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PubMed2001

Isolation and characterization of an alpha-macroglobulin from the gastropod mollusc Helix pomatia with tetrameric structure and preserved activity after methylamine treatment.

A proteinase inhibitor with M(r) 697000 and 20.3% (w/w) carbohydrate was isolated from the haemolymph of the snail Helix pomatia and characterized. It was shown to have a tetrameric structure with subunits disulphide linked by two. It inhibited the activity of several types of proteinases against large substrates but not that of trypsin against N-alpha-benzoyl-DL-arginine-4-nitroanilide. This indicated a nonspecific and steric hindrance mode of inhibition. The ratio of trypsin molecules inactivated per inhibitor amounted to 1.5. This interaction led to a cleavage of the subunits into two equal fragments and to a slow to fast conformational change of the whole molecules. Experiments with 125I-labelled trypsin indicated that the proteinase had become covalently linked to one of the fragments. Heating of the inhibitor led to autolytic cleavage products but not when methylamine treated. Thiol titration after trypsin or methylamine treatment indicated the presence of one thiol ester bond per subunit. These facts are all indicative of an alpha-macroglobulin type of inhibitor. However, unlike for most of them the methylamine treatment did not induce a conformational change nor suppress its proteinase inhibitory activity. Moreover, invertebrate alpha-macroglobulins are mostly dimeric in structure but tetramers likewise do occur in Biomphalaria glabrata.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Changes of the proteinase binding properties and conformation of bovine alpha 2-macroglobulin on cleavage of the thio ester bonds by methylamine.

Cleavage of the thio ester bonds of human alpha2-macroglobulin (alpha 2M) by methylamine leads to an extensive conformational change and to inactivation of the inhibitor. In contrast, cleavage of these bonds in bovine alpha 2M only minimally perturbs the hydrodynamic volume of the protein [Dangott, L. J., & Cunningham, L. W. (1982) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 107, 1243-1251], as well as its spectroscopic properties, as analyzed by ultraviolet difference spectroscopy, circular dichroism, and fluorescence in this work. A conformational change analogous to that undergone by human alpha 2M thus does not occur in the bovine inhibitor. However, changes of several functional properties of bovine alpha 2M are induced by the amine. The apparent stoichiometry of inhibition of trypsin thus is reduced from about 1.2 to about 0.7 mol of enzyme/mol of inhibitor. In spite of this decrease, the interaction with the proteinase induces similar conformational changes in methylamine-treated alpha 2M as in intact alpha 2M, as revealed by spectroscopic analyses, indicating that the mode of binding of the proteinase to the inhibitor is essentially unperturbed by thio ester bond cleavage. The reaction with methylamine also greatly increases the sensitivity of bovine alpha 2M to proteolysis by trypsin at sites other than the "bait" region. Moreover, the second-order rate constant for the reaction with thrombin is reduced by about 10-fold. These results indicate that the thio ester bonds of bovine alpha 2M, although not required per se for the binding of proteinases, nevertheless are responsible for maintaining certain structural features of the inhibitor that are of importance for full activity.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1985

Release of iron from the two iron-binding sites of transferrin by cultured human cells: modulation by methylamine.

We have investigated the effect of increasing concentrations of methylamine (5, 10, and 25 mM) on the removal of iron from the two iron-binding sites of transferrin during endocytosis by human erythroleukemia (K562) cells. The molecular forms of transferrin released from the cells were analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in 6 M urea. Endocytosis of diferric transferrin was efficient since greater than 10% of surface-bound protein escaped endocytosis and was released in the diferric form. Although transferrin exocytosed from control cells had been depleted of 80% of its iron and contained 65-70% apotransferrin, iron-bearing species were also released (15% C-terminal monoferric; 10% N-terminal; 10% diferric). The ratio of the two monoferric species (C/N) was 1.32 +/- 0.12 (mean +/- SD; n = 4), suggesting that iron in the N-terminal site was more accessible to cells. In the presence of methylamine there was a concentration-dependent increase in the proportion of diferric transferrin release (less than 80% at 25 mM) and a concomitant decrease in apotransferrin. Small amounts of the iron-depleted species, especially apotransferrin, appeared before diferric transferrin, suggesting that these were preferentially released from the cells. The discrepancy between the proportions of the monoferric transferrin species noted with control cells was enhanced at all concentrations of methylamine, most markedly at 10 mM when the C/N ratio was 2.4. The N-terminal site of transferrin loses its iron at a higher pH than the C-terminal site, and so by progressively perturbing the pH of the endocytic vesicle we have increased the difference between the two sites observed with control cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1987

