Reappraisal of the inhibitory effect of certain sugars used as osmotica on phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity

An earlier report that various sugars, especially d-mannitol and d-sorbitol, severely inhibited phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL)¹ activity from tobacco in vitro has been reappraised. This apparent inhibition resulted from complexing of the sugars with borate, used as buffer system in that study, leading to an undetected pH decrease. We find that d-mannitol, d-sorbitol, d-glucose and sucrose are not inhibitory to PAL preparations obtained from sweet-clover leaves or from protoplasts of tobacco and barley, when alternative buffers are used for the assay. Moreover, the inhibition of barley PAL due to borate—sugar complex formation was completely eliminated by readjusting the pH of the reaction mixture to 8.8 before assaying.     

Action de molecules a proprietes hormonales sur l'activite phenylalanine ammoniac lyase

A comparative study has been made of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) activity in plants sensitive or resistant to various herbicides (piclorame, methylchloro-phenoxyacetic acid (MCPA), atrazine). Piclorame, a herbicide with hormonal activity caused a large decrease in PAL activity of sensitive plants (Nicotiana tabacum), even at low concentrations (5 × 10^-9M) whilst in resistant plants (Triticum aestivum) its effect is negligible; MCPA, also a herbicide with hormonal activity, similarly affects the activity of PAL, but only at higher concentrations. On the contrary, the action of atrazine, which has no hormonal activity, is lower and weaker, probably being only a secondary effect. Determinations of PAL activity during the photoperiod following piclorame application indicate that this herbicide influences principally the photodependent enzyme activity.     

The estimation of l-phenylalanine ammonia-lyase shows phenylpropanoid biosynthesis to be regulated by l-phenylalanine supply and availability

l-Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL, E.C. 4.3.1.5) is the first committed enzyme in the pathway leading to phenylpropanoid biosynthesis in higher plants. PAL catalyses the conversion of l-phenylalanine to t-cinnamic acid with the elimination of ammonia. Standard methods for determination of PAL activity in both green and non-green tissues were found to lead to measurements of both l-phenylalanine amino-transferase (PAT, E.C. 2.6.1.1) and PAL activities together. The accurate estimation of PAL activity alone, necessitated the inhibition of PAT by a specific inhibitor of PAT activity, l-aspartic acid. The influence of PAT on the kinetics of PAL activity may explain (i) the diverse properties that have been attributed to PAL and (ii) the controversies regarding the control mechanism underlying the regulation of PAL activity. Evidence is presented for the regulation of phenylpropanoid biosynthesis via substrate supply and availability as opposed to feedback inhibition, during phaseollin production and hypersensitive necrosis in Phaseolus vulgaris.     

Properties of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase extracted from Cucumis sativus hypocotyls

Some of the in vitro properties of PAL from gherkin hypocotyls were investigated. No metal ion requirement for this enzyme could be demonstrated but there were indications that PAL was a sulphydryl enzyme. Kinetic analysis suggested that PAL exhibited negative homotropic cooperativity. Two K_m values were determined, these were K_m^H, 2·9 × 10^?4 M and K_m^L, 4·3 × 10^?5 M. Strong inhibition of the enzyme was exerted by d-phenylalanine, trans-cinnamic acid, o-coumaric acid, gallic acid, quercetin and kaempferol. Kinetic studies on the inhibition patterns of these compounds established that d-phenylalanine linearized the curvilinear kinetics, trans-cinnamic acid and o-coumaric acid acted as competitive inhibitors whilst gallic acid, quercetin and kaempferol acted as mixed inhibitors. Using a number of desensitization techniques PAL was partially desensitized to inhibition by the mixed inhibitors. These results led to the conclusion that PAL may have a regulatory role in phenol, coumarin and flavonoid biosynthesis.     

Physiological activity of 1-amino-2-phenylethylphosphonic acid,a substrate analogue of phenylalanine

1-Amino-2-phenylethylphosphonie acid (PheP) retards growth inSpirodela oligor-rhiza causing morphological malformations, inhibits chlorophyll synthesis in progeny fronds, and markedly stimulates L-phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activityin vivo and inhibits itin vitro; in prolonged experiments ribonuclease activity is stimulated. PheP severely inhibits anthocyanin synthesis in seedlings of red cabbage, with moderate inhibition of PAL activityin vivo; chlorophyll synthesis and growth of the seedlings are little affected.     

