Placental Isozyme Research Articles

Membrane Fusion Mediated Targeted Cytosolic Drug Delivery Through scFv Engineered Sendai Viral Envelopes

Antibody targeted cytoplasmic delivery of drugs is difficult to achieve as antigen-antibody interaction results in the payload being directed to the endosomal compartment. However, Sendai viral envelopes can bring about cytoplasmic delivery due to F-protein mediated membrane fusion. In this study we have generated and fused a recombinant scFv directed to the onco-fetal antigen, the Placental isozyme of Alkaline Phosphatase (PAP) with the trans-membrane and part of the cytoplasmic domain of the Sendai F protein (F(TMC)). Reconstituted virosomes, having both the fusion protein as well as the native F-protein were able to specifically bind and deliver drugs to PAP expressing cells. About 75% of the delivery was cytoplasmic in nature. Hence, this immuno-virosome, which is devoid of the comparatively more toxic HN protein, has the novel ability to combine specific antibody mediated targeting with cytoplasmic delivery. The scFv ensured specific binding to PAP expressing cells, without cross reacting with the other isozymes of alkaline phosphatase. The advantages of cytoplasmic delivery would include reduced degradation and lowered immunogenicity of the payload and carrier. The ubiquitous expression of PAP on a variety of cancers like seminoma, choriocarcinoma, cervical and breast cancers also suggests its potential usefulness in a number of malignancies.

Catalytic Signature of a Heat-Stable, Chimeric Human Alkaline Phosphatase with Therapeutic Potential

Recombinant alkaline phosphatases are becoming promising protein therapeutics to prevent skeletal mineralization defects, inflammatory bowel diseases, and treat acute kidney injury. By substituting the flexible crown domain of human intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) with that of the human placental isozyme (PLAP) we generated a chimeric enzyme (ChimAP) that retains the structural folding of IAP, but displays greatly increased stability, active site Zn2+ binding, increased transphosphorylation, a higher turnover number and narrower substrate specificity, with comparable selectivity for bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), than the parent IAP isozyme. ChimAP shows promise as a protein therapeutic for indications such as inflammatory bowel diseases, gut dysbioses and acute kidney injury.

Extremely high isolated maternal alkaline phosphatase serum concentration – 2 case reports and literature review

CasesWe report 2 cases of isolated elevated alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in pregnancy. Two healthy primigravida who are in their twenties presented with generally feeling unwell at approximately 36-37 weeks gestations....

Phage Displayed scFv: pIII Scaffold May Fine Tune Binding Specificity

The fine specificity of antibodies is important for their discriminating powers during diagnostics and in vivo therapy. We have attempted to isolate human scFv antibodies to the oncofetal antigen, the placental isozyme of alkaline phosphatase (PLAP) in which it is important to distinguish between the closely related intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) and bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP) isozymes. As the antibodies are selected in the phage displayed form and might be finally used as different entities, including the soluble scFv form, it may be important to look at the influence of scaffolds in determining specificity. There have been earlier reports of the role of the constant region and other scaffolding proteins in determining specificity. In this paper, we report isolation of one such clone, E6, which showed specificity to PLAP in phage antibody form but lost the specificity when soluble scFv was tested for same, and showed partial cross reactivity to BAP. We suggest that the altered specificity of scFv might be the result of loss of phage pIII scaffold, which is present in phage-displayed antibody and may help the displayed antibody to assume specific conformational structure, which may govern binding characteristics of the same.

Markedly elevated serum alkaline phosphatase level in an uncomplicated pregnancy

In normal pregnancy, although maternal serum alkaline phosphatase increases and reaches the two-fold of non-pregnant serum level, above this level, hepatic, renal, osteal diseases and malignancies should be kept in mind. We report a case of 28-year-old pregnant woman with increased maternal serum level of alkaline phosphatase activity (17-fold) due to an increased level of placental isozyme. She delivered vaginally a healthy female baby. After delivery, maternal serum alkaline phosphatase activity returned to normal reference range. The aim of this case report is to show this exaggerated isozyme activity of alkaline phosphatase in pregnancy, and to differentiate it from other causes of elevated level of alkaline phosphatase.

