Trp82 and Tyr332 are involved in two quaternary ammonium binding domains of human butyrylcholinesterase as revealed by photoaffinity labeling with [3H]DDF

Purified butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) was photolabeled by [3H]-p-N, N-dimethylamino benzene diazonium ([3H]DDF) to identify the quaternary ammonium binding sites on this protein [Ehret-Sabatier, L. , Schalk, I., Goeldner, M., and Hirth, C. (1992) Eur. J. Biochem. 203, 475-481]. The covalent photoincorporation occurs with a stoichiometry of one mole of probe per mole of inactivated site and could be fully prevented by several cholinergic inhibitors such as tacrine or tetramethylammonium. After complete deglycosylation of the enzyme using N-glycosidase F, the alkylated protein was trypsinolyzed and the digests were analyzed by HPLC coupled to ES-MS. A direct comparison of tryptic fragments from labeled and unlabeled BuChE allowed us to identify the tryptic peptide Tyr61-Lys103 as carrying the probe. Purification of the labeled peptides by anion-exchange chromatography gave a major radioactive peak which was further fractionated by reversed-phase HPLC leading to three, well-resolved, radioactive peaks. Microsequencing revealed that two of these peaks contained an overlapping sequence starting at Tyr61, while the third peak contained a sequence extending from Thr315. Radioactive signals could be unambiguously attributed to positions corresponding to residues Trp82 and Tyr332. This labeling study establishes the existence of two different binding domains for quaternary ammonium in BuChE and exemplifies additional cation/pi interactions in cholinergic proteins. This work strongly supports the existence of a peripheral anionic site in BuChE, implying residue Tyr332 as a key element.

Moderate intake of n-3 fatty acids for 2 months has no detrimental effect on glucose metabolism and could ameliorate the lipid profile in type 2 diabetic men. Results of a controlled study

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effect of a moderate dose of fish oil on glycemic control and in vivo insulin action in type 2 diabetic men with elevated plasma triacylglycerols and to determine the effect of the same treatment on gene expression of GLUT4, lipoprotein lipase (LPL), and hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) in the abdominal adipose tissue.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

A total of 12 type 2 diabetic men were randomly allocated to 2 months of 6 g daily of either fish oil or sunflower oil, separated by a 2-month washout interval, in a double-blind crossover design.

RESULTS

For glucose metabolism, 2 months of fish oil supplementation compared with sunflower oil led to similar fasting plasma insulin, glucose, and HbA1c. Basal hepatic glucose production did not increase after fish oil. There was no difference in insulin suppression of hepatic glucose production nor in insulin stimulation of whole-body glucose disposal measured by the euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp. Fish oil did not ameliorate the low mRNA level of GLUT4 in adipose tissue of these patients. For lipid profile, fish oil lowered plasma triacylglycerol more than sunflower oil (P < 0.05) and tended to increase the amount of mRNA of both LPL and HSL in adipose tissue.

CONCLUSIONS

A moderate dose of fish oil did not lead to deleterious effects on glycemic control or whole-body insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetic men, with preserved triacylglycerol-lowering capacities.

Renal accumulation of streptavidin: potential use for targeted therapy to the kidney

Streptavidin exhibits a remarkable accumulation in the kidney. Biodistribution studies with radio-iodinated streptavidin showed that 70 to 80% of the injected dose per gram tissue (%/g) were retained in kidneys of Balb/C mice for three to four days compared to less than 5%/g levels in other tissues. This observation means that 15 to 20% of the injected dose is accumulated in the kidney, an organ that constitutes less than 1% of total body weight. Similar results of percent radioactivity per total kidney were obtained in other mouse strains as well as in rats and rabbits. Avidin, or the post-secretory form of streptavidin which is of a higher molecular weight, do not show any preferential affinity to the kidney. The kidney-accumulated streptavidin was mostly confined to the cortex, concentrated in the proximal tubular cells. Accumulation of streptavidin in the kidney was independent of biotin, since addition of biotin to radio-iodinated streptavidin prior to injection did not affect its kidney uptake. Therefore, streptavidin, which aquires its kidney accumulation property following truncation of the native form, may be utilized for renal specific delivery of chemotherapeutic agents, radioactive isotopes and other effector molecules. Such ligands can be linked to streptavidin via conventional coupling methods or following their biotinylation. Preliminary experiments showed that streptavidin can target to the kidney biotinylated ligands or high doses of chemically linked radionuclides.

Physicochemical and pharmacological properties of the antitumor ellipticine derivative 2-(diethylamino-2-ethyl)9-hydroxy ellipticinium-chloride, HCl

2-(Diethylamino-2-ethyl)9-hydroxyellipticinium-chloride, HCl (DHE), a new congener of the antitumor agent elliptinium acetate (Celiptium) (NMHE), has recently been selected for phase I clinical trials. NMHE has a methyl group at nitrogen 2 on the ellipticine ring while DHE possesses a basic diethylaminoethyl chain at this position. Compared to NMHE, the presence of the diethylaminoethyl side chain results in the following: a significant increase in the lipophilicity of the drug; no significant modification in either the binding constant values to DNA or the ability to intercalate between DNA base pairs; a marked decrease in the unwinding angle value of supercoiled DNA; and no significant change in the alteration of the catalytic activity of topoisomerase II in vitro. DHE appears to act as a simple reversible intercalating agent as shown by the selective mutagenic effect on Salmonella TA 1977 tester strain and by its inability to induce the SOS functions in a sfiA lac fusion containing Escherichia coli strain. From a pharmacological point of view, the presence of the diethylaminoethyl chain results in a 2-fold increase in the cytotoxicity to L1210 cultured cells, a strong increase in the antitumor efficiency on experimental murine tumors such as L1210 and P388 leukemia, B16 melanoma, M 5076 reticulosarcoma, and colon 38 adenocarcinoma, and finally an objective decrease in the acute and subacute toxicity in mice, rat, and macaque. The absence of significant differences in the interaction of NMHE and DHE with their potential targets in vitro leads to the hypothesis that the superiority of DHE in terms of cytotoxicity and antitumor efficiency may be due to an increase in the diffusion across cellular membrane and a more favorable biodistribution in vivo.

[Rapid control of glycaemia with reactive sticks. A comparative study of 5 methods (author's transl)]

Self-monitoring of glycaemia is becoming increasingly popular. The authors have tested two sticks, Dextrostix and Haemoglukotest 20-800, and three colorimeters used in conjunction with the sticks, Dextrometer, Hypocount and Glucochek, in a range of blood glucose levels comprised between 0.45 and 2.20 g/l. These methods are reliable but not as accurate as laboratory measurements. However, provided they are not used alone, sticks are accurate enough for the control of glycaemia in diabetic patients. Haemoglukotest 20-800 appears to be the simplest and most precise method. Colorimeters seem to be useful but not indispensable, at least for trained users.