Vitamin K-dependent carboxylation of pulmonary surfactant-associated proteins

Dietary Vitamin K Intake and HPV-Infection Status Among American Women: A Secondary Analysis From National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Data From 2003 to 2016

Objective: Cervical cancer is a serious potential risk to women’s health, and is closely related to persistent HPV infection. Vitamin K mainly existed in green vegetables, fruit, and dairy products. This research aims to observe the association between vitamin K and HPV-infection.

Methods: 13,447 participants from the NHANES were selected. Dietary vitamin K intake was used as the objective independent variable and continuous variable, HPV-infection status was used as the outcome variable, and characteristics of selected participants were used as the covariates.

Results: There was a nonlinearity between vitamin K intake and HPV-infection, and the inflection point is 3.81 of log2 vitamin K intake. In a range of 0–3.81, Each one-unit increase in log2 vitamin K intake was associated with a 43% reduction in the risk of HPV infection. When log2 vitamin K intake excess of 3.81, the risk of HPV infection did not continue to decline. The HPV-subtype was not associated with vitamin K intake.

Conclusion: There is a nonlinearity between vitamin K intake and HPV-infection status. But HPV-subtype was not associated with vitamin K intake.

Vitamin K2 Alleviates Insulin Resistance in Skeletal Muscle by Improving Mitochondrial Function Via SIRT1 Signaling

Aims: High-fat diet (HFD)-induced insulin resistance (IR) impairs skeletal muscle mitochondrial biogenesis and functions, adversely affecting human health and lifespan. Vitamin K2 (VK2) has a beneficial role in improving insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of VK2 on insulin sensitivity have not been well established. We investigated VK2's modulation of mitochondrial function to protect against IR in mice and cell models. Results: VK2 supplementation could effectively ameliorate the development of IR by improving mitochondrial function in both HFD-fed mice and palmitate acid-exposed cells. We revealed for the first time that HFD-caused mitochondrial dysfunction could be reversed by VK2 treatment. VK2 enhanced the mitochondrial function by improving mitochondrial respiratory capacity, increasing mitochondrial biogenesis and the enzymatic activities of mitochondrial complexes through SIRT1 signaling. The benefits of VK2 were abrogated in C₂C₁₂ transfected with SIRT1 siRNA but not in C₂C₁₂ transfected with AMPK siRNA. VK2 and SRT1720, a specific agonist of SIRT1, had the same effect on improving mitochondrial function via SIRT1 signaling. Thus, SIRT1 is required for VK2 improvement in skeletal muscle. Further, the beneficial effects of both VK2 and geranylgeraniol contribute to inhibited IR in skeletal muscle via SIRT1. Innovation and Conclusion: These studies demonstrated a previously undiscovered mechanism by which VK2 alleviates IR in skeletal muscle by improving mitochondrial function via SIRT1. Naturally occurring VK2 prevents IR by improving mitochondrial function through SIRT1 signaling. These results could provide a foundation to identify new VK2-based preventive and therapeutic strategies for IR.

Vitamin K: Redox-modulation, prevention of mitochondrial dysfunction and anticancer effect

This review is directed to the redox-modulating properties and anticancer effect of vitamin K. The concept is focused on two aspects: (i) redox-cycle of vitamin K and its effect on the calcium homeostasis, “oncogenic” and “onco-suppressive” reactive oxygen species and the specific induction of oxidative stress in cancer; (ii) vitamin K plus C as a powerful redox-system, which forms a bypass between mitochondrial complexes II and III and thus prevents mitochondrial dysfunction, restores oxidative phosphorylation and aerobic glycolysis, modulates the redox-state of endogenous redox-pairs, eliminates the hypoxic environment of cancer cells and induces cell death. The analyzed data suggest that vitamin C&K can sensitize cancer cells to conventional chemotherapy, which allows achievement of a lower effective dose of the drug and minimizing the harmful side-effects. The review is intended for a wide audience of readers - from students to specialists in the field.

