A nonchromatographic assay for expression of the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene in eucaryotic cells

A rapid procedure is described for assaying chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) enzyme activity following transfection of the CAT gene into eucaryotic cells. CAT enzyme activity in cell extracts catalyzes the transfer of [14C]acetyl groups from labeled acetyl coenzyme A to unlabeled chloramphenicol. Labeled reaction product is quantitated by liquid scintillation counting after extraction into ethyl acetate. The method is valid for use with transfected cell extracts only if the extracts are first heated to 65 degrees C to remove a factor which degrades acetyl coenzyme A. The revised procedure offers considerable advantages in speed and ease of performance over the chromatographic assay in current use.     

A highly sensitive, mixed-phase assay for chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity in transfected cells

We describe a simple, rapid yet extremely sensitive assay for chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) activity in extracts from transfected eukaryotic cells. Using our modified reaction conditions and the mixed-phase assay, less than 0.000010 unit of CAT activity in transfected cells can be reliably detected. The mixed-phase assay is based on the inability of the polar [3H]-acetyl-Coenzyme A (CoA) substrate to partition out of a urea containing aqueous phase into the nonpolar scintillation fluor, while the [3H]chloramphenicol reaction products partition into the toluene scintillation fluor and are quantitated by scintillation counting. The increased sensitivity of this assay is due to the optimization of the acetyl-CoA concentration, to a urea-containing aqueous phase which lowers the assay background, and to the use of extract blanks. The mixed-phase assay is simpler, is quantitative, uses less costly substrates, and is far more sensitive than the most widely used CAT assays, which require solvent extraction followed by thin-layer chromatography to separate the unreacted substrate from product.     

A method for increasing the sensitivity of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase assays in extracts of transfected cultured cells

Transfection of several cell lines (HeLa, COS, PC-12, CA-77, and H4IIE C3) with pRSV-CAT by a variety of methods yielded rather low chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) activity in cell extracts. Extracts of these cells were found to interfere with the assay of added CAT. The extracts were capable of deacetylating acetylchloramphenicol and of accelerating the rate of hydrolysis of the acetyl-CoA present in the assay. Heating the cell extract to 60°C for 10 min completely prevented the interference and slowed the hydrolysis of acetyl-CoA. Substantially higher CAT activities were observed when the extract was heat treated in the presence of EDTA prior to enzyme assay for most cell lines tested. This simple reliable method makes possible the accurate assessment of CAT activities in different cell lines. These observations are particularly pertinent to investigators studying tissue-specific gene expression.     

Studies on the assay, activity and sedimentation behaviour of acetyl-CoA carboxylase from isolated hepatocytes incubated with insulin or glucagon.

The activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, measured in various ways, was studied in 15000g extracts of rat liver hepatocytes and compared with the rate of fatty acid synthesis in intact hepatocytes incubated with insulin or glucagon. Hepatocyte extracts were prepared by disruption of cells with a Dounce homogenizer or by solubilization with 1.5% (v/v) Triton X-100. Sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation demonstrated that the sedimentation coefficient of acetyl-CoA carboxylase from cell extracts was 30-35S, regardless of the conditions of incubation or disruption of hepatocytes. Solubilization of cells with 1.5% Triton X-100 yielded twice as much enzyme activity (measured by [14C]bicarbonate fixation) in the sucrose-gradient fractions as did cell disruption by the Dounce homogenizer. Analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography of acetyl-CoA carboxylase reaction mixtures showed that [14C]malonyl-CoA accounted for 10-60% of the total acid-stable radioactivity, depending on the method for disrupting hepatocytes and on the preincubation of the 15000g extract, with or without citrate, before assay. Under conditions in which incubation of cells with insulin or glucagon caused an activation or inhibition, respectively, of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, only 25% of the acid-stable radioactivity was [14C]malonyl-CoA and enzyme activity was only 13% (control), 16% (insulin), and 57% (glucagon) of the rate of fatty acid synthesis. Under conditions when up to 60% of the acid-stable radioactivity was [14C]malonyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity was comparable with the rate of fatty acid synthesis, there was no effect of insulin or glucagon on enzyme activity.     

