Site-directed mutation of conserved cysteine residues does not inactivate the Streptococcus pyogenes hyaluronan synthase.

Hyaluronan synthase (HAS), the enzyme responsible for the production of hyaluronic acid (HA), is a well-conserved membrane-bound protein in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. This enzyme performs at least six discrete functions in producing a heterodisaccharide polymer of several million molecular weight and extruding it from the cell. Among the conserved motifs and domains within the Class I HAS family are four cysteine residues. Cysteines in many proteins are important in establishing and maintaining tertiary structure or in the coordination of catalytic functions. In the present study we utilized a combination of site-directed mutagenesis, chemical labeling, and kinetic analyses to determine the importance of specific Cys residues for catalysis and structure of the HA synthase from Streptococcus pyogenes (spHAS). The enzyme activity of spHAS was partially inhibited by cysteine-reactive chemical reagents such as N-ethylmaleimide. Quantitation of the number of Cys residues modified by these reagents, using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, demonstrated that there are no stable disulfide bonds in spHAS. The six Cys residues of spHAS were then mutated, individually and in various combinations, to serine or alanine. The single Cys-mutants were all kinetically similar to the wild-type enzyme in terms of their V(max) and K(m) values for HA synthesis. The Cys-null mutant, in which all Cys residues were mutated to alanine, retained approximately 66% of wild-type activity, demonstrating that despite their high degree of conservation within the HAS family, Cys residues are not absolutely necessary for HA biosynthesis by the spHAS enzyme.

Purification and lipid dependence of the recombinant hyaluronan synthases from Streptococcus pyogenes and Streptococcus equisimilis.

The two hyaluronan synthases (HASs) from Streptococcus pyogenes (spHAS) and Streptococcus equisimilis (seHAS) were expressed in Escherichia coli as recombinant proteins containing His6 tails. Both enzymes were expressed as major membrane proteins, accounting for approximately 5-8% of the total membrane protein. Using nickel chelate affinity chromatography, the HASs were purified to homogeneity from n-dodecyl beta-D-maltoside extracts. High levels of HAS activity could be achieved only if the purified enzymes were supplemented with either bovine or E. coli cardiolipin (CL), although bovine CL gave consistently greater activity. Mass spectroscopic analysis revealed that the fatty acid compositions of these two CL preparations did not overlap. The two HAS enzymes showed similar but distinct activation profiles with the 10 other lipids tested. For example, phosphatidic acid and phosphatidylethanolamine stimulated seHAS, but not spHAS. Phosphatidylserine stimulated both enzymes. spHAS appears to be more CL-specific than seHAS, although both purified enzymes still contain endogenous CL that can not easily be removed. Both seHAS and spHAS were inhibited by phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin, and sulfatides and were not substantially stimulated by cerebrosides, phosphatidylglycerol, or phosphatidylinositol. With both HASs, CL increased the Km for UDP-GlcUA, but decreased the Km for UDP-GlcNAc and gave an overall stimulation of Vmax. A kinetic characterization of the two membrane-bound and purified HASs is presented in the accompanying paper (Tlapak-Simmons, V. L., Baggenstoss, B. A., Kumari, K., Heldermon, C., and Weigel, P. H. (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 4246-4253). Both purified HASs became inactive after storage for approximately 5 days at 4 degreesC. Both purified enzymes also lost activity over 4-5 days when stored at -80 degreesC in the presence of CL, but reached a level of activity that then slowly decreased over a period of months. Although the purified enzymes stored in the absence of CL at -80 degreesC were much less active, the enzymes retained this same low level of activity for at least 5 weeks. When both spHAS and seHAS were stored without CL at -80 degreesC, even after 2 months, they could be stimulated by the addition of bovine CL to approximately 60% of the initial activity of the freshly purified enzyme.

Kinetic characterization of the recombinant hyaluronan synthases from Streptococcus pyogenes and Streptococcus equisimilis.

