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Biomedical subjects

J Knudsen

Publications and source records attributed to J Knudsen.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Disruption of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae homologue to the murine fatty acid transport protein impairs uptake and growth on long-chain fatty acids.

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is able to utilize exogenous fatty acids for a variety of cellular processes including beta-oxidation, phospholipid biosynthesis, and protein modification. The molecular mechanisms that govern the uptake of these compounds in S. cerevisiae have not been described. We report the characterization of FAT1, a gene that encodes a putative membrane-bound long-chain fatty acid transport protein (Fat1p). Fat1p contains 623 amino acid residues that are 33% identical and 54% with similar chemical properties as compared with the fatty acid transport protein FATP described in 3T3-L1 adipocytes (Schaffer and Lodish (1994) Cell 79, 427-436), suggesting a similar function. Disruption of FAT1 results in 1) an impaired growth in YPD medium containing 25 microM cerulenin and 500 microM fatty acid (myristate (C14:0), palmitate (C16:0), or oleate (C18:1)); 2) a marked decrease in the uptake of the fluorescent long-chain fatty acid analogue boron dipyrromethene difluoride dodecanoic acid (BODIPY-3823); 3) a reduced rate of exogenous oleate incorporation into phospholipids; and 4) a 2-3-fold decrease in the rates of oleate uptake. These data support the hypothesis that Fat1p is involved in long-chain fatty acid uptake and may represent a long-chain fatty acid transport protein.

3T3 Cells↗

Saccharomyces carlsbergensis contains two functional genes encoding the acyl-CoA binding protein, one similar to the ACB1 gene from S. cerevisiae and one identical to the ACB1 gene from S. monacensis.

Saccharomyces carlsbergensis is an amphiploid, and it has previously been suggested that the genomes of S. carlsbergensis originate from S. cerevisiae and S. monacensis. We have cloned the ACB1 genes encoding the acyl-CoA binding protein (ACBP) from S. carlsbergensis, S. cerevisiae and S. monacensis. Two genes were found in S. carlsbergensis and named ACB1 type 1 and type 2, respectively. The type 1 gene is identical to the S. cerevisiae ACB1 gene except for three substitutions, one single base pair deletion and one double base pair insertion, all located in the promoter region. The type 2 gene is completely identical to the S. monacensis ACB1 gene. These findings substantiate the notion that S. carlsbergensis is a hybrid between S. cerevisiae and S. monacensis. Both ACB1 type 1 and type 2 are actively transcribed in S. carlsbergensis and transcription is initiated at sites identical to those used for transcriptional initiation of the ACB1 genes in S. cerevisiae and S. monacensis, respectively. Two polyadenylation sites, spaced 225 bp apart, are present in the S. cerevisiae ACB1 gene. The upstream polyadenylation site is used exclusively during exponential growth, whereas both sites are utilized during later stages of growth.

Base Sequence↗

Comparison of analytical performance and biological variability of three bone resorption assays.

We have compared the analytical performance and biological variability of three commercially available bone resorption assays: Pyrilinks-D, Osteomark, and CrossLaps, for the measurement of urinary free deoxypyridinoline (Dpd), cross-linked N-telopeptides of type I collagen (NTx), and linear C-telopeptides of type I collagen (CTx), respectively. The intraassay and interassay CVs for precision of the Dpd and NTx assays were < 10% for analyte concentrations greater than the second calibrator (i.e., 3 nmol/L Dpd or 30 nmol bone collagen equivalents/L NTx). The CTx assay demonstrated poor precision for analyte concentration lower than the third calibrator (i.e., 200 micrograms/L). The NTx assay exhibited nonlinear recovery for sample dilutions prepared in buffer; however, this nonlinear recovery could be corrected for sample dilutions made in urine at a low analyte concentration. Supplement recoveries of each of the three assays were within 100% +/- 10% on average. All three analytes showed stability through five freeze-thaw cycles. The mean day-to-day variations were 16% for Dpd, and 23% for both NTx and CTx. Similar diurnal rhythm was observed for all three assays on average, with the peak in the early morning and the nadir in the afternoon. Mean amplitude of the diurnal variation was 37% for Dpd and NTx, and 57% for CTx. Variations within the reference intervals for a healthy premenopausal population were 28% for Dpd, 57% for NTx, and 56% for CTx. Pyrilinks-D has demonstrated analytical precision and accuracy equal or superior to Osteomark and CrossLaps in all areas. Dpd exhibits the least biological variability day-to-day, within individuals across the diurnal cycle, and within a healthy premenopausal population.

