Synthesis of catalase in two cell-free protein-synthesizing systems and in rat liver

Novel insights in mammalian catalase heme maturation: effect of NO and thioredoxin-1

Catalase is a tetrameric heme-containing enzyme with essential antioxidant functions in biology. Multiple factors including nitric oxide (NO) have been shown to attenuate its activity. However, the possible impact of NO in relation to the maturation of active catalase, including its heme acquisition and tetramer formation, has not been investigated. We found that NO attenuates heme insertion into catalase in both short-term and long-term incubations. The NO inhibition in catalase heme incorporation was associated with defective oligomerization of catalase, such that inactive catalase monomers and dimers accumulated in place of the mature tetrameric enzyme. We also found that GAPDH plays a key role in mediating these NO effects on the structure and activity of catalase. Moreover, the NO sensitivity of catalase maturation could be altered up or down by manipulating the cellular expression level or activity of thioredoxin-1, a known protein-SNO denitrosylase enzyme. In a mouse model of allergic inflammatory asthma, we found that lungs from allergen-challenged mice contained a greater percentage of dimeric catalase relative to tetrameric catalase in the unchallenged control, suggesting that the mechanisms described here are in play in the allergic asthma model. Together, our study shows how maturation of active catalase can be influenced by NO, S-nitrosylated GAPDH, and thioredoxin-1, and how maturation may become compromised in inflammatory conditions such as asthma.

Maturation of catalase precursor proceeds to a different extent in glyoxysomes and leaf peroxisomes of pumpkin cotyledons

As an approach to study the mechanism of the microbody transition (glyoxysomes to leaf peroxisomes) in greening pumpkin cotyledons, catalase molecules were purified from the two different types of microbody and their structural properties were compared. The purified glyoxysomal catalase was found to consist of four identical subunits (55 kDa), whereas the leaf peroxisomal catalase contains two different forms of monomeric subunit (55 and 59 kDa). These different catalase species cross-reacted with the rabbit antibody raised against the glyoxysomal enzyme. During gel filtration on an Ultrogel AcA 34 column, the leaf peroxisomal 55-kDa polypeptide eluted slightly faster than the leaf peroxisomal 59-kDa polypeptide. The profile of catalase activities exactly paralleled the elution pattern of the 55-kDa molecules, which indicated that the 59-kDa polypeptide was enzymically inactive. Peptide mapping analysis using Staphylococcus aureus protease V8 showed that the glyoxysomal 55-kDa polypeptide was identical to the leaf peroxisomal 55-kDa species, whereas the leaf peroxisomal 59-kDa polypeptide had a different primary structure from the 55-kDa polypeptide. In an in vitro translation system directed by mRNA isolated from etiolated and green cotyledons, glyoxysomal and leaf peroxisomal catalases were synthesized as the identical 59-kDa polypeptide. From peptide mapping analysis, the in vitro-translated 59-kDa polypeptide was found to have a nearly identical primary structure to that of the leaf peroxisomal 59-kDa species. In vivo pulse-chase labeling experiments using etiolated cotyledons showed the conversion of the 59-kDa polypeptide to the 55-kDa molecular species. The overall results strongly indicate that the 59-kDa polypeptide is a precursor form of catalase in pumpkin cotyledons.

Biosynthesis of peroxisomal enzymes in the methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha

The dramatic expansion of the peroxisomal compartment known to occur in the methanol-utilizing yeast Hansenula polymorpha on transfer from glucose- to methanol-containing media was shown to be accompanied by the synthesis of at least six major polypeptides that dominate the polypeptide pattern of total cell extracts analyzed by NaDodSO(4)/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Two of these polypeptides have been identified by immunochemical methods as the monomers of the peroxisomal enzymes alcohol oxidase and catalase. We have studied the biosynthesis of these two peroxisomal enzymes, both by in vitro translation and by in vivo labeling experiments. By the criterion of mobility in NaDodSO(4)/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the in vitro- and in vivo-synthesized monomers were indistinguishable from each other, both in the case of alcohol oxidase and in that of catalase. Thus, neither of these peroxisomal enzymes appear to be synthesized as larger precursors. However, further analysis of in vitro-synthesized versus mature peroxisomal alcohol oxidase showed that the in vitro-synthesized form sedimented as a 5S monomer and not, like the mature peroxisomal enzyme, as a 20S octamer. Moreover, the in vitro-synthesized form was highly susceptible to trypsin digestion whereas the mature 20S octamer appeared to be resistant.

Peroxisomal disorders I: biochemistry and genetics of peroxisome biogenesis disorders

The peroxisomal disorders represent a group of genetic diseases in humans in which there is an impairment in one or more peroxisomal functions. The peroxisomal disorders are usually subdivided into two subgroups including (i) the peroxisome biogenesis disorders (PBDs) and (ii) the single peroxisomal (enzyme-) protein deficiencies. The PBD group is comprised of four different disorders including Zellweger syndrome (ZS), neonatal adrenoleukodystrophy (NALD), infantile Refsum's disease (IRD), and rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata (RCDP). ZS, NALD, and IRD are clearly distinct from RCDP and are usually referred to as the Zellweger spectrum with ZS being the most severe and NALD and IRD the less severe disorders. Studies in the late 1980s had already shown that the PBD group is genetically heterogeneous with at least 12 distinct genetic groups as concluded from complementation studies. Thanks to the much improved knowledge about peroxisome biogenesis notably in yeasts and the successful extrapolation of this knowledge to humans, the genes responsible for all these complementation groups have been identified making molecular diagnosis of PBD patients feasible now. It is the purpose of this review to describe the current stage of knowledge about the clinical, biochemical, cellular, and molecular aspects of PBDs, and to provide guidelines for the post- and prenatal diagnosis of PBDs. Less progress has been made with respect to the pathophysiology and therapy of PBDs. The increasing availability of mouse models for these disorders is a major step forward in this respect.