Impaired surfactant synthesis in fetal type II lung cells from gsd/gsd rats

The importance of intracellular glycogen for surfactant synthesis was investigated in fetal type II lung cells isolated from rats with a glycogen storage disorder, designated gsd/gsd. Compared to cells from a control Wistar strain, cultured gsd/gsd pneumocytes were glycogenrich and contained fewer and smaller lamellar inclusions. Freshly isolated cells from day 19-21 fetuses of control rats demonstrated the expected gestational rise and fall of cellular glycogen seen in intact fetal lungs. At day 20, when tissue glycogen peaks, cellular glycogen content was 48 and 70 nmol glucose/micrograms DNA in isolated type II cells of control and gsd/gsd lungs, respectively. In control cells, while active glycogen phosphorylase changed from 35 to 65% of total during 24 h of culture, glycogen fell 85%. In contrast, gsd/gsd cell phosphorylase was not activated, phosphorylase kinase activity was nondetectable, and glycogen per cell remained unchanged. [3H]Choline incorporation into total PC and disaturated PC (DSPC) was 50 and 62% lower, respectively, in gsd/gsd type II cells compared to controls in the absence of exogenous substrate. Cellular content of the surfactant-associated protein SP-A was similar in control and gsd/gsd cells at day 20, and increased 3- to 4-fold during a subsequent 24-h interval of tissue culture. These results suggest that PC synthesis is dramatically impaired in type II cells in which glycogen cannot be mobilized, but SP-A is synthesized at normal rates. This work characterizes the isolated gsd/gsd fetal type II cell and supports its use in future studies to determine the importance and relative utilization of specific nonglycogen substrates.

Binding of calcium to SP-A, a surfactant-associated protein

SP-A is a lung-specific pulmonary surfactant-associated protein containing a calcium-dependent carbohydrate recognition domain and collagen-like sequence. The protein is a major component of the extracellular form of surfactant known as tubular myelin. SP-A is thought to influence the surface properties of surfactant lipids and regulate the turnover of extracellular surfactant through interaction with a specific cell-surface receptor. These properties of SP-A are dependent on the presence of calcium. We have estimated calcium binding parameters for SP-A from binding data obtained by equilibrium dialysis and gel permeation chromatography. Our results suggest that each SP-A monomer binds two to three calcium ions in conditions chosen as similar to those found in the alveolar lumen. The binding data are best fit to a model incorporating two calcium binding sites with different affinities. Studies with a fragment of SP-A generated by limited proteolysis suggest the higher affinity site for calcium is located in the noncollagenous carboxy-terminal end of SP-A. This region of SP-A contains a carbohydrate recognition domain homologous to other C-type lectins. The binding of calcium to this region of SP-A causes a conformational change as assessed by a small change in the intrinsic fluorescence spectrum and a marked change in the susceptibility to proteolysis. At physiological calcium concentrations, intact SP-A aggregates in a reversible fashion, a property that may be relevant to the formation of tubular myelin.

Alveolar epithelial cell keratin expression during lung development

Defining the expression and organization of keratins has provided insight into epithelial cell differentiation during tissue development and remodeling. We have used monoclonal antibodies to examine keratin distribution in lung epithelial cells in the rat from the preglandular phase of gestation to the adult. Of particular interest were the distributions of keratin No. 18 and keratin No. 19, since previous results have suggested these keratins may be important in alveolar epithelial cell transitions occurring in adult remodeling lung and in cultured type II cells. The epithelial tubes at 15 days of gestation do not react with 24A3 monoclonal antibody to keratin No. 18, nor is this antigen apparent by gel or immunoblot analysis. Staining is apparent at day 16, however, showing a light punctate pattern at the basal edge of the cells, and becomes prominent by day 17, with intensity greatest in the larger airway tubes. The intensity and number of cells in the parenchyma staining with 24A3 peaks at postnatal days 5 to 10, when proliferation and cytodifferentiation of type I and type II cells is most active. In the adult, staining of type II cells is present mainly at the cell periphery, and occasional reactive attenuated type I-like cells can be observed. Keratin No. 19 immunoreactivity is not present in the primitive epithelial tube until 19 days' gestation but predominantly stains type II pneumocytes in the adult rat lung throughout the entire cell. AE3 antibody to basic keratins stains similarly to keratin No. 19. We conclude that keratin No. 18 is expressed at high levels in type II cells during development in periods of intense proliferation and alveolarization. This correlates with our previous observations on keratin expression following bleomycin lung injury.

Matrix-derived soluble components influence type II pneumocytes in primary culture

Type II pulmonary epithelial cells cultured on a plastic surface fail to retain differentiated form and function. During the first 3 days in primary culture, the cells flatten and lose characteristic lamellar inclusions; they increase in size and exhibit accelerated rates of protein synthesis and thymidine incorporation. These transitions are inhibited markedly if the cells are plated on matrigel (MG), a laminin-rich surface derived from the Englebreth-Holm-Swarm (EHS) sarcoma. Soluble components released from matrigel (MGS) mimic some of the effects of the solid gel. As on a plastic surface, the cells flatten when exposed to MGS during culture. In contrast, MGS inhibits thymidine incorporation and protein synthesis; it is most effective when added early in the culture interval. Direct contact of the cells with the matrigel surface itself is always more effective than maximal MGS activity. The effects of MGS are not reproduced by purified laminin or by transforming growth factor-beta, both of which are present in matrigel. These results indicate that the effects of the solid matrigel surface on cell morphology are caused in part by direct cell-matrix contact but that additional effects, such as decreased DNA synthesis, can be mediated by activity of solubilized gel components. They further provide a model wherein changes in type II cell morphology and function, which typically occur in parallel during primary culture, can be separated experimentally.

