Biomedical subjects
H Dalton
Publications and source records attributed to H Dalton.
The iron form of methane mono-oxygenase and its mode of action.
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Direct electrochemistry of the hydroxylase of soluble methane monooxygenase from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath).
The redox properties of the hydroxylase component of soluble methane monooxygenase from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) have been thoroughly investigated. Previous studies used redox indicator titrations and spectroscopic methods for the determination of the concentrations of reduced species. Herein we report, for the first time, direct electrochemistry (i.e. without the use of mediators) of the diiron centers of the hydroxylase from M. capsulatus (Bath) at a modified gold electrode giving rise to two waves at 4(+/- 10) mV and -386(+/- 14) mV versus saturated calomel electrode (SCE). In addition, the effects of proteins B and B' on the redox reactions were determined. The redox potentials of the complex with protein B are -25(+/- 14) mV and -433(+/- 8) mV versus SCE whereas protein B' had no effect though it did alter the effect of protein B on the redox potentials.
Calf's lung surfactant extract in acute hypoxemic respiratory failure in children.
OBJECTIVE: Open-label trial of the safety and short-term efficacy of calf's lung surfactant in pediatric respiratory failure. DESIGN: Multi-institutional, uncontrolled, observational trial. SETTING: Six pediatric intensive care units of tertiary medical centers. PATIENTS: Twenty-nine children with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, characterized by diffuse, bilateral, pulmonary infiltrates, need for ventilator support, and an oxygenation index of > or = 7. INTERVENTIONS: Up to four doses of intratracheal surfactant (80 mL/m2). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Ventilator parameters, arterial blood gases, and derived oxygenation and ventilation indices were recorded before, and at intervals after, surfactant administration. Complications and outcome measures were also noted. There was immediate improvement in oxygenation and moderation of ventilator support associated with surfactant administration in 24 of 29 patients. A modest but statistically insignificant effect was seen with subsequent doses. The only complications occurred in three patients who developed airleaks, two of which were coincident with surfactant administration. The overall mortality rate was 14%, which compares favorably with other published series. CONCLUSIONS: Administration of calf's lung surfactant appears to be safe and is associated with rapid improvement in oxygenation and moderation of ventilator support in children with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. These results set the stage for a randomized, controlled study.
Heat-tolerant methanotrophic bacteria from the hot water effluent of a natural gas field.
Methanotrophic bacteria were isolated from a natural environment potentially favorable to heat-tolerant methanotrophs. An improved colony plate assay was developed and used to identify putative methanotrophic colonies with high confidence. Fourteen new isolates were purified and partially characterized. These new isolates exhibit a DNA sequence homology of up to 97% with the conserved regions in the mmoX and mmoC genes of the soluble methane monooxygenase (MMO)-coding gene cluster of Methylococcus capsulatus Bath. The copper regulation of soluble MMO expression in the same isolates, however, differs from that of M. capsulatus Bath, as the new isolates can tolerate up to 0.8 microM copper without loss of MMO activity while a drastic reduction of MMO activity occurs already at 0.1 microM copper in M. capsulatus Bath. The isolates can be cultivated and utilized at elevated temperatures, and their copper- and heat-tolerant MMO activity makes these bacteria ideal candidates for future biotechnological use.
Further evidence for multiple pathways in soluble methane-monooxygenase-catalysed oxidations from the measurement of deuterium kinetic isotope effects.
The data from the deuterium isotope experiments in this study show that the primary kinetic isotope effect for methane oxidation catalysed by soluble methane monooxygenase from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) is very small, < 2. In contrast, the primary kinetic isotope effect for -CH3 group oxidation in toluene is large, > 7. A mechanistic pathway in which a substrate radical is formed from hydrogen atom abstraction by a ferryl species is believed to operate for CH4, the toluene -CH3 group and similar alkanes. Direct oxygen atom addition, rather than H atom abstraction, is indicated for aromatic ring oxidations in benzene and toluene and for styrene oxide formation from styrene. Thus, more than one mechanistic pathway appears to operate in soluble methane-monooxygenase-catalysed reactions and, in some cases, the pathway chosen may be dictated by the substrate. In the soluble methane-monooxygenase-catalysed oxidation of toluene the rates of: (a) substrate dissociation from the enzyme-substrate complex, (b) product formation and (c) product release (benzyl alcohol and p-cresol) from the enzyme-product complex are comparable in magnitude. Therefore all three of these steps are partially rate-determining in the soluble methane monooxygenase catalytic cycle for toluene oxidation.
Chemical modification of the hydroxylase of soluble methane monooxygenase gives one form of the protein with significantly increased thermostability and another that functions well in organic solvents.