Peroxisome biogenesis: involvement of ARF and coatomer

Peroxisomal membrane protein (Pmp)26p (RnPex11p), a major constituent of induced rat liver peroxisomal membrane, was found to contain a COOH-terminal, cytoplasmically exposed consensus dilysine motif with the potential to bind coatomer. Biochemical as well as immunocytochemical evidence is presented showing that peroxisomes incubated with preparations of bovine brain or rat liver cytosol recruit ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF) and coatomer in a strictly guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate)-dependent manner. Consistent with this observation, ldlF cells expressing a temperature-sensitive mutant version of the epsilon-subunit of coatomer exhibit elongated tubular peroxisomes possibly due to impaired vesiculation at the nonpermissive temperature. Since overexpression of Pex11p in Chinese hamster ovary wild-type cells causes proliferation of peroxisomes, these data suggest that Pex11p plays an important role in peroxisome biogenesis by supporting ARF- and coatomer-dependent vesiculation of the organelles.

Rapid one-step isolation of mouse liver catalase by immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography

A novel and rapid procedure for the isolation of catalase from mouse liver, after prior treatment with the peroxisome proliferator perfluorooctanoic acid was developed using immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography involving chelation with zinc ions. The purification developed is simple, rapid (requiring 3 hours from cytosol or peroxisomal matrix to homogeneous proteins), reproducible, and yields virtually complete overall recovery of catalase activity. This procedure makes catalase from a variety of tissues and physiological and environmental conditions more readily available for study.

Peroxisomes in adrenal steroidogenesis

Peroxisomes, cytoplasmic organelles limited by a single membrane and with a matrix of moderate electron density, are present in a great number of cells, namely in adrenal cortex and other steroid-secreting organs. Presently peroxisomes are considered to be involved in important metabolic processes. They intervene in: (1) the production and degradation of H2O2; (2) biosynthesis of ether-phospholipids, cholesterol, dolichol, and bile acids; (3) oxidation of very long chain fatty acids, purines, polyamines, and prostaglandins; (4) catabolism of pipecolic, phythanic and glyoxylic acids; and (5) gluconeogenesis. Recent studies demonstrated that the experimental alterations in the normal steroidogenesis, produce significant morphological and biochemical changes in peroxisomes. Besides this, the presence of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (the key enzyme in the de novo cholesterol synthesis from acetate) and of sterol carrier protein-2 (SCP2), which is involved in the cholesterol metabolism and steroid metabolic pathways, are located in peroxisomes of steroid-secreting cells. In addition, patients with peroxisome diseases present deficiency in steroidogenesis, as well as reduced levels of SCP2. These data pointed out the important role of peroxisomes in steroid biosynthesis.

Targeting of human catalase to peroxisomes is dependent upon a novel COOH-terminal peroxisomal targeting sequence

We have identified a novel peroxisomal targeting sequence (PTS) at the extreme COOH terminus of human catalase. The last four amino acids of this protein (-KANL) are necessary and sufficient to effect targeting to peroxisomes in both human fibroblasts and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, when appended to the COOH terminus of the reporter protein, chloramphenicol acetyl transferase. However, this PTS differs from the extensive family of COOH-terminal PTS tripeptides collectively termed PTS1 in two major aspects. First, the presence of the uncharged amino acid, asparagine, at the penultimate residue of the human catalase PTS is highly unusual, in that a basic residue at this position has been previously found to be a common and critical feature of PTS1 signals. Nonetheless, this asparagine residue appears to constitute an important component of the catalase PTS, in that replacement with aspartate abolished peroxisomal targeting (as did deletion of the COOH-terminal four residues). Second, the human catalase PTS comprises more than the COOH-terminal three amino acids, in that COOH-terminal-ANL cannot functionally replace the PTS1 signal-SKL in targeting a chloramphenicol acetyl transferase fusion protein to peroxisomes. The critical nature of the fourth residue from the COOH terminus of the catalase PTS (lysine) is emphasized by the fact that substitution of this residue with a variety of other amino acids abolished or reduced peroxisomal targeting. Targeting was not reduced when this lysine was replaced with arginine, suggesting that a basic amino acid at this position is required for maximal functional activity of this PTS. In spite of these unusual features, human catalase is sorted by the PTS1 pathway, both in yeast and human cells. Disruption of the PAS10 gene encoding the S. cerevisiae PTS1 receptor resulted in a cytosolic location of chloramphenicol acetyl transferase appended with the human catalase PTS, as did expression of this protein in cells from a neonatal adrenoleukodystrophy patient specifically defective in PTS1 import. Furthermore, through the use of the two-hybrid system, it was demonstrated that both the PAS10 gene product (Pas10p) and the human PTS1 receptor can interact with the COOH-terminal region of human catalase, but that this interaction is abolished by substitutions at the penultimate residue (asparagine-to- aspartate) and at the fourth residue from the COOH terminus (lysine-to-glycine) which abolish PTS functionality. We have found no evidence of additional targeting information elsewhere in the human catalase protein. An internal tripeptide (-SHL-, which conforms to the mammalian PTS1 consensus) located nine to eleven residues from the COOH terminus has been excluded as a functional PTS. Additionally, in contrast to the situation for S. cerevisiae catalase A, which contains an internal PTS in addition to a COOH-terminal PTS1, human catalase lacks such a redundant PTS, as evidenced by the exclusive cytosolic location of human catalase mutated in the COOH-terminal PTS. Consistent with this species difference, fusions between catalase A and human catalase which include the catalase A internal PTS are targeted, at least in part, to peroxisomes regardless of whether the COOH-terminal human catalase PTS is intact.

