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Mild whole-body heat stress alters retinoid metabolism in the rat small intestine.

Mild heat treatment can modulate metabolism and prevent stress-induced alterations in cells and tissues. Retinoids are known to influence cellular metabolism and are essential for growth and differentiation, particularly of epithelial tissue. This study examines the effect of mild heat treatment on retinoid alterations in enterocytes in the rat small intestine. Heat treatment changed the differentiation pattern of enterocytes along the villus-crypt axis, accompanied by increases in retinol, retinaldehyde, and retinoic acid in proliferating crypt cells. Activities of retinoid metabolizing enzymes such as retinaldehyde oxidase and retinaldehyde reductase were also increased. These results suggest that mild heat treatment can alter retinoid metabolism in the small intestine, which might influence epithelial cell proliferation and differentiation.

Animals↗

Biochemical aspects of the visual process. XXVII. Stereospecificity of ocular retinol dehydrogenases and the visual cycle.

A comparative study is made of the stereospecificity of two particulate retinol dehydrogenases from bovine eyes and of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase. The particulate retinol dehydrogenase of outer segments reacts with the all-trans isomers of retinaldehyde and retinol but not with the 11-cis compounds. In contrast, a particulate retinol dehydrogenase present in pigment epithelium reacts preferentially with the 11-cis compounds. Horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.1.) can convert both isomers, but the all-trans isomers are clearly preferred. Differences with regard to cofactor preference and stability are also noted. The outer segment enzyme clearly functions in the rhodopsin cycle. It is unlikely that the 11-cis retinol dehydrogenase from pigment epithelium is directly involved in providing 11-cis retinaldehyde from rhodopsin regeneration, but it may serve to make available 11-cis retinaldehyde from rhodopdsin, digested in phagocytized rod sacs, for the synthesis of visual pigment by the visual cells.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗

Gene therapy restores vision-dependent behavior as well as retinal structure and function in a mouse model of RPE65 Leber congenital amaurosis.

Retinal pigment epithelium-specific protein 65 kDa (RPE65) is a protein responsible for isomerization of all-trans-retinaldehyde to its photoactive 11-cis-retinaldehyde and is essential for the visual cycle. RPE65 mutations can cause severe, early onset retinal diseases such as Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA). A naturally occurring rodent model of LCA with a recessive nonsense Rpe65 mutation, the rd12 mouse, displays a profoundly diminished rod electroretinogram (ERG), an absence of 11-cis-retinaldehyde and rhodopsin, an overaccumulation of retinyl esters in retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells, and photoreceptor degeneration. rd12 mice were injected subretinally at postnatal day 14 with rAAV5-CBA-hRPE65 vector. RPE65 expression was found over large areas of RPE soon after treatment. This led to improved rhodopsin levels with ERG signals restored to near normal. Retinyl ester levels were maintained at near normal, and fundus and retinal morphology remained normal. All parameters of restored retinal health remained stable for at least 7 months. The Morris water maze behavioral test was modified to test rod function under very dim light; rd12 mice treated in one eye performed similar to normally sighted C57BL/6J mice, while untreated rd12 mice performed very poorly, demonstrating that gene therapy can restore normal vision-dependent behavior in a congenitally blind animal.

Animals↗

A sensitive bioassay for enzymes that synthesize retinoic acid.

Retinoic acid (RA) is a potent regulator of gene transcription and it plays a pivotal role in neural development. As the compound is active at nanomolar concentrations, standard RA detection methods based on high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) are poorly suited for neurodevelopmental questions and single RA measurements require pooling of tissues from very large numbers of embryos. An alternative approach is to determine the potential for RA synthesis by assaying for the enzymes that catalyze the last step of RA synthesis, the irreversible oxidation of retinaldehyde to RA. In a quantitative comparison of retinaldehyde dehydrogenase levels with endogenous RA levels, we found a good concordance between the two parameters. For the detection of retinaldehyde dehydrogenases we have developed an assay which involves analyses of protein fractions, separated by isoelectric focusing (IEF), with a RA responsive cell line; operationally, this technique is a zymography bioassay. This method is exquisitely sensitive: tissue volumes as small as a sugar grain can be assayed, and it can be used on all species. Separation by IEF allows in a single run the identification and relative quantitation of several enzyme isoforms.

Aging↗

Chicken retinas contain a retinoid isomerase activity that catalyzes the direct conversion of all-trans-retinol to 11-cis-retinol.

