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T F Holzman

Publications and source records attributed to T F Holzman.

51 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Recombinant human prorenin from CHO cells: expression and purification.

The gene for human preprorenin was obtained from total RNA prepared from primary human chorion cells. An expression vector was constructed containing an SV40 early promoter, a human preprorenin cDNA, bovine growth hormone poly-A addition signal, and a dihydrofolate reductase (dhfr) expression cassette. This vector was inserted into the DXB-11 Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line. The recombinant protein was exported by CHO cells into the tissue culture media. At harvest the prorenin levels ranged from approximately 1-5 mg/L. For prorenin isolation the cell culture supernatants were processed by filtration, concentration, dialysis, and batch extraction. Preparative-scale isolation of prorenin was accomplished using blue-dye chromatography and size-exclusion chromatography. The isolated prorenin yielded a single SDS-gel band with Mr approximately 40,000. The proprotein was characterized with respect to N-terminal sequence and N-linked sugar composition. Trypsin-activated renin prepared from the proprotein was characterized with respect to N-terminal sequence and pH-activity profile. Enzyme activity was measured with a newly developed fluorogenic peptide substrate containing the P6-P'3 sequence of human angiotensinogen.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The kinetics of bovine growth hormone folding are consistent with a framework model.

The framework model of protein folding requires the hydrogen-bonded secondary structure to be formed early in folding (i.e. the formation of secondary structure precedes the tertiary structure) (Kim, P. S., and Baldwin, R. L. (1982) Annu. Rev. Biochem. 51, 459-489). To test the framework model directly the kinetics of bovine growth hormone (bGH) folding were compared utilizing two methods of detection, one that measures the secondary structure (far ultraviolet circular dichroism) and another that measures the tertiary structure (near ultraviolet absorbance). The results demonstrate that, under identical folding conditions, the kinetics observed by far ultraviolet circular dichroism are faster than those observed by ultraviolet absorption. The faster kinetics observed by circular dichroism indicate the existence of a helix-containing intermediate which is consistent with the framework model. The effect of protein concentration and denaturant concentration on the kinetics of refolding were studied. The rate of refolding measured by absorbance and circular dichroism was dependent on protein concentration. The protein concentration dependence on refolding is due to the transient formation of an associated intermediate. The concentration dependence of folding is taken as evidence that folding is a sequential process with partially folded monomers responsible for the observed association effect. At dilute protein concentrations the refolding can be studied independent of the association phenomena. The growth hormones utilized in this study were derived from Escherichia coli through recombinant DNA technology and from bovine pituitaries. The pituitary-derived bGH has been shown to be heterogeneous at the NH2 terminus (Lorenson, M. F., and Ellis, S. (1975) Endocrinology 96, 833-838), whereas the recombinant DNA-derived bGH contains a single NH2 terminus. No differences in the folding kinetics between the recombinant DNA and pituitary derived-bGH were observed. It is concluded that the heterogeneity of the NH2 terminus of growth hormone obtained from bovine pituitaries does not affect the observed in vitro folding kinetics.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Reoxidation of reduced bovine growth hormone from a stable secondary structure.

In order to determine solution conditions appropriate for reoxidizing reduced bovine growth hormone (bGH), we have examined the possibility of using a particular denaturant concentration to poise the secondary and tertiary structure of the reduced protein in a stable, nativelike state. It was envisioned that the structure of the reduced molecule would differ from that of the final oxidized molecule solely by the absence of disulfide bonds. Dilution of concentrated samples of reduced and unfolded protein from 6.0 M guanidine into 4.5 M urea followed by air oxidation indicated it was possible to induce refolding and reoxidation to an oxidized monomeric species in high yield (approximately 90%). The choice of solution conditions was based on comparison of urea equilibrium denaturation data for native oxidized protein to those for completely reduced protein and to protein in which sulfhydryl groups had been either partially or completely reduced and subjected to modification with iodoacetamide or methyl methanethiolsulfonate. The denaturation behavior of these species supports the existence of equilibrium folding intermediates for bovine growth hormone and demonstrates that chemical modification of the protein is capable of inducing differences in the denaturation behavior of these intermediates. The changes in the protein absorption spectrum and helix-related circular dichroism signal, along with direct titration of protein sulfhydryl groups, indicated that the refolding/reoxidation of bGH is a multistate process. The ordered nature of the kinetic changes in these probes during reoxidation indicates that disulfide formation is a sequential process, with little mispairing in 4.5 M urea, and that it proceeds through one or more obligatory kinetic folding events. The equilibrium denaturation behavior of the oxidized molecule and the various chemically modified forms, together with the reoxidation data, indicated that the protein maintains a high degree of secondary structure without intrachain disulfide bonds. The formation of these disulfide bonds is a discrete process which occurs after a framework of protein secondary structure is established.

Animals↗

Bioluminescent enzyme immunoassay for estriol. Use of reversibly inactivated bacterial luciferase as label.

