Pathways of adenine nucleotide catabolism in erythrocytes.

The exact pathway whereby the initial catabolism of the adenine nucleotides proceeds from AMP and the possibility of a recycling of adenosine were investigated in human erythrocytes. Adenine nucleotide catabolism, reflected by the production of hypoxanthine, is very slow under physiologic conditions and can be greatly increased by suppression of glucose or alkalinization of the medium. Experiments with inhibitors of adenosine deaminase and adenosine kinase demonstrated that under physiologic conditions the initial catabolism of AMP proceeds by way of a deamination of AMP, followed by dephosphorylation of inosine monophosphate, and that no recycling occurs between AMP and adenosine. Under glucose deprivation, approximately 75% of the 20-fold increase of the catabolism of the adenine nucleotides proceeded by way of a dephosphorylation of AMP followed by deamination of adenosine, and a small recycling of this nucleoside could be evidenced. Inhibition of adenosine transport showed that the dephosphorylation of AMP occurred intracellularly. When the incubation medium was alkalinized in the presence of glucose, the 15-fold increase in the conversion of AMP to hypoxanthine proceeded exclusively by way of AMP deaminase but a small recycling of adenosine could also be evidenced. The threefold elevation of intraerythrocytic inorganic phosphate (Pi) during glucose deprivation and its 50% decrease during alkalinization as well as experiments in which extracellular Pi was modified, indicate that the dephosphorylation of red blood cell AMP is mainly responsive to variations of AMP, whereas its deamination is more sensitive to Pi.

The purine nucleotide cycle and its molecular defects.

Three enzymes of purine metabolism, adenylosuccinate synthetase, adenylosuccinate lyase and AMP deaminase, have been proposed to form a functional unit, termed the purine nucleotide cycle. This cycle converts AMP into IMP and reconverts IMP into AMP via adenylosuccinate, thereby producing NH3 and forming fumarate from aspartate. In muscle, the purine nucleotide cycle has been shown to function during intense exercise; the metabolic flux through the cycle has been proposed to play a role in the regeneration of ATP by pulling the adenylate kinase reaction in the direction of formation of ATP, and by providing Krebs cycle intermediates. In kidney, the purine nucleotide cycle was shown to account for the release of NH3 under the normal acid-base status, but not under acidotic conditions. In brain, the purine nucleotide cycle might function under conditions that induce a loss of ATP, and thereby contribute to its recovery. There is no evidence that the purine nucleotide cycle operates in liver. Deficiency of muscle AMP deaminase is an apparently frequent disorder, which might affect approximately 2% of the general population. The observation that it can be found in clinically asymptomatic individuals suggests, paradoxically, that the ATP-regenerating function which has been attributed to the purine nucleotide cycle is not essential for muscle function. Further work should be aimed at identifying the conditions under which AMP deaminase deficiency becomes symptomatic. Adenylosuccinate lyase deficiency provokes psychomotor retardation, often accompanied by autistic features. Its clinical heterogeneity justifies systematic screening in patients with unexplained mental deficiency. Additional studies are required to determine the mechanisms whereby this enzyme defect results in psychomotor retardation.

Inhibition of the ERK pathway promotes apoptosis induced by 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine in the B-cell leukemia cell line EHEB.

2-Chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine (CdA) is a nucleoside analogue active in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL). Although the mechanism of action of CdA has been extensively investigated in leukemic cells, the possibility that this nucleoside analogue interacts with the mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MAPK/ERK) pathway has never been explored. In this study, we show that CdA, at concentrations close to the IC50, activated the ERK pathway in the B-cell line EHEB. Because activation of this pathway is assumed to exert anti-apoptotic effect, we combined CdA with inhibitors of the ERK pathway. The latter were found to enhance CdA-induced apoptosis. These results suggest that the efficacy of CdA could be strengthened by combination with inhibitors of the ERK pathway.

Study of the efficacy of a pronucleotide of 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine in deoxycytidine kinase-deficient lymphoma cells.

