Feasibility of the automated column agglutination technique for titration of anti-A/B antibodies in ABO-incompatible living kidney transplantation.

INTRODUCTION: Quantitative measurement of anti-A/-B antibody titers is important during ABO-incompatible living kidney transplantation (ABOi-LKT). METHODS: We conducted a multi-institutional study to measure the antibody titers using the automated column agglutination technique (auto-CAT) and tube test (TT) method in ABOi-LKT recipients. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the two methods. RESULTS: We examined 111 samples from 35 ABOi-LKT recipients at four institutions. The correlation coefficient of the two methods was >0.9; the concordance rate and clinically acceptable concordance rate for the IgG titers were 60.4% and 88.3%, respectively. Perioperative status did not influence the statistical significance. Parallel changes were observed in the IgG antibody titers measured using the auto-CAT or TT technique by desensitizing therapy in time-course monitoring. CONCLUSION: Auto-CAT is comparable with the TT technique and is feasible for IgG anti-A/B antibody titration in ABOi-LKT recipients.

Generation of poly-ß-hydroxybutyrate from acetate in higher plants: Detection of acetoacetyl CoA reductase- and PHB synthase- activities in rice.

It has been reported that Poly-ß-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) is generated from acetate in the rice root. However, no information is available about the biosynthetic pathway of PHB from acetate in plant cells. In the bacterium Ralstonia eutropha H16 (R. eutropha), PHB is synthesized from acetyl CoA by the consecutive reaction of three enzymes: ß-ketothiolase (EC: 2.3.1.9), acetoacetyl CoA reductase (EC: 1.1.1.36) and PHB synthase (EC: 2.3.1.-). Thus, in this study, we examined whether the above three enzymatic activities were also detected in rice seedlings. The results clearly showed that the activities of the above three enzymes were all detected in rice. In particular, the PHB synthase activity was detected specifically in the sonicated particulate fractions (2000g 10min precipitate (ppt) and the 8000g 30min ppt) of rice roots and leaves. In addition to these enzyme activities, several new experimental results were obtained on PHB synthesis in higher plants: (a) (14)C-PHB generated from 2-(14)C-acetate was mainly localized in the 2000g 10min ppt and the 8000g 30min ppt of rice root. (b) Addition of acetate (0.1-10mM) to culture medium of rice seedlings did not increase the content of PHB in the rice root or leaf. (c) In addition to C3 plants, PHB was generated from acetate in a C4 plant (corn) and in a CAM plant (Bryophyllum pinnatum). d) Washing with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) strongly suggested that the PHB synthesized from acetate was of plant origin and was not bacterial contamination.

Transcriptional repression of the poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) depolymerase in Ralstonia pickettii T1 by a tetR-like gene.

Ralstonia pickettii T1 secretes a poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) depolymerase (PhaZ) and a 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB)-oligomer hydrolase, and extracellularly degrades PHB to produce 3HB. However, it is not clear how the expression of phaZ is regulated. In this study, the mechanism by which phaZ expression is controlled in R. pickettii T1 was examined using a mutant made by the random insertion of a transposon, Tn5. The mutant produced a larger amount of PhaZ than the wild type in nutrient broth or a minimal salt (SM) medium supplemented with succinate. However, there was essentially no difference in the activity or amount of PhaZ in the culture supernatant between the wild type and mutant when the two were grown on 3HB. The gene disrupted by the insertion of Tn5 (epdR) was cloned and its nucleotide sequence was determined. In a BLAST search, epdR showed a high degree of similarity to genes for TetR transcriptional regulators of several bacteria. The introduction of epdR into the wild type and mutant grown on the three media described above decreased the amount of PhaZ. These results indicated EpdR to be involved in the repression of phaZ in R. pickettii T1. A quantitative RT-PCR analysis indicated that mRNA levels corresponded with the activity detected and the amounts of PhaZ in the wild type and mutant. Furthermore, the amount of epdR transcript was inversely proportional to the amount of phaZ transcript. In addition, the existence of a positive element acting on phaZ expression was suggested, because in the mutant lacking EpdR, the amount of phaZ transcript varied in cells grown in SM-3HB, SM-succinate or nutrient broth. Based on the above results, a model for the regulation of PhaZ expression in R. pickettii T1 is proposed.

Characterization of a novel 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase from Ralstonia pickettii T1.