Redox properties of the quinoprotein methylamine dehydrogenase from paracoccus denitrificans.

Paracoccus denitrificans synthesizes a methylamine dehydrogenase that contains a covalently bound form of pyrroloquinoline quinone as a prosthetic group [Husain, M., & Davison, V.L. (1987) J. Bacteriol. 169, 1712-1717]. Anaerobic reductive titration of this enzyme with dithionite proceeded through a semiquinone intermediate with spectral properties quite distinct from those of the oxidized and reduced species. From these data the molar extinction coefficients were calculated at various wavelengths for the three redox states of this enzyme. The semiquinone was slowly reoxidized under aerobic conditions. The fully reduced enzyme was stable in the presence of oxygen and slowly reoxidized by ferricyanide. Reductive titration of methylamine dehydrogenase with methylamine proceeded directly to the fully reduced form of the enzyme without detectable formation of the semiquinone. Electrochemical titrations of the enzyme yielded an overall midpoint potential value for the two-electron couple (fully oxidized/fully reduced) of 100 +/- 4 mV and an n value of 2.15 +/- 0.15.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1988

Binding of alpha 2-macroglobulin-thrombin complexes and methylamine-treated alpha 2-macroglobulin to human blood monocytes.

The binding of alpha 2-macroglobulin (alpha 2M) to human peripheral blood monocytes was investigated. Monocytes, the precursors of tissue macrophages, were isolated from fresh blood by centrifugal elutriation or density gradient centrifugation. Binding studies were performed using 125I-labeled alpha 2M. Cells and bound ligand were separated from free ligand by rapid vacuum filtration. Nonlinear least-squares analysis of data obtained in direct binding studies at 0 degrees C showed that monocytes bound the alpha 2M-thrombin complex with a Kd of 3.0 +/- 0.9 nM and the monocyte had 1545 +/- 153 sites/cell. Thrombin alone did not compete for the site. Binding was divalent cation dependent. Direct binding studies also demonstrated that monocytes bound methylamine-treated alpha 2M in a manner similar to alpha 2M-thrombin. Competitive binding studies showed that alpha 2M-thrombin and methylamine-treated alpha 2M bound to the same sites on the monocyte. In contrast, native alpha 2M did not compete with alpha 2M-thrombin for the site. Studies done at 37 degrees C suggested that after binding, the monocyte internalized and degraded alpha 2M-thrombin and excreted the degradation products. Receptor turnover and degradation of alpha 2M-thrombin complexes were blocked in monocytes treated with chloroquine, an inhibitor of lysosomal function. Our results indicate that human monocytes have a divalent cation dependent, high-affinity binding site for alpha 2M-thrombin and methylamine-treated alpha 2M which may function to clear alpha 2M-proteinase complexes from the circulation.

Binding, Competitive↗
PubMed1989

Pregnancy zone protein, a proteinase-binding macroglobulin. Interactions with proteinases and methylamine.