Vertebrate retinas contain two types of light-detecting cells. Rods subserve vision in dim light, while cones provide color vision in bright light. Both contain light-sensitive proteins called opsins. The light-absorbing chromophore in most opsins is 11-cis-retinaldehyde, which is isomerized to all-trans-retinaldehyde by absorption of a photon. Restoration of light sensitivity requires chemical re-isomerization of retinaldehyde by an enzymatic pathway called the visual cycle in the retinal pigment epithelium. The isomerase in this pathway uses all-trans-retinyl esters synthesized by lecithin retinol acyl transferase (LRAT) as the substrate. Several lines of evidence suggest that cone opsins regenerate by a different mechanism. Here we demonstrate the existence of two catalytic activities in chicken retinas. The first is an isomerase activity that effects interconversion of all-trans-retinol and 11-cis-retinol. The second is an ester synthase that effects palmitoyl coenzyme A-dependent synthesis of all-trans- and 11-cis-retinyl esters. Kinetic analysis of these two activities suggests that they act in concert to drive the formation of 11-cis-retinoids in chicken retinas. These activities may be part of a new visual cycle for the regeneration of chromophores in cones.

Animals↗

All-trans-retinol is a ligand for the retinoic acid receptors.

Competition of all-trans-retinol and all-trans-retinaldehyde with 3H-labeled all-trans-retinoic acid (RA) for binding to retinoic acid receptors (RARs) was examined in human neuroblastoma cell nuclear extracts. All-trans-retinol was 35-fold less potent than all-trans-RA, whereas all-trans-retinaldehyde was 500-fold less active in binding to the nuclear receptors. To confirm that all-trans-retinol binds to RARs, experiments were carried out with RARs alpha, beta, and gamma expressed as bacterial fusion proteins. All-trans-retinol was only 4- to 7-fold less potent than all-trans-RA in binding to all three RAR subtypes. The all-trans-retinol binding observed was not the result of metabolism of retinol to RA or some other active compound during the binding experiment. Retinyl acetate was virtually inactive in competition binding experiments, while very slight activity was observed with 13-cis-RA and all-trans-retinaldehyde. Significant competition occurred with 4-hydroxy-RA and 4-keto-RA, which were 15- to 40-fold less potent than all-trans-RA. The 9-cis isomer of RA was equipotent with all-trans-retinol in these studies. These results suggest that all-trans-retinol cannot be excluded as a physiologically significant ligand for RAR-mediated gene expression.

Base Sequence↗

Retinoic acid synthesis for the developing telencephalon.

The small lipid retinoic acid is known to promote neuronal differentiation in vitro and to act as a teratogen in the embryonic brain, but very little is known about the natural role of endogenously synthesized retinoic acid in forebrain development. Retinoic acid is synthesized mainly by three retinaldehyde dehydrogenases. We show here where the retinaldehyde dehydrogenases for the developing telencephalon are expressed and how their expression patterns change over developmental time. Retinoic acid diffusing from the retinaldehyde dehydrogenase sites is likely to influence the early telencephalon before the beginning of neurogenesis, as well as differentiation and radial migration of neurons into the cerebral cortex. Because of its diffusible character, retinoic acid represents a unique tool for the coordination of growth processes over an intermediate distance range in the developing telencephalon.

Aldehyde Oxidoreductases↗

Diseases caused by defects in the visual cycle: retinoids as potential therapeutic agents.

Absorption of a photon by an opsin pigment causes isomerization of the chromophore from 11-cis-retinaldehyde to all-trans-retinaldehyde. Regeneration of visual chromophore following light exposure is dependent on an enzyme pathway called the retinoid or visual cycle. Our understanding of this pathway has been greatly facilitated by the identification of disease-causing mutations in the genes coding for visual cycle enzymes. Defects in nearly every step of this pathway are responsible for human-inherited retinal dystrophies. These retinal dystrophies can be divided into two etiologic groups. One involves the impaired synthesis of visual chromophore. The second involves accumulation of cytotoxic products derived from all-trans-retinaldehyde. Gene therapy has been successfully used in animal models of these diseases to rescue the function of enzymes involved in chromophore regeneration, restoring vision. Dystrophies resulting from impaired chromophore synthesis can also be treated by supplementation with a chromophore analog. Dystrophies resulting from the accumulation of toxic pigments can be treated pharmacologically by inhibiting the visual cycle, or limiting the supply of vitamin A to the eyes. Recent progress in both areas provides hope that multiple inherited retinal diseases will soon be treated by pharmaceutical intervention.

