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Biomedical subjects

P G Schmidt

Publications and source records attributed to P G Schmidt.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Tenascin-C aptamers are generated using tumor cells and purified protein.

Tenascin-C (TN-C) is an extracellular matrix protein that is overexpressed during tissue remodeling processes, including tumor growth. To identify an aptamer for testing as a tumor-selective ligand, SELEX (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment) procedures were performed using both TN-C and TN-C-expressing U251 glioblastoma cells. The different selection techniques yielded TN-C aptamers that are related in sequence. In addition, a crossover procedure that switched from tumor cell to purified protein selections was effective in isolating two high-affinity TN-C aptamers. When targeting tumor cells in vitro, the observed propensity of naive oligonucleotide pools to evolve TN-C aptamers may be due to the abundance of this protein. In vivo, TN-C abundance may also be well suited for aptamer accumulation in the tumor milieu. A size-minimized and nuclease-stabilized aptamer, TTA1, binds to the fibrinogen-like domain of TN-C with an equilibrium dissociation constant (K(d)) of 5 x 10(-9) m. At 13 kDa, this aptamer is intermediate in size between peptides and single chain antibody fragments, both of which are superior to antibodies for tumor targeting because of their smaller size. TTA1 defines a new class of ligands that are intended for targeted delivery of radioisotopes or chemical agents to diseased tissues.

Animals↗

Fluorescence imaging studies for the disposition of daunorubicin liposomes (DaunoXome) within tumor tissue.

Unilamellar liposomes that retain their contents in the systemic circulation can alter the pharmacokinetics of anticancer agents in favorable ways. It has long been recognized that certain liposome compositions may increase the local drug concentration substantially above that achievable with a free drug. We report here that liposomes can alter the in vivo disposition of an entrapped drug not only on a macroscopic but also on a microscopic scale. We show through in vitro studies that intact liposomes composed of distearoylphosphatidylcholine and cholesterol and containing daunorubicin (DaunoXome) are taken up into P1798 tumor cells. These liposomes produce an enhanced cytotoxicity relative to the free drug for incubation times longer than about 8 h. For in vivo studies, we developed and used a noninvasive fluorescence imaging technique to follow the accumulation of liposomal daunorubicin within murine tumors. With this method, we show that the maximum concentration of the available liposomal drug in tumors exceeds that of the free drug, and additionally, liposomal daunorubicin persists at high levels for several days. Total liposome-delivered drug fluorescence from whole tumor extracts peaks at about 8 h. In comparison, the fluorescence intensity of daunorubicin demonstrate persistent high levels of daunorubicin fluorescence within cells and throughout the tumor masses. Free daunorubicin, in contrast, transiently achieves modest levels of fluorescence and rapidly drops to background within a few h. These results indicate distinct mechanisms for the localization of free and liposomal daunorubicin, suggesting that liposmal daunorubicin can provide sustained intracellular levels of the drug within the tumor.

Animals↗

Model studies directed toward the boron neutron-capture therapy of cancer: boron delivery to murine tumors with liposomes.

The successful treatment of cancer by boron neutron-capture therapy (BNCT) requires the selective concentration of boron-10 within malignant tumors. The potential of liposomes to deliver boron-rich compounds to tumors has been assessed by the examination of the biodistribution of boron delivered by liposomes in tumor-bearing mice. Small unilamellar vesicles with mean diameters of 70 nm or less, composed of a pure synthetic phospholipid (distearoyl phosphatidylcholine) and cholesterol, have been found to stably encapsulate high concentrations of water-soluble ionic boron compounds. The hydrolytically stable borane anions B10H10(2-), B12H11SH2-, B20H17OH4-, B20H19(3-), and the normal form and photoisomer of B20H18(2-) were encapsulated in liposomes as their soluble sodium salts. The tissue concentration of boron in tumor-bearing mice was measured at several time points over 48 h after i.v. injection of emulsions of liposomes containing the borane anions. Although the boron compounds used do not exhibit an affinity for tumors and are normally rapidly cleared from the body, liposomes were observed to selectively deliver the borane anions to tumors. The highest tumor concentrations achieved reached the therapeutic range (greater than 15 micrograms of boron per g of tumor) while maintaining high tumor-boron/blood-boron ratios (greater than 3). The most favorable results were obtained with the two isomers of B20H18(2-). These boron compounds have the capability to react with intracellular components after they have been deposited within tumor cells by the liposome, thereby preventing the borane ion from being released into blood.

