The inhibition of lysyl oxidase in vivo by isoniazid and its reversal by pyridoxal. Effect on collagen cross-linking in the chick embryo.

Isonicotinic acid hydrazide (isoniazid) causes a large increase in the salt-solubility of collagen when injected into chick embryos; this change is accompanied by the inactivation of lysyl oxidase (EC 1.4.3.13), the enzyme responsible for initiating cross-link formation in collagen and elastin. In addition, isoniazid markedly decreases the liver content of pyridoxal phosphate. The depletion of pyridoxal phosphate takes approx. 6 h, whereas the inhibition of lysyl oxidase and the increase in collagen solubility occur more slowly. A reversal of these effects of isoniazid can be produced by the subsequent injection of a stoichiometric amount of pyridoxal, supporting the role of pyridoxal as a cofactor for lysyl oxidase. Treatment of chick embryos with beta-aminopropionitrile, an irreversible inhibitor of lysyl oxidase, causes an inhibition of the enzyme, which begins to recover within 24 h but which is not affected by the administration of pyridoxal; with isoniazid inhibition, however, lysyl oxidase activity does not show any sign of recovery by 48 h. It is proposed that isoniazid may cause the inhibition of lysyl oxidase by competing for its obligatory cofactor, pyridoxal phosphate. The potential clinical implications in the therapeutic control of fibrosis are briefly discussed.     

Structural and catalytic properties of copper in lysyl oxidase

The spectral and catalytic properties of the copper cofactor in highly purified bovine aortic lysyl oxidase have been examined. As isolated, various preparations of purified lysyl oxidase are associated with 5-9 loosely bound copper atoms per molecule of enzyme which are removed by dialysis against EDTA. The enzyme also contains 0.99 +/- 0.10 g atom of tightly bound copper per 32-kDa monomer which is not removed by this treatment. The copper-free apoenzyme, prepared by dialysis of lysyl oxidase against alpha,alpha'-dipyridyl in 6 M urea, catalyzed neither the oxidative turnover of amine substrates nor the anaerobic production of aldehyde at levels stoichiometric with enzyme active site content, thus contrasting with the ping pong metalloenzyme. Moreover, the spectrum of the apoenzyme was not measurably perturbed upon anaerobic incubation with n-butylamine, while difference absorption bands were generated at 250 and 308 nm in the spectrum of the metalloenzyme incubated under the same conditions. A difference absorption band also developed at 300-310 nm upon anaerobic incubation of pyrroloquinoline quinone, the putative carbonyl cofactor of lysyl oxidase, with n-butylamine. Full restoration of catalytic activity occurred upon the reconstitution of the apoenzyme with 1 g atom of copper/32-kDa monomer, whereas identical treatment of the apoenzyme with divalent salts of zinc, cobalt, iron, mercury, magnesium, or cadmium failed to restore catalytic activity. The EPR spectrum of copper in lysyl oxidase is typical of the tetragonally distorted, octahedrally coordinated Cu(II) sites observed in other amine oxidases and indicates coordination by at least three nitrogen ligands. The single copper atom in the lysyl oxidase monomer is thus essential at least for the catalytic and possibly for the structural integrity of this protein.     

Collagen cross-linking. Purification and substrate specificity of lysyl oxidase.

Lysyl oxidase is a specific amine oxidase that catalyzes the formation of aldehyde cross-link intermediates in collagen and elastin. In this study, lysyl oxidase from embryonic chick cartilage was purified to constant specific activity and a single protein band on sodium dodecyl sulfate acrylamide gel electrophoresis. This band had an apparent molecular weight of 62,000. The eluted protein cross-reacted with inhibiting antisera developed against highly purified lysyl oxidase. The highly purified enzyme was active with both insoluble elastin and embryonic chick skin or bone collagen precipitated as reconstituted, native fibrils. There was low activity with nonhydroxylated collagen, collagen monomers, or native fibrils isolated from lathyritic calvaria. The maximum number of aldehyde intermediates formed per molecule of collagen that became insoluble was two. These results indicate that lysyl oxidase has maximum activity on ordered aggregates of collagen molecules that may be overlapping associations of only a few collagen molecules across. Formation of aldehyde intermediates and cross-links during fibril formation may facilitate the biosynthesis of stable collagen fibrils and contribute to increased fibril tensile strength in vivo.     

Reactivity of a functional carbonyl moiety in bovine aortic lysyl oxidase. Evidence against pyridoxal 5''-phosphate.

