Plant gamma-glutamyl hydrolases and folate polyglutamates: characterization, compartmentation, and co-occurrence in vacuoles

gamma-Glutamyl hydrolase (GGH, EC 3.4.19.9) catalyzes removal of the polyglutamyl tail from folyl and p-aminobenzoyl polyglutamates. Plants typically have one or a few GGH genes; Arabidopsis has three, tandemly arranged on chromosome 1, which encode proteins with predicted secretory pathway signal peptides. Two representative Arabidopsis GGH proteins, AtGGH1 and AtGGH2 (the At1g78660 and At1g78680 gene products, respectively) were expressed in truncated form in Escherichia coli and purified. Both enzymes were active as dimers, had low K(m) values (0.5-2 microm) for folyl and p-aminobenzoyl pentaglutamates, and acted as endopeptidases. However, despite 80% sequence identity, they differed in that AtGGH1 cleaved pentaglutamates, mainly to di- and triglutamates, whereas AtGGH2 yielded mainly monoglutamates. Analysis of subcellular fractions of pea leaves and red beet roots established that GGH activity is confined to the vacuole and that this activity, if not so sequestered, would deglutamylate all cellular folylpolyglutamates within minutes. Purified pea leaf vacuoles contained an average of 20% of the total cellular folate compared with approximately 50 and approximately 10%, respectively, in mitochondria and chloroplasts. The main vacuolar folate was 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, of which 51% was polyglutamylated. In contrast, the principal mitochondrial and chloroplastic forms were 5-formyl- and 5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolate polyglutamates, respectively. In beet roots, 16-60% of the folate was vacuolar and was again mainly 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, of which 76% was polyglutamylated. These data point to a hitherto unsuspected role for vacuoles in folate storage. Furthermore, the paradoxical co-occurrence of GGH and folylpolyglutamates in vacuoles implies that the polyglutamates are somehow protected from GGH attack.     

γ-Glutamyl hydrolase modulation significantly influences global and gene-specific DNA methylation and gene expression in human colon and breast cancer cells

γ-Glutamyl hydrolase (GGH) plays an important role in folate homeostasis by catalyzing hydrolysis of polyglutamylated folate into monoglutamates. Polyglutamylated folates are better substrates for several enzymes involved in the generation of S-adenosylmethionine, the primary methyl group donor, and hence, GGH modulation may affect DNA methylation. DNA methylation is an important epigenetic determinant in gene expression, in the maintenance of DNA integrity and stability, and in chromatin modifications, and aberrant or dysregulation of DNA methylation has been mechanistically linked to the development of human diseases including cancer. Using a recently developed in vitro model of GGH modulation in HCT116 colon and MDA-MB-435 breast cancer cells, we investigated whether GGH modulation would affect global and gene-specific DNA methylation and whether these alterations were associated with significant gene expression changes. In both cell lines, GGH overexpression decreased global DNA methylation and DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) activity, while GGH inhibition increased global DNA methylation and DNMT activity. Epigenomic and gene expression analyses revealed that GGH modulation influenced CpG promoter DNA methylation and gene expression involved in important biological pathways including cell cycle, cellular development, and cellular growth and proliferation. Some of the observed altered gene expression appeared to be regulated by changes in CpG promoter DNA methylation. Our data suggest that the GGH modulation-induced changes in total intracellular folate concentrations and content of long-chain folylpolyglutamates are associated with functionally significant DNA methylation alterations in several important biological pathways.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12263-014-0444-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Subcellular localization of gamma-glutamyl carboxypeptidase and of folates.

The subcellular distributions of glutamyl carboxypeptidase, folate specific activities, and radioactive metabolites of injected [3H] folic acid were studied in rat liver. The specific activity of glutamyl carboxypeptidase in the lysosomal fraction was near or greater than four times that in the other subcellular fractions. The specific activity of folates was highest in the soluble fraction (102 ng folate/mg protein) and lowest in the microsomal fraction (22 ng folate/mg protein). Nuclear, mitochondrial, and lysosomal folates were 95% folate polyglutamates, and microsomal and soluble folates were 85--90% folate polyglutamates. Injected [3H] folic acid was initially concentrated in the microsomal fraction, as measured by 3h cpm per ng folate. Initially, injected [3H] folic acid was found converted to folate penta- and hexaglutamates in all fractions to a similar extent except in the microsomes where the percentage conversion was much less, as measured by the percentage of total 3H cpm determined to be [3H] folate penta- and hexaglutamates. At 24 h, the conversion of [3H] folates to penta- and hexaglutamates in each fraction was less than that found for the endogenous folates. Injected [3H] folic acid after 2h was found to consist of 94% reduced folates in the soluble fraction, 56% in the mitochondrial, 55% in the nuclear, 20% in the lysosomal, and 15% in the microsomal fraction.     

