Isolation and characterization of the Mg2(+)-ATPase from rabbit skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane preparations

A congenital wandering spleen with a large epithelial cyst: A case report

We present a case of a 21-year-old female patient who had a wandering spleen with a large cyst. The celiotomy was performed under the impression of torsion of the wandering spleen and leakage from the splenic cyst. The total splenectomy was performed instead of cystectomy and splenopexy.

Huge Non-parasitic Mesothelial Splenic Cyst in a Child: A Case Report and Literature Review

Background:

Splenic cysts are one of the relatively rare conditions in pediatric surgery practice. Primary non-parasitic splenic cysts are even more scarce.

Case presentation:

A 13-years-old female patient presented with chronic left hypochondrial pain of 2 months duration. Abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed huge 18 cm × 14 cm × 10 cm splenic cyst. Deroofing of the cyst was done which was complicated by secondary infection. Subsequently, the patient was re-operated on and partial splenectomy done with good outcome at 6 months follow up.

Conclusion:

Partial splenectomy is the best management strategy for huge non-parasitic splenic cysts in children. There is also less recurrence rate of splenic cysts with preservation of splenic functions.

Chelerythrine inhibits the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase and results in cell Ca(2+) imbalance

The isoquinoline alkaloid chelerythrine is described as an inhibitor of SERCA. The ATPase inhibition presented two non-competitive components, Ki1=1, 2 μM and Ki2=26 μM. Conversely, chelerythrine presented a dual effect on the p-nitrophenylphosphatase (pNPPase) of SERCA. Ca(2+)-dependent pNPPase was activated up to ∼5 μM chelerythrine with inhibition thereafter. Ca(2+)-independent pNPPase was solely inhibited. The phosphorylation of SERCA with ATP reached half-inhibition with 10 μM chelerythrine and did not parallel the decrease of ATPase activity. In contrast, chelerythrine up to 50 μM increased the phosphorylation by Pi. Cross-linking of SERCA with glutaraldehyde was counteracted by high concentrations of chelerythrine. The controlled tryptic digestion of SERCA shows that the low-affinity binding of chelerythrine evoked an E2-like pattern. Our data indicate a non-competitive inhibition of ATP hydrolysis that favors buildup of the E2-conformers of the enzyme. Chelerythrine as low as 0.5-1.5 μM resulted in an increase of intracellular Ca(2+) on cultured PBMC cells. The inhibition of SERCA and the loss of cell Ca(2+) homeostasis could in part be responsible for some described cytotoxic effects of the alkaloid. Thus, the choice of chelerythrine as a PKC-inhibitor should consider its potential cytotoxicity due to the alkaloid's effects on SERCA.

Ecto-ATPases of clinical and non-clinical isolates of Acanthamoeba

Acanthamoeba are opportunistic protozoan parasites that can cause fatal granulomatous amoebic encephalitis and eye keratitis, however the pathogenic mechanisms of Acanthamoeba remain unclear. In this study, we described the ability of live Acanthamoeba to hydrolyse extracellular ATP. Both clinical and non-clinical isolates belonging to genotypes, T1, T2, T3, T4 and T7 exhibited ecto-ATPase activities in vitro. Using non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, ecto-ATPases were further characterized. All Acanthamoeba isolates tested, exhibited a single ecto-ATPase band (approximate molecular weight of 272 kDa). However, clinical isolates exhibited additional bands suggesting that ecto-ATPases may play a role in the pathogenesis of Acanthamoeba. This was supported using suramin (ecto-ATPase inhibitor), which inhibited Acanthamoeba-induced host cell cytotoxicity. Previously, we and others have shown that Acanthamoeba binds to host cells using their mannose-binding protein and binding can be blocked using exogenous alpha-mannose. In this study, we observed that alpha-mannose significantly increased ecto-ATPase activities of pathogenic Acanthamoeba belonging to T1, T2, T3 and T4 genotypes but had no effect on non-pathogenic Acanthamoeba (belonging to T7 genotype). Overall, we have shown, for the first time, that Acanthamoeba exhibit ecto-ATPase activities, which may play a role in the pathogenesis of Acanthamoeba as well as their potential role in the differentiation of pathogenic Acanthamoeba.

The metal coordination of sCD39 during ATP hydrolysis

BACKGROUND

The hydrolysis of ATP and ADP by ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase 1 (CD39) requires divalent cations, like Ca2+ and Mg2+. In spite of considerable work, it is not clear whether divalent cations bind to the enzyme in the absence of nucleotide or only as nucleotide-Me+2 complex. Here we study the protein ligands for Me+2.

RESULTS

When VO2+ was used as a substitute for Ca2+, the ATPase activity of soluble CD39 was 25% of that with Ca2+ as cofactor. Protein ligands of the VO2+-nucleotide complex bound to the catalytic site of soluble CD39 were characterized by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The EPR spectrum contained one species designated T with VO2+-AMPPNP as ligand. Two species D1 and D2 were observed when VO2+-AMPCP was bound to soluble CD39. The results suggest that species D1 and D2 represent the metal-ADP complexes at the catalytic site of soluble CD39 corresponding to the intermediate formed during ATP hydrolysis and the substrate for further hydrolysis, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

VO2+ can functionally substitute for Ca2+ as a cofactor of sCD39, and it produces four different EPR features when bound in the presence of different nucleotides or in the absence of nucleotide. The metal coordination for each conformation corresponding to each EPR species is proposed, and the mechanism of sCD39 catalysis is discussed.

