Induction of ornithine decarboxylase in macrophages by bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and mycobacterial cell wall material

Antibacterial Mechanism of Linalool against Pseudomonas fragi: A Transcriptomic Study

Pseudomonas fragi is the dominant spoilage bacterium that causes the deterioration of chilled meat. Our previous study showed that linalool has potent antibacterial activity against P. fragi, but its antibacterial mechanism is unclear. To explore the antibacterial mechanism of linalool against P. fragi, this study used RNA-seq technology to perform transcriptome analysis of P. fragi samples with or without linalool treatment (1.5 mL/L) for 2 h. The results showed that linalool treatment disrupted the extracellular lipopolysaccharide synthesis pathway in P. fragi and activated fatty acid metabolism and ribosomal function to compensate for cell membrane damage. The energy metabolism of P. fragi was severely disturbed by linalool, and multiple ATP synthases and ATP transportases were overexpressed in the cells but could not guarantee the consumption of ATP. The simultaneous overexpression of multiple ribosomal functional proteins and transporters may also place an additional burden on cells and cause them to collapse.

Arginase I: a limiting factor for nitric oxide and polyamine synthesis by activated macrophages?

Because arginase hydrolyzes arginine to produce ornithine and urea, it has the potential to regulate nitric oxide (NO) and polyamine synthesis. We tested whether expression of the cytosolic isoform of arginase (arginase I) was limiting for NO or polyamine production by activated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. RAW 264.7 cells, stably transfected to overexpress arginase I or beta-galactosidase, were treated with interferon-gamma to induce type 2 NO synthase or with lipopolysaccharide or 8-bromo-cAMP (8-BrcAMP) to induce ornithine decarboxylase. Overexpression of arginase I had no effect on NO synthesis. In contrast, cells overexpressing arginase I produced twice as much putrescine after activation than did cells expressing beta-galactosidase. Cells overexpressing arginase I also produced more spermidine after treatment with 8-BrcAMP than did cells expressing beta-galactosidase. Thus endogenous levels of arginase I are limiting for polyamine synthesis, but not for NO synthesis, by activated macrophage cells. This study also demonstrates that it is possible to alter arginase I levels sufficiently to affect polyamine synthesis without affecting induced NO synthesis.

Bioactive products of arginine in sepsis: tissue and plasma composition after LPS and iNOS blockade

Blockade or gene deletion of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) fails to fully abrogate all the sequelae leading to the high morbidity of septicemia. An increase in substrate uptake may be necessary for the increased production of nitric oxide (NO), but arginine is also a precursor for other bioactive products. Herein, we demonstrate an increase in alternate arginine products via arginine and ornithine decarboxylase in rats given lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The expression of iNOS mRNA in renal tissue was evident 60 but not 30 min post-LPS, yet a rapid decrease in blood pressure was obtained within 30 min that was completely inhibited by selective iNOS blockade. Plasma levels of arginine and ornithine decreased by at least 30% within 60 min of LPS administration, an effect not inhibited by the iNOS blocker L-N(6)(1-iminoethyl)lysine (L-NIL). Significant increases in plasma nitrates and citrulline occurred only 3-4 h post-LPS, an effect blocked by L-NIL pretreatment. The intracellular composition of organs harvested 6 h post-LPS reflected tissue-specific profiles of arginine and related metabolites. Tissue arginine concentration, normally an order of magnitude higher than in plasma, did not decrease after LPS. Pretreatment with L-NIL had a significant impact on the disposition of tissue arginine that was organ specific. These data demonstrate changes in arginine metabolism before and after de novo iNOS activity. Selective blockade of iNOS did not prevent uptake and can deregulate the production of other bioactive arginine metabolites.

