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The African coelacanth genome provides insights into tetrapod evolution:

- Amemiya, Chris T, Alföldi, Jessica, Lee, Alison P, Fan, Shaohua, Philippe, Herve´, MacCallum, Iain, Braasch, Ingo, Manousaki, Tereza, Schneider, Igor, Rohner, Nicolas, Organ, Chris, Chalopin, Domitille, Smith, Jeramiah J, Robinson, Mark, Dorrington, Rosemary A, Gerdol, Marco, Aken, Bronwen, Biscotti, Maria Assunta, Barucca, Marco, Baurain, Denis, Berlin, Aaron, Blatch, Gregory L, Buonocore, Francesco, Burmester, Thorsten, Campbell, Michael S, Canapa, Adriana, Cannon, John P, Christoffels, Alan, De Moro, Gianluca, Edkins, Adrienne L, Fan, Lin, Fausto, Anna Maria, Feiner, Nathalie, Forconi, Mariko, Gamieldien, Junaid, Gnerre, Sante, Gnirke, Andreas, Goldstone, Jared V, Haerty, Wilfried, Hahn, Mark E, Hesse, Uljana, Hoffmann, Steve, Johnson, Jeremy, Karchner, Sibel I, Kuraku, Shigehiro, Lara, Marcia, Levin, Joshua Z, Litman, Gary W, Mauceli, Evan, Miyake, Tsutomu, Mueller, M Gail, Nelson, David R, Nitsche, Anne, Olmo, Ettore, Ota, Tatsuya, Pallavicini, Alberto, Panji, Sumir, Picone, Barbara, Ponting, Chris P, Prohaska, Sonja J, Przybylski, Dariusz, Ratan Saha, Nil, Ravi, Vydianathan, Ribeiro, Filipe J, Sauka-Spengler, Tatjana, Scapigliati, Giuseppe, Searle, Stephen M J, Sharpe, Ted, Simakov, Oleg, Stadler, Peter F, Stegeman, John J, Sumiyama, Kenta, Tabbaa, Diana, Tafer, Hakim, Turner-Maier, Jason, van Heusden, Peter, White, Simon, Williams, Louise, Yandell, Mark, Brinkmann, Henner, Volff, Jean-Nicolas, Tabin, Clifford J, Shubin, Neil, Schartl, Manfred, Jaffe, David B, Postlethwait, John H, Venkatesh, Byrappa, Di Palma, Frederica, Lander, Eric S, Meyer, Axel, Lindblad-Toh, Kerstin

Quinones and halogenated monoterpenes of algal origin show anti-proliferative effects against breast cancer cells in vitro:

- de la Mare, Jo-Anne, Lawson, Jessica C, Chiwakata, Maynard T, Beukes, Denzil R, Blatch, Gregory L, Edkins, Adrienne L

  • Authors: de la Mare, Jo-Anne , Lawson, Jessica C , Chiwakata, Maynard T , Beukes, Denzil R , Blatch, Gregory L , Edkins, Adrienne L
  • Date: 2012
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/165165 , vital:41214 , DOI: 10.1007/s10637-011-9788-0
  • Description: Red and brown algae have been shown to produce a variety of compounds with chemotherapeutic potential. A recent report described the isolation of a range of novel polyhalogenated monoterpene compounds from the red algae Plocamium corallorhiza and Plocamium cornutum collected off the coast of South Africa, together with the previously described tetraprenylquinone, sargaquinoic acid (SQA), from the brown algae Sargassum heterophyllum. In our study, the algal compounds were screened for anti-proliferative activity against metastatic MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells revealing that a number of compounds displayed anti-cancer activity with IC50 values in the micromolar range. A subset of the compounds was tested for differential toxicity in the MCF-7/MCF12A system and five of these, including sargaquinoic acid, were found to be at least three times more toxic to the breast cancer than the non-malignant cell line.
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  • Date Issued: 2012

STAT3 interacts directly with Hsp90:

