Characterization of an ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase 1 activity in alkaline phosphatase-depleted rat osseous plate membranes: possible functional involvement in the calcification process

An ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase 1 (NTPDase1) activity present in alkaline phosphatase-depleted rat osseous plate membranes, obtained 14 days after implantation of demineralized bone particles in the subcutaneous tissue of Wistar rats, was characterized. At pH 7.5, NTPDase1 hydrolyzed nucleotide triphosphates at rates 2.4-fold higher than those of nucleotide diphosphates, while the hydrolysis of nucleotide monophosphates and non-nucleotide phosphates was negligible. NTPDase 1 hydrolyzed ATP and ADP following Michaelis-Menten kinetics with V=1278.7+/-38.4 nmol Pi/min/mg and K(M)=83.3+/-2.5 microM and V=473.9+/-18.9 nmol Pi/min/mg and K(M)=150.6+/-6.0 microM, respectively, but in the absence of magnesium and calcium ions, ATP or ADP hydrolysis was negligible. The stimulation of the NTPDase1 by calcium (V=1084.7+/-32.5 nmol Pi/min/mg; and K(M)=377.8+/-11.3 microM) and magnesium (V=1367.2+/-41.0 nmol Pi/min/mg and K(M)=595.3+/-17.8 microM) ions suggested that each ion could replace the other during the catalytic cycle of the enzyme. Oligomycin, ouabain, bafilomycin A(1), theophylline, thapsigargin, ethacrynic acid, P(1),P(5)-(adenosine-5')-pentaphosphate and omeprazole had negligible effects on the hydrolysis of ATP and ADP by NTPDase1. However, suramin and sodium azide were effective inhibitors of ATP and ADP hydrolysis.To our knowledge this is the first report suggesting the presence of NTPDase1 in rat osseous plate membranes. Considering that the ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase family of enzymes participates in many regulatory functions, such as response to hormones, growth control, and cell differentiation, the present observations raise interesting questions about the participation of this activity in the calcification process.     

Selective inhibition of trypsins by insect peptides: role of P6-P10 loop

PMP-D2 and HI, two peptides from Locusta migratoria, were shown to belong to the family of tight-binding protease inhibitors. However, they interact weakly with bovine trypsin (K(i) around 100 nM) despite a trypsin-specific Arg at the primary specificity site P1. Here we demonstrate that they are potent inhibitors of midgut trypsins isolated from the same insect and of a fungal trypsin from Fusarium oxysporum (K(i) 相似文献   

Chromosome condensation defects in barren RNA-interfered Drosophila cells

Barren, the Drosophila homolog of XCAP-H, is one of three non-SMC subunits of condensin, a conserved 13S multiprotein complex required for chromosome condensation. Mutations in barren (barr) were originally shown to affect sister-chromatid separation during mitosis 16 of the Drosophila embryo, whereas condensation defects were not detected. In contrast, mutations in yeast homologs of barren result in defective mitotic chromosome condensation as well as irregular chromatid separation. We have used double-stranded RNA-mediated interference (RNAi) to deplete Barren in Drosophila S2 cells. Our analyses indicate that inactivation of barr leads to extensive chromosome condensation and disrupts chromatid segregation.     

W206R]-procaspase 3: an inactivatable substrate for caspase 8.

We report here the cloning and high-level expression of a soluble proform of human caspase 3 (Ser(24)-H(277)) engineered to contain a short stretch of N-terminal sequence (MTISDSPREQD) from the prosegment of procaspase 8 and a C-terminal heptahistidine tag. The precursor protein isolated from extracts of recombinant Escherichia coli by immobilized metal-ion affinity chromatography was predominantly unprocessed and migrated as a 32-kDa polypeptide on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. Incubation of this protein with recombinant human caspase 8 produced fragments characteristic of the properly processed caspase 3, but the product was inactive. Amino-terminal sequence analysis of the caspase 3 polypeptides proved that caspase 8 had specifically cleaved the Asp(175)-Ser(176) bond to yield the expected p18 and p12 subunits, with partial cleavage at the Asp(28)-Ser(29) bond to release the prosegment. The lack of caspase 3 activity was found to be the result of a fortuitous mutation in which Trp(206) in the S4 subsite was replaced by arginine (W206R). This mutant procaspase 3, which we call m-pro3, serves as a useful reagent with which to test the efficacy of caspase 8 inhibitors in blocking processing of the natural polypeptide substrate of this enzyme and may be valuable as a source of "proenzyme" for crystallographic analysis.     

Inhibition of pig liver and Zea mays L. polyamine oxidase: a comparative study

Polyamine oxidase (PAO) is involved in polyamine metabolism and production of hydrogen peroxide in animal and plants, thus representing a key system in development and programmed cell death. In the present study, the inhibitory effect of amiloride, p-aminobenzamidine, clonidine, 4',6-diamidino-2-phenyl-indole (DAPI), gabexate mesylate, guazatine, and N,N'-bis(2,3-butadienyl)-1,4-butane-diamine (MDL72527) on the catalytic activity of pig liver and Zea mays L. PAO, Lens culinaris L. and Pisum sativum L. and swine kidney copper amine oxidase, bovine trypsin, as well as neuronal constitutive nitric oxide synthase (NOS-I) was investigated. Moreover, agmatine and N(3) -prenylagmatine (G3) were observed to inhibit pig liver and Zea mays L. PAO, bovine trypsin, and NOS-I action, but were substrates for Lens culinaris L., Pisum sativum L. and swine kidney copper amine oxidase. Guazatine and G3 inhibited selectively Zea mays L. PAO with K(i) values of 7.5 x 10(-9) M and 1.5 x 10(-8) M, respectively (at pH 6.5 and 25.0 degrees C). As a whole, the data reported here represent examples of enzyme cross-inhibition, and appear to be relevant in view of the use of cationic L-arginine-and imidazole-based compounds as drugs.     

