Fibrillation properties of human α1-acid glycoprotein

Human α₁-acid glycoprotein (AGP) is a positive acute phase plasma protein containing two disulfide bridges. Structural studies have shown that under specific conditions AGP undergoes aggregation. In this study, we analysed the nature of AGP's aggregates formed under reducing and non-reducing conditions at pH 5.5 and at relatively low temperatures. Thioflavin T and Congo red spectroscopic analyses indicated the presence of cross-β structures in both unreduced and reduced AGP aggregates. In these samples amyloid-like fibrils were detected by transmission electron microscopy. The fibrils are branched and bent and present in very large amount in reduced AGP. Kinetics of AGP fibrillation proceeds without a lag phase and the rate constants of cross-β formation are linearly dependent on AGP concentration and result higher under reducing conditions. The data suggest a possible downhill mechanism of polymerization with a first-order monomer concentration dependence. Bioinformatics tools highlighted an extended region that sheathes one side of the molecule containing aggregation-prone regions. Reducing conditions make the extended region less constricted, allowing greater exposure of aggregation-prone regions, thus explaining the higher propensity of AGP to aggregate and fibrillate.     

Does glycoprotein IIB/IIIA resistance exist?

Platelet function testing is not embedded into routine clinical practice, because no optimal, easy, reproducible and multipathway platelet aggregation test can be accomplished in vitro. Only recently, the relationship between the level of platelet aggregation inhibition by platelet inhibitors and clinical outcome in acute myocardial infarction became more clear.1-5 High platelet reactivity was found in patients who experienced stent thrombosis, and patients with clopidogrel resistance were at increased risk of recurrent atherothrombotic events.1,2 Furthermore, in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) increased levels of platelet aggregation were found compared with unstable angina or control patients.4 In a thrombolysis study, higher platelet receptor occupancy was coupled with better angiographic and electrocardiographic outcome.     

The induction of α1-acid glycoprotein by methylmercury

• 1.1. The incorporation of [¹⁴C]leucine into protein was measured in liver preparations and blood of rats following the s.c. administration of methylmercury hydroxide (24 mg/kg body wt) or turpentine (5.0 ml/kg body wt).
• 2.2. The translatability of the RNA obtained from polysomes in an mRNA-dependent reticulocyte lysate was elevated significantly in the preparations derived from the treated rats compared to control rats.
• 3.3. Immunoprecipitation of the labelled translation products or of serum proteins showed that the mRNA activity and the synthesis of α₁-acid glycoprotein, an acute phase reactant, was elevated by the methylmercury treatment as well as by the turpentine-induced inflammatory response.

     

Selective binding of imatinib to the genetic variants of human α1-acid glycoprotein

Imatinib is a selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor, successfully used for the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukaemia. Its strong plasma protein binding referred to α₁-acid glycoprotein (AGP) component was found to inhibit the pharmacological activity. AGP shows genetic polymorphism and the two main genetic variants have different drug binding properties. The binding characteristics of imatinib to AGP genetic variants and the possibility of its binding interactions were investigated by various methods. The results proved that binding of imatinib to the two main genetic variants is very different, the high affinity binding belongs dominantly to the F1-S variant. This interaction is accompanied with specific spectral changes (induced circular dichroism, UV change, intrinsic fluorescence quenching), suggesting that the bound ligand has chiral conformation that would largely overlap with other ligands inside the protein cavity. Binding parameters of K_a = 1.7(± 0.2) × 10⁶ M^− 1 and n = 0.94 could be determined for the binding on the F1-S variant at 37°. Imatinib binding on the A variant is weaker and less specific. The binding affinity of imatinib to human serum albumin (nK_a ≈ 3 × 10⁴ M^− 1) is low. Pharmacologically relevant binding interactions with other drugs can be expected on the F1-S variant of AGP.     

Selective binding interactions of deramciclane to the genetic variants of human α1-acid glycoprotein

Background

α₁-Acid glycoprotein (AGP) plays a decisive role in the serum protein binding of several drugs.Genetic variants of AGP have different ligand binding properties. The binding of deramciclane (DER), a chiral anxiolytic agent, has been studied on A and F1/S genetic variants of AGP.

Methods

The effects of DER and reference drugs on the binding of specific fluorescent and circular dichroism (CD) probes of AGP were determined. Dicumarol (DIC) binding was measured by CD and equilibrium dialysis.

Results

DER effectively displaced probes bound to variant A, while it was less effective at displacing probes bound to variant F1/S. DER increased the binding and inverted the induced CD spectrum of DIC in the solution of variant F1/S. This phenomenon could not be brought about by the enantiomer of DER.

Conclusion

DER has high-affinity binding (K_a ≥ 2×10⁶ M^-1) to variant A, while its binding to the variant F1/S is about thirty times weaker. During simultaneous binding of DER and DIC to variant F1/S a ternary complex having about four times higher affinity is formed, in which the opposite chiral conformation of DIC is favored.