Import of microinjected proteins bearing the SKL peroxisomal targeting sequence into the peroxisomes of a human fibroblast cell line: evidence that virtually all peroxisomes are import-competent

Peroxisomes import virtually all of their membrane and matrix proteins post-translationally. It is presently unknown whether, in mammalian cells, their exists a pool of mature peroxisomes which have received their complement of proteins and are import-incompetent. Previous work has shown that fibroblasts are capable of importing microinjected peroxisomal proteins into peroxisomes. This report describes the import of a hybrid peroxisomal protein into virtually all peroxisomes of the microinjected cell. The peroxisomal import was uniform in both short and long incubations. Pretreatment of the cells with cycloheximide did not affect the import of the peroxisomal protein, nor was there any difference in the distribution of the imported protein. Sequential microinjection experiments demonstrated that peroxisomes that had imported luciferase were capable of importing another peroxisomal protein injected 24 hours later. These results suggest that, in fibroblasts, all peroxisomes have associated protein-import machinery; this evidence does not support the hypothesis that there exists a pool of import-incompetent peroxisomes.

Involvement of 70-kD heat-shock proteins in peroxisomal import

This report describes the involvement of 70-kD heat-shock proteins (hsp70) in the import of proteins into mammalian peroxisomes. Employing a microinjection-based assay (Walton, P. A., S. J. Gould, J. R. Feramisco, and S. Subramani. 1992. Mol. Cell Biol. 12:531-541), we demonstrate that proteins of the hsp70 family were associated with proteins being imported into the peroxisomal matrix. Import of peroxisomal proteins could be inhibited by coinjection of antibodies directed against the constitutive hsp70 proteins (hsp73). In a permeabilized-cell assay (Wendland and Subramani. 1993. J. Cell Biol. 120:675-685), antibodies directed against hsp70 proteins were shown to inhibit peroxisomal protein import. Inhibition could be overcome by the addition of exogenous hsp70 proteins. Purified rat liver peroxisomes were shown to have associated hsp70 proteins. The amount of associated hsp70 was increased under conditions of peroxisomal proliferation. Furthermore, proteinase protection assays indicated that the hsp70 molecules were located on the outside of the peroxisomal membrane. Finally, the process of heat-shocking cells resulted in a considerable delay in the import of peroxisomal proteins. Taken together, these results indicate that heat-shock proteins of the cytoplasmic hsp70 family are involved in the import of peroxisomal proteins.

In vitro insertion of the 22-kD peroxisomal membrane protein into isolated rat liver peroxisomes

The membrane insertion of the 22-kD integral peroxisomal membrane protein (PMP 22) was studied in a system in which peroxisomes isolated from rat liver were incubated with the [35S]methionine-labeled in vitro translation product of PMP 22 mRNA. Membrane insertion of PMP 22 was demonstrated by protease treatment of peroxisomes in the absence and presence of detergent. Approximately 35% of total in vitro translated PMP 22 became protease resistant after a 1-h incubation at 26 degrees C. Import was dependent on time and temperature, did not require ATP or GTP and was not inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide treatment of neither the soluble components of the translation mixture nor of the isolated peroxisomes. In contrast to these results it was recently shown that the import of the peroxisomal marker, firefly luciferase, into peroxisomes of permeabilized cells was dependent on ATP hydrolysis and was blocked by N-ethylmaleimide pretreatment of the cytosol-depleted cells (Rapp et al., 1993; Wendland and Subramani, 1993). Therefore, the present data suggest that insertion of PMP 22 into the peroxisomal membrane and translocation of firefly luciferase into peroxisomes follow distinct mechanisms. At low temperature binding of PMP 22 to the peroxisomal membrane was not influenced whereas insertion was strongly inhibited. Pretreatment of peroxisomes with subtilisin reduced binding to a low level and completely abolished insertion. Therefore it is suggested that binding is prerequisite to insertion and that insertion may be mediated by a proteinaceous receptor.

Transport of microinjected proteins into peroxisomes of mammalian cells: inability of Zellweger cell lines to import proteins with the SKL tripeptide peroxisomal targeting signal

Previous work has shown that the firefly (Photinus pyralis) luciferase contains a C-terminal peroxisomal targeting signal consisting of the tripeptide Ser-Lys-Leu. This report describes the microinjection of two proteins, (i) luciferase and (ii) albumin conjugated to a peptide ending in the sequence Ser-Lys-Leu, into mammalian cells grown in tissue culture. Following microinjection, incubation of the cells at 37 degrees C resulted in peroxisomal transport of these exogenous proteins into catalase-containing vesicles. The translocation was both time and temperature dependent. The transport could be inhibited by coinjection of synthetic peptides bearing various peroxisomal targeting signal motifs. These proteins could be transported into peroxisomes in normal human fibroblast cell lines but not in cell lines derived from patients with Zellweger syndrome. These results demonstrate that microinjection of peroxisomal proteins yields an authentic in vivo system with which to study peroxisomal transport. Furthermore, these results reveal that the process of peroxisomal transport does not involve irreversible modification of the protein, that artificial hybrid substrates can be transported and used as tools to study peroxisomal transport, and that the defect in Zellweger syndrome is indeed the inability to transport proteins containing the Ser-Lys-Leu targeting signal into the peroxisomal lumen.