Human pregnancy zone protein (PZP) is a major pregnancy-associated plasma protein, strongly related to alpha 2-macroglobulin (alpha 2M). Its properties and its reactions with a number of enzymes, particularly chymotrypsin, and with methylamine have been investigated. It is concluded that native PZP molecules are dimers of disulfide-bridged 180-kDa subunits and that proteinase binding results in covalent 1:1 (tetrameric)PZP-enzyme complexes. Native PZP is unstable, and storage should be avoided, but when kept unfrozen at 0 degree C most PZP preparations stay native 1-3 months. The reaction of PZP with chymotrypsin involves (i) proteolysis of bait regions, (ii) cleavage of beta-cysteinyl-gamma-glutamyl thiol ester groups, (iii) some change of the conformation and quaternary structure of PZP, and (iv) the formation of covalent 1:1 chymotrypsin-PZP(tetramer) complexes in which chymotrypsin is active but shows less activity than free chymotrypsin. The emission spectra of intrinsic fluorescence show significant differences between the PZP-chymotrypsin complex and its native components, whereas no differences are observed between methylamine-reacted PZP and native PZP. Methylamine reacts with the beta-cysteinyl-gamma-glutamyl thiol ester groups of PZP in a second-order process with k = (13.6 +/- 0.5) M-1 s-1, pH 7.6, 25 degrees C. The reaction product is PZP(dimers); no PZP(tetramers) are formed. The proteinase-binding specificity of PZP is far more restricted than that of alpha 2M. Certain chymotrypsin-like and trypsin-like enzymes are bound much less efficiently than is chymotrypsin itself.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Chymotrypsin↗
PubMed1990

Effect of methylamine on the reaction of alpha 2-macroglobulin with enzymes.

The kinetics of reaction of alpha 2-macroglobulin (alpha 2M) with thrombin and with trypsin were studied in the presence and absence of methylamine. The rate of enzyme-induced thiol release was found to be the same whether or not amine was present. The result suggests that covalent bond formation and enzyme-catalyzed amine incorporation proceed via a common (enzyme-dependent) rate-determining step. The reaction of lysyl-modified enzymes (which show poor covalent binding with alpha 2M) was similarly unaffected by amine, indicating that enzyme-catalyzed steps were also rate determining for hydrolysis of the thiol ester. The products of the reactions were analyzed by native and denaturing gel electrophoresis. Methylamine did not affect the total binding of enzyme to alpha 2M but did cause a substantial decrease in covalent binding. Surprisingly, not all covalent complexes were affected by the presence of amine: complexes in which enzyme was covalently bound to one half-molecule increased compared to the reaction with no amine; complexes in which two half-molecules are cross-linked by two bonds to a single enzyme were substantially reduced, however. The results are consistent with a mechanism of reaction in which an enzyme-dependent step is rate determining. This step is accompanied by activation of two thiol esters. One of these reacts immediately with the bound enzyme (or may be hydrolyzed if the enzyme amine groups are blocked). The other activated center is capable of reaction with external nucleophiles such as methylamine.

Humans↗
PubMed1997

MauE and MauD proteins are essential in methylamine metabolism of Paracoccus denitrificans.

Synthesis of enzymes involved in methylamine oxidation via methylamine dehydrogenase (MADH) is encoded by genes present in the mau cluster. Here we describe the sequence of the mauE and mauD genes from Paracoccus denitrificans as well as some properties of mauE and mauD mutants of this organism. The amino acid sequences derived from the mauE and mauD genes showed high similarity with their counterparts in related methylotrophs. Secondary structure analyses of the amino acid sequences predicted that MauE is a membrane protein with five transmembrane-spanning helices and that MauD is a soluble protein with an N-terminal hydrophobic tail. Sequence comparison of MauD proteins from different organisms showed that these proteins have a conserved motif, Cys-Pro-Xaa-Cys, which is similar to a conserved motif found in periplasmic proteins that are involved in the biosynthesis of bacterial periplasmic enzymes containing haem c and/or disulphide bonds. The mauE and mauD mutant strains were unable to grow on methylamine but they grew well on other C1-compounds. These mutants grown under MADH-inducing conditions contained normal levels of the natural electron acceptor amicyanin, but undetectable levels of the beta-subunit and low levels of the alpha-subunit of MADH. It is proposed, therefore, that MauE and MauD are specifically involved in the processing, transport, and/or maturation of the beta-subunit and that the absence of each of these proteins leads to production of a non-functional beta-subunit which becomes rapidly degraded.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1979

Faecal methylamine in normal and uraemic subjects.