Previous studies have pointed towards a cofactor role for pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) in lysyl oxidase, the enzyme that generates the peptidyl aldehyde precursor to the lysine-derived cross-linkages in elastin and collagen. The nature of a carbonyl moiety in purified bovine aortic lysyl oxidase was explored in the present study. A PLP dinitrophenylhydrazone could not be isolated from lysyl oxidase, although corresponding preparations of aspartate aminotransferase, a PLP-dependent enzyme, yielded this derivative, as revealed by h.p.l.c. Analysis of lysyl oxidase for PLP after reduction of the enzyme by NaBH4, a procedure that converts PLP-protein aldimines into stable 5'-phosphopyridoxyl functions, also proved negative in tests using monoclonal antibody specific for this epitope. Lysyl oxidase was competitively inhibited by phenylhydrazine, and inhibition became irreversible with time at 37 degrees C, displaying a first-order inactivation rate constant of 0.4 min-1 and KI of 1 microM. [14C]Phenylhydrazine was covalently incorporated into the enzyme in a manner that was prevented by prior modification of the enzyme with beta-aminopropionitrile, a specific active-site inhibitor, and which correlated with functional active-site content. The chemical stability of the enzyme-bound phenylhydrazine exceeded that expected of linkages between PLP and proteins. The absorption spectrum of the phenylhydrazine derivative of lysyl oxidase was clearly distinct from that of the phenylhydrazone of PLP. It is concluded that lysyl oxidase contains a carbonyl cofactor that is not identical with PLP and that is bound to the enzyme by a stable chemical bond.     

Evidence for the role of vitamin C-6 as a cofactor of lysyl oxidase.

At 24 h after injection of 16-day chick embryos with [C-3H]pyridoxine hydrochloride, some of this label appears in the epiphysial cartilage. Over 35% of this radioactivity appears in the form of [G-3H]pyridoxal and a further 30% as other vitamin B-6 compounds. Partial purification of lysyl oxidase from the labelled epiphysial cartilage reveals a single peak of radioactivity coinciding with a single peak of enzyme activity. On dialysis against phosphate-buffered saline, 75% of this radioactivity is found to be non-diffusible. After incubation with isonicotinic acid hydrazide, a carbonyl reagent that appears to inhibit lysyl oxidase both in vivo and in vitro, a further 70% of the radioactivity is lost, with a roughly corresponding loss of enzyme activity. It is suggested that a form of vitamin B-6 is required as a cofactor of lysyl oxidase, and that this may have important implications in terms of connective-tissue metabolism.     

Protein lysine 6-oxidase (lysyl oxidase) cofactor: methoxatin (PQQ) or pyridoxal?

1. Treatment of chick embryos with two lathyrogens lowered lysyl oxidase and increased collagen extractability. 2. Subsequent treatment with pyridoxal restored both parameters towards normal, whereas PQQ treatment was less effective. 3. These results suggest the requirement of a pyridoxal derivative for the formation of the enzyme, acting either as cofactor or because its formation requires some pyridoxal-dependent enzyme. The cochromatography of the enzyme with [3H]pyridoxine-derived radioactivity supports the cofactor role. 4. The conclusions of other authors that lysyl oxidase contains PQQ relates to enzymes from other species or to amine oxidases not characterised as lysyl oxidase.     

Immunological characterization of bovine lysyl oxidase

Antibodies to homogeneously purified bovine aortic lysyl oxidase were prepared in chickens. The chicken anti-lysyl oxidase antiserum effectively inhibited bovine aortic lysyl oxidase activity. Non-immune antiserum from chickens, goats and humans was found to enhance bovine aortic lysyl oxidase activity, while non-immune rabbit serum inhibited enzyme activity. A competitive ELISA was developed to monitor immunoreactive lysyl oxidase during purification. Chromatography of bovine lysyl oxidase on Sephacryl S-200, the final step in purification, revealed two peaks of immunoreactive lysyl oxidase. The large molecular weight peak appears to contain inactive multimeric forms of the enzyme.     

The biological function of the R2a regulatory gene for alkaline phosphatase in Escherichia coli

Previous attempts to purify lysyl oxidase have been frustrated by the failure to recover activity during ion exchange or affinity chromatography. We have found that lysyl oxidase from chick cartilage shows marked stability in buffers containing urea and in these solutions can be recovered in high yield from DKAE-cellulose and collagen-derivatized Sepharose. The purified enzyme was active against both collagen and elastin substrates but devoid of monoamine oxidase activity. An absolute requirement for oxygen for activity was found.     

