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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

TmrB protein, which confers resistance to tunicamycin on Bacillus subtilis, binds tunicamycin.

Overproduction of TmrB protein, a 22.5-kDa protein with an N-terminal ATP-binding region and a C-terminal amphiphilic alpha-helix, confers resistance to tunicamycin on Bacillus subtilis. TmrB protein was found to bind Sepharose 6B to which tunicamycin was covalently linked. Experiments with mutant proteins found that the C-terminal region of TmrB protein might be involved in the binding to tunicamycin.

Bacillus subtilis↗
PubMed1987

Biological and biochemical characterization of tunicamycin-resistant Leishmania mexicana: mechanism of drug resistance and virulence.

A parasitic protozoan, Leishmania mexicana amazonensis, was previously made resistant to tunicamycin (J.A. Kink and K.-P. Chang, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84:1253-1257, 1987). In the present study, six different tunicamycin-resistant variants were biologically and biochemically compared with their parental wild type to further delineate the mechanism of tunicamycin resistance and that of their virulence observed. In contrast to their parental wild type, all tunicamycin-resistant variants were found to grow and differentiate in tunicamycin-containing medium. The 50% lethal doses of tunicamycin for variants resistant to 10 or 80 micrograms of tunicamycin per ml were 20- and 100-fold higher, respectively, than that of the wild type. Specific activity of the microsomal N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphate transferase was 4- to 12-fold higher in the tunicamycin-resistant cells than in their parental wild type and tunicamycin-sensitive revertants. The level of the enzyme activity is proportional to the degree of drug resistance. Inhibition kinetics studies showed that the enzyme from all groups was equally sensitive to the drug, with a 50% effective concentration of 1 to 1.3 micrograms of tunicamycin per ml. Thus, tunicamycin resistance of the variants is caused primarily by an increased level of their enzyme without alteration of its structure. Protein glycosylation determined by the incorporation of 2-D-[3H]mannose was about twofold higher in the tunicamycin-resistant variants than in their parental wild type. The increased glycosyltransferase activity in the latter apparently renders their protein glycosylation insensitive to the inhibition by tunicamycin. A major membrane glycoprotein of 63 kilodaltons (gp63) on the leishmania surface was found to be about threefold higher in the tunicamycin-resistant variants than in the wild type, as determined by immunoprecipitation with a monoclonal antibody specific for this antigen. Tunicamycin treatment of the wild type and tunicamycin-resistant variants caused changes in the electrophoretic mobility of this molecule, indicating a higher degree of its glycosylation in the latter cells. The tunicamycin-resistant variants parasitized macrophages in vitro more effectively than did the wild type, accounting for their virulence seen in mice. Thus, a high level of the glycosyltransferase enables the tunicamycin-resistant cells not only to overcome the inhibitory effect of tunicamycin on protein glycosylation but also to express their virulence, possibly by regulating N glycosylation of leishmanial proteins critical for leishmanias to establish intracellular parasitism.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Inhibition of protein glycosylation and selective cytotoxicity toward virally transformed fibroblasts caused by B3-tunicamycin.

