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PubMed2005

Comprehensive metabolic profiling of mono- and polyglutamated folates and their precursors in plant and animal tissue using liquid chromatography/negative ion electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry.

This work reports the use of reversed-phase ion-pair chromatography coupled to electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry for the simultaneous profiling of folate-based metabolites including natural folates, their polyglutamatyl derivatives and their biosynthetic precursors in plant and animal tissue. A simple sample preparation method, using 0.1% citric acid and ascorbic acid in ice-cold methanol, was used to extract and stabilise the folates, and three internal standards were used. Chromatography was on a C18 column using slow gradient elution with a mobile phase consisting of methanol/water with 5 mM dimethylhexylamine. Mass spectrometric detection was performed by multiple reaction monitoring in seven separate time windows in negative ion mode over the 25 min run time. Full, quantitative analysis was obtained for 16 folates and a 'semi-quantitative' analysis was possible for all other folates with up to eight conjugated glutamate residues by reference to structurally related calibration standards. The precision, accuracy and recovery of the method were generally within the accepted guidelines for a quantitative bioanalytical method and the method was linear over the range 0.2 to 10 ng of individual folate per sample. The method was applied to profile mono- and polyglutamated tetrahydrofolates (including subcellular analysis) in a range of plant species, including Arabidopsis, spinach, Brassica and wheat; the technique was also successfully applied to the profiling of folates in mouse tissue.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Weekly lometrexol with daily oral folic acid is appropriate for phase II evaluation.

PURPOSE: Lometrexol [(6R)-5,10-dideaza-5,6,7,8-tetrahydrofolate] is the prototype folate antimetabolite that targets the de novo purine synthesis pathway. Early phase I trials were confounded by cumulative myelosuppression that prevented repetitive administration. Subsequent preclinical and clinical studies suggested that coadministration of folic acid might favorably modulate lometrexol toxicity without eliminating potential antitumor activity. We set out to determine if concurrent folic acid would allow administration of lometrexol on a weekly schedule, and, if so, to identify an appropriate dose combination for phase II trials. Pharmacokinetic and metabolism studies were undertaken in an attempt to improve our understanding of lometrexol pharmacodynamics. METHODS: Patients with advanced cancer received daily oral folic acid beginning 7 days before lometrexol and continuing for 7 days beyond the last lometrexol dose. Lometrexol was administered by short i.v. infusion weekly for 8 weeks. Scheduled lometrexol doses were omitted for toxicity of more than grade 2 present on the day of treatment, and dose-limiting toxicity was prospectively defined in terms of frequency of dose omission as well as the occurrence of severe toxic events. Plasma and whole blood total lometrexol contents (lometrexol plus lometrexol polyglutamates) were measured in samples taken just prior to each lometrexol dose. RESULTS: A total of 18 patients were treated at five lometrexol dose levels. The maximum tolerated dose was identified by frequent dose omission due to thrombocytopenia and mucositis. The recommended phase II dose combination is lometrexol 10.4 mg/m(2) per week i.v. with folic acid 3 mg/m(2) per day orally. One patient with melanoma experienced a partial response, and three patients, two with melanoma and one with renal cell carcinoma, experienced stable disease. Lometrexol was not detectable in any predose plasma sample tested. The total red blood cell content of lometrexol increased over several weeks and then appeared to plateau. CONCLUSIONS: Weekly administration of lometrexol is feasible and well-tolerated when coadministered with daily oral folic acid. The nature of the interaction between natural folates and lometrexol that renders this schedule feasible remains unclear. A definition of dose-limiting toxicity that incorporated attention to dose omissions allowed efficient identification of a recommended phase II dose that reflects the maximum feasible dose intensity for a weekly schedule. Lometrexol is a promising, anticancer agent.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1976

Folate deficiency in the livers of diethylnitrosaminetreated rats.

