Inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein (FLAP) reduces pulmonary vascular reactivity and pulmonary hypertension in hypoxic rats.

Chronically elevated shear stress and inflammation are important in hypertensive lung vessel remodeling. We postulate that 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) is a molecular determinant of these processes. Immunohistology localized the 5-LO to macrophages of normal and chronically hypoxic rat lungs and also to vascular endothelial cells in chronically hypoxic lungs only. In situ hybridization of normal and chronically hypoxic lungs demonstrated that 5-LO mRNA is expressed in macrophages. Rats hypoxic for 4 wk-developed pulmonary hypertension increased translocation of the lung 5-LO from the cytosol to the membrane fraction and increased levels of lung tissue 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein (FLAP). A FLAP ligand, 3-[l-(4-chlorobenzyl)-3-t-butyl-thio-t-isopropylindol-2-yl]-2,2- dimethylpropanoic acid (MK-886), inhibited the acute angiotensin II and hypoxia-induced pulmonary vasoconstriction in vitro and the development of chronic hypoxic pulmonary hypertension in rats in vivo. Mice bred with the deletion of the 5-LO enzyme (5-LO knockout) developed less right heart hypertrophy than age-matched 5-LO competent mice. Our results support the hypothesis that the 5-LO is involved in lung vascular tone regulation and in the development of chronic pulmonary hypertension in hypoxic rodent models.

Purification of a high-molecular-weight inhibitor of the calcium-activated proteinase.

An inhibitor of the muscle calcium-activated proteinases has been purified from porcine skeletal muscle by using DEAE-cellulose column chromatography, thermal treatment, Sephacryl S-400 column chromatography in 6 M urea and Sephacryl S-300 column chromatography in 6 M urea. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis shows that the purified inhibitor is homogeneous and has a subunit molecular weight of 172 000. The inhibitor inactivates both the low- and high-calcium-requiring forms of the calcium-activated proteinase but does not inhibit other proteinases against which it has been tried. It thus appears that the inhibitor is specific for the calcium-activated proteinase. Studies using homogeneous inhibitor and high-calcium-requiring proteinase show that one molecule of the inhibitor can inactivate up to eight molecules of the calcium-activated proteinase. Inactivation of the calcium-activated proteinase by the inhibitor cannot be reversed by calcium concentrations as high as 25 mM, thus eliminating the possibility that the inhibitor functions by chelating calcium. The inhibitory peptide appears to be extremely susceptible to proteolysis during its isolation. Even in the presence of synthetic proteinase inhibitors different inhibitor preparations yield homogeneous inhibitory peptides ranging in molecular weight from 145 000 to 172 000. Preparative electrophoresis and column chromatography have been used to isolate putative proteolytic breakdown products of the 172 kDa peptide at 145, 114, 41 and 29 kDa.

A calcium-activated protease possibly involved in myofibrillar protein turnover. Isolation of a low-calcium-requiring form of the protease.

Two forms of calcium-activated neutral protease were isolated and purified from porcine skeletal muscle. The two forms of the protease differ markedly in their requirement for calcium with the low-calcium-requiring form showing one-half maximal activation at 45 micro M calcium while the high-calcium-requiring form shows one-half maximal activation at 0.74 micro M calcium. Additionally, they chromatograph differently on DEAE-cellulose, exhibit different mobilities in electrophoresis in a nondenaturing buffer, are affected differently by certain divalent cations, and have slightly different pH dependencies. Despite these differences, the purified forms of the calcium-activated protease co-chromatograph in gel permeation chromatography, have identical banding patterns on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gels, cross-react with an antibody directed against the 80 000-dalton subunit of the calcium-activated protease we originally purified from skeletal muscle (Dayton, W.R., Goll, D.E., Zeece, M.G., Robson, R.M. and Reville, W.J. (1976) Biochemistry 15, 2150-2158), and have identical effects on the ultrastructure of myofibrils. THe high-calcium-requiring protease purified in this study is very likely identical to the calcium-activated protease we originally purified from skeletal muscle. The properties of the low-calcium-requiring form of the protease suggest that it is the form of the enzyme that is active in vivo.

5-Lipoxygenase contains a functional Src homology 3-binding motif that interacts with the Src homology 3 domain of Grb2 and cytoskeletal proteins.

