Pig Heart Cytosol Research Articles

Comparative inhibition of tetrameric carbonyl reductase activity in pig heart cytosol by alkyl 4-pyridyl ketones

Context and objective: The present study is to elucidate the comparative inhibition of tetrameric carbonyl reductase (TCBR) activity by alkyl 4-pyridyl ketones, and to characterize its substrate-binding domain.Materials and methods: The inhibitory effects of alkyl 4-pyridyl ketones on the stereoselective reduction of 4-benzoylpyridine (4-BP) catalyzed by TCBR were examined in the cytosolic fraction of pig heart.Results: Of alkyl 4-pyridyl ketones, 4-hexanoylpyridine, which has a straight-chain alkyl group of five carbon atoms, inhibited most potently TCBR activity and was a competitive inhibitor. Furthermore, cyclohexyl pentyl ketone, which is substituted by cyclohexyl group instead of phenyl group of hexanophenone, had much lower ability to be reduced than hexanophenone.Discussion and conclusion: These results suggest that in addition to a hydrophobic cleft corresponding to a straight-chain alkyl group of five carbon atoms, a hydrophobic pocket with affinity for an aromatic group is located in the substrate-binding domain of TCBR.

Possible mechanism of superoxide formation through redox cycling of plumbagin in pig heart

The purpose of this study is to elucidate the possible mechanism of superoxide formation through redox cycling of plumbagin (PLG) in pig heart. Of four 1,4-naphthoquinones tested in this study, PLG was most efficiently reduced in the cytosolic fraction of pig heart. On the other hand, lawsone (LAS) was little reduced. Thus, whether or not PLG and LAS induce the formation of superoxide anion radical in pig heart cytosol was examined, by using the methods of cytochrome c reduction and chemiluminescence. PLG significantly induced the formation of superoxide anion radical, even though LAS had no ability to mediate superoxide formation. PLG was a significant inhibitor for the stereoselective reduction of 4-benzoylpyridine (4-BP) catalyzed by tetrameric carbonyl reductase (TCBR) in pig heart cytosol. Furthermore, PLG was confirmed to competitively inhibit the 4-BP reduction, and the optimal pH for the PLG reduction was around 6.0 similar to that for the 4-BP reduction. These results suggest that PLG mediates superoxide formation through its redox cycling involved in the two-electron reduction catalyzed by TCBR, and induces oxidative stress in pig heart.

Inhibition of carbonyl reductase activity in pig heart by alkyl phenyl ketones

The inhibitory effects of alkyl phenyl ketones on carbonyl reductase activity were examined in pig heart. In this study, carbonyl reductase activity was estimated as the ability to reduce 4-benzoylpyridine to S( − )-α-phenyl-4-pyridylmethanol in the cytosolic fraction from pig heart (pig heart cytosol). The order of their inhibitory potencies was hexanophenone>valerophenone>heptanophenone>butyrophenone>propiophenone. The inhibitory potencies of acetophenone and nonanophenone were much lower. A significant relationship was observed between Vmax/Km values for the reduction of alkyl phenyl ketones and their inhibitory potencies for carbonyl reductase activity in pig heart cytosol. Furthermore, hexanophenone was a competitive inhibitor for the enzyme activity. These results indicate that several alkyl phenyl ketones including hexanophenone inhibit carbonyl reductase activity in pig heart cytosol, by acting as substrate inhibitors.

Effects of quinones and flavonoids on the reduction of all- trans retinal to all- trans retinol in pig heart

We have recently purified a tetrameric carbonyl reductase from the cytosolic fraction of pig heart (pig heart carbonyl reductase). Since pig heart carbonyl reductase efficiently reduces all- trans retinal as the endogenous substrate, it probably plays an important role in retinoid metabolism in the heart. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the inhibitory effects of quinones and flavonoids on the reduction of all- trans retinal to all- trans retinol catalyzed by pig heart carbonyl reductase, using pig heart cytosol. Of quinones tested, 9,10-phenanthrenequinone, a component of diesel exhaust particles, was the most potent inhibitor for the all- trans retinal reduction, and a significant inhibition was also observed for plumbagin and menadione. The order of the inhibitory potencies for flavonoids was kaempferol > quercetin > genistein > myricetin = apigenin = daidzein. However, the inhibitory potencies of flavonoids were much lower than that of 9,10-phenanthrenequinone. 9,10-Phenanthrenequinone competitively inhibited the all- trans retinal reduction, whereas kaempferol exhibited a mixed-type inhibition. It is likely that 9,10-phenanthrenequinone strongly inhibits the reduction of all- trans retinal to all- trans retinol by acting as the substrate inhibitor of pig heart carbonyl reductase present in pig heart cytosol.

