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UDP-glucuronic acid:soyasapogenol glucuronosyltransferase involved in saponin biosynthesis in germinating soybean seeds.

We detected UDP-glucuronic acid:soyasapogenol glucuronosyltransferase (UGASGT) activity in the microsomal fraction from germinating soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) seed. A microsomal fraction was isolated from germinating soybean seed and treated with various detergents to solubilize the enzyme. UGASGT activity was monitored throughout purification using UDP-[U-(14)C]glucuronic acid and soyasapogenol B as substrates. Purification of UGASGT was achieved by HiTrap Q, Superdex 200, and HiTrap Blue chromatography procedures. This resulted in >205-fold enrichment relative to the starting homogenate. UGASGT was found to require divalent cations for activity. Studies on the substrate specificity of UGASGT demonstrated that the specificity for the sugar residue transferred was very high, as activity was scarcely found when UDP-glucuronic acid was replaced by other UDP sugars: UDP-glucose and UDP-galactose. Soyasapogenols, which are the aglycons of soybean saponin, are usable acceptors, but glycyrrhetinic acid, sophoradiol, beta-amyrin, and flavonoids are not. These findings suggest that this UGASGT was a specific enzyme for UDP-glucuronic acid as a donor and soyasapogenols as acceptors, and that it was related to the biosynthesis of the sugar chain in soybean saponin. This study provides a basis for the molecular characterization of a key enzyme in saponin biosynthesis in soybean. The isolation of the gene may enable its use in the elucidation of the biosynthesis and physiological role of saponins in soybean.

Carbon Radioisotopes↗

Conventional and laser induced fluorescence detection of glucuronic acid conjugates after derivatization and liquid chromatographic separation.

Pre-chromatographic derivatisation of the carboxylic acid function of glucuronic acid conjugates is a suitable method for the selective and ultra-sensitive analysis of these compounds in urine and plasma samples. This goal is achieved by applying an indirect derivatisation procedure and laser induced fluorescence detection with a homemade detection system equipped with a continuous-wave argon-ion laser. The minimum detectable amounts for the analytes, after derivatisation, are about 3 amol using the fluorescein fluorophore. In comparison with conventional induced fluorescence detection a gain in sensitivity of over four orders of magnitude is obtained.

Journal Article↗

[Glucuronic acid].

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Glucuronic Acid↗

The effect of inhibitors of mitochondrial energy production on hepatic glutathione, UDP-glucuronic acid, and adenosine 3'-phosphate-5'-phosphosulfate concentrations.

The hepatic conjugation of xenobiotics with sulfate, glucuronic acid, and glutathione is decreased in vitro by compounds that impair cellular energy production. The proposed mechanism is that depletion of ATP in metabolically compromised cells causes a decreased synthesis of the co-substrates, adenosine 3'-phosphate 5'-phosphosulfate (PAPS), UDP-glucuronic acid, and glutathione. This proposal was examined in vivo by quantitating hepatic adenine nucleotides and co-substrates in rats treated with the following inhibitors of mitochondrial ATP production: rotenone, antimycin A, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, and 2,4-dinitrophenol. Hepatic ATP levels 30 min after administration of the inhibitors were about 30% of control. Hepatic energy charge (ATP + 0.5 X ADP)/(ATP + ADP + AMP) was significantly reduced by each inhibitor. Unexpectedly, UDP-glucuronic acid, PAPS, and glutathione concentrations were not reduced at 30 or 60 min after administration of the inhibitors. Thus, it does not appear possible to deplete hepatic ATP in vivo by means of mitochondrial inhibitors to the extent necessary to affect basal levels of UDP-glucuronic acid, PAPS, and glutathione. PAPS levels increased after administration of 2,4-dinitrophenol. This was shown to be a property shared with phenolic inhibitors of phenol sulfotransferase.

2,4-Dinitrophenol↗

Xylose, glucose, and glucuronic acid conjugation of bilirubin in the newborn rat.

The development and relative contribution of hepatic bilirubin conjugation with glucuronic acid, xylose, and glucose was studied in vitro in newborn rats 1-20 days old. In adult control rats, 75% of the conjugates formed were with glucuronic acid, whereas in 1-day-old newborns, only 50% of the conjugates were with glucuronic acid (P less than 0.02) while xylose and glucose conjugates of bilirubin together were equal to that of glucuronic acid. By day 4, total conjugating capacity increased to adult levels and a mature pattern of distribution. In response to phenobarbital treatment, xylose and glucose conjugation increased 4 days earlier than glucuronide conjugation and maximal induction occurred 8 days sooner for nonglucuronide conjugation than for glucuronide.

