PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

C S Coleman

Publications and source records attributed to C S Coleman.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Syringolin A, a new plant elicitor from the phytopathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae, inhibits the proliferation of neuroblastoma and ovarian cancer cells and induces apoptosis.

Syringolin A is a new plant elicitor produced by the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae. The goal of this study was to investigate whether syringolin A exhibits anti-proliferative properties in cancer cells. The treatment of human neuroblastoma (NB) cells (SK-N-SH and LAN-1) and human ovarian cancer cells (SKOV3) with syringolin A (0-100 microm) inhibited cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. The IC(50) (50% inhibition) for each cell line ranged between 20 microm and 25 microm. In SK-N-SH cells, the treatment with 20 microm syringolin A led to a rapid (24 h) increase of the apoptosis-associated tumour suppressor protein p53. In addition, we found that the treatment of SK-N-SH cells caused severe morphological changes after 48 h such as rounding of cells and loss of adherence, both conditions observed during apoptosis. The induction of apoptosis by syringolin A was confirmed by both poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage and annexin V assay. Taken together, we show for the first time that the natural product syringolin A exhibits anti-proliferative activity and induces apoptosis. Syringolin A and structurally modified syringolin A derivatives may serve as new lead compounds for the development of novel anticancer drugs.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Transgenic mouse models for studies of the role of polyamines in normal, hypertrophic and neoplastic growth.

Transgenic mice expressing proteins altering polyamine levels in a tissue-specific manner have considerable promise for evaluation of the roles of polyamines in normal, hypertrophic and neoplastic growth. This short review summarizes the available transgenic models. Mice with large increases in ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase or antizyme, a protein regulating polyamine synthesis by reducing polyamine transport and ODC in the heart, have been produced using constructs in which the protein is expressed from the alpha -myosin heavy-chain promoter. These mice are useful in studies of the role of polyamines in hypertrophic growth. Expression from keratin promoters has been used to target increased synthesis of ODC, spermidine/spermine-N(1)-acetyltransferase (SSAT) and antizyme in the skin. Such expression of ODC leads to an increased sensitivity to chemical and UV carcinogenesis. Expression of antizyme inhibits carcinogenesis in skin and forestomach. Expression of SSAT increases the incidence of skin papillomas and their progression to carcinomas in response to a two-stage carcinogenesis protocol. These results establish the importance of polyamines in carcinogenesis and neoplastic growth and these transgenic mice will be valuable experimental tools to evaluate the importance of polyamines in mediating responses to oncogenes and studies of cancer chemoprevention.

Acetyltransferases↗
PubMed2001

Polyamine analogues inhibit the ubiquitination of spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase and prevent its targeting to the proteasome for degradation.

Spermidine/spermine N(1)-acetyltransferase (SSAT), a key enzyme in mammalian polyamine catabolism, undergoes rapid turnover (half-life approx. 30 min) and is highly inducible in response to polyamine analogues such as bis(ethyl)spermine (BE-3-4-3), which greatly stabilize the enzyme. Rapid degradation of SSAT in reticulocyte lysates was preceded by formation of a ladder of ubiquitinated forms, and required the production of high-molecular-mass complexes with ubiquitin (HMM-SSAT-Ubs). Mutation of all 11 lysines in SSAT separately to arginine demonstrated that no single lysine residue is critical for its degradation in vitro, but mutant K87R had a significantly longer half-life, suggesting that lysine-87 may be the preferred site for ubiquitination. Mutations at the C-terminus of SSAT, such as E171Q, resulted in marked stabilization of the protein, due to the lack of formation of the HMM-SSAT-Ubs. Addition of BE-3-4-3 prevented the accumulation of ubiquitin conjugates and the proteasomal degradation of wild-type SSAT. These results indicate that conformational changes brought about by the binding of polyamine analogues prevent the efficient polyubiquitination of SSAT, leading to a major increase in the amount of SSAT protein, and that alteration of the C-terminal end of the protein has a similar effect in preventing the productive interaction with an E2 or E3 component of the ubiquitin pathway.

Acetyltransferases↗
PubMed1999

Properties and regulation of human spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase stably expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells.

Spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase (SSAT) appears to be the rate-limiting enzyme of polyamine catabolism, yet studies of its regulation have been limited by the low amounts of SSAT in uninduced cells. A system for studying SSAT was established by stably transfecting Chinese hamster ovary cells with a construct where SSAT cDNA was under control of the cytomegalovirus promoter. Thirteen of 44 clones expressed significantly increased SSAT activity (650-1900 compared with 24 pmol/min/mg protein in control cells). SSAT activity was directly proportional to SSAT protein, which turned over very rapidly (t(1)/(2) of 29 min) and was degraded through the ubiquitin/proteasomal pathway. The increased SSAT activity caused perturbations in polyamine homeostasis and led to a reduction in the rate of growth under clonal conditions. N1,N12-bis(ethyl)spermine greatly increased SSAT activity in controls and SSAT transfected clones (to about 10 and 60 nmol/min/mg protein, respectively). N1, N12-Bis(ethyl)spermine caused an increase in the SSAT half-life and a slight increase in SSAT mRNA, but these changes were insufficient to account for the increase in SSAT protein suggesting that translational regulation of SSAT must also occur.

Acetyltransferases↗
PubMed1998

Structure/function relationship studies on the T/S residues 173-177 of rat ODC.

A well-conserved T/S cluster was detected among vertebrate ornithine decarboxylase by computer analysis (E. Viguera, O. Trelles, J.L. Urdiales, J.M. Matés, F. Sánchez-Jiménez, Trends Biochem. Sci. 19 (1994) 318-319). In the present report we studied the role of these residues (173, 176 and 177 in rat ornithine decarboxylase (ODC)) in enzymic activity and stability by in vitro expression, kinetic characterization and in vitro degradation of site-directed mutants. These T/S residues are substituted by a D/E-enriched fragment in other lower eukaryotic ODCs. The substitution of the T/S-enriched fragment (TLKTS) of rat ODC by the negative charged fragment of T. brucei ODC (KVEDC) did not affect protein stability, but increased Km values of the mutant enzyme. The substitution of the T/S residues by alanine also has a similar effect on rat ODC kinetic values. However, results indicate that polarity of the fragment must be an important factor for protein conformation, since the latter mutant, having no T/S or D/E residue in the fragment (ALKAA), showed reduced stability in vitro.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Proteasomal degradation of spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase requires the carboxyl-terminal glutamic acid residues.

The rapid turnover of spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase (SSAT), a key enzyme in the regulation of polyamine levels, was found to be mediated via ubiquitination and the proteasomal system. SSAT degradation was blocked by the binding of polyamines or of the polyamine analog, N1,N12-bis(ethyl)spermine (BE-3-4-3), to the protein, providing a mechanism for the increase of SSAT activity in response to these agents. Site-directed mutagenesis indicated that a number of residues including arginine 19, cysteine 122, histidine 126, glutamic acid 152, arginine 155, and methionine 167 were needed for protection of SSAT by BE-3-4-3. These residues have previously been shown to reduce the affinity for the binding of polyamines to the SSAT protein, and these results indicate that the change in protein configuration brought about by this binding renders the protein resistant to proteasomal degradation. Mutations to alanines of residues arginine 7, cysteine 14, and lysine 141 also prevented the protection by BE-3-4-3, and these residues may be required for the formation of the protected conformation. The rapid degradation of SSAT required the carboxyl-terminal region of the protein, and the two terminal glutamic acid residues at positions 170 and 171 were found to be of critical importance. Truncation of the protein to remove these residues or the mutation of either of these acidic residues to glutamine completely abolished the rapid degradation of SSAT. The addition of two extra lysine residues at the carboxyl terminus or the conversion of the glutamic acids at positions 170 and 171 to lysines also prevented SSAT degradation by the proteasome. These results show the key role of the acidic residues at the carboxyl terminus of the protein in reacting with the proteasome. In contrast, mutation of lysine 166 to alanine, which extends the length of the acidic region in the carboxyl-terminal fragment of SSAT, actually increased the rate of degradation of SSAT without affecting its stabilization by BE-3-4-3. The binding of BE-3-4-3 or polyamines is therefore likely to change the configuration of the SSAT protein in a way that prevents the exposure of the carboxyl-terminal region of the ubiquitinated protein to the proteasome.

