The slow step in folding is a cis-trans peptide bond isomerization. The only conserved cis-peptide bond in the native GFP structure, at P89, was remodeled by the insertion of two residues, followed by iterative energy minimization and side chain design. The engineered GFP was synthesized and found to fold faster and more efficiently than its template protein, recovering 50% more of its fluorescence upon refolding. The slow phase of folding is faster and smaller in amplitude, and hysteresis in refolding has been eliminated. The elimination of a previously reported kinetically trapped state in refolding suggests that X-P89 is trans in the trapped state. A 2.55 Å resolution crystal structure revealed that the new variant contains only trans-peptide bonds, as designed. This is the first instance of a computationally remodeled fluorescent protein that folds faster and more efficiently than wild type.

Extracting Realistic Kinetics of Rare Activated Processes from Accelerated Molecular Dynamics Using Kramers' Theory.

The cis-trans isomerization of peptide bonds is very slow, occurring in hundreds of seconds. Kinetic studies of such processes using straightforward molecular dynamics are currently not possible. Here, we use Kramers' rate theory in the high friction regime in combination with accelerated molecular dynamics in explicit solvent to successfully retrieve the normal rate of cis to trans switching in the glycyl-prolyl dipeptide. Our approach bypasses the time-reweighting problem of the hyperdynamics scheme, wherein the addition of the bias potential alters the transition state regions and avoids an accurate estimation of kinetics. By performing accelerated molecular dynamics at a few different levels of acceleration, the rate of isomerization is enhanced as much as 10(10) to 10(11) times. Remarkably, the normal rates obtained by simply extrapolating to zero bias are within an order of experimental estimates. This provides validation from a kinetic standpoint of the ω torsional parameters of the AMBER force field that were recently revised by matching to experimentally measured equilibrium properties. We also provide a comparative analysis of the performance of the widely used water models, i.e., TIP3P and SPC/E, in estimating the kinetics of cis-trans isomerization. Furthermore, we show that the dynamic properties of bulk water can be corrected by adjusting the collision frequency in a Langevin thermostat, which then allows for better reproduction of cis-trans isomerization kinetics and a closer agreement of rates between experiments and simulations.

Versatility of Trigger Factor Interactions with Ribosome-Nascent Chain Complexes

Trigger factor (TF) is the first molecular chaperone that interacts with nascent chains emerging from bacterial ribosomes. TF is a modular protein, consisting of an N-terminal ribosome binding domain, a PPIase domain, and a C-terminal domain, all of which participate in polypeptide binding. To directly monitor the interactions of TF with nascent polypeptide chains, TF variants were site-specifically labeled with an environmentally sensitive NBD fluorophore. We found a marked increase in TF-NBD fluorescence during translation of firefly luciferase (Luc) chains, which expose substantial regions of hydrophobicity, but not with nascent chains lacking extensive hydrophobic segments. TF remained associated with Luc nascent chains for 111 +/- 7 s, much longer than it remained bound to the ribosomes (t((1/2)) approximately 10-14 s). Thus, multiple TF molecules can bind per nascent chain during translation. The Escherichia coli cytosolic proteome was classified into predicted weak and strong interactors for TF, based on the occurrence of continuous hydrophobic segments in the primary sequence. The residence time of TF on the nascent chain generally correlated with the presence of hydrophobic regions and the capacity of nascent chains to bury hydrophobicity. Interestingly, TF bound the signal sequence of a secretory protein, pOmpA, but not the hydrophobic signal anchor sequence of the inner membrane protein FtsQ. On the other hand, proteins lacking linear hydrophobic segments also recruited TF, suggesting that TF can recognize hydrophobic surface features discontinuous in sequence. Moreover, TF retained significant affinity for the folded domain of the positively charged, ribosomal protein S7, indicative of an alternative mode of TF action. Thus, unlike other chaperones, TF appears to employ multiple mechanisms to interact with a wide range of substrate proteins.

The Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum-resident FK506-binding Protein FKBP65 Is a Molecular Chaperone That Interacts with Collagens

The rough endoplasmic reticulum-resident FK-506-binding protein FKBP65 can be isolated from chick embryos on a gelatin-Sepharose column, indicating some involvement in the biosynthesis of procollagens. The peptidylprolyl cis-trans-isomerase activity of FKBP65 was previously shown to have only marginal effects on the rate of triple helix formation (Zeng, B., MacDonald, J. R., Bann, J. G., Beck, K., Gambee, J. E., Boswell, B. A., and Bächinger, H. P. (1998) Biochem. J. 330, 109-114). Here we show that FKBP65 is a monomer in solution and acts as a chaperone molecule when tested with two classic chaperone assays: FKBP65 inhibits the thermal aggregation of citrate synthase and is active in the denatured rhodanese refolding and aggregation assay. The chaperone activity is comparable to that of protein-disulfide isomerase, a well characterized chaperone. FKBP65 delays the in vitro fibril formation of type I collagen, indicating that FKBP65 is also able to interact with triple helical collagen, and acts as a collagen chaperone.