Subcellular localization of γ-glutamyl carboxypeptidase and of folates

The subcellular distributions of glutamyl carboxypeptidase, folate specific activities, and radioactive metabolites of injected [³H] folic acid were studied in rat liver. The specific activity of glutamyl carboxypeptidase in the lysosomal fraction was near or greater than four times that in the other subcellular fractions.The specific activity of folates was highest in the soluble fraction (102 ng folate/mg protein) and lowest in the microsomal fraction (22 ng folate/mg protein). Nuclear, mitochondrial, and lysosomal folates were 95% folate polyglutamates, and microsomal and soluble folates were 85–90% folate polyglutamates.Injected [³H] folic acid was initially concentrated in the microsomal fraction, as measured by ³H cpm per ng folate.Initially, injected [³H] folic acid was found converted to folate penta- and hexaglutamates in all fractions to a similar extent except in the microsomes where the percentage conversion was much less, as measured by the percentage of total ³H cpm determined to be [³H] folate penta- and hexaglutamates. At 24 h, the conversion of [³H] folates to penta- and hexaglutamates in each fraction was less than that found for the endogenous folates.Injected [³H] folic acid after 2 h was found to consist of 94% reduced folates in the soluble fraction, 56% in the mitochondrial, 55% in the nuclear, 20% in the lysosomal, and 15% in the microsomal fraction.     

Epigenetic regulation of human gamma-glutamyl hydrolase activity in acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells

Gamma-glutamyl hydrolase (GGH) catalyzes degradation of the active polyglutamates of natural folates and the antifolate methotrexate (MTX). We found that GGH activity is directly related to GGH messenger RNA expression in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells of patients with a wild-type germline GGH genotype. We identified two CpG islands (CpG1 and CpG2) in the region extending from the GGH promoter through the first exon and into intron 1 and showed that methylation of both CpG islands in the GGH promoter (seen in leukemia cells from approximately 15% of patients with nonhyperdiploid B-lineage ALL) is associated with significantly reduced GGH mRNA expression and catalytic activity and with significantly higher accumulation of MTX polyglutamates (MTXPG(4-7)) in ALL cells. Furthermore, methylation of CpG1 was leukemia-cell specific and had a pronounced effect on GGH expression, whereas methylation of CpG2 was common in leukemia cells and normal leukocytes but did not significantly alter GGH expression. These findings indicate that GGH activity in human leukemia cells is regulated by epigenetic changes, in addition to previously recognized genetic polymorphisms and karyotypic abnormalities, which collectively determine interindividual differences in GGH activity and influence MTXPG accumulation in leukemia cells.     

Characterization of the folate salvage enzyme p-aminobenzoylglutamate hydrolase in plants

Folates break down in vivo to give pterin and p-aminobenzoylglutamate (pABAGlu) fragments, the latter usually having a polyglutamyl tail. Pilot studies have shown that plants can hydrolyze pABAGlu and its polyglutamates to p-aminobenzoate, a folate biosynthesis precursor. The enzymatic basis of this hydrolysis was further investigated. pABAGlu hydrolase activity was found in all species and organs tested; activity levels implied that the proteins responsible are very rare. The activity was located in cytosol/vacuole and mitochondrial fractions of pea (Pisum sativum L.) leaves, and column chromatography of the activity from Arabidopsis tissues indicated at least three peaks. A major activity peak from Arabidopsis roots was purified 86-fold by a three-column procedure; activity loss during purification exceeded 95%. Size exclusion chromatography gave a molecular mass of approximately 200 kDa. Partially purified preparations showed a pH optimum near 7.5, a Km value for pABAGlu of 370 microM, and activity against folic acid. Activity was relatively insensitive to thiol and serine reagents, but was strongly inhibited by 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid and stimulated by Mn2+, pointing to a metalloenzyme. The Arabidopsis genome was searched for proteins similar to Pseudomonas carboxypeptidase G, which contains zinc and is the only enzyme yet confirmed to attack pABAGlu. The sole significant matches were auxin conjugate hydrolase family members and the At4g17830 protein. None was found to have significant pABAGlu hydrolase activity, suggesting that this activity resides in hitherto unrecognized enzymes. The finding that Arabidopsis has folate-hydrolyzing activity points to an enzymatic component of folate degradation in plants.     