Transport of microinjected proteins into peroxisomes of mammalian cells: inability of Zellweger cell lines to import proteins with the SKL tripeptide peroxisomal targeting signal

Previous work has shown that the firefly (Photinus pyralis) luciferase contains a C-terminal peroxisomal targeting signal consisting of the tripeptide Ser-Lys-Leu. This report describes the microinjection of two proteins, (i) luciferase and (ii) albumin conjugated to a peptide ending in the sequence Ser-Lys-Leu, into mammalian cells grown in tissue culture. Following microinjection, incubation of the cells at 37 degrees C resulted in peroxisomal transport of these exogenous proteins into catalase-containing vesicles. The translocation was both time and temperature dependent. The transport could be inhibited by coinjection of synthetic peptides bearing various peroxisomal targeting signal motifs. These proteins could be transported into peroxisomes in normal human fibroblast cell lines but not in cell lines derived from patients with Zellweger syndrome. These results demonstrate that microinjection of peroxisomal proteins yields an authentic in vivo system with which to study peroxisomal transport. Furthermore, these results reveal that the process of peroxisomal transport does not involve irreversible modification of the protein, that artificial hybrid substrates can be transported and used as tools to study peroxisomal transport, and that the defect in Zellweger syndrome is indeed the inability to transport proteins containing the Ser-Lys-Leu targeting signal into the peroxisomal lumen.

Acyl-CoA oxidase, peroxisomal thiolase and dihydroxyacetone phosphate acyltransferase: aberrant subcellular localization in Zellweger syndrome

We have studied the presence and subcellular localization of peroxisomal 3-oxoacylcoenzyme A thiolase, acylcoenzyme A oxidase and acyl-CoA: dihydroxyacetonephosphate acyltransferase (DHAPAT) in fibroblasts from control subjects and patients with an inherited deficiency of peroxisomes (Zellweger syndrome), using immunofluorescence spectroscopy and density gradient centrifugation techniques. The results show that Zellweger cells contain unprocessed thiolase and unprocessed acyl-CoA oxidase which are associated with structures containing a peroxisomal integral membrane protein of 69 kDa and having a density much lower than that of normal peroxisomes. The residual DHAPAT activity present in Zellweger cells is also contained in these structures. We conclude that these structures represent defectively assembled peroxisomes which may still be capable of importing some peroxisomal proteins.

Purification and biosynthesis of cottonseed (Gossypium hirsutum L.) catalase

As part of our research on peroxisome biogenesis, catalase was purified from cotyledons of dark-grown cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) seedlings and monospecific antibodies were raised in rabbits. Purified catalase appeared as three distinct electrophoretic forms in non-denaturing gels and as a single protein band (with a subunit Mr of 57,000) on silver-stained SDS/polyacrylamide gels. Western blots of crude extracts and isolated peroxisomes from cotton revealed one immunoreactive polypeptide with the same Mr (57,000) as the purified enzyme, indicating that catalase did not undergo any detectable change in Mr during purification. Synthesis in vitro, directed by polyadenylated RNA isolated from either maturing seeds or cotyledons of dark-grown cotton seedlings, revealed a predominant immunoreactive translation product with a subunit Mr of 57,000 and an additional minor immunoreactive product with a subunit Mr of 64000. Labelling studies in vivo revealed newly synthesized monomers of both the 64000- and 57,000-Mr proteins present in the cytosol and incorporation of both proteins into the peroxisome without proteolytic processing. Within the peroxisome, the 57,000-Mr catalase was found as an 11S tetramer; whereas the 64,000-Mr protein was found as a relatively long-lived 20S aggregate (native Mr approx. 600,000-800,000). The results strongly indicate that the 64,000-Mr protein (catalase?) is not a precursor to the 57,000-Mr catalase and that cotton catalase is translated on cytosolic ribosomes without a cleavable transit or signal sequence.

Presence of the peroxisomal 22-kDa integral membrane protein in the liver of a person lacking recognizable peroxisomes (Zellweger syndrome)

Peroxisomes have not been detected in liver and kidney of patients with Zellweger syndrome. Some peroxisome proteins are missing; others are present in normal amounts but are located in the cytosol. We have prepared an antiserum against the 22-kDa integral membrane protein characteristic of rat liver peroxisomes. The antiserum crossreacts with the human liver counterpart, which likewise has a mass of 22 kDa. By immunoblot analysis, we demonstrate that the 22-kDa protein is present in normal amount in Zellweger liver and is integral to a membrane. The result suggests that peroxisome membranes are assembled in Zellweger syndrome but may be defective for the import of matrix proteins. As a result, newly synthesized proteins are left in the cytosol, where some persist and others are degraded. Lacking their usual content, such aberrant peroxisomal membranes would be unrecognizable morphologically. Immunoblot analyses also showed that the peroxisomal hydratase-dehydrogenase is deficient in Zellweger kidney as well as liver, but catalase is present in both organs.