- Prinsloo, Earl, Kramer, Adam H, Edkins, Adrienne L, Blatch, Gregory L

  • Authors: Prinsloo, Earl , Kramer, Adam H , Edkins, Adrienne L , Blatch, Gregory L
  • Date: 2012
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/165142 , vital:41212 , DOI: 10.1002/iub.607
  • Description: Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) functionally modulates signal transduction. The signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) mediates interleukin‐6 family cytokine signaling. Aberrant activation and mutation of STAT3 is associated with oncogenesis and immune disorders, respectively. Hsp90 and STAT3 have previously been shown to colocalize and coimmunoprecipitate in common complexes.
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  • Date Issued: 2012

Targeting conserved pathways as a strategy for novel drug development: disabling the cellular stress response:

- Edkins, Adrienne L, Blatch, Gregory L

  • Authors: Edkins, Adrienne L , Blatch, Gregory L
  • Date: 2012
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , book
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/165129 , vital:41211 , ISBN 978-3-642-28174-7 , DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-28175-4_4
  • Description: The ability to respond to and cope with stress at a molecular level is essential for cell survival. The stress response is conserved across organisms by the expression of a group of molecular chaperones known as heat shock proteins (HSP). HSP are ubiquitous and highly conserved proteins that regulate cellular protein homeostasis and trafficking under physiological and stressful conditions, including diseases such as cancer and malaria. HSP are good drug targets for the treatment of human diseases, as the significant functional and structural data available suggest that they are essential for cell survival and that, despite conservation across species, there are biophysical and biochemical differences between HSP in normal and disease states that allow HSP to be selectively targeted. In this chapter, we review the international status of this area of research and highlight progress by us and other African researchers towards the characterisation and targeting of HSP from humans and parasites from Plasmodium and Trypanosoma as drug targets.
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  • Date Issued: 2012

Hsp90α/β associates with the GSK3β/axin1/phospho-β-catenin complex in the human MCF-7 epithelial breast cancer model:

- Cooper, Leanne C, Prinsloo, Earl, Edkins, Adrienne L, Blatch, Gregory L

  • Authors: Cooper, Leanne C , Prinsloo, Earl , Edkins, Adrienne L , Blatch, Gregory L
  • Date: 2011
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/165096 , vital:41208 , DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2011.08.136
  • Description: Hsp90α/β, the signal transduction chaperone, maintains intracellular communication in normal, stem, and cancer cells. The well characterised association of Hsp90α/β with its client kinases form the framework of multiple signalling networks. GSK3β, a known Hsp90α/β client, mediates β-catenin phosphorylation as part of a cytoplasmic destruction complex which targets phospho-β-catenin to the 26S proteasome. The canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway promotes stem cell self-renewal as well as oncogenesis. The degree of Hsp90α/β involvement in Wnt/β-catenin signalling needs clarification. Here, we describe the association of Hsp90α/β with GSK3β, β-catenin, phospho-β-catenin and the molecular scaffold, axin1, in the human MCF-7 epithelial breast cancer cell model using selective inhibition of Hsp90α/β, confocal laser scanning microscopy and immunoprecipitation. Our findings suggest that Hsp90α/β modulates the phosphorylation of β-catenin by interaction in common complex with GSK3β/axin1/β-catenin.
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  • Date Issued: 2011

Human DNAJ in cancer and stem cells:

