Multiple recognition assay reveals prostasomes as promising plasma biomarkers for prostate cancer.

Prostasomes are microvesicles (mean diameter, 150 nm) that are produced and secreted by normal and malignant prostate acinar cells. It has been hypothesized that invasive growth of malignant prostate cells may cause these microvesicles, normally released into seminal fluid, to appear in interstitial space and therewith into peripheral circulation. The suitability of prostasomes as blood biomarkers in patients with prostate cancer was tested by using an expanded variant of the proximity ligation assay (PLA). We developed an extremely sensitive and specific assay (4PLA) for detection of complex target structures such as microvesicles in which the target is first captured via an immobilized antibody and subsequently detected by using four other antibodies with attached DNA strands. The requirement for coincident binding by five antibodies to generate an amplifiable reporter results in both increased specificity and sensitivity. The assay successfully detected significantly elevated levels of prostasomes in blood samples from patients with prostate cancer before radical prostatectomy, compared with controls and men with benign biopsy results. The medians for prostasome levels in blood plasma of patients with prostate cancer were 2.5 to sevenfold higher compared with control samples in two independent studies, and the assay also distinguished patients with high and medium prostatectomy Gleason scores (8/9 and 7, respectively) from those with low score (≤ 6), thus reflecting disease aggressiveness. This approach that enables detection of prostasomes in peripheral blood may be useful for early diagnosis and assessment of prognosis in organ-confined prostate cancer.

Significant others' perspectives on experiences of meal-oriented support and diet counselling for adults with intellectual disabilities who live in supported housing.

The quality of meal-oriented support for people with intellectual disabilities is important for their health. The aim of the present study was to explore the experiences of meal-oriented support and diet counselling for adults with intellectual disabilities living in supported housing, from the perspective of housing staff and mothers. Five focus group interviews, including nine supporting staff members and nine mothers, were conducted. The interviews were analyzed using systematic text condensation. Five themes appeared; Extensive needs of the individual, Staff skills determine the food intake, Informal caregivers make up for shortage of support, Effective collaboration with a registered dietitian is needed and Responsibility of the organization state that professionalization of staff is needed. Lacking resources, such as time and nutritional knowledge, insufficient considerations of individual needs, and high staff turnover influence the meal-orientated services negatively. This study brings to the fore, staff working practices and the complexity of providing meal-oriented support for people with intellectual disabilities. Staff need skills to perform individually tailored support. This is best accomplished through effective collaboration between housing staff and relatives underpinned by knowledge from a registered dietitian. The working practices must be structured at the organizational level of the services.

Comparison of cAMP-dependent protein kinase substrate specificity in reaction with proteins and synthetic peptides.

Mutants of L-type pyruvate kinase with modified peptide sequence around the Ser-12 phosphorylation site were prepared and kinetics of their phosphorylation by protein kinase A was studied. The profile of substrate specificity obtained for these proteins was compared with the kinetic data of phosphorylation of short peptide substrates. Alterations made in protein structure caused weaker effects than the corresponding alterations made in peptides, while the amino acid preferences and the overall specificity pattern remained similar in the both cases. Thus, similar consensus motif holds for both protein and peptide substrates, but is less critical for recognition of proteins if compared with short peptides.

Screening for the optimal specificity profile of protein kinase C using electrospray mass-spectrometry.

A peptide library approach based on electrospray mass-spectrometric (ESI-MS) detection of phosphopeptides was designed for rapid and quantitative characterization of protein kinase specificity. The k(cat)/K(m) values for the protein kinase Cbeta (PKCbeta) were determined for a systematically varied set of individual substrate peptides in library mixtures by the ESI-MS method. The analysis revealed a complex structural specificity profile in positions around the phosphorylated serine with hydrophobic and/or basic residues being mostly preferred. On the basis of the kinetic parameters, a highly efficient peptide substrate for PKCbeta (K(m)value below 100 nM) FRRRRSFRRR and its alanine substituted pseudosubstrate-analog inhibitor (K(i) value of 76 nM) were designed. The quantitative specificity profiles obtained by the new approach contained more information about kinase specificity than the conventional substrate consensus motifs. The new method presents a promising basis for design of substrate-site directed peptide or peptidomimetic inhibitors of protein kinases. Second, highly specific substrates could be designed for novel applications such as high-throughput protein kinase activity screens on protein kinase chips.

Phosphohistidine phosphatase 1 (PHPT1) also dephosphorylates phospholysine of chemically phosphorylated histone H1 and polylysine.

