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Biomedical subjects

Junichi Goto

Publications and source records attributed to Junichi Goto.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Ionization of unconjugated, glycine- and taurine-conjugated bile acids by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

We investigated the effect of organic anions as spray liquid additives on the ionization efficiency of unconjugated, glycine-conjugated and taurine-conjugated bile acids under electrospray ionization conditions. Addition of organic acids influenced the ionization efficiency of whole bile acids. Use of a stronger acid reduced the peak intensity of unconjugated and glycine-conjugated bile acids, while the use of TFA, the strongest acid tested, improved the intensity of taurine conjugates. The hydroxyl group at the C-12 alpha position of cholic acid and deoxycholic acid easily underwent intra-molecular hydrogen bonding with the side chain carboxyl group, accelerating the ionization efficiency. This intra-molecular hydrogen bond may also affect the formation of product ions in low energy-CID. The addition of ammonium ions to the spray liquid influenced the ionization of all bile acids, specifically enhancing the ionization efficiency of unconjugated bile acids.

Bile Acids and Salts↗

Dissociation-independent selection of high-affinity anti-hapten phage antibodies using cleavable biotin-conjugated haptens.

The engineering of hapten-specific antibodies with affinity constant higher (K(a) values >10(10)M(-1)) than those of conventional antibodies promises hapten immunoassays exhibiting sub-femtomole range sensitivity, based on the conventional competitive assay principle. Here we report a simple method to select phage particles displaying anti-hapten antibody fragments with exceptionally high affinity. 11-Deoxycortisol (11-DC), selected as a model target hapten, was covalently conjugated to biotin via a spacer that included a reductively cleavable disulfide bond. Phage particles displaying high-affinity, single-chain Fv fragments (scFvs) specific for 11-DC (K(a)1.3 x 10(10)M(-1)) were incubated with the "cleavable biotin"-conjugated 11-DC, and the resulting complexes was captured on immobilized NeutrAvidin. Mild reductive conditions that did not decrease phage infectivity easily cleaved the disulfide bond, allowing the recovery of target phage particles; this process is fully independent of the dissociation of the antigen-antibody interaction. Five serial rounds of selection enabled the isolation and enrichment of the anti-11-DC phage (specific phage ratio >90%) from among a 100,000-fold excess of nonspecific phage particles. This method will be applicable for selection of extra-high-affinity phage antibodies against a wide variety of haptens.

Animals↗

Chemical synthesis of the 3-sulfooxy-7-N-acetylglucosaminyl-24-amidated conjugates of 3beta,7beta-dihydroxy-5-cholen-24-oic acid, and related compounds: unusual, major metabolites of bile acid in a patient with Niemann-Pick disease type C1.

The chemical synthesis of 3beta,7beta-dihydroxy-5-cholen-24-oic acid, triply conjugated by sulfuric acid at C-3, by N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) at C-7, and by glycine or taurine at C-24, is described. These are unusual, major metabolites of bile acid found to be excreted in the urine of a patient with Niemann-Pick disease type C1. Analogous double-conjugates of 3beta-hydroxy-7-oxo-5-cholen-24-oic acid were also prepared. The principal reactions involved were: (1) beta-d-N-acetylglucosaminidation at C-7 of methyl 3beta-tert-butyldimethylsilyloxy (TBDMSi)-7beta-hydroxy-5-cholen-24-oate with 2-acetamido-1alpha-chloro-1,2-dideoxy-3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-d-glucopyranose in the presence of CdCO(3) in boiling toluene; (2) sulfation at C-3 of the resulting 3beta-TBDMSi-7beta-GlcNAc with sulfur trioxide-trimethylamine complex in pyridine; and (3) direct amidation at C-24 of the 3beta-sulfooxy-7beta-GlcNAc conjugate with glycine methyl ester hydrochloride (or taurine) using 4-(4,6-dimethoxy-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)-4-methylmorpholinium chloride as a coupling agent in DMF. The structures of the multi-conjugated bile acids were characterized by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry with an electrospray ionization probe under the positive and negative ionization modes.

Bile Acids and Salts↗

Chemical synthesis of 24-beta-D-galactopyranosides of bile acids: a new type of bile acid conjugates in human urine.