Anomalous effects of cycloheximide on phenylalanine ammonia-lyase: role of synthesis and inactivation in leaf disks of helianthus annuus*

The activity of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) increases dramatically in leaf disks of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) cultured on 0.1 M sucrose in the dark. If disks are subsequently transferred to water, PAL activity decays rapidly. After inactivation the level of PAL can be increased again by transferring the tissue back to sucrose. The initial increase in PAL activity appears to involve an increase in the rate of PAL formation and the appearance is inhibited by cycloheximide. Inactivation of the enzyme is also inhibited by cycloheximide. A comparison of cycloheximide inhibition at different concentrations showed that inactivation was much more sensitive to the inhibitor than PAL formation. The rate of PAL inactivation was very low in fresh disks placed directly on water (t 1/2 = > 1 day) but increased greatly after culture on sucrose (t_1/2 = 2 to 4 hr). Therefore, culture appears to increase PAL inactivation as well as PAL formation. Reappearance of PAL activity after inactivation is stimulated rather than inhibited by cycloheximide. The change in effect of cycloheximide from inhibition to apparent stimulation can best be explained by the observation that (1) the turnover of PAL, both formation and inactivation, increases greatly as a result of culture on sucrose and (2) inactivation is more sensitive to cycloheximide than formation. Thus, even where an anomalous cycloheximide insensitive appearance of PAL activity occurs, a mechanism other than reactivation of the enzyme may be involved.     

Synthesis of potential herbicides designed to uncouple photophosphorylation

In a search for novel herbicides we attempted to make uncouplers of photophosphorylation. Good herbicides were discovered, but not all were good uncouplers and we present evidence which supports the view that their primary action is through inhibition of carotenoid biosynthesis. This paper describes the synthesis and in vivo and in vitro activities of 21 compounds of the series. The best herbicide was active enough to justify extensive field testing.     

Preservation of high phenylalanine ammonia lyase activities in roots of Japanese Striped corn: A potential oral therapeutic to treat phenylketonuria

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an inherited metabolic disorder caused by deficient phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) activity, the enzyme responsible for the disposal of excess amounts of the essential amino acid phenylalanine (Phe). Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL, EC 4.3.1.5) has potential to serve as an enzyme substitution therapy for this human genetic disease. Using 7-day-old Japanese Striped corn seedlings (Japonica Striped maize, Zea mays L. cv. japonica) that contain high activities of PAL, we investigated a number of methods to preserve the roots as an intact food and for long-term storage. The cryoprotectant effects of maple syrup and other edible sugars (mono- and oligosaccharides) were evaluated. Following thawing, the preserved roots were then examined to determine whether the rigid plant cell walls could protect the PAL enzyme from proteolysis during simulated (in vitro) digestion comprised of gastric and intestinal phases. While several treatments led to retention of PAL activity during freezing, upon thawing and in vitro digestion, root tissues that had been previously frozen in the presence of maple syrup exhibited the highest residual PAL activities (∼50% of the initial enzyme activity), in marked contrast to all of the treatments using other edible sugars. The structural integrity of the root cells, and the stability of the functional PAL tetramer were also preserved with the maple syrup protocol. These results have significance for the formulation of oral enzyme/protein therapeutics. When plant tissues are adequately preserved, the rigid cell walls constitute a protective barrier even under harsh (e.g. gastrointestinal-like) conditions.     

Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity of protoplasts: In vitro inhibition by mannitol and sorbitol

Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activity was strongly inhibited in vitro by D-mannitol and D-sorbitol at concentrations exceeding 50 mM,     

Phenolic accumulation and peroxidase activity inin vitro selected alfalfa callus cultures resistant to filtrate ofFusarium spp.

Changes in the phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activity, accumulation of phenolic acids and ionically-bound peroxidase activity in thein vitro selected embryogenic and nonembryogenicMedicago sativa callus cultures resistant to the filtrate ofFusarium spp. were found. The PAL activity in bothin vitro selected cultures during a 4-week cultivation on a medium with phytotoxins was higher than in the control calli grown on a medium without toxin. The filtrate fromFusarium spp. evoked an increase in the contents of all determined phenolic acids in the selected calli. They occurred predominantly bound as esters. The most pronounced portions in the elevated acids level were of ester-bound p-hydroxybenzoic, vanillic, p-coumaric and ferulic acids. The ionic cell wall-bound peroxidase activity in both selected calli cultivated on a medium with a filtrate was twice as high as the activity determined in the control cultures. The activity of soluble peroxidase was not influenced by challenge with a filtrate. No significant differences were found between thein vitro selected embryogenic and nonembryogenic alfalfa callus cultures in the response to the phytotoxic filtrate.     

