Regionally selective alterations in enzymatic activities and metabolic fluxes during thiamin deficiency

To further elucidate the molecular basis of the selective damage to various brain regions by thiamin deficiency, changes in enzymatic activities were compared to carbohydrate flux through various pathways from vulnerable (mammillary bodies and inferior colliculi) and nonvulnerable (cochlear nuclei) regions after 11 or 14 days of pyrithiamin-induced thiamin deficiency. After 11 days,large decreases (–43 to –59%) in transketolase (TK) occurred in all 3 regions; 2-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (KGDHC) declined (–45%), but only in mammillary bodies; pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDHC) was unaffected. By day 14, TK remained reduced by 58%–66%; KGDHC was now reduced in all regions (–48 to –55%); PDHC was also reduced (–32%), but only in the mammillary bodies. Thus, the enzyme changes did not parallel the pathological vulnerability of these regions to thiamin deficiency.¹⁴CO₂ production from¹⁴C-glucose labeled in various positions was utilized to assess metabolic flux. After 14 days, CO₂ production in the vulnerable regions declined severely (–46 to 70%) and approximately twice as much as those in the cochlear nucleus. Also by day 14, the ratio of enzymatic activity to metabolic flux increased as much as 56% in the vulnerable regions, but decreased 18 to 30% in the cochlear nuclei. These differences reflect a greater decrease in flux than enzyme activities in the two vulnerable regions. Thus, selective cellular responses to thiamin deficiency can be demonstrated ex vivo, and these changes can be directly related to alterations in metabolic flux. Since they cannot be related to enzymatic alterations in the three regions, factors other than decreases in the activity of these TPP-dependent enzymes must underlie selective vulnerability in this model of thiamin deficiency.Abbreviations KGDHC 2-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex EC 1.2.4.2., EC 2.3.1.61, EC 1.6.4.3. - PDHC pyruvate dehydrogenase complex EC 1.2.4.2., EC 2.3.1.12, EC 1.6.4.3 - TK transketolase (EC 2.2.1.1) - TPP thiamin pyrophosphate     

The properties of transketolase from photosynthetic tissue

Transketolase (E.C. 2.2.1.1.) has been partially purified from wheat (Triticum aestivum, cv. Sappo) and spinach (Spinacia oleracea) leaves. The fully-active enzyme is a tetramer of relative molecular mass (M_r) of 150 kM_r requiring thiamin pyrophosphate for maximal activity, and dissociating into a 74 kM_r dimer in its absence or in dilute solution. The chloroplastic transketolase (over 75% of the cellular total) is magnesium-stimulated but the cytosolic form is magnesium-insensitive. Both chloroplastic and cytosolic transketolase showed similar broad specificities towards several ketose phosphate substrates including fructose 6-phosphate and sedoheptulose 7-phosphate. Wheat and spinach leaf transketolases are not light-activated and closely resemble the yeast enzyme in many of their properties.Abbreviations Mr relative molecular mass - TPP thiamin pyrophosphate - Tris 2-amino-2-(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-propandiol     

Pyruvate:NADP+ oxidoreductase is stabilized by its cofactor,thiamin pyrophosphate,in mitochondria of Euglena gracilis

Pyruvate:NADP(+) oxidoreductase (PNO) is a thiamin pyrophosphate (TPP)-dependent enzyme that plays a central role in the respiratory metabolism of Euglena gracilis, which requires thiamin for growth. When thiamin was depleted in Euglena cells, PNO protein level was greatly reduced, but its mRNA level was barely changed. In addition, a large part of PNO occurred as an apoenzyme lacking TPP in the deficient cells. The PNO protein level increased rapidly, without changes in the mRNA level, after supplementation of thiamin into its deficient cells. In the deficient cells, in contrast to the sufficient ones, a steep decrease in the PNO protein level was induced when the cells were incubated with cycloheximide. Immunofluorescence microscopy indicated that most of the PNO localized in the mitochondria in either the sufficient or the deficient cells. These findings suggest that PNO is readily degraded when TPP is not provided in mitochondria, and consequently the PNO protein level is greatly reduced by thiamin deficiency in E. gracilis.     

A hitherto unknown transketolase-catalyzed reaction

Yeast transketolase, in addition to catalyzing the transferase reaction through utilization of two substrates--the donor substrate (ketose) and the acceptor substrate (aldose)--is also able to catalyze a one-substrate reaction with only aldose (glycolaldehyde) as substrate. The interaction of glycolaldehyde with holotransketolase results in formation of the transketolase reaction intermediate, dihydroxyethyl-thiamin diphosphate. Then the glycolaldehyde residue is transferred from dihydroxyethyl-thiamin diphosphate to free glycolaldehyde. As a result, the one-substrate transketolase reaction product, erythrulose, is formed. The specific activity of transketolase was found to be 0.23 U/mg and the apparent Km for glycolaldehyde was estimated as 140 mM.     

