| 1. |
- Wang, Jinfan, 1989-
(författare)
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In Vitro Kinetics of Ribosomal Incorporation of Unnatural Amino Acids
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Ribosomal incorporation of unnatural amino acids (AAs) into peptides or proteins has found broad applications in studying translation mechanism, discovering potential therapeutics, and probing protein structure and function. However, such applications are generally limited by the low incorporation efficiencies of the unnatural AAs.With in vitro kinetics studies using a purified E. coli translation system, we found that the natural N-alkyl AA carrier, tRNAPro, could hasten the incorporation of N-methyl AAs. Also, the incorporation rate increased remarkably with increasing pH in the range of 7 to 8.5, suggesting the rate was limited by peptidyl transfer, not accommodation. Competition experiments revealed that several futile cycles of delivery and rejection of the A site N-methyl AA-tRNA were required per peptide bond formation, and the incorporation yield could be increased by using a higher Mg2+ concentration.Kinetics of ribosomal polymerization, using AA-tRNA substrates prepared from the standard N-NVOC-AA-pdCpA chemoenzymatic ligation method, clarified that the inefficiency of incorporation was due to the penultimate dC. This dC prompted faster peptidyl-tRNA drop-off, leading to loss of processivities along consecutive incorporations. Circumventing the penultimate dC by using our N-NVOC-AA-pCpA chemoenzymatic ligation or the flexizyme charging method to prepare the AA-tRNA substrates was able to improve the efficiencies of ribosomal consecutive incorporations of unnatural AAs.By studying the translation steps after aminoacylation of tRNAPyl, the favored carrier for unnatural AAs in vivo, we demonstrated surprisingly slow biphasic kinetics of tRNAPyl-mediated amber suppression in vitro. The fast phase amplitude increased with increasing EF-Tu concentration, allowing measurement of Kd of EF-Tu binding. Results revealed ~25-fold weaker EF-Tu binding affinity of the tRNAPyl body than that of E. coli tRNAPhe. The fast phase rate was ~30-fold slower than that of native substrates, and this rate was limited by the ~10-fold less efficient AA-tRNAPyl:EF-Tu:GTP ternary complex binding to the ribosome. The incorporation was so slow that termination by RF2 mis-reading of the amber codon became a significant competing reaction. The processivity was unexpectedly impaired as ~40% of the dipeptidyl-tRNAPyl could not be elongated to tripeptide. This new overall understanding opens a window of improving unnatural AA incorporation both in vitro and in vivo.
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| 2. |
- Wang, Jinfan, et al.
(författare)
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Kinetics of tRNAPyl-mediated amber suppression in E. coli translation reveals unexpected limiting steps and competing reactions : Kinetics of tRNAPyl-mediated amber suppression
- 2016
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Ingår i: Biotechnology and Bioengineering. - : Wiley. - 0006-3592 .- 1097-0290. ; 113:7, s. 1552-1559
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The utility of ribosomal incorporation of unnatural amino acids (AAs) in vivo is generally restricted by low efficiencies, even with the most widely used suppressor tRNA(Pyl). Because of the difficulties of studying incorporation in vivo, almost nothing is known about the limiting steps after tRNA charging. Here, we measured the kinetics of all subsequent steps using a purified Escherichia coli translation system. Dipeptide formation from initiator fMet-tRNA(fMet) and tRNA(Pyl) charged with allylglycine or methylserine displayed unexpectedly sluggish biphasic kinetics, approximate to 30-fold slower than for native substrates. The amplitude of the fast phases increased with increasing EF-Tu concentration, allowing measurement of K-d values of EF-Tu binding, both of which were approximate to 25-fold weaker than normal. However, binding could be increased approximate to 30-fold by lowering temperature. The fast phase rates were limited by the surprisingly approximate to 10-fold less efficient binding of EF-Tu:GTP:AA-tRNA(Pyl) ternary complex to the ribosomes, not GTP hydrolysis or peptide bond formation. Furthermore, processivity was unexpectedly impaired as approximate to 40% of the dipeptidyl-tRNA(Pyl) could not be elongated to tripeptide. Dipeptide formation was slow enough that termination due to misreading the UAG codon by non-cognate RF2 became very significant. This new understanding provides a framework for improving unnatural AA incorporation by amber suppression. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 1552-1559.
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| 3. |
- Wang, Jinfan, et al.
(författare)
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Ribosomal Peptide Syntheses from Activated Substrates Reveal Rate Limitation by an Unexpected Step at the Peptidyl Site
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of the American Chemical Society. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0002-7863 .- 1520-5126. ; 138:48, s. 15587-15595
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Protein synthesis (translation) is central to cellular function and antibiotic development. Interestingly, the key chemical step of translation, peptide bond formation, is among the slower enzymatic reactions. The reason for this remains controversial because of reliance on studies using highly modified, severely minimized, or unreactive substrate analogues. Here, we investigated this problem by fast kinetics using full-length aminoacyl-tRNA substrates with atomic substitutions that activated the ester electrophile. While trifluoro substitution of hydrogens in nonconserved positions of the peptidyl-site substrate dramatically increased the ester reactivity in solution assays, a large hastening of the combined rates of ribosomal accommodation and peptidyl transfer was observed only with a slowly reacting aminoacyl-site nucleophile, proline. With a fast-reacting A-site nucleophile, phenylalanine, effects did not correlate at all with electrophilicities. As effects were observed using the same, natural, aminoacyl-tRNA at the A site and all rates of accommodation/peptidyl transfer were pH dependent, we concluded that rate limitation was not by A-site accommodation but rather by peptidyl transfer and a hitherto unexpected step at the P site. This new slow step, which we term P-site accommodation, has implications for the activation or inhibition of ribosome function in vitro and in vivo.
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