Synthesis of d-labeled N-alkylmaleimides and application to quantitative peptide analysis by isotope differential mass spectrometry.

d-Labeled N-alkylmaleimides have been prepared for specific modification of the terminal SH groups of cysteine residues in proteins or peptides. These reagents are useful tools for quantitative analysis of peptides by stable isotope differential mass spectrometry.

Molecular recognition of angiogenesis inhibitors fumagillin and ovalicin by methionine aminopeptidase 2.

Angiogenesis inhibitors are a novel class of promising therapeutic agents for treating cancer and other human diseases. Fumagillin and ovalicin compose a class of structurally related natural products that potently inhibit angiogenesis by blocking endothelial cell proliferation. A synthetic analog of fumagillin, TNP-470, is currently undergoing clinical trials for treatment of a variety of cancers. A common target for fumagillin and ovalicin recently was identified as the type 2 methionine aminopeptidase (MetAP2). These natural products bind MetAP2 covalently, inhibiting its enzymatic activity. The specificity of this binding is underscored by the lack of inhibition of the closely related type 1 enzyme, MetAP1. The molecular basis of the high affinity and specificity of these inhibitors for MetAP2 has remained undiscovered. To determine the structural elements of these inhibitors and MetAP2 that are involved in this interaction, we synthesized fumagillin analogs in which each of the potentially reactive epoxide groups was removed either individually or in combination. We found that the ring epoxide in fumagillin is involved in the covalent modification of MetAP2, whereas the side chain epoxide group is dispensable. By using a fumagillin analog tagged with fluorescein, His-231 in MetAP2 was identified as the residue that is covalently modified by fumagillin. Site-directed mutagenesis of His-231 demonstrated its importance for the catalytic activity of MetAP2 and confirmed that the same residue is covalently modified by fumagillin. These results, in agreement with a recent structural study, suggest that fumagillin and ovalicin inhibit MetAP2 by irreversible blockage of the active site.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha production enhancing activity of substituted 3'-methylthalidomide: influence of substituents at the phthaloyl moiety on the activity and stereoselectivity.

The synthesis and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha production enhancing activity of substituted 3'-methylthalidomides on human leukemia cell line HL-60 stimulated with 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol 13-acetate (TPA) are described. Though the introduction of an electron-donating amino group at the phthaloyl moiety of alpha-methylthalidomides enhanced the activity, substituted alpha-methylthalidomides showed decreased stereoselectivity as compared to that of non-substituted alpha-methylthalidomide. The data indicates that the TNF-alpha production enhancing activity of thalidomide derivatives depends on both the electronic-state of substituents at the fused benzene ring and the stereochemistry of the glutarimide moiety.

Enhanced potency of perfluorinated thalidomide derivatives for inhibition of LPS-induced tumor necrosis factor-alpha production is associated with a change of mechanism of action.

Perfluorination of phthalimides leads to dramatically increased potency as inhibitors of TNF-alpha production. We examined the enantiodependence for several tetrafluorophthalimides and alpha-methylthalidomide, 3. Only 3 exhibited strikingly enantiodependent activity. The key structural determinant for the enhanced activity is the tetrafluorophthaloyl group, which confers enhanced potency and a change in the mechanism of inhibition.

Two isoxazolidines.

The crystal structures of trans-phenyl-1,6-dioxa-2-azaspiro[4,4]non- 3-yl ketone, C19H19NO3, and (3 alpha,3a alpha,6a alpha)-hexahydro-2-phenylfuro[3,2-d]isoxazol-3-yl phenyl ketone, C18H17NO3, are reported. In both compounds, the isoxazolidine rings adopt envelope conformations in which the O atom is bent out of the approximate plane of the other four ring atoms. Modest to negligible endo selectivities were confirmed in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of benzoylmethyleneaniline N-oxide with enol ethers.

Effects of gangliosides on the growth of herpes simplex virus type 1-infected cells derived from neurons and on viral replication.

