Inhibition of the human placental NAD- and NADP-linked 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenases by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

A number of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are non-competitive or mixed inhibitors of human placental dehydrogenases. - and -sulindac sulfide and - and -sulindac inhibit the NAD-linked enzyme as well or better than they inhibit various cyclooxygenases . The remainder of the compounds tested are at least one order of magnitude less effective as inhibitors of the 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenases than they are as inhibitors of cyclooxygenases. - and -sulindac sulfide are sufficiently strong inhibitors of the NAD-linked enzyme (K_is of 7.8 μM and 6.8 μM respectively) to raise the possibility that they might also inhibit this enzyme .     

Substrate specificity of three prostaglandin dehydrogenases

Studies on the substrate specificity, kcat/Km, and effect of inhibitors on the human placental NADP-linked 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase (9-ketoprostaglandin reductase) indicate that it is very similar to a human brain carbonyl reductase which also possesses 9-ketoprostaglandin reductase activity. These observations led to a comparison of three apparently homogeneous 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenases with varying amounts of 9-ketoprostaglandin reductase activity: an NAD- and an NADP-linked enzyme from human placenta and an NADP-linked enzyme from rabbit kidney. All three enzymes are carbonyl reductases for certain non-prostaglandin compounds. The placental NAD-linked enzyme, which has no 9-ketoprostaglandin reductase activity, is the most specific of the three. Although it has carbonyl reductase activity, a comparison of the Km and kcat/Km for prostaglandin and non-prostaglandin substrates of this enzyme suggests that its most likely function is as a 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase. The results of similar comparisons imply that the other two enzymes may function as less specific carbonyl reductases.     

Comparison of substrate specificities of the human placental NAD- and NADP-linked 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenases.

A study of the relative activity of the purified placental NAD- and NADP-linked 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenases with various prostaglandins and thromboxane B2 (TxB2) suggests that most, if not all, oxidation in the placenta of the 15-hydroxyl group of prostaglandins of the A, E, and F series as well as PGI2 (prostacyclin) and 6-keto PGF1 alpha is catalyzed by the NAD-linked enzyme. Prostaglandin B1 is an excellent substrate for the NADP-linked enzyme. Despite the conformational similarities between PGB1 and PGI2, the latter molecule is a poor substrate for the NADP-linked enzyme. Thromboxane B2 is not oxidized by the NAD-linked enzyme and is oxidized slowly by the NADP-linked enzyme.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon quinones may be either substrates for or irreversible inhibitors of the human placental NAD-linked 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase.

Under aerobic conditions, 9,10-phenanthrenequinone and 5,6-chyrsenequinone undergo oxidation-reduction cycling in the presence of NADH and the NAD-linked 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase. This results in the formation of potentially hazardous semiquinones, the superoxide anion, and H2O2. Superoxide dismutase inhibits this cycling by destroying the free radical chain propagator, the superoxide anion. Four other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon quinones are not substrates of the enzyme and they cause it to undergo a time-dependent inactivation. This presumably results from alkylation of the enzyme. Glutathione fully protects the enzyme against inactivation by 1,2-naphthoquinone but is only partially effective against 7,8-benzo[a]pyrenequinone. These results suggest that in tissues which contain the NAD-linked 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon quinones might produce deleterious effects by undergoing redox cycling. Others might cause such effects by irreversibly inhibiting the enzyme which catalyzes the first step in prostaglandin catabolism.     

Comparison of substrate specificities of the human placental NAD- and NADP-linked 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenases

A study of the relative activity of the purified placental NAD- and NADP-linked 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenases with various prostaglandins and thromboxane B₂(TxB₂) suggests that most, if not all, oxidation in the placenta of the 15-hydroxyl group of prostaglandins of the A, E, and F series as well as PGI₂ (prostacyclin) and 6-keto PGF_1α is catalyzed by the NAD-linked enzyme. Prostaglandin B₁ is an excellent substrate for the NADP-linked enzyme. Despite the conformational similarities between PGB₁ and PGI₂, the latter molecule is a poor substrate for the NADP-linked enzyme. Thromboxane B₂ is not oxidized by the NAD-linked enzyme and is oxidized slowly by the NADP-linked enzyme.     