Acetyltransferases↗
PubMed1996

Experimental evidence for structure-activity features in common between mammalian histidine decarboxylase and ornithine decarboxylase.

Common protein motifs between histidine decarboxylase (HDC) and ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) were detected by computational analysis. Mutants were generated and expressed in vitro. In both enzymes, terminal PEST-region-containing fragments are not essential for decarboxylation (PEST regions are sequence fragments enriched in proline, glutamic acid, serine and threonine residues in a hydrophilic fragment flanked by cationic amino acids). The substitution of a very well conserved histidine residue by alanine causes a severalfold increase of the apparent K(m) values for the respective substrates.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Expression of an ornithine decarboxylase dominant-negative mutant reverses eukaryotic initiation factor 4E-induced cell transformation.

pMV7-4E cells (4E-P2), which overexpress translation initiation factor eIF-4E, contain elevated levels of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), the first and rate-limiting enzyme in polyamine biosynthesis. We have shown previously that this induction appears to be related to the transformed phenotype of these cells (L. M. Shantz and A. E. Pegg, Cancer Res., 54: 2313-2316, 1994). To test whether increased ODC activity is responsible for the transformation of 4E-P2 cells, a dominant-negative mutant of ODC was used to reduce the intracellular ODC activity in 4E-P2 cells, and the resulting phenotypic changes were examined. The mutant K69A/C360A contains mutations to alanine of two key active site residues, lysine 69 and cysteine 360, and is truncated at 425 amino acids. Combination of purified K69A/C360A and purified wild-type ODC resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in specific activity compared with wild-type ODC alone, with a 71% reduction at equimolar concentrations. This mutant was transfected into 4E-P2 cells, and stable clones that expressed the truncated K69A/ C360A were isolated. Several clones were tested for their ability to form transformed foci on a monolayer, grow in soft agar, and form tumors in nude mice. When ODC activity was reduced by 60%, the transformed phenotype of 4E-P2 cells was abolished, suggesting strongly that high ODC levels are critical to the transformation of these cells. In addition, K69A/C360A can be used to determine the ODC activity associated with transformation in both in vitro and in vivo systems.

3T3 Cells↗
PubMed1996

Structure and critical residues at the active site of spermidine/spermine-N1-acetyltransferase.

Spermidine/spermine-N1-acetyltransferase (SSAT) is a key enzyme in the degradation of polyamines. Alanine-scanning mutagenesis of all eight arginine residues was used to investigate the arginine residues involved in acetyl-CoA binding. The results indicate that Arg101, Arg142 and Arg143 are important for such binding. The apparent Km values for acetyl-CoA were significantly increased when any one of these residues was replaced by an alanine residue. These mutations also abolished the ability of acetyl-CoA to protect the protein from digestion by trypsin. Co-expression of the inactive R101A (Arg101 --> Ala) mutant and an E152K (Glu152 --> Lys) mutant, previously known to inactivate SSAT, led to restoration of activity, showing that the active enzyme is a dimer with residues contributed by both subunits. The double mutant R101A/E152K acted as a dominant negative when co-expressed with the wild-type SSAT. Transfection of COS-7 cells with a plasmid producing this mutant greatly attenuated the increase in SSAT activity brought about by N1, N12-bis(ethyl)spermine. These results indicate that the double mutant R101A/E152K-SSAT protein can be used to evaluate the importance of SSAT activity in response to exogenous polyamines or polyamine analogues.

Acetyl Coenzyme A↗
PubMed1995

Role of the carboxyl terminal MATEE sequence of spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase in the activity and stabilization by the polyamine analog N1,N12-bis(ethyl)spermine.