General significance

The binding interactions found prove that AGP can simultaneously accommodate different ligand molecules. Even weakly bound ligands can provoke unexpected allosteric protein binding interactions.     

Is tubulin a glycoprotein?

[¹⁴C]Glucosamine is incorporated $\text{in vivo}$ in mouse brain into the major protein species present in purified tubulin preparations when analyzed both by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and by isoelectric focusing. The radioactivity incorporated into tubulin can be recovered as a mixture of glucosamine and galactosamine.     

The orosomucoid 1 protein (α1 acid glycoprotein) is overexpressed in odontogenic myxoma

Background

Odontogenic myxoma (OM) is a benign, but locally invasive, neoplasm occurring in the jaws. However, the molecules implicated in its development are unknown. OM as well as Dental Follicle (DF), an odontogenic tissue surrounding the enamel organ, is derived from ectomesenchymal/mesencyhmal elements. To identify some protein that could participate in the development of this neoplasm, total proteins from OM were separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis and the profiles were compared with those obtained from DF, used as a control.

Results

We identified eight proteins with differential expression; two of them were downregulated and six upregulated in OM. A spot consistently overexpressed in odontogenic myxoma, with a molecular weight of 44-kDa and a pI of 3.5 was identified as the orosomucoid 1 protein. Western blot experiments confirmed the overexpression of this protein in odontogenic myxoma and immunohistochemical assays showed that this protein was mainly located in the cytoplasm of stellate and spindle-shaped cells of this neoplasm.

Conclusion

Orosomucoid 1, which belongs to a group of acute-phase proteins, may play a role in the modulation of the immune system and possibly it influences the development of OM.     

Characterization of binding mode of imatinib to human α1-acid glycoprotein

Imatinib (IMT) is a selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor, used in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia and gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Its strong plasma protein binding was found to belong to the F1*S genetic variant of α(1)-acid glycoprotein (AGP). In this work, comparative AGP binding studies were performed with IMT fragment molecules to reveal which parts of the molecule are important in the high-affinity interaction provoking specific spectral changes. Molecular modeling calculations indicated that IMT docked into the X-ray structure of AGP/F1 adopts a bent, compact conformation. This binding mode is similar to those found in its complexes with some low-affinity kinases and a quinone reductase, being strikingly different from the extended conformation of IMT in its high-affinity kinase targets.     

The effect of α1-acid glycoprotein (orosomucoid) on triglyceride metabolism in the nephrotic syndrome

We have identified α₁-acid glycoprotein as a new co-factor in the lipoprotein lipase reaction. We isolated an active form of the compound from nephrotic urine that is effective both $\text{in vitro}$ and $\text{in vivo}$. α₁-acid glycoprotein increased lipolysis 100% in the presence of C-II apolipoprotein in a lipoprotein lipase assay system. Rats with induced nephrotic syndrome showed a decrease in triglyceride clearance. $\text{T}\text{1}\text{2}$ was increased from 14 min to 43 min. The injection of α₁-acid glycoprotein restored the lipid clearance to normal. These findings suggest that elevated plasma triglycerides in human nephrotic patients is the direct result of excessive loss of α₁-acid glycoprotein from plasma into urine. We propose that replacement therapy may be possible.     

Osmotic water permeability through liposomes in the presence of α1-acid glycoprotein

¹-acid glycoprotein (orosomucoid) from human blood serum was isolated in pure form and then reconstituted into large multilamellar liposomes, consisting of a binary mixture of hen-egg phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol. These liposomes were found to be osmotically sensitive. The osmotic water permeability of proteoliposomes was determined by light-scattering measurements of the osmotic volume changes after mixing with hyperosmotic solutions of potassium salts and aminoglycoside antibiotics. The initial rate of water outflow was measured as a function of glycoprotein concentration in the mixture for the preparation of proteoliposomes. This can serve as an indication for membrane permeability to the solutes used in these experiments. It was shown that aminoglycoside antibiotics passed much faster across the membrane than potassium salts, in the presence of glycoprotein in the liposomes. A recognition pattern in the osmotic behavior of these proteoliposomes was assumed.     