Arginine metabolism: nitric oxide and beyond

Arginine is one of the most versatile amino acids in animal cells, serving as a precursor for the synthesis not only of proteins but also of nitric oxide, urea, polyamines, proline, glutamate, creatine and agmatine. Of the enzymes that catalyse rate-controlling steps in arginine synthesis and catabolism, argininosuccinate synthase, the two arginase isoenzymes, the three nitric oxide synthase isoenzymes and arginine decarboxylase have been recognized in recent years as key factors in regulating newly identified aspects of arginine metabolism. In particular, changes in the activities of argininosuccinate synthase, the arginases, the inducible isoenzyme of nitric oxide synthase and also cationic amino acid transporters play major roles in determining the metabolic fates of arginine in health and disease, and recent studies have identified complex patterns of interaction among these enzymes. There is growing interest in the potential roles of the arginase isoenzymes as regulators of the synthesis of nitric oxide, polyamines, proline and glutamate. Physiological roles and relationships between the pathways of arginine synthesis and catabolism in vivo are complex and difficult to analyse, owing to compartmentalized expression of various enzymes at both organ (e.g. liver, small intestine and kidney) and subcellular (cytosol and mitochondria) levels, as well as to changes in expression during development and in response to diet, hormones and cytokines. The ongoing development of new cell lines and animal models using cDNA clones and genes for key arginine metabolic enzymes will provide new approaches more clearly elucidating the physiological roles of these enzymes.

Differential regulation of arginases and inducible nitric oxide synthase in murine macrophage cells

Activated macrophages avidly consume arginine via the action of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and/or arginase. In contrast to our knowledge regarding macrophage iNOS expression, the stimuli and mechanisms that regulate expression of the cytosolic type I (arginase I) or mitochondrial type II (arginase II) isoforms of arginase in macrophages are poorly defined. We show that one or both arginase isoforms may be induced in the RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cell line and that arginase expression is regulated independently of iNOS expression. For example, 8-bromo-cAMP strongly induced both arginase I and II mRNAs but not iNOS. Whereas interferon-gamma induced iNOS but not arginase, 8-bromo-cAMP and interferon-gamma mutually antagonized induction of iNOS and arginase I mRNAs. Dexamethasone, which did not induce either arginase or iNOS, almost completely abolished induction of arginase I mRNA by 8-bromo-cAMP but enhanced induction of arginase II mRNA. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced arginase II mRNA, but 8-bromo-cAMP plus LPS resulted in synergistic induction of both arginase I and II mRNAs. In all cases, increases in arginase mRNAs were sufficient to account for the increases in arginase activity. These complex patterns of expression suggest that the arginase isoforms may play distinct, although partially overlapping, functional roles in macrophage arginine metabolism.

Effect of 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 on polyamine metabolism in human monocyte cell line-U937

1. Pretreatment with 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25-(OH)2D3] caused an increase in ornithine decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.17) (ODC) activity in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated human monocyte cell line, U937. 2. The increase in ODC activity was dose-dependent and preincubation-time dependent. 3. 26,26,26,27,27,27-Hexafluoro-1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 was ca 7 times more potent than 1,25-(OH)2D3 in increasing ODC activity. 4. Pretreatment with 1,25-(OH)2D3 also potentiated the activity of spermidine/spermine-N1-acetyltransferase in LPS-stimulated U937 cells. 5. Putrescine levels in cells pretreated with 1,25-(OH)2D3 increased ca 2-fold 4-8 hr after LPS addition. 6. However, pretreatment with 1,25-(OH)2D3 did not cause any increase in ODC mRNA level, suggesting that 1,25-(OH)2D3 may modulate polyamine metabolism at the posttranscriptional level rather than the transcriptional step.

Rapid expression of ornithine decarboxylase mRNA in a macrophage-like cell line: cAMP repression of the requirement for prior protein synthesis

Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity was rapidly induced in the RAW264 macrophage-like cell line after treatment with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). ODC mRNA levels were determined by isolating cellular RNA, followed by Northern blot and dot blot analysis using a 32P-labeled cDNA probe. ODC mRNA levels increased within 1 hour of stimulation of RAW264 cells with 1.0 microgram/ml LPS. Transcription rate analysis on isolated nuclei indicated that an increase in transcription rate contributed to this increase in ODC mRNA. ODC mRNA levels continued to rise for 4 hours, peaking at eight times the basal level. ODC mRNA appeared as a single 2.2-kb band prior to stimulation. After stimulation, the 2.2-kb band intensified, and a second (2.7 kb) band was seen by Northern gel analysis. Similar induction was demonstrated when 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) was used as the stimulus. The induction of ODC mRNA by either LPS or TPA was blocked by the addition of cycloheximide (25 micrograms/ml) or anisomycin (0.1 mM) to the cellular incubation mixture. This indicated that protein synthesis was required as a prerequisite to LPS or TPA induction of ODC mRNA. Experiments in which cycloheximide addition was delayed after LPS treatment indicated that some of the required protein synthesis occurred within the first 30 minutes and that complete expression of ODC mRNA was possible if protein synthesis continued for at least 2 hours before cycloheximide was added. Stimulation with 8-bromo-cAMP in addition to LPS has been shown to enhance the induction of ODC over that induced by LPS or TPA alone. It was not possible to block ODC mRNA induction with cycloheximide or anisomycin after treatment with the combined stimulus of LPS and cAMP or TPA and cAMP, indicating that protein synthesis was not required when cAMP was used as a coinducer. Thus, we have shown that in the same cell, ODC mRNA can be induced by two different pathways, one requiring protein synthesis and one not requiring protein synthesis.

