1
|
Wei X, Chow HY, Chong HC, Leung SL, Ho MK, Lee MY, Leung YC. Arginine Is a Novel Drug Target for Arginine Decarboxylase in Human Colorectal Cancer Cells. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:13741. [PMID: 37762044 PMCID: PMC10531272 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241813741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Revised: 09/02/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) has been proven to be highly reliant on arginine availability. Limiting arginine-rich foods or treating patients with arginine-depleting enzymes arginine deiminase (ADI) or arginase can suppress colon cancer. However, arginase and ADI are not the best drug candidates for CRC. Ornithine, the product of arginase, can enhance the supply of polyamine, which favors CRC cell growth, while citrulline, the product of ADI, faces the problem of arginine recycling due to the overexpression of argininosuccinate synthetase (ASS). Biosynthetic arginine decarboxylase (ADC), an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of arginine to agmatine and carbon dioxide, may be a better choice as it combines both arginine depletion and suppression of intracellular polyamine synthesis via its product agmatine. ADC has anti-tumor potential yet has received much less attention than the other two arginine-depleting enzymes. In order to gain a better understanding of ADC, the preparation and the anti-cancer properties of this enzyme were explored in this study. When tested in vitro, ADC inhibited the proliferation of three colorectal cancer cell lines regardless of their ASS cellular expression. In contrast, ADC had a lesser cytotoxic effect on the human foreskin fibroblasts and rat primary hepatocytes. Further in vitro studies revealed that ADC induced S and G2/M phase cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis in HCT116 and LoVo cells. ADC-induced apoptosis in HCT116 cells followed the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway and was caspase-3-dependent. With all results obtained, we suggest that arginine is a potential target for treating colorectal cancer with ADC, and the anti-cancer properties of ADC should be more deeply investigated in the future.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xinlei Wei
- Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ho-Yin Chow
- Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Hiu-Chi Chong
- Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Siu-Lun Leung
- Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Mei-Ki Ho
- Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Man-Yuen Lee
- Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
- Lo Ka Chung Research Centre for Natural Anti-Cancer Drug Development, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yun-Chung Leung
- Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
- Lo Ka Chung Research Centre for Natural Anti-Cancer Drug Development, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Dhankhar R, Kawatra A, Gupta V, Mohanty A, Gulati P. In silico and in vitro analysis of arginine deiminase from Pseudomonas furukawaii as a potential anticancer enzyme. 3 Biotech 2022; 12:220. [PMID: 35971334 PMCID: PMC9374873 DOI: 10.1007/s13205-022-03292-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Arginine deiminase (ADI), a promising anticancer enzyme from Mycoplasma hominis, is currently in phase III of clinical trials for the treatment of arginine auxotrophic tumors. However, it has been associated with several drawbacks in terms of low stability at human physiological conditions, high immunogenicity, hypersensitivity and systemic toxicity. In our previous work, Pseudomonas furukawaii 24 was identified as a potent producer of ADI with optimum activity under physiological conditions. In the present study, phylogenetic analysis of microbial ADIs indicated P. furukawaii ADI (PfADI) to be closely related to experimentally characterized ADIs of Pseudomonas sp. with proven anticancer activity. Immunoinformatics analysis was performed indicating lower immunogenicity of PfADI than MhADI (M. hominis ADI) both in terms of number of linear and conformational B-cell epitopes and T-cell epitope density. Overall antigenicity and allergenicity of PfADI was also lower as compared to MhADI, suggesting the applicability of PfADI as an alternative anticancer biotherapeutic. Hence, in vitro experiments were performed in which the ADI coding arcA gene of P. furukawaii was cloned and expressed in E. coli BL21. Recombinant ADI of P. furukawaii was purified, characterized and its anticancer activity was assessed. The enzyme was stable at human physiological conditions (pH 7 and 37 °C) with Km of 1.90 mM. PfADI was found to effectively inhibit the HepG2 cells with an IC50 value of 0.1950 IU/ml. Therefore, the current in silico and in vitro studies establish PfADI as a potential anticancer drug candidate with improved efficacy and low immunogenicity. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-022-03292-2.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rakhi Dhankhar
- Medical Microbiology and Bioprocess Technology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana India
| | - Anubhuti Kawatra
- Medical Microbiology and Bioprocess Technology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana India
| | - Vatika Gupta
- Medical Microbiology and Bioprocess Technology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana India
- Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering Laboratory, School of Biotechnology, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Aparajita Mohanty
- Bioinformatics Infrastructure Facility, Gargi College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India
| | - Pooja Gulati
- Medical Microbiology and Bioprocess Technology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana India
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Kumari N, Bansal S. Arginine depriving enzymes: applications as emerging therapeutics in cancer treatment. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 2021; 88:565-594. [PMID: 34309734 DOI: 10.1007/s00280-021-04335-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy and other medications are employed to treat various types of cancer. However, each treatment has its own set of side effects, owing to its low specificity. As a result, there is an urgent need for newer therapeutics that do not disrupt healthy cells' normal functioning. Depriving nutrient or non/semi-essential amino acids to which cancerous cells are auxotrophic remains one such promising anticancer strategy. L-Arginine (Arg) is a semi-essential vital amino acid involved in versatile metabolic processes, signaling pathways, and cancer cell proliferation. Hence, the administration of Arg depriving enzymes (ADE) such as arginase, arginine decarboxylase (ADC), and arginine deiminase (ADI) could be effective in cancer therapy. The Arg auxotrophic cancerous cells like hepatocellular carcinoma, human colon cancer, leukemia, and breast cancer cells are sensitive to ADE treatment due to low expression of crucial enzymes argininosuccinate synthetase (ASS), argininosuccinate lyase (ASL), and ornithine transcarbamylase (OCT). These therapeutic enzyme treatments induce cell death through inducing autophagy, apoptosis, generation of oxidative species, i.e., oxidative stress, and arresting the progression and expansion of cancerous cells at certain cell cycle checkpoints. The enzymes are undergoing clinical trials and could be successfully exploited as potential anticancer agents in the future.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Neha Kumari
- Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Jaypee University of Information Technology Waknaghat, Solan, 173234, Himachal Pradesh, India
| | - Saurabh Bansal
- Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Jaypee University of Information Technology Waknaghat, Solan, 173234, Himachal Pradesh, India.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Abdollahi S, Morowvat MH, Savardashtaki A, Irajie C, Najafipour S, Zarei M, Ghasemi Y. Amino Acids Sequence-based Analysis of Arginine Deiminase from Different Prokaryotic Organisms: An In Silico Approach. Recent Pat Biotechnol 2020; 14:235-246. [PMID: 32208128 DOI: 10.2174/1872208314666200324114441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2019] [Revised: 01/31/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Arginine deiminase is a bacterial enzyme, which degrades L-arginine. Some human cancers such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and melanoma are auxotrophic for arginine. Therefore, PEGylated arginine deiminase (ADI-PEG20) is a good anticancer candidate with antitumor effects. It causes local depletion of L-arginine and growth inhibition in arginineauxotrophic tumor cells. The FDA and EMA have granted orphan status to this drug. Some recently published patents have dealt with this enzyme or its PEGylated form. OBJECTIVE Due to increasing attention to it, we aimed to evaluate and compare 30 arginine deiminase proteins from different bacterial species through in silico analysis. METHODS The exploited analyses included the investigation of physicochemical properties, multiple sequence alignment (MSA), motif, superfamily, phylogenetic and 3D comparative analyses of arginine deiminase proteins thorough various bioinformatics tools. RESULTS The most abundant amino acid in the arginine deiminase proteins is leucine (10.13%) while the least amino acid ratio is cysteine (0.98%). Multiple sequence alignment showed 47 conserved patterns between 30 arginine deiminase amino acid sequences. The results of sequence homology among 30 different groups of arginine deiminase enzymes revealed that all the studied sequences located in amidinotransferase superfamily. Based on the phylogenetic analysis, two major clusters were identified. Considering the results of various in silico studies; we selected the five best candidates for further investigations. The 3D structures of the best five arginine deiminase proteins were generated by the I-TASSER server and PyMOL. The RAMPAGE analysis revealed that 81.4%-91.4%, of the selected sequences, were located in the favored region of arginine deiminase proteins. CONCLUSION The results of this study shed light on the basic physicochemical properties of thirty major arginine deiminase sequences. The obtained data could be employed for further in vivo and clinical studies and also for developing the related therapeutic enzymes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara Abdollahi