Inactivation of rhodanese by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate.

Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate and other aromatic aldehydes inactivate rhodanese. The inactivation reaches higher extents if the enzyme is in the sulfur-free form. The identification of the reactive residue as an amino group has been made by spectrophotometric determination of the 5'-phosphorylated pyridoxyl derivative of the enzyme. The inactivation increases with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate concentration and can be partially removed by adding thiosulfate or valine. Prolonged dialysis against phosphate buffer also leads to the enzyme reactivation. The absorption spectra of the pyridoxal phosphate - rhodanese complex show a peak at 410 nm related to the Schiff base and a shoulder in the 330 nm region which is probably due to the reaction between pyridoxal 5'-phosphate and both the amino and thiol groups of the enzyme that appear reasonably close to each other. The relationship betweenloss of activity and pyridoxal 5'-phosphate binding to the enzyme shows that complete inactivation is achieved when four lysyl residues are linked to pyridoxal 5'-phosphate.     

The effect of a vitamin B-6 antagonist, 4-deoxypyridoxine, on the cross-linking of collagen in the developing chick embryo.

The vitamin B-6 antimetabolite 4-deoxypyridoxine, when injected into 13-day chick embryos, has the effect of increasing the amount of collagen solubilized from the leg bones by buffered saline solutions, 24 h after the injection. This effect is similar to, but less marked than, that produced by the administration of the lathyrogen beta-amino-propionitrile. Since that fraction of the total collagen which is solubilized by saline represents the least-cross-linked pool, it is concluded that 4-deoxypyridoxine is a lathyrogen, decreasing the cross-linking in the developing embryo, and confirming the importance of vitamin B-6 in that process. Lysyl oxidase, the cross-linking enzyme, was measured in extracts made from the epiphysial cartilages of embryos 24 h after the injection of either 4-deoxypyridoxine or beta-aminopropionitrile. The injection of 5 mg of beta-aminopropionitrile causes the lysyl oxidase activity to fall to 61% of that of saline-injected controls; after treatment with 4-deoxypyridoxine, the activity is 74% of the control value. In the latter case, full activity is not restored to the extracts by preincubation with pyridoxal phosphate. The results are discussed in relation to the early development of the connective tissues.     

Modification of Rhodospirillum rubrum ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase with pyridoxal phosphate. 1. Identification of a lysyl residue at the active site.

Ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase isolated from Rhodospirillum rubrum was strongly inhibited by low concentrations of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. Activity was protected by the substrate ribulose bisphosphate and to a lesser extent by other phosphorylated compounds. Pyridoxal phosphate inhibition was enhanced in the presence of magnesium and bicarbonate, but not in the presence of either compound alone. Concomitant with inhibition of enzyme activity, pyridoxal phosphate forms a Schiff base with the enzyme which is reversible upon dialysis and reducible with sodium borohydride. Subsequent to reduction of the Schiff base with tritiated sodium borohydride, tritiated N6-pyridoxyllysine could be identified in the acid hydrolysate of the enzyme. Only small amounts of this compound were present when the reduction was performed in the presence of carboxyribitol bisphosphate, an analogue of the intermediate formed during the carboxylation reaction. Therefore, it is concluded that pyridoxal phosphate modifies a lysyl residue close to or at the active site of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase.     

The inhibition of protein-lysine 6-oxidase by various lathyrogens. Evidence for two different mechanisms.

Lathyrogens decrease collagen and elastin cross-linking by inhibiting lysine oxidase. The lathyrogens isoniazid and semicarbazide decrease liver pyridoxal phosphate and are teratogenic; all their effects are reversed by pyridoxal. beta-Aminopropionitrile, another lathyrogen, does not affect liver pyridoxal phosphate, and its lathyrogenic and teratogenic effects are not reversed by pyridoxal. Time courses of these effects differ greatly, suggesting enzyme inhibition by different mechanisms.     

