Non-invasive urinary metabolomics reveals metabolic profiling of polycystic ovary syndrome and its subtypes.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a heterogeneous endocrine disorder, which affects 4-10 % women of reproductive age. Though accumulating scientific evidence, its pathogenesis remains unclear. In the current study, metabolic profiling as well as diagnostic biomarkers for different phenotypes of PCOS was investigated using non-invasive urinary GCMS based metabolomics. A total of 371 subjects were recruited for the study. They constituted the following groups: healthy women, those with hyperandrogenism (HA), women with insulin-resistance (IR) in PCOS. Two cross-comparisons with PCOS were performed to characterize metabolic disturbances. A total of 23 differential metabolites were found. The altered metabolic pathways included glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, pentose and glucuronate interconversions, and citrate cycle and butanoate metabolism. For differential diagnosis, a panel consisting of 9 biomarkers was found from the comparison of PCOS from healthy subjects. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) was 0.8461 in the discovery phase. Predictive value of 89.17 % was found in the validation set. Besides, a panel of 8 biomarkers was discovered from PCOS with HA vs IR. The AUC for 8-biomarker panel was 0.8363, and a panel of clinical markers (homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance and free androgen index) had 0.8327 in AUC. While these metabolites combined with clinical markers reached 0.9065 in AUC from the discovery phase, and 93.18 % in predictive value from the validation set. The result showed that differences of small-molecule metabolites in urine may reflect underlying pathogenesis of PCOS and serve as biomarkers for complementary diagnosis of the different phenotypes of PCOS.

Isolation of ketomycin from Actinomycetes as an inhibitor of 2D and 3D cancer cell invasion.

Inhibitors of cancer cell migration and invasion should be useful to inhibit metastasis. Then, we have screened microbial culture filtrates for the inhibitors of cancer cell migration. As a result, we isolated an antibiotic ketomycin from a culture filtrate of Actinomycetes SF2912 as an inhibitor of cancer cell migration. It is a known antibiotic, but its biological activity on mammalian cells has not been reported. Ketomycin inhibited cellular migration and invasion in human breast carcinoma MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells at the non-toxic concentrations. Ketomycin decreased the expressions of MMP-9 and MMP-11 in MDA-MB-231 cells. Knockdown of each gene by siRNA inhibited the cellular migration and invasion. Ketomycin was then found to inhibit the cellular NF-κB activity that may be involved in the upstream signaling. For the mechanism of NF-κB inhibition, ketomycin inhibited autophosphorylation of IKK-α/IKK-ß. Ketomycin also inhibited the 3D-invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells at the non-toxic concentrations. Thus, ketomycin having a comparatively simple structure may become a seed of anti-metastasis agent.

Quantification of Photorespiratory Intermediates by Mass Spectrometry-Based Approaches.

Photorespiration is an essential metabolic process in plants occurring via the oxygenase reaction of RuBisCO. In order to understand this process, it is essential to determine the amounts of intermediates involved. For this purpose we combined mass spectrometry-based approaches and the use of authentic standards for the quantification of photorespiratory intermediates. Here we describe protocols for the extraction and quantification of 2-phosphoglycolate (2PG) by LC-MS/MS and serine, glycine, glycolate, hydroxypyruvate, glyoxylate, and glycerate by GC-MS.

Isolated glyoxylic acid-water 1:1 complexes in low temperature argon matrices.

The 1:1 hydrogen bonded complexes between glyoxylic acid (GA) and water are studied in low temperature argon matrices. Four different complex structures were found in deposited matrices. The lowest energy conformer (T1) of GA was found to form complex, where the water molecule was attached to the opposite side of the intramolecular hydrogen bond in the molecule (T1B). Interestingly, this complex was estimated to be+8.0 kJ mol(-1) higher in energy than the most stable structure (T1A), where the water is inserted into the internal hydrogen bond, and also found in solid argon but in smaller abundance. For the second-lowest energy conformer of GA (T2), the two lowest-energy complex structures were identified, with the most stable complex structure (T2A) also being the most abundant in the matrices. The difference between experiment and computational energetic order of the two complex structures of the same GA conformer is explained by contributions of deformation energy upon complexation and the effect of the environment. The computed BSSE-corrected interaction energies are for the two most stable complexes of the two GA conformers for T1A and T2A -42.11 and -45.03 kJ mol(-1), respectively, at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ//B3LYP/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory.

Ion chromatographic identification and quantification of glycol degradation products.

