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F Schuber

Publications and source records attributed to F Schuber.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Calf spleen NAD glycohydrolase. Comparison of the catalytic properties of the membrane-bound and the hydrosoluble forms of the enzyme.

The catalytic properties of membrane-bound calf spleen NAD glycohydrolase were studied in comparison with previous data obtained with a solubilized hydrosoluble form of the enzyme. When the hydrolysis of NAD catalyzed by membrane-bound NAD glycohydrolase was studied at pH values below 7.5, only insignificant interference by other NAD-hydrolyzing enzymes was detected, and no proton-diffusional inhibition was observed. The kinetics could, therefore, be followed using a titrimetric assay for NAD glycohydrolase activity. The effect of pH, ionic strength on the kinetic parameters, and shifts in binding constants for several ligands of the membrane-bound enzyme indicate that the NAD glycohydrolase activity is influenced by an electrostatic potential due to negative charges (polyelectrolyte effect). No significant changes in kinetic mechanism could be found between both NAD glycohydrolase forms. The association of the enzyme with the membrane results in a remarkably increased thermal stability, in changes in binding properties of the active site and in the emergence of new inhibitor binding sites; e.g. adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) and adenosine, which do not inhibit the hydrosoluble form of NAD glycohydrolase, are good inhibitors (respectively competitive and mixed) of the membrane-bound enzyme. These data (i.e. allotopic changes) probably can be ascribed to enzyme conformational changes induced and stabilized by interaction with membrane constituents.

Animals↗

Calf-spleen nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide glycohydrolase. Properties of the active site.

The interaction between the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide binding domain of calf spleen NAD glycohydrolase and its ligands has been studied. The use of competitive inhibitors, structurally related to different portions of the NAD molecule (i.e. adenosine and nicotinamide moieties), revealed the considerable importance of the binding between the pyrophosphate linkage and probably an arginyl residue of the active site. This interaction allows the positioning of the substrate in a conformation which permits catalysis to occur. The binding between the 2'-hydroxyl of the adenosine moiety and a residue of the active site, which exists in NAD-linked dehydrogenases, is probably missing in the calf spleen NAD glycohydrolase, based on the inhibition by salicylates, 2'-deoxyadenosine 5'-monophosphate and the hydrolysis of the 2'-deoxyadenosine analogue of NAD. The NAD glycohydrolase could be completely inactivated by 2,3-butanedione, an arginyl-modifying reagent. The reaction followed pseudo-first-order kinetics and the modification was found to be reversible. Woodward's reagent K, a reagent for carboxyl residues, partially inactivated the enzyme, which resulted in a change of the NAD glycohydrolase kinetic parameters Km and V. The inactivation rate was complicated by a parallel decomposition of the reagent.

Adenine Nucleotides↗

Calf-spleen nicotinamide--adenine dinucleotide glycohydrolase. Solubilization purification and properties of the enzyme.

NAD glycohydrolase of calf spleen was solubilized with pancreatic lipase and purified approximatively 800-fold to a specific activity of 7 units/mg of protein by successive DEAE-cellulose and carboxymethyl-cellulose chromatography. The purified enzyme has a molecular weight of 24,000 and is characterized by a double band on disc gel electrophoresis. Some kinetic properties of the NAD-glycohydrolase-catalyzed hydrolsis of NAD have been examined using a titrimetric assay for enzyme activity. The reaction is subject to inhibition be excess of substrate, which disappears at high ionic strength and low pH. At a pH below 5 the kinetic displays an apparent activation by substrate. The effects of pH (4.5-9.0) on the kinetic parameters do not reveal an essential ionizable group in the catalytic process.

Animals↗

Alpha-methyl ornithine, a potent competitive inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase, blocks proliferation of rat hepatoma cells in culture.

A biphasic increase of putrescine concentration occurs in rat hepatoma tissue culture cells induced to proliferate. DL-alpha-Methyl ornithine, a competitive inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase ( L-ornithine carboxylyase, EC 4.1.1.7) of hepatoma tissue culture cells, blocks the usual increases of putrescine and spermidine concentrations in these cells, and causes a rapid fall in the levels of putrescine which is followed by a striking decrease of spermidine. In parallel with the depletion of these amines, incorporation of [3H]thymidine into DNA and cell proliferation are inhibited. Addition of putrescine, spermidine, or spermine results in an immediate resumption of cell proliferation. Cell proliferation is also restored by L-ornithine presumably due to in situ competitive inhibition of ornithine decarboxylase. These findings of hepatoma tissue culture cells support the concept that polyamines play an essential function in the cell division processes.

