Mutation of Asparagine 76 in the Center of Glutamine Transporter SNAT3 Modulates Substrate-induced Conductances and Na+ Binding

The glutamine transporter SLC38A3 (SNAT3) plays an important role in the release of glutamine from brain astrocytes and the uptake of glutamine into hepatocytes. It is related to the vesicular GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) transporter and the SLC36 family of proton-amino acid cotransporters. The transporter carries out electroneutral Na⁺-glutamine cotransport-H⁺ antiport. In addition, substrate-induced uncoupled cation currents are observed. Mutation of asparagine 76 to glutamine or histidine in predicted transmembrane helix 1 abolished all substrate-induced currents. Mutation of asparagine 76 to aspartate rendered the transporter Na⁺-independent and resulted in a gain of a large substrate-induced chloride conductance in the absence of Na⁺. Thus, a single residue is critical for coupled and uncoupled ion flows in the glutamine transporter SNAT3. Homology modeling of SNAT3 along the structure of the related benzyl-hydantoin permease from Microbacterium liquefaciens reveals that Asn-76 is likely to be located in the center of the membrane close to the translocation pore and forms part of the predicted Na⁺ -binding site.The amino acid and auxin permease superfamily comprises a wide variety of transport proteins. In mammals, three distinct solute carrier families (SLC) belong to this superfamily, namely SLC32, SLC36, and SLC38 (1). Despite belonging to the same superfamily, the three solute carrier families have different transport mechanisms. The SLC32 family has only one member, the vesicular inhibitory amino acid transporter, which supposedly carries out a H⁺-GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) antiport (2). The SLC36 family comprises four members, two of which have been characterized in more detail. These are the proton amino acid cotransporters 1 and 2 (PAT1 and 2) that carry out glycine and proline uptake in kidney and intestine and are mutated in iminoglycinuria (3, 4). The SLC38 family is comprised of 11 members, 5 of which have been characterized in more detail (5). Two different transport mechanisms are found within this family, namely the Na⁺-amino acid cotransporters SNAT1, SNAT2, and SNAT4 and the Na⁺-amino acid cotransporters-H⁺-antiporters SNAT3 and SNAT5. Transporters of the superfamily play a key role in inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmission, metabolite absorption, and liver metabolism. Despite their important roles in mammalian physiology, relatively little is known about the structure and function of these transporters.The activity of ion-coupled membrane transporters is frequently associated with currents which de- or hyperpolarize the cell membrane. These currents may be due to electrogenic transport stoichiometry and/or to a non-stoichiometric ion conductance (6). Transport-associated ion conductances have been identified in a number of transporters but have been particularly well studied in several Na⁺-coupled neurotransmitter transporters (7–11). Transport-associated conductances have also been observed in electroneutral transporters that do not carry out net charge movement (8, 12–15). The glutamine transporter SNAT3, for instance, has a transport mechanism in which glutamine uptake is coupled to the cotransport of 1Na⁺ and the antiport of 1H⁺ and, hence, is unaffected by changes of the membrane potential (13, 16). Despite the electroneutral transport mechanism, substrate uptake is accompanied by inward currents, which are carried by cations below pH 7 and by protons at alkaline pH. In addition, a substrate-independent cation conductance and a Na⁺/H⁺ exchange activity has been observed (17). Non-stoichiometric currents can be mediated by the same ions that are involved in the coupled transport process, such as in the case of SNAT3, but may also be carried by different ions. Stoichiometric glutamate transport, for instance, involves Na⁺, H⁺, and K⁺ ions, whereas the glutamate transport-associated conductance is carried by chloride (18).A crucial question concerning transporter-associated ion conductances is whether the conducting pore coincides with the translocation pathway of the substrate and whether both use the same critical residues. In the case of the glutamate transporters, evidence has been presented suggesting that different residues are critical for the anion conductance than for substrate transport (19, 20) but that they all line the same pathway (21). Here we show that asparagine 76 of SNAT3 is critical for substrate-induced ion conductance and affects binding of the cosubstrate Na⁺. In addition we show that this residue is likely to be localized in the translocation pore in the center of the membrane.     

