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Palmer Taylor

Publications and source records attributed to Palmer Taylor.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Direct analysis of the kinetic profiles of organophosphate-acetylcholinesterase adducts by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

A sensitive matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry procedure has been established for the detection and quantitation of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition by organophosphate (OP) compounds. Tryptic digests of purified recombinant mouse AChE (mAChE) were fractionally inhibited by paraoxon to form diethyl phosphoryl enzyme. The tryptic peptide of mAChE that contains the active center serine residue resolves to a molecular mass of 4331.0 Da. Phosphorylation of the enzyme by paraoxon results in covalent modification of the active center serine and a corresponding increase in molecular mass of the tryptic peptide by 136 Da. The relative abundance of AChE peptides containing a modified active center serine strongly correlates with the fractional inhibition of the enzyme, achieving a detection range of phosphorylated to nonphosphorylated enzyme of 5-95%. Modifications of AChE by OP compounds resulting in dimethyl, diethyl, and diisopropyl phosphoryl adducts have been monitored with subpicomole amounts of enzyme. The individual phosphorylated adducts of AChE that result from loss of one alkyl group from the inhibited enzyme (the aging reaction) and the reappearance of unmodified AChE (spontaneous reactivation) have been resolved by the kinetic profiles and relative abundance of species. Further, the tryptic peptide containing the active center serine of AChE, isolated from mouse brain by anion-exchange and affinity chromatography, has been monitored by mass spectrometry. Native brain AChE, purified from mice treated with sublethal doses of metrifonate, has demonstrated that enzyme modifications resulting from OP exposure can be detected in a single mouse brain. For dimethyl phosphorylated AChE, OP exposure has been monitored by the ratio of tryptic peptide peaks that correspond to unmodified (uninhibited and/or reactivated), inhibited, and aged enzyme.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed2003

Differentiation between acetylcholinesterase and the organophosphate-inhibited form using antibodies and the correlation of antibody recognition with reactivation mechanism and rate.

Two types of polyclonal antibodies were generated from (a) a decapeptide sequence that includes the active site serine of acetylcholinesterase (anti-AChE10S) and (b) the identical decapeptide sequence phosphorylated at the active site serine of acetylcholinesterase (anti-AChE10SP). The anti-AChE10S antiserum was found to specifically recognize native, control, and vehicle-treated recombinant mouse AChE (rMoAChE) but did not recognize rMoAChE that was phosphorylated by the four organophosphate (OP) compounds tested. Conversely the anti-AChE10SP antiserum recognized phosphoserine rMoAChE that resulted from reaction with phosphorous oxychloride (POCl3) but did not recognize native or vehicle-treated rMoAChE. Anti-AChE10SP also did not recognize OP-AChE conjugates that resulted from the reaction of rMoAChE with other OP compounds that afford neutral or monoanionic phosphoserine groups thereby indicating a high specificity for a precise OP conjugate. Antisera recognition correlated well with the rates of enzyme inhibition, aging, and oxime-induced reactivation indicating these antisera can both quantify the extent and type of inhibition and also differentiate between select mechanisms of inhibition. The ability to discern mechanistic differences between native AChE and OP-AChE conjugates suggests that these antisera can be used to identify biomarkers of OP exposure in a mechanism-based approach.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed2003

Two possible orientations of the HI-6 molecule in the reactivation of organophosphate-inhibited acetylcholinesterase.

The inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) by organophosphorus compounds (OPs) causes acute toxicity or death of the intoxicated individual. One group of these compounds, the OP nerve agents, pose an increasing threat in the world due to their possible use in the battlefield or terrorist acts. Antidotes containing oxime compounds to reactivate the inhibited enzyme are highly valued for treatment against OP poisoning. One of these reactivators, HI-6, was shown to be significantly more effective in treating soman toxicity than other oximes, such as 2-PAM, TMB4, and obidoxime. However, HI-6 was less effective in reactivating AChE inhibited by the OP pesticide, paraoxon. In this study, the mechanism for HI-6-induced reactivation of OP-AChE conjugates was investigated using mouse mutant AChEs inhibited with different OPs including organophosphate paraoxon, and several methylphosphonates. Results indicate that the HI-6 molecule may assume two different orientations in the reactivation of AChE inhibited by organophosphate and Sp methylphosphonates. These conclusions were further corroborated by reactivation studies using an analog of HI-6 in which the bispyridinium moieties are linked by a methylene bridge rather than an ether oxygen.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed2003

Acetylcholinesterase active centre and gorge conformations analysed by combinatorial mutations and enantiomeric phosphonates.