Theoretical model of interactions between ligand-binding sites in a dimeric protein and its application for the analysis of thiamine diphosphate binding to yeast transketolase

The binding of thiamin diphosphate (ThDP) to yeast dimeric apotransketolase (apoTK) is accompanied by the appearance of a band in the absorption spectrum with maximum at 320 nm. The saturation function has been analyzed using a scheme that involves binding of ThDP to each subunit followed by the conformational transition of this subunit. It is assumed that the binding of ThDP to one subunit may affect the conformational transition of the other subunit. Rigorous mathematical expressions describing the dependence of the optical absorption on the total concentration of ThDP are first developed. Equilibrium constants and corresponding rate constants for the binding of ThDP to apoTK have been estimated. The negative cooperativity in the ThDP binding has been characterized by the function reflecting the dependence of the conformational change on the saturation of apoTK by ThDP.     

Synthesis with good enantiomeric excess of both enantiomers of α-ketols and acetolactates by two thiamin diphosphate-dependent decarboxylases

In addition to the decarboxylation of 2-oxo acids, thiamin diphosphate (ThDP)-dependent decarboxylases/dehydrogenases can also carry out so-called carboligation reactions, where the central ThDP-bound enamine intermediate reacts with electrophilic substrates. For example, the enzyme yeast pyruvate decarboxylase (YPDC, from Saccharomyces cerevisiae) or the E1 subunit of the Escherichia coli pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHc-E1) can produce acetoin and acetolactate, resulting from the reaction of the central thiamin diphosphate-bound enamine with acetaldehyde and pyruvate, respectively. Earlier, we had shown that some active center variants indeed prefer such a carboligase pathway to the usual one [Sergienko, Jordan, Biochemistry 40 (2001) 7369–7381; Nemeria et al., J. Biol. Chem. 280 (2005) 21,473–21,482]. Herein is reported detailed analysis of the stereoselectivity for forming the carboligase products acetoin, acetolactate, and phenylacetylcarbinol by the E477Q and D28A YPDC, and the E636A and E636Q PDHc-E1 active-center variants. Both pyruvate and β-hydroxypyruvate were used as substrates and the enantiomeric excess was analyzed by a combination of NMR, circular dichroism and chiral-column gas chromatographic methods. Remarkably, the two enzymes produced a high enantiomeric excess of the opposite enantiomer of both acetoin-derived and acetolactate-derived products, strongly suggesting that the facial selectivity for the electrophile in the carboligation is different in the two enzymes. The different stereoselectivities exhibited by the two enzymes could be utilized in the chiral synthesis of important intermediates.     

The reactivity of lactyl-oxythiamin implies the role of the amino-pyrimidine in thiamin catalyzed decarboxylation

It has previously been established that the deprotonated amino substituent of the pyrimidine of thiamin diphosphate (ThDP) acts as an internal base to accept the C2H of the thiazolium in ThDP-dependent enzymes. The amino group has also been implicated in assisting the departure of the aldehydic product formed after loss of CO₂ from ketoacid substrates. However, the potential role for the pyrimidine amino group in the key decarboxylation step has not been assessed. Oxythiamin contains a hydroxyl group in place of the pyrimidine amino group in thiamin, providing a basis for comparison of reactivity. Lactyl-oxythiamin (LOTh), the conjugate of pyruvic acid and oxythiamin was prepared by condensation of ethyl pyruvate and hydroxyl-protected oxythiamin followed by deprotection and acidic hydrolysis of the ethyl ester. The rate constants observed for the decarboxylation of LOTh in neutral and acidic solutions are about four times smaller than those for the corresponding compound that contains the amino group, lactylthiamin. The difference in reactivity is consistent with the amino group’s participation in facilitating the decarboxylation step by allowing a competitive addition pathway that produces bicarbonate and has implications for the corresponding enzymic reaction.     

Multiple roles of mobile active center loops in the E1 component of the Escherichia coli pyruvate dehydrogenase complex—Linkage of protein dynamics to catalysis

