The adenine nucleotide translocator: a target of nitric oxide, peroxynitrite, and 4-hydroxynonenal.

Nitric oxide (NO), peroxynitrite, and 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE) may be involved in the pathological demise of cells via apoptosis. Apoptosis induced by these agents is inhibited by Bcl-2, suggesting the involvement of mitochondria in the death pathway. In vitro, NO, peroxynitrite and HNE can cause direct permeabilization of mitochondrial membranes, and this effect is inhibited by cyclosporin A, indicating involvement of the permeability transition pore complex (PTPC) in the permeabilization event. NO, peroxynitrite and HNE also permeabilize proteoliposomes containing the adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT), one of the key components of the PTPC, yet have no or little effects on protein-free control liposomes. ANT-dependent, NO-, peroxynitrite- or HNE-induced permeabilization is at least partially inhibited by recombinant Bcl-2 protein, as well as the antioxidants trolox and butylated hydroxytoluene. In vitro, none of the tested agents (NO, peroxynitrite, HNE, and tert-butylhydroperoxide) causes preferential carbonylation HNE adduction, or nitrotyrosylation of ANT. However, all these agents induced ANT to undergo thiol oxidation/derivatization. Peroxynitrite and HNE also caused significant lipid peroxidation, which was antagonized by butylated hydroxytoluene but not by recombinant Bcl-2. Transfection-enforced expression of vMIA, a viral apoptosis inhibitor specifically targeted to ANT, largely reduces the mitochondrial and nuclear signs of apoptosis induced by NO, peroxynitrite and HNE in intact cells. Taken together these data suggest that NO, peroxynitrite, and HNE may directly act on ANT to induce mitochondrial membrane permeabilization and apoptosis.

A cytomegalovirus-encoded inhibitor of apoptosis that suppresses caspase-8 activation.

We have identified a human cytomegalovirus cell-death suppressor, denoted vICA, encoded by the viral UL36 gene. vICA inhibits Fas-mediated apoptosis by binding to the pro-domain of caspase-8 and preventing its activation. vICA does not share significant sequence homology with FLIPs or other known suppressors of apoptosis, suggesting that this protein represents a new class of cell-death suppressors. Notably, resistance to Fas-mediated apoptosis is delayed in fibroblasts infected with viruses that encode mutant vICA, suggesting that vICA suppresses death-receptor-induced cell death in the context of viral infection. Although vICA is dispensable for viral replication in vitro, the common targeting of caspase-8 activation by diverse herpesviruses argues for an important role for this antiapoptotic mechanism in the pathogenesis of viral infection in the host, most likely in avoiding immune clearance by cytotoxic lymphocytes and natural killer cells.

The sequence and antiapoptotic functional domains of the human cytomegalovirus UL37 exon 1 immediate early protein are conserved in multiple primary strains.

The human cytomegalovirus UL37 exon 1 gene encodes the immediate early protein pUL37x1 that has antiapoptotic and regulatory activities. Deletion mutagenesis analysis of the open reading frame of UL37x1 identified two domains that are necessary and sufficient for its antiapoptotic activity. These domains are confined within the segments between amino acids 5 to 34, and 118 to 147, respectively. The first domain provides the targeting of the protein to mitochondria. Direct PCR sequencing of UL37 exon 1 amplified from 26 primary strains of human cytomegalovirus demonstrated that the promoter, polyadenylation signal, and the two segments of pUL37x1 required for its antiapoptotic function were invariant in all sequenced strains and identical to those in AD169 pUL37x1. In total, UL37 exon 1 varies between 0.0 and 1.6% at the nucleotide level from strain AD169. Only 11 amino acids were found to vary in one or more viral strains, and these variations occurred only in the domains of pUL37x1 dispensable for its antiapoptotic function. We infer from this remarkable conservation of pUL37x1 in primary strains that this protein and, probably, its antiapoptotic function are required for productive replication of human cytomegalovirus in humans.

A cytomegalovirus-encoded mitochondria-localized inhibitor of apoptosis structurally unrelated to Bcl-2.

Human cytomegalovirus (CMV), a herpesvirus that causes congenital disease and opportunistic infections in immunocompromised individuals, encodes functions that facilitate efficient viral propagation by altering host cell behavior. Here we show that CMV blocks apoptosis mediated by death receptors and encodes a mitochondria-localized inhibitor of apoptosis, denoted vMIA, capable of suppressing apoptosis induced by diverse stimuli. vMIA, a product of the viral UL37 gene, inhibits Fas-mediated apoptosis at a point downstream of caspase-8 activation and Bid cleavage but upstream of cytochrome c release, while residing in mitochondria and associating with adenine nucleotide translocator. These functional properties resemble those ascribed to Bcl-2; however, the absence of sequence similarity to Bcl-2 or any other known cell death suppressors suggests that vMIA defines a previously undescribed class of anti-apoptotic proteins.

Induction of apoptosis by tamoxifen-activation of a p53-estrogen receptor fusion protein expressed in E1A and T24 H-ras transformed p53-/- mouse embryo fibroblasts.

