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PubMed2002

Introduction and expression of a deregulated tobacco nitrate reductase gene in potato lead to highly reduced nitrate levels in transgenic tubers.

Twenty transformed Solanum tuberosum plants issued from five different varieties and carrying a chimeric tobacco nitrate reductase gene (a truncated tobacco Nia2 coding sequence fused to the CaMV 35S promoter) were cultivated in field conditions at INRA Ploudaniel in 1999 and 2000. In 60% of the transgenic plants, the presence of the tobacco Nia2 transcript was detected by RT-PCR. These clones exhibited a drastic decrease in the nitrate content in tubers. Indeed the nitrate content decreased by about 95% in the tubers of transformed plants compared to nontransformed potato plants from the same variety. This decrease was correlated with a modified regulation of NR expression as revealed by a higher chlorate sensitivity of these transgenic lines. Two methods of nitrate content determination in tubers were also compared and were found to give similar results.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed2004

Identification and characterization of a nitrate transporter gene in Neurospora crassa.

The Neurospora crassa genome database was searched for sequence similarity to crnA, a nitrate transporter in Aspergillus nidulans. A 3.9-kb fragment (contig 3.416, subsequence 183190-187090) was cloned by PCR. The gene coding for this nitrate transporter was termed nit-10. The nit-10 gene specifies a predicted polypeptide containing 541 amino acids with a molecular mass of 57 kDa. In contrast to crnA, which is clustered together with niaD, encoding nitrate reductase, and niiA, encoding nitrite reductase, nit-10 is not linked to nit-3 (nitrate reductase), nit-6 (nitrite reductase), or to nit-2, nit-4 (both are positive regulators of nit-3), or nmr (negative regulator of nit-3) in Neurospora crassa. A nit-10 rip mutant failed to grow in the medium when nitrate (< 10 mM) was used as the sole nitrogen source, but grew similarly to wild type when nitrate concentration was 10 mM or higher. In addition, it showed strong sensitivity to cesium in the presence of nitrate and resistance to chlorate in the presence of alanine, proline, or hypoxanthine. The expression of nit-10 required nitrate induction and was subject to repression by nitrogen metabolites such as glutamine. Expression of nit-10 also required functional products of nit-2 and nit-4. The half-life of nit-10 mRNA was determined to be approximately 2.5 min.

Alanine↗
PubMed2003

Proteoglycans on bone marrow endothelial cells bind and present SDF-1 towards hematopoietic progenitor cells.

Recognition events between hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) and bone marrow endothelial cells (BMEC) initiate homing of HPC to the bone marrow. The chemokine SDF-1 is present on BMEC and plays a crucial role in bone marrow engraftment. We studied the role of proteoglycans (PGs) on BMEC in binding and presentation of SDF-1. SDF-1 mRNA was present in three human BMEC cell lines. Competition experiments showed that 125I-SDF-1 alpha binding to the BMEC cell line 4LHBMEC was inhibited by heparins, heparan sulfate (HS) intestinal mucosa, chondroitin and dermatan sulfate (CS/DS), but not by HS bovine kidney. Pretreatment of 4LHBMEC with glycosaminoglycan (GAG)-degrading enzymes or sodium chlorate demonstrated that SDF-1 bound to both HSPGs and CS/DSPGs in a sulfation-dependent manner, as determined with an SDF-1 antibody recognizing the CXCR4-binding site. 4LHBMEC bound four-fold more SDF-1 than HUVEC. Isolated endothelial PGs did not bind SDF-1 in a filter or microplate-binding assay, suggesting the necessity of membrane association. In flow adhesion experiments, endothelial arrest of CXCR4+ KG-1 and not of CXCR4- KG-1a cells increased significantly when SDF-1 was presented on 4LHBMEC. In conclusion, SDF-1 is produced by BMEC and binds to the BMEC cell surface via HS and CS/DS-GAGs, thereby presenting its CXCR4 binding site to HPC contributing to their arrest.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Kinetic mechanism of ATP-sulphurylase from rat chondrosarcoma.

