THE OXIDATION OF GLYCOLIC ACID BY A LIVER ENZYME

Effect of Vitamin B2-Deficient Diet on Hydroxyproline- or Obesity-Induced Hyperoxaluria in Mice

SCOPE

Hyperoxaluria is a major cause of kidney stone disease. Around half of the oxalate in mammals is supplied from the diet and the other half is endogenously synthesized from glyoxylate. Reduction of hepatic glycolate oxidase (GO) activity is one approach to reduce endogenous production of oxalate. However, there are currently few effective dietary approaches to reduce hepatic GO activity.

METHODS AND RESULTS

In the present study, it is investigated whether restriction of dietary vitamin B2 (VB2) can reduce hepatic GO activity and oxalate excretion in mice with hyperoxaluria induce by hydroxyproline (Hyp) or obesity. It is found that VB2 restriction significantly reduces hepatic GO activity in both the Hyp- and obesity-induced model of hyperoxaluria in mice. However, VB2 restriction reduces urinary oxalate excretion only in the Hyp-treated mice and not the obese mice. This difference could be due to the contribution of endogenous oxalate production that manifests as increased hepatic GO activity in Hyp-treated mice but not obese mice.

CONCLUSION

Together these results suggest that VB2 restriction could be a new dietary approach to improve hyperoxaluria when endogenous production of oxalate is increased.

Small Molecule-Based Enzyme Inhibitors in the Treatment of Primary Hyperoxalurias

Primary hyperoxalurias (PHs) are a group of inherited alterations of the hepatic glyoxylate metabolism. PHs classification based on gene mutations parallel a variety of enzymatic defects, and all involve the harmful accumulation of calcium oxalate crystals that produce systemic damage. These geographically widespread rare diseases have a deep impact in the life quality of the patients. Until recently, treatments were limited to palliative measures and kidney/liver transplants in the most severe forms. Efforts made to develop pharmacological treatments succeeded with the biotechnological agent lumasiran, a siRNA product against glycolate oxidase, which has become the first effective therapy to treat PH1. However, small molecule drugs have classically been preferred since they benefit from experience and have better pharmacological properties. The development of small molecule inhibitors designed against key enzymes of glyoxylate metabolism is on the focus of research. Enzyme inhibitors are successful and widely used in several diseases and their pharmacokinetic advantages are well known. In PHs, effective enzymatic targets have been determined and characterized for drug design and interesting inhibitory activities have been achieved both in vitro and in vivo. This review describes the most recent advances towards the development of small molecule enzyme inhibitors in the treatment of PHs, introducing the multi-target approach as a more effective and safe therapeutic option.

Glycolate is a Novel Marker of Vitamin B2 Deficiency Involved in Gut Microbe Metabolism in Mice

Microbes in the human gut play a role in the production of bioactive compounds, including some vitamins. Although several studies attempted to identify definitive markers for certain vitamin deficiencies, the role of gut microbiota in these deficiencies is unclear. To investigate the role of gut microbiota in deficiencies of four vitamins, B₂, B₆, folate, and B₁₂, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of metabolites in mice treated and untreated with antibiotics. We identified glycolate (GA) as a novel marker of vitamin B₂ (VB2) deficiency, and show that gut microbiota sense dietary VB2 deficiency and accumulate GA in response. The plasma GA concentration responded to reduced VB2 supply from both the gut microbiota and the diet. These results suggest that GA is a novel marker that can be used to assess whether or not the net supply of VB2 from dietary sources and gut microbiota is sufficient. We also found that gut microbiota can provide short-term compensation for host VB2 deficiency when dietary VB2 is withheld.

Involvement of ionizable groups in catalysis of human liver glycolate oxidase

Glycolate oxidase is a flavin-dependent, peroxisomal enzyme that oxidizes alpha-hydroxy acids to the corresponding alpha-keto acids, with reduction of oxygen to H(2)O(2). In plants, the enzyme participates in photorespiration. In humans, it is a potential drug target for treatment of primary hyperoxaluria, a genetic disorder where overproduction of oxalate results in the formation of kidney stones. In this study, steady-state and pre-steady-state kinetic approaches have been used to determine how pH affects the kinetic steps of the catalytic mechanism of human glycolate oxidase. The enzyme showed a Ping-Pong Bi-Bi kinetic mechanism between pH 6.0 and 10.0. Both the overall turnover of the enzyme (k(cat)) and the rate constant for anaerobic substrate reduction of the flavin were pH-independent at pH values above 7.0 and decreased slightly at lower pH, suggesting the involvement of an unprotonated group acting as a base in the chemical step of glycolate oxidation. The second-order rate constant for capture of glycolate (k(cat)/K(glycolate)) and the K(d)((app)) for the formation of the enzyme-substrate complex suggested the presence of a protonated group with apparent pK(a) of 8.5 participating in substrate binding. The k(cat)/K(oxygen) values were an order of magnitude faster when a group with pK(a) of 6.8 was unprotonated. These results are discussed in the context of the available three-dimensional structure of GOX.