The region encompassing residues 401–413 on the E1 component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex from Escherichia coli comprises a loop (the inner loop) which was not seen in the X-ray structure in the presence of thiamin diphosphate, the required cofactor for the enzyme. This loop is seen in the presence of a stable analogue of the pre-decarboxylation intermediate, the covalent adduct between the substrate analogue methyl acetylphosphonate and thiamin diphosphate, C2α-phosphonolactylthiamin diphosphate. It has been shown that the residue H407 and several other residues on this loop are required to reduce the mobility of the loop so electron density corresponding to it can be seen once the pre-decarboxylation intermediate is formed. Concomitantly, the loop encompassing residues 541–557 (the outer loop) appears to work in tandem with the inner loop and there is a hydrogen bond between the two loops ensuring their correlated motion. The inner loop was shown to: (a) sequester the active center from carboligase side reactions; (b) assist the interaction between the E1 and the E2 components, thereby affecting the overall reaction rate of the entire multienzyme complex; (c) control substrate access to the active center. Using viscosity effects on kinetics it was shown that formation of the pre-decarboxylation intermediate is specifically affected by loop movement. A cysteine-less variant was created for the E1 component, onto which cysteines were substituted at selected loop positions. Introducing an electron spin resonance spin label and an ¹⁹F NMR label onto these engineered cysteines, the loop mobility was examined: (a) both methods suggested that in the absence of ligand, the loop exists in two conformations; (b) line-shape analysis of the NMR signal at different temperatures, enabled estimation of the rate constant for loop movement, and this rate constant was found to be of the same order of magnitude as the turnover number for the enzyme under the same conditions. Furthermore, this analysis gave important insights into rate-limiting thermal loop dynamics. Overall, the results suggest that the dynamic properties correlate with catalytic events on the E1 component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex.     

硫胺素、核黄素和烟酰胺对大鼠体重增长及脂代谢影响的实验研究

目的：B族维生素以辅酶的形式参与糖、脂肪和蛋白质代谢,本文观察硫胺素、核黄素和烟酰胺补充对高脂饲料诱导大鼠肥胖的影响。方法：采用预防肥胖模型法,2×2×2析因设计分为8组：高脂对照组（F0组）,高脂＋硫胺素（F1组）,高脂＋核黄素（F2组）,高脂＋烟酰胺（F3组）,高脂＋硫胺素＋核黄素（F4组）,高脂＋硫胺素＋烟酰胺（F5组）,高脂＋核黄素＋烟酰胺（F6组）,高脂＋硫胺素＋核黄素＋烟酰胺（F7组）,每组12只大鼠,给予高脂饲料喂养,同时硫胺素（100mg／kgbw／d）、核黄素（100mg／kgbw／d）、烟酰胺（250mg／kgbw／d）灌胃,另设正常对照组（C组）12只,普通饲料喂养,自来水灌胃,15周后,分析其体重、摄食量、体脂重量、血脂等实验前后的变化情况及各组动物之间的差别。结果：经过15周喂养后,高脂喂养大鼠体重比正常对照组平均增加了15．7％;而补充烟酰胺（F3）及联合硫胺素（F5）或核黄素（F6）以及三者联合补充（F7）组高脂喂养大鼠与高脂对照组（F0）相比,体重分别降低了35．0％,30．0％,30．1％和30．6％（P值均小于0．05）;甚至比正常对照组大鼠平均体重分别下降了22．8％,17．0％,17．0％和17．7％（P值均小于0．05）;而补充核黄素或和硫胺素组大鼠体重没有明显增加或降低（P值均大于0．05）。血脂分析结果显示高脂喂养并联合补充核黄素或／和烟酰胺和／或硫胺素组大鼠血清CHOL和LDL水平明显低于高脂对照组;而高脂喂养并联合补充烟酰胺（F3）及联合硫胺素（F5）或核黄素（F6）以及三者联合补充（F7）组大鼠LDL／HDL比值分别0．29、0．26、0．25和0．26,明显低于F0组的0．37（P值均小于0．05）。结论：大剂量烟酰胺可有效地调节血脂水平和控制肥胖大鼠的体重增长,而核黄素及硫胺素对控制肥胖     

Design,synthesis and biological evaluation of novel inhibitors against cyanobacterial pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex E1

Cyanobacterial pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex E1 (PDHc E1) is a potential target enzyme for finding inhibitors to control harmful cyanobacterial blooms. In this study, a series of novel triazole thiamin diphosphate (ThDP) analogs were designed and synthesized by modifying the substituent group of triazole ring and optimizing triazole-benzene linker as potential cyanobacterial PDHc E1 (Cy-PDHc E1) inhibitors. Their inhibitory activities against Cy-PDHc E1 in vitro and algicide activities in vivo were further examined. Most of these compounds exhibited prominent inhibitory activities against Cy-PDHc E1 (IC₅₀ 1.48–4.48 μM) and good algicide activities against Synechocystis PCC6803 (EC₅₀ 0.84–2.44 µM) and Microcystis aeruginosa FACHB905 (EC₅₀ 0.74–1.77 µM). Especially, compound 8d showed not only the highest inhibitory activity against Cy-PDHc E1 (IC₅₀ 1.48 μM), but also the most powerful inhibitory selectivity between Cy-PDHc E1 (inhibitory rate 98.90%) and porcine PDHc E1 (inhibitory rate only 9.54%). Furthermore, the potential interaction between compound 8d and Cy-PDHc E1 was analyzed by a molecular docking method and site-directed mutagenesis and enzymatic analysis and fluorescence spectral analysis. These results indicated that compound 8d could be used as a hit compound for further optimization and might have potential to be developed as a new algicide.