A method is reported for the preparation of the C-24 carboxyl-linked beta-D-galactopyranosides of lithocholic, deoxycholic, chenodeoxycholic, ursodeoxycholic, and cholic acids, two of which were recently identified as a novel type of the metabolites of bile acids excreted in human urine. Direct esterification (galactosidation) of the unprotected bile acids with 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-benzyl-D-galactopyranose in the presence of 2-chloro-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene as a coupling agent and subsequent hydrogenolysis of the resulting benzyloxy-protected bile acid 24-beta-D-galactopyranosides over 10% palladium on charcoal under atmospheric pressure afforded the title compounds. The structures of the bile acid acyl galactosides were confirmed by measuring several (1)H-(1)H and (1)H-(13)C shift correlated 2D NMR.

Bile Acids and Salts↗

Generation of a single-chain Fv fragment for the monitoring of deoxycholic acid residues anchored on endogenous proteins.

A subset of lipophillic bile acids, including deoxycholic acid (DCA) and lithocholic acid (LCA), are thought to be biologically transformed into reactive intermediates forming covalently modified, "tissue-bound" bile acids that can exert several toxic effects. We have generated a single-chain Fv fragment (scFv) as a probe to monitor DCA residues anchored on proteins. DNA fragments encoding the variable heavy (V(H)) and light (V(L)) domains of a mouse antibody raised against a DCA hapten (Ab #88) were cloned by rapid amplification of cDNA 5'-ends. These sequences were combined via a common linker sequence coding (Gly(4)Ser)(3) to construct a single scFv gene with the gene segments in the following order: 5'-V(H)-linker-V(L)-3'. This construct was subcloned into an antibody-expression vector, pEXmide 5; soluble scFv protein was then expressed in the bacterial periplasm of the XLOLR Escherichia coli strain. In a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using DCA-coated microtiter plates, the scFv provided a dose-response curve for free DCA ranging between 2 and 5000 pg/assay. The scFv reacts similarly with the l-lysine adduct of DCA (cross-reactivity, 72%), while bile acids having a modified DCA steroid skeleton were well-discriminated (cross-reactivity, <1%). This scFv could also monitor trace amounts of DCA residues anchored on a protein through DCA acyl adenylate reactions, the likely reactive intermediate. The present scFv may be a useful tool for trace characterization of tissue-bound bile acids; this usefulness may be significantly enhanced by fusion with signal-generating proteins, such as alkaline phosphatase or green fluorescent protein.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Identification of a novel conjugate in human urine: bile acid acyl galactosides.

We report a novel conjugate, bile acid acyl galactosides, which exist in the urine of healthy volunteers. To identify the two unknown peaks obtained in urine specimens from healthy subjects, the specimens were subjected to solid phase extraction and then to liquid chromatographic separation. The eluate corresponding to the unknown peaks on the chromatogram was collected. Following alkaline hydrolysis and liquid chromatography (LC)/electrospray ionization (ESI)-mass spectrometric (MS) analysis, cholic acid (CA) and deoxycholic acid (DCA) were identified as liberated bile acids. When a portion of the alkaline hydrolyzate was subjected to a derivatization reaction with 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone, a derivative of galactose was detected by LC/ESI-MS. Finally, the liquid chromatographic and mass spectrometric properties of these unknown compounds in urine specimens were compared to those of authentic specimens and the structures were confirmed as CA 24-galactoside and DCA 24-galactoside. These results strongly imply that bile acid 24-galactosides, a novel conjugate, were synthesized in the human body.

Adult↗

Formation of DNA adducts with cholyl adenylate, a putative intermediate for biosynthesis of cholyl-CoA.

Cholyl adenylate is a putative intermediate for biosynthesis of cholic acid-coenzyme A (CoA) thioester conjugates by acyl-CoA synthetase. Early studies showed the conjugated acid anhydride moiety of cholyl adenylate to be reactive, attacking proteins to form protein-cholic acid adducts. In the present study, to clarify reactions of cholyl adenylate with DNA under physiological conditions, products with nucleosides were analyzed. HPLC-MS analyses indicated cholyl adenylate to primarily attack hydroxy groups of ribose moieties of nucleosides. Moreover, as speculated from UV and MS studies, exocyclic amino groups of 2'-deoxycytidine and 2'-deoxyadenosine were found to serve as targets of cholyl adenylate; the corresponding cholic amides, N4-cholyl-2'-deoxycytidine and N6-cholyl-2'-deoxyadenosine, were formed at yields of 0.32 and 0.06%, respectively. Structures of these base modified adducts were confirmed by direct comparison with synthetic compounds obtained from coupling reactions of cholic acid with each nucleoside in the presence of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide in pyridine at 70 degrees C. N4-Cholyl-2'-deoxycytidine was also obtained at a level of 1.6 adducts per 10(5) nucleosides from enzymatic hydrolysates of calf thymus DNA reacted with cholyl adenylate. These results suggest that cholyl adenylate, released from CoA synthetase, may have some possibility as a DNA modifier in vivo.