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 71348-14366, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Mohammad H Morowvat
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 71348-14366, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Amir Savardashtaki
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 71348-14366, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Cambyz Irajie
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 71348-14366, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Sohrab Najafipour
- Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 74616-86688, Fasa, Iran
| | - Mahboubeh Zarei
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 71468-64685, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Younes Ghasemi
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 71348-14366, Shiraz, Iran
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Zarei M, Rahbar MR, Nezafat N, Negahdaripour M, Morowvat MH, Ghasemi Y. Computational Analysis of Arginine Deiminase Sequences to Provide a Guideline for Protein Engineering. CURR PROTEOMICS 2020. [DOI: 10.2174/1570164616666190619111852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Background:Arginine deiminase of Mycoplasma hominis, an arginine catabolizing enzyme, is currently in clinical trial for the treatment of arginine auxotrophic cancers. However, some drawbacks such as instability and antigenicity have limited its application as a protein drug. Arginine Deiminase (ADI) belongs to the guanidino-group modifying enzyme superfamily. Despite differences in the primary amino acid sequences of various members of this superfamily, the folding and secondary structures are conserved in all members. Despite structural similarities, ADIs in various species have different levels of catalytic activity and physicochemical properties due to the differences in their primary amino acid sequences. Therefore, investigating and comparing sequences between different ADI producing bacterial strains could be helpful in the rational engineering of ADI.Objective:In the current research, we used an in-silico approach to characterize and classify the available reviewed protein sequences of ADI.Results:102 ADI sequences from SwissProt database were extracted. Subsequently, based on clustering analyses, the sequence sets were divided into five distinct groups. Different physicochemical properties, solubility, and antigenicity of the enzymes were determined. Some ADI sequences were introduced as well-suited candidates for protein engineering; Lactobacillus fermentum ADI for low pI value, Mycobacterium avium ADI for high aliphatic index, Bacillus licheniformis ADI for low GRAVY index, Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens ADI for low antigenicity and high stability index, and among Mycoplasma ADIs, Mycoplasma arthritidis ADI for high stability and aliphatic index, and Mycoplasma capricolum for low antigenicity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mahboubeh Zarei
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Mohammad Reza Rahbar
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Navid Nezafat
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Manica Negahdaripour
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | | | - Younes Ghasemi
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Zarei M, Rahbar MR, Morowvat MH, Nezafat N, Negahdaripour M, Berenjian A, Ghasemi Y. Arginine Deiminase: Current Understanding and Applications. Recent Pat Biotechnol 2019; 13:124-136. [PMID: 30569861 DOI: 10.2174/1872208313666181220121400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2018] [Revised: 11/07/2018] [Accepted: 12/25/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Arginine deiminase (ADI), an arginine catabolizing enzyme, is considered as an anti-tumor agent for the treatment of arginine auxotrophic cancers. However, some obstacles limit its clinical applications. OBJECTIVE This review will summarize the clinical applications of ADI, from a brief history to its limitations, and will discuss the different ways to deal with the clinical limitations. METHOD The structure analysis, cloning, expression, protein engineering and applications of arginine deiminase enzyme have been explained in this review. CONCLUSION Recent patents on ADI are related to ADI engineering to increase its efficacy for clinical application. The intracellular delivery of ADI and combination therapy seem to be the future strategies in the treatment of arginine auxotrophic cancers. Applying ADIs with optimum features from different sources and or ADI engineering, are promising strategies to improve the clinical application of ADI.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mahboubeh Zarei
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Mohammad Reza Rahbar
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Mohammad Hossein Morowvat
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Navid Nezafat
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Manica Negahdaripour
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Aydin Berenjian
- School of Engineering, Faculty of Science & Engineering, The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
| | - Younes Ghasemi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Su L, Ma Y, Wu J. Extracellular expression of natural cytosolic arginine deiminase from Pseudomonas putida and its application in the production of L-citrulline. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2015; 196:176-183. [PMID: 26233330 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2015.07.081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2015] [Revised: 07/20/2015] [Accepted: 07/21/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The Pseudomonas putida arginine deiminase (ADI), a natural cytosolic enzyme, and Thermobifida fusca cutinase were co-expressed in Escherichia coli, and the optimized cutinase gene was used for increasing its expression level. 90.9% of the total ADI protein was released into culture medium probably through a nonspecific leaking mechanism caused by the co-expressed cutinase. The enzymatic properties of the extracellular ADI were found to be similar to those of ADI prepared by conventional cytosolic expression. Extracellular production of ADI was further scaled up in a 3-L fermentor. When the protein expression was induced by IPTG (25.0μM) and lactose (0.1gL(-1)h(-1)) at 30°C, the extracellular ADI activity reached 101.2UmL(-1), which represented the highest ADI production ever reported. In addition, the enzymatic synthesis of l-citrulline was performed using the extracellularly expressed ADI, and the conversion rate reached 100% with high substrate concentration at 650gL(-1).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lingqia Su
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi 214122, China; School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Yue Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi 214122, China; School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Jing Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi 214122, China; School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi 214122, China.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Kang YS, Song JA, Han KY, Lee J. Escherichia coli EDA is a novel fusion expression partner to improve solubility of aggregation-prone heterologous proteins. J Biotechnol 2015; 194:39-47. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2014.11.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2014] [Revised: 11/24/2014] [Accepted: 11/27/2014] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
|
9
|
Stasyk OV, Boretsky YR, Gonchar MV, Sibirny AA. Recombinant arginine‐degrading enzymes in metabolic anticancer therapy and bioanalytics. Cell Biol Int 2014; 39:246-52. [DOI: 10.1002/cbin.10383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2014] [Accepted: 09/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Oleh V. Stasyk
- Institute of Cell BiologyNational Academy of Sciences of UkraineDrahomanov St. 14/16Lviv79005Ukraine
| | - Yuriy R. Boretsky
- Institute of Cell BiologyNational Academy of Sciences of UkraineDrahomanov St. 14/16Lviv79005Ukraine
- Department of Biochemistry and HygieneLviv State University of Physical CultureKosciuszko St. 11Lviv79000Ukraine
| | - Mykhailo V. Gonchar