2-Chloro-2 '-deoxyadenosine (CdA, cladribine) is a nucleoside analogue (NA) used for the treatment of lymphoproliferative disorders. Phosphorylation of the drug to CdAMP by deoxycytidine kinase (dCK) and its subsequent conversion to CdATP is essential for its efficacy. DCK deficiency is a common mechanism of resistance to NA, which could be overcome by the pronucleotide approach. The latter consists of using the nucleoside monophosphate conjugated to a lipophilic group enabling CdAMP to enter the cells by passive diffusion. In this study, we show that cycloSaligenyl-2-chloro-2 '-deoxyadenosine monophosphate (cycloSal-CdAMP) is 10-fold more potent that CdA in a dCK-deficient lymphoma cell line. These results suggest that the use of cycloSal-nucleotides could be a strategy to counteract resistance caused by dCK deficiency.

Identification of phosphorylation sites on human deoxycytidine kinase after overexpression in eucaryotic cells.

Compelling evidence suggests that deoxycytidine kinase (dCK), a key enzyme in the salvage of deoxyribonucleosides and in the activation of clinically relevant nucleoside analogues, can be regulated by reversible phosphorylation. In this study, we show that dCK overexpressed in HEK-293T cells was labelled after incubation of the cells with [32P]orthophosphate. Tandem mass spectrometry allowed the identification of 4 in vivo phosphorylation sites, Thr3, Ser11, Ser15, and Ser74. These results provide the first evidence that dCK is constitutively multiphosphorylated in intact cells. In addition, site-directed mutagenesis demonstrated that phosphorylation of Ser74, the major in vivo phosphorylation site, is crucial for dCK activity.

Mechanism of adenosine triphosphate catabolism induced by deoxyadenosine and by nucleoside analogues in adenosine deaminase-inhibited human erythrocytes.

The mechanism of the depletion of ATP, recorded in the erythrocytes of adenosine deaminase-deficient children and of leukemia patients treated with deoxycoformycin, was investigated in normal human erythrocytes treated with this inhibitor of adenosine deaminase. Deoxyadenosine, which accumulates in both clinical conditions, provoked a dose-dependent accumulation of dATP, depletion of ATP, and increases in the production of inosine plus hypoxanthine. Concomitantly, there was an increase of AMP and IMP, but not of adenosine, indicating that catabolism proceeded by way of AMP deaminase. A series of nucleoside analogues (9-beta-D-arabinofuranosyladenine, N6-methyladenosine, 6-methylmercaptopurine ribonucleoside, tubercidin, ribavirin, and N-1-ribosyl-5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside) also stimulated adenine nucleotide catabolism and increased AMP and IMP to various extents. The effects of deoxyadenosine and of the nucleoside analogues were prevented by 5'-iodotubercidin, an inhibitor of adenosine kinase. Strikingly, they were reversed if the inhibitor was added after the accumulation of nucleotide analogues and initiation of adenine nucleotide catabolism. Further analyses revealed linear relationships between the rate of phosphorylation of deoxyadenosine and nucleoside analogues and the increase in AMP and between the elevation of the latter above a threshold concentration of 10 microM and the rate of adenine nucleotide catabolism. Kinetic studies with purified erythrocytic AMP deaminase, at physiological concentrations of its effectors, showed that the enzyme is nearly inactive up to 10 microM AMP and increases in activity above this threshold. We conclude that the main mechanism whereby deoxyadenosine and nucleoside analogues stimulate catabolism of adenine nucleotides by way of AMP deaminase in erythrocytes is elevation of AMP, secondary to the phosphorylation of the nucleosides.

Stimulation by glycerate 2,3-bisphosphate: a common property of cytosolic IMP-GMP 5'-nucleotidase in rat and human tissues.