Acyl Coenzyme A↗

Prediction of solvents suitable for crystallization of small organic molecules.

Selection of suitable solvent is essential for crystallization of pharmaceuticals. Based on chemical structures of 6397 compounds and 15 single solvents that were used to obtain their single crystals, correlations between the molecular characteristics and the solvents have been investigated by cheminformatics methods. Decision-tree and Bayesian-probability methods have been applied to make classification models. These two models are complementary in character in the present case. It has been proven that the prediction of the solvent rankings for particular compounds by use of the classification models is satisfactory from the practical point of view. The present study has demonstrated that cheminformatics methods could greatly help rational crystallization of small organic molecules such as pharmaceuticals.

Chemistry, Pharmaceutical↗

Ph4Dock: pharmacophore-based protein-ligand docking.

The development and validation of the program Ph4Dock is presented. Ph4Dock is a novel automated ligand docking program that makes best use of pharmacophoric features both in a ligand and at concave portions of a protein. By mapping of pharmacophores of the ligand to the pharmacophoric features that represent the concaves of the target protein, Ph4Dock realizes an efficient and accurate prediction of the binding modes between the ligand and the protein. To validate the potential of this unique docking algorithm, we have selected 43 reliable crystal structures of protein-ligand complexes. All of the ligands are druglike, and they are varied in nature. The diffraction-component precision index (DPI) originally used in crystallography was applied in this study in order to evaluate the docking results quantitatively. The root-mean-square deviation (rmsd) between non-hydrogen atoms of the ligand in the prediction and experimental results were analyzed using DPI. The rmsd values for 25 structures, consisting of almost 60% of the dataset, are less than three times of the corresponding DPI values. It means that the precision of docking results obtained by Ph4Dock is mostly equivalent to the experimental error in these cases. The present study has demonstrated that Ph4Dock can accurately reproduce the experimentally determined docking modes if the reliable crystal structures are used. Normally the success rate of the docking is judged using rmsd < or = 2.0 A as the criterion. The Ph4Dock marked an appreciably good success rate of 86% based on this criterion.

Binding Sites↗

Drug interaction between methamphetamine and antihistamines: behavioral changes and tissue concentrations of methamphetamine in rats.

Methamphetamine is a psychomotor stimulant, whereas first generation antihistamines cause sedation. Several studies have demonstrated that first generation antihistamines potentiate methamphetamine-induced psychomotor activation and two possible mechanisms have been postulated. One is blockage of the central histaminergic neuron system and the other is inhibition of dopamine reuptake. However, the exact mechanism is still controversial. In this study, we examined in behavioral tests the effects of selected antihistamines on methamphetamine-induced psychomotor activation in rats, and measured plasma and brain tissue concentrations of methamphetamine. We found that some antihistamines significantly potentiate methamphetamine-induced psychomotor activation in rats and that plasma and brain tissue concentrations of methamphetamine in rats treated with methamphetamine in combination with D-chlorpheniramine were markedly higher than those in rats treated with methamphetamine alone. These results suggest that the potentiating effects of antihistamines are due to not only central effects but also the alteration of the pharmacokinetics of methamphetamine.

Animals↗

Capillary gas chromatographic separation of bile acid acyl glycosides without thermal decomposition and isomerization.

A direct method for the capillary gas chromatographic (cGC) separation of the acyl glycosides of bile acids was successfully attained. The free acyl glycosides were derivatized to their complete trifluoroacetyl (TFA) derivatives with N-methyl-bis(trifluoroacetamide). The highly volatile TFA derivatives were chromatographed on a short-length (10 m), narrow-bore (0.1 mm) capillary column coated with a thin film (0.1 microm) of 5% phenyl polysilphenylene-siloxane at a column temperature below 280 degrees C. Each exhibited a single, well-separated peak of the theoretical shape without any accompanying peaks due to the thermal decomposition and isomerization. The bile acid 24alpha-glucosides were always eluted faster than the corresponding 24beta-glucosides, which eluted before the corresponding 24beta-galactosides. The method could be usefully applied to biosynthetic and metabolic studies of bile acid acyl glycosides in biological materials.

Bile Acids and Salts↗

A nonenzymatic modification of the amino-terminal domain of histone H3 by bile acid acyl adenylate.