Age Factors↗

Piperine-mediated inhibition of glucuronidation activity in isolated epithelial cells of the guinea-pig small intestine: evidence that piperine lowers the endogeneous UDP-glucuronic acid content.

Piperine (1-peperoyl piperidine), a major component of the Piper species was reported recently by us to inhibit the activities of rat hepatic monooxygenases and UDP-glucuronyltransferase. This study explores further the basis of inhibition of glucuronidation. The effect of piperine on the rate of glucuronidation of 3-hydroxybenzo(a) pyrene and UDP-glucuronic acid content in the intact isolated epithelial cells of the guinea-pig small intestine was studied. The cells offered a fairly good system to study the modulation of glucuronidation activity. Glucuronidation of 3-hydroxybenzo(a) pyrene was dependent on the time of incubation, cellular protein and substrate concentration. From the kinetics of glucuronidation of 3-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene in the isolated cell preparation the Vmax of 0.5 nmol of BP-3-glucuronide formed per min/mg of protein and Km of 25 microM were observed. The endogeneous concentration of UDP-glucuronic acid observed was 1.6 to 2.3 nmol/mg of cellular protein. Piperine caused a concentration-related decrease in UDP-glucuronic acid content and the rate of glucuronidation in the cells. It required much lower concentrations of piperine than D-galactosamine to diminish the endogeneous level of UDP-glucuronic acid. Rate of glucuronidation of 3-hydroxybenzo (a) pyrene was dependent on the endogeneous level of UDP-glucuronic acid. At 50 microM piperine, the rate of glucuronidation was reduced to about 50% of the basal rate. Piperine caused noncompetitive inhibition of hepatic microsomal UDP-glucuronyltransferase with Ki of 70 microM. The studies demonstrate that piperine modifies the rate of glucuronidation by lowering the endogeneous UDP-glucuronic acid content and also by inhibiting the transferase activity.

Alkaloids↗

The donor substrate specificity of the human beta 1,3-glucuronosyltransferase I toward UDP-glucuronic acid is determined by two crucial histidine and arginine residues.

The human beta1,3-glucuronosyltransferase I (GlcAT-I) plays a key role in proteoglycan biosynthesis by catalyzing the transfer of glucuronic acid onto the trisaccharide-protein linkage structure Galbeta1,3Galbeta1,4Xylbeta-O-Ser, a prerequisite step for polymerization of glycosaminoglycan chains. In this study, we identified His(308) and Arg(277) residues as essential determinants for the donor substrate (UDP-glucuronic acid) selectivity of the human GlcAT-I. Analysis of the UDP-glucuronic acid-binding site by computational modeling in conjunction with site-directed mutagenesis indicated that both residues interact with glucuronic acid. Substitution of His(308) by arginine induced major changes in the donor substrate specificity of GlcAT-I. Interestingly, the H308R mutant was able to efficiently utilize nucleotide sugars UDP-glucose, UDP-mannose, and UDP-N-acetylglucosamine, which are not naturally accepted by the wild-type enzyme, as co-substrate in the transfer reaction. To gain insight into the role of Arg(277), site-directed mutagenesis in combination with chemical modification was carried out. Substitution of Arg(277) with alanine abrogated the activity of GlcAT-I. Furthermore, the arginine-directed reagent 2,3-butanedione irreversibly inhibited GlcAT-I, which was effectively protected against inactivation by UDP-glucuronic acid but not by UDP-glucose. It is noteworthy that the activity of the H308R mutant toward UDP-glucose was unaffected by the arginine-directed reagent. Our results are consistent with crucial interactions between the His(308) and Arg(277) residues and the glucuronic acid moiety that governs the specificity of GlcAT-I toward the nucleotide sugar donor substrate.

Arginine↗

REGULATION OF ASCORBIC ACID AND OF XYLULOSE SYNTHESIS IN RAT-LIVER EXTRACTS. THE EFFECT OF STARVATION ON THE ENZYMES OF THE GLUCURONIC ACID PATHWAY.

1. The synthesis of ascorbic acid in rat-liver extracts is impaired during starvation, and more from glucuronolactone and glucuronate than from gulonate and gulonolactone. 2. The formation of xylulose from gulonate and from gulonolactone is greatly enhanced during starvation, whereas it is decreased from glucuronolactone and from glucuronate. 3. The activity of the enzymes of the glucuronic acid pathway during starvation has been determined in rat-liver preparations. Gulonolactone oxidase is decreased, NAD-linked gulonate dehydrogenase is enhanced, and uronolactonase, aldonolactonase and NADP-linked hexonate dehydrogenase are unchanged. 4. The impairment of ascorbic acid synthesis from gulonate observed during starvation can be accounted for by the depressed activity of gulonolactone oxidase. 5. The cause of the enhanced formation of xylulose has been located in the sedimentable fraction of liver homogenate. 6. The hypothesis is formulated of an increased utilization of the glucuronic acid pathway during starvation.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗

Reconstitution into proteoliposomes and partial purification of the Golgi apparatus membrane UDP-galactose, UDP-xylose, and UDP-glucuronic acid transport activities.