BACKGROUND: Phosphohistidine phosphatase 1 (PHPT1), also named protein histidine phosphatase (PHP), is a eukaryotic enzyme dephosphorylating proteins and peptides that are phosphorylated on a histidine residue. A preliminary finding that histone H1, which lacks histidine, was phosphorylated by phosphoramidate and dephosphorylated by PHPT1 prompted the present investigation. METHODS: Histone H1 and polylysine were phosphorylated at a low concentration (3.9 mM) of phosphoramidate. Their dephosphorylation by recombinant human PHPT1 was investigated by using a DEAE-Sepharose spin column technique earlier developed by us for studies on basic phosphoproteins and phosphopeptides. Determination of protein-bound, acid-labile phosphate was performed by a malachite green method. Mass spectrometry (MS) was used to investigate the occurrence of N-ε-phospholysine residues in a phosphorylated histone H1.2 preparation, and to measure the activity of PHPT1 against free N-ω-phosphoarginine. RESULTS: Histone H1.2, which lacks histidine, was phosphorylated by phosphoramidate on several lysine residues, as shown by MS. PHPT1 was shown to dephosphorylate phosphohistone H1 at a rate similar to that previously described for the dephosphorylation of phosphohistidine-containing peptides. In addition, phosphopolylysine was an equally good substrate for PHPT1. However, no dephosphorylation of free phosphoarginine by PHPT1 could be detected. CONCLUSION: The finding that PHPT1 can dephosphorylate phospholysine in chemically phosphorylated histone H1 and polylysine demonstrates a broader specificity for this enzyme than known so far.

Exogenous protein kinases A and C, but not endogenous prostasome-associated protein kinase, phosphorylate semenogelins I and II from human semen.

Semenogelins I and II are the quantitatively dominating proteins in human semen. They comprise the major part of the sperm-entrapping gel formed at ejaculation, which subsequently liquefies due to proteolysis of the gel-forming proteins by prostate-specific antigen (PSA). The mechanism behind gel formation and its physiological significance is not known. We have studied phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of human semenogelins. Both were phosphorylated by protein kinases A and C (PKA and PKC, respectively) at a rate about 5 times less than that of histone. For PKA, incorporated ((32)P)phosphate into semenogelin approached a maximum above 1 mol/mol. Corresponding values for phosphorylation of the semenogelins with PKC were greater than 10. There was no change in the sensitivity of phosphosemenogelins to proteolysis by PSA. Serine (PKA) and serine and threonine (PKC) were the phosphate-accepting amino acid residues, and all incorporated ((32)P)phosphate could be removed from the semenogelins with human acid phosphatase. Nil or very little phosphate could be detected in purified semenogelins isolated from seminal plasma. In vivo, about half the protein kinase activity in seminal plasma was bound to prostasomes. PKA but not PKC purified from prostasomes could phosphorylate specific substrates, but they could phosphorylate either of the semenogelins.

A splice variant of the human phosphohistidine phosphatase 1 (PHPT1) is degraded by the proteasome.

Regulation of protein activity by phosphorylation is central in many cellular processes. Phosphorylation of serine, threonine and tyrosine residues is well documented and studied. In addition, other amino acids, like histidine can be phosphorylated, but neither the mechanism nor the function of this modification is well understood. Nevertheless, there is a 14 kDa enzyme with phosphohistidine phosphatase activity, named PHPT1, found in most animals, but not in bacteria, plant or fungi. There are a few splice variant transcripts formed from the human PHPT1 locus and some of them are predicted to form variant proteins, but studies of these proteins are lacking. In order to get insight into the possible function of the variant transcripts encoded at the PHPT1 locus, ectopic expression of PHPT1 transcript variant 6, predicted to be degraded by the non-sense mediated mRNA decay pathway, in HeLa cells was undertaken. In HeLa cells the splice variant protein was degraded by the proteasome, unlike the wild type protein. Using an in silico modeling approach the variant C-terminal end of the proteins were predicted to form different secondary structures that might explain the different properties of the two proteins. The specific degradation of the PHPT1 splice variant indicates that at least for the PHPT1 protein, the quality control and the self-guarding of the cellular system works at two levels, first at the RNA level, aberrant transcripts are degraded by the non-sense mediated mRNA decay pathway, and the small amount of proteins that are formed will be degraded by the proteasome.

A screening method for phosphohistidine phosphatase 1 activity.