Glycoforms of serum α1-acid glycoprotein as markers of inflammation and cancer

1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) is a serum acute phase glycoprotein which possesses five N-linked complex type heteroglycan side chains which may be present as bi-, tri- and tetraantennary structures. Depending upon the content of biantennary structure on AGP, up to four glycoforms of AGP are present in serum. These glycoforms can be easily estimated in body fluids by means of crossed affinity-immunoelectrophoresis (CAIE) with the lectin, Concanavalin A (Con A). Con A selectively binds biantennary structures; the more biantennary structures on AGP, the stronger the binding. In acute inflammation, a relative increase of AGP glycoforms with biantennary units is observed - a type I glycosylation change. In some chronic inflammatory states there is an relative decrease of AGP glycoforms with biantennary heteroglycans — a type II glycosylation change. Moreover, in certain other states such as pregnancy, estrogen administration or liver damage, type II glycosylation changes are also seen. A detailed analysis of the clinical applications of the assessment of AGP glycoforms in sera of patients with rheumatic diseases, AIDS and various types of cancers is presented. Accumulated data shows that AGP glycoforms may be very useful in the detection of intercurrent infections in the course of rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, or myeloblastic leukaemia, and in the detection of secondary infections in human immunodeficiency virus infected individuals. AGP glycoforms are also very useful in differentiation between various forms of trophoblastic disease and are helpful in monitoring the treatment of these patients. Finally, AGP glycoforms provide valuable information for differentiation between primary and secondary liver cancer.     

The amino acid sequences of two large glycopeptides derived from the carbohydrate-carrying region of α1-acid glycoprotein

Specific fragmentation with cyanogen bromide and subsequent reduction and carboxymethylation of α₁-acid glycoprotein, a normal human plasma globulin, permitted isolation of a large fragment which was shown to represent the amino-terminal half and to contain the total carbohydrate moiety of this protein. The amino acid sequences of two large glycopeptides derived from this fragment were established. One glycopeptide was composed of 22 amino acid residues and one carbohydrate unit, and the other consisted of 65 amino acid residues and carried four carbohydrate units.     

Intracellular precursor forms of transferrin, α1-acid glycoprotein,and α1-antitrypsin in human liver

Ion-exchange chromatography of dialyzed human plasma and of buffer extracts of acetone-dried powder from human liver was used to analyze 13 different plasma proteins which are synthesized in the liver. Specific intracellular forms which differ from the plasma forms were found for transferrin, α₁-acid glycoprotein, α₁-antitrypsin, and albumin. The intracellular forms were labeled earlier than the plasma forms, when liver slices were incubated with radioactive leucine, suggesting that they are precursor forms of the proteins in the bloodstream. The liver form of transferrin was found to have the same molecular weight and N-terminus as the plasma form, but it differed from the plasma form by the absence of sialic acid. For α₁-acid glycoprotein two different liver forms were observed, both of which had lower molecular weights than the plasma form. One of these liver forms was analyzed further. Its polypeptide chain was found to have a blocked N-terminus, as does the plasma form. However, in contrast to the plasma form, it did not contain sialic acid. Its content of N-acetyl glucosamine was about one-third and the content of neutral hexoses about two-thirds of that found in the plasma form. Circular dichroism spectra were similar for liver and plasma forms and indicated a predominant β structure with very little α-helix content for both.     

Partial characterization of the sialic acid-free forms of α1-acid glycoprotein from human plasma

Some of the properties of sialic acid-free α₁-acid glycoprotein prepared by mild acid hydrolysis (pH1·6 at 80° for 1hr.) were compared with those of neuraminidasetreated α₁-acid glycoprotein. Chemically, the former contained less fucose (15%) and amide (2%) residues. Physicochemically, it had undergone certain changes primarily pertaining to the secondary structure, so that the specific optical rotation was more negative than that of the latter. A further expression of this change is probably the difference in the pH range of the resolution into two bands on electrophoresis. The resolution of the glycoprotein prepared by mild acid hydrolysis seems to be extended to more acidic pH values both by starch-gel and free moving-boundary electrophoresis. On ultracentrifugation both preparations appeared homogeneous and sedimented with a rate of 3s. Removal of sialyl residues at different pH values, in the range 1–7, showed that 2moles of sialic acid/mole of protein are very strongly bound. The two variants of α₁-acid glycoprotein were isolated from pooled sialic acid-free α₁-acid glycoprotein by preparative starch-gel electrophoresis and from selected blood of normal adults by fractionation by solubility and chromatography. Ultracentrifugal and starch-gel electrophoretic analyses at pH5, with incubation times of 1 or 24hr., demonstrated that no dissociation–association equilibrium (constant sedimentation coefficient and molecular weight) or isomerization (constant apparent electrophoretic mobilities) exist between the two variants. Therefore these variants are not sub-units of native α₁-acid glycoprotein but represent modifications of naturally occurring proteins. Further, it was shown that the difference in the electrophoretic mobilities between the two variants was not due to any difference in amide content. Immunochemically, the two variants share the same determinants.     

