Evidence of Tribological Adaptation Controlled by Tribosynthesis of FeWO4 on an WC-Reinforced Electron Beam M2 Steel Coating Rubbed against a HSS Disk in a Range of Sliding Speeds.

In the present work, the tribological experiments on sliding the electron beam composite M2+WC coating have been carried out with characterization of the sample microstructures and phases both before and after the testing using metallography, SEM, EDS, and XRD. The sliding in the speed range 0.8-3.6 m/s resulted in simultaneous reduction in both wear rate and coefficient of friction with the sliding speed. Investigations showed that such a tribological adaptation was due to the tribochemical generation of lubricative FeWO4 and Fe2WO6 mixed oxides and the generation of a mechanically mixed composite layer on the worn surfaces that consisted of carbide fragments, an oxidized metal matrix, and was lubricated by in-situ formed mixed iron-tungsten oxides.

Hydroxycinnamic Acid Derivatives from Coffee Extracts Prevent Amyloid Transformation of Alpha-Synuclein.

Earlier we showed that derivatives of hydroxycinnamic acids prevent amyloid transformation of alpha-synuclein and prion protein. The aim of this work was to determine the content of 3-hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives in coffee extracts and to evaluate their activity in relation to alpha-synuclein amyloid aggregation. Hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives were identified in aqueous and ethanol extracts of coffee beans by quantitative mass spectrometric analysis. Only 3,4-dimethoxycinnamic acid (13-53 µg/mL) was detected in significant amounts in the coffee extracts, while ferulic acid was present in trace amounts. In addition, 3-methoxy-4-acetamidoxycinnamic acid (0.4-0.8 µg/mL) was detected in the roasted coffee extracts. The half-maximum inhibitory concentrations of alpha-synuclein fibrillization reaction in the presence of coffee extracts, as well as inhibitory constants, were determined using thioflavin T assay. The inhibitory effect of black and green coffee extracts on alpha-synuclein fibrillization is dose-dependent, and in a pairwise comparison, the constants of half-maximal inhibition of fibrillization for green coffee extracts are comparable to or greater than those for black coffee. Thus, coffee extracts prevent pathological transformation of alpha-synuclein in vitro, probably due to the presence of 3,4-dimethoxycinnamic acid in them. Consequently, coffee drinks and coffee extracts can be used for the prevention of synucleinopathies including Parkinson's disease.

Potential Effect of Post-Transcriptional Substitutions of Tyrosine for Cysteine Residues on Transformation of Amyloidogenic Proteins.

The review considers the reasons and consequences of post-transcriptional tyrosine substitutions for cysteine residues. Main attention is paid to the Tyr/Cys substitutions that arise during gene expression in bacterial systems at the stage of protein translation as a result of misrecognition of the similar mRNA codons. Notably, translation errors generally occur relatively rarely - from 10-4 to 10-3 errors per codon for E. coli cells, but in some cases the error rate increases significantly. For example, this is typical for certain pairs of codons, when the culture conditions change or in the presence of antibiotics. Thus, with overproduction of the recombinant human alpha-synuclein in E. coli cells, the content of the mutant form with the replacement of Tyr136 (UAC codon) with a cysteine residue (UGC codon) can reach 50%. Possible reasons for the increased production of alpha-synuclein with the Tyr136Cys substitution are considered, as well as consequences of the presence of mutant forms in preparations of amyloidogenic proteins when studying their pathological transformation in vitro. A separate section is devoted to the Tyr/Cys substitutions occurring due to mRNA editing by adenosine deaminases, which is typical for eukaryotic organisms, and the possible role of this process in the amyloid transformation of proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases.

Modification of Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase with Nitric Oxide: Role in Signal Transduction and Development of Apoptosis.

This review focuses on the consequences of GAPDH S-nitrosylation at the catalytic cysteine residue. The widespread hypothesis according to which S-nitrosylation causes a change in GAPDH structure and its subsequent binding to the Siah1 protein is considered in detail. It is assumed that the GAPDH complex with Siah1 is transported to the nucleus by carrier proteins, interacts with nuclear proteins, and induces apoptosis. However, there are several conflicting and unproven elements in this hypothesis. In particular, there is no direct confirmation of the interaction between the tetrameric GAPDH and Siah1 caused by S-nitrosylation of GAPDH. The question remains as to whether the translocation of GAPDH into the nucleus is caused by S-nitrosylation or by some other modification of the catalytic cysteine residue. The hypothesis of the induction of apoptosis by oxidation of GAPDH is considered. This oxidation leads to a release of the coenzyme NAD+ from the active center of GAPDH, followed by the dissociation of the tetramer into subunits, which move to the nucleus due to passive transport and induce apoptosis. In conclusion, the main tasks are summarized, the solutions to which will make it possible to more definitively establish the role of nitric oxide in the induction of apoptosis.

Natural and Synthetic Derivatives of Hydroxycinnamic Acid Modulating the Pathological Transformation of Amyloidogenic Proteins.