A bioluminescent enzyme immunoassay using estriol labeled with reversibly inactivated bacterial luciferase is described. An estriol derivative bearing an alkylthiolsulfonate is linked to the cysteinyl thiols of luciferase by formation of mixed disulfide linkages; thus, luciferase becomes inactive. After immunoassay, the inactive luciferase of the label bound to the immunoprecipitate is reactivated by incubation with dithiothreitol and the luciferase activity then is quantitated by a 20-s reaction performed with an automated luminometer (LKB 1251). Under the defined conditions, the labels are stable for at least 14 days as tested at 4 degrees C. A standard curve with a wide linear range from 50 to 6000 pg is demonstrated. This unique technology discussed here, therefore, offers exciting possibilities as a sensitive and rapid enzyme immunoassay for estriol.

Estradiol↗

Cloning of the luciferase structural genes from Vibrio harveyi and expression of bioluminescence in Escherichia coli.

The DNA encoding the luciferase alpha and beta subunits in the luminous marine bacterium Vibrio harveyi (strain 392) is contained within a 4.0-kilobase HindIII fragment. DNA from V. harveyi was digested with HindIII, and the resulting fragments were inserted into the HindIII site of plasmid pBR322. The recombinant plasmids were introduced by transformation into Escherichia coli RR1. The colonies were supplied with n-decanal, the substrate for the bioluminescence reaction, and 12 colonies (of ca. 6000 total) were observed to luminesce brightly. One of the recombinant plasmids, pTB7, has been studied in detail. The high level of expression of bioluminescence in pTB7 was the result not of native V. harveyi promoters but rather of a promoter in pBR322 which is within the tetracycline resistance gene but oriented in the direction opposite to the transcription of the tetracycline gene. Using antiluciferase antibody to probe proteins transferred from sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels to nitro-cellulose paper, we have shown that the E. coli transformants produce luciferase that cross-reacts with antiluciferase antibody and is the same molecular weight as V. harveyi luciferase. No alpha subunit could be detected by using antiluciferase antibody in lysates of a subclone, pTB104, which is identical with pTB7 except for deletion of the beta-subunit gene. Thus, the alpha subunit may be unstable and be degraded unless it is associated with beta. The bioluminescence emission spectra of V. harveyi and of E. coli transformants carrying pTB7 are indistinguishable.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Base Sequence↗

Isolation of bacterial luciferases by affinity chromatography on 2,2-diphenylpropylamine-Sepharose: phosphate-mediated binding to an immobilized substrate analogue.

A covalently immobilized form of an inhibitor of bacterial luciferase, 2,2-diphenylpropylamine (D phi PA), was an effective affinity resin for purifying this enzyme from several distinct bacterial species. The inhibitor is competitive with the luciferase aldehyde substrate but enhances binding of the flavin substrate FMNH2 (reduced riboflavin 5'-phosphate); comparable binding interactions occur with luciferase, the immobilized inhibitor D phi PA-Sepharose, and the substrates [Holzman, T. F., & Baldwin, T. O. (1981) Biochemistry 20, 5524-5528]. The effect of FMNH2 on the binding of luciferase to D phi PA-Sepharose was mimicked by inorganic phosphate; the luciferase-phosphate complex had a greater affinity for D phi PA-Sepharose than did luciferase. This observation led to the development of a method using D phi PA-Sepharose to purify bacterial luciferase. When crude enzyme in a high-phosphate buffer was applied to a column of the affinity matrix, the luciferase activity was removed from solution. After the column was washed with the same buffer to remove unbound protein, the luciferase was eluted with a non-phosphate cationic buffer. The affinity column has proven useful for rapid purification of luciferase in much greater yield than has been previously possible with standard ion-exchange techniques. This approach has allowed one-step purification of luciferases from ammonium sulfate precipitates of Vibrio harveyi, Vibrio fischeri, and Photobacterium phosphoreum. The dissociation constants in 0.10 M phosphate for the affinity ligand: luciferase complexes were 0.49 micro M, 0.28 micro M, and 0.15 micro M, respectively, for the three species. The dissociation constant for the V. harveyi mutant AK-6, which has normal aldehyde binding but greatly reduced affinity for FMNH2, was 0.30 micro M, while that for the V. harveyi mutant AK-20, which has greatly reduced affinity for aldehyde but a slightly increased affinity for FMNH2, was 1.2 microM. Preliminary experiments indicated that the yellow fluorescence protein (YFP) that participates, through energy transfer, in bioluminescent emission in V. fischeri strain Y-1 could be separated from the luciferase in this strain by chromatography on the affinity matrix, whereas other methods of separating luciferase and YFP have had limited success because of the binding of YFP to luciferase.

Chromatography, Affinity↗

Binding of 2,2-diphenylpropylamine at the aldehyde site of bacterial luciferase increases the affinity of the reduced riboflavin 5'-phosphate site.

