HPr/HPr-P phosphoryl exchange reaction catalyzed by the mannitol specific enzyme II of the bacterial phosphotransferase system.

The mannitol specific Enzyme II of the phosphoenolpyruvate: sugar phosphotransferase system of Escherichia coli catalyzes an exchange reaction in which a phosphoryl moiety is transferred from one molecule of the heat stable phosphocarrier protein HPr to another. An assay was developed for measuring this reaction. Unlabeled phospho-HPr and 125I-labeled free HPr were incubated together in the presence of Enzyme IImtl, and production of 125I-labeled phospho-HPr was measured. The reaction was concentration-dependent with respect to Enzyme IImtl and did not occur in its absence. The reaction occurred in the absence of Mg2+ in the presence of 10 mM EDTA. Treatment of Enzyme IImtl with the histidyl reagent diethylpyrocarbonate inactivated it with respect to the exchange reaction. Levels of N-ethylmaleimide which inactivate Enzyme IImtl with respect to both P-enolpyruvate-dependent phosphorylation of mannitol and mannitol/mannitol-1-P transphosphorylation did not affect its activity in the exchange reaction; however, treatment with another sulfhydryl reagent, p-chloromercuribenzoate, resulted in partial inactivation. The pH optimum for the Enzyme IImtl-catalyzed exchange reaction was about 7.5. Enzyme I and the glucose specific Enzyme III, two other E. coli phosphotransferase system proteins which, like Enzyme IImtl, interact directly with HPr, were also shown to catalyze 125I-HPr/HPr-P phosphoryl exchange.

Characteristics of renal collecting tubule cells in primary culture.

Isolated nephron segments have been suitable for many types of kidney experiments. Nevertheless, the quantity of cells easily obtained is insufficient for many biochemical analyses. The advent of tissue culture has provided an alternative which allows researchers to work with large numbers of a single cell type. Unfortunately, the parentage of many established cell lines is uncertain. Madin-Darby canine kidney cells, for instance, while most like epithelial cells of distal origin, also retain characteristics of other kidney epithelial cells. Established cell lines have undergone dedifferentiation. For those biochemical experiments in which a closer link to 'physiological relevance' was desired, it was necessary to develop the technology to isolate large numbers of a single identifiable kidney cell type. In this review, some of the characteristics of an isolated population of one particular cell type, the collecting tubule cell, will be discussed.

Sodium entry pathways in renal epithelial cell lines.

Na+ entry into kidney epithelial cells occurs by a multiplicity of pathways. Established cell lines such as the A6 cells, derived from the collecting duct of the kidney of Xenopus laevis, MDCK cells, from the distal tubule of a dog kidney, and the LLC-PK1 cells, originating from the proximal tubule of a pig kidney, provide excellent model cell systems for the detailed characterization and isolation of the proteins which comprise these entry pathways. Major pathways of Na+ entry include the amiloride-sensitive Na+ channel, the amiloride-sensitive Na+/H+ antiporter, and the loop diuretic-sensitive NaCl/KCl symporter. While the former two systems have been shown to exhibit an apical location in epithelial cells so far examined, the last system may be localized to either the basolateral or apical surface, depending on the transport function of the cell. Nutrient/Na+ symporters such as the glucose, phosphate, and p-aminohippurate symporters may all be localized to the apical surfaces of proximal tubular cells, but other systems, including those specific for neutral amino acids, may predominate in the basolateral surface or be distributed between the two membranes. Studies concerned with the catalytic, structural, and regulatory properties of these transport systems serve not only to characterize the individual translocators in established cell lines, but also to suggest their physiological functions in intact kidney tissues.

The bacterial phosphotransferase system: kinetic characterization of the glucose, mannitol, glucitol, and N-acetylglucosamine systems.

The kinetic mechanisms by which the glucose, glucitol, N-acetylglucosamine, and mannitol enzymes II catalyze sugar phosphorylation have been investigated in vitro. Lineweaver-Burk analyses indicate that the glucose and glucitol enzymes II catalyze sugar phosphorylation by a sequential mechanism when the two substrates are phospho-enzyme III and sugar. The N-acetylglucosamine and mannitol enzymes II, which do not function with an enzyme III, catalyze sugar phosphorylation by a ping-pong mechanism when the two substrates are phospho-HPr and sugar. These results, as well as previously published kinetic characterizations, suggest a common kinetic mechanism for all enzymes II of the system. It is suggested that all enzymes II and enzyme II-III pairs arose from a single (fused) gene product containing two sites of phosphorylation and that phosphoryl transfer from the second phosphorylation site to sugar can only occur when the enzyme II-III pair is present in the associated state.

Bacterial phosphotransferase system: regulation of the glucose and mannose enzymes II by sulfhydryl oxidation.