ATP-sulphurylase catalyses the production of adenosine 5'-phosphosulphate (APS) from ATP and free sulphate with the release of PPi. APS kinase phosphorylates the APS intermediate to produce adenosine 3'-phosphate 5'-phosphosulphate (PAPS). The kinetic mechanism of rat chondrosarcoma ATP-sulphurylase was investigated by steady-state methods in the physiologically forward direction as well as the reverse direction. The sulphurylase activity was coupled to APS kinase activity in order to overcome the thermodynamic constraints of the sulphurylase reaction in the forward direction. Double-reciprocal initial-velocity plots for the forward sulphurylase intersect to the left of the ordinate for this reaction. KmATP and Kmsulphate were found to be 200 and 97 microM respectively. Chlorate, a competitive inhibitor with respect to sulphate, showed uncompetitive inhibition with respect to ATP with an apparent Ki of 1.97 mM. Steady-state data from experiments in the physiologically reverse direction also yielded double-reciprocal initial-velocity patterns that intersect to the left of the ordinate axis, with a KmAPS of 39 microM and a Kmpyrophosphate of 18 microM. The results of steady-state experiments in which Mg2+ was varied indicated that the true substrate is the MgPPi complex. An analogue of APS, adenosine 5'-[beta-methylene]phosphosulphate, was a linear inhibitor competitive with APS and non-competitive with respect to MgPPi. The simplest formal mechanism that agrees with all the data is an ordered steady-state single displacement with MgATP as the leading substrate in the forward direction and APS as the leading substrate in the reverse direction.

Adenosine Phosphosulfate↗
PubMed1997

The N-terminal Arg2, Arg3 and Arg4 of human lactoferrin interact with sulphated molecules but not with the receptor present on Jurkat human lymphoblastic T-cells.

We previously characterized a 105 kDa receptor for human lactoferrin (hLf) on Jurkat human lymphoblastic T-cells. To delineate the role of the basic cluster Arg2-Arg3-Arg4-Arg5 of hLf in the interaction with Jurkat cells, we isolated N-terminally deleted hLf species of molecular mass 80 kDa lacking two, three or four N-terminal residues (hLf-2N, hLf-3N and hLf-4N) from native hLf that had been treated with trypsin. Native hLf bound to 102000 sites on Jurkat cells with a dissociation constant (Kd) of 70 nM. Consecutive removal of N-terminal arginine residues from hLf progressively increased the binding affinity but decreased the number of binding sites on the cells. A recombinant hLF mutant lacking the first five N-terminal residues (rhLf-5N) bound to 17000 sites with a Kd of 12 nM. The binding parameters of bovine lactoferrin (Lf) and native hLf did not significantly differ, whereas the binding parameters of murine Lf (8000 sites; Kd 30 nM) resembled those of rhLf-5N. Culture of Jurkat cells in the presence of chlorate, which inhibits sulphation, decreased the number of binding sites for both native hLf and hLf-3N but not for rhLf-5N, indicating that the hLf-binding sites include sulphated molecules. We propose that the interaction of hLf with a large number of binding sites (approx. 80000 per cell) on Jurkat cells is dependent on Arg2-Arg3-Arg4, but not on Arg5. Interaction with approx. 20000 binding sites per cell, presumably the hLf receptor, does not require the first N-terminal basic cluster of hLf. Moreover, the affinity of hLf for the latter binding site is enhanced approx. 6-fold after removal of the first basic cluster. Thus N-terminal proteolysis of hLf in vivo might serve to modulate the nature of its binding to cells and thereby its effects on cellular physiology.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Examination of the mechanism by which heparin antagonizes activation of a model endothelium by interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma).