- Sterrenberg, Jason N, Edkins, Adrienne L, Blatch, Gregory L

  • Authors: Sterrenberg, Jason N , Edkins, Adrienne L , Blatch, Gregory L
  • Date: 2011
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/165118 , vital:41210 , DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2011.08.019
  • Description: The heat shock protein 40 kDa (HSP40/DNAJ) co-chaperones constitute the largest and most diverse sub-group of the heat shock protein (HSP) family. DNAJ are widely accepted as regulators of HSP70 function, but also have roles as co-chaperones for the HSP90 chaperone machine, and a growing number of biological functions that may be independent of either of these chaperones. The DNAJ proteins are differentially expressed in human tissues and demonstrate the capacity to function to both promote and suppress cancer development by acting as chaperones for tumour suppressors or oncoproteins. We review the current literature on the function and expression of DNAJ in cancer, stem cells and cancer stem cells. Combining data from gene expression, proteomics and studies in other systems, we propose that DNAJ will be key regulators of cancer, stem cell and possibly cancer stem cell function. The diversity of DNAJ and their assorted roles in a range of biological functions means that selected DNAJ, provided there is limited redundancy and that a specific link to malignancy can be established, may yet provide an attractive target for specific and selective drug design for the development of anti-cancer treatments.
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  • Date Issued: 2011

Synthesis and evaluation of phosphonated N-heteroarylcarboxamides as DOXP-reductoisomerase (DXR) inhibitors

- Bodill, Taryn, Conibear, Anne C, Blatch, Gregory L, Lobb, Kevin A, Kaye, Perry T

  • Authors: Bodill, Taryn , Conibear, Anne C , Blatch, Gregory L , Lobb, Kevin A , Kaye, Perry T
  • Date: 2011
  • Subjects: To be catalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/448939 , vital:74772 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bmc.2010.11.062"
  • Description: The diethyl esters and disodium salts of a range of heteroarylcarbamoylphosphonic acids have been prepared and evaluated as analogues of the highly active DOXP-reductoisomerase (DXR) inhibitor, fosmidomycin. Computer-simulated docking studies, Saturation Transfer Difference (STD) NMR analysis and enzyme inhibition assays have been used to explore enzyme-binding and -inhibition potential, while in silico analysis of the DXR active site has highlighted the importance of including a well-parameterised metal co-factor in docking studies and has revealed the availability of an additional binding pocket to guide future drug design.
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  • Date Issued: 2011

The PINIT domain of PIAS3: structure-function analysis of its interaction with STAT3

- Mautsa, Nicodemus, Prinsloo, Earl, Tastan Bishop, Özlem, Blatch, Gregory L

  • Authors: Mautsa, Nicodemus , Prinsloo, Earl , Tastan Bishop, Özlem , Blatch, Gregory L
  • Date: 2011
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/148082 , vital:38708 , DOI: 10.1002/jmr.1111
  • Description: The protein inhibitor of activated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (PIAS3) regulates the transcriptional activity of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) which regulates transcription of genes involved in cell growth, proliferation and apoptosis. The conserved proline, isoleucine, asparagine, isoleucine, threonine (PINIT) domain of PIAS3 is thought to promote STAT3–PIAS3 interaction.
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  • Date Issued: 2011

Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus infection induces a redistribution of heat shock proteins 70 and 90 in BHK-21 cells, and is inhibited by novobiocin and geldanamycin:

- Mutsvunguma, Lorraine Z, Moetlhoa, Boitumelo, Edkins, Adrienne L, Luke, Garry A, Blatch, Gregory L, Knox, Caroline M

  • Authors: Mutsvunguma, Lorraine Z , Moetlhoa, Boitumelo , Edkins, Adrienne L , Luke, Garry A , Blatch, Gregory L , Knox, Caroline M
  • Date: 2011
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/165085 , vital:41207 , DOI: 10.1007/s12192-011-0262-x
  • Description: Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) is a positive-sense RNA virus belonging to the Cardiovirus genus in the family Picornaviridae. In addition to other host cellular factors and pathways, picornaviruses utilise heat shock proteins (Hsps) to facilitate their propagation in cells. This study investigated the localisation of Hsps 70 and 90 in TMEV-infected BHK-21 cells by indirect immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy. The effect of Hsp90 inhibitors novobiocin (Nov) and geldanamycin (GA) on the development of cytopathic effect (CPE) induced by infection was also examined. Hsp90 staining was uniformly distributed in the cytoplasm of uninfected cells but was found concentrated in the perinuclear region during late infection where it overlapped with the signal for non-structural protein 2C within the viral replication complex.
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  • Date Issued: 2011

