scholarly journals Kinetics and product analysis of the reaction catalysed by recombinant homoaconitase from Thermus thermophilus

2006 ◽  
Vol 396 (3) ◽  
pp. 479-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunhua Jia ◽  
Takeo Tomita ◽  
Kazuma Yamauchi ◽  
Makoto Nishiyama ◽  
David R. J. Palmer

HACN (homoaconitase) is a member of a family of [4Fe-4S] cluster-dependent enzymes that catalyse hydration/dehydration reactions. The best characterized example of this family is the ubiquitous ACN (aconitase), which catalyses the dehydration of citrate to cis-aconitate, and the subsequent hydration of cis-aconitate to isocitrate. HACN is an enzyme from the α-aminoadipate pathway of lysine biosynthesis, and has been identified in higher fungi and several archaea and one thermophilic species of bacteria, Thermus thermophilus. HACN catalyses the hydration of cis-homoaconitate to (2R,3S)-homoisocitrate, but the HACN-catalysed dehydration of (R)-homocitrate to cis-homoaconitate has not been observed in vitro. We have synthesized the substrates and putative substrates for this enzyme, and in the present study report the first steady-state kinetic data for recombinant HACN from T. thermophilus using a (2R,3S)-homoisocitrate dehydrogenase-coupled assay. We have also examined the products of the reaction using HPLC. We do not observe HACN-catalysed ‘homocitrate dehydratase’ activity; however, we have observed that ACN can catalyse the dehydration of (R)-homocitrate to cis-homoaconitate, but HACN is required for subsequent conversion of cis-homoaconitate into homoisocitrate. This suggests that the in vivo process for conversion of homocitrate into homoisocitrate requires two enzymes, in simile with the propionate utilization pathway from Escherichia coli. Surprisingly, HACN does not show any activity when cis-aconitate is substituted for the substrate, even though other enzymes from the α-aminoadipate pathway can accept analogous tricarboxylic acid-cycle substrates. The enzyme shows no apparent feedback inhibition by L-lysine.

1991 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 571 ◽  
Author(s):  
JG Thompson ◽  
AC Simpson ◽  
PA Pugh ◽  
RW Wright ◽  
HR Tervit

Embryos were collected from superovulated donors at various intervals from onset of oestrus, ranging from Day 1.5 to Day 6. In addition, blastocysts obtained from the culture of 1-cell embryos collected in vivo or of oocytes matured and fertilized in vitro were used to assess the effects of in vitro manipulation and culture on glucose utilization. Glycolytic activity was determined by the conversion of [5-3H]glucose to 3H2O, and oxidation of glucose was determined by the conversion of [U-14C]glucose to 14CO2. Glucose utilization increases significantly from the 8-cell stage and during compaction and blastulation. Glucose oxidation was at a relatively low level (5-12% of total utilization) compared with glycolysis. No difference was observed between the glycolytic activity of blastocysts derived from in vivo or in vitro sources. However, glucose oxidation was lower (P less than 0.05) in blastocysts derived from the culture of 1-cell embryos or from oocytes matured and fertilized in vitro. Exogenous tricarboxylic acid cycle substrates (i.e. pyruvate and lactate supplied in the medium) affected the level of glucose oxidation.


1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 735-747 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. L. Archer ◽  
K. Rist ◽  
D. P. Nelson ◽  
E. G. DeMaster ◽  
N. Cowan ◽  
...  

The effects of endothelium-dependent vasodilation on pulmonary vascular hemodynamics were evaluated in a variety of in vivo and in vitro models to determine 1) the comparability of the hemodynamic effects of acetylcholine (ACh), bradykinin (BK), nitric oxide (NO), and 8-bromo-guanosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP), 2) whether methylene blue is a useful inhibitor of endothelium-dependent relaxing factor (EDRF) activity in vivo, and 3) the effect of monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension on the responsiveness of the pulmonary vasculature to ACh. In isolated rat lungs, which were preconstricted with hypoxia, ACh, BK, NO, and 8-bromo-cGMP caused pulmonary vasodilation, which was not inhibited by maximum tolerable doses of methylene blue. Methylene blue did not inhibit EDRF activity in any model, despite causing increased pulmonary vascular tone and responsiveness to various constrictor agents. There were significant differences in the hemodynamic characteristics of ACh, BK, and NO. In the isolated lung, BK and NO caused transient decreases of hypoxic vasoconstriction, whereas ACh caused more prolonged vasodilation. Pretreatment of these lungs with NO did not significantly inhibit ACh-induced vasodilation but caused BK to produce vasoconstriction. Tachyphylaxis, which was agonist specific, developed with repeated administration of ACh or BK but not NO. Tachyphylaxis probably resulted from inhibition of the endothelium-dependent vasodilation pathway proximal to NO synthesis, because it could be overcome by exogenous NO. Pretreatment with 8-bromo-cGMP decreased hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction and, even when the hypoxic pressor response had largely recovered, subsequent doses of ACh and NO failed to cause vasodilation, although BK produced vasoconstriction. These findings are compatible with the existence of feedback inhibition of the endothelium-dependent relaxation by elevation of cGMP levels. Responsiveness to ACh was retained in lungs with severe monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension. Many of these findings would not have been predicted based on in vitro studies and illustrate the importance for expanding studies of EDRF to in vivo and ex vivo models.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Gallo ◽  
Ioannis Mougiakos ◽  
Mauricio Bianco ◽  
Miriam Carbonaro ◽  
Andrea Carpentieri ◽  
...  