Animals↗

The 2004 Aschoff/Pittendrigh lecture: Theory of the origin of the pineal gland--a tale of conflict and resolution.

A theory is presented that explains the evolution of the pinealocyte from the common ancestral photoreceptor of both the pinealocyte and retinal photoreceptor. Central to the hypothesis is the previously unrecognized conflict between the two chemistries that define these cells-melatonin synthesis and retinoid recycling. At the core of the conflict is the formation of adducts composed of two molecules of retinaldehyde and one molecule of serotonin, analogous to formation in the retina of the toxic bis-retinyl ethanolamine (A2E). The hypothesis argues that early in chordate evolution, at a point before the genes required for melatonin synthesis were acquired, retinaldehyde--which is essential for photon capture--was depleted by reacting with naturally occurring arylalkylamines (tyramine, serotonin, tryptamine, phenylethylamine) and xenobiotic arylalkylamines. This generated toxic bis-retinyl arylalkylamines (A2AAs). The acquisition of arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT) prevented this by N-acetylating the arylalkylamines. Hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase enhanced detoxification in the primitive photoreceptor by increasing the lipid solubility of serotonin and bis-retinyl serotonin. After the serotonin --> melatonin pathway was established, the next step leading toward the pinealocyte was the evolution of a daily rhythm in melatonin and the capacity to recognize it as a signal of darkness. The shift in melatonin from metabolic garbage to information developed a pressure to improve the reliability of the melatonin signal, which in turn led to higher levels of serotonin in the photodetector. This generated the conflict between serotonin and retinaldehyde, which was resolved by the cellular segregation of the two chemistries. The result, in primates, is a pineal gland that does not detect light and a retinal photodetector that does not make melatonin. High levels of AANAT in the latter tissue might serve the same function AANAT had when first acquired- prevention of A2AA formation.

Animals↗

Assays of retinoid dehydrogenases by phase partition.

Two modifications of an extraction assay for retinoid dehydrogenases are described. The first method involves the transfer of tritium from carbon-15 of [15-3H]-retinol or [15-3H]retinaldehyde to NAD, whereas in the second method, tritium from [3H]NADPH is transferred to all-trans-retinaldehyde. Since both versions of the assay involve the interconversion of water-soluble and -insoluble tritium-labeled compounds, a simple phase partition is sufficient to separate labeled products from labeled reactants. The assays are shown to provide reliable estimations of the reaction progress for three retinoid dehydrogenases of the visual system when compared to HPLC analysis of retinoid products or gel filtration analysis of pyridine nucleotide. The assays will be useful in studying retinoid dehydrogenases from other tissues and in principle can be modified for other dehydrogenase reactions with water-insoluble substrates.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗

Cell-type- and developmental-stage-specific metabolism and storage of retinoids by embryonic chick retinal cells in culture.

Biological functions of retinoids in the vertebrate retina include the role of 11-cis retinaldehyde as visual pigment chromophore, and possible effects of retinoic acid in histogenesis and cell survival. Qualitative and quantitative regulation of retinoid availability for these complex processes could involve several cell types, including retinal pigment epithelium, Müller glia and retinal photoreceptors and non-photoreceptor neurons; their relative contributions, however, have not been fully elucidated. Using purified cultures, we have carried out a study of cell-type-specific metabolism and storage of retinoids in chick embryo retinal photoreceptors and other neuronal cells, as compared to those of retinal glia. Retinal glia were found to synthesize both retinoic acid and retinyl esters, and to hydrolyse the latter; they also displayed retinol dehydrogenase activities. Cultured neurons and photoreceptors also synthesized and hydrolysed retinyl esters; their capacity for retinaldehyde synthesis from a retinol or retinyl ester substrate suggested the presence of retinol dehydrogenase activity. Retinoic acid was not synthesized in differentiated neuronal cultures, although some synthesis was detectable at early culture stages when the cells were still morphologically undifferentiated. These findings indicate that cell-type-specific metabolic activities are expressed during retinal cell differentiation in vitro, and that embryonic retinal photoreceptors and nonphotoreceptor neurons are active participants in the metabolism and storage of retinoids.

Animals↗

Antioxidant activity of retinol, glutathione, and taurine in bovine photoreceptor cell membranes.

