Differences in catalytic activity between rat testicular and ovarian carbonyl reductases are due to two amino acids

The sequences of rat testis carbonyl reductase (rCR1) and rat ovary carbonyl reductase (rCR2) are 98% identical, differing only at amino acids 140, 141, 143, 235 and 238. Despite such strong sequence identity, we find that rCR1 and rCR2 have different catalytic constants for metabolism of menadione and 4-benzoyl-pyridine. Compared to rCR1, rCR2 has a 20-fold lower K(m) and 5-fold lower k(cat) towards menadione and a 7-fold lower K(m) and 7-fold lower k(cat) towards 4-benzoyl-pyridine. We constructed hybrids of rCR1 and rCR2 that were changed at either residues 140, 141 and 143 or residues 235 and 238. rCR1 with residues 140, 141 and 143 of rCR2 has similar catalytic efficiency for menadione and 4-benzoyl-pyridine as rCR1. rCR1 with Thr-235 and Glu-238 of rCR2 has the catalytic constants of rCR2, indicating that it is this part of rCR2 that contributes to its lower K(m) for menadione and 4-benzoyl-pyridine. Comparisons of three-dimensional models of rCR1 and rCR2 show how Thr-235 and Glu-238 stabilize rCR2 binding of NADPH and menadione.

Antioxidant activities of some tryptophan metabolites: possible implication for inflammatory diseases

The antioxidant properties of tryptophan and some of its oxidative metabolites were examined by measuring how efficiently they inhibited peroxyl radical-mediated oxidation of phosphatidylcholine liposomes and B-phycoerythrin. Low micromolar concentrations of 5-hydroxytryptophan, 3-hydroxykynurenine, xanthurenic acid, or 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid, but not their corresponding nonhydroxylated metabolic precursors, scavenged peroxyl radicals with high efficiency. In particular, 3-hydroxykynurenine and 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid protected B-phycoerythrin from peroxyl radical-mediated oxidative damage more effectively than equimolar amounts of either ascorbate or Trolox (a water-soluble analog of vitamin E). Enzyme activities involved or related to oxidative tryptophan metabolism, as well as endogenous concentrations of tryptophan and its metabolites, were determined within tissues of mice suffering from acute viral pneumonia. Infection resulted in a 100-fold induction of pulmonary indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (EC 1.13.11.17) as reported [Yoshida, R., Urade, Y., Tokuda, M. ; Hayaishi, O. (1979) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 76, 4084-4086]. This was accompanied by a 16- and 3-fold increase in the levels of lung kynurenine and 3-hydroxykynurenine, respectively. In contrast, endogenous concentrations of tryptophan and xanthurenic acid did not increase and 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid could not be detected. The activity of the superoxide anion (O2-.)-producing enzyme xanthine oxidase increased 3.5-fold during infection while that of the O2-.-removing superoxide dismutase decreased to 50% of control levels. These results plus the known requirement of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase for superoxide anion for catalytic activity suggest that viral pneumonia is accompanied by oxidative stress and that induction of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase may represent a local antioxidant defence against this and possibly other types of inflammatory diseases.

A first case of congenital TTP on the African continent due to a new homozygous mutation in the catalytic domain of ADAMTS13

Hereditary thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a rare disorder characterized by occlusive microvascular thrombosis, consumptive thrombocytopenia, and microangiopathic hemolytic anemia. Homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations in the ADAMTS13 gene result in a congenital severe ADAMTS13 deficiency and subsequent accumulation of ultra-large von Willebrand factor multimers, which tend to form platelet thrombi in the microcirculation. We report a first case of congenital TTP on the African continent with a new, homozygous mutation in the metalloprotease domain of ADAMTS13. An initially oligo-symptomatic presentation was followed by acute exacerbation with ischemic stroke and acute renal failure highlighting the severity of this syndrome.

Human intestinal maltase-glucoamylase: crystal structure of the N-terminal catalytic subunit and basis of inhibition and substrate specificity

Human maltase-glucoamylase (MGAM) is one of the two enzymes responsible for catalyzing the last glucose-releasing step in starch digestion. MGAM is anchored to the small-intestinal brush-border epithelial cells and contains two homologous glycosyl hydrolase family 31 catalytic subunits: an N-terminal subunit (NtMGAM) found near the membrane-bound end and a C-terminal luminal subunit (CtMGAM). In this study, we report the crystal structure of the human NtMGAM subunit in its apo form (to 2.0 A) and in complex with acarbose (to 1.9 A). Structural analysis of the NtMGAM-acarbose complex reveals that acarbose is bound to the NtMGAM active site primarily through side-chain interactions with its acarvosine unit, and almost no interactions are made with its glycone rings. These observations, along with results from kinetic studies, suggest that the NtMGAM active site contains two primary sugar subsites and that NtMGAM and CtMGAM differ in their substrate specificities despite their structural relationship. Additional sequence analysis of the CtMGAM subunit suggests several features that could explain the higher affinity of the CtMGAM subunit for longer maltose oligosaccharides. The results provide a structural basis for the complementary roles of these glycosyl hydrolase family 31 subunits in the bioprocessing of complex starch structures into glucose.

