Biomedical subjects

J Guy Guillemette

Publications and source records attributed to J Guy Guillemette.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Selective labeling of selenomethionine residues in proteins with a fluorescent derivative of benzyl bromide.

Benzyl bromide is used as a reagent for the selective modification of methionine residues in proteins. We here explored the suitability of the bromobenzyl moiety as a reactive group for the targeted fluorescent labeling of methionine and selenomethionine residues in proteins. A novel labeling reagent (N,N',N'-trimethyl-N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)- N'-(p-bromomethylbenzyl)-ethylenediamine, NBD-BBr) was synthesized and tested for reactivity with two model proteins containing single methionine or selenomethionine residues. The amounts of reagent and reactions times required for modification of methionine resulted in side reactions with other amino acid residues, a finding which was also confirmed for benzyl bromide itself. However, with selenomethionine, lower concentrations and shorter reaction times were sufficient for NBD-BBr modification. Under these conditions, labeling was confined to selenomethionine residues with one but not the other model protein. Where applicable, the protein labeling strategy characterized here is rapid and efficient. It should be useful in combination with cysteine-specific labeling if dual site-specific modification is desired.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2006

High level production of the Magnaporthe grisea fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase enzyme in Escherichia coli using a small volume bench-top fermentor.

The Class II fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase from the Rice Blast causative agent Magnaporthe grisea was subcloned in the Escherichia coli vector pT7-7. The enzyme was overexpressed using fed-batch fermentation in a small bench-top reactor. A total of 275 g of cells and 1.3 g of highly purified enzyme with a specific activity of 70 U/mg were obtained from a 1.5L culture. The purified enzyme is a homodimer of 39.6 kDa subunits with a zinc ion at the active site. Kinetic characterization indicates that the enzyme has a K(m) of 51 microM, a k(cat) of 46 s(-1), and a pH optimum of 7.8 for fructose 1,6-bisphosphate cleavage. The fermentation system procedure reported exemplifies the potential of using a lab-scale bioreactor for the large scale production of recombinant enzymes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2005

Dual-targeted labeling of proteins using cysteine and selenomethionine residues.

A new strategy for dual site-selective labeling of proteins that uses metabolically incorporated selenomethionine as a target for covalent modification by iodoacetamide derivatives, forming selenonium salts, is described. In the absence of free cysteine, labeling is specific and efficient. Dual-targeted labeling of a protein can be achieved with combinations of unique cysteine and methionine residues, if the cysteine is labeled first with a maleimide or another reagent that does not react with the selenomethionine. The method should be useful in biophysical applications such as fluorescence energy transfer.

Bacterial Proteins↗

PubMed2005

Analysis of slow-binding enzyme inhibitors at elevated enzyme concentrations.

The improvement in the characterization of slow-binding inhibitors achieved by performing experiments at elevated enzyme concentrations is presented. In particular, the characterization of slow-binding inhibitors conforming to a two-step mode of inhibition with a steady-state dissociation constant that is much lower than the initial dissociation constant with enzyme is discussed. For these systems, inhibition is rapid and low steady-state product concentrations are produced at saturating inhibitor concentrations. By working at elevated enzyme concentrations, improved signal-to-noise ratios are achieved and data may be collected at saturating inhibitor levels. Numerical simulations confirmed that improved parameter estimates are obtained and useful data to discern the mechanism of slow-binding inhibition are produced by working at elevated enzyme concentrations. The saturation kinetics that were unobservable in two previous studies of an enzyme inhibitor system were measured by performing experiments at an elevated enzyme concentration. These results indicate that consideration of the quality of the data acquired using a particular assay is an important factor when selecting the enzyme concentration at which to perform experiments used to characterize the class of enzyme inhibitors examined herein.

Enzyme Inhibitors↗

PubMed2005

Photocontrol of nitric oxide production in cell culture using a caged isoform selective inhibitor.

Over the past decade, multiphoton microscopy has progressed from a photonic novelty to a technique whose application is currently experiencing exponential growth in the biological sciences. A novel application of this technology with significant therapeutic potential is the control of drug activity by multiphoton photolysis of caged therapeutics. As an initial case study, the potent isoform selective inhibitor N-(3-(aminomethyl)benzyl) acetamidine (1400W) of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) has been conjugated to a caging molecule 6-bromo-7-hydroxy-4-hydroxyquinoline-2-ylmethyl acetyl ester (Bhc). Here we present the first report of a bulk therapeutic effect, inhibition of nitric oxide production, in mammalian cell culture by multiphoton photolysis of a caged drug, Bhc-1400W. Mouse macrophage RAW 264.7 cells induced with bacterial lipopolysaccharides to express iNOS were used to assess the therapeutic value of the conjugated inhibitor. Both 1400W and Bhc-1400W are stable in metabolically active cells and an optimal time interval for the photorelease of the inhibitor was determined. The ratios of the IC(50) values of Bhc-1400W over 1400W calculated in the presence of iNOS enzyme and in RAW 264.7 cell culture are 19 and 100, respectively, indicating that a broad therapeutic range exists in cell culture. Multiphoton uncaging protocols and therapeutic doses of inhibitors were not cytotoxic. Photocontrol of LPS induced nitric oxide production was achieved in mammalian cell culture using a single laser focal volume. This technology has the potential to control active drug concentrations in vivo, a lack of which is one of the main problems currently associated with systemic drug administration.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Validation and characterization of uninhibited enzyme kinetics performed in multiwell plates.

