Effects of green tea extract on lung cancer A549 cells: proteomic identification of proteins associated with cell migration.

Green tea polyphenols exhibit multiple antitumor activities, and the mechanisms of action are not completely understood. Previously, we reported that green tea extract (GTE)-induced actin remolding is associated with increased cell adhesion and decreased motility in A549 lung cancer cells. To identify the cellular targets responsible for green tea-induced actin remodeling, we performed 2-DE LC-MS/MS of A549 cells before and after GTE exposure. We have identified 14 protein spots that changed in expression (> or =2-fold) after GTE treatment. These proteins are involved in calcium-binding, cytoskeleton and motility, metabolism, detoxification, or gene regulation. In particular we found upregulation of several genes that modulate actin remodeling and cell migration, including lamin A/C. Our data indicated that GTE-induced lamin A/C upregulation appears to be at the transcriptional level and the increased expression results in the decrease in cell motility, as confirmed by siRNA. The result of the study demonstrates that GTE alters the levels of many proteins involved in growth, motility and apoptosis of A549 cells and their identification may explain the multiple antitumor activities of GTE.

Glycoprofiling of the Human Salivary Proteome.

Glycosylation is important for a number of biological processes and is perhaps the most abundant and complicated of the known post-translational modifications found on proteins. This work combines two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and lectin blotting to map the salivary glycome, and mass spectrometry to identity the proteins that are associated with the glycome map. A panel of 15 lectins that recognize six sugar-specific categories was used to visualize the type and extent of glycosylation in saliva from two healthy male individuals. Lectin blots were compared to 2-D gels stained either with Sypro Ruby (protein stain) or Pro-Q Emerald 488 (glycoprotein stain). Each lectin shows a distinct pattern, even those belonging to the same sugar-specific category. In addition, the glycosylation profiles generated from the lectin blots show that most of the salivary proteins are glycosylated and that the pattern is more widespread than is demonstrated by the glycoprotein stained gel. Finally, the co-reactivity between two lectins was measured to determine the glycan structures that are most and least often associated with one another along with the population variation of the lectin reactivity for 66 individuals.

The proteomes of human parotid and submandibular/sublingual gland salivas collected as the ductal secretions.

Saliva is a body fluid with important functions in oral and general health. A consortium of three research groups catalogued the proteins in human saliva collected as the ductal secretions: 1166 identifications--914 in parotid and 917 in submandibular/sublingual saliva--were made. The results showed that a high proportion of proteins that are found in plasma and/or tears are also present in saliva along with unique components. The proteins identified are involved in numerous molecular processes ranging from structural functions to enzymatic/catalytic activities. As expected, the majority mapped to the extracellular and secretory compartments. An immunoblot approach was used to validate the presence in saliva of a subset of the proteins identified by mass spectrometric approaches. These experiments focused on novel constituents and proteins for which the peptide evidence was relatively weak. Ultimately, information derived from the work reported here and related published studies can be used to translate blood-based clinical laboratory tests into a format that utilizes saliva. Additionally, a catalogue of the salivary proteome of healthy individuals allows future analyses of salivary samples from individuals with oral and systemic diseases, with the goal of identifying biomarkers with diagnostic and/or prognostic value for these conditions; another possibility is the discovery of therapeutic targets.

Identification of N-linked glycoproteins in human saliva by glycoprotein capture and mass spectrometry.

Glycoproteins make up a major and important part of the salivary proteome and play a vital role in maintaining the health of the oral cavity. Because changes in the physiological state of a person are reflected as changes in the glycoproteome composition, mapping the salivary glycoproteome will provide insights into various processes in the body. Salivary glycoproteins were identified by the hydrazide coupling and release method. In this approach, glycoproteins were coupled onto a hydrazide resin, the proteins were then digested and formerly N-glycosylated peptides were selectively released with the enzyme PNGase F and analyzed by LC-MS/MS. Employing this method, coupled with in-solution isoelectric focusing separation as an additional means for pre-fractionation, we identified 84 formerly N-glycosylated peptides from 45 unique N-glycoproteins. Of these, 16 glycoproteins have not been reported previously in saliva. In addition, we identified 44 new sites of N-linked glycosylation on the proteins.

Characterization of a lactose permease mutant that binds IIAGlc in the absence of ligand.

