Location of the phosphorylation site for casein kinase-2 within the amino acid sequence of ornithine decarboxylase

The sizes of the radiolabeled fragments obtained by CNBr and DMSO/HBr digestion of 32P-labeled ornithine decarboxylase phosphorylated by rat liver casein kinase TS (type-2) are consistent with the location of the phosphorylation site within the sequence(303-309) Ser-Asp-Asp-Glu-Asp-Glu-Ser. Parallel experiments with synthetic peptides rule out the suitability of Ser-309, as well as of other serines of ornithine decarboxylase having just two or three acidic residues close to their C terminal side. Ser-303 appears, therefore, to be the main if not the only target for casein kinase-2.     

A rat monoclonal antibody which interacts with mammalian ornithine decarboxylase at an epitope involved in phosphorylation

Ornithine decarboxylase was purified from androgen-treated mouse kidney to homogeneity and high specific activity. The purified enzyme was utilized for production and screening of rat monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies. A rat monoclonal antibody was isolated which was capable of immunoprecipitation of native mouse kidney ornithine decarboxylase activity or the [3H]difluoromethylornithine-inactivated enzyme. Phosphorylation of mouse ornithine decarboxylase by casein kinase-II prior to immunoprecipitation led to complete loss of the epitope recognized by the monoclonal antibody but did not alter recognition by polyclonal antibody. Mammalian ornithine decarboxylase activity obtained from several species, in crude or partially purified extracts, was subjected to quantitative immunoprecipitation with monoclonal and polyclonal antibody. Polyclonal antibody immunoprecipitated all of the ornithine decarboxylase activity from every extract tested, while monoclonal antibody was capable of only limited immunoprecipitation (60-80%). Due to the inability of the monoclonal antibody to recognize ornithine decarboxylase phosphorylated in vitro by casein kinase-II and the partial immunoprecipitation of ornithine decarboxylase activity from cell extracts, a portion of the ornithine decarboxylase molecule population must exist in a phosphorylated state. This immunological evidence further confirms existing data that the enzyme exists in at least two distinct forms.     

Phosphorylation of ornithine decarboxylase by casein kinase II from RAW264 cells

Casein kinase II and ornithine decarboxylase were purified from a virally-transformed macrophage-like cell line, RAW264. The addition of casein kinase II to a reaction mixture containing [tau-32P]GTP, Mg++, and ornithine decarboxylase led to the phosphorylation of a 55,000 dalton protein band in the purified preparation of ornithine decarboxylase. Stoichiometric estimates indicated that casein kinase II incorporated 0.15 mole of phosphate per mole of ornithine decarboxylase, which was increased to 0.3 mole/per mole in the presence of spermine. The apparent Km and Vmax values for the casein kinase II-mediated phosphorylation of ornithine decarboxylase were 0.36 microM and 62.5 nmol/min./mg kinase. The addition of spermine to the reaction did not alter the Km but increased the Vmax to 100 nmol/min./mg kinase. The phosphorylation of ornithine decarboxylase by casein kinase II affected neither the rate of maximal ornithine decarboxylase activity nor the affinity of the enzyme for ornithine.     

Stabilization of ornithine decarboxylase in erythroleukemia cells depleted of ATP

Ornithine decarboxylase activity in Friend erythroleukemia cells decayed with a half-life of 50 minutes after addition of cycloheximide and at a faster rate after addition of spermidine. Incubation with a medium containing dinitrophenol and 2-deoxy-glucose in place of glucose caused ATP depletion and blocked the turnover of ornithine decarboxylase, even after addition of spermidine. Dinitrophenol in the presence of glucose was able to provoke only a slight increase of the half-life of the enzyme. These results suggest that degradation of ornithine decarboxylase in erythroleukemia cells is ATP-dependent.     

