bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Inhibition of glycerol metabolism in hepatocytes isolated from endotoxic rats
Authors: LECLERCQ Pascale , FILIPPI Céline , SIBILLE Brigitte , HAMANT Sarah , KERIEL Christiane , LEVERVE Xavier M.
Published: August 2015

Sepsis or endotoxaemia inhibits gluconeogenesis from various substrates, the main effect being related to a change in the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase transcription rate. In addition, sepsis has been reported to affect the oxidative phosphorylation pathway. We have studied glycerol metabolism in hepatocytes isolated from rats fasted and injected 16 h previously with lipopolysaccharide from Escherichiacoli. Endotoxin inhibited glycerol metabolism and led to a very large accumulation of glycerol 3-phosphate; the cytosolic reducing state was increased. Furthermore glycerol kinase activity was increased by 33% (P < 0.01). The respiratory rate of intact cells was significantly decreased by sepsis, with glycerol or octanoate as exogenous substrates, whereas oxidative phosphorylation (ATP-to-O ratio or respirations in state 4, state 3 and the oligomycin-insensitive state as well as the uncoupled state) was unchanged in permeabilized hepatocytes. Hence the effect on energy metabolism seems to be present only in intact hepatocytes. An additional important feature was the observation of a significant increase in cellular volume in cells from endotoxic animals, which might account for the alterations induced by sepsis.
Regulation by phosphorylation of Xenopus laevis poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase enzyme activity during oocyte maturation
Authors: AOUFOUCHI Sad , SHALL Sidney
Published: August 2015

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) is an abundant nuclear enzyme that is dependent on DNA breaks and nicks for its enzyme activity. These DNA nicks and breaks function as allosteric effectors of the enzyme activity. This reaction is important for efficient DNA base excision repair, although it is not a component of the elementary repair pathway itself. The physiological relevance of this reaction might be to ensure correct and efficient DNA repair. We have examined the enzyme activity of PARP in oocytes and eggs of Xenopuslaevis. Although both oocytes and eggs contain approximately the same amounts of enzyme protein, there is no detectable enzyme activity in the oocytes, whereas in the eggs the enzyme is active. Enzyme activity appears during oocyte maturation, approx. 4 h after induction by progesterone. This enzyme activation coincides with the appearance of active maturation-promoting factor. Enzyme activation is accompanied by a shift in the electrophoretic mobility of the polypeptide, from an apparent molecular mass of 116 kDa to 125 kDa. Treatment with either bacterial or potato phosphatase reverses the mobility shift and abolishes enzyme activity. Incubation of maturing X. laevis eggs with radioactive inorganic phosphate and subsequent immunoprecipitation demonstrate that the PARP protein is phosphorylated invivo. We show that maturation-promoting factor (Cyclin B/cdc2) cannot itself be responsible for the phosphorylation and activation of PARP in maturing X. laevis eggs. Together, these results demonstrate that the enzyme activity of PARP in X. laevis oocytes and eggs is regulated by post-translational, covalent phosphorylation.
A critical amino acid residue, Asp446, in UDP-glucuronosyltransferase
Authors: IWANO Hidetomo , YOKOTA Hiroshi , OHGIYA Satoru , YOTUMOTO Naomi , YUASA Akira
Published: August 2015

An amino acid residue, Asp446, was found to be essential for the enzymic activity of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT). We obtained a rat phenol UGT (UGT1*06) cDNA (named Ysh) from male rat liver by reverse-transcription (RT)-PCR using pfu polymerase. A mutant Ysh having two different bases, A1337G and G1384A (named Ysh A1337GC1384A), that result in two amino acid substitutions, D446G and V462M, was obtained by RT-PCR using Taq polymerase. Ysh was expressed functionally in microsomes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain AH22. However, the expressed protein from Ysh A1337GG1384A had no transferase activity. Two other mutant cDNAs with Ysh A1337G having one changed base, A1337G, resulting in one amino acid substitution, D446G, and Ysh G1384A having a changed base, G1384A, resulting in an amino acid substitution, V462M, were constructed and expressed in the yeast. The expressed protein from Ysh G1384A (named Ysh V462M) exhibited enzymic activity, but the one from Ysh A1337G (named Ysh D446G) did not show any activity at all. Asp446 was conserved in all UGTs and UDP-galactose:ceramide galactosyltransferases reported, suggesting that Asp446 plays a critical role in each enzyme.
Direct ESR detection or peroxynitrite-induced tyrosine-centred protein radicals in human blood plasma
Authors: PIETRAFORTE Donatella , MINETTI Maurizio
Published: August 2015

Peroxynitrite, the reaction product of O2•- and •NO, is a toxic compound involved in several oxidative processes that modify proteins. The mechanisms of these oxidative reactions are not completely understood. In this study, using direct ESR at 37 °C, we observed that peroxynitrite induced in human blood plasma a long-lived singlet signal at g = 2.004 arising from proteins. This signal was not due to a specific plasma protein, because several purified proteins were able to form a peroxynitrite-induced g =2.004 signal, but serum albumin and IgG showed the most intense signals. Hydroxyurea, a tyrosyl radical scavenger, strongly inhibited the signal, and horseradish peroxidase/H2O2, a radical-generating system known to induce tyrosyl radicals, induced a similar signal. Furthermore peptides containing a Tyr in the central portion of the molecule were able to form a stable peroxynitrite-dependent g = 2.004 signal, whereas peptides in which Tyr was substituted with Gly, Trp or Phe and peptides with Tyr at the N-terminus or near the C-terminus did not form radicals that were stable at 37 °C. We suggest that Tyr residues are at least the major radical sources of the peroxynitrite-dependent g = 2.004 signal at 37 °C in plasma or in isolated proteins. Although significantly enhanced by CO2/bicarbonate, the signal was detectable in whole plasma at relatively high peroxynitrite concentrations (> 2 mM) but, after removal of ascorbate or urate or in dialysed plasma, it was detectable at lower concentrations (100–1000 μM). Our results suggest that the major role of ascorbate and urate is to reduce or ‘repair’ the radical(s) centred on Tyr residues and not to scavenge peroxynitrite (or nitrosoperoxycarbonate, the oxidant formed in CO2-containing fluids). This mechanism of inhibition by plasma antioxidants may be a means of preserving the physiological functions of peroxynitrite.
Subcellular localization and purification of a p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase from cultured carrot cells and characterization of the corresponding cDNA
Authors: GARCIA Isabelle , RODGERS Matthew , LENNE Catherine , ROLLAND Anne , SAILLAND Alain , MATRINGE Michel
Published: August 2015