Arsenic detoxification systems can be found in a wide range of organisms, from bacteria to man. In a previous study, we discovered an arsenic-responsive transcriptional regulator in the thermophilic bacterium Thermus thermophilus HB27 (TtSmtB). Here, we characterize the arsenic resistance system of T. thermophilus in more detail. We employed TtSmtB-based pull-down assays with protein extracts from cultures treated with arsenate and arsenite to obtain an S-adenosylmethionine (SAM)-dependent arsenite methyltransferase (TtArsM). In vivo and in vitro analyses were performed to shed light on this new component of the arsenic resistance network and its peculiar catalytic mechanism. Heterologous expression of TtarsM in Escherichia coli resulted in arsenite detoxification at mesophilic temperatures. Although TtArsM does not contain a canonical arsenite binding site, the purified protein does catalyse SAM-dependent arsenite methylation. In addition, in vitro analyses confirmed the unique interaction between TtArsM and TtSmtB. Next, a highly efficient ThermoCas9-based genome-editing tool was developed to delete the TtArsM-encoding gene on the T. thermophilus genome, and to confirm its involvement in the arsenite detoxification system. Finally, the TtarsX efflux pump gene in the T. thermophilus ΔTtarsM genome was substituted by a gene, encoding a stabilised yellow fluorescent protein (sYFP), to create a sensitive genome-based bioreporter system for the detection of arsenic ions.


2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ankit Bharat Patel ◽  
Gustavo Frindt ◽  
Su Deng ◽  
Lawrence G. Palmer

1996 ◽  
Vol 313 (3) ◽  
pp. 729-735 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher R. McMASTER ◽  
Sherry C. MORASH ◽  
Robert M. BELL

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae CPT1 and EPT1 genes encode for a cholinephosphotransferase (CPT) and choline/ ethanolaminephosphotransferase, respectively. Both Cpt1p and Ept1p activities display an absolute requirement for cations and phospholipids. A mixed-micelle assay was employed to determine cation and lipid activators of parental and chimaeric Cpt1p/ Ept1p enzymes to gain insight into their mechanism(s) of activation. Mg2+, Mn2+ and Co2+ were the only cations capable of activating Cpt1p and Ept1p in vitro. Kinetic data revealed that only Mg2+ is present in appropriate amounts to activate CPT activity in vivo. The two enzymes displayed distinct activation profiles on the basis of their relative affinities for Mg2+, Mn2+ and Co2+. This allowed the use of chimaeric enzymes to determine the mechanism of cation activation. Cations do not activate Cpt1p or Ept1p by complexing with the substrate, CDP-choline, but instead bind to disparate regions within the enzymes themselves. Cpt1p and Ept1p also displayed distinct phospholipid activation profiles. Phospholipid activation required a phosphate and/or glycero-phosphoester linkage, with the phospho-head group moiety positioned at the surface of the micelle. Assays with parental and chimaeric Cpt1p/Ept1p constructs revealed that the phospholipid binding/activation domains are not located within linear segments of the protein, but instead are contained within distinct and separate regions of the proteins that require an intact tertiary structure for formation. Phosphatidylcholine (and its structural analogue sphingomyelin) were the best lipid activators of Cpt1p, the main biologically relevant CPT activity in S. cerevisiae. Hence CPT displays product activation. Because phosphatidylcholine is an efficient activator of CPT activity (and hence Cpt1p is not subject to feedback inhibition by its product), Cpt1p is incapable of functioning as a direct monitor of membrane phosphatidylcholine composition.


2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (10) ◽  
pp. 2401-2406 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. S. Jeffrey Man ◽  
Aravin N. Sukumar ◽  
Gabrielle C. Lam ◽  
Paul J. Turgeon ◽  
Matthew S. Yan ◽  
...  

