A thermosome is a group II chaperonin protein complex that functions in archaea. It is the homolog of eukaryotic CCT. [1] This group II chaperonin is an ATP-dependent chaperonin that is responsible for folding or refolding of incipient or denatured proteins. [2] A thermosome has two rings, each consisting of eight subunits, stacked together to form a cylindrical shape with a large cavity at the center. [2] The thermosome is also defined by its heterooligomeric nature. The complex consists of two subunits [ dubious ] that alternate location within its two rings. [2]
Being a Group II chaperonin, the thermosome has a similar structure to group I chaperonins. The main difference, however, lies in the existence of a helical protrusion in the thermosome which composes of a built-in lid of the hydrophilic cavity. [2] Not only is thermosome ATP-dependent, but the mechanism in which thermosome shifts from open to close conformation is also temperature-dependent. The open conformation of the ATP-thermosome exists mainly at low temperatures. [3] Whereas, the closed conformation of the thermosome occurs when heating to physiological temperature. [3]
Similar to the GroEL chaperonins in bacteria, the thermosome shows negative cooperativity since the two rings of the thermosome show different affinities for the binding of ATP. However, unlike the GroEL system, the thermosome is less affected by the concentration of ATP. In the absence of ATP, the thermosome does not have a preference for the T-state over the R-state. There is, however, an inhibition for the loading of the second ring when ADP is bound to the first ring. [4]
The N-terminus and C-terminus of thermosomes are arranged in an anti-parallel fashion and their interactions form part of the intra-ring interactions. Both the N-terminus and C-terminus of the thermosome have charged residues which interact with each other to contribute to the thermal stability of the thermosome. The cpn-α and cpn-β thermosomes specifically show maximum thermal stability in the pH range of 7.0 to 8.0 because this is the range where the charged N- and C-termini residues have net charges close to zero. Under lower or high pH conditions, these residues are charged and repelled each other which negatively affect thermal stability. This shows one possible way in which pH affects the stability of the thermosome. [5]
Proteasomes are protein complexes which degrade unneeded or damaged proteins by proteolysis, a chemical reaction that breaks peptide bonds. Enzymes that help such reactions are called proteases.
ATP synthase is a protein that catalyzes the formation of the energy storage molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP) using adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and inorganic phosphate (Pi). ATP synthase is a molecular machine. The overall reaction catalyzed by ATP synthase is:
GroEL is a protein which belongs to the chaperonin family of molecular chaperones, and is found in many bacteria. It is required for the proper folding of many proteins. To function properly, GroEL requires the lid-like cochaperonin protein complex GroES. In eukaryotes the organellar proteins Hsp60 and Hsp10 are structurally and functionally nearly identical to GroEL and GroES, respectively, due to their endosymbiotic origin.
Heat shock 10 kDa protein 1 (Hsp10), also known as chaperonin 10 (cpn10) or early-pregnancy factor (EPF), is a protein that in humans is encoded by the HSPE1 gene. The homolog in E. coli is GroES that is a chaperonin which usually works in conjunction with GroEL.
HSP60, also known as chaperonins (Cpn), is a family of heat shock proteins originally sorted by their 60kDa molecular mass. They prevent misfolding of proteins during stressful situations such as high heat, by assisting protein folding. HSP60 belong to a large class of molecules that assist protein folding, called molecular chaperones.
A thermoacidophile is an extremophilic microorganism that is both thermophilic and acidophilic; i.e., it can grow under conditions of high temperature and low pH. The large majority of thermoacidophiles are archaea or bacteria, though occasional eukaryotic examples have been reported. Thermoacidophiles can be found in hot springs and solfataric environments, within deep sea vents, or in other environments of geothermal activity. They also occur in polluted environments, such as in acid mine drainage.
The heat shock proteins HslV and HslU are expressed in many bacteria such as E. coli in response to cell stress. The hslV protein is a protease and the hslU protein is an ATPase; the two form a symmetric assembly of four stacked rings, consisting of an hslV dodecamer bound to an hslU hexamer, with a central pore in which the protease and ATPase active sites reside. The hslV protein degrades unneeded or damaged proteins only when in complex with the hslU protein in the ATP-bound state. HslV is thought to resemble the hypothetical ancestor of the proteasome, a large protein complex specialized for regulated degradation of unneeded proteins in eukaryotes, many archaea, and a few bacteria. HslV bears high similarity to core subunits of proteasomes.
