Purification and Properties of Pantothenate Kinase from Brevibacterium ammoniagenes IFO 12071

Pantothenate kinase (ATP: pantothenate 4′-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.33) was purified about 200-fold from the cell extract of Brevibacterium ammoniagenes IFO 12071 by ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-cellulose chromatography, and Sephadex G-150 gel filtration. The purified enzyme gave a single band on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight was calculated approximately 45,000. The enzyme catalyzed the formation of pantothenic acid 4′-phosphate and ADP from pantothenate and ATP in the presence of Mg²⁺ ATP could be substituted for, partly, by ITP, GTP, and UTP. The enzyme phosphorylated not only pantothenate, but also pantothenoylcysteine, pantetheine, and pantothenyl alcohol. Apparent Km values were 6.7×10^?5 m for pantothenate, 3.5×10^?5 m for ATP, and 10^?3 m for Mg²⁺. The reaction was inhibited by the intermediates of CoA biosynthesis, of which CoA itself was a most effective inhibitor. Other properties of the enzyme were also investigated.     

An Improved Method for the Fermentative Production of Coenzyme A from Pantothenic Acid,Cysteine, and 5′-AMP

The cultivation of Brevibacterium ammoniagenes IFO 12071 with pantothenic acid, cysteine, and 5′-adenylic acid gave coenzyme A in a high yield. The organism was stabilized by repeated single colony isolations. The culture conditions optimal for the production of coenzyme A were investigated, and the yield of coenzyme A in the culture broth reached more than 3 mg/ml.

The advantages and disadvantages of the present method were discussed by comparing them with our original dried cell method.     

Some Aspects of the Enzyme Activities Involved in Coenzyme A Biosynthesis in Various Microorganisms

The distribution of the enzyme activities relating to CoA biosynthesis from pantothenic acid in various microorganisms and the effect of CoA on these activities are described.

High activities of partial reactions involved in CoA biosynthesis were surveyed in various type culture strains involving bacteria, actinomycetes, lactic acid bacteria, molds, and yeasts. Generally, higher activities were found in bacteria. CoA inhibited the phosphorylation of pantothenic acid, and resulted in a decrease of CoA production in all the CoA producing strains, while only a little inhibition by CoA was observed in the other reactions, and CoA production from pantothenic acid 4′-phosphate by Brevibacterium ammoniagenes IFO 12071 was not repressed even in the presence of 4mm of CoA. Extracellular excretion of the enzymes of CoA biosynthesis was observed when cells were in contact with sodium lauryl sulfate. Degrading activity against CoA and that against AMP were relatively lower in CoA producing strains when compared with those in other strains. It was confirmed that Brown’s route of CoA biosynthesis operates in Brevibacterium ammoniagenes IFO 12071.     

Regulation of phosphatidylcholine synthesis in rat liver endoplasmic reticulum.

The biosynthesis of phosphatidylcholine in rat liver microsomal preparations catalysed by CDP-choline-1,2-diacylglycerol cholinephosphotransferase (EC 2.7.8.2) was inhibited by a combination of ATP and CoA or ATP and pantetheine. ATP alone at high concentrations (20 mM) inhibits phosphatidylcholine formation to the extent of 70%. In the presence of 0.1 mM-CoA, ATP (2 mM) inhibits to the extent of 80% and in the presence of 1 mM-pantetheine to the extent of 90%. ADP and other nucleotide triphosphates in combination with either CoA or pantetheine are only 10-30% as effective in inhibiting phosphatidylcholine synthesis. AMP(CH2)PP [adenosine 5'-(alphabeta-methylene)triphosphate] together with CoA inhibits to the extent of 59% and with pantetheine by 48%. AMP-P(CH2)P [adenosine 5'-(betagamma-methylene)triphosphate] together with either CoA or pantetheine had no significant effect on phosphatidylcholine formation. Other closely related derivatives of pantothenic acid were without effect either alone or in the presence of ATP, as were thiol compounds such as cysteine, homocysteine, cysteamine, dithiothreitol and glutathione. Several mechanisms by which this inhibition might take place were ruled out and it is concluded that ATP together with either CoA or pantetheine interacts reversibly with phosphatidylcholine synthetase to cause temporarily the inhibition of phosphatidylcholine formation.     