Adventures in hepatocarcinogenesis

Neoplasia is a heritably altered, relatively autonomous growth of tissue. Hepatocarcinogenesis, the pathogenesis of neoplasia in liver, as modeled in the rat exhibits three distinct, quantifiable stages: initiation, promotion, and progression. Simple mutations and/or epigenetic alterations may result in the irreversible stage of initiation. The stage of promotion results from selective enhancement of cell replication and selective inhibition of cellular apoptosis of initiated cells dependent on the genetic and/or epigenetic alterations of the latter. The irreversible stage of progression results from initial karyotypic alterations that evolve into greater degrees of genomic instability. The initial genomic alteration in the transition from promotion to progression may involve primarily epigenetic mechanisms driven by epigenetic and genetic alterations fixed during the stage of promotion.

Purification and characterization of recombinant human liver glycolate oxidase

Glycolate oxidase, an FMN-dependent peroxisomal oxidase, plays an important role in plants, related to photorespiration, and in animals, where it can contribute to the production of oxalate with formation of kidney stones. The best studied plant glycolate oxidase is that of spinach; it has been expressed as a recombinant enzyme, and its crystal structure is known. With respect to animals, the enzyme purified from pig liver has been characterized in detail in terms of activity and inhibition, the enzyme from human liver in less detail. We describe here the purification and initial characterization of the recombinant human glycolate oxidase. Its substrate specificity and the inhibitory effects of a number of anions are in agreement with the properties expected from previous work on glycolate oxidases from diverse sources. The recombinant enzyme presents an inhibition by excess glycolate and by excess DCIP, which has not been documented before. These inhibitions suggest that glycolate binds to the active site of the reduced enzyme, and that DCIP also has affinity for the oxidized enzyme. Glycolate oxidase belongs to a family of l-2-hydroxy-acid-oxidizing flavoenzymes, with strongly conserved active-site residues. A comparison of some of the present results with studies dealing with other family members suggests that residues outside the active site influence the binding of a number of ligands, in particular sulfite.

Development of a Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Model for Ethylene Glycol and Its Metabolite, Glycolic Acid, in Rats and Humans

An extensive database on the toxicity and modes of action of ethylene glycol (EG) has been developed over the past several decades. Although renal toxicity has long been recognized as a potential outcome, in recent years developmental toxicity, an effect observed only in rats and mice, has become the subject of extensive research and regulatory reviews to establish guidelines for human exposures. The developmental toxicity of EG has been attributed to the intermediate metabolite, glycolic acid (GA), which can become a major metabolite when EG is administered to rats and mice at high doses and dose rates. Therefore, a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model was developed to integrate the extensive mode of action and pharmacokinetic data on EG and GA for use in developmental risk assessments. The resulting PBPK model includes inhalation, oral, dermal, intravenous, and subcutaneous routes of administration. Metabolism of EG and GA were described in the liver with elimination via the kidneys. Metabolic rate constants and partition coefficients for EG and GA were estimated from in vitro studies. Other biochemical constants were optimized from appropriate in vivo pharmacokinetic studies. Several controlled rat and human metabolism studies were used to validate the resulting PBPK model. When internal dose surrogates were compared in rats and humans over a broad range of exposures, it was concluded that humans are unlikely to achieve blood levels of GA that have been associated with developmental toxicity in rats following occupational or environmental exposures.

Molecular cloning of mouse glycolate oxidase. High evolutionary conservation and presence of an iron-responsive element-like sequence in the mRNA

Iron regulatory proteins (IRPs) control the synthesis of several proteins in iron metabolism by binding to iron-responsive elements (IREs), a hairpin structure in the untranslated region (UTR) of corresponding mRNAs. Binding of IRPs to IREs in the 5' UTR inhibits translation of ferritin heavy and light chain, erythroid aminolevulinic acid synthase, mitochondrial aconitase, and Drosophila succinate dehydrogenase b, whereas IRP binding to IREs in the 3' UTR of transferrin receptor mRNA prolongs mRNA half-life. To identify new targets of IRPs, we devised a method to enrich IRE-containing mRNAs by using recombinant IRP-1 as an affinity matrix. A cDNA library established from enriched mRNA was screened by an RNA-protein band shift assay. This revealed a novel IRE-like sequence in the 3' UTR of a liver-specific mouse mRNA. The newly identified cDNA codes for a protein with high homology to plant glycolate oxidase (GOX). Recombinant protein expressed in bacteria displayed enzymatic GOX activity. Therefore, this cDNA represents the first vertebrate GOX homologue. The IRE-like sequence in mouse GOX exhibited strong binding to IRPs at room temperature. However, it differs from functional IREs by a mismatch in the middle of its upper stem and did not confer iron-dependent regulation in cells.

