Interleukin-1βconverting enzyme: A novel cysteine protease required for IL-1β production and implicated in programmed cell death

Interleukin-1β converting enzyme is the first member of a new class of cysteine proteases. The most distinguishing feature of this family is a nearly absolute specificity for cleavage at aspartic acid. This enzyme has been the subject of intense research because of its role in the production of IL-1β, a key mediator of inflammation. These studies have culminated in the design of potent inhibitors and determination of its crystal structure. The structure secures the relationship of the enzyme to CED-3, the product of a gene required for programmed cell death in Caenorhabditis elegans, suggesting that members of this family function in cell death in vertebrates.     

Toxicity of Glucosinolates and Their Enzymatic Decomposition Products to Caenorhabditis elegans

An aquatic 24-hour lethality test using Caenorhabditis elegans was used to assess toxicity of glucosinolates and their enzymatic breakdown products. In the absence of the enzyme thioglucosidase (myrosinase), allyl glucosinolate (sinigrin) was found to be nontoxic at all concentrations tested, while a freeze-dried, dialyzed water extract of Crambe abyssinica containing 26% 2-hydroxyl 3-butenyl glucosinolate (epi-progoitrin) had a 50% lethal concentration (LC₅₀) of 18.5 g/liter. Addition of the enzyme increased the toxicity (LC₅₀ value) of sinigrin to 0.5 g/liter, but the enzyme had no effect on the toxicity of the C. abyssinica extract. Allyl isothiocyanate and allyl cyanide, two possible breakdown products of sinigrin, had an LC₅₀ value of 0.04 g/liter and approximately 3 g/liter, respectively. Liquid chromatographic studies showed that a portion of the sinigrin decomposed into allyl isothiocyanate. The results indicated that allyl isothiocyanate is nearly three orders of magnitude more toxic to C. elegans than the corresponding glncosinolate, suggesting isothiocyanate formation would improve nematode control from application of glucosinolates.     

Anterograde Axonal Transport of Peptidylglycine α-Amidating Monooxygenase in Rat Sciatic Nerves

Axonal transport of peptidylglycine alpha-amidating monooxygenase (PAM) activity was studied in rat sciatic nerves from 12 to 120 h after double ligations. The anterograde axonal transport increased and reached a plateau between 48 and 72 h and then decreased. The flow rate was 100 mm/day, and the molecular mass of the active entity was 70 kDa, which was determined by gel filtration. In contrast, there was no evidence for significant retrograde axonal transport. Anterograde axonal transport of immunoreactive cholecystokinin, a carboxy-terminal-amidated putative neuropeptide, was also found. These results suggest that PAM is transported by a rapid axonal flow and may play a role as a processing enzyme during transport or in the terminals of rat sciatic nerves.     

Malic enzyme: its purification and characterization fromMucor circinelloides and occurrence in other oleaginous fungi

Malic enzyme was purified 43-fold from Mucor circinelloides. The enzyme was dependent on Mg²⁺ or Mn²⁺ for activity, was not active with Dmalate and had a pH optimum at 7.8. The apparent K_m values for malate and NADP⁺ were 488 ΜM and 41 Μm respectively. The M_r of the native enzyme was 160 kDa. Five metabolic analogues of malate: oxaloacetate, tartronic acid, 1-methylenecyclopropane trans-2,3-dicarboxyIic acid, malonic acid and glutaric acid, were found to inhibit malic enzyme activity at 10 mM. Four oleaginous fungi, Mucor circinelloides, Mortierella alpina, Mortierella elongata and Pythium ultimum, were also examined, all possessed a soluble malic enzyme, two also possessed a microsomal malic enzyme.     

New antioxidant C-geranylated flavonoids from the fruit peels of Paulownia catalpifolia T. Gong ex D.Y. Hong

Three new geranylated flavonoids, including two geranylflavones (1, 2) and one geranylflavonol (3), named as paucatalinone C–E, were isolated from the fruit peel of P. catalpifolia T. Gong ex D.Y. Hong. Their structures were determined by means of UV, IR, MS, and NMR techniques. To our known, geranylflavone or geranylflavonol was the first isolation from the genus Paulownia. These isolated geranylated flavonoids displayed good antioxidant effects on DPPH and the senescent human embryonic lung diploid fibroblasts cells (2BS cells) induced by H₂O₂. The geranyl substituent may be an important factor for the cellular radical-scavenging effect because of its lipophilic character.     