Involvement of carbonyl reductase in superoxide formation through redox cycling of adrenochrome and 9,10-phenanthrenequinone in pig heart

The effects of adrenochrome, a metabolite of epinephrine (adrenaline), and 9,10-phenanthrenequinone (PQ), a component of diesel exhaust particles, on the stereoselective reduction of 4-benzoylpyridine (4-BP) were examined in pig heart cytosol. PQ was a potent inhibitor for the 4-BP reduction, while adrenochrome was a poor inhibitor. A similar result was observed in the effects of adrenochrome and PQ on the reduction of all- trans retinal. Furthermore, although PQ mediated efficiently the formation of superoxide anion radical through its redox cycling in pig heart cytosol, adrenochrome had no ability to mediate the superoxide formation. These may be because the reactivity for adrenochrome, catalyzed by pig heart carbonyl reductase (PHCR), is much lower than that for PQ. The optimal pH for the reduction of PQ in pig heart cytosol was around 5.5. Dicumarol, a potent inhibitor of DT-diaphorase, had little effect on the time course of NADPH oxidation during the reduction of PQ. Therefore, it is concluded that PHCR plays a critical role in superoxide formation through redox cycling of PQ.

9,10-phenanthrenequinone, a component of diesel exhaust particles, inhibits the reduction of 4-benzoylpyridine and all-trans-retinal and mediates superoxide formation through its redox cycling in pig heart.

We have recently purified a tetrameric carbonyl reductase from the cytosolic fraction of pig heart (pig heart carbonyl reductase, PHCR), using 4-benzoylpyridine (4-BP) as the substrate. PHCR has the ability to catalyze efficiently the reduction of 9,10-phenanthrenequinone (PQ) contained in diesel exhaust particles (DEPs). Thus, the present study was attempted to characterize the inhibitory effect of PQ on the reduction of 4-BP and all-trans-retinal in pig heart cytosol. Of the DEP components examined, PQ was the most potent inhibitor for the reduction of 4-BP and all-trans-retinal in pig heart cytosol. PQ also inhibited competitively the 4-BP reduction. These results indicate that PQ inhibits the reduction of 4-BP and all-trans-retinal by acting PHCR present in pig heart cytosol. Furthermore, whether PQ induces the formation of superoxide anion radical was examined in pig heart cytosol. The absorbance of cytochrome c at 550 nm was increased with the time by adding PQ, and the increased absorbance was decreased in the presence of superoxide dismutase. A similar result was observed in the reaction system of recombinant PHCR. On the basis of these results, it is concluded that PQ not only inhibits the reduction of 4-BP and all-trans-retinal catalyzed by PHCR but also mediates superoxide formation through its redox cycling involved in PHCR. We propose the possibility that PQ disturbs the homeostasis of retinoid metabolism and induces oxidative stress in pig heart.

Specificity of Aspartate Aminotransferases from Leguminous Plants for 4-Substituted Glutamic Acids

Aspartate aminotransferase (glutamate-oxalacetate transaminase) was partially purified from extracts of germinating seeds of peanut (Arachis hypogaea), honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos), soybean (Glycine max), and Sophora japonica. The ability of these enzyme preparations, as well as aspartate aminotransferase purified from pig heart cytosol, to use 4-substituted glutamic acids as amino group donors and their corresponding 2-oxo acids as amino group acceptors in the aminotransferase reaction was measured. All 4-substituted glutamic acid analogs tested were poorer substrates than was glutamate or 2-oxoglutarate. 2-Oxo-4-methyleneglutarate was least effective (lowest relative V(m)/K(m)) as a substrate for the enzyme from peanuts and honey locust, which are the two species studied that accumulate 4-methyleneglutamic acid and 4-methyleneglutamine. Of the different aminotransferases tested, the enzyme from honey locust was the least active with 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-4-methylglutarate, the corresponding amino acid of which also accumulates in that species. These results suggest that transamination of 2-oxo-4-substituted glutaric acids is not involved in the biosynthesis of the corresponding 4-substituted glutamic acids in these species. Rather, accumulation of certain 4-substituted glutamic acids in these instances may be, in part, the result of the inefficacy of their transamination by aspartate aminotransferase.

Resonance Raman spectra of the pyridoxal coenzyme in aspartate aminotransferase. Evidence for pyridine protonation and a novel photochemical H/D exchange at the imine carbon atom.