GLYCOLIC ACID OXIDATION BY ESCHERICHIA COLI ADAPTED TO GLYCOLATE

Furuya, Akira (University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago) and James A. Hayashi. Glycolic acid oxidation by Escherichia coli adapted to glycolate. J. Bacteriol. 85:1124-1131. 1963.-A procedure is described for extraction and partial purification of glycolic acid oxidase from Escherichia coli adapted to grow on glycolate as the sole carbon source. Enzyme activity was assayed by oxygen uptake and by reduction of 2,6-dichlorophenol-indophenol. Glyoxylic acid was the product of glycolate oxidation by the enzyme. Enzyme activity, which diminishes rapidly on storage, shows a maximum at pH 6 to 7. We were unable to show any cofactor requirement. Compounds which inhibited glycolate oxidation and their order of inhibitory activity were: p-hydroxymercuribenzoate > sodium azide > iodoacetate and o-phenanthroline > ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. Tests of enzyme specificity showed that the following compounds were oxidized, but at different rates: glycolate, d-lactate, l-lactate, dl-alpha-hydroxybutyrate, dl-malate, and dl-glycerate. Citrate, tartrate, and dl-beta-hydroxybutyrate were not oxidized. Potassium cyanide stimulated oxygen uptake when glycolate and lactate were oxidized. Whether the oxidations were due to different oxidases or to a single oxidase with a wide range of specificities was tested by observing the oxidation of glycolate, d-lactate, and l-lactate under various conditions. Ammonium sulfate fractionation of a crude extract did not change the relative ability to oxidize the three acids. However, the three oxidative capacities diminished at different rates during storage at 0 C for 6 days. The partially purified glycolic oxidase preparations were probably mixtures of several different oxidases.

Oxidation of glutathione during hydroperoxide metabolism. A study using isolated hepatocytes and the glutathione reductase inhibitor 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea

In the present study freshly isolated rat hepatocytes treated with the glutathione reductase inhibitor BCNU (1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea) were used to investigate the metabolism of tert-butyl hydroperoxide and of hydrogen peroxide formed in different intracellular compartments. Glycolate, benzylamine and hexobarbital were used to stimulate H2O2 production in the peroxisomal, mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticular/cytosolic compartments, respectively. Our results support previous findings that catabolism of H2O2 formed in the mitochondrial and cytosolic compartments occurs predominantly by the glutathione peroxidase system, whereas H2O2 generated within the peroxisomes is metabolized by catalase. They further reveal that the capacity of uninhibited glutathione reductase to reduce glutathione disulfide, formed during hydroperoxide metabolism by glutathione peroxidase, is high and that a decreased NADPH/NADP+ redox level, rather than insufficient reductase activity, is responsible for the accumulation and subsequent excretion of cellular glutathione disulfide observed during hydroperoxide metabolism. Finally, our results demonstrate that H2O2 generated during cytochrome P-450-mediated drug oxidation is metabolized primarily by the glutathione peroxidase system.

Purification of rat liver enzymes involved in the oxidation of glyoxylate

The use of Sepharose aminohexyl oxamate for the purification of glycolate oxidase and lactate dehydrogenase is described. The kinetics of both enzymes are reported in relation to their possible roles in the production of oxalate. A model is proposed in which glycolate oxidase in the peroxisomes and lactate dehydrogenase in the cytosol cooperate in the production of oxalate.

Comparative and developmental studies on 4-hydroxy-2-oxoglutarate aldolase and hydroxyproline oxidase

1. In rats, liver 4-hydroxy-2-oxoglutarate aldolase and hydroxyproline oxidase activities are maximal in the suckling period. 2. Liver activities for 4-hydroxy-2-oxoglutarate aldolase, alanine-glyoxylate aminotransferase, serine-pyruvate aminotransferase and serine dehydratase, but not hydroxyproline oxidase, are increased in rats on a high-fat, carbohydrate-free diet. 3. It is suggested that 4-hydroxy-2-oxoglutarate may be a significant source of glyoxylate for glycine and hence glucose formation. 4. Mammalian liver hydroxyproline oxidase activity is higher in carnivorous species; necessary, perhaps, to metabolise a relatively large influx of hydroxyproline on a flesh diet.