A series of eight double and triple mutants of mouse acetylcholinesterase (AChE; EC 3.1.1.7), with substitutions corresponding to residues found largely within the butyrylcholinesterase (BChE; EC 3.1.1.8) active-centre gorge, was analysed to compare steady-state kinetic constants for substrate turnover and inhibition parameters for enantiomeric methylphosphonate esters. The mutations combined substitutions in the acyl pocket (Phe(295)-->Leu and Phe(297)-->Ile) with the choline-binding site (Tyr(337)-->Ala and Phe(338)-->Ala) and with a side chain (Glu(202)--> Gln) N-terminal to the active-site serine, Ser(203). The mutations affected catalysis by increasing K (m) and decreasing k (cat), but these constants were typically affected by an order of magnitude or less, a relatively small change compared with the catalytic potential of AChE. To analyse the constraints on stereoselective phosphonylation, the mutant enzymes were reacted with a congeneric series of S (P)- and R (P)-methylphosphonates of known absolute stereochemistry. Where possible, the overall reaction rates were deconstructed into the primary constants for formation of the reversible complex and intrinsic phosphonylation. The multiple mutations greatly reduced the reaction rates of the more reactive S (P)-methylphosphonates, whereas the rates of reaction with the R (P)-methylphosphonates were markedly enhanced. With the phosphonates of larger steric bulk, the enhancement of rates for the R (P) enantiomers, coupled with the reduction of the S (P) enantiomers, was sufficient to invert markedly the enantiomeric preference. The sequence of mutations to enlarge the size of the AChE active-centre gorge, resembling in part the more spacious gorge of BChE, did not show an ordered conversion into BChE reactivity as anticipated for a rigid template. Rather, the individual aromatic residues may mutually interact to confer a distinctive stereospecificity pattern towards organophosphates.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed2003

Nanosecond dynamics of the mouse acetylcholinesterase cys69-cys96 omega loop.

The paradox of high substrate turnover occurring within the confines of a deep, narrow gorge through which acetylcholine must traverse to reach the catalytic site of acetylcholinesterase has suggested the existence of transient gorge enlargements that would enhance substrate accessibility. To establish a foundation for the experimental study of transient fluctuations in structure, site-directed labeling in conjunction with time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy were utilized to assess the possible involvement of the omega loop (Omega loop), a segment that forms the outer wall of the gorge. Specifically, the flexibility of three residues (L76C, E81C, and E84C) in the Cys69-Cys96 Omega loop and one residue (Y124C) across the gorge from the Omega loop were studied in the absence and presence of two inhibitors of different size, fasciculin and huperzine. Additionally, to validate the approach molecular dynamics was employed to simulate anisotropy decay of the side chains. The results show that the Omega loop residues are significantly more mobile than the non-loop residue facing the interior of the gorge. Moreover, fasciculin, which binds at the mouth of the gorge, well removed from the active site, decreases the mobility of 5-((((2-acetyl)amino)ethyl)amino)naphthalene-1-sulfonic acid reporter groups attached to L76C and Y124C but increases the mobility of the reporter groups attached to E81C and E84C. Huperzine, which binds at the base of active-site gorge, has no effect on the mobility of reporter groups attached to L76C and Y124C but increases the mobility of the reporter groups attached to E81C and E84C. Besides showing that fluctuations of the Omega loop residues are not tightly coupled, the results indicate that residues in the Omega loop exhibit distinctive conformational fluctuations and therefore are likely to contribute to transient gorge enlargements in the non-liganded enzyme.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed2003

Curariform antagonists bind in different orientations to acetylcholine-binding protein.

Acetylcholine-binding protein (AChBP) recently emerged as a prototype for relating structure to function of the ligand binding domain of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs). To understand interactions of competitive antagonists at the atomic structural level, we studied binding of the curare derivatives d-tubocurarine (d-TC) and metocurine to AChBP using computational methods, mutagenesis, and ligand binding measurements. To account for protein flexibility, we used a 2-ns molecular dynamics simulation of AChBP to generate multiple snapshots of the equilibrated dynamic structure to which optimal docking orientations were determined. Our results predict a predominant docking orientation for both d-TC and metocurine, but unexpectedly, the bound orientations differ fundamentally for each ligand. At one subunit interface of AChBP, the side chain of Tyr-89 closely approaches a positively charged nitrogen in d-TC but is farther away from the equivalent nitrogen in metocurine, whereas, at the opposing interface, side chains of Trp-53 and Gln-55 closely approach the metocurine scaffold but not that of d-TC. The different orientations correspond to approximately 170 degrees rotation and approximately 30 degrees degree tilt of the curare scaffold within the binding pocket. Mutagenesis of binding site residues in AChBP, combined with measurements of ligand binding, confirms the different docking orientations. Thus structurally similar ligands can adopt distinct orientations at receptor binding sites, posing challenges for interpreting structure-activity relationships for many drugs.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2003

Structural insights into ligand interactions at the acetylcholinesterase peripheral anionic site.