A novel direct homogeneous assay for ATP citrate lyase

ATP citrate lyase (ACL) is a cytosolic enzyme that catalyzes the synthesis of acetyl-CoA and oxaloacetate using citrate, CoA, and ATP as substrates and Mg²⁺ as a necessary cofactor. The ACL-dependent synthesis of acetyl-CoA is thought to be an essential step for the de novo synthesis of fatty acids and cholesterol. For this reason, inhibition of ACL has been pursued as a strategy to treat dyslipidemia and obesity. Traditionally, ACL enzyme activity is measured indirectly by coupling to enzymes such as malate dehydrogenase or chloramphenicol acetyl transferase. In this report, however, we describe a novel procedure to directly measure ACL enzyme activity. We first identified a convenient method to specifically detect [¹⁴C]acetyl-CoA without detecting [¹⁴C]citrate by MicroScint-O. Using this detection system, we devised a simple, direct, and homogeneous ACL assay in 384-well plate format that is suitable for high-throughput screening. The current assay consists of 1) incubation of ACL enzyme with [¹⁴C]citrate and other substrates/cofactors CoA, ATP, and Mg²⁺, 2) EDTA quench, 3) addition of MicroScint-O, the agent that specifically detects product [¹⁴C]acetyl-CoA, and 4) detection of signal by TopCount. This unique ACL assay may provide more efficient identification of new ACL inhibitors and allow detailed mechanistic characterization of ACL/inhibitor interactions.     

A method to detect transfected chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene expression in intact animals

A rapid procedure is described for assaying chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT, EC 2.3.1.28) enzyme activity in intact animals following transfection of the RSV CAT plasmid into mouse bone marrow cells by electroporation. The reconstituted mice were injected with [14C]chloramphenicol and ethyl acetate extracts of 24-h urine samples were analyzed by TLC autoradiography for the excretion of 14C-labeled metabolites. CAT expression in vivo can be detected by the presence of acetylated 14C-labeled metabolites in the urine within 1 week after bone marrow transplantation and, under the conditions described, these metabolites can be detected for at least 3 months. CAT expression in intact mice as monitored by the urine assay correlates with the CAT expression in the hematopoietic tissues assayed in vitro. This method offers a quick mode of screening for introduced CAT gene expression in vivo without sacrificing the mice.     

Automation of a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase assay

Accurate quantification of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) enzyme activity in a large number of samples has been achieved through robotization of a CAT assay on a laboratory workstation (Biomek 1000). The basic principle of this CAT assay relies on the selective diffusion of [3H]acetylchloramphenicol into a water-immiscible liquid scintillation cocktail. This methodology gives unique characteristics to this robotized protocol by allowing complete control over the kinetics of the CAT enzymatic reaction which is a critical parameter in the CAT assay. Thus it has been possible to optimize the CAT assay for every processed sample, through real time monitoring of the enzymatic reaction, and to achieve maximum accuracy in CAT quantification. Moreover the sensitivity of this automated assay is high (detection threshold; 10(-4) CAT unit), and the sample processing is fast (approximately 125 samples per hour). Compared to other CAT assay protocols currently used, our robotized technique offers major advantages in terms of CAT quantification, and sets new standards for CAT assay productivity.     

Herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase enzymatic assay in transient transfection experiments using thymidine kinase-deficient cells.

An enzymatic assay for herpes virus simplex type 1 thymidine kinase (HSV-TK) that was sensitive enough to quantitate intracellular levels of enzyme transiently expressed after transfection of HSV-TK vectors into TK-deficient cells using the DNA-calcium phosphate coprecipitation technique is described. TK activity in extracts of transfected cells was determined by binding of [methyl-3H]thymidylate product to thin layers of polyethyleneimine (PEI)-impregnated cellulose. The assay used high-specific-activity [methyl-3H]thymidine as substrate, which required removal of anionic material on a column of PEI-cellulose to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio. The assay was linear over a wide range with respect to the amount of HSV-TK plasmid transfected or content of HSV-TK enzyme in cell extracts. To validate the assay in transient expression experiments, HSV-TK and chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) plasmids were cotransfected into NIH/3T3 tk- fibroblasts. Transient TK and CAT levels were concordant in cell extracts prepared from replicate plates of transfected cells. Normalizing the transient TK activity for CAT activity from the cotransfected "internal standard" CAT plasmid improved precision significantly, reducing the sample-to-sample coefficient of variation from 41 to 19%. CAT normalization reduced experimental variability mostly by correcting outlying results in transfection efficiency. The HSV-TK reporter gene system based on TK enzymatic assay was thus subject to experimental variation similar to that of the well-established CAT reporter function, demonstrating its utility in transient gene expression analysis.     

