The retinoblastoma protein {pll0 nB) interacts with many cellular proteins in complexes potentially important for its growth-suppressing [unction. We have developed and used an improved version of the yeast two-hybrid system to isolate human cDNAs encoding proteins able to bind pll0 RB. One clone encodes a novel type 1 protein phosphatase catalytic subunit (PP-la2), which differs from the originally defined PP-lc~ by an amino-terminal l 1-amino-acid insert. In vitro-binding assays demonstrated that PP-lc~ isoforms preferentially bind the hypophosphorylated form of p ll0 RB. Moreover, similar pll0 RB sequences are required for binding PP-lc~2 and SV40 large T antigen. Cell cycle synchrony experiments revealed that this association occurs from mitosis to early Gv The implications of these findings on the regulation of both proteins are discussed.

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The retinoblastoma protein associates with the protein phosphatase type 1 catalytic subunit.

P450BM3 (CYP102A1), a fatty acid hydroxylase from Bacillus megaterium, has been extensively studied over a period of almost forty years. The enzyme has been redesigned to catalyse the oxidation of non-natural substrates as diverse as pharmaceuticals, terpenes and gaseous alkanes using a variety of engineering strategies. Crystal structures have provided a basis for several of the catalytic effects brought about by mutagenesis, while changes to reduction potentials, inter-domain electron transfer rates and catalytic parameters have yielded functional insights. Areas of active research interest include drug metabolite production, the development of process-scale techniques, unravelling general mechanistic aspects of P450 chemistry, methane oxidation, and improving selectivity control to allow the synthesis of fine chemicals. This review draws together the disparate research themes and places them in a historical context with the aim of creating a resource that can be used as a gateway to the field.

P450BM3 (CYP102A1): connecting the dots

Protein serine/threonine phosphatases--new avenues for cell regulation.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains containing temperature-sensitive mutations in the SIT4 protein phosphatase arrest in late G1 at the nonpermissive temperature. Order-of-function analysis shows that SIT4 is required in late G1 for progression into S phase. While the levels of SIT4 do not change in the cell cycle, SIT4 associates with two high-molecular-weight phosphoproteins in a cell-cycle-dependent fashion. In addition, we have identified a polymorphic gene, SSD1, that in some versions can suppress the lethality due to a deletion of SIT4 and can also partially suppress the phenotypic defects due to a null mutation in BCY1. The SSD1 protein is implicated in G1 control and has a region of similarity to the dis3 protein of Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We have also identified a gene, PPH2alpha, that in high copy number can partially suppress the growth defect of sit4 strains. The PPH2 alpha gene encodes a predicted protein that is 80% identical to the catalytic domain of mammalian type 2A protein phosphatases but also has an acidic amino-terminal extension not present in other phosphatases.

The SIT4 protein phosphatase functions in late G1 for progression into S phase.

Autophosphorylation of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) at Thr286 generates Ca2+-independent activity. As an initial step toward understanding CaMKII inactivation, protein phosphatase classes (PP1, PP2A, PP2B, or PP2C) responsible for dephosphorylation of Thr286 in rat forebrain subcellular fractions were identified using phosphatase inhibitors/activators, by fractionation using ion exchange chromatography and by immunoblotting. PP2A-like enzymes account for >70% of activity toward exogenous soluble Thr286-autophosphorylated CaMKII in crude cytosol, membrane, and cytoskeletal extracts; PP1 and PP2C account for the remaining activity. CaMKII is present in particulate fractions, specifically associated with postsynaptic densities (PSDs); each protein phosphatase is also present in isolated PSDs, but only PP1 is enriched during PSD isolation. When isolated PSDs dephosphorylated exogenous soluble Thr286-autophosphorylated CaMKII, PP2A again made the major contribution. However, CaMKII endogenous to PSDs (32P autophosphorylated in the presence of Ca2+/calmodulin) was predominantly dephosphorylated by PP1. In addition, dephosphorylation of soluble and PSD-associated CaMKII in whole forebrain extracts was catalyzed predominantly by PP2A and PP1, respectively. Thus, soluble and PSD-associated forms of CaMKII appear to be dephosphorylated by distinct enzymes, suggesting that Ca2+-independent activity of CaMKII is differentially regulated by protein phosphatases in distinct subcellular compartments.

Valerie Hughes

Papers

Protein serine/threonine phosphatases; an expanding family

Induction of CYP102 (Cytochrome P450BM-3) inBacillus megateriumby 17β-Estradiol and 4-sec-Butylphenol