An endocytic mechanism for haemoglobin-iron acquisition in Candida albicans

The fungal pathogen Candida albicans is able to utilize haemin and haemoglobin as iron sources. Haem-iron utilization is facilitated by Rbt5, an extracellular, glycosylphophatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored, haemin- and haemoglobin-binding protein. Here, we show that Rbt5 and its close homologue Rbt51 are short-lived plasma membrane proteins, degradation of which depends on vacuolar activity. Rbt5 facilitates the rapid endocytosis of haemoglobin into the C.  albicans vacuole. We relied on recapitulation of the Rbt51-dependent haem-iron utilization in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to identify mutants defective in haemoglobin utilization. Homologues of representative mutants in S. cerevisiae were deleted in C. albicans and tested for haemoglobin-iron utilization and haemoglobin uptake. These mutants define a novel endocytosis-mediated haemoglobin utilization mechanism that depends on acidification of the lumen of the late secretory pathway, on a type I myosin and on the activity of the ESCRT pathway.     

Haemoglobin receptor protein is intragenically encoded by the cysteine proteinase-encoding genes and the haemagglutinin-encoding gene of Porphyromonas gingivalis

The obligately anaerobic bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis produces characteristic black-pigmented colonies on blood agar. It is thought that the black pigmentation is caused by haem accumulation and is related to virulence of the microorganism. P. gingivalis cells expressed a prominent 19 kDa protein when grown on blood agar plates. Analysis of its N-terminal amino acid sequence indicated that the 19 kDa protein was encoded by an internal region (HGP15 domain) of an arginine-specific cysteine proteinase (Arg-gingipain, RGP)-encoding gene ( rgp1 ) and was also present in genes for lysine-specific cysteine proteinases ( prtP and kgp ) and a haemagglutinin ( hagA ) of P. gingivalis . The HGP15 domain protein was purified from an HGP15-overproducing Escherichia coli and was found to have the ability to bind to haemoglobin in a pH-dependent manner. The anti-HGP15 antiserum reacted with the 19 kDa haemoglobin-binding protein in the envelope of P. gingivalis. P. gingivalis wild-type strain showed pH-dependent haemoglobin adsorption, whereas its non-pigmented mutants that produced no HGP15-related proteins showed deficiency in haemoglobin adsorption. These results strongly indicate a close relationship among HGP15 production, haemoglobin adsorption and haem accumulation of P. gingivalis .     

Haemoglobin binding with haptoglobin. Localization of the haptoglobin-binding sites on the beta-chain of human haemoglobin by synthetic overlapping peptides encompassing the entire chain.

A synthetic approach was employed to identify the haptoglobin-binding sites on the beta-chain of human haemoglobin. This approach consists of the synthesis of a series of consecutive overlapping peptides that, together, systematically represent the entire protein chain. Fourteen synthetic peptides (beta 1-15, beta 11-25 etc.) were examined for their ability to bind human haptoglobin by quantitative solid-phase radiometric titrations of 125I-labelled haptoglobin. Of these 14 peptides only peptides beta 11-25 and beta 131-146 bound haptoglobin significantly; peptide beta 21-35 exhibited a small binding activity as a consequence of the overlap with peptide beta 11-25. On this basis and by examination of the three-dimensional structure of haemoglobin, it was concluded that the beta-chain of haemoglobin has two binding sites for haptoglobin that reside in, but do not necessarily encompass all of, the regions beta 11-25 and beta 131-146.     

Preparation and some properties of the haemoglobin-binding protein of bovine blood

Bovine haptoglobin was prepared from sera which showed peroxidase activity in the complex with haemoglobin. The procedure consisted of precipitation with ammonium sulphate at 0.5 saturation, affinity chromatography on Sepharose 4B coupled to bovine apoglobin, and gel filtration on Sepharose 4B. The preparation was heterogeneous, migrating in 7.5% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at pH 8.3 as four haemoglobin-binding bands. On immunoelectrophoresis with bovine antiserum the preparation formed a single precipitin arc with the mobility of alpha 2-globulin; the preparation was found to be a glycoprotein, the sugar moiety of which amounted to 16%.     