The peripheral anionic site on acetylcholinesterase (AChE), located at the active center gorge entry, encompasses overlapping binding sites for allosteric activators and inhibitors; yet, the molecular mechanisms coupling this site to the active center at the gorge base to modulate catalysis remain unclear. The peripheral site has also been proposed to be involved in heterologous protein associations occurring during synaptogenesis or upon neurodegeneration. A novel crystal form of mouse AChE, combined with spectrophotometric analyses of the crystals, enabled us to solve unique structures of AChE with a free peripheral site, and as three complexes with peripheral site inhibitors: the phenylphenanthridinium ligands, decidium and propidium, and the pyrogallol ligand, gallamine, at 2.20-2.35 A resolution. Comparison with structures of AChE complexes with the peptide fasciculin or with organic bifunctional inhibitors unveils new structural determinants contributing to ligand interactions at the peripheral site, and permits a detailed topographic delineation of this site. Hence, these structures provide templates for designing compounds directed to the enzyme surface that modulate specific surface interactions controlling catalytic activity and non-catalytic heterologous protein associations.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed2002

Nicotinic receptor gene cluster on rat chromosome 8 in nociceptive and blood pressure hyperresponsiveness.

Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) exhibit enhanced pressor, heart rate, and nociceptive responses to spinal nicotinic agonists. This accompanies a paradoxical decrease in spinal nicotinic receptor number in SHR compared with normotensive rats. The congenic strain, SHR-Lx, with an introgressed chromosome 8 segment from the normotensive Brown-Norway-Lx strain (BN-Lx) exhibits reduced blood pressure. This segment contains a gene cluster for three nicotinic receptor subunits expressed in the nervous system. We examined the implication of this gene cluster in the enhanced responsiveness of the SHR. Pressor and nociceptive responses to spinal cytisine, a nicotinic agonist, were diminished in SHR-Lx. Moreover, with repeated administration, these responses desensitized faster in SHR-Lx and progenitor BN-Lx than in progenitor SHR/Ola. This implicates the gene cluster in both cardiovascular and nociceptive responses to spinal nicotinic agonists. Since diminished responsiveness to agonist stimulation is greater than the basal blood pressure differences between the strains and the introgressed rat chromosome maps to a quantitative trait locus in human hypertension, polymorphisms in the three nicotinic receptor genes become candidates for altered central control of blood pressure.

Alkaloids↗
PubMed2002

Tryptophan fluorescence reveals conformational changes in the acetylcholine binding protein.

The recent characterization of an acetylcholine binding protein (AChBP) from the fresh water snail, Lymnaea stagnalis, shows it to be a structural homolog of the extracellular domain of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR). To ascertain whether the AChBP exhibits the recognition properties and functional states of the nAChR, we have expressed the protein in milligram quantities from a synthetic cDNA transfected into human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells. The protein secreted into the medium shows a pentameric rosette structure with ligand stoichiometry approximating five sites per pentamer. Surprisingly, binding of acetylcholine, selective agonists, and antagonists ranging from small alkaloids to larger peptides results in substantial quenching of the intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence. Using stopped-flow techniques, we demonstrate rapid rates of association and dissociation of agonists and slow rates for the alpha-neurotoxins. Since agonist binding occurs in millisecond time frames, and the alpha-neurotoxins may induce a distinct conformational state for the AChBP-toxin complex, the snail protein shows many of the properties expected for receptor recognition of interacting ligands. Thus, the marked tryptophan quenching not only documents the importance of aromatic residues in ligand recognition, but establishes that the AChBP will be a useful functional as well as structural surrogate of the nicotinic receptor.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed2002

Inhibitors of different structure induce distinguishing conformations in the omega loop, Cys69-Cys96, of mouse acetylcholinesterase.