Involvement of the ornithine decarboxylase pathway in macrophage collagenase production

Definition of the cellular events involved in the production of collagenase by macrophages following activation has revealed prostaglandin E2 (PGE2)- and cAMP-dependent steps. Since ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), the rate-limiting enzyme in polyamine synthesis, is regulated by cAMP and is associated with certain aspects of protein synthesis, the potential role of this enzyme and its polyamine product, putrescine, in collagenase synthesis was examined. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) activation of macrophages resulted in a maximal ODC response after 6 to 9 h with a 10- to 12-fold elevation in enzyme activity. This elevation in ODC appeared to be regulated by PGE2 since indomethacin inhibited LPS-induced macrophage ODC levels by 70%. Associated with the indomethacin-mediated inhibition of ODC was a loss of collagenase synthesis. Furthermore, partial restoration of collagenase production in indomethacin-inhibited cultures could be achieved by the addition of putrescine. In additional studies alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), an irreversible inhibitor of ODC, also inhibited collagenase production when added to LPS-treated macrophages. This inhibition by DFMO could be reversed by the exogenous addition of putrescine. These findings demonstrate that the ODC pathway is an important intracellular component in the sequence of events that lead to macrophage collagenase synthesis.

Bacterial lipopolysaccharide induction of ornithine decarboxylase in the macrophage-like cell line RAW264: requirement of an inducible soluble factor

Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC, EC 4.1.1.17) activity is induced in the RAW264 macrophage-like cell line by bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). As little as 0.1 ng/ml LPS promoted an increase in ODC activity, while maximal ODC activity (30-fold above control) was induced with 1.0 microgram/ml LPS. An increase in ODC activity was detectable within 90 min of LPS addition. The LPS-induced increase in ODC activity was prevented by inhibitors of protein and RNA synthesis. The induction of the enzyme by LPS was not dependent on prostaglandin production. However, PGE2 (1 microgram/ml) and 8-bromo-cyclic AMP (1 mM), neither of which had an effect on ODC activity when added alone, each acted synergistically to enhance the LPS induction of ODC activity. Enzyme induction was not associated with an alteration in Km for ornithine, which remained constant at 0.04 mM. The extent of the increase in ODC in response to LPS increased with increasing cellular density. This relationship was dependent not on absolute cell density of the monolayer but on the cell number in relation to medium volume, and this dependence could be extrapolated to the origin. Addition of conditioned media from LPS-stimulated but not unstimulated cultures enhanced the ODC increase in sparsely plated cultures in response to a maximal concentration of LPS. The addition of polymyxin B, a reagent that blocks the effects of LPS, including the increase in ODC activity, did not totally inhibit the conditioned medium stimulation. This data indicates that two signals, LPS and a LPS-induced mediator, are involved in the induction of ODC activity in RAW264 cells.

Lipopolysaccharide and serum synergistically stimulate ornithine decarboxylase in Chinese hamster ovary cells

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the active component of bacterial endotoxin, caused no significant increase in ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity in serum-starved, Chinese hamster ovary fibroblasts. However, concurrent addition of LPS with 10% fetal bovine serum caused a synergistic 30 to 40-fold increase in enzyme activity as compared to the 10 to 20-fold increase seen after addition of serum alone. This synergism was not due to an alteration in the time course of enzyme induction after serum addition. The LPS-induced synergy of ODC induction by serum was inhibited by the concurrent addition of the specific LPS-antagonist, Polymyxin B.