In vitro activity of the lipopeptide PAL-Lys-Lys-NH2, alone and in combination with antifungal agents, against clinical isolates of Candida spp

Candida albicans is known to be the organism most often associated with serious fungal infection, but other Candida spp. are emerging as clinical pathogens associated with opportunistic infections. Among antimycotic treatments, increasing attention is currently given to anti-infective drugs based upon naturally occurring peptides, such as the short lipopeptide palmitoyl PAL-Lys-Lys-NH2 (PAL). The aim of this study is to evaluate the activity of this peptide compared to the traditional antifungal agents Fluconazole (FLU), amphotericin B (AMB) and caspofungin (CAS) on Candida spp. 24 clinical isolates of Candida spp. were tested against PAL_, FLU, AMB and CAS using in vitro susceptibility tests, time killing and checkerboard assay. All of the drugs studied showed good activity against clinical isolates of candida; in particular CAS and AMB which have MICs value lower than PAL and FLU. Moreover we observed synergistic interactions for PAL/FLU (81.25%), PAL/AMB (75%) and particularly for PAL/CAS (87.5). We think that our results are interesting since synergy between PAL and CAS might be useful in clinic trails to treat invasive fungal infections.     

Inhibition of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase by cinnamic acid derivatives and related compounds

Thirty-five derivatives of cinnamic acid and related compounds were tested for inhibition against phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) derived from sweet potato, pea and yeast. Caffeic and gallic acids showed inhibition against PAL originating from higher plants, but not against yeast PAL. In contrast, yeast PAL was specifically inhibited by p-hydroxycinnamic and p-hydroxybenzoic acids. The results suggest that caffeic and gallic acids may act as regulatory substances in phenylpropanoid metabolism in higher plants. Inhibition experiments with synthetic cinnamic acid derivatives have revealed that the presence of a hydrophobic aromatic ring, α,β-double bond and carboxyl group is essential for inhibitory activity. 2-Naphthoic acid which fulfills these structural requirements showed a strong inhibition. The size and shape of the active site is discussed from structure-activity relationships of cinnamic acid derivatives. o-Chlorocinnamic acid, one of the strongest inhibitors found in this study showed an inhibitory effect on the growth of the roots of rice seedlings.     

Chemical modification of recombinant hirudin with palmitic acid in mixed aqueous-organic solutions

In this study, chemical modification of recombinant hirudin variant-2 (HV2) with palmitic acid (PAL) was proposed as an alternative approach to circumvent the limitations of PEGylation. To facilitate a sufficient contact of the hydrophilic HV2 to the hydrophobic PAL, thereby improving the reaction specificity to achieve the desired mono-PAL-HV2 with high retained bioactivity, the reaction was developed in mixed aqueous-organic solutions. Compared with HV2 conjugation with PAL-benzotriazole (PAL-BTA) in mixed aqueous-NMP solution, the conjugation of HV2 with PAL-N-hydroxysuccinimide (PAL-NHS) in mixed aqueous-DMSO solution could improve the site-specific conjugation of one PAL molecule to a particular lysine residue. Furthermore, the reaction mixture of the latter was further purified by preparative liquid chromatography. Three mono-PAL-HV2 isomers were obtained and retained 36%, 4% and 89% of the in vitro anticoagulant activity of unmodified HV2, respectively. One of the mono-PAL-HV2 isomers, namely, mono-PAL-HV2-3, was isolated with the highest selectivity and exhibited the highest in vitro anticoagulant bioactivity. Modification site analysis of mono-PAL-HV2-3 revealed that a single PAL molecule was conjugated at Lys27 of HV2. This study presented a successful PAL modification in which site-specific reaction was improved to achieve the desired mono-PAL-HV2 with highly retained bioactivity in mixed aqueous-organic solutions.     

Production of l-phenylalanine from trans-cinnamic acids by high-level expression of phenylalanine ammonia lyase gene from Rhodosporidium toruloides in Escherichia coli

