PRMT1 is the predominant type I protein arginine methyltransferase in mammals and highly conserved among all eukaryotes. It is essential for early postimplantation development in mouse. Here we describe the crystal structure of rat PRMT1 in complex with the reaction product AdoHcy and a 19 residue substrate peptide containing three arginines. The results reveal a two-domain structure-an AdoMet ...

The hypothetical protein predicted by the open reading frame MJ0055 of Methanococcus jannaschii was expressed in a recombinant Escherichia coli strain under the control of a synthetic gene optimized for translation in an eubacterial host. The recombinant protein catalyzes the formation of the riboflavin precursor 3,4-dihydroxy-2-butanone 4-phosphate from ribulose 5-phosphate at a rate of 174 nm...

Tubulin polyglutamylation is a modification that adds multiple glutamates to the gamma-carboxyl group of a glutamate residue in the C-terminal tails of alpha- and beta-tubulin [1, 2]. This modification has been implicated in the regulation of axonal transport and ciliary motility. However, its molecular function in cilia remains unknown. Here, using a novel Chlamydomonas reinhardtii mutant (tpg...

Different models to treat metal-catalyzed enzyme reactions are investigated. The test case chosen is the recently suggested full catalytic cycle of manganese catalase including eight different steps. This cycle contains O—O and O—H activations, as well as electron transfer steps and redox active reactions, and is therefore believed to be representative of many similar systems. Questions concern...

In ion channels, 'rings' of ionized side chains that decorate the walls of the permeation pathway often lower the energetic barrier to ion conduction. Using single-channel electrophysiological recordings, we studied the poorly understood ring of four glutamates (and one glutamine) that dominates this catalytic effect in the muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptor ('the intermediate ring of char...

We describe the cloning, overexpression, purification, characterization and crystal structure of chitinase G, a single-domain family 19 chitinase from the Gram-positive bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2). Although chitinase G was not capable of releasing 4-methylumbelliferyl from artificial chitooligosaccharide substrates, it was capable of degrading longer chitooligosaccharides at rates s...

We have investigated the reaction products of several iron(III) compounds with hydrogen peroxide, and have found that hydrogen peroxide promotes the formation of an oxo-bridged iron(III) species in the presence of methanol (electron donor), and carboxyl groups of the ligand systems play a role to give the tetranuclear iron(III) compound containing a bent Fe-O-Fe unit (O: oxo oxygen atom). Based...

Strong depolarization and dihydropyridine agonists potentiate inward currents through native L-type Ca2+ channels, but the effect on outward currents is less clear due to the small size of these currents. Here, we examined potentiation of wild-type alpha1C and two constructs bearing mutations in conserved glutamates in the pore regions of repeats II and IV (E2A/E4A-alpha1C) or repeat III (E3K-a...

Schizophrenia is associated with brain glutamate dysfunction, but it is currently unclear whether antipsychotic administration can reduce the extent of glutamatergic abnormality. We conducted a systematic review of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) studies examining the effects of antipsychotic treatment on brain glutamate levels in schizophrenia. The Medline database was searched...