Proteolysis of the hydroxylase component of soluble methane monooxygenase (MMO) with trypsin yielded a protein which retained 50% activity in a standard MMO assay. In an H2O2-driven assay, in which H2O2 replaced two of the protein components, NADH and O2 used in the standard assay, the proteolysed hydroxylase retained full activity for ethane, propane and propene, but had a 2-3-fold increase with methane as substrate. Several crosslinking reagents have been tested for their ability to stabilise the proteolysed form of the hydroxylase. Using polyoxyethylene bis(imidazolyl carbonyl) (M(r) 3350) as the crosslinking agent, increased thermostability of the hydroxylase was observed. Activated methoxypolyethylene glycol (M(r) 5000) was used to modify the hydroxylase which was now soluble in organic solvents as well as water and could be activated by H2O2. The glycol-modified hydroxylase functioned well in organic solvents in the catalysis of propene oxidation.
Variations on a theme of Fe-O-Fe proteins.
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Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for pediatric respiratory failure: five-year experience at the University of Pittsburgh.
OBJECTIVES: To describe the etiology, respiratory severity of illness, and outcome in patients with pediatric respiratory failure who were treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). To identify predictors of death, and to compare our morbidity and mortality rates with those rates of a previously reported series of patients with pediatric respiratory failure managed conventionally. DESIGN: Survey, case series. SETTING: Intensive care unit in a tertiary care pediatric hospital. PATIENTS: Twenty-eight pediatric patients (3 wks to 20 yrs of age) who underwent ECMO for pediatric respiratory failure between 1985 and 1991. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Thirteen (46%) of the 28 patients survived. The most common diagnoses were adult respiratory distress syndrome and nonspecific pneumonitis. Multiple organ system failure occurred in only four (14%) patients; most patients died of respiratory failure. The occurrence of persistent airleak during ECMO was significantly greater in nonsurvivors than in survivors. Furthermore, nonsurvivors had significantly less response to lung reexpansion maneuvers compared with survivors, as measured by a calculated compliance index (effective tidal volume/mean airway pressure x 100). The mortality rate was comparable with those rates of other published studies of conventionally managed and ECMO-treated patients with pediatric respiratory failure. Moreover, our patients appeared to exhibit more severe respiratory failure at the start of ECMO than those patients in other studies. CONCLUSIONS: ECMO appears to be a rational therapy for patients with pediatric respiratory failure who are likely to die with continued conventional management. Recovery of lung function by the end of the first week of ECMO may be a favorable prognostic indicator. Persistent airleak may be a nonfavorable prognostic indicator.
Abduction of iron(III) from the soluble methane monooxygenase hydroxylase and reconstitution of the binuclear site with iron and manganese.
The apo-form of the soluble methane monooxygenase hydroxylase from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) was prepared via chelation of iron(III) with 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde. The apohydroxylase was reconstituted by the anaerobic addition of Fe(II) followed by air oxidation. The enzyme thus prepared regained 85-90% of its original catalytic activity. The incorporation of two manganese(II) ions/mol of apohydroxylase was monitored by EPR spectroscopy. The Mn(II) ions occupy the native diiron active site and remain in the +2 oxidation state. The EPR data suggest strong coupling between the two Mn(II) ions and retention of the mu-hydroxo (alkoxo) bridge. The results of this study indicate that the M. capsulatus (Bath) hydroxylase contains a single diiron site.
19F NMR study of the interaction of fluoride ion with ribonucleotide reductase and methane monooxygenase.
The relaxation rates of fluoride, determined by 19F NMR spectroscopy, were greatly increased in the presence of protein Mn-A, the manganese form of the hydroxylase component of methane monooxygenase. This demonstrates that F- interacts with the manganese center of protein Mn-A. On the contrary, protein Mn-R2, the manganese form of the small subunit of ribonucleotide reductase, had no effect on the relaxation rate of F-. This reflects differences between the two proteins in terms of the accessibility of the metal ion sites, despite the strong similarities of these sites.
Activation of the hydroxylase of sMMO from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) by hydrogen peroxide.
Hydrogen peroxide can activate the non-heme binuclear iron-containing hydroxylase of soluble methane monooxygenase (sMMO) from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) in the catalysis of oxidation of methane and other sMMO substrates. The reductase, protein B, O2 and NADH are normally required for catalytic activity, but can be replaced by H2O2 serving as the source of both oxygen and electrons for the reaction. Similar results have been observed in a different strain of MMO from Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b (Andersson, K.K., Froland, W.A., Lee, S.-K. and Lipscomb, J.D. (1991) New J. Chem. 15, 410-415). The Km,app for H2O2 was found to be 66 mM. Labelled oxygen experiments show that the oxygen atom in the product in the peroxide driven system is derived from H2O2 and not O2. Using C2-C5 alkanes and 2-butene as substrates it was shown that the product distribution differed in the complete sMMO and H2O2-driven systems, indicating that more than one pathway is available to the enzyme. Protein B, which is required for catalytic activity in the complete system, was found to be an inhibitor of the hydroxylase/H2O2 system. It was also observed that protein B not only affected the activity, but also the selectivity of carbon hydroxylation with 2-methylbutane as substrate.