Several systematic errors may occur during the analysis of uninhibited enzyme kinetic data using commercially available multiwell plate reader software. A MATLAB program is developed to remove these systematic errors from the data analysis process for a single substrate-enzyme system conforming to Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Three experimental designs that may be used to validate a new enzyme preparation or assay methodology and to characterize an enzyme-substrate system, while capitalizing on the ability of multiwell plate readers to perform multiple reactions simultaneously, are also proposed. These experimental designs are used to (i) test for enzyme inactivation and the quality of data obtained from an enzyme assay using Selwyn's test, (ii) calculate the limit of detection of the enzyme assay, and (iii) calculate Km and Vm values. If replicates that reflect the overall error in performing a measurement are used, the latter two experiments may be performed with internal estimation of the error structure. The need to correct for the systematic errors discussed and the utility of the proposed experimental designs were confirmed by numerical simulation. The proposed experiments were conducted using recombinant inducible nitric oxide synthase preparations and the oxyhemoglobin assay.

Biochemistry↗

PubMed2004

Differential activation of nitric-oxide synthase isozymes by calmodulin-troponin C chimeras.

The interactions of neuronal nitric-oxide synthase (nNOS) with calmodulin (CaM) and mutant forms of CaM, including CaM-troponin C chimeras, have been previously reported, but there has been no comparable investigation of CaM interactions with the other constitutively expressed NOS (cNOS), endothelial NOS (eNOS), or the inducible isoform (iNOS). The present study was designed to evaluate the role of the four CaM EF hands in the activation of eNOS and iNOS. To assess the role of CaM regions on aspects of enzymatic function, three distinct activities associated with NOS were measured: NADPH oxidation, cytochrome c reduction, and nitric oxide (*NO) generation as assessed by the oxyhemoglobin capture assay. CaM activates the cNOS enzymes by a mechanism other than stimulating electron transfer into the oxygenase domain. Interactions with the reductase moiety are dominant in cNOS activation, and EF hand 1 is critical for activation of both nNOS and eNOS. Although the activation patterns for nNOS and eNOS are clearly related, effects of the chimeras on all the reactions are not equivalent. We propose that cytochrome c reduction is a measure of the release of the FMN domain from the reductase complex. In contrast, cytochrome c reduction by iNOS is readily activated by each of the chimeras examined here and may be constitutive. Each of the chimeras were co-expressed with the human iNOS enzyme in Escherichia coli and subsequently purified. Domains 2 and 3 of CaM contain important elements required for the Ca2+/CaM independence of *NO production by the iNOS enzyme. The disparity between cytochrome c reduction and *NO production at low calcium can be attributed to poor association of heme and FMN domains when the bound CaM constructs are depleted of Ca2+. In general cNOSs are much more difficult to activate than iNOS, which can be attributed to their extra sequence elements, which are adjacent to the CaM-binding site and associated with CaM control.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2004

Thermodynamics of oxidation-reduction reactions in mammalian nitric-oxide synthase isoforms.

The three mammalian nitric-oxide synthases produce NO from arginine in a reaction requiring 3 electrons per NO, which are supplied to the catalytic center from NADPH through reductase domains incorporating FAD and FMN cofactors. The isoforms share a common reaction mechanism and requirements for reducing equivalents but differ in regulation; the endothelial and neuronal isoforms are controlled by calcium/calmodulin modulation of the electron transfer system, while the inducible isoform binds calmodulin at all physiological Ca(2+) concentrations and is always on. The thermodynamics of electron transfer through the flavin domains in all three isoforms are basically similar. The major flavin states are FMN, FMNH., FMNH(2), FAD, FADH., and FADH(2). The FMN/FMNH. couple is high potential ( approximately 100 mV) in all three isoforms and is unlikely to be catalytically competent; the other three flavin couples form a nearly isopotential group clustered around -250 mV. Reduction of the flavins by the pyridine nucleotide couple at -325 mV is thus moderately thermodynamically favorable. The ferri/ferroheme couple in all three isoforms is approximately -270 mV in the presence of saturating arginine. Ca(2+)/calmodulin has no effect on the potentials of any of the couples in endothelial nitric-oxide synthase (eNOS) or neuronal nitric-oxide synthase (nNOS). The pH dependence of the flavin couples suggests the presence of ionizable groups coupled to the flavin redox/protonation states.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

The difluoromethylene group as a replacement for the labile oxygen in steroid sulfates: a new approach to steroid sulfatase inhibitors.