We have investigated the effect of oxidizing agents on methyl alpha-glucoside phosphorylation by the Escherichia coli phosphotransferase system (PTS). Oxidizing agents inhibited methyl alpha-glucoside phosphorylation at low methyl alpha-glucoside concentrations, and the degree of inhibition was shown to decrease with increasing concentrations of methyl alpha-glucoside. Results of studies with mutant bacteria and substrate analogues of the glucose and mannose enzymes II showed that contrary to the interpretation of Robillard and Konings [Robillard, G. T., & Konings, W. N. (1981) Biochemistry 20, 5025-5032] the apparent change in the Km value for methyl alpha-glucoside phosphorylation induced by sulfhydryl oxidation is not due to the formation of a low-affinity, oxidized form of the glucose enzyme II. Rather, the results are explained by the presence of two phosphotransferase systems that phosphorylate methyl alpha-glucoside with different affinities and that are differentially sensitive to oxidizing agents. The low Km system corresponds to the glucose enzyme II, which is strongly inhibited by potassium ferricyanide, phenazine methosulfate, and plumbagin. The high Km system corresponds to the mannose enzyme II, which is less sensitive to inhibition by these oxidizing agents. This differential sensitivity to inhibition by oxidizing agents can account for the apparent Km change for methyl alpha-glucoside phosphorylation reported by Robillard and Konings. The physiological significance of sulfhydryl oxidation in the enzymes II of the PTS has yet to be ascertained.

Evidence for covalently cross-linked dimers and trimers of enzyme I of the Escherichia coli phosphotransferase system.

Enzyme I of the bacterial phosphotransferase system catalyzes transfer of the phosphoryl moiety from phosphoenolpyruvate to both of the heat-stable phosphoryl carrier proteins of the phosphotransferase system, HPr and FPr. Using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and high-pressure liquid chromatography, we demonstrated the existence of covalently cross-linked enzyme I dimers and trimers. Enzyme I exchange assays and phosphorylation experiments with [32P]phosphoenolpyruvate showed that covalent dimers and trimers are catalytically active. Inhibitors of the enzyme I-catalyzed phosphoenolpyruvate-pyruvate exchange block the phosphorylation of enzyme I dimers and trimers. Inhibition of the activity of enzyme I by N-ethylmaleimide, but not that by p-chloromercuriphenylsulfonate, could be overcome by high concentrations of enzyme, suggesting that N-ethylmaleimide modification changes the associative properties of enzyme I. We present evidence for two distinct classes of sulfhydryl groups in enzyme I.

Identification of the phosphocarrier protein enzyme IIIgut: essential component of the glucitol phosphotransferase system in Salmonella typhimurium.

The phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphorylation of glucitol has been shown to require four distinct proteins in Salmonella typhimurium: two general energy-coupling proteins, enzyme I and HPr, and two glucitol-specific proteins, enzyme IIgut and enzyme IIIgut. The enzyme IIgut was solubilized from the membrane and purified about 100-fold, free of the other protein constituents of the phosphotransferase system. Enzyme IIIgut was found in both the soluble and the membrane fractions. The soluble enzyme IIIgut was purified to near homogeneity by gel filtration, hydroxylapatite chromatography, and hydrophobic chromatography on butylagarose. It was sensitive to parital inactivation by trypsin and N-ethylmaleimide, but was stable at 80 degrees C. The protein had an approximate molecular weight of 15,000. It was phosphorylated in the presence of phosphoenolpyruvate, enzyme I, and HPr, and this phosphoprotein was dephosphorylated in the presence of enzyme IIgut and glucitol. Antibodies were raised against enzyme IIIgut. Enzyme IIIglc and enzyme IIIgut exhibited no enzymatic or immunological cross-reactivity. Enzyme IIgut, enzyme IIIgut, and glucitol phosphate dehydrogenase activities were specifically induced by growth in the presence of glucitol. These results serve to characterize the glucitol-specific proteins of the phosphotransferase system in S. typhimurium.

Evidence for the evolutionary relatedness of the proteins of the bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system.

The phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system (PTS) found in enteric bacteria is a complex enzyme system consisting of a non-sugar-specific phosphotransfer protein called Enzyme I, two small non-sugar-specific phosphocarrier substrates of Enzyme I, designated HPr and FPr, and at least 11 sugar-specific Enzymes II or Enzyme II-III pairs which are phosphorylated at the expense of phospho-HPr or phospho-FPr. In this communication, evidence is presented which suggests that these proteins share a common evolutionary origin and that a fructose-specific phosphotransferase may have been the primordial ancestor of them all. The evidence results from an evaluation of 1) PTS protein sequence data; 2) structural analysis of operons encoding proteins of the PTS; 3) genetic regulatory mechanisms controlling expression of these operons; 4) enzymatic characteristics of the PTS systems; 5) immunological cross reactivities of these proteins; 6) comparative studies of phosphotransferase systems from evolutionarily divergent bacteria; 7) the nature of the phosphorylated protein intermediates; 8) molecular weight comparisons among the different Enzymes II and Enzyme II-III pairs; and 9) interaction studies involving different PTS protein constituents. The evidence leads to a unifying theory concerning the evolutionary origin of the system, explains many structural, functional, and regulatory properties of the phosphotransferase system, and leads to specific predictions which should guide future research concerned with genetic, biochemical, and physiological aspects of the system.

