Structural and degradative aspects of ornithine decarboxylase antizyme inhibitor 2

Differential responses of hepatopancreas transcriptome between fast and slow growth in giant freshwater prawns (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) fed a plant-based diet

Efficient utilisation of plant-based diets in the giant freshwater prawn, Marcrobrachium rosenbergii, varies according to individual, suggesting that it might be associated with differences in physiological and metabolic responses. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the individual differences in the growth response of shrimp fed to a soybean-based diet (SBM). Two hundred shrimp were fed SBM for 90 days, and specific growth rate (SGR) was determined individually. Fast- and slow-growing shrimp (F-shrimp vs. S-shrimp), with the highest and lowest 5% SGRs, respectively, were sampled to determine haemolymph chemistry and carcass composition. The hepatopancreas of these shrimps were used for transcriptome analysis through RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). The results showed no significant differences in haemolymph chemistry parameters. In terms of carcass proximate composition, F-shrimp exhibited higher protein composition than did S-shrimp, suggesting that F-shrimp have higher protein anabolism. Using RNA-seq and real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), the expression levels of several genes encoding physiologic and metabolic enzymes were found to be upregulated in F-shrimp compared to in S-shrimp, suggesting that these enzymes/proteins mediated the efficient use of SBM-based diets for growth promotion in shrimp. Various DEGs associated with the immune system were observed, indicating a difference in immune processes between F- and S-shrimp. The expression of several housekeeping genes was found to be upregulated in S-shrimp. Collectively, the upregulated expression of several enzymes associated with physiological and/or metabolic processes and increased protein anabolism may be attributed to the efficient use of SBM for maximal growth in shrimp.

Antizyme inhibitor family: biological and translational research implications

Metabolism of polyamines is of critical importance to physiological processes. Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) antizyme inhibitors (AZINs) are capable of interacting with antizymes (AZs), thereby releasing ODC from ODC-AZs complex, and promote polyamine biosynthesis. AZINs regulate reproduction, embryonic development, fibrogenesis and tumorigenesis through polyamine and other signaling pathways. Dysregulation of AZINs has involved in multiple human diseases, especially malignant tumors. Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing is the most common type of post-transcriptional nucleotide modification in humans. Additionally, the high frequencies of RNA-edited AZIN1 in human cancers correlates with increase of cancer cell proliferation, enhancement of cancer cell stemness, and promotion of tumor angiogenesis. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on the various contribution of AZINs related with potential cancer promotion, cancer stemness, microenvironment and RNA modification, especially underlying molecular mechanisms, and furthermore explored its promising implication for cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Conservation of A-to-I RNA editing in bowhead whale and pig

RNA editing is a post-transcriptional process in which nucleotide changes are introduced into an RNA sequence, many of which can contribute to proteomic sequence variation. The most common type of RNA editing, contributing to nearly 99% of all editing events in RNA, is A-to-I (adenosine-to-inosine) editing mediated by double-stranded RNA-specific adenosine deaminase (ADAR) enzymes. A-to-I editing at 'recoding' sites results in non-synonymous substitutions in protein-coding sequences. Here, we present studies of the conservation of A-to-I editing in selected mRNAs between pigs, bowhead whales, humans and two shark species. All examined mRNAs-NEIL1, COG3, GRIA2, FLNA, FLNB, IGFBP7, AZIN1, BLCAP, GLI1, SON, HTR2C and ADAR2 -showed conservation of A-to-I editing of recoding sites. In addition, novel editing sites were identified in NEIL1 and GLI1 in bowhead whales. The A-to-I editing site of human NEIL1 in position 242 was conserved in the bowhead and porcine homologues. A novel editing site was discovered in Tyr244. Differential editing was detected at the two adenosines in the NEIL1 242 codon in both pig and bowhead NEIL1 mRNAs in various tissues and organs. No conservation of editing of KCNB1 and EEF1A mRNAs was seen in bowhead whales. In silico analyses revealed conservation of five adenosines in ADAR2, some of which are subject to A-to-I editing in bowheads and pigs, and conservation of a regulatory sequence in GRIA2 mRNA that is responsible for recognition of the ADAR editing enzyme.

