Glycosaminoglycan sulfotransferases in human and animal sera

Heparan sulfate, keratan sulfate, chondroitin, chondroitin 4/6-sulfate (80% 4-sulfate and 20% 6-sulfate), and UDP-N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfate were used as acceptors for the measurement of 3'-phosphoadenylyl sulfate: glycosaminoglycan sulfotransferase activities in human serum. Chromatographic fractionation of the serum followed by determination of the sulfotransferase activities demonstrated the existence of at least four different sulfotransferases capable of introducing sulfate to 1) position 6 of the internal N-acetylgalactosamine units of chondroitin, 2) position 6 of the nonreducing terminal N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfate unit of chondroitin 4/6-sulfate, 3) position 2 (amino group) of the glucosamine units in heparan sulfate, and 4) the sugar units in keratan sulfate, respectively. The fourth activity was separated into two subfractions with different specificities for the structure of neighboring sugars of the sulfate-accepting sugar units. No major variations in the sulfotransferase activities on added receptors were found to occur in sera from individuals 22-41 years old. In contrast, the activities in sera of various mammalian and avian species showed a species-specific variation. With mouse skin fibroblasts cultured in serum-free medium, preferential secretion of several sulfotransferases could be demonstrated. The results, taken together, suggest that the appearance of the sulfotransferases in serum is not a fortuitous event due to nonspecific cell death, but the result of an elaborate mechanism for enzyme secretion by a cell or tissue system.     

Distinct glycoprotein inhibitors of influenza A virus in different animal sera.

Normal horse and guinea pig sera contain the glycoprotein inhibitor alpha 2-macroglobulin, which inhibits the infectivity and hemagglutinating activity of influenza A viruses of the H2 and H3 subtypes. In the current study, the presence of inhibitors of influenza A virus in pig and rabbit sera was investigated. Variants of influenza virus type A/Los Angeles/2/87(H3N2) that were resistant to horse, pig, or rabbit serum were isolated. Analysis of the variant viruses with anti-hemagglutinin (HA) monoclonal antibodies revealed that antigenic changes occurred with the development of serum inhibitor resistance. Characterization of the inhibitors in pig and rabbit sera by using periodate and receptor-destroying enzyme demonstrated that carbohydrate is an important constituent of the active portion of both inhibitor molecules and that sialic acid is involved in the interaction of the inhibitors with influenza virus HA. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the HA molecule revealed that the serum-resistant variants each acquired a different set of amino acid alterations. The multiply resistant variants maintained the original amino acid changes and acquired additional changes. Sequence modifications in the HA involved the conserved amino acids within the receptor binding site (RBS) at position 137 and the second-shell RBS residues at positions 155 and 186. Amino acid changes also occurred within antigenic site A (position 145) and directly behind the receptor binding pocket (position 220). Amino acid alterations resulted in the acquisition of a potential glycosylation site at position 128 and the loss of potential glycosylation sites at positions 246 and 248. The localization of the amino acid changes in HA1 to the region of the RBS supports the concept of serum inhibitors as receptor analogs. The unique set of mutations acquired by the serum inhibitor-resistant variants strongly suggests that horse, pig, and rabbit sera each contain distinct glycoprotein inhibitors of influenza A virus.     

Study of cystinaminopeptidase heterogeneity in animal sera by the isoelectric focusing method.

Study of the quantitative distribution of cystinaminopeptidase activity in the serum of pregnant and control animals (cow, sheep and rat) by the isoelectric focusing method showed heterogeneity of the cystinaminopeptidase activity of the animals' serum enzymatic system, which was well pronounced in the cow and rat and less pronounced in the sheep. The authors assume from their results that the principal difference between the pregnant and control animals is not the total increase in the level of activity of the enzyme in question, but the shift in its incidence, or the increase in activity at a given pH. It is possible that pregnancy, in man and animals, produces in the serum cystinaminopeptidase system (which is evidently heterogeneous even under normal, physiological conditions) given changes, i.e. the formation of new fractions with a different pI from the controls; other fractions disappear, or their activity diminishes.     

