Dynamic simulation of red blood cell metabolism and its application to the analysis of a pathological condition

Background  

Cell simulation, which aims to predict the complex and dynamic behavior of living cells, is becoming a valuable tool. In silico models of human red blood cell (RBC) metabolism have been developed by several laboratories. An RBC model using the E-Cell simulation system has been developed. This prototype model consists of three major metabolic pathways, namely, the glycolytic pathway, the pentose phosphate pathway and the nucleotide metabolic pathway. Like the previous model by Joshi and Palsson, it also models physical effects such as osmotic balance. This model was used here to reconstruct the pathology arising from hereditary glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, which is the most common deficiency in human RBC.     

Red blood cells highly express type I platelet-activating factor-acetylhydrolase (PAF-AH) which consists of the alpha1/alpha2 complex

Although red blood cells account for about 30% of total PAF-AH activity found in the blood, the physiological function of this enzyme is unknown. To understand the role and regulatory mechanism of this enzyme, we purified it from easily obtainable pig red blood cells. PAF-AH activity was mainly found in the soluble fraction of the red blood cells. Two peaks of enzyme activity appeared with increasing concentration of imidazole on column chromatography on nickel-nitroacetic acid (Ni-NTA) resin. We called these peaks of small and large enzyme activities fractions X and Y, respectively, and then further purified the enzymes by sequential chromatofocusing on Mono P and gel filtration on TSK G-3000. In the final preparation from fraction Y, two proteins bands corresponding to 26 kDa and 28 kDa were related to enzyme activity. Determination of the partial amino acid sequences of the proteins of 26 kDa and 28 kDa revealed that these proteins were identical to alpha(1) and alpha(2), respectively, both of which are catalytic subunits of Type I intracellular PAF-AH. On Western analysis, the 26 kDa and 28 kDa protein bands cross-reacted with specific monoclonal antibodies to alpha(1) and alpha(2), respectively. Since the apparent molecular weight of the natural enzyme was estimated to be about 60 kDa, the enzyme activity in fraction Y was thought to be that of a heterodimer consisting of alpha(1) and alpha(2). On the other hand, the enzyme activity in fraction X was thought to be that of a homodimer consisting of alpha(2). Other blood cells such as polymorphonuclear leukocytes and platelets only contained the alpha(2)/alpha(2) homodimer. It has been reported that the alpha(1)/alpha(2) heterodimer is poorly expressed in adult animals except for in the spermatogonium. Taken altogether, these results suggest that high expression of the alpha(1)/alpha(2) heterodimer is important for the physiological function of mature red blood cells.     

A transgene encoding a blue-light receptor, phot1, restores blue-light responses in the Arabidopsis phot1 phot2 double mutant

Phototropins (phot1 and phot2) are suggested to be multifunctional blue-light (BL) receptors mediating phototropism, chloroplast movement, stomatal opening, and leaf expansion. The Arabidpsis phot1 phot2 double mutant lacks all of these responses. To confirm the requirement of phototropins in BL responses, the Arabidopsis phot1 phot2 double mutant was transformed with PHOT1 cDNA and the phenotypic restoration was analysed in the transformants. It was found that all BL responses were restored, although differentially, by the transformation of the Arabidopsis phot1 phot2 double mutant with PHOT1 cDNA. The results showed that phot1 was an essential component for all these BL responses in planta, and that the cellular level of phot1 might determine the individual BL responses.     

An isocratic HPLC method for the simultaneous determination of novel stable lipophilic ascorbic acid derivatives and their metabolites

2-O-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl-6-O-hexadecanoyl-L-ascorbic acid (6-sPalm-AA-2G), a novel stable lipophilic ascorbic acid derivative, was hydrolyzed to 2-O-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl-L-ascorbic acid (AA-2G), ascorbyl 6-palmitate (6-sPalm-AA) and ascorbic acid (AA) with alpha-glucosidase and lipase. An HPLC method for the simultaneous determination of AA, AA-2G, 6-sPalm-AA and 6-sPalm-AA-2G was developed using a cyanopropyl column with an isocratic solution of methanol-phosphate buffer (pH 2.1) (65:35, v/v) containing 20mg/l of dithiothreitol at a detection wavelength of 240 nm. The calibration curves were found to be linear in the range of 10-200 microM. Linear regression analysis of the data demonstrated the efficacy of the method in terms of precision and accuracy. This method was satisfactorily applied to the determination of 6-sPalm-AA-2G and its three metabolites in a 6-sPalm-AA-2G solution treated with purified enzymes or a small intestine post-mitochondrial supernatant and to the separation of novel stable lipophilic AA derivatives other than 6-sPalm-AA-2G and their metabolites. AA, AA-2G and other well-known stable AA derivatives, ascorbic acid 2-phosphate and ascorbic acid 2-sulfate, were also separated under the same conditions. The results show that the procedure is rapid and simple and that it can be employed for in vitro metabolic analysis of various AA derivatives.     