Purified recombinant spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase (SSAT) was found to be unstable in the absence of polyamines, but the loss of activity could be prevented or reversed by the addition of the polyamine analog and potential antitumor agent N1,N12-bis(ethyl)spermine (BE-3-4-3), which is known to be a potent inducer of SSAT in mammalian cells. Addition of BE-3-4-3 prevented the loss of SSAT activity and the digestion of the protein by the proteases trypsin, Lys-C, or Glu-C. In the absence of BE-3-4-3, this digestion occurred at the sequence Lys141Arg142Arg143 for trypsin or Lys-C and at the sequence Glu151Glu152 for Glu-C. When these sites were altered by mutation to residues which are not substrates for these proteases, cleavage in the absence of BE-3-4-3 occurred at residues Lys161, Lys166, and Glu162. These results indicate that the structure of SSAT contains a region that binds to the polyamine analog, BE-3-4-3, and that binding alters the configuration of the protein to prevent protease access to the region from amino acid residue 141 to the carboxyl terminal end (residue 171) of the SSAT. In order to determine the nature of the regulatory sites, specific mutations were made in the SSAT amino acid sequence, and the activity of the resulting SSAT protein and the sensitivity to proteases in the presence and absence of BE-3-4-3 was determined. The results indicate that the carboxyl terminal domain, MATEE, is critical for activity and for protection by BE-3-4-3.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acetyltransferases↗
PubMed1995

Ornithine decarboxylase as a target for chemoprevention.

l-Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) is essential for polyamine synthesis and growth in mammalian cells; it provides putrescine that is usually converted into the higher polyamines, spermidine and spermine. Many highly specific and potent inhibitors of ODC are based on the lead compound alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), which is an enzyme-activated irreversible inhibitor. DFMO is accepted as a substrate by ODC and is decarboxylated, leading to the formation of a highly reactive species that forms a covalent adduct with either cysteine-360 (90%) or lysine-69 (10%). Both modifications inactivate the enzyme. ODC activity is normally very highly regulated at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels according to the growth state of the cell and the intracellular polyamine content. Experimental over-production of ODC can be caused by either transfection with plasmids containing the ODC cDNA with part of the 5'-untranslated region (5'UTR) deleted under the control of a very strong viral promoter, or transfection of plasmids that cause the overproduction of eIF-4E, reported to be a limiting factor in the translation of mRNAs with extensive secondary structures in the 5'UTR. In both cases, unregulated overexpression of ODC transforms NIH 3T3 cells to a neoplastic state. Along with studies showing that many tumor promoters increase ODC activity and that a number of preneoplastic conditions and tumor samples show high levels of ODC, these results suggest that ODC may act as an oncogene in an appropriate background. This provides a rationale for the possible use of ODC inhibitors as chemopreventive agents.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Rapid exchange of subunits of mammalian ornithine decarboxylase.

The subunit structure of mouse L-ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) was investigated using mutants involving single amino acid changes that greatly reduced the catalytic activity. Studies were carried out both by expressing the enzyme protein in a coupled transcription/translation system and mixing the various purified mutant ODCs and wild type enzyme together. The results confirm that ODC activity requires the formation of a dimer and that this dimer contains two active sites, each made up from part of one subunit that contains amino acids lysine 69, lysine 169, and histidine 197 and a part of the other subunit that contains cysteine 360. Mixing of the purified ODC mutant enzymes with each other and with the wild type enzyme indicated that there was a very rapid exchange of subunits between the enzyme dimers even under physiological conditions without addition of chaotropic agents. This rapid exchange may facilitate the binding of antizyme and the rapid turnover of ODC in vivo.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Effect of mutations at active site residues on the activity of ornithine decarboxylase and its inhibition by active site-directed irreversible inhibitors.

