Cysteine residues, pattern

Fig. 11.2. Schematic representation of the primary structure of secreted AChE B of N. brasiliensis in comparison with that of Torpedo californica, for which the three-dimensional structure has been resolved. The residues in the catalytic triad (Ser-His-Glu) are depicted with an asterisk, and the position of cysteine residues and the predicted intramolecular disulphide bonding pattern common to cholinesterases is indicated. An insertion of 17 amino acids relative to the Torpedo sequence, which would predict a novel loop at the molecular surface, is marked with a black box. The 14 aromatic residues lining the active-site gorge of the Torpedo enzyme are illustrated. Identical residues in the nematode enzyme are indicated in plain text, conservative substitutions are boxed, and non-conservative substitutions are circled. The amino acid sequence of AChE C is 90% identical to AChE B, and differs only in the features illustrated in that Thr-70 is substituted by Ser.

By means of this method, a variety of Ras proteins with different lipidation patterns could be synthesized in multimilligram amounts. For instance, proteins were generated with the natural lipid combination, i.e. a farnesyl thioether and a palmitoyl thioester. Furthermore, analogous proteins were synthesized embodying only one lipid residue in which either the farnesyl- or the palmitoyl group was replaced by a stable hexadecyl thioether. In addition, proteins were built up containing a serine instead of a cysteine residue at the critical sites which normally are lipidated. In a further series of experiments, lipidated Ras proteins which carry a fluorescent Mant group incorporated into the farnesyl-type modification were synthesized.1251... 

Although the occurrence of six conserved cysteine residues, the spacing patterns of these residues, and possibly the pattern of disulfide structures are hallmarks of OBPs, the six-cysteine criterion alone is not sufficient to classify a certain protein as an olfactory protein [ 16]. It is important to demonstrate that an OBP is expressed only (or predominantly) in olfactory tissues. Evidence for their ability to bind odorants is also desirable, but not sine qua non. One of these criteria alone would not be enough to define a given protein as an OBP. For example, bovine serum albumin (BSA) binds to insect pheromones (Leal, unpublished data) and yet it is not an OBP because it not expressed in insect olfactory tissues. Conversely, a protein specific to antennae is not necessarily an OBP. There are other proteins that may be expressed in antennae but not in control tissues. Non-OBPs specifically accumulated in insect antennae have been previously detected (Ishida and Leal, unpublished data). Also, a glu-tathione-S-transferase has been reported to be expressed specifically in antennae of M. sexta [52]. 

Antimicrobial peptides are also an integral part of mammalian cell-mediated immunity. They are produced by phagocytic cells, particularly neutrophils, and are designate defensins (47). Althou defensin molecules from humans, guinea pigs, rabbits, and rats may vary between 29-34 amino acid residues and differ slightly in sequence, they invariably show conservation in sue cysteine residues which are required for a defmed pattern of disulfide bonds (47). 

The uPAR protein was initially purified from lysates of phorbol ester-stimulated U937 cells by affinity chromatography using diisopropyl fluoro-phosphates (DFP)-inactivated uPA [53, 54]. uPAR is anchored in the plasma membrane by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) moiety and it consists of 283 amino acids in its processed form [55, 56]. The protein is composed of three domains and each domain contains 90 amino acids. The domains are connected by linker regions with a length of 15-20 amino acids [57, 58]. The disulfide bonds in the N-terminal domain I have been experimentally determined and the pattern of cysteine residues in the sequence has revealed... 

---