Several estrone sulfate and estradiol sulfate analogues, in which the sulfate group was replaced with an alpha,alpha-difluoromethylenesulfonate group or an alpha,alpha-difluoromethylenetetrazole group, were examined as inhibitors of steroid sulfatase (STS). These compounds were 4.5-10.5 times more potent than their non-fluorinated analogues. Moreover, the presence of the fluorines changed the mode of inhibition from mixed to competitive. The inhibitor bearing the alpha,alpha-difluoromethylenetetrazole group exhibited an affinity for STS approaching that of the natural STS substrate, estrone sulfate. Possible reasons for the enhanced affinity of the fluorinated compounds compared to their non-fluorinated counterparts are discussed.

Dose-Response Relationship, Drug↗

PubMed2004

Molecular cloning, expression, purification, and characterization of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis--a novel Class II A tetramer.

The Class II fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (fda, Rv0363c) from the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37RV was subcloned in the Escherichia coli vector pT7-7 and purified to near homogeneity. The specific activity (35 U/mg) is approximately 9 times higher than previously reported for the enzyme partially purified from the pathogen. Attempts to express the enzyme with an N-terminal fusion tag yielded inactive, mostly insoluble protein. The native recombinant enzyme is zinc-dependent and has a catalytic efficiency for fructose 1,6-bisphosphate cleavage higher than most Class II aldolases characterized to date. The aldolase has a Km of 20 microM, a kcat of 21 s(-1), and a pH optimum of 7.8. The molecular mass of the enzyme subunits as determined by mass spectrometry is in agreement with the mass calculated on the basis of its gene sequence minus the terminal methionine, 36,413 Da. The enzyme is a homotetramer and retains only two zinc ions per tetramer when transferred to a metal-free buffer, as determined by ICP-MS and by a colorimetric assay using 4-(2-pyridylazo)-resorcinol (PAR) as a chelator. The E. coli expression system reported in this study will facilitate the further characterization of this enzyme and the screening for potential inhibitors.

Bacterial Proteins↗

PubMed2003

Activation of constitutive nitric oxide synthases by oxidized calmodulin mutants.

Several calmodulin (CaM) mutants were engineered in an effort to identify the functional implications of the oxidation of individual methionines in CaM on the activity of the constitutive isoforms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS). Site-directed mutagenesis was used to substitute the majority of methionines with leucines. Substitution of all nine methionine residues in CaM with leucines had minimal effects on the binding affinity or maximal enzyme activation for either the neuronal (nNOS) or endothelial (eNOS) isoform. Selective substitution permitted determination of the functional consequences of the site-specific oxidation of Met(144) and Met(145) on the regulation of electron transfer within nNOS and eNOS. Site-specific oxidation of Met(144) and Met(145) resulted in changes in the CaM concentration necessary for half-maximal activation of nNOS and eNOS, suggesting that these side chains are involved in stabilizing the productive association between CaM and NOS. However, the site-specific oxidation of Met(144) and Met(145) had essentially no effect on the maximal extent of eNOS activation in the presence of saturating concentrations of CaM. In contrast, the site-specific oxidation of Met(144) (but not Met(145)) resulted in a reduction in the level of nNOS activation that was associated with decreased rates of electron transfer within the reductase domain. Thus, nNOS and eNOS exhibit different functional sensitivities to conditions of oxidative stress that are expected to oxidize CaM. This may underlie some aspects of the observed differences in the sensitivities of proteins in vasculature and neuronal tissues to nitration that are linked to NOS activation and the associated generation of peroxynitrite.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2003

Synthesis and evaluation of trans 3,4-cyclopropyl L-arginine analogues as isoform selective inhibitors of nitric oxide synthase.