Previous studies in vitro on proteoglycan biosynthesis from our laboratory have shown that nucleotide sugar precursors of all the sugars of the linkage oligosaccharides (xylose, galactose, and glucuronic acid) and of the glycosaminoglycans (N-acetylglucosamine, N-galactosamine, and glucuronic acid) are transported by specific carriers into the lumen of Golgi vesicles. More recently, we also reported the reconstitution in phosphatidylcholine liposomes of detergent-solubilized Golgi membrane proteins containing transport activities of CMP-sialic acid and adenosine-3'-phosphate-5'-phosphosulfate. We have now completed the successful reconstitution into liposomes of the Golgi membrane transport activities of UDP-galactose, UDP-xylose, and UDP-glucuronic acid. Transport of these nucleotide sugars into Golgi protein proteoliposomes occurred with the same affinity, temperature dependence, and sensitivity to inhibitors as observed with intact Golgi vesicles. Preloading of proteoliposomes with UMP, the putative antiporter for Golgi vesicle transport of these nucleotide sugars, stimulated transport of the nucleotide sugars by 2-3-fold. Transport of UDP-xylose into Golgi protein proteoliposomes was dependent on the presence of endogenous Golgi membrane lipids while that of UDP-galactose and UDP-glucuronic acid was not. This suggests a possible stabilizing or regulatory role for Golgi lipids on the UDP-xylose translocator. Finally, we have also shown that detergent-solubilized Golgi membrane translocator proteins can be partially purified by an ion-exchange chromatographic step before successful reconstitution into liposomes, demonstrating that this reconstitution approach can be used for the biochemical purification of these transporters.

Animals↗

Characterisation and immunolocation of an 87 kDa polypeptide associated with UDP-glucuronic acid decarboxylase activity from differentiating tobacco cells (Nicotiana tabacum L.).

UDP-glucuronic acid decarboxylase catalyses the reaction responsible for the formation of UDP-xylose and commits assimilate for the biosynthesis of cell wall polysaccharides and glycosylation of proteins. Xylose-rich polymers such as xylans are a feature of dicot secondary walls. Thus a cell culture system of tobacco transformed with the ipt gene from Agrobacterium tumefaciens for cytokinin production and which when manipulated with auxin and sucrose leads to induction of xylogenesis, has been used as a source for purification of the enzyme. UDP-glucuronic acid decarboxylase was purified by ion-exchange, gel filtration and affinity chromatography on Reactive Brown-Agarose. The native enzyme had an apparent M(r) of 220,000 which yielded a single subunit of 87,000 when analysed on SDS-PAGE using silver staining. This appears to be a novel form of the enzyme since a gene family encoding polypeptides around M(r) 40,000 with homology to the fungal enzyme also exists in plants. Using an antibody raised to the native 87 kDa form of the enzyme, this decarboxylase was localised mainly to to cambium and differentiating vascular tissue in tobacco stem, consistent with a role in the provision of UDP-xylose for the synthesis of secondary wall xylan. Further analysis using immunogold electron microscopy localised the 87 kDa UDP-glucuronic acid decarboxylase to the cytosol of developing vascular tissue.

Antibodies↗

Functional cloning and characterization of a UDP- glucuronic acid decarboxylase: the pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans elucidates UDP-xylose synthesis.

UDP-xylose is a sugar donor required for the synthesis of diverse and important glycan structures in animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria. Xylose-containing glycans are particularly abundant in plants and in the polysaccharide capsule that is the major virulence factor of the pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans. Biosynthesis of UDP-xylose is mediated by UDP-glucuronic acid decarboxylase, which converts UDP-glucuronic acid to UDP-xylose. Although this enzymatic activity was described over 40 years ago it has never been fully purified, and the gene encoding it has not been identified. We used homology to a bacterial gene, hypothesized to encode a related function, to identify a cryptococcal sequence as putatively encoding a UDP-glucuronic acid decarboxylase. A soluble 47-kDa protein derived from bacteria expressing the C. neoformans gene catalyzed conversion of UDP-glucuronic acid to UDP-xylose, as confirmed by NMR analysis. NADH, UDP, and UDP-xylose inhibit the activity. Close homologs of the cryptococcal gene, which we termed UXS1, appear in genome sequence data from organisms ranging from bacteria to humans.