Inhibition of carbonic anhydrases from the extremophilic bacteria Sulfurihydrogenibium yellostonense (SspCA) and S. azorense (SazCA) with a new series of sulfonamides incorporating aroylhydrazone-, [1,2,4]triazolo[3,4-b][1,3,4]thiadiazinyl- or 2-(cyanophenylmethylene)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-3(2H)-yl moieties

A series of new sulfonamides was prepared starting from 2-oxo-N′-(4-sulfamoylphenyl)-propanehydrazonoyl chloride, a sulfanilamide derivative, which was reacted with aroylhydrazides, amines, or thiols. A library of derivatives incorporating aroylhydrazone, [1,2,4]triazolo[3,4-b][1,3,4]thiadiazinyl- or 2-(cyanophenyl-methylene)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-3(2H)-yl moieties was thus synthesized. The new compounds were investigated as inhibitors of four α-carbonic anhydrases (CAs, EC 4.2.1.1), the human (h) isoforms hCA I and II, and the bacterial ones recently isolated from the extremophilic bacteria Sulfurihydrogenibium yellostonense (SspCA) and Sulfurihydrogenibium azorense (SazCA). Low nanomolar activity was observed against hCA II (K_Is of 0.56–17.1 nM) whereas hCA I was less inhibited by these compounds (K_Is of 86.4 nM–32.8 μM). The bacterial CAs were also effectively inhibited by these derivatives (K_Is in the range of 0.77–234 nM against SazCA, and of 6.2–89.1 against SspCA, respectively), with several low nanomolar/subnanomolar inhibitors detected against both of them. As SspCA and SazCA are among the most thermostable and catalytically active CAs, it is of interest to find modulators of their activity for potential biotechnologic applications.     

Localization of Endo-Oligopeptidase (EC 3.4.22.19) in the Rat Nervous Tissue

The subcellular and regional distribution of endo-oligopeptidase (EC 3.4.22.19), an enzyme capable of generating enkephalin by single cleavage from enkephalin-containing peptides, was determined by an enzymatic assay using metorphamide and by immunochemical techniques in the CNS of the rat. The rat CNS contains a membrane-associated form of endo-oligopeptidase, an enzyme predominantly associated with the soluble fraction of brain homogenates. Subcellular fractionation showed that approximately 17% of the total activity of the enzyme is associated with membrane fractions including synaptosomes. Synaptosomal membranes were prepared from neocortex, striatum, hypothalamus, medulla, spinal cord, and cerebellum. The amount of EC 3.4.22.19 activity solubilized by 3-[( 3-cholamidopropyl]dimethylammonio)-1-propanesulfonate from synaptosomal membranes was similar in neocortex, striatum, and hypothalamus, being three- to 10-fold greater than in spinal cord, cerebellum, and medulla. A polyclonal antibody exhibiting high affinity for endo-oligopeptidase was raised in rabbits against the purified rat brain enzyme and used to localize endo-oligopeptidase by Western blotting and by immunoperoxidase techniques. A strong band corresponding to the Mr of EC 3.4.22.19 was found in solubilized proteins obtained from synaptosomal membranes prepared from hypothalamus, neocortex, and striatum when subjected to Western blotting. The immunohistochemical localization of endo-oligopeptidase indicated that the immunoreactivity was confined to gray matter in regions known to be rich in peptide-containing neurons such as the striatum. In the cerebellum, a region poor in peptides, no staining could be detected. The nonuniform distribution of endo-oligopeptidase in rat brain suggests a role in neurotransmitter processing in the CNS.     

Evidence for a Functional O-Linked N-Acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) System in the Thermophilic Bacterium Thermobaculum terrenum

Post-translational modification of proteins is a ubiquitous mechanism of signal transduction in all kingdoms of life. One such modification is addition of O-linked N-acetylglucosamine to serine or threonine residues, known as O-GlcNAcylation. This unusual type of glycosylation is thought to be restricted to nucleocytoplasmic proteins of eukaryotes and is mediated by a pair of O-GlcNAc-transferase and O-GlcNAc hydrolase enzymes operating on a large number of substrate proteins. Protein O-GlcNAcylation is responsive to glucose and flux through the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway. Thus, a close relationship is thought to exist between the level of O-GlcNAc proteins within and the general metabolic state of the cell. Although isolated apparent orthologues of these enzymes are present in bacterial genomes, their biological functions remain largely unexplored. It is possible that understanding the function of these proteins will allow development of reductionist models to uncover the principles of O-GlcNAc signaling. Here, we identify orthologues of both O-GlcNAc cycling enzymes in the genome of the thermophilic eubacterium Thermobaculum terrenum. The O-GlcNAcase and O-GlcNAc-transferase are co-expressed and, like their mammalian orthologues, localize to the cytoplasm. The O-GlcNAcase orthologue possesses activity against O-GlcNAc proteins and model substrates. We describe crystal structures of both enzymes, including an O-GlcNAcase·peptide complex, showing conservation of active sites with the human orthologues. Although in vitro activity of the O-GlcNAc-transferase could not be detected, treatment of T. terrenum with an O-GlcNAc-transferase inhibitor led to inhibition of growth. T. terrenum may be the first example of a bacterium possessing a functional O-GlcNAc system.