Effect of proteolytic and detoxification enzyme inhibitors on Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis tolerance in the mosquito Aedes aegypti

Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) is highly pathogenic to mosquito larvae and is widely used for mosquito control. Its mosquitocidal activity however is relatively low compared to many chemical insecticides. The detoxification mechanisms in the mosquito, among other things, might neutralize the Bti activity, resulting in resistance or tolerance. We tested whether or not the detoxification mechanisms against chemical insecticides might also operate against Bti, rendering it less effective. We targeted four enzymes in Aedes aegypti larvae involved in detoxification with inhibitors that have been used in resistance studies in chemical insecticides and assayed their effects on Bti toxicity. Results revealed that phenylmethanesulphonyl fluoride (PMSF), diethyl maleate, phenobarbital (PB), and piperonyl butoxide (PBO) altered Bti toxicity to various degrees. PMSF is a serine protease inhibitor that prevents Bti digestion and improves Bti activity. PB that induces several detoxifying enzymes had two different effects depending on the method of treatment. Mortality was higher when treatment with PB was discontinuous (149%) whereas with continuous treatment it was lower (101%). PBO, a typical cytochrome P450 inhibitor, increased Bti effect (159%). The combination of discontinuous pretreatment of larvae with PB followed by PBO had a synergistic effect and showed increased activity (146%). It appears that the mechanism for Bti resistance in mosquitoes is similar to that of chemical insecticides. Our studies indicate that we may be able to increase Bti activity by inhibiting some of the detoxification systems as active as broad spectrum chemical insecticides.     

Study of intracellular localization of the proteolytic enzyme complex and its protein inhibitors in bombyx grain

Intracellular localization of serine, cysteine and aspartate proteases, as well as their protein inhibitors, in bombyx grain in the postdiapause period of embryogenesis has been studied. Proteolytic activity of aspartate and cysteine proteases was found in lysosomal, mitochondrial, and nuclear fractions of grains. Serine protease activity was not observed in subcellular fractions of grains of the fourth day of postdiapause development. It has been shown that activities of protein inhibitors and certain peptide hydrolases in subcellular fractions provide consistent functioning and fine regulation of the proteolytic enzyme complex.     

Characterization of the mitochondrial carnitine palmitoyltransferase enzyme system. I. Use of inhibitors

The effects of various inhibitors of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I were examined in mitochondria from rat liver and skeletal muscle. Three types of inhibitors were used: malonyl-CoA (reversible), tetradecylglycidyl-CoA and three of its analogues (irreversible), and 2-bromopalmitoyl-CoA (essentially irreversible when added with carnitine). Competitive binding studies between labeled and unlabeled ligands together with electrophoretic analysis of sodium dodecyl sulfate-solubilized membranes revealed that in mitochondria from both tissues all of the inhibitors interacted with a single protein. While the binding capacity for inhibitors was similar in liver and muscle (6-8 pmol/mg of mitochondrial protein) the proteins involved were of different monomeric size (Mr 94,000 and 86,000, respectively). Treatment of mitochondria with the detergent, octyl glucoside, yielded a soluble form of carnitine palmitoyltransferase and residual membranes that were devoid of enzyme activity. The solubilized enzyme displayed the same activity regardless of whether carnitine palmitoyltransferase I of the original mitochondria had first been exposed to an irreversible inhibitor or destroyed by chymotrypsin. It eluted as a single activity peak through four purification steps. The final product from both liver and muscle migrated as single band on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide electrophoresis with Mr of approximately 80,000. The data are consistent with the following model. The inhibitor binding protein is carnitine palmitoyltransferase I itself (as opposed to a regulatory subunit). The hepatic monomer is larger than the muscle enzyme. Each inhibitor interacts via its thioester group at the palmitoyl-CoA binding site of the enzyme but also at a second locus that is probably different for each agent and dictated by the chemical substituent on carbon 2. Disruption of the mitochondrial inner membrane by octyl glucoside causes inactivation of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I while releasing carnitine palmitoyltransferase II in active form. The latter is readily purified, is a smaller protein than carnitine palmitoyltransferase I, and has the same molecular weight in liver and muscle. It is insensitive to inhibitors where on or off the mitochondrial membrane.