1. A ninhydrin-reacting substance seen during ion-exchange chromatography of faecal dialysate obtained in vivo from normal and uraemic subjects has been isolated and identified as methylamine. 2. Faecal dialysate concentrations of methylamine were higher in uraemic subjects and were related to the degree of renal impairment (P less than 0.05). 3. Methylamine concentrations in faecal dialysate and centrifugate were not significantly different.

Centrifugation↗
PubMed1991

Developmental toxicity of methylamines in mice.

Monomethylamine (MMA), dimethylamine (DMA), and trimethylamine (TMA) are endogenous substances as well as metabolites of methyl isocyanate, the chemical involved in the 1984 accident at Bhopal, India. Although methylamines exert several toxic effects including inhibition of protein turnover and oocyte RNA synthesis, their reproductive toxicity has not been investigated. We therefore studied the possible developmental toxicity of these amines using pregnant CD-1 mice and mouse embryo culture as experimental models. Intraperitoneal injections (daily from d 1 to 17 of gestation) of TMA at 2.5 and 5 mmol/kg/d significantly (p less than .001) decreased fetal body weight but not the placental weight or maternal body weight gain; however, 5 of 11 mice treated with 5 mmol/kg TMA died. Similar treatment with DMA and MMA did not exert any obvious maternal or fetal effects. All three methylamines, when added to embryos in culture, caused dose-dependent decreases in size, DNA, RNA, and protein content as well as embryo survival; the order of toxicity was TMA greater than DMA greater than MMA. The ability of methylamines to adversely affect fetal development suggests that these amines, especially trimethylamine, may act as endogenous teratogens under certain conditions.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Methylamine dehydrogenase of Pseudomonas sp. J. Reconstitution from its subunits.

Conditions for the restoration of catalytic activity from heavy and light subunits which had been isolated from methylamine dehydrogenase of Pseudomonas sp. J were investigated in vitro. Maximal restoration of the activity was obtained in 0.8 M potassium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0-9.3, at 30 degrees C with equimolar concentrations of the two subunits. Under the optimal conditions, the recovery of enzyme activity was 86% and the time required for half-maximal recovery was about 3 min. Addition of bovine serum albumin or p-chloromercuribenzoate to the incubation mixture had no effect on the rate or extent of recovery of the enzyme activity. When the heavy subunit was added to the light subunit, the absorption spectrum of the light subunit changed to a form similar to that observed for the native enzyme. The concentration of methylamine required to change the spectrum of the light subunit was greatly decreased in the presence of the heavy subunit. Reconstituted enzyme was prepared from the isolated subunits and purified by gel chromatography. The reconstituted enzyme resembled the native enzyme in specific activity, molecular weight, substrate specificity, reaction mechanism, Michaelis constants for methylamine and phenazine methosulfate, susceptibility to inhibitor, and absorption, fluorescence and ESR spectra. However, it was less stable than the native enzyme to thermal and pH treatments. The CD spectrum was also slightly different from that of the native enzyme.

Circular Dichroism↗
PubMed1978

Methylamine dehydrogenases of Pseudomonas sp. J and Pseudomonas AM1. Study on subunit structure by dimethyl suberimidate.

Methylamine dehydrogenase (MW: 105,000) of Pseudomonas sp. J was treated with a bifunctional cross-linking reagent, dimethyl suberimidate. Cross-linked proteins having different molecular -eights of 53,000, 64,000, 80,000, 93,000, and 103,000 were found in addition to 13,000 (light subunit) and 40,000 (heavy subunit) by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Isolated light and heavy subunits were separately treated with the reagent. The product having a molecular weight of 80,000 was found to be a major cross-linked protein for the heavy subunit but no product was found for the light subunit. A similar electrophoretic pattern was also obtained for the reconstituted enzyme from the subunits of Pseudomonas sp. J and for methylamine dehydrogenase of Pseudomonas AM1. These results suggest that methylamine dehydrogenases obtained from these two bacteria are both the alpha2beta2-type subunit enzyme and have a geometrically analogous subunit structure.