Purification of the human placental NAD-linked 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase

An NAD-linked 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase has been purified 13,100-fold from human placental tissue. The specific activity of the purified enzyme ranges from 6900 to 8300 mU/mg protein depending on the method used to determine the protein concentration. On discontinuous electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate more than 95% of the protein migrates as a single band; its estimated molecular weight is 25.5-26.0 kDa. This is half the value obtained when the molecular weight is estimated under non-denaturing conditions and suggests that the enzyme is composed of two identical or nearly identical subunits.     

Purification of the human placental NAD-linked 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase

An NAD-linked 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase has been purified 13, 100-fold from human placental tissue. The specific activity of the purified enzyme ranges from 6900 to 8300 mU/mg protein depending on the method used to determine the protein concentration. On discontinous electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate more than 95% of the protein migrates as a single band; its estimated molecular weight is 25.5–26.0 kDa. This is half the value obtained when the molecular weight is estimated under non-denaturing conditions and suggests that the enzyme is composed of two identical or nearly identical subunits.     

Evidence against tight channelling of NADH in hepatocytes

Tritiated substrates at tracer levels were incubated with rat hepatocytes plus 10 mM L-lactate, and the yields of tritium in glucose and water, as well as the tritium distribution on C-6 and C-4 of glucose, determined. Substrates of cytosolic type A NAD-linked dehydrogenases showed some preferential labeling of C-6 of glucose (the pathway involving type A malate dehydrogenase), whereas substrates of cytosolic type B NAD-linked dehydrogenases showed some preferential labeling of C-4 of glucose (the pathway involving type B glyceraldehyde-3P dehydrogenase). The results found are consistent with a classical diffusion model of NADH metabolism, and are at odds with the Srivastava hypothesis (based on isolated enzyme studies) which indicated that direct transfer of NADH can occur between many NAD-linked enzymes but only when they are of opposite (A or B) specificity.     

An NADP-linked prostacyclin dehydrogenase in rabbit kidney

An NADP-linked 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase specific for prostacyclin was purified 1,300-fold from rabbit kidney. Prostaglandins E₂, F_2α, and 6-Keto PGF_1α and thromboxane B₂ were oxidized by the purified enzyme with rates of reaction less than 4% that of PGI₂. Unlike other rabbit kidney NADP-linked 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenases, this enzyme catalyzes oxido reduction more rapidly at the 15- position than at the 9- position and does not utilise NAD as a cofactor. It has a molecular weight of 62,000 and migrates on polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis as a single diffuse band. The reaction product was identified by thin-layer chromatography as 6,15-diketo PGF_1α. Prostacyclin dhydrogenase is the first 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase described which is specific for the metabolism of prostacyclin.     

Oxidation of prostacyclin and its analogs by three 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenases

A study of the oxidation of prostacyclin and some of its analogs by three 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenases was undertaken to determine the structural features of these compounds which might influence their rate of enzymatic inactivation. The effect of some structural changes seemed to be determined by the substrate specificity of individual enzymes. Other changes influenced the rate of oxidation by all three enzymes similarily. Among this latter group it was noted that a 15S hydroxyl group is necessary for oxidation to occur and that steric changes in the carboxy side chain and structural changes in the epoxy ring have a greater effect on the affinity of the substrate for the enzyme than on its maximum rate of oxidation. Certain analogs of prostacyclin are not substrates for one or more of the enzymes tested. Of these, (5S)-9-deoxy-5,9 alpha-epoxy-PGF1 and its methyl ester are potent inhibitors of only the placental enzyme---an interesting case of apparent selective metabolic regulation.     

Effect of phthalonic acid on respiration and metabolite transport in higher plant mitochondria

Phthalonate was found to inhibit the following parameters in higher plant mitochondria; glutamate and isocitrate oxidation, swelling in ammonium citrate and glutamate (but not malate), citrate-isocitrate exchange, oxalacetate entry and efflux, and NAD-linked malic enzyme. Phthalonate had little effect on malate, NADH, or oxoglutarate oxidation, nor on malate, isocitrate, or glutamate dehydrogenases. The results indicate that phthalonate is an inhibitor of oxalacetate, glutamate, and citrate transport in plant mitochondria, but not of oxoglutarate or dicarboxylate transport.     