Rapid method for the quantitative determination of haptoglobin (hemoglobin binding capacity) in serum

An automatical method for the determination of the haptoglobin (haemoglobin-binding capacity) of serum is described. The method based on the separation of free and bound haemoglobin by gel chromatography. By use of a short column with sephacryl-S200, a varioperpex pump and the measurement of the optical density in the flow-out the determination needs ten minutes only.     

Immunoassay of the adenosine deaminase complexing proteins of human tissues and body fluids.

A sensitive immunoassay for the adenosine deaminase binding protein (complexing protein) of human kidney has been developed. Impetus for the development of the assay was provided by the observations that (a) antibody to complexing protein does not react with the catalytically active adenosine deaminase monomer, and (b) binding of antibody to complexing protein does not affect the binding or catalytic activity of the enzyme monomer. Preformed immune precipitate prepared from rabbit anti-kidney complexing protein serum and goat anti-rabbit gamma-globulin serum is used to selectively insolubilize complexing protein. Quantitation is accomplished by measuring the intrinsic adenosine deaminating activity or adenosine deaminase binding capacity of the protein held in the immune precipitate. As little as 1 ng of kidney complexing protein can be accurately quantitated with the assay. The assay was used to demonstrate that complexing proteins from liver, lung, spleen, fibroblasts, plasma, and urine react with antibody to kidney complexing protein. The shared capacity to bind adenosine deaminase coupled with their antigenic similarity suggests that the complexing proteins of a number of human tissues and body fluids may be products of the same gene.     

Human haptoglobin binds to human myoglobin

Human myoglobin, obtained from human heart, was purified to homogeneity by salt precipitation, crystallization and ion-exchange chromatography. Trace contamination by haemoglobin, if any, was removed by repeated adsorption on an immunoadsorbent of anti-haemoglobin antibodies. The interaction between human haptoglobin and human myoglobin was investigated by a solid-phase radioimmunoassay. Myoglobin adsorbents bound 125I-labelled haptoglobin in a specific manner. Linear Scatchard plots of the data indicate that human myoglobin has only one binding site for haptoglobin in terms of the binding affinity (Ka = 8.5 X 10(6) M-1). These results suggest that haptoglobin not only binds haemoglobin but also binds human myoglobin, although with an affinity that is much lower than that of haemoglobin. The physiological significance of this interaction is discussed.     

Immunohistochemical localization of haemoglobin binding sites in the distal tubule of the rat kidney

Although it is well established that haemoglobin can be taken up by kidney tubular epithelium, the exact mechanism of the process has not been elucidated so far. We have undertaken a study to determine whether any specific binding sites for haemoglobin are present on the membranes of renal tubular cells. Paraffin sections of rat kidney cortex were incubated with haemoglobin, and the bound molecules were detected by means of a combined avidin–peroxidase and ImmunoMax method. Haemoglobin binding sites were observed in the apical membrane of distal tubules. Binding occurred for both rat haemoglobin and swine and human haemoglobins, and the proteins could compete with each other. Competition experiments with other proteins showed that the binding is specific for haemoglobin and that the net charge of the protein is not critical for the interaction. We failed to detect the binding sites in proximal tubules, where most of the filtered proteins are reabsorbed. The role of the binding sites in the distal nephron is unclear. Our findings may be essential for the further understanding of the pathomechanism of haemoglobin-induced acute renal failure. © 1998 Chapman & Hall     

Human adenosine deaminase binding protein. Assay, purification, and properties

In many human tissues adenosine deaminase exists as a complex composed of two proteins; one protein has adenosine deaminase activity while the other represents a binding protein with no other known binding activity. A rapid, quantitative assay for human adenosine deaminase binding protein has been developed utilizing 125I-labeled calf adenosine deaminase. In addition this binding protein has been purified 1,690-fold from human kidney using adenosine deaminase affinity chromatography and appears to be homogenous by sedimentation equilibrium, sodium dodecyl sulfate, and native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This highly purified binding protein exists as a dimer of native molecular weight 190,000, complexes with calf adenosine deaminase in a ratio of 1:2, respectively, and contains carbohydrate which reacts specifically with phytohemagglutinin and ricin lectins. A second form of this adenosine deaminase binding protein may exist, resulting from degradation of its carbohydrate moiety.     