Purification and some properties of a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase mediated by plasmids from Vibrio anguillarum

Vibrio anguillarum strains were isolated from chloramphenicol-resistant bacteria in diseased fish. Plasmid Rms418, which confers chloramphenicol resistance, was transferred from V. anguillarum GN11379 to Escherichia coli K12 by conjugation. The Rms418-encoded chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) [EC 2.3.1.99] was isolated and purified to homogeneity using affinity chromatography on immobilized p-amino-chloramphenicol or ATP. The general CAT could be adsorbed by a matrix with a chloramphenicol base ligand (Zaidenzaig, Y. & Shaw, W.V. (1976) FEBS Lett. 62,266-271), but the Rms418-encoded CAT was not bound under these conditions. The specific activity of the enzyme, when measured by the spectrophotometric assay, was 71.4 units/mg protein at 37 degrees C. The molecular weight of the enzyme treated with SDS and 2-mercaptoethanol was shown to be approximately 22,000. The molecular weight of the native enzyme, as determined by gel filtration, was approximately 69,000, and the optimal pH was 7.8. The Km values for chloramphenicol and CoASAc were 34.5 and 150 microM, respectively. Enzyme activity was inhibited by HgCl2, p-chloromercuribenzoate (p-CMB), 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB), and ethylendiaminotetraacetic acid (EDTA). The half life at 53 degrees C was approximately 100 min.     

Application of the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) diffusion assay to transgenic plant tissues.

Chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) activity was quantified in crude extracts from tobacco callus tissues using a modification of a previously reported diffusion assay. We describe here the alterations necessary in applying this rapid and simple assay procedure to plant materials. Due to the high concentration of nonspecific oxidases present in most plant tissues, some type of protective agent is required to maintain enzyme activity. We have tested beta-mercaptoethanol, cysteine, dithiothreitol, ascorbic acid and polyvinyl pyrrolidone as protective agents within the initial extraction buffer. We also investigated the effect of heat (60 degrees C, 10 min) and 5 mM EDTA on CAT activity. The highest CAT activity was obtained using 5 mM cysteine plus 5 mM EDTA in 40 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.8) as the initial extraction buffer followed by a heat treatment. Using this buffer, CAT activity was stable on ice for more than two hours. In our hands, total acetyl-coenzyme A concentration within the assay mixture was found to be saturating at 250 microM and the Km determined to be 100 microM. Assays performed using the same crude plant extract indicate that 1) duplicate assays show less than 1.5% variation in activities and 2) CAT activity increases linearly with respect to volume of extract used.     

A single-vial biphasic liquid extraction assay for choline acetyltransferase using [3H]choline

A single-vial liquid extraction assay for choline acetyltransferase that uses [³H]choline as the labeled substrate has been devised. [³H]Choline is incubated with an excess of acetyl-CoA in a small reaction vial which also serves as a scintillation vial. After a suitable reaction period, unreacted [³H]choline is quickly and quantitatively converted to phosphoryl-[³H]choline by the addition of an excess of choline kinase. This treatment is followed by the addition of scintillation fluid containing sodium tetraphenylboron after which the vial is capped, shaken, and counted. A two-phase system is produced in which product [³H]acetylcholine is selectively extracted into the scintillation fluid, where it is counted. Phosphoryl-[³H]choline remains in the aqueous phase and is not counted. This assay is rapid, simple, and quite sensitive. In comparison to assays using acetyl-CoA as the labeled substrate, it is less sensitive to interference by other enzymes and thus more suitable for measuring choline acetyltransferase in crude extracts and in the initial stages of purification. Similar single-vial radiometric assays are described for choline kinase and acetyl-CoA hydrolases.     