The effects of diethylnitrosamine on the metabolism of folic acid and related compounds in rat liver were investigated. The administration, in the drinking water, of diethynitrosamine to rats for 3 weeks led to decreased hepatic levels of folate, S-adenosylmethionine, and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate:homocysteine methyltransferase. Liver methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase levels were unaffected by administration of diethylnitrosamine. The polyglutamate fraction of hepatic folates obtained from rats treated with diethylnitrosamine for 3 weeks prior to injection with [3H]folate contained less radioactivity than did the polyglutamate fraction obtained from the livers of control rats treated with [3H]folate alone. Similarly, the polyglutamate folate fraction of rat livers that were simultaneously perfused with both diethylnitrosamine and [3H]folate contained less label than the polyglutamate fraction of rat livers perfused with [3H]folate only. Livers perfused with [2-14C]histidine and diethylnitrosamine produced more formiminoglutamate and less CO2 than livers treated with [2-14C]histidine only. The changes noted in the hepatic folate metabolism of diethylnitrosamine-treated rats resemble those seen in the livers of methyl-deficient rats.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Folate utilization in Friend erythroleukemia cells.

In order to study the generation, factors controlling endogenous folate pools, and their functional importance, Friend erythroleukemia cells were grown in media containing 100; 1,000; and 10,000 ng/ml of tritiated pteroylglutamic acid (3H)PteGlu1 and then studied in unlabeled media with varying amounts of PteGlu1. The intracellular folate pool was directly proportional to the PteGlu1 in which the cells were incubated. At equilibrium, greater than 95% of the labeled intracellular folate pool chromatographed as polyglutamyl folate, regardless of the exogenous folate concentration. The functional importance of the intracellular folate pool was studied by varying the endogenous pool and the exogenous (media) supply. The ability of the cells to replicate in the absence of exogenous folate was directly proportional to the intracellular polyglutamyl folate pool. The maximal rate of replication, however, required exogenous PteGlu1 in addition. The cell doubling time was the most important determinant of intracellular folate turnover; changes in the intracellular pool size and the extracellular folate concentration had no effect on the turnover time. In a rapidly proliferating tissue, the onset of functional folate deficiency will be determined by dilution of intracellular polyglutamates among progeny until a critical level is reached.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Evaluation of folylpolyglutamates by electrophoretic separation of fluorodeoxyuridylate-thymidylate synthase-methylenetetrahydrofolate complexes.

The chain length of specific reduced folylpolyglutamates has been estimated by incorporation of the 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate form of the cofactor into a stable ternary complex with L. casei thymidylate synthase and tritiated fluorodeoxyuridylate followed by electrophoretic separation based on charge differences in complexed polyglutamates. The method is also applicable to tetrahydrofolate polyglutamates after conversion to the active cofactor form by introduction of formaldehyde. The method can be used to analyze less than one pmole of folylpolyglutamate and can be applied to evaluation of tissue polyglutamates or to monitor relevant enzyme catalyzed reactions.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Vitamin B12 regulates folate metabolism by the supply of formate.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) inactivates the B12 coenzyme involved in methionine synthesis and interrupts formation of the folate coenzyme (folate polyglutamate). Normal synthesis of folate polyglutamate is restored in the N2O-treated rat when folate carrying a single carbon unit is supplied at the formate level of oxidation. The activity of the enzyme, formyl synthetase, which links formate to tetrahydrofolate, is increased after exposure to nitrous oxide. Formate is normally derived from the oxidation of methyl groups, methionine being an important source. It is suggested that failure of methionine synthesis leads to a paucity of formate and in turn to inadequate formylation of tetrahydrofolate. Formyltetrahydrofolate is the required substrate for the synthesis of folate polyglutamate, and impairment of this step in turn compromises general folate metabolism.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Mammalian folylpoly-gamma-glutamate synthetase. 2. Substrate specificity and kinetic properties.