Niemann-Pick type C disease: mutations of NPC1 gene and evidence of abnormal expression of some mutant alleles in fibroblasts

We analyzed Niemann-Pick type C disease 1 (NPC1) gene in 12 patients with Niemann-Pick type C disease by sequencing both cDNA obtained from fibroblasts and genomic DNA. All the patients were compound heterozygotes. We found 15 mutations, eight of which previously unreported. The comparison of cDNA and genomic DNA revealed discrepancies in some subjects. In two unrelated patients carrying the same mutations (P474L and nt 2972del2) only one mutant allele (P474L), was expressed in fibroblasts. The mRNA corresponding to the other allele was not detected even in cells incubated with cycloheximide. The promoter variants (-1026T/G and -1186T/C or -238 C/G), found to be in linkage with 2972del2 allele do not explain the lack of expression of this allele, as they were also found in control subjects. In another patient, (N1156S/Q922X) the N1156S allele was expressed in fibroblasts while the expression of the other allele was hardly detectable. In a fourth patient cDNA analysis revealed a point mutation in exon 20 (P1007A) and a 56 nt deletion in exon 22 leading to a frameshift and a premature stop codon. The first mutation was confirmed in genomic DNA; the second turned out to be a T-->G transversion in exon 22, predicted to cause a missense mutation (V1141G). In fact, this transversion generates a donor splice site in exon 22, which causes an abnormal pre-mRNA splicing leading to a partial deletion of this exon. In some NPC patients, therefore, the comparison between cDNA and genomic DNA may reveal an unexpected expression of some mutant alleles of NPC1 gene.     

PPARalpha suppresses insulin secretion and induces UCP2 in insulinoma cells

Fatty acids may promote type 2 diabetes by altering insulin secretion from pancreatic beta cells, a process known as lipotoxicity. The underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. To test the hypothesis that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha) has a direct effect on islet function, we treated INS-1 cells, an insulinoma cell line, with a PPARalpha adenovirus (AdPPARalpha) as well as the PPARalpha agonist clofibric acid. AdPPARalpha-infected INS-1 cells showed PPARalpha agonist- and fatty acid-dependent transactivation of a PPARalpha reporter gene. Treatment with either AdPPARalpha or clofibric acid increased both catalase activity (a marker of peroxisomal proliferation) and palmitate oxidation. AdPPARalpha induced carnitine-palmitoyl transferase-I (CPT-I) mRNA, but had no effect on insulin gene expression. AdPPARalpha treatment increased cellular triglyceride content but clofibric acid did not. Both AdPPARalpha and clofibric acid decreased basal and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Despite increasing fatty acid oxidation, AdPPARalpha did not increase cellular ATP content suggesting the stimulation of uncoupled respiration. Consistent with these observations, UCP2 expression doubled in PPARalpha-treated cells. Clofibric acid-induced suppression of glucose-simulated insulin secretion was prevented by the CPT-I inhibitor etomoxir. These data suggest that PPARalpha-stimulated fatty acid oxidation can impair beta cell function.     

Telomere elongation (Tel), a new mutation in Drosophila melanogaster that produces long telomeres.

In most eukaryotes telomeres are extended by telomerase. Drosophila melanogaster, however, lacks telomerase, and telomere-specific non-LTR retrotransposons, HeT-A and TART, transpose specifically to chromosome ends. A Drosophila strain, Gaiano, that has long telomeres has been identified. We extracted the major Gaiano chromosomes into an Oregon-R genetic background and examined the resulting stocks after 60 generations. In situ hybridization using HeT-A and TART sequences showed that, in stocks carrying either the X or the second chromosome from Gaiano, only the Gaiano-derived chromosomes display long telomeres. However, in stocks carrying the Gaiano third chromosome, all telomeres are substantially elongated, indicating that the Gaiano chromosome 3 carries a factor that increases HeT-A and TART addition to the telomeres. We show that this factor, termed Telomere elongation (Tel), is dominant and localizes as a single unit to 69 on the genetic map. The long telomeres tend to associate with each other in both polytene and mitotic cells. These associations depend on telomere length rather than the presence of Tel. Associations between metaphase chromosomes are resolved during anaphase, suggesting that they are mediated by either proteinaceous links or DNA hydrogen bonding, rather than covalent DNA-DNA bonds.     

Synthesis and structure-activity relationships of M(2)-selective muscarinic receptor ligands in the 1-[4-(4-arylsulfonyl)-phenylmethyl]-4-(4-piperidinyl)-piperazine family

The synthesis and muscarinic binding properties of compounds based on the 1-[4-(4-arylsulfonyl)phenylmethyl]-4-(1-aroyl-4-piperidinyl)-piperazine skeleton are described. For compounds, substituted with appropriately configured methyl groups at the benzylic center and at the piperazine 2-position, high levels of selective, M(2) subtype affinity could be obtained, particularly when the terminal N-aroyl residue was ortho-substituted.