- Institute of Cell BiologyNational Academy of Sciences of UkraineDrahomanov St. 14/16Lviv79005Ukraine
- Institute of Applied Biotechnology and Basic SciencesRzeszow UniversitySokolowska Str. 26Kolbuszowa36‐100Poland
| | - Andriy A. Sibirny
- Institute of Cell BiologyNational Academy of Sciences of UkraineDrahomanov St. 14/16Lviv79005Ukraine
- Department of Biotechnology and MicrobiologyRzeszow UniversityCwiklinskiej 2Rzeszow35‐601Poland
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Ahn KY, Lee B, Han KY, Song JA, Lee DS, Lee J. Synthesis of Mycoplasma arginine deiminase in E. coli using stress-responsive proteins. Enzyme Microb Technol 2014; 63:46-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.enzmictec.2014.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2014] [Revised: 05/13/2014] [Accepted: 05/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
|
11
|
Fayura L. Development of Cultivation Technology for the Escherichia Coli Recombinant Strain Producing Arginine Deiminase of Mycoplasma Hominis. SCIENCE AND INNOVATION 2014. [DOI: 10.15407/scine10.04.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
|
12
|
Wang Y, Li YZ. Cultivation to improve in vivo solubility of overexpressed arginine deiminases in Escherichia coli and the enzyme characteristics. BMC Biotechnol 2014; 14:53. [PMID: 24908259 PMCID: PMC4072490 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6750-14-53] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2014] [Accepted: 06/03/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Overexpression of foreign genes in Escherichia coli cells is an efficient means to obtain recombinant proteins. The technique is, however, often hampered by misfolding, degradation, aggregation and formation in inclusion bodies of products. RESULTS In this study, we reported that in vivo solubility of overexpressed arginine deiminases (ADI) improved by changing the cultivation conditions. ADI is enzymes that convert L-arginine to L-citrulline. After codon optimization, we synthesized the ADI gene of Pseudomonas putida and constructed it for overexpression in E. coli cells. The rADI products were mainly in inclusion body forms. We performed a series of optimization to enhance solubility of the protein. Co-expression with the GroES-GroEL chaperone team increased approximately 5-fold of the rADI activity. In addition the combination of L-arginine and D-glucose in the Luria-Bertani (LB) growth medium further increased the total activity to about 15 times. Separate L-arginine and D-glucose or the addition of other saccharides or amino acids had no such effects. The solubilization effects of the combination of L-arginine and D-glucose were further confirmed in the overexpression of another ADI from Listeria welshimeri. The enzymatic and conversion characteristics of the rADI products were further determined. CONCLUSIONS Combined addition of L-arginine and D-glucose in the LB medium significantly improved in vivo solubility of rADI proteins. The present study suggested a new strategy to increase the solubilization of overexpressed recombinant proteins in E. coli cells.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Yue-Zhong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, School of Life Science, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, P, R, China.
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Song JA, Lee DS, Park JS, Han KY, Lee J. The N-domain of Escherichia coli phosphoglycerate kinase is a novel fusion partner to express aggregation-prone heterologous proteins. Biotechnol Bioeng 2011; 109:325-35. [DOI: 10.1002/bit.23320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2011] [Revised: 08/23/2011] [Accepted: 08/24/2011] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|
14
|
Song JA, Lee DS, Park JS, Han KY, Lee J. A novel Escherichia coli solubility enhancer protein for fusion expression of aggregation-prone heterologous proteins. Enzyme Microb Technol 2011; 49:124-30. [PMID: 22112398 DOI: 10.1016/j.enzmictec.2011.04.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2010] [Revised: 03/22/2011] [Accepted: 04/16/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Through the proteome analysis of Escherichia coli BL21(DE3), we previously identified the stress-responsive protein, arsenate reductase (ArsC), that showed a high cytoplasmic solubility and a folding capacity even in the presence of stress-inducing reagents. In this study, we used ArsC as an N-terminal fusion partner to synthesize nine aggregation-prone proteins as water-soluble forms. As a result, solubility of the aggregation-prone proteins increased dramatically by the fusion of ArsC, due presumably to its tendency to facilitate the folding of target proteins. Also, we evaluated and confirmed the efficacy of ArsC-fusion expression in making the fusion-expressed target proteins have their own native function or structure. That is, the self-assembly function of human ferritin light chain, l-arginine-degrading function of arginine deiminase, and the correct secondary structure of human granulocyte colony stimulating factor were clearly observed through transmission electron microscope analysis, colorimetric enzyme activity assay, and circular dichroism, respectively. It is strongly suggested that ArsC can be in general an efficient fusion expression partner for the production of soluble and active heterologous proteins in E. coli.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jong-Am Song
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Korea University, Anam-Dong 5-1, Seongbuk-Gu, Seoul 136-713, Republic of Korea
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
15
|
Su Z, Lu D, Liu Z. Refolding of inclusion body proteins from E. coli. METHODS OF BIOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS 2011; 54:319-38. [PMID: 21954784 DOI: 10.1002/9780470939932.ch13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zhiguo Su
- State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
16
|
Kozai M, Sasamori E, Fujihara M, Yamashita T, Taira H, Harasawa R. Growth inhibition of human melanoma cells by a recombinant arginine deiminase expressed in Escherichia coli. J Vet Med Sci 2009; 71:1343-7. [PMID: 19887741 DOI: 10.1292/jvms.001343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
We have cloned the arginine deiminase (ADI) gene from Mycoplasma hominis PG21 genomic DNA by polymerase chain reaction, and changed four TGA tryptophan codons (stop codon in E. coli) to TGG codons in the coding region by site-directed mutagenesis in order to express in E. coli. The recombinant ADI (rADI) was purified to apparent homogeneity by Ni-affinity chromatography after extraction from inclusion bodies followed by refolding. The rADI expressed in E. coli was estimated to be 50 kDa. Dimeric forms of rADI exerted enzymatic activity. We found that high concentration of potassium dihydrogenphosphate (PDP) and L-arginine addition in refolding reaction increases the enzyme activity. The specific activity of rADl was calculated as 0.618 U/mg. In addition, the enzyme activity of purified rADI remained for at least one month in 100 mM PDP solution (pH 6.5), but diminished within one week in 100 mM PDP solution (pH 7.4). Anti-tumor activity of the purified rADI was estimated to be 0.036 U/ml as 50% growth inhibitory activity against human melanoma cell line G-361.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Megumi Kozai
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University, 3-18-8 Ueda, Morioka 020-8550, Japan
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
17
|
Pasut G, Veronese FM. PEG conjugates in clinical development or use as anticancer agents: an overview. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2009; 61:1177-88. [PMID: 19671438 DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2009.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 322] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2009] [Accepted: 02/14/2009] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
During the almost forty years of PEGylation, several antitumour agents, either proteins, peptides or low molecular weight drugs, have been considered for polymer conjugation but only few entered clinical phase studies. The results from the first clinical trials have shared and improved the knowledge on biodistribution, clearance, mechanism of action and stability of a polymer conjugate in vivo. This has helped to design conjugates with improved features. So far, most of the PEG conjugates comprise of a protein, which in the native form has serious shortcomings that limit the full exploitation of its therapeutic action. The main issues can be short in vivo half-life, instability towards degrading enzymes or immunogenicity. PEGylation proved to be effective in shielding sensitive sites at the protein surface, such as antigenic epitopes and enzymatic degradable sequences, as well as in prolonging the drug half-life by decreasing the kidney clearance. In this review PEG conjugates of proteins or low molecular weight drugs, in clinical development or use as anticancer agents, will be taken into consideration. In the case of PEG-protein derivatives the most represented are depleting enzymes, which act by degrading amino acids essential for cancer cells. Interestingly, PEGylated conjugates have been also considered as adjuvant therapy in many standard anticancer protocols, in this regard the case of PEG-G-CSF and PEG-interferons will be presented.