Mechanistic studies on beta-ketoacyl thiolase from Zoogloea ramigera: identification of the active-site nucleophile as Cys89, its mutation to Ser89, and kinetic and thermodynamic characterization of wild-type and mutant enzymes

Thiolase proceeds via covalent catalysis involving an acetyl-S-enzyme. The active-site thiol nucleophile is identified as Cys89 by acetylation with [14C]acetyl-CoA, rapid denaturation, tryptic digestion, and sequencing of the labeled peptide. The native acetyl enzyme is labile to hydrolytic decomposition with t 1/2 of 2 min at pH 7, 25 degrees C. Cys89 has been converted to the alternate nucleophile Ser89 by mutagenesis and the C89S enzyme overproduced, purified, and assessed for activity. The Ser89 enzyme retains 1% of the Vmax of the Cys89 enzyme in the direction of acetoacetyl-CoA thiolytic cleavage and 0.05% of the Vmax in the condensation of two acetyl-CoA molecules. A covalent acetyl-O-enzyme intermediate is detected on incubation with [14C]acetyl-CoA and isolation of the labeled Ser89-containing tryptic peptide. Comparisons of the Cys89 and Ser89 enzymes have been made for kinetic and thermodynamic stability of the acetyl enzyme intermediates both by isolation and by analysis of [32P]CoASH/acetyl-CoA partial reactions and for rate-limiting steps in catalysis with trideuterioacetyl-CoA.     

Analytical Characterization of a Sensitive Radioassay for Tyrosine Hydroxylase Activity in Rodent Striatum

Several buffer compositions with a wide range of pH values have been reported for radiometric assay of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in biological samples. Assay sensitivity becomes a prime concern while analyzing TH in minute samples like tissue biopsies or discrete regions of rodent brain wherein lower enzyme levels are anticipated due to smaller sample sizes. It was therefore rationalized to evaluate relative affinities of three commonly used assay buffers (sodium phosphate, sodium acetate, and Tris-acetate) with TH enzyme activity. The impact of buffer pH and cofactor concentration on the sensitivity of TH assay was also investigated. Striata from rats or mice were homogenized, respectively, with 1.0 or 0.5 ml of the assay buffer containing 0.5% Triton X-100. The supernatants (200 microl) were incubated (20 min, 37 degrees C) with 0.8 microCi [3H] L-tyrosine, 1.5 mM DL-6-methyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydropterine (6-MPH4), 100 U catalase, and 1.0 microM dithiothreitol in a total volume of 300 microl. The reaction was terminated by 1-ml suspension of activated charcoal in 0.1 M HCl. After centrifugation, 200-microl aliquots were mixed with 5 ml of cocktail for quantitation of [3H] H2O in supernatant. The results showed significant impact of pH rather than the buffer composition on the sensitivity of TH assay. An optimal pH range was found to be 5.5-6.0, whereas TH activity was significantly inhibited at pH 5.0 and pH 6.8 (F = 55.09, P = 0.000). A significantly high TH activity was observed with 1.5 mM 6-MPH4, whereas higher concentrations (3.0-4.5 mM) inhibited TH activity (F = 7.47, P = 0.005). Analysis of serially diluted striatal homogenates showed a significant correlation between TH activity and sample amount. The assay reaction was linear for 20- and 30-min incubation for rat and mice striata, respectively.     

Inhibition of CAT enzyme activity in Arabidopsis thaliana

Previously it was shown that transient chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) marker gene expression in Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana tabacum resulted in significant differences in the accumulation of the CAT reaction products in radioactive CAT assays. Compared to Nicotiana tabacum, conversion of chloramphenicol to the acetylated products in Arabidopsis thaliana extracts was rather low. Here we report that the low CAT enzyme activity can be attributed in part to a heat sensitive CAT inhibitory effect in extracts of Arabidopsis thaliana. CAT enzyme activity in transgenic tobacco is inhibited by extracts from Arabidopsis. This inhibitory effect diminishes when Arabidopsis extracts were heat incubated. CAT activity in transgenic Arabidopsis lines was very low and was only detected in heat incubated extracts. Alternatively, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) can be used to detect the CAT protein in transgenic Arabidopsis.Abbreviations CAT chloramphenicol acetyltransferase - CAM chloramphenicol - ELISA enzyme linked immunosorbent assay     

Synthesis of acetyl coenzyme A by carbon monoxide dehydrogenase complex from acetate-grown Methanosarcina thermophila.