Effects of plant growth regulators and other compounds on flow of latex in Hevea brasiliensis

Eighty-nine compounds have been tested for their ability to promote the flow of latex from Hevea brasiliensis after tapping. The twenty-four substances which showed significant activity were: twelve chloro- and fluoro-phenoxy alkylcarboxylic acids substituted in the 4-, 2, 4- and 2, 4, 5- positions, two chlorinated benzoic acids, α- and β-naphthaleneacetic acid, 3-indolylacetic acid, 2-methoxy-4-diethylamino-6-isopropylamino-1, 3, 5- triazine (methoxy-ipazine), N,N-diallyl-α-chloroacetamide (CDAA), 1,1′-dimethyl-4,4′-bi-pyridilium-2A (paraquat), neomycin, dichloro-m-xyienol, and phenyl mercury acetate and chloride. Despite the many replications the high variability of the yield data does not allow of a precise classification of the relative activities. The most active compounds were 2, 4-dichloro-5-fluorophenoxyacetic acid and 2, 4, 5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4, 5-T), although 2, 4-dichlorophen-oxyacetic acid (2, 4-D) gave increases in yield comparable to those of 2, 4, 5-T in some of the trials.     

Biosynthesis of sphingomyelin in rat liver endoplasmic reticulum.

Rat liver microsomal sphingomyelin synthetase (CDPcholine: N-acylspingosine choline phosphotransferase (EC 2.7.8.3)) has been shown to be markedly stimulated by ATP and pantothenic acid derivatives such as CoA, pantethine, pantetheine and 4'-phosphopantetheine.     

Production of Coenzyme A by a Mutant of Brevibacterium ammoniagenes Resistant to Oxypantetheine

For improved production of coenzyme A (CoA), a mutant of Brevibacterium ammoniagenes IFO127071 resistant to oxypantetheine, the corresponding oxygen analog of pantetheine, was obtained. In the mutant, activity of pantothenate kinase (EC 2.7.1.33), the first-step enzyme for the biosynthesis of CoA from pantothenic acid, l-cysteine, and ATP, was about threefold higher than that in the parent strain. As the main regulation mechanism of CoA biosynthesis in this bacterium is negative feedback inhibition of pantothenate kinase by CoA, the mutant is very useful as a catalyst for practical production of CoA. When added to culture broth of the mutant, pantothenate, l-cysteine, and AMP gave 9.3 mg of CoA per ml. With pantetheine and AMP, 11.5 mg of CoA per ml accumulated. These values were about threefold higher than those with the parent strain, and more than 70% of the added AMP was converted to CoA.     

Immobilization of nucleoside diphosphatase at its allosteric site using immobilized derivatives of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate

3-O-Immobilized and 6-immobilized pyridoxal 5′-phosphate analogs of Sepharose were bound to the allosteric site of nucleoside diphosphatase with very high affinity. Active immobilized nucleoside diphosphatase was prepared by reduction of the Schiff base linkage between the enzyme and pyridoxal 5′-phosphate bound to Sepharose with NaBH₄. 3-O-Immobilized pyridoxal 5′-phosphate analog gave more active immobilized enzyme than the 6-analog; the immobilized enzyme on the 3-O-immobilized pyridoxal 5′-phosphate analog showed about 90% of activity of free enzyme. The immobilized enzyme thus prepared was less sensitive to ATP, an allosteric effector, and showed a higher heat stability than the free enzyme. When an assay mixture containing inosine diphosphate and MgCl₂ was passed through a column of the immobilized enzyme at 37 °C, inosine diphosphate liberated inorganic phosphate almost quantitatively. Properties of the immobilized enzyme on the pyridoxal 5′-phosphate analog were compared with those of the immobilized enzyme on CNBr-activated Sepharose.     