The specificity of hog liver folylpolyglutamate synthetase for folate substrates and for nucleotide and glutamate substrates and analogues has been investigated. The kinetic mechanism, determined by using aminopterin as the folate substrate, is ordered Ter-Ter with MgATP binding first, folate second, and glutamate last. This mechanism precludes the sequential addition of glutamate moieties to enzyme-bound folate. Folate, dihydrofolate, and tetrahydrofolate possess the optimal configurations for catalysis (kcat = 2.5 s-1) while 5- and 10-position substitutions of the folate molecule impair catalysis. kcat values decrease with increasing glutamate chain length, and the rate of decrease varies depending on the state of reduction and substitution of the folate molecule. Folate binding, as assessed by on rates, is slow. Dihydrofolate exhibits the fastest rate, and the rates are slightly reduced for tetrahydrofolate and 10-formyltetrahydrofolate and greatly reduced for 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and folic acid. The on rates for most pteroyldiglutamates are similar to the rates for their respective monoglutamate derivatives, but further extension of the glutamate chain results in a progressive decrease in on rates. Tetrahydrofolate polyglutamates are the only long glutamate chain length folates with detectable substrate activity. The specificity of the L-glutamate binding site is very narrow. L-Homocysteate and 4-threo-fluoroglutamate are alternate substrates and act as chain termination inhibitors in that their addition to the folate molecule prevents or severely retards the further addition of glutamate moieties. The Km for glutamate is dependent on the folate substrate used. MgATP is the preferred nucleotide substrate, and beta,gamma-methylene-ATP, beta,gamma-imido-ATP, adenosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate), P1,P5-di(adenosine-5') pentaphosphate, and free ATP4- are potent inhibitors of the reaction.

Animals↗
PubMed1973

Identification and measurement of the folates in sheep liver.

1. Methods are described for the extraction, separation by ion-exchange chromatography and estimation by microbiological assay of the folates in sheep liver. 2. Injection of [2-(14)C]-pteroylglutamate into a sheep fed on a stock diet led to extensive labelling of chromatographically separable liver folates. About 12% of the label in the liver could not be extracted by the method used. 3. Liver folates were examined in five ewes fed on restricted amounts of a diet of wheaten hay-chaff and gluten and injected weekly with vitamin B(12). Chromatographic separation was followed by microbiological assay with Lactobacillus casei, Streptococcus faecalis R. and Pediococcus cerevisiae both before and after treatment of fractions with conjugase (gamma-glutamylcarboxypeptidase). Evidence was obtained that the folates present were predominantly polyglutamate forms of tetrahydropteroylglutamate, 5-methyltetrahydropteroylglutamate and 5- (and 10-) formyltetrahydropteroylglutamates. Differences in the responses of the assay organisms permitted quantitative distinction between these three main classes of folates. 4. Methyltetrahydrofolates were eluted in seven successive peaks that were separated by constant increments in the logarithm of eluant [P(i)]. A similar relationship existed for seven successive peaks of tetrahydrofolate and may also have existed for each of the two series of formyltetrahydrofolates. 5. Based on these and other observations it is proposed that sheep liver folates consist predominantly of the mono- to hepta-glutamates of each of the reduced pteroates identified. The methods employed allowed quantitative determinations to be made of most of the folates present. The predominant forms were hexaglutamates. 6. Four components active for L. casei were detected that could not be identified. Three of them were polyglutamates.

Animal Feed↗
PubMed1991

Localization of cofactor binding sites with monoclonal anti-idiotype antibodies: phenylalanine hydroxylase.

A monoclonal anti-idiotype antibody, NS7, previously shown to mimic the binding of the pterin cofactor of phenylalanine hydroxylase (phenylalanine 4-monooxygenase, EC 1.14.16.1) has been used to localize the cofactor binding site within the phenylalanine hydroxylase catalytic domain to a 27-amino-acid sequence that is highly conserved among the three aromatic amino acid hydroxylases. The binding of NS7 to a synthetic peptide corresponding to the phenylalanine hydroxylase sequence from residue 263 to residue 289 was blocked by the competitive inhibitor of phenylalanine hydroxylase enzyme activity, 7,8-dihydro-6,7-dimethylpterin. In addition this peptide competed with native phenylalanine hydroxylase for binding to 6,7-dimethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydropterin conjugated to a polyglutamate carrier. Application of this simple and direct approach to other enzymes is likely to greatly facilitate the identification of ligand binding sites on enzymes, which will significantly contribute to the understanding of enzyme structure-function relationships.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Depletion of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate and 10-formyltetrahydrofolate by methotrexate in cultured hepatoma cells.