The antioxidant activities of compounds endogenous to mammalian rod outer segments (ROS) were investigated in vitro by measuring the oxidative loss of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA's) from the membranes of intact ROS and from liposomes made from ROS phospholipids (PL) to which lipid soluble compounds had been added. The membranes were exposed to the water-soluble oxidant 2, 2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH). Retinol protected PUFA's in ROS liposome PL's, whereas retinaldehyde promoted lipid peroxidation. When isolated ROS were stimulated to produce endogenous retinol, PUFA loss was inhibited by up to 17%. These findings suggest an antioxidant function for the enzymatic reduction of retinaldehyde to retinol during the visual cycle. Water-soluble antioxidants, taurine and reduced glutathione (GSH), were investigated individually and in combination with retinol in ROS PL liposomes. GSH protected PUFA's in ROS PL liposomes. Taurine alone showed little antioxidant activity, but in combination with retinol it protected lipids twice as much as retinol alone. These results support previous findings that taurine protects ROS lipids during exposure to cyclic light.

Animals↗

Circadian photoreception in the retinally degenerate mouse (rd/rd).

We have examined the effects of light on circadian locomotor rhythms in retinally degenerate mice (C57BL/6J mice homozygous for the rd allele: rd/rd). The sensitivity of circadian photoreception in these mice was determined by varying the irradiance of a 15 min light pulse (515 nm) given at circadian time 16 and measuring the magnitude of the phase shift of the locomotor rhythm. Experiments were performed on animals 80 days of age. Despite the loss of visual photoreceptors in the rd/rd retina, animals showed circadian responses to light that were indistinguishable from mice with normal retinas (rd/+ and +/+). While no photoreceptor outersegments were identified in the retina of rd/rd animals (80-100 days of age), we did identify a small number of perikarya that were immunoreactive for cone opsins, and even fewer cells that contained rod opsin. Using HPLC, we demonstrated the presence and photoisomerization of the rhodopsin chromophore 11-cis retinaldehyde. The rd/rd retinas contained about 2% of 11-cis retinaldehyde found in +/+ retinas. We have yet to determine whether the opsin immunoreactive perikarya or some other unidentified cell type mediate circadian light detection in the rd/rd retina.

Animals↗

A comparison of some photoreceptor characteristics in the pineal and retina. II. The Djungarian hamster (Phodopus sungorus).

A rod-specific antiserum was used to immunolabel elements within the retina and pineal of the adult Djungarian hamster and Welsh Mountain sheep. In the retina immunostaining was localized to the outer segments and perikarya of photoreceptor cells, while in the pineal limited numbers of labelled pinealocytes were scattered throughout the gland. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was then used to obtain a quantitative measure of rod opsin in total eye and pineal extracts from the Djungarian hamster. Total rod opsin (+/- SEM) in the eye was measured by absorbance spectroscopy (1.88 +/- 0.10 nmoles opsin/eye) and by using the ELISA (1.75 +/- 0.02 nmoles opsin/eye). The opsin content from a total of 56 pineals gave a mean value of 0.34 +/- 0.01 pmoles opsin/pineal. Since a functional photopigment should be coupled in a 1:1 ratio to a chromophore, we investigated whether we could identify 11-cis and/or all-trans retinaldehydes in the pineal extracts by quantitative extraction and HPLC analysis as the oximes. No evidence of 11-cis or all-trans retinaloxime could be found, the chromatograms were indistinguishable from those produced by extracts of cortical brain tissue. We conclude that the opsin present within the adult hamster pineal is not coupled to the common vertebrate retinaldehyde chromophore, and as a result, is unlikely to be part of a functional photopigment.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Solubility of retinoids in water.

Spectrophotometric and radioactive techniques were used to measure the water solubility of retinaldehyde, retinol (vitamin A), and retinoic acid under physiological conditions. Hydration decreases the molar extinction coefficient of these substances and shifts their absorption peak bathochromically (10 nm for retinal and approximately 1 nm for the rest). We find their solubility to be about 0.1 microM at room temperature, pH 7.3 (with experimental values being 0.11 microM for retinaldehyde, 0.06 microM for retinol, and 0.21 microM for retinoic acid). To prevent oxidative degradation of retinol, which is the most labile retinoid, our argon-saturated buffer solutions contained physiological levels of ascorbate or alpha-tocopherol. To the best of our knowledge, water solubility of these compounds has not yet been previously reported. Although the measured solubilities are relatively low, they are significant and may account for the movement of retinoids through the aqueous phase as observed by others during exchange with binding proteins and during intervesicular transfer in the absence of binding proteins. Diffusion of uncomplexed retinoids through the aqueous phase can be a major pathway for transport over subcellular distances.

Ascorbic Acid↗

Effect of enzymatic deglycosylation on the regenerability of bovine rhodopsin.