Although it is well-known that herpes simplex virus can establish latent infections in neurons of sensory and sympathetic ganglia, little is known about the viral or cellular factors which regulate the latent state. Experiments were designed to elucidate the effects that can be produced by adding gangliosides, abundant components in neurons but not in most other cell types, to virus-infected cells from mouse trigeminal ganglia and from the neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid cell line NG108-15. The results obtained indicate that gangliosides, when used in combination with acyclovir, efficiently protect the infected cells from lysis in both cell systems, and that they can exert antiviral activity at least in part via suppressing protein kinase C activity.

Yucca leaf protein (YLP) stops the protein synthesis in HSV-infected cells and inhibits virus replication.

Yucca leaf protein (YLP), an inhibitor of tobacco mosaic virus isolated from the leaves of Yucca recurvifolia Salisb., exhibited potent activity against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) with no cytotoxicity below 300 micrograms/ml. The inhibitory dose was varied with the time of addition; 50% effective concentrations (ED50) of YLP were 3, 19 and 95 micrograms/ml when YLP exposure was begun 3 h before virus infection, 0 h and 3 h after infection, respectively. This protein also inhibited the multiplication of herpes simplex virus type 2 and human cytomegalovirus. YLP has been shown to have a weak virucidal activity at higher concentrations. Analysis of early events following infection showed that YLP affected viral penetration in HeLa cells but did not interfere with adsorption to the cells. YLP was found to exert strong inhibition of protein synthesis in virus-infected cells but not in uninfected cells. This selective effect can be considered to attribute mainly to the antiviral activity of YLP.

Influence of trifluoperazine on the late stage of influenza virus infection in MDCK cells.

We investigated the influence of the anticalmodulin drug, trifluoperazine (TFP) on influenza virus growth in MDCK cells. The inhibitory effect of TFP on virus growth was observed even when TFP was added at a late stage of infection. This inhibitory effect was concentration-dependent in the concentration range of 20-35 microM. At 35 microM, TFP caused a complete alteration in the distribution pattern of hemagglutinin (HA), concomitant with a decrease in the appearance of HA on the cell surface. After removal of the drug, the HA gradually began to show a normal distribution pattern and reappeared on the cell surface. The time course of rearrangement of HA was in accord with that of the recovery of cell supernatant infectivity. Scanning electron microscopic study revealed that the drug did not cause accumulation of the progeny viruses on the cell surface. The drug effect on the virus growth was reversed by the simultaneous presence of purified calmodulin (CaM). These data suggest that TFP acts as a reversible inhibitor of influenza virus morphogenesis, but not budding, by disturbing cellular CaM and/or CaM-dependent functions.

Augmentation of murine lymphokine-activated killer cell cytotoxicity by beta-cyclodextrin-benzaldehyde.

We investigated the effect of beta-cyclodextrin-benzaldehyde (CDBA) on lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell activity of spleen cells from normal or RCT(+)H-2(+)-sarcoma-bearing C3H/He mice. CDBA augmented the induction of LAK cytotoxicity in vitro against RCT(+)H-2+ tumor cells by IL-2, whereas the culture with CDBA alone did not. In a LAK cytotoxicity assay in vitro, the augmentative effect of CDBA was strongly exerted against spleen cells originating from 2-week-tumor-bearing mice, rather than those from normal mice or mice that had born tumors for 5 weeks. Such an augmentative effect was not observed against other tumor cells (YAC-1, D-6, Colon-26 and EL-4 cells) non-specifically. When the intravenous adoptive transfer of LAK cells was carried out in the mice, LAK cells from tumor-bearing mice induced by combined culture with interleukin-2 (IL-2) and CDBA markedly inhibited the pulmonary metastases of RCT(+)H-2+ tumor, while neither LAK cells from the same tumor-bearing mice induced by only IL-2 nor those from normal mice inhibited the pulmonary metastasis. The majority of LAK cells induced either by IL-2 plus CDBA or by IL-2 alone were found to be Thy1.2+ and asialoGM1+ cells by flow-cytometric analysis, but no obvious phenotypical difference was observed between them. However, the most significant effect of CDBA might be the maintenance of the Lyt-2+ cell level in the spleen cells from tumor-bearing mice. These results suggested that the costimulation of spleen cells with IL-2 and CDBA might induce cytotoxic T cells specific for syngeneic tumor cells.