We have found a new class of inhibitors of the bacterial bioluminescence reaction, the N,N-diphenylalkylamines and acids. We have studied the action of one of these compounds 2,2-diphenylpropylamine. The amine was competitive with the long-chain aliphatic aldehyde substrate (Ki congruent to 0.1 mM) but caused an increase in the affinity of the enzyme for reduced riboflavin 5'-phosphate (FMNH2). The inhibitor was attached to Sepharose 6B by a bis(oxirane) spacer, and the interactions of bacterial luciferase with the immobilized ligand were analyzed. The binding of luciferase to the immobilized inhibitor was enhanced by FMNH2 and was decreased by decanal. The results of these studies showed that the 2,2-diphenylpropylamine-luciferase complex has an increased affinity for FMNH2. Likewise, the FMNH2-luciferase complex has an increased affinity for 2,2-diphenylpropylamine. The inhibitor also binds to the enzyme-4a-peroxydihydroflavin complex to block the binding of the aldehyde substrate, while binding of the aldehyde substrate to either the free enzyme or the enzyme-4a-peroxydihydroflavin complex blocks binding of 2,2-diphenylpropylamine.

Aldehydes↗

Proteolytic inactivation of luciferases from three species of luminous marine bacteria, Beneckea harveyi, Photobacterium fischeri, and Photobacterium phosphoreum: evidence of a conserved structural feature.

Upon limited proteolysis of luciferases from the luminous marine bacteria Photobacterium fischeri, Photobacterium phosphoreum, and Beneckea harveyi, the rate of loss of luciferase activity is the same as the rate of loss of the heavier subunit of all three enzymes. It thus appears that the larger subunit of the luciferase from P. phosphoreum should be designated alpha based on its apparent homology with the alpha subunits of the luciferases from B. harveyi and P. fischeri. The luciferase from B. harveyi is more sensitive to chymotrypsin than to trypsin; the luciferases of the Photobacterium species are more sensitive to trypsin than to chymotrypsin. Proteolytic inactivation of all three luciferases results from hydrolysis of a few peptide bonds in the alpha subunit; the proteolytic fragments from the three luciferases in 0.50 M phosphate are approximately the same size, indicating that the three enzymes have a protease-labile region at about the same position in the primary structure of their alpha subunits. Phosphate stabilizes all three luciferases against inactivation by proteases. Formation and degradation of intermediate species derived from the alpha subunits are readily observable in all three luciferases. Phosphate alters both the rate of product formation and the sites of peptide bond scission. The beta subunits of the luciferases from the two Photobacterium species, unlike the enzyme of B. harveyi, appear to be degraded in buffers containing low concentrations of phosphate; in high-phosphate buffers, the beta subunits of all three luciferases appear to resist proteases. Analysis of native and chymotrypsin-inactivated P. fischeri and P. phosphoreum luciferases in the analytical ultracentrifuge indicates that, as with B. harveyi luciferase, the products of limited proteolysis do not dissociate under nondenaturing conditions. The fact that the luciferases from evolutionarily diverse species of luminous bacteria have protease-sensitive bonds in the same region of the alpha subunit that are stabilized by anions strongly suggests that the protease-labile region of the alpha subunit is either an integral component of or in close proximity to the active center.

Binding Sites↗

Cleavage of fluorogenic substrates for APP-processing proteases by human brain extracts. Ca(2+)-substrate interaction is responsible for Ca2+ stimulation of the neural protease activity.

The proteases that cleave amyloid precursor protein (APP) leading to generation of amyloid A beta peptide are potential targets for therapeutical intervention of Alzheimer disease. We have been pursuing the identification and characterization of these proteases using as probes the fluorogenic substrates encompassing the cleavage sites of APP that we described recently (Wang, G. T., Krafft, G. A. [1992] Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2, 1665). This article describes results of experiments designed to examine the effect of Ca(2+) on the cleavage of these substrates by human brain extracts. Fluorogenic substrates encompassing either the N-terminal amyloidogenic cleavage site or the secretory cleavage site were synthesized in five formats with various peripheral residues. Incubation with extracts from normal brain tissue revealed that more negatively charged amyloidogenic substrates were less reactive and exhibited larger rate enhancement in the presence of Ca(2+). The results imply that Ca(2+) stimulation of substrate cleavage by brain proteases occurs primarily as a result of Ca(2+)-substrate interactions, and caution against interpretations that invoke the involvement of Ca(2+)-stimulated proteases in A beta formation.

Alzheimer Disease↗

Abrogation of G2 checkpoint specifically sensitize p53 defective cells to cancer chemotherapeutic agents.

BACKGROUND: Chkl is a checkpoint gene that is activated after DNA damage. It phosphorylates and inactivates Cdc25C at the late G2 phase. The inactivation of Cdc25C and consequently, the inactivation of Cdc2, are required for the G2 arrest induced by DNA damage. METHODS: We treated 184B5 cell line and its E6 transformed cell lines with adriamycin in the presence of staurosporine or UCNO1 and examined G2 arrest and cell death. RESULTS: We found that adriamycin induced a p53 and p21 response as well as a G1 arrest in 184B5 cells, but not in its E6 transformed cells. Staurosporine or UCNO1 abrogated the G2 arrest induced by adriamycin in both cell lines. In addition, staurosporine or UCNO1 specifically sensitized p53 incompetent cells to adriamycin. CONCLUSION: G2/M checkpoint abrogators can potentially enhance the cytotoxic effect of conventional chemotherapeutic reagents specifically to tumor cells.

Alkaloids↗