[Renal osteopathy and joint destruction due to long-term dialysis].
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Bone Resorption↗
Biomedical subjects
A Böttger
Publications and source records attributed to A Böttger.
Identification of caspases and apoptosis in the simple metazoan Hydra.
Apoptosis is a normal process by which cells die and are eliminated from tissue by phagocytosis [1]. It is involved in regulating cell numbers in adult tissues and in eliminating 'excess' cells during embryogenesis and development. Apoptosis is mediated by activation of caspases, which then cleave a variety of cellular substrates and thereby cause the characteristic morphology of apoptotic cells (rounded cells, condensed chromatin, susceptibility to phagocytosis) [2]. Although apoptosis has been well documented in nematodes, insects and mammals, it is not yet clear how early in evolution apoptosis or its component enzymes arose. In the simple metazoan Hydra vulgaris, cell death regulates cell numbers [3] [4] [5]. In starved animals, for example, epithelial cell proliferation continues at a nearly normal rate although the tissue does not increase in size; the excess cells produced are eliminated by phagocytosis. Cell death can also be induced in wild-type hydra by treatment with colchicine [6] or in a mutant strain (sf-1) by temperature shock [7]. Here, we show that cell death in hydra is morphologically indistinguishable from apoptosis in higher animals, that hydra polyps express two genes with strong homology to members of the caspase 3 family, and that caspase-3-specific enzyme activity accompanies apoptosis in hydra. The occurrence of apoptosis and caspases in a member of the ancient metazoan phylum Cnidaria supports the idea that the invention of apoptosis was an essential feature of the evolution of multicellular animals.
Animals↗
Comparative study of the p53-mdm2 and p53-MDMX interfaces.
Mdm2 and MDMX are two structurally related p53-binding proteins which show the highest level of sequence similarity in the N-terminal p53-binding domains. Apart from its ability to inhibit p53 mediated transcription, a feature it shares with mdm2, very little is known about the physiological functions of MDMX. It is clearly distinct from mdm2 since its expression appears not to be regulated by p53 and it cannot compensate for lack of mdm2 in early development. We present data on the structural similarity between the p53 binding pockets of mdm2 and MDMX using p53- and phage-selected peptides. From the results we conclude that our recently devised innovative approach to reverse the mdm2-mediated inhibition of p53's transactivation function in vivo would probably target MDMX as well. Strategies for selectively targeting mdm2 and MDMX are suggested and a possible mechanism for regulating the p53-mdm2/MDMX interactions by protein phosphorylation is discussed.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Design of a synthetic Mdm2-binding mini protein that activates the p53 response in vivo.
BACKGROUND: The transcriptional activation function of the p53 tumour suppressor protein is induced by DNA damage and results in growth arrest and/or apoptotic responses. A key component of this response is the dramatic rise in p53 protein concentration resulting from an increase in the protein's stability. Very recently, it has been suggested that interaction with the Mdm2 protein may target p53 for rapid degradation. We have designed a gene encoding a small protein that binds tightly to the p53-binding pocket on the Mdm2 protein. We have constructed the gene by cloning a phage display optimised Mdm2-binding peptide into the active-site loop of thioredoxin. RESULTS: When introduced into cells containing low levels of wild-type p53, this protein causes a striking accumulation of the endogenous p53 protein, activation of a p53-responsive reporter gene, and cell cycle arrest mimicking the effects seen in these cells after exposure to UV or ionising radiation. Microinjection of a monoclonal antibody to the p53-binding site on Mdm2 achieves a similar effect, establishing its specificity. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that the p53 response is constitutively regulated in normal cells by Mdm2 and that disruption of the interaction alone is sufficient to stabilise the p53 protein and activate the p53 response. Our mini protein approach provides a powerful new method to activate p53 without causing DNA damage. More broadly, it establishes a powerful general method for determining the biological consequences of the specific disruption of protein-protein interactions in cells.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Molecular characterization of the hdm2-p53 interaction.