The biological effect of B3-tunicamycin, the only known homologue of tunicamycin which contains a saturated fatty-acid side chain, was examined using chick embryo fibroblasts, a mouse fibroblastic line (3T3) and a virally transformed mouse fibroblastic line (SV40-3T3). This homologue inhibited the transfer of N-acetylglucosamine 1-phosphate from UDP-N-acetylglucosamine to dolichyl phosphate, catalyzed by microsomes from chick liver or from cultured mouse fibroblasts. B3-tunicamycin also inhibited the incorporation of mannose into glycoproteins synthesized by chick or mouse fibroblasts. Incorporation of the amino acids proline and tyrosine was inhibited by B3-tunicamycin to a lesser extent than the incorporation of mannose. The mannose incorporation into glycoproteins synthesized by virally transformed cells was inhibited by B3-tunicamycin to a higher degree than what was achieved in the nontransformed lines or in the chick primary fibroblasts. When the activity of B3-tunicamycin as an inhibitor of protein glycosylation was compared to other homologues of tunicamycin, it was found to be the most active. This homologue caused complete (more than 95%) inhibition of protein glycosylation at a concentration of 50 ng/ml in chick and in mouse fibroblasts and at a concentration of 10 ng/ml in transformed mouse fibroblasts. When the cytotoxic activities of tunicamycin homologues were examined on nontransformed and virally transformed 3T3 cells, it was found that B3-tunicamycin displayed the highest selective cytotoxicity toward the transformed cells. When transformed fibroblasts (10(5) cells/plate) were treated with B3-tunicamycin (100 ng/ml) for 48 h, complete cell death was observed. The viability and the proliferative activity of the nontransformed fibroblast were normal even when treated with concentrations up to 500 ng/ml of B3-tunicamycin. This suggests that B3-tunicamycin may be a suitable candidate for studies of tumor growth in animals.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Tunicamycin increases desensitization of junctional and extrajunctional acetylcholine receptors expressed in Xenopus oocytes by a mechanism independent of N-glycosylation blocking.

Extrajunctional and junctional mouse muscle acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) expressed in Xenopus oocytes in the presence of tunicamycin desensitized more rapidly than the corresponding AChRs synthesized in the absence of tunicamycin. The two types of AChR expressed in non-tunicamycin-treated oocytes could be distinguished by their different rates of desensitization, but tunicamycin diminished this difference. The effect of tunicamycin on the AChR desensitization appeared to be reversible, and coapplication of tunicamycin with acetylcholine (ACh) also caused a similar effect on desensitization of these AChRs suggesting that the effect of tunicamycin was mediated by a mechanism independent of N-glycosylation blocking. In addition, tunicamycin increased the amplitude of membrane current elicited by application of lower doses of ACh and accelerated the rate of desensitization, which suggests that tunicamycin favors an open channel state and, therefore, accelerates transition towards a desensitized state. Tunicamycin also increased the membrane current decay elicited by ACh in oocytes expressing incomplete AChRs, missing the beta, gamma, epsilon, or delta subunits.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Selective cytotoxicity of purified homologues of tunicamycin on transformed BALB/3T3 fibroblasts.

The selective cytotoxicity of tunicamycin homologues against SV40-transformed 3T3 cells (SV40-3T3) was examined. Incubation of 3T3 or virally transformed 3T3 cells with four different homologues (A1, A2, B1, and B2 at 0.1 to 0.25 microgram/ml) caused detachment and death of transformed cells after 1 to 3 days, while the nontransformed cells were almost unaffected. Cytotoxicity against nontransformed cells occurred only when higher doses (at least 5-fold) of A2-, B1-, and B2-tunicamycins were used. In contrast, these homologues inhibited proliferation of 3T3 cells, even when doses of 0.5 microgram/ml were used. These cytotoxic effects are dose dependent, and maximal cytotoxicity of each homologue is achieved at a different concentration in each cell type. These results indicate that tunicamycin homologues have selective cytotoxicity against transformed cells. Incorporation of [3H]mannose into acid-precipitable macromolecules synthesized by transformed cells was strongly inhibited (70 to 75%) by A1- and B2-tunicamycins at 0.01 to 0.05 microgram/ml, while incorporation by 3T3 cells was not affected. At higher concentrations of the above tunicamycins (0.5 to 1 microgram/ml), [3H]mannose incorporation by both 3T3 and SV40-3T3 cells was inhibited more than 95%. In contrast, the effect of these tunicamycin homologues on protein synthesis in 3T3 and SV40-3T3 fibroblasts was less pronounced since the incorporation of amino acids was inhibited by approximately 20%. Very little inhibition of amino acid incorporation occurred when 3T3 or SV40-3T3 cells were treated with B2-tunicamycin. However, A1-tunicamycin inhibited [3H]proline incorporation and slightly increased [3H]tyrosine incorporation into cell layers of 3T3 cells. Examination of secreted proteins synthesized by these cells on sodium dodecyl sulfate:polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that both 3T3 and SV40-3T3 cells treated with homologues produced partially glycosylated macromolecules, such as procollagen and fibronectin, and failed to convert procollagen to collagen. Tunicamycin homologues also inhibited the N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphate transferase activity found in microsomes prepared from 3T3 and virally transformed 3T3 fibroblasts. The data presented indicate that the cytotoxic activity of purified homologues of tunicamycin against transformed fibroblasts might be due to the selective inhibition of glycosylation and to the differences in the membrane solubilities of the homologues.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Effect of tunicamycin on 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase in C-6 glial cells.