Utilization of [2-14C]tetrahydropteroylglutamic acid and 5-[G-3H]methyltetrahydropteroylglutamic acid as substrates for folate polyglutamate synthesis in fruit bats: Effect of vitamin B-12-deficiency

[2-¹⁴C]Tetrahydropteroylglutamic acid and 5-[G-³H]methyltetrahydropteroylglutamic acid were given intraperitoneally to fruit bats. Folate polyglutamates were formed in the liver from both substrates in different amounts and at different rates. The methylfolate pool appeared to remain separate from the tetrahydrofolate pool. More polyglutamate was formed from tetrahydropteroylglutamic acid than from 5-methyltetrahydropteroylglutamic acid. There was a fall in the folate content of the liver in the vitamin B-12-deficient bat and a more rapid incorporation of folates into polyglutamates but thereafter a more rapid loss of the labelled folate from liver.     

Mammalian folylpoly-gamma-glutamate synthetase. 4. In vitro and in vivo metabolism of folates and analogues and regulation of folate homeostasis

The regulation of folate and folate analogue metabolism was studied in vitro by using purified hog liver folylpolyglutamate synthetase as a model system and in vivo in cultured mammalian cells. The types of folylpolyglutamates that accumulate in vivo in hog liver, and changes in cellular folate levels and folylpolyglutamate distributions caused by physiological and nutritional factors such as changes in growth rates and methionine, folate, and vitamin B12 status, can be mimicked in vitro by using purified enzyme. Folylpolyglutamate distributions can be explained solely in terms of the substrate specificity of folylpolyglutamate synthetase and can be modeled by using kinetic parameters obtained with purified enzyme. Low levels of folylpolyglutamate synthetase activity are normally required for the cellular metabolism of folates to retainable polyglutamate forms, and consequently folate retention and concentration, while higher levels of activity are required for the synthesis of the long chain length derivatives that are found in mammalian tissues. The synthesis of very long chain derivatives, which requires tetrahydrofolate polyglutamates as substrates, is a very slow process in vivo. The slow metabolism of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate to retainable polyglutamate forms causes the decreased tissue retention of folate in B12 deficiency. Although cellular folylpolyglutamate distributions change in response to nutritional and physiological modulations, it is unlikely that these changes play a regulatory role in one-carbon metabolism as folate distributions respond only slowly. 4-Aminofolates are metabolized to retainable forms at a slow rate compared to folates. Although folate accumulation by cells is not very responsive to changes in folylpolyglutamate synthetase levels and cellular glutamate concentrations, cellular accumulation of anti-folate agents would be highly responsive to any factor that changes the expression of folylpolyglutamate synthetase activity.     

Folate-pool interconversions and inhibition of biosynthetic processes after exposure of L1210 leukemia cells to antifolates. Experimental and network thermodynamic analyses of the role of dihydrofolate polyglutamylates in antifolate action in cells