A fusion gene consisting of wild-type p53 linked to a modified ligand binding domain of the murine estrogen receptor has been constructed and should be a useful tool for studying controlled activation of wild-type p53 function in a variety of experimental cell systems. The protein product of this gene, p53ERTM, is expressed in cells constitutively but is not functional unless associated with tamoxifen or 4-hydroxytamoxifen. p53ERTM was introduced into p53-deficient mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) expressing the E1A and T24 H-ras oncogenes. Activation of p53 in these transformed cells by the addition of tamoxifen or 4-hydroxytamoxifen resulted in apoptosis. In addition to engaging the apoptotic machinery, the tamoxifen-activated fusion protein exhibited other functions characteristic of wild-type p53, such as induction of WAF1 and MDM2 gene expression and activation of the p53-dependent spindle checkpoint in cells treated with nocodazole. Activation of p53ERTM expressed in p53-positive MEFs coexpressing E1A and ras had, at most, only a small cytotoxic effect. When three cell lines of transformed p53+/+ fibroblasts not expressing p53ERTM were tested for sensitivity to the DNA-damaging drug doxorubicin, the p53+/+ clones displayed either comparable sensitivity, or at most an increase in drug sensitivity of less than fourfold, as compared to several p53-/- cell lines. Our data show that restoration of wild-type p53 activity is sufficient to trigger apoptosis in p53-/- MEFs transformed with E1A and T24 H-ras and suggest that rare propagable clones of p53-normal MEFs expressing the E1A and T24 H-ras oncogenes have suffered compensatory alterations that compromise the ability to undergo p53-dependent apoptosis.

Ricin A chain can be chemically cross-linked to the mammalian ribosomal proteins L9 and L10e.

Indirect immunofluorescence studies revealed that when fixed, permeabilized cultured human cells were incubated with ricin A chain, the toxin molecule localized in a staining pattern indicative of binding to the endoplasmic reticulum and to nucleoli. Chemical cross-linking experiments were performed to identify the cellular components that mediated the binding of ricin A chain. Conjugates were formed between 125I-labeled ricin A chain and two proteins present in preparations of total cell membranes and in samples of purified mammalian ribosomes. Specificity of the ricin A chain-ribosome interaction was demonstrated by inhibition of formation of the complexes by excess unlabeled ricin A chain, but not by excess unlabeled gelonin, another ribosome-inactivating protein. Complexes of ricin A chain cross-linked to the ribosomal proteins were purified and subjected to proteolytic digestion with trypsin. Amino acid sequencing of internal tryptic peptides enabled identification of the ricin A chain-binding proteins as L9 and L10e of the mammalian large ribosomal subunit.

Characterization of antibody binding to cell surface antigens using a plasma membrane-bound plate assay.

A procedure has been developed for measuring antibody binding to cell surface antigens using an immobilized plasma membrane fraction. In this method, isolated plasma membranes are dried onto wells of a 96-well microtiter plate and incubated with antibodies that recognize a cell surface protein. Bound antibody is detected indirectly using an enzyme-linked or fluorescently tagged second antibody. Alternatively, the primary antibody itself can be labeled and its binding can be detected directly. The assay is simple and fast and provides several advantages over whole cell binding assays currently in widespread use.

Synergism of interleukin 1 and interleukin 6 induces serum amyloid A production while depressing fibrinogen: a quantitative analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Production of the serum amyloid A (SAA) proteins in the liver of patients with arthritis can be increased from approximately 1 microgram/ml to > 1000 micrograms/ml, while fibrinogen (Fg) can be increased from 2 to 9 mg/ml. The increases appear to be regulated by mediators similar to those found in inflamed joints, e.g., interleukins 1 and 6 (IL-1 and IL-6, respectively). The sensitivity and dose response of SAA and Fg synthesis by hepatoma cells to IL-1 and IL-6 was investigated to understand the relationship between the inflammatory cytokines produced in inflamed joints and the acute phase protein response in the liver of arthritis patients. METHODS: SAA and Fg mRNA and protein production in human Hep3B cells stimulated by human monocyte conditioned medium (CM) containing known amounts of IL-1 and IL-6, or stimulated by corresponding concentrations of recombinant IL-1 and IL-6 was analyzed by ELISA and Northern blot hybridization techniques. RESULTS: Increases in SAA mRNA and protein were dose dependent in the presence of IL-1 and IL-6 at concentrations ranging from 0.1 and 1 ng/ml, respectively, to 10 and 100 ng/ml, respectively. In the presence of IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), there was a 75% decrease in SAA production and > 100% increase in Fg production by cells stimulated with CM. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that the thousand fold dynamic range associated with the acute phase SAA response requires IL-1 acting synergistically with cytokine(s) like IL-6. Optimum conditions for apoSAA production are suboptimal for Fg as indicated by the differential effects of IL-1ra.

Modification of proinflammatory cytokine production by the antirheumatic agents tenidap and naproxen. A possible correlate with clinical acute phase response.

The cytokines IL-6, IL-1, and TNF play a key role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and initiate hepatic serum amyloid A (SAA) expression after injury. To provide a possible mechanistic explanation for the previous observation that plasma SAA concentrations decreased during treatment of RA patients with tenidap, but increased during treatment with naproxen, the present study compared the effects of tenidap and naproxen on the two stages of SAA expression: cytokine production by human PBMC and cytokine-stimulated SAA synthesis by human Hep3B hepatoma cells. Tenidap inhibited production of IL-6 greater than TNF greater than IL-1; the effect of naproxen on production of all three cytokines was lesser and least on IL-6. Indeed, an increase in IL-6 production was observed after exposure to naproxen. PBMC beta-2-microglobulin production and total protein synthesis were unaffected at concentrations and times at which effects on cytokine production were observed. Cell density was a significant factor in the extent to which cytokines were stimulated by LPS. Approximately physiologic cell densities, 0.5 to 1 x 10(6) cells/ml, were optimal for stimulation of IL-1-beta and IL-6 production by LPS; however, greater amounts of TNF were produced at lower cell densities. Because neither tenidap nor naproxen inhibited SAA synthesis by cytokine-stimulated Hep3B cells and because they differ most significantly in their effect on IL-6 production, the results support a role for IL-6 in the continued stimulation of SAA production during RA.