Cytosolic protein binding to band-3 protein inhibits endocytosis of isolated human erythrocyte membranes.

Recent studies of haemoglobin binding to the cytoplasmic side of the erythrocyte membrane have shown that the predominant high-affinity interaction occurs with the major integral membrane protein known as band-3 protein and that this interaction may occur within the intact erythrocyte in a manner regulated by cell pH. We report here that haemoglobin and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase binding to band-3 protein in isolated membranes can inhibit endocytosis during vesiculation in vitro. The specificity of this effect was demonstrated by showing that myoglobin, which has an affinity for the membrane fully one to two orders of magnitude lower than that for haemoglobin, does not inhibit endocytosis.     

A humanized monoclonal antibody constructed from intronless expression vectors targets human hepatocellular carcinoma cells

An anti-human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) monoclonal antibody, hHP-1, was genetically humanized from a murine monoclonal antibody. In this study, a concept of positional template approach was applied to design the amino acid sequence of hHP-1's variable region, and synthetic DNA fragments for protein expression were produced through overlapping PCR from single strand oligonucleotides. Synthetic DNA fragments and human antibody constant region cDNA were used to construct two CMV promotor-based expression vectors for the antibody light and heavy chains, in which the variable region was connected directly to the constant region without an intron sequence. Completely assembled humanized antibody was successfully expressed in mammalian cells as IgG1 kappa molecules and purified using protein A affinity column. The immunogenicity of the hHP1 was estimated by the amino acid sequence and determined through a HAMA (human anti-murine antibody) serum reaction assay. Results indicated that the immunogenicity of hHP-1 was significantly reduced. In vitro binding activity assay showed that the hHP-1 had retained its binding function to a human HCC SMMC-7721 cell-line, without cross binding to other human normal tissues. Immunofluorescence staining showed that hHP-1 had a strong binding activity to SMMC cells. A competitive binding assay showed that the relative binding activity of hHP-1 was approximately 25% binding activity of the original murine antibody. Our results indicate that a humanized antibody could be produced using intronless vectors and expressed as a complete IgG1 kappa antibody. Hence we believe that hHP-1 could be a potential candidate for HCC treatment.     

The frpB1 gene of Helicobacter pylori is regulated by iron and encodes a membrane protein capable of binding haem and haemoglobin

FrpB1 is a novel membrane protein of Helicobacter pylori that is capable of binding both haem and haemoglobin but consistently shows more affinity for haem. The mRNA levels of frpB1 were repressed by iron and lightly modulated by haem or haemoglobin. The overexpression of the frpB1 gene supported cellular growth when haem or haemoglobin were supplied as the only iron source. Three-dimensional modelling revealed the presence of motifs necessary to bind either haem or haemoglobin. Our overall results support the idea that FrpB1 is a membrane protein of H. pylori that allows this pathogen to survive in the human stomach.     

DNA-binding domain of human c-Myc produced in Escherichia coli.

We have identified the domain of the human c-myc protein (c-Myc) produced in Escherichia coli that is responsible for the ability of the protein to bind sequence-nonspecific DNA. Using analysis of binding of DNA by proteins transferred to nitrocellulose, DNA-cellulose chromatography, and a nitrocellulose filter binding assay, we examined the binding properties of c-Myc peptides generated by cyanogen bromide cleavage, of mutant c-Myc, and of proteins that fuse portions of c-Myc to staphylococcal protein A. The results of these analyses indicated that c-Myc amino acids 265 to 318 were responsible for DNA binding and that other regions of the protein (including a highly conserved basic region and a region containing the leucine zipper motif) were not required. Some mutant c-Mycs that did not bind DNA maintained rat embryo cell-cotransforming activity, which indicated that the c-Myc property of in vitro DNA binding was not essential for this activity. These mutants, however, were unable to transform established rat fibroblasts (Rat-1a cells) that were susceptible to transformation by wild-type c-Myc, although this lack of activity may not have been due to their inability to bind DNA.     

