Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 aids nerve growth factor-induced differentiation and survival of pheochromocytoma cells by activating both the extracellular signal-regulated kinase and c-Jun pathways.

Astrocytes are thought to be critical to neurons' surviving damage caused by ischemic stroke or other injury. Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 is one of the active soluble factors released by astrocytes and regulates plasminogen activator-plasmin proteolytic sequence in the CNS as a serpin. In this study, we show that plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 can promote neurite outgrowth and survival of rat pheochromocytoma cells in serum-deprived conditions, and that this neuroprotective activity is correlated with enhanced activation of both extracellular signal-regulated kinases following a direct phosphorylation of nerve growth factor receptor, Trk A, and of c-Jun. Our results suggest that plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 can act as a neurotrophic factor, protecting neurons from serum deprivation-induced neuron death not only by compensating for nerve growth factor functions, but also by activating the c-Jun/activating protein-1 pathway.

Inhibition of experimental metastasis of murine Lewis lung carcinoma by an inhibitor of glucosylceramide synthase and its possible mechanism of action.

In view of the increasing evidence that glucosphingolipids (GSLs) on tumor cell surfaces play an important role in tumor metastasis, an inhibitor of glucosylceramide synthase, D-threo-1-phenyl-2-decanoylamino-3-morpholino-1-propanol (D-PDMP) was used to evaluate the role of GSLs in this respect. Treatment of Lewis lung carcinoma cells with 5 microM D-PDMP resulted in a time-dependent marked decrease in levels of all cellular GSLs (glucosylceramide, lactosylceramide, ceramide trihexoside, globoside, and ganglioside GM3). By 6 days, the total GSL content was reduced to approximately 20% of the level in the untreated control cells and at the same time the lung-colonizing capacity of the PDMP-treated cells in inoculated mice was greatly reduced. Closely associated with the degree of GSL depletion, the ability of the cells to invade reconstituted basement membranes in vitro was also reduced, suggesting that GSLs in tumor cell membranes modulate the cell surface interaction with basement membrane components. In order to assess a possible contribution of the defective capacities to drug-induced suppression of experimental metastasis and invasion, we tested the effect of D-PDMP on attachment and migration to laminin and fibronectin and found that the inhibitor specifically reduced the laminin-mediated attachment and migration, whereas it had no effect on fibronectin-mediated attachment and migration. These effects of the inhibitor on lung colonizing capacity in vivo and the invasion, adhesion, and migration properties of the cells in vitro were reversible within 24 h after removal of the drug. By contrast, L-PDMP (the enantiomeric form of D-PDMP), which has no inhibitory activity on glucosylceramide synthesis, did not cause any of the changes produced by D-PDMP. Together, these results suggest that GSLs in tumor cell membranes are essential for the metastatic spread of tumor cells through basement membranes, modulating the interaction of laminin and its receptors.

Cytochrome P-450 in liver microsomes of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats: purification and characterization.

Two diabetes-inducible forms of cytochrome P-450, named P-450ST-1 and -ST-2, were purified from the liver microsomes of streptozotocin-diabetic male rats by sodium cholate solubilization, octylamino-Sepharose 4B chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography with DEAE-5PW and hydroxyapatite columns. The purified P-450 forms gave a single band each on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, with an apparent molecular weight of 48,500 for P-450ST-1 or 48,000 for P-450ST-2. The CO-reduced spectral maxima of P-450ST-1 and -ST-2 were at 451 nm. The two cytochromes had the low-spin state of heme in the oxidized form. Both P-450ST-1 and -ST-2 catalyzed the metabolism of aniline, benzphetamine, p-nitroanisole, testosterone and aminopyrine. However, the catalytic activity of P-450ST-2 for these substrates was apparently higher than that of ST-1. Analyses of the NH2-terminal amino-acid sequence and Western immunoblot showed that P-450ST-1 and -ST-2 differed structurally from each other. The catalytic activities, molecular weights, NH2-terminal sequences and/or immunochemical properties of P-450ST-1 and -ST-2 did not agree with those of the other cytochrome P-450 forms purified from diabetic rats previously.