A combined promoter expression vector pBV–PAL for high-level expression of phenylalanine ammonia lyase gene of Rhodosporidium toruloides was constructed. Pal gene was cloned and inserted into the region between SalI and PstI restriction sites of expression vector pBV220 (containing P_LP_R promoter) to obtain recombinant expression vector pBV220–PAL. The tac promoter obtained from the plasmid pKtac was inserted into the expression vector pBV220–PAL to construct expression vector pBV–PAL. The recombinant plasmid pBV220–PAL and pBV–PAL were introduced into Escherichia coli JM109 by transformation. The result showed that the transformant E. coli JM109 (pBV–PAL) gave a much higher PAL activity than that transformant E. coli JM109 (pBV220–PAL). Recombinant PAL expression level of the transformant JM109 (pBV–PAL) was about 9.6% of total cellular protein, specific enzyme activity was 2.3-fold higher than that of the transformant JM109 (pBV220–PAL), reached 35 U/g (dry cells weight, DCW). PAL specific activity of 123 U/g (DCW) could be achieved in a 5-l fermentor. 80.5% conversion rate of trans-cinnamic acid to l-phenylalanine and 5.12 g/l l-phenylalanine were obtained after 3 h bioconversion using the transformant JM109 (pBV–PAL). The recombinant strain JM109 containing the combined promoter expression vector pBV–PAL was shown to be effective and practical to product l-phenylalanine.     

An inactivator of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase from gherkin hypocotyls

A factor capable of the reversible inactivation of PAL in vitro has been demonstrated in extracts of gherkin hypocotyls. Kinetics of the interaction between enzyme and inactivator indicate that PAL and the factor form a freely reversible complex. The properties of the inactivator are discussed in relation to its proposed role in the regulation of PAL activity in dark- and light-grown tissue.     

Phenylalanine-dependent de novo synthesis of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase from Rhodotorula glutinis

A synthetic medium was developed in which the presence of phenylalanine ammonialyase (PAL) in the yeast Rhodotorula glutinis was dependent on the addition of l-phenylalanine. The appearance of PAL activity occurred during mid- to late log phase regardless of the time of l-phenylalanine introduction into the medium. Maximum levels of PAL activity were followed by a rapid decline in both total and specific activity. These changes were accompanied by comparable fluctuations in PAL antigen levels as measured by rocket immunoelectrophoresis. Proteins of yeast grown in the presences of l-phenylalanine were radiolabeled in vivo with l-[³H]leucine. The labeled protein was immunoprecipitated with anti-PAL serum and analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A labeled protein comigrated with subunits of authentic PAL. These data support the hypothesis that de novo synthesis of PAL in R. glutinis is l-phenylalanine dependent.     

Nitrogen Redox Metabolism of a Heterotrophic, Nitrifying-Denitrifying Alcaligenes sp. from Soil

Metabolic characteristics of a heterotrophic, nitrifier-denitrifier Alcaligenes sp. isolated from soil were further characterized. Pyruvic oxime and hydroxylamine were oxidized to nitrite aerobically by nitrification-adapted cells with specific activities (V_max) of 0.066 and 0.003 μmol of N × min⁻¹ × mg of protein⁻¹, respectively, at 22°C. K_m values were 15 and 42 μM for pyruvic oxime and hydroxylamine, respectively. The greater pyruvic oxime oxidation activity relative to hydroxylamine oxidation activity indicates that pyruvic oxime was a specific substrate and was not oxidized appreciably via its hydrolysis product, hydroxylamine. When grown as a denitrifier on nitrate, the bacterium could not aerobically oxidize pyruvic oxime or hydroxylamine to nitrite. However, hydroxylamine was converted to nearly equimolar amounts of ammonium ion and nitrous oxide, and the nature of this reaction is discussed. Cells grown as heterotrophic nitrifiers on pyruvic oxime contained two enzymes of denitrification, nitrate reductase and nitric oxide reductase. The nitrate reductase was the dissimilatory type, as evidenced by its extreme sensitivity to inhibition by azide and by its ability to be reversibly inhibited by oxygen. Cells grown aerobically on organic carbon sources other than pyruvic oxime contained none of the denitrifying enzymes surveyed but were able to oxidize pyruvic oxime to nitrite and reduce hydroxylamine to ammonium ion.     

Correlation between Phenylalanine Ammonia Lyase Activity and Phenolic Biosynthesis in p-Fluorophenylalanine-sensitive and -resistant Tobacco and Carrot Tissue Cultures

Phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) activity was measured in p-fluorophenylalanine (PFP)-sensitive and -resistant tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) and carrot (Daucus carota L.) cell lines which are known to oversynthesize phenylalanine. A correlation between phenolic levels and PAL activities was detected. The phenylalanine analog-resistant and -sensitive carrot cells showed no differences in the accumulation of phenolic compounds and PAL activities. The PFP-resistant tobacco cells, however, had 10 times higher levels of phenolics and also 10 to 20 times higher PAL activities than the PFP-sensitive line. The PAL activity in the resistant tobacco line increased dramatically after inoculation of the cells into fresh medium. Conditions affecting this increase were characterized.