Reduction of atherosclerotic nanoplaque formation and size by Ginkgo biloba (EGb 761) in cardiovascular high-risk patients.

Coating a silica surface with the isolated lipoprotein receptor proteoheparan sulfate (HS-PG) from arterial endothelium and vascular matrices and adding both the atherogenic VLDL/IDL/LDL lipid fraction in its native composition and Ca(2+) ions, we could observe in vitro the earliest stages of atherosclerotic plaque development by ellipsometric techniques (patent EP 0 946 876). This so-called nanoplaque formation is represented by the ternary aggregational complex of the HS-PG receptor, lipoprotein particles and calcium ions. The model was validated in several clinical studies on statins in cardiovascular high-risk patients. In eight patients who had undergone an aortocoronary bypass operation, the reduction of atherosclerotic nanoplaque formation amounted to 11.9+/-2.5% (p<0.0078) and of nanoplaque size to 24.4+/-8.1% (p<0.0234), respectively, after a 2-month therapy with Ginkgo biloba extract (2x 120 mg daily, EGb 761). Additionally, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was upregulated by 15.7+/-7.0% (p<0.0391), the quotient oxLDL/LDL lowered by 17.0+/-5.5% (p<0.0234) and lipoprotein(a) concentration decreased by 23.4+/-7.9% (p<0.0234) in the patients' blood. The concentration of the vasodilating substances cAMP and cGMP was augmented by 37.5+/-9.1% (p<0.0078) and 27.7+/-8.3% (p<0.0156), respectively. A multiple regression analysis between the patients' VLDL/IDL/LDL lipoprotein fraction applied in the ellipsometry measurements as well as the further risk factors oxLDL/LDL and Lp(a) on the one hand and changes in nanoplaque formation on the other hand reveals a basis for a mechanistic explanation of nanoplaque reduction under ginkgo treatment. The atherosclerosis inhibiting effect is possibly due to an upregulation in the body's own radical scavenging enzymes and an attenuation of the risk factors oxLDL/LDL and Lp(a).

Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B is located with glucagon vesicles, and its concentration is inversely correlated with the rate of glucagon secretion of INR1G9 cells.

High concentrations of protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) were found with secretory vesicles of glucagon-producing INR1G9 cells by electron microscopic immunocytochemistry, using a polyclonal antiserum specific for the PTP1B/T-cell (TC)PTP subfamily of PTP. Since TCPTP protein and mRNA were below the detection limit in the cells but significant amounts of PTP1B and mRNA were recognised by a specific monoclonal antibody and a mRNA probe we conclude, that the PTP associated with the vesicles is PTP1B. Only reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR with primers specific for PTP1B yielded a product of the expected nucleotide sequence. Thus, we conclude that the PTP associated with the vesicles is PTP1B. The presence of vanadate for 48 h attenuated PTP1B expression and caused reduction of steady-state levels of the phosphatase. These conditions also led to a continuing increase in the steady-state rate of glucagon release by the cells. This rate and tyrosine phosphatase levels showed an inverse relationship, suggesting a suppressive role of PTP1B on the regulated secretion of glucagon by INR1G9 cells.

A non-receptor-type protein phosphotyrosine phosphatase is enriched in secretory vesicles of glucagon - and pancreatic polypeptide - secreting cells of the endocrine pancreas.

The secretory vesicles of some cells of the islets of Langerhans of the pancreas contain high amounts of immunoreactive tyrosine phosphatase of the PTP1B/TCPTP subfamily. The cells are located in the peripheral parts of the islets and were identified as glucagon- and pancreatic polypeptide-forming cells. The tyrosine phosphatase is also enriched in some of the somatostatin-producing cells but is not elevated either in insulin-producing B-cells or in the exocrine pancreas. Virtually the same patterns were found in pancretic tissues of rats, guinea pigs, pigs, and mice. High levels of detergent-soluble tyrosine phosphatase were measured in the particular fraction of pancreatic islets with a substrate preferred by PTP1B/TCPTP-type protein tyrosine phosphatases.

Ascaris suum: protein phosphotyrosine phosphatases in oocytes and developing stages.

Protein tyrosine phosphatases were analyzed in oocytes of Ascaris suum. Phosphatases dephosphorylating modified acidic lysozyme were present in high-molecular-weight form (M(r) > 600,000) and as a 50- to 55-kDa protein in the soluble fraction. The low-molecular-weight form of the phosphatase cross-reacted with an antiserum raised against human T-cell protein tyrosine phosphatase and was not distinguishable from the 50- to 55-kDa protein tyrosine phosphatase previously described in the muscular layer of the adult worms (B. Schmid et al. 1996, Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 77, 183-192). The low-molecular-weight form was also present on immunoblots of high-molecular-weight protein tyrosine phosphatase preparations after denaturing electrophoresis. The same or a similar form of the tyrosine phosphatase was also found in detergent extracts from the pelletal fraction. In addition, another tyrosine phosphatase of 180 kDa molecular mass that dephosphorylated myelin basic protein was also found in extracts from the soluble compartment as well as in detergent extracts from the pelletal fraction. It showed no cross-reactivity with antisera raised against soluble mammalian phosphatases and was resistant to inhibition by vanadate. While the activities of the myelin basic protein-dephosphorylating protein phosphatase remained fairly constant during early development of the oocytes, the activity of the enzyme dephosphorylating modified lysozyme in the pelletal fraction decreased to less than 10% of the initial activity between days 3 and 28 of incubation. Immunocytochemical studies of unfertilized and developing Ascaris eggs revealed association of protein tyrosine kinase and protein tyrosine phosphatase with the egg shell, in addition to their presence in the neighborhood of mitochondria. The amount of enzyme changed with the stage of development. In the larval stage (21 days) protein tyrosine kinase had increased in the chitin layer of the shell and in the nuclei while the relative amount of tyrosine phosphatase decreased in accordance with the biochemical data.