Chemical Phenomena↗
PubMed1980

Methylamine dehydrogenases of Methylomonas J and Pseudomonas AM1. Hybridization of light and heavy subunits and some properties of an isolated hybrid enzyme.

Hybridization reactions were carried out in vitro between the light and heavy subunits of two methylamine dehydrogenases obtained from Methylomonas J (formerly Pseudomonas sp. J) and Pseudomonas AM1. Enzymatic activity was restored with a combination of L3(MW: 13,000) and HA(MW: 40,000) but not with LA(MW: 13,000) and HJ(NW: 40,000). This active hybrid enzyme was isolated with a Sephadex G-150 column after incubation of LJ and HA. Its molecular weight was nearly identical to that of the two native enzymes (MW: 105,000). The electrophoretic pattern of proteins cross-linked by dimethyl suberimidate showed the formation of a tetrameric structure. Its absorption spectrum was similar to that of the native enzymes. The specific activity was 4.3 and the substrate specificity resembled that of the Methylomonas J enzyme rather than that of the Pseudomonas AM1 enzyme. Michaelis constants were 290 microM for methylamine and 14 microM for phenazine methosulfate. The circular dichroism spectrum and thermal stability resembled those of the Pseudomonas AM1 enzyme. No appreciable amount of an inactive hybrid enzyme was formed in the reaction between LA and HJ, there being neither restoration of the enzymatic activity nor formation of cross-linked tetrameric proteins with dimethyl suberimidate. Hybridization of LJ and HA was further confirmed by the appearance of three enzymatic active bands on a gel after electrophoresis of an incubation mixture of LJ, HJ, and HA. The results are consistent with a previous observation; the two methylamine dehydrogenases from either obligate of facultative metaylotrophs are the alpha 2 beta 2-type and homologous enzymes. It is also suggested that substrate specificity and catalytic activity are directed by the light subunit, and binding affinity of the substrate to the active site, electrophoretic mobility, and thermal stability of the enzyme are endowed by the heavy subunit.

Kinetics↗
PubMed1981

Interaction between the labile binding site of human C4 and methylamine.

Human complement component C4 was irreversibly inactivated by low concentrations of methylamine at slightly alkaline pH. The inactivated C4 molecules lost the ability to bind to EAC1 cells but retained th capacity to participate in the formation of classical pathway C3 convertase in the fluid phase. 14C-methylamine was incorporated into the alpha-chain at a ratio of 1 mol methylamine per mol C4.

Complement C4↗
PubMed1995

Methanethiolation of the liberated cysteine residues of human alpha 2-macroglobulin treated with methylamine generates a derivative with similar functional characteristics as native alpha 2-macroglobulin.

The thiol-modifying reagent methyl methanethiosulfonate reacts with the cysteine residues of thiol esters released upon treatment of human alpha 2-macroglobulin with methylamine. This methanethiolation generates a derivative of alpha 2-macroglobulin, with an 'open trap' and slow mobility in non-denaturing PAGE, similar to native alpha 2-macroglobulin. This similarity is further substantiated by surface hydrophobicity determinations and by the fact that neither the derivative nor native alpha 2-macroglobulin are cleared from the circulation in mice. Cleavages of bait regions in the derivative and native alpha 2-macroglobulin, however, result in electrophoretically fast forms which are cleared from the circulation in mice. In contrast to native alpha 2-macroglobulin, which can bind 2 mol chymotrypsin/mol, alpha 2-macroglobulin treated with methylamine and methylmethanethiosulfonate binds only 0.8 mol chymotrypsin/mol. Protection of trypsin against inhibition by soybean trypsin inhibitor is significantly better when alpha 2-macroglobulin is modified by methylamine and methylmethanethiosulfonate than when it is modified by dinitrophenyl thiocyanate, which cyanylates the exposed thiol group. The methanethiolated derivative is also more stable than the corresponding cyanylated derivative in that it is transformed to an electrophoretically fast form with a half-life of 9 h as compared to a half-life of 7 h for the latter. The transformation to the fast form is not due to instability of the thiol modification.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

