Distinct tribological endotypes of pathological human synovial fluid reveal characteristic biomarkers and variation in efficacy of viscosupplementation at reducing local strains in articular cartilage.

OBJECTIVE: Viscosupplementation has been used for decades to treat mild to moderate osteoarthritis, yet it is unknown if the lubricating function of different pathological synovial fluids (SF) vary, or if they respond differentially to viscosupplementation. The objectives of this study were to (i) evaluate the friction coefficients and induced shear strains in articular cartilage when lubricated with pathological SF, (ii) identify the effect of hyaluronic acid (HA) supplementation on friction coefficients and shear strains, and (iii) identify SF biomarkers that correlate with lubricating function. METHOD: Human pathological SF was grouped by white blood cell count (inflammatory: >2000 cells/mm3, n = 6; non-inflammatory: <2000 cells/mm3, n = 6). Compositional analyses for lubricin and cytokines were performed. Friction coefficients and local tissue shear strain measurements were coupled using new, microscale rheological analyses by lubricating neonatal bovine cartilage explants with SF alone and in a 1:1 ratio with HA (Hymovis®). RESULTS: Friction coefficients were not significantly different between the inflammatory and non-inflammatory pathologies (p = 0.09), and were poorly correlated with peak tissue strains at the cartilage articular surface (R2 = 0.34). A subset of inflammatory SF samples induced higher tissue strains, and HA supplementation was most effective at lowering friction and tissue strains in this inflammatory subset. Across all pathologies there were clear relationships between polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN), IL-8, and lubricin concentrations with cartilage tissue strains. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that pathological SF is characterized by distinct tribological endotypes where SF lubricating behaviors are differentially modified by viscosupplementation and are identifiable by biomarkers.

Structural characterization of a GNAT family acetyltransferase from Elizabethkingia anophelis bound to acetyl-CoA reveals a new dimeric interface.

General control non-repressible 5 (GCN5)-related N-acetyltransferases (GNATs) catalyse the acetylation of a diverse range of substrates, thereby orchestrating a variety of biological processes within prokaryotes and eukaryotes. GNAT enzymes can catalyze the transfer of an acetyl group from acetyl coenzyme A to substrates such as aminoglycoside antibiotics, amino acids, polyamines, peptides, vitamins, catecholamines, and large macromolecules including proteins. Although GNATs generally exhibit low to moderate sequence identity, they share a conserved catalytic fold and conserved structural motifs. In this current study we characterize the high-resolution X-ray crystallographic structure of a GNAT enzyme bound with acetyl-CoA from Elizabethkingia anophelis, an important multi-drug resistant bacterium. The tertiary structure is comprised of six α-helices and nine ß-strands, and is similar with other GNATs. We identify a new and uncharacterized GNAT dimer interface, which is conserved in at least two other unpublished GNAT structures. This suggests that GNAT enzymes can form at least five different types of dimers, in addition to a range of other oligomers including trimer, tetramer, hexamer, and dodecamer assemblies. The high-resolution structure presented in this study is suitable for future in-silico docking and structure-activity relationship studies.

Binding of terbium (III) to yeast enolase.

Several independent criteria indicate 2 mol of terbium (III) bind to yeast enolase in the absence of substrate-fluorescence titrations of enzyme and metal, effects on thermal stability and published ultrafiltration and inhibition experiments. These measurements also suggest the terbium binding sites are the same as those normally occupied by "conformational" magnesium. Terbium binds much more strongly than magnesium, however, and measurements of the kinetics of the absorbance change in the terbium-enzyme on adding excess EDTA suggest the terbium-enzyme dissociation constant is about 1/500 that of the magnesium-enzyme. Measurements of enzyme activity as a function of substrate concentration show that terbium permits no enzymatic activity. However, magnesium competes more effectively with the lanthanide if the substrate analogue 3-aminoenolpyruvate 2-phosphate (AEP) is present. The fluorescence of the lanthanide is not readily observed on exciting the terbium-enzyme at 280 nm, indicating the absence of tyrosines or tryptophans in the coordination sphere of the metal. Excitation of terbium using 488 nm radiation from an argon ion laser shows the fluorescence of the metal is enhanced by binding to the enzyme. EDTA and carbonate have similar effects. This suggests carboxyl groups are involved in binding metal at the conformational sites of yeast enolase. Measurements of lifetimes of enzyme-bound terbium in the presence and absence of D2O indicated three moles of water remained on each of the bound metals, independently of the buffer used. If enzyme-bound terbium is assumed to be nine-coordinate, the metal must bind to six groups from the enzyme. The presence of substrate does not markedly affect the emission spectrum of the bound terbium or the number of water molecules remaining on the metal, but calorimetric measurements show that substrate binds to the terbium enzyme.

Protein-ligand interactions in lumazine protein and in Desulfovibrio flavodoxins from resonance coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectra.

The resonance coherent anti-Stokes Raman technique was used to obtain vibrational spectra of flavin in flavodoxins from Desulfovibrio gigas and Desulfovibrio vulgaris and of the simpler 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine chromophore in the blue fluorescence lumazine protein from the bioluminescent bacterium Photobacterium phosphoreum. In the region examined, 1100-1700 cm-1, the Raman spectrum of the lumazine is less crowded than that of the flavin and this facilitates assignment of observed frequencies to particular vibrational modes. Certain modes are not affected by chromophore binding to the protein, but others are changed in frequency or intensity in a way that can be rationalized by expected interactions of the chromophore with the amino acid residues of the binding site. For example, a tentative assignment of change in hydrogen bonding at N(5) is suggested as the cause of the frequency shift for the chromophore in both flavodoxins (free-bound, 1582-1572 cm-1) and for C(4)=O in glucose oxidase (1359-1364 cm-1) and lumazine protein (1359-1362 cm-1). Shifts of the C(2)-N(3) mode in D2O may arise from hydrogen-bonding changes at C(2)=O in lumazine protein (1284-1291 cm-1), flavodoxin (1300-1280 cm-1), and glucose oxidase (1297-1287 cm-1). Bonding at N(3)-H may be the origin of changes in the frequency or intensity of the amide III mode in riboflavin binding protein and glucose oxidase. A stacking interaction is suggested for the change in a pyrimidine ring mode in FAD (1508 cm-1) since this mode is found at 1504 cm-1 in 30% Me2SO/H2O, where the adenine and pyrimidine are unstacked. The results clearly indicate different interactions in the binding sites of those proteins studied to date.

Effects of growth substrate and respiratory chain composition on bioenergetics in Acinetobacter sp. strain HO1-N.

The relationship between respiratory chain composition and efficiency of coupling phosphorylation to electron transport was examined in Acinetobacter sp. strain HO1-N. Cells containing only cytochrome o as a terminal oxidase displayed the same stoichiometries of adenosine 5'-triphosphate synthesis and proton extrusion as cells which contained both cytochromes o and d as terminal oxidases. In addition, CO inhibition and photo-relief of cytochromes o or d did not alter the efficiency of energy coupling. These findings indicate that adenosine 5'-triphosphate synthesis is coupled to electron transport through both cytochromes o and d in Acinetobacter.