A rat monoclonal antibody which interacts with mammalian ornthine decarboxylase at an epitope involved in phosphorylation

Ornitine decarboxylase was purified from androgen-treated mouse kidney to homogeneity and high specific activity. The purified enzyme was utilized for production and screeing of rat monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies. A rat monoclonal antibody was isolated which was capable of immunoprecipitation of native mouse kidney ornitine decarboxylase activity or the [³H]difluoromethylornithine-inactivated enzyme. Phosphorylation of mouse ornithine decarboxylase by casein kinase-II prior to immunoprecipitation led to complete loss of the epitope recognized by the monoclonal antibody but did not alter recognition by polyclonal antibody. Mammalian ornithine decarboxylase activity obtainied from several species, in crude or partially purified extracts, was subjected to quantitative immunoprecipitatin with monoclonal and polyclonal antibody. Polyclonal antibody immunoprecipitated all of the ornthine decarboxylase activity from every extract tested, while monoclonal antibody was capable of only limited immunoprecipitation (60–80%). Due to the inability of the monoclonal antibody to recognize ornithine decarboxylase phosphorylated in vitrol by casein kinase-II and the partial immunoprecipitation of ornithine decarboxylase activity from cell extracts, a portion of the ornithine decarboxylase molecule population must exist in a phosphrylated state. This immunological evidence further confirms existing data that the enzyme in at least two distinct forms.     

Interconversion of Tetrahymena pyriformis ornithine decarboxylase from inactive to active form by phosphorylation

A protein kinase and an acidic phosphoprotein phosphatase were purified from Tetrahymena pyriformis which phosphorylate and dephosphorylate the purified ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) of this microorganism. The protein kinase and the phosphoprotein phosphatase are copurified with ODC and can be separated in three distinct peaks only by a hydrophobic column of phenyl-Sepharose. The purified kinase is not dependent on cAMP, requires Mg2+ for its catalytic activity and has a molecule mass of 45 kDa. Incubation of [32P]ODC with the purified phosphoprotein phosphatase results in a complete loss of 32P and its catalytic activity. Phosphorylation of the inactive phosphatase-treated ODC by endogenous kinase or rat liver casein kinase-2 results in 100 or 40% reactivation of the initial untreated ODC activity, respectively.     

A possible naturally occurring tumor promoter, teleocidin B from Streptomyces.

Dihydroteleocidin B, a derivative of teleocidin B, when painted on mouse skin, caused marked induction of ornithine decarboxylase within 4 hrs. This induction of ornithine decarboxylase was inhibited by painting the skin with 13-cis-retinoic acid one hour before dihydroteleocidin B. Dihydroteleocidin B induced cell adhesion of human promyelocytic leukemia cells (HL-60) to the surface of culture flasks, and inhibited terminal differentiation of Friend erythroleukemia cells induced by dimethyl sulfoxide. Its effective dose for these actions was comparable to that of the potent tumor promoter, 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate. Teleocidin B seems to be a new type of promoter of carcinogenesis.     

Phosphorylation of rat heart ornithine decarboxylase by type-2 casein kinase

Highly purified preparations of rat heart ornithine decarboxylase are readily phosphorylated by rat liver type-2 casein kinase-TS at the same 54 KDa protein band which is also radiolabeled by 3H-DFMO. The reaction, which is stimulated by polylysine leads to the incorporation of up to 0.8 mol P/mol ornithine decarboxylase at seryl residue(s) included in a single 8.6 KDa CNBr fragment. Partially purified preparations of ornithine decarboxylase contain a type-2 casein kinase which promotes the phosphorylation of ornithine decarboxylase at the same CNBr fragment affected by rat liver casein kinase-TS.     

Superinduction of ornithine decarboxylase by halogenated ribofuranosylbenzimidazoles.

1. The effect of dichlororibofuranosylbenzimidazole (DiCl-RB), an inhibitor of hnRNA synthesis and casein kinase-2 activity, on ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) was investigated in a difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) resistant, ODC overproducing cell line. 2. In cells growing in the absence of DFMO, DiCl-RB provoked a marked, but transient increase in ODC activity and immunoreactive ODC content. 3. The ODC response to DiCl-RB was prevented by cycloheximide and was not due to stabilization of the enzyme. 4. The dibromo derivative analogue (DiBr-RB) exerted similar effects on ODC, but was effective at lower concentrations. 5. The halogenated ribofuranosylbenzimidazoles were ineffective in cells growing in the presence of DFMO and containing higher levels of ODC protein.     

