Inhibition of glutathione biosynthesis by prothionine sulfoximine (S-n-propyl homocysteine sulfoximine), a selective inhibitor of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase.
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Animals↗
Biomedical subjects
A Meister
Publications and source records attributed to A Meister.
New aspects of glutathione metabolism and translocation in mammals.
An appreciable fraction of the sulphur present in the mammal occurs in the form of glutathione, whose concentration in various tissues ranges from about 0.8 to about 8 mM; the extracellular concentration of glutatione (largely present as the disulphide) is in the micromolecular range. The synthesis of glutathione and its utilization take place by the reactions of the gamma-glutamyl cycle, which include those catalysed by gamma-glutamylcysteine and glutathione synthetases, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, cysteinylglycinase, gamma-glutamyl cyclotransferease, and 5-oxoprolinase. gamma-Glutamyl transpeptidase catalyses transpeptidation (with amino acids and dipeptides) and hydrolysis reactions with both blutathione and its disulphide. The transpeptidase is membrane-boudn, apparently to the outer surface of the cell, and is found in certain epithelial cells in anatomical sites that are involved in transport and secretory activities (e.g., renal tubule, jejunal villi, choroid plexus, ciliary body). Evidence that the reactions of the gamma-glutamyl cycle take place in vivo has come from studies with labelled metabolites and selective enzyme inhibitors, and on inborn errors of metabolism associated with specific enzyme deficiencies. Inhibition in vivo of gamma-glutamyl cyclotransferase and 5-oxoprolinase leads, respectively, to decreased and increased renal levels of 5-oxoproline. Administration of a specific inhibitor of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase, such as buthionine sulphoximine, leads to a rapid decline in the glutamylcysteine synthetase, such as buthionine sulphoximine, leads to a rapid decline in the glutathione level of the kidney and other tissues, reflecting the appreciable rate of glutathione utilization. When gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase is inhibited in vivo by injection of L- or D-gamma-glutamyl-(o-carboxy)phenylhydrazide, there is extensive glutathionuria and the blood plasma level of glutathione increases. Studies in which inhibitors of glutathione synthesis and transpeptidation were given to mice showed that transport of intracellular glutathione to membrane-bound transpeptidase is a discrete step in the gamma-glutamyl cycle, and that the level of plasma glutatione reflects (a) synthesis of glutathione and its export by liver, muscle, and other tissues and (b) utilization of glutatione by kidney and other tissues. Studies on several lymphoid cell lines show that these cells also actively translocate glutathione out of the cell. A summary scheme is given for the metabolism of glutathione in which glutathione is translocated to the cell membrane where it may be utilized as such or oxidized to glutathione disulphide. Oxidation is inhibited, and transpeptidation is promoted by the presence of amino acids that are substrates of the transpeptidase. Glutathione exported from cells that have membrane-bound transpeptidase may be recovered by the cell transport of gamma-glutamyl amino acids and free amino acids...
Animals↗
Translocation of intracellular glutathione to membrane-bound gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase as a discrete step in the gamma-glutamyl cycle: glutathionuria after inhibition of transpeptidase.
Several inhibitors of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase in vitro [L-serine plus borate, 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine, and L- and D-gamma-glutamyl-(o-carboxy)phenylhydrazide] are active in vivo, as indicated by their effect in decreasing the conversion of administered D-gamma-glutamyl-L-alpha-amino[(14)C]butyrate to respiratory (14)CO(2) in mice. The hydrazides (both L and D isomers) are the most potent inhibitors in vitro and in vivo. Inhibition of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase in vivo by the hydrazides is accompanied by extensive glutahionuria. The evidence suggests that a substantial fraction of the urinary glutathione arises from the kidney. The findings support the view that renal intracellular glutathione is normally translocated to the membrane-bound gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase as a separate step in the gamma-glutamyl cycle. Studies on in vivo inhibition of glutathione synthesis and of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase provide direct evidence that glutathione is normally translocated from tissues to the blood plasma and that the turnover of plasma glutathione is relatively high. The data suggest that the low but significant steady-state level of glutathione in the plasma reflects synthesis of glutathione (predominantly in the liver) and its utilization by gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (predominantly in the kidney). Thus, glutathione synthesized in cells that have transpeptidase may be translocated to and used by the membrane-bound enzyme, whereas glutathione synthesized in cells that lack the transpeptidase may be transported via the plasma to transpeptidase located on the membranes of other cells.
