Cloning and characterization of the rat and human phosducin-like protein genes: structure, expression and chromosomal localization.

We isolated and characterized the rat gene encoding phosducin-like protein (PhLP), a putative heterotrimeric G protein modulator. The transcription start site was mapped by primer extension. The putative promoter region lacked a TATA sequence but contained a potential initiator element. Two splice variants were identified by RT-PCR of rat brain RNA, potentially generating either the full length or an amino-truncated protein. Only the full-length protein was immunodetected in all mouse tissues surveyed. Comparison of the conceptual translation product of the rat PhLP gene with those from human and Drosophila clones shows a striking conservation in the amino-terminal region of PhLP from these species. This contrasts with the relatively low degree of homology between PhLP and phosducin in this region, suggesting a functional role for this portion of the PhLP protein. Finally, we mapped the human PhLP gene by PCR analysis of somatic cell hybrids and the Stanford G3 radiation hybrid panel. The human PhLP gene (PDCL) is located on chromosome 9, linked to the polymorphic markers D9S1876 and D9S1674 (66-71 cM).

Structure-based design of beta-lactamase inhibitors. 1. Synthesis and evaluation of bridged monobactams.

Bridged monobactams are novel, potent, mechanism-based inhibitors of class C beta-lactamases, designed using X-ray crystal structures of the enzymes. They stabilize the acyl-enzyme intermediate by blocking access of water to the enzyme-inhibitor ester bond. Bridged monobactams are selective class C beta-lactamase inhibitors, with half-inhibition constants as low as 10 nM, and are less effective against class A and class B enzymes (half-inhibition constants > 100 microM) because of the different hydrolysis mechanisms in these classes of beta-lactamases. The stability of the acyl-enzyme complexes formed with class C beta-lactamases (half-lives up to 2 days were observed) enabled determination of their crystal structures. The conformation of the inhibitor moiety was close to that predicted by molecular modeling, confirming a simple reaction mechanism, unlike those of known beta-lactamase inhibitors such as clavulanic acid and penam sulfones, which involve secondary rearrangements. Synergy between the bridged monobactams and beta-lactamase-labile antibiotics could be observed when such combinations were tested against strains of Enterobacteriaceae that produce large amounts of class C beta-lactamases. The minimal inhibitory concentration of the antibiotic of more than 64 mg/L could be decreased to 0.25 mg/L in a 1:4 combination with the inhibitor.

Once daily ceftriaxone plus amikacin vs. three times daily ceftazidime plus amikacin for treatment of febrile neutropenic children with cancer. Writing Committee for the International Collaboration on Antimicrobial Treatment of Febrile Neutropenia in Children.

BACKGROUND: The combination of ceftazidime plus aminoglycoside is widely used for the treatment of febrile neutropenic patients but requires multiple daily administration. Because the frequency of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is low in many centers, there is a rationale to test other antibiotic regimens that provide appropriate antibacterial coverage with the advantage of reduced dosing frequency, such as once daily ceftriaxone plus amikacin. METHODS: Febrile neutropenic children with leukemia, lymphoma or solid tumors after chemotherapy were included in an open, prospective, randomized, multinational study comparing once daily ceftriaxone plus amikacin vs. 8-hourly ceftazidime and amikacin. The response to antimicrobial therapy was defined as complete response, improvement or failure. Assessment of adverse events was supplemented by specific definitions of nephrotoxicity, ototoxicity, hepatotoxicity and hypokalemia. Costs were estimated from published values of acquisition costs, delivery costs and hospitalization costs. RESULTS: Efficacy was evaluable in 364 of 468 episodes in 265 children. Response rates in ceftriaxone and amikacin vs. ceftazidime and amikacin-treated episodes were 119 of 181 (66%) vs. 121 of 183 (66%), 7 of 181 (4%) vs. 9 of 183 (5%) and 55 of 181 (30%) vs. 53 of 181 (29%) for complete response, improvement and failure, respectively. Safety profiles were similar with both treatment regimens. The acquisition and administration costs were lower for the ceftriaxone and amikacin regimen. CONCLUSIONS: A once daily regimen of ceftriaxone and amikacin is as safe and clinically effective as that of three times daily ceftazidime and amikacin for the treatment of febrile neutropenic children with cancer and is more cost-effective. The once daily regimen of ceftriaxone and amikacin is suitable for outpatient treatment.