The effects of polyamine antimetabolites on polyamine-responsive casein kinase activity

The effects of two inhibitors of ornithine decarboxylase activity, alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DMFO) and (2R,5R) 6-heptyne-2,5 diamine (HDA), and an inhibitor of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase, methylglyoxal bis-guanylhydrazone (MGBG), were tested on casein kinase activity and endogenous phosphorylation in the cytosol fractions of mouse thyroid and a rat prostate tumor model, Dunning R 3327 MAT LyLu subline. When tested at 5 mM, spermine, DMFO, HDA, and MGBG stimulated mouse thyroid casein kinase activity by 230%, 14%, 65% and 106%, respectively. Similar responses were observed in prostate tumor cytosol. In mouse thyroid cytosol, spermine stimulates 32P incorporation primarily into 3 proteins (MW: 107, 88, and 56 kDa). At 5 mM, MGBG partially reproduces the effects of spermine; HDA is less effective and DMFO is without effect. Similar effects were observed on 3 proteins in prostate tumor cytosol with molecular weights of 91, 41, and 32 kDa. These data provide additional support for the hypothesis that the observed synergistic inhibitory effect of DMFO and MGBG on cell growth may not be due solely to the inhibition of polyamine biosynthesis. Our findings suggest that MGBG-mediated reduction in the phosphorylation of casein kinase substrate should be considered as one locus of action.     

Early action of prolactin on ornithine decarboxylase activity is not essential for the subsequent actions of prolactin on casein and lipid biosynthesis

The actions of prolactin (PRL) on casein and lipid biosynthesis in cultured mouse mammary gland explants require the ongoing synthesis of the polyamines. This is supported by the fact that (MGBG) methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone), a drug that inhibits the conversion of putrescine to spermidine, abolishes the effects of PRL on casein and lipid biosynthesis; the inhibitory effects of MGBG are reversed by the addition of spermidine to the culture medium. alpha-Difluoro methyl ornithine (DFMO), an irreversible inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase activity, reduces the PRL-stimulated ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity by more than 95%, and yet does not suppress the effects of PRL on RNA, casein or lipid synthesis. These observations suggest that PRL's early action on ODC activity is not essential for the subsequent actions of PRL on the synthesis of certain of the components of milk.     

A human neuroblastoma cell line with an altered ornithine decarboxylase

A human neuroblastoma cell line (Paju) was resistant to 10 mM difluoromethylornithine, a concentration at which the growth of all mammalian cells normally stops. Ornithine decarboxylase from Paju was very resistant to inhibition by difluoromethylornithine in vitro (Ki = 10 microM compared to 0.5 microM for mouse kidney ornithine decarboxylase). After purification, apparently homogeneous Paju ornithine decarboxylase was inactivated with [3H]difluoromethylornithine and analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Under denaturing conditions it was found to have an altered molecular structure, i.e. two nonidentical subunits of Mr = 55,000 and 60,000. Another unusual feature of Paju ornithine decarboxylase was its long half-life in vivo (T 1/2 = 8 h compared with 36 min in human HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells). The disappearance of immunoreactive protein was only slightly slower than the loss of catalytic activity. The long half-life of Paju ornithine decarboxylase was not shared by adenosylmethionine decarboxylase. Despite the altered structure of Paju ornithine decarboxylase, it was recognized by a specific antisera raised in rabbit against mouse kidney ornithine decarboxylase. The Paju karyotype did not contain double minute chromosomes or any large homogeneously staining region such as that seen in a mouse lymphoma cell mutant that is resistant to difluoromethylornithine and overproduces ornithine decarboxylase (McConlogue, L., and Coffino, P. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 12083-12086).     