The influence of the carbohydrate groups of rhodopsin on its ability to regenerate upon incubation with 11-cis retinaldehyde after photobleaching was examined. Rhodopsin was deglycosylated enzymatically with peptide-N-glycosidase F (PNGase F). Verification of deglycosylation was established by: (a) SDS-PAGE; (b) carbohydrate compositional analysis using high performance anion exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD); (c) isolation and carbohydrate analysis by HPAEC-PAD and fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry of the oligosaccharides liberated from rhodopsin; and (d) absence of reactivity with lectins. Deglycosylated rhodopsin, when present either in rod outer segments or after purification, exhibited the same absorption spectrum as the native molecule. After photobleaching, deglycosylated rhodopsin reacted with 11-cis retinaldehyde in a manner similar to the native material, restoring the spectral properties lost after light-exposure. The carbohydrate portion, therefore, was not required for expressing the spectral properties of rhodopsin nor for regeneration of the photobleached visual pigment.

Amidohydrolases↗

Formation of lipofuscin-like fluorophores by reaction of retinal with photoreceptor outer segments and liposomes.

During the aging process the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) accumulates autofluorescent lysosomal storage bodies (lipofuscin). Data from previous studies led to the hypothesis that at least one of the fluorescent components of RPE lipofuscin is formed by reaction of vitamin A aldehyde with phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) in the photoreceptor outer segments. Experiments were performed to test this hypothesis. All-trans retinaldehyde was incubated with isolated bovine photoreceptor outer segments and with synthetic liposomes. Liposomes were made with two different lipid compositions. One type of liposome consisted of a mixture of lipids, including phosphatidylcholine (PC), none of which contained a primary amine. The other liposome type was identical in composition accept that some of the PC was replaced with an equimolar amount of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). After incubation of the samples, aliquots were examined with fluorescence microscopy to assess whether any lipofuscin-like fluorescence had developed. Lipids were extracted from additional aliquots of the samples and analyzed with thin layer chromatography. Photoreceptor outer segments incubated with retinaldehyde developed an intense golden yellow fluorescent emission when illuminated with 395-440 nm light. Similar fluorescence developed in the liposomes containing PE, whereas the liposomes lacking PE or any other primary amine did not develop any detectable fluorescence. The development of fluorescence in the samples in situ correlated with the appearance of an orange colored component in the lipid extracts that displayed a weak red emission upon ultraviolet light illumination. Incorporation of this component into liposomes resulted in the appearance of a golden yellow fluorescent emission. The results of these experiments suggest that retinal, generated during visual pigment bleaching can react with PE in the photoreceptor outer segments to form a fluorophore, a derivative of which subsequently accumulates in RPE lipofuscin. An RPE lipofuscin fluorophore was previously shown to be identical to a reaction product of retinal and ethanolamine. This fluorophore is probably derived from the reaction product of outer segment PE and retinal.

Animals↗

11-cis retinal restores visual function in vitamin A-deficient Manduca.

Larvae of the tobacco hornworm moth Manduca sexta were reared on either a carotenoid-supplemented or a carotenoid-deficient diet. The former yields fortified adults with normal visual function, whereas visual sensitivity and rhodopsin content are reduced by 2-4 log units in the compound eyes of the deprived moths reared on the latter. We characterized the retinoids of fortified retinas and investigated the recovery of visual function in deprived moths that were provided with retinaldehyde as a source of photopigment chromophore. Retinoids were identified and measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Fortified retinas contained mainly 3-hydroxyretinaldehyde (R3); 11-cis R3 predominated in dark-adaptation, all-trans in light-adaptation, indicating that R3 is the photopigment chromophore. No retinoids could be measured in deprived eyes. Retinaldehyde (R1) was delivered to the retinas of deprived moths by "painting" solutions of 11-cis or all-trans R1 in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) on the corneal surfaces of the compound eyes or on the head capsule between the eyes. 11-cis R1 induced rapid recovery: during 3 days, sensitivity rose to within a log unit of that measured from fortified animals. By 7 days, sensitivity was close to normal. Although rhodopsin and P-face particle densities of photoreceptor membranes increased, neither rose to the levels found in fortified animals. All-trans R1 induced only a slight increase in sensitivity that could have resulted from some nonspecific isomerization of the all-trans to the 11-cis isomer; we found no evidence for a retinal isomerase that functions in darkness. Small amounts of R3 were measured in recovering retinas, indicating some conversion of R1 to R3.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