Four optically pure conformationally restricted L-arginine analogues syn- 1 and anti- 2 trans-3,4-cyclopropyl L-arginine, and syn- 3 and anti-trans-3,4-cyclopropyl N-(1-iminoethyl) L-ornithine 4 were synthesized. These compounds were tested as potential inhibitors against the three isoforms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS). Compound 1 was determined to be a poor substrate of NOS, while compound 2 was determined to be a poor mixed type inhibitor and did not exhibit any isoform selectivity. Syn- 3 and anti-trans-3,4-cyclopropyl N-(1-iminoethyl) L-ornithine 4 were found to be competitive inhibitors of NOS. These compounds were time dependent inhibitors of inducible NOS (iNOS), but not of neuronal NOS (nNOS) or endothelial NOS (eNOS). Compound 3 was 10- to 100-fold more potent an inhibitor than 4, exhibited a 5-fold increase in nNOS/iNOS and eNOS/iNOS selectivity over 4, and displayed tight binding characteristics against iNOS. These results indicate that the relative configuration of the cyclopropyl ring in the L-arginine analogues significantly affects their inhibitory potential and NOS isoform selectivity.

Arginine↗

PubMed2002

Synthesis of syn and anti isomers of trans-cyclopropyl arginine.

There is currently considerable interest in arginine and its structural analogues in the context of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) substrates and inhibitors. Of particular interest are conformationally constrained arginine analogues used to probe the active sites of the three NOS isoforms. A simple procedure is described for the preparation of syn- and anti-trans-cyclopropyl arginine starting from the alpha-OBO-protected Cbz-dehydroglutamate. Cyclopropanation is effected by diazomethane addition followed by irradiation of the resulting pyrazoline and gives a 3:1 mixture of syn:anti isomers that can be separated by crystallization. Reduction of the ester to the alcohol followed by guanylation gives the fully protected cyclopropyl arginine analogues. The CBZ protecting groups are removed by hydrogenolysis and the OBO by mild acid treatment followed by base hydrolysis.

Arginine↗

PubMed2002

Increasing the redox potential of isoform 1 of yeast cytochrome c through the modification of select haem interactions.

The oxidation-reduction potential of eukaryotic cytochromes c varies very little from species to species. We have introduced point mutations into isoform 1 of yeast cytochrome c (iso-1-cytochrome c) to selectively engineer a protein with a higher redox potential. Of the ten different mutant proteins generated for the present investigation Y67R, Y67K and W59H were found to be non-functional. Three other mutant proteins, L32M, L32T and T49K, were functional, but too unstable for biophysical studies. Mutant cytochromes c K79S, K79T, Y48H and Y48K were purified and characterized. The Y48K mutant is the only one that exhibits a significant increase of +117 mV in redox potential compared with the wild-type protein while still supporting oxidative phosphorylation in vivo. Low temperature difference spectroscopy confirmed the formation of the holoprotein, while adsorption and CD spectroscopy reveal perturbations in the structure of Y48K iso-1-cytochrome c.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2002

Photo-control of nitric oxide synthase activity using a caged isoform specific inhibitor.

Nitric oxide (NO) plays a critical role in a number of physiological processes and is produced in mammalian cells by nitric oxide synthase (NOS) isozymes. Because of the diverse functions of NO, pharmaceutical interventions which seek to abrogate adverse effects of excess NOS activity must not interfere with the normal regulation of NO levels in the body. A method has been developed for the control of NOS enzyme activity using the localized photochemical release of a caged isoform-specific NOS inhibitor. The caged form of an iNOS inhibitor has been synthesized and tested for photosensitivity and potency. UV and multiphoton uncaging were verified using a hemoglobin-based assay. IC(50) values were determined for the inhibitor (70+/-11 nM), the caged inhibitor (1098+/-172 nM), the UV uncaged inhibitor (67+/-26 nM) and the multiphoton uncaged inhibitor (73+/-11 nM). UV irradiation of the caged inhibitor resulted in a 86% reduction in iNOS activity after 5 min. Multiphoton uncaging had an apparent first order time constant of 0.007+/-0.001 min(-1). A therapeutic range exists, with molar excess of inhibitor to enzyme from 3- to 7-fold, over which the full dynamic range of the inhibition can be exploited.

Amidines↗

PubMed2002

Probing electrostatic interactions in cytochrome c using site-directed chemical modification.

This communication reports the generation of an electrostatic probe using chemical modification of methionine side chains. The alkylation of methionine by iodoacetamide was achieved in a set of Saccharomyces cerevisiae iso-1-cytochrome c mutants, introducing the nontitratable, nondelocalized positive charge of a carboxyamidomethylmethionine sulfonium (CAMMS) ion at five surface and one buried site in the protein. Changes in redox potential and its variation with temperature were used to calculate microscopic effective dielectric constants operating between the probe and the heme iron. Dielectric constants (epsilon) derived from deltadeltaG values were not useful due to entropic effects, but epsilon(deltadeltaH) gave results that supported the theory. The effect on biological activity of surface derivatization was interpreted in terms of protein-protein interactions. The introduction of an electrostatic probe in cytochrome c often resulted in marked effects on activity with one of two physiological partners: cytochrome c reductase, especially if introduced at position 65, and cytochrome c oxidase, if at position 28.

Alkylation↗