Transport of Asparagine by Rat Brain Synaptosomes: An Approach to Evaluate Glutamine Accumulation

Isolated rat brain synaptosomes accumulated L-asparagine with a Km value of 348 microM and a Vmax value of 3.7 nmol/mg of protein/min at 28 degrees C. Uptake of L-asparagine was inhibited by the presence of L-glutamine, whereas transport of L-glutamine was blocked by L-asparagine. Alanine, serine, cysteine, threonine, and, in particular, leucine were also inhibitory whereas alpha-(methylamino)isobutyrate, ornithine, lysine, arginine, and glutamate were much less effective blockers. Transport of L-asparagine had a substantial sodium-dependent component, whereas that of the D-stereoisomer was almost unaffected by the presence or absence of the cation. L-Asparagine was accumulated to a maximal gradient, [L-Asn]i/[L-Asn]o, of 20-30, and this value was reduced to 5-6 by withdrawal of sodium or addition of high [KCI]. A plot of log [Na+]o/[Na+]i against the log [L-Asn]i/[L-Asn]o had a slope close to I, which indicates that a single sodium ion is transported inward with each asparagine molecule. It is postulated that uptake of L-asparagine occurs, to a large extent, in cotransport with Na+ and that it utilizes the sodium chemical gradient and the membrane electrical potential as the source of energy. The similarity between the L-asparagine and L-glutamine transport systems and the reciprocal inhibition of influx of the two amino acids suggest that the same mechanism is responsible for glutamine accumulation. This could explain the high [Gln]i maintained by the brain in vivo.     

In Vitro Binding of Trypanosoma congolense to Erythrocytes*

Synopsis. Trypanosoma congolense Broden, an intravascular parasite, binds to vessel walls and erythrocytes of infected hosts. In an attempt to characterize T. congolense adhesion to host cells, an in vitro assay was devised. It was shown in the in vitro experiments that T. congolense binds to bovine, sheep, and goat erythrocytes, but not always to erythrocytes of rats, mice, rabbits, horses or humans. Only the anterior part of live trypanosomes adheres to erythrocytes, and the attachment site on the trypanosomes is destroyed by trypsin and chymotrypsin. Trypanosomes did not adhere to bovine erythrocytes that had been incubated with neuraminidase, sodium periodate and poly-L-lysine. The foregoing experiments suggest that the surface of T. congolense contains a protein-associated site which binds to sialic acid of some host cells. This surface site is most likely responsible for attachment to blood vessels in vivo.     

Determination of Free Ammonium and Asparagine and Glutamine Amide-Nitrogen in Extracts of Plant Tissue

A relatively simple and rapid procedure for the measurement of free ammonium and the amides in plant extracts is described. The method was developed by combining a cation-exchange method for blood ammonia with a differential acid-hydrolysis procedure for asparagine and glutamine amide-nitrogen.The recovery of standard samples (100-400 mug of ammonium- or amide-nitrogen) of free ammonium, asparagine, and glutamine after being run through the extraction, column, and analytical procedures ranged between 99 and 102%.The harvest, extraction, and analytical procedures were tested on shoots from 4 to 6-day-old germinating barley seeds. The high levels of the amides and the low level of free ammonium present in the tissue extracts indicated that the extraction and analytical procedures resulted in little if any hydrolysis of the amides.     