Translational regulation of mammalian ornithine decarboxylase by polyamines

Ornithine decarboxylase, which catalyses the formation of putrescine, is the first and rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of polyamines in mammalian cells. The enzyme is highly regulated, as indicated by rapid changes in its mRNA and protein during cell growth. Here we report that ornithine decarboxylase is regulated at the translational level by polyamines in difluoromethylornithine-resistant mouse myeloma cells that overproduce the enzyme due to amplification of an ornithine decarboxylase gene. When such cells are exposed to putrescine or other polyamines, there is a rapid and specific decrease in the rate of synthesis of ornithine decarboxylase, assayed by pulse-labeling. Neither the cellular content of ornithine decarboxylase mRNA nor the half-life of ornithine decarboxylase protein is affected. Our results indicate that polyamines negatively regulate the translation of ornithine decarboxylase mRNA, thereby controlling their own synthesis.     

Ornithine decarboxylase in difluoromethylornithine-resistant mouse lymphoma cells. Two-dimensional gel analysis of synthesis and turnover

Variant S49 mouse lymphoma cells with increased ornithine decarboxylase activity were obtained by selecting for resistance to alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), a specific inhibitor of the enzyme. Ornithine decarboxylase was identified as a specifically immunoprecipitable polypeptide that was made at an increased rate in the variant cells. Ornithine decarboxylase was also identified on a two-dimensional gel as a metabolically labeled polypeptide of Mr approximately 55,000 which was synthesized at an increased rate in two independently selected variants. Synthesis of this polypeptide was further augmented by treatment of cells with inhibitors of ornithine decarboxylase activity. The charge of the polypeptide was altered by treatment of either cells or cellular extracts with DFMO, a suicide substrate which binds covalently to the enzyme. This charge alteration and the inactivation of ornithine decarboxylase showed the same dependence on DFMO concentration and both effects were prevented by addition of either ornithine or putrescine. Pulse-chase experiments showed that the half-life of the ornithine decarboxylase polypeptide in these variant cells was 45 min. We conclude that ornithine decarboxylase is made at an increased rate in the resistant variants and that the polypeptide turns over rapidly.     

Gene expression of ornithine decarboxylase in L1210 leukaemia cells exposed to DL-2-difluoromethylornithine in the presence of cadaverine.

Cultured mouse L1210 leukaemia cells treated with DL-2-difluoromethylornithine, an irreversible inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.17), in the presence of micromolar concentrations of cadaverine, started to overproduce ornithine decarboxylase after an exposure of several weeks. The more than 60-fold excess of the enzyme protein in the drug-treated cells apparently resulted from a strikingly enhanced accumulation of mRNA for the enzyme associated with only a modest (about 2-fold) gene amplification.     

Decarboxylation of ornithine and lysine in rat tissues.

The possibility that arginine and lysine might be decarboxylated by rat tissues was investigated. No evidence for decarboxylation of arginine could be found. Lysine decarbosylase (L-lysine carboxy-lyase, EC 4.1.1.18) activity producing CO2 and cadaverine was detected in extracts from rat ventral prostate, androgen-stimulated mouse kidney, regenerating rat liver and livers from rats pretreated with thioacetamide. These tissues all have high ornithine decarboxylase (L-ornithine carboxy-lyase, EC 4.1.1.17) activities. Lysine and ornithine decarboxylase activities were lost to similar extents on inhibition of protein synthesis by cycloheximide and on exposure to alpha-difluoromethylornithine. A highly purified ornithine decarboxylase preparation was able to decarboxylate lysine and the ratio of ornithine to lysine decarboxylase activities was constant throughout purification. Kinetic studies of the purified preparation showed that the V for ornithine was about 4-fold greater than for lysine, but the Km for lysine (9 mM) was 100-times greater than that for ornithine (0.09 mM). These experiments indicate that all of the detectable lysine decarboxylase activity in rat and mouse tissues was due to the action of ornithine decarboxylase and that significant cadaverine production in vivo would occur only when ornithine decarboxylase activity is high and lysine concentrations substantially exceed those of ornithine.     