Spermidine uptake by type II pulmonary epithelial cells in primary culture

The transport pathway for the polyamine spermidine (SPD) was characterized in primary isolates of type II pulmonary epithelial cells from rat lungs. [14C]spermidine was accumulated by type II cells via a temperature-, sodium-, and concentration-dependent saturable pathway, with an apparent Km of 0.48 microM and a maximum velocity (V max) of 0.32 pmol.microgram DNA-1.min-1. SPD uptake was inhibited by gramicidin and by reduced extracellular sodium but was unaffected by alpha-aminoisobutyric acid (AIB), which entered the cells by a similar saturable pathway. Uptake of SPD also was inhibited by the exogenous polyamines putrescine (PUTR) and spermine (SPM), as well as by the methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone) (MGBG) and by paraquat (PQ). The order of potency of these inhibitors was SPM greater than PUTR = MGBG much greater than PQ. The absence of serum reduced the Vmax of the system slightly but had no effect on the apparent Km. In contrast, after 3 days in primary cell culture, the kinetics of SPD transport were altered by decreases in both the Km and Vmax of the uptake process. These observations indicate that type II pulmonary epithelial cells exhibit a pathway of polyamine uptake with general characteristics similar to those observed previously in intact lung tissue and other cell types.

No evidence for vitamin K-dependent carboxylation of canine surfactant apoproteins, 28-36 kDa

Recent research has shown that rat surfactant apoproteins (26-38 kDa) are vitamin K-dependent [Rannels, Gallaher, Wallin & Rannels (1987) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 84, 5952-5956]. We have investigated the effect of the vitamin K antagonist warfarin on this family of apoproteins in surfactant from dog lung. Our data suggest that warfarin does not interfere with synthesis and secretion of these proteins into dog lung surfactant. Abnormal surfactant apoproteins, produced in response to warfarin treatment of the dog, were also not found in lung surfactant. 4-Carboxyglutamic acid analysis of purified dog apoproteins also failed to detect the vitamin K-modification. When vitamin K-dependent 14C labelling of precursors of vitamin K-dependent proteins was carried out, fluorography of these precursors, when electrophoresed into SDS/polyacrylamide gels, revealed 14C-labelled proteins of apparent molecular mass 74, 46, 42, 34, 31 and 23 kDa. Antibodies produced against purified dog surfactant apoproteins recognized precursors of the surfactant apoproteins in lung microsomes but did not recognize any 14C-labelled carboxylase substrates. These precursors appeared on immunoblots with apparent molecular mass 29, 32, 33 and 50 kDa. Our data suggest that there are significant differences between this class of surfactant apoproteins in the rat and the dog.

Identification of vitamin K-dependent carboxylase activity in lung type II cells but not in lung macrophages

Fluorography of 14C-labelled glutamic acid residues in vitamin K-dependent protein precursors in lung microsomes (microsomal fractions) shows that the lung has several substrates that are not found in the liver. These precursor proteins unique to the lung have apparent molecular masses of 65, 53, 50, 36, 31 and 13 kDa. Type II epithelial cells appear to synthesize most of the vitamin K-dependent proteins in the lung. The 36 and the 31 kDa precursors also found in Type-II-cell microsomes have a similar molecular mass to those of surfactant-associated proteins, and we have previously shown [Rannels, Gallaher, Wallin & Rannels (1987) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 84, 5952-5956] that the 36 kDa protein is one of the precursors for these proteins. Immunoblotting of membrane fragments of Type-II-cell microsomes with plasma prothrombin antibodies identified two prothrombin-like antigens of apparent molecular masses 68 and 65 kDa. This raises the question as to whether Type II cells are also a potential site for synthesis of prothrombin and possibly other vitamin K-dependent clotting factors. Pulmonary macrophages appear to be devoid of vitamin K-dependent carboxylase activity. However, Type II epithelial cells have significant activity, and this activity was unaltered when these cells were maintained in primary culture for 3 days, suggesting that carboxylase activity is expressed in lung alveolar epithelium independently of culture-induced changes in cellular differentiation. Carboxylase activity in Type II cells was enhanced 2-fold when cells were cultured for 24 h in the presence of 50 microM-warfarin. Type II cells, therefore, resemble hepatocytes with regard to their response to coumarin anticoagulant drugs.