Properties of and proteins associated with the extracellular ATPase of chicken gizzard smooth muscle. A monoclonal antibody study

The chicken gizzard smooth muscle extracellular ATPase (ecto-ATPase) is a low abundance, high specific activity, divalent cation-dependent, nonspecific nucleotide triphosphatase (NTPase). The ATPase is a 66-kDa glycoprotein with a protein core of 53 kDa (Stout, J.G. and Kirley, T.L. (1994) J. Biochem. Biophys. Methods 29, 61-75). In this study we evaluated the characteristics of a bank of monoclonal antibodies raised against a partially purified chicken gizzard ecto-ATPase. 18 monoclonal antibodies identified by an ATPase capture assay were tested for effects on ATPase activity as well as for their Western blot and immunoprecipitation potential. The five most promising monoclonal antibodies were used to immunopurify the ecto-ATPase. The one-step immunoaffinity purification of solubilized chicken gizzard membranes with all five of these monoclonal antibodies isolated a 66-kDa protein whose identity was confirmed by N-terminal sequence analysis to be the ecto-ATPase. Several of these monoclonal antibodies stimulated ecto-ATPase activity similar to that observed previously with lectins. Western blot analysis revealed that three of the five monoclonal antibodies recognized a major immunoreactive band at 66 kDa (53-kDa core protein), consistent with previous purification results. The other two antibodies recognized proteins of approximately 90 and 160 kDa on Western blots. The 90-kDa co-immunopurifying (and presumably associated or related) protein was identified by N-terminal analysis as LEP100, a glycoprotein that shuttles between the plasma and lysosomal membranes. The approximately 160-kDa co-immunopurifying protein was identified by N-terminal analysis as integrin, a protein involved in extracellular contacts with adhesion molecules. Extended N-terminal sequence analysis of the immunopurified 66-kDa ecto-ATPase revealed some sequence homology with mouse lysosomal associated membrane protein. Tissue distribution of the ecto-ATPase showed that the highest levels of protein were expressed in muscle tissues (cardiac, skeletal, and smooth) and brain.

Ecto-ATPases: identities and functions

Ecto-ATPases are ubiquitous in eukaryotic cells. They hydrolyze extracellular nucleoside tri- and/or diphosphates, and, when isolated, they exhibit E-type ATPase activity, (that is, the activity is dependent on Ca2+ or Mg2+, and it is insensitive to specific inhibitors of P-type, F-type, and V-type ATPases; in addition, several nucleotide tri- and/or diphosphates are hydrolysed, but nucleoside monophosphates and nonnucleoside phosphates are not substrates). Ecto-ATPases are glycoproteins; they do not form a phosphorylated intermediate during the catalytic cycle; they seem to have an extremely high turnover number; and they present specific experimental problems during solubilization and purification. The T-tubule Mg2+-ATPase belongs to this group of enzymes, which may serve at least two major roles: they terminate ATP/ADP-induced signal transduction and participate in adenosine recycling. Several other functions have been discussed and identity to certain cell adhesion molecules and the bile acid transport protein was suggested on the basis of cDNA clone isolation and immunological work.

The Mg(2+)-ATPase of rabbit skeletal-muscle transverse tubule is a highly glycosylated multiple-subunit enzyme

The Mg(2+)-ATPase present in rabbit skeletal-muscle transverse tubules is an integral membrane enzyme which has been solubilized and purified previously in this laboratory [Kirley (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 12682-12689]. The present study indicates that, in addition to the approx. 100 kDa protein (distinct from the sarcoplasmic-reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase) seen previously to co-purify with the Mg(2+)-ATPase activity, there are also proteins having molecular masses of 160, 70 and 43 kDa. The 70 and 43 kDa glycosylated proteins (50 and 31 kDa after deglycosylation) are difficult to detect by SDS/PAGE before deglycosylation, owing to the broadness of the bands. Additional purification procedures, cross-linking studies and chemical and enzymic deglycosylation studies were undertaken to determine the structure and relationship of these proteins. Both the 97 and 160 kDa proteins were demonstrated to be N-glycosylated at multiple sites, the 97 kDa protein being reduced to a peptide core of 84 kDa and the 160 kDa protein to a peptide core of 131 kDa after deglycosylation. Although the Mg(2+)-ATPase activity is resistant to a number of chemical modification reagents, cross-linking inactivates the enzyme at low concentrations. This inactivation is accompanied by cross-linking of two 97 kDa molecules to one another, suggesting that the 97 kDa protein is involved in ATP hydrolysis. The existence of several proteins along with the inhibition of ATPase activity by cross-linking is consistent with the interpretation of the susceptibility of this enzyme to inactivation by most detergents as being due to the disruption of a protein complex of associated subunits by the inactivating detergents. The 160 kDa glycoprotein can be partially resolved from the Mg(2+)-ATPase activity, and is identified by its N-terminal amino acid sequence as angiotensin-converting enzyme.

Effect of carbodiimides on the activity of Mg(2+)-ATPase of slow-twitch muscle microsomal membranes

1. The hydrophobic N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCD) inhibits the activity of Mg(2+)-ATPase of slow-twitch muscle microsomal fraction. 2. The inhibition is dependent on time and concentration, with half-maximal inhibition occurring at 0.4 mM concentration of carbodiimide after a 0.5 hr incubation at room temperature. 3. ATP does not protect against the inhibition. 4. Two water-soluble carbodiimides, 1-cyclohexyl-3-(2-morpholinoethyl)-carbodiimide (CMCD) and 1-ethyl-3(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide (EDCD), are not inhibitory. 5. Inhibition of Mg(2+)-ATPase activity by DCCD is accompanied by covalent incorporation of the radioactive agent into the partially purified enzyme preparation.