The ultrastructural cytochemistry of peroxisomes in the guinea pig cochlea: a metabolic hypothesis for the stria vascularis

The roles of catalase and alpha-hydroxyacid oxidase activities are studied in the peroxisomes of the guinea pig inner ear. The major activities are located primarily in the intermediate cells of the stria vascularis. The peroxisomes of the stria vascularis behave cytochemically in a similar fashion to those found in the proximal convoluted tubules of the kidney. This study indicates that the stria vascularis may behave as a compartmentalized metabolic system.

Isolation and characterization of glycolic acid oxidase from human liver

Glycolic acid oxidase has been isolated from human liver and purified over 3000-fold to a specific activity of 123 U/mg protein by a 5-step procedure. The preparation gave a single protein band on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, required flavin mononucleotide for catalytic activity, had a pH optimum between 8.2-8.8 depending on the substrate, and had a molecular weight of 105 000. The enzyme has a broad specificity towards alpha-hydroxy acids. Glycolate (Km = 3.3 . 10(-4) M) was the most effective substrate. The enzyme was stable for several months when stored as an (NH4)2SO4 precipitate or in 15% glycerol. Since glycolate inhibits the oxidation of glyoxylate to oxalate by glycolic acid oxidase, it is suggested that glycolic acid oxidase contributes to the synthesis of oxalate in vivo when the glyoxylate concentration is high and the glycolate concentration is low.

Isolation and characterization of glycolic acid dehydrogenase from human liver

Glycolic acid dehydrogenase has been purified over 800-fold from human liver by (NH4)2SO4 fractionation and column chromatography with DEAE-cellulose and hydroxyapatite. The enzyme catalyzes the direct oxidation of glycolate to oxalate without forming glyoxylate as a free intermediate. Activity is found only in the liver in the soluble fraction. The enzyme is specific for glycolate and inhibits no activity towards glycine or glyoxylate. Glyoxylate and DL-phenyllactate exhibit the enzyme. Optimum activity occurs sharply at pH 6.1 and the Michaelis constant for glycolate was 6.3.10(-5)M. Molecular oxygen does not appear to be the electron acceptor and no requirement for cofactors has been demonstrated, althoug flavin mononucleotide, ascorbate and cytochrome c stimulate activity. The isolation of this enzyme which may account for a significant part of the normal oxalate excretion in man, provides a more complete understanding of the pathways of oxalate biosynthesis and must be taken into account when considering possible methods for controlling disorders of oxalate metabolism.

Genetics of hydroxyacid oxidase isozymes in the mouse: localisation of Hao-2 on linkage group XVI

Electrophoretic variants of individual isozymes of L-alpha-hydroxyacid oxidase (HAOX-B4) and amylase (AMY-A) in an Asian subspecies of mouse, Mus musculus castaneus, have been used to localise the gene encoding the HAOX B subunit. The structural gene loci for these isozymes (Hao-2 and Amy-1) are apparently linked (4.9 +/- 2.4 per cent recombinants) in this organism, which places Hao-2 on linkage group XVI, since previous studies by Eicher and co-workers (1976) have localised Amy-1 on this chromosome.

The self-association of L-alpha hydroxyacid oxidase

As the published values for the molecular weight of L-alpha-hydroxyacid oxidase vary from 89 000 to 430 000, it is possible that such variations could be due to a concentration dependence of the molecular weight. The molecular weight of rat L-alpha-hydroxyacid oxidase was studied over a wide range of concentrations, using equilibrium sedimentation and gel exclusion chromatography. The partial specific volumes (0.726 and 0.730 for hydroxyacid oxidase A and hydroxyacid oxidase B, respectively) were calculated from the amino acid compositions, and were used to calculat molecular weights from the equilibrium sedimentation data. The molecular weight at infinite dilution was found to be 150 000 for both the A and B isozymes. Both isozymes exhibit association-dissociation behaviour at low concentrations. The self-association of the hydroxyacid oxidase B isozyme can be described by the relation (see article) where K1,2 = 5.4-10(5) M-1 and K2,4 = 1.7-10(5) M-1. Previously published values of the molecular weight of these isozymes are in accord with the observed concentration dependence.

L-alpha-Hydroxyacid oxidase isozymes. Purification and molecular properties

L-alpha-Hydroxyacid oxidase isozymes from rat liver (A isozyme) and kidney (B isozyme) have been isolated in a high state of purity with specific activities of 61 and 14.7 microkatals per gram protein respectively. The subunit molecular weights determined by sodium dodecylsulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were 40000 +/- 3000; the mouse A and B isozymes were also partially purified and their subunit molecular weights shown to be 37000.