Biosynthesis and maturation of peroxisomal beta-oxidation enzymes in fibroblasts in relation to the Zellweger syndrome and infantile Refsum disease

The biosynthesis of the peroxisomal enzymes acyl-CoA oxidase, 3-oxoacyl-CoA thiolase (acetyl-CoA acyl-transferase, EC 2.3.1.16), and catalase (EC 1.11.1.6) was studied in cultured skin fibroblasts from a control subject and from patients with Zellweger syndrome and the infantile form of Refsum disease, inherited disorders in which peroxisomes are deficient and certain peroxisomal functions are impaired. The results of continuous labeling and pulse-chase experiments indicate that in control fibroblasts, as in rat liver, acyl-CoA oxidase is synthesized as a 72-kDa percursor that is converted to two polypeptides of 52 and 20 kDa and 3-oxoacyl-CoA thiolase is synthesized as a 44-kDa precursor that is converted to the 41-kDa mature protein. In fibroblasts from the patients the precursors of the two enzymes are formed but their maturation is impaired, and they are rapidly degraded. In contrast, the biosynthesis of catalase is not impaired. We conclude that functional peroxisomes are required for the maturation and stability of acyl-CoA oxidase and 3-oxoacyl-CoA thiolase but not for catalase.

Heterogeneity of catalase in maturing and germinated cotton seeds

To investigate possible charge and size heterogeneity of catalase (EC 1.11.1.6) in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. cv Deltapine 62), extracts of cotyledons from different developmental ages were subjected to nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing. Special precautions (e.g. fresh homogenates, reducing media) were necessary to prevent artefacts due to enzyme modification during extraction and storage. When the gels were stained for enzyme activity, two distinct electrophoretic forms of catalase were resolved in extracts of maturing and mature cotton seeds. In germinated seeds, three additional cathodic forms were detected revealing a total of five electrophoretic variants. In green cotyledons, the two anodic forms characteristic of ungerminated seeds were less active; whereas, the most cathodic form was predominant. All forms of catalase were found in isolated glyoxysomes. Corresponding electrophoretic patterns were found on Western blots probed with anticatalase serum; no immunoreactive, catalytically inactive forms were detected. Western blots of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels revealed only one immunoreactive (55 kilodaltons) polypeptide in cotton extracts of all developmental ages. Results from isoelectric focusing and Ferguson plots indicate that the electrophoretic variants of catalase are charge isomers with a molecular weight of approximately 230,000.

Isolation and characterization of the human catalase gene

Catalase is a tetrameric hemoprotein which degrades H2O2. Recombinant phage clones containing the human catalase gene have been isolated and characterized. The gene is 34 kb long and is split into 13 exons. The precise size and location of the exons has been determined. In addition, essentially full length catalase cDNA clones have been isolated and sequenced and used to tentatively identify the 5'-end of the gene. This assignment, if correct, predicts that the region upstream of the gene does not contain a TATA box. This region is GC rich (67%) and contains several CCAAT and GGGCGG sequences which may form part of the promoter. Translation of the catalase mRNA appears to begin immediately upstream of the amino-terminal Ala residue of catalase.

Biosynthesis of rat-liver pI-5.0 esterases in cell-free systems and in cultured hepatocytes

Rat liver esterases focusing at pH 5.0 (referred to below as pI-5.0 esterases) are structurally related glycoproteins which differ slightly in their mobility in sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). They reside in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. We have studied their biosynthesis in cell-free systems programmed by total liver RNA, using sheep and rabbit antibodies to isolate the translation products related to these enzymes. Our results show that they are assembled as a precursor polypeptide chain (62 kDa) larger than the mature proteins. The pI-5.0 esterase mRNA could be extracted from bound but not free polysomes. Reticulocyte lysates supplemented with dog pancreas microsomes produced four esterase-related components in segregated form (61, 60, 58 and 56 kDa). The largest three correspond in electrophoretic mobility to the mature enzymes. They are glycoproteins that bind to concanavalin A, and can be reduced to the size of the shortest component by endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H (endo-H). Immunoprecipitation after biosynthetic labeling of the proteins in cultured hepatocytes also gave three glycosylated components that had the same mobility in SDS-PAGE as the mature enzymes. When tunicamycin was present in the culture medium, a single immunoprecipitable form was observed. Its apparent Mr was similar to that of the unglycosylated pI 5.0 esterase form synthesized in vitro in the presence of dog pancreas microsomes. Thus the biosynthesis of these esterases has characteristics in common with that of numerous secretory proteins, except for the rather large difference in size (approximately equal to 6 kDa) resulting from the proteolytic processing of their in-vitro-synthesized precursor.

On the multiplicity of the enzyme catalase in mammalian liver

The literature on the complex multiplicity of mammalian catalase and the nature of the epigenetic modifications undergone by this enzyme has been reviewed, along with relevant comment on the subcellular localization and biological role of the enzyme. The epigenetic causations of multiplicity are established as being multifactorial and include oxidoreductive conversions of sulphydryl groups, the covalent attachment of carbohydrate, and partial proteolysis of the enzyme. Each of these epigenetic transformations may give rise to sets of multiple forms, and overlaps between these separate sets may give rise to extremely complex multiplicity patterns. It is concluded that any interpretation of catalase multiplicity which places emphasis on a single epigenetic causation is not compatible with the scope and variety of the available data on this enzyme. Instead, a holistic approach is urged - one giving due emphasis to the multiple causation of catalase multiplicity, and the interrelationships of these causations in the cellular situation. Rather than viewing the multiplicity of this enzyme as merely a series of interesting chemical modifications, emphasis is directed towards the fact that catalase heterogeneity provides a sensitive indication of the functional variations which occur within separate compartments of the subcellular structure, and hence becomes an essential element in any satisfactory understanding of the role of this enzyme in cellular processes.

