The role of the active site Zn in the catalytic mechanism of the GH38 Golgi α-mannosidase II: Implications from noeuromycin inhibition

Golgi α-mannosidase II (GMII) is a Family 38 glycosyl hydrolase involved in the eukaryotic N-glycosylation pathway in protein synthesis. Understanding of its catalytic mechanism has been of interest for the development of specific inhibitors that could lead to novel anti-metastatic or anti-inflammatory compounds. The active site of GMII has been characterized by structural studies of the Drosophila homologue (dGMII) and unusually contains a Zn atom which forms contacts with substrate analogues, stabilized catalytic intermediates, and other inhibitors observed in the active site. In this contribution, we analyze the structure of the sugar mimetic compound noeuromycin complexed with dGMII. Distortions of the conformation of this inhibitor, together with similar observations from other complexes, have permitted us to propose specific roles for the Zn atom in the chemical mechanism of catalysis of Family 38 glycosidase. Such insights have relevance to efforts to formulate novel, specific inhibitors of GMII.     

Human lysosomal α‐mannosidases exhibit different inhibition and metal binding properties

Two structurally‐related members of the lysosomal mannosidase family, the broad substrate specificity enzyme human lysosomal α‐mannosidase (hLM, MAN2B1) and the human core α‐1, 6‐specific mannosidase (hEpman, MAN2B2) act in a complementary fashion on different glycosidic linkages, to effect glycan degradation in the lysosome. We have successfully expressed these enzymes in Drosophila S2 cells and functionally characterized them. hLM and hEpman were significantly inhibited by the class II α‐mannosidase inhibitors, swainsonine and mannostatin A. We show that three pyrrolidine‐based compounds designed for selective inhibition of Golgi α‐mannosidase II (GMII) exhibited varying degrees of inhibition for hLM and hEpman. While these compounds inhibited hLM and GMII similarly, they inhibited hEpman to a lesser extent. Further, the two lysosomal α‐mannosidases also show differential metal dependency properties. This has led us to propose a secondary metal binding site in hEpman. These results set the stage for the development of selective inhibitors to members of the GH38 family, and, henceforth, the further investigation of their physiological roles.     

Structural analysis of Golgi alpha-mannosidase II inhibitors identified from a focused glycosidase inhibitor screen

The N-glycosylation pathway is a target for pharmaceutical intervention in a number of pathological conditions including cancer. Golgi alpha-mannosidase II (GMII) is the final glycoside hydrolase in the pathway and has been the target for a number of synthetic efforts aimed at providing more selective and effective inhibitors. Drosophila GMII (dGMII) has been extensively studied due to the ease of obtaining high resolution structural data, allowing the observation of substrate distortion upon binding and after formation of a trapped covalent reaction intermediate. However, attempts to find new inhibitor leads by high-throughput screening of large commercial libraries or through in silico docking were unsuccessful. In this paper we provide a kinetic and structural analysis of five inhibitors derived from a small glycosidase-focused library. Surprisingly, four of these were known inhibitors of beta-glucosidases. X-ray crystallographic analysis of the dGMII:inhibitor complexes highlights the ability of the zinc-containing GMII active site to deform compounds, even ones designed as conformationally restricted transition-state mimics of beta-glucosidases, into binding entities that have inhibitory activity. Although these deformed conformations do not appear to be on the expected conformational itinerary of the enzyme, and are thus not transition-state mimics of GMII, they allow positioning of the three vicinal hydroxyls of the bound gluco-inhibitors into similar locations to those found with mannose-containing substrates, underlining the importance of these hydrogen bonds for binding. Further, these studies show the utility of targeting the acid-base catalyst using appropriately positioned positively charged nitrogen atoms, as well as the challenges associated with aglycon substitutions.     

Evaluation of docking programs for predicting binding of Golgi alpha-mannosidase II inhibitors: a comparison with crystallography

Golgi alpha-mannosidase II (GMII), a zinc-dependent glycosyl hydrolase, is a promising target for drug development in anti-tumor therapies. Using X-ray crystallography, we have determined the structure of Drosophila melanogaster GMII (dGMII) complexed with three different inhibitors exhibiting IC50's ranging from 80 to 1000 microM. These structures, along with those of seven other available dGMII/inhibitor complexes, were then used as a basis for the evaluation of seven docking programs (GOLD, Glide, FlexX, AutoDock, eHiTS, LigandFit, and FITTED). We found that small inhibitors could be accurately docked by most of the software, while docking of larger compounds (i.e., those with extended aromatic cycles or long aliphatic chains) was more problematic. Overall, Glide provided the best docking results, with the most accurately predicted binding around the active site zinc atom. Further evaluation of Glide's performance revealed its ability to extract active compounds from a benchmark library of decoys.     