The effects of tunicamycin on 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase activity and cholesterol biosynthesis have been studied in cultured C-6 glial cells. Depending on culture conditions, exposure to tunicamycin caused either a marked inhibition of induction of HMG-CoA reductase activity or, under steady state conditions, a marked reduction in enzymatic activity. Incorporation of [14 C]acetate into sterols was affected similarly. After a 24-h exposure, a 50% reduction in reductase activity was observed with a concentration of 0.05 micrograms/ml, and a maximal, 65-70% reduction occurred with 0.10 micrograms/ml of the drug. The effect of tunicamycin on reductase activity and on sterol synthesis was apparent 4 h after addition of the drug and nearly maximal after 6 h. The relative specificity of the effect of tunicamycin was indicated by the finding of no change in the activities of NADPH-cytochrome c reductase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase, or fatty acid synthetase, in incorporation of [3H]leucine into total protein, or in the rate of increase in cellular protein and phospholipid at concentrations of tunicamycin that caused the marked effect on HMG-CoA reductase. The reversibility of the effect of tunicamycin was shown by observing total recovery of reductase activity within 24 h after removal of the drug following a 24-h exposure. That the effect of tunicamycin on reductase is related to the drug's effect on glycoprotein synthesis was shown in two ways. First, the range of concentrations over which tunicamycin led to the decrease in reductase activity was essentially identical with the range over which the drug led to a decrease in incorporation of [3H]mannose into protein. Second, incubation of C-6 cells with N-acetylglucosamine simultaneously with tunicamycin was accompanied by prevention of the drug's effect on both HMG-CoA reductase and glycoprotein synthesis. These data suggest that glycoprotein synthesis is necessary for the expression of HMG-CoA reductase activity and, thereby, cholesterol synthesis in glial cells. Moreover, a link between glycoprotein and cholesterol biosynthesis could play a role in the mediation of certain maturational events in cells of neural origin.

Acetylglucosamine↗
PubMed1982

Tunicamycin-resistant mutations in mouse FM3A cells.

Tunicamycin is an antibiotic that inhibits the oligosaccharide synthesis of glycoproteins. It greatly suppressed the growth of cultured mouse mammary carcinoma FM3A cells, when added to growth medium at concentrations of more than 0.1 microgram/ml. We have developed a single-step selection system for quantitatively detecting mutations resistant to the antibiotic in FM3A cells. Mutant colonies resistant to 1-1.2 micrograms tunicamycin per ml (the optimal concentration of the selecting agent) appeared at a frequency of 10(-4) to 10(-5) in an unmutagenized population, but they increased over 50-fold in the population mutagenized with 0.5 microgram N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) per ml for 2 h and selected under optimal conditions for the time of mutation expression and cell density in selective medium. Fluctuation analysis, by the method of Luria and Delbrück, revealed that tunicamycin-resistant mutations occurred at random during proliferation in normal medium at a rate of 1.2 x 10(-6) per cell per generation. So far 45 spontaneous and MNNG-induced mutant lines have been isolated and serially passaged in the absence of tunicamycin. These mutant lines all inherited their resistance for more than 60 generations. The mutants examined in detail were 12- to 26-fold more resistant than wild-type cells in terms of the D10 value, the concentration of tunicamycin reducing the plating efficiency to 10% of the control. In the hybrids between wild-type and mutant cells the tunicamycin resistance behaved in a co-dominant manner. Tunicamycin inhibited the incorporation of [3H]mannose into the acid-insoluble cell fraction; in this respect, mutant cells were over 30-fold more resistant than wild-type cells. Possible mechanisms of tunicamycin resistance are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Effect of tunicamycin on epidermal glycoprotein and glycosaminoglycan synthesis in vitro.