Animals↗
Inhibition of amino acid transport into lymphoid cells by the glutamine analog L-2-amino-4-oxo-5-chloropentanoate.
Transport of L-glutamine and of the chloroketone glutamine analog L-2-amino-4-oxo-5-chloropentanoate into lymphoid cells is mediated by the same system. Arginine and a number of other amino acids (e.g., glutamate, aspartate, and lysine) are transported to a much lesser extent by this system. However, after uptake of the chloroketone into the cells, the transport of glutamine, arginine, and other amino acids is markedly inhibited, due evidently to reaction of the chloroketone with intracellular components that are involved in amino acid transport. The chloroketone acts more effectively on growing than on resting cells. Treatment of lymphoid cells with the chloroketone or with L-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene leads to rapid and complete depletion of intracellular glutathione without affecting cell viability. These reagents appear to be useful experimental tools for studies of glutathione function and metabolism.
Amino Acids↗
Glutathione: interorgan translocation, turnover, and metabolism.
Glutathione is translocated out of cells; cells that have membrane-bound gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase can utilize translocated glutathione, whereas glutathione exported from cells that do not have appreciable transpeptidase enters the blood plasma. Glutathione is removed from the plasma by the kidney and other organs that have transpeptidase. Studies in which mice and rats were treated with buthionine sulfoximine, a selective and potent inhibitor of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase and therefore of glutathione synthesis, show that glutathione turns over at a significant rate in many tissues, especially kidney, liver, and pancreas; the rate of turnover in mouse skeletal muscle is about 60% of that in the kidney. Experiments on rats surgically deprived of one or both kidneys and treated with the gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase inhibitor D-gamma-glutamyl-(o-carboxy)phenylhydrazide establish that extrarenal gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activity accounts for the utilization of about one-third of the total blood plasma glutathione. Normal animals treated with the transpeptidase inhibitor excrete large amounts of glutathione in their urine. They also excrete gamma-glutamylcysteine, suggesting that cleavage of glutathione at the cysteinylglycine bond may be of metabolic significance. The present and earlier findings lead to a tentative scheme (presented here) for the metabolism and translocation of glutathione, gamma-glutamyl amino acids, and related compounds.
Animals↗
Transport of gamma-glutamyl amino acids: role of glutathione and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase.
This work relates to the hypothesis that one of the mechanisms that mediates amino acid translocation across cell membranes involves the action of membrane-bound gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase on intracellular glutathione and extracellular amino acids to form gamma-glutamyl amino acids. According to this idea, the latter are translocated into the cell where the gamma-glutamyl moiety is removed to yield free amino acids. Previous studies in this laboratory showed that intracellular glutathione is translocated out of many cells. We have now directly examined the transport of gamma-glutamyl amino acids into tissues in the mouse by use of the model substrate L-gamma-glutamyl-L-[14C]methionine sulfone. Of 11 tissues examined, only the kidney showed strong and preferential uptake of the substrate. A substantial amount of the administered L-gamma-glutamyl-L-[14C]methionine sulfone was found intact in the kidney; the total uptake of this compound was greater (by about 2-fold) than that of free L-methionine sulfone. Studies with a number of other gamma-glutamyl amino acids and gamma-glutamyl compounds indicate that the kidney has a relatively specific transport system for gamma-glutamyl amino acids. Small but significant amounts of gamma-glutamylmethionine sulfone were found in the liver and pancreas, suggesting that other tissues may also have this system. Transport of gamma-glutamylmethionine sulfone into the kidney was inhibited by inhibitors of glutathione synthesis and of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase. The results suggest that both the transpeptidase and glutathione may be involved in transport of gamma-glutamyl amino acids.
Amino Acids↗
Translocation of glutathione from lymphoid cells that have markedly different gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activities.
Translocation of intracellular glutathione to the medium was studied in lymphoid cells (grown in tissue culture) that have very high, very low, or intermediate levels of membrane-bound gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, in the absence and presence of various inhibitors of this enzyme. The data show that glutathione is translocated to the medium by all of the cell lines studied, but that glutathione does not accumulate in the medium unless the cellular transpeptidase activity is either very low or substantially inhibited. Translocation of glutathione does not seem to be directly related to the activity of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase. The present and previous [Griffith, O.W. & Meister, A. (1979) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 76, 268--272] findings suggest that translocation of intracellular glutathione is a general property of many mammalian cells. Glutathione exported from cells that have membrane-bound transpeptidase may be recovered by the cell in the form of transpeptidation or degradation products. Translocation of glutathione may also reflect operation of a rather general mechanism that protects and maintains the integrity of cell membranes.