Molecular cloning and characterization of Arabidopsis thaliana Golgi alpha-mannosidase II, a key enzyme in the formation of complex N-glycans in plants

N-glycosylation is one of the major post-translational modifications of proteins in eukaryotes; however, the processing reactions of oligomannosidic N-glycan precursors leading to hybrid-type and finally complex-type N-glycans are not fully understood in plants. To investigate the role of Golgi alpha-mannosidase II (GMII) in the formation of complex N-glycans in plants, we identified a putative GMII from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtGMII; EC 3.2.1.114) and characterized the enzyme at a molecular level. The putative AtGMII cDNA was cloned, and its deduced amino acid sequence revealed a typical type II membrane protein of 1173 amino acids. A soluble recombinant form of the enzyme produced in insect cells was capable of processing different physiologically relevant hybrid N-glycans. Furthermore, a detailed N-glycan analysis of two AtGMII knockout mutants revealed the predominant presence of unprocessed hybrid N-glycans. These results provide evidence that AtGMII plays a central role in the formation of complex N-glycans in plants. Furthermore, conclusive evidence was obtained that alternative routes in the conversion of hybrid N-glycans to complex N-glycans exist in plants. Transient expression of N-terminal AtGMII fragments fused to a GFP reporter molecule demonstrated that the transmembrane domain and 10 amino acids from the cytoplasmic tail are sufficient to retain a reporter molecule in the Golgi apparatus and that lumenal sequences are not involved in the retention mechanism. A GFP fusion construct containing only the transmembrane domain was predominantly retained in the ER, a result that indicates the presence of a motif promoting ER export within the last 10 amino acids of the cytoplasmic tail of AtGMII.     

Arginine/lysine residues in the cytoplasmic tail promote ER export of plant glycosylation enzymes

Plant N -glycan processing enzymes are arranged along the early secretory pathway, forming an assembly line to facilitate the step-by-step modification of oligosaccharides on glycoproteins. Thus, these enzymes provide excellent tools to study signals and mechanisms, promoting their localization and retention in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi apparatus. Herein, we focused on a detailed investigation of amino acid sequence motifs present in their short cytoplasmic tails in respect to ER export. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we determined that single arginine/lysine residues within the cytoplasmic tail are sufficient to promote rapid Golgi targeting of Golgi-resident N -acetylglucosaminyltransferase I (GnTI) and α-mannosidase II (GMII). Furthermore, we reveal that an intact ER export motif is essential for proper in vivo function of GnTI. Coexpression studies with Sar1p provided evidence for COPII-dependent transport of GnTI to the Golgi. Our data provide evidence that efficient ER export of Golgi-resident plant N -glycan processing enzymes occurs through a selective mechanism based on recognition of single basic amino acids present in their cytoplasmic tails.     

Variable accumulation of insulin-like growth factor II in mouse tissues deficient in insulin-like growth factor II receptor

The insulin-like growth factor II receptor mediates endocytosis of insulin-like growth factor II, resulting in growth factor degradation in lysosomes. This degradation is an important regulator of growth factor activity in vivo, as shown by the phenotype of receptor deficient mice. Recent evidence suggests that the insulin-like growth factor II receptor functions as a tumour supressor in humans, and that loss of receptor function leads to increased levels of the growth factor in tumours. It is difficult to establish such a causal relationship in human tumours however, since most tumours have undergone several genetic changes by the time they are examined. Using mouse embryos deficient in receptor expression, and an insulin-like growth factor II-specific radioimmunoassay, we tested the hypothesis that lack of receptor function leads to local accumulation of insulin-like growth factor II. We found that mutant blood and skeletal muscle had excess insulin-like growth factor II, but that mutant lungs and liver had no accumulation. Mutant hearts had less growth factor than wild-type hearts, an unexpected observation, since the normal embryonic heart expresses very high levels of insulin-like growth factor II receptor, and mutant mice apparently die of congestive heart failure. The placentas of mutant mice were larger than those of wild-type, but this did not correlate with an excess of placental insulin-like growth factor II. These results indicate that lack of insulin-like growth factor II receptor can lead to local excess of the growth factor but that such excess is not a necessary consequence of receptor-deficiency.     