p-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase catalyses the transformation of p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate into homogentisate. In plants this enzyme has a crucial role because homogentisate is the aromatic precursor of all prenylquinones. Furthermore this enzyme was recently identified as the molecular target for new families of potent herbicides. In this study we examine precisely the localization of p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase activity within carrot cells. Our results provide evidence that, in cultured carrot cells, p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase is associated with the cytosol. Purification and SDS/PAGE analysis of this enzyme revealed that its activity is associated with a polypeptide of 45–46 kDa. This protein specifically cross-reacts with an antiserum raised against the p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase of Pseudomonas fluorescens. Gel-filtration chromatography indicates that the enzyme behaves as a homodimer. We also report the isolation and nucleotide sequence of a cDNA encoding a carrot p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase. The nucleotide sequence (1684 bp) encodes a protein of 442 amino acid residues with a molecular mass of 48094 Da and shows specific C-terminal regions of similarity with other p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenases. This cDNA encodes a functional p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase, as evidenced by expression studies with transformed Escherichia coli cells. Comparison of the N-terminal sequence of the 45–46 kDa polypeptide purified from carrot cells with the deduced peptide sequence of the cDNA confirms that this polypeptide supports p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase activity. Immunodetection studies of the native enzyme in carrot cellular extracts reveal that N-terminal proteolysis occurs during the process of purification. This proteolysis explains the difference in molecular masses between the purified protein and the deduced polypeptide.
Characterization of the oxidation products of the reaction between reduced glutathione and hypochlorous acid
Authors: WINTERBOURN Christine C. , BRENNAN Stephen O.
Published: August 2015

Reduced glutathione (GSH) is one of the most preferred biological substrates of myeloperoxidase-derived hypochlorous acid and is a likely target for neutrophil oxidants. We have used HPLC to show that the oxidation of GSH by hypochlorous acid gives two major, stable products in addition to glutathione disulphide (GSSG). The most prevalent product lacks free amine and thiol groups, and was shown by electrospray MS to have a molecular mass of 337 Da. This corresponds to GSH with a gain of two oxygen atoms and a loss of two hydrogen atoms, and is consistent with the product being an internal sulphonamide. The other novel product has a molecular mass of 644 Da, and has amine groups but no free thiols. These properties are consistent with it being glutathione thiolsulphonate. Whereas GSSG in the cell is recycled enzymically, formation of these higher oxidation products is likely to be irreversible. Hypochlorous acid, therefore, could compromise the cell by depleting GSH. The putative sulphonamide may be unique for oxidation by hypochlorous acid and thus provide a useful marker of neutrophil oxidant activity.
Reaction of variant sperm-whale myoglobins with hydrogen peroxide: the effects of mutating a histidine residue in the haem distal pocket
Authors: BRITTAIN Thomas , BAKER Adam R. , BUTLER Clive S. , LITTLE Richard H. , LOWE David J. , GREENWOOD Colin , WATMOUGH Nicholas J.
Published: August 2015

The reaction of hydrogen peroxide with a number of variants of sperm-whale myoglobin in which the distal pocket histidine residue (His64) had been mutated was studied with a combination of stopped-flow spectroscopy and freeze-quench EPR. The rate of the initial bimolecular reaction with hydrogen peroxide in all the proteins studied was found to depend on the polarity of the amino acid side chain at position 64. In wild-type myoglobin there were no significant optical changes subsequent to this reaction, suggesting the rapid formation of the well-characterized oxyferryl species. This conclusion was supported by freeze-quench EPR data, which were consistent with the pattern of reactivity previously reported [King and Winfield (1963) J. Biol. Chem. 238, 1520–1528]. In those myoglobins bearing a mutation at position 64, the initial bimolecular reaction with hydrogen peroxide yielded an intermediate species that subsequently decayed via a second hydrogen peroxide-dependent step leading to modification or destruction of the haem. In the mutant His64 → Gln the calculated electronic absorption spectrum of the intermediate was not that of an oxyferryl species but seemed to be that of a low-spin ferric haem. Freeze-quench EPR studies of this mutant and the apolar mutant (His64 → Val) revealed the accumulation of a novel intermediate after the first hydrogen peroxide-dependent reaction. The unusual EPR characteristics of this species are provisionally assigned to a low-spin ferric haem with bound peroxide as the distal ligand. These results are interpreted in terms of a reaction scheme in which the polarity of the distal pocket governs the rate of binding of hydrogen peroxide to the haem iron and the residue at position 64 governs both the rate of heterolytic oxygen scission and the stability of the oxyferryl product.
Hyperoxia, unlike phorbol ester, induces glutathione peroxidase through a protein kinase C-independent mechanism
Authors: JORNOT Lan , JUNOD Alain F.
Published: August 2015

