Isolation and characterization of a fatty acyl esterase from rat lung

In an effort to facilitate studies of the reaction involved in the removal of fatty acids from acyl proteins, we have synthesized an octanoic acid ester of doubly blocked serine, specifically octanoyl N-carbobenzoxy-L-serine-benzyl ester (octanoyl boc-serine), and used it as a substrate to guide the purification of an esterase from rat lung. The esterase was purified 228-fold by column chromatography on DE-52 cellulose, hydroxylapatite, octyl-Sepharose, and concanavalin A-Sepharose and by HPLC gel filtration. The final enzyme preparation ran as a single 77,000-Da band when subjected to sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and exhibited a single symmetrical peak (sedimentation coefficient, 4.5 S) when centrifuged through a sucrose density gradient (empirical Mr, 63,000). The esterase is an acidic protein, pI 4.1, and is very active against p-nitrophenyl esters comprised of C4-C14 fatty acids; the highest specific activity (26.5 mumol/min/mg) was obtained using p-nitrophenyl caprylate as substrate. The pH optimum of the lung esterase is near 8.0 and the activity on octanoyl boc-serine is maximum when 0.3% (w/v) Myrj-52 is included in the assay medium. The activity of the esterase is not dependent on calcium ions. The enzyme does not remove acyl groups from the G-protein of vesicular stomatitis virus or the proteolipid of bovine brain. The possible role of the esterase in the metabolism of acylated proteins is considered.     

Heparin binds to Leishmania donovani promastigotes and inhibits protein phosphorylation.

We show that promastigotes of Leishmania donovani, the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar), possess heparin receptors on their surface. From a linear Scatchard plot of the binding data obtained using [3H]heparin and viable promastigotes, one derives a binding constant of 4.7 x 10(-7) M and an estimate of 860,000 receptors per parasite. The [3H]heparin bound to parasites could not be displaced by hyaluronic acid or by three other glycosaminoglycans (dermatan sulphate, chondroitin 4-sulphate and chondroitin 6-sulphate). It was demonstrated that exponential phase promastigotes growing in medium 199 supplemented with fetal bovine serum incorporate 35SO4 into a cell-associated macromolecule that has the properties of heparin proteoglycan. Heparin inhibits the activity of the cell-surface histone-protein kinase; incubation of viable promastigotes with [gamma-32P]ATP and MgCl2 (10 mM) in the absence and presence of heparin (0.01-0.5 mg/ml) for 10 min, followed by analysis by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and autoradiography, revealed that the phosphorylation of 12 or 13 parasite proteins was inhibited by the glycosaminoglycan. These data suggest that heparin may play a role in the host-parasite relationship.     

Demonstration of two protein kinases in extracts of Legionella micdadei

Protein kinases I (PK I) and II (PK II) were purified 253- and 13.5-fold, respectively, from an extract of sonically disrupted cells of Legionella micdadei by ion-exchange chromatography on QAE-Sephadex, by histone affinity chromatography, and by HPLC-gel filtration chromatography. Both enzymes catalysed the phosphorylation of calf thymus histones, with a Km of 2.7 mg ml-1 for PK I and 2.9 mg ml-1 for PK II. Histone H2b was the best protein kinase substrate for both PK I and PK II. The pH optima were 6.8 and 7.0 for PK I and PK II respectively. The Km for ATP was 0.29 mM for PK I and 0.33 mM for PK II. PK II activity was stimulated by either cAMP or cGMP, whereas PK I was inhibited by both cyclic nucleotides. The activity of PK I was unaffected by addition of calmodulin, diacylglycerol and mixtures of Ca2+ and acidic phospholipids, but these additions increased PK II activity threefold. The activity of PK II was stimulated by spermine and spermidine, but PK I was inhibited by these compounds. PK I and PK II were both strongly inhibited by heparin.     

