Retrotransposon-mediated restoration of Chlorella telomeres: accumulation of Zepp retrotransposons at termini of newly formed minichromosomes

To elucidate the contribution of LINE-like retrotransposon Zepp elements to the formation and maintenance of chromosomal telomeres, newly formed minichromosomes in irradiated Chlorella vulgaris cells were isolated and structurally characterized. A minichromosome (miniV4) of ~700 kb in size contained a Zepp cluster taking the place of the telomeric repeats on one terminus, whereas the other end of this chromosome consisted of canonical telomeric repeats. The Zepp copies in this cluster were in a tandem array with their poly(A) tails towards the centromere. Another minichromosome Y32 (~400 kb in size) was shown to have several copies of Zepp elements on both termini. On the right arm terminus, two copies of Zepp were found in a tandem array with poly(A) tracts facing towards the chromosomal end. The poly(A) tail and the 3′-end of ~400 bp of the distal copy were replaced by the telomeric repeats. On the 5′-side of the proximal copy was another Zepp element in the reverse orientation. These newly formed telomeric structures are very similar to those previously found in the left arm of chromosome I and the terminus of an unidentified chromosome and support the model of Zepp-mediated restoration and maintenance of Chlorella telomeres.     

The H4b minor histocompatibility antigen is caused by a combination of genetically determined and posttranslational modifications

Minor histocompatibility (H) Ag disparities result in graft-vs-host disease and chronic solid allograft rejection in MHC-identical donor-recipient combinations. Minor H Ags are self protein-derived peptides presented by MHC class I molecules. Most arise as a consequence of allelic variation in the bound peptide (p) that results in TCR recognizing the p/MHC as foreign. We used a combinational peptide screening approach to identify the immune dominant H2K(b)-restricted epitope defining the mouse H4(b) minor H Ag. H4(b) is a consequence of a P3 threonine to isoleucine change in the MHC-bound peptide derived from epithelial membrane protein-3. This allelic variation also leads to phosphorylation of the H4(b) but not the H4(a) epitope. Further, ex vivo CD8(+) T lymphocytes bind phosphorylated Ag tetramers with high efficiency. Although we document the above process in the minor H Ag system, posttranslational modifications made possible by subtle amino acid changes could also contribute to immunogenicity and immune dominance in tumor immunotherapeutic settings.     

Caveolin-1 regulates the functional localization of N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase III within the golgi apparatus

In an investigation of the mechanism underlying the functional sublocalization of glycosyltransferases within the Golgi apparatus, caveolin-1 was identified as a possible cellular factor. Caveolin-1 appears to regulate the localization of N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase III (GnT-III) in the intra-Golgi subcompartment. Structural analyses of total cellular N-glycans indicated that the overexpression of GnT-III in human hepatoma cells, in which caveolin-1 is not expressed, failed to reduce branch formation, whereas expression of caveolin-1 led to a dramatic decrease in the extent of branching with no enhancement in GnT-III activity. Because the addition of a bisecting GlcNAc by GnT-III to the core beta-Man in N-glycans prevents the action of GnT-IV and GnT-V, both of which are involved in branch formation, this result suggests that caveolin-1 facilitates the prior action of GnT-III, relative to the other GnTs, on the nascent sugar chains in the Golgi apparatus and that GnT-III is redistributed in the earlier Golgi subcompartment by caveolin-1. Indeed, when caveolin-1 was expressed in human hepatoma cells, it was found to be co-localized with GnT-III, as evidenced by the fractionation of Triton X-100-insoluble cellular membranes by density gradient ultracentrifugation. Caveolin-1 may modify the biosynthetic pathway of sugar chains via the regulation of the intra-Golgi subcompartment localization of this key glycosyltransferase.     

Metabolism of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) via CYP enzymes in vitro and effect of MPA on bleeding time in female rats in dependence on CYP activity in vivo

Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) is a drug commonly used in endocrine therapy for advanced breast cancer, although it is known to cause thrombosis as a serious side effect. Recently, we found that cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) mainly catalyzed the metabolism of MPA via CYP in human liver microsomes. However, the metabolic products of MPA in humans and rats have not been elucidated. In addition, it is not clear whether thrombosis could be induced by MPA itself or by its metabolites. In this study, we determined the overall metabolism of MPA as the disappearance of the parent drug from an incubation mixture, and identified the enzymes catalyzing the metabolism of MPA via CYP in rats. Moreover, the effects of CYP-modulators on MPA-induced hypercoagulation in vivo were examined. Intrinsic clearance of MPA in rat liver microsomes was increased by treatment with CYP3A-inducers. The intrinsic clearance of MPA in liver microsomes of rats treated with various CYP-inducers showed a significant correlation with CYP3A activity, but not CYP1A activity, CYP2B activity or CYP2C contents. Among the eight recombinant rat CYPs studied, CYP3A1, CYP3A2 and CYP2A2 catalyzed the metabolism of MPA. However, since CYP3A2 and CYP2A2 are male-specific isoforms, CYP3A1 appears to be mainly involved in the metabolism of MPA in liver microsomes of female rats. In an in vivo study, pretreatment of female rats with SKF525A, an inhibitor of CYPs including CYP3A1, significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced MPA-induced hypercoagulation, whereas pretreatment with phenobarbital, an inducer of CYPs including CYP3A1, reduced it. These findings suggest that CYP-catalyzed metabolism of MPA is mainly catalyzed by CYP3A1 and that MPA-induced hypercoagulation is predominantly caused by MPA itself in female rats.     