Human selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase (GP) is implicated as a mechanism of resistance against oxygen free radicals. The 5′ flanking sequence upstream from the coding region of GP contained an oxygen-responsive element termed ORE1 that is responsive to hypoxia, as well as several copies of the activator protein-1 (AP-1)- and AP-1-like-binding sites. In this study, we sought to define the molecular events that lead to GP gene transcription in response to hyperoxia in human umbilical-vein endothelial cells, and asked whether such induction is mimicked and sustained by activation of protein kinase C (PKC) by phorbol esters. Treatment of cells with 100 nM phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PdBu) induced a delayed (24–48 h) but significant (2-fold) increase in steady-state GP mRNA levels. Steady-state GP mRNA levels also rose after exposure to 95% O2, again after considerable delay (48–72 h). For both PdBu and oxygen, induction was transcriptionally regulated, as demonstrated by nuclear run-on experiments. The simulations by PdBu and oxygen were additive. In contrast with PdBu, hyperoxia did not stimulate translocation of PKC from the cytosol to the particulate fraction, although the specific activity of both cytosolic and particulate-associated PKC was increased 2-fold in cells exposed to 95% O2 for 5 days. In addition, gel mobility-shift assays using double-stranded tumour-promoting-agent-responsive element (TRE) and nuclear extracts derived from phorbol- and oxygen-treated cells revealed that PdBu, but not hyperoxia, increased AP-1 DNA-binding activity. On the other hand, the up-regulation of GP expression by oxygen could not be accounted for by the ORE1 core sequence, since no specific protein–DNA binding activity could be detected using nuclear extracts from hyperoxic cells and ORE1. Taken together, these results suggest that there may be different molecular mechanisms controlling GP expression. After exposure to PdBu, GP undergoes transcriptional activation via a process that can be readily explained by a classic AP-1 interaction with the TRE sites in the GP promoter. During hyperoxia, GP also undergoes transcriptional activity, but via a process that appears to involve neither TRE nor ORE1.
Connexin 32 of gap junctions contains two cytoplasmic calmodulin-binding domains
Authors: TÖRÖK Katalin , STAUFFER Kathryn , EVANS W. Howard
Published: August 2015

A fluorescent calmodulin derivative, 2-chloro-[4-(ϵ-amino-Lys75)]-[6-(4-diethylaminophenyl)-1,3,5-triazin-4-yl]-calmodulin (TA-calmodulin) [Török and Trentham (1994) Biochemistry 33, 12807–12820], and equilibrium fluorescence methods were used to identify calmodulin-binding domains of connexin subunits of gap junctions. Synthetic peptides corresponding to six extramembrane regions of connexin 32, a major component of rat liver gap junctions, and peptides derived from connexin 43 and 26, were tested. Two cytoplasmically oriented peptides that correspond to an N-terminal 21-amino-acid sequence and a 15-amino-acid sequence at the C-terminal tail of connexin 32 bound TA-calmodulin in a Ca2+-dependent manner. The dissociation constants (Kd) of TA-calmodulin binding to GAP 10 (MNWTGLYTLLSGVNRHSTAIG, residues 1–21) and GAP 8M (ACARRAQRRSNPPSR, residues 216–230) were 27 nM and 1.2 μM respectively at 150 mM ionic strength, 2 mM MgCl2, 100 μM CaCl2, pH 7.0 and 21 °C. Both halves of each peptide were required for calmodulin binding. Substitution of Trp3 present in all connexins by Tyr increasedKd for TA-calmodulin by 40-fold. Liver gap junctions (whose connexons contain mainly connexin 32) and recombinant connexons constructed of connexin 26 expressed by baculovirus-infected insect cells exhibited weaker binding of TA-calmodulin with variable Ca2+-dependence. These studies identify two calmodulin-binding amino-acid sequences in connexin 32, and provide independent evidence that calmodulin may function as an intracellular ligand, regulating Ca2+-dependent intercellular communication across gap junctions.
Structure and alternative promoters of the mouse glutamic acid decarboxylase 67 gene
Authors: YANAGAWA Yuchio , KOBAYASHI Takashi , KAMEI Takashi , ISHII Kenji , NISHIJIMA Michiharu , TAKAKU Akira , KOBAYASHI Takayasu , TAMURA Shinri
Published: August 2015

γ-Aminobutyric acid is synthesized by glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), which has two forms, GAD65 and GAD67. Genomic clones coding mouse GAD67 (mGAD67) have been isolated. The restriction map of the overlapping clones covers a region of more than 45 kb of genomic DNA. The mGAD67 gene contains 16 translated exons in addition to an exon which is preferentially expressed in foetal brain. The rapid amplification of 5′-cDNA ends showed that mGAD67 gene transcripts have two different 5′-untranslated regions. Analysis of the genomic clones encompassing the 5′-exons revealed that the two transcripts arose from a single gene by alternative splicing using two different donor sites and a common acceptor. The exons were found 1.5 and 0.6 kb upstream of exon 1. The corresponding promoter regions of these exons have a number of putative regulatory elements, including Sp1- and Krox-24-binding sites. Analysis of mGAD67 transcripts demonstrated that each of the 5′-untranslated exons was expressed in mouse brain. In contrast, exon 0A, but not exon 0B, was expressed in mouse testis and pancreas. These results suggest that these transcripts may be regulated under the control of independent promoters.
Cholesterol biosynthesis from lanosterol: development of a novel assay method and characterization of rat liver microsomal lanosterol Δ24-reductase
Authors: BAE Soo-Han , PAIK Young-Ki
Published: August 2015