Evolution of enzymatic regulation of prostaglandin action: novel connections to regulation of human sex and adrenal function, antibiotic synthesis and nitrogen fixation.

The recent determination of the amino acid sequences of enzymes that metabolize prostaglandins and steroids has revealed interesting connections between some of these enzymes. Human placental 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase, which catalyzes the oxidation of the C15 alcohol on prostaglandins E2 and F2 alpha, is homologous to 11 beta-hydroxysteroid, 17 beta-hydroxysteroid, and 3 alpha, 20 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases. That is, these four enzymes are derived from a common ancestor. Moreover, enzymes important in synthesis of antibiotics and proteins synthesized by soil bacteria that form nitrogen-fixing nodules in alfalfa and soybeans are homologous to 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase. These homologies provide important insights into the origins of intercellular communication that is mediated by prostaglandins, steroids, and fatty acids.     

Alcohol dehydrogenases in Acinetobacter sp. strain HO1-N: role in hexadecane and hexadecanol metabolism.

Multiple alcohol dehydrogenases (ADH) were demonstrated in Acinetobacter sp. strain HO1-N. ADH-A and ADH-B were distinguished on the basis of electrophoretic mobility, pyridine nucleotide cofactor requirement, and substrate specificity. ADH-A is a soluble, NAD-linked, inducible ethanol dehydrogenase (EDH) exhibiting an apparent Km for ethanol of 512 microM and a Vmax of 138 nmol/min. An ethanol-negative mutant (Eth1) was isolated which contained 6.5% of wild-type EDH activity and was deficient in ADH-A. Eth1 exhibited normal growth on hexadecane and hexadecanol. A second ethanol-negative mutant (Eth3) was acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) deficient, having 12.5% of wild-type ALDH activity. Eth3 had threefold-higher EDH activity than the wild-type strain. ALDH is a soluble, NAD-linked, ethanol-inducible enzyme which exhibited an apparent Km for acetaldehyde of 50 microM and a Vmax of 183 nmol/min. Eth3 exhibited normal growth on hexadecane, hexadecanol, and fatty aldehyde. ADH-B is a soluble, constitutive, NADP-linked ADH which was active with medium-chain-length alcohols. Hexadecanol dehydrogenase (HDH), a soluble and membrane-bound, NAD-linked ADH, was induced 5- to 11-fold by growth on hexadecane or hexadecanol. HDH exhibited apparent Kms for hexadecanol of 1.6 and 2.8 microM in crude extracts derived from hexadecane- and hexadecanol-grown cells, respectively. HDH was distinct from ADH-A and ADH-B, since HDH and ADH-A were not coinduced; Eth1 had wild-type levels of HDH; and HDH requires NAD, while ADH-B requires NADP. NAD- and NADP-independent HDH activity was not detected in the soluble or membrane fraction of extracts derived from hexadecane- or hexadecanol-grown cells. NAD-linked HDH appears to possess a functional role in hexadecane and hexadecanol dissimilation.     

Oxidation of prostacyclin and its analogs by three 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenases

A study of the oxidation of prostacyclin and some of its analogs by three 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenases was undertaken to determine the structural features of these compounds which might influence their rate of enzymatic inactivation. The effect of some structural changes seemed to be determined by the substrate specificity of individual enzymes. Other changes influenced the rate of oxidation by all three enzymes similarily. Among this latter group it was noted that a 15S hydroxyl group is necessary for oxidation to occur and that steric changes in the carboxy side chain and structural changes in the epoxy ring have a greater effect on the affinity of the substrate for the enzyme than on its maximum rate of oxidation. Certain analogs of prostacyclin are not substrates for one or more of the enzymes tested. Of these, (5S)-9-deoxy-5,9α-epoxy-PGF₁ and its methyl ester are potent inhibitors of only the placental enzyme—an interesting case of apparent selective metabolic regulation.     