Adult↗

Thermodynamics of ligand binding to acyl-coenzyme A binding protein studied by titration calorimetry.

Ligand binding to recombinant bovine acyl-CoA binding protein (ACBP) was examined using isothermal microcalorimetry. Microcalorimetric measurements confirm that the binding affinity of acyl-CoA esters for ACBP is strongly dependent on the length of the acyl chain with a clear preference for acyl-CoA esters containing more than eight carbon atoms and that the 3'-phosphate of the ribose accounts for almost half of the binding energy. Binding of acyl-CoA esters, with increasing chain length, to ACBP was clearly enthalpically driven with a slightly unfavorable entropic contribution. Accessible surface areas derived from the measured enthalpies were compared to those calculated from sets of three-dimensional solution structures and showed reasonable correlation, confirming the enthalphically driven binding. Binding of dodecanoyl-CoA to ACBP was studied at various temperatures and was characterized by a weak temperature dependence on delta G zero and a strong enthalpy-entropy compensation. This was a direct consequence of a large heat capacity delta Cp caused by the presence of strong hydrophobic interactions. Furthermore, the binding of dodecanoyl-CoA was studied at various pH values and ionic strengths. The data presented here state that ACBP binds long-chain acyl-CoA esters with very high affinity and suggest that ACBP acts as a housekeeping protein with no pronounced built-in specificity.

Acyl Coenzyme A↗

Primary structures of decapod crustacean metallothioneins with special emphasis on freshwater and semi-terrestrial species.

Cadmium injections induced only a single form of metallothionein (MT) in the midgut gland of Potamon potamios, whereas the same treatment induced two isoforms in Astacus astacus. The only difference between the two latter isoforms was that one had an extra N-terminal methionine residue. MT from P. potamios showed structural differences from other decapod crustacean MTs. It contained a Gly-Thr motif at positions 8 and 8a, which had previously been found only in certain vertebrate and molluscan MTs. Furthermore P. potamios MT contained two to three times as many glutamic acid residues as normally found in decapod crustacean MT. The primary structure of MT from the freshwater crayfish A. astacus showed a high degree of sequence identity with MT from other decapod crustaceans, especially the marine astacidean Homarus americanus, although two valine residues were unexpectedly found at positions 8 and 21, where lysine residues are normally found.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Regulatory elements in the promoter region of the rat gene encoding the acyl-CoA-binding protein.

Acyl-CoA-binding protein (ACBP) is an ubiquitously expressed 10-kDa protein which is present in high amounts in cells involved in solute transport or secretion. Rat ACBP is encoded by a gene containing the typical hallmarks of a housekeeping gene. Analysis of the promoter region of the rat ACBP gene by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) revealed specific binding of proteins from rat liver nuclear extracts to potential recognition sequences of NF-1/CTF, Sp1, AP-1, C/EBP and HNF-3. In addition, specific binding to a DR-1 type element was observed. By using in vitro translated peroxisome proliferator activated receptors (PPAR) and a retinoid X receptor alpha (RXRalpha), we demonstrated that this DR-1 element was capable of binding PPARalpha/RXRalpha, PPARdelta/RXRalpha and PPARgamma2/RXRalpha heterodimers. The PPARgamma2/RXRalpha heterodimer appeared to have the highest affinity for the ACBP DR-1 element. Addition of peroxisome proliferators (PP) to H4IIEC3 rat hepatoma cells led to an increase in the ACBP mRNA level, indicating that the DR-1 element could be a functional peroxisome proliferator responsive element (PPRE). Analysis of the ACBP promoter by transient transfection showed that deletion of the region containing the DR-1 element reduced transcriptional activity, and further indicated that three AP-2 sites and one NF-1/CTF site in the proximal promoter are of importance for basal promoter activity.

Animals↗

Disruption of the gene encoding the acyl-CoA-binding protein (ACB1) perturbs acyl-CoA metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The ACB1 gene encoding the acyl-CoA-binding protein (ACBP) was disrupted in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The disruption did not affect the growth rate on glucose but reduced the growth rate on ethanol slightly. Although the growth rate of the acb1-disrupted cells was unaffected or only slightly affected, the acb1-disrupted strain was unable to compete with wild type cells when grown in mixed culture. The acyl-CoA level in the disrupted cells was increased from 1.5- to 2.5-fold during exponential growth. The increase in the acyl-CoA level was caused solely by an increase in de novo synthesized stearoyl-CoA. Experiments with purified yeast fatty acid synthetase show that it will synthesize long chain acyl-CoAs in the absence of acyl-CoA-binding protein. The addition of ACBP to the incubation medium resulted in a dramatic decrease in the chain length of the synthesized acyl-CoA esters. Despite the fact that the stearoyl-CoA concentration was increased 7-fold and the Delta9-desaturase mRNA level was increased 3-fold, the synthesis of oleic acid was unchanged in the acb1-disrupted strain. The results strongly indicate that ACBP in yeast is involved in the transport of newly synthesized acyl-CoA esters from the fatty acid synthetase to acyl-CoA-consuming processes.