Glycerate 2,3-bisphosphate, a potent stimulator of the cytosolic 5'-nucleotidase which preferentially hydrolyzes IMP and GMP in human erythrocytes (Bontemps et al., 1988, Biochem. J. 250, 687-696), also stimulates the dephosphorylation of IMP in cytosol fractions of rat heart, liver, brain, kidney, spleen and erythrocytes, and of human polymorphonuclear leucocytes, mixed peripheral blood lymphocytes, platelets and fibroblasts. Depending on the cell type, stimulation by 5 mM glycerate 2,3-bisphosphate varied from 1.5- to 12-fold. Where investigated, glycerate 2,3-bisphosphate had an approx. 5-fold higher affinity for the enzyme than its other stimulator, ATP. These observations provide a useful tool to distinguish IMP-GMP 5'-nucleotidase from other 5'-nucleotidases, and suggest a common origin of the cytosolic IMP-GMP 5'-nucleotidase in various tissues.

2-Chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine inhibits DNA repair synthesis and potentiates UVC cytotoxicity in chronic lymphocytic leukemia B lymphocytes.

2-Chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine (CdA) is a deoxyadenosine analogue which targets enzymes involved in DNA synthesis, and hence might interfere with the resynthesis step of DNA repair. We tested this hypothesis in resting B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) lymphocytes, after firstly characterizing unscheduled DNA synthesis occurring in these cells. We observed that the spontaneous incorporation of [methyl-3H]thymidine (dThd) into DNA of B-CLL cells was not completely inhibitable by hydroxyurea (HU) which blocks DNA replication. In addition, in the presence of HU, dThd incorporation could be upregulated by UVC radiation or DNA alkylation, without re-entry of the cells into S phase. CdA was found to inhibit both spontaneous and upregulated DNA synthesis in B-CLL cells. Phosphorylation of CdA was essential to exert this effect. We finally observed a strong synergistic cytotoxicity between UV light and CdA, which was correlated with activation of caspase-3 and high molecular weight DNA fragmentation, two markers of apoptosis. Taken together, these observations indicate that in B-CLL cells CdA inhibits unscheduled DNA synthesis which represents the polymerizing step of a repair process responsive to DNA aggression. Inhibition of this process by CdA, together with a combined activation of the apoptotic proteolytic cascade by CdA and UV, may explain their synergistic cytotoxicity.

Potentiation of antitumor effects of cyclophosphamide derivatives in B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells by 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine.

Because 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine (CdA) is active in B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL), and may interfere with DNA repair, we investigated the potentiating effect of CdA on the cytotoxicity induced in vitro in B-CLL lymphocytes by cyclophosphamide (CP) derivatives, which induce DNA damage by DNA cross-linking. Exposure to CdA at clinically achievable concentrations for 2 h, followed by mafosfamide (MAF) or 4-hydroxycyclophosphamide (4HC) for 22 h, resulted in synergistic cytotoxicity in the majority of B-CLL samples tested. Synergy between CdA and MAF was observed in cell samples of sensitive/untreated patients, as well as in cells of resistant/pretreated patients, particularly at the highest concentrations of MAF. In the cells treated with CdA and MAF, we observed loss in ATP and hallmarks of apoptosis, as evidenced by cellular morphology and high molecular weight DNA fragmentation. The synergy could be explained neither by an influence of MAF on the phosphorylation of CdA, nor by an increase in the incorporation of CdA into DNA in the presence of MAF. The in vitro synergy between CdA and CP derivatives provides a rationale for the use of this association in B-CLL patients.

Resistance to 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine of the human B-cell leukemia cell line EHEB.