Animals↗

Internal motions in yeast phenylalanine transfer RNA from 13C NMR relaxation rates of modified base methyl groups: a model-free approach.

Internal motions at specific locations through yeast phenylalanine tRNA were measured by using nucleic acid biosynthetically enriched in 13C at modified base methyl groups. Carbon NMR spectra of isotopically enriched tRNA(Phe) reveal 12 individual peaks for 13 of the 14 methyl groups known to be present. The two methyls of N2,N2-dimethylguanosine (m22G-26) have indistinguishable resonances, whereas the fourteenth methyl bound to ring carbon-11 of the hypermodified nucleoside 3' adjacent to the anticodon, wyosine (Y-37), does not come from the [methyl-13C]methionine substrate. Assignments to individual nucleosides within the tRNA were made on the basis of chemical shifts of the mononucleosides [Agris, P. F., Kovacs, S. A. H., Smith, C., Kopper, R. A., & Schmidt, P. G. (1983) Biochemistry 22, 1402-1408; Smith, C., Schmidt, P. G., Petsch, J., & Agris, P. F. (1985) Biochemistry 24, 1434-1440] and correlation of 13C resonances with proton NMR chemical shifts via two-dimensional heteronuclear proton-carbon correlation spectroscopy [Agris, P. F., Sierzputowska-Gracz, H., & Smith, C. (1986) Biochemistry 25, 5126-5131]. Values of 13C longitudinal relaxation (T1) and the nuclear Overhauser enhancements (NOE) were determined at 22.5, 75.5, and 118 MHz for tRNA(Phe) in a physiological buffer solution with 10 mM MgCl2, at 22 degrees C. These data were used to extract two physical parameters that define the system with regard to fast internal motion: the generalized order parameters (S2) and effective correlation times (tau e) for internal motion of the C-H internuclear vectors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Anticodon↗

Two-dimensional 1H NMR of three spin-labeled derivatives of bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor.

Three nitroxide spin-labeled monoderivatives of bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor were prepared with the amino-specific reagent succinimidyl 1-oxy-2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-3-pyrroline-3-carboxylate. The monoderivatives were purified by ion-exchange and affinity chromatography. Thin-layer maps of tryptic peptides of the monoderivatives showed that the spin-label was incorporated at either the alpha-amino group, Lys-15, or Lys-26. Two-dimensional J-correlated 1H NMR spectra of the monoderivatives were recorded. Spectra were also recorded after reduction by ascorbic acid of the nitroxide label to hydroxylamine. With the nitroxide label present, significant line-broadening effects on many of the cross peaks in the spectra were observed. The extent of line broadening for the C alpha H-NH cross peaks was qualitatively correlated with the distance between the labeled amino group and the average C alpha H-NH position in the crystal structure. The spin-label affects cross peaks of protons within approximately 15 A. This study suggests that it is feasible to accumulate sufficient intramolecular distances in order to determine protein solution structures with the aid of distance geometry algorithms.

Amino Acids↗

Inhibition of aspartic proteases by pepstatin and 3-methylstatine derivatives of pepstatin. Evidence for collected-substrate enzyme inhibition.