Mitsunobu Alkylation of Cancerostatic 5‐Fluorouridine with (2E)‐10‐Hydroxydec‐2‐enoic Acid,a Fatty Acid from Royal Jelly with Multiple Biological Activities

5‐Fluorouridine ( 1 ) – a nucleoside antimetabolite with strong cancerostatic properties – was protected i) at the 2′‐ and 3′‐OH groups with a heptan‐4‐ylidene residue and ii) at the 5′‐OH group with a (4‐methoxyphenyl)(diphenyl)methyl residue. This fully protected compound, 3 , was submitted to a Mitsunobu reaction with the N‐hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) ester, 5 , of (2E)‐10‐hydroxydec‐2‐enoic acid ( 4 ) which gave nucleolipid 6 . The latter was detritylated with Cl₂CHCOOH to yield the co‐drug 7 as NHS ester.     

Synthesis of 3′-Fluoro-3′-Deoxyribonucleosides; Anti-HIV-1 and Cytostatic Properties

Abstract

It has generally proven difficult to synthesize ribonucleosides with sugar modifications at the 3′ position. We now present a practical route for the synthesis of ribonucleosides with a 3′ fluorine substituent. Nucleosides with the xylo configuration were prepared by sugar-base condensation. Tritylation of the unprotected nucleosides gave a mixture of 2′,5′ and 3′,5′ bistritylated nucleosides which were difficult to characterize. Therefore the necessary precursors were synthesized in a step-wise fashion, starting with selective deprotection of the 2′-acyl group, followed by tritylation. This gave the 2′,5′-tritylated xylonucleosides in good yield. Reaction with diethylaminosulfur trifluoride and deprotection with 80 % acetic acid provided the 3′-fluoro-3′-deoxyribonucleosides 1, 2 and 4. The cytidine derivative was synthesized from 1 by reaction with trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride followed by ammonia. Treatment of 4 with adenosine deaminase yielded 5.     

Isolation and Sequence Analysis of Bovine αsl-Casein cDNA Clone

Nucleoside oxidase, a novel nucleoside oxidizing enzyme has been purified from a crude extract of Pseudomonas maltophilia LB-86 by a ammonium sulfate fractionation, heat treatment, column chromatography on DEAE-Toyopearl, and gel filtration twice on Sephacryl S-200. The overall purification was approximately 60-fold with a yield of 35 %. The purified enzyme gave a single protein band on acrylamide gel electrophoresis.

Reaction products from inosine were identified as inosine-5′-aldehyde and inosine-5′-carboxylic acid. The enzyme catalyzed the oxidation of inosine to inosine-5′-carboxylic acid via inosine-5′-aldehyde using molecular oxygen as a primary electron acceptor with no formation of hydrogen peroxide.     

Tridec-1-ene-3,5,7,9,11-pentayne,an Ovicidal Substance from Xanthium canadense

Pyridoxamine (pyridoxine) 5′-phosphate oxidase (EC. 1.4.3.5) has been purified from dry baker’s yeast to an apparent homogeneity on a polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis in the presence of 10 µm of phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride throughout purification.

1) The purified enzyme, obtained as holo-flavoprotein, has a specific activity of 27µmol/mg/hr for pyridoxamine 5′-phosphate at 37°C, and a ratio of pyridoxine 5′-phosphate oxidase to pyridoxamine 5′-phosphate oxidase is approximately 0.25 at a substrate concentration of 285 µm. Km values for both substrates are 18 µm for pyridoxamine 5′-phosphate and 2.7 µm for pyridoxine 5′-phosphate, respectively.

2) The enzyme can easily oxidize pyridoxamine 5′-phosphate, but when pyridoxamine and pyridoxine 5′-phosphate are coexisted in a reaction mixture the enzyme activity is markedly suppressed much beyond the values expected from its high affinity (low Km) and low V_max for the latter substrate.

3) Optimum temperature for both substrates is approximately 45°C, and optimum pH is near 9 for pyridoxamine 5′-phosphate and 8 for pyridoxine 5′-phosphate.

4) From the data obtained, the mechanism of regulation of this enzyme in production of pyridoxal 5′-phosphate and a reasonable substrate for the enzyme in vivo are discussed.     