Oversulfated fucoidan and heparin suppress endotoxin induction of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 in cultured human endothelial cells: their possible mechanism of action.

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is a primary endogenous inhibitor of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA). In this study, we examined the effects of oversulfated fucoidan (OSF) derivatives and heparin on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced release of PAI-1 antigen from cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Addition of LPS (10 micrograms/ml) enhanced the release of PAI-1 by HUVEC but not of t-PA antigen. At 18 h, a 2.4-fold increase in the extracellular PAI-1 level was observed. The increased PAI-1 level was reduced to control level by the simultaneous addition of 10 micrograms/ml of OSF or heparin. The suppressive effect of native fucoidan was negligible. We also examined the molecular size effect of OSF, using 10-20, 20-40, and 40-60 kDa fragments. The result indicated that these fragments were effective as well as the 100-130 kDa form of OSF, hence suggesting an important role of the degree of sulfation. Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) is a potent inducer of PAI-1 in cultured HUVEC. Heparin, OSF, and its fragments did not suppress the IL-1 beta-induced release of PAI-1 antigen. Treatment of HUVEC with heparitinase or monoclonal antibody against heparin sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) resulted in a complete loss of its ability to enhance PAI-1 release in response to LPS stimulation, while the chondroitinase ABC treatment hardly affected the PAI-1 production. These results suggest that HSPG is involved in the initial binding of LPS to HUVEC. The suppressive effects of OSF and heparin on LPS-induced PAI-1 release may result from the inhibition of LPS binding to the cell surface HSPG.

Further characterization of the binding of plasminogen to heparin: evidence for the involvement of lysine residues.

We have previously demonstrated that the heparin-binding site of plasminogen is located in Val442-plasminogen region (kringle 5 domain plus light (B) chain) (Soeda, S., Kakiki, M., Shimeno, H., and Nagamatsu, A. (1987) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 916, 279-287). The chemical modification of Val442-plasminogen with a lysine reagent, pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP), and sodium borohydride resulted in the incorporation of 8-10 PLP moieties per molecule of the zymogen. This PLP-labeled zymogen had no affinity for a heparin-Sepharose column, whereas the non-labeled one bound to the column. Modification in the presence of heparin decreased the extent of labeling by 1-2 mol of PLP per mol of Val442-plasminogen. To further examine the binding site of plasminogen to heparin, functionally active A and B chains were separated from Lys-plasmin after mild reduction and S-carboxymethylation. Only B chain possessed affinity for heparin-Sepharose. Furthermore, plasmin(ogen) bound to heparin was protected from alpha 2-antiplasmin inhibition. These results indicate that one or two lysine residues located in the catalytic region (B chain) of plasmin(ogen) are essential to heparin binding, and that the binding of plasminogen to heparin or heparin-like substance in extracellular matrix environments may be important for the localization and activation of plasminogen and for the prolongation of the resultant plasmin activity.

Localization of the binding sites of porcine tissue-type plasminogen activator and plasminogen to heparin.

To localize the binding region of porcine tissue-type plasminogen activator (EC 3.4.21.31) (t-plasminogen activator) to heparin, functionally active A and B chains (molecular mass of each 33 kDa) were separated from the two-chain t-plasminogen activator after mild reduction and alkylation. The A chain bound to fibrin-Sepharose, but not to heparin-Sepharose. In contrast, the B chain showed amidase activity toward HD-Ile-Pro-Arg-p-nitroanilide (S-2288) and a high affinity for heparin-Sepharose, but no affinity for fibrin-Sepharose. Plasminogen activator activity of the B chain was stimulated by heparin (about 3-fold), but not by fibrin. On the other hand, the elastase digestion fragments of plasminogen, kringle 1-3 and kringle 4, had no affinity for a heparin-Sepharose column, whereas the other fragment, Val442-plasminogen, efficiently bound to the column and was eluted with 1.6 M KSCN-containing buffer. The stimulatory effect of fibrin on two-chain t-plasminogen activator-catalyzed Val442-plasminogen activation was clearly diminished by heparin. These results suggest that heparin can form a complex with both t-plasminogen activator and plasminogen molecules through their catalytic regions located in each B chain, and that the heparin connection between t-plasminogen activator and plasminogen may improve the plasminogen activation kinetics by making a situation in which t-plasminogen activator is easily approachable to plasminogen.