The synthesis of 10 analogues of pepstatin modified so that statine is replaced by 4-amino-3-hydroxy-3,6-dimethylheptanoic acid (Me3Sta) or 4-amino-3-hydroxy-3-methyl-5-phenylpentanoic acid (Me3AHPPA) residues is reported. Both the 3S,4S and 3R,4S diastereomers of each analogue were tested as inhibitors of the aspartic proteases, porcine pepsin, cathepsin D, and penicillopepsin. In all cases the 3R,4S diastereomer (rather than the 3S,4S diastereomer) of the Me3Sta and Me3AHPPA derivatives was found to be the more potent inhibitor of the aspartic protease (Ki = 1.5-10 nM for the best inhibitors), in contrast to the results obtained with statine (Sta) or AHPPA derivatives, where the 3S,4S diastereomer is the more potent inhibitor for each diastereomeric pair of analogues. The Me3Sta- and Me3AHPPA-containing analogues are only about 10-fold less potent than the corresponding statine and AHPPA analogues and 100-1000-fold more potent than the corresponding inhibitors lacking the C-3 hydroxyl group. Difference NMR spectroscopy indicates that the (3R,4S)-Me3Sta derivative induces conformational changes in porcine pepsin comparable to those induced by the binding of pepstatin and that the (3S,4S)-Me3Sta derivatives do not induce the difference NMR spectrum. These results require that the C-3 methylated analogues of statine-containing peptides must inhibit enzymes by a different mechanism than the corresponding statine peptides. It is proposed that pepstatin and (3S)-statine-containing peptides inhibit aspartic proteases by a collected-substrate inhibition mechanism. The enzyme-inhibitor complex is stabilized, relative to pepstatin analogues lacking the C-3 hydroxyl groups, by the favorable entropy derived when enzyme-bound water is returned to bulk solvent.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases↗

Identification of oxygen nucleophiles in tetrahedral intermediates: 2H and 18O induced isotope shifts in 13C NMR spectra of pepsin-bound peptide ketone pseudosubstrates.

The synthetic ketone peptide analogue of pepstatin, isovaleryl-L-valyl-[3-13C]-(3-oxo-4S)-amino-6-methylheptanoyl-L-al anyl-isoamylamide is a strong inhibitor of aspartyl proteases. When the peptide is added to porcine pepsin in H2O at pH 5.1, the 13C NMR chemical shift of the ketone carbon moves from 208 ppm for the inhibitor in solution to 99.07 ppm when bound to the enzyme active site. In 2H2O the bound shift is 98.71 ppm, 0.36 ppm upfield. For the analogous experiment contrasting H216O and H218O, the 13C chemical shift was 0.05 ppm to higher field for the heavier isotope. These data show that water, and not an enzyme nucleophile, adds to the peptide carbonyl to yield a tetrahedral diol adduct in the enzyme-catalyzed reaction, and provide a method for differentiating between covalent and non-covalent mechanisms.

Animals↗

Nuclear magnetic resonance signal assignments of purified [13C]methyl-enriched yeast phenylalanine transfer ribonucleic acid.

Yeast tRNA Phe, enriched in carbon-13 specifically at the naturally occurring methyl groups, has been produced through biosynthesis, then purified, and analyzed. Transfer RNA Phe was purified from the [13C]methyl-enriched, unfractionated tRNA that had been extracted from a methionine auxotroph of Saccharomyces cerevisiae [Agris, P. F., Kovacs, S. A. H., Smith, C., Kopper, R. H., & Schmidt, P. G. (1983) Biochemistry 22, 1402-1408]. The yeast had been grown in minimal medium supplemented with [13C]methylmethionine. Transfer RNA Phe purity and the full extent of nucleoside modification were confirmed by high-performance liquid chromatography of constituent nucleosides with simultaneous UV spectral identification and quantitation. Mass spectometry of [13C]methyl-enriched nucleosides and NMR of the tRNA indicated an enrichment of at least 70 atom %. Twelve resolved and prominent carbon-13 NMR signals from the tRNA were seen between 10 and 60 ppm. These have been assigned to 13 of the 14 naturally occurring methyl groups. However, the partially resolved signals assigned to the two 5-methylcytidines could not be assigned to their specific nucleoside positions of either 40 or 49 in the molecule. In addition, the partially resolved signals of the two methyl esters of wybutosine could not be distinguished. The methyl group found not to be enriched with 13C is bound to the ring carbon in the hypermodified nucleoside wybutosine (Y). A 13th enriched signal downfield (120.9 ppm) has been assigned to one of the two carbons added to guanosine to form the third ring in the biosynthesis of Y. The 13C enrichment of this ring carbon demonstrates its origin from the methionine methyl group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗

Effect of methemoglobin formation on the MR appearance of subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage has a much higher intensity in magnetic resonance (MR) images with the passage of time. Acute subarachnoid hemorrhage is difficult to see; within 1 week its appearance has become intensified on T1-weighted images. Different concentrations of blood and lysed red blood cells in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were examined spectroscopically but did not significantly alter T1 and T2 relaxation of CSF acutely. Ultraviolet visible spectroscopy of bloody CSF stored hypoxically for 3 days showed the presence of methemoglobin. The iron in methemoglobin is paramagnetic; in combination with water this facilitates T1 relaxation. It is concluded that methemoglobin formation with T1 shortening at least partially accounts for the increasing intensity of the MR appearance of subarachnoid hemorrhage over time in the central nervous system and may also explain the intense appearance of subacute hemorrhage in MR images elsewhere in the body.

Acute Disease↗

Distance measurements in spin-labeled lysozyme.

The single His-15 of hen egg lysozyme reacts with 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-(bromoacetamido)piperidinyl-1-oxy or 2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-3-(bromoacetamido)pyrrolidinyl-1-oxy to give a spin-labeled enzyme [Wien, R. W., Morrisett, J. D., & McConnell, H. M. (1972) Biochemistry 11, 3707-3716]. High-field 1H NMR spectra (300 and 500 MHz) of these species in 2H2O contain protein peaks selectively broadened by dipolar coupling to the unpaired electron spin. While usually difficult to discern in the spectrum itself, broadened resonances are revealed in difference spectra obtained by subtracting the original spectrum from one taken after reduction of the nitroxide radical with ascorbate. The heights of difference spectra peaks are related in a simple way to r-6, where r is the label to proton distance. These distances were used to solve for the location of the electron spin by using algorithms from distance geometry. The spin was found to lie in a hydrophobic groove between Phe-3 and Asp-87. These results demonstrate the feasibility of spin-labeling for accurate distance measurements in proteins through the use of distance geometry.

Amino Acids↗

Cathepsins B and H from porcine spleen. Purification, polypeptide chain arrangements, and carbohydrate content.

Procedures for the purification of cathepsins B and H from porcine spleens have been described. The purified porcine cathepsin B (Mr = 27,000) is predominantly a two-chain enzyme with a heavy chain (Mr = 22,000) and a light chain (Mr = 5,000). It also contains two minor forms of cathepsin B with different chain structures. Porcine cathepsin H is a single-chain enzyme with a molecular weight of 25,000. The carbohydrate analyses showed that these enzymes were glycoproteins. A glycopeptide containing 3 amino acids, 2 glucosamines, and 6 mannoses was isolated from cathepsin H. Proton NMR studies revealed that it contained a mixture of 4 high mannose-type of oligosaccharides characteristic of those found on lysosomal enzymes. The carbohydrate of cathepsin B consisted of a single residue of glucosamine and trace mannose. This sugar content is in agreement with the finding that about 80% of the porcine spleen cathepsin B contained a single N-acetylglucosamine while 20% of the enzyme contained a 5-sugar oligosaccharide (Takahashi, T., Schmidt, P. G. and Tang, J. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 6059-6062). Thus, the studies on carbohydrate contents also indicated the good purity of the enzymes.

Acetylglucosamine↗

Novel carbohydrate structures of cathepsin B from porcine spleen.

Two 13-residue glycopeptides were isolated from the digestion of purified porcine spleen cathepsin B by Staphylococcus aureus protease using high performance liquid chromatography. The major peptide, which is about 73% of the total, had the amino acid sequence His-His-Val-Asn(CH2O)-Gly-Ser-Arg-Pro-Pro-Cys-Thr-Gly-Glu. This peptide contains only a single N-acetylglucosamine residue linked to asparagine at the fourth residue by a beta-linkage. The minor peptide had a single amino acid replacement in a sequence otherwise identical to that of the major peptide. A serine was found at residue 10 instead of a half-cystine. The minor peptide also contains different carbohydrates, which were determined using proton NMR to be Man alpha 1----6 Man beta 1----4 GlcNAc beta 1----4(Fuc alpha 1----6)GlcNAc beta 1----n Asn. These results suggest that the cathepsin B carbohydrates are processed in vivo by enzymic systems specific to each isozyme.