Cancer stem cells in breast cancer and metastasis:

- Lawson, Jessica C, Blatch, Gregory L, Edkins, Adrienne L

  • Authors: Lawson, Jessica C , Blatch, Gregory L , Edkins, Adrienne L
  • Date: 2009
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/165057 , vital:41205 , DOI: 10.1007/s10549-009-0524-9
  • Description: The cancer stem cell theory poses that cancers develop from a subset of malignant cells that possess stem cell characteristics and has been proposed to account for the development of a variety of malignancies, including breast cancer. These cancer stem cells (CSC) possess characteristics of both stem cells and cancer cells, in that they have the properties of self-renewal, asymmetric cell division, resistance to apoptosis, independent growth, tumourigenicity and metastatic potential. A CSC origin for breast cancer can neatly explain both the heterogeneity of breast cancers and the relapse of the tumours after treatment. However, many reports on CSC in the breast are contradictory. There is variation with respect to how breast cancer stem cells should be identified, their characteristics and a possible lack of correlation between clinical outcome and breast cancer stem cell status of a tumour. These combined factors have made breast cancer stem cells a highly contentious issue. In this review, we highlight the progress in the analysis of cancer stem cells, with an emphasis on breast cancer.
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  • Date Issued: 2009

The ataxia protein sacsin is a functional co-chaperone that protects against polyglutamine-expanded ataxin-1

- Parfitt, David A, Michael, Gregory J, Vermeulen, Esmeralda G M, Prodromou, Natalia V, Webb, Tom R, Gallo, Jean-Marc, Cheetham, Michael E, Nicoll, William S, Blatch, Gregory L, Chapple, J Paul

  • Authors: Parfitt, David A , Michael, Gregory J , Vermeulen, Esmeralda G M , Prodromou, Natalia V , Webb, Tom R , Gallo, Jean-Marc , Cheetham, Michael E , Nicoll, William S , Blatch, Gregory L , Chapple, J Paul
  • Date: 2009
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:6485 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006262 , http://hmg.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/9/1556
  • Description: An extensive protein–protein interaction network has been identified between proteins implicated in inherited ataxias. The protein sacsin, which is mutated in the early-onset neurodegenerative disease autosomal recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay, is a node in this interactome. Here, we have established the neuronal expression of sacsin and functionally characterized domains of the 4579 amino acid protein. Sacsin is most highly expressed in large neurons, particularly within brain motor systems, including cerebellar Purkinje cells. Its subcellular localization in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells was predominantly cytoplasmic with a mitochondrial component. We identified a putative ubiquitin-like (UbL) domain at the N-terminus of sacsin and demonstrated an interaction with the proteasome. Furthermore, sacsin contains a predicted J-domain, the defining feature of DnaJ/Hsp40 proteins. Using a bacterial complementation assay, the sacsin J-domain was demonstrated to be functional. The presence of both UbL and J-domains in sacsin suggests that it may integrate the ubiquitin–proteasome system and Hsp70 function to a specific cellular role. The Hsp70 chaperone machinery is an important component of the cellular response towards aggregation prone mutant proteins that are associated with neurodegenerative diseases. We therefore investigated the effects of siRNA-mediated sacsin knockdown on polyglutamine-expanded ataxin-1. Importantly, SACS siRNA did not affect cell viability with GFP-ataxin-1[30Q], but enhanced the toxicity of GFP-ataxin- 1[82Q], suggesting that sacsin is protective against mutant ataxin-1. Thus, sacsin is an ataxia protein and a regulator of the Hsp70 chaperone machinery that is implicated in the processing of other ataxialinked proteins.
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  • Date Issued: 2009

The TPR2B domain of the Hsp70/Hsp90 organizing protein (Hop) may contribute towards its dimerization