Enzyme IIA(Glc) of the Escherichia coli phosphoenolpyruvate:glucose phosphotransferase system plays a direct role in regulating inducible transport systems. Dephosphorylated IIA(Glc) binds directly to lactose permease in a reaction that requires binding of a galactosidic substrate. A double-Cys mutation (Ile129 --> Cys/Lys131 --> Cys) was introduced into helix IV of the permease near the IIA(Glc) binding site in cytoplasmic loop IV/V and in the vicinity of the galactoside binding site at the interface of helices IV, V, and VIII. The mutant no longer requires galactoside for IIA(Glc) binding as demonstrated by both a [(125)I]IIA(Glc) binding assay and a newly developed fluorescence anisotropy assay. Further characterization of the mutant shows that it binds substrate with high affinity, but is almost completely defective in all modes of translocation across the cytoplasmic membrane. The data are consistent with the interpretation that the double mutant is locked in an inward-facing conformation.

Binding of enzyme IIAGlc, a component of the phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system, to the Escherichia coli lactose permease.

Enzyme IIA(Glc), encoded by the crr gene of the phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system, plays an important role in regulating intermediary metabolism in Escherichia coli ("catabolite repression"). One function involves inhibition of inducible transport systems ("inducer exclusion"), and with lactose permease, a galactoside is required for unphosphorylated IIA(Glc) binding to cytoplasmic loops IV/V and VI/VII [Sondej, M., Sun, J. et al. (1999) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 96, 3525-3530]. With inside-out membrane vesicles containing the permease, [(125)I]IIA(Glc) binding promoted by melibiose exhibits an affinity (K(D)(IIA)) of approximately 1 microM and a stoichiometry of one mole of IIA(Glc) per six moles of lactose permease. Both the quantity of [(125)I]IIA(Glc) bound and the sugar concentration required for half-maximal IIA(Glc) binding (K(0.5)(IIA)(sug)) was measured for eight permease substrates. Differences in maximal IIA(Glc) binding are observed, and the K(0.5)(IIA)(sug) does not correlate with the affinity of LacY for sugar. Furthermore, K(0.5)(IIA)(sug) does not correlate with sugar affinities for various permease mutants. IIA(Glc) does not bind to a mutant (Cys154 --> Gly), which is locked in an outwardly facing conformation, binds with increased stoichiometry to mutant Lys131 --> Cys, and binds only weakly to two other mutants which appear to be predominantly in either an outwardly or an inwardly facing conformation. When the latter two mutations are combined, sugar-dependent IIA(Glc) binding returns to near wild-type levels. The findings suggest that binding of various substrates to lactose permease results in a collection of unique conformations, each of which presents a specific surface toward the inner face of the membrane that can interact to varying degrees with IIA(Glc).

Manipulating conformational equilibria in the lactose permease of Escherichia coli.

A mechanism proposed for lactose/H(+) symport by the lactose permease of Escherichia coli indicates that lactose permease is protonated prior to ligand binding. Moreover, in the ground state, the symported H(+) is shared between His322 (helix X) and Glu269 (helix VIII), while Glu325 (helix X) is charge-paired with Arg302 (helix IX). Substrate binding at the outer surface between helices IV (Glu126) and V (Arg144, Cys148) induces a conformational change that leads to transfer of the H(+) to Glu325 and reorientation of the binding site to the inner surface. After release of substrate, Glu325 is deprotonated on the inside due to re-juxtapositioning with Arg302. The conservative mutation Glu269-->Asp causes a 50-100-fold decrease in substrate binding affinity and markedly reduced active lactose transport, as well as decreased rates of equilibrium exchange and efflux. Gly-scanning mutagenesis of helix VIII was employed systematically with mutant Glu269-->Asp in an attempt to rescue function, and two mutants with increased activity are identified and characterized. Mutant Thr266-->Gly/Met267-->Gly/Glu269-->Asp binds ligand with increased affinity and catalyzes active lactose transport with a marked increase in rate; however, little improvement in efflux or equilibrium exchange is observed. In contrast, mutant Gly262-->Ala/Glu269-->Asp exhibits no improvement in ligand binding but a small increase in the rate of active transport; however, an increase in the steady-state level of accumulation, as well as efflux and equilibrium exchange is observed. Remarkably, when the two sets of mutations are combined, all translocation reactions are rescued to levels approximating those of wild-type permease. The findings support the contention that Glu269 plays a pivotal role in the mechanism of lactose/H(+) symport. Moreover, the results suggest that the two classes of mutants rescue activity by altering the equilibrium between outwardly and inwardly facing conformations of the permease such that impaired protonation and/or H(+) transfer is enhanced from one side of the membrane or the other. When the two sets of mutants are combined, the equilibrium between outwardly and inwardly facing conformations and thus protonation and H(+) transfer are restored.