The effect of the inhibition of dihydrofolate reductase by methotrexate on the cellular folates involved in de novo purine and thymidylate biosynthesis has been measured in H35 hepatoma cells grown in 4 microM folic acid or 20 nM folinic acid. The major cellular folate species in cells from medium with folate or folinate is 10-formyltetrahydrofolate (approximately 5 microM), with lesser amounts of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate and tetrahydrofolate. Cultures were exposed to a pulse dose of methotrexate, resulting in the accumulation of nearly exclusively methotrexate polyglutamates (predominantly Glu3, Glu4, and Glu5), or a continuous exposure to the poorly glutamylated analog threo-4-fluoromethotrexate, resulting in 93% intracellular monoglutamate. At 4 hr and 18 hr after exposure to either compound there was extensive depletion of the reduced folate coenzymes, which generally corresponded to the extent of inhibition of glycine and deoxyuridine incorporation. This was accompanied by an increase of the cellular dihydrofolate and 10-formyldihydrofolate. In the H35 cells the effect of methotrexate polyglutamates on the reduced folate coenzyme pools was restricted to dividing cultures, because the reduced folate coenzymes were not depleted in confluent cultures. The results demonstrate that the methotrexate and methotrexate polyglutamates that initially accumulate within dividing H35 cells readily inhibit dihydrofolate reductase but are not adequate to inhibit thymidylate synthase and prevent the depletion of reduced folate coenzymes. Thus, inhibition of de novo glycine and deoxyuridine incorporation into DNA as a result of dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors appears to be closely related to a reduction in the intracellular concentration of 10-formyltetrahydrofolate and 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate, the respective folate coenzymes for de novo purine and thymidylate synthesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

The nucleotide sequence of porcine formiminotransferase cyclodeaminase. Expression and purification from Escherichia coli.

We have isolated and characterized cDNA clones encoding the porcine liver octameric enzyme, 5-formiminotetrahydrofolate:L-glutamate N-formiminotransferase (EC 2.1.2.5)-formiminotetrahydrofolate cyclodeaminase (EC 4.3.1.4). The cDNA encodes a novel amino acid sequence of 541 residues which contains exact matches to two sequences derived by automated sequence analysis of CNBr cleavage fragments isolated from the porcine enzyme. The recombinant enzyme has been expressed as a soluble protein in Escherichia coli at levels 4-fold higher than those observed in liver, and is bifunctional, displaying both transferase and deaminase activities. With a calculated subunit molecular mass of 58,926 Da, it is similar in size to the enzyme isolated from porcine liver. Purification of the enzyme from E. coli involves chromatography on a novel polyglutamate column which might interact with the folylpolyglutamate binding site of the protein. The purified recombinant enzyme has a transferase specific activity of 39-41 units/mg/min.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Studies on the mechanism of antitumor action of 2-desamino-2-methyl-5,8-dideazaisofolic acid.