Incorporation of Tyrosine and Glutamine Residues into the Soluble Guanylate Cyclase Heme Distal Pocket Alters NO and O2 Binding

Nitric oxide (NO) is the physiologically relevant activator of the mammalian hemoprotein soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC). The heme cofactor of α1β1 sGC has a high affinity for NO but has never been observed to form a complex with oxygen. Introduction of a key tyrosine residue in the sGC heme binding domain β1(1–385) is sufficient to produce an oxygen-binding protein, but this mutation in the full-length enzyme did not alter oxygen affinity. To evaluate ligand binding specificity in full-length sGC we mutated several conserved distal heme pocket residues (β1 Val-5, Phe-74, Ile-145, and Ile-149) to introduce a hydrogen bond donor in proximity to the heme ligand. We found that the NO coordination state, NO dissociation, and enzyme activation were significantly affected by the presence of a tyrosine in the distal heme pocket; however, the stability of the reduced porphyrin and the proteins affinity for oxygen were unaltered. Recently, an atypical sGC from Drosophila, Gyc-88E, was shown to form a stable complex with oxygen. Sequence analysis of this protein identified two residues in the predicted heme pocket (tyrosine and glutamine) that may function to stabilize oxygen binding in the atypical cyclase. The introduction of these residues into the rat β1 distal heme pocket (Ile-145 → Tyr and Ile-149 → Gln) resulted in an sGC construct that oxidized via an intermediate with an absorbance maximum at 417 nm. This absorbance maximum is consistent with globin Fe^II-O₂ complexes and is likely the first observation of a Fe^II-O₂ complex in the full-length α1β1 protein. Additionally, these data suggest that atypical sGCs stabilize O₂ binding by a hydrogen bonding network involving tyrosine and glutamine.     

The Binding Specificity of Amino Acid Transport System y+L in Human Erythrocytes is Altered by Monovalent Cations

System y⁺L is a broad-scope amino acid transporter which binds and translocates cationic and neutral amino acids. Na⁺ replacement with K⁺ does not affect lysine transport, but markedly decreases the affinity of the transporter for l-leucine and l-glutamine. This observation suggests that the specificity of system y⁺L varies depending on the ionic composition of the medium. Here we have studied the interaction of the carrier with various amino acids in the presence of Na⁺, K⁺, Li⁺ and guanidinium ion. In agreement with the prediction, the specificity of system y⁺L was altered by the monovalent cations. In the presence of Na⁺, l-leucine was the neutral amino acid that interacted more powerfully. Elongation of the side chain (glycine - l-norleucine) strengthened binding. In contrast, bulkiness at the level of the β carbon was detrimental. In K⁺, the carrier behaved as a cationic amino acid specific carrier, interacting weakly with neutral amino acids. Li⁺ was found to potentiate neutral amino acid binding and in general the apparent affinities were higher than in Na⁺; elongation of the nonpolar side chain made a more important contribution to binding and the carrier was more tolerant towards β carbon substitution. Guanidinium stimulated the interaction of the carrier with neutral amino acids, but the effect was restricted to certain analogues (e.g., l-leucine, l-glutamine, l-methionine). Thus, in the presence of guanidinium, the carrier discriminates sharply among different neutral amino acids. The results suggest that the monovalent cations stabilize different carrier conformations. Received: 22 January 1996/Revised: 26 April 1996     

Regulation of Nitrate Reductase during Early Seedling Growth (A Role for Asparagine and Glutamine)

Growth systems that either permit (wet system) or prevent (dry system) the hydrolysis of endosperm reserves in maize (Zea mays) seedlings were developed to study the effect of endosperm reserves on the acquisition of external nitrogen. Three-day-old seedlings treated with 5 mM KNO3 for 24 h had higher levels of nitrate reductase (NR) activity and protein in shoot and root tissues in the dry relative to the wet system. This suggests that the induction of NR is sensitive to products of hydrolysis of endosperm reserves. Asparagine (1 mM) or glutamine (1 mM), potential products of that hydrolysis, inhibited the induction of NADH-dependent root NR in the dry system by about 70%. The inhibition of the induction of NR activity in the wet system was only about 35%, suggesting that the enzyme in the wet system was already partially repressed at 3 d. At 5 d, when asparagine and glutamine levels in the plant tissue had decreased, the induction of root NR activity was inhibited to a similar extent in the two growth systems by amide additions. The shoot enzyme was less sensitive to amide additions, and 10 mM concentrations of either amide was required for a 65% inhibition.     

