Analysis of membrane stereochemistry with homology modeling of sn-glycerol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase

Different enantiomeric isomers, sn-glycerol-1-phosphate and sn-glycerol-3-phosphate, are used as the glycerophosphate backbones of phospholipids in the cellular membranes of Archaea and the remaining two kingdoms, respectively. In Archaea, sn-glycerol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase is involved in the generation of sn-glycerol-1-phosphate, while sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase synthesizes the enantiomer in Eukarya and Bacteria. The coordinates of sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase are available, although neither the tertiary structure nor the reaction mechanism of sn-glycerol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase is known. Database searching revealed that the archaeal enzyme shows sequence similarity to glycerol dehydrogenase, dehydroquinate synthase and alcohol dehydrogenase IV. The glycerol dehydrogenase, with coordinates that are available today, is closely related to the archaeal enzyme. Using the structure of glycerol dehydrogenase as the template, we built a model structure of the Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus sn-glycerol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase, which could explain the chirality of the product. Based on the model structure, we determined the following: (1) the enzyme requires a Zn(2+) ion for its activity; (2) the enzyme selectively uses the pro-R hydrogen of the NAD(P)H; (3) the putative active site and the reaction mechanism were predicted; and (4) the archaeal enzyme does not share its evolutionary origin with sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase.     

Transfer of pro-R hydrogen from NADH to dihydroxyacetonephosphate by sn-glycerol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase from the archaeon Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus

sn-Glycerol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase is responsible for the formation of the sn-glycerol-1-phosphate backbone of archaeal lipids. [4-3H]NADH that had 3H at the R side was produced from [4-3H]NAD and glucose with glucose dehydrogenase (a pro-S type enzyme). The 3H of this [4-3H]NADH was transferred to dihydroxyacetonephosphate during the sn-glycerol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase reaction. On the contrary, in a similar reaction using alcohol dehydrogenase (a pro-R type enzyme), 3H was not incorporated into glycerophosphate. These results confirmed a prediction of the tertiary structure of sn-glycerol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase by homology modeling.     

Biosynthesis in Escherichia coli of sn-glycerol 3-phosphate, a precursor of phospholipid. Palmitoyl-CoA inhibition of the biosynthetic sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase.

Homogeneous biosynthetic sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.8) of Escherichia coli was potently inhibited by palmitoyl-CoA and other long chain acyl-CoA thioesters. The concentration dependence of this inhibition was not cooperative. Enzyme activity was inhibited 50% at 1 microM palmitoyl-CoA; thus, this inhibition occurred at concentrations below the critical micellar concentration of palmitoyl-CoA. Palmitoyl-CoA was a reversible, noncompetitive inhibitor with respect to both NADPH and dihydroxyacetone phosphate. Palmitoyl-CoA did not affect the quaternary structure of the enzyme. This inhibition could be prevented or reversed by the addition of phospholipid vesicles prepared from E. coli phospholipids. Palmitoyl-CoA did not alter the kinetics of inhibition by sn-glycerol 3-phosphate, which is a proven physiological regulator of this enzyme. Decanoyl-CoA, dodecanoyl-CoA, myristoyl-CoA, palmitoyl-(1,N6-etheno)CoA, stearoyl-CoA, and oleoyl-CoA inhibited sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase at concentrations below their critical micellar concentrations. Palmitate inhibited sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity 50% at 200 microM. Palmitoyl-carnitine, deoxycholate, taurocholate, and dodecyl sulfate were more potent inhibitors than Triton X-100, Tween-20, or Tween-80. Palmitoyl-acyl carrier protein at concentrations up to 50 microM had no effect on sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity. The possible physiological role of long chain fatty acyl-CoA thioesters in the regulation of sn-glycerol 3-phosphate and phospholipid biosynthesis in E. coli is discussed.     

Kinetic study of sn-glycerol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase from the aerobic hyperthermophilic archaeon, Aeropyrum pernix K1.