The new folate analogue, 2-desamino-2-methyl-5,8-dideazaisofolic acid, 2c, was synthesized and evaluated using a variety of biochemical and antitumor assays. For purposes of comparison, its 2-desamino, 2b, and 2-amino, 2a, counterparts, as well as N10-propargly-5,8-dideazafolic acid, 1a, and the corresponding 2-desamino, 1b, and 2-desamino-2-methyl, 1c, modifications were included in these studies. Compound 2c was found to be a potent inhibitor of the growth of L1210 and MCF-7 cells in culture, being only 2-fold and 5-fold less effective than 1c, respectively. However, although analogue 2c was 189-fold less inhibitory toward L1210 thymidylate synthase (TS) than 1c, its cytotoxicity was reversed completely by thymidine alone which suggests that the compound behaves as a TS inhibitor in cells. Enzymatically synthesized polyglutamates of 2c were substantially more inhibitory toward human TS than the parent compound. Compound 2c was the most efficient substrate for mammalian folyl-polyglutamate synthetase of the compounds studied having a Vmax/Km nearly 12-fold larger than 1c. Both 1c and 2c were effective inhibitors of the uptake of [3H]methotrexate into MOLT-4 cells, implying that each is efficiently transported into tumor cells. These results suggest that a weak inhibitor of TS in vitro can be a potent cytotoxic agent if it can readily gain entry into target cells and be converted to polyglutamated metabolites.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Effects of overexpression of gamma-Glutamyl hydrolase on methotrexate metabolism and resistance.

Intracellular metabolism of methotrexate (MTX) to MTX-polyglutamates (MTXPG) is one determinant of cytotoxicity. Steady-state accumulation of MTXPG seems to depend on the activity of two enzymes: folylpolyglutamate synthetase (FPGS), which adds glutamate residues, and gamma-glutamyl hydrolase (GGH), which removes them. Overexpression of GGH would be expected to decrease intracellular MTXPG, thereby increasing efflux of MTX and decreasing cytotoxicity. Increased expression of GGH has been shown to be associated with resistance to MTX in human sarcoma cell lines and a rat hepatoma cell line. To clarify the specific role of GGH in determining MTX sensitivity, we investigated the phenotype produced by forced GGH overexpression in two cell types. Furthermore, because MTX and folic acid share metabolic pathways, we measured the effects of GGH overexpression on folic acid metabolism. The full-length cDNA for GGH, subcloned into a constitutive expression vector, was transfected into a human fibrosarcoma (HT-1080) and a human breast carcinoma (MCF-7) cell line. Compared with the clones containing an empty vector, the GGH-overexpressing cells express 15- to 30-fold more GGH mRNA, more GGH protein, and 15- to 90-fold more GGH enzyme activity. GGH overexpression altered MTX accumulation and metabolism to long-chain polyglutamates. In contrast to expectations, however, GGH overexpression did not confer resistance to short MTX exposures in either cell line. Changes in MTX metabolism were found to be balanced by alterations in accumulation and metabolism of folic acid. The ratio of MTX:folate accumulation may be a better predictor of MTX cytotoxicity than the accumulation of either alone. We conclude that, at least for these two cell lines, GGH overexpression alone is insufficient to produce clinical resistance to MTX.

Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic↗
PubMed1985

Determination of mouse liver 5-methyltetrahydrofolate concentration and polyglutamate forms.

The concentration and polyglutamate status of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate in mouse liver tissue extracts has been determined by enzymatic conversion to methylenetetrahydrofolate and subsequent entrapment of this cofactor form into a ternary complex with Lactobacillus casei thymidylate synthase and tritiated 5-fluorodeoxyuridylate. 5-Methyltetrahydrofolate was oxidized to methylenetetrahydrofolate using the reverse reaction of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase with menadione as the ultimate electron acceptor. Reference 5-methyltetrahydrofolate could be quantitatively recovered from tissue extracts by this method. The polyglutamate status of enzymatically converted and complexed tissue 5-methyltetrahydrofolate was determined electrophoretically. Unlabeled 5-fluorodeoxyuridylate was used to remove endogenous methylenetetrahydrofolate prior to enzymatic oxidation of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and subsequent electrophoretic analysis. In this manner, the 5-methyltetrahydrofolate polyglutamate pool alone could be labeled and visualized. There were no observable differences in the polyglutamate distribution of endogenous methylenetetrahydrofolate versus 5-methyltetrahydrofolate polyglutamates in extracts of normal mouse liver tissue.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Folate polyglutamate synthetase activity in the cobalamin-inactivated rat.