A novel DNA topoisomerase I inhibitor with different mechanism from camptothecin induces G2/M phase cell cycle arrest to K562 cells

DNA topoisomerase I (Top1) is an essential nuclear enzyme and a validated target for anticancer agent screening. In a previous study, we found that indolizinoquinoline-5,12-dione derivatives show significant biological activity against several human cancer cell lines. To understand their mechanism of inhibition of cancer cell growth, one indolizinoquinoline-5,12-dione derivative, CY13II, was further studied as lead. Our present results indicate that CY13II shows more potent antiproliferative activity against K562 cells than camptothecin. Additionally, K562 cells were arrested in G2/M, and their growth rate decreased after treatment with CY13II at micromolar concentration. Biochemical Top1 assays indicate that CY13II exhibits a different inhibitory mechanism from camptothecin. Unlike camptothecin, CY13II specifically inhibits the catalytic cleavage activity of Top1 instead of forming the drug-enzyme-DNA covalent ternary complex.     

Bioaccumulation of copper(II), lead(II) and chromium(VI) by growing Aspergillus niger

The effect of copper(II), lead(II) and chromium(VI) ions on the growth and bioaccumulation properties of Aspergillus niger was investigated as a function of initial pH and initial metal ion concentration. The optimum pH values for growth and metal ion accumulation were determined as 5.0, 4.5 and 3.5 for copper(II), lead(II) and chromium(VI) ions, respectively. Although all metal ion concentrations caused an inhibition effect on the growth of A. niger, it was capable of removing of copper(II) and lead(II) with a maximum specific uptake capacity of 15.6 and 34.4 mg g⁻¹ at 100 mg dm⁻³ initial copper(II) and lead(II) concentration, respectively. Growth of A. niger was highly effected by chromium(VI) ions and inhibited by 75 mg dm⁻³ initial chromium(VI) concentration since some inhibition occurred at lower concentrations.     

Synthesis, enzymatic activity, and X-ray crystallography of an unusual class of amino acids

The synthesis of two novel amino acids, nitrogen analogues of the naturally occurring glycosidase inhibitor, salacinol, containing a carboxylate inner salt are described, along with the crystal structure of one of these analogues in the active site of Drosophila melanogaster Golgi mannosidase II (dGMII). Salacinol, a naturally occurring sulfonium ion, is one of the active principals in the aqueous extracts of Salacia reticulata that are traditionally used in Sri Lanka and India for the treatment of diabetes. The synthetic strategy relies on the nucleophilic attack of 2,3,5-tri-O-benzyl-1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino l- or d-arabinitol at the least hindered carbon of 5,6-anhydro-2,3-di-O-benzyl-l-ascorbic acid to yield coupled adducts. Deprotection, stereoselective catalytic reduction, and hydrolysis of the coupled products give the target compounds. The compound derived from d-arabinitol inhibits dGMII, one of the critical enzymes in the glycoprotein processing pathway, with an IC(50) of 0.3mM. Inhibition of GMII has been identified as a target for control of metastatic cancer. An X-ray crystal structure of the complex of this compound with dGMII provides insight into the requirements for an effective inhibitor. The same compound inhibits recombinant human maltase glucoamylase, one of the key intestinal enzymes involved in the breakdown of glucose oligosaccharides in the small intestine, with a K(i) value of 21microM.     

Bladder cancer cell in co-culture induces human stem cell differentiation to urothelial cells through paracrine FGF10 signaling

Fibroblast growth factor 10 (FGF10) is required for embryonic epidermal morphogenesis including brain development, lung morphogenesis, and initiation of limb bud formation. In this study, we investigated the role of FGF10 as a lead induction factor for stem cell differentiation toward urothelial cell. To this end, human multipotent stem cell in vitro system was employed. Human amniotic fluid stem cells were co-cultured with immortalized bladder cancer lines to induce directed differentiation into urothelial cells. Urothelial markers, uroplakin II, III, and cytokeratin 8, were monitored by RT-PCR, immunocytochemistry, and Western blot analysis. Co-cultured stem cells began to express uroplakin II, III, and cytokeratin 8. Targeted FGF10 gene knockdown from bladder cancer cells abolished the directed differentiation. In addition, when FGF10 downstream signaling was blocked with the Mek inhibitor, the co-culture system lost the capacity to induce urothelial differentiation. Exogenous addition of recombinant FGF10 protein promoted stem cell differentiation into urothelium cell lineage. Together, this report suggests that paracrine FGF10 signaling stimulates the differentiation of human stem cell into urothelial cells. Current study provides insight into the potential role of FGF10 as a lead growth factor for bladder regeneration and its therapeutic application for bladder transplantation.     