A gene having high sequence homology (45-49%) with the glycerol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase gene from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum was cloned from the aerobic hyperthermophilic archaeon Aeropyrum pernix K1 (JCM 9820). This gene expressed in Escherichia coli with the pET vector system consists of 1113 nucleotides with an ATG initiation codon and a TAG termination codon. The molecular mass of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 38 kDa by SDS/PAGE and 72.4 kDa by gel column chromatography, indicating presence as a dimer. The optimum reaction temperature of this enzyme was observed to be 94-96 degrees C at near neutral pH. This enzyme was subjected to two-substrate kinetic analysis. The enzyme showed substrate specificity for NAD(P)H-dependent dihydroxyacetone phosphate reduction and NAD(+)-dependent glycerol-1-phosphate (Gro1P) oxidation. NADP(+)-dependent Gro1P oxidation was not observed with this enzyme. For the production of Gro1P in A. pernix cells, NADPH is the preferred coenzyme rather than NADH. Gro1P acted as a noncompetitive inhibitor against dihydroxyacetone phosphate and NAD(P)H. However, NAD(P)(+) acted as a competitive inhibitor against NAD(P)H and as a noncompetitive inhibitor against dihydroxyacetone phosphate. This kinetic data indicates that the catalytic reaction by glycerol- 1-phosphate dehydrogenase from A. pernix follows a ordered bi-bi mechanism.     

H6PDH interacts directly with 11β-HSD1: Implications for determining the directionality of glucocorticoid catalysis

Tissue specific amplification of glucocorticoid action through NADPH-dependent reduction of inactive glucocorticoid precursors by 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11β-HSD1) contributes to the development of visceral obesity, insulin resistance and Type 2 Diabetes. Hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (H6PDH) is believed to supply NADPH for the reductase activity of 11β-HSD1 in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where the two enzymes are co-localized. We report here expression and purification of full-length and truncated N-terminal domain (NTD) of H6PDH in a mammalian expression system. Interestingly, both full-length H6PDH and the truncated NTD are secreted into the culture medium in the absence of 11β-HSD1. Purified full-length H6PDH is a bi-functional enzyme with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) activity as well as 6-phosphogluconolactonase (6PGL) activity. Using co-immunoprecipitation experiments with purified H6PDH and 11β-HSD1, and with cell lysates expressing H6PDH and 11β-HSD1, we observe direct physical interaction between the two enzymes. We also show the modulation of 11β-HSD1 directionality by H6PDH using overexpression and siRNA knockdown systems. The NTD retains the ability to interact with 11β-HSD1 physically as well as modulate 11β-HSD1 directionality indicating that the NTD of H6PDH is sufficient for the regulation of the 11β-HSD1 activity.     

Identification of sn-glycerol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase activity from genomic information on a hyperthermophilic archaeon, Sulfolobus tokodaii strain 7

sn-Glycerol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase is responsible for the formation of sn-glycerol-1-phosphate, the backbone of membrane phospholipids of Archaea. This activity had never been detected in cell-free extract of Sulfolobus sp. Here we report the detection of this activity on the thermostable ST0344 protein of Sulfolobus tokodaii expressed in Escherichia coli, which was predicted from genomic information on S. tokodaii. This is another line of evidence for the general mechanism of sn-glycerol-1-phosphate formation by the enzyme.     

Direct protein-protein interaction of 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 and hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in the endoplasmic reticulum lumen

Hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (H6PDH) has been shown to stimulate 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11beta-HSD1)-dependent local regeneration of active glucocorticoids. Here, we show that coexpression with H6PDH results in a dramatic shift from 11beta-HSD1 oxidase to reductase activity without affecting the activity of the endoplasmic reticular enzyme 17beta-HSD2. Immunoprecipitation experiments revealed coprecipitation of H6PDH with 11beta-HSD1 but not with the related enzymes 11beta-HSD2 and 17beta-HSD2, suggesting a specific interaction between H6PDH and 11beta-HSD1. The use of the 11beta-HSD1/11beta-HSD2 chimera indicates that the N-terminal 39 residues of 11beta-HSD1 are sufficient for interaction with H6PDH. An important role of the N-terminus was indicated further by the significantly stronger interaction of 11beta-HSD1 mutant Y18-21A with H6PDH compared to wild-type 11beta-HSD1. The protein-protein interaction and the involvement of the N-terminus of 11beta-HSD1 were confirmed by Far-Western blotting. Finally, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) measurements of HEK-293 cells expressing fluorescently labeled proteins provided evidence for an interaction between 11beta-HSD1 and H6PDH in intact cells. Thus, using three different methods, we provide strong evidence that the functional coupling between 11beta-HSD1 and H6PDH involves a direct physical interaction of the two proteins.     