Oversulfated fucoidan inhibits the basic fibroblast growth factor-induced tube formation by human umbilical vein endothelial cells: its possible mechanism of action.

We have previously demonstrated that chemically oversulfated fucoidan (OSF) but not native fucoidan (NF) effectively suppresses the tube structure formation by human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) on the basement membrane preparation, Matrigel. In this study, using more defined systems where basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) induces the tube formation by HUVEC on collagen gel, we investigated the mechanism responsible for the inhibition of angiogenesis by OSF in vitro. Unlike NF and desulfated fucoidan (desF), OSF potently inhibited the bFGF-induced HUVEC migration and tube formation. ELISA for tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) in the culture media indicated that OSF increased the bFGF-induced release of PAI-1 antigen, but not of t-PA antigen. Analyses of the binding of bFGF to HUVEC surfaces and the following protein tyrosine phosphorylation revealed that OSF could promote the cell binding and autophosphorylation of 140 and 160 kDa receptors. In heparitinase-treated HUVEC, contrarily, the bFGF binding and PAI-1 release were decreased by OSF. These results suggest that OSF is a highly sulfated unique polysaccharide that can promote the binding of bFGF to the heparan sulfate molecules required for binding to the high affinity receptors with tyrosine kinase activity. The resultant increase in PAI-1 release may play a key role for the prevention of cell migration accompanied by matrix proteolysis.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced release of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 from human umbilical vein endothelial cells: involvement of intracellular ceramide signaling event.

We have investigated the biochemical mechanism of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha-induced release of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) from human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Treatment of HUVEC with TNF-alpha for 3 h resulted in a 2. 8-fold increase in the PAI-1 release compared with control. The increase in PAI-1 release was accompanied by a 133% increase in the intracellular acidic sphingomyelinase (SMase) activity. High-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) analysis revealed that the intracellular ceramide levels increased to 126% of the control (P<0.05), but the contents of membranous ceramide remained unaltered. We have previously shown that a cell-permeable ceramide analog, N-acetylsphingosine (C2-ceramide) enhances the PAI-1 release from HUVEC. Here, N-acetylsphinganine (C2-dihydroceramide) was found to specifically suppress both C2-ceramide- and TNF-alpha-induced increase in PAI-1 release from HUVEC without affecting the control PAI-1 release. Treatment of HUVEC with staphylococcal SMase that may mimic the activation of the membranous neutral SMase also increased the PAI-1 release. The increase in PAI-1 release by this mechanism was suppressed by a cyclooxygenase inhibitor, aspirin, whereas the inhibitor did not affect TNF-alpha-induced increase in PAI-1 release. Taken together, these findings suggest that TNF-alpha prominently utilizes the lysosomal acidic SMase-ceramide signaling pathway in the induction of PAI-1 release from HUVEC.

Inhibition of proline endopeptidase activity by acyl-coenzyme A esters.