Collapse
|
18
|
Expression of Arginine Deiminase from Pseudomonas plecoglossicida CGMCC2039 in Escherichia coli and Its Anti-Tumor Activity. Curr Microbiol 2009; 58:593-8. [DOI: 10.1007/s00284-009-9376-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2008] [Revised: 01/21/2009] [Accepted: 01/23/2009] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
|
19
|
Arginine deiminase, a potential anti-tumor drug. Cancer Lett 2008; 261:1-11. [PMID: 18179862 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2007.11.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2007] [Revised: 11/21/2007] [Accepted: 11/23/2007] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Arginine deiminase (ADI; EC 3.5.3.6), an arginine-degrading enzyme, has been studied as a potential anti-tumor drug for the treatment of arginine-auxotrophic tumors, such as hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) and melanomas. Studies with human lymphatic leukemia cell lines further suggest that ADI is a potential anti-angiogenic agent and is effective in the treatment of leukemia. For instance ADI-PEG-20, patented by Pheonix Pharmacologic Inc., is currently in clinical trials for the treatment of HCC (Phase II/III) and melanoma (Phase I/II). This review summarizes results on recombinant expression, structural analysis, PEG (polyethylene glycerol) modification, in vivo anti-cancer activities, and clinical studies of ADI. Discussions on heterogeneous expression of ADI, directed evolution for improving enzymatic properties, and HSA-fusion for increased in vivo activity conclude this review.
Collapse
|
20
|
Seo JH, Sung HJ, Choi CW, Kim BS, Shin SW, Kim YH, Min BH, Kim JS. Extrinsic nitric oxide donor partially reverses arginine deiminase induced cell growth inhibition through NFκB and Bcl-XL. Invest New Drugs 2008; 26:277-82. [DOI: 10.1007/s10637-007-9105-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2007] [Accepted: 11/26/2007] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
|
21
|
Pasut G, Sergi M, Veronese FM. Anti-cancer PEG-enzymes: 30 years old, but still a current approach. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2008; 60:69-78. [PMID: 17869378 DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2007.04.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2007] [Accepted: 04/15/2007] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
PEGylation (i.e. the covalent link of PEG strands) is a well known technique used to improve pharmaceutical properties of bioactive proteins and peptides. Even in cancer therapy some proteins, in particular enzymes, can find many applications, because of their antiproliferative action or ability to reduce side effects of chemotherapies, but to do so they need to be properly formulated. Unfortunately, formulation alone can not fulfil all the requirements to yield a safe and successful protein preparation for therapeutic applications. In particular, for many proteins fast clearance from the body and potential immunogenicity are severe limitations, which can not be easily overcome without taking into consideration a purposely designed drug delivery system. Among the approaches in the field of drug delivery, PEGylation has so far been the best choice for protein delivery. Here, we describe some examples of PEGylated enzymes useful in antitumoral therapies and the most recent advances in this field.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gianfranco Pasut
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Padua, via Marzolo 5, 35100 Padua, Italy.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
22
|
Park JS, Ahn JY, Lee SH, Lee H, Han KY, Seo HS, Ahn KY, Min BH, Sim SJ, Choi IS, Kim YH, Lee J. Enhanced stability of heterologous proteins by supramolecular self-assembly. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2007; 75:347-55. [PMID: 17546471 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-006-0826-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2006] [Revised: 12/23/2006] [Accepted: 12/24/2006] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Recently, we reported on the dual function of human ferritin heavy chain (hFTN-H) used for the fusion expression and solubility enhancement of various heterologous proteins: (1) high-affinity interaction with HSP70 chaperone DnaK and (2) formation of self-assembled supramolecules with limited and constant sizes. Especially the latter, the self-assembly function of hFTN-H is highly useful in avoiding the undesirable formation of insoluble macroaggregates of heterologous proteins in bacterial cytoplasm. In this study, using enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) and several deletion mutants of Mycoplasma arginine deiminase (ADI(132-410)) as reporter proteins, we confirmed through TEM image analysis that the recombinant fusion proteins (hFTN-H::eGFP and hFTN-H::ADI(132-410)) formed intracellular spherical particles with nanoscale diameter ( approximately 10 nm), i.e., noncovalently cross-linked supramolecules. Surprisingly, the supramolecular eGFP and ADI showed much enhanced stability in bioactivity. That is, the activity level was much more stably maintained for the prolonged period of time even at high temperature, at high concentration of Gdn-HCl, and in wide range of pH. The stability enhancement by supramolecular self-assembly may make it possible to utilize the protein supramolecules as novel means for drug delivery, enzymatic material conversion (biotransformation), protein chip/sensor, etc. where the maintenance of protein/enzyme stability is strictly required.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jin-Seung Park
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, College of Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 136-713, South Korea
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
23
|
Wang M, Basu A, Palm T, Hua J, Youngster S, Hwang L, Liu HC, Li X, Peng P, Zhang Y, Zhao H, Zhang Z, Longley C, Mehlig M, Borowski V, Sai P, Viswanathan M, Jang E, Petti G, Liu S, Yang K, Filpula D. Engineering an Arginine Catabolizing Bioconjugate: Biochemical and Pharmacological Characterization of PEGylated Derivatives of Arginine Deiminase fromMycoplasma arthritidis. Bioconjug Chem 2006; 17:1447-59. [PMID: 17105223 DOI: 10.1021/bc060198y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Arginine is an important metabolite in the normal function of several biological systems, and arginine deprivation has been investigated in animal models and human clinical trials for its effects on inhibition of tumor growth, angiogenesis, or nitric oxide synthesis. In order to design an optimal arginine-catabolizing enzyme bioconjugate, a novel recombinant arginine deiminase (ADI) from Mycoplasma arthritidis was prepared, and multi-PEGylated derivatives were examined for enzymatic and biochemical properties in vitro, as well as pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic behavior in rats and mice. ADI bioconjugates constructed with 12 kDa or 20 kDa monomethoxy-poly(ethylene glycol) polymers with linear succinimidyl carbonate linkers were investigated via intravenous, intramuscular, or subcutaneous administration in rodents. The selected PEG-ADI compounds have 22 +/- 2 PEG strands per protein dimer, providing an additional molecular mass of about 0.2-0.5 x 10(6) Da and prolonging the plasma mean residence time of the enzyme over 30-fold in mice. Prolonged plasma arginine deprivation was demonstrated with each injection route for these bioconjugates. Pharmacokinetic analysis employed parallel measurement of enzyme activity in bioassays and enzyme assays and demonstrated a correlation with the pharmacodynamic analysis of plasma arginine concentrations. Either ADI bioconjugate depressed plasma arginine to undetectable levels for 10 days when administered intravenously at 5 IU per mouse, while the subcutaneous and intramuscular routes exhibited only slightly reduced potency. Both bioconjugates exhibited potent growth inhibition of several cultured tumor lines that are deficient in the anabolic enzyme, argininosuccinate synthetase. Investigations of structure-activity optimization for PEGylated ADI compounds revealed a benefit to constraining the PEG size and number of attachments to both conserve catabolic activity and streamline manufacturing of the experimental therapeutics. Specifically, ADI with either 12 kDa or 20 kDa PEG attachments on 33% of the primary amines retained about 60% or 48% of enzyme activity, respectively; the Km and pH profiles were nearly unchanged; IC50 values were diminished by less than 30%; while stability studies demonstrated full retention of activity at 4 degrees C for 5 months. A comparison of the enzymatic properties of a second ADI from Pseudomonas putida illustrated the superior characteristics of the M. arthritidis ADI enzyme.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maoliang Wang
