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Y Langelier

Publications and source records attributed to Y Langelier.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Adenoviral-expressed GP5 of porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus differs in its cellular maturation from the authentic viral protein but maintains known biological functions.

The ORFs 5, 6 and 7, encoding for the three major structural proteins, GP(5), M and N, of the IAF-Klop strain of PRRSV were cloned and expressed in 293 cells using replication-defective human type 5 adenoviral vectors (hAdVs). Although the M protein gene could be cloned into hAdVs and expressed constituvely in 293 cells under the control of the hCMV immediate early promotor/enhancer, hAdVs expressing N and GP(5) proteins, which appeared to be toxic or interfered with adenovirus replication, could only be generated by inclusion of a tetracycline-regulatable promotor in the transfer vector pAdTR5. The recombinant (rec) proteins appeared similar to the authentic viral proteins in regards to their M(r)s and antigenicities. However, the recGP(5) apparently possesses different N-linked oligosaccharides residues. Its sensitivity to endo-beta-galactosidase digestion indicates that poly-N-acetyllactosamine is present on the individually-expressed protein, but not on the authentic GP(5) anchored into the virion envelope. The recGP(5) apparently accumulates within the ER compartment as a glycoprotein that possesses high-mannose N-linked oligosaccharide side chains sensitive to endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H treatment, by contrast to its viral counterpart for which N-linked oligosaccharide side chains are of both high-mannose and complex types. Coinfection of 293 cells with hAdVs expressing the M and GP(5) did not lead to M-GP(5) heterodimer formation, as demonstrated in PRRSV-infected cells. Moreover, cells infected with inducible hAdV/ORF5 showed that GP(5) of the North American strain is proapoptotic. Indeed, when the expression cassette was turned-on, caspase 3 activity in hAdV/ORF5 infected cells was enhanced and DNA fragmentation could be detected by TUNEL assays. Pigs intradermally injected twice with hAdV/ORF5 developed antibody titers to the authentic viral GP(5) as soon as 10 days following challenge with the homologous virulent PRRSV strain, as revealed by Western blot and virus neutralization tests, suggesting the establishment of a specific immune memory.

Adenoviridae↗
PubMed2000

Oleate activates phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and promotes proliferation and reduces apoptosis of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells, whereas palmitate has opposite effects.

Epidemiological studies and experiments using animal models and cultured breast cancer cells have suggested that a high intake of dietary fat could increase breast cancer risk. Little is known about the biochemical pathways by which various free fatty acids (FFAs) influence breast cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of the two most abundant circulating FFAs, oleate and palmitate, on established human breast cancer cell lines after a short period of serum starvation. The unsaturated FFA oleate (C:18:1) stimulated cell proliferation, whereas the saturated FFA palmitate (C:16) dose dependently inhibited it. The half maximal effective concentrations of oleate and palmitate in the presence of albumin were 5 and 25 microM, respectively. The growth-inhibitory effect of palmitate in MDA-MB-231 cells was related to the induction of apoptosis as indicated by morphological and biochemical criteria. Moreover, oleate protected cells against the proapoptotic action of palmitate. Oleate and palmitate increased and decreased phophatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K) activity, respectively, and the actions of the two FFAs on the enzyme were antagonistic. The PI3-K inhibitors wortmannin and LY294002 completely blocked the proliferative action of oleate. 2-Bromopalmitate, a nonmetabolizable analogue, did not affect MDA-MB-231 cell proliferation, suggesting that palmitate must be metabolized to exert its effect. Thus, various types of fatty acids are not equivalent with respect to their actions on breast cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis. The results support the concept that PI3-K is implicated in the control of breast cancer cell growth by FFAs and that PI3-K may provide a link between fat and cancer. The data are also consistent with the view that the type of FFA and their ratios in the diet in addition to the total amount of fat influence mammary carcinogenesis.

Apoptosis↗
PubMed1998

In vitro interaction of the carboxy-terminal domain of lamin A with actin.

The nuclear lamina formed by lamins is localized between the inner nuclear membrane and chromatin. Lamins are thought to be implicated in the higher order chromatin structure. Interactions of lamins with chromatin have been described but the molecular components directly involved in these interactions remain to be identified. Using a GST-C-terminal domain of lamin A fusion protein to probe cellular extracts for interacting proteins, we have found that this domain of lamin A binds to nuclear actin. This result suggests that an actin-based molecular motor linked to the lamina could be involved in the movement of chromatin domains.

Actins↗
PubMed1998

The R1 subunit of herpes simplex virus ribonucleotide reductase is a good substrate for host cell protein kinases but is not itself a protein kinase.