Affinity chromatography with amniotic fluid somatomedin binding protein in the purification of insulin-like growth factor I

A simplified procedure has been developed for the isolation of insulin-like growth factor I from human plasma by use of affinity chromatography with the somatomedin binding protein. After acidification of human plasma and separation of insulin-like growth factor I and endogenous binding protein by cation exchange chromatography on SP-Sephadex the material was passed through a column packed with pure human amniotic fluid binding protein covalently coupled to Sepharose. The bound insulin-like growth factors I and II were eluted by 1M acetic acid and separated on a Mono S cation exchange column by use of a salt gradient. The 30 micrograms insulin-like growth factor I and 18 micrograms insulin-like growth factor II recovered from 1 liter plasma gave an overall recovery of 30% for insulin-like growth factor I but only 2.5% for insulin-like growth factor II.     

Effect of an anti-insulin-like growth factor I receptor antibody on insulin-like growth factor II stimulation of DNA synthesis in human fibroblasts

To investigate the role of insulin-like growth factor II in the control of DNA synthesis in human fibroblasts, dose-response curves for insulin-like growth factor I and II stimulation of [3H]thymidine incorporation were compared in the absence and presence of alpha IR-3, a highly specific monoclonal antibody directed against the type I insulin-like growth factor receptor. Specific binding of [125I]insulin-like growth factor I to human fibroblast monolayer cultures was inhibited 60-70% in the presence of alpha IR-3. alpha IR-3 had no effect on [125I]insulin-like growth factor II binding to human fibroblasts. However, alpha IR-3 inhibited both insulin-like growth factor I and II stimulated [3H]thymidine incorporation. These data indicate that the type II insulin-like growth factor receptor does not function as a transducer of insulin-like growth factor II's mitogenic effect in human fibroblasts.     

Restoration of transforming growth factor-beta type II receptor reduces tumorigenicity in the human adrenocortical carcinoma SW-13 cell line.

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is a potent growth suppressor. Acquisition of TGF-beta resistance has been reported in many tumors, and has been associated with reduced TGF-beta receptor expression. In this study, we examined TGF-beta 1, TGF-beta type I receptor (TbetaRI) and TGF-beta type II receptor (TbetaRII) expression in SW-13 adrenocortical carcinoma cells by Northern and Western blot analysis. SW-13 cells did not express TbetaRII mRNA or protein. We have investigated the role of TbetaRII in modulating tumorigenic potential using stably transfected SW-13 cells with TbetaRII expression plasmid. TbetaRII-positive SW-13 cell growth was inhibited by exogenous human TGF-beta1 (hTGF-beta1) in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast, SW-13 cells and control clones transfected with empty vector remained hTGF-beta1-insensitive. Xenograft examination in athymic nude mice demonstrated that TbetaRII-positive SW-13 cells reduced tumor-forming activity. Reconstructing the TbetaRII can lead to reversion of the malignant phenotype of TbetaRII-negative human adrenocortical carcinoma, which contains SW-13 cells. Reduced TbetaRII expression may play a critical role in determining the malignant phenotype of human adrenocortical carcinoma.     

The study of the metal-binding region in human growth hormone using immobilized metal ion affinity gel-electrophoresis

The zinc(II)-binding affinities of recombinant human growth hormone and two its mutants, 14-33 and 14-95, were studied using Immobilized Metal Ion Affinity Gel-electrophoresis (IMAG). The mutant hormones, composed of polypeptide chain segments of the human and porcine growth hormones, lacked His18, which may be crucial for binding of the intact hormone to the transition metal ions. The mutations did not affect the affinity of human growth hormone to immobilized zinc ions; the structural analysis implied that the human growth hormone contains two IDA-Zn(II) potential sorption sites formed by amino acid residues His21, Asp171, and Glu174 and/or His18 and Glu174.     

The Study of the Metal-Binding Region in Human Growth Hormone Using Immobilized Metal Ion Affinity Gel-Electrophoresis

The zinc(II)-binding affinities of recombinant human growth hormone and two its mutants, 14–33 and 14–95, were studied using Immobilized Metal Ion Affinity Gel-electrophoresis (IMAG). The mutant hormones, composed of polypeptide chain segments of the human and porcine growth hormones, lacked His18, which may be crucial for binding of the intact hormone to the transition metal ions. The mutations did not affect the affinity of human growth hormone to immobilized zinc ions; the structural analysis implied that the human growth hormone contains two IDA–Zn(II) potential sorption sites formed by amino acid residues His21, Asp171, and Glu174 and/or His18 and Glu174.     