d-Glyceraldehyde 3-Phosphate Dehydrogenases of Higher Plants

The d-glyceraldehyde 3-P dehydrogenases of spinach leaf, pea seed, and pea shoot were purified. The NADP and NAD-linked enzymes of either spinach leaves and pea shoots could not be separated. Changes in the ratio of NADP- to NAD-linked activity of the spinach leaf and pea shoot enzymes were observed during both purification and storage of crude extracts. The spinach leaf, pea shoot, and pea seed enzymes differ electrophoretically from each other and from the rabbit muscle enzyme.The pea seed and shoot enzymes contain bound nucleotide cofactor, resist proteolytic attack, have similar Michaelis-Menton kinetic constants and are competitively inhibited by d-sedoheptulose-7-phosphate and d-sedoheptulose 1,7-diphosphate. Charcoal removes the bound nucleotide from the pea seed enzyme but not from the pea shoot enzymes. NADP and NADPH were found to inhibit the reductive but not oxidative reaction catalyzed by the charcoal treated seed enzyme. The function of the pea shoot NADP and NAD-linked enzymes in chloroplast metabolism is discussed in regard to their location and catalytic properties. Although the NADP-linked activity can be assigned a primary, if not exclusive function in photosynthesis, the assignment of a distinct metabolic function to the NAD-linked activity cannot be made at present.     

Factors affecting the amount and the activity of the glutamate dehydrogenases of coprinus cinereus

Kinetic analyses done with cell-free extracts of this basidiomycete fungus showed that the NADP-linked glutamate dehydrogenase exhibited positively co-operative interactions with the substrates 2-oxoglutarate and NADPH, negatively co-operative kinetics with NADP⁺ and was extremely sensitive to inhibition of deamination activity by ammonium and/or ammonia. The NAD-linked enzyme showed positive co-operativity with NADH, Michaelis-Menten kinetics with all other substrates and was subject only to mild inhibitions by the reaction products. Considered together with the values of the Michaelis constants, these results indicate that the former enzyme is primarily concerned with the amination of 2-oxoglutarate when the concentration of this substrate exceeds about 4 mM, while the NAD-linked enzyme is able to aminate or deaminate as metabolic conditions require. Synthesis of both enzymes was repressed by addition of carbamyl phosphate or N-acetyl-glutamate to mycelial cultures growing in media containing glucose and ammonium as carbon and nitrogen sources. Growth in media containing urea results in repression of the NADP-linked glutamate dehydrogenase and depression of the NAD-linked enzyme. Such results indicate a connexion between the glutamate dehydrogenases and the urea cycle. It is suggested that under normal conditions of growth on complex media nitrogen is assimilated in the form of amino acids and that the glutamate dehydrogenases act in support of transminases to allow this process to continue, and in support of the urea cycle to allow the disposal of excess nitrogen.     

Inhibition of Streptomyces hydrogenans 3 alpha,20 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase by licorice-derived compounds and crystallization of an enzyme-cofactor-inhibitor complex.

Streptomyces hydrogenans 3 alpha,20 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase reduces the C20 ketone on glucocorticoids and progestins. We find that two licorice-derived compounds, glycyrrhizic acid and carbenoxolone, inhibit this enzyme with microM Kis. Inhibition is competitive, indicating that these compounds are binding at or close to the catalytic site. Carbenoxolone's high aqueous solubility and affinity for 3 alpha,20 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase enabled us to prepare crystals of a carbenoxolone-NADH-enzyme ternary complex, which preliminary X-ray analysis indicates has a crystal structure that is significantly different from that of the 3 alpha,20 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-NADH complex. A comparison of the tertiary structures of these two complexes should prove useful in understanding this enzyme's catalytic mechanism, as well as those of two homologous enzymes, mammalian 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase that also are inhibited by carbenoxolone.     

Purification and characterization of a 15-ketoprostaglandin delta 13-reductase from bovine lung.