This review presents the main properties of hydroxycinnamic acid (HCA) derivatives and their potential application as agents for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. It is partially focused on the successful use of these compounds as inhibitors of amyloidogenic transformation of proteins. Firstly, the prerequisites for the emergence of interest in HCA derivatives, including natural compounds, are described. A separate section is devoted to synthesis and properties of HCA derivatives. Then, the results of molecular modeling of HCA derivatives with prion protein as well as with α-synuclein fibrils are summarized, followed by detailed analysis of the experiments on the effect of natural and synthetic HCA derivatives, as well as structurally similar phenylacetic and benzoic acid derivatives, on the pathological transformation of prion protein and α-synuclein. The ability of HCA derivatives to prevent amyloid transformation of some amyloidogenic proteins, and their presence not only in food products but also as natural metabolites in human blood and tissues, makes them promising for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases of amyloid nature.

Structure-based design of small-molecule ligands of phosphofructokinase-2 activating or inhibiting glycolysis.

Glycolysis lies at the basis of metabolism and cell energy supply. The disregulation of glycolysis is involved in such pathological processes as cancer proliferation, neurodegenerative diseases, and amplification of ischemic damage. Phosphofructokinase-2 (PFK-2), a bifunctional enzyme and regulator of glycolytic flux, has recently emerged as a promising anticancer target. Herein, the computer-aided design of a new class of aminofurazan-triazole regulators of PFK-2 is described along with the results of their in vitro evaluation. The aminofurazan-triazoles differ from other recently described inhibitors of PFK-2 and demonstrate the ability to modulate glycolytic flux in rat muscle lysate, producing a twofold decrease by inhibitors and fourfold increase by activators. The most potent compounds in the series were shown to inhibit the kinase activity of the hypoxia-inducible form of PFK-2, PFKFB3, as well as proliferation of HeLa, lung adenocarcinoma, colon adenocarcinoma, and breast cancer cells at concentrations in the low micromolar range.

Sperm-specific glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase is expressed in melanoma cells.

Sperm-specific glycolytic enzyme glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDS) is normally expressed only in sperms, but not in somatic tissues. Analysis of the expression of GAPDS mRNA in different cancer cell lines shows that the content of GAPDS mRNA is enhanced in some lines of melanoma cells. The purpose of the study was to assay melanoma cells for the expression of protein GAPDS. Three different lines of melanoma cells were investigated. By data of Western blotting, all investigated cells contain a 37-kDa fragment of GAPDS polypeptide chain, which corresponds to the enzyme GAPDS lacking N-terminal amino acid sequence that attaches the enzyme to the cytoskeleton of the sperm flagellum. The results suggest that GAPDS is expressed in melanoma cells without N-terminal domain. The immunoprecipitation of proteins from melanoma cell extracts using rabbit polyclonal antibodies against native GAPDS allowed isolation of complexes containing 37-kDa subunit of GAPDS and full-length subunit of somatic glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPD). The results indicate that melanoma cells express both isoenzymes, which results in the formation of heterotetrameric complexes. Immunocytochemical staining of melanoma cells revealed native GAPDS in the cytoplasm. It is assumed that the expression of GAPDS in melanoma cells may facilitate glycolysis and prevent the induction of apoptosis.

Effects of free Ca²âº on kinetic characteristics of holotransketolase.

Catalytic activity has been demonstrated for holotransketolase in the absence of free bivalent cations in the medium. The two active centers of the enzyme are equivalent in both the catalytic activity and the affinity for the substrates. In the presence of free Ca²âº (added to the medium from an external source), this equivalence is lost: negative cooperativity is induced on binding of either xylulose 5-phosphate (donor substrate) or ribose 5-phosphate (acceptor substrate), whereupon the catalytic conversion of the bound substrates causes the interaction between the centers to become positively cooperative. Moreover, the enzyme total activity increase is observed.

Chaperonin TRiC assists the refolding of sperm-specific glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase.

The cytosolic chaperonin TRiC was isolated from ovine testes using ultracentrifugation and heparin-Sepharose chromatography. The molecular mass of the obtained preparation was shown to exceed 900 kDa (by Blue Native PAGE). SDS-PAGE yielded a set of bands in the range of 50-60 kDa. Electron microscopy examination revealed ring-shaped complexes with the outer diameter of 15 nm and the inner diameter of approximately 6 nm. The results suggest that the purified chaperonin is an oligomeric complex composed of two 8-membered rings. The chaperonin TRiC was shown to assist an ATP-dependent refolding of recombinant forms of sperm-specific glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, an enzyme that is expressed only in precursor cells of the sperms in the seminiferous tubules of the testes. In contrast, TRiC did not influence the refolding of muscle isoform of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and assisted the refolding of muscle lactate dehydrogenase by an ATP-independent mechanism. The obtained results suggest that TRiC is likely to be involved in the refolding of sperm-specific proteins.

Functional nonequivalence of transketolase active centers.