Characterization of recombinant Aspergillus fumigatus mannitol-1-phosphate 5-dehydrogenase and its application for the stereoselective synthesis of protio and deuterio forms of D-mannitol 1-phosphate

A putative long-chain mannitol-1-phosphate 5-dehydrogenase from Aspergillus fumigatus (AfM1PDH) was overexpressed in Escherichia coli to a level of about 50% of total intracellular protein. The purified recombinant protein was a approximately 40-kDa monomer in solution and displayed the predicted enzymatic function, catalyzing NAD(H)-dependent interconversion of d-mannitol 1-phosphate and d-fructose 6-phosphate with a specific reductase activity of 170 U/mg at pH 7.1 and 25 degrees C. NADP(H) showed a marginal activity. Hydrogen transfer from formate to d-fructose 6-phosphate, mediated by NAD(H) and catalyzed by a coupled enzyme system of purified Candida boidinii formate dehydrogenase and AfM1PDH, was used for the preparative synthesis of d-mannitol 1-phosphate or, by applying an analogous procedure using deuterio formate, the 5-[2H] derivative thereof. Following the precipitation of d-mannitol 1-phosphate as barium salt, pure product (>95% by HPLC and NMR) was obtained in isolated yields of about 90%, based on 200 mM of d-fructose 6-phosphate employed in the reaction. In situ proton NMR studies of enzymatic oxidation of d-5-[2H]-mannitol 1-phosphate demonstrated that AfM1PDH was stereospecific for transferring the deuterium to NAD+, producing (4S)-[2H]-NADH. Comparison of maximum initial rates for NAD+-dependent oxidation of protio and deuterio forms of D-mannitol 1-phosphate at pH 7.1 and 25 degrees C revealed a primary kinetic isotope effect of 2.9+/-0.2, suggesting that the hydride transfer was strongly rate-determining for the overall enzymatic reaction under these conditions.     

Kinetic properties of a sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase purified from the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

A sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (sn-glycerol-3-phosphate:NAD+ 2-oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.8) has been purified from the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii 3400-fold to a specific activity of 34 mumol/mg protein per min by a simple procedure involving two chromatographic steps on affinity dyes. The pH optimum for reduction of dihydroxyacetone phosphate was 6.8 and for glycerol 3-phosphate oxidation it was 9.5. In the direction of dihydroxyacetone phosphate reduction, the enzyme showed Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The enzyme reacted specifically with NADH and dihydroxyacetone phosphate as substrates with affinity constants of 16 and 12 microM, respectively. Product inhibition as well as competitive inhibition pattern indicated a random-bi-bi reaction mechanism for sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from C. reinhardtii. The effective control of dihydroxyacetone reduction catalysed via this enzyme by ATP, Pi and NAD gave evidence for a physiological role of the enzyme in plastidic glycolysis.     

Ancestral lipid biosynthesis and early membrane evolution

Archaea possess unique membrane phospholipids that generally comprise isoprenoid ethers built on sn-glycerol-1-phosphate (G1P). By contrast, bacterial and eukaryal membrane phospholipids are fatty acid esters linked to sn-glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P). The two key dehydrogenase enzymes that produce G1P and G3P, G1PDH and G3PDH, respectively, are not homologous. Various models propose that these enzymes originated during the speciation of the two prokaryotic domains, and the nature (and even the very existence) of lipid membranes in the last universal common ancestor (cenancestor) is subject to debate. G1PDH and G3PDH belong to two separate superfamilies that are universally distributed, suggesting that members of both superfamilies existed in the cenancestor. Furthermore, archaea possess homologues to known bacterial genes involved in fatty acid metabolism and synthesize fatty acid phospholipids. The cenancestor seems likely to have been endowed with membrane lipids whose synthesis was enzymatic but probably non-stereospecific.     

sn-Glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and its interaction with nitrate reductase in wild-type and hem mutant strains of Staphylococcus aureus