Coenzyme A (CoA), its related compounds and acylcarnitine non-competitively inhibited the activity of proline endopeptidase (PEPase) purified from rat liver cytosol. The degree of inhibition was in the order of acyl-CoA greater than CoA greater than dephospho-CoA greater than or equal to acylcarnitine. However, carnitine did not inhibit the enzyme activity. Among the compounds examined, n-decanoyl-CoA showed the highest inhibitory activity (Ki = 9 microM). These results suggest that both the acyl group and CoA contribute to the inhibition of PEPase by acyl-CoA. The abilities of n-decanoyl-CoA and its related compounds to quench the intrinsic fluorescence at 332 nm from PEPase excited at 280 nm, was used as a probe for the binding affinity of the enzyme for these compounds. The quenching of fluorescence by CoA was nearly equal to that by n-decanoyl-CoA. n-Decanoylcarnitine and carnitine were unable to quench the fluorescence. These results indicate that n-decanoyl-CoA at least binds to PEPase through its CoA portion.

Regulation of prolyl oligopeptidase activity in regenerating rat liver.

We have previously shown that the naturally occurring polyamines, spermidine and spermine, reverse effectively the in vitro inhibition of prolyl oligopeptidase (POPase) by its endogenous inhibitor by forming a kinetically significant complex (Soeda et al., J. Neurochem. (1986) 46, 1304-1307). In this study, we examined changes in the activities of POPase and its endogenous inhibitor and in the concentrations of polyamines during the regeneration of rat liver. POPase activity in the liver cytosol peaked 2 days after partial hepatectomy and then decreased near to control activity by 9 days, without its altered synthetic levels. Total polyamine concentrations also peaked at 2 days and remained elevated by 9 days, while cytosolic POPase inhibitor activity was minimal (56% of control) at 2 days. Treatment of the animals with a synthetic POPase inhibitor, Z-Gly-Pro-CHN2 (4 mg/kg), resulted in an obvious suppression of the liver regeneration. These results imply that the activity of POPase involved in nonlysosomal proteolytic pathway is exquisitely regulated by changes not only in its endogenous inhibitor levels but also in intracellular cationic potentials such as polyamines, and that POPase plays a crucial role for the growth and differentiation of liver cell.

Daunorubicin attenuates tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced biosynthesis of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

The anthracycline antibiotic daunorubicin is reported to induce apoptosis in cells by triggering ceramide generation through de novo synthesis or sphingomyelin hydrolysis. Treatment of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) with daunorubicin markedly decreased the mRNA expression and protein release of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). This cellular event was accompanied by a significant increase in the total ceramide content in HUVEC. On the other hand, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha treatment of HUVEC led to an increase in both PAI-1 mRNA expression and protein release, and an enhancement of total ceramide content was also observed. The stimulating effect of TNF-alpha on PAI-1 synthesis was attenuated by the pretreatment of HUVEC with daunorubicin. Interestingly, the daunorubicin-induced increase in ceramide content was blocked by addition of the potent ceramide synthase inhibitor fumonisin B(1), while the TNF-alpha-induced ceramide increase was not affected by this drug. Fumonisin B(1) treatment restored the daunorubicin-induced decrease in PAI-1 release to approximately 70% of the control, but did not affect the TNF-alpha-induced increase in PAI-1 release. Thus, these data imply the possibility that the subcellular topology of ceramide production determines its lipid mediator function in the regulation of PAI-1 synthesis in HUVEC, because both TNF-alpha and daunorubicin could increase the ceramide levels.

Sphingosine inhibits attachment of murine Lewis lung carcinoma cells to laminin and type IV collagen.

The effect of sphingosine (SPH) on the adhesive properties of Lewis lung carcinoma (3LL) cells was investigated using plastic precoated with the extracellular matrix proteins, laminin, fibronectin, or type IV collagen. Treatment of 3LL cells with SPH (0.5-10 microM) resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in the ability to bind to laminin and type IV collagen but had little or no effect on attachment to fibronectin. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) selectively enhanced attachment of 3LL cells to laminin and collagen. The inhibitory effect of SPH on attachment to both proteins was competitively antagonized by PMA. These results suggest that SPH acts as a negative effector for cell attachment to laminin and collagen, and that the cell attachment process to both proteins might be regulated in part by protein kinase C.