Organogold complexes probe a large β-barrel cavity for human serum α1-acid glycoprotein

Human α₁-acid glycoprotein (AAG) is an acute phase component of the plasma, binding numerous drugs and natural compounds with high-affinity. Using circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, strong AAG binding of organogold complexes was found, the molecular size and chemical structure of which differ from known AAG binding agents. The 16-membered Au₂P₄C₈O₂ macrocycles interconvert rapidly between two helical forms and produce enantiomeric conformations which are in dynamic equilibrium in solution. AAG binds preferentially one of the chiral conformers as indicated by strong Cotton effects generated by intramolecular exciton coupling between the pairs of hetercyclic chromophores. Lipophilic nature of the guest molecules suggests the dominant contribution of hydrophobic interactions in the AAG binding. Comparison of the main genetic variants of AAG revealed that both the ‘F1/S’ and ‘A’ variants bind with high-affinity the gold(I) macrocycles (K_a ≈ 10⁶ M^- 1). CD/fluorescence displacement, and fluorescence quenching experiments indicated inclusion of the compounds into the central β-barrel cavity of AAG of which exact tertiary structure is yet unknown. Molecular dimensions of the gold(I) macrocycles (13 × 14 × 14 Å) indicate that the principal ligand binding cavity of both the ‘F1/S’ and ‘A’ variants must be larger compared to the models published to date. Based on these findings, a novel homology model of AAG ‘F1’ variant was constructed using the human neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin as a template. The organogold complexes were successfully docked into the central cavity of this model.     

The drug binding site of human α1-acid glycoprotein: Insight from induced circular dichroism and electronic absorption spectra

Human α₁-acid glycoprotein (AGP) is an important drug binding plasma protein which affects pharmacokinetical properties of various therapeutic agents. For the first time, interpretation of the induced circular dichroism (ICD) spectra of drug–AGP complexes is presented yielding valuable information on the protein binding environment. ICD spectra were obtained by novel ligands of which AGP induced optical activity have never been reported (primaquine, mefloquine, propranolol, terazosin, carbamazepine, rhodamine B) and by re-investigation of ICD spectra of protein-bound drugs published earlier (chlorpromazine, dipyridamole, prazosin). Spectroscopic features of the ICD and absorption bands of drugs combined with native AGP indicated chiral non-degenerate exciton coupling between the guest chromophore and the indole ring of an adjacent tryptophan (Trp) residue. Results of additional CD experiments performed by using recombinant AGP mutants showed no changes in the ligand binding ability of W122A in sharp contrast with the W25A which was unable to induce extrinsic CD signal with either ligand. Thus, these findings unequivocally prove that, likely via π–π stacking mechanism, Trp25 is essentially involved in the AGP binding of drugs studied here as well as of related compounds. Survey of the AGP binding data published in the literature support this conclusion. Our results provide a fast and efficient spectroscopic tool to determine the inclusion of ligand molecules into the β-barrel cavity of AGP where the conserved Trp25 is located and might be useful in ligand-binding studies of other lipocalin proteins.     

LC/MS analysis of complex multiglycosylated human α1-acid glycoprotein as a model for developing identification and quantitation methods for intact glycopeptide analysis

The site-specific characterization of the complex glycans in multiglycosylated proteins requires developing methods where the carbohydrates remain covalently bound to the protein. The complexity in the carbohydrate composition of α₁-acid glycoprotein (AAG) makes it an ideal model protein for such development. AAG has five N-asparaginyl-linked glycosylation sites, each varying in its bi-, tri-, and tetraantennary glycan content. We present an on-line liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) method that uses high-low cone voltage switching for in-source fragmentation to determine the structures of the complex glycans present on each site for the two gene products of AAG. High cone voltage caused carbohydrate fragmentation, leading to the generation of signature carbohydrate ions that we used as markers to identify the glycopeptides. Low cone voltage produced minimal carbohydrate fragmentation and enabled the identification and quantification of the intact oligosaccharide structures on each glycopeptide based on its monoisotopic mass and intensity. Quantitation was accomplished by using the intensities of peaks from deconvoluted and deisotoped mass spectra or from the areas of the extracted ion chromatograms from the tryptic peptide maps. The combined results from the two methods can be used to better characterize and quantitate site heterogeneity in multiglycosylated proteins.     

Partial characterization of the N－linked oligosaccharide structures on Pselectin glycoprotein ligand－1（PSGL－1）

PSGL-1, a specific ligand for P-, E- and L-selectin, was isolated from in vivo [3H]-glucosamine labeled HL-60 cells by a combination of wheat germ agglutinin-agarose and P- or E-selectin-agarose chromatography. N-linked oligosaccharides were released from the purified, denatured ligand molecule by peptide: N-glycosidase F treatment and, following separation by Sephacryl S-200 chromatography, partially characterized using lectin, ion-exchange and size-exclusion chromatography in combination with glycosidase digestions. The data obtained suggest that the N-glycans on PSGL-1 are predominantly core-fucosylated, multiantennary complex type structures with extended, poly-N-acetyllactosamine containing outer chains. A portion of the outer chains appears to be substituted with fucose indicating that the N-glycans, in addition to the O-glycans on PSGL-1, may be involved in selectin binding.