Acetic Acid↗

Fast and one-step folding of closely and distantly related homologous proteins of a four-helix bundle family.

Bovine acyl-coenzyme A binding protein is a four-helix bundle protein belonging to a group of homologous eukaryote proteins that binds medium and long-chain acyl-coenzyme A esters with a very high affinity. The three-dimensional structure of both the free and the ligated protein together with the folding kinetics have been described in detail for the bovine protein and with four new sequences reported here, a total of 16 closely related sequences ranging from yeasts and plants to human are known. The kinetics of folding and unfolding in different concentrations of guanidine hydrochloride together with equilibrium unfolding have been measured for bovine, rat and yeast acyl-coenzyme A binding protein. The bovine and rat sequences are closely related whereas the yeast is more distantly related to these. In addition to the three natural variants, kinetics of a bovine mutant protein, Tyr31 --> Asn, have been studied. Both the folding and unfolding rates in water of the yeast protein are 15 times faster than those of bovine. The folding rates in water of the two mammalian forms, rat and bovine, are similar, though still significantly different. A faster unfolding rate both for rat and the bovine mutant protein results from a lower stability of the native states of these. These hydrophobic regions, mini cores, have been identified in the three-dimensional structure of the bovine protein and found to be formed primarily by residues that have been conserved throughout the entire eukaryote evolution from yeasts to both plants and mammals as seen in the sample of 16 sequences. The conserved residues are found to stabilize helix-helix interactions and serve specific functional purposes for ligand binding. The fast one-step folding mechanism of ACBP has been shown to be a feature that seems to be maintained throughout evolution despite numerous differences in sequence and even dramatic differences in folding kinetics and protein stability. The protein study raises the question to what extent does the conserved hydrophobic residues provide a scaffold for an efficient one-step folding mechanism.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

3-year clinical evaluation of modified Gluma adhesive systems in cervical abrasion/erosion lesions.

PURPOSE: To study the clinical performance of two candidates for improvement of the original Gluma bonding system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eight teeth with cervical buccal abrasion/erosion lesions were identified in 40 patients. The lesions were conditioned with an oxalic acid solution followed by either a HEMA-glutaraldehyde bonding agent or a formamide-containing bonding agent. The lesions were restored with a hybrid composite. Each patient received the same number of restorations with the two different bonding formulations. All restorations were made by the same operator (JK). Evaluations were based on the USPHS system. RESULTS: No difference between the two groups as to retention, marginal adaptation and discoloration was observed after 3 years. Eight restorations were lost and a slight increase in marginal discoloration was seen during the observation period.

Adult↗

Analysis of the ligand binding properties of recombinant bovine liver-type fatty acid binding protein.

The coding part of the cDNA for bovine liver-type fatty acid binding protein (L-FABP) has been amplified by RT-PCR, cloned and used for the construction of an Escherichia coli (E. coli) expression system. The recombinant protein made up to 25% of the soluble E. coli proteins and could be isolated by a simple two step protocol combining ion exchange chromatography and gel filtration. Dissociation constants for binding of oleic acid, arachidonic acid, oleoyl-CoA, lysophosphatidic acid and the peroxisomal proliferator bezafibrate to L-FABP have been determined by titration calorimetry. All ligands were bound in a 2:1 stoichiometry, the dissociation constants for the first ligand bound were all in the micro molar range. Oleic acid was bound with the highest affinity and a Kd of 0.26 microM. Furthermore, binding of cholesterol to L-FABP was investigated with the Lipidex assay, a liposome binding assay and a fluorescence displacement assay. In none of the assays binding of cholesterol to L-FABP was observed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Local perturbations by ligand binding of hydrogen deuterium exchange kinetics in a four-helix bundle protein, acyl coenzyme A binding protein (ACBP).