Prediction and Molecular Modeling of T-cell Epitopes Derived from Placental Alkaline Phosphatase for use in Cancer Immunotherapy

In our ongoing efforts to combat cancer, peptide-based tumor vaccines are promising as one of the several alternatives used for cancer immunotherapy and immunoprevention. We have attempted to identify T-cell epitopes suitable for the development of a peptide-based cancer vaccine directed towards placental isozyme of alkaline phosphatase (PLAP), an oncofetal antigen. After identifying amino acid residues specific to PLAP and distinct from other close PLAP homologs, we have used sequence-based immunoinformatics tools (BIMAS and SYF- PEITHI) and conducted molecular modeling studies using InsightII to investigate the binding affinity of the epitopes containing the unique residues with respective MHC class I molecules. Promiscuous epitopes binding to different alleles of different class I HLA loci were analyzed to get a population coverage that is widespread. Binding affinity deduced from the modeling studies corroborated the status of most of the epitopes scoring high in BIMAS and SYFPEITHI. We have thus identified specific epitopes from PLAP that have a potential for binding to their respective MHC class I alleles with high affinity. These peptides would be analysed in experiments to demonstrate their involvement in the induction of primary cytotoxic T-cell responses in vitro, using respective HLA-restricted T-cells in our way towards the development of an effective anti-cancer vaccine in a background of diverse MHC haplotypes.

Alkaline Phosphatases

Our knowledge of the structure and function of alkaline phosphatases has increased greatly in recent years. The crystal structure of the human placental isozyme has enabled us to probe salient features of the mammalian enzymes that differ from those of the bacterial enzymes. The availability of knockout mice deficient in each of the murine alkaline phosphatase isozymes has also given deep insights into their in vivo role. This has been particularly true for probing the biological role of bone alkaline phosphatase during skeletal mineralization. Due to space constraints this mini-review focuses exclusively on structural and functional features of mammalian alkaline phosphatases as identified by crystallography and probed by site-directed mutagenesis and kinetic analysis. An emphasis is also placed on the substrate specificity of alkaline phosphatases, their catalytic properties as phosphohydrolases as well as phosphodiesterases and their structural and functional relatedness to a large superfamily of enzymes that includes nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase.

Targeting the active site of the placental isozyme of alkaline phosphatase by phage-displayed scFv antibodies selected by a specific uncompetitive inhibitor

BackgroundThe isozymes of alkaline phosphatase, the tissue non-specific, intestinal and placental, have similar properties and a high degree of identity. The placental isozyme (PLAP) is an oncofetal antigen expressed in several malignancies including choriocarcinoma, seminoma and ovarian carcinoma. We had earlier attempted to isolate PLAP-specific scFv from a synthetic human immunoglobulin library but were unable to do so, presumably because of the similarity between the isozymes.In this work, we have employed a PLAP-specific uncompetitive inhibitor, L-Phe-Gly-Gly, to select isozyme specific scFvs. An uncompetitive inhibitor binds to the enzyme in the presence of substrate and stabilizes the enzyme-substrate complex. Several uncompetitive inhibitors have varying degrees of isozyme specificity for human alkaline phosphatase isozymes. A specific uncompetitive inhibitor would be able to unmask conformational differences between the otherwise very similar molecules. Also, such inhibitors would be directed to regions at/close to the active site of the enzyme. In this work, the library was first incubated with PLAP and the bound clones then eluted by incubation with L-Phe-Gly-Gly along with the substrate, para-nitro phenyl phosphate (pNPP). The scFvs were then studied with regard to the biochemical modulation of their binding, isozyme specificity and effect on enzyme activity.ResultsOf 13 clones studied initially, the binding of 9 was inhibited by L-Phe-Gly-Gly (with pNPP) and 2 clones were inhibited by pNPP alone. Two clones had absolute and 2 clones had partial specificity to PLAP. Two clones were cross-reactive with only one other isozyme. Three scFv clones, having an accessible His6-tag, were purified and studied for their modulation of enzyme activity. All the three scFvs inhibited PLAP activity with the kinetics of competitive inhibition. Cell ELISA could demonstrate binding of the specific scFvs to the cell surface expressed PLAP.ConclusionThe results demonstrate the biochemical modulation of scFv binding. Also, the scFvs bound to the active site and denied the access to the substrate. The selection strategy could generate specific anti-enzyme antibodies to PLAP that can potentially be used for targeting, for modulating enzyme activity in in vitro and in vivo and as probes for the active site. This strategy also has a general application in selecting antibodies from combinatorial libraries to closely related molecules and conformations.