The membrane-bound sterol Δ24-reductase (24-reductase) catalyses anaerobic reduction of the 24(25)-enes of lanosterol and other obligatory intermediates of cholesterol biosynthesis from lanosterol. A novel assay method and properties of the 24-reductase are described. More than a 120-fold induction of the 24-reductase activity was achieved by feeding rats a diet containing 5% cholestyramine plus 0.1% lovastatin in chow and by modulating diurnal variation. With this enzyme induction condition, lanosterol was converted efficiently into dihydrolanosterol in both intact hepatic microsomes and freshly isolated hepatocytes only when either miconazole or CO was added to inhibit 14α-demethylation of lanosterol. AR45 cells, which are deficient in 14α-methyl demethylase (14α-DM), exhibit lanosterol 24-reductase activity without addition of either CO or miconazole. Conversely, inhibition of the 24-reductase was not required for the expression of 14α-DM activity. Studies on the substrate specificities for the 24-reductase using different 24(25)-enes showed that the most reactive substrate was 5α-cholesta-7,24-dien-3β-ol, which exhibited a maximal 18-fold higher kcat than that of lanosterol without the aid of the 14α-DM inhibitor. In addition, both the kinetic behaviour of lanosterol substrate in relation to the 24-reductase and a non-competitive inhibition mode of U18666A (Ki 0.157 μM) as well as Triparanol (Ki 0.523 μM), two well-known 24-reductase inhibitors, were determined. On the basis of our new findings on the preferred substrate and on the negative effect of 14α-DM on the 24-reductase, we suggest that C-24 reduction of sterols takes place straight after sterol Δ8→7 isomerization of zymosterol, which occurs several steps after C-32 demethylation of lanosterol in the 19-step pathway of cholesterol biosynthesis from lanosterol.
α-1,4-D-Glucan phosphorylase of gram-positive Corynebacterium callunae: isolation, biochemical properties and molecular shape of the enzyme from solution X-ray scattering
Authors: WEINHÄUSEL Andreas , GRIESSLER Richard , KREBS Angelika , ZIPPER Peter , HALTRICH Dietmar , KULBE Klaus D. , NIDETZKY Bernd
Published: August 2015

The α-1,4-D-glucan phosphorylase from gram-positive Corynebacterium callunae has been isolated and characterized. The enzyme is inducible approx. 2-fold by maltose, but remarkably not repressed by D-glucose. The phosphorylase is a homodimer with a stoichiometric content of the cofactor pyridoxal 5′-phosphate per 88-kDa protein subunit. The specificity constants (kcat/Km,glucan) in the directions of glucan synthesis and degradation are used for the classification of the enzyme as the first bacterial starch phosphorylase. A preference for large over small substrates is determined by variations in the apparent binding constants rather than catalytic-centre activities. The contribution of substrate chain length to binding energy is explained assuming two glucan binding sites in C. callunae phosphorylase: an oligosaccharide binding site composed of five subsites and a high-affinity polysaccharide site separated from the active site. A structural model of the molecular shape of the phosphorylase was obtained from small-angle solution X-ray scattering measurements. A flat, slightly elongated, ellipsoidal model with the three axes related to each other as 1:(0.87–0.95):0.43 showed scattering equivalence with the enzyme molecule. The model of C. callunae phosphorylase differs from the structurally well-characterized rabbit-muscle phosphorylase in size and axial dimensions.
Characterization and purification of a lipoxygenase inhibitor in human epidermoid carcinoma A431 cells
Authors: CHEN Ching-Jiunn , HUANG Hui-Sheng , LEE Yu-Tsong , YANG Chia-Yi , CHANG Wen-Chang
Published: August 2015

A lipoxygenase inhibitor in the cytosolic fraction of human epidermoid carcinoma A431 cells was characterized and purified. The cytosolic inhibitor lost the inhibitory activity upon heating at 75 °C for 15 min or pretreating with 1 mg/ml trypsin at 37 °C for 60 min. Cytosol, after dialysis, lost the inhibitory activity but its inhibitory activity recovered when 1 mM GSH was added to the dialysate. The inhibitory activity of cytosol was also abolished by treatment either with 1 mM iodoacetate at 4 °C for 1 h or with 0.5 mM H2O2. The pI of the inhibitor was approx. 7.0. In addition to 12-lipoxygenase, the inhibitor inhibited the activities of 5-lipoxygenase and fatty acid cyclo-oxygenase in a cell-free system. The inhibitor was purified by a series of column chromatographies using CM Sephadex C-50, Sephadex G-100 SF and Mono P columns. A major 22 kDa protein was obtained that was distinct from selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase.
Transient times in linear metabolic pathways under constant affinity constraints
Authors: LLORÉNS Mónica , NUÑO C. Juan , MONTERO Francisco
Published: August 2015

In the early seventies, Easterby began the analytical study of transition times for linear reaction schemes [Easterby (1973) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 293, 552-558]. In this pioneer work and in subsequent papers, a state function (the transient time) was used to measure the period before the stationary state, for systems constrained to work under both constant and variable input flux, was reached. Despite the undoubted usefulness of this quantity to describe the time-dependent features of these kinds of systems, its application to the study of chemical reactions under other constraints is questionable. In the present work, a generalization of these magnitudes to linear metabolic pathways functioning under a constant-affinity constraint is carried out. It is proved that classical definitions of transient times do not reflect the actual properties of the transition to the steady state in systems evolving under this restriction. Alternatively, a more adequate framework for interpretation of the transient times for systems with both constant and variable input flux is suggested. Within this context, new definitions that reflect more accurately the transient characteristics of constant affinity systems are stated. Finally, the meaning of these transient times is discussed.
Mapping the binding site of thymosin β4 on actin by competition with G-actin binding proteins indicates negative co-operativity between binding sites located on opposite subdomains of actin
Authors: BALLWEBER Edda , HANNAPPEL Ewald , HUFF Thomas , MANNHERZ Hans Georg
Published: August 2015