Endothelial cell (EC)-enriched protein coding genes, such as endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), define quintessential EC-specific physiologic functions. It is not clear whether long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) also define cardiovascular cell type-specific phenotypes, especially in the vascular endothelium. Here, we report the existence of a set of EC-enriched lncRNAs and define a role for spliced-transcript endothelial-enriched lncRNA (STEEL) in angiogenic potential, macrovascular/microvascular identity, and shear stress responsiveness. STEEL is expressed from the terminus of the HOXD locus and is transcribed antisense to HOXD transcription factors. STEEL RNA increases the number and integrity of de novo perfused microvessels in an in vivo model and augments angiogenesis in vitro. The STEEL RNA is polyadenylated, nuclear enriched, and has microvascular predominance. Functionally, STEEL regulates a number of genes in diverse ECs. Of interest, STEEL up-regulates both eNOS and the transcription factor Kruppel-like factor 2 (KLF2), and is subject to feedback inhibition by both eNOS and shear-augmented KLF2. Mechanistically, STEEL up-regulation of eNOS and KLF2 is transcriptionally mediated, in part, via interaction of chromatin-associated STEEL with the poly-ADP ribosylase, PARP1. For instance, STEEL recruits PARP1 to the KLF2 promoter. This work identifies a role for EC-enriched lncRNAs in the phenotypic adaptation of ECs to both body position and hemodynamic forces and establishes a newer role for lncRNAs in the transcriptional regulation of EC identity.


1991 ◽  
Vol 278 (2) ◽  
pp. 515-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z Spolarics ◽  
G J Bagby ◽  
C H Lang ◽  
J J Spitzer

Alterations of glucose metabolism and the oxidation of glutamine and palmitate were studied, by using specifically labelled substrates, in freshly isolated Kupffer cells and hepatic endothelial cells after infusion in vivo of human recombinant tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF; 7.5 x 10(5) IU/30 min per kg body wt., intravenously). Cells were incubated in a medium containing 5 mM-glucose, 0.4 mM-palmitate, 1 mM-lactate and 0.5 mM-glutamine. Administration of TNF in vivo increased glucose use in Kupffer cells by 70%. Glucose oxidation in the tricarboxylic acid cycle and flux in the Embden-Meyerhof (EM) pathway were elevated by 40 and 80% respectively. Treatment in vitro with 1 microM-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) resulted in a similar percentage increase in glucose use by Kupffer cells prepared from either saline- or TNF-treated rats. However, PMA increased the activity of the hexose monophosphate shunt (HMS) by 3- and 10-fold in cells isolated from saline- or TNF-infused animals respectively. A phagocyte stimulus in vitro, opsonized zymosan, increased glucose use by 30% and doubled the flux through the HMS in Kupffer cells from saline-infused animals. The activity of the HMS in response to zymosan was increased by 400% after TNF treatment. In endothelial cells, basal glucose utilization was not altered by TNF treatment. PMA increased HMS activity in endothelial cells to a similar degree after saline or TNF infusion. Zymosan, however, increased HMS activity only in endothelial cells from TNF-treated rats. Oxidation of palmitate or glutamine was not affected by TNF treatment either under basal conditions or after challenge in vitro. Our data indicate that, after phagocytosis in vitro or protein kinase C activation, glucose use and flux through the HMS increase in Kupffer cells. This is accompanied by increased glycolytic flux, with no changes in glucose oxidation in the tricarboxylic acid cycle. After TNF exposure, followed by a secondary stimulus, the enhanced glucose use by Kupffer cells is primarily channelled through the HMS pathway. These data suggest that the increased glucose use in vivo by Kupffer cells found after immune-stimulated conditions may subserve primarily the increased need for NADPH and HMS intermediates.


2008 ◽  
Vol 105 (46) ◽  
pp. 18000-18005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steffen Wittmeier ◽  
Gang Song ◽  
James Duffin ◽  
Chi-Sang Poon

Inspiratory and expiratory rhythms in mammals are thought to be generated by pacemaker-like neurons in 2 discrete brainstem regions: pre-Bötzinger complex (preBötC) and parafacial respiratory group (pFRG). How these putative pacemakers or pacemaker networks may interact to set the overall respiratory rhythm in synchrony remains unclear. Here, we show that a pacemakers 2-way “handshake” process comprising pFRG excitation of the preBötC, followed by reverse inhibition and postinhibitory rebound (PIR) excitation of the pFRG and postinspiratory feedback inhibition of the preBötC, can provide a phase-locked mechanism that sequentially resets and, hence, synchronizes the inspiratory and expiratory rhythms in neonates. The order of this handshake sequence and its progression vary depending on the relative excitabilities of the preBötC vs. the pFRG and resultant modulations of the PIR in various excited and depressed states, leading to complex inspiratory and expiratory phase-resetting behaviors in neonates and adults. This parsimonious model of pacemakers synchronization and mutual entrainment replicates key experimental data in vitro and in vivo that delineate the developmental changes in respiratory rhythm from neonates to maturity, elucidating their underlying mechanisms and suggesting hypotheses for further experimental testing. Such a pacemakers handshake process with conjugate excitation–inhibition and PIR provides a reinforcing and evolutionarily advantageous fail-safe mechanism for respiratory rhythmogenesis in mammals.