In water-based heat transfer systems, frequently glycols are added to the water to obtain freeze protection. For this purpose, ethylene glycol (EG) is the most common substance used. When heated, the glycol will slowly degrade and the pH of the glycol-water mixture will decrease, leading to corrosion and foaming problems. Carboxylic acids were identified as the main degradation products. Quantification of the carboxylic acids is of importance to monitor the degradation reactions in order to identify hot spots or overheating, caused by severe heat exchanger scaling, where pH measurements will not be sufficient due to buffer substances added for corrosion protection. In this work, ion chromatographic methods havebeen developed to identify the main degradation products of EG in heat transfer systems and to monitor the degradation process. Possible acidic reaction products of EG are glycolic acid, glyoxylic acid, oxalic acid, acetic acid and formic acid. Separations with a Dionex AS9-HC column with Na2CO3 eluents of differing concentrations showed that only trace amounts of carboxylic acids are present in aged heat transfer media. Oxalic acid can be quantified simultaneously to nitrite or molybdate which are added as corrosion inhibitors. A Dionex AS10 separation column with Na2B4O7 eluent enabled base line separation of glycolic acid, acetic acid and formic acid. Heat transfer media, which are operated in different heat transfer systems under different conditions, were analysed. A system was identified, where severe overheating due to fluid maldistribution in the heat exchanger took place.

Biosynthesis of polyketomycin produced by Streptomyces diastatochromogenes Tü 6028.

The biosynthesis of polyketomycin was investigated by feeding 13C-labeled acetate and propionate to the growing cultures of Streptomyces diastatochromogenes Tü 6028. 13C NMR spectral analysis demonstrated the polyketide origin of the aglycone and the dimethylsalicyloyl moieties. The O-methyl group and 6-CH3 of the aglycone as well as 3B-CH3 of L-axenose and 3C-CH3 of the salicyloyl residue were labeled by feeding L-[methyl-13C]methionine. Both deoxysugars emerged from D-glucose. The biosynthesis of the aglycone and the assembly of the glycoside are discussed. The polyketomycin producing strain may be a candidate for further exploration in combinatorial biosynthesis.

Polyketomycin, a new antibiotic from Streptomyces sp. MK277-AF1. I. Taxonomy, production, isolation, physico-chemical properties and biological activities.

A new antibiotic designated polyketomycin was isolated from the culture broth of Streptomyces sp. MK277-AF1. It was purified by ethyl acetate extraction, Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography and centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC). It inhibited growth of Gram-positive bacteria including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Its MICs were less than 0.2 microgram/ml. Polyketomycin exhibited cytotoxic activity against nine tumor cell lines at concentrations of 0.9-5.2 micrograms/ml.

Induction of glyoxylate cycle enzymes in rat liver upon food starvation.

The key enzymes of the glyoxylate cycle, isocitrate lyase and malate synthase, have been detected in liver of food-starved rats. Activities became measurable 3 days and peaked 5 days after the beginning of starvation. Both enzymes were found in the peroxisomal cell fraction after organelle fractionation by isopycnic centrifugation. Isocitrate lyase was purified 112-fold by ammonium sulfate precipitation, and chromotography on DEAE-cellulose and Toyopearl HW-65. The specific activity of the purified enzyme was 9.0 units per mg protein. The K(m)(isocitrate) was 68 microM and the pH optimum was at pH 7.4. Malate synthase was enriched 4-fold by ammonium sulfate precipitation. The enzyme had a K(m)(acetyl-CoA) of 0.2 microM, a K(m)(glyoxylate) of 3 mM and a pH optimum of 7.6.

L-serine production by a methylotroph and its related enzymes.

The production process of L-serine from methanol and glycine has been developed using a methylotroph with the serine pathway. Consecutive reactions of two enzymes, methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) and serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) are involved in the production. We screened a high producer, Hyphomicrobium methylovorum, which is an obligate methylotroph. With resting cells of the bacterium, 24 mg/ml of L-serine was produced from 100 mg/ml of glycine and 48 mg/ml of methanol in 3 days under optimal conditions. Next, a glycine-resistant mutant GM2 showed improved serine production (32-34 mg/ml). The mutant GM2 was found to have elevated activities of MDH and SHMT. Since there has so far been little report on the systematic characterization of enzymes of the serine pathway in methylotrophs, not only the above two enzymes but also the other three enzymes in H. methylovorum were purified and characterized: MDH, SHMT and hydroxypyruvate reductase (HPR) were crystallized; serine-glyoxylate aminotransferase (SGAT) and glycerate kinase (GK) were purified to homogeneity. As a result, all these enzymes were found to be stable against preservation and to exist abundantly in the bacterium. The gene of SHMT was cloned and its deduced amino acid sequence had homology to those of Escherichia coli (55%) and rabbit liver (44%), whereas the enzyme of the bacterium was immunochemically distinguishable from those of microorganisms other than Hyphomicrobium strains and mammalian livers.