The N terminus of the R1 subunit of herpes simplex virus type 2 ribonucleotide reductase is believed to be a protein kinase domain mainly because the R1 protein was phosphorylated in a protein kinase assay on blot. Using Escherichia coli and adenovirus expression vectors to produce R1, we found that, whereas the reductase activity of both recombinant proteins was similar, efficient phosphorylation of R1 and casein in the presence of Mg2+ was obtained only with the R1 purified from eukaryotic cells. Phosphorylation of this R1, in solution or on blot, results mainly from the activity of casein kinase II (CKII), a co-purifying protein kinase. Labeling on blot occurs from CKII leakage off the membrane and its subsequent high affinity binding to in vivo CKII-phosphorylated R1. CKII target sites were mapped to an acidic serine-rich segment of the R1 N terminus. Improvement in purification of the R1 expressed in eukaryotic cells nearly completely abolished its phosphorylation potential. An extremely low level of phosphorylation observed in the presence of Mn2+ with the R1 produced in E. coli was probably due to an unidentified prokaryotic protein kinase. These results provide evidence that the herpes simplex virus type 2 R1 does not possess an intrinsic protein kinase activity.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1998

Inducible overexpression of a toxic protein by an adenovirus vector with a tetracycline-regulatable expression cassette.

We have constructed two new adenovirus expression cassettes that expand both the range of genes which can be expressed with adenovirus vectors (AdV) and the range of cells in which high-level expression can be attained. By inclusion of a tetracycline-regulated promoter in the transfer vector pAdTR5, it is now possible to generate recombinant adenoviruses expressing proteins that are either cytotoxic or that interfere with adenovirus replication. We have used this strategy to generate a recombinant adenovirus encoding a deletion in the R1 subunit [R1(delta2-357)] of the herpes simplex virus type 2 ribonucleotide reductase. Cell lines expressing the tetracycline-regulated transactivator (tTA) from an integrated vector or following infection with an AdV expressing tTA are able to produce deltaR1 protein at a level approaching 10% total cell protein (TCP) when infected with Ad5TR5 deltaR1 before they subsequently die. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the overexpression of a toxic gene product with AdV. We have also constructed a new constitutive adenovirus expression cassette based on an optimized cytomegalovirus immediate-early promoter-enhancer that allows the expression of recombinant proteins at a level greater than 20% TCP in nonpermissive cell lines. Together, these new expression cassettes significantly improve the utility of the adenovirus system for high-level expression of recombinant proteins in animal cells and will undoubtedly find useful applications in gene therapy.

Adenoviridae↗
PubMed1996

Production of the R2 subunit of ribonucleotide reductase from herpes simplex virus with prokaryotic and eukaryotic expression systems: higher activity of R2 produced by eukaryotic cells related to higher iron-binding capacity.

The R2 subunit of ribonucleotide reductase from herpes simplex virus type 2 was overproduced with prokaryotic and eukaryotic expression systems. The recombinant R2 purified by a two-step procedure exhibited a 3-fold higher activity when produced in eukaryotic cells. Precise quantification of the R2 concentration at each step of the purification indicated that the activity was not altered during the purification procedure. Moreover, we have observed that the level of R2 expression, in eukaryotic cells as well as in prokaryotic cells, did not influence R2 activity. Extensive characterization of the recombinant R2 purified from eukaryotic and prokaryotic expression systems has shown that both types of pure R2 preparations were similar in their 76 kDa dimer contents (more than 95%) and in their ability to bind the R1 subunit. However, we have found that the higher activity of R2 produced in eukaryotic cells is more probably related to a higher capability of binding the iron cofactor as well as a 3-fold greater ability to generate the tyrosyl free radical.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Reduction of the tyrosyl radical and the iron center in protein R2 of ribonucleotide reductase from mouse, herpes simplex virus and E. coli by p-alkoxyphenols.

The rate of reduction of the tyrosyl radical in the small subunit of ribonucleotide reductase (protein R2) from E. coli, mouse, and herpes simplex virus (HSV-2) by a series of p-alkoxyphenols with different alkyl chains, have been studied by stopped-flow UV-vis and stopped-flow EPR spectroscopy. The reduction and release of iron in R2 by the inhibitors was followed using bathophenanthroline as chelator of Fe2+. p-Alkoxyphenols reduce the mouse R2 tyrosyl radical 1-2 orders of magnitude faster than the HSV-2 and E. coli radical. In contrast to E. coli, the iron center in R2 from mouse and HSV-2 is reduced by the inhibitors. For mouse R2, the rate of reduction of the tyrosyl radical increases in parallel with increasing alkyl chain length of the inhibitor, an observation which may be important for the design of new antiproliferative drugs.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Improved adenovirus vector provides herpes simplex virus ribonucleotide reductase R1 and R2 subunits very efficiently.