Biological Transport↗
Conversion of glutathione to glutathione disulfide by cell membrane-bound oxidase activity.
An apparently specific glutathione oxidase activity is present in renal cortex, epididymal caput, jejunal villus tip cells, choroid plexus, and retina (but not in liver). The activity is membrane-bound and is localized on the luminal surface of the brush border membranes of the kidney and jejunum. The distribution and localization of the oxidase are similar to those of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, suggesting that there is a significant relationship among the translocation of intracellular glutathione, the extracellular oxidation of glutathione to glutathione disulfide, and the reactions of the gamma-glutamyl cycle. Thus, both glutathione present in the blood plasma and intracellular glutathione translocated to the cell surface are accessible to oxidation and transpeptidation. Acceptor substrates of the transpeptidase (e.g., L amino acids) promote transpeptidation and decrease oxidation of glutathione. Conversion of glutathione to glutathione disulfide is followed by utilization of the latter compound by gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and dipeptidase. Although intracellular oxidation of glutathione to glutathione disulfide is readily reversed by the action of glutathione reductase, glutathione disulfide formed extracellularly cannot be reduced; instead, it undergoes hydrolytic and transpeptidation reactions leading to gamma-glutamyl amino acid and amino acid products which may be recovered by being transported into the cell.
Animals↗
Effects of methionine sulfoximine analogs on the synthesis of glutamine and glutathione: possible chemotherapeutic implications.
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Animals↗
Cyclic forms of the alpha-keto acid analogs of arginine, citrulline, homoarginine, and homocitrulline.
The alpha-keto acid analogs of arginine and citrulline (and of their next higher homologs, homoarginine and homocitrulline) were prepared enzymatically and shown to exist in equilibrium with cyclic forms which predominate in solution and in the solid state. The cyclic forms of the alpha-keto acid analogs of arginine and homoarginine have the structures pyrrolidine-1-amidino-2-hydroxy-2-carboxylic acid and piperidine-1-amidino-2-hydroxy-2-carboxylic acid, respectively. The cyclic forms of the alpha-keto acid analogs of citrulline and homocitrulline have the structures pyrrolidine-1-carbamyl-2-hydroxy-2-carboxylic acid and piperidine-1-carbamyl-2-carboxylic acid, respectively. The latter compound can undergo further cyclization and dehydration to form additional products, whose structures (2H, 5H, 7H-imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine-1,3-dione and 2H, 5H, 7H, 9H-9-hydroxy-imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine-1,3-dione) were deduced. The alpha-keto acids investigated here, which may be formed reversibly by enzymatic transamination of the corresponding amino acids, may be formed in vivo especially in the presence of metabolic abnormalities associated with inborn enzymatic defects.
Arginine↗
Differential inhibition of glutamine and gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetases by alpha-alkyl analogs of methionine sulfoximine that induce convulsions.
The alpha-methyl and alpha-ethyl analogs of methionine sulfoximine, like methionine sulfoximine, induce convulsions in mice and inhibit glutamine synthetase irreversibly; alpha-ethylmethionine sulfoximine is approximately 50% as inhibitory as methionine sulfoximine and alpha-methylmethionine sulfoximine. However, whereas alpha-methylmethionine sulfoximine and methionine sulfoximine inhibit gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase markedly, alpha-ethylmethionine sulfoximine does not, nor does administration of the alpha-ethyl analog produce the decrease in tissue glutathione levels found after giving methionine sulfoximine or its alpha-methyl analog. The findings strongly indicate that methionine sulfoximine-induced convulsions are closely associated with inhibition of glutamine synthetase rather than with inhibition of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase. The alpha-alkyl methionine sulfoximine analogs cannot be catabolized via the corresponding alpha-keto or alpha-imino acids, and, like other alpha-substituted amino acids, are probably not metabolized to a significant extent in vivo; this suggests that the amino acid sulfoximine molecules themselves, rather than their metabolites, are directly involved in the induction of convulsions. Possible explanations for the reported lack of correlation between the occurrence of convulsions and the levels of glutamine synthetase activity (and its substrates and product) are considered. The findings suggest that studies on the mechanism of induction of convulsions may be extended significantly and refined in biochemical terms by the use of other structurally modified convulsant molecules.