IFN-gamma increases the potential immunogenicity of vascular endothelial cells by up-regulation of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and class I MHC antigen expression and by induction of class II MHC antigens and certain chemokines. In this study the mechanism by which the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) heparin antagonizes the activation of a model endothelium by IFN-gamma was investigated. Radioligand binding assays demonstrated that total binding of 125I-IFN-gamma to the EAhy.926 endothelial hybridoma cell line was reduced in the presence of heparin or heparan sulphate (HS); the structurally dissimilar GAG chondroitin sulphate had no effect. Treatment of the cells with chlorate, a metabolic inhibitor of GAG sulphation, was found to reduce both the subsequent binding of IFN-gamma and its ability to induce expression of class II MHC antigens. Treatment with heparinase II dramatically reduced the binding of IFN-gamma, while chondroitin ABC lyase had no effect. A cationic peptide from the C-terminal region of IFN-gamma was also found to reduce binding of intact IFN-gamma to the cells. These results appear to demonstrate that IFN-gamma is sequestered at the surface of endothelial cells by electrostatic interaction between specific basic amino acid residues and sulphated domains on HS, the most abundant endothelial GAG. This interaction is competitively inhibited by heparin, which is structurally related to HS. These observations are consistent with the model that IFN-gamma is bound by membrane-associated HS before engagement with the high-affinity receptor and signal transduction. Inhibition of the interaction between proinflammatory cytokines and membrane-associated GAG molecules may provide a mechanism for inducing clinically useful immunosuppression.

Cell Division↗
PubMed2003

Electron transport to periplasmic nitrate reductase (NapA) of Wolinella succinogenes is independent of a NapC protein.

The rumen bacterium Wolinella succinogenes grows by respiratory nitrate ammonification with formate as electron donor. Whereas the enzymology and coupling mechanism of nitrite respiration is well known, nitrate reduction to nitrite has not yet been examined. We report here that intact cells and cell fractions catalyse nitrate and chlorate reduction by reduced viologen dyes with high specific activities. A gene cluster encoding components of a putative periplasmic nitrate reductase system (napA, G, H, B, F, L, D) was sequenced. The napA gene was inactivated by inserting a kanamycin resistance gene cassette. The resulting mutant did not grow by nitrate respiration and did not reduce nitrate during growth by fumarate respiration, in contrast to the wild type. An antigen was detected in wild-type cells using an antiserum raised against the periplasmic nitrate reductase (NapA) from Paracoccus pantotrophus. This antigen was absent in the W. succinogenes napA mutant. It is concluded that the periplasmic nitrate reductase NapA is the only respiratory nitrate reductase in W. succinogenes, although a second nitrate-reducing enzyme is apparently induced in the napA mutant. The nap cluster of W. succinogenes lacks a napC gene whose product is thought to function in quinol oxidation and electron transfer to NapA in other bacteria. The W. succinogenes genome encodes two members of the NapC/NirT family, NrfH and FccC. Characterization of corresponding deletion mutants indicates that neither of these two proteins is required for nitrate respiration. A mutant lacking the genes encoding respiratory nitrite reductase (nrfHA) had wild-type properties with respect to nitrate respiration. A model of the electron transport chain of nitrate respiration is proposed in which one or more of the napF, G, H and L gene products mediate electron transport from menaquinol to the periplasmic NapAB complex. Inspection of the W. succinogenes genome sequence suggests that ammonia formation from nitrate is catalysed exclusively by periplasmic respiratory enzymes.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1974

Role of phosphate and other proton-donating anions in respiration-coupled transport of Ca2+ by mitochondria.