1999 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pingsheng Ma ◽  
Stefaan Wera ◽  
Patrick Van Dijck ◽  
Johan M. Thevelein

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains two genes, PDE1 and PDE2, which respectively encode a low-affinity and a high-affinity cAMP phosphodiesterase. The physiological function of the low-affinity enzyme Pde1 is unclear. We show that deletion of PDE1, but not PDE2, results in a much higher cAMP accumulation upon addition of glucose or upon intracellular acidification. Overexpression of PDE1, but not PDE2, abolished the agonist-induced cAMP increases. These results indicate a specific role for Pde1 in controlling glucose and intracellular acidification-induced cAMP signaling. Elimination of a putative protein kinase A (PKA) phosphorylation site by mutagenesis of serine252into alanine resulted in a Pde1ala252allele that apparently had reduced activity in vivo. Its presence in a wild-type strain partially enhanced the agonist-induced cAMP increases compared with pde1Δ. The difference between the Pde1ala252allele and wild-type Pde1 was strongly dependent on PKA activity. In a RAS2val19pde2Δ background, the Pde1ala252allele caused nearly the same hyperaccumulation of cAMP as pde1Δ, while its expression in a PKA-attenuated strain caused the same reduction in cAMP hyperaccumulation as wild-type Pde1. These results suggest that serine252might be the first target site for feedback inhibition of cAMP accumulation by PKA. We show that Pde1 is rapidly phosphorylated in vivo upon addition of glucose to glycerol-grown cells, and this activation is absent in the Pde1ala252mutant. Pde1 belongs to a separate class of phosphodiesterases and is the first member shown to be phosphorylated. However, in vitro the Pde1ala252enzyme had the same catalytic activity as wild-type Pde1, both in crude extracts and after extensive purification. This indicates that the effects of the S252A mutation are not caused by simple inactivation of the enzyme. In vitro phosphorylation of Pde1 resulted in a modest and variable increase in activity, but only in crude extracts. This was absent in Pde1ala252, and phosphate incorporation was strongly reduced. Apparently, phosphorylation of Pde1 does not change its intrinsic activity or affinity for cAMP but appears to be important in vivo for protein-protein interaction or for targeting Pde1 to a specific subcellular location. The PKA recognition site is conserved in the corresponding region of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Candida albicans Pde1 homologues, possibly indicating a similar control by phosphorylation.


2016 ◽  
Vol 474 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetsu Shimizu ◽  
Lulu Yin ◽  
Ayako Yoshida ◽  
Yuusuke Yokooji ◽  
Shin-ichi Hachisuka ◽  
...  

β-Decarboxylating dehydrogenases, which are involved in central metabolism, are considered to have diverged from a common ancestor with broad substrate specificity. In a molecular phylogenetic analysis of 183 β-decarboxylating dehydrogenase homologs from 84 species, TK0280 from Thermococcus kodakarensis was selected as a candidate for an ancestral-type β-decarboxylating dehydrogenase. The biochemical characterization of recombinant TK0280 revealed that the enzyme exhibited dehydrogenase activities toward homoisocitrate, isocitrate, and 3-isopropylmalate, which correspond to key reactions involved in the lysine biosynthetic pathway, tricarboxylic acid cycle, and leucine biosynthetic pathway, respectively. In T. kodakarensis, the growth characteristics of the KUW1 host strain and a TK0280 deletion strain suggested that TK0280 is involved in lysine biosynthesis in this archaeon. On the other hand, gene complementation analyses using Thermus thermophilus as a host revealed that TK0280 functions as both an isocitrate dehydrogenase and homoisocitrate dehydrogenase in this organism, but not as a 3-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase, most probably reflecting its low catalytic efficiency toward 3-isopropylmalate. A crystallographic study on TK0280 binding each substrate indicated that Thr71 and Ser80 played important roles in the recognition of homoisocitrate and isocitrate while the hydrophobic region consisting of Ile82 and Leu83 was responsible for the recognition of 3-isopropylmalate. These analyses also suggested the importance of a water-mediated hydrogen bond network for the stabilization of the β3–α4 loop, including the Thr71 residue, with respect to the promiscuity of the substrate specificity of TK0280.


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