- Enzon Pharmaceuticals, 20 Kingsbridge Road, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854-3969, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
24
|
|
25
|
Hudson A, Ellis JT. Culture of Neospora caninum in the presence of a Mycoplasma Removal Agent results in the selection of a mutant population of tachyzoites. Parasitology 2005; 130:607-10. [PMID: 15977896 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182004007115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Mycoplasmas are common contaminants of eukaryotic cells grown in tissue culture. A commercially available Mycoplasma Removal Agent (MRA) was therefore assessed for its effect on tachyzoites of Neospora caninum, in order to determine its suitability for further use in parasite cell cultures. Analyses of tachyzoite and excreted-secreted proteins and antigens by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting show that MRA treatment results in the rapid selection of a mutant population that differs from the control and parental lines in its protein and antigen content. The treatment of N. caninum cultures with MRA is therefore not recommended for the eradication of Mycoplasma.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- A Hudson
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Technology, Sydney, St Leonard's Campus, Westbourne Street, Gore Hill, NSW 2065, Australia
| | | |
Collapse
|
26
|
Dillon BJ, Prieto VG, Curley SA, Ensor CM, Holtsberg FW, Bomalaski JS, Clark MA. Incidence and distribution of argininosuccinate synthetase deficiency in human cancers: a method for identifying cancers sensitive to arginine deprivation. Cancer 2004; 100:826-33. [PMID: 14770441 DOI: 10.1002/cncr.20057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 223] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Argininosuccinate synthetase (ASS) was the first of two enzymes to convert citrulline to arginine. This pathway allowed cells to synthesize arginine from citrulline, making this amino acid nonessential for the growth of most mammalian cells. Previous studies demonstrated that several human tumor cell lines were auxotrophic for arginine due to an inability to express ASS. Selective elimination of arginine from the circulation of animals with these tumors is a potentially effective anticancer treatment. The purpose of these experiments was to determine the frequency of ASS deficiency and arginine auxotrophy in a variety of human malignant tumors. METHODS The authors analyzed the expression of ASS by immunohistochemistry with a monoclonal antibody in a variety of human tumor biopsies. They found that the incidence of ASS deficiency varied greatly with the tumor type and tissue of origin. RESULTS Melanoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, and prostate carcinoma were most frequently deficient in ASS. Some human cancers were almost always positive for ASS (e.g., lung and colon carcinomas). However, other human cancers, including sarcomas, invasive breast carcinoma, and renal cell carcinoma, also were sometimes ASS deficient. CONCLUSIONS These data indicated that immunohistochemical detection of ASS may prove an effective means for determining ASS deficiency in malignant human tumors and for identifying patients most likely to respond to arginine deprivation therapy. Based on these results, human clinical trials using arginine-degrading enzyme therapy to treat patients with advanced melanoma or hepatocellular carcinoma have been initiated.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Brian J Dillon
- Department of Biology, T. H. Morgan Building, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
27
|
Li M, Su ZG, Janson JC. In vitro protein refolding by chromatographic procedures. Protein Expr Purif 2004; 33:1-10. [PMID: 14680955 DOI: 10.1016/j.pep.2003.08.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 139] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2003] [Revised: 08/26/2003] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
In vitro protein refolding is still a bottleneck in both structural biology and in the development of new biopharmaceuticals, especially for commercially important polypeptides that are overexpressed in Escherichia coli. This review focuses on protein refolding methods based on column procedures because recent advances in chromatographic refolding have shown promising results.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ming Li
- National Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
28
|
Shen LJ, Lin WC, Beloussow K, Shen WC. Resistance to the anti-proliferative activity of recombinant arginine deiminase in cell culture correlates with the endogenous enzyme, argininosuccinate synthetase. Cancer Lett 2003; 191:165-70. [PMID: 12618329 DOI: 10.1016/s030-43835(02)00693-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Recombinant mycoplasma enzyme, arginine deiminase (rADI), has been proposed as a possible cancer treatment via arginine depletion. However, many cell lines are resistant to rADI-treatment, even though most require arginine for proliferation. We compared eight different cell lines for sensitivity in cell proliferation to the effect of either rADI or arginine deprivation. The activity of argininosuccinate synthetase (AS), the rate-limiting enzyme for converting citrulline to arginine, was also measured. Our results indicate that resistance to rADI-treatment may correlate with cellular AS activity, either constitutive or inducible, allowing cell survival by conversion of the product of the rADI reaction, i.e. citrulline to arginine.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Li-Jiuan Shen
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Southern California School of Pharmacy, PSC 404B, 1985 Zonal Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90089-9121, USA
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
29
|
Di Marzio L, Russo FP, D'Alò S, Biordi L, Ulisse S, Amicosante G, De Simone C, Cifone MG. Apoptotic effects of selected strains of lactic acid bacteria on a human T leukemia cell line are associated with bacterial arginine deiminase and/or sphingomyelinase activities. Nutr Cancer 2002; 40:185-96. [PMID: 11962255 DOI: 10.1207/s15327914nc402_16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The aim of the present work was, first, to analyze the apoptotic effect in vitro of sonicated preparations of selected strains of lactic acid bacteria on normal and tumor human lymphocytes. Incubation with bacterial samples led to a relevant time-dependent apoptotic cell death of Jurkat cells but not normal human peripheral blood lymphocytes. Lactobacillus brevis (CD2) samples were more efficient in inducing apoptosis of Jurkat cells than were samples of Streptococcus thermophilus (S244). In an attempt to characterize the mechanisms underlying these effects, we found that the apoptotic death-inducing ability of S244 preparations could be attributed to the ability of high levels of neutral sphingomyelinase activity to generate relevant amounts of ceramide, a known apoptotic death messenger, in Jurkat cells. On the other hand, our results indicate that apoptosis induced by CD2 samples could also be associated with high levels of arginine deiminase activity, which in turn was able to downregulate polyamine synthesis in Jurkat cells.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- L Di Marzio
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of L'Aquila, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
30
|
Beloussow K, Wang L, Wu J, Ann D, Shen WC. Recombinant arginine deiminase as a potential anti-angiogenic agent. Cancer Lett 2002; 183:155-62. [PMID: 12065090 DOI: 10.1016/s0304-3835(01)00793-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Arginine deiminase (ADI), isolated from Mycoplasma cell extracts, has been suggested to inhibit endothelial cell growth in vitro. However, anti-angiogenic activity by ADI has not yet been demonstrated. In this study, we investigated the in vitro effect of recombinant ADI (rADI) on the growth, migration, and tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial (HUVE) cells. Mycoplasma arginine deiminase was cloned by PCR and the rADI was expressed in Escherichia coli. and purified to near homogeneity. The purified recombinant protein was found to have characteristics similar to those of the native enzyme: molecular weight (48 kDa) and specific enzymatic activity of converting L-arginine into citrulline (32.7 U/mg). This recombinant enzyme also exhibited an inhibitory effect on the growth of HUVE cells. The anti-angiogenic activity was demonstrated by in vitro inhibition of migration into the scratch wounded area in HUVE cell monolayers and the inhibition of microvessel tube-like formation of HUVE cells on Matrigel-coated surfaces. These results suggest that arginine deiminase is a potential inhibitor for angiogenesis, and that arginine concentrations may play an important role in regulating neovascularization.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Karin Beloussow