Folate analogs that inhibit dihydrofolate reductase result in only partial interconversion of tetrahydrofolate cofactors to dihydrofolate with preservation of the major portion of reduced cellular folate cofactors in L1210 leukemia cells. One possible explanation for this phenomenon is that low levels of dihydrofolate polyglutamates that accumulate in the presence of antifolates block thymidylate synthase to prevent depletion of reduced folate pools. This paper correlates biochemical analyses of rapid interconversions of radiolabeled folates and changes in purine and pyrimidine biosynthesis in L1210 murine leukemia cells exposed to antifolates with network thermodynamic computer modeling to assess this hypothesis. When cells are exposed to 1 microM trimetrexate there is an almost instantaneous inhibition of [3H] deoxyuridine or [14C]formate incorporation into nucleotides which is maximal within 5 min. This is associated with a rapid rise in cellular dihydrofolate (t1/2 approximately 1.5 min), which reaches a steady state that represents only 27.9% of the total folate pool. Pretreatment of cells with fluorodeoxyuridine, to inhibit thymidylate synthase by about 95% followed by trimetrexate only slows the rate of folate interconversion (t1/2 approximately 25 min) but not the final dihydrofolate level achieved. This is consistent with computer simulations which predict that direct inhibition of thymidylate synthase by 97, 98, and 99% should increase the half-time of dihydrofolate rise after trimetrexate to 40, 60, and 124 min, respectively, but the final level achieved is always the same as in cells with normal thymidylate synthase activity. The data reflect the high degree of catalytic activity of thymidylate synthase relative to tetrahydrofolate cofactor pools in the cells and the enormous extent of inhibition of this enzyme that is necessary to slow the rate of folate interconversions after addition of antifolates. The model predicts, and the data demonstrate, that virtually any residual thymidylate synthase activity will permit the interconversion of all tetrahydrofolate cofactors available for oxidation to dihydrofolate when dihydrofolate reductase activity is abolished, but the rate of interconversion will be slowed. Additional simulations indicate that the time course of cessation of tetrahydrofolate-dependent purine and pyrimidine biosynthesis after antifolates in these cells can be accounted for solely on the basis of tetrahydrofolate cofactor depletion alone. These data exclude the possibility that direct inhibition of thymidylate synthase by dihydrofolate polyglutamates, or any other intracellular folates that accumulate in cells after antifolates, can account for the rapid but partial interconversion of reduced folate cofactors to dihydrofolate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Polyglutamate derivatives of folic acid coenzymes and methotrexate

Polyglutamate derivatives of the folate coenzymes are widely distributed in nature. Frequently, they are the predominant form of intracellular folate, and recent investigations have indicated that polyglutamates are the preferred substrates for most of the enzymes of folate metabolism. Dietary folates are mostly polyglutamate conjugates which must be broken down to the mono- or diglutamates before intestinal absorption can occur. Intracellularly, pteroyl monoglutamates are converted to the polyglutamate form, a process which appears to favor their cellular retention. Alterations in polyglutamate chain length may play an important role in the regulation of folate metabolism. Polyglutamate derivatives of the folate antagonist methotrexate have also been isolated. The synthesis and biological properties of these compounds along with their potential chemotherapeutic role are discussed.     

The effect of methotrexate on intracellular folate pools in human MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Evidence for direct inhibition of purine synthesis

This report details the effects of methotrexate on the intracellular folate pools of the MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line. To achieve this goal, we designed a high-pressure liquid chromatography system capable of separating the physiologic folates. The folate pools were quantitated following growth and equilibration in 2.25 microM radiolabeled folic acid. Each of the intracellular folates was identified by coelution with standard folates and by chemical/biochemical tests unique to each of the various folates. The 10-formyl-H4PteGlu (where H4PteGlu represents dl-tetrahydrofolic acid) pool accounted for 20.5% of the total intracellular folate pool in untreated cells, whereas 5-formyl-H4PteGlu and H4PteGlu accounted for 6.5 and 10.6%, respectively. The levels of these three folates remained stable throughout cell growth. The 5-methyl-H4PteGlu pool accounted for less than 10% in early growth phase cells but assumed greater than 60% of the total pool by the mid- and late-log phases of cell growth. When the MCF-7 cells were exposed to 1 microM methotrexate, de novo purine synthesis and de novo thymidylate synthesis were rapidly inhibited to less than 20% of control within 3 h. During this time period, rapid alterations in the folate pools also occurred such that dihydrofolic acid levels rose from less than 1% in untreated cells to greater than 30% of the total pool. This rise was accompanied by a parallel fall in 5-methyl-H4PteGlu. H4PteGlu and 5-formyl-H4PteGlu were undetectable following 2 h of methotrexate exposure, but 10-formyl-H4PteGlu, the required cosubstrate for de novo purine synthesis, was preserved at greater than 80% of pretreatment values following a 1 microM methotrexate exposure of up to 21 h. The rapid inhibition of de novo purine synthesis in these cells following methotrexate exposure coupled with a relatively preserved 10-formyl-H4PteGlu pool suggests direct inhibition of this synthetic pathway by the temporally coincident accumulation of dihydrofolic acid and/or methotrexate polyglutamates. This inhibition cannot be ascribed to depletion of the folate cofactor 10-formyl-H4PteGlu.     