A fluorescent assay suitable for inhibitor screening and vanin tissue quantification

Vanin-1 is a pantetheinase that catalyzes the hydrolysis of pantetheine to produce pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) and cysteamine. Reported here is a highly sensitive fluorescent assay using a novel fluorescently labeled pantothenate derivative. The assay has been used for characterization of a soluble version of human vanin-1 recombinant protein, identification and characterization of hits from high-throughput screening (HTS), and quantification of vanin pantothenase activity in cell lines and tissues. Under optimized assay conditions, we quantified vanin pantothenase activity in tissue lysate and found low activity in lung and liver but high activity in kidney. We demonstrated that the purified recombinant vanin-1 consisting of the extracellular portion without the glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) linker was highly active with an apparent K_m of 28 μM for pantothenate-7-amino-4-methylcoumarin (pantothenate-AMC), which was converted to pantothenic acid and AMC based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. The assay also performed well in a 384-well microplate format under initial rate conditions (10% conversion) with a signal-to-background ratio (S/B) of 7 and a Z factor of 0.75. Preliminary screening of a library of 1280 pharmaceutically active compounds identified inhibitors with novel chemical scaffolds. This assay will be a powerful tool for target validation and drug lead identification and characterization.     

Synthesis of Novel Peptidyl Adenosine Antibiotic Analogs

A small library of peptidyl adenosine antibiotic analogs was synthesized, under the Pilot Scale Library Program of the NIH Roadmap initiative, from 2′,3′-O-isoproylideneadenosine-5′-carboxylic acid 2 in excellent yield. The coupling of the amino terminus of L-2-aminophenylbutyric methyl ester to a free 5′-carboxylic acid moiety of 2 followed by sodium hydroxide treatment led to carboxylic acid analog 4. Hydrolysis of this latter gave unprotected nucleoside analog 5. Intermediate 4 served as the precursor for the preparation of novel peptidyl adenosine analogs 6–18 in good yields and high purity through peptide coupling reactions to diverse amine derivatives. No marked anticancer and antimalaria activity was noted on preliminary cellular testing; however these analogs should be useful candidates for other types of biological activity.     

Active-site modification of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase by pyridoxal-5′-phosphate

Glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.8) from rabbit skeletal muscle is inhibited by pyridoxal-5′-phosphate. The inhibition observed in steady-state kinetic studies is competitive with respect to dihydroxyacetone phosphate and uncompetitive with respect to NADH. Similar inhibition was found for a series of related compounds which in order of increasing effectiveness of inhibition were: 4-deoxypyridoxine < pyridoxal < pyridoxic acid < pyridoxal-5′-phosphate < pyridoxine and pyridoxamine-5′-phosphate. Pyridoxal-5′-phosphate also reacts slowly with the enzyme to produce an adduct which upon treatment with sodium borohydride results in irreversible modification of the enzyme. The nature of the adduct was investigated by titration of the enzyme with pyridoxal-5′-phosphate, uv-visible and fluorescence spectroscopy, amino acid analysis, and peptide mapping. All such studies are consistent with a single, highly reactive lysyl residue on each enzyme subunit. Protection of the lysyl residue against modification was afforded by the presence of NADH. The modified enzyme, on the other hand, possessed kinetic properties similar to the native enzyme including a nearly identical inhibition constant for pyridoxal-5′-phosphate. Pyridoxal-5′-phosphate, therefore, seems to have two sites of interaction on the enzyme: a reversible binding site competitive with substrate and a Schiff-base site protected by NADH. These properties of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase set it apart from functionally similar enzymes.     

Differences in some properties of newborn and adult brain glutamate decarboxylase

Some properties of glutamate decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.15) activity in brain of newborn and adult mouse were studied comparatively. It was found that glutamate decarboxylase of the newborn brain was strongly inactivated by homogenization in hypotonic medium, centrifugation of isotonic sucrose homogenates, preincubation at 37°C or the addition of Triton-X-100, whereas the adult brain enzyme was practically unaffected by any of these conditions. It was also found that the newborn glutamate decarboxylase was less activated by pyridoxal 5′-phosphate and less inhibited by pyridoxal 5′-phosphate oxime-O-acetic acid, than the adult enzyme. These differences do not exist for brain dihydroxyphenylalanine decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.26) and are not due to the release of inhibitors from the newborn brain. On the basis of the results obtained it is postulated that two forms of glutamate decarboxylase exist in brain: a newborn form, which is unstable and has high affinity for pyridoxal 5′-phosphate, and an adult form, which is much more stable and has low affinity for pyridoxal 5′-phosphate. The possible implications of these findings in the establishment of the σ-aminobutyric acid dependent synaptic inhibitory mechanisms during development are discussed.     