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Southern California School of Pharmacy, PSC 404B, 1985 Zonal Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90089-9121, USA
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
31
|
Li M, Su Z. Refolding human lysozyme produced as an inclusion body by urea concentration and pH gradient ion exchange chromatography. Chromatographia 2002. [DOI: 10.1007/bf02490243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
|
32
|
Li M, Zhang G, Su Z. Dual gradient ion-exchange chromatography improved refolding yield of lysozyme. J Chromatogr A 2002; 959:113-20. [PMID: 12141536 DOI: 10.1016/s0021-9673(02)00462-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Protein refolding at high concentrations always leads to aggregation, which limits commercial application. An ion-exchange chromatography process with gradient changes in urea concentration and pH was developed to refold denatured lysozyme at high concentration. After adsorption of the denatured protein onto an ion-exchange medium, elution was carried out in combination with a gentle decrease in urea concentration and elevation of pH. Protein would gradually refold along the column with high activity yield. Denatured and reduced lysozyme at 40 mg/ml was loaded into a column filled with SP Sepharose Fast Flow, resulting in 95% activity recovery and 98% mass yield within a short period of time.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ming Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
33
|
Gouda M, Yokogawa T, Asahara H, Nishikawa K. Leucyl-tRNA synthetase from the extreme thermophile Aquifex aeolicus has a heterodimeric quaternary structure. FEBS Lett 2002; 518:139-43. [PMID: 11997034 DOI: 10.1016/s0014-5793(02)02675-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Class I aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases have been thought to be single polypeptide enzymes. However, the complete genome sequence of a hyper thermophile Aquifex aeolicus suggests that the gene for leucyl-tRNA synthetases (LeuRS) is probably split into two pieces (leuS and leuS'). In this research, each gene was separately cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli and the protein products were examined for LeuRS activity. Leucylation activity was detected only when both gene products coexisted. Gel filtration analysis showed that the active form of A. aeolicus LeuRS has a heterodimeric (alpha/beta type) quaternary structure that is unique among class I aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Masaki Gouda
- Department of Biomolecular Science, Faculty of Engineering, Gifu University, Yanagido 1-1, 501-1193, Gifu, Japan
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
34
|
Thomas JB, Holtsberg FW, Ensor CM, Bomalaski JS, Clark MA. Enzymic degradation of plasma arginine using arginine deiminase inhibits nitric oxide production and protects mice from the lethal effects of tumour necrosis factor alpha and endotoxin. Biochem J 2002; 363:581-7. [PMID: 11964159 PMCID: PMC1222511 DOI: 10.1042/0264-6021:3630581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Septic shock is mediated in part by nitric oxide (NO) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha). NO is synthesized primarily from extracellular arginine. We tested the ability of an arginine-degrading enzyme to inhibit NO production in mice and to protect mice from the hypotension and lethality that occur after the administration of TNFalpha or endotoxin. Treatment of BALB/c mice with arginine deiminase (ADI) formulated with succinimidyl succinimide polyethylene glycol of M(r) 20000 (ADI-SS PEG(20000)) eliminated all measurable plasma arginine (from normal levels of approximately 155 microM arginine to 2 microM). In addition, ADI-SS PEG(20000) also inhibited the production of NO, as quantified by plasma nitrate+nitrite. Treatment of mice with TNFalpha or endotoxin resulted in a dose-dependent increase in NO production and lethality. Pretreatment of mice with ADI-SS PEG(20000) resulted in increased resistance to the lethal effects of TNFalpha and endotoxin. These observations are consistent with NO production resulting, to some extent, from the metabolism of extracellular arginine. The toxic effects of TNFalpha and endotoxin may be partially inhibited by enzymic degradation of plasma arginine by ADI-SS PEG(20000). Interestingly, pretreatment with ADI-SS PEG(20000) did not inhibit the anti-tumour activity of TNFalpha in vitro or in vivo. This treatment may allow greater amounts of TNFalpha, as well as other cytokines, to be administered while abrogating side effects such as hypotension and death.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J Brandon Thomas
- Department of Biology, T.H. Morgan Building, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
35
|
Holtsberg FW, Ensor CM, Steiner MR, Bomalaski JS, Clark MA. Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) conjugated arginine deiminase: effects of PEG formulations on its pharmacological properties. J Control Release 2002; 80:259-71. [PMID: 11943403 DOI: 10.1016/s0168-3659(02)00042-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Some tumors, such as melanomas and hepatocellular carcinomas, have a unique nutritional requirement for arginine. Thus, enzymatic degradation of extracellular arginine is one possible means for inhibiting these tumors. Arginine deiminase is an arginine degrading enzyme (ADI) that has been studied as an anti-cancer enzyme. However, ADI has a short serum half-life and, as a microbial enzyme, is highly immunogenic. Formulation of other therapeutic proteins with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) has overcome these problems. Here, ADI-PEGs were synthesized using PEGs of varying size, structure (linear or branched chain) and linker chemistries. All ADI-PEGs retained approximately 50% of enzyme activity when PEG was covalently attached to approximately 40% of the primary amines irrespective of the PEG molecular weight or attachment chemistry used. However, it was observed that, as the PEG size increases to 20 kDa, there was a corresponding increase in the pharmacokinetic (pK) and pharmacodynamic (pD) properties of the formulation. Variation in PEG linker or structure, or the use of PEGs >20,000 mw, did not affect the pK or pD. As has been shown with other therapeutic proteins, repeated injection of ADI-PEG into experimental animals resulted in significantly lower titers of antibodies against this protein than unmodified ADI. These data suggest that formulation of ADI with PEG of 20,000 mw results is the optimal method for formulating this promising therapeutic agent.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Frederick W Holtsberg
- Department of Biology, T.H. Morgan Building, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
36
|
Dybvig K, French CT, Voelker LL. Construction and use of derivatives of transposon Tn4001 that function in Mycoplasma pulmonis and Mycoplasma arthritidis. J Bacteriol 2000; 182:4343-7. [PMID: 10894746 PMCID: PMC101955 DOI: 10.1128/jb.182.15.4343-4347.2000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous attempts to introduce transposon Tn4001 into Mycoplasma pulmonis and Mycoplasma arthritidis have not been successful, possibly due to functional failure of the transposon's gentamicin resistance determinant. Tn4001C and Tn4001T were constructed, respectively, by insertion of a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene and the tetM tetracycline resistance determinant into Tn4001. Both Tn4001C and Tn4001T transposed in M. pulmonis, and Tn4001T transposed in M. arthritidis. The incorporation of a Tn4001T derivative that contained lacZ into either Mycoplasma species resulted in transformants with readily detectable LacZ activity. Tn4001T may be of general utility for use as a mycoplasma cloning vehicle because tetM functions in all species of Mycoplasma examined thus far.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- K Dybvig
- Department of Comparative Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294, USA.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
37
|