- Longshaw, Victoria M, Stephens, Linda L, Daniel, Sheril, Blatch, Gregory L

  • Authors: Longshaw, Victoria M , Stephens, Linda L , Daniel, Sheril , Blatch, Gregory L
  • Date: 2009
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:6481 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006253 , http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/092986609787848162
  • Description: The role of the TPR2B domain of Hop is as yet unknown. We have shown here by site directed mutagenesis and size exclusion chromatography for the first time that the TPR1 and TPR2B domains of Hop independently dimerized, and that the dimerization of TPR2B was not dependent on its predicted two-carboxylate clamp residues. Furthermore, our data indicated that the dimerization of Hop and its domains was not disrupted in the presence of Hsp70 and Hsp90 peptides.
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  • Date Issued: 2009

Nuclear translocation of the phosphoprotein Hop (Hsp70/Hsp90 organizing protein) occurs under heat shock, and its proposed nuclear localization signal is involved in Hsp90 binding

- Daniel, Sheril, Bradley, Graeme, Longshaw, Victoria M, Söti, Csaba, Csermely, Peter, Blatch, Gregory L

  • Authors: Daniel, Sheril , Bradley, Graeme , Longshaw, Victoria M , Söti, Csaba , Csermely, Peter , Blatch, Gregory L
  • Date: 2008
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:6472 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005951 , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbamcr.2008.01.014
  • Description: The Hsp70–Hsp90 complex is implicated in the folding and regulation of numerous signaling proteins, and Hop, the Hsp70–Hsp90 Organizing Protein, facilitates the association of this multichaperone machinery. Phosphatase treatment of mouse cell extracts reduced the number of Hop isoforms compared to untreated extracts, providing the first direct evidence that Hop was phosphorylated in vivo. Furthermore, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy showed that a cdc2 kinase phosphorylation mimic of Hop had reduced affinity for Hsp90 binding. Hop was predominantly cytoplasmic, but translocated to the nucleus in response to heat shock. A putative bipartite nuclear localization signal (NLS) has been identified within the Hsp90-binding domain of Hop. Although substitution of residues within the major arm of this proposed NLS abolished Hop–Hsp90 interaction as determined by SPR, this was not sufficient to prevent the nuclear accumulation of Hop under leptomycin-B treatment and heat shock conditions. These results showed for the first time that the subcellular localization of Hop was stress regulated and that the major arm of the putative NLS was not directly important for nuclear translocation but was critical for Hop–Hsp90 association in vitro. We propose a model in which the association of Hop with Hsp90 and the phosphorylated status of Hop both play a role in the mechanism of nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling of Hop.
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  • Date Issued: 2008

Cytosolic and ER J-domains of mammalian and parasitic origin can functionally interact with DnaK

- Nicoll, W S, Botha, M, McNamara, Caryn, Schlange, M, Pesce, E R, Boshoff, Aileen, Ludewig, M H, Zimmerman, R, Cheetham, M E, Chapple, J P, Blatch, Gregory L