Transketolase (TK, EC 2.2.1.1), the key enzyme of the non-oxidative branch of pentose phosphate pathway of hydrocarbon transformation, plays an important role in a system of substrate rearrangement between pentose shunt and glycolysis, acting as a reversible link between the two metabolic pathways. In addition, it supplies precursors for biosyntheses of nucleotides, aromatic amino acids, and vitamins. In plants, the enzyme plays a central role in the Calvin cycle. TK catalyzes interconversion of sugar phosphates. Thiamine diphosphate (TDP) and bivalent cations serve as its cofactors. Being a typical TDP-dependent enzyme, TK is the least complex representative of this group of enzymes, and this accounts for its use as a model in studies of their structure and mechanism of action. TK is readily crystallized, this being the reason why the first crystal X-ray structure analysis of TDP-dependent enzymes was performed with a TK sample. Both the general structure of TK and the structures of its active centers have been studied in detail. In this article, we review experimental evidence of functional nonequivalence of the two active centers of TK, which are known to be identical by crystal X-ray structure analysis.

Half-of-the-sites reactivity of transketolase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Cleavage by yeast transketolase of the donor substrate, D-xylulose 5-phosphate, in the absence of the acceptor substrate was studied using stopped-flow spectrophotometry. One mole of the substrate was shown to be cleaved in the prestationary phase, leading to the formation of one mole of the reaction product per mole enzyme, which has two active centers. This observation indicates that only one out of the two active centers functions (i.e., binds and cleaves the substrate) at a time. Such half-of-the-sites reactivity of transketolase conforms well with our understanding, proposed previously, that the active centers of the enzyme operate in sequence (in phase opposition): the cleavage of a ketose within one center (first phase of the transketolase reaction) is paralleled by its formation in the other center (glycolaldehyde residue is condensed with the acceptor substrate, and the second stage of the transketolase reaction is thereby completed) [M.V. Kovina, G.A. Kochetov, FEBS Lett. 440 (1998) 81-84].

Effect of bivalent cations on the interaction of transketolase with its donor substrate.

The effect of the type of the cation cofactor of transketolase (i.e., Ca2+ or Mg2+) on its interaction with xylulose 5-phosphate (donor substrate) has been studied. In the presence of magnesium, the active centers of the enzyme were functionally equivalent with respect to xylulose 5-phosphate binding and exhibited identical affinities for the donor substrate. Substitution of Ca2+ for Mg2+ results in the loss of the equivalence. In particular, this becomes apparent on binding of xylulose 5-phosphates to one of the two active centers of the enzyme, which caused the second center to undergo a several fold decrease in the affinity for the donor substrate.

Nonequivalence of transketolase active centers with respect to acceptor substrate binding.

The interaction of transketolase with its acceptor substrate, ribose 5-phosphate, has been studied. The active centers of the enzyme were shown to be functionally nonequivalent with respect to ribose 5-phosphate binding. Under the conditions where only one out of the two active centers of transketolase is functional, their affinities for ribose 5-phosphate are identical. The phenomenon of nonequivalence becomes apparent when the substrate interacts with one of the two active centers. As a consequence of such interaction, the affinity of the second active center for ribose 5-phosphate decreases.

The molecular origin of the thiamine diphosphate-induced spectral bands of ThDP-dependent enzymes.

New and previously published data on a variety of ThDP-dependent enzymes such as baker's yeast transketolase, yeast pyruvate decarboxylase and pyruvate dehydrogenase from pigeon breast muscle, bovine heart, bovine kidney, Neisseria meningitidis and E. coli show their spectral sensitivity to ThDP binding. Although ThDP-induced spectral changes are different for different enzymes, their universal origin is suggested as being caused by the intrinsic absorption of the pyrimidine ring of ThDP, bound in different tautomeric forms with different enzymes. Non-enzymatic models with pyrimidine-like compounds indicate that the specific protein environment of the aminopyrimidine ring of ThDP determines its tautomeric form and therefore the changeable features of the inducible effect. A polar environment causes the prevalence of the aminopyrimidine tautomeric form (short wavelength region is affected). For stabilization of the iminopyrimidine tautomeric form (both short- and long-wavelength regions are affected) two factors appear essential: (i) a nonpolar environment and (ii) a conservative carboxyl group of a specific glutamate residue interacting with the N1' atom of the aminopyrimidine ring. The two types of optical effect depend in a different way upon the pH, in full accordance with the hypothesis tested. From these studies it is concluded that the inducible optical rotation results from interaction of the aminopyrimidine ring with its asymmetric environment and is defined by the protonation state of N1' and the 4'-nitrogen.

A hitherto unknown transketolase-catalyzed reaction.

Yeast transketolase, in addition to catalyzing the transferase reaction through utilization of two substrates--the donor substrate (ketose) and the acceptor substrate (aldose)--is also able to catalyze a one-substrate reaction with only aldose (glycolaldehyde) as substrate. The interaction of glycolaldehyde with holotransketolase results in formation of the transketolase reaction intermediate, dihydroxyethyl-thiamin diphosphate. Then the glycolaldehyde residue is transferred from dihydroxyethyl-thiamin diphosphate to free glycolaldehyde. As a result, the one-substrate transketolase reaction product, erythrulose, is formed. The specific activity of transketolase was found to be 0.23 U/mg and the apparent Km for glycolaldehyde was estimated as 140 mM.