Polyamine homeostasis-based strategies for cancer: The role of combination regimens

Spermine, spermidine and putrescine polyamines are naturally occurring ubiquitous positively charged amines and are essential metabolites for biological functions in our life. These compounds play a crucial role in many cell processes, including cellular proliferation, growth, and differentiation. Intracellular levels of polyamines depend on their biosynthesis, transport and degradation. Polyamine levels are high in cancer cells, which leads to the promotion of tumor growth, invasion and metastasis. Targeting polyamine metabolism as an anticancer strategy is considerably rational. Due to compensatory mechanisms, a single strategy does not achieve satisfactory clinical effects when using a single agent. Combination regimens are more clinically promising for cancer chemoprevention because they work synergistically with causing little or no adverse effects due to each individual agent being used at lower doses. Moreover, bioactive substances have advantages over single chemical agents because they can affect multiple targets. In this review, we discuss anticancer strategies targeting polyamine metabolism and describe how combination treatments and effective natural active ingredients are promising therapies. The existing research suggests that polyamine metabolic enzymes are important therapeutic targets and that combination therapies can be more effective than monotherapies based on polyamine depletion.

Role of Antizyme Inhibitor Proteins in Cancers and Beyond

Polyamines are multivalent organic cations essential for many cellular functions, including cell growth, differentiation, and proliferation. However, elevated polyamine levels are associated with a slew of pathological conditions, including multiple cancers. Intracellular polyamine levels are primarily controlled by the autoregulatory circuit comprising two different protein types, Antizymes (OAZ) and Antizyme Inhibitors (AZIN), which regulate the activity of the polyamine biosynthetic enzyme ornithine decarboxylase (ODC). While OAZ functions to decrease the intracellular polyamine levels by inhibiting ODC activity and exerting a negative control of polyamine uptake, AZIN operates to increase intracellular polyamine levels by binding and sequestering OAZ to relieve ODC inhibition and to increase polyamine uptake. Interestingly, OAZ and AZIN exhibit autoregulatory functions on polyamine independent pathways as well. A growing body of evidence demonstrates the dysregulation of AZIN expression in multiple cancers. Additionally, RNA editing of the Azin1 transcript results in a "gain-of-function" phenotype, which is shown to drive aggressive tumor types. This review will discuss the recent advances in AZIN's role in cancers via aberrant polyamine upregulation and its polyamine-independent protein regulation. This report will also highlight AZIN interaction with proteins outside the polyamine biosynthetic pathway and its potential implication to cancer pathogenesis. Finally, this review will reveal the protein interaction network of AZIN isoforms by analyzing three different interactome databases.

Polyamine biosynthesis in Xenopus laevis: the xlAZIN2/xlODC2 gene encodes a lysine/ornithine decarboxylase

Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of polyamines, organic cations that are implicated in many cellular processes. The enzyme is regulated at the post-translational level by an unusual system that includes antizymes (AZs) and antizyme inhibitors (AZINs). Most studies on this complex regulatory mechanism have been focused on human and rodent cells, showing that AZINs (AZIN1 and AZIN2) are homologues of ODC but devoid of enzymatic activity. Little is known about Xenopus ODC and its paralogues, in spite of the relevance of Xenopus as a model organism for biomedical research. We have used the information existing in different genomic databases to compare the functional properties of the amphibian ODC1, AZIN1 and AZIN2/ODC2, by means of transient transfection experiments of HEK293T cells. Whereas the properties of xlODC1 and xlAZIN1 were similar to those reported for their mammalian orthologues, the former catalyzing the decarboxylation of L-ornithine preferentially to that of L-lysine, xlAZIN2/xlODC2 showed important differences with respect to human and mouse AZIN2. xlAZIN2 did not behave as an antizyme inhibitor, but it rather acts as an authentic decarboxylase forming cadaverine, due to its higher affinity to L-lysine than to L-ornithine as substrate; so, in accordance with this, it should be named as lysine decarboxylase (LDC) or lysine/ornithine decarboxylase (LODC). In addition, AZ1 stimulated the degradation of xlAZIN2 by the proteasome, but the removal of the 21 amino acid C-terminal tail, with a sequence quite different to that of mouse or human ODC, made the protein resistant to degradation. Collectively, our results indicate that in Xenopus there is only one antizyme inhibitor (xlAZIN1) and two decarboxylases, xlODC1 and xlLDC, with clear preferences for L-ornithine and L-lysine, respectively.

Antizyme Inhibitors in Polyamine Metabolism and Beyond: Physiopathological Implications

The intracellular levels of polyamines, cationic molecules involved in a myriad of cellular functions ranging from cellular growth, differentiation and apoptosis, is precisely regulated by antizymes and antizyme inhibitors via the modulation of the polyamine biosynthetic and transport systems. Antizymes, which are mainly activated upon high polyamine levels, inhibit ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), the key enzyme of the polyamine biosynthetic route, and exert a negative control of polyamine intake. Antizyme inhibitors (AZINs), which are proteins highly homologous to ODC, selectively interact with antizymes, preventing their action on ODC and the polyamine transport system. In this review, we will update the recent advances on the structural, cellular and physiological functions of AZINs, with particular emphasis on the action of these proteins in the regulation of polyamine metabolism. In addition, we will describe emerging evidence that suggests that AZINs may also have polyamine-independent effects on cells. Finally, we will discuss how the dysregulation of AZIN activity has been implicated in certain human pathologies such as cancer, fibrosis or neurodegenerative diseases.