Resonance Raman (RR) spectra are reported for aspartate aminotransferase from pig heart cytosol, and for inhibitor complexes. They are interpreted with reference to the previously analyzed spectra of pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) Schiff base adducts. This comparison shows that, as expected, the pyridine N atom is protonated in the native enzyme at pH 5, and in the glutarate complexes at pH 8.5, and that it is also protonated in the alpha-methylaspartate complex; the stabilization of the pyridine proton at high pH must be due to the interaction with aspartate 222 seen in the x-ray crystal structure. RR spectra of the erythro-beta-hydroxy-DL-aspartate complex, representing the p-quinoid enzyme intermediate, as well as of AlIII complexes of PLP Schiff bases with phenylalanine and tyrosine ethyl ester have been obtained via the coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering technique, and partially assigned. A novel H/D exchange at the coenzyme C4' atom has been observed for the native enzyme in D2O, and has been determined, by a combination of NMR and RR measurements, to be due to the Raman laser irradiation. This photoprocess, which is not observed for PLP Schiff bases in aqueous solution, is attributed to a photoexcited p-quinoid intermediate, similar to that implicated in the enzyme mechanism. It is suggested that this intermediate is stabilized by protein interactions which localize charge on the phenolate O atom, plausibly a hydrogen bond from the nearby tyrosine 225. H/D exchange would then follow via the aldimine-ketimine interconversion known to take place in the enzyme reaction.

Pyridoxamine-α-keto acid transamination activity of aspartate apoaminotransferases

Pyridoxamine-α-keto acid transamination activities of homogeneous aspartate apoaminotransferases from various organisms were determined. Aspartate apoaminotransferases from pig heart cytosol and bakers' yeast utilized both oxalacetate and α-keto-glutarate as amino acceptors, while those from pig heart mitochondria and bacteria ( Escherichia coli B and Pseudomonas striata) showed reactivity only toward oxalacetate. Specific activities of bacterial aspartate apoaminotransferases were very high compared to those of the yeast and animal apoenzymes. Phosphate and various anions, including sulfate, raised the pyridoxamine-α-keto acid transamination activity of all the aspartate apoaminotransferases examined. However, a high concentration of phosphate inhibited the reaction.

Aspartate: 2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase from bakers' yeast: crystallization and characterization.

Aspartate: 2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase [EC 2.6.1.1] was purified and crystallized from bakers' yeast. The crystalline preparation gave a single band on polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. However, in the absence of sodium dodecyl sulfate, the preparation gave one major band with two faint bands, all of which showed the same specific activity, molecular weight and serological properties. These faint bands appeared to be modified forms produced from the major band during the purification. The enzyme showed a molecular weight of 90,000 +/- 8,000 and 92,000 +/- 8,000 by gel filtration and sedimentation equilibrium analysis, respectively. The molecular weight of a subunit was estimated to be 45,000 by sodium dodecyl sulfate slab gel electrophoresis. Each subunit bound approximately 1 mol of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. The bound pyridoxal 5'-phosphate showed an absorption maximum at 360 nm (epsilon M: 11,500) and 430 nm (epsilon M: 8,200) in alkaline and acidic conditions, respectively. Its proteolytic pK was pH 6.3. The enzyme showed an optimum pH of 8.0-9.0, and fairly high amino donor and acceptor specificities; aromatic amino acids and their corresponding 2-oxoacids were catalyzed at rates of 0.2-0.8% of those for aspartate and oxalacetate, respectively. Michaelis constants for various substrate were: L-aspartate (0.11 mM), L-glutamate (20.0 mM), oxalacetate (0.006 mM), and 2-oxoglutarate (0.16 mM). The antiserum against yeast aspartate aminotransferase did not form precipitin bands with homogeneous aspartate aminotransferases from pig heart cytosol, pig heart mitochondria or Escherichia coli B.

Regulation of guinea pig heart phosphorylase kinase by cAMP, protein kinase, and calcium.

