Purification and characterization of a new hydrolase for conjugated bile acids, chenodeoxycholyltaurine hydrolase, from Bacteroides vulgatus.

A new hydrolase for conjugated bile acids, tentatively named chenodeoxycholyltaurine hydrolase, was purified to homogeneity from Bacteroides vulgatus. This enzyme hydrolyzed taurine-conjugated bile acids but showed no activity toward glycine conjugates. Among the taurine conjugates, taurochenodeoxycholic acid was most effectively hydrolyzed, tauro-beta-muricholic and ursodeoxycholic acids were moderately well hydrolyzed, and cholic and 7 beta-cholic acids were hardly hydrolyzed, suggesting that this enzyme has a specificity for not only the amino acid moiety but also the steroidal moiety. The molecular weight of the enzyme was estimated to be approximately 140,000 by Sephacryl S-300 gel filtration and the subunit molecular weight of the enzyme was 36,000 by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The optimum pH was in the range of 5.6 to 6.4. The NH2-terminal amino acid sequence of the enzyme was Met-Glu-Arg-Thr-Ile-Thr-Ile-Gln-Gln-Ile-Lys-Asp-Ala-Ala-Gln. The enzyme was activated by dithiothreitol, but inhibited by sulfhydryl inhibitors, p-hydroxymercuribenzoate, N-ethylmaleimide, and dithiodipyridine.

Effects of antiandrogens on growth of androgen-dependent mouse mammary tumor (Shionogi carcinoma 115) in vivo and in vitro.

Binding affinities of modified steroidal anthrasteroids, 3 beta-hydroxy-3a beta,6-dimethyl-2,3,3a,4,5,8,9,10,10a beta,11,11a beta, 11b alpha-dodecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]anthracene-8-one (1) and 3a beta,6-dimethyl-2,3,3a,4,5,8,9,10,10a beta,11,11a beta,11b alpha-dodecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]anthracene-3,8-dione (2), the steroid oxendolone and the nonsteroid AA560, for the androgen receptor (AR) of Shionogi carcinoma 115 (SC115) and their effects on the growth of SC115 were investigated in vivo and in vitro. The inhibitory effects of these compounds on testosterone 5 alpha-reductase of SC115 tissues were also measured. The relative binding affinities of these compounds were 3.17-0.03% of that of dihydrotestosterone, and their rank order was (1) greater than AA560 greater than oxendolone much greater than (2). In the presence of 10(-9) M testosterone, anthrasteroids and AA560 inhibited the growth of SC115 cells at 10(-7) M in a serum-free medium, but oxendolone did not. In the absence of testosterone, (1), (2) and oxendolone promoted cell growth at 10(-6), 10(-7) and 10(-7) M, respectively. However, AA560 nearly completely blocked cell growth at 10(-5) M. At a 2 mg daily dose for 13 days, (1) and AA560 powerfully inhibited tumor growth in castrated DS mice treated with testosterone propionate but oxendolone had almost no effect. Anthrasteroids and oxendolone showed weak but significant agonistic activity in vivo. Anthrasteroids markedly inhibited 5 alpha-reductase activity of SC115, oxendolone weakly and AA560 not at all. The remarkable antiandrogenic activities of (1) and AA560 may partially result from their higher affinities for the AR of SC115 but other yet unknown mechanisms may also contribute to these activities.

Chemical modification of PA-48153C, a novel immunosuppressant isolated from Streptomyces prunicolor PA-48153.

5beta-Methoxy (20), 14-methyl (24), 14,14-dibromo-15-nor (25), 8-O-acyl (26-45), 8-O-alkyl (46), 8-O-alkoxycarbonyl (47, 48), and 8-O-carbamoyl (49) derivatives of PA-48153C, a novel immunosuppressant isolated from fermentation products of Streptomyces prunicolor PA-48153, were prepared. These compounds were found to retain the inhibitory activity on the responses of both T and B cells to mitogens. Among them, the C-8 hexanoate 28 showed potent suppressive effects on mitogen responses with less cytotoxicity to EL4 cells and was selected for in vivo evaluation.