Rare case with megaloblastic anaemia

A nine years old boy presented with history of pallor and anaemia since early infancy along with neural hearing loss responding to empirical multivitamin and folic acid therapy started on basis of blood complete picture showing anaemia and megaloblastic anaemia. On investigation he was diagnosed with Thiamine Responsive Megaloblastic Anaemia, a very rare condition in our settings.

Thiamine-responsive megaloblastic anemia syndrome: a novel mutation

The thiamine-responsive megaloblastic anemia syndrome (TRMA) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by diabetes mellitus, megaloblastic anemia and sensorineural hearing loss due to mutations in SLC 19A2 that encodes a thiamine transporter protein. The disease can manifest at any time between infancy and adolescence, and not all cardinal findings are present initially. The anemia typically improves significantly with pharmacological doses of thiamine. Variable improvement in diabetes is also noted. However, the hearing loss is apparently irreversible, although a delay in the onset of deafness may be possible. We present a 2-year old girl with non-autoimmune diabetes mellitus and anemia in whom we found a novelc.95T>A (leu32X) mutation in the SLC19A2 gene in this study.Our patient with this new mutation did not suffer from hearing loss.

Aging: A shift from redox regulation to oxidative damage

Proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids can undergo various forms of oxidative modification. In numerous instances, these modifications result in irreversible loss of function. The age-dependent accumulation of oxidatively modified and dysfunctional macromolecules provides the basis for the free radical theory of aging. Pro-oxidants, however, are also capable of catalyzing fully reversible modifications to protein. It is increasingly apparent that these reactions participate in redox-dependent regulation of cell metabolism and response to stress. The adventitious use of free radical species adds complexity to the experimental and theoretical manner in which the free radical theory is to be tested and considered. Elucidation of mechanisms by which reversible oxidative processes are controlled, the components involved, and the metabolic consequences and how they are altered with age will provide new insight on the aging process and attempts to delay the inevitable.

Short-term regulation of the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex by energy-linked and some other effectors

The question of regulation of alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (KGDHC) has been considered in the biochemical literature very rarely. Moreover, such information is not usually accurate, especially in biochemical textbooks. From the mini-review of research works published during the last 25 years, the following basic view is clear: a) animal KGDHC is very sensitive to ADP, P(i), and Ca2+; b) these positive effectors increase manifold the affinity of KGDHC to alpha-ketoglutarate; c) KGDHC is inhibited by ATP, NADH, and succinyl-CoA; d) the ATP effect is realized in several ways, probably mainly via opposition versus ADP activation; e) NADH, besides inhibiting dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase component competitively versus NAD+, decreases the affinity of alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase to substrate and inactivates it; f) thioredoxin protects KGDHC from self-inactivation during catalysis; g) bacterial and plant KGDHC is activated by AMP instead of ADP. These main effects form the basis of short-term regulation of KGDHC.

Modification of thiamine pyrophosphate dependent enzyme activity by oxythiamine inSaccharomyces cerevisiaecells

Oxythiamine is an antivitamin derivative of thiamine that after phosphorylation to oxythiamine pyro phos phate can bind to the active centres of thiamine-dependent enzymes. In the present study, the effect of oxythiamine on the viability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the activity of thiamine pyrophosphate dependent enzymes in yeast cells has been investigated. We observed a decrease in pyruvate decarboxylase specific activity on both a control and an oxythiamine medium after the first 6 h of culture. The cytosolic enzymes transketolase and pyruvate decarboxylase decreased their specific activity in the presence of oxythiamine but only during the beginning of the cultivation. However, after 12 h of cultivation, oxythiamine-treated cells showed higher specific activity of cytosolic enzymes. More over, it was established by SDS–PAGE that the high specific activity of pyruvate decarboxylase was followed by an increase in the amount of the enzyme protein. In contrast, the mitochondrial enzymes, pyruvate dehydrogenase and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complexes, were inhibited by oxythiamine during the entire experiment. Our results suggest that the observed strong decrease in growth rate and viability of yeast on medium with oxythiamine may be due to stronger in hibition of mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase than of cytosolic enzymes.Key words: pyruvate dehydrogenase, 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase, transketolase, pyruvate decarboxylase, activity, oxythiamine, inhibition.