Bacterial phosphotransferase system: regulation of mannitol enzyme II activity by sulfhydryl oxidation.

The mechanism by which the oxidation-reduction potential regulates the bacterial phosphotransferase system in Escherichia coli has been investigated. Transphosphorylation experiments verified that the oxidizing agent, potassium ferricyanide, directly inhibits mannitol enzyme II activity. Phosphorylation of enzyme IImtl with enzyme I, heat-stable phosphocarrier protein of the phosphotransferase system, and phosphoenolpyruvate partially protects the enzyme from ferricyanide inhibition. The enzyme is even less sensitive to inhibition during catalytic turnover. Preincubation of unphosphorylated enzyme with ferricyanide, however, reversibly inactivates it even at high mannitol concentrations. The results are inconsistent with a regulatory mechanism in which sulfhydryl oxidation influences the affinity of the enzyme for the substrate. Instead, it is concluded that the oxidized enzyme is inactive.

Genetic evidence for glucitol-specific enzyme III, an essential phosphocarrier protein of the Salmonella typhimurium glucitol phosphotransferase system.

Positive selection procedures were developed for the isolation of mutants defective in components of the glucitol-specific catabolic enzyme system in Salmonella typhimurium. gutA (enzyme IIgut-negative), gutB (enzyme IIIgut-negative), and gutC (constitutive for the glucitol operon) mutants were isolated and characterized biochemically and genetically. The gene order was shown to be gutCAB.

Interrelationships among prostaglandins, vasopressin and cAMP in renal papillary collecting tubule cells in culture.

To determine the influence of prostaglandins on cAMP metabolism in renal papillary collecting tubule (RPCT) cells, intracellular cAMP levels were measured after incubating cells with prostaglandins (PGs) alone or in combination with arginine vasopressin (AVP). PGE1, PGE2 and PGI2, but not PGD2 or PGF2 alpha, increased intracellular cAMP concentrations. At maximal concentrations (10(-5) M) the effects of PGE2 plus PGI2 (or PGE1), but not of PGI2 plus PGE1, were additive suggesting that at least two different PG receptors may be present in RPCT cell populations. Bradykinin treatment of RPCT cells caused an accumulation of intracellular cAMP which was blocked by aspirin and was quantitatively similar to that observed with 10(-5) M PGE2. PGs, when tested at concentrations (e.g. 10(-9) M) which had no independent effect on intracellular cAMP levels, did not inhibit the AVP-induced accumulation of intracellular cAMP in RPCT cells. These results indicate that PGs do not block AVP-induced accumulation of intracellular cAMP in RPCT cells at concentrations of PGs which have been shown to inhibit the hydroosmotic effect of AVP on perfused collecting tubule segments. However, at higher concentrations of PGs (e.g. 10(-5) M), the effects of AVP plus PGE1, PGE2, PGI2 or bradykinin on intracellular cAMP levels were not additive. Thus, under certain conditions, there is an interaction between PGs and AVP at the level of cAMP metabolism in RPCT cells.

Kinin-induced prostaglandin synthesis by renal papillary collecting tubule cells in culture.

Cells having morphological and histochemical properties of collecting tubules were isolated from rabbit renal papillae. Confluent monolayer cultures of these renal papillary collecting tubule (RPCT) cells formed hemicysts and adhered with morphological asymmetry to Millipore filters. Cultures of 1-day-old RPCT cells synthesized cAMP in response to arginine vasopressin (AVP) (half-maximal response to 10(-10) M), oxytocin, and parathyroid hormone (half-maximal responses at 5 X 10(-9) M) but not to adrenergic agents. After 10 days of growth (fourfold increase in cell number) RPCT cells retained the same pattern of histochemical and hormonal responses as 1-day-old cells. Hormones were tested for their influence on the release of immunoreactive prostaglandins (iPG) by RPCT cells; the major product under both basal and stimulated conditions was iPGE2. At very low concentrations (greater than or equal to 10(-10) M), bradykinin, lysyl-bradykinin, and methionyl-lysyl-bradykinin caused four- to sixfold increases in the rate of iPGE2 formation within 3 min; smaller (less than twofold) increases were observed with relatively high concentrations of epinephrine (10(-5) M), norepinephrine (10(-5) M), and angiotensin II (10(-7) M), but only after longer incubations. Significantly, neither AVP (10(-7) M) nor [deamino]AVP (10(-7) M) caused prostaglandin release by RPCT cells. Our results indicate that kinins can act directly on the collecting tubule to elicit PGE2 formation; furthermore, this effect of kinins may be natriuretic, since PGE2 has been shown to inhibit Na+ resorption by the medullary collecting tubule and thick ascending limb.