We have constructed a new adenovirus (Ad) expression vector, pAdBM5, that allows for the production of unprecedented levels of recombinant protein in the human 293 cell line using the Ad expression system. The main feature of this vector is a combination of enhancer sequences that increases the activity of the ectopic major late promoter (MLP) in recombinant Ad. In 293 cells infected with helper-free Ad recombinants generated with the pAdBM5 transfer vector, both herpes simplex virus (HSV) ribonucleotide reductase R1 and R2 subunits represent the most abundant polypeptides, accounting for as much as 15-20% of total cellular proteins. Our data suggest that this level of expression is probably very close to the upper limit of the system. Furthermore, when compared to the widely utilized baculovirus (Bac)/Sf9 expression system, the improved Ad vector showed a better performance for the production and purification of active HSV-2 ribonucleotide reductase R1 and R2 subunits. The R2 subunit was about 5-fold more abundant in recombinant Ad-infected 293 cells than in Bac-infected Sf9 cells while the R1 subunit was produced at roughly similar levels with either system. However, the amount of active soluble R1 obtained from recombinant Ad-infected 293 cells was at least 5 times higher because most of the R1 produced in Sf9 cells was insoluble.

Adenoviruses, Human↗
PubMed1994

Affinity of synthetic peptides for the HSV-2 ribonucleotide reductase R1 subunit measured with an iodinated photoaffinity peptide.

The herpes simplex virus (HSV) ribonucleotide reductase comprises two nonidentical subunits, R1 and R2, which associate to form the active holoenzyme. A sensitive binding assay was developed to measure the affinity of inhibitory peptides for the HSV R1 subunit. The assay involved the use of a photoreactive radioligand [4'-azido-Phe328,3',5'-125I-Tyr329] HSV R2-(328-337), an analogue of the decapeptide Ser-Tyr-Ala-Gly-Ala-Val-Val-Asn-Asp-Leu which corresponds to the C-terminal sequence (328-337) of the HSV R2 protein. As the radioligand binds covalently to the HSV R1 subunit upon uv irradiation, the affinity of peptide inhibitors can be easily determined by measuring their ability to compete with this highly specific binding. The method, which did not require any pure preparation of R1, was tested at 25 and 4 degrees C and showed a significant increase in the affinity of the peptide inhibitors at 4 degrees C. The relative affinity of these peptides was in agreement with their relative potency to inhibit reductase activity. The affinity of R2 subunit for R1 was also determined, and an IC50 of 0.05 microM was measured. Altogether, this assay represents a precise and reliable tool with which to study more potent HSV ribonucleotide reductase peptide inhibitors, and the method could be applied to the study of other protein-protein and peptide-protein interactions.

Affinity Labels↗
PubMed1993

Escherichia coli and herpes-simplex-virus ribonucleotide reductase R2 subunit. Compared reactivities of the redox centres.

Protein R2, the small subunit of ribonucleotide reductase, contains a diferric centre and a tyrosyl radical absolutely required for enzyme activity. The reduction of the tyrosyl radical and the mobilization of the iron centre result in the inhibition of the enzyme and thus of DNA synthesis. The chemical reactivity of the iron-radical centre of Escherichia coli and herpes simplex virus has been studied by u.v.-visible and e.p.r. spectroscopies. The tyrosyl radical is efficiently scavenged by hydroxamic acids and phenols during reactions controlled by steric hindrance and hydrophobic interactions. The reaction with o-disubstituted phenols yields the corresponding diphenoquinones. The reactivity of the bacterial radical greatly contrasts with that of the viral radical, and the iron centre in herpes-simplex-virus R2 is much more labile than that in E. coli R2, as shown from the facile mobilization of iron by chelators such as catechol. These results suggest that the active sites of the two enzymes are significantly different and might be useful for designing new antiviral agents.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1992

Structure-function studies of peptides inhibiting the ribonucleotide reductase activity of herpes simplex virus type I.

