Ornithine decarboxylase in phytohaemagglutinin stimulated lymphocytes: Control of degradation rate by amino acids

Antizyme (AZ) regulates intestinal cell growth independent of polyamines

Since antizyme (AZ) is known to inhibit cell proliferation and to increase apoptosis, the question arises as to whether these effects occur independently of polyamines. Intestinal epithelial cells (IEC-6) were grown in control medium and medium containing 5 mM difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) to inhibit ODC, DFMO + 5 µM spermidine (SPD), DFMO + 5 µM spermine (SPM), or DFMO + 10 µM putrescine (PUT) for 4 days and various parameters of growth were measured along with AZ levels. Cell counts were significantly decreased and mean doubling times were significantly increased by DFMO. Putrescine restored growth in the presence of DFMO. However, both SPD and SPM when added with DFMO caused a much greater inhibition of growth than did DFMO alone, and both of these polyamines caused a dramatic increase in AZ. The addition of SPD or SPM to media containing DFMO + PUT significantly inhibited growth and caused a significant increase in AZ. IEC-6 cells transfected with AZ-siRNA grew more than twice as rapidly as either control cells or those incubated with DFMO, indicating that removal of AZ increases growth in cells in which polyamine synthesis is inhibited as well as in control cells. In a separate experiment, the addition of SPD increased AZ levels and inhibited growth of cells incubated with DFMO by 50%. The addition of 10 mM asparagine (ASN) prevented the increase in AZ and restored growth to control levels. These results show that cell growth in the presence or absence of ODC activity and in the presence or absence of polyamines depends only on the levels of AZ. Therefore, the effects of AZ on cell growth are independent of polyamines.

Regulation of intestinal mucosal growth by amino acids

Amino acids, especially glutamine (GLN) have been known for many years to stimulate the growth of small intestinal mucosa. Polyamines are also required for optimal mucosal growth, and the inhibition of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), the first rate-limiting enzyme in polyamine synthesis, blocks growth. Certain amino acids, primarily asparagine (ASN) and GLN stimulate ODC activity in a solution of physiological salts. More importantly, their presence is also required before growth factors and hormones such as epidermal growth factor and insulin are able to increase ODC activity. ODC activity is inhibited by antizyme-1 (AZ) whose synthesis is stimulated by polyamines, thus, providing a negative feedback regulation of the enzyme. In the absence of amino acids mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) is inhibited, whereas, mTORC2 is stimulated leading to the inhibition of global protein synthesis but increasing the synthesis of AZ via a cap-independent mechanism. These data, therefore, explain why ASN or GLN is essential for the activation of ODC. Interestingly, in a number of papers, AZ has been shown to inhibit cell proliferation, stimulate apoptosis, or increase autophagy. Each of these activities results in decreased cellular growth. AZ binds to and accelerates the degradation of ODC and other proteins shown to regulate proliferation and cell death, such as Aurora-A, Cyclin D1, and Smad1. The correlation between the stimulation of ODC activity and the absence of AZ as influenced by amino acids is high. Not only do amino acids such as ASN and GLN stimulate ODC while inhibiting AZ synthesis, but also amino acids such as lysine, valine, and ornithine, which inhibit ODC activity, increase the synthesis of AZ. The question remaining to be answered is whether AZ inhibits growth directly or whether it acts by decreasing the availability of polyamines to the dividing cells. In either case, evidence strongly suggests that the regulation of AZ synthesis is the mechanism through which amino acids influence the growth of intestinal mucosa. This brief article reviews the experiments leading to the information presented above. We also present evidence from the literature that AZ acts directly to inhibit cell proliferation and increase the rate of apoptosis. Finally, we discuss future experiments that will determine the role of AZ in the regulation of intestinal mucosal growth by amino acids.

Sodium-dependent co-transported analogues of glucose stimulate ornithine decarboxylase mRNA expression in LLC-PK1 cells