Inhibition of Cardiac Mitochondrial Respiration by Salicylic Acid and Acetylsalicylate

Acetylsalicylate, the active ingredient in aspirin, has been shown to be beneficial in the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease. Because of the increasing frequency with which salicylates are used, it is important to more fully characterize extra- and intracellular processes that are altered by these compounds. Evidence is provided that treatment of isolated cardiac mitochondria with salicylic acid and to a lesser extent acetylsalicylate resulted in an increase in the rate of uncoupled respiration. In contrast, both compounds inhibited ADP-dependent NADH-linked (state 3) respiration to similar degrees. Under the conditions of our experiments, loss in state 3 respiration resulted from inhibition of the Krebs cycle enzyme alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (KGDH). Kinetic analysis indicates that salicylic acid acts as a competitive inhibitor at the alpha-ketoglutarate binding site. In contrast, acetylsalicylate inhibited the enzyme in a noncompetitive fashion consistent with interaction with the alpha-ketoglutarate binding site followed by enzyme-catalyzed acetylation. The effects of salicylic acid and acetylsalicylate on cardiac mitochondrial function may contribute to the known cardioprotective effects of therapeutic doses of aspirin, as well as to the toxicity associated with salicylate overdose.

Mice deficient in dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase show increased vulnerability to MPTP, malonate and 3-nitropropionic acid neurotoxicity

Altered energy metabolism, including reductions in activities of the key mitochondrial enzymes alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (KGDHC) and pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC), are characteristic of many neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's Disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD) and Huntington's disease (HD). Dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase is a critical subunit of KGDHC and PDHC. We tested whether mice that are deficient in dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (Dld+/-) show increased vulnerability to 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), malonate and 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP), which have been proposed for use in models of PD and HD. Administration of MPTP resulted in significantly greater depletion of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons in the substantia nigra of Dld+/- mice than that seen in wild-type littermate controls. Striatal lesion volumes produced by malonate and 3-NP were significantly increased in Dld+/- mice. Studies of isolated brain mitochondria treated with 3-NP showed that both succinate-supported respiration and membrane potential were suppressed to a greater extent in Dld+/- mice. KGDHC activity was also found to be reduced in putamen from patients with HD. These findings provide further evidence that mitochondrial defects may contribute to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases.

Oxidative metabolites of 5-S-cysteinylnorepinephrine are irreversible inhibitors of mitochondrial complex I and the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase and pyruvate dehydrogenase complexes: possible implications for neurodegenerative brain disorders

The major initial product of the oxidation of norepinephrine (NE) in the presence of L-cysteine is 5-S-cysteinylnorepinephrine which is then further easily oxidized to the dihydrobenzothiazine (DHBT) 7-(1-hydroxy-2-aminoethyl)-3,4-dihydro-5-hydroxy-2H-1, 4-benzothiazine-3-carboxylic acid (DHBT-NE-1). When incubated with intact rat brain mitochondria, DHBT-NE-1 evokes rapid inhibition of complex I respiration without affecting complex II respiration. DHBT-NE-1 also evokes time- and concentration-dependent irreversible inhibition of NADH-coenzyme Q(1) (CoQ(1)) reductase, the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC), and alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (alpha-KGDH) when incubated with frozen and thawed rat brain mitochondria (mitochondrial membranes). The time dependence of the inhibition of NADH-CoQ(1) reductase, PDHC, and alpha-KGDH by DHBT-NE-1 appears to be related to its oxidation, catalyzed by an unknown component of the inner mitochondrial membrane, to electrophilic intermediates which bind covalently to active site cysteinyl residues of these enzyme complexes. The latter conclusion is based on the ability of glutathione to block inhibition of NADH-CoQ(1) reductase, PDHC, and alpha-KGDH by scavenging electrophilic intermediates, generated by the mitochondrial membrane-catalyzed oxidation of DHBT-NE-1, forming glutathionyl conjugates, several of which have been isolated and spectroscopically identified. The possible implications of these results to the degeneration of neuromelanin-pigmented noradrenergic neurons in the locus ceruleus in Parkinson's disease are discussed.

Inhibition of NADH-linked mitochondrial respiration by 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal

During the progression of certain degenerative conditions, including myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury, mitochondria are a source of increased free-radical generation and exhibit declines in respiratory function(s). It has therefore been suggested that oxidative damage to mitochondrial components plays a critical role in the pathology of these processes. Polyunsaturated fatty acids of membrane lipids are prime molecular targets of free-radical damage. A major product of lipid peroxidation, 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE), is highly cytotoxic and can readily react with and damage protein. In this study, the effects of HNE on intact cardiac mitochondria were investigated to gain insight into potential mechanisms by which free radicals mediate mitochondrial dysfunction. Exposure of mitochondria to micromolar concentrations of HNE caused rapid declines in NADH-linked but not succinate-linked state 3 and uncoupled respiration. The activity of complex I was unaffected by HNE under the conditions of our experiments. Loss of respiratory activity reflected the inability of HNE-treated mitochondria to meet NADH demand during maximum rates of O2 consumption. HNE exerted its effects on intact mitochondria by inactivating alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase. These results therefore identify a potentially important mechanism by which free radicals bring about declines in mitochondrial respiration.