Complete nucleotide sequence of cDNA and deduced amino acid sequence of rat liver catalase

We have isolated five cDNA clones for rat liver catalase (hydrogen peroxide:hydrogen peroxide oxidoreductase, EC 1.11.1.6). These clones overlapped with each other and covered the entire length of the mRNA, which had been estimated to be 2.4 kilobases long by blot hybridization analysis of electrophoretically fractionated RNA. Nucleotide sequencing was carried out on these five clones and the composite nucleotide sequence of catalase cDNA was determined. The 5' noncoding region contained 83 bases and was followed by 1581 bases of an open reading frame that encoded 527 amino acids. The 3' noncoding region was 831 bases long and contained long repeats of the unit AC. The amino acid sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence of the cDNAs showed about 90% homology with the reported primary structure of bovine liver catalase. The molecular weight of rat liver catalase was calculated to be 59,758 from the predicted amino acid sequence. The amino acid residues in contact with the heme group are completely identical for bovine liver and rat liver catalases. The amino acid sequence at the COOH terminus was confirmed by the results of carboxypeptidase P treatment of the protein purified from rat liver in the presence of leupeptin. Rat liver catalase has no cleavable signal peptide for translocation of the enzyme into peroxisomes.

Isolation of alcohol oxidase and two other methanol regulatable genes from the yeast Pichia pastoris

The oxidation of methanol follows a well-defined pathway and is similar for several methylotrophic yeasts. The use of methanol as the sole carbon source for the growth of Pichia pastoris stimulates the expression of a family of genes. Three methanol-responsive genes have been isolated; cDNA copies have been made from mRNAs of these genes, and the protein products from in vitro translations have been examined. The identification of alcohol oxidase as one of the cloned, methanol-regulated genes has been made by enzymatic, immunological, and sequence analyses. Methanol-regulated expression of each of these three isolated genes can be demonstrated to occur at the level of transcription. Finally, DNA subfragments of two of the methanol-responsive genomic clones from P. pastoris have been isolated and tentatively identified as containing the control regions involved in methanol regulation.

Partial disassembly of peroxisomes

Rat liver peroxisomes were subjected to a variety of procedures intended to partially disassemble or damage them; the effects were analyzed by recentrifugation into sucrose gradients, enzyme analyses, electron microscopy, and SDS PAGE. Freezing and thawing or mild sonication released some matrix proteins and produced apparently intact peroxisomal "ghosts" with crystalloid cores and some fuzzy fibrillar content. Vigorous sonication broke open the peroxisomes but the membranes remained associated with cores and fibrillar and amorphous matrix material. The density of both ghosts and more severely damaged peroxisomes was approximately 1.23. Pyrophosphate (pH 9) treatment solubilized the fibrillar content, yielding ghosts that were empty except for cores. Some matrix proteins such as catalase and thiolase readily leak from peroxisomes. Other proteins were identified that remain in mechanically damaged peroxisomes but are neither core nor membrane proteins because they can be released by pyrophosphate treatment. These constitute a class of poorly soluble matrix proteins that appear to correspond to the fibrillar material observed morphologically. All of the peroxisomal beta-oxidation enzymes are located in the matrix, but they vary greatly in how easily they leak out. Palmitoyl coenzyme A synthetase is in the membrane, based on its co-distribution with the 22-kilodalton integral membrane polypeptide.

Cloning of cDNA coding for peroxisomal acyl-CoA oxidase from the yeast Candida tropicalis pK233

Candida tropicalis pK233 cells were grown with n-alkanes as carbon source to induce the synthesis of peroxisomal proteins and the proliferation of peroxisomes. Poly-(A)+ RNA was isolated and used to construct a cDNA library by insertion of double-stranded reverse transcripts into the Pst I site of pBR322 followed by cloning in Escherichia coli. Clones complementary to mRNAs induced by growth on alkanes were selected by differential DNA dot-blot analysis using [32P]cDNA reverse-transcribed from poly(A)+ RNA of glucose-grown cells (which contain few peroxisomes) or of alkane-grown cells. Among these clones, one containing a 1.7-kilobase insert coding for acyl-CoA oxidase (the first enzyme in the peroxisomal Beta-oxidation pathway) was identified by hybridization-selection translation and immunoprecipitation. By RNA blot analysis, the acyl-CoA oxidase mRNA was estimated to be approximately equal to 2.2 kilobases long, of which 2.1 kilobases are required to code for the approximately equal to 76-kDa protein. Since the mRNA is polyadenylylated, there appears to be little additional nontranslated region. Cell-free mRNA translation and RNA dot-blot hybridization analyses demonstrated that, whereas glucose-grown C. tropicalis contained little or no acyl-CoA oxidase mRNA, alkane-grown cells contained so much of this mRNA as to make acyl-CoA oxidase one of the major in vitro translation products.