Cell Division↗

Drug design based on biosynthetic studies: synthesis, biological activity, and kinetics of new inhibitors of 2,3-oxidosqualene cyclase and squalene epoxidase.

Various classes of inhibitor of 2,3-oxido squalene cyclase have been synthesized and tested on rat liver and Saccharomyces cerevisiae microsomes, 3T3 fibroblast cultures, and various bacteria, fungi, and yeasts. The compounds include azasqualenes, azasqualanes, bis-azasqualenes, bis-azasqualanes, and N-oxide and ammonium derivatives of squalene. In order to better mimic the transition state involved in the SN2-like opening of 2,3-oxidosqualene, we synthesized squalene N-methyloxaziridine. Other derivatives tested were N-methylimine, aminalic hydroperoxide, and N-methylamide. We also attempted to produce new "suicide" inhibitors of SO cyclase, such as a squalenoid epoxide vinyl ether. Many of the products described inhibited the various cyclases, the best having an IC50 of 0.3 microM on plants and 1.5 microM on rat liver microsomes, and good antibacterial and antifungal activity. In a search for inhibitors of squalene epoxidase, a series of mono- and bifunctional squalenoid acetylenes and allenes were synthesized. Some of them proved to be inhibitors of squalene epoxidase.

Alkynes↗

Synthesis of short polyoxyethylene-based heterobifunctional cross-linking reagents. Application to the coupling of peptides to liposomes.

We describe the synthesis of [2-[2-[2-[(2-bromoacetyl)amino]ethoxy]ethoxy]ethoxy acetic acid (7), [2-[2-(2,5-dioxo-2,5-dihydropyrrol-1-yl)ethoxy]ethoxy] acetic acid (11), and [2-[2-(pyridin-2-yldisulfanyl)-ethoxy]ethoxy] acetic acid (16), three new thiol-reactive heterobifunctional reagents, and the preparation of their corresponding dipalmitoylphosphatidylethanolamine derivatives (8, 12, and 17). Such phospholipid amide derivatives were aimed to be incorporated into the bilayers of liposomal constructs used for immunization with e.g. synthetic peptides. The spacer arms introduced by 8, 12, and 17 are hydrophilic polyoxyethylene chains of variable lengths that were expected to provide a good accessibility to their conjugates and have a lesser intrinsic immunogenicity than the spacer introduced by N-[4-(p-maleimidophenyl)butyryl]phosphatidylethanolamine (MPB-PE), a classical reagent used for conjugation of ligands to the surface of liposomes. Such an immunogenicity might be prejudicial (e.g. carrier-induced epitopic suppression) to the development of synthetic vaccination formulations. Moreover, the derivatives 8, 12, and 17 allowed the coupling of peptides, bearing a thiol function, to their liposomal carrier via two types of linkages, i.e. stable thio ether (8 and 12) and bioreducible disulfide (17) bonds; this might be of importance in the mechanism of antigen presentation by competent cells. Using CG-IRGERA as a model peptide, the rate of coupling to 8, 12, and 17 was assessed as a function of pH.

Acetates↗

Differential reactivity of maleimide and bromoacetyl functions with thiols: application to the preparation of liposomal diepitope constructs.

The comparative reactivity of maleimide and bromoacetyl groups with thiols (2-mercaptoethanol, free cysteine, and cysteine residues present at the N-terminus of peptides) was investigated in aqueous media. These studies were performed (i) with water-soluble functionalized model molecules, i.e., polyoxyethylene-based spacer arms that could also be coupled to lipophilic anchors destined to be incorporated into liposomes, and (ii) with small unilamellar liposomes carrying at their surface these thiol-reactive functions. Our results indicate that an important kinetic discrimination (2-3 orders of magnitude in terms of rate constants) can be achieved between the maleimide and bromoacetyl functions when the reactions with thiols are performed at pH 6.5. The bromoacetyl function which reacts at higher pH values (e.g., pH 9.0) retained a high chemoselectivity; i.e., under conditions where it reacted appreciably with the thiols of, e.g., HS-peptides, it did react with other nucleophilic functions such as alpha- and epsilon-amino groups or imidazole, which could also be present in peptides. This differential reactivity was applied to design chemically defined and highly immunogenic liposomal diepitope constructs as synthetic vaccines, i.e., vesicles carrying at their surface two different peptides conjugated each to a specific amphiphilic anchor. This was realized by coupling sequentially at pH 6.5 and 9.0 two HS-peptides to preformed vesicles containing lipophilic anchors functionalized with maleimide and bromoacetyl groups [Boeckler, C., et al. (1999) Eur. J. Immunol. 29, 2297-2308].

Acetates↗