Enzymatic assay for L-serine and glyoxylate involving the enzymes in the serine pathway of a methylotroph.

An easy, rapid, and accurate enzymatic assay method for L-serine was established involving two enzymes, serine-glyoxylate aminotransferase (SGAT, EC 2.6.1.45) and hydroxypyruvate reductase (HPR, EC 1.1.1.81), in the serine pathway of the methylotrophic bacterium, Hyphomicrobium methylovorum (IFO 14180), from which they were purified. This method consists of two reaction steps: the first is the nearly irreversible transamination of L-serine and glyoxylate by SGAT, and the second is the HPR reaction involving NADH, which comprises the absolutely irreversible reduction of hydroxypyruvate derived from L-serine by SGAT. The amounts of L-serine were determined spectrophotometrically as the decrease in the amount of NADH. When the values determined with the present enzymatic method were compared with those obtained with an amino acid analyzer, the correlation coefficient was found to be 0.9963. This method can also be applied to the assaying of glyoxylate.

p-Hydroxybenzoylformic acid and (R)-(-)-p-hydroxymandelic acid, two antifungal compounds isolated from the liquid culture of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Pisolithus arhizus.

Two antifungal compounds isolated from the liquid culture medium of Pisolithus arhizus were identified as p-hydroxybenzoylformic acid and (R)-(-)-p-hydroxymandelic acid and given the trivial names pisolithin A and pisolithin B, respectively. The efficacy of the compounds to inhibit the germination of conidia of Truncatella hartigii was compared with that of commercially available structural analogues, and a comparable range of effectiveness for 50% germination inhibition (GI50) of conidia was recorded. The commercially available synthetic compounds (R)-mandelic acid, benzoylformic acid, and racemic p-hydroxymandelic acid, had GI50 values of 82, 72, and 59 micrograms/mL, respectively, as compared with the natural compounds pisolithin A, 67 micrograms/mL, and pisolithin B, 71 micrograms/mL. Two synthetic S enantiomers of mandelic acid, (S)-mandelic acid and (S)-(+)-p-hydroxymandelic acid, were the most effective compounds, with GI50 values of 31 and 33 micrograms/mL, respectively. A sodium salt of mandelic acid had no activity below 500 micrograms/mL. Pisolithin A and pisolithin B were compared with polyoxin D for inhibition of hyphal growth, as measured by protein estimation. Both pisolithin A and B measured higher levels of putative extractable protein than polyoxin D, but less mycelial wet weight was measured. It is suggested that the pisolithins caused a disruption of cell turgor. A measurement of mycelial dry weights of phytopathogens, incubated with the commercially available analogues, benzoylformic acid and racemic p-hydroxymandelic acid, indicated that benzoylformic acid was either more effective than, or as effective as, racemic p-hydroxymandelic acid or nystatin in arresting fungal growth.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Production of benzoylformic acid from phenylglycine by Saccharomycopsis lipolytica.

Microbial production of benzoylformic acid (BF), which can be used as a substrate of enzymatic synthesis of (R)-(-)-mandelic acid, was investigated. Among 145 strains of yeasts and actinomycetes, Saccharomycopsis lipolytica (IAM 4964) was the best producer of BF from DL-phenylglycine (DL-PG). Culture conditions for BF production by the organism were optimized. When 0.2% fructose as a carbon source and 0.7% Bacto-tryptone as a nitrogen source were used in the presence of 4% DL-PG, 14.5 mg/ml of BF was produced (about 37% molar yield) in 4 days of cultivation. BF was synthesized from the L-form of PG, but not from the D-form. The BF was isolated from culture broth in a crystalline form and physicochemically identified.

Purification and characterization of serine-glyoxylate aminotransferase from a serine-producing methylotroph, Hyphomicrobium methylovorum GM2.

Serine--glyoxylate aminotransferase was purified to complete homogeneity from a serine-producing methylotrophic bacterium, Hyphomicrobium methylovorum GM2, which possesses the serine pathway. This is the first microbial serine--glyoxylate aminotransferase to be purified. The enzyme has a molecular mass of about 140 kDa and consists of four subunits of identical mass, i.e. 40 kDa. The holoenzyme exhibited absorption maxima at 282 nm and 408 nm, and a shoulder at about 315-345 nm in potassium phosphate pH 7.0; it contained 4 mol pyridoxal 5'-phosphate/mol enzyme. Isoelectric focusing showed that the enzyme had a pI value of 6.9. The Km values for glyoxylate and L-serine were 0.23 mM and 4.98 mM, respectively, and the enzyme showed high specificity for these substrates. The transamination between glyoxylate and L-serine seemed to be nearly irreversible. These data indicated that this serine--glyoxylate aminotransferase plays an essential role in methanol assimilation through the serine pathway in H. methylovorum GM2.

