N-terminal cysteine residues

Figure 17.27 The EPL process involves a fusion protein containing an intein tag plus a CBD. The fusion protein is captured on an immobilized chitin resin and after removal of contaminating proteins, it is eluted using thiophenol, which cleaves at the thioester bond between the intein and the desired expressed protein. This releases a phenylth-ioester-activated protein that can be used in the native chemical ligation reaction with another peptide containing an N-terminal cysteine residue. Conjugation results in a native amide (peptide) bond formed between them.

Figure 17.28 EPL reactions can be used to couple a fusion protein to a surface containing a thioester derivative. After cells are grown and the fusion protein expressed, a pH and temperature shift causes intein cleavage with release of the expressed protein with an N-terminal cysteine residue. Reaction with the thioester surface results in a native chemical ligation reaction that forms an amide bond linkage with the expressed protein.

Figure 17.29 An expressed protein containing a mutant intein segment can undergo self cleavage to form an N-terminal cysteine residue, which then can be reacted with a thioester probe to label specifically the protein via an amide bond.

Two approaches for solid-phase chemical ligation have been described. Canne et al. have developed an elegant system that utilizes an oxime forming ligation to attach the first peptide to the resin, a selectively cleavable ester link to remove the peptide from the resin as a C-terminal carboxylic acid, and the Acm group to protect the N-terminal cysteine residue)311 A complementary approach has been developed by Brik et al. that utilizes native chemical ligation to attach the first peptide to the solid support, a safety-catch acid labile linker to remove the final polypeptide from the support as a C-terminal amide and either Acm or Msc group for N-terminal cysteine protection)32 ... 

Figures 8a and 8b show that, upon docking, a cysteine residue from the target protein forms a third primary bond to the copper ion. This intermediate conformation is further stabilized by a network of hydrogen bonds shown in Fig. 8b, where the threonine side chain of the MTCXXC motif in each protein makes a hydrogen bond to the N-terminal cysteine residue of the MTCXXC motif of its cognate molecule. A series of two-and three-coordinate intermediates now rapidly forms and dissipates, leaving the copper ion coordinated by the two Cys residues of the target...

The modified Mth RIRl, Mxe GyrA, and Ssp DnaB mini-inteins have been recently applied to the isolation of proteins with an N-terminal cysteine residues (29,30). These inteins undergo temperature- and pH-dependent C-termi-nal cleavage when the N-terminal cysteine residue of the intein is substituted with alanine (Table 2). The target protein is recombinantly expressed as a fusion protein with the C-terminal intein tag (31) (Fig. 3B). After intein splicing the protein that possesses N-terminal cysteine is generated. Moreover, such a protein can be obtained by total chemical synthesis and different chemical labels or non-canonical amino acids can be site-specifically incorporated into the sequence. 

Fig. 3. (Continued) cysteine-possessing protein. The protein of interest (protein 2) is expressed as CBD-intein-protein 2 precursor and purified by the chitin beads. Temperature- or pH-induced intein cleavage results in proteins with an N-terminal cysteine residue. Finally, the EPL (dotted line) of the protein thioester and the cysteine containing protein, which can be also obtained synthetically, proceeds under NCL conditions.

Fig. 4. Scheme of NCL. The mechanism allows the straightforward preparation of small proteins with native backbone structures from fully unprotected synthetic peptide building blocks. The initial tran -thioesterification step includes the chemo-selective reaction between one peptide with a C-terminal a-thioester group (peptide 1) and second peptide with an N-terminal cysteine residue (peptide 2). Generated thio-ester-linked intermediate spontaneously rearranges to form a native peptide bond at the site of ligation. 

Chemokines are defined by the organization of their N-terminal cysteine residues. Which of the following is not representative of a chemokine classification ... 

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