Tomato gamma-glutamylhydrolases: expression, characterization, and evidence for heterodimer formation

Folates typically have γ-linked polyglutamyl tails that make them better enzyme substrates and worse transport substrates than the unglutamylated forms. The tail can be shortened or removed by the vacuolar enzyme γ-glutamyl hydrolase (GGH). It is known that GGH is active only as a dimer and that plants can have several GGH genes whose homodimeric products differ functionally. However, it is not known whether GGH dimers dissociate under in vivo conditions, whether heterodimers form, or how heterodimerization impacts enzyme activity. These issues were explored using the GGH system of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Tomato has three GGH genes that, like those in other eudicots, apparently diverged recently. LeGGH1 and LeGGH2 are expressed in fruit and all other organs, whereas LeGGH3 is expressed mainly in flower buds. LeGGH1 and LeGGH2 homodimers differ in bond cleavage preference; the LeGGH3 homodimer is catalytically inactive. Homodimers did not dissociate in physiological conditions. When coexpressed in Escherichia coli, LeGGH1 and LeGGH2 formed heterodimers with an intermediate bond cleavage preference, whereas LeGGH3 formed heterodimers with LeGGH1 or LeGGH2 that had one-half the activity of the matching homodimer. E. coli cells expressing LeGGH2 showed approximately 85% reduction in folate polyglutamates, but cells expressing LeGGH3 did not, confirming that LeGGH2 can function in vivo and LeGGH3 cannot. The formation of LeGGH1-LeGGH2 heterodimers was demonstrated in planta using bimolecular fluorescence complementation. Plant GGH heterodimers thus appear to form wherever different GGH genes are expressed simultaneously and to have catalytic characteristics midway between those of the corresponding homodimers.     

Functional analysis of folate polyglutamylation and its essential role in plant metabolism and development

Cellular folates function as co-enzymes in one-carbon metabolism and are predominantly decorated with a polyglutamate tail that enhances co-enzyme affinity, subcellular compartmentation and stability. Polyglutamylation is catalysed by folylpolyglutamate synthetases (FPGSs) that are specified by three genes in Arabidopsis, FPGS1, 2 and 3, which reportedly encode plastidic, mitochondrial and cytosolic isoforms, respectively. A mutational approach was used to probe the functional importance of folate polyglutamylation in one-carbon metabolism and development. Biochemical analysis of single FPGS loss-of-function mutants established that folate polyglutamylation is essential for organellar and whole-plant folate homeostasis. However, polyglutamylated folates were still detectable, albeit at lower levels, in organelles isolated from the corresponding isozyme knockout lines, e.g. in plastids and mitochondria of the fpgs1 (plastidial) and fpgs2 (mitochondrial) mutants. This result is surprising given the purported single-compartment targeting of each FPGS isozyme. These results indicate redundancy in compartmentalised FPGS activity, which in turn explains the lack of anticipated phenotypic defects for the single FPGS mutants. In agreement with this hypothesis, fpgs1 fpgs2 double mutants were embryo-lethal, fpgs2 fpgs3 mutants exhibited seedling lethality, and fpgs1 fpgs3 mutants were dwarfed with reduced fertility. These phenotypic, metabolic and genetic observations are consistent with targeting of one or more FPGS isozymes to multiple organelles. These data confirm the importance of polyglutamylation in folate compartmentation, folate homeostasis and folate-dependent metabolic processes, including photorespiration, methionine and pantothenate biosynthesis.     