Serum paraoxonase activity decreases in rheumatoid arthritis

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the alterations of paraoxonase 1 (PON1) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). DESIGN AND METHODS: We investigated the serum enzyme activity and concentration of PON1 and their relationship with serum lipids, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) parameters, and acute phase reactants of serum amyloid A (SAA) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients with RA. RESULTS: Serum paraoxonase (PON) activity was significantly decreased in RA patients (n = 64, 131 +/- 53 micro mol/min/L) compared with healthy subjects (n = 155, 164 +/- 59) despite the absence of any difference in serum lipid levels between the two groups. This decrease of serum PON activity in RA patients was found in every genotype (Q/Q, Q/R, R/R) of PON1 at 192 Q/R. There was a different distribution in PON1 Q/R genotypes between RA patients and healthy subjects, and RA patients exhibited less (44%) positive PON1-Q than did the healthy subjects (66%). In a further investigation of age- and gender-matched subgroups of RA (n = 25) and healthy subjects (n = 25), not only serum PON activity, but also lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) was found to be significantly decreased in RA patients (125 +/- 61 micro mol/min/L, 63.2 +/- 17.2 nmol/ml/hr/37 degrees C) than in healthy subjects (169 +/- 67, 74.7 +/- 19.5), respectively. PON1 and LCAT as well as HDL constituent apolipoprotein (apo) AI and apo AII, were altered significantly in RA patients. CONCLUSIONS: Acute-phase HDL, which is remodeled structurally and functionally in RA, might be less anti-atherogenic due to the impairment of original HDL function. These alterations of HDL in RA patients may explain in part the reported increase in cardiovascular mortality in patients with RA.     

Electrostatic guidance of glycosyl cation migration along the reaction coordinate of uracil DNA glycosylase

The DNA repair enzyme uracil DNA glycosylase has been crystallized with a cationic 1-aza-2'-deoxyribose-containing DNA that mimics the ultimate transition state of the reaction in which the water nucleophile attacks the anomeric center of the oxacarbenium ion-uracil anion reaction intermediate. Comparison with substrate and product structures, and the previous structure of the intermediate determined by kinetic isotope effects, reveals an exquisite example of geometric strain, least atomic motion, and electrophile migration in biological catalysis. This structure provides a rare opportunity to reconstruct the detailed structural transformations that occur along an enzymatic reaction coordinate.     

Powering DNA repair through substrate electrostatic interactions

The reaction catalyzed by the DNA repair enzyme uracil DNA glycosylase (UDG) proceeds through an unprecedented stepwise mechanism involving a positively charged oxacarbenium ion sugar and uracil anion leaving group. Here we use a novel approach to evaluate the catalytic contribution of electrostatic interactions between four essential phosphodiester groups of the DNA substrate and the cationic transition state. Our strategy was to substitute each of these phosphate groups with an uncharged (R)- or (S)-methylphosphonate linkage (MeP). We then compared the damaging effects of these methylphosphonate substitutions on catalysis with their damaging effects on binding of a cationic 1-azadeoxyribose (1-aza-dR(+)) oxacarbenium ion analogue to the UDG-uracil anion binary complex. A plot of log k(cat)/K(m) for the series of MeP-substituted substrates against log K(D) for binding of the 1-aza-dR(+) inhibitors gives a linear correlation of unit slope, confirming that the electronic features of the transition state resemble that of the 1-aza-dR(+), and that the anionic backbone of DNA is used in transition state stabilization. We estimate that all of the combined phosphodiester interactions with the substrate contribute 6-8 kcal/mol toward lowering the activation barrier, a stabilization that is significant compared to the 16 kcal/mol catalytic power of UDG. However, unlike groups of the enzyme that selectively stabilize the charged transition state by an estimated 7 kcal/mol, these phosphodiester groups also interact strongly in the ground state. To our knowledge, these results provide the first experimental evidence for electrostatic stabilization of a charged enzymatic transition state and intermediate using the anionic backbone of DNA.     

The antioxidant effect of DL-alpha-lipoic acid on copper-induced acute hepatitis in Long-Evans Cinnamon (LEC) rats

The Long-Evans Cinnamon (LEC) rats, due to a genetic defect, accumulate excess copper (Cu) in the liver in a manner similar to patients with Wilson's disease and spontaneously develop acute hepatitis with severe jaundice. In this study we examined the protective effect of DL-alpha-Lipoic acid (LA) against acute hepatitis in LEC rats. LA was administered to LEC rats by gavage in doses of 10, 30 and 100 mg/kg five times per week, starting at 8-weeks-old and continuing till 12-weeks-old. Although LA had little effect against the increases in serum transaminase activities, it suppressed the loss of body weight and prevented severe jaundice in a dose-dependent manner. Antioxidant system analyses in liver showed that LA treatment significantly suppressed the inactivations of catalase and glutathione peroxidase, and the induction of heme oxygenase-1, an enzyme which is inducible under oxidative stress. Furthermore, LA showed dose-dependent suppressive effect against increase in nonheme iron contents of both cytosolic and crude mitochondrial fractions in a dose-dependent manner. Although at the highest dose, LA slightly suppressed the accumulation of Cu in crude mitochondrial fraction, it had no effect on the accumulation of Cu in cytosolic fraction. While LA completely suppressed the increase in lipid peroxidation (LPO) in the microsomal fraction at the highest dose, the suppressive effect against LPO in crude mitochondrial fractions was slight. From these results, it is concluded that LA has antioxidant effects at the molecular level against the development of Cu-induced hepatitis in LEC rats. Moreover, mitochondrial oxidative damage might be involved in the development of acute hepatitis in LEC rats.