Amino Acid Motifs↗

A rapid enzymic procedure for the determination of picomole amounts of UDP-glucuronic acid.

A simple microassay for the determination of UDP-glucuronic acid was developed on the basis of the formation of benzo[a]pyrene 3-glucuronide catalysed by UDP-glucuronyltransferase of guinea-pig liver. As little as 1-5 pmol of UDP-glucuronic acid was detectable in extracts of heat-denatured probes of liver or cultured cells equivalent to 10-50 micrograms of cellular protein.

Animals↗

Effects of cicloxilic acid on secretory function of the liver. I. Effect on bile flow and on biliary secretion of bilirubin and glucuronic acid in anesthetised bileduct-cannulated rat.

Both in normal and experimentally jaundiced rats cis-2-hydroxy-2-phenyl-cyclohexanecarboxilic acid (cicloxilic acid) induces a greater and longer lasting increase in bile flow and a greater increase in bilirubin and glucuronic acid secretion than do the choleretics sodium 2-(2-hydroxy-3n hexoxy-propoxy)-benzoate and dehydrocholic acid. The intense increase in bilirubin secretion is interpreted as the outcome of stimulation of the biliary secretion mechanisms whilst the effect on bile flow and on the biliary secretion of glucuronic acid are attributed to the kinetics of biliary secretion of cicloxilic acid.

Anesthesia↗

Uridine diphosphoxylose enhances hepatic microsomal UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activity by stimulating transport of UDP-glucuronic acid across the endoplasmic reticulum membrane.

The UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) system fulfils a pivotal role in the biotransformation of potentially toxic endogenous and exogenous compounds. Here we report that the activity of UGT in rat liver is stimulated by UDP-xylose. This stimulation was found in native microsomal vesicles as well as in the intact endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane, as studied in permeabilized hepatocytes, indicating the potential physiological importance of UDP-xylose in the regulation of UGT. We present evidence that UDP-xylose enhances UGT activity by stimulation of (i) the uptake of UDP-glucuronic acid across the ER membrane and (ii) the elimination of the UDP and/or UMP reaction product out of the ER lumen. UDP-xyloe produced a marked trans-stimulation of microsomal UDP-glucuronic acid uptake when it was present within the lumen of the ER. When UDP-xylose was presented at the cytosolic side of the ER, it acted as a weak inhibitor of UDP-glucuronic acid uptake. Likewise, cytosolic UDP-glucuronic acid strongly trans-stimulated efflux of intravesicular UDP-xylose, whereas cytosolic UDP-xylose was inefficient in trans-stimulating efflux of UDP-glucuronic acid. Microsomal UDP-xylose influx was markedly stimulated by UMP and UDP. Such stimulation was only apparent when microsomes had been preincubated and thereby preloaded with UMP or UDP, indicating that UMP and UDP exeted their effect on UDP-xylose uptake by trans-stimulation from the luminal side of the ER membrane.

Animals↗

Glycogenolysis--and not gluconeogenesis--is the source of UDP-glucuronic acid for glucuronidation.

Differences in cofactor (NADPH and UDP-glucuronic acid) supply for various processes of biotransformation were studied by investigating the interrelations between glucose production (gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis) and drug (p-nitrophenol, aminopyrine, phenolphthalein) biotransformation (hydroxylation and conjugation) in isolated murine hepatocytes. In glycogen-depleted hepatocytes prepared from animals fasted for 48 h (i) p-nitrophenol conjugation was decreased by 80% compared to the fed control, while aminopyrine oxidation was unaltered, (ii) addition of glucose or gluconeogenic substrates failed to increase the rate of p-nitrophenol conjugation, while the rate of p-nitrophenol and also aminopyrine oxidation was increased and (iii) gluconeogenesis was inhibited by 80% by aminopyrine oxidation: it was moderately decreased by p-nitrophenol oxidation and conjugation and remained unchanged by phenolphthalein conjugation. In hepatocytes prepared from fed mice (i) p-nitrophenol conjugation was independent of the extracellular glucose concentration, (ii) it was linked to the consumption of glycogen--addition of fructose inhibited p-nitrophenol glucuronidation only, while sulfation was unaltered and (iii) p-nitrophenol oxidation was not detectable: aminopyrine oxidation was not affected by fructose addition. It is suggested that UDP-glucuronic acid for glucuronidation derives predominantly from glycogen, while the NADPH generation for mixed function oxidation is linked to glucose uptake and/or gluconeogenesis in the liver.

Aminopyrine↗