Induction of preneoplastic altered hepatic foci following dietary sulphur supplementation.

Sulphur is an essential micronutrient required by the body in low concentrations, but its high intake can lead to a serious health hazard. Sulphur compounds are reported to induce several toxic responses in animals, but so far no reports are available on the toxic effects of elemental sulphur, following dietary supplementation. The present investigation was carried out with the aim of providing an insight into the role of dietary supplementation of sulphur on the induction of altered hepatic foci (AHF) using medium term liver bioassay in Wistar rats. Induction of AHF are early neoplastic changes in rat liver in diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-initiated and 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF)-promoted hepatocarcinogenesis. The role of sulphur on induction of AHF was evaluated by the development of negative enzymatic foci for alkaline phosphatase (AlkPase), adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase), glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase) and positive foci for marker enzymes, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), placental isozyme of glutathione-S-transferase (GST-P). A significant dose-dependent decrease in the relative and absolute liver weight of sulphur-administered rats was recorded. Dietary supplementation of 2% and 4% sulphur significantly induces both negative and positive focal areas in terms of area and counts for AHF. However, 1% sulphur administration failed to induce AHF up to significant levels. The results thus revealed the possible tumorigenic risk associated with the high sulphur-containing diet.

Extremely elevated activity of serum alkaline phosphatase in gestational diabetes: a case report

We report a case of a 25-year-old pregnant woman with gestational diabetes and increased activity (25-fold) of placental isozyme of alkaline phosphatase. Abdominal ultrasonographic scan revealed no hepatobiliary disease. After delivery, the alkaline phosphatase level decreased but did not return to the reference range. Similar abnormalities were found in the patient's first-degree relatives, which included a mother and a sister.

Suppression of Altered Hepatic Foci Development by Curcumin in Wistar Rats

Curcumin, a yellow pigment of turmeric (Curcuma longa), is a commonly used spice and a coloring agent in foods, drugs, and cosmetics. Curcumin is known to possess chemopreventive properties in various animal tumor models. In the present study the effect of curcumin on the development of altered hepatic foci (AHF), by using a medium term liver bioassay, has been evaluated. AHF were analyzed by quantitative stereology using the Leica Qwin Image Analysis system from frozen liver sections stained for g-glutamyl transferase, adenosine triphosphatase, glucose-6-phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, and placental isozyme of glutathione S-transferase. A significant protection on diethylnitrosamine (DEN) initiated and 2-acetylaminofluorene (AAF) promoted AHF by curcumin was observed on these biological markers. The curcumin administration was found to restore the normal levels of the enzymes glutathione S-transferase and g-glutamyl transferase in rat liver following DEN-AAF exposure. Similarly, a significant protection was provided by curcumin in the enzyme-deficient foci for the adenosine triphosphatase-, alkaline phosphatase-, and glucose-6-phosphatase-treated groups in comparison to the DEN-AAF-treated group. These results show that curcumin can effectively suppress the DEN-induced development of AHF in rat liver.

Phage displayed antibodies to heat stable alkaline phosphatase: framework region as a determinant of specificity.

Human antibodies against specific targets of tumor cells are the most desirable molecules for possible immunotherapy. They could be developed by using the combinatorial antibody library displayed on a phage. We selected four human antibody fragments (scFv) binding to the oncoplacental antigen Heat Stable Alkaline Phosphatase (HSAP, the placental isozyme of alkaline phosphatase) from a synthetic human antibody library. Characterization of these scFvs showed they bound HSAP with moderate affinity but did not have isozyme specificity, as determined by binding to cell lines exhibiting differential expression of isozymes of alkaline phosphatase. The V(H) sequences of two of these scFvs were similar and although both bound to HSAP only one was cross-reactive with albumin. The sequences revealed a difference in the framework region (FR1) of these antibodies, indicating a role for this region in the determination of specificity. This is also significant considering that the heavy chains generated the diversity of the synthetic library used in this study, and only a single light chain showing binding to BSA was used for the entire library.