Induction of ornithine decarboxylase in rat liver by phorbol ester is mediated by prostanoids from Kupffer cells

Administration of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) to rats in vivo resulted in the induction of ornithine decarboxylase activity in the liver which could be blocked by preinjection of indomethacin, a cyclooxygenase inhibitor. In vitro administration of PMA to primary cultures of rat parenchymal cells did not lead to an induction of ornithine decarboxylase activity. It was investigated to what extent non-parenchymal liver cells could play an intermediary role in the expression of the PMA effect on ornithine decarboxylase activity in parenchymal liver cells. Addition of conditioned medium from PMA-activated Kupffer cells to cultured parenchymal cells led to the induction of ornithine decarboxylase activity in parenchymal cells. This effect was not observed with conditioned medium from untreated Kupffer cells or from Kupffer cells treated with PMA plus indomethacin. Conditioned media from PMA-treated or untreated endothelial liver cells were ineffective in the induction of ornithine decarboxylase activity in parenchymal liver cells. Prostaglandin D2, the main eicosanoid produced by Kupffer cells, was able to stimulate the synthesis of ornithine decarboxylase in parenchymal liver cells (up to 40-fold) in a dose-dependent way. Prostaglandin (PG) D2 appeared to be a more potent inducer of ornithine decarboxylase activity in parenchymal cells than PGE1 and PGE2. It is concluded that intercellular communication inside the liver mediated by prostaglandins derived from activated Kupffer cells may form a mechanism to induce synthesis of specific proteins in parenchymal cells.     

Comparison of ornithine decarboxylase from rat liver, rat hepatoma and mouse kidney.

Comparisons were made of ornithine decarboxylase isolated from Morris hepatoma 7777, thioacetamide-treated rat liver and androgen-stimulated mouse kidney. The enzymes from each source were purified in parallel and their size, isoelectric point, interaction with a monoclonal antibody or a monospecific rabbit antiserum to ornithine decarboxylase, and rates of inactivation in vitro, were studied. Mouse kidney, which is a particularly rich source of ornithine decarboxylase after androgen induction, contained two distinct forms of the enzyme which differed slightly in isoelectric point, but not in Mr. Both forms had a rapid rate of turnover, and virtually all immunoreactive ornithine decarboxylase protein was lost within 4h after protein synthesis was inhibited. Only one form of ornithine decarboxylase was found in thioacetamide-treated rat liver and Morris hepatoma 7777. No differences between the rat liver and hepatoma ornithine decarboxylase protein were found, but the rat ornithine decarboxylase could be separated from the mouse kidney ornithine decarboxylase by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The rat protein was slightly smaller and had a slightly more acid isoelectric point. Studies of the inactivation of ornithine decarboxylase in vitro in a microsomal system [Zuretti & Gravela (1983) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 742, 269-277] showed that the enzymes from rat liver and hepatoma 7777 and mouse kidney were inactivated at the same rate. This inactivation was not due to degradation of the enzyme protein, but was probably related to the formation of inactive forms owing to the absence of thiol-reducing agents. Treatment with 1,3-diaminopropane, which is known to cause an increase in the rate of degradation of ornithine decarboxylase in vivo [Seely & Pegg (1983) Biochem. J. 216, 701-717] did not stimulate inactivation by microsomal extracts, indicating that this system does not correspond to the rate-limiting step of enzyme breakdown in vivo.     

Characterization of casein kinase II from a virally transformed macrophage-like cell line, RAW264

Casein kinase II from a virally-transformed macrophage cell line (RAW264) was purified by a sequential DEAE, Procion Red, phosvitin-Sepharose and heparin-Sepharose chromatography. With [tau-32P]GTP as a phosphate donor and casein as a substrate, the kinase was stimulated by polyamines and inhibited by heparin. The purified kinase had a specific activity of 1137 nmol/min/mg protein and exhibited three major protein bands of 40 K, 35 K, and 25 K. Under non-denaturing conditions in 50 mM Tris-50 mM NaCl the enzyme was eluted as a single peak with molecular weight of 110 K. Incubation of kinase in the presence of [tau-32P]GTP and Mg2+ resulted in phosphorylation of the 25 K protein band of the enzyme. In the presence of [tau-32P]GTP and Mg2+ the kinase was able to phosphorylate 55 K protein band in purified ornithine decarboxylase preparation from RAW264 cells and the rat-type II regulatory subunit of the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase.