Cloning,Expression, Purification,and Some Properties of Calf Purine Nucleoside Phosphorylase

Calf spleen purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) is considered a model enzyme for the trimeric PNPs subfamily. PCR amplification of the calf phosphorylase from the calf spleen library, cloning, overexpression of the recombinant PNP, its enzymatic activity and interactions with typical ligands of mammalian wild type PNP are described. Relative activity of the recombinant phosphorylase versus several substrates is similar to the respective values obtained for the enzyme isolated from calf spleen. As for the nonrecombinant calf PNP, the unusual fluorescence properties of the PNP/guanine complex were observed and characterized.     

Nucleoside and Oxypurine Homeostasis in Adult Rabbit Cerebrospinal Fluid and Plasma

Abstract: In adult New Zealand white rabbits, the effects of food deprivation and of massive elevations of plasma uridine or thymidine concentrations on CSF and plasma nucleoside and oxypurine concentrations were studied. Nucleoside and oxypurine levels were determined by high performance liquid chromatography using unequivocal methods of compound identification. After 48 and 96 h of food deprivation, the concentrations of uridine, cytidine, inosine, thymidine, deoxycytidine, deoxyuridine, hypoxanthine, xanthine, and uric acid in CSF and plasma were not different than in controls, except at 96 h, when the plasma uridine concentration was 35% lower (p < 0.05). After elevation of the plasma and CSF thymidine concentrations to ∼200 and 100 μM, respectively, with intravenous thymidine for 5 h, there was a large increase in CSF and plasma thymine to ∼100 μM and a smaller increase in plasma and CSF deoxyuridine concentrations. After elevation of the plasma and CSF uridine concentrations to 0.6 and 0.2 mM, respectively, there was a large increase in CSF and plasma uracil and a smaller increase in plasma and CSF deoxyuridine concentrations. Elevated plasma concentration of thymidine and uridine significantly decreased the CSF to plasma ratios of deoxyuridine and thymidine; however, only elevated plasma uridine concentrations decreased the CSF to plasma ratio of uridine. These results document the powerful homeostatic mechanisms that regulate the concentrations of the principal nucleosides and oxypurine bases in CSF.     

Inhibition of Purine Nucleoside Phosphorylase by Phosphonoalkylpurines 1

Abstract

Optimum inhibition of human erythrocyte purine nucleoside phosphorylase by 9-(phosphonoalkyl)hypoxanthines required an alkyl chain of five carbons or longer. Appropriate modifications of either the base or phosphonate side chain resulted in increased inhibitory activity.     

Purine Nucleoside Phosphorylase Deficiency: A Mutation Update

Purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNPase) deficiency is an autosomal recessive disorder affecting purine degradation and salvage pathways. Clinically, patients typically present with severe immunodeficiency, neurological dysfunction, and autoimmunity. Biochemically, PNPase deficiency may be suspected in the presence of hypouricemia. We report biochemical and genetic data on a cohort of seven patients from six families identified as PNPase deficient. In all patients, inosine, deoxyinosine, guanosine, and deoxyguanosine were elevated in urine, and mutation analysis revealed seven different mutations of which three were novel. The mutation c.770A>G resulted in the substitution p.His257Arg. A second novel mutation c.257A>G (p.His86Arg) was identified in two siblings and a third novel mutation, c.199C>T (p.Arg67X), was found in a 2-year-old female with delayed motor milestones and recurrent respiratory infections. A review of the literature identified 67 cases of PNPase deficiency from 49 families, including the cases from our own laboratory. PNPase deficiency was confirmed in 30 patients by genotyping and 24 disease causing mutations, including the three novel mutations described in this paper, have been reported to date. In five of the seven patients, plasma uric acid was found to be within the pediatric normal range, suggesting that PNPase deficiency should not be ruled out in the absence of hypouricemia.     

Properties of Purine Nucleoside Phosphorylase from Enterobacter cloacae

Purine nucleoside phosphorylase from Enterobacter cloacae KY3074 was partially purified by ammonium sulfate fractionation, column chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and DEAE-Sephadex A-50, and gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 and Sepharose 4B. The molecular weight of the enzyme was calculated to be about 87,000 by a gel filtration method on Sephadex G-200. The enzyme was found to be most active at pH 7.5 to 8.5 and 50°C, stable between pH 7.0 and 7.3, and the activity was nearly lost above 70°C. The enzyme split 2´-deoxyinosine and ribonucleosides. Lineweaver-Burk plots for phosphate were non-linear, showing substrate activation. The break-down of inosine approached an equilibrium when approximately 14% of inosine was phosphorylated.     