Degnan BA, Fontaine MC, Doebereiner AH, Lee JJ, Mastroeni P, Dougan G, Goodacre JA, Kehoe MA. Characterization of an isogenic mutant of Streptococcus pyogenes Manfredo lacking the ability to make streptococcal acid glycoprotein. Infect Immun 2000; 68:2441-8. [PMID: 10768929 PMCID: PMC97444 DOI: 10.1128/iai.68.5.2441-2448.2000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
An isogenic mutant of Streptococcus pyogenes Manfredo that lacks the ability to make streptococcal acid glycoprotein (SAGP) has been constructed by inserting a deletion in the sagp gene using the method of allelic exchange. An assay of cell extracts (CE) prepared from the wild-type and mutant Manfredo strains for the enzyme arginine deiminase (AD) showed that significant activity was present in wild-type CE but none could be detected in mutant CE. These findings confirm our earlier conclusion that SAGP has AD activity (B. A. Degnan, J. M. Palmer, T. Robson, C. E. D. Jones, M. Fischer, M. Glanville, G. D. Mellor, A. G. Diamond, M. A. Kehoe, and J. A. Goodacre, Infect. Immun. 66:3050-3058, 1998). Wild-type CE but not mutant CE potently inhibited human peripheral blood mononuclear cell proliferation in response to phytohemagglutinin, and this inhibition was overcome by the addition of L-arginine to proliferation assay mixtures. Invasion assays showed that the isogenic mutant organisms lacking SAGP, and thus AD activity, were between three and five times less able to enter epithelial cells (Hep-2C and A549) than were the wild-type streptococci. Both wild-type and mutant S. pyogenes bacteria were extremely sensitive to low pH. However, L-arginine (1 mM or above) significantly increased the viability of the wild type but not the isogenic mutant organisms under acidic conditions. The difference in acid susceptibility between wild-type and mutant bacteria may explain the reduced capacity of the isogenic mutant bacteria to invade and survive intracellularly.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- B A Degnan
- School of Clinical Medical Sciences (Rheumatology), Medical School, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, United Kingdom.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
38
|
Abstract
Overexpression of cloned or synthetic genes in Escherichia coli often results in the formation of insoluble protein inclusion bodies. Within the last decade, specific methods and strategies have been developed for preparing active recombinant proteins from these inclusion bodies. Usually, the inclusion bodies can be separated easily from other cell components by centrifugation, solubilized by denaturants such as guanidine hydrochloride (Gdn-HCl) or urea, and then renatured through a refolding process such as dilution or dialysis. Recent improvements in renaturation procedures have included the inhibition of aggregation during refolding by application of low molecular weight additives and matrix-bound renaturation. These methods have made it possible to obtain high yields of biologically active proteins by taking into account process parameters such as protein concentration, redox conditions, temperature, pH, and ionic strength.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- S Misawa
- Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Laboratory, Japan Energy Corporation, 3-17-35 Niizo-Minami, Toda-shi, Saitama 335-8502, Japan.
| | | |
Collapse
|
39
|
Armstrong N, de Lencastre A, Gouaux E. A new protein folding screen: application to the ligand binding domains of a glutamate and kainate receptor and to lysozyme and carbonic anhydrase. Protein Sci 1999; 8:1475-83. [PMID: 10422836 PMCID: PMC2144371 DOI: 10.1110/ps.8.7.1475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Production of folded and biologically active protein from Escherichia coli derived inclusion bodies can only be accomplished if a scheme exists for in vitro naturation. Motivated by the need for a rapid and statistically meaningful method of determining and evaluating protein folding conditions, we have designed a new fractional factorial protein folding screen. The screen includes 12 factors shown by previous experiments to enhance protein folding and it incorporates the 12 factors into 16 different folding conditions. By examining a 1/256th fraction of the full factorial, multiple folding conditions were determined for the ligand binding domains from glutamate and kainate receptors, and for lysozyme and carbonic anhydrase B. The impact of each factor on the formation of biologically active material was estimated by calculating factor main effects. Factors and corresponding levels such as pH (8.5) and L-arginine (0.5 M) consistently had a positive effect on protein folding, whereas detergent (0.3 mM lauryl maltoside) and nonpolar additive (0.4 M sucrose) were detrimental to the folding of these four proteins. One of the 16 conditions yielded the most folded material for three out of the four proteins. Our results suggest that this protein folding screen will be generally useful in determining whether other proteins will fold in vitro and, if so, what factors are important. Furthermore, fractional factorial folding screens are well suited to the evaluation of previously untested factors on protein folding.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- N Armstrong
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, USA
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
40
|
Henrich B, Berns G, Weinhold M, Kitzerow A, Schaal H, Hadding U. Cloning and expression of P60, a conserved surface-localized protein of Mycoplasma hominis, in Escherichia coli. Biol Chem 1998; 379:1143-50. [PMID: 9792448 DOI: 10.1515/bchm.1998.379.8-9.1143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
The clp60 gene encoding P60, a conserved lipoprotein of Mycoplasma hominis, was cloned and sequenced from both the type strain PG21 and the isolate FBG. Both open reading frames were identical in length, comprising 1746 nucleotides. The deduced amino acid sequences differed in 16 out of 582 amino acids. As expected, none of these divergences mapped within the epitope that was recognized by mAb CG4 in all of the 198 isolates of M. hominis analyzed so far. This conserved epitope was narrowed down to amino acids 454 through 464 within the C terminus of P60. For the expression of the recombinant homolog P60, P60rec, in E. coli the TGA codons of clp60 were substituted for TGG codons prior to cloning of clp60 into the expression plasmid pQE41. The expression of P60rec as a fusion protein with dihydrofolate reductase carrying an N-terminal His-tag enabled the purification of large amounts of P60rec in a soluble form.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- B Henrich
- Institute for Medical Microbiology and Virology, and Center for Biological and Medical Research, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
41
|
Degnan BA, Palmer JM, Robson T, Jones CE, Fischer M, Glanville M, Mellor GD, Diamond AG, Kehoe MA, Goodacre JA. Inhibition of human peripheral blood mononuclear cell proliferation by Streptococcus pyogenes cell extract is associated with arginine deiminase activity. Infect Immun 1998; 66:3050-8. [PMID: 9632565 PMCID: PMC108312 DOI: 10.1128/iai.66.7.3050-3058.1998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Streptococcus pyogenes (group A Streptococcus) cell extracts (CE) have a remarkably powerful and dose-dependent inhibitory effect on antigen, superantigen, or mitogen-stimulated human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) proliferation in vitro. Purification of the inhibitory component present in S. pyogenes type M5 (Manfredo strain) CE by anion-exchange chromatography followed by gel filtration chromatography showed that the inhibitor had an approximate native molecular mass of 100 kDa. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of purified inhibitory fractions followed by silver staining gave a single band with an approximate molecular mass of 47 kDa, indicating that the inhibitor is composed of two identical subunits. NH2-terminal sequencing of the protein revealed that it was identical to the previously characterized streptococcal acid glycoprotein (SAGP); this protein possesses between 31.5 and 39.0% amino acid identity with arginine deiminase (AD) from Mycoplasma hominis, Mycoplasma arginini, Pseudomonas putida, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. AD enzyme activity was present in unfractionated CE prepared from a range of streptococcal strains, and partially purified inhibitory fractions of Manfredo CE also had high levels of activity. The inhibitory effect of Manfredo CE was overcome by the addition of L-arginine to proliferation assays in which human PBMC were stimulated with phytohemagglutinin. We conclude that SAGP, or its homolog, possesses AD activity and that the potent inhibition of proliferation of human T cells by streptococcal CE is due to activity of this enzyme.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- B A Degnan
