Histone acetylation helps to maintain integrity of the yeast replisome in response to genotoxic agents. Four groups have now identified protein Rtt109p as the catalytic subunit of a novel histone H3 acetylase complex that harbors a histone chaperone subunit essential for significant activity.

BACKGROUND Type 2A protein phosphatase (PP2A) enzymes are serine/threonine phosphatases which comprise a scaffold A subunit, a regulatory B subunit and a catalytic C subunit, and have been implicated in the dephosphorylation of multiple cardiac phosphoproteins. B subunits determine subcellular targeting, substrate specificity and catalytic activity, and can themselves be regulated by post-trans...

We are developing a 4D computational methodology, based on 3D structure modeling and molecular dynamics simulation, to analyze the active site of HCV NS3 proteases, in relation to their catalytic activity. In our previous work, the 4D analyses of the interactions between the catalytic triad residues (His57, Asp81, and Ser139) yielded divergent, gradual and genotype-dependent, 4D conformational ...

To better understand the molecular mechanism of cAMP-induced and substrate-enhanced activation of type-I A-kinase, we measured the kinetics of A-kinase regulatory subunit interactions using a stopped-flow spectrofluorometric method. Specifically, we conjugated fluorescein maleimide (FM) to two separate single cysteine-substituted and truncated mutants of the type Ialpha regulatory subunit of A-...

Smooth muscle myosin light chain kinase is phosphorylated in vitro by protein kinase C purified from human platelets. When myosin light chain kinase which has calmodulin bound is phosphorylated by protein kinase C, 0.8-1.1 mol of phosphate is incorporated per mol of myosin light chain kinase with no effect on its enzyme activity. Phosphorylation of myosin light chain kinase with no calmodulin b...

Spectrophotometric titration studies at pH 8.0 have revealed that pyridoxal 5’-phosphate binds as a Schiff base to the catalytic subunit of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamylase with a stoichiometry of 3 pyridoxal phosphates per trimer and a dissociation constant of 0.9 pM. The ultraviolet absorption of the Schiff base near 430 nm is lost upon addition of the inhibitor N-(phosphonacetyl)-...

Calcineurin, a calmodulin-stimulated phosphatase from bovine brain, was hydrolyzed by calpain I from human erythrocytes. In the absence of calmodulin, calpain rapidly transformed the 60-kilodalton (kDa) catalytic subunit of calcineurin into a transient 57-kDa fragment and thereafter a 43-kDa limit fragment. In the presence of calmodulin, the 60-kDa subunit was sequentially proteolyzed to a 55-k...

PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase) I(A) family members contain a regulatory subunit and a catalytic subunit. The p110delta catalytic subunit is expressed predominantly in haematopoietic cells. There, among other functions, it regulates antigen receptor-mediated responses. Using mice deficient in the p110delta subunit of PI3K, we investigated the role of this subunit in LPS (lipopolysaccharide)-in...

Postsynaptic membranes, rich in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, were isolated from the electric organ of Torpedo californica and shown to contain a cAMP-dependent protein kinase and a calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase. The cAMP-dependent protein kinase phosphorylated the gamma and delta subunits of the acetylcholine receptor. The phosphorylated subunits were identified after pur...

The catalytic (C) subunit of protein kinase A (PKA) is regarded as a framework for the protein kinase family. Its sequence is composed of a conserved core (residues 40 300) between two segments at the amino and carboxyl termini of the protein. Since the various protein kinases differ in their specificity, it seems reasonable to assume that these nonhomologous segments may be involved in endowin...