Characterization of the protein which binds insulin-like growth factor in human serum

The binding of the 125I-labelled insulin-like growth factors I and II (125I-IGF I and 125I-IGF II) to the high-molecular-mass binding protein of human serum was characterized. With diluted human serum both growth factors showed optimal specific binding at 4 degrees C and pH 5-6. When 0.1% Triton X-100 was present in the incubation buffer an increase in the affinity of the IGF-binding protein was induced, which produced an enhanced binding of IGF I and IGF II. Competition experiments with various peptide hormones revealed that the native IGF-binding protein complex binds both the IGF I and IGF II with high specificity. Analysis of binding data according to the method of Scatchard resulted in linear plots for IGF I and IGF II respectively, indicating that in human serum only a single class of non-interacting binding sites is present. At optimal binding conditions the dissociation constants were determined to be 0.28 x 10(-9) M for IGF I binding and 0.66 x 10(-9) M for IGF II. Human serum was gel-filtered on Sepharose CL-6B at neutral pH and the eluate was assayed for binding activity with both IGF I and IGF II. One peak with an apparent molecular mass of 175 kDa and a Stokes radius of 4.8 nm was determined for both growth factors. Thus, our data suggest that human serum contains one class of high-molecular-mass binding protein with comparable binding characteristics for IGF I and IGF II.     

Factors influencing the growth of alveolar type II epithelial cells isolated from rat lungs

Primary cultures of isolated alveolar type II cells have been established. Under appropriate conditions, these epithelial cells can be subcultured at least nine times. Using standard assay procedures, effects of growth factors or inhibitors can be studied. The alveolar type II cells show a marked response to both serum and growth factors in tissue culture. Either epidermal growth factor (EGF) or human urine gives an increase in thymidine incorporation (2-fold and 10-fold, respectively). The growth factor(s) in urine appears to be different from urogastrone (human EGF). The response to urine is several-fold greater than the response to a saturating concentration of mouse EGF alone. Mouse EGF added to urine does not increase the activity of urine. The period during which the alveolar type II cells respond to the growth factor(s) in urine is limited to early passages of the cells. Alveolar type II epithelial cells produce growth inhibitors in culture. Inhibitors are produced in the growth medium in either the presence or absence of serum. The concentrated inhibitor, although very unstable, gives up to a 50% inhibition of thymidine incorporation when assayed on sparse or crowded alveolar type II cells.     

The economic value of the Earth's resources

Economics is the driving force of today's widespread environmental destruction. Markets undervalue the earth's resources and compound their overuse. Since World War II the world has used resources voraciously. The situation can be described as the industrial countries overconsuming resources, which are overextracted and exported by developing countries and traded at prices that are lower than the social costs. Resource-intensive patterns of growth and trade are Inefficient for the world economy, and lead to tragic maldistribution of the Earth's riches. They should be replaced by knowledge-intensive patterns of growth. Information technology and the environmental agenda are two of the most important trends in the world economy. Together they can lead to growth that is Intrinsically compatible with the environment.     

Selective inhibition of human Molt-4 leukemia type II inosine 5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase by the 1,5-diazabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane-2,4-diones

Inosine 5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) is the rate-limiting enzyme in de novo purine biosynthesis. IMPDH activity results from expression of two isoforms. Type I is constitutively expressed and predominates in normal resting cells, while Type II is selectively up-regulated in neoplastic and replicating cells. Inhibitors of IMPDH activity selectively targeting the Type II isoform have great potential as cancer chemotherapeutic agents. For this study, an expression system was developed which yields 35-50 mg of soluble, purified recombinant Type I and II protein from 1 L of bacteria. In addition, three 1,5-diazabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane-2,4-diones were synthesized and shown to act as specific inhibitors of human recombinant Type II IMPDH. The agents are competitive inhibitors with respect to the endogenous substrate IMP and K(i) values range from 5 to 44 microM but were inactive as inhibitors of the Type I isoform at concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 500 microM. IC(50) values for recombinant Type II inhibition were determined and compared to IC(50) values obtained from Molt-4 cell extracts of IMPDH. Cytotoxicity assays revealed that the compounds inhibited Molt-4 leukemia growth with ED(50) values of 3.2-7.6 microM. Computational docking studies predict that the compounds bind to IMPDH in the IMP-binding site, although interactions with residues differ from those previously determined to interact with bound IMP. While all residues predicted to interact directly with the bound compounds are conserved in the Type I and Type II isoforms, sequence divergence within a helix adjacent to the active site may contribute to the observed selectivity for the human Type II isoform. These compounds represent the first class of selective IMPDH Type II inhibitors which may serve as lead compounds for the development of isoform-selective cancer chemotherapy.