Non-metabolizable analogues of glucose, including 1-O-methyl alpha-D-glucopyranoside (alpha MDG), that are co-transported with Na+ increase the specific activity of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) in LLC-PK1 cells [Lundgren and Vacca (1990) Am. J. Physiol. 259, C647-C653]. The present study examines the effect of alpha MDG on LLC-PK1-cell ODC mRNA expression. The relative concentration of ODC mRNA in cells incubated in Earle's balanced salts solution minus glucose (EBSS--G) plus 3 mM alpha MDG was 5-6-fold higher than the concentration of ODC mRNA in cells incubated in either EBSS--G alone or in EBSS--G plus 3 mM 3-O-methyl-D-glucopyranose, a non-metabolizable analogue of glucose that is taken up by a passive carrier-mediated glucose transporter. Actinomycin D and cycloheximide completely blocked the increase in ODC activity induced by alpha MDG. Actinomycin D was also a potent inhibitor of ODC mRNA expression by alpha MDG. Cycloheximide had very little effect on the ability of this sugar to increase ODC mRNA. The relative concentration of ODC mRNA increased as a function of the incubation time in EBSS--G plus alpha MDG. The amount of ODC mRNA also increased as a function of the concentration of alpha MDG in EBSS--G. The addition of phlorizin (100 microM) to EBSS--G prevented alpha MDG from increasing ODC mRNA in LLC-PK1 cells. Phlorizin did not prevent phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) from enhancing LLC-PK1-cell ODC mRNA expression. The positive effect of both alpha MDG and TPA on ODC mRNA expression was suppressed when cells were incubated in hypertonic EBSS--G. From these results it is suggested that the uptake of Na(+)-dependent cotransported sugars increase ODC activity by enhancing ODC gene transcription and that this process may be dependent on cell volume expansion.

Glucose elevates ornithine decarboxylase expression in Vero cells

The addition of Earle's balanced salt solution (EBSS) of amino acids that are transported by a Na+-dependent cotransport system was not required by Vero cells for ornithine decarboxylase (ODC:EC 4.1.1.17) amplification. Vero cell ODC activity was elevated tenfold above basal levels when confluent cells were incubated for 5 hr in EBSS alone. ODC activity increased as a function of the incubation time in EBSS and was not elevated above basal enzyme levels when cells were incubated in EBSS minus glucose. ODC expression increased as a function of the glucose concentration in EBSS, with 20 mM glucose producing a 90-fold increase in ODC activity. ODC expression is more responsive to glucose in high-density quiescent cultures than in low-density growing cultures. Enhanced ODC expression by glucose depended on Na+ and K+ concentrations. The specific activity of ODC was also elevated above basal levels when mannose or fructose replaced glucose in EBSS. The addition of alanine or asparagine to EBSS enhanced ODC activity above levels obtained with EBSS containing standard (5.5 mM) glucose concentrations. In the absence of glucose, alanine was more effective than asparagine in enhancing ODC expression. These results suggest that the transport of amino acids is not an absolute requirement for Vero cell ODC expression and that ODC expression is linked to changes in cellular energetics and/or ion fluxes.

The effect of transport system A and N amino acids and of nerve and epidermal growth factors on the induction of ornithine decarboxylase activity

The induction of ornithine decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.17) (ODC) by amino acids and by the peptide hormones nerve growth factor (NGF) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) in salts-glucose media has been studied. Only those neutral amino acids taken into the cell via one of the Na+ dependent transport systems stimulate ODC activity. Asparagine and the nonmetabolizable alpha-amino-isobutyric acid (AIB) were used as representatives of this class of inducing amino acids, and their intracellular concentrations were related to the levels of ODC induced. A threshold intracellular concentration of asparagine or AIB has to be attained before ODC can be induced. Further slight increases in intracellular concentrations of asparagine or AIB produce disproportionately large increases of ODC, resulting in a sigmoidal curve of ODC induction. These results, and the fact that the decrease in ODC levels caused by valine is associated with a concurrent decrease in the intracellular level of the inducing amino acid, suggest that the intracellular amino acid level is causally related to the induction of ornithine decarboxylase. Glutamic acid, EGF, and NGF do not induce ODC except in the presence of an inducing amino acid. They act synergistically with the inducing amino acid and produce higher ODC levels at the same intracellular concentration of the inducing amino acid.