The formation of glyoxylate from glycine by melanin.

Natural and synthetic melanins catalyze the conversion of glycine to glyoxylate and formic acid in vitro. The conversion depends upon the concentration of melanin.

Identification of mammalian aminotransferases utilizing glyoxylate or pyruvate as amino acceptor. Peroxisomal and mitochondrial asparagine aminotransferase.

The subcellular distribution of asparagine:oxo-acid aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.14) in rat liver was examined by centrifugation in a sucrose density gradient. About 30% of the homogenate activity after the removal of the nuclear fraction was recovered in the peroxisomes, about 56% in the mitochondria, and the remainder in the soluble fraction from broken peroxisomes. The mitochondrial asparagine aminotransferase had identical immunological properties with the peroxisomal one. Glucagon injection to rats resulted in the increase of its activity in the mitochondria but not in the peroxisomes. Immunological evidence was obtained that the enzyme was identical with alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase 1 (EC 2.6.1.44) which had been reported to be identical with serine:pyruvate aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.51) (Noguchi, T. (1987) in Peroxisomes in Biology and Medicine (Fahimi, H. D., and Sies, H., eds) pp. 234-243, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg). The same results as described above were obtained with mouse liver. All of alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase 1 in livers of mammals other than rodents, which cross-react with the antibody against rat liver alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase 1, had no asparagine aminotransferase activity.

Measurement of allantoin and uric acid in human body fluids. A potential index of free-radical reactions in vivo?

Free-radical attack upon uric acid generates allantoin [Ames, Cathcart, Schwiers & Hochstein (1981) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 78, 6858-6862]. Methods are described for the accurate measurement of uric acid and allantoin in human body fluids. The concentrations of uric acid and allantoin in human serum and synovial fluid are reported. It is suggested that measurement of changes in allantoin concentration may be a useful index of free-radical reactions taking place in vivo.

Kinetic properties and characteristics of mouse liver mitochondrial asparagine aminotransferase.

Mouse liver asparagine aminotransferase has been found to be a mixture of enzyme forms having a cytosolic component and a mitochondrial component. The molecular weight of the mitochondrial enzyme is 70,800. The mitochondrial asparagine aminotransferase is strongly inhibited by aminooxyacetate. It is less affected by D-cycloserine but a small amount of inhibition is observed. Cysteine strongly inhibits the enzyme as do several sulfhydryl modifying reagents. The activities of the cytosolic and mitochondrial aminotransferases have been separated, and the kinetic properties of the mitochondrial form determined. The mouse liver mitochondrial asparagine aminotransferase is fairly specific for asparagine, utilizing very few amino acids as alternate amino donors and none to a great extent. The keto acid specificity is very broad, but glyoxylate is one of the most active amino group acceptors. The kinetic properties of the mitochondrial enzyme are also reported here and the data indicate strong substrate and product inhibition. Abortive complex formation may account for the deviation of the double reciprocal plots from the expected pattern.

A comparison of the cytosolic and mitochondrial forms of asparagine/glyoxylate aminotransferase.

Asparagine aminotransferase activity was measured in a variety of mouse tissues. The liver had the highest activity--nearly 20 times more than any of the other tissues tested. Hepatic asparagine aminotransferase was found to consist of cytosolic and mitochondrial forms. The mitochondrial form was found to be the predominant form in mouse tissue. Gel filtration chromatography indicated that the mouse enzyme forms have comparable molecular weights of approximately 70,000. While the substrate specificities of the two forms are very different, asparagine was the preferred amino donor for both forms. The relative contribution to the total activity of the hepatic enzyme forms varies with the animal source. Mouse had the highest level of enzyme activity of all animals tested. Ratios of the two enzyme forms also varied greatly not only with the animal source but also with the substrate used and the isolation conditions.

Identity of rat liver mitochondrial asparagine-pyruvate transaminase with phenylalanine-pyruvate transaminase.

Identification of rat liver mitochondrial asparagine-pyruvate transaminase with phenylalanine-pyruvate transaminase has been done. When a mitochondria extract was subjected to isoelectric focusing, the two enzyme activities were identically focused. This procedure and DEAE-Sepharose chromatography revealed multiple forms of the enzyme, in which the main form was purified. In the various purification steps the two enzyme activities appeared in the same fraction. The enzyme of the final preparation step gave a single band in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence and absence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. During the purification, a similar increase of the specific activity and yield were obtained in the two activities. Phenylalanine was found to be a competitive inhibitor of asparagine transaminase. These results suggest the identity of the two enzymes.