Publications

The integrin alphavbeta6 augments the proliferation of epithelial cells in collagen gels and in vivo. This effect depends on the presence of a unique carboxyl-terminal region of the beta6 subunit cytoplasmic domain. In the present study, we have utilized deletional and alanine substitution mutagenesis within this region to map the amino acids responsible for alphavbeta6-mediated proliferation in more detail. Replacement or deletion of any of 6 amino acids (glutamic acid 778, lysine 779, lysine 781, valine 782, aspartic acid 783, and leucine 784) largely abolished the proliferative effects of alphavbeta6, but none of the mutants examined interfered with alphavbeta6-mediated cell adhesion or with localization of alphavbeta6 to focal adhesions. These findings suggest that residues contained within the sequence EKXKVDL are critical for the effects of alphavbeta6 on proliferation in collagen gels and that pathways initiated by interaction with this sequence are distinct from those required for integrin-mediated cell attachment or focal adhesion formation.

Secobarbital (SB) is a relatively selective mechanism-based inactivator of cytochrome P450 2B1, that partitions between epoxidation and heme and protein modification during its enzyme inactivation. The SB-2B1 heme adduct formed in situ in a functionally reconstituted system has been spectrally documented and structurally characterized as N-(5-(2-hydroxypropyl)-5-(1-methylbutyl)barbituric acid)protoporphyrin IX. The SB-protein modification has been localized to 2B1 peptide 277-323 corresponding to the active site helix I of cytochrome P450 101. The targeting of heme and this active site peptide suggests that the 2B1 active site topology could influence the course of its inactivation. To explore this possibility, the individual SB epoxidation, heme and protein modification, and corresponding molar partition ratios of the wild type and seven structural 2B1 mutants, site-directed at specific substrate recognition sites, and known to influence 2B1 catalysis were examined after Escherichia coli expression. These studies reveal that Thr-302 is critical for SB-mediated heme N-alkylation, whereas Val-367 is a critical determinant of 2B1 protein modification, and Val-363 is important for SB epoxidation. SB docking into a refined 2B1 homology model coupled with molecular dynamics analyses provide a logical rationale for these findings.