The carbon monoxide dehydrogenase (CODH) complex from Methanosarcina thermophila catalyzed the synthesis of acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) from CH3I, CO, and coenzyme A (CoA) at a rate of 65 nmol/min/mg at 55 degrees C. The reaction ended after 5 min with the synthesis of 52 nmol of acetyl-CoA per nmol of CODH complex. The optimum temperature for acetyl-CoA synthesis in the assay was between 55 and 60 degrees C; the rate of synthesis at 55 degrees C was not significantly different between pHs 5.5 and 8.0. The rate of acetyl-CoA synthesis was independent of CoA concentrations between 20 microM and 1 mM; however, activity was inhibited 50% with 5 mM CoA. Methylcobalamin did not substitute for CH3I in acetyl-CoA synthesis; no acetyl-CoA or propionyl coenzyme A was detected when sodium acetate or CH3CH2I replaced CH3I in the assay mixture. CO could be replaced with CO2 and titanium(III) citrate. When CO2 and 14CO were present in the assay, the specific activity of the acetyl-CoA synthesized was 87% of the specific activity of 14CO, indicating that CO was preferentially incorporated into acetyl-CoA without prior oxidation to free CO2. Greater than 100 microM potassium cyanide was required to significantly inhibit acetyl-CoA synthesis, and 500 microM was required for 50% inhibition; in contrast, oxidation of CO by the CODH complex was inhibited 50% by approximately 10 microM potassium cyanide.     

A semiautomated 96-well plate assay for protein kinase C

We have devised a rapid procedure for the assay of protein kinase C. Reactions (100 microliters) were set up in the wells of a 96-well assay plate and initiated one column at a time by the addition of [gamma-32P]ATP with an eight-channel pipettor. After incubation for 5 min at 30 degrees C, the reactions were terminated by the addition of 100 microliters of 25% trichloroacetic acid. The reaction mixtures were then filtered using a semiautomatic cell harvester, and transferred to scintillation vials using a filter punch apparatus. Direct comparison of this method to traditional techniques revealed a three- to fivefold increase in efficiency with equal sensitivity. This method is suitable for screening large numbers of inhibitors and activators of protein kinase C and appears to be applicable to other enzymes such as calmodulin kinases.     

A sensitive radiometric assay to measure D-xylulose kinase activity

A radiometric test system for D-xylulose kinase (XK) was developed for the measurement of enzyme activity in crude cell extracts and to minimize the volume of reaction mixtures besides increasing the sensitivity. [U-14C]xylulose 5-phosphate was produced from commercially available [U-14C]xylose in a coupled assay system containing D-xylose isomerase, which yields [U-14C]xylulose, the substrate of ATP-dependent D-xylulose kinase. Separation of products and substrates was achieved by thin layer chromatography, identification of radioactive spots by radioscanning followed by quantitative scintillation counting. The protocol was validated through determination of kinetic constants of a purified His-tagged enzyme from Escherichia coli and comparison with the spectrophotometric method. The radiometric assay was applied to determine xylulose kinase activity in crude cell extracts from a variety of eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms.     

Affinity labelling of rat liver acetyl-CoA carboxylase by a 2',3'-dialdehyde derivative of ATP

The interaction of rat liver acetyl-CoA carboxylase with a 2',3'-dialdehyde derivative of ATP (oATP) has been studied. The degree of the enzyme inactivation has been found to depend on the oATP concentration and the incubation time. ATP was proved to be the only substrate which protected the inactivation. Acetyl-CoA did not effect inactivation, while HCO3- accelerated the process. Ki values for oATP in the absence and presence of HCO3- were 0.35 +/- 0.04 and 0.5 +/- 0.06 mM, and those of the modification constant (kmod) were 0.11 and 0.26 min-1 respectively. oATP completely inhibited the [14C]ADP in equilibrium ATP exchange and did not effect the [14C]acetyl-CoA in equilibrium malonyl-CoA exchange. Incorporation of approximately 1 equivalent of [3H]oATP per acetyl-CoA carboxylase subunit has been shown. No recovery of the modified enzyme activity has been observed in Tris or beta-mercaptoethanol containing buffers, and treatment with NaB3H4 has not led to 3H incorporation. The modification elimination of the ATP triphosphate chain. The results indicated the affinity modification of acetyl-CoA carboxylase by oATP. It was shown that the reagent apparently interacted selectively with the epsilon-amino group of lysine in the ATP-binding site to form a morpholine-like structure.