Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0162473 (Frey)
 2,599 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In the structural protein open reading frame (SP-ORF) of rubella virus (RUB), the sequences for the three virion proteins occur in the order NH2-C-E2-E1-COOH with hydrophobic, consensus signal sequences preceding the amino termini for each of the two membrane proteins (T. K. Frey and L. D. Marr, 1988 Gene 62, 85-100). In vitro translation in the presence of microsomes of RNA transcripts from a plasmid containing the SP-ORF resulted in production and accurate processing of the three structural proteins. Since in the absence of microsomes the 110-kDa precursor of these proteins is produced, this finding indicated that the cleavage events in processing of the precursor were mediated by signalase. To study the C-E2 processing event, a DNA construct was made which contained the sequences for E2 beginning at the NH2 terminus of the hydrophobic consensus signal and extending through to the NH2 terminus of E1. In vitro translation of transcripts from this construct in the presence of microsomes resulted in accurate processing of E2 confirming that the hydrophobic sequence was a signal sequence and demonstrating it could function externally as well as internally within the 110-kDa precursor. To determine if the E2 signal was maintained on C after cleavage of the precursor by signalase, the SP-ORF plasmid was mutagenized to place translation termination codons at either the NH2 or COOH side of the E2 signal sequence such that C protein lacking or containing the E2 signal would be produced. As expected, the C-minus-signal protein migrated more rapidly in polyacrylamide gels than did the C-plus-signal protein. C translated from the SP-ORF construct as well as authentic C from infected cells comigrated with the C-plus-signal protein, indicating that the E2 signal was not removed. In a corollary study, it was found that RUB C protein was phosphorylated in vivo, although the percentage of the protein phosphorylated was not determined.
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PMID:Efficient in vitro translation and processing of the rubella virus structural proteins in the presence of microsomes. 198 59

The rubella virus (RUB) nonstructural (NS) protein (NSP) ORF encodes a protease that cleaves the NSP precursor (240 kDa) at a single site to produce two products. A cleavage site mutation was introduced into a RUB infectious cDNA clone and found to be lethal, demonstrating that cleavage of the NSP precursor is necessary for RUB replication. Based on computer alignments, the RUB NS protease was predicted to be a papain-like cysteine protease (PCP) with the residues Cys1152 and His1273 as the catalytic dyad; however, the RUB NS protease was recently found to require divalent cations such as Zn, Co, and Cd for activity (X. Liu, S. L. Ropp, R. J. Jackson, and T. K. Frey, J. Virol. 72:4463-4466, 1998). To analyze the function of metal cation binding in protease activity, Zn binding studies were performed using the minimal NS protease domain within the NSP ORF. When expressed as a maltose binding protein (MBP) fusion protein by bacteria, the NS protease exhibited activity both in the bacteria and in vitro following purification when denatured and refolded in the presence of Zn. Atomic absorption analysis detected 1.6 mol of Zn bound per mol of protein refolded in this manner. Expression of individual domains within the protease as MBP fusions and analysis by a Zn(65) binding assay revealed two Zn binding domains: one located at a predicted metal binding motif beginning at Cys1175 and the other one close to the cleavage site. Mutagenesis studies showed that Cys1175 and Cys1178 in the first domain and Cys1227 and His1273, the His in the predicted catalytic site, in the second domain are essential for zinc binding. All of these residues are also necessary for the protease activity, as were several other Cys residues not involved in Zn binding. Far-UV circular dichroism (CD) analysis of the MBP-NS protease fusion protein showed that the protease domain contained a large amount of alpha-helical structure, which is consistent with the results of secondary-structural prediction. Both far-UV-CD and fluorescence studies suggested that Zn did not exert a major effect on the overall structure of the fusion protein. Finally, protease inhibitor assays found that the protease activity can be blocked by both metal ion chelators and the metalloprotease inhibitor captopril. In conjunction with the finding that the previously predicted catalytic site, His1273, is essential for zinc binding, this suggests that the RUB NS protease is actually a novel virus metalloprotease rather than a PCP.
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PMID:Characterization of the zinc binding activity of the rubella virus nonstructural protease. 1084 76