Increase of bradykinin-stimulated arachidonic acid release in a delta F508 cystic fibrosis epithelial cell line.

Modification of chloride conductance by bradykinin in epithelial cells has been attributed to an activation of protein kinase A resulting from adenylcyclase stimulation by arachidonic acid cyclooxygenase products. The results presented here compare tracheal epithelial cell lines from one control and two cystic fibrosis patients which were immortalized by transfection with the SV40 large T oncogene. The three cell lines presented the same arachidonic acid content, turnover and mobilisation under basal conditions. Bradykinin stimulated the release of arachidonic acid and the synthesis of cyclooxygenase derivatives (mainly PGE2). The cell line from the cystic fibrosis patient bearing a phenylalanine 508 deletion, which is the major form of the disease, showed a higher bradykinin-induced arachidonic acid release than either control cells or cells from a patient presenting a minor form of the disease. This higher sensitivity suggests a dysregulation of phospholipase A2 stimulation in cystic fibrosis cells and was confirmed on non-immortalized tracheal epithelial cells in primary culture and on skin fibroblasts from patients bearing the same mutation. This defect is associated with a potentiation of cholera toxin pretreatment on cAMP content of delta F508 cell line. The impaired control of arachidonic acid release cannot be attributed to an increased number of bradykinin binding sites, since this increase was similar in the two cystic fibrosis cell lines.

Partial apolipoprotein E-beta-galactosidase fusion protein expressed in Escherichia coli retains binding activity to the LDL(B/E) receptor.

A partial rat apo E-beta-galactosidase fusion protein was produced in Escherichia coli Y1089 infected with recombinant lambda GT11 obtained by immunoscreening of a rat liver cDNA library with an anti-rat LDL antiserum. Partial cDNA overlapped the apo E mRNA sequence coding for apo E binding domain towards the LDL(B/E) receptor up to codon for Arg-139. Fusion protein specifically bound to human fibroblasts. The high-affinity component exhibited a Kd of 5 x 10(-8) M and 4.1 x 10(5) sites per cell. Fusion protein binding to fibroblasts was mediated by their apo E moiety and not by beta-galactosidase since: (1) specific binding of fusion protein was competed out by human LDL; (2) beta-galactosidase did not compete with fusion protein binding; and (3) human fibroblasts from a patient with familial hypercholesterolemia, deficient in LDL(B/E) receptor, bound fusion protein 10-times lower than control fibroblasts. It was demonstrated that partial fusion protein retained the functional activity of the native apo E. However, compared to full-length native or engineered apo E, fusion protein was able to bind fibroblasts without being complexed with phospholipids. Fusion proteins might be a useful tool for studying the functional efficiency of the LDL(B/E) receptor and for mapping residues and domains involved in the binding process.

Crystal structures of the class D beta-lactamase OXA-13 in the native form and in complex with meropenem.

The therapeutic problems posed by class D beta-lactamases, a family of serine enzymes that hydrolyse beta-lactam antibiotics following an acylation-deacylation mechanism, are increased by the very low level of sensitivity of these enzymes to beta-lactamase inhibitors. To gain structural and mechanistic insights to aid the design of new inhibitors, we have determined the crystal structure of OXA-13 from Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the apo form and in complex with the carbapenem meropenem. The native form consisted of a dimer displaying an overall organisation similar to that found in the closely related enzyme OXA-10. In the acyl-enzyme complex, the positioning of the antibiotic appeared to be ensured mainly by (i) the covalent acyl bond and (ii) a strong salt-bridge involving the carboxylate moiety of the drug. Comparison of the structures of OXA-13 in the apo form and in complex with meropenem revealed an unsuspected flexibility in the region of the essential serine 115 residue, with possible consequences for the catalytic properties of the enzyme. In the apo form, the Ser115 side-chain is oriented outside the active site, whereas the general base Lys70 adopts a conformation that seems to be incompatible with the activation of the catalytic water molecule required for the deacylation step. In the OXA-13:meropenem complex, a 3.5 A movement of the backbone of the 114-116 loop towards the side-chain of Lys70 was observed, which seems to be driven by a displacement of the neighbouring 91-104 loop and which results in the repositioning of the side-chain hydroxyl group of Ser115 toward the catalytic centre. Concomitantly, the side-chain of Lys70 is forced to curve in the direction of the deacylating water molecule, which is then strongly bound and activated by this residue. However, a distance of ca 5 A separates the catalytic water molecule from the acyl carbonyl group of meropenem, a structural feature that accounts for the inhibition of OXA-13 by this drug. Finally, the low level of penicillinase activity revealed by the kinetic analysis of OXA-13 could be related to the specific presence in position 73 of a serine residue located close to the general base Lys70, which results in a decrease of the number of hydrogen-bonding interactions stabilising the catalytic water molecule.

Antigenic relatedness between phospholipases A2 from Naja naja venom and from mammalian cells.

Polyclonal antiserum was prepared against phospholipase A2 from Naja naja and used to prepare a purified antibody. It cross-reacted with the antigen, and with intracellular mammalian PLA2. This antibody was immunoreactive and inhibited the PLA2 activity of Naja naja and of guinea pig alveolar macrophages or rat lymphocytes. By immunoblotting, this antiserum revealed one band of PLA2 from Naja naja (14 kDa) and 3 bands for guinea pig alveolar macrophages and rat lymphocytes (30, 45 kDa and a minor band of 14 kDa). These results show an antigenic relatedness between an extracellular PLA2 and membrane-bound PLA2 from two different mammalian species and cell types.