We previously reported that the activities of two 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenases (BDH1 and BDH2) were greatly influenced by culture conditions when Ralstonia pickettii T1, a strain growing on extracellular poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), was grown on different carbon sources such as 3HB and succinate. In this study, knockout mutants of bdh1 or bdh2 were constructed and characterized under different culture conditions. In addition, a novel BDH (BDH3) was found in bdh2 mutants, and bdh3 was cloned. Apparent kinetic parameters for the substrates of BDH3 indicated that the enzyme is suitable for the oxidation reaction of 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB) to acetoacetate. In Western blotting, it was clear that BDH3 is produced only in cells grown on 3HB or PHB as a carbon source, while BDH1 and BDH2 are produced in cells grown on various carbon sources such as sugars, amino acids, organic acids, 3HB, and PHB. Both the bdh1 and bdh2 mutants lagged behind the wild type in growth rates when the cells were cultured with 3HB, citrate, succinate, or nutrient broth. A test of sensitivity to diamide as an oxidative stress revealed that the lack of BDH1 or BDH2 caused a decline in the capacity to neutralize the stress. These results suggested that BDH1 and BDH2 are needed to regulate the cytoplasmic redox state as well as to utilize 3HB, while BDH3 is specialized to utilize 3HB. The expression of bdh3 may be coordinately regulated with a gene encoding putative 3HB permease.

Secretion pathway for the poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) depolymerase in Ralstonia pickettii T1.

The extracellular poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) depolymerase from Ralstonia pickettii T1 has been purified, its function and character investigated in detail, and its gene cloned and sequenced. However, the mechanism by which this enzyme is secreted has not been elucidated. A mutant unable to degrade poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), N17, was obtained with the random insertion of a mini-transposon, Tn5. Western analysis using antiserum against the poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) depolymerase of Ralstonia pickettii T1, revealed that N17 accumulated the poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) depolymerase in the periplasm and cytoplasm, and did not secrete the enzyme into the external medium. It was also found that 3-hydroxybutyrate-oligomer hydrolase was secreted but inactive. The disrupted gene in N17, depO, was analyzed by Southern hybridization and its nucleotide sequence was determined. One complete open reading frame was found in the cloned 2.3-kbp DNA fragment. From a BLAST search, this gene product was found to be homologous to PulO of Ralstonia eutropha JMP134 (60% identity) and XcpA of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (60% identity). These proteins are prepilin peptidase/N-metyltransferases, a component of the Type II secretion pathway. DepO also had the four cysteines highly conserved in most prepilin peptidases at the same positions. The transcript of depO was examined by Northern hybridization using depO as a probe. In the total RNA of Ralstonia pickettii T1 in the early stationary phase, a band at 2.6-kb was detected, suggesting depO to be a functional gene. In this study, it was found that poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) depolymerase was secreted by the Type II pathway.

Purification and molecular cloning of an intracellular 3-hydroxybutyrate-oligomer hydrolase from Paucimonas lemoignei.

An intracellular 3-hydroxybutyrate-oligomer hydrolase was purified from a poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-degrading bacterium, Paucimonas lemoignei. It hydrolyzed the 3-hydroxybutyrate dimer with the highest specific activity of any of the enzymes reported so far. The gene was cloned and sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequence showed that the enzyme is a homolog of the PhaZc of Ralstonia eutropha H16.

The crystal structure of polyhydroxybutyrate depolymerase from Penicillium funiculosum provides insights into the recognition and degradation of biopolyesters.

Polyhydroxybutyrate is a microbial polyester that can be produced from renewable resources, and is degraded by the enzyme polyhydroxybutyrate depolymerase. The crystal structures of polyhydroxybutyrate depolymerase from Penicillium funiculosum and its S39 A mutant complexed with the methyl ester of a trimer substrate of (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate have been determined at resolutions of 1.71 A and 1.66 A, respectively. The enzyme is comprised of a single domain, which represents a circularly permuted variant of the alpha/beta hydrolase fold. The catalytic residues Ser39, Asp121, and His155 are located at topologically conserved positions. The main chain amide groups of Ser40 and Cys250 form an oxyanion hole. A crevice is formed on the surface of the enzyme, to which a single polymer chain can be bound by predominantly hydrophobic interactions with several hydrophobic residues. The structure of the S39A mutant-trimeric substrate complex reveals that Trp307 is responsible for the recognition of the ester group adjacent to the scissile group. It is also revealed that the substrate-binding site includes at least three, and possibly four, subsites for binding monomer units of polyester substrates. Thirteen hydrophobic residues, which are exposed to solvent, are aligned around the mouth of the crevice, forming a putative adsorption site for the polymer surface. These residues may contribute to the sufficient binding affinity of the enzyme for PHB granules without a distinct substrate-binding domain.

