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Biomedical subjects

D M Quinn

Publications and source records attributed to D M Quinn.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Allosteric control of acetylcholinesterase catalysis by fasciculin.

The interaction of fasciculin 2 was examined with wild-type and several mutant forms of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) where Trp86, which lies at the base of the active center gorge, is replaced by Tyr, Phe, and Ala. The fasciculin family of peptides from snake venom bind to a peripheral site near the rim of the gorge, but at a position which still allows substrates and other inhibitors to enter the gorge. The interaction of a series of charged and uncharged carboxyl esters, alkyl phosphoryl esters, and substituted trifluoroacetophenones were analyzed with the wild-type and mutant AChEs in the presence and absence of fasciculin. We show that Trp86 is important for the alignment of carboxyl ester substrates in the AChE active center. The most marked influence of Trp86 substitution in inhibiting catalysis is seen for carboxyl esters that show rapid turnover. The extent of inhibition achieved with bound fasciculin is also greatest for efficiently catalyzed, charged substrates. When Ala is substituted for Trp86, fasciculin becomes an allosteric activator instead of an inhibitor for certain substrates. Analysis of the kinetics of acylation by organophosphates and conjugation by trifluoroacetophenones, along with deconstruction of the kinetic constants for carboxyl esters, suggests that AChE inhibition by fasciculin arises from reductions of both the commitment to catalysis and diffusional entry of substrate into the gorge. The former is reflected in the ratio of the rate constant for substrate acylation to that for dissociation of the initial complex. The action of fasciculin appears to be mediated allosterically from its binding site at the rim of the gorge to affect the orientation of the side chain of Trp86 which lies at the gorge base.

Acetylcholinesterase

Amino acid residues controlling reactivation of organophosphonyl conjugates of acetylcholinesterase by mono- and bisquaternary oximes.

Single and multiple site mutants of recombinant mouse acetylcholinesterase (rMoAChE) were inhibited with racemic 7-(methylethoxyphosphinyloxy)-1-methylquinolinium iodide (MEPQ) and the resulting mixture of two enantiomers, CH3PR,S(O)(OC2H5)-AChE(EMPR,S-AChE), were subjected to reactivation with 2-(hydroxyiminomethyl)-1-methylpyridinium methanesulfonate (P2S) and 1-(2'-hydroxyiminomethyl-1'-pyridinium)-3-(4"-carbamoyl-1"- pyridinium)-2-oxapropane dichloride (HI-6). Kinetic analysis of the reactivation profiles revealed biphasic behavior with an approximate 1:1 ratio of two presumed reactivatable enantiomeric components. Equilibrium dissociation and kinetic rate constants for reactivation of site-specific mutant enzymes were compared with those obtained for wild-type rMoAChE, tissue-derived Torpedo AChE and human plasma butyrylcholinesterase. Substitution of key amino acid residues at the entrance to the active-site gorge (Trp-286, Tyr-124, Tyr-72, and Asp-74) had a greater influence on the reactivation kinetics of the bisquaternary reactivator HI-6 compared with the monoquaternary reactivator P2S. Replacement of Phe-295 by Leu enhanced reactivation by HI-6 but not by P2S. Of residues forming the choline-binding subsite, the E202Q mutation had a dominant influence where reactivation by both oximes was decreased 16- to 33-fold. Residues Trp-86 and Tyr-337 in this subsite showed little involvement. These kinetic findings, together with energy minimization of the oxime complex with the phosphonylated enzyme, provide a model for differences in the reactivation potencies of P2S and HI-6. The two kinetic components of oxime reactivation of MEPQ-inhibited AChEs arise from the chirality of O-ethyl methylphosphonyl moieties conjugated with Ser-203 and may be attributable to the relative stability of the phosphonyl oxygen of the two enantiomers in the oxyanion hole.

Acetylcholinesterase

Carbohydrate-reactive, pore-forming outer membrane proteins of Aeromonas hydrophila.

Two outer membrane proteins of Aeromonas hydrophila A6, isolated in a one-step affinity chromatography process based on carbohydrate reactivity, were found to be pore-forming molecules in artificial planar bilayer membranes. These carbohydrate-reactive outer membrane proteins (CROMPs; M(r)s, 40,000 and 43,000) were subjected to amino acid analysis. The amino acid profiles for these two outer membrane proteins were almost identical. A partial protein sequence of a 14-amino-acid fragment of the 40,000-Da protein revealed homology with outer membrane porins of Escherichia coli and A. hydrophila. CROMPs were compared with carbohydrate-reactive porins also extracted from outer membranes of A. hydrophila A6. These porins were isolated by using standard porin purification techniques (insolubility in 2% sodium dodecyl sulfate, solubility in 0.4 M NaCl, and Sephacryl S-200 gel filtration), and then Synsorb H type 2 affinity chromatography was done. The physical and functional properties of the carbohydrate-reactive porins and CROMPs were found to be identical. On the basis of pore-forming properties in planar lipid bilayers and channel inhibition with maltotriose solutions, a nonspecific, general diffusion porin and a LamB-like maltoporin were identified in both CROMP and carbohydrate-reactive porin preparations. To our knowledge, the use of carbohydrate reactivity to isolate channel-forming proteins from bacterial outer membranes has not been reported previously.