Substrate/Inhibitor Properties of Tumour Purine Nucleoside Phosphorylase

Abstract

Substrate/inhibitor properties of purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP), isolated from human lung and kidney tumour tissues, have been characterised and compared with those of the enzyme from the corresponding normal organs.     

Inhibition and Structure of Toxoplasma gondii Purine Nucleoside Phosphorylase

The intracellular pathogen Toxoplasma gondii is a purine auxotroph that relies on purine salvage for proliferation. We have optimized T. gondii purine nucleoside phosphorylase (TgPNP) stability and crystallized TgPNP with phosphate and immucillin-H, a transition-state analogue that has high affinity for the enzyme. Immucillin-H bound to TgPNP with a dissociation constant of 370 pM, the highest affinity of 11 immucillins selected to probe the catalytic site. The specificity for transition-state analogues indicated an early dissociative transition state for TgPNP. Compared to Plasmodium falciparum PNP, large substituents surrounding the 5′-hydroxyl group of inhibitors demonstrate reduced capacity for TgPNP inhibition. Catalytic discrimination against large 5′ groups is consistent with the inability of TgPNP to catalyze the phosphorolysis of 5′-methylthioinosine to hypoxanthine. In contrast to mammalian PNP, the 2′-hydroxyl group is crucial for inhibitor binding in the catalytic site of TgPNP. This first crystal structure of TgPNP describes the basis for discrimination against 5′-methylthioinosine and similarly 5′-hydroxy-substituted immucillins; structural differences reflect the unique adaptations of purine salvage pathways of Apicomplexa.     

大肠埃希菌嘌呤核苷磷酸化酶基因载体的构建及对胰腺癌细胞的作用

目的构建大肠埃希菌（Escherichia coli）嘌呤核苷磷酸化酶（purine nucleoside phosphorylase,PNP）基因表达载体,研究其生物活性,为肿瘤的基因治疗奠定基础。方法PCR扩增大肠埃希菌K12的PNP基因,T4连接酶将PNP连接人pMSCV逆转录病毒载体,构建重组逆转录病毒载体pMSCV／PNP。pM—SCV／PNP转化感受态大肠埃希菌XLI-Blue,提取pMSCV／PNP,酶切、PCR和测序鉴定。病毒包装细胞293产生重组逆转录病毒pMSCV／PNP,流式细胞仪测病毒滴度。pMSCV／PNP转染胰腺癌细胞BXPC-3,倒置荧光显微镜观察,FACS分离转染阳性细胞（GFP阳性）。RT—PCR检测PNPmRNA在胰腺癌细胞BXPC-3细胞中的表达,MTT法检测PNP基因的生物活性。结果PCR扩增出大肠埃希菌PNP基因（738bp）,酶切和PCR的电泳条带显示pMSCV／PNP,测序结果正常。293包装细胞产生高滴度（3．6×10^7U／m1）重组逆转录病毒pMSCV／PNP。RT—PCR实验结果表明,pMSCV／PNP转染的胰腺癌细胞BXPC-3表达PNPmRNA。前药6-甲基嘌呤-2’-脱氧核苷（MePdR）作用72h浓度达1．00mg／L,BXPC-3／PNP细胞存活率为10．09％,随着MePdR浓度加大,BXPC-3／PNP细胞存活率继续下降直至为0。结论构建了pMSCV／PNP载体,获得了表达大肠埃希菌PNP基因的BXPC-3细胞克隆,PNP／MePdR自杀基因系统对胰腺癌细胞BXPC-3有较强的抑杀作用。     