Mitochondrial carriers are proteins from solute carrier family 25 which transfer molecules across the membranes of the mitochondria. Mitochondrial carriers are also classified in the Transporter Classification Database. The Mitochondrial Carrier (MC) Superfamily has been expanded to include both the original Mitochondrial Carrier (MC) family and the Mitochondrial Inner/Outer Membrane Fusion (MMF) family.
Prefoldin (GimC) is a superfamily of proteins used in protein folding complexes. It is classified as a heterohexameric molecular chaperone in both archaea and eukarya, including humans. A prefoldin molecule works as a transfer protein in conjunction with a molecule of chaperonin to form a chaperone complex and correctly fold other nascent proteins. One of prefoldin's main uses in eukarya is the formation of molecules of actin for use in the eukaryotic cytoskeleton.
T-complex protein 1 subunit eta is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CCT7 gene.
T-complex protein 1 subunit zeta is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CCT6A gene.
T-complex protein 1 subunit beta is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CCT2 gene.
T-complex protein 1 subunit gamma is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CCT3 gene.
T-complex protein 1 subunit zeta-2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CCT6B gene.
The G beta-gamma complex (Gβγ) is a tightly bound dimeric protein complex, composed of one Gβ and one Gγ subunit, and is a component of heterotrimeric G proteins. Heterotrimeric G proteins, also called guanosine nucleotide-binding proteins, consist of three subunits, called alpha, beta, and gamma subunits, or Gα, Gβ, and Gγ. When a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) is activated, Gα dissociates from Gβγ, allowing both subunits to perform their respective downstream signaling effects. One of the major functions of Gβγ is the inhibition of the Gα subunit.
The Walker A and Walker B motifs are protein sequence motifs, known to have highly conserved three-dimensional structures. These were first reported in ATP-binding proteins by Walker and co-workers in 1982.
Members of the H+, Na+-translocating Pyrophosphatase (M+-PPase) Family (TC# 3.A.10) are found in the vacuolar (tonoplast) membranes of higher plants, algae, and protozoa, and in both bacteria and archaea. They are therefore ancient enzymes.
ASIC5 gene is one of the five paralogous genes that encode proteins that form trimeric Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) in mammals. Aliases previously used for this gene include ACCN5 and BASIC. The protein encoded by this gene does not appear to be acid responsive. The cDNA coding for this protein was first characterized in 2000. The ASIC genes have splicing variants that encode different proteins that are called isoforms.
Volkensin is a eukaryotic ribosome-inactivating protein found in the Adenia volkensii plant. It is a glycoprotein with two subunits A and B. A subunit is linked to B subunit with disulfide bridges and non-covalent bonds. B subunit is responsible for binding to the galactosyl-terminated receptors on the cell membrane that allows the entry the A subunit of the toxin into the cell, which performs the inhibitory function. Volkensin is a galactose specific lectin that can inhibit protein synthesis in whole cells and in cell-free lysates. This protein can be included into the category of risin like toxins and it resembles modeccin, the toxin of Adenia digitata. Although very similar in composition, volkensin contains more cysteine residues and more than twice as much sugar than modeccin, due to high content of galactose and mannose. In addition, volkensin is able to inhibit protein synthesis at concentrations 10 times lower than required for modeccin. From gene sequencing analysis, volkensin was found to be coded by 1569-bp ORF, that is 523 amino acid residues without introns. The internal linker sequence is 45 bp. The active site of the A subunit contains Ser203, a novel residue that is conserved in all ribosome inactivating proteins.
T-complex protein Ring Complex (TRiC), otherwise known as Chaperonin Containing TCP-1 (CCT), is a multiprotein complex and the chaperonin of eukaryotic cells. Like the bacterial GroEL, the TRiC complex aids in the folding of ~10% of the proteome, and actin and tubulin are some of its best known substrates. TRiC is an example of a biological machine that folds substrates within the central cavity of its barrel-like assembly using the energy from ATP hydrolysis.