In skeletal muscle the activation of phosphorylase kinase (PK) associated with phosphorylation of the enzyme can be measured as an increase in the pH 6.8:8.2 activity ratio. Phosphorylation leads to a 20- to 30-fold increase in PK activity (PKA) at pH 6.8 and a large decrease in the Km for phosphorylase. Perfused guinea pig hearts exposed to isoproterenol (0.3 microM) showed an increase in PKA, but without an increase in the pH 6.8:8.2 activity ratio. In a 10-fold dilution of guinea pig heart cytosol exposed to cAMP + methylisobutylxanthine, PKA was stimulated twofold at pH 7.5. Addition of exogenous protein kinase stimulated PKA fourfold. Both methods of activation were reversible and were blocked by the heat-stable inhibitor of protein kinase. Guinea pig heart PK was Ca2+-dependent requiring 0.6 microM Ca2+ for half-maximal activity. Kinetic studies indicate that the Km of guinea pig heart PK for phosphorylase b at pH 6.8 is not markedly reduced after in vitro activation (35%). This could explain the observed lack of increase in the pH 6.8:8.2 activity ratio after exposure of hearts to isoproterenol. The time course for the activation of inotropic state and the glycogenolytic pathway in perfused guinea pig hearts by isoproterenol showed that these processes were maximally activated within 25 s. However, PK remained activated for 2 min, long after the other biochemical and physiological parameters had returned to control values. These data suggest that Ca2+, not phosphorylation state, is important in regulating the return of dP/dt to control levels after beta-adrenergic stimulation.

Cysteine sulfinate transamination activity of aspartate aminotransferases

Aspartate aminotransferases from pig heart cytosol and mitochondria, Escherichia coli B and Pseudomonas striata accepted L-cysteine sulfinate as a good substrate. The mitochondrial isoenzyme and the Escherichia enzyme showed higher activity toward L-cysteine sulfinate than toward the natural substrates, L-glutamate and L-aspartate. The cytosolic isoenzyme catalyzed the L-cysteine sulfinate transamination at 50% the rate of L-glutamate transamination. The Pseudomonas enzyme had the same reactivity toward the three substrates. Antisera against the two isoenzymes and the Escherichia enzyme inactivated almost completely cysteine sulfinate transamination activity in the crude extracts of pig heart muscle and Escherichia coli B, respectively. These results indicate that cysteine sulfinate transamination is catalyzed by aspartate aminotransferase in these cells.

Interactions between aspartate aminotransferase protomers observed during holoenzyme reconstitution

Aspartate aminotransferase from pig heart cytosol consists of 2 identical protomers. Car☐ymethylation of the easily accessible cysteines 45 and 82 of the holoenzyme produces a modified protein which however is still fully active. If the apoenzyme obtained from the car☐ymethylated holoenzyme is subjected to the thiol specific reagent DTNB, another group per protomer can be titrated. There is some evidence that the group modified is the thiol 390 which is titrated in “syncatalytic” conditions, i.e. 2 mM ketoglutarate and 70 mM glutamate. The full reactivation of the car☐ymethylated apoenzyme is obtained on binding of one PLP at each active site of the dimer. During the reactivation the number of thiols 390 accessible to DTNB decreases from 2 to 0 when PLP is added. The variation of the number of reactive thiol residues is not linear with coenzyme binding. Apo-holoenzyme car☐ymethylated hybrid does not react with DTNB. Thus, a strong interaction between the 2 protomers is demonstrated.

Identification of cysteine residues in aspartate transaminase from pig-heart cytosol

The two readily accessible cysteine residues (Cys-45 and Cys-82) and one completely masked residue (Cys-252) in the polypeptide chain of aspartate transaminase have been identified. The second completely masked cysteine residue is Cys-191.

Carbohydrate components of aspartate transaminase: Multiple forms of the enzyme from pig heart cytosol

Carbohydrate components of aspartate transaminase: Multiple forms of the enzyme from pig heart cytosol

Identification of the exposed and buried cysteine residues in the peptide sequence of aspartate aminotransferase from pig heart cytosol

The position of the two exposed and of one fully buried cysteine residues in the polypeptide chain of aspartate aminotransferase was established. The exposed residues are Cys-45 and Cys-82, the buried one is Cys-252. The functionally important, semiburied cysteine residue of the enzyme was previously found to be Cys-390. Available evidence indicates that the remaining fully buried cysteine residue — the one most difficultly accessible for modification — is Cys-191. Thus, the positions of all five cysteine residues of the aminotransferase molecule are identified.

Selective modification of tyrosine and cysteine residues in aspartate aminotransferase from pig heart cytosol

In the region of the active site of aspartate amino-transferase two amino acid residues — one Tyr and one Cys — are accessible to selective modification by appropriate reagents. Modification of each of the two residues singly results in certain changes of the enzyme's physico-chemical properties, but does not abolish its ability to catalyse the transamination reaction. Complete inactivation, associated with irreversible amination of the protein-bound pyridoxal-P to pyridoxamine-P, is observed only on modification of both residues.