1. When pig ear skin slices were cultured for 18h in the presence of 1mug of tunicamycin/ml the incorporation of d-[(3)H]glucosamine into the epidermis, solubilized with 8m-urea/5% (w/v) sodium dodecyl sulphate, was inhibited by 45-55%. This degree of inhibition was not increased by using up to 5mug of tunicamycin/ml or by treating the skin slices with tunicamycin for up to 8 days. The incorporation of (U-(14)C)-labelled l-amino acids under these conditions was not affected by tunicamycin. Polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis indicated that the labelling of the major glycosaminoglycan peak with d-[(3)H]glucosamine was unaffected, whereas that of the faster migrating glycoprotein components was considerably decreased in the presence of tunicamycin. 2. Subcellular fractionation indicated that tunicamycin specifically inhibited the incorporation of d-[(3)H]glucosamine but not of (U-(14)C)-labelled l-amino acids into particulate (mainly plasma-membrane) glycoproteins by about 70%. The labelling of soluble glycoproteins was hardly affected. Polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis of the plasma-membrane fraction showed decreased d-[(3)H]glucosamine incorporation into all glycoprotein components, indicating that the plasma-membrane glycoproteins contained mainly N-asparagine-linked oligosaccharides. 3. Cellulose acetate electrophoresis of both cellular and extracellular glycosaminoglycans showed that tunicamycin had no significant effect on the synthesis of the major component, hyaluronic acid. However, the incorporation of both d-[(3)H]glucosamine and (35)SO(4) (2-) into sulphated glycosaminoglycans was inhibited by about 50%. This inhibition was partially overcome, at least in the cellular fraction, by 2mm-p-nitrophenyl beta-d-xyloside indicating that tunicamycin-treated epidermis retained the ability to synthesize sulphated glycosaminoglycan chains. Tunicamycin may affect the synthesis and/or degradation of proteoglycan core proteins or the xylosyltransferase. 4. Electron-microscopic examination of epidermis treated with tunicamycin for up to 4 days revealed no significant changes in cell-surface morphology or in epidermal-cell adhesion. Either N-asparagine-linked carbohydrates play little role in epidermal-cell adhesion or more probably there is little turnover of these components in epidermal adhesive structures such as desmosomes and hemidesmosomes during organ culture.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Tunicamycin inhibits ganglioside biosynthesis in neuronal cells.

The antibiotic tunicamycin blocks the transfer of GlcNAc-1-P from UDP-GlcNAc to dolichol phosphate, thereby blocking the synthesis of N-linked oligosaccharide chains on glycoproteins. Its effect on the biosynthesis of gangliosides has not been reported. We report that tunicamycin caused a 70-80% reduction in incorporation of [(3)H]GlcN into gangliosides and neutral glycosphingolipids of the neuroblastoma-glioma hybrid cell line NG 108-15 at antibiotic concentrations that caused a 90% reduction of the radiolabel incorporation into glycoproteins. The effect of tunicamycin on ganglioside biosynthesis was apparent after only 4 hr of incubation, and maximum inhibition was seen within 6 hr. When control or tunicamycin-treated (5 mug/ml) cells were collected and fractionated to separate glycoproteins, neutral glycosphingolipids, gangliosides, and nucleotide sugar-precursor pools, the following results were obtained: (i) UDP-GlcNAc and UDP-GalNAc pool sizes increased >3-fold, and specific activities decreased 50% upon treatment with tunicamycin; (ii) when corrected for this value, the percentage inhibition of GlcN incorporation into various glycoconjugates by tunicamycin in these cells was 82% for glycoproteins, 54% for neutral glycosphingolipids, and 50% for gangliosides; and (iii) the different gangliosides were affected differentially, with the most striking inhibition apparent in GM(3) biosynthesis, which was decreased 78% in the presence of tunicamycin. These data suggest that the effects of tunicamycin on glycosphingolipids as well as on glycoproteins must be considered when interpreting its effects on intact cells and organisms.