Mouse ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and mutants changing residues thought to be involved at the active site were expressed in Escherichia coli, purified to homogeneity by affinity chromatography on a pyridoxamine 5'-phosphate-agarose affinity column, and tested for their kinetic properties and their inactivation by enzyme-activated irreversible inhibitors. All of the mutant enzymes were expressed at comparable levels to the wild type protein (2-4% of the total soluble protein), all bound to the affinity column, and there were only small differences in the apparent Km values for L-ornithine providing strong evidence that the mutations did not lead to any gross changes in the protein structure. The mutation K69A led to a change in the spectrum of the enzyme and a 550-fold decrease in the kcat/Km (specificity constant) value. These results are consistent with lysine 69 being the residue that forms a Schiff base with the pyridoxal 5'-phosphate co-factor. Mutation C70S did not greatly affect the activity despite its proximity to this lysine but increased the Km about 2-fold. In contrast, the mutation C360A greatly reduced the specificity constant (by 26-fold) despite a 2-fold decrease in the Km, suggesting that this cysteine residue is critically involved at the active site. Although cysteine 360 is known to be the major site of binding of the inhibitor, alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), the C360A mutant was still sensitive to inhibition by this drug. However, the kinetics of inactivation were altered, the partition ratio was 10 times greater, and the labeled adduct formed by reaction with [5-14C]DFMO was removed from the protein under some denaturing conditions. This adduct was found to occur at lysine 69. The K69A mutant was also sensitive to DFMO with a lower partition ratio than the wild type enzyme. These results indicate that inactivation of ODC by DFMO can occur via interaction with either of two separate residues that form essential parts of the active site. This renders it unlikely that resistant mutants will arise from changes in the enzyme structure. In contrast to the results with DFMO, the C360A mutant ODC was completely resistant to inactivation by (R,R)-delta-methyl-alpha-acetylenicputrescine and was much less sensitive than the wild type enzyme to alpha-monofluoromethyldehydromethylornithine, showing that the reactive species formed from these inhibitors either cannot be formed by this mutant or are unable to react with lysine 69.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Utilization of extracellular lipids by HT29/219 cancer cells in culture.

Uptake and incorporation of long-chain fatty acids were studied in a human colorectal cancer cell line (HT29/219) grown in culture medium supplemented with either fetal calf serum (FCS) or horse serum (HS). The cells were grown for 120 h with no change of medium; the two major cellular lipid classes, the phospholipids and the triacylglycerols, were analyzed at regular time-points. We observed significant changes in the concentration of most fatty acids throughout culture, and differences in their composition when different sera were used to supplement the medium. Minimal levels of free fatty acids were found in the cells, indicating a very small "free fatty acid pool". A major difference between the cells grown in media supplemented with different sera was the changes observed in concentrations of cellular polyunsaturated fatty acids during growth. In cells grown with FCS (in which 20:4n-6 is present), the levels of this acid in the phospholipid and triacylglycerol fractions declined rapidly during cell growth, suggesting further metabolism. In cells grown in medium supplemented with HS, 18:2n-6 was the major polyunsaturated acid present. There was clear evidence that this acid accumulated in the cellular triacylglycerol and phospholipid fractions. Furthermore, its concentration did not decline during growth in culture, suggesting minimal conversion to other polyunsaturated n-6 acids. Our results suggest that fatty acids from additional sources in the medium, for example triacylglycerols and phospholipids associated with the lipoproteins, are taken up by the cells. There is also indication of cellular fatty acid synthesis, particularly of monounsaturated and saturated acids during the culture period.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Arachidonic Acid↗
PubMed1990

Study of fatty acid profiles in cancer cells grown in culture using gas chromatography--mass spectrometry.

The determination of long-chain fatty acids in the phospholipid, triglyceride and free fatty acid fractions of HT29/219 colon cancer cells grown in a medium containing either foetal calf serum or horse serum, was carried out using gas chromatography - mass spectrometry. Several bonded-phase capillary columns were tested for the separation of the fatty acid methyl esters, and a 30-m poly(ethylene glycol) column was found to give optimum separation. The mass spectrometer was set to the multiple ion detection mode to increase the sensitivity of the recording of the characteristic ions, consisting of the molecular ion and the base peak. The phospholipid and triglyceride compositions of the cells were different when the cells were grown in media containing different sera. Differences were also found in the turnover of the acids in the different lipid fractions, the phospholipids being the most important, when the cells were grown in different media. The cellular metabolism and turnover of certain fatty acids differed from others in the same cell. These differences emphasise the importance of a precise knowledge of the lipid composition of the culture medium in in vitro studies of cancer cells.

Fatty Acids↗