Mechanistic pathways in soluble methane mono-oxygenase.
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Pharmacokinetics and serum bactericidal titers of ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin following multiple oral doses in healthy volunteers.
Fourteen adult males participated in a randomized three-way crossover study to compare the pharmacokinetics and serum bactericidal titers (SBTs) of 500 mg of ciprofloxacin (regimen A), 750 mg of ciprofloxacin (regimen B), and 400 mg of ofloxacin (regimen C) administered every 12 h for seven doses. Mean steady-state peak concentrations in serum for regimens A, B, and C were 3.0, 4.4, and 6.5 micrograms/ml, respectively (P < 0.01, all comparisons) and mean half-lives were 4.5, 4.3, and 6.5 h, respectively (P < 0.05, C versus A and B). Mean steady-state areas under the concentration-time curve were 14.1, 21.1, and 48.1 micrograms/h/ml for regimens A, B, and C, respectively (P < 0.05, all comparisons). SBTs were determined at different times postdose for three isolates each of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Mean steady-state peak SBTs for regimens A, B, and C, respectively, were as follows: S. pneumoniae, < 1:2, 1:8, 1:8, S. aureus, 1:16, 1:16, 1:16; E. coli, 1: > or = 128, 1: > or = 128, 1:64; E. cloacae, 1: > or = 128, 1: > or = 128, 1:64; P. aeruginosa, 1:8, 1:8, 1:2. These differences in SBTs within each genus were statistically significant. The majority of predicted SBTs were within one dilution of measured SBTs. Areas under the serum bactericidal time curves for E. coli, E. cloacae, and P. aeruginosa were significantly higher for ciprofloxacin; areas under the serum bactericidal time curves for S. pneumoniae and S. aureus were significantly greater for ofloxacin. Ofloxacin achieved higher concentrations in serum than ciprofloxacin, but differences in in vitro activity were a more important determinant of SBTs.
Evidence for two histidine ligands at the diiron site of methane monooxygenase.
Circular dichroism spectroscopy has shown the hydroxylase component of methane monooxygenase to have a high helical content. The apoprotein has the same secondary structure as the holoenzyme. Chemical modification shows 12 histidines to be reactive with diethylpyrocarbonate in the holoenzyme, whereas 14 are reactive in the apoenzyme. Two histidine residues are implicated as iron ligands. Further chemical modification results suggest a cysteine residue is in close proximity to the diiron centre.
Biological methane activation involves the intermediacy of carbon-centered radicals.
The spin-trapping technique has demonstrated that carbon-centered radicals are produced during soluble-methane-monooxygenase catalysis of the hydroxylation of several different types of substrate. The resulting spin-adducts were identified from the hyperfine splitting constants in their EPR spectra. Isotopic labelling showed unequivocally that the trapped radicals were derived from substrate. The carbon-centered substrate radicals are believed to result from hydrogen-atom abstraction by a ferryl species in a cytochrome-P-450-like mechanism. No hydroxy radical nor an oxygen-based radical of any kind was detected in any of the spin-trapping experiments.
The active site structure of methane monooxygenase is closely related to the binuclear iron center of ribonucleotide reductase.
Methane monooxygenase (MMO) catalyses the biological transformation of methane to methanol at a binuclear iron site. Guided by the three-dimensional structure of the R2 protein of E. coli ribonucleotide reductase (RNR), we have aligned the sequences of two different MMOs with the sequences of the iron coordinating four helix bundle in R2. The model suggests that the central four helix bundle of R2 is present also in MMO. The iron coordination is similar in MMO and R2 with two histidine ligands and four carboxyl ligands in both cases. The residues lining the proposed oxygen binding site in MMO are significantly smaller in MMO than in R2 allowing binding of both molecular oxygen and methane at this site. This binding site is lined by residues Cys151, Thr213, Ile217 and Ile(Val)239.
Functional expression in Escherichia coli of proteins B and C from soluble methane monooxygenase of Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath).
Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) uses a soluble methane monooxygenase (sMMO) to catalyse the oxidation of methane to methanol. sMMO is comprised of three components; A, B and C. Protein C (the reductase) transfers electrons from NADH to protein A (the hydroxylase) which contains the active site, and protein B regulates this electron flow. The five genes encoding the sMMO proteins and their subunits are clustered and have been cloned in Escherichia coli. A DNA fragment containing mmoB, the gene encoding protein B, was subcloned into pT7-5, a plasmid of the T7 RNA polymerase promoter expression system. Upon induction, E. coli expressed protein B which was fully functional after purification. The gene encoding protein C, mmoC, was amplified with unique restriction sites at each end using the polymerase chain reaction and then subcloned into pT7-7 (a plasmid similar to pT7-5 but containing its own ribosome-binding site and ATG start codon). Protein C expressed in E. coli was also found to be functional. This is the first report of the functional expression of methanotroph methane monooxygenase genes in a heterologous host and represents a significant step forward in our analysis of the assembly and catalysis of sMMO.