The effects of 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine (CdA, cladribine), an adenosine deaminase-resistant analogue toxic for both proliferating and resting lymphoid cells, were investigated in the human leukemia cell line EHEB, which was derived from a patient with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia. These cells were found to be less sensitive to CdA than B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia lymphocytes (approximately 25-fold) and other human lymphoblastic cell lines (10-1000-fold). Phosphorylation of CdA by deoxycytidine kinase and intracellular accumulation of 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine triphosphate (CdATP) were similar in EHEB cells and in other CdA-sensitive cell lines. In contrast, the inhibitory effect of CdA on ribonucleotide reductase activity, which was investigated in situ by the conversion of cytidine into deoxyribonucleotides and its incorporation into DNA, was much less pronounced in EHEB cells than in other human lymphoblastic cells. Accordingly, concentrations of deoxynucleoside triphosphates did not decrease and even tended to rise. Unexpectedly, incorporation of thymidine and deoxycytidine into DNA was increased severalfold after a 24-h incubation with CdA. CdA also increased the activities of deoxycytidine kinase and thymidine kinase approximately 4-fold. Analysis of the cell cycle by flow cytometry showed that after 24 h, CdA provoked an increase in the proportion of cells in S phase, synthesizing DNA. We conclude that the EHEB cell line is resistant to the cytotoxic action of CdA not only because of a lack of inhibition of ribonucleotide reduction but also because CdA, in contrast with its known effects, provokes in this cell line an increase in the proportion of cells replicating their DNA. Unraveling of the mechanism of this effect may shed light on clinical resistance to CdA.

Production of adenosine and nucleoside analogs by the exchange reaction catalyzed by rat liver adenosine kinase.

We have previously shown [8] that rat liver adenosine kinase can produce [14C]AMP from [14C]adenosine (Ado) and unlabelled adenosine monophosphate (AMP), in the absence of ATP, by an exchange reaction. In this study, we investigated whether Ado or AMP could be replaced in this exchange reaction by other nucleosides or nucleoside monophosphates (NMP), respectively. In the presence of 1 mM of the unlabelled NMP analogs 7-deazaadenosine (tubercidin) 5'-monophosphate, 6-chloropurine riboside 5'-monophosphate, or N6-methyl-AMP, [14C]AMP was formed from 20 microM [14C]Ado at up to 50% of the rate recorded with 1 mM unlabelled AMP. In the presence of 0.2 mM of the unlabelled analog nucleosides tubercidin, N6-methyladenosine, or 6-methylmercaptopurine riboside, [14C]Ado was generated from 1 mM [14C]AMP at up to 60% of the rate recorded with 0.2 mM unlabeled Ado. Small amounts of [14C]Ado were also formed from the natural nucleosides 5-amino-4-imidazolecarboxamide (AICA) riboside or 2'-deoxyadenosine. Administration of therapeutic anticancer and antiviral nucleosides that can serve as substrates for the exchange reaction catalyzed by adenosine kinase might, thus, result in a net production of Ado, a potent autacoid with physiological effects in numerous tissues.

Substrate cycling between 5-amino-4-imidazolecarboxamide riboside and its monophosphate in isolated rat hepatocytes.

AICA (5-amino-4-imidazolecarboxamide)-riboside is taken up by isolated rat hepatocytes and converted by adenosine kinase (ATP:adenosine 5'-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.20) into AICAR (ZMP), an intermediate of the de novo synthesis of purine nucleotides. We investigated if, in these cells, a cycle analogous to the adenosine-AMP substrate cycle operates between AICAriboside and ZMP. When 50 microM ITu, an inhibitor of adenosine kinase, was added to hepatocytes that had metabolized AICAriboside for 30 min, the concentration of ZMP decreased immediately. This was mirrored by a reincrease of AICAriboside. Rates of the ITu-induced decrease of ZMP and the increase of AICAriboside, calculated at different concentrations of ZMP, were first order, up to the highest concentration of ZMP (approx. 5 mumol/g of cells). Dephosphorylation of ZMP added to crude cytosolic extracts of rat liver displayed hyperbolic kinetics, with a Vmax of 0.65 mumol/min per g protein and an apparent Km of 5 mM, and was markedly inhibited by Pi, an inhibitor of IMP-GMP 5'-nucleotidase (5'-ribonucleotide phosphohydrolase, EC 3.1.3.5). We conclude that hepatocyte ZMP is continuously dephosphorylated, most likely by IMP-GMP 5'-nucleotidase, into AICAriboside, which is rephosphorylated into ZMP by adenosine kinase. Substrate cycling was also shown to occur between other nucleoside analogs and their phosphorylated counterparts.