Is peptide bond cis/trans isomerization a key stage in the chemo-mechanical cycle of motor proteins?

Motor proteins such as myosin and kinesin are responsible for actively directed movement in vivo. The physicochemical mechanism underlying their function is still obscure. A novel and unifying model concerning the motors driving mechanism is suggested here. This model resides within the framework of the well-studied "swinging lever-arm" hypothesis, stating that cis/trans peptide bond isomerization (CTI) is a key stage in the chemo-mechanical coupling within actomyosin--the complex of the motor (myosin) and its specific track (actin). CTI is suggested to propel myosin's lever-arm swing. The model addresses on the submolecular level a broad spectrum of actomyosin's functional characteristics, such as kinetics, energetics, force exertion, stepping, and directionality. The model may be tested first with relative ease in kinesin--a smaller motor that could be specifically modified with unnatural amino acids using bacterial expression. Suggested modifications may be used for labeling and functional decoupling.

Nucleation and propagation of the collagen triple helix in single-chain and trimerized peptides: transition from third to first order kinetics

The kinetics of triple helix formation from single non-crosslinked peptide chains were studied for the collagen models (ProProGly) 10 and (ProHypGly) 10 in a broad concentration range and compared with those in nucleated trimers. At very low peptide concentrations the reaction order is 3 but decreases at higher concentrations. For (ProProGly) 10 the third order rate constant is 800 M −2 s −1 at 7°C, which corresponds to a very long half time of 15 hours at 60 μM chain concentration. For (ProHypGly) 10 the rate constant is about 1000-fold higher, which is consistent with the stabilizing effect of 4-hydroxyproline in collagens. The concentration dependence of the reaction order is explained by a nucleation mechanism in which a very unstable dimer is in fast equilibrium with the monomeric chains and addition of the third chain occurs in a rate-limiting step. At high concentrations nucleation is faster than propagation of helix formation and propagation becomes rate-limiting. To test this hypothesis an artificial nucleus was introduced by fusion of (ProProGly) 10 with the trimeric foldon domain of T4 phage or the crosslinking domain of collagen III GlyProProGlyProCysCysGlyGlyGly. These domains were recombinantly attached to the C terminus of (GlyProPro) 10 and link the three chains in a similar way to the C-terminal propeptide domain in collagen III. This results in a local intrinsic chain concentration of about 1 M. A first order reaction is observed for the folding of the triple helix in (GlyProPro) 10foldon with a half time of 8.3 minutes, which approximately matches the rate of folding from single chains at 1 M peptide concentration. A high activation energy of 54 kJ/mol is found for this reaction, whereas the temperature dependence of the nucleation step is close to zero, confirming earlier findings on natural collagens that cis-trans isomerization of peptide bonds is the rate-limiting step in propagation.

The influence of peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase on the in vitro folding of type III collagen.

Peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase was extracted from pig kidney cortex and partially purified. Enzyme activity was monitored against the cis-trans isomerization of succinyl-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-methylcoumaryl amide by means of a two-step process using chymotrypsin as the trans cleaving activity. The in vitro refolding of denatured type III collagen, which is rate-limited by the cis-trans isomerization of peptide bonds, was studied in the presence of peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase by optical rotatory dispersion and by resistance to tryptic digestion. A 3-fold increase in the initial rate of folding was observed compared to the uncatalyzed refolding. This rate increase is comparable to the rate increase found for the CT-phase in the refolding of urea-denatured ribonuclease A, but it is smaller than the increase in the rate of isomerization of succinyl-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-methylcoumarylamide.

Detection of cis and trans X-Pro peptide bonds in proteins by 13C NMR: application to collagen.