Serial section analysis of mouse hepatic peroxisomes

The ultrastructure and organization of mouse hepatic peroxisomes were investigated using serial thin sections and the alkaline diaminobenzidine technique for visualization of the peroxidatic activity of catalase. Mouse periportal hepatocytes exhibit three classes of peroxisomes which display morphological and cytochemical heterogeneity: 1) large, circular to ovoid organelles containing a crystalline nucleoid, 2) small, circular to elongate, anucleoid particles, and 3) tail-like extensions which are devoid of both catalase activity (only traces of reaction deposits) and a crystalline core. Serial section analysis reveals that these profiles correspond to three diverse interconnecting peroxisomal segments which constitute a highly complex organelle. In particular, the large nucleoid-containing peroxisomal segment exhibits an intimate relationship to the endoplasmic reticulum. However, direct membrane continuities between the two compartments are never observed. With respect to the complex structure of the organelle the following conclusions can be drawn concerning biochemical studies on liver peroxisomes: 1) During homogenization and subcellular fractionation procedures, fragmentation of peroxisomes into particles of different size classes should be expected. 2) These peroxisomal fragments are inhomogeneous with respect to their matrix contents and possess at least one rupture site on their membrane surface. 3) Soluble matrix and, to a lesser degree, membrane components of peroxisomes contribute to the soluble fraction. 4) Crude microsomal fractions are regularly contaminated by peroxisomal membrane fragments.

Molecular cloning and characterization of a gene coding for methanol oxidase in Hansenula polymorpha

The structural gene and the regulatory DNA sequence of the yeast Hansenula polymorpha methanol oxidase have been isolated. According to the nucleotide sequence data obtained, the structural gene encodes a 664 amino acids long protein, contains no intervening sequences, and the 5'- and 3'-non-coding region contains several sequences implicated in transcription initiation and termination in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Although the methanol oxidase is translocated to the peroxisomes, no cleavable signal sequence was found at the N-terminus of the protein.

Isolation of alcohol oxidase and two other methanol regulatable genes from the yeast Pichia pastoris

The oxidation of methanol follows a well-defined pathway and is similar for several methylotrophic yeasts. The use of methanol as the sole carbon source for the growth of Pichia pastoris stimulates the expression of a family of genes. Three methanol-responsive genes have been isolated; cDNA copies have been made from mRNAs of these genes, and the protein products from in vitro translations have been examined. The identification of alcohol oxidase as one of the cloned, methanol-regulated genes has been made by enzymatic, immunological, and sequence analyses. Methanol-regulated expression of each of these three isolated genes can be demonstrated to occur at the level of transcription. Finally, DNA subfragments of two of the methanol-responsive genomic clones from P. pastoris have been isolated and tentatively identified as containing the control regions involved in methanol regulation.

Synthesis of 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase of rat liver peroxisomes on free polyribosomes as a larger precursor. Induction of thiolase mRNA activity by clofibrate

The site of synthesis and induction by clofibrate of peroxisomal 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase (acetyl-CoA acyltransferase; EC 2.3.1.16) was investigated. Free and membrane-bound polyribosomal RNA species from the livers of normal rats and rats treated with clofibrate, a hypolipidaemic drug that causes marked proliferation of peroxisomes, were translated in a nuclease-treated rabbit reticulocyte-lysate cell-free protein-synthesizing system with [35S]methionine as label. The cell-free translation products were immunoprecipitated with monospecific X rabbit anti-thiolase serum and analysed by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and fluorography. Thiolase mRNA was found predominantly in free polyribosomes, in both normal and clofibrate-treated rats. Clofibrate treatment increased mRNA activity for thiolase approx. 20-fold. The translation product of clofibrate-induced thiolase mRNA migrated slightly faster in sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis than did the translation product of normal thiolase mRNA. Both the normal and the clofibrate-induced translation products were approx. 6000 Da larger than the 41000-Da subunit of the purified enzyme. Immunoblot analysis of liver homogenates, isolated peroxisomes and the purified enzyme indicated that the thiolase subunit was approx. 41000 Da in all samples, ruling out proteolysis during the purification of thiolase. Thiolase biogenesis thus differs from that of rat liver peroxisomal proteins studied previously in that it is synthesized as a larger precursor, implying post-translational import of thiolase into peroxisomes with proteolytic processing. Clofibrate apparently alters the size as well as the amount of the translation product.

Peroxisomal defects in neonatal-onset and X-linked adrenoleukodystrophies

Accumulation of very long chain fatty acids in X-linked and neonatal forms of adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) appears to be a consequence of deficient peroxisomal oxidation of very long chain fatty acids. Peroxisomes were readily identified in liver biopsies taken from a patient having the X-linked disorder. However, in liver biopsies from a patient having neonatal-onset ALD, hepatocellular peroxisomes were greatly reduced in size and number, and sedimentable catalase was markedly diminished. The presence of increased concentrations of serum pipecolic acid and the bile acid intermediate, trihydroxycoprostanic acid, in the neonatal ALD patient are associated with a generalized diminution of peroxisomal activities that was not observed in the patient with X-linked ALD.

Acyl-Coa oxidase and hydratase-dehydrogenase, two enzymes of the peroxisomal beta-oxidation system, are synthesized on free polysomes of clofibrate-treated rat liver

We investigated the site of synthesis of two abundant proteins in clofibrate-induced rat hepatic peroxisomes. RNA was extracted from free and membrane-bound polysomes, heated to improve translational efficiency, and translated in the mRNA-dependent, reticulocyte-lysate-cell-free, protein-synthesizing system. The peroxisomal acyl-CoA oxidase and enoyl-CoA hydratase-beta-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase 35S-translation products were isolated immunochemically, analyzed by SDS PAGE and fluorography, and quantitated by densitometric scanning. The RNAs coding for these two peroxisomal proteins were found predominantly on free polysomes, and the translation products co-migrated with the mature proteins. As in normal rat liver, preproalbumin and catalase were synthesized mainly by membrane-bound and by free polysomes, respectively. mRNAs for a number of minor 35S-translation products also retained by the anti-peroxisomal immunoadsorbent were similarly found on free polysomes. These results, together with previous data, allow the generalization that the content proteins of rat liver peroxisomes are synthesized on free polysomes, and the data imply a posttranslational packaging mechanism for these major content proteins.