A number of viral oncogenes target the tumour suppressor protein p53 and inactivate its function. This is an important step in tumourogenesis. The cellular oncogene hdm2 acts through a similar mechanism. It binds the N terminus of p53, thereby interfering with the ability of p53 transcriptionally to activate genes responsible for growth arrest or apoptosis after genotoxic insults. The disruption of the interaction of the two proteins therefore comprises a promising therapeutic target for treatment of the subset of human cancers in which this pathway is active. In this paper we attempt to characterize the p53-hdm2 interaction biochemically. We analyse the potential of a series of peptide inhibitors, derived from previously described mdm2 binding peptide display phage, to disrupt this interaction in ELISA assays. We conclude that F19, W23 and L26 of p53 are critical contact points for p53 binding to hdm2. Furthermore, we show the potential of the monoclonal antibody 3G5 to interfere with binding of p53 to hdm2 in ELISA assays. Consequently, we define the binding site of 3G5 on hdm2 using overlapping peptides derived from the N terminus of hdm2 and phage display libraries. The result indicates L66, Y67 and E69 on hdm2 as critical binding points for 3G5. In electrophoretic mobility shift assay we demonstrate the formation of hdm2-p53 complexes that can be disrupted in the presence of 3G5 or inhibitory peptides. Finally, we describe the effects of NEM and DTT on the interaction between the two molecules in ELISA assays. All our results are discussed in the light of the recently published crystal structure of the mdm2-p53 complex. A striking correspondence between our findings and the crystal structure is revealed.
Alkylating Agents↗
Identification of novel mdm2 binding peptides by phage display.
The oncogene mdm2 and its human homologue hdm2 bind to the tumour suppressor protein p53 and inactivate its function as a transcription factor. This has been implied as a possible mechanism for cancer development in several tumours including human sarcomas. The mdm2-p53 interaction is therefore a much persued target for the development of anti-cancer drugs. In order to find novel high affinity ligands for hdm2 which would interfere with its binding to p53 we screened phage display peptide libraries for mdm2 binding phage. We found a series of 12 and 15mer peptides which interact strongly with hdm2. The peptide sequences show striking homology with the previously established mdm2 binding site on p53, confirming that the peptide defined 18TFSDLW23 region is crucial for the interaction but that contact between the two molecules extends to position L26 on p53. Free synthetic peptides derived from the phage selected sequences proved to be up to 100 times stronger inhibitors of the p53-mdm2 interaction than the p53 derived wt-peptide in several ELISA-assays. This illustrates the potency of phage display libraries in the search for new peptide based lead structures designed to mimic or inhibit therapeutically important protein-protein interactions.
Bacteriophages↗
Thermodynamic model for solid-state amorphization in binary systems at interfaces and grain boundaries.
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Journal Article↗
Comprehensive epitope analysis of monoclonal anti-proenkephalin antibodies using phage display libraries and synthetic peptides: revelation of antibody fine specificities caused by somatic mutations in the variable region genes.
Filamentous phage libraries, displaying 6, 12 or 20 amino acid residue peptides at the N terminus of coat protein pIII were used to define and localize the epitopes of 15 monoclonal antibodies raised against human proenkephalin, a neuropeptide precursor. Eight monoclonal antibodies (PE14 to PE19, PE23 and PE25), which inhibit each other's binding to proenkephalin, recognized phage clones selected by PE14, PE15, PE19, PE23 and PE25. With the peptide sequences DLL(X)(X)LL (12mer library) and DLL(X)(X)L (6mer library) shared by most of the phage clones it was possible to define the putative antibody epitope 155DLLKELL161 on human proenkephalin. For five antibodies (PE13, PE20 to PE22 and PE24) belonging to another inhibition group, a common consensus motif G(X)D(X)E(X)(X)V(X)(X)R could be defined with help of a 20mer library. The corresponding minimum epitope sequence has been found to be 175GSDNEEEVSKR185. Antibody PE1, raised in a separate fusion, was able to select phage clones from a 12mer and 20mer library, revealing that the sequence 187GGFMRG192 is probably the antibody epitope. The assumed localization of the epitopes was confirmed by screening a set of overlapping synthetic peptides, covering the region of human proenkephalin thought to contain all antibody binding sites. It was found that antibodies, although recognizing the same epitope, gave different binding patterns with the selected phage clones. By analysing the VH chain sequences of these antibodies it could be shown that a varying number of somatic mutations is likely to be the reason for the observed differences in antibody fine specificity.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Proenkephalin is a nuclear protein responsive to growth arrest and differentiation signals.