重组人VEGF可溶性受体的表达纯化及结合性质初探

目的:表达优化的血管内皮细胞生长因子(VEGF)受体1(VEGFR1)胞外区第2个类免疫球蛋白结构域(VEGFR1D2)和VEGF受体2(VEGFR2)胞外区第3个类免疫球蛋白结构域(VEGFR2D3)与人IgG1 Fc片段的融合产物VEGF-Trap2,探讨该产物与人源VEGF165(hVEGF165)之间的亲和力。方法:将优化的目的基因VEGFR1D2/R2D3连接到真核表达载体pIRES2-EGFP-Fc中,转染CHO-K1细胞并筛选高表达目的蛋白VEGF-Trap2的细胞系,亲和纯化VEGF-Trap2蛋白,通过非竞争性ELISA及生物膜干涉技术检测VEGF-Trap2与hVEGF165之间的亲和力。结果:DNA测序表明真核表达载体pIRES2-EGFP-VEGF-Trap2序列正确;获得表达VEGF-Trap2的细胞系;非竞争性ELISA实验中,VEGF-Trap2与hVEGF165功能性亲和常数达到1.86×107L/mol;生物膜干涉实验中,hVEGF165与VEGF-Trap2的平衡解离常数达到3.13×10-9mol/L。结论:构建了真核表达载体pIRES2-EGFP-VEGF-Trap2并在CHO-K1细胞中稳定表达,重组蛋白VEGF-Trap2与hVEGF165有较高的亲和力,提示其可用于阻断VEGF信号传导途径,为该蛋白进一步的体外及体内实验奠定了基础。     

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae YCC5 (YCL025c) Gene Encodes an Amino Acid Permease, Agp1, Which Transports Asparagine and Glutamine

The yeast YCC5 gene encodes a putative amino acid permease and is homologous to GNP1 (encoding a high-affinity glutamine permease). Using strains with disruptions in the genes for multiple permeases, we demonstrated that Ycc5 (which we have renamed Agp1) is involved in the transport of asparagine and glutamine, performed a kinetic analysis of this activity, and showed that AGP1 expression is subject to nitrogen repression.     

The Large Scale Purification of Ubiquitin from Human Erythrocytes

A simple, reproducible method for the large-scale purification of active ubiquitin from human erythrocytes is described. Erythrocytes contain 100 μg free ubiquitin per cc of packed cells, of which 44% can be recovered in homogeneous form by a combination of heat treatment, ammonium sulfate fractionation, and ion exchange chromatography.     

Synthesis of Homoserine Phospho-, H-Phosphono- and Methylphosphonopeptides

Summary Phosphopeptides and mimics thereof are useful tools for the investigation of phosphorylation, an important posttranslational modification of peptides and proteins. In order to investigate different aspects of phosphorylation and dephosphorylation processes, homoserine phospho-, H-phosphono- and methylphosphonopeptides were synthesized. The tetrapeptide H-Gly-Gly-Hse-Ala-OH was used as a model sequence; further, the heptapeptide H-Leu-Arg-Arg-Ala-Hse-Leu-Gly-OH and the octapeptide H-Glu-Ser-Leu-Hse-Ser-Ser-Glu-Glu-OH were synthesized and modified. After selective deprotection of the trityl-protected homoserine residue, phosphorylation or phosphonylation was performed on resin by the global phosphorylation approach using different phosphoamidites. Peptides were analysed by analytical RP-HPLC and electrospray mass spectrometry. All compounds were obtained in yields over 75%. The byproducts observed were both the unmodified peptide and the H-phosphonopeptide in the case of the phosphopeptides, the phosphorylated and the unmodified peptide in the case of the H-phosphonopeptides, and the unmodified peptide in the case of the methylphosphonopeptides. Due to simple purification by RP-HPLC, the method presented gives access to a new class of phosphopeptides and mimics.     