A Preparation of Cow's Late Colostrum Fraction Containing αs1-Casein Promoted the Proliferation of Cultured Rat Intestinal IEC-6 Epithelial Cells

The asymmetric epoxidation of (±)-methyl (2Z,4E)-1′,4′-dihydroxy-α-ionylideneacetates is described for the preparation of chiral abscisic acid. A conventional Shapless kinetic resolution of (±)-1′,4′-cis-dihydroxyacetate with diethyl l-tartarate and then two simple steps of conversion gave (S)-abscisic acid, which was also obtained by the combination of (±)-1′,4′-trans-dihydroxyacetate with diethyl d-tartarte. Finally, (S)-abscisic acid was obtained in a 25% overall yield from the racemic mixture.     

The Sites of Action of Allopurinol in Crithidia fasciculata*

Reversal of the growth inhibition of Crithidia fasciculata by allopurinol requires both a purine and a pyrimidine. Hypoxanthine is the most effective purine in the reversal. Cell-free extracts were prepared which were capable of the decarboxylation of orotidine 5′-phosphate. Other enzyme preparations carried out the phosphoribosylation of allopurinol. By the use of [4-¹⁴C] orotidine 5′-phosphate (enzymatically prepared), it was shown that allopurinol ribotide (enzymatically prepared), but not the free base, inhibits orotidine 5′-phosphate decarboxylase.     

Interaction of pyridoxal 5′-phosphate with the liver glucocorticoid receptor-DNA complex

The rat liver glucocorticoid receptor has been eluted from DNA-cellulose with pyridoxal 5′-phosphate at low ionic strength. This elution is concentration dependent with 80–90% of the receptor eluted in 30 rain at 0 °C when the concentration of pyridoxal 5′-phosphate is 10 mm. This elution is specific for the 4′-aldehyde group of pyridoxal 5′-phosphate since vitamin B₆ analogs lacking this group are inactive in eluting the steroid-receptor complex from DNA-cellulose. Receptor has also been eluted from rat liver nuclei with similar results. The receptor eluted with pyridoxal 5′-phosphate has been compared with the receptor eluted with 0.45 m NaCl. Both methods of elution yield a steroid-receptor complex which sediments at about 3.7 S. The pyridoxal 5′-phosphate-eluted receptor however, is less prone to aggregation at low ionic strength and more stable with respect to steroid binding than the 0.45 m NaCl-eluted steroid-receptor complex. The complement of proteins eluted from DNA-cellulose with pyridoxal 5′-phosphate is very similar to that eluted with NaCl as assessed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.     

The synthesis of choline and ethanolamine phosphoglycerides in neuronal and glial cells of rabbit in vitro

Abstract— The de novo synthesis of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine in isolated neuronal and glial cells from adult rabbit brain cortex was investigated in vitro, using labelled phosphorylcholine (phosphorylethanolamine) or cytidine-5′-phosphate choline (cytidine-5′-phosphate ethanolamine), as lipid precursors. Synthesis of phospholipid from phosphorylcholine and phosphorylethanolamine in both fractions was extremely low when compared to that derived from the corresponding cytidine nucleotides. The neuronal cell-enriched fraction was found to possess a much higher rate of synthesis of both lipids from all precursors. Neuronal/glial ratios of about 5–9 were found for the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine from cytidine-5′-phosphate choline and cytidine-5′-phosphate ethanolamine, respectively. Several kinetic properties of the choline-phosphotransferase (EC 2.7.8.2) and ethanolaminephosphotransferase (EC 2.7.8.1) were found to be similar both in neurons and in glia (e.g. K_m of cytidine-5′-phosphate ethanolamine, K_m of diacyl glycerol, pH optimum, need for divalent cations), but the K_m value for cytidine-5′-phosphate choline in glial cells was much lower (2.3 × 10^?4m ) than in neurons (1 × 10^?3m ). The K_mfor cytidine-5′-phosphate ethanolamine in both cells was much lower than in whole brain microsomes. It is concluded that the cytidine-dependent enzymic system for phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine synthesis is concentrated mostly in the neuronal cells, as compared to glia.