Structural Determinants of Aromatase Cytochrome P450 Inhibition in Substrate Recognition Site-1

The porcine gonadal form of aromatase cytochrome P450 (P450arom) exhibits higher sensitivity to inhibition by the imidazole, etomidate, than the placental isozyme. The residue(s) responsible for this functional difference was mapped using chimeragenesis and point mutation analysis of the placental isozyme, and the kinetic analysis was conducted on native and mutant enzymes after overexpression in insect cells. The etomidate sensitivity of the placental isozyme was markedly increased by substitution of the predicted substrate recognition site-1 (SRS-1) and essentially reproduced that of the gonadal isozyme by substitution of SRS-1 and the predicted B helix. A single isoleucine (I) to methionine (M) substitution at position 133 of the placental isozyme (I133M) was proven to be the critical residue within SRS-1. Residue 133 is located in the B′-C loop and has been shown to be equally important in other steroid-metabolizing P450s. Single point mutations (including residues 110, 114, 120, 128, 137, and combinations thereof among others) and mutation of the entire B and C helixes were without marked effect on etomidate inhibitory sensitivity. The same mutation (I133M) introduced into human P450arom also markedly increased etomidate sensitivity. Mutation of Ile133 to either alanine (I133A) or tyrosine (I133Y) decreased apparent enzyme activity, but the I133A mutant was sensitive to etomidate inhibition, suggesting that it is Ile133 that decreases etomidate binding rather than Met133 increasing enzyme sensitivity. Androstenedione turnover and affinity were similar for the I133M mutant and the native placental isozyme. These data suggest that Ile133 is a contact residue in SRS-1 of P450arom, emphasize the functional conservation that exists in SRS-1 of a number of steroid-hydroxylating P450 enzymes, and suggest that substrate and inhibitor binding are dependent on different contact points to varying degrees.

Structural determinants of aromatase cytochrome p450 inhibition in substrate recognition site-1.

The porcine gonadal form of aromatase cytochrome P450 (P450arom) exhibits higher sensitivity to inhibition by the imidazole, etomidate, than the placental isozyme. The residue(s) responsible for this functional difference was mapped using chimeragenesis and point mutation analysis of the placental isozyme, and the kinetic analysis was conducted on native and mutant enzymes after overexpression in insect cells. The etomidate sensitivity of the placental isozyme was markedly increased by substitution of the predicted substrate recognition site-1 (SRS-1) and essentially reproduced that of the gonadal isozyme by substitution of SRS-1 and the predicted B helix. A single isoleucine (I) to methionine (M) substitution at position 133 of the placental isozyme (I(133)M) was proven to be the critical residue within SRS-1. Residue 133 is located in the B'-C loop and has been shown to be equally important in other steroid-metabolizing P450s. Single point mutations (including residues 110, 114, 120, 128, 137, and combinations thereof among others) and mutation of the entire B and C helixes were without marked effect on etomidate inhibitory sensitivity. The same mutation (I(133)M) introduced into human P450arom also markedly increased etomidate sensitivity. Mutation of Ile(133) to either alanine (I(133)A) or tyrosine (I(133)Y) decreased apparent enzyme activity, but the I(133)A mutant was sensitive to etomidate inhibition, suggesting that it is Ile(133) that decreases etomidate binding rather than Met(133) increasing enzyme sensitivity. Androstenedione turnover and affinity were similar for the I(133)M mutant and the native placental isozyme. These data suggest that Ile(133) is a contact residue in SRS-1 of P450arom, emphasize the functional conservation that exists in SRS-1 of a number of steroid-hydroxylating P450 enzymes, and suggest that substrate and inhibitor binding are dependent on different contact points to varying degrees.