Fermentative production of (R)-(-)-3-hydroxybutyrate using 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase null mutant of Ralstonia eutropha and recombinant Escherichia coli.

Two systems, one using an (R)-(-)-3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (BDH) null mutant of Ralstonia eutropha and the other using a recombinant Escherichia coli strain containing a synthetic poly[(R)-(-)-3-hydroxybutyrate] (PHB) operon and an extracellular PHB depolymerase gene, were used for the fermentative production of (R)-(-)-3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB). The concentration of 3HB in the culture supernatant of the mutant R. eutropha system reached about 30 mM after 5 d under anaerobic conditions, although it was about 4-10 mM under aerobic conditions. On the other hand, the 3HB concentration in the culture supernatant of the recombinant E. coli system reached about 70 mM after 4 d, indicating that about 70% of the glucose added was converted to 3HB.

Roles of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) depolymerase and 3HB-oligomer hydrolase in bacterial PHB metabolism.

Many poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB)-degrading enzymes have been studied. But biological roles of 3HB-oligomer hydrolases (3HBOHs) and how PHB depolymerases (PHBDPs) and 3HBOHs cooperate in PHB metabolism are not fully elucidated. In this study, several PHBDPs and 3HBOHs from three types of bacteria were purified, and their substrate specificity, kinetic properties, and degradation products were investigated. From the results, PHBDP and 3HBOH seemed to play a role in PHB metabolism in three types of bacteria, as follows: (A) In Ralstonia pickettii T1, an extracellular PHBDP degrades extracellular PHB to various-sized 3HB-oligomers, which an extracellular 3HBOH hydrolyzes to 3HB-monomers. (B) In Acidovorax sp. SA1, an extracellular PHBDP hydrolyzes extracellular PHB to small 3HB-oligomers (dimer and trimer), which an intracellular 3HBOH efficiently degrades to 3HB in the cell. (C) In Ralstonia eutropha H16, an intracellular 3HBOH helps in the degradation of intracellular PHB inclusions by PHBDP.

Biochemical and genetic characterization of a D(-)-3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase from Acidovorax sp. strain SA1.

D(-)-3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (BDH; EC 1.1.1.30) from a poly(D(-)-3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) degrading bacterium, Acidovorax sp. SA1, was purified using Toyopearl DEAE-650M, red-Sepharose CL-4B, and Q Sepharose FF. The molecular mass of the enzyme was estimated as 27 kDa by SDS-PAGE and 110 kDa by gel filtration. The gene encoding BDH was cloned and sequenced, and expressed in Escherichia coli. The gene product was purified in two steps with a high yield. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the enzyme purified from E. coli agreed with that of the purified enzyme from strain SA1. The BDH of strain SA1 had high amino acid sequence homology to that of Ralstonia eutropha H16. The Km values for D(-)-3-hydroxybutyrate and NAD+ in the oxidation reaction were 4.5 x 10(-4) M and 8.9 x 10(-5) M, respectively. The Km values for acetoacetate and NADH in the reduction reaction were 2.4 x 10(-4) M and 2.9 x 10(-5) M, respectively.

Purification and properties of an intracellular 3-hydroxybutyrate-oligomer hydrolase (PhaZ2) in Ralstonia eutropha H16 and its identification as a novel intracellular poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) depolymerase.