The methylamine reactive site and protease inhibition in alpha 2-macroglobulin.

The inactivation of alpha 2M by the nucleophiles, NH4+, hydrazine, and methylamine, follows pseudo-first-order (second order, overall) rates. The rate of incorporation of nucleophiles however, is biphasic with the faster rate consistent with inactivation. Protease cleavage of alpha 2M is prevented by complete inactivation of alpha 2M by methylamine. Loss of protease cleavage is slower than methylamine incorporation but parallels inactivation. Our results are consistent with a complex model of sequential conformation changes leading to binding and inactivation of proteases by alpha 2M. Our results suggest that cross-linking of the protease to alpha 2M by aminolysis of the thiolester is not required for inactivation of the protease.

Humans↗
PubMed1983

Receptor-mediated entry of Pseudomonas toxin: methylamine blocks clustering step.

Clustering of ligands into coated regions of the plasma membrane is an early step in receptor-mediated endocytosis. The association of Pseudomonas exotoxin A (PE) with mouse LM fibroblasts was visualized by using biotinyl-PE and avidingold. Movement of PE into coated regions occurred within 30 s of warming monolayers to 37 degrees C. This clustering was stopped by the primary amines methylamine and ammonium chloride but was not altered by the tertiary amine chloroquine. Toxin internalization was rapid, with a half-time of approximately 5 min. Although primary amines stopped clustering, they did not alter the rate of toxin internalization; they did alter the route followed after entry. We have shown previously that methylamine protects cells from the lethal action of PE. Here we suggest that methylamine protects, at least in part, by blocking clustering, and that receptor-mediated endocytosis is required for efficient expression of PE toxicity.

ADP Ribose Transferases↗
PubMed1997

Regulation of the formate dehydrogenase gene, FDH1, in the methylotrophic yeast Candida boidinii and growth characteristics of an FDH1-disrupted strain on methanol, methylamine, and choline.

The structural gene (FDH1) coding for NAD(+)-dependent formate dehydrogenase (FDH) was cloned from a genomic library of Candida boidinii, and the FDH1 gene was disrupted in the C. boidinii genome (fdh1 delta) by one-step gene disruption. In a batch culture experiment, although the fdh1 delta strain was still able to grow on methanol, its growth was greatly inhibited and a toxic level of formate was detected in the medium. In a methanol-limited chemostat culture at a low dilution rate (0.03 to 0.05 h[-1]), formate was not detected in the culture medium of the fdh1 delta strain; however, the fdh1 delta strain showed only one-fourth of the growth yield of the wild-type strain. Expression of FDH1 was found to be induced by choline or methylamine (used as a nitrogen source), as well as by methanol (used as a carbon source). Induction of FDH1 was not repressed in the presence of glucose when cells were grown on methylamine, choline, or formate, and expression of FDH1 was shown to be regulated at the mRNA level. Growth on methylamine or choline as a nitrogen source in a batch culture was compared between the wild type and the fdh1 delta mutant. Although the growth of the fdh1 delta mutant was impaired and the level of formate was higher in the fdh1 delta mutant than in the wild-type strain, the growth defect caused by FDH1 gene disruption was small and less severe than that caused by growth on methanol. As judged from these results, the main physiological role of FDH with all of the FDH1-inducing growth substrates seems to be detoxification of formate, and during growth on methanol, FDH seems to contribute significantly to the energy yield.

Amino Acid Sequence↗