Aeromonas hydrophila

Interaction of lipoprotein lipase with p-nitrophenyl N-alkylcarbamates: kinetics, mechanism, and analogy to the acylenzyme mechanism.

The interaction of lipoprotein lipase with p-nitrophenyl N-alkylcarbamates [PNPOC(=O)-NHCnH2n+1; n = 4, 8, and 12] proceeds by the three-stage mechanism shown below. After reversible [formula: see text] formation of the enzyme-carbamate complex (EC), rapid carbamylation (kc) precedes slow decarbamylation. Therefore, in short-term assays (less than or equal to 30 min) of lipoprotein lipase catalyzed hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl butyrate, activity is rapidly lost. The inhibition by p-nitrophenyl N-butylcarbamate follows saturation kinetics, which allows determination of Kc = 5.4 +/- 0.9 microM and kc = (4.9 +/- 0.7) x 10(-2)s-1. Saturation kinetics are not observed for the longer inhibitors p-nitrophenyl N-octylcarbamate and p-nitrophenyl N-dodecylcarbamate. Rather, plots of the pseudo-first-order rate constant for activity loss versus inhibitor concentration are concave upward, consistent with inhibitor binding to two sites on the enzyme. The inhibition phase is sufficiently rapid that p-nitrophenyl N-octylcarbamate can be used to titrate enzyme active sites. On the other hand, long-term assays (greater than 5 h) show sequential inhibition and activity return phases, and from the activity return phase kd is calculated. The long-term activity time course is accurately simulated by Runge-Kutta integration of the differential equations for the three-stage mechanism. These approaches have been used to characterize the kinetics of interaction of the enzyme with the carbamate inhibitors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals

Cholesterol esterase catalyzed hydrolysis of mixed micellar thiophosphatidylcholines: a possible charge-relay mechanism.

Mechanistic features of cholesterol esterase catalyzed hydrolysis of two thiophospholipids, rac-1-(hexanoylthio)-2-hexanoyl-3-glycerophosphorylcholine (6TPC) and rac-1-(decanoylthio)-2-decano-yl-3-glycerophosphorylcholine (10TPC), have been characterized. The hydrolysis of 10TPC that is contained in mixed micelles with Triton X-100 occurs strictly at the micellar interface, since the reaction rate is independent of the micelle concentration but depends hyperbolically on the mole fraction of the substrate in the micelles. This latter observation allows one to calculate the interfacial kinetic parameters V*max and K*m. The hydrolyses of 10TPC and p-nitrophenyl butyrate are similarly inhibited by the transition state analogue inhibitor phenyl-n-butylborinic acid, and therefore, physiological and nonphysiological substrates are processed at the same active site. The similarity of k*cat values for the acyl-similar substrates 10TPC and p-nitrophenyl decanoate indicates that the phospholipase A1 activity of cholesterol esterase is partially rate limited by turnover of a decanoyl-enzyme intermediate. Solvent isotope effects on V*max and V*max/K*m (which monitors acylation only) are approximately 2-3 and are consistent with transition states that are stabilized by general acid-base proton transfers. Proton inventories of V*max/K*m indicate that simultaneous proton transfers stabilize the acylation transition state, which requires a multifunctional acid-base machinery (perhaps a charge-relay system) in the cholesterol esterase active site. Similar results are obtained for the 6TPC reaction, both in the presence and absence of Triton X-100 micelles.

Acetylcholinesterase

Dimensional mapping of the active site of cholesterol esterase with alkylboronic acid inhibitors.