Ac-Tyr298-Ala299-Gly300-Thr301-Val302-I le303-Asn304-Asp305-Leu306-OH (Ac-VZV R2-(298-306)) represents the acetylated form of the C-terminus of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) ribonucleotide reductase subunit 2 (R2). This peptide possesses a high degree of homology with the C-terminus nonapeptide of the herpes simplex virus (HSV) type I and II ribonucleotide reductase R2 protein and is 15 times more potent than the latter in its in vitro inhibition of HSV-1 reductase activity. Accordingly, a new series of analogues based on this structure was studied in vitro. The replacement of Asp305 by Asn, Glu, Gln, Ser, or Cys; of Asn304 by Gln or Ser; of Ile303 and Val302 by D-Val; and of Tyr298 by Cha induced an important loss of inhibitory potency. The substitution of Asn304 by Asp; of Thr301 by Cys, Ser, or Val; of Gly300 by Ala or Val; of Ala299 by Val; or of Tyr298 by homoPhe, 4'-fluoro-Phe, 4'-chloro-Phe, 3'-iodo-Tyr, Me-Tyr, or For-Trp led to a moderate decrease of the Ac-VZV R2-(298-306) potency. The replacement of Val302 by Ile; Ala299 by Cys, Ser, or Thr; or the insertion of a six- or eight-carbon chain between Tyr298 and the NH2 terminus either preserved or slightly increased the inhibitory potency of Ac-VZV R2-(298-306). Finally, the substitution of Tyr298 by Trp or the addition of 4'-nitro-Phe at the amino terminus resulted in a 3-fold increase of potency. Altogether, these results stress the importance of the structural integrity of the minimum active core 302-306 in preserving the inhibitory potency and suggest that further studies on monosubstitutions could be directed at the portion 298-301 of the peptide.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Affinity purification of active subunit 1 of herpes simplex virus type 1 ribonucleotide reductase exhibiting a protein kinase activity.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) ribonucleotide reductase is formed by the association of two distinct dimeric subunits, R1 and R2. Attempts to purify either the HSV holoenzyme or its R1 subunit in their active form have been unsuccessful until now. The C terminus of the R2 protein being involved in the association with R1, the synthetic nonapeptide corresponding to this terminus, impedes the formation of the holoenzyme by competing with R2 for a critical site on R1. Based upon these observations, we developed an affinity chromatographic procedure to purify the R1 protein from HSV-1-infected baby hamster kidney cells. Specific binding of R1 to an affinity column made by linking the peptide HSV R2-(326-337) to Affi-Gel 10, followed by specific elution with an excess of an analogous peptide exhibiting a higher affinity for R1 yielded, in a single step, highly purified R1 protein. The purified R1 preparations contained approximately 95% of intact R1, the remaining 5% consisting of two R1 copurifying proteolytic breakdown products. The purified R1 protein exhibited a high reductase specific activity when mixed with an excess of the R2 subunit. Moreover, in vitro kinase assays revealed that the purified R1 protein of HSV-1 possesses an autophosphorylating activity also able to phosphorylate alpha-casein and histone II-S. The intrinsic protein kinase activity of HSV R1 is associated with its unique N-terminal domain which is absent from all other reductase subunits 1 and contains consensus motifs found in Ser/Thr protein kinases. A preliminary characterization of the kinase activity of the R1 protein of HSV-1 ribonucleotide reductase is presented.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Coordination of copper(II) ions to catechoyl-dipeptides, the inhibitors of leucine aminopeptidase and ribonucleotide reductase.

Potentiometric and spectroscopic study of the coordination ability of 2,3- and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoyl-dipeptides has shown that catechoyl-dipeptides are very strongly-binding ligands. The coordination begins at the catechol site at pH below 4. In the case of 2,3-dihydroxy derivatives the peptide unit may also be involved in the copper(II) ion coordination via its peptide nitrogens. The biological tests have indicated that the studies ligands may be effective inhibitors of ribonucleotide reductase in some cases, with a reasonable level of selectivity.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Studies on in vitro proteolytic sensitivity of peptides inhibiting herpes simplex virus ribonucleotide reductases lead to discovery of a stable and potent inhibitor.

