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R Morgenstern

Publications and source records attributed to R Morgenstern.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Functional and structural membrane topology of rat liver microsomal glutathione transferase.

The membrane topology of rat liver microsomal glutathione transferase was investigated by comparing the tryptic cleavage products from intact and permeabilized microsomes. It was shown that lysine-4 of microsomal glutathione transferase is accessible at the luminal surface of the endoplasmic reticulum, whereas lysine-41 faces the cytosol. These positions are separated by a hydrophobic stretch of 25 amino acids (positions 11-35) which comprises the likely membrane-spanning region. Reaction of cysteine-49 of the microsomal glutathione transferase with the charged sulfhydryl reagent DTNB (2,2'-dithiobis(5-nitrobenzoic acid)) in intact microsomes further supports the cytosolic localization of this portion of the polypeptide chain. The role of two other potential membrane-spanning/associated segments in the C-terminal half of the polypeptide chain was examined by investigating the association of the protein to the membrane after trypsin cleavage at lysine-41. Activity measurements and Western blot analysis after washing with high concentrations of salt, as well as after phase separation in Triton X-114, indicate that this portion of the protein also binds to the membrane. It is also shown that cleavage of the purified protein at Lys-41 and subsequent separation of the fragments obtained yields a functional C-terminal polypeptide with the expected length for the product encompassing positions 42-154. The location of the active site of microsomal glutathione transferase was investigated using radiolabelled glutathione together with a second substrate. Since isolated rat liver microsomes do not take up glutathione or release the glutathione conjugate into the lumen, it can be concluded that the active site of rat liver microsomal glutathione transferase faces the cytosolic side of the endoplasmic reticulum.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Identification of N-acetylcysteine as a new substrate for rat liver microsomal glutathione transferase. A study of thiol ligands.

N-Acetyl-L-cysteine serves as an efficient substrate for the rat liver microsomal glutathione transferase with 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene as second substrate (8.8 +/- 0.37 mumol/min mg). The activity is actually higher than that obtained with glutathione (2-4 mumol/min mg). In examining the activity of liver subcellular fractions, no activity with N-acetyl-L-Cys could be detected in dialyzed or N-ethylmaleimide-treated (in order to remove endogenous glutathione) cytosol. The activity in rat liver microsomes was 0.11 +/- 0.007 mumol/min mg, which is accounted for by the content of microsomal glutathione transferase. Thus, N-acetyl-L-Cys can be used as a specific substrate for determining the conjugating activity of microsomal glutathione transferase. N-Acetyl-L-Cys was also shown to function as a substrate for the enzyme when other second substrates than 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (with varying electrophilicity) are used. The pH dependence of microsomal glutathione transferase was studied. The kcat/Km(1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene) was dependent on pH with an apparent pKa of 6, > or = 9, and > or = 8 with saturating glutathione, gamma-L-Glu-L-Cys, and N-acetyl-L- cysteine, respectively. Apparently the enzyme has the ability to lower the pKa of glutathione by 3 orders of magnitude. The kcat/Km(thiol) did not vary appreciably with pH (except for N-acetyl-L-cysteine), indicating that no rate-determining deprotonation occurs on the enzyme itself between pH 5.5 and 9. The abilities of histidine-, lysine-, and arginine-selective reagents to inactivate the enzyme when N-acetyl-L-cysteine and gamma-L-Glu-L-Cys were used as substrates were investigated. The activity toward N-acetyl-L-cysteine was decreased considerably less after treatment with the arginine-selective reagent phenylglyoxal, as compared to the activity toward GSH and gamma-L-Glu-L-Cys. This indicates that an arginine makes contact with gamma-L-Glu residue in GSH. With the other reagent/substrate combinations tested the enzyme was inactivated almost completely. The ability of microsomal glutathione transferase to stabilize the Meisenheimer complex formation between 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene and various glutathione analogues, including non-substrate thiols, has been examined. It is shown that, in general, substrates exhibited higher formation constants (approaching 50 mM-1) than non-substrates (4.5 +/- 1.7 mM-1, n = 7), whereas simpler thiols did not yield enzyme-bound complexes. The fact that the enzyme can stabilize Meisenheimer complexes from non-substrate thiol analogues of glutathione offers new possibilities for examining the substrate interactions of glutathione transferases.

Acetylcysteine↗
PubMed1994

Maternal transmission of immunity to Eimeria maxima: enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analysis of protective antibodies induced by infection.