Mechanism of impaired skin collagen maturity in riboflavin or pyridoxine deficiency

To elucidate the biochemical basis of impaired skin collagen maturity in pyridoxine-or riboflavin-deficient rats the following two mechanistic possibilities were tested: (i) Reduction in the activity of skin lysyl oxidase (EC 1·4·3·13) which initiates the cross-linking of collagen and (ii) putative rise in homocysteine level leading to neutralization of allysine (α-aminoadipic acid δ-5-semialdehyde)or hydroxyallysine (hydroxy α-aminoadepic acid (δ-semialdehyde) in collagen by the formation of thiazine complexes. Skin lysyl oxidase activity was not affected in pyridoxine deficiency suggesting that pyridoxal phosphate may not be its cofactor. In riboflavin deficiency, lysyl oxidase activity was not altered in the newly regenerated rat skin but a slight reduction was observed in the skin of 18-day-old rat pups. This could be related to the body weight deficit rather than deficiencyper se. Aldehyde content of purified salt soluble collagen of regenerated skin was significantly reduced in both the deficiencies. A 2 to 4-fold increase in the concentration of skin homocysteine was observed in both the deficiencies. The results suggest that increase in skin homocysteine level may be responsible for the impaired skin collagen maturity in riboflavin or pyridoxine deficiency.     

Inactivation of rat brain acetylcholinesterase by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate

Effects of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate on the activity of crude and purified acetylcholinesterase from cerebral hemispheres of adult rat brain were examined. Acetylcholinesterase was completely inactivated by incubation with 0.5 mM pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. The enzyme activity remained unaltered in the presence of analogs of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, pyridoxal, pyridoxamine and pyridoxamine 5'-phosphate. The inhibition of acetylcholinesterase activity by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate appeared to be of a noncompetitive nature, as determined by Lineweaver-Burk analysis. The inhibitory effect of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate on acetylcholinesterase appeared to be a general one, as the activity of the enzyme from the brains of immature chick and egg-laying hen, and from different tissues of the adult male rats, exhibited a similar pattern in the presence of the inhibitor. The inhibitory effects of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate could be reversed upon exhaustive dialysis of the pyridoxal 5'-phosphate-treated acetylcholinesterase preparations. We propose that the effects of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate are due to its interaction with acetylcholinesterase, and that it can be employed as a useful tool for studying biochemical aspects of this important brain enzyme.     

The preparation and use of pyridoxal [32P]phosphate as a labeling reagent for proteins on the outer surface of membranes.

Pyridoxal [32P] phosphate was prepared using [gamma-32P] ATP, pyridoxal, and pyridoxine kinase purified from Escherichia coli B. The pyridoxal [32P] phosphate obtained had a specific activity of at least 1 Ci/mmol. This reagent was used to label intact influenza virus, red blood cells, and both normal and transformed chick embryo fibroblasts. The cell or virus to be labeled was incubated with pyridoxal [32P] phosphate. The Schiff base formed between pyridoxal [32P] phosphate and protein amino groups was reduced with NaBH4. The distribution of pyridoxal [32P] phosphate in cell membrane or virus envelope proteins was visualized by autoradiography of the proteins separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The labeling of the proteins of both influenza and chick cells appeared to be limited exclusively to those on the external surface of the virus or plasma membrane. With intact red blood cells the major portion of the probe was bound by external proteins, but a small amount of label was found associated with the internal proteins spectrin and hemoglobin.     

Properties of highly purified lysyl oxidase from embryonic chick cartilage.

Lysyl oxidase the enzyme which oxidately deaminates lysine residues in collagen and elastin, was purified from embryonic chick cartialge by employing an affinity column of lathyritic rat skin collagen coupled to Sepharose, followed by separation on DEAE-cellulose. An enzyme preparation was obtained which was pure as shown by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The specific activity was 1800-fold higher than that of the original extract. The pure enzyme utilized both collagen and elastin substrate. Furthermore, the ratios of enzyme activity with elastin substrate versus that with collagen substrate were the same at all stages of purity. Only one protein band was found after polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the pure lysyl oxidase in sodium dodecyl sulfate and mercaptoethanol. The molecular weight was estimated to be 28000. It was found that the enzyme contained a large number of cysteine and tyrosine residues. Evidence was obtained for molecular heterogeneity of lysyl oxidase. The enzyme eluted from DEAE-cellulsoe in at least four distinct regions. When the peaks were rechromatographed separately, they eluted at salt concentrations similar to those of the original chromatogram. However, the substrate specificity and the electrophoretic mobility on polyacrylamide gel were the same for all enzyme fractions.     

Demonstration of a precursor-product relationship between soluble and cross-linked elastin, and the biosynthesis of the desmosines in vitro.