Cerebrospinal Fluid Glucose: Turnover and Metabolism

The turnover of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) glucose was studied in cats during steady-state perfusion. In all experiments, the perfusion fluid contained either tracer [¹⁴C]glucose alone or tracer glucose along with 4.45 mM unlabeled glucose. In some studies, serum glucose was lowered with insulin. The concentration of glucose and [¹⁴C]glucose in the effluent fluid was measured, and the distribution of ¹⁴C between glucose and lactate was determined by chromatography. From these values, the extraction of glucose and the metabolism of glucose to lactate were calculated. From the decrease in the specific activity of glucose in the perfusion fluid, the influx of glucose from serum was also determined. During steadystate perfusion, 71% of the radioactivity was recovered in the effluent fluid: 50% in the form of glucose, 6% in the form of lactate, and 15% in forms that were not identified. Thus, 50% of the perfusion fluid glucose was cleared, of which 29% was extracted and 21% metabolized. The influx of glucose was proportional to the serum glucose when the latter was about 2.5 mM or 10.0 mM. During perfusion with tracer glucose only, the concentration of glucose in the effluent fluid was 25% that of serum. The transport of glucose from serum was independent of the glucose concentration gradient between serum and perfusion fluid. However, when perfusion fluid glucose concentration was greater than that of serum, transport was inhibited. These studies suggest that in maintaining CSF glucose at a lower concentration than serum glucose, with equal amounts of glucose entering and leaving the CSF, 50% of CSF glucose concentration cleared is replaced by 25% of serum glucose concentration.     

Enhanced Noradrenergic Neuronal Activity Increases Homovanillic Acid Levels in Cerebrospinal Fluid

Idazoxan, a highly specific and selective alpha 2-adrenoceptor antagonist, caused a dose-dependent increase in the concentration of homovanillic acid (HVA) a metabolite of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethylamine, in cisternal CSF of freely moving rats. This increase in HVA level could be antagonized by the alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonist medetomidine. The increase was directly proportional to the concurrent elevation in level of 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol, a metabolite of noradrenaline, in the CSF of individual rats and followed a similar time course. It is suggested that the HVA level in CSF may be increased under conditions of enhanced noradrenergic activity and that, in such situations, it reflects noradrenergic rather than dopaminergic neuronal activity. Care should be taken, therefore, when changes in central dopaminergic activity are assessed by measurements of HVA level in CSF.     

Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Purine Nucleoside Analogs

Abstract

It is well known that adenosine plays an important role in inflammatory processes. A collection of adenosine analogs modified in the base and/or sugar functional moiety have been synthesized and submitted for biological testing. Each purine nucleoside analog was tested for inhibition of endothelial cell activation by various inflammatory stimuli. A number of analogs exhibited potent anti-inflammatory activity. Animal studies have been carried out on AMG002370 which was found to potently inhibit adjuvant induced arthritis in the Lewis rat.     

Time Course of Purine Nucleoside Phosphorylase Occurrence in Sporulation of Bacillus cereus

Purine nucleoside phosphorylase (EC 2.4.2.1) from Bacillus cereus T was examined at hourly intervals during growth and sporulation. The enzyme has maximal activity in extracts prepared from cells during stages I and II. The activity during exponential growth is only 6.6% of the maximum and that in free spores is only 3.3%. Conservation of the purine nucleoside phosphorylase during sporulation is apparent as shown by the gradual increase in heat resistance.     

Gene Therapy of Cancer: Activation of Nucleoside Prodrugs with E. coli Purine Nucleoside Phosphorylase

Abstract

During the last few years, many gene therapy strategies have been developed for various disease targets. The development of anticancer gene therapy strategies to selectively generate cytotoxic nucleoside or nucleotide analogs is an attractive goal. One such approach involves the delivery of herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase followed by the acyclic nucleoside analog ganciclovir. We have developed another gene therapy methodology for the treatment of cancer that has several significant attributes. Specifically, our approach involves the delivery of E. coli purine nucleoside phosphorylase, followed by treatment with a relatively non-toxic nucleoside prodrug that is cleaved by the enzyme to a toxic compound. This presentation describes the concept, details our search for suitable prodrugs, and summarizes the current biological data.     

枯草芽孢杆菌TM903嘌呤核苷磷酸化酶的纯化及酶学性质研究

目的：对枯草芽孢杆菌TM903嘌呤核苷磷酸化酶进行分离纯化及酶学性质研究。方法：经加热、硫酸铵盐析和SephadexG-100凝胶过滤,对枯草芽孢杆菌TM903中的嘌呤核苷磷酸化酶进行分离纯化,并对其酶学性质进行研究。结果：酶的最适反应温度为65℃,最适反应pH值为7．5,在30-50℃时热稳定性较好;K^＋对该酶有激活作用,而Na^＋、ca^＋、Mg^＋、Mn^＋等金属离子对该酶有抑制作用;Km值为2．11mmol／L,Vmax值为0．84mmol／（min·L）。结论：分离纯化了枯草芽孢杆菌TM903嘌呤核苷磷酸化酶,并研究了其酶学性质,为利巴韦林的发酵工艺优化提供了重要的酶学理论基础。     