Orally active 2-(alkyloxycarbonyl)-2-alkylideneethyl esters of cephalosporins.

2-(Alkyloxycarbonyl)-2-alkylideneethyl esters of various aminothiazole-oxyimino cephalosporins have been synthesized and studied. They are useful alternatives to the currently existing orally active esters. Among the new esters synthesized, the 3'-azidomethyl cephem ester Ro 41-3399 (7k) presented an oral bioavailability superior to the corresponding pivaloyloxymethyl ester (9) in a rat model and was selected as a candidate for further evaluation.

Mechanism of inhibition of chromosomal beta-lactamases by third-generation cephalosporins.

The kinetic interactions of the beta-lactamase from Enterobacter cloacae 908 R with ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, and ceftazidime have been examined in detail. With all of these cephalosporins, there is an initial rapid reaction involving opening of the beta-lactam that then decreases to a slower steady-state rate (kss) of beta-lactam hydrolysis (at 37 degrees C: ceftriaxone, kss = 0.044 s-1; cefotaxime, kss = 0.033 s-1; ceftazidime, kss = 0.011 s-1). More than stoichiometric quantities of beta-lactam are cleaved during the rapid phase, during which there is accumulation of a transiently stable cephalosporin-enzyme complex whose rate of breakdown is slower than the overall rate of hydrolysis. Qualitatively similar behavior is observed with the E. cloacae M6300 beta-lactamase. These observations eliminate the possibility that the reaction follows a simple linear kinetic scheme. A branched kinetic scheme in which an initially formed acyl intermediate partitions between deacylation and elimination of the 3' substituent is proposed to explain the data. Investigations of the interaction of ceftriaxone with the chromosomally encoded beta-lactamases from Citrobacter freundii, Providencia rettgeri, Morganella morganii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli show that the partitioning behavior of E. cloacae beta-lactamases is atypical. All of the data, however, clearly demonstrate that it is a physical impossibility for cephalosporin trapping to contribute to bacterial resistance phenotypes.

Inhibition of the RTEM beta-lactamase from Escherichia coli. Interaction of enzyme with derivatives of olivanic acid.

The interaction of the RTEM beta-lactamase with two derivatives of olivanic acid has been studied. The compound MM22382 (1) behaves simply as a good substrate for the enzyme and is a relatively ineffective inhibitor. In contrast, the sulfate ester MM13902 (2) is a poor substrate and an excellent inhibitor of the enzyme. The inhibition derives from a branching of the normal hydrolytic pathway of the enzyme. At long times, all the catalytic activity of the enzyme returns. Free sulfate ion is not produced during the interaction with the enzyme, which rules out a mechanistic pathway involving beta elimination between C-6 and C-8. The validity of a number of alternative schemes is assessed.

Inactivation of RTEM beta-lactamase from Escherichia coli by clavulanic acid and 9-deoxyclavulanic acid.

The interaction of the TEM-2 beta-lactamase with 9-deoxyclavulanic acid (3) and with both extensively labeled (2) and specifically labeled (1) clavulanic acid has been studied. The close similarity between 9-doexyclavulanate and clavulanate in kinetics, spectroscopic, and protein chemical terms show that the allyl alcohol group of clavulanate is irrelevant to its action as a beta-lactamase inactivator. Use of the radiolabeled samples of clavulanate shows that, of three irreversibly inactivated forms of the enzymes, two contain the whole clavulanate skeleton and the third only retains the carbon atoms of the original beta-lactam ring. These findings allow the complex interaction between clavulanic acid and the beta-lactamase to be defined more narrowly in chemical terms.