15-Ketoprostaglandin delta 13-reductase from bovine lung has been purified using affinity chromatography to apparent homogeneity, as judged from polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with and without sodium dodecyl sulphate. Valine was identified as tne N-terminal aumino acid, and the isoelectric point was estimated at pH 7.8. Molecular weights of 56,000 and 39,500 were found by the use of gel filtration and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, respectively. The enzyme was found to be specific for the 15-keto group, thus 15-ketoprostaglandin E4 (apparent Km = microM) is a substrate, in contrast to prostaglandin E1. The enzyme was active with both NADH (apparent Km = 88--94 microM) and NADH (apparent Km = 5--9 microM) as coenzyme, but the V max with NADH was more than twice that obtained with NADPH. The enzyme did not catalyze the reversed reaction: 13,14-dihydro-15-keto-prostaglandin E1 to 15-ketoprostaglandin E1. The turnover number of the enzyme was determined to be either 60 or 42 min-1. The low value of the turnover number is compensated by a high concentration (96.4 mU/g tissue) of the enzyme in lung tissue, resulting in a high metabolic capacity. Thus, 15-ketoprostaglandin delta 13-reductase together with 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase ensures an irreversible catabolism of prostaglandins.     

Purification and characterization of a monomeric isocitrate dehydrogenase with dual coenzyme specificity from the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodomicrobium vannielii

An isocitrate dehydrogenase able to function with either NADP or NAD as coenzyme was purified to homogeneity from cell-free extracts of the purple photosynthetic eubacterium Rhodomicrobium vannielii using a rapid two-step procedure involving dye-ligand affinity chromatography. The enzyme was obtained in 60% yield with specific activities of 23 U.mg protein-1 (NADP-linked reaction) and 18.5 U.mg protein-1 (NAD-linked reaction). The purified enzyme was monomeric and migrated with an approximate Mr of 75,000-80,000 on both SDS/PAGE and non-denaturing PAGE. Affinity constants (Km values) of 2.5 microM for NADP and 0.77 mM for NAD and values for kcat/Km of 981,200 min-1.mM-1 (NADP) and 2455 min-1.mM-1 (NAD) indicated a greater specificity for NADP compared to NAD. A number of metabolites were examined for possible differential regulatory effects on the NADP- and NAD-linked reactions, using a dual-wavelength assay. Oxaloacetate was found to be an effective inhibitor of both reactions and the enzyme was also sensitive to concerted inhibition by glyoxylate and oxaloacetate. The amino-acid composition and the identity of 39 residues at the N-terminus were determined and compared to other isocitrate dehydrogenases. The results suggested a relationship between the Rm. vannielii enzyme and the monomeric isocitrate dehydrogenase isoenzyme II from Vibrio ABE-1.     

Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors. Inhibition of the zinc and cobalt gamma-class enzyme from the archaeon Methanosarcina thermophila with anions

Anions represent the second class of inhibitors of the zinc enzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1), in addition to sulfonamides, which possess clinical applications. The first inhibition study of the zinc and cobalt gamma-class enzyme from the archaeon Methanosarcina thermophila (Cam) with anions is reported here. Inhibition data of the alpha-class human isozymes hCA I and hCA II (cytosolic) as well as the membrane-bound isozyme hCA IV with a large number of anionic species such as halides, pseudohalides, bicarbonate, carbonate, nitrate, nitrite, hydrosulfide, bisulfite, and sulfate, etc., are also provided for comparison. The best Zn-Cam anion inhibitors were hydrogen sulfide and cyanate, with inhibition constants in the range of 50-90 microM, whereas thiocyanate, azide, carbonate, nitrite, and bisulfite were weaker inhibitors (K(I)s in the range of 5.8-11.7 mM). Fluoride, chloride, and sulfate do not inhibit this enzyme appreciably up to concentrations of 200 mM, whereas the substrate bicarbonate behaves as a weak inhibitor (K(I)s of 42 mM). The best Co-Cam inhibitor was carbonate, with an inhibition constant of 9 microM, followed by nitrate and bicarbonate (K(I)s in the range of 90-100 microM). The metal poisons were much more ineffective inhibitors of this enzyme, with cyanide possessing an inhibition constant of 51.5mM, whereas cyanate, thiocyanate, azide, iodide, and hydrogen sulfide showed K(I)s in the range of 2.0-6.1mM. As for Zn-Cam, fluoride, chloride, and sulfate are not inhibitors of Co-Cam. These major differences between the two gamma-CAs investigated here can be explained only in part by the different geometries of the metal ions present within their active sites.