Acetylglucosamine↗
PubMed1994

Novel inhibitory action of tunicamycin homologues suggests a role for dynamic protein fatty acylation in growth cone-mediated neurite extension.

In neuronal growth cones, the advancing tips of elongating axons and dendrites, specific protein substrates appear to undergo cycles of posttranslational modification by covalent attachment and removal of long-chain fatty acids. We show here that ongoing fatty acylation can be inhibited selectively by long-chain homologues of the antibiotic tunicamycin, a known inhibitor of N-linked glycosylation. Tunicamycin directly inhibits transfer of palmitate to protein in a cell-free system, indicating that tunicamycin inhibition of protein palmitoylation reflects an action of the drug separate from its previously established effects on glycosylation. Tunicamycin treatment of differentiated PC12 cells or dissociated rat sensory neurons, under conditions in which protein palmitoylation is inhibited, produces a prompt cessation of neurite elongation and induces a collapse of neuronal growth cones. These growth cone responses are rapidly reversed by washout of the antibiotic, even in the absence of protein synthesis, or by addition of serum. Two additional lines of evidence suggest that the effects of tunicamycin on growth cones arise from its ability to inhibit protein long-chain acylation, rather than its previously established effects on protein glycosylation and synthesis. (a) The abilities of different tunicamycin homologues to induce growth cone collapse very systematically with the length of the fatty acyl side-chain of tunicamycin, in a manner predicted and observed for the inhibition of protein palmitoylation. Homologues with fatty acyl moieties shorter than palmitic acid (16 hydrocarbons), including potent inhibitors of glycosylation, are poor inhibitors of growth cone function. (b) The tunicamycin-induced impairment of growth cone function can be reversed by the addition of excess exogenous fatty acid, which reverses the inhibition of protein palmitoylation but has no effect on the inhibition of protein glycosylation. These results suggest an important role for dynamic protein acylation in growth cone-mediated extension of neuronal processes.

Acylation↗
PubMed1995

UDP-N-acetylglucosamine:dolichyl-phosphate N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphate transferase is amplified in tunicamycin-resistant soybean cells.

A tunicamycin-resistant soybean cell line was developed by gradually increasing the concentration of tunicamycin in the growth medium. At the final stage, the resistant cells could survive in media containing 60 micrograms/ml of tunicamycin, whereas normal cells show a greatly retarded growth rate at 0.5 microgram/ml of antibiotic. The tunicamycin-resistant cells had a greater than 40-fold increase in the activity of the enzyme UDP-GlcNAc:dolichyl-P GlcNAc1P transferase, a 2-3-fold increase in the activity of dolichyl-P-mannose synthase, but no increase in the activities of other enzymes of the lipid-linked saccharide pathway such as dolichyl-P-glucose synthase or mannosyl transferases. There was also no change in the activities of the glycoprotein-processing enzymes, glucosidase I or glucosidase II, as compared to wild-type cells. The increase in GlcNAc1P transferase was due to an increased production of enzyme, as seen by a dramatic increase in the amount of a 39-kDa protein, which is presumed to be this enzyme protein. The GlcNAc1P transferase from tunicamycin-resistant cells was equally sensitive to tunicamycin as was the wild-type enzyme, but was considerably more labile to temperatures above 30 degrees C. The activity in tunicamycin-resistant cells was greatly stimulated by exogenous dolichyl-P. The spectrum of oligosaccharides from labeled lipid-linked oligosaccharides was similar in wild-type and tunicamycin-resistant soybean cells, but the resistant cells had significantly greater amounts of the shorter and much lower amounts of the larger-sized oligosaccharides.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1983

Biochemical effects and therapeutic potential of tunicamycin in murine L1210 leukemia.