The cholesterol esterase-catalyzed hydrolysis of the water-soluble substrate p-nitrophenyl butyrate occurs via an acylenzyme mechanism, and is competitively inhibited by boronic acid transition state analog inhibitors. Accordingly, we undertook to dimensionally map the enzyme's active site via synthesis and characterization of a series of n-alkyl boronic acid inhibitors. The most potent of these is n-hexaneboronic acid, with a Ki = 13 +/- 1 microM, since inhibitor potency declines for both longer and shorter boronic acids. No inhibition is observed for methaneboronic acid and n-octaneboronic acid inhibits poorly, with a Ki of 7 mM. These results indicate that the ability of the enzyme to form tight complexes with boron-containing transition state analog inhibitors is sensitive to alkyl chain length. The trend in inhibitor potency is discussed in terms of substrate specificity of and transition state stabilization by cholesterol esterase, and has important implications for the design of optimal reversible inhibitors of the enzyme.

Alkylation

Anatomy of acetylcholinesterase catalysis: reaction dynamics analogy for human erythrocyte and electric eel enzymes.

The anatomy of catalysis (i.e., reaction dynamics, thermodynamics and transition state structures) is compared herein for acetylcholinesterases from human erythrocytes and Electrophorus electricus. The two enzymes have similar relative activities for the substrate o-nitrochloroacetanilide and o-nitrophenyl acetate. In addition, with each substrate K values and solvent deuterium kinetic isotope effects for kES and kE are similar for the two enzymes. Solvent isotope effects in mixed isotopic buffers indicate that the acylation stages of o-nitrochloroacetanilide turnover by the two enzymes are rate-limited by virtual transition states that are weighted averages of contributions from transition states of serial chemical and physical steps. Similar experiments show that the transition states for Vmax of o-nitrophenyl acetate turnover by the two enzymes are stabilized by simple general acid-base (i.e., one-proton) catalysis. These comparisons demonstrate that acetylcholinesterases from diverse sources display functional analogy in that reaction dynamics and transition state structures are closely similar.

Acetylcholinesterase

Kinetic and inhibition studies of phospholipase A2 with short-chain substrates and inhibitors.

The action of the phospholipases A2 (PLA2s) from Naja naja naja, Naja naja atra, and Crotalus atrox venoms as well as the enzyme from porcine pancreas on a number of short-chain, water-soluble substrates was studied. The inhibition of these enzymes by short-chain phosphonate- and thiophosphonate-containing phospholipid analogues was also examined. The kinetic patterns observed for the action of the venom PLA2s on substrates containing phosphocholine head groups all deviated from a classical Michaelis-Menten-type behavior. With a substrate containing an anionic head group, the kinetic pattern observed was more normal. In contrast, Michaelis-Menten-type behavior was observed for the action of the porcine pancreatic PLA2 acting on all of the substrates studied. A short-chain phospholipid analogue in which the enzyme-susceptible ester was replaced with a phosphonate group was found to be a tight-binding inhibitor of the venom PLA2s with IC50 values that were some 10(4)-10(5)-fold lower than the concentration of substrate used in the assay. The degree of inhibition was found to depend dramatically on the stereochemical arrangement of substituents in the inhibitor which strongly suggests that the inhibitors are binding directly to the active site of the PLA2s. By comparison, the phosphonate analogue functioned as a poor inhibitor of the porcine pancreatic PLA2. Direct inhibitor binding studies indicated that the short-chain phosphonate inhibitor bound weakly to the venom enzymes in the absence of the short-chain substrates. Several other unusual features of the inhibition were also observed. The data are interpreted in terms of a model in which the enzyme and substrate form a lipid-protein aggregate at substrate concentrations below the critical micelle concentration (cmc). Possible reasons for the selective binding of the inhibitor to the enzyme-substrate microaggregate are discussed.

Animals

Inhibitors of neutral cholesteryl ester hydrolase.

p-Nitrophenyl N-butyl, N-octyl, and N-dodecyl carbamates and a newly synthesized diethyl phosphate compound were studied as potential inhibitors of the cholesteryl ester hydrolases of Fu5AH rat hepatoma cells. Whole homogenates of Fu5AH cells were used as an enzyme source for the assay of cholesteryl ester hydrolase activity. All four compounds led to marked inhibition (70-80%) of neutral cholesteryl ester hydrolase activity (assayed at pH 7) at concentrations where the activity of acid cholesteryl ester hydrolase (assayed at pH 4) was unaffected. Cholesteryl ester hydrolysis was also evaluated in intact cultured cells induced to accumulate cholesteryl esters in cytoplasmic lipid droplets by exposure to cholesterol-rich phospholipid dispersions. Hydrolysis was then assessed during subsequent incubations in the presence of an inhibitor of cholesterol esterification. All compounds caused significant inhibition of cholesterol ester hydrolysis with the diethyl phosphate being the most effective. At a concentration that caused greater than 90% inhibition of the hydrolysis of cytoplasmic cholesteryl esters, the compound had only a minimal effect on lysosomal hydrolysis of cholesteryl esters. These results suggest that diethyl phosphates and N-alkylcarbamates may be of value in future studies on the substrate specificities, regulation, and physiological role(s) of cholesteryl ester hydrolases.