A comparative approach to structure–function studies of mammalian aromatases

To date, structure–function studies of aromatase cytochrome P450 (P450arom) have been advanced by point mutation analyses utilizing almost exclusively the human enzyme, in conjunction with computer-generated models of the three-dimensional form of the enzyme based on prokaryotic cytochromes P450. Recent studies have identified duplicated isozymes of porcine P450arom, the gonadal and placental forms of which appear to differ substantially in substrate utilization and inhibitor sensitivity. We present a comparative approach to define regions of P450arom responsible for specific functional characteristics using complimentary DNAs encoding the porcine isozymes. Constructs encoding the native and chimeric porcine and human P450arom enzymes were transiently expressed and activity was assessed using the tritiated water assay. Sensitivity to inhibition by the imidazole etomidate was investigated, and P450arom expression was assessed by immunoblot analysis. All constructs yielded active P450arom, suggesting that exchanging entire structural elements does not preclude catalytic function. The activity of the gonadal isozyme was shown to be inhibited by etomidate at concentrations 185 and 300-fold lower than those required to induce a similar inhibition of the placental and human enzymes, respectively. In contrast, there was only a two-fold difference in the sensitivity of the gonadal and placental isozymes to inhibition by CGS16949A. Analysis of chimeric constructs indicated that the sensitivity to etomidate was associated with residues in the B, B′ and C helices of the gonadal P450arom encompassing only one of six putative substrate recognition sites. Additionally, sensitivity to etomidate was not correlated with enzyme activity among the chimeric enzymes. Therefore, it appears that residues of the porcine gonadal P450arom that are responsible for etomidate binding may be distinct from those involved in substrate recognition and metabolism. These data support the notion that a comparative approach employing the use of chimeric enzymes provides a useful tool in directing point mutational analysis to determine residues important in inhibitor and perhaps substrate recognition of P450 enzymes such as P450arom. These studies are currently in progress.

Porcine gonadal and placental isozymes of aromatase cytochrome P450: sub-cellular distribution and support by NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase

Functional differences exist between the porcine gonadal and placental aromatase cytochrome P450 (P450arom) isozymes that are encoded by separate genes. The present experiments investigated the sub-cellular location of these isozymes, their dependence on the redox partner protein NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase (P450 reductase) for catalytic activity and the release of steroid intermediates during the aromatization of androgens to estrogen. After differential centrifugation, similar levels of gonadal and placental porcine P450arom were found along with P450 reductase in the microsomal compartment using activity and immunoblot analyses. Activity was stimulated much more by recombinant P450 reductase addition, and higher levels of 19-hydroxy and 19-oxo intermediates accumulated during androstenedione and testosterone metabolism, in cells expressing the gonadal compared to the placental isozyme. No other steroid products were identified by HPLC. Thus, the porcine gonadal P450arom is more sensitive to P450 reductase deprivation than is the placental P450arom, accounting in part for catalytic differences between these isozymes.

Catalytic differences between porcine blastocyst and placental aromatase isozymes.

Two isozymes of porcine aromatase, the placental and the blastocyst forms, were expressed in CHO cells using the mammalian cell transfection method. Using an 'in-cell' assay (a 3H-water release method), catalytic parameters of the porcine placental aromatase were found to be very similar to those of the human enzyme; however, the activity of the blastocyst isozyme was found to be one-thirtieth that of the placental isozyme. Product isolation assay (using testosterone as the substrate) revealed that the major steroid products were 17beta-estradiol and 19-nortestosterone. The product ratio of estradiol/19-nortestosterone was found to be 94 : 6 for the porcine placental form, 6 : 94 for the porcine blastocyst form, and 92 : 8 for the human wild-type aromatase. Therefore, the porcine blastocyst aromatase isozyme catalyzes mainly androgen 19-desmethylation rather than aromatization. In addition, inhibition profile analyses on the placental and blastocyst isozymes were performed using three steroidal inhibitors [4-hydroxyandro-stenedione (4-OHA), 7alpha-(4'-amino)phenylthio-1, 4-androstandiene-3,17-dione (7alpha-APTADD), and bridge (2, 19-methyleneoxy) androstene-3,17-dione (MDL 101,003)], and four nonsteroidal inhibitors [aminoglutethimide (AG), CGS 20267, ICI D1033, and vorozole (R83842)]. While the two isozymes of porcine aromatase share 93% amino-acid sequence identity, our results indicate that the two porcine aromatase isozymes have distinct responses to various aromatase inhibitors.