Measurements of extra oxygen consumption, (45)Ca(2+) uptake, and the osmotic expansion of the matrix compartment show that not all permeant anions are capable of supporting and accompanying the energy-dependent transport of Ca(2+) from the medium into the matrix in respiring rat-liver mitochondria. Phosphate, arsenate, acetate, butyrate, beta-hydroxybutyrate, lactate, and bicarbonate + CO(2) supported Ca(2+) uptake, whereas the permeant anions, nitrate, thiocyanate, chlorate, and perchlorate, did not. The active anions share a common denominator, the potential ability to donate a proton to the mitochondrial matrix; the inactive anions lack this capacity. Phosphate and the other active permeant anions move into the matrix in response to the alkaline-inside electrochemical gradient of protons generated across the mitochondrial membrane by electron transport, thus forming a negative-inside anion gradient. It is postulated that the latter gradient is the immediate "pulling" force for the influx of Ca(2+) on the electrogenic Ca(2+) carrier in respiring mitochondria under intracellular conditions. Since mitochondria in the cell are normally exposed to an excess of phosphate (and the bicarbonate-CO(2) system), particularly in state 4, inward transport of these proton-yielding anions probably precedes and is necessary for inward transport of Ca(2+) and other cations under biological conditions. These observations indicate that a negative-inside gradient of phosphate generated by electron transport is a common step and provides the immediate motive power not only for (a) the inward transport of dicarboxylates and tricarboxylates and (b) the energy-dependent exchange of external ADP(3-) for internal ATP(4-) during oxidative phosphorylation, as has already been established, but also for (c) the inward transport of Ca(2+), K(+), and other cations.

Acetates↗
PubMed1996

Genetic identification of a gene involved in constitutive, high-affinity nitrate transport in higher plants.

Two mutations have been found in a gene (NRT2) of Arabidopsis thaliana that specifically impair constitutive, high-affinity nitrate uptake. These mutants were selected for resistance to 0.1 mM chlorate in the absence of nitrate. Progency from one of the backcrossed mutants showed no constitutive uptake of nitrate below 0.5 mM at pH 7.0 in liquid culture (that is, within 30 min of initial exposure to nitrate). All other uptake activities measured (high-affinity phosphate and sulfate uptake, inducible high-affinity nitrate uptake, and constitutive low-affinity nitrate uptake) were present or nearly normal in the backcrossed mutant. Electrophysiological analysis of individual root cells showed that the nrt2 mutant showed little response to 0.25 mM of nitrate, whereas NRT2 wild-type cells showed an initial depolarization followed by recovery. At 10 mM of nitrate both the mutant and wild-type cells displayed similar, strong electrical responses. These results indicate that NRT2 is a critical and perhaps necessary gene for constitutive, high-affinity nitrate uptake in Arabidopsis, but not for inducible, high-affinity nor constitutive, low-affinity nitrate uptake. Thus, these systems are genetically distinct.

Arabidopsis↗
PubMed1996

Evidence for the role of proteoglycans in cation-mediated gene transfer.

We report evidence that gene complexes, consisting of polycations and plasmid DNA enter cells via binding to membrane-associated proteoglycans. Treatment of HeLa cells with sodium chlorate, a potent inhibitor of proteoglycan sulfation, reduced luciferase expression by 69%. Cellular treatment with heparinase and chondroitinase ABC inhibited expression by 78% and 20% with respect to control cells. Transfection was dramatically inhibited by heparin and heparan sulfate and to a smaller extent by chondroitan sulfate B. Transfection of mutant, proteoglycan deficient Chinese hamster ovary cells was 53 x lower than of wild-type cells. For each of these assays, the intracellular uptake of DNA at 37 degrees C and the binding of DNA to the cell membrane at 4 degrees C was impaired. Preliminary transfection experiments conducted in mutant and wild-type Chinese hamster ovary cells suggest that transfection by some cationic lipids is also proteoglycan dependent. The variable distribution of proteoglycans among tissues may explain why some cell types are more susceptible to transfection than others.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Role of heparan sulfate proteoglycans in the uptake and degradation of tissue factor pathway inhibitor-coagulation factor Xa complexes.

Tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) is a potent inhibitor of blood coagulation factor Xa (fXa) and factor VIIa. We have recently shown that fXa binding stimulates the uptake and degradation of cell surface-bound 125I-TFPI (Ho, G., Toomey, J. R., Broze, G. J., Jr., and Schwartz, A. L. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 9497-9502). In the present study we examined the role of cell surface glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in this process. Removal of cell surface GAG chains by treatment of cells with heparinase or heparitinase but not chondroitinase markedly reduced fXa-stimulated 125I-TFPI uptake and degradation. Inhibition of GAG sulfation by growth of cells in chlorate-containing medium similarly decreased fXa-stimulated 125I-TFPI degradation. These results suggest that heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) are required for the uptake and degradation of 125I-TFPI.fXa complexes. Chemical cross-linking/immunoprecipitation analyses revealed that 125I-TFPI was directly associated with HSPGs on the cell surface and that fXa binding increased the amount of 125I-TFPI bound. Of the several cell lines evaluated, bend endothelial cells demonstrated the greatest fXa stimulation of 125I-TFPI uptake and degradation. Cross-linking/immunoprecipitation analyses on bend cells also revealed that HSPGs were specifically associated with TFPI and fXa. These data suggest that HSPGs may directly act as the uptake and degradation receptor for TFPI.fXa complexes.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Alpha C protein of group B Streptococcus binds host cell surface glycosaminoglycan and enters cells by an actin-dependent mechanism.

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) colonizes mucosal surfaces of the human gastrointestinal and gynecological tracts and causes disease in a wide range of patients. Invasive illness occurs after organisms traverse an epithelial boundary and enter deeper tissues. Previously we have reported that the alpha C protein (ACP) on the surface of GBS mediates GBS entry into ME180 cervical epithelial cells and GBS translocation across layers of these cells. We now demonstrate that ACP interacts with host cell glycosaminoglycan (GAG); the interaction of ACP with ME180 cells is inhibited if cells are pretreated with sodium chlorate, an inhibitor of sulfate incorporation, or with heparitinases. The interaction is also inhibited in the presence of soluble heparin or heparan sulfate or host cell-derived GAG. In addition, ACP binds soluble heparin specifically in inhibition and dot blot assays. After interaction with host GAG, soluble ACP enters ME180 cells and fractionates to the eukaryotic cell cytosol. These events are inhibited in cells pretreated with cytochalasin D or with Clostridium difficile toxin B. These data indicate that full-length ACP interacts with ME180 cell GAG and enters the eukaryotic cell cytosol by a mechanism that involves Rho GTPase-dependent actin rearrangements. We suggest that these molecular interactions drive ACP-mediated translocation of GBS across epithelial barriers, thereby facilitating invasive GBS infection.

Actins↗
PubMed2005

Heparan sulfate is a cellular receptor for purified infectious prions.

Prions replicate in the host cell by the self-propagating refolding of the normal cell surface protein, PrP(C), into a beta-sheet-rich conformer, PrP(Sc). Exposure of cells to prion-infected material and subsequent endocytosis can sometimes result in the establishment of an infected culture. However, the relevant cell surface receptors have remained unknown. We have previously shown that cellular heparan sulfates (HS) are involved in the ongoing formation of scrapie prion protein (PrP(Sc)) in chronically infected cells. Here we studied the initial steps in the internalization of prions and in the infection of cells. Purified prion "rods" are arguably the purest prion preparation available. The only proteinaceous component of rods is PrP(Sc). Mouse neuroblastoma N2a, hypothalamus GT1-1, and Chinese hamster ovary cells efficiently bound both hamster and mouse prion rods (at 4 degrees C) and internalized them (at 37 degrees C). Treating cells with bacterial heparinase III or chlorate (a general inhibitor of sulfation) strongly reduced both binding and uptake of rods, whereas chondroitinase ABC was inactive. These results suggested that the cell surface receptor of prion rods involves sulfated HS chains. Sulfated glycans inhibited both binding and uptake of rods, probably by competing with the binding of rods to cellular HS. Treatments that prevented endocytosis of rods also prevented the de novo infection of GT1-1 cells when applied during their initial exposure to prions. These results indicate that HS are an essential part of the cellular receptor used both for prion uptake and for cell infection. Cellular HS thus play a dual role in prion propagation, both as a cofactor for PrP(Sc) synthesis and as a receptor for productive prion uptake.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

P-selectin glycoprotein ligand 1 is a ligand for L-selectin on neutrophils, monocytes, and CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells.