Metabolism and cytotoxic effects of 2-chloroadenine, the major catabolite of 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine.

EHEB cells, a continuous cell line derived from a patient with B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL), synthesized, when incubated with tritiated 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine (CdA), labeled mono-, di-, and triphosphate ribonucleosides at a much higher rate than CdA deoxyribonucleotides. Further analysis revealed that these ribonucleotides were formed from labeled 2-chloroadenine (CAde), which contaminated commercial tritiated CdA at a proportion of 2-3%. Since CAde is the major catabolite of CdA measured in plasma after oral or intravenous administration of CdA to patients, its metabolism and in particular its potential cytotoxicity were investigated both in EHEB cells and in B-CLL lymphocytes. Phosphorylation of CAde was inhibited by adenine, indicating that its initial metabolism most probably proceeds via adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (EC 2.4.2.7). In both cell types, chloro-ATP was the major metabolite formed from CAde and its concentration increased proportionally at least up to 50 microM CAde. At high concentration, CAde metabolism was accompanied by a decrease in intracellular ATP. Cytotoxicity of CAde, evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, showed an IC(50) of 16 microM in EHEB cells and 5 microM in B-CLL lymphocytes. At cytotoxic concentrations, apopain/caspase-3 activation and high molecular weight DNA fragmentation were observed, indicating that CAde cytotoxicity results from induction of apoptosis. However, since CAde cytotoxicity requires higher concentrations than CdA, it probably does not play a role in the therapeutic effect of CdA in the treatment of hematologic malignancies.

Cytosolic purine 5'-nucleotidases of rat liver and human red blood cells: regulatory properties and role in AMP dephosphorylation.

Of the various species of cellular 5'-nucleotidases, membranous, lysosomal and cytosolic, only the latter are likely to play a role in the physiologic dephosphorylation of the 5'-nucleoside monophosphates present in the cytoplasm. The necessity to preserve cellular ATP renders a strict control of the dephosphorylation as well as of the deamination of AMP mandatory, because both nucleotides are maintained in equilibrium by adenylate kinase. Our studies of cytosolic purine 5'-nucleotidases purified from rat liver and from human erythrocytes, reviewed in this presentation, have shown that both display complex kinetic properties. Both enzymes have markedly higher affinities for IMP and for GMP than for AMP. In addition, they are stimulated by nucleoside triphosphates, among them ATP and GTP, and inhibited by Pi. The erythrocytic purine 5'-nucleotidase is also stimulated by glycerate 2,3-bisphosphate. It could thus be expected that under conditions of ATP and GTP breakdown, particularly when accompanied by an increase in Pi, the dephosphorylation of AMP would be curtailed. To verify this hypothesis, experiments were performed with isolated rat hepatocytes and with human red blood cells. The rate of dephosphorylation of AMP was measured by following time-wise the production of adenosine in the presence of coformycin (or deoxycoformycin) and 5-iodotubercidin. The coformycins inhibit the deamination of adenosine into inosine by adenosine deaminase, and 5-iodotubercidin inhibits the recycling of adenosine into AMP by adenosine kinase. Upon induction of ATP catabolism by the addition of fructose to isolated rat hepatocytes, the dephosphorylation of AMP was nearly completely suppressed. In accordance with these results, the activity of the rat liver cytosolic 5'-nucleotidase, assayed in the presence of concentrations of substrate and effectors mimicking those measured in intact cells following the addition of fructose, was decreased as compared to control conditions. In hepatocytes in which ATP catabolism was induced by suppression of oxygen, the rate of dephosphorylation of AMP increased about 3-fold. However, in contradiction with these data, the activity of the cytosolic 5'-nucleotidase, measured under conditions mimicking anoxia, decreased markedly. In human erythrocytes, dephosphorylation of AMP did not occur under physiologic conditions, but proceeded when ATP catabolism was induced by glucose lack or by alkalinization. The rate of dephosphorylation of AMP was 3-fold higher during glucose deprivation than under alkaline conditions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Labelling of uric acid and allantoin in different purine organs and urine of the rat.