Relationship between the glutamate production and the activity of 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase in Brevibacterium lactofermentum

Enzyme activities of 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex and glutamate dehydrogenase of wild type Brevibacterium lactofermentum, one of the typical glutamate-producing coryneform bacteria, were investigated by using cells cultured under glutamate-productive and glutamate-non-productive conditions. Significant reduction of the former enzyme activity was observed in the cells under the several glutamate-productive conditions, namely, in the cells cultured in media containing a) limited concentrations of biotin, b) sub-lethal amounts of penicillin, and c) sub-optimal amounts of a surface-active agent, as compared with those under the non-productive conditions. The activity of the latter enzyme was essentially unchanged in every condition. The relationship between glutamate production and the enzyme activities as well as permeability of glutamate through cell membrane was discussed from the results obtained.

Thiamine pyrophosphate as an effector of 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex from European bison heart

The purified 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (OGDC) from the European bison heart was near saturated with endogenous bound thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP). Exogenous TPP added to the full OGDC reaction medium decreased S0.5 for 2-oxoglutarate approximately 2.6-fold without any notable change in the maximum reaction rate. The TPP effect was observed in the presence of 1 mM ADP which alone is a strong positive allosteric effector of OGDC. At an unsaturating 2-oxoglutarate concentration the A50 value for TPP was approximately 0.05 mM. The ADP-like action of exogenous TPP was also found in the 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase (E1) reaction, determined in the presence of 2,6-dichlorophenoloindophenol as an electron acceptor.

Application of anti-E1 monoclonal antibodies to the study of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex

It has been shown that monoclonal antibody (mAb) F7F10 raised against pyruvate dehydrogenase component (E1) of pigeon breast muscle pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) has no influence on the E1 activity, measured in the system with artificial oxidants. However it inhibited the full NAD+ and coenzyme A dependent activity of PDC. The competition of the F7F10 antibody with the E2 component of PDC for the binding with E1 was revealed by immunoenzymatic and kinetic analysis. It is suggested that F7F10 mAb interacts with an antigenic determinant, located in the immediate vicinity of or overlapping with the E1 region, responsible for the interaction with the E2 component of PDC.

Inhibition of alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase by isoquinoline derivatives structurally related to 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)

Defects in complex I and alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (alpha-KGDH) occur in the substantia nigra in Parkinson's disease (PD). Isoquinoline derivatives structurally related to 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) or 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+) are implicated in the cause of PD as endogenous toxins and are inhibitors of complex I. However, their effects on alpha-KGDH and other mitochondrial non-respiratory chain enzymes are unknown. We have examined the effects of six isoquinoline derivatives (isoquinoline, N-methylisoquinolinium, N-n-propylisoquinolinium, 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline, N-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline and salsolinol) and MPP+ on the activities of alpha-KGDH, citrate synthase (CS) and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) in mitochondrial fragments from rat forebrain. None of the compounds examined had any effect on CS or GDH activity. In contrast, all isoquinoline derivatives investigated and MPP+ inhibited alpha-KGDH activity in a concentration-dependent manner with IC50s ranging from 2.0 to 18.9 mM. MPP+ was previously shown to inhibit alpha-KGDH, but this is the first report of inhibition of alpha-KGDH by isoquinoline derivatives. These findings may represent an additional mechanism contributing to mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death in Parkinson's disease.

Comparison of the effects of Ca2+, adenine nucleotides and pH on the kinetic properties of mitochondrial NAD(+)-isocitrate dehydrogenase and oxoglutarate dehydrogenase from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and rat heart

The regulatory properties of NAD(+)-isocitrate dehydrogenase and oxoglutarate dehydrogenase in extracts of yeast and rat heart mitochondria were studied under identical conditions. Yeast NAD(+)-isocitrate dehydrogenase exhibits a low K0.5 for isocitrate and is activated by AMP and ADP, but is insensitive to ATP and Ca2+. In contrast, the rat heart NAD(+)-isocitrate dehydrogenase was insensitive to AMP, but was activated by ADP and by Ca2+ in the presence of ADP or ATP. Both yeast and rat heart oxoglutarate dehydrogenase were stimulated by ADP, but only the heart enzyme was activated by Ca2+. All the enzymes studied were activated by decreases in pH, but to differing extents. The effects of Ca2+, adenine nucleotides and pH were through K0.5 for isocitrate or 2-oxoglutarate. These observations are discussed with reference to the deduced amino acid sequences of the constituent subunits of the enzymes, where they are available.