Antiviral activity of an extract of Cordia salicifolia on herpes simplex virus type 1.

A partially purified extract (COL 1-6) from whole plant of Cordia salicifolia showed an inhibitory effect on herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). The activity of COL 1-6 on different steps of HSV-1 replication in HeLa cells was investigated. Under single-cycle replication conditions, COL 1-6 exerted a greater than 99.9% inhibition in virus yield when added to the cells 3 h or 1.5 h before infection, and even when added 8 h after infection the extract still caused a greater than 99% inhibition. The extract has been shown to have a direct virucidal activity. And also, analysis of early events following infection showed that COL 1-6 affected viral penetration in HeLa cells but did not interfere with adsorption to the cells.

Inhibitory effect of protein kinase C inhibitor on the replication of influenza type A virus.

The growth of influenza virus A/PR/8/34 in MDCK cells was inhibited by 1-(5-isoquinolinesulphonyl)-2-methylpiperazine dihydrochloride (H7) which is a potent inhibitor of protein kinase C, but not by an effective inhibitor of cyclic nucleotide-dependent protein kinases. Analysing the inhibitory effect of H7 during the replication cycle of influenza virus, we found that the primary transcripts were sufficiently synthesized in infected cells exposed to H7. The primary transcripts synthesized in the presence and absence of H7 were active in directing the synthesis of viral polypeptides both in a cell-free system and in the system containing H7. In the system where infected cells were exposed to H7, the viral positive-sense RNAs were also significantly amplified 6 h after infection. However, the synthesis of viral proteins other than nucleoprotein from viral primary or amplified (secondary) mRNAs was extremely restricted. The synthesis of host cellular proteins in mock-infected cells was significantly retained in the presence of H7. These results suggest that the selective inhibition of influenza virus translation following the transcription of viral mRNA was induced by H7 in infected cells.

Infection enhancement of influenza A H1 subtype viruses in macrophage-like P388D1 cells by cross-reactive antibodies.

The contribution of cross-reactive hemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibodies to infection enhancement of influenza A H1 subtype NWS virus and two antigenic drift strains was investigated in a macrophage-like cell line P388D1. When P388D1 cells, previously treated with neuraminidase (NA) to remove the viral receptors, were infected with NWS virus exposed to rabbit antiviral immunoglobulin (IgG) showing various levels of cross-HI titers, virus yields were enhanced in the presence of a subneutralizing antibody, depending on their cross-HI titers. By flow cytometric analysis using a fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled NWS virus, the efficiency of attachment of virus-rabbit IgG complexes to Fc receptors on NA-treated cells showed close correlation with its cross-HI titer. These data suggest that cross-reactive HI antibodies could contribute to infection enhancement through the formation of potent infectious immune complexes with drift strains to mediate virus infection via Fc receptor uptake. Two monoclonal antibodies (mAB) in mouse IgG subclasses IgG1 and IgG2a showing strain-specific or cross-reactive HI activity were tested for their infection enhancement characteristics. A strain-specific mAB enhanced infection of homologous NWS virus, but not that of two other drift strains in either antibody dilution. In contrast, a cross-reactive mAB caused infection enhancement of all three virus strains in the presence of the subneutralizing antibody. This indicates that cross-reactivity, but not the IgG subclass, acts as an enhancing factor to this phenomenon. The antibody, with the same specificity as cross-reactive mAB, was detected semiquantitatively by competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with results almost consistent with cross-HI titers of polyclonal rabbit antiviral IgGs. These data suggest that the antibody detected by this assay might be one of the potent antibodies governing cross-HI activity as a whole antibody and causing infection enhancement of drift strains.