Folate Metabolism in Datura innoxia (In Vivo and in Vitro Folylpolyglutamate Synthesis in Wild-Type and Methotrexate-Resistant Cells)

In vivo folylpolyglutamate pools of the wild-type (Px4) and methotrexate-resistant (MTX161) Datura innoxia cell lines were detected by incorporation of [14C]p-aminobenzoate into folates. The folylpolyglutamate derivatives were cleaved to p-aminobenzoylpolyglutamates and separated according to glutamyl chain length by high-performance liquid chromatography. Hexaglutamates were the predominant form in both Datura cell lines. The proportions of individual folylpolyglutamates were unaffected by culturing the cells in medium containing products of one-carbon metabolism such as glycine, adenine, thymidine, or methionine. Radiolabeling of the hexaglutamates was greatly reduced in the presence of 10-8 M methotrexate (MTX) in the Px4 cells but not in the MTX161 cells. Tetrahydrofolate, 5, 10-methylenetetrahydrofolate, and folinic acid were effective substrates for the folylpolyglutamate synthetase from Datura cells in vitro, whereas MTX and folate were poor substrates. In vivo, MTX can be slowly converted into its polyglutamate derivatives up to MTXGlu4 or MTXGlu5 in Datura cells in the longer term. Significantly lower levels of MTX polyglutamates in MTX161 cells were found compared with those of Px4 cells during prolonged (10 d) exposure to MTX. Although in vivo and in vitro folylpolyglutamate synthesis was found to be similar in both cell lines, about a 4-fold increase in specific activity of [gamma]-glutamyl hydrolase (GGH) was detected in the MTX161 cell line. The increase in GGH in the resistant cells suggested that breakdown of polyglutamylated forms of MTX may play a role in acquired MTX resistance.     

Regulatory aspects of the glutamylation of methotrexate in cultured hepatoma cells

The glutamylation of methotrexate has been evaluated in H35 hepatoma cells in vitro as a function of the conditions of culture. Glutamylation yields methotrexate polyglutamate with two to five additional glutamate residues and is a saturable process. The rate of glutamylation increases little above 10 microM extracellular methotrexate which corresponds to an intracellular concentration of approximately 4 microM. The rate of glutamylation measured over a 6-h period was stimulated by a reduction in cellular folates and prior incubation of the cells with insulin. Glutamylation was also more rapid in dividing cultures than in confluent cells. The combination of insulin inclusion and folate reduction, which was additive, caused approximately a fourfold increase in the rate of glutamylation over control cells under the conditions tested. The maximal rate of methotrexate glutamylation, which was 100 nmol/g/h, occurred in folate-depleted, insulin-supplemented cells. Supplementing folate-depleted cells with reduced folate coenzymes caused the glutamylation to be reduced by more than 90%. The turnover of methotrexate polyglutamates in cells saturated with these derivatives occurred at approximately one-half the rate of net synthesis and was stimulated to nearly the same extent by folate depletion and insulin. In addition to showing that folates can modify the rates of methotrexate polyglutamate formation, data are presented suggesting that methotrexate polyglutamates can regulate their own synthesis. The consequences of the formation of these retained forms of methotrexate in H35 hepatoma cells (M. Balinska, J. Galivan, and J.K. Coward (1981) Cancer Res. 41,2751-2756) and the effects of potential regulators of this process are discussed in terms of the glutamylation of folates in the cells and the chemotherapeutic effects of antifolates.     

Folate metabolism in plants: an Arabidopsis homolog of the mammalian mitochondrial folate transporter mediates folate import into chloroplasts

The distribution of folates in plant cells suggests a complex traffic of the vitamin between the organelles and the cytosol. The Arabidopsis thaliana protein AtFOLT1 encoded by the At5g66380 gene is the closest homolog of the mitochondrial folate transporters (MFTs) characterized in mammalian cells. AtFOLT1 belongs to the mitochondrial carrier family, but GFP-tagging experiments and Western blot analyses indicated that it is targeted to the envelope of chloroplasts. By using the glycine auxotroph Chinese hamster ovary glyB cell line, which lacks a functional MFT and is deficient in folates transport into mitochondria, we showed by complementation that AtFOLT1 functions as a folate transporter in a hamster background. Indeed, stable transfectants bearing the AtFOLT1 cDNA have enhanced levels of folates in mitochondria and can support growth in glycine-free medium. Also, the expression of AtFOLT1 in Escherichia coli allows bacterial cells to uptake exogenous folate. Disruption of the AtFOLT1 gene in Arabidopsis does not lead to phenotypic alterations in folate-sufficient or folate-deficient plants. Also, the atfolt1 null mutant contains wild-type levels of folates in chloroplasts and preserves the enzymatic capacity to catalyze folate-dependent reactions in this subcellular compartment. These findings suggest strongly that, despite many common features shared by chloroplasts and mitochondria from mammals regarding folate metabolism, the folate import mechanisms in these organelles are not equivalent: folate uptake by mammalian mitochondria is mediated by a unique transporter, whereas there are alternative routes for folate import into chloroplasts.     