  • Authors: Nicoll, W S , Botha, M , McNamara, Caryn , Schlange, M , Pesce, E R , Boshoff, Aileen , Ludewig, M H , Zimmerman, R , Cheetham, M E , Chapple, J P , Blatch, Gregory L
  • Date: 2007
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:6484 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006261 , http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1357272506003268
  • Description: Both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells contain multiple heat shock protein 40 (Hsp40) and heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) proteins, which cooperate as molecular chaperones to ensure fidelity at all stages of protein biogenesis. The Hsp40 signature domain, the J-domain, is required for binding of an Hsp40 to a partner Hsp70, and may also play a role in the specificity of the association. Through the creation of chimeric Hsp40 proteins by the replacement of the J-domain of a prokaryotic Hsp40 (DnaJ), we have tested the functional equivalence of J-domains from a number of divergent Hsp40s of mammalian and parasitic origin (malarial Pfj1 and Pfj4, trypanosomal Tcj3, human ERj3, ERj5, and Hsj1, and murine ERj1). An in vivo functional assay was used to test the functionality of the chimeric proteins on the basis of their ability to reverse the thermosensitivity of a dnaJ cbpA mutant Escherichia coli strain (OD259). The Hsp40 chimeras containing J-domains originating from soluble (cytosolic or endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-lumenal) Hsp40s were able to reverse the thermosensitivity of E. coli OD259. In all cases, modified derivatives of these chimeric proteins containing an His to Gln substitution in the HPD motif of the J-domain were unable to reverse the thermosensitivity of E. coli OD259. This suggested that these J-domains exerted their in vivo functionality through a specific interaction with E. coli Hsp70, DnaK. Interestingly, a Hsp40 chimera containing the J-domain of ERj1, an integral membrane-bound ER Hsp40, was unable to reverse the thermosensitivity of E. coli OD259, suggesting that this J-domain was unable to functionally interact with DnaK. Substitutions of conserved amino acid residues and motifs were made in all four helices (I-IV) and the loop regions of the J-domains, and the modified chimeric Hsp40s were tested for functionality using the in vivo assay. Substitution of a highly conserved basic residue in helix II of the J-domain was found to disrupt in vivo functionality for all the J-domains tested. We propose that helix II and the HPD motif of the J-domain represent the fundamental elements of a binding surface required for the interaction of Hsp40s with Hsp70s, and that this surface has been conserved in mammalian, parasitic and bacterial systems.
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  • Date Issued: 2007

The structural and functional diversity of Hsp70 proteins from Plasmodium falciparum

- Shonhai, Addmore, Boshoff, Aileen, Blatch, Gregory L

  • Authors: Shonhai, Addmore , Boshoff, Aileen , Blatch, Gregory L
  • Date: 2007
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:6486 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006269 , http://dx.doi.org/10.1110/ps.072918107
  • Description: It is becoming increasingly apparent that heat shock proteins play an important role in the survival of Plasmodium falciparum against temperature changes associated with its passage from the cold-blooded mosquito vector to the warm-blooded human host. Interest in understanding the possible role of P. falciparum Hsp70s in the life cycle of the parasite has led to the identification of six HSP70 genes. Although most research attention has focused primarily on one of the cytosolic Hsp70s (PfHsp70-1) and its endoplasmic reticulum homolog (PfHsp70-2), further functional insights could be inferred from the structural motifs exhibited by the rest of the Hsp70 family members of P. falciparum. There is increasing evidence that suggests that PfHsp70-1 could play an important role in the life cycle of P. falciparum both as a chaperone and immunogen. In addition, P. falciparum Hsp70s and Hsp40 partners are implicated in the intracellular and extracellular trafficking of proteins. This review summarizes data emerging from studies on the chaperone role of P. falciparum Hsp70s, taking advantage of inferences gleaned from their structures and information on their cellular localization. The possible associations between P. falciparum Hsp70s with their cochaperone partners as well as other chaperones and proteins are discussed.
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  • Date Issued: 2007

Molecular biology studies on the coelacanth: a review

- Modisakeng, Keoagile W, Amemiya, Chris T, Dorrington, Rosemary A, Blatch, Gregory L

  • Authors: Modisakeng, Keoagile W , Amemiya, Chris T , Dorrington, Rosemary A , Blatch, Gregory L
  • Date: 2006
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:6466 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005795
  • Description: The discovery of the African coelacanth in 1938 and subsequently the Indonesian coelacanth in 1998 has resulted in a keen interest in molecular studies on the coelacanth. A major focus has been on the phylogenetic position of the coelacanth. Lobe-finned fish such as the coelacanth are thought to be at the base of the evolutionary branch of fish leading to tetrapods. These studies have further aimed to resolve the phylogenetic relationship of extant lobe-finned fish (two coelacanth species and the lungfishes) to vertebrates. Notwithstanding the lack of readily accessible good-quality coelacanth tissue, several major contributions to coelacanth molecular studies and biology have been possible. The mitochondrial genome sequences of both species of the coelacanth suggest that they diverged from one another 40–30 million years ago. A number of large gene families such as the HOX, protocadherin and heat shock protein clusters have been characterized. Furthermore, the recent successful construction of a large-insert (150–200 kilobase) genomic library of the Indonesian coelacanth will prove to be an invaluable tool in both comparative and functional genomics. Here we summarize and evaluate the current status of molecular research, published and databased, for both the African (Latimeria chalumnae) and the Indonesian (Latimeria menadoensis) coelacanth.
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  • Date Issued: 2006