Induction of ornithine decarboxylase, RNA, and protein synthesis in macrophage cell lines stimulated by immunoadjuvants

Early biochemical changes associated with adjuvant stimulation of macrophage protein synthesis were studied using two murine macrophage cell lines, PU5-1.8 and J774.1. An induction of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) was detected 2 hours after exposure of PU5-1.8 and J774.1 cells to two crude immunoadjuvants, BCG cell walls (BCGcw) and lipopolysaccharides from Escherichia coli (LPS). The chemically defined immunoadjuvant glycopeptide, N-acetyl-muramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine (MDPL) also promoted an increase in ODC activity at 2 hours that was maximal after 4 hours, while little or no effect was observed with the D-alanyl analog (MDPD) that is devoid of adjuvant activity. The increase in ODC activity promoted by BCGcw in PU5-1.8 and J774.1 cells returned toward control levels by 6 to 8 hours. BCGcw also stimulated RNA and protein synthesis which remained elevated for at least 24 hours and was associated with a decrease in DNA synthesis and cell proliferation. ODC induction by BCGcw and MDPL was enhanced by the addition of PGE2 in both cell lines. Indomethacin slightly depressed the magnitude of ODC stimulation by BCGcw in J774.1 cells but failed to alter the response of PU5-1.8 cells. Additional observations indicated that the induction of ODC by BCGcw in both cell lines was preceded by an activation of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. These observations suggest that a cyclic AMP-mediated induction of ODC may be an early biochemical marker of adjuvant stimulation in macrophages.

Induction of ornithine decarboxylase in mouse tissues following the injection of mitogenic substances. Enhancement by actinomycin D

Experiments were carried out to study the mechanism of the induction of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) in mouse tissues by the injection of a lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In addition to LPS, various mitogenic substances, such as concanavalin A, pokeweed mitogen, polyI:polyC and a phorbol diester, induced ODC in the liver and the spleen of mice at 4.5 hr after injection. Non-mitogenic immuno-stimulants or inflammatory agents, such as zymosan, carrageenan, N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine, glycogen, D-galactosamine and interferon, did not induce the enzyme. ODC induction by LPS in C3H/HeJ mice, the lymphocytes and/or macrophages of which are known to be less responsive to LPS, was much less than in C3H/He and ddI mice. ODC induction by LPS was suppressed by dexamethasone and cycloheximide. Actinomycin D did not suppress ODC induction by LPS but, rather, enhanced it. These results suggest that (1) lymphocytes and/or macrophages may participate in the induction of ODC by mitogenic substances as well as by LPS, (2) ODC may be induced by mitogenic substances without the synthesis of RNA, and (3) the translation of existing RNA may be accelerated by actinomycin D.

Muramyl dipeptides: prospect for cancer treatments and immunostimulation

The immunopharmacological activities of bacterial cell walls and muramyl peptides were collected in table form with a comprehensive literature. The past and present studies emphasizing the host-defense enhancing activities of muramyl peptides for antitumor immunotherapy were surveyed along three possible approaches: 1) the nonspecific enhancement of natural defense ability of host against tumor cells themselves; 2) the enhancement of nonspecific resistance of host to microbial infections which are frequently encountered and difficult to treat in the advanced stage of tumor patients; and 3) the stimulation of immunity against tumor-specific or tumor-associated immunogens. Finally, the prospects of successful antitumor immunotherapy with muramyl peptides and their derivatives was discussed.

Simultaneous induction of histidine and ornithine decarboxylases and changes in their product amines following the injection of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide into mice

The injection of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) into mice produced simultaneous induction of histidine and ornithine decarboxylases in the liver, lung, spleen and kidney. The time courses of the changes in activities of the two enzymes were similar in all the tissues. After the injection, both activities increased within 1.5 hr, peaked at 4.5 hr and returned to the basal levels within 15 hr. The induction of these enzymes was very sensitive to this agent, i.e. as little as 1 microgram/kg of the E. coli lipopolysaccharide produced significant increases in these enzyme activities. An increase in the product amines, histamine and putrescine, followed the rise of enzyme activities. The levels of histamine changed more rapidly than those of putrescine. In spite of the increase in putrescine, there was no increase in spermidine and spermine. In the brain and thymus the LPS induced ornithine decarboxylase, but not histidine decarboxylase. In the blood, the histamine level increased without an increase in the activity of histidine decarboxylase. These results are discussed in relation to the actions of lipopolysaccharide. A simple method for the simultaneous assay of the activities of histidine and ornithine decarboxylases without using radioisotope substrates was used in this study.