Mammalian Mitochondrial and Cytosolic Folylpolyglutamate Synthetase Maintain the Subcellular Compartmentalization of Folates

Folylpoly-γ-glutamate synthetase (FPGS) catalyze the addition of multiple glutamates to tetrahydrofolate derivatives. Two mRNAs for the fpgs gene direct isoforms of FPGS to the cytosol and to mitochondria in mouse and human tissues. We sought to clarify the functions of these two compartmentalized isoforms. Stable cell lines were created that express cDNAs for the mitochondrial and cytosolic isoforms of human FPGS under control of a doxycycline-inducible promoter in the AUXB1 cell line. AUXB1 are devoid of endogenous FPGS activity due to a premature translational stop at codon 432 in the fpgs gene. Loss of folates was not measurable from these doxycycline-induced cells or from parental CHO cells over the course of three CHO cell generations. Likewise, there was no detectable transfer of folate polyglutamates either from the cytosol to mitochondria, or from mitochondria to the cytosol. The cell line expressing cytosolic FPGS required exogenous glycine but not thymidine or purine, whereas cells expressing the mitochondrial isoform required exogenous thymidine and purine but not glycine for optimal growth and survival. We concluded that mitochondrial FPGS is required because folate polyglutamates are not substrates for transport across the mitochondrial membrane in either direction and that polyglutamation not only traps folates in the cytosol, but also in the mitochondrial matrix.     

Folic acid metabolism in vitamin B12-deficient sheep. Depletion of liver folates

1. Metabolism of folate was studied in six ewes in an advanced state of vitamin B(12) deficiency as judged by voluntary food intake and in their pair-fed controls receiving vitamin B(12). A group of four animals that were maintained throughout the experiment at pasture was also studied. 2. After 34-40 weeks on the cobalt-deficient diet urinary excretion of formiminoglutamate by four deficient animals was about 3.2mmol/day and this was not significantly decreased by injection of three of them with about 4.5mug of [2-(14)C]folate/kg body weight per day for 5 days. Three days after the last injection retention of [2-(14)C]folate by the livers of the deficient animals (5.5% of the dose) was lower than that of their pair-fed controls (26% of the dose) but there was no evidence of net retention of injected folate in the livers of either group. Urinary excretion of (14)C indicated that renal clearance of folate may have been impaired in very severe vitamin B(12) deficiency. 3. As estimated by microbiological assays total folates in the livers of animals at pasture (12.9mug/g) included about 24% of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate as compared with about 72% of a total of 12.5mug/g in three further ewes fed on a stock diet of wheaten hay-chaff and lucerne-chaff. Liver folates of vitamin B(12)-deficient animals (0.5mug/g) included about 88% of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate as compared with about 51% of a total of 5.2mug/g in pair-fed animals treated with vitamin B(12). 4. Chromatography of liver folates of the pair-fed animals permitted quantitative estimates of the pteroylglutamates present. The results showed that the vitamin B(12)-deficient livers were more severely depleted of tetrahydrofolates and formyltetrahydrofolates than of methyltetrahydrofolates and that as the deficiency developed they were more severely depleted of the higher polyglutamates than of the monoglutamate within each of these classes. Results from animals injected with [2-(14)C]folate indicated an impairment of the exchange between pteroylmonoglutamates and pteroylpolyglutamates in the livers of deficient animals. 5. In vitamin B(12)-deficient animals with food intakes below 200g/day some of the liver folates were not completely reduced and some degradation of pteroylpolyglutamates was detected. The latter condition may have been associated with fatty liver. 6. The results are discussed in relation to current theories of vitamin B(12)-folate interactions.