Arachidonic acid transfer from diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine to ether phospholipids in rat peripheral blood lymphocytes.

The main phospholipid fractions of rat peripheral blood lymphocytes consisted of 30.8% diacylglycerophosphocholine and 20.3% diacylglycerophosphoethanolamine; the proportion of the ether phospholipids were small especially of alkyl- and alkenyl-glycerophosphoethanolamine (3.3 and 6.6% respectively). Other classes of phospholipids included glycerophosphoserine (10.5%), glycerophosphoinositol (6.5%) and sphingomyelin (13.6%). The incorporation of labeled arachidonic acid in the glycerophospholipids showed a rapid uptake into diacyl and ether classes of phospholipids and into triglycerides. When labeled cells were reincubated without arachidonic acid the diacylglycerophosphocholine rapidly lost its radioactivity, but a concomitant increase was observed in alkylacylglycerophosphocholine and more especially in alkenylacylglycerophosphoethanolamine and a smaller increase in alkyl- and diacyl-glycerophosphoethanolamine. The radioactivity was fairly constant in glycerophosphoserine and in glycerophosphoinositol, but decreased slightly in triglycerides. The arachidonic acid transfer reaction was completed after 2-3 hours reincubation. When labeled cells were reincubated in the presence of sodium cholate, the loss of radioactivity in the diacylglycerophosphocholine fraction increased. The transfer of arachidonic acid to ether phospholipids was the same with or without sodium cholate, but the later enhanced arachidonic acid transfer to diacylglycerophosphoethanolamine.

Penicillin-binding protein 5 sequence alterations in clinical isolates of Enterococcus faecium with different levels of beta-lactam resistance.

The low-affinity penicillin-binding protein (PBP) 5 is the main beta-lactam target and is responsible for resistance to this class of antibiotics in Enterococcus faecium. The PBP 5 variants of 15 clinical isolates (including 8 resistant to vancomycin) with different levels of beta-lactam resistance were analyzed. Most of the highly beta-lactam-resistant isolates produced small quantities of PBP 5 of low affinity. This was associated with particular amino acid substitutions: an Ala or Ile for Thr-499, a Glu for Val-629, and a Pro for Ser-667. A change of Met-485 to Thr or Ala (adjacent to the conserved SDN box) was observed in isolates with MICs of ampicillin of 64 or 128 microg/mL, respectively. In the 2 most resistant isolates, with MICs of ampicillin of 256 microg/mL, an additional Ser was present just after Ser-466. Thus, particular point mutations in PBP 5 and combinations thereof may lead to high-level beta-lactam resistance in E. faecium.

Type II phospholipase A2 recombinant overexpression enhances stimulated arachidonic acid release.

The coding sequence of type II phospholipase A2 from human placenta was cloned in a bovine papilloma virus-derived eukaryotic expression vector under the control of the metallothionein promoter. Stably transfected C127 mouse fibroblast lines were obtained with this vector. These transfected cells overexpressed a functional 14 kDa phospholipase A2, which was bulky secreted. However, a significant phospholipase A2 activity was measured in cell homogenates. The involvement of this 14 kDa phospholipase A2 in mechanisms related to stimulated arachidonic acid release was investigated. We could parallel the overexpression of phospholipase A2 with an increase in phorbol ester and fluoroaluminate-stimulated arachidonic acid release. Pertussis toxin inhibited this stimulation. These results suggest that the 14 kDa type II phospholipase A2 might contribute to stimulation of arachidonic acid release, and therefore to eicosanoid production.

Mechanism of N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine- and platelet-activating factor-induced arachidonic acid release in guinea pig alveolar macrophages: involvement of a GTP-binding protein and role of protein kinase A and protein kinase C.

Various pharmacological effectors were used to investigate the mechanism of arachidonic acid release by N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP) and platelet-activating factor (PAF) in guinea pig alveolar macrophages. The fMLP- and PAF-stimulated arachidonic acid release (i) was mimicked by sodium fluoride and inhibited by Bordetella pertussis toxin, suggesting the participation of a guanine nucleotide-binding protein; ii) was mimicked by A23187 but was insensitive to the calmodulin inhibitor R24571, making the involvement of a calmodulin-dependent pathway unlikely; and (iii) was mimicked by 12-O-tetra-decanoyl phorbol 13 acetate (TPA) and was, like the TPA-stimulated release, markedly decreased when protein kinase C (PKC) had been down-regulated by TPA (65% decrease) or inhibited by sphingosine, a diacylglycerol-competitive PKC inhibitor shown to completely abolish the enzyme activity from alveolar macrophages at 40 microM. Moreover, PAF and fMLP, under conditions where they stimulated arachidonic acid release, promoted an appreciable, albeit transient, translocation of PKC, suggesting a possible involvement of the enzyme in the agonist-stimulated process. However, staurosporine, another PKC inhibitor decreasing PKC activity from alveolar macrophages by 60% at 20 nM, failed to alter fMLP- and PAF-stimulated release. These data lead us to suggest that fMLP- and PAF-stimulated arachidonic acid release is mediated by mechanisms involving either a staurosporine-insensitive PKC isoform or a sphingosine-sensitive coupling between a pertussis toxin-sensitive guanine nucleotide-binding protein and phospholipase A2. Finally, the fMLP- and PAF-stimulated arachidonic acid release was inhibited by cholera toxin and was, like A23187-stimulated release, potentiated by N-[2-(methylamino)ethyl]-5-isoquinolinesulfonamide dihydrochloride (H8), an exclusive protein kinase A inhibitor in alveolar macrophages, suggesting a negative regulation by protein kinase A.