Amide hydrogen exchange kinetics of the individual amides in a four-helix bundle protein, acyl-coenzyme A binding protein, have been studied by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The kinetics of amides with exchange rate constants in the range of 10(-25) to 10(-6.5) S-1 at pH 6.65 in free protein and the ligand-protein complex have been measured, and the effect of binding the ligand, palmitoyl-coenzyme A, on individual exchange rates has been analysed. Specific correlations between exchange kinetics and the structural properties of the individual amides known from the three-dimensional structure of acyl-coenzyme A binding protein have been examined. Furthermore, an analysis has been performed comparing the structural perturbations of the protein-ligand interactions known from the three dimensional structure of the complex of palmitoyl-coenzyme A and acyl-coenzyme A binding protein with the ligand-induced perturbations on the amides exchange kinetics. Finally, the ligand-induced perturbations on hydrogen exchange have been compared with those on 15N relaxation. The results suggest that hydrogen exchange kinetics in the individual sites of acyl-coenzyme A binding protein are primarily determined by local structural features; they show that ligand binding gives rise mainly to changes localized at the sites of interaction between protein and ligand; they imply that the perturbation of exchange kinetics caused by ligation can be either, as in one example a local stabilisation of the pre-exchange equilibrium induced by formation of a hydrogen bond, or as seen here in several examples a reduction of the dynamic processes that lead to the opening and closing processes of the pre-exchange equilibrium. The results seem not to indicate changes in the rate of the final chemical exchange step.

Amides↗

Folding of a four-helix bundle: studies of acyl-coenzyme A binding protein.

The refolding from denaturing conditions of a small four-helix bundle, the acyl-coenzyme A binding protein, has been investigated by utilizing an array of fast-reaction techniques. Stopped-flow tryptophan fluorescence for measuring the incorporation of aromatic residues into the protein core and far- and near-ultraviolet circular dichroism to measure the formation of secondary and tertiary structure, respectively, together with the formation of persistent structure measured by hydrogen exchange pulse labeling experiments analyzed by electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry all show that 90% of the acyl-coenzyme A binding protein molecules achieve their fully folded and active, native state with a time constant of less than 5 ms at 25 degrees C and of ca. 30 ms at 5 degrees C. The kinetic parameters measured by the different techniques are closely similar, indicating that the different elements of structure form effectively concomitantly. There is no evidence for a significant population of any partially structured intermediate states, and the kinetics are identical whether refolding occurs from an unfolded state generated either by low pH or by addition of guanidine hydrochloride. The kinetics of both refolding and unfolding are monophasic processes for practically 90% of the molecules, and can be described by a two-state model. The results add to our knowledge of the folding scheme of different structural motifs and are discussed in terms of current views of the mechanisms of protein folding.

Acyl Coenzyme A↗

Detection of acyl-CoA-binding protein in human red blood cells and investigation of its role in membrane phospholipid renewal.

Acyl-CoA-binding protein (ACBP) has been identified in a number of tissues and shown to affect the intracellular distribution and utilization of acyl-CoA. We have detected ACBP in the cytosol but not the membrane of human red blood cells and, using an e.l.i.s.a. with antibodies prepared against human liver ACBP, found that its concentration was 0.5 microM. To investigate the role of ACBP in human red blood cells, we added purified human liver ACBP and radiolabelled acyl-CoA to isolated membranes from these cells. ACBP prevented high concentrations of acyl-CoA from binding to the membrane but could not keep the acyl-CoA in the aqueous phase at low concentrations. This suggested the presence of a pool in the membrane with a binding affinity for acyl-CoA that was greater than that of ACBP for acyl-CoA. In the presence of lysophospholipid, this membrane-bound pool of acyl-CoA was rapidly used as a substrate by acyl-CoA:lysophospholipid acyltransferase (LAT) to generate phospholipid from lysophospholipid. We also found that ACBP-bound acyl-CoA was preferred over free acyl-CoA as a substrate by LAT. These results are the first documentation that human red blood cells contain ACBP and that this protein can affect the utilization of acyl-CoA in plasma membranes of these cells. The interactions between acyl-CoA, ACBP and the membrane suggest that there are several pools of acyl-CoA in the human red blood cell and that ACBP may have a role in regulating their distribution and fate.

Acyl Coenzyme A↗

Amino acid sequences of three acyl-binding/lipid-transfer proteins from rape seedlings.

The complete amino acid sequence of three acyl-binding/lipid-transfer proteins, AB/LTP I, AB/LTP II and AB/LTP III from germinated rape seeds were determined. AB/LTP I and AB/LTP II consist of 93 residues and the M(r) was determined as 9408 by mass spectrometry and calculated as 9406.8 from the sequence. AB/LTP III consists of 92 residues and the M(r) was determined as 9424 by mass spectrometry and calculated as 9422.8 from the sequence. The primary structures were determined by automated Edman degradations of the intact proteins and peptides obtained from digestion with trypsin and endoproteinase Asp-N and cyanogen bromide cleavage. Use of 252Cf plasma-desorption mass spectrometry facilitated the identification and verification of peptides.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Evaluation of mass spectrometric techniques for characterization of engineered proteins.