Characterization of the activation of rat liver beta-glucosidase by sialosylgangliotetraosylceramide

We show that sialosylgangliotetraosylceramide (GM1) is a potent activator of delipidated (sodium cholate- and 1-butanol-extracted) lysosomal rat liver glucocerebroside:beta-glucosidase. Stimulation of 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside hydrolysis by the beta-glucosidase was markedly dependent upon the concentration of GM1 in the assay medium. Estimations of critical micellar concentration (CMC) performed fluorometrically using the dye N-phenylnaphthylamine revealed two CMC values of GM1 above 18 degrees C; the CMC of the primary micelles (3.32 microM) was temperature-independent whereas that of the secondary micelles decreased with decreasing temperature (17.2 and 10.8 microM at 37 and 20 degrees C, respectively). In the temperature range of 18-39 degrees C, beta-glucosidase activity increased sharply when the GM1 concentration was above the CMC of the secondary micelles. Although a heat-stable factor, purified from the spleen of a patient with Gaucher's disease, had a profound effect on the activation of beta-glucosidase by GM1, it decreased the CMC only slightly (14.8 versus 17.2 microM at 37 degrees C). The heat-stable factor (8 micrograms/ml) changed the shape of the activation curve from sigmoidal to hyperbolic, suggesting that the heat-stable factor permits beta-glucosidase to be activated by primary micelles or monomers. The results of gel filtration chromatography and sucrose gradient centrifugation in H2O and D2O revealed that the activation of beta-glucosidase by GM1 was associated with an increase in the size of the enzyme from 45,800 to 178,500 daltons and an increase in the partial specific volume from 0.697 to 0.740 ml/g. The active, reconstituted beta-glucosidase appears to consist of 50% protein and 50% ganglioside (56 molecules/178,500 g). Concentrations of GM1 below the CMC of secondary micelles increased the rate of inactivation of the enzyme by the irreversible inhibitor conduritol B epoxide at 37 degrees C, indicating that GM1 monomers or primary micelles do interact with the enzyme, even though they do not increase the rate of hydrolysis of 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside by the enzyme.     

Leishmanial phosphatase blocks neutrophil O-2 production

Leishmania donovani, the causative agent in kala-azar or visceral leishmaniasis, infects cells of the macrophage system. We show that a purified preparation of the tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase, isolated from the external surface of L. donovani promastigotes, inhibits superoxide anion production by human neutrophils. Preincubation of neutrophils for 15-30 min at 37 degrees C with 240 units (1 unit equals 1 nmol of 4-methylumbelliferyl phosphate cleaved per h) of the acid phosphatase decreases both the rate and extent of superoxide generation by 90% upon stimulation with the chemoattractant peptide fMet-Leu-Phe. The ability of the phosphatase to suppress superoxide anion production is abolished by heat inactivation of the enzyme or by incorporation of an acid phosphatase inhibitor in the preincubation medium, indicating that the effect is dependent on the catalytic activity of the enzyme. These results suggest a possible pathophysiologic role for the acid phosphatase of L. donovani promastigotes.     

Effect of glutaraldehyde treatment on enzyme-loaded erythrocytes.

In principle, enzyme-loaded erythrocytes can be used as a vehicle for enzyme replacement therapy in lysosomal storage diseases. Glutaraldehyde treatment renders these erythrocytes more resistant to lysis without inactivating the enzymes that have been entrapped inside them. Glutaraldehyde treatment does not prevent ingestion of enzyme-loaded erythrocytes by macrophages in vitro so that these cells can be used to deliver enzymes to lysosomes. In vivo, the glutaraldehyde-treated cells are quickly removed from the circulation by the spleen or liver. The degree of glutaraldehyde treatment allows the erythrocytes to be targeted either to the spleen (low glutaraldehyde concentrations) or to the liver (higher glutaraldehyde concentrations).     