Staphylococcus aureus has membrane-associated sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity that is strongly activated by detergents. The enzyme can be measured spectrophotometrically in intact cells in assay systems containing lauryldimethylamine oxide (Ammonyx LO). The dehydrogenase activity was located exclusively in the membrane fraction of cells grown with glycerol under aerobic conditions or under anaerobic conditions with the addition of nitrate; there was no evidence of multiple forms. Development of sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity was studied with suspensions of cells grown previously under semianaerobic conditions with glucose and nitrate. The wild-type strain rapidly formed the enzyme when incubated with glycerol under aerobic conditions or under semianaerobic conditions in the presence of nitrate. Under similar conditions, suspensions of hem mutant H-14 required the addition of hemin. Induction of the enzyme was strongly repressed by glucose with both organisms. A procedure was established to obtain cells of mutant H-14 with sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and nitrate reductase activities, but which could not link the systems unless supplemented with hemin. The coupled activity could also be reconstructed in vitro by the addition of hemin to the depleted membranes.     

Catalytic properties of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase from pea leaves.

A homogeneous preparation of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH, EC 1.1.1.49) with a specific activity of 3.88 U/mg protein was isolated from pea (Pisum sativum L.) leaves. The molecular mass of the G6PDH is 79 +/- 2 kD. According to SDS-PAGE, the molecular mass of the enzyme subunit is 40 +/- 3 kD. The Km values for glucose-6-phosphate and NADP are 2 and 0.5 mM, respectively. The enzyme has a pH optimum of 8.0. Mg2+, Mn2+, and Ca2+ activate the enzyme at concentrations above 1 mM. Galactose-6-phosphate and fructose-6-phosphate inhibit the G6PDH from pea leaves. Fructose-1, 6-bisphosphate and galactose-1-phosphate are enzyme activators. NADPH is a competitive inhibitor of the G6PDH with respect to glucose-6-phosphate (Ki = 0.027 mM). ATP, ADP, AMP, UTP, NAD, and NADH have no effect on the activity of the enzyme.     

Periplasmic protein related to the sn-glycerol-3-phosphate transport system of Escherichia coli.

Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of shock fluids of Escherichia coli K-12 revealed the presence of a periplasmic protein related to sn-glycerol-3-phosphate transport (GLPT) that is under the regulation of glpR, the regulatory gene of the glp regulon. Mutants selected for their resistance to phosphonomycin and found to be defective in sn-glycerol-3-phosphate transport either did not produce GLPT or produced it in reduced amounts. Other mutations exhibited no apparent effect of GLPT. Transductions of glpT+ nalA phage P1 into these mutants and selection for growth on sn-glycerol-3-phosphate revealed a 50% cotransduction frequency to nalA. Reversion of mutants taht did not produce GLPT to growth on sn-glycerol-3-phosphate resulted in strains that produce GLPT. This suggests a close relationship of GLPT to the glpT gene and to sn-glycerol-3-phosphate transport. Attempts to demonstrate binding activity of GLPT in crude shock fluid towards sn-glycerol-3-phosphate have failed so far. However, all shock fluids, independent of their GLPT content, exhibited an enzymatic activity that hydrolyzes under the conditions of the binding assay, 30 to 60% of the sn-glycerol-3-phosphate to glycerol and inorganic orthophosphate.     

水稻质体葡萄糖-6-磷酸脱氢酶基因的克隆与表达研究

戊糖磷酸途径是高等植物中重要的代谢途径,主要生理功能是产生NADPH以及供核酸代谢的磷酸戊糖。葡萄糖-6-磷酸脱氢酶（G6PDH）是戊糖磷酸途径的关键酶,广泛存在于高等植物细胞的细胞质和质体中。木研究首次从水稻（Oryza sativa L.）幼苗中分离了核编码的质体G6PDH基因OsG6PDH2,序列分析表明OsG6PDH2编码一个具有588个氨基酸残基的多肽,等电点为8．5,分子量66kDa。OsG6PDH2的N端有1个70个氨基酸的信号肽,推测的裂解位点为Gly55和Val56,表明OsG6PDH2编码产物可能定位于质体。多序列比较的结果表明OsG6PDH2与拟南芥、烟草、马铃薯质体G6PDH的一致性分别达81％、87％、83％。进化关系说明水稻OsG6PDH2与拟南芥（AtG6PDH3）、马铃薯（StG6PDH1）处于高等植物P2型质体G6PDH分支上,暗示了OsG6PDH2可能是一个P2型的质体蛋白。Matinspector程序分析表明,OsG6PDH2在起始密码子上游含有一个bZIP转录因子识别位点、一个ABA应答元件、一个CRT／DRE元件和1个W-box元件。半定量RT-PCR分析表明,OsG6PDH2在水稻根、茎、叶和幼穗组织中都呈低丰度组成型表达,在根部表达较高,在水稻幼苗中的表达显著受暗处理的诱导。将OsG6PDH2的完整开放阅读框构建到大肠杆菌表达载体pET30a（＋）中,pET30a（＋）-OsG6PDH2在大肠杆菌中得到了有效表达。酶活性测定证明,OsG6PDH2的编码产物具有葡萄糖-6-磷酸脱氢酶的功能。     