Amino Acids↗
gamma-Glutamyl cyclotransferase from rat kidney. Sulfhydryl groups and isolation of a stable form of the enzyme.
gamma-Glutamyl cyclotransferase, highly purified from rat kidney, contains several readily accessible sulfhydryl groups whose modification appears to be associated with the appearance of multiple enzyme forms as determined by isoelectric focusing and ion exchange chromatography. The enzyme was obtained in a 1000-fold purified and apparently homogeneous form by a procedures involving treatment with dithiothreitol followed by chromatography on thiol-Sepharose. The enzyme was also isolated in a highly active, apparently homogeneous, and stable form after reduction and treatment with iodoacetamide. The amino acid compositions and other properties of the two forms of the enzyme were very similar. Studies on the activity of the enzyme toward a variety of gamma-glutamyl amino acids and di-gamma-glutamyl amino acids showed that the enzyme is much more active toward certain di-gamma-glutamyl amino acids than toward the corresponding gamma-glutamyl amino acids; thus, the preferred substrates have the general structure gamma-Glu-gamma-Glu-NH-R in which the nature of the R moiety has relatively little effect on activity.
Acyltransferases↗
Carbonic-phosphoric anhydride (carboxy phosphate). Significance in catalysis and regulation of glutamine-dependent carbamyl phosphate synthetase.
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Adenine Nucleotides↗
Mechanism of the reaction catalyzed by carbamyl phosphate synthetase. Binding of ATP to the two functionally different ATP sites.
Application of the pulse-chase procedure to study of the binding and utilization of ATP by glutamine-dependent carbamyl phosphate synthetase from Escherichia coli showed that the enzyme binds the two molecules of ATP used in this reaction at the same time, and that the two ATP-binding sites are functionally different. Thus, ATP bound to the first ATP site is used for carboxy phosphate formation, and ATP bound to the second ATP site is used for phosphorylation of carbamate. The present and previous findings support a mechanism that involves intermediate formation of two highly unstable intermediates: carboxy phosphate and carbamate. It is proposed that the presence of all of the reactants on the enzyme at the start of the catalytic cycle allows immediate utilization of these labile compounds in the carbamyl phosphate synthesis reaction.
Adenosine Triphosphate↗
Glutamine-dependent carbamyl-phosphate synthetase (Escherichia coli); preparation of subunits.
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Allosteric Regulation↗
Serine-borate complex as a transition-state inhibitor of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase.
gamma-Glutamyl transpeptidase, a membrane-bound enzyme, functions in the gamma-glutamyl cycle to catalyze utilization of glutathione. It has been postulated that the amino-acid-stimulated utilization of glutathione by gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase reflects an aspect of amino acid translocation. As one approach to the effective in vivo inhibition of this enzyme, the inhibition of the enzyme by L-serine in the presence of borate buffers [Revel, J.P. & Ball, E.G. (1959) J. Biol. Chem. 234, 577-582] was reinvestigated. Inhibition by L-serine, D-serine, and alpha-methyl-DL-serine in the presence of borate is competitive with respect to gamma-glutamyl substrate and such inhibition is parallel to the activity of transpeptidase toward L-gamma-glutamyl, D-gamma-glutamyl, and L-gamma-(alpha-methyl)glutamyl derivatives. L-Serine and borate effectively protect against inactivation of the enzyme by the gamma-glutamyl analogs, 6-diazo-5-oxonorleucine and azaserine, which bind to the gamma-glutamyl site of the enzyme. These studies, kinetic investigations, equilibrium dialysis experiments, and other data support the view that inhibition is produced by formation of serine-borate complex which binds at the gamma-glutamyl binding site of the light subunit of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase. The data indicate that serine-borate complex is a transition state inhibitor of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase.
Azaserine↗
Evidence that the gamma-glutamyl cycle functions in vivo using intracellular glutathione: effects of amino acids and selective inhibition of enzymes.
The function of the gamma-glutamyl cycle was explored in in vivo studies in which amino acids and specific inhibitors of cycle enzymes (gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, gamma-glutamyl cyclotransferase, gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase, and 5-oxoprolinase) were administered to mice. The findings, which show that the gamma-glutamyl cycle functions in vivo, support the conclusion that gamma-glutamyl amino acids formed by gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase from externally supplied amino acids and intracellular glutathione are translocated into the cell and thus indicate that there is a significant physiological connection between the metabolism of glutathione and the transport of amino acids.
Amino Acids↗
Relation between ataxia and defects of the gamma-glutamyl cycle.
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Animals↗