Neuropeptide precursors are traditionally viewed as molecules destined to be cleaved into bioactive peptides, which are then released from the cell to act on target cell surface receptors. In this report we demonstrate nuclear localization of the enkephalin precursor, proenkephalin, in rodent and human embryonic fibroblasts (Swiss 3T3 and MRC-5 cells) and in rodent myoblasts (C2C12 cells). Nuclear proenkephalin, detected by immunofluorescence with a panel of antiproenkephalin monoclonal antibodies, is distributed predominantly in three patterns. Selective abolition of these patterns with salt, nuclease, or methanol is associated with liberation of immunoprecipitable proenkephalin into the extraction supernatant. Proenkephalin antigenic domains, mapped using phage display libraries and synthetic peptides, are differentially revealed in the three distribution patterns. Selective epitope revelation may reflect different conformational forms of proenkephalin or its existence in complexes with other nuclear proteins, forms which therefore have different biochemical associations with the nuclear substructure. In fibroblast cell populations in transition to growth arrest, nuclear proenkephalin responds promptly to mitogen withdrawal and cell-cell contact by transient, virtually synchronous unmasking of multiple antigenic domains in a fine punctate distribution. A similar phenomenon is observed in myoblasts undergoing differentiation. The acknowledgment of growth arrest and differentiation signals by nuclear proenkephalin suggests its integration with transduction pathways mediating these signals. To begin to address the mechanism of nuclear targeting, we have transfected mutated and nonmutated proenkephalin into COS (African green monkey kidney) cells. Nonmutated proenkephalin is localized exclusively in the cytoplasm; however, proenkephalin mutated at the first ATG codon, or devoid of its signal peptide sequence, is targeted to the nucleus as well as to the cytoplasm. From this we speculate that nuclear proenkephalin arises from a primary translation product that lacks a signal peptide sequence because of initiation at a different site.
3T3 Cells↗
Neurophysiological and psychophysical measurements reveal effects of acute low-level organic solvent exposure in humans.
The organic solvent tetrachloroethylene (Per) is proposed to be a human neurotoxicant. In order to evaluate whether the sensory system is affected by Per at low concentrations, two groups of male volunteers were exposed in an inhalation chamber to 10 and 50 ppm Per, respectively. During the inhalation exposure, which lasted for 4 h per day on four consecutive days, visually evoked potentials (VEPs) and brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) were measured. In addition, in some of these volunteers, the visual contrast sensitivity was determined psychophysically. In the group exposed to 50 ppm Per, the VEP peak latencies N75, P100 and N150 increased in the course of the inhalation period. A comparison of the two groups revealed statistically significant differences of these latency changes during Per exposure. In contrast, the BAEPs of the two groups did not differ significantly during the whole exposure period. The contrast sensitivity functions showed a tendency of increased threshold contrasts at low and intermediate spatial frequencies during exposure to 50 ppm Per. The results indicate visual system dysfunctions in terms of delayed neuronal processing time and altered contrast perception due to acute Per exposure.
Adult↗
[The correlation between the excretion of thioethers and their mutagenic activity in urine in workers of different occupational groups].
Electrophilic substances can be inactivated by binding to glutathione or other SH-bearing molecules leading to urinary excretion of mercapturic acids or other thioether products. The mutagenic activity in urine as detected by mutagenicity assay (Ames-Test) is caused by genotoxic agents or their electrophilic metabolites. Therefore, it has been suggested that an effective protection by the glutathione system may diminish the urinary excretion of mutagens after exposure to genotoxicants. We determined the thioether concentration and mutagenic activity in urine samples of exposed workers (20 workers of a repair shop exposed to car exhaust, 35 workers of several dry cleaning shops exposed to halogenated hydrocarbons and 26 workers of a metal processing factory exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons). We performed microfluctuation assay using Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and applied a method for the determination of urinary thioethers based on liquid chromatographic quantification of N-acetylcysteine. Our results show a linear correlation between the two exposure parameters which is independent on exposure conditions described above.
Age Factors↗
Smectic ordering in nematic and smectic liquid-crystalline films probed by means of surface light scattering.
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Journal Article↗
[The determination of neutral metalloendopeptidase (enkephalinase A) in biological material].
The simple determination of the Neutral Metalloendopeptidase (NEP, Enkephalinase A) with the known fluorogenic substrate Dansyl-D-Ala-Gly-(pNO2)Phe-Gly is disturbed by high concentrations of the Angiotensin-Converting-Enzyme (ACE). ACE hydrolyzes this substrate too but to a smaller degree. In some tissues and body fluids a further substrate hydrolysis takes place by any indefinite proteases. Finally the enzymatic hydrolysis of the NEP-substrate is inhibited by phosphate ions. A method is proposed for the elimination of this disturbances in the NEP-determination with a phosphate-free buffer using two comparison tests with Lisinopril and o-Phenanthroline. The resulting NEP-activity is calculated very simple thereafter.
Dansyl Compounds↗