Selectins play a critical role in initiating leukocyte binding to vascular endothelium. In addition, in vitro experiments have shown that neutrophils use L-selectin to roll on adherent neutrophils, suggesting that they express a nonvascular L-selectin ligand. Using a L-selectin/IgM heavy chain (mu) chimeric protein as an immunocytological probe, we show here that L-selectin can bind to neutrophils, monocytes, CD34+ hematopoietic progenitors, and HL-60 and KG-1 myeloid cells. The interaction between L-selectin and leukocytes was protease sensitive and calcium dependent, and abolished by cell treatment with neuraminidase, chlorate, or O-sialoglycoprotein endopeptidase. These results revealed common features between leukocyte L-selectin ligand and the mucin-like P-selectin glycoprotein ligand 1 (PSGL-1), which mediates neutrophil rolling on P- and E-selectin. The possibility that PSGL-1 could be a ligand for L-selectin was further supported by the ability of P-selectin/mu chimera to inhibit L-selectin/mu binding to leukocytes and by the complete inhibition of both selectin interactions with myeloid cells treated with mocarhagin, a cobra venom metalloproteinase that cleaves the amino terminus of PSGL-1 at Tyr-51. Finally, the abrogation of L- and P-selectin binding to myeloid cells treated with a polyclonal antibody, raised against a peptide corresponding to the amino acid residues 42-56 of PSGL-1, indicated that L- and P-selectin interact with a domain located at the amino-terminal end of PSGL-1. The ability of the anti-PSGL-1 mAb PL-1 to inhibit L- and P-selectin binding to KG-1 cells further supported that possibility. Thus, apart from being involved in neutrophil rolling on P- and E-selectin, PSGL-1 also plays a critical role in mediating neutrophil attachment to adherent neutrophils. Interaction between L-selectin and PSGL-1 may be of major importance for increasing leukocyte recruitment at inflammatory sites.

Antigens, CD34↗
PubMed2000

The role of glutathione in DNA damage by potassium bromate in vitro.

We have investigated the role of reduced glutathione (GSH) in the genetic toxicity of the rodent renal carcinogen potassium bromate (KBrO(3)). A statistically significant increase in the concentration of 8-oxodeoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) relative to deoxyguanosine was measured following incubation of calf thymus DNA with KBrO(3) and GSH or N-acetylcysteine (NACys). This was dependent on these thiols and was associated with the loss of GSH and production of oxidized glutathione. A short-lived (<6 min) intermediate was apparent which did not react with the spin trap dimethylpyrroline N-oxide. DNA oxidation was not evident when potassium chlorate (KClO(3)) or potassium iodate (KIO(3)) were used instead of KBrO(3), though GSH depletion also occurred with KIO(3), but not with KClO(3). Other reductants and thiols in combination with KBrO(3) did not cause a significant increase in DNA oxidation. DNA strand breakage was also induced by KBrO(3) in human white blood cells (5 mM) and rat kidney epithelial cells (NRK-52E, 1.5 mM). This was associated with an apparent small depletion of thiols in NRK-52E cells at 15 min and with an elevation of 8-oxodG at a delayed time of 24 h. Depletion of intra-cellular GSH by diethylmaleate in human lymphocytes decreased the amount of strand breakage induced by KBrO(3). Extracellular GSH, however, protected against DNA strand breakage by KBrO(3), possibly due to the inability of the reactive product to enter the cell. In contrast, membrane-permeant NACys enhanced KBrO(3)-induced DNA strand breakage in these cells. DNA damage by KBrO(3) is therefore largely dependent on access to intracellular GSH.

8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine↗
PubMed1997

Importance of 2-O-sulfate groups of uronate residues in heparin for activation of FGF-1 and FGF-2.

Complete drying of heparin with various concentrations of NaOH by lyophilization caused specific 2-O-desulfation to various degrees without detectable depolymerization or other chemical changes. In order to assess the importance of 2-O-sulfate groups in uronate residues to promote FGF-1 and FGF-2 activities, various 2-O-desulfated (2-O-DS-) heparins were quantitatively examined for their effects on FGF-1 and FGF-2-induced proliferation of BALB/c3T3 clone A31 (A31) cells and the chlorate-treated cells. Twenty-seven percent or less loss to the 2-O-sulfate groups had no effect on the ability to activate both FGF-1 and FGF-2, while 44% loss resulted in a significant loss of the ability. Complete loss of the ability was observed in 2-O-DS-heparins with 75% or more 2-O-desulfation. These results suggest that a high content of 2-O-sulfate groups in uronate residues of heparin is required for activation of both FGF-1 and FGF-2.