Expression of ganglioside GM3 and H-2 antigens in clones with different metastatic and growth potentials isolated from Lewis lung carcinoma (3LL) cell line.

In view of the evidence that cell expression of gangliosides in several tumors is positively involved in the metastatic phenotype, Lewis lung carcinoma (3LL) cell line, expressing GM3 as the major ganglioside, was analysed for the cell surface expression of GM3. An indirect immunofluorescence assay, using a M2590 monoclonal antibody recognizing GM3, was used for this purpose. Since the parental 3LL cells consist of heterogenous subpopulations differing in the degrees of GM3 expression, we have developed clones of this cell line with different degrees of metastatic potentials by using an in vitro non-selective procedure in order to investigate whether the expression of GM3 is associated with metastatic potential. The degree of cell surface expression of GM3 among the clones correlated well with their total cellular content of this ganglioside. However, we were unable to confirm the report of increased level of GM3 in high metastatic 3LL clones, nor did a decreased level correlate with weak metastatic ability. In our recent work, an inhibitor of glucosylceramide synthase, D-threo-1-phenyl-2-decanoylamino-3-morpholino-1-propanol (D-PDMP), was found to decrease the levels of all cellular glucosphingolipids and cause the accumulation of the precursors of glucosylceramide. The present study does not, however, rule out the possible involvement of this lipid family in metastatic dissemination, since treatment of 3LL cells with D-PDMP resulted in significant inhibition of their experimental metastatic potential. Clones expressing very low GM3 grew slowly in culture dishes, suggesting that GM3 may have a regulatory role in cell proliferation. The low metastatic clones expressed high levels of H-2Kb antigen, while the expression of the same antigen on the high metastatic clones was relatively low, confirming the previous observation of this tumor system. Moreover, a clone showing the lowest tumorigenic potency revealed both a high cell surface expression of H-2Kb and a high H-2Kb/H-2Db ratio.

Vascular endothelial cell monolayer formed on membrane filter potentiates the defense against tumor cell invasion by treatment with brefeldin A.

We constructed vascular endothelial cell monolayer on a fibronectin-coated filter in a Boyden chamber and assessed the ability of 3 LL cells to penetrate through the artificial blood vessel wall. The defense of endothelial cell monolayers against the tumor cell invasion was greatly potentiated by their pretreatment with 5 or 10 micrograms/ml of brefeldin A (BFA) for 1 h (52% or 28% of control invasion). Treatment of the endothelial cell monolayers with BFA resulted in an increase in the release of inhibitory material(s) against urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) activity of 3 LL cells. Parallel experiments with the cultured endothelial cells and BFA indicated that the fungal metabolite enhanced a rate of accumulation of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) antigen, but not of tissue-type plasminogen activator antigen in the medium. The BFA-induced enhancement of PAI-1 antigen release was accompanied with the increased accumulation of the extracellular (membrane/matrix-bound) and intracellular PAI-1 antigen (219% of control at 24 h). These results suggest that BFA can strengthen the defense of vascular endothelium against tumor-cell invasion by enhancing the release and accumulation of PAI-1, which plays a critical role in the regulation of the u-PA-plasmin-collagenase activation cascade.

Aminated fucoidan promotes the invasion of 3 LL cells through reconstituted basement membrane: its possible mechanism of action.