Interplay between H6PDH and 11β-HSD1 implicated in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Extensive studies have been performed on the role of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 (11β-HSD1) in metabolic diseases. Our previous study reported glucose could directly regulate hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (H6PDH) and 11β-HSD1. Recently, we further investigated the interplay of H6PDH and 11β-HSD1 and their roles in hepatic gluconeogenesis and insulin resistance to elucidate the importance of H6PDH and 11β-HSD1 in pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). T2DM rats model and H6PDH or 11β-HSD1 siRNA transfected in CBRH-7919 cells were used to explore the effect of H6PDH and 11β-HSD1 in T2DM. The results showed that the expression and activity of H6PDH and 11β-HSD1 in livers of diabetic rats were increased, with the expressions of PEPCK and G6Pase or liver corticosterone increased apparently. It also showed that H6PDH siRNA and 11β-HSD1 siRNA could inhibit the protein expression and enzyme activity by each other. With H6PDH siRNA, the enhancement of gluconeogenesis was blocked and insulin resistance stimulated by corticosterone was reduced. H6PDH and 11β-HSD1 might be the effective and prospective targets for T2DM and metabolic syndromes, based on the interplay between these two enzymes.     

Characterization of active and latent forms of the membrane-associated sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase of Escherichia coli

The intrinsically active, sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase present in membranes prepared from both wild type Escherichia coli and from strains which overproduce the enzyme can be kinetically distinguished from a latent enzyme species which is unmasked by solubilization and reconstitution. Both membrane-associated and solubilized/reconstituted enzyme preparations exhibited cooperativity with respect to sn-glycerol-3-phosphate and palmitoyl-coenzyme A substrates; positive cooperativity in membranes toward palmitoyl-coenzyme A (napp = 4) and negative cooperativity toward sn-glycerol-3-phosphate (napp = 0.75) were significantly altered upon solubilization and reconstitution. Since the degree of alteration increased with the amount of sn-glycerol-3-P acyltransferase present in the membranes, a detergent-dissociable homooligomerization of the sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase was considered as an underlying mechanism. This possibility was investigated by changing the protein-to-Triton X-100 ratio of homogeneous enzyme prior to reconstitution and then analyzing the subsequent migration of samples on a Sephacryl S-300 sizing column. The elution positions were consistent with monomeric and dimeric polypeptide bound to micelles of Triton X-100. Hill coefficients for monomeric, reconstituted enzyme preparations were comparable to those obtained for the active, membrane-associated sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase. The reduced cooperativity of dimeric, reconstituted enzyme preparations correlated closely to the Hill coefficient values obtained for latent, solubilized/reconstituted sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase from membranes of Escherichia coli which overproduce the enzyme. The physiological significance of these findings is discussed.     

Brefeldin A activates CHOP promoter at the AARE, ERSE and AP-1 elements

In a previous study, we found interaction of gymnemic acid (GA) with glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), a key enzyme in glycolysis. We now examined interaction of GA with glycolytic and related enzymes. We found that (1) GA induced a band smearing of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH) as well as that of GAPDH in SDS-PAGE, (2) GA diminished the G3PDH band detected by an antibody to phosphoserine, and (3) GA inhibited the G3PDH activity. The GA-induced smearing of the G3PDH band was diminished by prior incubation of GA with γ-cyclodextrin. GA gave no effects on the electrophoretic and phosphoserine bands of other glycolytic enzymes. NAD and NADH diminished the GA-induced smearing of the G3PDH and GAPDH bands in different concentration-dependent manner. Pretreatment of G3PDH with heated SDS-containing buffer or pretreatment with hydroxylamine diminished the GA-induced smearing of G3PDH. Deacylation of GA by alkaline hydrolysis diminished the smearing of G3PDH band, thereby indicating that the acyl moieties of GA were necessary for the GA-induced smearing of G3PDH. These results indicated the interaction of GA with G3PDH, an enzyme involved in glycerol metabolism. These studies suggest that GA may have some pharmacological activities including antidiabetic activity and lipid lowering effects via interaction with GAPDH and G3PDH.     