Direct evidence showing that a soluble form of elastin is the precursor of cross-linked elastin was obtained from pulse-chase experiments using chick embryo aortas and by demonstrating the conversion of soluble elastin into cross-linked elastin in a cell-free system. Acetic acid extracts of embryonic chick aorta pulse-labeled with [14C]lysine contain two radioactive proteins of molecular weights 74,000 and 138,000 which have been identified previously as soluble elastin and the pro-alpha chain of collagen, respectively. In pulse-chase experiments, the radioactivity incorporated in the soluble elastin during the pulse with [14C]lysine disappeared during a 24-hour chase with [12C]lysine and 89% of that which disappeared was accounted for in the desmosines of alkali-insoluble elastin. The disappearance of the radioactivity from the soluble fraction and its appearance in the desmosines of elastin were inhibited by beta-aminopropionitrile, a specific inhibitor of the cross-linking enzyme lysyl oxidase. In addition in vitro experiments, it was shown that the radioactivity in the desmosines of elastin can arise from that present in an acid-soluble precursor protein. This precursor protein is soluble elastin, as demonstrated by the formation of desmosines when a homogeneous preparation of soluble elastin was incubated with purified lysyl oxidase.     

Lysyl oxidase activity and elastin/glycosaminoglycan interactions in growing chick and rat aortas

Hydrophobic tropoelastin molecules aggregate in vitro in physiological conditions and form fibers very similar to natural ones (Bressan, G. M., I. Pasquali Ronchetti, C. Fornieri, F. Mattioli, I. Castellani, and D. Volpin, 1986, J. Ultrastruct. Molec. Struct. Res., 94:209-216). Similar hydrophobic interactions might be operative in in vivo fibrogenesis. Data are presented suggesting that matrix glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) prevent spontaneous tropoelastin aggregation in vivo, at least up to the deamination of lysine residues on tropoelastin by matrix lysyl oxidase. Lysyl oxidase inhibitors beta-aminopropionitrile, aminoacetonitrile, semicarbazide, and isonicotinic acid hydrazide were given to newborn chicks, to chick embryos, and to newborn rats, and the ultrastructural alterations of the aortic elastic fibers were analyzed and compared with the extent of the enzyme inhibition. When inhibition was greater than 65% all chemicals induced alterations of elastic fibers in the form of lateral aggregates of elastin, which were always permeated by cytochemically and immunologically recognizable GAGs. The number and size of the abnormal elastin/GAGs aggregates were proportional to the extent of lysyl oxidase inhibition. The phenomenon was independent of the animal species. All data suggest that, upon inhibition of lysyl oxidase, matrix GAGs remain among elastin molecules during fibrogenesis by binding to positively charged amino groups on elastin. Newly synthesized and secreted tropoelastin has the highest number of free epsilon amino groups, and, therefore, the highest capability of binding to GAGs. These polyanions, by virtue of their great hydration and dispersing power, could prevent random spontaneous aggregation of hydrophobic tropoelastin in the extracellular space.     

Role of pyridoxal phosphate in mammalian polyamine biosynthesis. Lack of requirement for mammalian S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase activity.

1. Polyamine concentrations were decreased in rats fed on a diet deficient in vitamin B-6. 2. Ornithine decarboxylase activity was decreased by vitamin B-6 deficiency when assayed in tissue extracts without addition of pyridoxal phosphate, but was greater than in control extracts when pyridoxal phosphate was present in saturating amounts. 3. In contrast, the activity of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase was not enhanced by pyridoxal phosphate addition even when dialysed extracts were prepared from tissues of young rats suckled by mothers fed on the vitamin B-6-deficient diet. 4. S-Adenosylmethionine decarboxylase activities were increased by administration of methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone) (1,1'-[(methylethanediylidine)dinitrilo]diguanidine) to similar extents in both control and vitamin B-6-deficient animals. 5. The spectrum of highly purified liver S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase did not indicate the presence of pyridoxal phosphate. After inactivation of the enzyme by reaction with NaB3H4, radioactivity was incorporated into the enzyme, but was not present as a reduced derivative of pyridoxal phosphate. 6. It is concluded that the decreased concentrations of polyamines in rats fed on a diet containing vitamin B-6 may be due to decreased activity or ornithine decarboxylase or may be caused by an unknown mechanism responding to growth retardation produced by the vitamin deficiency. In either case, measurements of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase and ornithine decarboxylase activity under optimum conditions in vitro do not correlate with the polyamine concentrations in vivo.