Animals

Haloketone transition state analog inhibitors of cholesterol esterase.

The cholesterol esterase-catalyzed hydrolysis of p-nitro-phenyl butyrate is reversibly inhibited by four phenyl haloalkyl ketones. Inhibitor potency is greatest for halogenated acetophenones and parallels the extent of hydration of the various ketones in buffered D2O. These results are consistent with an inhibition mechanism wherein haloketones reversibly form hemiketal adducts at the active site that structurally mimic tetrahedral intermediates of the cholesterol esterase catalytic cycle.

Acetophenones

p-Nitrophenyl and cholesteryl-N-alkyl carbamates as inhibitors of cholesterol esterase.

p-Nitrophenyl and cholesteryl-N-alkyl carbamates are good inhibitors of porcine pancreatic cholesterol esterase-catalyzed hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl butyrate. p-Nitrophenyl-N-butyl and N-octyl carbamates (compounds 1 and 2, respectively) are potent active site-directed irreversible inhibitors of this enzyme. The inhibition of cholesterol esterase by compound 1 or 2 shows saturation kinetics with increasing inhibitor concentration. The activity of cholesterol esterase in the presence of compound 1 or 2 can be protected by the competitive inhibitor, phenylboronic acid. First-order decreases in cholesterol esterase activity effected by compound 1 or 2 are also observed in the presence of taurocholate/phosphatidylcholine micelles. Dilution of the inhibited enzyme results in a gradual return of activity, the rate of which is increased in the presence of the nucleophile hydroxylamine. Hence, inhibition of cholesterol esterase-catalyzed hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl butyrate by compound 1 or 2 in the aqueous or micellar phase occurs via a carbamyl-cholesterol esterase mechanism. The turnover of the butyl carbamylenzyme is increased in the presence of micelles, which indicates that the micelles have a direct effect on the catalytic activity of the enzyme. However, this effect is dependent on the structure of the substrate as the turnover of the octyl carbamylenzyme is unaffected in the presence of micelles. A comparison of the second-order rate constants for the inhibition of cholesterol esterase by compound 1 or 2 indicates that the octyl derivative is the more potent inhibitor. Cholesteryl-N-alkyl carbamates do not carbamylate cholesterol esterase but instead act as reversible inhibitors. This is due to the stability of cholesteryl carbamates relative to p-nitrophenyl carbamates.

Animals

Interfacial reaction dynamics and acyl-enzyme mechanism for lipoprotein lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of lipid p-nitrophenyl esters.

The fatty acyl (lipid) p-nitrophenyl esters p-nitrophenyl caprylate, p-nitrophenyl laurate and p-nitrophenyl palmitate that are incorporated at a few mol % into mixed micelles with Triton X-100 are substrates for bovine milk lipoprotein lipase. When the concentration of components of the mixed micelles is approximately equal to or greater than the critical micelle concentration, time courses for lipoprotein lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of the esters are described by the integrated form of the Michaelis-Menten equation. Least square fitting to the integrated equation therefore allows calculation of the interfacial kinetic parameters Km and Vmax from single runs. The computational methodology used to determine the interfacial kinetic parameters is described in this paper and is used to determine the intrinsic substrate fatty acyl specificity of lipoprotein lipase catalysis, which is reflected in the magnitude of kcat/Km and kcat. The results for interfacial lipoprotein lipase catalysis, along with previously determined kinetic parameters for the water-soluble esters p-nitrophenyl acetate and p-nitrophenyl butyrate, indicate that lipoprotein lipase has highest specificity for the substrates that have fatty acyl chains of intermediate length (i.e. p-nitrophenyl butyrate and p-nitrophenyl caprylate). The fatty acid products do not cause product inhibition during lipoprotein lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of lipid p-nitrophenyl esters that are contained in Triton X-100 micelles. The effects of the nucleophiles hydroxylamine, hydrazine, and ethylenediamine on Km and Vmax for lipoprotein lipase catalyzed hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl laurate are consistent with trapping of a lauryl-lipoprotein lipase intermediate. This mechanism is confirmed by analysis of the product lauryl hydroxamate when hydroxylamine is the nucleophile. Hence, lipoprotein lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of lipid p-nitrophenyl esters that are contained in Triton X-100 micelles occurs via an interfacial acyl-lipoprotein lipase mechanism that is rate-limited by hydrolysis of the acyl-enzyme intermediate.