Heretofore the complexity of natural abundance spectra has precluded the use of 13C NMR to detect cis peptide bonds in proteins. We have incorporated [4-13C]proline into chicken calvaria collagen and report here well-resolved C gamma signals, arising from cis and trans X-Pro and X-Hyp peptide bonds (where X is any amino acid residue) in the 13C NMR spectrum of the thermally unfolded protein. Measurement of 13C signal areas shows that 16% of the X-Pro and 8% of X-Hyp bonds are cis in the unfolded collagen. These results strongly support the conclusion drawn from kinetic studies that cis-trans isomerization of peptide bonds is the rate-limiting step in helix propagation after nucleation. Our method can be applied to other proteins as well and should aid in testing the generality of the hypothesis of Brandts, Halvorson, and Brennan that cis-trans isomerization is the rate-limiting step in protein folding when proline is present.

Formation of the triple helix of type I procollagen in cellulo. A kinetic model based on cis-trans isomerization of peptide bonds.

The kinetics of the triple helix formation of type I procollagen within chick embryo fibroblasts were measured in a pulse-chase experiment in which the appearance of fully-aligned triple-helical molecules was assayed by proteolytic digestion. Production of triple-helical molecules required 8-9 min after complete synthesis of the pro alpha chains, an observation which was inconsistent with helix formation being a co-translational process. The experimental data were in good agreement with the predictions derived from the following model: triple helix formation is initiated immediately after the completion of the synthesis of the polypeptide chains and after the formation of the interchain disulfide bonds within the C-propeptide; folding of the protein starts from a single nucleus located at one end of the three polypeptide chains, probably the carboxyl terminus, and propagates throughout the chain by a stepwise mechanism limited by the cis-trans isomerization of peptide bonds.

The role of cis-trans isomerization of peptide bonds in the coil leads to and comes from triple helix conversion of collagen.

The collagen-like portion of a peptide which comprises the amino-terminal precursor-specific region of bovine type III procollagen, showed an unusually fast, concentration independent and fully reversible triple helix ⇄ coil transition. A set of three interchain disulfide bridges probably provides an effective nucleus for triple helix formation. Refolding occurred in two kinetic phases. The first one was not resolved (half time < 5 s) and the second one had a half time of about 90 s at 20 °C. When measurements were performed in phosphate buffer pH 7.0, the amplitudes of both phases were of comparable size. Activation energies for the rate constant of the slow phase ranging from 44kJ/mol at 40–30 °C to 70 kJ/mol at 15–5 °C were observed. In the presence of 4 M guanidine-HCI, essentially no fast phase was found and the activation energy was 97 ± 13 kJ/mol. The occurrence of two kinetic phases was explained by a model mechanism in which a stretch of helix between the nucleus and the first cis peptide bond is formed quickly. In the following slow phase, cis-trans isomerization at the junction of a triple helical to coiled region becomes rate-limiting. This interpretation was supported by temperature double-jump experiments. The reformation of cis peptide bonds, after a fast destruction of the triple helix, was paralleled by an increase in the amplitude of the slow phase. These findings qualitatively agree with results on the role of cis-trans isomerization in the folding of ribonuclease [Brandts, J. F., Halvorson, H. R. & Brennan, M. (1975) Biochemistry, 14, 4953–4963]. The observed curved Arrhenius plot was quantitatively explained by the normal activation energy of cis-trans isomerization (85 kJ/mol) and the contribution of the negative enthalpy of the pre-equilibria between partially helical species formed in the fast phase. Our data suggest that for long collagen molecules, the fast phase is negligible and cis-trans isomerization sets an upper limit for the rate of triple helix formation in vivo. At 37 °C the minimum time estimated for complete folding is in the range of minutes and comparable with the rate of biosynthesis. At low temperatures the slow rate of cis-trans isomerization may govern the intracellular formation of native collagen molecules to a greater extent, if no other mechanisms maintain the trans configuration of peptide bonds after release of the chains from the ribosomes.

Unfolding and refolding occur much faster for a proline-free proteins than for most proline-containing proteins.

The kinetics for unfolding and refolding of a parvalbumin (band 5) have been examined as a function of pH near the transition region, using stopped-flow techniques. This protein is rather unusual in that it has no proline residues, and therefore serves as a good example to test the hypothesis that the rate-limiting step seen in denaturation reactions is due to the cis-trans isomerization of proline peptide bonds in the denatured state. The kinetics for parvalbumin unfolding and refolding are complex, with the data being resolvable into two fast phases at 25 degrees. The slower of the two phases seen for the parvalbumin is about 100 to 500 times faster than the slow phase seen for proline-containing proteins under the same conditions! These results argue strongly in support of the proline isomerization hypothesis. It is also suggested that the slower phase seen for parvalbumin and the second-slowest phase seen for proline-containing proteins might be due to the cis-trans isomerization of peptide bonds of non-proline residues.