We studied the incorporation of 14C-formate into uric acid and allantoin in different organs (liver, lung, kidney, spleen), isolated hepatocytes, perfused liver and urine of the rat. Allantoin had a higher specific radioactivity than uric acid after 14C-formate load in the liver in vivo. This was found to be a strictly hepatic phenomenon and not due to the influence of other tissues.

Effects of 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine on the cell cycle in the human leukemia EHEB cell line.

To explain why 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine (CdA) is unable to block DNA synthesis and cell cycle progression, and paradoxically enhances progression from G1 into S phase in the CdA-resistant leukemia EHEB cell line, we studied its metabolism and effects on proteins regulating the transition from G1 to S phase. A low deoxycytidine kinase activity and CdATP accumulation, and a lack of p21 induction despite p53 phosphorylation and accumulation may account for the inability of CdA to block the cell cycle. An alternative pathway involving pRb phosphorylation seems implicated in the CdA-induced increase in G1 to S phase progression.

New evidences for a regulation of deoxycytidine kinase activity by reversible phosphorylation.

Recent studies indicate that deoxycytidine kinase (dCK), which activates various nucleoside analogues used in antileukemic therapy, can be regulated by post-translational modification, most probably through reversible phosphorylation. To further unravel its regulation, dCK was overexpressed in HEK-293 cells as a His-tag fusion protein. Western blot analysis showed that purified overexpressed dCK appears as doublet protein bands. The slower band disappeared after treatment with protein phosphatase lambda (PP lambda) in parallel with a decrease of dCK activity, providing additional arguments in favor of both phosphorylated and unphosphorylated forms of dCK.

Nucleoside analogs induce proteasomal down-regulation of p21 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia cell lines.

Nucleoside analogs (NAs) represent an important class of anticancer agents that induce cell death after conversion to triphosphate derivatives. One of their most important mechanisms of action is the activation of p53, leading to apoptosis through the intrinsic pathway. Classically, the activation of p53 also induces p21 accumulation, which leads to cell cycle arrest at the G1/S transition. In previous work, we observed that 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine (CdA), a NA with high activity in lymphoid disorders, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), promotes the G1/S transition in the CLL cell line EHEB at cytotoxic concentrations. This finding led us to investigate the p21 response to NAs in these cells. We show here that CdA, but also fludarabine, gemcitabine, and cytarabine, strongly reduced the p21 protein level in EHEB cells as well as in JVM-2 cells, another CLL cell line. This p21 depletion occurred despite induction of p53 and increase of p21 mRNA and was prevented by proteasome inhibitors. Increase of proteasomal degradation caused by NAs appeared to be ubiquitin-independent. Also, NAs induced in these cells an increase of cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk2) activity and a monoubiquitination of cell proliferating nuclear antigen (PCNA), two processes that are negatively regulated by p21. These changes were not observed with other p53 activators, like etoposide and nutlin-3a that increased the p21 protein level. In conclusion, our study reveals that NAs can induce an alternative pattern of cellular response in some cell models.

Influence of phosphorylation of THR-3, SER-11, and SER-15 on deoxycytidine kinase activity and stability.

Deoxycytidine kinase (dCK) is a key enzyme in the salvage of deoxyribonucleosides and in the activation of several anticancer and antiviral nucleoside analogues. We have recently shown that dCK is a phosphoprotein. Four in vivo phosphorylation sites were identified: Thr-3, Ser-11, Ser-15, and Ser-74. Site-directed mutagenesis demonstrated that phosphorylation of Ser-74, the major phosphorylated residue, strongly influences dCK activity in eucaryotic cells. Here, we show that phosphorylation of the three other sites, located in the N-terminal extremity of the protein, does not significantly modify dCK activity, but phosphorylation of Thr-3 could promote dCK stability.