Calcium and 2-oxoglutarate-mediated control of aspartate formation by rat heart mitochondria

Studies of the influence of calcium on the metabolism of cardiac mitochondria have indicated that calcium activates key enzymes involved in the citric acid cycle. Calcium-mediated activation of one of these enzymes, 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase, has been shown to cause a marked decrease in the steady-state concentration of 2-oxoglutarate in both heart and liver mitochondria. In liver, 2-oxoglutarate is a potent inhibitor of oxalacetate transamination to aspartate and activation of this enzyme by calcium-mobilizing hormones leads to a stimulation of aspartate formation and gluconeogenesis. Since mitochondrial aspartate formation is a key step in the malate/aspartate shuttle, we investigated the control of aspartate formation by cardiac mitochondria. In mitochondria incubated with glutamate and malate, activation of 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase by calcium led to an inhibition of aspartate formation. However, calcium caused a stimulation of aspartate production when incubations were supplemented with pyruvate as an additional substrate. Estimates of the mitochondrial redox potential (NADH/NAD+) indicated that both calcium and pyruvate increased the redox potential. The observed influence of calcium on aspartate formation was found to be due to a balance between is inhibitory effect, caused by an increased redox potential, and its stimulatory effect, caused by a decreased 2-oxoglutarate concentration. Under conditions in which the redox component was held constant, a kinetic analysis indicated that the apparent Ki for 2-oxoglutarate inhibition of aspartate formation is 0.2 mM. The data suggest that activation of cardiac 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase by calcium could lead to stimulation of the mitochondrial oxidation of cytosolic NADH via the malate/aspartate cycle.

Biosynthesis of o-succinylbenzoic acid in Bacillus subtilis: identification of menD mutants and evidence against the involvement of the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex

The biosynthesis of o-succinylbenzoic acid (OSB), the first aromatic intermediate involved in the biosynthesis of menaquinone (vitamin K2) is demonstrated for the first time in the gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis. Cell extracts were found to contain isochorismate synthase, 2-succinyl-6-hydroxy-2,4-cyclohexadiene-1-carboxylic acid (SHCHC) synthase-alpha-ketoglutarate decarboxylase and o-succinylbenzoic acid synthase activities. An odhA mutant which lacks the decarboxylase component (usually termed E1, EC 1.2.4.2, oxoglutarate dehydrogenase [lipoamide]) of the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex was found to synthesize SHCHC and form succinic semialdehyde-thiamine pyrophosphate. Thus, the presence of an alternate alpha-ketoglutarate decarboxylase activity specifically involved in menaquinone biosynthesis is established for B. subtilis. A number of OSB-requiring mutants were also assayed for the presence of the various enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of OSB. All mutants were found to lack only the SHCHC synthase activity.

Sequences directing dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (E3) binding are located on the 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase (E1) component of the mammalian 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex

Sequences located in the N-terminal region of the high M(r) 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase (E1) enzyme of the mammalian 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex (OGDC) exhibit significant similarity with corresponding sequences from the lipoyl domains of the dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase (E2) and protein X components of eukaryotic pyruvate dehydrogenase complexes (PDCs). Two additional features of this region of E1 resemble lipoyl domains: (i) it is readily released by trypsin, generating a small N-terminal peptide with an apparent M(r) value of 10,000 and a large stable 100,000 M(r) fragment (E1') and (ii) it is highly immunogenic, inducing the bulk of the antibody response to intact E1. This 'lipoyl-like' domain lacks a functional lipoamide group. Selective but extensive degradation of E1 with proteinase Arg C or specific conversion of E1 to E1' with trypsin both cause loss of overall OGDC function although the E1' fragment retains full catalytic activity. Removal of this small N-terminal peptide promotes the dissociation of dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (E3) from the E2 core assembly and also affects the stability of E1 interaction. Thus, structural roles which are mediated by a specific gene product, protein X in PDC and possibly also the E2 subunit, are performed by similar structural elements located on the E1 enzyme of the OGDC.