- School of Clinical Medical Sciences (Rheumatology), Immunological and Virological Sciences, The Medical School, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, United Kingdom
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
42
|
Knodler LA, Sekyere EO, Stewart TS, Schofield PJ, Edwards MR. Cloning and expression of a prokaryotic enzyme, arginine deiminase, from a primitive eukaryote Giardia intestinalis. J Biol Chem 1998; 273:4470-7. [PMID: 9468500 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.273.8.4470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Arginine deiminase (EC 3.5.3.6) catalyzes the irreversible catabolism of arginine to citrulline in the arginine dihydrolase pathway. This pathway has been regarded as restricted to prokaryotic organisms but is an important source of energy to the primitive protozoan Giardia intestinalis. In this paper we report the cloning and expression of the arginine deiminase gene from this parasite. Degenerate oligonucleotides based on amino acid sequences of tryptic peptides from the purified protein were used to amplify a portion of the arginine deiminase gene. This was then used as a probe to screen HindIII and PstI "mini" libraries to obtain two overlapping clones that contained the arginine deiminase gene. The open reading frame encoded 581 amino acids including all of the tryptic peptides that were sequenced and corresponded to a molecular mass of 67 kDa. Northern blot analysis identified a single 1.8-kilobase transcript in both trophozoites and encysting cells. Arginine deiminase was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. The recombinant protein was found to have characteristics comparable with those of the native enzyme.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- L A Knodler
- School of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
43
|
Pollack JD, Williams MV, McElhaney RN. The comparative metabolism of the mollicutes (Mycoplasmas): the utility for taxonomic classification and the relationship of putative gene annotation and phylogeny to enzymatic function in the smallest free-living cells. Crit Rev Microbiol 1998; 23:269-354. [PMID: 9439886 DOI: 10.3109/10408419709115140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 127] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Mollicutes or mycoplasmas are a class of wall-less bacteria descended from low G + C% Gram-positive bacteria. Some are exceedingly small, about 0.2 micron in diameter, and are examples of the smallest free-living cells known. Their genomes are equally small; the smallest in Mycoplasma genitalium is sequenced and is 0.58 mb with 475 ORFs, compared with 4.639 mb and 4288 ORFs for Escherichia coli. Because of their size and apparently limited metabolic potential, Mollicutes are models for describing the minimal metabolism necessary to sustain independent life. Mollicutes have no cytochromes or the TCA cycle except for malate dehydrogenase activity. Some uniquely require cholesterol for growth, some require urea and some are anaerobic. They fix CO2 in anaplerotic or replenishing reactions. Some require pyrophosphate not ATP as an energy source for reactions, including the rate-limiting step of glycolysis: 6-phosphofructokinase. They scavenge for nucleic acid precursors and apparently do not synthesize pyrimidines or purines de novo. Some genera uniquely lack dUTPase activity and some species also lack uracil-DNA glycosylase. The absence of the latter two reactions that limit the incorporation of uracil or remove it from DNA may be related to the marked mutability of the Mollicutes and their tachytelic or rapid evolution. Approximately 150 cytoplasmic activities have been identified in these organisms, 225 to 250 are presumed to be present. About 100 of the core reactions are graphically linked in a metabolic map, including glycolysis, pentose phosphate pathway, arginine dihydrolase pathway, transamination, and purine, pyrimidine, and lipid metabolism. Reaction sequences or loci of particular importance are also described: phosphofructokinases, NADH oxidase, thioredoxin complex, deoxyribose-5-phosphate aldolase, and lactate, malate, and glutamate dehydrogenases. Enzymatic activities of the Mollicutes are grouped according to metabolic similarities that are taxonomically discriminating. The arrangements attempt to follow phylogenetic relationships. The relationships of putative gene assignments and enzymatic function in My. genitalium, My. pneumoniae, and My. capricolum subsp. capricolum are specially analyzed. The data are arranged in four tables. One associates gene annotations with congruent reports of the enzymatic activity in these same Mollicutes, and hence confirms the annotations. Another associates putative annotations with reports of the enzyme activity but from different Mollicutes. A third identifies the discrepancies represented by those enzymatic activities found in Mollicutes with sequenced genomes but without any similarly annotated ORF. This suggests that the gene sequence is significantly different from those already deposited in the databanks and putatively annotated with the same function. Another comparison lists those enzymatic activities that are both undetected in Mollicutes and not associated with any ORF. Evidence is presented supporting the theory that there are relatively small gene sequences that code for functional centers of multiple enzymatic activity. This property is seemingly advantageous for an organism with a small genome and perhaps under some coding restraint. The data suggest that a concept of "remnant" or "useless genes" or "useless enzymes" should be considered when examining the relationship of gene annotation and enzymatic function. It also suggests that genes in addition to representing what cells are doing or what they may do, may also identify what they once might have done and may never do again.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J D Pollack
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Ohio State University, Columbus 43210, USA.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
44
|
Turrini F, Giribaldi G, Valente E, Arese P. Mycoplasma contamination of Plasmodium cultures - A case of parasite parasitism. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1997; 13:367-8. [PMID: 15275148 DOI: 10.1016/s0169-4758(97)01088-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- F Turrini
- Department of Genetics, Biology and Medical Chemistry, University of Torino Medical School, Via Santena 5 bis, 10126 Torino, Italy
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
45
|
Takaku H, Matsumoto M, Misawa S, Miyazaki K. Anti-tumor activity of arginine deiminase from Mycoplasma argini and its growth-inhibitory mechanism. Jpn J Cancer Res 1995; 86:840-6. [PMID: 7591961 PMCID: PMC5920931 DOI: 10.1111/j.1349-7006.1995.tb03094.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Two kinds of arginine deiminase (AD, EC 3.5.3.6) were purified from cell extracts of Mycoplasma arginini (a-AD) and Mycoplasma hominis (h-AD), and their enzymic properties and anti-tumor activities were compared. The a-AD enzyme strongly inhibited the growth of mouse hepatoma cell line MH134 in vitro, and its concentration required for 50% growth inhibition (IC50) was estimated to be about 10 ng/ml. The IC50 value of h-AD against the same cell line was estimated to be about 100 ng/ml, due to its low enzyme activity under the physiological pH condition, i.e., pH 7.4. These results show that the reaction pH profile of the a-AD was superior to that of the h-AD as an anti-tumor enzyme. Moreover, the effects of L-arginine metabolism-related substances on the anti-tumor activity of the a-AD were examined to study the growth-inhibitory mechanism of this enzyme. The addition of 2 or 4 mM L-arginine restored, in a dose-dependent manner, the growth of mouse MH134 hepatoma and Meth A fibrosarcoma cell lines that had been inhibited by 20 ng/ml of the a-AD. The addition of 2 or 4 mM L-ornithine, which is biosynthesized from L-arginine in the urea cycle and is the starting material in the polyamine-biosynthesis pathway, also partially restored it in a dose-dependent manner. These results indicate that the tumor cell growth inhibition caused by a-AD originates from the depletion of the essential nutrient L-arginine, and that the resulting block of the polyamine-biosynthesis pathway is involved in part in the inhibitory mechanism.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- H Takaku
- Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology Laboratory, Japan Energy Corporation, Saitama
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|