Fucoidan is reported to have an antimetastatic activity. In the present study, we prepared an amino group-introduced derivative of fucoidan and examined its effect on the invasion of 3 LL cells through a reconstituted basement membrane (MatrigelTM). Unlike native fucoidan, the aminated derivative promoted the tumor cell invasion: maximal promotion (240% of control invasion) was obtained with 5 micrograms/ml. However, with higher concentrations (10-30 micrograms/ml) of the fucoidan derivative, the promotion was gradually reduced to 130% of control. Both native and aminated fucoidans inhibited specifically the attachment of 3 LL cells to laminin. Interestingly, aminated fucoidan, unlike the native one, promoted the tumor cell adhesion to immobilized synthetic laminin B 1 chain peptide, YIGSR, over a concentration range of 0.5-5 micrograms/ml. Higher concentrations (7-20 micrograms/ml) of the aminated derivative suppressed the adhesive ability of 3 LL cells to YIGSR. 3 LL cells secreted a 50-kDa form of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) in the culture medium. Addition of aminated fucoidan (5 micrograms/ml) or YIGSR (10 micrograms/ml) resulted in a 1.7-fold increase in u-PA activity. This effect was enhanced up to 3.5-fold when both substances were simultaneously added. The addition of native fucoidan had no effect. The present results suggest that the 67-kDa receptor-mediated binding of 3 LL cells to laminin activates their invasiveness, especially by enhancing the extracellular u-PA levels. Aminated, but not native, fucoidan may act to enhance the laminin-receptor interaction at the limited concentration range.

Fibrinolytic and anticoagulant activities of highly sulfated fucoidan.

A series of fucoidan [sulfated poly(L-fucopyranose)] derivatives were prepared by chemical sulfation and desulfation, and they were tested for their abilities to stimulate tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA)-catalyzed plasminogen activation, clot lysis, and the inhibition of fibrin polymer formation. The magnitude of their activities was dependent upon the degree of sulfation. A striking feature of the sulfated fucoidan was that, unlike heparin, it stimulated t-PA-induced plasma clot lysis by protecting plasmin activity from alpha 2-plasmin inhibitor and decreased the rate of fibrin polymer formation. The inhibition of hyaluronic acid-mediated enhancement of fibrin clot formation was also observed with the fucoidan derivative. We also showed that highly sulfated fucoidan prevents significantly endotoxin-induced hepatic vein thrombosis in the hyperlipemic rat model. The present results are the first to describe the fibrinolytic and anticoagulant activities of fucoidan, and thus may provide useful clues for the development of an ideal thrombolytic agent.

Deficient release of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 from astrocytes triggers apoptosis in neuronal cells.

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) plays an important role in the processes of peripheral tissue remodeling and fibrinolysis through the regulation of plasminogen activation. We found that cultured human astrocytes efficiently released PAI-1, and that both mRNA expression and protein release of PAI-1 were suppressed by pretreatment of the cells with daunorubicin. To examine the role of PAI-1 in the nervous system, neuronally differentiated PC-12 cells (PC-12 neurons) were maintained in a PAI-1-deficient culture medium derived from daunorubicin-pretreated astrocytes. The deficiency of PAI-1 in the medium caused a significant reduction in Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL mRNAs and an increase in Bcl-XS and Bax mRNAs in PC-12 neurons at 3 h. The changes in balance between mRNA expressions of the anti- and pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins caused caspase-3 activation following the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria. Apoptotic morphological change and DNA fragmentation were also observed in the neuronal cells at 24 h. Addition of exogenous PAI-1 protein to the inhibitor-deficient medium blocked the apoptotic changes in PC-12 neurons. However, addition of PAI-1 antibodies to control medium caused similar apoptotic changes in PC-12 neurons. During the apoptotic processes, plasminogen activator (PA) activity in the PAI-1-deficient medium was as low as the control level. The present data suggest that PAI-1 has physiological functions other than its role as PA inhibitor for the survival of neurons.

Improved inhibitors of glucosylceramide synthase.