Partial purification of a recombinase activity from human placenta and assay of recombination using rec-blot

We have designed an assay for the detection of recombination intermediates. The assay can also be used for screening for recombinases. In this assay, the nonradioactive plasmid was immobilized on a nylon membrane and the radioactive plasmid counterpart was allowed to recombine in the presence of a DNA binding protein fraction from human placenta. After incubation for 30 min at 30 degrees C, the membrane was washed extensively and dried. The recombination was visualised by autoradiography and quantitated by counting the corresponding areas of the membrane. Recombination was confirmed by transformation using pRDK plasmids and by gel electrophoresis. These results indicate the presence of recombinase activity in the DNA binding protein fraction of human placenta.     

Lipid binding to cytoglobin leads to a change in haem co-ordination: a role for cytoglobin in lipid signalling of oxidative stress

Cytoglobin is a recently discovered hexa-co-ordinate haemoglobin that does not appear to function as a classical oxygen-binding protein. Its function is unknown and studies on the effects of changes in its expression have not decisively determined its role within the cell. In the present paper, we report that the protein is transformed from hexa-co-ordinate to penta-co-ordinate on binding a lipid molecule. This transformation occurs with the ferric oxidation state of the protein, but not the ferrous state, indicating that this process only occurs under an oxidative environment and may thus be related to redox-linked cell signalling mechanisms. Oleate binds to the protein in a 1:1 stoichiometry and with high affinity (K(d)=0.7 μM); however, stopped-flow kinetic measurements yield a K(d) value of 110 μM. The discrepancy between these K(d) values may be rationalized by recognizing that cytoglobin is a disulfide-linked dimer and invoking co-operativity in oleate binding. The lipid-induced transformation of cytoglobin from hexa-co-ordinate to penta-co-ordinate does not occur with similar hexa-co-ordinate haemoglobins such as neuroglobin, and therefore appears to be a unique property of cytoglobin among the haemoglobin superfamily. The lipid-derived transformation may explain why cytoglobin has enhanced peroxidatic activity, converting lipids into various oxidized products, a property virtually absent from neuroglobin and much decreased in myoglobin. We propose that the binding of ferric cytoglobin to lipids and their subsequent transformation may be integral to the physiological function of cytoglobin, generating cell signalling lipid molecules under an oxidative environment.     

Human DNA topoisomerase II: evaluation of enzyme activity in normal and neoplastic tissues

We have used both a quantitative filter binding assay and a decatenation assay to measure DNA topoisomerase II activity. The filter binding assay, which measures catenating activity, is able to detect topoisomerase II activity at 50-100-fold lower protein concentrations than the decatenation assay. Because of this remarkable sensitivity, we have been able to quantitate topoisomerase II activity in a variety of normal and neoplastic human tissues. The highest level of enzyme activity in normal tissues was found in the spleen and thymus. The highest level of enzyme activity in neoplasms was found in those that clinically behave in an aggressive manner and had a high proliferative status by flow cytometry. Surprisingly, these high topoisomerase II values in the neoplastic specimens are in the same range of values found in normal nonproliferating tissue. Since much previous data indicate that the enzyme is apparently a property of only proliferating cells, this finding might suggest that human tissues contain more than one form of the enzyme. The finding that 35-65% of the topoisomerase II activity in human tissues is resistant to teniposide suggests that more than one enzyme form exists.     

Carbohydrate binding specificity of the recombinant chitin-binding domain of human macrophage chitinase

The chitin-binding domain of human macrophage chitinase was expressed as a fusion protein with glutathione S-transferase in Escherichia coli and assayed for its binding activity. The purified recombinant chitin-binding domain bound to chitin, but not to glucan, xylan, or mannan. The binding of the recombinant chitin-binding domain to chitin was inhibited by N-acetylglucosamine, di-N-acetylchitobiose, and hyaluronan, but not by N-acetylgalactosamine or chondroitin. Furthermore, a solid-phase binding assay showed that the recombinant domain interacts specifically with hyaluronan and hybrid-type N-linked oligosaccharide chains on glycoproteins, and that the oligosaccharide-binding characteristics are similar to those of wheat germ agglutinin, a lectin that binds to chitin. The results suggest that human chitinase chitin-binding domain may be involved in tissue remodeling through binding to polysaccharides or extracellular matrix glycoproteins, and this recombinant protein can be used to elucidate biological functions of the enzyme.