The β-thymosins are small monomeric (G-)actin-binding proteins of 5 kDa that are supposed to act intracellularly as actin-sequestering factors stabilizing the cytoplasmic monomeric pool of actin. The binding region of thymosin β4 was determined by analysing the binding of thymosin β4 to actin complexed with DNase I, gelsolin or gelsolin segment 1. Binding was analysed by determining the increase in the critical concentration of actin polymerization by native gel electrophoresis or chemical cross-linking. The formation of a ternary complex including thymosin β4 should indicate that the actin-binding proteins attach to different sites on actin. Competition would be indicative of binding to identical or overlapping sites on actin or of a negative co-operative linkage between the two binding sites. Competition of thymosin β4 for actin binding was observed in the presence of intact gelsolin or the N-terminal gelsolin fragment, segment 1, indicating that thymosin β4 binds to a site close to or identical with the gelsolin segment 1-binding site. The ternary complex of actin-DNase I-thymosin β4 was obtained only when using the chemically cross-linked actin-thymosin β4 complex, indicating that thymosin β4 is dissociated by the binding of DNase I to actin. It is suggested that the dissociation of thymosin β4 by DNase I binding to actin is caused by negative co-operativity between their spatially separated binding sites on actin. A similar negative co-operativity was observed between DNase I and gelsolin segment 1 binding to actin. The results therefore indicate that the respective binding sites for DNase I and segment 1 on subdomains 1 and 2 of actin are linked in a negative co-operative manner.
Staphylococcus aureus causing osteomyelitis binds to a nonapeptide sequence in bone sialoprotein
Authors: RYDÉN Cecilia , TUNG Hui-Shan , NIKOLAEV Victor , ENGSTRÖM Åke , OLDBERG Åke
Published: August 2015

Bone sialoprotein is a glycoprotein of the bone and dentine extracellular matrix. This protein consists of 320 amino acids, of which 25% are glutamic and aspartic acid residues. Sialic acid, containing oligosaccharides and tyrosine sulphate residues, supplies additional polyanionic properties. Staphylococcal cells, isolated from patients suffering from infection of bone tissue, bind the bone-derived sialoprotein, an interaction which is specifically inhibited by the recombinant bone sialoprotein core protein. We have previously shown that the 150 N-terminal amino acid residues of bone sialoprotein are responsible for the binding to staphylococcal cells. By using recombinant deleted variants of bone sialoprotein and synthetic peptides, we have now localized the staphylococcal binding site to less than 10 residues within the N-terminal part of the protein.
Stress-induced transcription of the clusterin/apoJ gene
Authors: MICHEL Denis , CHATELAIN Gilles , NORTH Sophie , BRUN Gilbert
Published: August 2015

Clusterin/apoJ is an intriguing gene frequently isolated by differential screening in laboratories from different areas of molecular biology, since it is overexpressed in numerous cases of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and scrapie. While the dramatic increase of clusterin expression in injured tissues is well established, the molecular basis of the gene induction remains unclear. In this study, we have focused our attention on the only DNA region strictly conserved between clusterin gene proximal promoters from different vertebrate classes. We show that this 14-bp DNA element is specifically recognized by the HSF1 transcription factor and can mediate heat-shock-induced transcription in transient expression assays. Conversely, the avian clusterin proximal promoter, point-mutated at the level of this element, no longer transmits heat-shock activation. These findings provide a possible explanation for the high sensitivity of clusterin expression to environmental changes and allow the classification of clusterin as an extracellular version of heat-shock protein.
NMR solution conformation of heparin-derived hexasaccharide
Authors: MIKHAILOV Dmitri , LINHARDT J. Robert , MAYO H. Kevin
Published: August 2015

The solution conformation of homogeneous, heparin-derived hexasaccharide (residues A, B, C, D, E, F) has been investigated by using 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Intra-ring conformations have been defined by J-coupling constants and inter-proton nuclear Overhauser effects (NOEs), and the orientation of one ring with respect to the other has been defined by inter-ring NOEs. NOE-based conformational modelling has been done by using the iterative relaxation matrix approach (IRMA), restrained energy minimization to refine structures and to distinguish between minor structural differences and equilibria between various intra-ring forms. All glucosamine residues B, D and F are in the 4C1 chair conformation. The uronate (A) residue is mostly represented by the 1H2 form, whereas internal iduronates (C and E) exist in equilibrium between the chair and skewed boat forms. Deviations in some NOEs indicate a minor contribution of the 2H1 form to the A ring. Glycosidic dihedral angles, which define the overall oligosaccharide conformation, were further refined by combining in vacuo energy map calculations and restrained energy minimization in explicit solvent water. Conformational stability was further assessed by subjecting NOE and IRMA-derived structures to 600 ps of unrestrained molecular dynamics in explicit solvent.
Regulation of human prohormone convertase 2 promoter activity by the transcription factor EGR-1
Authors: JANSEN Erik , AYOUBI A. Y. Torik , MEULEMANS M. P. Sandra , VAN DE VEN Wim J. M.
Published: August 2015

Prohormone convertases are involved in the tissue-specific endoproteolytic processing of prohormones and neuropeptide precursors within the secretory pathway. In the present study, we have isolated genomic clones comprising the 5ʹ-terminal region of the human prohormone convertase 2 (PC2) gene and established characteristics of the PC2 promoter region. The proximal promoter region is very G+C-rich and does not contain a canonical TATA box or a CAAT box. Transient expression assays with a set of human PC2 gene fragments containing progressive 5ʹ deletions demonstrate that the proximal promoter region is capable of directing high levels of neuroendocrine-specific expression of reporter gene constructs. In addition, we show that the transcription factor EGR-1 interacts with two distinct elements within the proximal human PC2 promoter region. Transfection experiments also demonstrate that EGR-1 is able to enhance PC2 promoter activity.
14,15-Dehydroleukotriene A4: a specific substrate for leukotriene C4 synthase
Authors: SALA Angelo , GARCIA Mylene , ZARINI Simona , ROSSI Jean Claude , FOLCO Giancarlo , DURAND Thierry
Published: August 2015