Synthesis of a major integral membrane polypeptide of rat liver peroxisomes on free polysomes

The manner of synthesis and assembly of the peroxisomal membrane proteins is unknown. Understanding these processes is essential to an understanding of the formation of the organelle. We have investigated the biogenesis of the previously identified major 21.7-kDa integral peroxisomal membrane polypeptide [Fujiki, Y., Fowler, S., Shio, H., Hubbard, A. L. & Lazarow, P. B. (1982) J. Cell Biol. 93, 103-110]. This protein was purified to apparent homogeneity and used to elicit a rabbit antiserum. In immunoblotting analysis, antibody bound only to the 22-kDa membrane polypeptide present exclusively in peroxisomal membranes. Total rat liver RNA was translated in a nuclease-treated rabbit reticulocyte cell-free protein-synthesizing system. The in vitro translation product, isolated by means of the antibody and Staphylococcus aureus cells, comigrated with the mature 22-kDa polypeptide in NaDodSO4/PAGE. Analysis of the translation products of RNAs from free and membrane-bound polysomes indicated that the mRNA for the 22-kDa membrane polypeptide is found predominantly in free polysomes. The results imply post-translational insertion of the membrane polypeptide into the peroxisomal membrane without proteolytic processing and suggest that peroxisomes, like mitochondria and chloroplasts, form by fission from preexisting organelles.

Heating RNA before cell-free translation is essential for the efficient and reproducible synthesis of several peroxisomal proteins

Total RNA, extracted with guanidinium thiocyanate from liver of clofibrate-treated rats, was translated in vitro. Heating the RNA at 60 degrees C for 5 min before translation increased the synthesis of three peroxisomal polypeptides 10-100-fold. Preproalbumin synthesis increased 10-fold. Total incorporation of [35S]methionine into proteins merely doubled. Heating is essential for reproducible and adequate translation of mRNAs coding for peroxisomal and some other proteins.

On the topology of the catalase biosynthesis and -degradation in the guinea pig liver. A cytochemical study

The biosynthesis, transport and degradation of catalase have been studied in the guinea pig liver parenchymal cell using 2-allyl-2-isopropylacetamide (AIA) as an inhibitor of de novo formation of catalase. Total catalase activity was assayed biochemically; cytoplasmic catalase was measured microspectrophotometrically after quantitative diaminobenzidine staining of the liver. By morphometry, number and size of peroxisomes in catalase stained sections were determined. From our data we conclude that (1) the final step in the catalase formation takes place inside peroxisomes, (2) catalase is transported from the peroxisomes into the cytoplasm, (3) in the cytoplasm catalase is degraded. These conclusions in part confirm the topological model on the intracellular catalase biosynthesis pathway of Lazarow and de Duve (1973) except for the presence of cytoplasmic catalase which is released from the peroxisomes as proposed earlier by Jones and Masters (1975).

Biosynthesis and regulation of the peroxisomal methanol oxidase from the methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha

The biosynthesis of methanol oxidase, a peroxisomal enzyme in the methanol-utilizing yeast Hansenula polymorpha, was studied in vitro. Translation of Hansenula mRNA in a rabbit reticulocyte lysate yields methanol oxidase protein in high amounts. The apparent molecular mass of the protein was found to be identical to the subunit of the functional multimeric enzyme, which indicates the absence of an N-terminal extension typical of most transported proteins. The regulation of methanol oxidase by glucose repression and depression as well as by induction of methanol was shown to be controlled at the level of transcription. Two mutants of Hansenula polymorpha, unable to grow on methanol as a carbon and energy source were shown to be affected in methanol oxidase synthesis.

Synthesis in vitro of precursor-type carnitine acetyltransferase with messenger RNA from Candida tropicalis

Carnitine acetyltransferase was synthesized in vitro in the mRNA-dependent reticulocyte system with mRNA from alkane-grown or propionate-grown cells of Candida tropicalis. The protein synthesized in vitro was isolated by immunoprecipitation with antibody against peroxisomal or mitochondrial carnitine acetyltransferase and was compared with peroxisomal carnitine acetyltransferase (Mr of subunits, 64 000 and 57 000) and the mitochondrial enzyme (Mr of subunits, 64 000 and 52 000) of C. tropicalis by electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. Nascent carnitine acetyltransferase prepared in vitro showed a hetero-oligomeric property, like the peroxisomal and mitochondrial enzymes isolated from C. tropicalis. The molecular weights of the subunits of nascent carnitine acetyltransferase were estimated to be 71 000 and 57 000, indicating the existence of the precursor form of the enzyme. By sucrose density gradient centrifugation of total mRNA, these two subunit proteins were shown to be synthesized with respective mRNAs of different sizes. The same precursor-type of carnitine acetyltransferase was obtained with the mRNAs from the alkane-grown cells and the propionate-grown cells. The results obtained suggest that a common precursor will be post-translationally modified to form the peroxisomal and mitochondrial enzymes.