Neocarzinostatin abstracts a hydrogen during formation of nucleotide 5'-aldehyde on DNA.

The oxidative reaction of polydeoxyadenylic-deoxythymidylic acid [poly(dA-dT)] with neocarzinostatin that produces 5'-thymidine aldehyde esterified to the 5'-end of strand breaks proceeds with hydrogen abstraction. The abstracted hydrogen is covalently bound to the non-protein component of neocarzinostatin; only a small amount (5%) is washed out into solvent. These data rule out a peroxyl radical as the primary DNA damaging species involved in the production of the 5'-aldehyde group. In contrast to earlier reports, it is demonstrated that alpha-tocopherol is not an inhibitor of the reaction.

Poly(deoxyadenylic-deoxythymidylic acid) damage by radiolytically activated neocarzinostatin.

The anaerobic reaction of poly(deoxyadenylic-deoxythymidylic acid) with neocarzinostatin activated by the carboxyl radical CO2-, an electron donor generated from gamma-ray radiolysis of nitrous oxide saturated formate buffer, has been characterized. DNA damage includes base release and strand breaks. Few strand breaks are formed prior to alkaline treatment; they bear 3'-phosphoryl termini. In contrast, most (66%) of the base release occurs spontaneously. DNA damage is highly (95%) specific for thymidine sites. Neither DNA-drug covalent adduct nor nucleoside 5'-aldehyde, which are major products in the DNA-nicking reaction initiated by mercaptans and oxygen, is formed in this reaction. Data are presented to show that the CO2(-)-activated neocarzinostatin intermediate is a short-lived free radical able to abstract hydrogen atoms from the C-1' and C-5' positions of deoxyribose. Attack occurs mostly (68%) at the C-1' position, producing a lesion whose properties are consistent with those of (oxidized) apyrimidinic sites.

Kinetic studies on the inactivation of Escherichia coli RTEM beta-lactamase by clavulanic acid.

The kinetic details of the irreversible inactivation of the Escherichia coli RTEM beta-lactamase by clavulanic acid have been elucidated. Clavulanate is destroyed by the enzyme and simultaneously inhibits it by producing two catalytically inactive forms. One of these is transiently stable and decomposes to free enzyme (k = 3.8 X 10(-3) S-1), while the other corresponds to an irreversibly inactivated form. The transient complex is formed from the Michaelis complex at a rate (k approximately 3 X 10(-2) S-1) which is some threefold faster than the rate of formation of the irreversibly inactivated complex. The transient complex is, therefore, the principle enzyme form present after short time periods. In the presence of excess clavulanate, however, all the enzyme accumulates into the irreversibly inactivated form. The number of clavulanate turnovers that occur prior to complete enzyme inactivation is 115.

Chemical studies on the inactivation of Escherichia coli RTEM beta-lactamase by clavulanic acid.

Incubation of clavulanic acid with the beta-lactamase from Escherichia coli RTEM leads to enzyme-catalyzed depletion of clavulanic acid, to transient inhibition, and to irreversible inactivation of the enzyme. Both the transiently inhibited and the irreversibly inactivated species show a marked increase in the absorbance at 281 nm that is proportional to the decrease in enzyme activity. Hydroxylamine treatment of irreversibly inactivated enzyme restores about one-third of the catalytic activity, with a concomitant decrease in absorbance at 281 nm. Polyacrylamide isoelectric focusing of the irreversibly inactivated enzyme shows three bands of approximately equal intensity, different from native enzyme. Upon hydroxylamine treatment, one of the three bands disappears and now focuses identically with native enzyme. It is evident that the irreversible inactivation of enzyme by an excess of clavulanic acid generates three products, one of which can be reactivated by hydroxylamine.

Inactivation of the RTEM beta-lactamase from Escherichia coli. Interaction of penam sulfones with enzyme.