Design and synthesis of an androgen receptor pure antagonist (CH5137291) for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer

A series of 5,5-dimethylthiohydantoin derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for androgen receptor pure antagonistic activities for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer. Since CH4933468, which we reported previously, had a problem with agonist metabolites, novel thiohydantoin derivatives were identified by applying two strategies. One was the replacement of the alkylsulfonamide moiety by a phenylsulfonamide to avoid the production of agonist metabolites. The other was the replacement of the phenyl ring with a pyridine ring to improve in vivo potency and reduce hERG affinity. Pharmacological assays indicated that CH5137291 (17b) was a potent AR pure antagonist which did not produce the agonist metabolite. Moreover, CH5137291 completely inhibited in vivo tumor growth of LNCaP-BC2, a castration-resistant prostate cancer model.     

The trehalose transporter 1 gene sequence is conserved in insects and encodes proteins with different kinetic properties involved in trehalose import into peripheral tissues

We recently cloned a trehalose transporter gene (Tret1) that contributes to anhydrobiosis induction in the sleeping chironomid Polypedilum vanderplanki Hinton. Because trehalose is the main haemolymph sugar in most insects, they might possess Tret1 orthologs involved in maintaining haemolymph trehalose levels. We cloned Tret1 orthologs from four species in three insect orders. The similarities of the amino acid sequence to TRET1 in P. vanderplanki were 58.5–80.4%. Phylogenetic analysis suggested the Tret1 sequences were conserved in insects. The Xenopus oocyte expression system showed apparent differences in the K_m and V_max values for trehalose transport activity among the six proteins encoded by the corresponding orthologs. The TRET1 orthologs of Anopheles gambiae (K_m: 45.74 ± 3.58 mM) and Bombyx mori (71.58 ± 6.45 mM) showed low trehalose affinity, whereas those of Apis mellifera (9.42 ± 2.37 mM) and Drosophila melanogaster (10.94 ± 7.70 mM) showed high affinity. This difference in kinetics might be reflected in the haemolymph trehalose:glucose ratio of each species. Tret1 was expressed not only in the fat body but also in muscle and testis. These findings suggest that insect TRET1 is responsible for the release of trehalose from the fat body and the incorporation of trehalose into other tissues that require a carbon source, thereby regulating trehalose levels in the haemolymph.     

Efficient activation of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus spike protein by the transmembrane protease TMPRSS2

The distribution of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) receptor, an angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), does not strictly correlate with SARS-CoV cell tropism in lungs; therefore, other cellular factors have been predicted to be required for activation of virus infection. In the present study, we identified transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2), whose expression does correlate with SARS-CoV infection in the upper lobe of the lung. In Vero cells expressing TMPRSS2, large syncytia were induced by SARS-CoV infection. Further, the lysosome-tropic reagents failed to inhibit, whereas the heptad repeat peptide efficiently inhibited viral entry into cells, suggesting that TMPRSS2 affects the S protein at the cell surface and induces virus-plasma membrane fusion. On the other hand, production of virus in TMPRSS2-expressing cells did not result in S-protein cleavage or increased infectivity of the resulting virus. Thus, TMPRSS2 affects the entry of virus but not other phases of virus replication. We hypothesized that the spatial orientation of TMPRSS2 vis-a-vis S protein is a key mechanism underling this phenomenon. To test this, the TMPRSS2 and S proteins were expressed in cells labeled with fluorescent probes of different colors, and the cell-cell fusion between these cells was tested. Results indicate that TMPRSS2 needs to be expressed in the opposing (target) cell membrane to activate S protein rather than in the producer cell, as found for influenza A virus and metapneumoviruses. This is the first report of TMPRSS2 being required in the target cell for activation of a viral fusion protein but not for the S protein synthesized in and transported to the surface of cells. Our findings suggest that the TMPRSS2 expressed in lung tissues may be a determinant of viral tropism and pathogenicity at the initial site of SARS-CoV infection.