We studied the metabolism of 14,15-dehydro-leukotriene A4 (14,15-dehydro-LTA4) by human platelet leukotriene C4 (LTC4) synthase and polymorphonuclear leucocyte (PMNL) leukotriene A4 (LTA4) hydrolase. Metabolites were separated and identified using reversed-phase HPLC coupled to diode-array UV detection. Human platelets metabolize 14,15-dehydro-LTA4 to 14,15-dehydro-LTC4 with apparent kinetics identical with authentic LTA4. Metabolism to 14,15-dehydro-LTC4 is inhibited by MK-886, a reported LTC4 synthase inhibitor in human platelets, with a potency comparable with that shown by LTA4. In contrast, neither human red-blood-cell lysates nor human PMNL enzymically convert 14,15-dehydro-LTA4 into 14,15-dehydro-leukotriene B4. Minor amounts of 14,15-dehydro-LTC4, observed in some PMNL preparations, result from variable eosinophil contamination, as confirmed using highly purified neutrophil and eosinophil-enriched preparations. In addition, 14,15-dehydro-LTA4 irreversibly inhibits PMNL LTA4 hydrolase with an IC50 of 0.73 μM. The geometry of the methyl terminus of LTA4 does not influence the metabolism by human platelet LTC4 synthase. The double bond at C-14,15 is essential for the catalytic activity of LTA4 hydrolase but not for binding to this enzyme.
Oligomeric forms of the 148 kDa cartilage matrix protein
Authors: ZEINELDIN Reema , EKBORG Suzanne , BAKER John
Published: August 2015

The 148 kDa cartilage matrix protein (CMP), composed of three disulphide-bonded subunits, is a cartilage-specific glycoprotein found in association with fibrils of type II collagen and possibly with aggrecan. It is probable that CMP serves a structural role. As cartilage ages, an increasing proportion of the CMP becomes insoluble and resistant to extraction. In the present study, the isolation of CMP has been improved by inclusion of a hydrophobic chromatography step, thereby removing the remaining traces of collagen and proteoglycan. Evidence of self-association of CMP is presented. Higher-molecular-mass forms of CMP, ranging in apparent molecular mass from 270 to 510 kDa and separated by SDS/PAGE, were located using a specific anti-CMP monoclonal antibody. Both CMP and its oligomeric forms are reducible to 52 kDa subunits, and only trace amounts of other proteins. The formation of oligomers, which may constitute 23% of the total cartilage matrix protein, could occur as a byproduct of the normal biosynthetic trimerization of subunits. Alternatively, the oligomers may represent a step toward the age-related cross-linking and insolubilization of CMP.
Alternative mRNA splicing of 3′-terminal exons generates ascorbate peroxidase isoenzymes in spinach (Spinacia oleracea) chloroplasts
Authors: ISHIKAWA Takahiro , YOSHIMURA Kazuya , TAMOI Masahiro , TAKEDA Toru , SHIGEOKA Shigeru
Published: August 2015

We have isolated two cDNA clones encoding spinach (Spinacia oleracea) stromal and thylakoid-bound ascorbate peroxidase isoenzymes [Ishikawa, Sakai, Yoshimura, Takeda and Shigeoka (1996) FEBS Lett. 384, 289-293]. The gene (ApxII) encoding both chloroplastic ascorbate peroxidase isoenzymes was isolated and the organization of the gene was determined. Alignment between the cDNAs and the gene for chloroplastic ascorbate peroxidase isoenzymes indicates that both enzymes arise from a common pre-mRNA by alternative splicing of two 3ʹ-terminal exons. Genomic Southern-blot analysis supported this finding. The gene spanned nearly 8.5 kbp and contained 13 exons split by 12 introns. The penultimate exon 12 (residues 7376-7530) for the stromal ascorbate peroxidase mRNA consisted of one codon for Asp365 before the TAA termination codon, and the entire 3ʹ-untranslated region, including a potential polyadenylation signal (AATAAA). The final exon 13 (residues 7545-7756) for the thylakoid-bound ascorbate peroxidase mRNA consisted of the corresponding coding sequence of the hydrophobic C-terminal region, the TGA termination codon and the entire 3ʹ-untranslated region, including a potential polyadenylation signal (AATATA). Both exons were interrupted by a 14 bp non-coding sequence. Northern-blot and reverse transcription-PCR analysis showed that the transcripts for stromal and thylakoid-bound ascorbate peroxidase are present in spinach leaves.
Comparison of the roles of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signal transduction in neutrophil effector function
Authors: COFFER J. Paul , GEIJSEN Niels , M'RABET Laura , SCHWEIZER C. Rene , MAIKOE Tjander , RAAIJMAKERS A. M. Jan , LAMMERS Jan-Willem J. , KOENDERMAN Leo
Published: August 2015