Inhibition of human seminal fluid and Leishmania donovani phosphatases by molybdate heteropolyanions

Inhibition of a tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (ACP) from Leishmania donovani and the tartrate-sensitive ACP from human seminal fluid (prostatic ACP) was examined using a series of 13 molybdate-containing heteropolyanions. The heteropolyanions were divided into four groups based on the number of molybdenum atoms they contain: Group I, Mo4; Group II, Mo6-8; Group III, Mo12; Group IV, Mo18. Two of the four groups, those consisting of compounds that contain either an Mo4 unit or an Mo18 unit with a heteroatom in the central cavity, were potent inhibitors and exhibited the highest degree of selectivity against the leishmanial and seminal fluid ACPs. The inhibition of prostatic ACP by complex E2 could be completely reversed by dialysis. Little inhibition of the acid phosphatase, beta-glucuronidase, or alpha-mannosidase from human spleen was observed with complexes B' and E2. For the seminal fluid phosphatase, the Ki values obtained with arsenate and vanadate depended markedly on pH, suggesting that, unlike most other phosphatases, the conformation of the inhibitor binding site on human seminal fluid ACP is pH-dependent. Results of competition experiments performed with various inhibitor pairs indicated that complex D2 binds to the active site of prostatic ACP while complex M binds at some site on the enzyme that affects the active site. Binding of complex M also modifies the affinity of the enzyme for other inhibitors such as vanadate. The potency of several heteropolyanion complexes and their selective inhibition of pathophysiologically significant acid phosphatases indicate that these compounds may have value as tools for study of the structure and function of this class of enzyme and perhaps in the therapy of human disease.     

Characterization of lysosomal hydrolases that are elevated in Gaucher's disease.

Although Gaucher's disease occurs in three distinct forms with greatly varying degrees of severity, there is no correlation between the clinical course of the disease and levels of residual glucocerebrosidase, the fundamental enzymatic deficiency. In an effort to study secondary changes which might contribute to the pathology of Gaucher's disease, homogenates of spleen, liver, and brain tissue, as well as serum from patients with Gaucher's disease were analyzed for their content of a number of lysosomal enzymes. Extracts of 8 Gaucher spleens contained 3- to 4-fold increases in acid phosphatase activity as well as 5-to 10-fold increases in galactocerebrosidase⁵ activity. The marked elevation in galactocerebrosidase activity in Gaucher spleen was documented using various [³H]galactose labeled galactocerebrosides as substrates and with [³H]galactose labeled lactocerebroside under the “lactosylceramidase I”⁵ assay conditions established by Suzuki (Tanaka, H., and Suzuki, K., 1975, J. Biol. Chem., 250, 2324–2332) that measure galactocerebrosidase activity specifically in the presence of G_mi-ganglioside β-galactosidase. Acid phosphatase determinations using extracts of liver from a case of infantile, neuropathic Gaucher's disease revealed a 2-fold elevation in this activity, whereas brain acid phosphatase activity in this case was similar to that of control tissue. Separation of hexosaminidase A and B activities on DEAE-Sephadex columns indicated increases in both forms of the enzyme in Gaucher tissue with the major increase occurring in the hexosaminidase B component. Glucuronidase and nonspecific esterase were observed to be elevated approximately 2-fold. However, not all lysosomal enzyme activities were increased. Levels of splenic arylsulfatase A and B, α-arabinosidase, sphingomyelinase, α-mannosidase, and G_mi-ganglioside β-galactosidase activities in Gaucher spleen were unremarkable. G_mi-ganglioside β-galactosidase was measured using 4-methylumbelliferyl-β-d-galactopyranoside and [³H]galactose labeled lactocerebroside under the specific assay conditions described by Suzuki for the determination of “lactosylceramidase II” activity. Although levels of arylsulfatase A and B in Gaucher spleen were similar to those of control tissue, arylsulfatase A activity was markedly reduced (20% of control) in homogenates of brain from the case of infantile (type 2) Gaucher's disease. The metabolic and pathologic consequences of these changes in lysosomal enzymes in Gaucher's disease are discussed.