Tunicamycin, an antibiotic which specifically inhibits the dolichol-mediated synthesis of glycoproteins, significantly decreased the incorporation of tritiated D-mannose and D-glucosamine into L1210 ascites leukemia cell glycoproteins at concentrations which affected the biosynthesis of proteins minimally. Mice receiving inoculations of L1210 cells pretreated with 10 microM tunicamycin in vitro survived nearly twice as long as did mice receiving implants of untreated tumor cells. A nonlethal dose of X-irradiation (350 rads) to mice 24 hr prior to receiving their inoculation of tunicamycin-treated L1210 cells prevented this increase in life span. Thirty-eight % of the long-term surviving mice which received 1 X 10(5) L1210 cells pretreated with 10 microM tunicamycin in vitro were then resistant to a subsequent challenge with 10(6) untreated L1210 ascites cells. Direct i.p. administration of tunicamycin to mice resulted in potent liver toxicity (50% lethal dose, 2.0 mg/kg) which obviated any therapeutic efficacy when administered to L1210 ascites tumor-bearing mice. The administration of nontoxic levels of D-mannose prior to the administration of tunicamycin decreased the toxicity of the antibiotic in vivo and, when combined with D-mannose in vitro, exhibited cytotoxic additivity in terms of the inhibition of L1210 leukemic cell growth. A therapeutic regimen incorporating a 24-hr infusion of the sugar prior to multiple administrations of tunicamycin gave evidence of a small therapeutic response in terms of the survival of tumor-bearing mice. These results suggest that tunicamycin, an inhibitor of glycoprotein biosynthesis, might be able to alter tumor cell growth and immunogenicity provided that host liver toxicity is diminished.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Effects of tunicamycin on B16 metastatic melanoma cell surface glycoproteins and blood-borne arrest and survival properties.

The role of cell surface glycoproteins in determining in vivo blood-borne arrest and survival characteristics of murine melanoma sublines of low (B16-F1) or high (B16-F10) potential to form experimental lung metastases after injection i.v. was assessed after inhibiting tumor cell protein glycosylation with tunicamycin. Incubation of B16-F1 or B16-F10 cells with 0.5 micrograms (or above) tunicamycin per ml for 12 to 36 hr inhibited significantly lung tumor colony formation. Examination of B16 cells in the presence of 0.5 micrograms drug per ml indicated that complex oligosaccharide synthesis was inhibited greater than 90%, while protein synthesis remained at about 50% of the control levels. Tunicamycin induced morphological changes in B16-F1 and B16-F10 cells such as cellular rounding. Cell growth was also inhibited by tunicamycin. These effects were reversible, and B16 cells recovered their normal morphologies and growth rates within 24 hr after removal of the drug. Exposed cell surface protein analyzed by lactoperoxidase-catalyzed 125I iodination-sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis-autoradiography showed few changes after tunicamycin treatment; however, sialogalactoproteins (detected by the binding of 125I-labeled R. communis agglutinin I to polyacrylamide gels containing desialized B16 cell surface components) were reduced dramatically by the drug. The adhesive properties of untreated and tunicamycin-treated B16 cells were assessed by the binding of 51Cr-labeled B16 cells to endothelial cell monolayers. Tunicamycin-treated B16-F1 and B16-F10 cells adhered at lower rates to endothelial cells such that after 24 to 36 hr of drug (0.5 micrograms/ml) treatment adhesion was almost completely blocked, suggesting that tunicamycin-induced cell surface glycoprotein changes in B16 melanoma cells may interfere with tumor cell-host cell interactions that lead to arrest and survival of blood-borne malignant cells.

Animals↗