Acetylglucosamine↗

Internal dynamics of transfer ribonucleic acid determined by nuclear magnetic resonance of carbon-13-enriched ribose carbon 1.

Carbon-13 enrichment of the C1' position of the ribose moiety in Escherichia coli tRNA has made possible the detailed study of motion in this molecule. Enrichment was accomplished in vivo with a strain, M1R, selected for growth and degree of incorporation of ribose in a stringently defined minimal medium. Purine biosynthesis de novo was blocked with 6-mercaptopurine. Exogenously provided [1-13C]ribose and nucleobases were utilized via the salvage pathway and were required for growth of culture. Carbon-13-enriched transfer RNA in solution at 30 degrees C exhibited a prominent, broad, asymmetric NMR signal at 91.5 ppm for the C1' carbon. Upon heat denaturation of the tRNA, three C1' signals were resolved and could be attributed to the base-specific nucleotides in tRNA: uridine and guanosine at 88.7 ppm; adenosine at 89.5 ppm; and cytidine at 90.6 ppm. Ribose C3' and C5' were partially enriched due to scrambling of ribose carbons in vivo. The minimum net isotopic enrichment of C1' was 33%. Values for the relaxation time T1 and the nuclear Overhauser enhancement (NOE) at 75.5, 67.8, and 25.2 MHz (13C), the NOE at 50.3 MHz, T2 at 75.5 MHz, and line widths over the range of 20-75.5 MHz were analyzed in light of several models for internal motion in macromolecules. The data were inconsistent with physically unreasonable constructs involving free internal diffusion of the C1'-H vector about the glycosidic bond. Internal diffusion (wobble) within a cone or jumps between states were models that did fit the data. For diffusion within a cone, the cone half-angle was 15-20 degrees, with a correlation time of about 2 X 10(-9) s for internal reorientation. With the two-state jump model, the half-angle for jumps about the glycosidic bond was 14 +/- 2 degrees with a lifetime of 2 X 10(-9) s.

Carbon Isotopes↗

Oligosaccharide units of lysosomal cathepsin D from porcine spleen. Amino acid sequence and carbohydrate structure of the glycopeptides.

The amino acid sequences near the glycosylation sites and the oligosaccharide structures have been determined for the lysosomal protease cathepsin D from porcine spleen. Cathepsin D light and heavy chains were separately digested with proteases and the glycopeptides were purified. A single sequence was constructed from the amino acid sequence of the light chain glycopeptides which is: Tyr-Asn-Ser-Gly-Lys-Ser-Ser-Thr-Tyr-Val-Lys-Asn(CH2O)-Gly-Thr-Thr-Phe. A single glycopeptide sequence was also obtained for the heavy chain: Lys-Gly-Ser-Leu-Asp-Tyr-His-Asn(CH2O)-Val-Thr-Arg-Lys-Ala-Tyr. The light chain sequence is homologous with the sequence of porcine pepsin from residues 56 to 71. The heavy chain sequence is homologous with the pepsin sequence from residues 176 to 189. Thus, the 2 oligosaccharide-linked asparagines in cathepsin D correspond to residues 67 and 183 in pepsin and other homologous aspartyl proteases. These positions are located on the surface of the crystal structures of aspartyl proteases. Five oligosaccharides linked to Asn-67 were separated and their structures determined with proton NMR. Four major oligosaccharides are structural variants from the high mannose-type having 3, 5, 6, and 7 mannoses, respectively. A minor structure contained a third GlcNAc. Three oligosaccharide structures were found linked to Asn-183. Two major oligosaccharides are of the high mannose-type each with 5 mannose residues. One of the two contains a fucose linked to a GlcNAc. A third, very minor oligosaccharide contains galactose.

Amino Acid Sequence↗