Peculiarities of Structure, Polymorphism, and Resistance to Oxidation of Fish Hemoglobins

The paper presents data on peculiarities of structural organization of fish hemoglobin molecules. The existence of symmetric and asymmetric complexes and their importance for formation in some types of complex heterogeneous hemoglobin systems is considered. The comparative characteristics of the primary structure of - and -chains of the respiratory pigments in higher and lower vertebrates are presented. The causes of low resistance of fish hemoglobins to oxidation are discussed. Protective action of Cl^– under conditions of nitrite intoxication, as well as role of several intraerythrocytic molecular systems in maintaining the pigment ferroform (superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, and NADH-diaphorase) are considered.     

Synthesis of Homoserine Phospho-, H-Phosphono- and Methylphosphonopeptides

Phosphopeptides and mimics thereof are useful tools for the investigation of phosphorylation, an important post-translational modification of peptides and proteins. In order to investigate different aspects of phosphorylation and dephosphorylation processes, homoserine phospho-, H-phosphono- and methylphosphonopeptides were synthesized. The tetrapeptide H-Gly-Gly-Hse-Ala-OH was used as a model sequence; further, the heptapeptide H-Leu-Arg-Arg-Ala-Hse-Leu-Gly-OH and the octapeptide H-Glu-Ser-Leu-Hse-Ser-Ser-Glu-Glu-OH were synthesized and modified. After selective deprotection of the trityl-protected homoserine residue, phosphorylation or phosphonylation was performed on resin by the global phosphorylation approach using different phosphoamidites. Peptides were analysed by analytical RP-HPLC and electrospray mass spectrometry. All compounds were obtained in yields over 75%. The byproducts observed were both the unmodified peptide and the H-phosphonopeptide in the case of the phosphopeptides, the phosphorylated and the unmodified peptide in the case of the H-phosphonopeptides, and the unmodified peptide in the case of the methylphosphonopeptides. Due to simple purification by RP-HPLC, the method presented gives access to a new class of phosphopeptides and mimics.     

The Inhibition of Nucleoside Transport in Human Erythrocytes by Mioflazine Analogues

Abstract

Kinetic analysis of the transport protein (both influx and efflux), usually performed with radiolabelled nucleosides such as adenosine and uridine, has provided a wealth of information regarding the various kinetic and equilibrium parameters (1).     

Nuclear Binding of Hydrocortisone-Receptors in the Embryonic Chick Retina and its Relationship to Glutamine Synthetase Induction

Binding of hydrocortisone (HC) to cytoplasmic receptors andof the resulting receptor-hydrocortisone complex (R-HC) to nuclearacceptor sites has been studied in neural retina cells of thechick embryo, in which this hormone induces glutamine synthetase(GS). These studies were done in a cell-free system, as wellas in intact retina tissue in culture. Optimal conditions, specificity, and the quantitative aspectsof R-HC binding to nuclei in the cell-free system were determined.Isolated nuclei retained their binding specificity for R-HCprepared from retina cytosol; at saturation, the total numberof nuclear acceptor sites for R-HC was estimated to be in therange of 1500 per nucleus. These sites were resistant to RNAsebut sensitive to DNAse. When retina tissue was cultured in the presence of progressivelyhigher doses (0–90 nM) of HC, increasing amounts of receptorswere translocated from the cytoplasm to the nuclei. Followingincubation of retina with 9–90 nM HC, the cytoplasm wasalmost completely depleted of receptors and the nuclei becamesaturated with R-HC. From the amount of R-HC bound to nucleiat saturation, the estimated total number of R-HC acceptor sitesper nucleus was comparable to that derived from the cell-freesystem. Increases in the level of GS induction in the retinacorrelated well with amounts of R-HC complex bound by nuclei.