Antiviral agents of plant origin. II. Antiviral activity of scopadulcic acid B derivatives.

Scopadulcic acid B derivatives were synthesized and their antiviral activities against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) were examined. All the derivatives synthesized showed lower inhibitory activities against HSV-1 than scopadulcic acid B (2). Five compounds, 7, 8, 15, 16, and 18, however, had in vitro therapeutic indexes larger than 7 and were considered to merit further investigation.

In vitro and in vivo antiviral activity of scopadulcic acid B from Scoparia dulcis, Scrophulariaceae, against herpes simplex virus type 1.

The antiviral activity of five diterpenoids isolated from Scoparia dulcis L., Scrophulariaceae, was examined in vitro against herpes simplex virus type 1. Among these compounds, only scopadulcic acid B was found to inhibit the viral replication with the in vitro therapeutic index of 16.7. The action of scopadulcic acid B was not due to a direct virucidal effect or inhibition of virus attachment to host cells. Single-cycle replication experiments indicated that the compound interfered with considerably early events of virus growth. The influence of scopadulcic acid B on the course of the primary corneal herpes simplex virus infection was investigated by means of a hamster test model. When the treatment was initiated immediately after virus inoculation, scopadulcic acid B, when applied orally or intraperitoneally, effectively prolonged both the appearance of herpetic lesions and the survival time at the dose of 100 and 200 mg/kg per day.

Detection of herpes simplex virus type 1 in herpetic ocular diseases by DNA-DNA hybridization using a biotinylated DNA probe.

A diagnostic hybridization assay for detecting herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in ocular specimens was developed using cloned viral DNA as a probe. This hybridization assay is based on visualizing a biotinylated probe that is hybridized to the target DNA by a streptavidin/alkaline phosphatase system. The time required for performing this assay system is only two days. This assay system could detect a probe which had been hybridized to as little as 1 pg of homologous DNA and did not cross-react with DNA of other human herpes viruses except that of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) which showed weak cross-reactivity. The assay system was applied to experimental keratitis in albino rabbits and clinical specimens. In experimental keratitis in rabbits it was possible to detect HSV-1 DNA in the eye swab samples at least until the ninth day after virus inoculation. Five clinical specimens collected from patients with corneal ulcer or blepharitis contained HSV-1 DNA in spite of the failure of demonstration of viral antigen and/or virus isolation in two cases.

Application of the single radial complement fixation test for serodiagnosis of influenza, respiratory syncytial, mumps, adeno type 3, and herpes simplex type 1 virus infections.

A stabilized modification of the single radial complement fixation (SRCF) test in gel was developed for detecting various virus antibodies. The principle of the test is based on the use of a single-stage procedure with an agarose plate containing virus antigens and antibody-coated erythrocytes, and thin plastic film coated with complement. By filling the wells in the agar plate with a 1:4 diluted heat-inactivated sera and covering the agar surface with a complement film, a zone of unlysed cells surrounded by a hemolytic area appears after incubation overnight at 4 degrees C and then for 1-2 h at 37 degrees C, depending on the antibody titers. The SRCF antibody titer is calculated numerically from the square of the diameter of the unlysed cell zone. The stability of reagents could be significantly improved using thin complement film and several stabilizers. When this test was used for serodiagnosis of influenza, respiratory syncytial (RS), mumps, adeno virus type 3 and herpes simplex type 1 virus infections (using a total of 400 sera), excellent correlations were demonstrated for antibody titers between conventional complement fixation (CF) and SRCF titers. Furthermore, the expression of antibody titer as an SRCF unit with consecutive value, produced results sensitive to fluctuations in the antibody titers. The simplicity of the procedure, stability of the reagents, and excellent correlation with the conventional CF test might make this a useful test for routine serodiagnosis and seroepidemiological survey of various virus infections.