Although it has been proposed that the secondary bile acids, deoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid, increase the number of aberrant crypt foci in the colon and may act as colon tumor promoters, there is little evidence detailing their mechanism of action. Histones play an important role in controlling gene expression, and the posttranslational modification of histones plays a role in regulation of intracellular signal transduction. In particular, the amino-terminal tail domain of histone H3 is sensitive to several posttranslational modifications, and acetylation of this domain changes its electrostatic environment and results in the loss of native folding. Therefore, we studied the modification of epsilon-amino groups on human histone H3 by deoxycholyl adenylate, which is an active intermediate in deoxycholyl thioester biosynthesis. After incubation of recombinant human histone H3 with a smaller amount of acyl adenylate, followed by enzymatic digestion, the peptide fragment mixtures were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry. These data showed the formation of only one adduct fragment, which corresponded to amino acids 3-8 with a deoxycholate adduct, suggesting that the epsilon-amino group of Lys(4) had the highest reactivity. This novel modification, formation of a bile acid adduct on the histone H3 amino-terminal tail domain through an active acyl adenylate, may relate to the carcinogenesis-promoting effects of secondary bile acids.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Bioconversion of 3beta-hydroxy-5-cholenoic acid into chenodeoxycholic acid by rat brain enzyme systems.

We have previously demonstrated that the rat brain contains three unconjugated bile acids, and chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) is the most abundantly present in a tight protein binding form. The ratio of CDCA to the other acids in rat brain tissue was significantly higher than the ratio in the peripheral blood, indicating a contribution from either a specific uptake mechanism or a biosynthetic pathway for CDCA in rat brain. In this study, we have demonstrated the existence of an enzymatic activity that converts 3beta-hydroxy-5-cholenoic acid into CDCA in rat brain tissue. To distinguish marked compounds from endogenous related compounds, 18O-labeled 3beta-hydroxy-5-cholenoic acid, 3beta,7alpha-dihydroxy-5-cholenoic acid, and 7alpha-hydroxy-3-oxo-4-cholenoic acid were synthesized as substrates for in vitro incubation studies. The results clearly suggest that 3beta-hydroxy-5-cholenoic acid was converted to 3beta,7alpha-dihydroxy-5-cholenoic acid by microsomal enzymes. The 7alpha-hydroxy-3-oxo-4-cholenoic acid was produced from 3beta,7alpha-dihydroxy-5-cholenoic acid by the action of microsomal enzymes, and Delta4-3-oxo acid was converted to CDCA by cytosolic enzymes. These findings indicate the presence of an enzymatic activity that converts 3beta-hydroxy-5-cholenoic acid into CDCA in rat brain tissue. Furthermore, this synthetic pathway for CDCA may relate to the function of 24S-hydroxycholesterol, which plays an important role in cholesterol homeostasis in the body.

Animals↗

Chiral discrimination of multiple profens as diastereomeric (R)-(+)-1-phenylethylamides by achiral dual-column gas chromatography.

Profens were converted into diastereomeric (R)-(+)-1-phenylethylamides using ethyl chloroformate and triethylamine in dichloromethane. Gas chromatographic analysis on dual-columns with different polarities provided complete enantioresolution of eight profens, facilitating chiral discrimination based on matching with retention index sets characteristic of each enantiomer. The present method was linear (r >/= 0.9992) with good precision (0.8-6.0%) and accuracy (-9.3 to 0.003%), allowing detection of trace (R)-profens in optical purity test on four (S)-profen mixture in a single run. And the method allowed simultaneous enantiomeric screening for ibuprofen enantiomers and their chiral metabolites excreted in urine following administration of racemic ibuprofen.

Amides↗

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for monitoring toxic dioxin congeners in milk based on a newly generated monoclonal anti-dioxin antibody.

To develop an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for monitoring the toxicity due to polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans contaminated in human breast milk, we have generated novel monoclonal antibodies using some haptenic derivatives linked to bovine serum albumin via the C-1 or C-2 position on the dioxin skeleton. BALB/c or A/J mice were repeatedly immunized with the immunogen, and spleen cells were fused with P3/NS1/1-Ag4-1 myeloma cells. After five fusion experiments, a hybridoma clone was established that secretes an antibody D9-36 group specifically recognizing the major toxic congeners, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD), 1,2,3,7,8-pentachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, and 2,3,4,7,8-pentachlorodibenzofran. An ELISA is developed on the basis of the competitive and labeled-antigen format. The toxic congeners extracted from butter or milk specimens by a novel extraction cartridge and a peroxidase-labeled dioxin analogue were sequentially reacted with a fixed amount of D9-36 in the presence of Triton X-100. The bound fraction was captured on a microtiter plate, immobilizing a second antibody, and the enzyme activity was colorimetrically determined. This ELISA afforded a practical sensitivity (measurable range, 1-100 pg/assay; detection limit, 1.0 pg/assay as 2,3,7,8-TCDD equivalent). The assay values for milk and butter samples were in reasonable accordance with the sum of the toxicity-equivalent quantity of each congener, which had been determined by a high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry method.