The two hyaluronan synthases (HASs) from Streptococcus pyogenes (spHAS) and Streptococcus equisimilis (seHAS) were expressed in Escherichia coli as recombinant proteins containing His6 tails. The accompanying paper has described the purification and lipid dependence of both HASs, their preference for cardiolipin, and their stability during storage (Tlapak-Simmons, V. L., Baggenstoss, B. A., Clyne, T., and Weigel, P. H. (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 4239-4245). Kinetic characterization of the enzymes in isolated membranes gave Km values for UDP-GlcUA of 40 +/- 4 microM for spHAS and 51 +/- 5 microM for seHAS. In both cases, the Vmax profiles at various concentrations of UDP-GlcNAc were hyperbolic, with no evidence of cooperativity. In contrast, membrane-bound spHAS, but not seHAS, showed sigmoidal behavior as the UDP-GlcNAc concentration was increased, with a Hill number of approximately 2, indicating significant cooperativity. The Hill number for UDP-GlcNAc utilization by seHAS was 1, confirming the lack of cooperativity for UDP-GlcNAc in this enzyme. The Km values for UDP-GlcNAc were 60 +/- 7 microM for seHAS and 149 +/- 3 microM for spHAS in the isolated membranes. The kinetic characteristics of the two affinity-purified HAS enzymes were assessed in the presence of cardiolipin after 8-9 days of storage at -80 degreesC without cardiolipin. With increasing storage time, the enzymes showed a gradual increase in their Km values for both substrates and a decrease in Vmax. Even in the presence of cardiolipin, the detergent-solubilized, purified HASs had substantially higher Km values for both substrates than the membrane-bound enzymes. The KUDP-GlcUA for purified spHAS and seHAS increased 2-4-fold. The KUDP-GlcNAc for spHAS and seHAS increased 4- and 5-fold, respectively. Despite the higher Km values, the Vmax values for the purified HASs were only approximately 50% lower than those for the membrane-bound enzymes. Significantly, purified spHAS displayed the same cooperative interaction with UDP-GlcNAc (nH approximately 2), whereas purified seHAS showed no cooperativity.

The active streptococcal hyaluronan synthases (HASs) contain a single HAS monomer and multiple cardiolipin molecules.

The functional sizes of the two streptococcal hyaluronan synthases (HASs) were determined by radiation inactivation analysis of isolated membranes. The native enzymes in membranes from Group A Streptococcus pyogenes HAS and Group C Streptococcus equisimilis HAS were compared with the recombinant proteins expressed in Escherichia coli membranes. Based on their amino acid sequences, the masses of these four proteins as monomers are approximately 48 kDa. In all cases, loss of enzyme activity was a simple single exponential function with increasing radiation dose. The functional sizes calculated from these data were identical for the four HASs at approximately 64 kDa. In contrast, the sizes of the proteins estimated by the loss of antibody reactivity on Western blots were essentially identical at 41 kDa for the four HAS species, consistently lower than the functional size by approximately 23 kDa. Matrix-assisted laser desorption time of flight mass spectrometry analysis of purified S. pyogenes HAS-H6 and S. equisimilis HAS-H6 gave masses that differed by <0.07% from the predicted monomer sizes, which confirms that neither protein is posttranslationally modified or covalently attached to another protein. Ongoing studies indicate that the purified HAS enzymes require cardiolipin (CL) for maximal activity and stability. When irradiated membranes were detergent solubilized and the extracts were incubated with exogenous CL, the residual level of HAS activity increased. Consequently, the calculated functional size decreased by approximately 23 kDa to the expected size of the HAS monomer. The approximately 23-kDa larger size of the functional HAS enzyme, compared with the HAS monomer, is due, therefore, to CL molecules. We propose that the active streptococcal HA synthases are monomers in complex with approximately 16 CL molecules.

Two FKBP-related proteins are associated with progesterone receptor complexes.

Unactivated steroid receptors are in heterooligomeric complexes that perhaps stabilize a partially folded receptor polypeptide prior to hormone-dependent activation. Hsp90 is a common receptor component and hsp70 is a component of progesterone receptors; both appear to be important as general mediators of protein folding and assembly events. In addition to hsp90, mammalian steroid receptor complexes contain a 52-59-kDa protein that is an FK506-binding immunophilin and has peptidyl-prolyl isomerase activity. Other receptor-associated proteins have been identified but not well-characterized. In the present study, we obtained partial amino acid sequences for two avian progesterone receptor components, p50 and p54. From sequence comparisons with known proteins, they appear to be distinct members of the FKBP family of immunophilins. Six p50 peptide sequences have 80% identity with regions of rabbit FKBP52; seven p54 peptide sequences have 60% identity with rabbit FKBP52. Interaction of p54 with receptor is distinct from p50 in that its binding in vitro is highly sensitive to progesterone or N-ethylmaleimide. An anti-p54 monoclonal antibody was developed that detects a 55-kDa protein in rabbit and human tissues; in a cell-free reconstitution system, the rabbit antigen binds to chicken progesterone receptor along with rFKBP52. While p50 appears to be the chicken homolog of FKBP52, p54 is perhaps a novel member of the FKBP family that, in addition to FKBP52, interacts with progesterone receptor.

Identity of a membrane-bound vasoactive intestinal peptide-binding protein with calmodulin.

A vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-binding protein purified from guinea pig lung membranes (p18) was digested with trypsin, and the amino acid sequence of the peptide fragments was determined. The sequence of six tryptic fragments of p18 was identical with subsequences present in mammalian calmodulin. Authentic porcine brain calmodulin and p18 co-migrated on an sodium dodecyl sulfate-electrophoresis gel and displayed identical chromatographic behavior on a reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography column. The VIP-binding properties of p18 and calmodulin were indistinguishable. Both proteins displayed saturable and apparent high affinity binding of VIP, evidenced by potent inhibition of complexation with [Tyr10-125I]VIP by unlabeled VIP (IC50 = 6.0-8.1 nM). Rat growth hormone releasing factor and a C terminally extended form of VIP ([Leu17]VIP-GKR) also displayed potent inhibition of the binding (IC50 = 6.4 and 4 nM, respectively). These neuropeptides are potential modulators of calmodulin function.

Induction of cytoskeletal alterations in C6 glioma by glia maturation factor.

C6 rat glioma cells respond to glia maturation factor (GMF) with characteristic morphological alterations. Observed under phase-contrast microscopy, the cells changed from a rounded morphology in random formation to a spindle-shaped appearance in parallel arrays. Observed under scanning electron microscopy, GMF led to a decrease in the number of microvilli and cell surface knobs. Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated the appearance of numerous microtubules aligned with the long axis of the cells after GMF stimulation. The change in cell shape and histotypic pattern was inhibited by vinblastin, further implicating the involvement of microtubules. Immunofluorescence using anti-alpha-tubulin revealed a well-defined cytoskeletal system in GMF-stimulated cells but not in the control cells. Finally, an increase in tubulin was confirmed with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) on extracts from these cultures. The findings indicate that morphological alterations induced by GMF are associated with changes in the quantity and arrangement of microtubules.

Characterization of alcohol dehydrogenase from cultured rat hepatoma (HTC) cells.

The highly active alcohol dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.1) in rat hepatic tumor cells (HTC) was purified 120-fold by chromatography on DEAE-Sepharose and AMP-Agarose to yield an enzyme with a specific activity of 88 mumole/min/mg protein, assayed with 1.7 mM NAD+ and 0.55 M ethanol at pH 9 and 30 degrees C. (By comparison, purified, normal rat liver enzyme has an activity of about 1 unit/mg.) Based on its physical and kinetic properties, we conclude that the HTC isozyme is the same as the enzyme from rat stomach and another rat hepatoma (Cederbaum AI, Pietruszko R, Hempel J, Becker FF, and Rubin E (1975) Arch Biochem Biophys 171:348-360). The kinetics of the HTC enzyme are consistent with the Ordered Bi Bi mechanism. The kinetic constants are generally much larger for the HTC enzyme than for the normal rat liver enzyme. The Michaelis constants for ethanol and acetaldehyde (Kb = 1100 mM, Kp = 260 mM) are 1000-fold larger, and the constants for NADH are 10 to 50-fold larger. Although the HTC enzyme has low catalytic efficiency (V/Kb) on ethanol, it has much better activity on longer chain alcohols, but no activity on cyclohexanol. The pH dependence of V/Kb with ethanol is unusual in that it appears to be a linear function of pH, increasing with a slope of 0.56. Thus, the active sites of the liver and HTC enzymes may be different, although the HTC enzyme is inactivated by bromoacetate and bipyridine as is found for the liver enzyme. The HTC (stomach) enzyme may function to oxidize high concentrations of ingested ethanol or longer chain alcohols.

Suppression of glioma growth in vitro and in vivo by glia maturation factor.

Glia maturation factor (GMF), a 14,000 Mr acidic protein of the brain, is capable of promoting differentiation of cultured astroblasts. In this study we report the effect of GMF on two glioma cell lines: the C6 line, of rodent origin, and the HG-1 line, of human origin. When tested in culture, GMF promotes the initial growth of the two cell lines when the cells are sparse but limits proliferation by restoring contact inhibition when the cells are confluent. Cell cycle analysis confirms the arrest of the cells at the G0/G1 phase when the tumor cells are contact inhibited by GMF. When C6 cells are inoculated into the athymic (nude) mice at a s.c. site, a single solid tumor grows out with a 100% take. Intraperitoneal injection of GMF leads to the slowing down of tumor growth. That the in vivo effect of GMF is not due to cytotoxicity is evidenced by the lack of necrosis and by the appearance of more mature astrocytic cells in the tumors. The results lend support to the concept of GMF as a cellular regulator and suggest the therapeutic potential of GMF for brain tumors.