Abstract Introduction. Research in the field of protein-bound phosphohistidine phosphorylation has been hampered by the difficulties in analysis and detection of phosphohistidine. Therefore a screening method was developed primarily for the analysis of phosphohistidine phosphatase 1 (PHPT1) activity. Methods. A highly positively charged substrate, Ac-Val-Arg-Leu-Lys-His-Arg-Lys-Leu-Arg-pNA, containing the peptide surrounding the phosphorylated histidine in ion channel KCa3.1 was chemically phosphorylated using phosphoramidate. Excess phosphoramidate was removed by anion exchange chromatography using a micro spin column. After incubation of the eluate with PHPT1, the removed phosphate was bound on a consecutive anion exchange spin column. The eluate was assayed in a micro plate format for remaining phosphate in the substrate Ac-Val-Arg-Leu-Lys-His(P)-Arg-Lys-Leu-Arg-pNA. Histone H4, also highly positive in charge, was subjected to the same procedure to explore the possibility to use other substrates to PHPT1 in this assay format. Results. It was found that Ac-Val-Arg-Leu-Lys-His(P)-Arg-Lys-Leu-Arg-pNA and phosphohistone H4 were dephosphorylated by PHPT1. The apparent K(m) for Ac-Val-Arg-Leu-Lys-His(P)-Arg-Lys-Leu-Arg-pNA was in the order of 10 µM.Using this method, phosphohistidine phosphatase activity was detected in mouse liver cell sap with Ac-Val-Arg-Leu-Lys-His(P)-Arg-Lys-Leu-Arg-pNA as substrate. Discussion. The described method for determination of PHPT1 activity is comparably much easier and faster than presently used methods for detection of phosphohistidine phosphatase activity. It is also sensitive, since the lower activity limit was 5 pmol phosphate released per min. It has the potential to be used both for more rapid screening for inhibitors and activators to phosphohistidine phosphatases and for screening of histidine kinases.

Immunohistochemical localization of phosphohistidine phosphatase PHPT1 in mouse and human tissues.

Protein histidine phosphorylation accounts for about 6% of the total protein phosphorylation in eukaryotic cells; still details concerning histidine phosphorylation and dephosphorylation are limited. A mammalian 14-kDa phosphohistidine phosphatase, also denominated PHPT1, was found 6 years ago that provided a new tool in the study of phosphohistidine phosphorylation. The localization of PHPT1 mRNA by Northern blot analysis revealed high expression in heart and skeletal muscle. The main object of the present study was to determine the PHPT1 expression on protein level in mouse tissues in order to get further information on the physiological role of the enzyme. Tissue samples from adult mice and 14.5-day-old mouse embryos were processed for immunostaining using a PHPT1-specific polyclonal antibody. The same antibody was also provided to the Swedish human protein atlas project (HPR) (http://www.proteinatlas.org/index.php). The results from both studies were essentially consistent with the previously reported expression of mRNA of a few human tissues. In addition, several other tissues, including testis, displayed a high protein expression. A salient result of the present investigation was the ubiquitous expression of the PHPT1 protein and its high expression in continuously dividing epithelial cells.

Mutational study of human phosphohistidine phosphatase: effect on enzymatic activity.

Although protein histidine phosphorylation is estimated to account for about 6% of total protein phosphorylation in eukaryotes, knowledge on histidine phosphorylation and dephosphorylation is still limited. Recently, a few reports have appeared on a mammalian 14-kDa phosphohistidine phosphatase, also named protein histidine phosphatase. Molecular cloning of the protein has opened possibilities for exploring its properties and physiological role. In the present work, we have searched for potential active site residues in the human phosphohistidine phosphatase by point mutations of conserved histidine and arginine residues to alanine. When assayed by the phosphohistidine-containing peptide succinyl-Ala-His(P)-Pro-Phe-p-nitroanilide, mutants H53A and H102A showed no detectable activity. Compared to the wild-type recombinant enzyme, the specific activity of mutant R45A was decreased by one order of magnitude, that of mutant R78A was decreased by about 30%, while that of mutant H81A was essentially unchanged. These results will facilitate future studies of the reaction mechanism, substrate binding, and molecular structure of the phosphohistidine phosphatase.

Identification and characterization of a mammalian 14-kDa phosphohistidine phosphatase.

Protein histidine phosphorylation in eukaryotes has been sparsely studied compared to protein serine/threonine and tyrosine phosphorylation. In an attempt to rectify this by probing porcine liver cytosol with the phosphohistidine-containing peptide succinyl-Ala-His(P)-Pro-Phe-p-nitroanilide (phosphopeptide I), we observed a phosphatase activity that was insensitive towards okadaic acid and EDTA. This suggested the existence of a phosphohistidine phosphatase different from protein phosphatase 1, 2A and 2C. A 1000-fold purification to apparent homogeneity gave a 14-kDa phosphatase with a specific activity of 3 micro mol.min-1.mg-1 at pH 7.5 with 7 micro m phosphopeptide I as substrate. Partial amino-acid sequence determination of the purified porcine enzyme by MS revealed similarity with a human sequence representing a human chromosome 9 gene of hitherto unknown function. Molecular cloning from a human embryonic kidney cell cDNA-library followed by expression and purification, yielded a protein with a molecular mass of 13 700 Da, and an EDTA-insensitive phosphohistidine phosphatase activity of 9 micro mol.min-1.mg-1 towards phosphopeptide I. No detectable activity was obtained towards a set of phosphoserine-, phosphothreonine-, and phosphotyrosine peptides. Northern blot analysis indicated that the human phosphohistidine phosphatase mRNA was present preferentially in heart and skeletal muscle. These results provide a new tool for studying eukaryotic histidine phosphorylation/dephosphorylation.