Exposure to N2O inactivates cob[I]alamin and interferes with the activity of methionine synthetase, of which cob[I]alamin is a coenzyme. Less directly, it stops the formation of folate polyglutamate from tetrahydrofolates. Studies on the activity of folate polyglutamate synthetase in rat liver in vivo were carried out. The synthetase activity increased after exposure to N2O for up to 48 h, but longer exposure was accompanied by a return of activity to baseline values. The rise in synthetase activity was prevented by supplying methionine, 5'-methylthioadenosine or 5-formyltetrahydrofolate. The fall in folate polyglutamate synthetase activity after 48 h was accompanied by a restoration of hepatic synthesis of folate polyglutamate despite continuation of N2O exposure.

Amide Synthases↗
PubMed1997

Conditionally lethal Escherichia coli murein mutants contain point defects that map to regions conserved among murein and folyl poly-gamma-glutamate ligases: identification of a ligase superfamily.

Bacterial peptidoglycan biosynthesis includes four enzymatic reactions in which successive amino acid residues are ligated to uridine diphospho-N-acetylmuramic acid (UDP-MurNAc). By comparing the amino acid sequences of MurC, -D, -E, and -F proteins from various bacterial genera, four regions of homology were identified. A profile search of Swissprot for related sequences revealed that these regional similarities were present in the folyl-gamma-polyglutamate ligases. These sequence homologies appear to track with catalytic function: both enzyme families proceed through an ordered kinetic mechanism and form product via an acyl phosphate intermediate. Two highly conserved residues in region II were examined through site-directed mutagenesis of the murein D-alanyl-D-alanine-adding enzyme from Escherichia coli (murF; E158 and H188). All mutations were highly detrimental to activity with enzyme specific activity reductions of 200-4500-fold, validating the critical nature of these residues. DNA sequence analysis from three E. coli mutants harboring the murC3 (G344D), murE1 (G344K, A495S), and murF2 (A288T) mutations revealed the presence of point mutation(s) closely associated with the fourth of these aligned regions. The murF2 allele, expressed and purified as a glutathione S-transferase::MurF2 fusion, was 181-fold less catalytically active at 30 degrees C and was further reduced at the nonpermissive temperature (42 degrees C). Thus the murF2 temperature-sensitive phenotype arises from a point mutation within a highly conserved region within this protein family. These data argue that these proteins comprise a superfamily of three substrate amide ligases that share significant structural and catalytic homologies.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1986

The influence of extracellular folate concentration on methotrexate uptake by human KB cells. Partial characterization of a membrane-associated methotrexate binding protein.

Methotrexate accumulation, subcellular distribution, metabolism, and cytotoxicity were studied in human epidermoid carcinoma (KB) cells that were exposed to a low extracellular concentration of methotrexate (25 nM) following culture in widely differing concentrations of folic acid. KB cells cultured in standard medium with a high folic acid concentration (2.3 microM) had high levels of cellular folate (21.4 pmol/10(6) cells). Five passages through low folate (2.7 nM) medium reduced the level of cellular folate to near physiologic levels (0.4-1.0 pmol/10(6) cells). In contrast to KB cells cultured in standard medium, in KB cells cultured in low folate medium, 1) methotrexate inhibited growth; 2) methotrexate uptake was markedly increased; 3) methotrexate polyglutamation was almost complete; 4) methotrexate binding to dihydrofolate reductase was markedly enhanced; and 5) significant methotrexate binding to a previously undescribed membrane-associated protein occurred. The amount of methotrexate bound to the membrane-associated protein from KB cells cultured in low folate medium equaled the quantities bound by dihydrofolate reductase. Further characterization of this membrane-associated protein indicated that it was soluble in solutions containing Triton X-100, was capable of binding folic acid as well as methotrexate, had an apparent Mr of 160,000 by gel filtration in the presence of Triton X-100, and was precipitated by antiserum to human placental folate receptor. This membrane-associated protein may play an important role in the uptake and metabolism of methotrexate under physiologic conditions.

Animals↗