Vaccination of broiler chickens against Eimeria infection is problematic because of the need to ensure that birds are protected from the time of hatching. We have therefore investigated the feasibility of protecting hatchling broilers via maternal transfer of protective antibodies from hens to their offspring. Oral infection of broiler breeder hens with 20,000 sporulated Eimeria maxima oocysts caused production of antibodies which were passed into the egg yolk and subsequently to hatchlings. The level of specific antibodies in the yolks to unsporulated oocysts, sporulated oocysts, merozoites, and gametocytes was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The levels in yolks of antibodies to all developmental stages peaked 3 to 4 weeks after infection of the hens. Groups of 10 hatchlings were challenged at 3 days of age by oral infection with 100 sporulated E. maxima oocysts. In the first experiment, the mean 4-day (days 6 to 9 post-infection) total number of oocysts excreted in the feces of chicks from eggs collected 3 weeks after infection of the hens was (0.6 +/- 0.4) x 10(6) (mean +/- standard error) compared with (9.9 +/- 1.4) x 10(6) for the progeny of uninfected hens, which represents a greater than 90% reduction. However, oocyst excretion by chicks from eggs collected 7 or 8 weeks after infection of the hens was only 47 or 68% lower than control values, reflecting declining levels of protective antibodies. In a second experiment, in which the hens were somewhat older and pretreated by intramuscular injection of saline in the emulsifying agent, Arlacel A, the period for which protective antibodies were transferred to hatchlings was prolonged. Thus, oocyst excretion by challenged hatchlings from eggs collected for an 8-week period after infection of the hens was more than 90% lower than oocyst excretion by control chicks, and even hatchlings of eggs collected 19 weeks after infection of the hens showed a 60% reduction in oocyst output. In both experiments, the levels of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to all developmental stages in yolks or hatchling sera were very strongly correlated with maternally derived immunity to E. maxima. In contrast, parasite-specific IgM or IgA was not detectable, either in egg yolk or egg white. These results demonstrate the ability of IgG antibodies to protect against E. maxima in poultry, thus raising the possibility of using protective maternally derived IgG antibodies to identify potentially protective parasite antigens and indicating the feasibility of using maternal immunization as a means for parasite control.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Aggregation of pyrene-labeled microsomal glutathione S-transferase. Effect of concentration.

Microsomal glutathione S-transferase was labeled by the fluorescence probe N-(1-pyrenyl)maleimide which modified 1 mol thiol residue/mol protein. The enzyme activity increased about tenfold after the binding. The pyrene-labeled microsomal glutathione S-transferase exhibited two fluorescence bands which are typical of pyrene; one at 393 nm attributable to unassociated pyrenes, the other at 480 nm attributable to pyrene excimers (excited dimers). The excimeric fluorescence increased at high protein concentrations indicating a shift of the equilibrium of labeled polypeptide chains from trimeric complexes, the functional unit of microsomal glutathione S-transferase, to larger aggregates. At 25 degrees C and at a 1% Triton X-100 concentration, the calculated equilibrium constant of this process is 65 microM. Along with the formation of large aggregates, a progressive increase of the enzymic activity was observed. Thus, N-(1-pyrenyl)maleimide appears to be a very useful probe to study the supramolecular structure of this enzyme.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Evidence that rat liver microsomal glutathione transferase is responsible for glutathione-dependent protection against lipid peroxidation.

Evidence that rat liver microsomal glutathione transferase is responsible for the glutathione-dependent inhibition of lipid peroxidation in liver microsomes has been obtained. Activation of the microsomal glutathione transferase in microsomes by cystamine renders this organelle even more resistant to lipid peroxidation in the presence of glutathione compared with untreated microsomes. Upon examining the effect of seven glutathione analogues on lipid peroxidation, it was found that only those that serve as good substrates for the microsomal glutathione transferase (Glutaryl-L-Cys-Gly and alpha-L-Glu-L-Cys-Gly) can inhibit lipid peroxidation. The lack of inhibition by the other five analogues (alpha-D-Glu-L-Cys-Gly, gamma-D-Glu-L-Cys-Gly, beta-L-Asp-L-Cys-Gly, alpha-L-Asp-L-Cys-Gly and alpha-D-Asp-L-Cys-Gly) shows the specificity of the protection and rules out any non-enzymic component. Inhibitors of selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase (mercaptosuccinate at 50 microM) and phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (iodoacetate, 1 mM + glutathione, 0.5 mM) do not inhibit the glutathione-dependent protection of rat liver microsomes against lipid peroxidation. Purified microsomal glutathione transferase, NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase and cytochrome P450 were reconstituted in microsomal phospholipid vesicles by cholate dialysis. The resulting membranes contained functional enzymes and did display enzymic lipid peroxidation induced by 75 microM NADPH and 10 microM Fe-EDTA (2:1). This model system was used to investigate whether microsomal glutathione transferase could inhibit lipid peroxidation in a glutathione-dependent manner. The results show that 5 mM glutathione did inhibit lipid peroxidation when functional microsomal glutathione transferase was included. This was not the case when the enzyme had been pre-inactivated with diethylpyrocarbonate. Furthermore, the protective effect of glutathione could be partly reversed by an inhibitor (100 microM bromosulphophtalein) of the enzyme. Apparently, rat liver microsomal glutathione transferase has the capacity to inhibit lipid peroxidation in a reconstituted system.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Human liver microsomal glutathione transferase. Substrate specificity and important protein sites.