The Effects of Organic Solvent on the Ribosyl Transfer Reaction by Thermostable Purine Nucleoside Phosphorylase and Pyrimidine Nucleoside Phosphorylase from Bacillus stearothermophilus JTS 859

The effects of organic solvents on the reaction rate and equilibrium of the ribosyl transfer reaction catalyzed by thermostable purine nucleoside phosphorylase and pyrimidine nucleoside phosphorylase from Bacillus stearothermophilus JTS 859 were examined at 60°C. The reaction rate in the presence of 10% acetone was 1.6 times higher than that of the control. Acetone was the best organic solvent among those tested for accelerating the reaction rate without denaturing the enzymes. On the other hand, the reaction rate in the presence of 5% ethyl acetate was 1.5 times higher than that of the control. However the enzymes were denatured completely after 1 h incubation. Consequently, the acceleration was not attributed to the stabilization of the enzymes. The equilibrium constants of the reaction were not influenced by the presence of acetone, methyl or ethyl alcohols.     

Purification and Characterization of Thermostable Purine Nucleoside Phosphorylase of Bacillus stearothermophilus JTS 859

A thermostable purine nucleoside phosphorylase has been purified more than 800-fold from Bacillus stearothermophilus JTS 859. The enzyme had a molecular weight of 68,000 consisting of 2 identical subunits (A/_w, 34,000). The isoelectric point of the enzyme was 4.7. The enzyme did not contain cysteine. The optimal pH of the enzyme reaction was from 7.5 to 11.0. The Michaelis constants for inosine, guanosine, 2′-deoxyinosine, and 2′-deoxyguanosine were 0.22, 0.14, 0.20, and 0.10mM, respectively. The optimal temperature of the reaction was 80 C. The half-life of the enzyme was 16 hr in 20mM potassium phosphate and ImM inosine (pH 7.0) at 80°C, and no decrease of the enzyme activity was observed at least for the first 30 hr at 70°C.     

Dopamine Metabolites in Rat Cisternal Cerebrospinal Fluid: Major Contribution from Extrastriatal Dopamine Neurones

The interpretation of central 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethylamine (dopamine, DA) metabolism, as indicated by determinations in rat cisternal CSF, was investigated using intrastriatal injection of the DA neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) and intraperitoneal injection of the noradrenergic neurotoxin N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-ethyl-2-bromobenzylamine (DSP4). DA turnover was subsequently determined by measurement of the rate of accumulation of total 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and homovanillic acid (DOPAC + HVA) in the CSF after probenecid was given. Two days later the rats were killed, and metabolism of DA and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) was investigated by determining levels of the amines and their metabolites in brain regions. Although 6-OHDA greatly decreased striatal DA metabolism, this was not paralleled by DA turnover as indicated by CSF, as this fell only moderately and approximately in parallel with results for the brain as a whole. 5-HT metabolism was essentially unaltered. DSP4 considerably depleted noradrenaline and caused smaller decreases of 5-HT metabolism in some regions. However, DA metabolism was not significantly affected, either in brain or CSF, which suggests that noradrenaline neurones make only a small contribution to central DA metabolism. Results as a whole suggest that DOPAC and HVA concentrations in rat cisternal CSF reflect whole brain DA metabolism and derive predominantly from DA neurones in extrastriatal regions of the brain.     

The Effects of Organic Solvent on the Ribosyl Transfer Reaction by Thermostable Purine Nucleoside Phosphorylase and Pyrimidine Nucleoside Phosphorylase from Bacillus stearothermophilus JTS 859

The effects of organic solvents on the reaction rate and equilibrium of the ribosyl transfer reaction catalyzed by thermostable purine nucleoside phosphorylase and pyrimidine nucleoside phosphorylase from Bacillus stearothermophilus JTS 859 were examined at 60°C. The reaction rate in the presence of 10% acetone was 1.6 times higher than that of the control. Acetone was the best organic solvent among those tested for accelerating the reaction rate without denaturing the enzymes. On the other hand, the reaction rate in the presence of 5% ethyl acetate was 1.5 times higher than that of the control. However the enzymes were denatured completely after 1 h incubation. Consequently, the acceleration was not attributed to the stabilization of the enzymes. The equilibrium constants of the reaction were not influenced by the presence of acetone, methyl or ethyl alcohols.