The mouse Gm853 gene encodes a novel enzyme: Leucine decarboxylase

Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of polyamines. ODC-antizyme inhibitors (AZINs) are homologous proteins of ODC, devoid of enzymatic activity but acting as regulators of polyamine levels. The last paralogue gene recently incorporated into the ODC/AZINs family is the murine Gm853, which is located in the same chromosome as AZIN2, and whose biochemical function is still unknown. By means of transfection assays of HEK293T cells with a plasmid containing the coding region of Gm853, we show here that unlike ODC, GM853 was a stable protein that was not able to decarboxylate l-ornithine or l-lysine and that did not act as an antizyme inhibitor. However, GM853 showed leucine decarboxylase activity, an enzymatic activity never described in animal cells, and by acting on l-leucine (Km=7.03×10^-3M) it produced isopentylamine, an aliphatic monoamine with unknown function. The other physiological branched-chain amino acids, l-valine and l-isoleucine were poor substrates of the enzyme. Gm853 expression was mainly detected in the kidney, and as Odc, it was stimulated by testosterone. The conservation of Gm853 orthologues in different mammalian species, including primates, underlines the possible biological significance of this new enzyme. In this study, we describe for the first time a mammalian enzyme with leucine decarboxylase activity, therefore proposing that the gene Gm853 and its protein product should be named as leucine decarboxylase (Ldc, LDC).

Antizyme inhibitor 1: a potential carcinogenic molecule

Polyamines are multivalent and organic cations essential for cellular growth, proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Increased levels of polyamines are closely associated with numerous forms of cancer. An autoregulatory circuit composed of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), antizyme (AZ) and antizyme inhibitor (AZI) govern the intracellular level of polyamines. Antizyme binds with ODC to inhibit ODC activity and to promote the ubiquitin‐independent degradation of ODC. Antizyme inhibitor binds to AZ with a higher affinity than ODC. Consequently, ODC is released from the ODC–AZ complex to rescue its activity. Antizyme inhibitor increases the ODC activity to accelerate the formation of intracellular polyamines, triggering gastric and breast carcinogenesis as well as hepatocellular carcinoma and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma development. Antizyme inhibitor 1 (AZIN1), a primary member of the AZI family, has aroused more attention because of its contribution to cancer. Even though its conformation is changed by adenosine‐to‐inosine (A→I) RNA editing, it plays an important role in tumorigenesis through regulating intracellular polyamines. Encouragingly, AZIN1 has been revealed to have an additional function outside the polyamine pathway so as to bypass the deficiency of targeting the polyamine biosynthetic pathway, promising to become a critical target for cancer therapy. Here, we review the latest research advances into AZIN1 and its potential contribution to carcinogenesis.

Polyamine-independent Expression of Caenorhabditis elegans Antizyme

Degradation of ornithine decarboxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme of polyamine biosynthesis, is promoted by the protein antizyme. Expression of antizyme is positively regulated by rising polyamine concentrations that induce a +1 translational frameshift required for production of the full-length protein. Antizyme itself is negatively regulated by the antizyme inhibitor. In our study, the regulation of Caenorhabditis elegans antizyme was investigated, and the antizyme inhibitor was identified. By applying a novel GFP-based method to monitor antizyme frameshifting in vivo, we show that the induction of translational frameshifting also occurs under stressful conditions. Interestingly, during starvation, the initiation of frameshifting was independent of polyamine concentrations. Because frameshifting was also prevalent in a polyamine auxotroph double mutant, a polyamine-independent regulation of antizyme frameshifting is suggested. Polyamine-independent induction of antizyme expression was found to be negatively regulated by the peptide transporter PEPT-1, as well as the target of rapamycin, but not by the daf-2 insulin signaling pathway. Stress-dependent expression of C. elegans antizyme occurred morely slowly than expression in response to increased polyamine levels, pointing to a more general reaction to unfavorable conditions and a diversion away from proliferation and reproduction toward conservation of energy. Interestingly, antizyme expression was found to drastically increase in aging individuals in a postreproductive manner. Although knockdown of antizyme did not affect the lifespan of C. elegans, knockdown of the antizyme inhibitor led to a significant reduction in lifespan. This is most likely caused by an increase in antizyme-mediated degradation of ornithine decarboxylase-1 and a resulting reduction in cellular polyamine levels.