The characteristics of the reaction of a number of mechanism-based inactivators of the RTEM beta-lactamase have suggested that a common mechanistic pathway may be followed by many of these compounds. These ideas have been tested by the synthesis and evaluation of some penam sulfones as beta-lactamase inactivators. The sulfones of poor beta-lactamase substrates are, as predicted, potent inactivators of the enzyme. A unique serin residue (Ser-70) is labeled by quinacillin sulfone, and it is likely that this serine acts nucleophilically in the normal hydrolytic reaction of the beta-lactamase to form an acyl-enzyme intermediate.

Contribution of beta-lactamase hydrolysis and outer membrane permeability to ceftriaxone resistance in Enterobacter cloacae.

Mechanisms of ceftriaxone resistance were examined in Enterobacter cloacae. Clones were selected from four strains: susceptible (S), resistant (R1), selected by plating on ceftriaxone-containing agar, and highly resistant (R2), selected in ceftriaxone-treated mice infected with S clones. According to 14C-labeled beta-lactam binding assays, ceftriaxone resistance was not associated with altered target proteins. R1 and R2 clones stably produced 50 to 1,500 times more beta-lactamase than S clones; this production increased after cefoxitin induction in all S and some R1 clones. Experiments conducted with strain 218 suggested that ceftriaxone resistance involved beta-lactamase hydrolysis. Half-lives for the beta-lactamase-beta-lactam complexes at 37 degrees C were 0.4 and 2.2 min for ceftriaxone and Sch 34343, a drug not affected by the resistance, respectively; in chromatography experiments, 218 intact R1 cells (2 x 10(9) to 3 x 10(9) CFU) suspended in ceftriaxone-containing buffer (2 micrograms/ml) hydrolyzed 80% of the antibiotic in 30 min. Three observations also suggested decreased permeability in some clones, (i) Most of the R1 and R2 clones showed decreased expression of outer membrane proteins of 37,000 to 38,000 molecular weight (37K to 38K proteins) by electrophoresis, often associated with increased amounts of 42K protein. (ii) [14C]Sch 34343 labeling of intact cells proceeded more slowly in 218 R2 (with altered 37K to 38K proteins) than in 218 R1 (without this alteration), a difference persisting after competition with unlabeled cloxacillin. Delays in binding were not caused by different enzymatic activities, since 218 R1 and 218 R2 produce, in similar amounts, beta-lactamases undistinguishable in isoelectric point and Km of cephaloridine. (iii) Intact cells from 218 R2 hydrolyzed ceftriaxone more slowly (20% in 30 min) than did those from 218 R1. In 218 R1, beta-lactamase overproduction was responsible for a 15- to 200-fold increase in the MIC's of ceftriaxone, ceftazidime, carbenicillin, piperacillin, moxalactam, aztreonam, carumonam, and BMY 28142. Imipenem and Sch 34343 were not affected; an additional three- to fivefold increase in the MIC's of these antibiotics (with the exception of piperacillin, imipenem, Sch 34343), seen with 218 R2, was associated with decreased permeability.

Beta-lactamase inactivation by mechanism-based reagents.

The mechanistic pathway followed by the E. coli RTEM beta-lactamase has been studied with a view to clarifying the mode of action of a number of recently discovered inactivators of the enzyme. There is clear evidence that the beta-lactamase-catalysed hydrolysis of the 7-alpha-methoxycephem, cefoxitin, proceeds via an acyl-enzyme intermediate. An analysis of the inactivation reactions of all the known beta-lactam derivatives that result in irreversible loss of enzyme activity permits the identification of three structural features required for a beta-lactamase inactivator. The application of these principles suggests a new group of mechanism-based inactivators of the enzyme: the sulphones of N-acyl derivatives of 6-beta-aminopenicillanic acid that are themselves poor substrates for the enzyme. These sulphones are powerful inactivators of the beta-lactamase.

Biochemical characterization of type A and type B beta-lactamase from Enterobacter cloacae.