Not all J domains are created equal: implications for the specificity of Hsp40-Hsp70 interactions

- Hennessy, Fritha, Nicoll, Willam S, Zimmerman, Richard, Cheetham, Michael E, Blatch, Gregory L

  • Authors: Hennessy, Fritha , Nicoll, Willam S , Zimmerman, Richard , Cheetham, Michael E , Blatch, Gregory L
  • Date: 2005
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:6487 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006270 , http://dx.doi.org/10.1110/ps.051406805
  • Description: Heat shock protein 40s (Hsp40s) and heat shock protein 70s (Hsp70s) form chaperone partnerships that are key components of cellular chaperone networks involved in facilitating the correct folding of a broad range of client proteins. While the Hsp40 family of proteins is highly diverse with multiple forms occurring in any particular cell or compartment, all its members are characterized by a J domain that directs their interaction with a partner Hsp70. Specific Hsp40-Hsp70 chaperone partnerships have been identified that are dedicated to the correct folding of distinct subsets of client proteins. The elucidation of the mechanism by which these specific Hsp40-Hsp70 partnerships are formed will greatly enhance our understanding of the way in which chaperone pathways are integrated into finely regulated protein folding networks. From in silico analyses, domain swapping and rational protein engineering experiments, evidence has accumulated that indicates that J domains contain key specificity determinants. This review will critically discuss the current understanding of the structural features of J domains that determine the specificity of interaction between Hsp40 proteins and their partner Hsp70s. We also propose a model in which the J domain is able to integrate specificity and chaperone activity.
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  • Date Issued: 2005

A Trypanosoma cruzi heat shock protein 40 is able to stimulate the adenosine triphosphate hydrolysis activity of heat shock protein 70 and can substitute for a yeast heat shock protein 40

- Edkins, Adrienne L, Ludewig, M H, Blatch, Gregory L

  • Authors: Edkins, Adrienne L , Ludewig, M H , Blatch, Gregory L
  • Date: 2004
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:6465 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005794 , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocel.2004.01.016
  • Description: The process of assisted protein folding, characteristic of members of the heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) and heat shock protein 40 (Hsp40) molecular chaperone families, is important for maintaining the structural integrity of cellular protein machinery under normal and stressful conditions. Hsp70 and Hsp40 cooperate to bind non-native protein conformations in a process of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-regulated assisted protein folding. We have analysed the molecular chaperone activity of the cytoplasmic inducible Hsp70 from Trypanosoma cruzi (TcHsp70) and its interactions with its potential partner Hsp40s (T. cruzi DnaJ protein 1 [Tcj1] and T. cruzi DnaJ protein 2 [Tcj2]). Histidine-tagged TcHsp70 (His-TcHsp70), Tcj1 (Tcj1-His) and Tcj2 (His-Tcj2) were over-produced in Escherichia coli and purified by nickel affinity chromatography. The in vitro basal specific ATP hydrolysis activity (ATPase activity) of His-TcHsp70 was determined as 40 nmol phosphate/min/mg protein, significantly higher than that reported for other Hsp70s. The basal specific ATPase activity was stimulated to a maximal level of 60 nmol phosphate/min/mg protein in the presence of His-Tcj2 and a model substrate, reduced carboxymethylated α-lactalbumin. In vivo complementation assays showed that Tcj2 was able to overcome the temperature sensitivity of the ydj1 mutant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain JJ160, suggesting that Tcj2 may be functionally equivalent to the yeast Hsp40 homologue (yeast DnaJ protein 1, Ydj1). These data suggest that Tcj2 is involved in cytoprotection in a similar fashion to Ydj1, and that TcHsp70 and Tcj2 may interact in a nucleotide-regulated process of chaperone-assisted protein folding.
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  • Date Issued: 2004