A short, proline-rich region spanning residues 566-577 in human 5-lipoxygenase is a binding site for the Src homology 3 (SH3) domain of growth factor receptor-bound protein 2 (Grb2), an "adaptor" protein for tyrosine kinase-mediated cell signaling. Purified 5-lipoxygenase bound to glutathione S-transferase fusion products of Grb2 and a truncated version of Grb2 containing its SH3 domain. A peptide corresponding to the proline-rich, SH3-binding motif inhibited formation of the 5-lipoxygenase.Grb2 complex in vitro. The peptide also inhibited the redistribution of 5-lipoxygenase from the cytosol to the membrane in intact or permeabilized neutrophils activated by calcium ionophore A23187. 5-Lipoxygenase did not bind to the SH3 domains of other signaling proteins, such as GTPase-activating protein and phospholipase C gamma; however, it bound to certain cytoskeletal proteins including alpha-actinin and actin. 5-Lipoxygenase contains a consensus guanine nucleotide-binding site at residues 296-299, and guanine nucleotides inhibit 5-lipoxygenase activity in vitro. Our results suggest that 5-lipoxygenase may have a previously unrecognized role in tyrosine kinase signaling, distinct from its catalysis of lipid mediator formation. Our results also clarify the molecular basis for compartmentalization and translocation of 5-lipoxygenase in myeloid cells, implying that it binds to proteins other than its activating protein.

Irreversible inactivation of 5-lipoxygenase by leukotriene A4. Characterization of product inactivation with purified enzyme and intact leukocytes.

We report that leukotriene A4, the electrophilic product of 5-lipoxygenase catalysis, irreversibly inactivates the enzyme. Leukotriene A4 inhibits 5-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid formation by human neutrophils and differentiated granulocytic HL-60 cells in a concentration-dependent manner with IC50 values = 22.4 +/- 2.5 and 29.0 +/- 8.0 microM, respectively. Recovery of cellular enzymatic activity is negligible (< 6%) following inactivation. Leukotriene A4 inactivates cellular 5-lipoxygenase without inhibiting its translocation from the cytosol to the membrane, suggesting that it impairs catalysis without impairing formation of the complex between 5-lipoxygenase and its membrane-associated activating protein. Consistent with this, leukotriene A4 inactivates purified 5-lipoxygenase from human neutrophils, via saturable, pseudo first-order kinetics with a rate constant, ki = 0.14 min-1 and a dissociation constant, Ki = 2.1 +/- 0.7 microM. Purified 5-lipoxygenase incubated with [3H]arachidonic acid incorporated a radiolabeled species that was not removed by electrophoresis under reduced denaturing conditions. Preincubation with leukotriene A4 diminished the incorporation of radiolabeled material, consistent with irreversible modification of 5-lipoxygenase by its metastable product, leukotriene A4. This unusual product inactivation mechanism may contribute to the decline in 5-lipoxygenase activity observed during catalysis.

Inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase blocks activation and redistribution of 5-lipoxygenase in HL-60 cells.

In Ca2+ ionophore-activated HL-60 granulocytes the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase-1 inhibitor, PD098059, blocked translocation of 5-lipoxygenase from the cytosol to the nuclear membrane and the corresponding enzyme activation. PD098059 inhibited 5-HETE formation with an IC50 = 9.4 microM in cells stimulated with A23187 alone, and with an IC50 = 12 microM in cells stimulated with A23187 plus 20 microM arachidonic acid. PD098059 inhibited translocation of 5-lipoxygenase in a concentration-dependent manner with an IC50 approximately 10 microM. At concentrations less than 100 microM PD098059 had no effect on purified recombinant 5-LO activity. Collectively, these data indicate that MAPKK-l participates in the molecular processes governing activation and translocation of 5-lipoxygenase from the cytosol to the nuclear membrane.

5-Lipoxygenase compartmentalization in granulocytic cells is modulated by an internal bipartite nuclear localizing sequence and nuclear factor kappa B complex formation.

A region of basic amino acids spanning residues 639-656 in the human 5-lipoxygenase sequence resembles a consensus bipartite nuclear localizing sequence. A synthetic peptide consisting of the Kaposi fibroblast growth factor signal sequence fused to the 5-lipoxygenase639-656 bipartite nuclear localizing sequence has a prominent inhibitory effect on 5-lipoxygenase catalysis in granulocytic HL-60 cells activated by calcium ionophor A23187. Recombinant 5-lipoxygenase was not affected by the peptide. The peptide also inhibited redistribution of 5-lipoxygenase from the cytosol to the nuclear membrane of HL-60 cells stimulated by A23187. 5-Lipoxygenase protein was detected in nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) p65 subunit immunoprecipitate fractions prepared from HL-60 cell lysates. The amount of 5-lipoxygenase protein coimmunoprecipitated by NF-kappaB antiserum was increased following A23187 stimulation. In cells treated with agents that block 5-lipoxygenase translocation to the nucleus, 5-lipoxygenase protein appearing in the NF-kappaB immunoprecipitate was diminished. Our results implicate an internal bipartite nuclear localizing sequence as a regulatory domain that modulates 5-lipoxygenase redistribution and catalysis in granulocytic cells. Additionally, our results suggest that molecular determinants which govern 5-lipoxygenase and NF-kappaB redistribution to the nucleus may be coordinately controlled in granulocytic cells.