Effects of amino acid treatments on 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-induced ornithine decarboxylase activity in mouse epidermis in vivo and in vitro

We have compared the effects of several amino acid treatments on the induction of ornithine decarboxylase activity and the accumulation of putrescine, spermidine, and spermine by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) in mouse epidermis in vivo and in vitro. Incubation of isolated epidermal cells with mM concentrations of glycine, asparagine, glutamic acid, canavanine, arginine, and/or lysine inhibited dramatically the induction of ornithine decarboxylase activity by the tumor promoter. These remarkable inhibitory effects were concentration-dependent and additive. Arginine and its analog, canavanine, inhibited to the same degree TPA-induced ornithine decarboxylase activity, and potentiated to the same extent the inhibitory effects of glutamic acid, asparagine, and glycine on this enzyme. However, the inhibitory effects of arginine and canavanine were not additive. Similar alterations of tumor promoter-induced epidermal ornithine decarboxylase activity were observed in vivo when 62.5 mumol of the amino acids were injected i.p. 2 h before the topical application of 8.5 nmol of TPA to mouse skin. The results suggest the possibility that treatments with glycine, asparagine, glutamic acid, and arginine, the amino acids that were the most effective in inhibiting the tumor promoter-induced accumulation of polyamines in vivo, may reduce the tumor-promoting ability of TPA.

Regulation of ornithine decarboxylase activity in rat ovarian cells in vitro

Incubation of rat ovarian cell suspension with human choriogonadotropin (hCG) caused a marked enhancement of ornithine decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.17) activity after a lag period of several hours. Even though ovarian ornithine decarboxylase could be induced in minimum essential medium by the hormone alone, supplementation of the medium with various sera greatly enhanced the stimulation of the enzyme activity. All the sera tested (human, fetal calf and horse) were able to stimulate ornithine decarboxylase activity even in the absence of hCG. Maximum stimulation of the enzyme activity by hCG and/or serum occurred in ovarian cell suspensions prepared from 30 to 33-day-old rats. There was a close correlation between the stimulation of ornithine decarboxylase activity and the accumulation fo cyclic AMP in response to the administration of the hormone (in the presence or absence of serum). However, while various sera alone markedly enhanced ovarian ornithine decarboxylase activity in vitro they, if anything, only marginally stimulated the accumulation of cyclic AMP and the secretion of progesterone in ovarian cells in the absence of gonadotropin. A similar dissociation of the stimulation of ornithine decarboxylase activity from the production of cyclic AMP and progesterone was likewise found when the ovarian cells were incubated in an enriched medium (M199) supplemented with albumin and lactalbumin hydrolysate in the absence of the hormone. Under these culture conditions ornithine decarboxylase activity was strikingly enhanced, greatly exceeding the stimulation obtained with various sera, while the accumulation of cyclic AMP and the secretion of progesterone remained virtually unchanged. Specific inhibition (up to 90%) of gonadotropin-induced ornithine decarboxylase activity by difluoromethyl ornithine or 1,3-diamino-2-propanol had little effect on the ability of the ovarian cells to respond to the hormone with increasing production of cyclic AMP and progesterone. While showing that rat ovarian ornithine decarboxylase can be induced in vitro by choriogonadotropin or various sera, our results indicate that the activation of the enzyme involves at least two different mechanisms: (i) One (in response to gonadotropin) involving a prior stimulation of cyclic AMP production, and (ii) another (in response to serum) that is not associated with increases in the accumulation of the cyclic nucleotide.

Cold-induced increase of glycerol kinase activity in Neurospora crassa: rapid inactivation of the enzyme in vivo

The glycerol kinase activity induced by incubation of Neurospora crassa at low temperatures was rapidly lost when cultures were returned to 26 C. After a short lag, the activity disappeared irreversibly with a half-life of approximately 15 min. The loss of activity was not due to a change in the level of an inhibitor or activator. Glycerol reduced the activity loss but did not completely prevent it, which was an effect that was dependent on protein synthesis. The cold-induced activity was also always lost on addition of cycloheximide at all temperatures tested (0 to 26 C), which indicated continuous inactivation, although cycloheximide did not affect the actual rate of activity loss at 26 C. The basal glycerol kinase activity was not sensitive to cycloheximide. The mechanism responsible for inactivation was destroyed by sonic oscillation. The process is not thought to play a role in the cold-induced increase in activity. Glycerol kinase activity induced at 26 C by glycerol was also lost on addition of cycloheximide and after addition of sucrose.

Control of ornithine decarboxylase activity in stimulated human lymphocytes by putrescine and spermidine

Ornithine decarboxylase activity in extracts of phytohaemagglutinin-stimulated human lymphocytes is rapidly and extensively inhibited by additions of micromolar concentrations of putrescine or spermidine to the culture medium. This inhibition is not due to feedback inhibition of the enzyme by putrescine, spermidine or their metabolites. Inhibition is dependent on the continuation of protein synthesis, but does not require RNA synthesis. The effect of putrescine is abolished when its conversion into spermidine by the cells is prevented.