Isolation of genes encoding heat shock protein 70 (hsp70s) from the coelacanth, Latimeria chalumnae

- Modisakeng, Keoagile W, Dorrington, Rosemary A, Blatch, Gregory L

  • Authors: Modisakeng, Keoagile W , Dorrington, Rosemary A , Blatch, Gregory L
  • Date: 2004
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:6459 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005788
  • Description: Under stress conditions, proteins unfold or misfold, leading to the formation of aggregates. Molecular chaperones can be defined as proteins that facilitate the correct folding of other proteins, so that they attain a stable tertiary structure. In addition, they promote the refolding and degradation of denatured proteins after cellular stress. Heat shock proteins form one of the main classes of molecular chaperones. We are interested in determining if the genome of the coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) encodes a heat shock protein-based cytoprotection mechanism. We have isolated 50 kb and larger coelacanth genomic DNA from frozen skin tissue of L. chalumnae. From the alignments of several fish Hsp70 proteins, conserved regions at the N- and C-termini were identified. Codon usage tables were constructed from published coelacanth genes and degenerate primers were designed to isolate the full-length hsp70 gene and regions encoding the ATPase and the peptide binding domains. Since it is known that the tilapia and Fugu inducible hsp70 genes are intronless, we proceeded on the assumption that a coelacanth inducible hsp70 would also be intronless. A large fragment (1840 bp) encoding most of a coelacanth Hsp70 protein, and two partial fragments encoding a coelacanth Hsp70ATPase domain (1048 bp) and peptide binding domain (873 bp), were isolated by polymerase chain reaction amplification. Protein sequences translated from all the nucleotide sequences were closely identical to typical Hsp70s. This is the first study to provide evidence for a cytoprotection mechanism in the coelacanth involving an inducible Hsp70.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2004

Molecular chaperones in biology, medicine and protein biotechnology

- Boshoff, Aileen, Nicoll, William S, Hennessy, Fritha, Ludewig, M H, Daniel, Sheril, Modisakeng, Keoagile W, Shonhai, Addmore, McNamara, Caryn, Bradley, Graeme, Blatch, Gregory L

  • Authors: Boshoff, Aileen , Nicoll, William S , Hennessy, Fritha , Ludewig, M H , Daniel, Sheril , Modisakeng, Keoagile W , Shonhai, Addmore , McNamara, Caryn , Bradley, Graeme , Blatch, Gregory L
  • Date: 2004
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: vital:6457 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004479
  • Description: Molecular chaperones consist of several highly conserved families of proteins, many of which consist of heat shock proteins. The primary function of molecular chaperones is to facilitate the folding or refolding of proteins, and therefore they play an important role in diverse cellular processes including protein synthesis, protein translocation, and the refolding or degradation of proteins after cell stress. Cells are often exposed to different stressors, resulting in protein misfolding and aggregation. It is now well established that the levels of certain molecular chaperones are elevated during stress to provide protection to the cell. The focus of this review is on the impact of molecular chaperones in biology, medicine and protein biotechnology, and thus covers both fundamental and applied aspects of chaperone biology. Attention is paid to the functions and applications of molecular chaperones from bacterial and eukaryotic cells, focusing on the heat shock proteins 90 (Hsp90), 70 (Hsp70) and 40 (Hsp40) classes of chaperones, respectively. The role of these classes of chaperones in human diseases is discussed, as well as the parts played by chaperones produced by the causative agents of malaria and trypanosomiasis. Recent advances have seen the application of chaperones in improving the yields of a particular target protein in recombinant protein production. The prospects for the targeted use of molecular chaperones for the over-production of recombinant proteins is critically reviewed, and current research on these chaperones at Rhodes University is also discussed.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2004
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