Mass spectrometric characterization of engineered proteins has been examined using bovine recombinant Acyl-CoA-Binding Protein (rACBP), [15N]-labeled rACBP, and a number of sequence variants of ACBP produced by site-directed mutagenesis. The mass spectrometric techniques include ESIMS and MALDIMS for analysis of the intact protein. Peptide maps have been obtained either by direct analysis of enzymatically derived mixtures by PDMS, ESIMS, and MALDIMS or by off- and on-line HPLC-mass spectrometry. ESIMS was found to be most accurate for analysis of intact proteins. The best sequence coverage in mapping was obtained by LC-ESIMS and by direct mixture analysis by MALDIMS. The latter technique was favorable in terms of sensitivity and speed. A general strategy for mass spectrometric characterization of engineered proteins is suggested.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The use of polymerase chain reaction to detect metastatic cancer cells within lymph nodes in stage I cervical carcinoma.

The aim of the study was to determine whether human papillomavirus (HPV) in lymph nodes is a useful marker for the risk of recurrence in patients with HPV-related cervical cancer. The polymerase chain reaction and DNA-DNA hybridization techniques were used to examine 149 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded lymph nodes that had been resected from 24 patients undergoing radical hysterectomy for stage IB cervical carcinoma. The lymph nodes were examined for the HPV type, which in each case was found in the cervical tumor. Of 18 patients with histologically negative nodes, HPV DNA was found in a lymph node in two of 10 patients who later experienced a recurrence and in three of eight patients who were alive and well for > or = 5 years after surgery. In addition, HPV was detected in the lymph nodes of two of four patients with nodal metastases at the primary surgery; four of nine histologically positive lymph nodes in these patients contained HPV. It is concluded that detection of HPV in resected lymph nodes is probably not a useful means of identifying the cervical cancer patients who might benefit from adjuvant postoperative therapy.

Adult↗

Fatty acyl-CoA oxidase activity is induced before long-chain acyl-CoA hydrolase activity and acyl-CoA binding protein in liver of rat treated with peroxisome proliferating 3-thia fatty acids.

1. In this study we explored the relationship between specific acyl-CoA esters and induction of acyl-CoA binding protein (ACBP) and enzymes related to the proliferation of peroxisomes. Male Wistar rats were administered a single dose (150 mg/day/kg) of sulphur-substituted fatty acid analogues, and the effects of tetradecylthioacetic acid and 3-thiadicarboxylic acid, which both act as peroxisome proliferators, were compared with the effects of tetradecylthiopropionic acid and palmitic acid which do not induce peroxisome proliferation. 2. The hepatic level of total long-chain acyl-CoA was significantly increased within 12 h of feeding these fatty acids, except in rat fed tetradecylthioacetic acid. Hplc chromatograms of liver extracts prepared from rat fed tetradecylthioacetic acid showed that tetradecylthioacetyl-CoA ester accumulated in the liver 4 h after feeding and had disappeared after 24 h. In liver extracts of the tetradecylthiopropionic acid-treated rat tetradecylthiopropionyl-CoA was not observed, but the appearance of a new long-chain acyl-CoA ester, probably a metabolite of tetradecylthiopropionic acid, was detected. This new peak reached a maximum 4h after feeding. In rat fed tetradecylthioacetic acid and 3-thiadicarboxylic acid the hepatic level of fatty acyl-CoA oxidase mRNA increased 8 h after feeding, while the acyl-CoA oxidase activity had increased after 12 h. 3. The early accumulation of specific tetradecylthioacetyl-CoA suggests that this ester may be a possible mediator of the induction of fatty acyl-CoA oxidase. The level of hepatic acyl-CoA binding protein, long-chain acyl-CoA hydrolase activity and long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase activity did not change after a single dose of all four fatty acids. Prolonged administration of 3-thia fatty acids resulted, however, in a dose- and time-dependent increase in hepatic ACBP content and ACBP mRNA level. The amount of ACBP increased in parallel to the long-chain acyl-CoA hydrolase activity. The correlated induction of fatty acyl-CoA binding protein and long-chain acyl-CoA hydrolase seems to be dependent on a sustained accumulation of total long-chain acyl-CoA esters.

Acyl Coenzyme A↗