3T3 Cells↗
PubMed1998

Expression of adhesion molecules by lp(a): a potential novel mechanism for its atherogenicity.

Lp(a) is a major inherited risk factor for premature atherosclerosis. The mechanism of Lp(a) atherogenicity has not been elucidated, but likely involves both its ability to interfere with plasminogen activation and its atherogenic potential as a lipoprotein particle after receptor-mediated uptake. We demonstrate that Lp(a) stimulates production of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) and E-selectin in cultured human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAEC). This effect resulted from a rise in intracellular free calcium induced by Lp(a) and could be inhibited by the intracellular calcium chelator, BAPTA/AM. The involvement of the LDL and VLDL receptors in Lp(a) activation of HCAEC were ruled out since Lp(a) induction of adhesion molecules was not prevented by an antibody (IgGC7) to the LDL receptor or by receptor-activating protein, an antagonist of ligand binding to the VLDL receptor. Addition of alpha2-macroglobulin as well as treatment with heparinase, chondroitinase ABC, and sodium chlorate did not decrease levels of VCAM-1 and E-selectin stimulated by Lp(a), suggesting that neither the low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein nor cell-surface proteoglycans are involved in Lp(a)-induced adhesion molecule production. Neither does the binding site on HCAEC responsible for adhesion molecule production by Lp(a) appear to involve plasminogen receptors, as levels of VCAM-1 and E-selectin were not significantly decreased by the addition of glu-plasminogen, the lysine analog epsilon-aminocaproic acid, or by trans-4-(aminomethyl)-cyclohexanecarboxymethylic acid (tranexamic acid), which acts by binding to the lysine binding sites carried on the kringle structures in plasminogen. In contrast, recombinant apolipoprotein (a) [r-apo(a)] competed with Lp(a) and attenuated the expression of VCAM-1 and E-selectin. In summary, we have identified a calcium-dependent interaction of Lp(a) with HCAEC capable of inducing potent surface expression of VCAM-1 and E-selectin that does not appear to involve any of the known potential Lp(a) binding sites. Because leukocyte recruitment to the vessel wall appears to represent one of the important early events in atherogenesis, this newly described endothelial cell-activating effect of Lp(a) places it at a crucial juncture in the initiation of atherogenic disease and may lead to a better understanding of the role of Lp(a) in the vascular biology of atherosclerosis.

Arteriosclerosis↗
PubMed1993

Insertion of transposon Tn5 into a structural gene of the membrane-bound nitrate reductase of Thiosphaera pantotropha results in anaerobic overexpression of periplasmic nitrate reductase activity.

Chlorate-resistant mutants of the denitrifying bacterium Thiosphaera pantotropha were generated by transposon Tn5 mutagenesis. One class was deficient in membrane-bound nitrate reductase activity but retained a periplasmic nitrate reductase activity. Using transposon marker rescue it was shown that in one such mutant, M-6, the transposon was inserted in the membrane-bound nitrate reductase beta subunit structural gene (termed narH in order to be consistent with the nomenclature of the Escherichia coli major nitrate reductase operon). The translated sequence (total of 106 amino acids) from around the point of transposon insertion showed approximately 90% amino acid identity with the beta subunits of the E. coli nitrate reductases. Under anaerobic growth conditions M-6 overproduced the periplasmic nitrate reductase activity allowing anaerobic growth with nitrate as electron acceptor. A regulatory link was inferred between the presence of the membrane-bound nitrate reductase and expression of the periplasmic nitrate reductase. This is the first demonstration of full denitrification in an organism possessing only a periplasmic nitrate reductase.

Amino Acid Sequence↗