An intracellular 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB)-oligomer hydrolase (PhaZ2(Reu)) of Ralstonia eutropha was purified from Escherichia coli harboring a plasmid containing phaZ2(Reu). The purified enzyme hydrolyzed linear and cyclic 3HB-oligomers. Although it did not degrade crystalline poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), the purified enzyme degraded artificial amorphous PHB at a rate similar to that of the previously identified intracellular PHB (iPHB) depolymerase (PhaZ1(Reu)). The enzyme appeared to be an endo-type hydrolase, since it actively hydrolyzed cyclic 3HB-oligomers. However, it degraded various linear 3HB-oligomers and amorphous PHB in the fashion of an exo-type hydrolase, releasing one monomer unit at a time. PhaZ2 was found to bind to PHB inclusion bodies and as a soluble enzyme to cell-free supernatant fractions in R. eutropha; in contrast, PhaZ1 bound exclusively to the inclusion bodies. When R. eutropha H16 was cultivated in a nutrient-rich medium, the transient deposition of PHB was observed: the content of PHB was maximized in the log growth phase (12 h, ca. 14% PHB of dry cell weight) and decreased to a very low level in the stationary phase (ca. 1% of dry cell weight). In each phaZ1-null mutant and phaZ2-null mutant, the PHB content in the cell increased to ca. 5% in the stationary phase. A double mutant lacking both phaZ1 and phaZ2 showed increased PHB content in the log phase (ca. 20%) and also an elevated PHB level (ca. 8%) in the stationary phase. These results indicate that PhaZ2 is a novel iPHB depolymerase, which participates in the mobilization of PHB in R. eutropha along with PhaZ1.

Cloning and sequencing of an intracellular D(-)-3-hydroxybutyrate oligomer hydrolase from Acidovorax sp. strain SA1 and purification of the enzyme.

The gene of an intracellular D(-)-3-hydroxybutyrate oligomer hydrolase (i3HBOH) was cloned and sequenced from a poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB)-degrading bacterium, Acidovorax sp. strain SA1. The i3HBOH gene has 876 nucleotides corresponding to the deduced sequence of 292 amino acids. In this amino acid sequence, the general lipase box sequence (G-X(1)-S-X(2)-G) was found, whose serine residue was determined to the active sites serine by site-directed mutagenesis. An i3HBOH was purified to electrophoretical homogeneity from SA1. The molecular mass of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 32 kDa by SDS-PAGE. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified enzyme corresponded to the deduced N-terminal amino acid sequence in the cloned i3HBOH gene. This is the first cloning and sequencing of an intracellular D(-)-3-hydroxybutyrate oligomer hydrolase gene to date.

Identification and characterization of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate granule-associated protein, PGA12 and PGA16 in Zoogloea ramigera I-16-M.

Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) granules of Zoogloea ramigera I-16-M contained two major PHB granule-associated proteins (PGA12 and PGA16) as revealed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel elecrophoresis. N-terminal amino acid sequences of these proteins were determined. The genes encoding these proteins were cloned and sequenced. The structural genes of PGA12 and PGA16 were 351 and 447 bp long, which encode polypeptides with deduced molecular masses of 12.3 and 16.0 kDa, respectively. PGA12 and PGA16 were expressed in Escherichia coli. PHB granules were isolated from cells of recombinant strains of E. coli JM109, which harbored and expressed the PHB-synthetic genes of Ralstonia eutropha H16 and PGA12 or PGA16. These PHB granules contained PGA12 or PGA16 as a major protein. The presence of pga12 or pga16 did not affect the amount of PHB synthesized in E. coli. PGA12 and PGA16 bound to crystalline and amorphous PHB granules.

Cloning of an intracellular D(-)-3-hydroxybutyrate-oligomer hydrolase gene from Ralstonia eutropha H16 and identification of the active site serine residue by site-directed mutagenesis.

An intracellular D(-)-3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB)-oligomer hydrolase gene from Ralstonia eutropha (formerly Alcaligenes eutrophus) H16 was cloned, sequenced, and characterized. As a hybridization probe to screen restriction digests of chromosomal DNA, an extracellular 3HB-oligomer hydrolase gene from Ralstonia pickettii strain (formerly Pseudomonas sp. strain) A1 was used. A specific hybridization signal was obtained and a 6.5-kbp SmaI fragment was cloned in an Escherichia coli phagemid vector. The crude extract from E. coli with this plasmid showed 3HB-trimer hydrolase activity. The subcloned 3.2-kbp fragment still showed 3HB-trimer hydrolase activity in E. coli and expressed an approximately 78-kDa protein in an in vitro transcription-translation system. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the 3.2-kbp fragment showed an open reading frame that encodes a polypeptide with a deduced molecular weight of 78,510. The putative amino acid sequence showed 54% identity with that of the oligomer hydrolase from R. pickettii A1. By site-directed mutagenesis, a novel amino acid sequence (S-V-S*-N-G) containing an essential serine residue in the catalytic center of the enzyme was determined. The gene product was found in PHB-rich cells of R. eutropha by immunodetection. The expressed 3HB-oligomer hydrolase localized both in the supernatant fraction and the PHB granules of the cells.