Changes in testosterone metabolism associated with the evolution of placental and gonadal isozymes of porcine aromatase cytochrome P450.

Differences in the catalytic activity of the placental and gonadal isozymes of porcine aromatase cytochrome P450 (P450arom) were examined in cell lines exhibiting stable expression of recombinant enzyme. Cell lines were selected that expressed high, but similar, immunodetectable levels of each isozyme based on Western analysis. Aromatase activity varied with growth in culture, decreasing at confluence from a peak reached between 50-80% cell density. Cells expressing the placental isozyme had 3-5 times higher catalytic activity (per mg protein) than those expressing the gonadal isozyme. The P450arom inhibitor fadrazole (1 microM) inhibited more than 97% of this activity, whereas another imidazole, etomidate (1 microM), selectively inhibited gonadal P450arom activity by 92%. Estrogen synthesis from androstenedione and testosterone was determined by RIA and confirmed by HPLC analysis, which also identified the accumulation of the 19-hydroxy and 19-oxo intermediates of the respective substrates. There was no evidence of other steroid metabolites accumulating in the media of cell lines expressing either isozyme. Tritiated water formed during aromatization of substrates 3H labeled at the C1 and C2 positions was stereo-selective for the beta orientation, but less so for testosterone than androstenedione during metabolism by the porcine placental (and human) isozyme than the gonadal isozyme. Testosterone showed a higher affinity for the porcine placental P450arom than the gonadal P450arom, but both isozymes had similar affinities for androstenedione. Testosterone was also aromatized more slowly than androstenedione by the porcine gonadal P450arom. These data suggest that catalytic differences have arisen in the substrate binding pocket during the evolution of isozymes of porcine P450arom that affect androgen metabolism, particularly the aromatization of testosterone. The physiological significance of these differences to the reproductive biology of the pig remains to be determined.

Changes in Testosterone Metabolism Associated with the Evolution of Placental and Gonadal Isozymes of Porcine Aromatase Cytochrome P450

Changes in Testosterone Metabolism Associated with the Evolution of Placental and Gonadal Isozymes of Porcine Aromatase Cytochrome P450

Porcine aromatases: studies on tissue-specific, functionally distinct isozymes from a single gene?

Aromatase cytochrome P450 (P450arom) is expressed in a variety of tissues. Pigs express P450arom as bilaminar blastocysts in utero, and thereafter in the gonads, adrenal glands and placenta. Our studies also demonstrate the existence of porcine isozymes of P450arom which differ substantially in their amino acid composition and function. The placental isoform, most similar to P450arom in other mammals, consists of 503 amino acids. The ovarian isoform, expressed in both theca and granulosa cells, is a 501 amino acid protein exhibiting less than 20% of the activity of the placental isozyme. Furthermore, it is inhibited not only by CGS16949A but also by etomidate which does not inhibit the placental P450arom. Partial sequences generated by the rapid amplification of the cDNA ends (RACE) procedure indicate that the expression of a third isoform in the blastocyst is switched to the placental isozyme during differentiation of the fetal membranes. In addition, these transcripts, and others from the theca, granulosa, testes, adrenal glands and placenta demonstrate differences in the 5′-untranslated region (putative exon I) suggestive of tissue-specific alternative splicing. An identical 5′-untranslated sequence was obtained from transcripts expressed in the theca and granulosa. Testes and adrenal transcripts also have identical 5′ ends, which differ substantially from the ovarian sequence. Blastocyst and placenta 5′-untranslated sequences differ from each other and from those expressed in the gonads and adrenals. Several tissue-specific transcripts thus encode porcine P450arom. Interestingly, distinct 5′ sequences exist for ovarian and testes P450arom mRNAs, suggesting different promoters and therefore regulation in the male and female gonads. The molecular origins of the functional isoforms and the tissue-specific transcripts are uncertain, however partial genomic sequence and other genetic analyses suggest the existence of multiple genes. However, sequence alignment of the placental and ovarian isoforms indicates complete conservation of putative exon III, so that complex splicing remains a possibility. Clearly, the regulation of P450arom expression is more complex in the pig than in other vertebrates investigated to date.