Human liver microsomal glutathione transferase displays the following glutathione peroxidase/transferase activities: dilinoleoylphosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide (0.03 and 0.17 mumol/min.mg, unactivated and N-ethylmaleimide-activated enzyme, respectively), linoleic acid hydroperoxide (0.09 and 0.15 mumol/min.mg), cumene hydroperoxide (0.04 and 3 mumol/min.mg), methyl linoleate ozonide (0.02 and 1.2 mumol/min.mg) and 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (1.9 and 24 mumol/min.mg). The activation of glutathione peroxidase activities are much higher than previously observed. The activity towards a phospholipid hydroperoxide is noteworthy since protection against lipid peroxidation has been implied. Methyl linoleate ozonide has not previously been characterised as substrate for any microsomal glutathione transferase. Human liver microsomal glutathione transferase displays an isoelectric point of 9.4 and a structure in agreement with that deduced from the cDNA sequence. Gel electrophoretic analysis shows that proteolytic activation of the human enzyme corresponds to cleavage at Lys-41, thus defining the critical activation site.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1992

Characterisation and quantitation of a selenol intermediate in the reaction of ebselen with thiols.

The reaction of ebselen (2-phenyl-1,2-benzisoselenazol-3(2H)-one) with thiols was investigated with particular attention to the formation of an ebselen selenol intermediate. The selenol intermediate could be trapped in a mixture of ebselen and thiols with 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene and the resulting product displayed unique spectral characteristics. The reaction of authentic, synthesised ebselen selenol with 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) was shown to give rise to the same compound (2,4-dinitrophenyl (N-phenyl-2-carboxamido phenyl) selenide as characterized by light spectroscopy, NMR, IR and elemental analysis. The determination of the absorbtion coefficient at 400 nm (E = 7.5 mM-1 cm-1) and the initial rate constant of the reaction (1.4 +/- 0.3 mM-1 min-1) allows for the convenient quantification of ebselen selenol concentrations by initial rate measurements after addition of CDNB. The choice of 400 nm to monitor the reaction excludes the interference of other intermediates in the reaction of ebselen with thiols as well as the reaction of the thiols with CDNB. When the assay is applied to typical incubation conditions used for investigating the glutathione peroxidase-like activity of ebselen it was shown that as much as 10-20% of ebselen is in the selenol form. If a stronger reductant (dithiothreitol) is used 60% is in the selenol form. These data could also be confirmed by the direct determination of ebselen selenol by UV spectroscopy, due to its peak absorption at 370 nm (E = 2 mM-1 cm-1). In conclusion, this investigation demonstrates, for the first time, the identity and quantity of ebselen selenol in the reaction of ebselen with thiols and also describes a convenient assay for its quantification. These observations allow further possibilities for investigation of the molecular species responsible for the antioxidant and peroxidase activities of ebselen.

Anilides↗
PubMed1992

Determination of the relative contributions of the diselenide and selenol forms of ebselen in the mechanism of its glutathione peroxidase-like activity.

The molecular basis of the glutathione peroxidase activity of ebselen (2-phenyl-1,2-benzisoselenazol-3(2H)-one) was investigated by the use of synthesised, authentic intermediates identical to those formed by the reaction of ebselen with glutathione. The second order rate constants for the reaction of ebselen (0.29 mM-1 min-1), ebselen-glutathione selenosulfide (less than or equal to 0.01 mM-1 min-1), ebselen selenol (2.8 mM-1 min-1) and ebselen diselenide (0.32 mM-1 min-1) with hydrogen peroxide reveal that the selenol is particularly active in this respect. The determination of the relative amounts of ebselen selenol and diselenide under typical peroxidase assay conditions implies that the selenol is the predominant molecular species responsible for the glutathione--(70%)--and dithiothreitol--(96%)--dependent peroxidase activity of ebselen.

Anilides↗
PubMed1992

The oligomeric structure of rat liver microsomal glutathione transferase studied by chemical cross-linking.

The oligomeric structure of rat liver microsomal glutathione transferase was investigated using four different chemical cross-linking reagents. Studies were performed with the isolated enzyme, with the enzyme incorporated into phosphatidyl choline liposomes and with rat liver microsomes. Cross-linking was analyzed by use of SDS-PAGE combined with Western blotting. Our results strongly suggest that the microsomal glutathione transferase is a trimer in situ in the endoplasmic reticulum, as well as in the purified state and in proteoliposomes. These results lend strong support to previous studies, involving hydrodynamic characterization and radiation inactivation, indicating that the microsomal glutathione transferase is a trimeric enzyme.

Animals↗