The nonapeptide, HSV R2-(329-337), corresponding to the subunit 2 (R2) carboxyl terminus of herpes simplex virus (HSV) ribonucleotide reductases, specifically inhibits this enzyme activity. We report here that under standard reductase assay conditions, this peptide was rapidly degraded by proteases present in the partially purified enzyme extract. The main process of proteolysis involves the successive removal of Tyr329 and Ala330, which corresponds to an aminopeptidase activity. Determination of the proteolytic susceptibility of HSV R2-(329-337) analogs showed that natural modifications which are present in the homologous varicella zoster virus (VZV) nonapeptide decreased its susceptibility to protease action 1.5-fold. Nx-acetylation, a modification known to protect peptides against aminopeptidase attacks, greatly improved the proteolytic resistance of HSV and VZV nonapeptides. Moreover, Ac-VZV R2-(298-306) exhibited a 15-fold higher potency on reductase inhibition than HSV R2-(329-337). The degradation process of HSV R2-(329-337) was partially inhibited by amastatin, bestatin, and leupeptin whereas it was completely abolished by bacitracin, suggesting a combined action of more than one aminopeptidase activity. Moreover, bacitracin protected most of these nonapeptide analogs from proteolysis, although it was less effective in preventing HSV R2-(332-337) degradation. Our results indicate that it is possible to determine, in the presence of bacitracin, the relative inhibitory potencies of HSV R2-(329-337) analogs with minimal error due to proteolytic susceptibility. Moreover, HSV R2-(329-337) modifications that were found to protect the peptide against degradation might be useful to increase its efficacy in vivo.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Synthesis and inhibitory potency of peptides corresponding to the subunit 2 C-terminal region of herpes virus ribonucleotide reductases.

H-Tyr329-Ala330-Gly331-Ala332-Val333-Va l334-Asn335-Asp336-Leu337-OH, the C-terminal end of herpes simplex virus ribonucleotide reductase subunit 2 (HSV R2), specifically inhibits viral enzyme activity by interacting with subunit 1 (HSV R1). In a previous structure-activity study, we identified four sites on the nonapeptide where the inhibitory potency could be modulated: a minimum active core 333-337, a spacer segment 330-332, and the N- and C-termini. To further explore the structural features of HSV R2-(329-337) that are required to obtain a potent inhibition, a series of analogues comprising modifications in these four regions were synthesized by solid-phase methodology. Changes in the segment 333-337 of the molecule decreased the inhibitory potency by more than 2-fold, except for the Ile334 substitution, which resulted in a 1.5-fold increase in potency. Replacement of Tyr329 by other aromatic or aliphatic amino acids diminished the nonapeptide activity from 1.4-fold to 5.9-fold. The spacer segment contributed to enhance potency. Modification with amino acids that could induce conformational changes, such as Pro or D-Ala, generated compounds with a similar or lower activity, respectively. Amidation or amino acyl addition at the carboxylic end was detrimental while acylation of the N-terminus was generally beneficial for the inhibitory potency. Disubstitution in position 332 and 334 by Thr and Ile, which are present in the C-terminal portion of varicella-zoster virus ribonucleotide reductase subunit 2, resulted in a peptide that is 4.0 times more potent than HSV R2-(329-337), while each monosubstitution alone generated peptides with 150% of the activity of HSV R2-(329-337) nonapeptide. These results indicate a synergistic effect of the disubstitution which confers to this analogue physicochemical properties enhancing its ability to interact with its R1 binding site.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

High level expression in 293 cells of the herpes simplex virus type 2 ribonucleotide reductase subunit 2 using an adenovirus vector.

The herpes simplex viruses (HSV-1 and HSV-2) encode a ribonucleotide reductase consisting of two non-identical subunits (RR1 and RR2) which associate to form the active holoenzyme. To facilitate the purification and subsequent biochemical characterization of this enzyme, we have cloned the small subunit 2 of the HSV-2 ribonucleotide reductase (RR2HSV-2) in a helper-independent adenovirus type 5 vector under the control of the adenovirus type 2 major late promoter. After infection of 293 cells with the recombinant virus, the amount of RR2HSV-2 protein produced was eightfold higher than in HSV-2-infected cells. The specific activities of the RR2HSV-2 recombinant subunit and the RR2HSV-2 protein in HSV-2-infected cells were determined by their mixing with saturating amounts of isolated RR1HSV-1 subunit. By comparison of the relative amount of each RR2HSV-2 subunit with its specific activity, we calculated that the recombinant protein intrinsic activity was similar to that of the protein produced in HSV-2-infected cells. These results demonstrated that the adenovirus expression vector is a good system to produce an active RR2HSV-2 subunit in fairly high amounts.

Adenoviridae↗
PubMed1989

Transformation of NIH 3T3 cells by herpes simplex type 2 BglII n fragment and sub-fragments is independent from induction of mutation at the HPRT locus.

The effect of transfection of the herpes simplex virus type 2 transforming fragment BglII n and of its three Xhol subfragments on mutagenesis and morphological transformation was assayed in NIH 3T3 cells. While BglII n and the right hand portion of this fragment increased the number of transformed foci, no significant effects on the mutation frequency at the hprt locus were observed. Our results indicate that transformation by BglII n is independent from the induction of somatic mutations and suggest that other mechanisms must be considered to explain transformation by this sequence.

Animals↗