Although it is known that many stimuli can activate mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases (PI3K) in human neutrophils, little is known concerning either the mechanisms or function of this activation. We have utilized a selective inhibitor of MAPK kinase (MEK), PD098059, and two inhibitors of PI3K, wortmannin and LY294002, to investigate the roles of these kinases in the regulation of neutrophil effector functions. Granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor, platelet-activating factor (PAF) and N-formylmethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine are capable of activating both p44ERK1 and p42ERK2 MAPKs and phosphotyrosine-associated PI3K in human neutrophils. The activation of extracellular signal-related protein kinases (ERKs) is correlated with the activation of p21ras by both tyrosine kinase and G-protein-coupled receptors as measured by a novel assay for GTP loading. Wortmannin and LY294002 inhibit, to various degrees, superoxide generation, neutrophil migration and PAF release. Incubation with PD098059, however, inhibits only the PAF release stimulated by serum-treated zymosan. This demonstrates that, while neither MEK nor ERK kinases are involved in the activation of respiratory burst or neutrophil migration, inhibition of PAF release suggests a potential role in the activation of cytosolic phospholipase A2. PI3K isoforms, however, seem to have a much wider role in regulating neutrophil functioning.
Aspartate-90 and arginine-269 of hamster aspartate transcarbamylase affect the oligomeric state of a chimaeric protein with an Escherichia coli maltose-binding domain
Authors: QIU Yu , DAVIDSON N. Jeffrey
Published: August 2015

Residues Asp-90 and Arg-269 of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamylase seem to interact at the interface of adjacent catalytic subunits. Alanine substitutions at the analogous positions in the hamster aspartate transcarbamylase of a chimaeric protein carrying an E. coli maltose-binding domain lead to changes in both the kinetics of the enzyme and the quaternary structure of the protein. The Vmax for the Asp-90 → Ala and Arg-269 → Ala substitutions is decreased to 1/21 and 1/50 respectively, the [S]0.5 for aspartate is increased 540-fold and 826-fold respectively, and the [S]0.5 for carbamoyl phosphate is increased 60-fold for both. These substitutions decrease the oligomeric size of the protein. Whereas the native chimaeric protein behaves as a pentamer, the Asp-90 variant is a trimer and the Arg-269 variant is a dimer. The altered enzymes also exhibit marked decreases in thermal stability and are inactivated at much lower concentrations of urea than is the unaltered enzyme. Taken together, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that both Asp-90 and Arg-269 have a role in the enzymic function and structural integrity of hamster aspartate transcarbamylase.
Oncostatin M, leukaemia-inhibitory factor and interleukin 6 trigger different effects on α1-proteinase inhibitor synthesis in human lung-derived epithelial cells
Authors: CICHY Joanna , ROSE-JOHN Stefan , TRAVIS James
Published: August 2015

Interleukin 6 (IL-6), oncostatin M (OSM) and leukaemia-inhibitory factor (LIF) share a common signal-transducing subunit in each of their receptors and thus mediate an overlapping spectrum of biological activities. Although all of these cytokines stimulate the production of α1-proteinase inhibitor (α1-PI) in hepatocyte-derived cells, only OSM is able to up-regulate levels of this inhibitor in epithelial cells originating from the lung. In this study we characterized human lung-derived epithelial-like HTB58 cells for their ability to synthesize α1-PI after treatment with IL-6, OSM and LIF. The results demonstrate that the resistance of HTB58 cells to the effects of IL-6 and LIF was not because of a lack of their individual functional receptors and suggest that OSM utilizes two different receptors, gp130/LIF receptor and gp130/OSM receptor, in lung-derived epithelial cells.
Inhibition of inositol trisphosphate-induced calcium release by cyclicADP-ribose in A7r5 smooth-muscle cells and in 16HBE14o- bronchial mucosal cells
Authors: MISSIAEN Ludwig , PARYS B. Jan , SMEDT Humbert DE , SIENAERT Ilse , SIPMA Henk , VANLINGEN Sara , MAES Karlien , KUNZELMANN Karl , CASTEELS Rik
Published: August 2015

Ca2+ release from intracellular stores occurs via two families of intracellular channels, each with their own specific agonist: Ins(1,4,5)P3 for the Ins(1,4,5)P3 receptor and cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR) for the ryanodine receptor. We now report that cADPR inhibited Ins(1,4,5)P3-induced Ca2+ release in permeabilized A7r5 cells with an IC50 of 20 μM, and in permeabilized 16HBE14o- bronchial mucosal cells with an IC50 of 35 μM. This inhibition was accompanied by an increase in specific [3H]Ins(1,4,5)P3 binding. 8-Amino-cADPR, but not 8-bromo-cADPR, antagonized this effect of cADPR. The inhibition was prevented by a whole series of inositol phosphates (10 μM) that did not affect Ins(1,4,5)P3-induced Ca2+ release, and by micromolar concentrations of PPi and various nucleotide di- or triphosphates. We propose that cADPR must interact with a novel regulatory site on the Ins(1,4,5)P3 receptor or on an associated protein. This site is neither the Ins(1,4,5)P3-binding domain, which prefers Ins(1,4,5)P3 and only binds nucleotides and PPi in the millimolar range, nor the stimulatory adenine nucleotide binding site.
Evidence for the ability of nucleophosmin/B23 to bind ATP
Authors: CHANG H. Jei , LIN Y. Jui , WU H. Ming , YUNG Y. M. Benjamin
Published: August 2015