An inhibitor of glucosylceramide (GlcCer) synthase, 1-phenyl-2-decanoylamino-3-morpholino-1-propanol (PDMP), has been reported to deplete cells and mice of their glucosphingolipids. This inhibitor has proved useful for the elucidation of the many functions of this lipid family [reviewed by Radin, N.S. & Inokuchi, J. (1991) Trends Glycosci. Glycotechnol. 3, 200-213]. In the present study, we have synthesized homologs of PDMP having different acyl chains (C6-C18) and compared their effectiveness for the inhibition of GlcCer synthase in vitro and their inhibition of GlcCer, protein, and DNA synthesis in cultured MDCK (Madin-Darby canine kidney) cells. Using MDCK homogenates and mouse brain and liver microsomes, we found that the C6 compound was relatively inactive and that the longer chain compounds did not differ much in inhibitory power. However, the use of intact MDCK cells showed that the longer chain homologs were much more effective in inhibiting GlcCer synthesis, cell growth, and incorporation of [3H]thymidine. Tests with two radioactive homologs showed that the inhibitor with a longer acyl chain was taken up much more effectively by MDCK cells and that this difference explains the much greater effectiveness of this homolog in intact cells. The inhibitors were effective when solubilized either with a nonionic detergent or with bovine serum albumin. The extent of decrease in DNA synthesis was not directly proportional to the decrease in cellular glucosylceramide, possibly because only a low level of the glycolipid is needed for DNA synthesis.

Synthesis of ceramides and cerebrosides in rat brain: comparison with synthesis of lignoceroyl-coenzyme A.

The ?-hydroxylation and conversion of lignoceric acid into ceramide, cerebroside, and water-soluble products in particulate fractions from rat brain was studied in the presence of sphingosine and UDP-galactose, with particular reference to the effects of CoA and the synthesis of lignoceroyl-CoA. The synthesis of lignoceroyl-CoA was found to be almost completely dependent on the addition of exogenous CoA, whereas the formation of water-soluble products, mostly glutamate, was stimulated by, but was not stringently dependent on the addition of CoA. In contrast to these two metabolic pathways, both the synthesis of ceramides and cerebrosides and ?-hydroxylation were unaffected by the addition of CoA. While removal of sphingosine and UDP-galactose had drastic effects on the sphingolipid synthesis, COA did not have any effect on the removal. On the other hand, removal of sphingosine resulted in a significant increase of the synmthesis of lignoceroyl-CoA and moderate increase in the formation of water-soluble products. These observations further indicated that CoA ester formation may not be required for the synthesis of these sphingolipids, and suggest that there may be two pathways for oxidative degradation of lignoceric acid in brain-one CoA-dependent and the other CoA-independent.

cDNA cloning and expression of rat leukotriene C(4) synthase: elevated expression in rat basophilic leukemia-1 cells after treatment with retinoic acid.

Leukotriene C(4) synthase (LTC(4) S) is considered a pivotal enzyme for generation of potent proinflammatory mediators, cysteinyl-leukotrienes (cysLTs). LTC(4) S cDNA was cloned in rat basophilic leukemia-1 (RBL-1) cells, and exhibited 84.8% and 94.5% identity with the reported human and mouse LTC(4) S cDNA sequences, respectively. Homology between the rat LTC(4) S amino acid sequence and the corresponding sequences from the other species was 86.5% and 95.3% with human and mouse sequences, respectively. Rat LTC(4) S thus showed extensive homology with both mouse and human cDNA sequences. The active enzyme as assessed by LTC(4) S activity was expressed in COS-7 cells. While RBL-1 cells after the culture for 48 h in the presence of 0.1 microg/ml all trans -retinoic acid (RA) exhibited 27 times higher LTC(4) S activity than control cells, Northern-blot analysis of RA-treated cells showed upregulation of LTC(4) S mRNA. Polyclonal antibody was raised against the synthesized peptide deduced from the nucleotide sequence. Thus, Western-blot analysis of RBL-1 cells treated with RA and COS-7 cells transfected with pcDNA-LTC(4) S commonly showed a band at approximately 18 kDa in each solubilized enzyme solution, but either control cells did not. This cDNA probe and antibody may be useful for investigating the roles of cysLTs in various experimental models of rats.