Animals

Phenyl-n-butylborinic acid is a potent transition state analog inhibitor of lipolytic enzymes.

The cholesterol esterase and lipoprotein lipase catalyzed hydrolyses of the water-soluble substrate p-nitrophenyl butyrate are competitively inhibited by butaneboronic acid and phenylboronic acid. Phenyl-n-butylborinic acid has been synthesized and characterized as an ultrapotent transition state analog inhibitor: Ki = 2.9 +/- 0.6 nM and 1.7 +/- 0.3 microM for the cholesterol esterase and lipoprotein lipase reactions, respectively. These results are interpreted in terms of transition state structure and stabilization.

Animals

Prevalence of psychoactive medication in children and adolescents.

Prevalence studies in Psychopharmacology are few and have many methodological flaws. This study examines the prevalence of psychoactive drugs in children and adolescents. Contrary to other studies, central nervous system stimulants are not the most widely prescribed psychoactive drugs in childhood and adolescence, but rather, minor tranquilizers, sedatives and hypnotics are the most widely prescribed psychoactive drugs. While this study overcomes some of the flaws of previous studies further studies regarding the prevalence of use of psychoactive drugs in childhood and adolescence are recommended.

Adolescent

Acylenzyme mechanism and solvent isotope effects for cholesterol esterase-catalyzed hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl butyrate.

The mechanism of cholesterol esterase- (carboxylic ester hydrolase, EC 8.1.1.1) catalyzed hydrolysis of the water-soluble ester p-nitrophenyl butyrate has been characterized for commercially available preparations from bovine and porcine pancreas and for a purified preparation from porcine pancreas. Kinetic evidence for an acylenzyme mechanism is provided by experiments wherein the butyryl enzyme is trapped by MeOH, EtOH or n-BuOH. For the last alcohol the transacylation product n-butyl n-butyrate was characterized by GC-mass spectrometry. Solvent isotope effects have been measured for Vmax/Km, which is the rate constant for acylation, and for Vmax, which monitors rate-determining deacylation. Isotope effects of 1.5-3 on these rate constants indicate that both steps of the acylenzyme mechanism for cholesterol esterase catalysis involve transition states that are stabilized by general acid-base proton bridges.

Alcohols

Solvent isotope effects for lipoprotein lipase catalyzed hydrolysis of water-soluble p-nitrophenyl esters.

Solvent deuterium isotope effects on the rates of lipoprotein lipase (LpL) catalyzed hydrolysis of the water-soluble esters p-nitrophenyl acetate (PNPA) and p-nitrophenyl butyrate (PNPB) have been measured and fall in the range 1.5-2.2. The isotope effects are independent of substrate concentration, LpL stability, and reaction temperature and hence are effects on chemical catalysis and not due to a medium effect of D2O on LpL stability and/or conformation. pL (L = H or D) vs. rate profiles for the Vmax/Km of LpL-catalyzed hydrolysis of PNPB increase sigmoidally with increasing pL. Least-squares analysis of the profiles gives pKaH2O = 7.10 +/- 0.01, pKaD2O = 7.795 +/- 0.007, and a solvent isotope effect on limiting velocity at high pL of 1.97 +/- 0.03. Because the pL-rate profiles are for the Vmax/Km of hydrolysis of a water-soluble substrate, the measured pKa's are intrinsic acid-base ionization constants for a catalytically involved LpL active-site amino acid side chain. Benzeneboronic acid, a potent inhibitor of LpL-catalyzed hydrolysis of triacylglycerols [Vainio, P., Virtanen, J. A., & Kinnunen, P. K. J. (1982) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 711, 386-390], inhibits LpL-catalyzed hydrolysis of PNPB, with Ki = 6.9 microM at pH 7.36, 25 degrees C. This result and the solvent isotope effects for LpL-catalyzed hydrolysis of water-soluble esters are interpreted in terms of a proton transfer mechanism that is similar in many respects to that of the serine proteases.

Animals

Diethyl-p-nitrophenyl phosphate: an active site titrant for lipoprotein lipase.

Diethyl-p-nitrophenyl phosphate is an active site-directed irreversible inhibitor of bovine milk lipoprotein lipase catalyzed hydrolysis of the water-soluble substrate, p-nitrophenyl butyrate. Interaction of lipoprotein lipase and the inhibitor in the absence of substrate gives a biphasic kinetics profile, which is consistent with rapid formation of a phosphoryl-lipoprotein lipase intermediate which hydrolyzes slowly. The magnitude of the absorbance increase accompanying formation of the intermediate provides an analytical method for determining lipoprotein lipase active site concentration.

Animals