Mannitol metabolism in the phytopathogenic fungus Alternaria alternata

Mannitol metabolism in fungi is thought to occur through a mannitol cycle first described in 1978. In this cycle, mannitol 1-phosphate 5-dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.17) was proposed to reduce fructose 6-phosphate into mannitol 1-phosphate, followed by dephosphorylation by a mannitol 1-phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.22) resulting in inorganic phosphate and mannitol. Mannitol would be converted back to fructose by the enzyme mannitol dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.138). Although mannitol 1-phosphate 5-dehydrogenase was proposed as the major biosynthetic enzyme and mannitol dehydrogenase as a degradative enzyme, both enzymes catalyze their respective reverse reactions. To date the cycle has not been confirmed through genetic analysis. We conducted enzyme assays that confirmed the presence of these enzymes in a tobacco isolate of Alternaria alternata. Using a degenerate primer strategy, we isolated the genes encoding the enzymes and used targeted gene disruption to create mutants deficient in mannitol 1-phosphate 5-dehydrogenase, mannitol dehydrogenase, or both. PCR analysis confirmed gene disruption in the mutants, and enzyme assays demonstrated a lack of enzymatic activity for each enzyme. GC-MS experiments showed that a mutant deficient in both enzymes did not produce mannitol. Mutants deficient in mannitol 1-phosphate 5-dehydrogenase or mannitol dehydrogenase alone produced 11.5 and 65.7 %, respectively, of wild type levels. All mutants grew on mannitol as a sole carbon source, however, the double mutant and mutant deficient in mannitol 1-phosphate 5-dehydrogenase grew poorly. Our data demonstrate that mannitol 1-phosphate 5-dehydrogenase and mannitol dehydrogenase are essential enzymes in mannitol metabolism in A. alternata, but do not support mannitol metabolism operating as a cycle.     

Impaired Iron Transport Activity of Ferroportin 1 in Hereditary Iron Overload

To investigate the functional significance of mutations in Ferroportin that cause hereditary iron overload, we directly measured the iron efflux activity of the proteins expressed in Xenopus oocytes. We found that wild type and mutant Ferroportin molecules (A77D, N144H, Q248H and V162Δ) were all expressed at the plasma membrane at similar levels. All mutations caused significant reductions in ⁵⁹Fe efflux compared to wild type but all retained some residual transport activity. A77D had the strongest effect on ⁵⁹Fe efflux (remaining activity 9% of wild-type control), whereas the N144H mutation retained the highest efflux activity (42% of control). The Q248H and V162Δ mutations were intermediate between these values. Co-injection of mutant and wild-type mRNAs revealed that the A77D and N144H mutations had a dominant negative effect on the function of the WT protein.     

Monoclonal antibodies to glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) form cyclic 1:1 complexes with G6PDH and act as regulatory subunits

A number of IgG monoclonal antibodies against L. mesenteroides glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) have been prepared. Four of the antibodies form 1:1 enzyme-antibody complexes which are stabilized in the presence of glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) and have greatly reduced enzyme activity. In the absence of G6P, the 1:1 complexes convert gradually to a more active multimeric form. Reduction of the IgG inter-heavy chain disulfides partially relieves inhibition and removes the G6P requirement for stability. F(ab')2 fragments of one of the antibodies behave similarly to the intact IgG. Reduction of the disulfides in the G6PDH-F(ab')2 complex leads to complete recovery of activity. The activity of complexes of G6PDH with reduced antibodies or Fab with digoxin bound to the antibody or Fab sulfhydryl groups can be modulated with antibodies to digoxin. The anti-G6PDH antibodies bridge two identical epitopes of this two subunit enzyme and simulate the function of regulatory subunits in which anti-digoxin acts as an activator. The system can be used to provide a sensitive homogeneous immunoassay for digoxin.