Animals↗

The remote-oxyfunctionalization of unactivated carbons in (5 beta)-3-oxobile acids by 2,6-dichloropyridine N-oxide catalyzed by ruthenium-porphyrin and HBr: a direct lactonization at C-20.

Remote-oxyfunctionalization induced by 2,6-dichloropyridine N-oxide (DCP N-oxide) as an oxygen donor and a (5,10,15,20-tetramesitylporphyrinate) ruthenium(II) carbonyl complex (Ru-porphyrin) and HBr as catalysts was examined for a series of methyl ester-peracetylated derivatives of (5 beta)-3-oxobile acids. Using the DCP-N-oxide/Ru-porphyrin/HBr system, 5 beta-hydroxylation predominated for the substrates having a 12-acetoxyl substituent due to steric hindrance, but the presence of a 7-acetoxyl substituent decreased the reactivity of the 5 beta-position allowing for the competitive (20S)-20-oxyfunctionalization, subject to electronic constraints. A variety of novel 5 beta-hydroxylation and (20S)-24,20-gamma-lactonization products, as well as their double-oxyfunctionalization and dehydration products, were obtained in one-step. The alkaline hydrolysis of the gamma-lactones gave the corresponding stereoselective (20S)-20-hydroxy-carboxylic acids.

Journal Article↗

Isolation and characterization of a digoxin transporter and its rat homologue expressed in the kidney.

Digoxin, which is one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for the treatment of heart failure, is mainly eliminated from the circulation by the kidney. P-glycoprotein is well characterized as a digoxin pump at the apical membrane of the nephron. However, little is known about the transport mechanism at the basolateral membrane. We have isolated an organic anion transporter (OATP4C1) from human kidney. Human OATP4C1 is the first member of the organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP) family expressed in human kidney. The isolated cDNA encodes a polypeptide of 724 aa with 12 transmembrane domains. The genomic organization consists of 13 exons located on chromosome 5q21. Its rat counterpart, Oatp4c1, is also isolated from rat kidney. Human OATP4C1 transports cardiac glycosides (digoxin, K(m) = 7.8 microM and ouabain, K(m) = 0.38 microM), thyroid hormone (triiodothyronine, K(m) = 5.9 microM and thyroxine), cAMP, and methotrexate in a sodium-independent manner. Rat Oatp4c1 also transports digoxin (K(m) = 8.0 microM) and triiodothyronine (K(m) = 1.9 microM). Immunohistochemical analysis reveals that rat Oatp4c1 protein is localized at the basolateral membrane of the proximal tubule cell in the kidney. These data suggest that human OATP4C1/rat Oatp4c1 might be a first step of the transport pathway of digoxin and various compounds into urine in the kidney.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Analysis of the antigen binding site of anti-deoxycholate monoclonal antibody using a novel affinity labeling reagent, acyl adenylate.

Large-scale analysis of protein-protein interaction sites is especially needed in the postgenomic era. The combination of affinity labeling with mass spectrometry is a potentially useful high-throughput screening method for this purpose. However, reagents in current use are not ideal as some cause damage to the target molecule and others have poor solubility in physiologic aqueous buffers. In this paper, we describe a novel affinity labeling reagent, acyl adenylate, which is highly soluble in aqueous solutions and reacts in a pH-dependent manner. The adenylate of deoxycholic acid reacts with amino groups on the side chain of a lysine residue and at the N-terminus of proteins/peptides. The reactivity and stability of this reagent were investigated, and it was confirmed that, after formation of a reversible ligand-protein complex under weakly acidic conditions, derivatization with acyl adenylate occurred at the target site under weakly alkaline condition. We further demonstrated the utility of this reagent for affinity labeling using a monoclonal antibody with high affinity for deoxycholic acid. Competitive ELISA indicated that deoxycholic acid was labeled around the antibody ligand binding site, thus enabling the structural elucidation of the ligand-protein interaction. In addition, LC/ESI-MS/MS analysis of the labeled peptide obtained by enzymatic digestion and affinity extraction allowed the identification of the structure surrounding the antigen binding site.

Adenosine Monophosphate↗