We have shown previously that association of reversible active site ligands induces a conformational change in an omega loop (Omega loop), Cys(69)-Cys(96), of acetylcholinesterase. The fluorophore acrylodan, site-specifically incorporated at positions 76, 81, and 84, on the external portion of the loop not lining the active site gorge, shows changes in its fluorescence spectrum that reflect the fluorescent side chain moving from a hydrophobic environment to become more solvent-exposed. This appears to result from a movement of the Omega loop accompanying ligand binding. We show here that the loop is indeed flexible and responds to conformational changes induced by both active center and peripheral site inhibitors (gallamine and fasciculin). Moreover, phosphorylation and carbamoylation of the active center serine shows distinctive changes in acrylodan fluorescence spectra at the Omega loop sites, depending on the chirality and steric dimensions of the covalently conjugated ligand. Capping of the gorge with fasciculin, although it does not displace the bound ligand, dominates in inducing a conformational change in the loop. Hence, the ligand-induced conformational changes are distinctive and suggest multiple loop conformations accompany conjugation at the active center serine. The fluorescence changes induced by the modified enzyme may prove useful in the detection of organophosphates or exposure to cholinesterase inhibitors.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed2002

Residues in the epsilon subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor interact to confer selectivity of waglerin-1 for the alpha-epsilon subunit interface site.

Waglerin-1 (Wtx-1) is a 22-amino acid peptide that competitively antagonizes muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). Previous work demonstrated that Wtx-1 binds to mouse nAChRs with higher affinity than receptors from rats or humans, and distinguished residues in alpha and epsilon subunits that govern the species selectivity. These studies also showed that Wtx-1 binds selectively to the alpha-epsilon binding site with significantly higher affinity than to the alpha-delta binding site. Here we identify residues at equivalent positions in the epsilon, gamma, and delta subunits that govern Wtx-1 selectivity for one of the two binding sites on the nAChR pentamer. Using a series of chimeric and point mutant subunits, we show that residues Gly-57, Asp-59, Tyr-111, Tyr-115, and Asp-173 of the epsilon subunit account predominantly for the 3700-fold higher affinity of the alpha-epsilon site relative to that of the alpha-gamma site. Similarly, we find that residues Lys-34, Gly-57, Asp-59, and Asp-173 account predominantly for the high affinity of the alpha-epsilon site relative to that of the alpha-delta site. Analysis of combinations of point mutations reveals that Asp-173 in the epsilon subunit is required together with the remaining determinants in the epsilon subunit to achieve Wtx-1 selectivity. In particular, Lys-34 interacts with Asp-173 to confer high affinity, resulting in a DeltaDeltaG(INT) of -2.3 kcal/mol in the epsilon subunit and a DeltaDeltaG(INT) of -1.3 kcal/mol in the delta subunit. Asp-173 is part of a nonhomologous insertion not found in the acetylcholine binding protein structure. The key role of this insertion in Wtx-1 selectivity indicates that it is proximal to the ligand binding site. We use the binding and interaction energies for Wtx-1 to generate structural models of the alpha-epsilon, alpha-gamma, and alpha-delta binding sites containing the nonhomologous insertion.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2002

Current progress on esterases: from molecular structure to function.

This article reports on a symposium sponsored by the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and held at the April 2001 Experimental Biology meeting. Current developments in molecular-based studies into the structure and function of cholinesterases, carboxylesterases, and paraoxonases are described. This article covers mechanisms of regulation of gene expression of the various esterases by developmental factors and xenobiotics, as well as the interplay between physiological and chemical regulation of enzyme activity.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Identification of residues at the alpha and epsilon subunit interfaces mediating species selectivity of Waglerin-1 for nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.

Waglerin-1 (Wtx-1) is a 22-amino acid peptide that is a competitive antagonist of the muscle nicotinic receptor (nAChR). We find that Wtx-1 binds 2100-fold more tightly to the alpha-epsilon than to the alpha-delta binding site interface of the mouse nAChR. Moreover, Wtx-1 binds 100-fold more tightly to the alpha-epsilon interface from mouse nAChR than that from rat or human sources. Site-directed mutagenesis of residues differing in the extracellular domains of rat and mouse epsilon subunits indicates that residues 59 and 115 mediate the species difference in Wtx-1 affinity. Mutation of residues 59 (Asp in mouse, Glu in rat epsilon) and 115 (Tyr in mouse, Ser in rat epsilon) converts Wtx-1 affinity for the alpha-epsilon interface of one species to that of the other species. Studies of different mutations at position 59 indicate both steric and electrostatic contributions to Wtx-1 affinity, whereas at position 115, both aromatic and polar groups contribute to affinity. The human nAChR also has lower affinity for Wtx-1 than mouse nAChR, but unlike rat nAChR, residues in both alpha and epsilon subunits mediate the affinity difference. In human nAChR, polar residues (Ser-187 and Thr-189) confer low affinity, whereas in mouse nAChR aromatic residues (Trp-187 and Phe-189) confer high affinity. The overall results show that non-conserved residues at the nAChR binding site, although not crucial for activation by ACh, govern the potency of neuromuscular toxins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