Enhancement of heterologous expression of alkaline phytase in Pichia pastors

Phytic acid is the major storage form of phosphorus and inositol in seeds and legumes. It forms insoluble phytate salts by chelating with positively charged mineral ions. Non-ruminant animals are not able to digest phytate due to the lack of phytases in their GI tracks, thus the undigested phytate is excreted leading to environmental contamination. Supplementation with phytases in animal feed has proven to be an effective strategy to alleviate nutritional and environmental issues. The unique catalytic and thermal stability properties of alkaline phytase from lily pollen (LlALP) suggest that it has the potential to be useful as a feed supplement. Our goal is to develop a method for the production of substantial amounts of rLlALP for animal feed and structural studies. rLlALP2 has been successfully expressed in the yeast, Pichia pastoris. However, expression yield was modest (8-10 mg/L). Gene copy number has been identified as an important parameter in enhancing protein yields. Multicopy clones were selected using Zeocin-resistance-based vectors and challenging transformants to high Zeocin levels under different conditions. Data indicate that increasing selection pressure led to the generation of clones with amplification of both rLlAlp2 and Zeor genes and the two genes were not equally amplified. Additionally, clones generated by step-wise methods led to clones with greater amplification. The effects of transgene copy number and gene sequence optimization on expression levels of rLlALP2 were examined. The data indicate that increasing the copy number of rLlAlp2 in transformed clones was detrimental to expression level. The use of a sequence-optimized rLlAlp2 (op-rLlAlp2) increased expression yield of the active enzyme by 25-50%, suggesting that transcription and translation efficiency are not major bottlenecks in the production of rLlALP2. Lowering induction temperature to 20 oC led to an increase in enzyme activity of 1.2 to 20-fold, suggesting that protein folding or post-translational processes may be limiting factors for rLlALP2 production. Cumulatively, optimization of copy number, gene sequence optimization and reduced temperature led to increase of rLlALP2 enzyme activity by three-fold (25-30 mg/L). In an effort to simplify the purification process of rLlALP2, extracellular expression of phytase was investigated. Extracellular expression is dependent on the presence of an appropriate secretion signal upstream of the transgene native signal peptide(s) present in the transgene may also influence secretion efficiency. The data suggest that deletion of both N- and C-terminal signal peptides of rLlALP2 enhanced α-mating factor (α-MF)-driven secretion of LlALP2 by four-fold. The secretion signal peptide of chicken egg white lysozyme was ineffective in secretion rLlALP2 in P. pastoris. To enhance rLlALP2 secretion, effectiveness of the strong inducible promoter (PAOX1) was compared with the constitutive promoter (PGAP). The intracellular yield of rLlALP2 was about four-fold greater under the control of PGAP compared to PAOX1 and extracellular expression level of rLlALP2 was around eight-fold (75-100 mg/L) greater. The successful production of active rLlALP2 in P. pastoris will allow us to conduct the animal feed supplementation studies and structural studies.

A Rapid Determination of Small Amounts of Lead in Zinc

This investigation, carried on in the metallur­gical laboratories at the Montana School of Mines, was undertaken with the desire to work out a rapid method for the estimation, or the determination, of the amount of lead in zinc.

Interesting results of catalytic hydrogenation of 3-(2-nitrophenyl)-isoxazoles and 3-(nitro-substituted-phenyl)-2-isoxazolines

The Pd-C-assisted hydrogenolysis of substituted 3-(2-nitrophenyl)-isoxazoles, irrespective of substitution on the isoxa-zole ring, invariably leads to reduction of nitro to amino group with concomitant regiospecific ring closure to yield substituted 4-quinolinamines. In contrast similar hydrogenation of 3-(nitro substituted phenyl)-2-isoxazolines results in reduction of the nitro group only with conservation of isoxazoline ring to yield 3-(amino substituted phenyl)-2-isoxazolines.

Studies on the catalytic hydrogenation of Baylis Hillman derivatives of substituted isoxazolecarbaldehydes

Results of the catalytic hydrogenation of Baylis-Hillman adducts obtained from substituted 3-, 4- and 5-isoxazolecarbox-aldehydes and their corresponding acetates in the presence of Raney-Ni and Pd-C are presented. The hydrogenation of Baylis-Hillman adducts of substituted 5-isoxazolecarbaldehydes and 3-isoxazolecarbaldehydes in the presence of Raney-Ni furnishes diastereoselectively syn enaminones over anti and in the presence of boric acid as an additive further enhancement of diastereoselectivity in favor of syn isomer is observed. The Pd-C-promoted hydrogenation of these substrates is also diastereoselective in favor of syn isomer but occurs without the hydrogenolysis of isoxazole-ring. The presence of boric acid as additive in this hydrogenation exhibits no pronounced effect on diastereoselectivity. The Raney-Ni-mediated hydrogenation of Baylis-Hillman adducts of substituted 4-isoxazolecarbaldehydes yield pyridone derivatives and Pd-C-promoted hydrogenation of the same substrate is diastereoselective to afford the anti isomer of the resulting products. The enaminones derived from Baylis-Hillman adducts of 3- and 5-isoxazolecarbaldehydes serve as versatile precursors for '-hydroxy-1, 3-diketones, which undergo acid-catalyzed ring-closure reaction to afford the furanone derivatives in excellent yields