Different types of chromosomally coded beta-lactamases are found in Enterobacter cloacae. E. cloacae M6300 produces beta-lactamase type A, which has an isoelectric point of 8.8, whereas E. cloacae 908 R produces beta-lactamase type B, which has an isoelectric point of 7.9. Both enzymes were purified to homogeneity by a procedure that included affinity chromatography on amino phenylboronic acid-modified Sepharose. The two enzymes were closely related as shown by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, kinetic constants with several substrates, amino acid composition, NH2-terminal amino acid sequence, and reaction with antisera. In addition to having different isoelectric points, the two enzymes migrated to slightly different positions on polyacrylamide gels and differed significantly in rate of catalysis for cephalothin, imipenem, and the penem Sch 34343. One of three antisera seemed to recognize an epitope that differs in the two enzymes. The diversity of cephalosporinases found in E. cloacae with respect to the evolution of novel beta-lactamases was considered.

Ceftriaxone plus once daily aminoglycoside with filgrastim for treatment of febrile neutropenia: early hospital discharge vs. Standard In-patient care.

BACKGROUND: In febrile neutropenic patients, ceftriaxone plus an aminoglycoside is effective for the treatment of infection, while filgrastim reduces the extent and duration of neutropenia. Because the once daily dosing regimen of this combination permits ambulatory treatment, there is a need to test criteria for early hospital discharge. METHODS: Hospitalized adult patients with febrile neutropenia (following chemotherapy) considered to be potentially treatable on a follow-up out-patient basis were entered into this open-label, multinational study. Patients received a once daily combination of ceftriaxone for > or =5 days, aminoglycoside for > or =2 days, and filgrastim until the absolute neutrophil count was > or =1.0x10(9)/l for 2 days. Those initially responding to therapy (reduction of fever by > or =1 degrees C within 72 h, and clinical improvement) were randomized into standard in-patient or follow-up out-patient treatment groups, the latter patients being discharged from hospital early, after meeting defined criteria. RESULTS: 105 patients were enrolled, of whom 21 initial non-responders were not randomized. Efficacy was evaluable in 80 patients. Success (resolution of fever and symptoms, maintained for 7 days after cessation of therapy, and eradication of infecting pathogens) was similar among in-patients (40/42, 95%) and out-patients (34/38, 89%). The duration of hospitalization was shorter for out-patients than in-patients (median of 4 vs. 6 days, respectively). No hospital readmissions were necessary in out-patients. All other efficacy parameters assessed were comparable in both groups, as was tolerability/safety. One potentially drug-related death was reported. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who satisfy prospectively defined criteria for early discharge can be treated safely on an out-patient basis with a regimen of once daily ceftriaxone plus an aminoglycoside with filgrastim. In addition to reducing healthcare costs, it may improve patients' quality of life.

Refined crystal structure of beta-lactamase from Citrobacter freundii indicates a mechanism for beta-lactam hydrolysis.

Beta-Lactamases (EC 3.5.2.6, 'penicillinases') are a family of enzymes that protect bacteria against the lethal effects of cell-wall synthesis of penicillins, cephalosporins and related antibiotic agents, by hydrolysing the beta-lactam antibiotics to biologically inactive compounds. Their production can, therefore, greatly contribute to the clinical problem of antibiotic resistance. Three classes of beta-lactamases--A, B and C--have been identified on the basis of their amino-acid sequence; class B beta-lactamases are metalloenzymes, and are clearly distinct from members of class A and C beta-lactamases, which both contain an active-site serine residue involved in the formation of an acyl enzyme with beta-lactam substrates during catalysis. It has been predicted that class C beta-lactamases share common structural features with D,D-carboxypeptidases and class A beta-lactamases, and further, suggested that class A and class C beta-lactamases have the same evolutionary origin as other beta-lactam target enzymes. We report here the refined three-dimensional structure of the class C beta-lactamase from Citrobacter freundii at 2.0-A resolution and confirm the predicted structural similarity. The refined structure of the acyl-enzyme formed with the monobactam inhibitor aztreonam at 2.5-A resolution defines the enzyme's active site and, along with molecular modelling, indicates a mechanism for beta-lactam hydrolysis. This leads to the hypothesis that Tyr 150 functions as a general base during catalysis.