By taking advantage of its ability to be retained by ATP-agarose, we have demonstrated that nucleophosmin/B23 is capable of binding ATP. The specificity of the binding was confirmed by the absence of significant binding to AMP-agarose and by its loss when nucleophosmin/B23 in nuclear extracts was preincubated with ATP. Preincubation of the nuclear extracts with other ribonucleotide triphosphates (GTP, CTP, UTP) did not compete for the binding of nucleophosmin/B23 to ATP-agarose. The purified recombinant nucleophosmin/B23 was also able to be retained by ATP-agarose. The Kd for binding of ATP to the purified recombinant nucleophosmin/B23, on the basis of retention on a nitrocellulose membrane, was 86.5±8.3 μM; the number of binding sites was 0.68 per nucleophosmin/B23 protein molecule. To determine the possible ATP-binding site of nucleophosmin/B23, various deletion clones including the two mutants in which the putative ATP-binding sequence had been deleted were constructed. Deletion of the portions of the molecule (residues 83-152 and 185-240) had little effect on the ATP binding. The C-terminal deleted mutant (residue 242 to the C-terminus deleted) lost most of its ability to be retained by ATP-agarose and to bind [α-32P]ATP on a nitrocellulose membrane. The results indicate that the C-terminal portion (residues 242-294) contains the essential ATP-binding site of nucleophosmin/B23.
Native conformations of human complement components C3 and C4 show different dependencies on thioester formation
Authors: ISAAC Lourdes , AIVAZIAN Dikran , TANIGUCHI-SIDLE Aiko , EBANKS O. Roger , FARAH S. Chuck , FLORIDO Marlene P. C. , PANGBURN K. Michael , ISENMAN E. David
Published: August 2015

The thioester bond in complement components C3 and C4 and the protease inhibitor α2-macroglobulin have traditionally been thought of as fulfilling the dual roles of mediating covalent attachment and maintaining the native conformational states of these molecules. We previously reported that several human C3 thioester-region mutants, including variants E1012Q and C1010A, in the latter of which thioester-bond formation is precluded, display an unexpected phenotype. Despite the lack of a thioester bond in these mutants, they appear to adopt a native-like conformation as suggested by the finding that they are cleavable by the classical pathway C3 convertase, C4b2a, whereas the C3b-like C3(H2O) species is not. Subsequently, a species referred to as C3(NH3)* was described which potentially could account for the observations with the above mutants. C3(NH3)* is a transient species formed on aminolysis of native C3 that can spontaneously re-form the thioester bond. Importantly, it has a mobility on cation-exchange HPLC that is distinct from both native C3 and C3(H2O), but like the native molecule, it is cleavable by an alternative-pathway C3 convertase. In this study we showed by using cation-exchange HPLC as an additional conformational probe that C3 C1010A and E1012Q mutant proteins did not resemble C3(NH3)*. Instead they displayed a chromatographic behaviour that was indistinguishable from that of native C3. To assess the general applicability of these observations, we engineered the equivalent mutations into human C4, specifically C4 C1010A and C4 E1012Q. As expected, thioester-bond formation did not occur in either of these C4 mutants, but in contrast with the results with C3 we found no evidence for the formation of a stable native-like conformation in either C4 mutant, as assessed using cleavability by C1s as the conformational probe. A possible interpretation of our data is that the adoption of the native conformational state during biosynthesis of C3 and C4 is an energetically permissible process, even if it is not locked in via thioester-bond formation. Whereas this conformational state is stable in mature C3, it is unstable in mature C4, perhaps reflecting the additional post-translational cleavage of C4 before its secretion.
Novel evidence for an ecto-phospholipid methyltransferase in isolated rat hepatocytes
Authors: BONTEMPS Françoise , VAN DEN BERGHE Georges
Published: August 2015

Phospholipids of isolated rat hepatocytes were labelled by preincubation with either 2 μM [methyl-14C]S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) or 2 μM [methyl-14C]methionine. Subsequent addition of phospholipase C to the suspension removed 95% of the radioactivity from phospholipids methylated by [methyl-14C]AdoMet within a few minutes, but was without effect on phospholipids methylated by [methyl-14C]methionine radioactivity from the latter could, nevertheless, be removed by phospholipase C after permeabilization of the cells with digitonin. The results clearly show that the methyl group of exogenous AdoMet, contrary to that of methionine, is transferred on to phospholipids located on the external face of the plasma membrane. Accordingly, pretreatment of isolated hepatocytes with trypsin prevented the methylation of phospholipids from exogenous AdoMet by 60-80%, whereas it was almost without effect when exogenous methionine was the methyl donor. Our data corroborate previous work [Bontemps and Van den Berghe (1997) Biochem. J. 327, 383-389], which indicated that AdoMet methylates hepatocyte phospholipids without penetrating the cells.
Uroporphyria produced in mice by iron and 5-aminolaevulinic acid does not occur in Cyp1a2(−/−) null mutant mice
Authors: SINCLAIR R. Peter , GORMAN Nadia , DALTON Tim , WALTON S. Heidi , BEMENT J. William , SINCLAIR F. Jacqueline , SMITH G. Andrew , NEBERT W. Daniel
Published: August 2015

In the present study we have investigated the putative requirement for the cytochrome P-450 isoform CYP1A2 in murine uroporphyria, by comparing Cyp1a2(-/-) knockout mice with Cyp1a2(+/+) wild-type mice. Uroporphyria was produced by injecting animals with iron-dextran and giving the porphyrin precursor 5-aminolaevulinic acid in the drinking water. Some animals also received 3-methylcholanthrene (MC) to induce hepatic CYP1A2. In both protocols, uroporphyria was elicited by these treatments in the Cyp1a2(+/+) wild-type mice, but not in the null mutant mice. Uroporphyrinogen oxidation activity in hepatic microsomes from untreated Cyp1a2(+/+) mice was 2.5-fold higher than in Cyp1a2(-/-) mice. Treatment with MC increased hepatic CYP1A1 in both mouse lines and hepatic CYP1A2 only in the Cyp1a2(+/+) line, as determined by Western immunoblotting. MC increased hepatic ethoxy- and methoxy-resorufin O-dealkylase activities in both mouse lines, but increased uroporphyrinogen oxidation activity in the Cyp1a2(+/+) wild-type mice only. These results indicate the absolute requirement for hepatic CYP1A2 in causing experimental uroporphyria under the conditions used.