Tyrosine kinase activity modulates catalysis and translocation of cellular 5-lipoxygenase.

Tyrosine kinase activity, a determinant of Src homology domain interactions, has a prominent effect on cellular localization and catalysis by 5-lipoxygenase. Six separate inhibitors of tyrosine kinase each inhibited 5(S)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid formation by HL-60 cells stimulated with calcium ionophore, in the presence or absence of exogenous arachidonic acid substrate, indicating that they modulated cellular 5-lipoxygenase activity. The tyrosine kinase inhibitors also blocked the translocation of 5-lipoxygenase from cytosol to membranes during cellular activation, consistent with their effects on its catalytic activity. These results fit a model which postulates that Src homology domain interactions are a molecular determinant of the processes which coordinate the subcellular localization and functions of 5-lipoxygenase. In addition, we demonstrate that activated leukocytes contain two molecularly distinct forms of 5-lipoxygenase: a phosphorylated form and a nonphosphorylated form. In activated HL-60 cells the pool of phosphorylated 5-lipoxygenase accumulates in the nuclear fraction, not with the membrane or cytosolic fractions. The amount of phosphorylated 5-lipoxygenase is a small fraction of the total. Overall, equilibrium reactions involving the nuclear localizing sequence, the proline-rich SH3 binding motif, and the phosphorylation state of 5-lipoxygenase may each influence its partnership with other cellular proteins and any novel functions derived from such partnerships.

Absence of persistence and transfer of genetic material by recombinant Escherichia coli in conventional, antibiotic-treated mice.

Strain BST-1 is a derivative of Escherichia coli K-12 that carries a plasmid designated pURA-4 and is the expression system used by The Upjohn Company in the production of recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbSt). This plasmid also encodes an ampicillin resistance gene. The plasmidless carrier strain, BST-1C, contains a gene for tetracycline resistance which is provided by the chromosomal insertion of the transposon Tn10. Therefore, BST-1 is resistant to ampicillin and tetracycline, while BST-1C is resistant only to tetracycline. The Food and Drug Administration requested that we conduct an environmental assessment study to monitor the 'persistence of the recombinant live K-12 E. coli organism compared to the host E. coli organism'. In addition, we were requested to monitor 'the potential transfer of genetic material from (our) recombinant organism to the indigenous microflora' of the mouse gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The differences in persistence were determined by monitoring shedding of BST-1 and BST-1C in the feces of conventionally reared, outbred mice inoculated with either of the two strains. Even with antibiotic selective pressure applied (tetracycline in the water), BST-1 did not persist as well as the non-plasmid carrying parental stain, BST-1C. In the gene transfer experiments, transfer of pURA-4 was monitored by the appearance of the ampicillin resistance marker and/or by hybridization assays for the rbSt gene in indigenous, mouse-colonizing E. coli strains which had been made streptomycin resistant. At the limit of detection, no transfer of pURA-4 was detected either in vitro or in vivo. These data support an interpretation that BST-1 does not present an environmental hazard as measured by colonization/persistence in the gut of conventionally reared mammals.

5-Lipoxygenase and 5-lipoxygenase activating protein (FLAP) immunoreactivity in lungs from patients with primary pulmonary hypertension.

Inflammatory infiltrates and endothelial cell proliferation have been appreciated in plexiform and concentric lesions, which characterize the vascular remodeling in primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH). Leukotriene production by perivascular and alveolar macrophages relies on activation of 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO), with translocation of the enzyme to the nuclear membrane, and association with the 5-LO activating protein (FLAP). Using immunohistochemical staining, we localized and semi-quantitatively estimated the abundance of 5-LO and FLAP in lungs obtained from patients with PPH, patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD), and normal control subjects. Expression of 5-LO and FLAP was prominent in alveolar macrophages in both the normal and PPH lungs; however, alveolar macrophages were more frequently clustered in the vicinity of remodeled blood vessel in PPH. Medium- and small-size pulmonary arteries in PPH showed more abundant FLAP expression than in control and ILD lungs. 5-LO expression in small arteries in PPH was more intense than in control and ILD patients. Endothelial cells in plexiform and concentric lesions in PPH expressed both 5-LO and FLAP. In situ hybridization confirmed the presence of 5-LO transcripts in macrophages and endothelial cells of the remodeled vessels in PPH. We propose that the overexpression of 5-LO and FLAP represents evidence for the participation of inflammation in the process of PPH vasculopathy or, alternatively, that the overabundance of the enzymes involved in generation of inflammatory mediators may themselves be related to vascular cell proliferation and cell growth.