Vascular smooth muscle, a multiply feedback-coupled system of high versatility, modulation and cell-signaling variability.

Under normal conditions, the various vascular regulatory effector influences are interwoven in a dynamic, and not a static, circulatory system. The reaction of a smooth muscle cell is thus reflected only incompletely by the stationary activation curve 'developed tension versus membrane potential'. The missing time domain in this relationship is a reflection of our as yet limited understanding of the system's behavior in space and time. It should be emphasized that the rhythmogenic properties of vascular smooth muscle are closely coupled to a functioning circulation. The electrical and mechanical oscillations, which can be traced back to rhythmic activity of the active, electrogenic Na+/K+ pump, could originate in the allosteric qualities of the enzyme phosphofructokinase (PFK). Thus, PFK represents a rhythmogenic enzyme which may serve as an example of the connection between the biological properties on a molecular level and the spatiotemporal system's behavior. The cardiovascular system and its rhythmicity may be dominated by only a few control points, one of which is distinguished by the viscoelastic properties of a blood flow sensor macromolecule. Therefore, the three prominent control points - PFK, (Na+ + K+)-ATPase and flow sensor conformation - acting as negatively feedback-coupled, nonlinear synergetic order parameters, are sufficient to initiate the periodic events in the cardiovascular system and to provide a plausible explanation for their causal origin.

Activation by phosphorylation of phosphofructokinase from the annelid Lumbricus terrestris and comparison of phosphorylated sites in invertebrate phosphofructokinases.

Purified phosphofructokinase from the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris was phosphorylated in vitro by the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase from the same organism to an extent of approx. 0.5 mol/mol of subunit. Activation of the enzyme occurred in parallel to the incorporation of covalently bound phosphate and was reversed by the action of the catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase 2A. Phosphorylation decreased the co-operativity of fructose 6-phosphate saturation in the presence of inhibitory concentrations of ATP, and increased the apparent Vmax obtained with saturating concentrations of the activators 5'-AMP and fructose 2,6-bisphosphate. The phosphorylated sites of phosphofructokinase from L. terrestris and from two molluscs (Helix pomatia and Mytilus edulis) were sequenced and shown to exhibit distinct similarity to sequences located near to the N-terminus of nematode phosphofructokinases [Klein, Olson, Favreau, Wintertowed, Hatzenbuhler, Shea, Nulf and Geary (1991) Mol. Biochem. Parasitol. 48, 17-26.

Protein phosphatase and kinase activities possibly involved in exocytosis regulation in Paramecium tetraurelia.

In Paramecium tetraurelia cells synchronous exocytosis induced by aminoethyldextran (AED) is accompanied by an equally rapid dephosphorylation of a 63 kDa phosphoprotein (PP63) within 80 ms. In vivo, rephosphorylation occurs within a few seconds after AED triggering. In homogenates (P)P63 can be solubilized in all three phosphorylation states (phosphorylated, dephosphorylated and rephosphorylated) and thus tested in vitro. By using chelators of different divalent cations, de- and rephosphorylation of PP63 and P63 respectively can be achieved by an endogenous protein phosphatase/kinase system. Dephosphorylation occurs in the presence of EDTA, whereas in the presence of EGTA this was concealed by phosphorylation by endogenous kinase(s), thus indicating that phosphorylation of P63 is calcium-independent. Results obtained with protein phosphatase inhibitors (okadaic acid, calyculin A) allowed us to exclude a protein serine/threonine phosphatase of type I (with selective sensitivity in Paramecium). Protein phosphatase 2C is also less likely to be a candidate because of its requirement for high Mg2+ concentrations. According to previous evidence a protein serine/threonine phosphatase of type 2B (calcineurin; CaN) is possibly involved. We have now found that bovine brain CaN dephosphorylates PP63 in vitro. Taking into account the specific requirements of this phosphatase in vitro, with p-nitrophenyl phosphate as a substrate, we have isolated a cytosolic phosphatase of similar characteristics by combined preparative gel electrophoresis and affinity-column chromatography. In Paramecium this phosphatase also dephosphorylates PP63 in vitro (after 32P labelling in vivo). Using various combinations of ion exchange, affinity and hydrophobic interaction chromatography we have also isolated three different protein kinases from the soluble fraction, i.e. a cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), a cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) and a casein kinase. Among the kinases tested, PKA cannot phosphorylate P63, whereas either PKG or the casein kinase phosphorylate P63 in vitro. On the basis of these findings we propose that a protein phosphatase/kinase system is involved in the regulation of exocytosis in P. tetraurelia cells.

Protein phosphotyrosine phosphatases in Ascaris suum muscle.

Two forms of protein tyrosine phosphatases were partially purified from the musculo-cutaneous layer of Ascaris suum. A 50-55-kDa soluble form of the phosphatase cross-reacted with antisera raised against human PTP-1B and TC-PTP. Like the enzyme of human origin the phosphatase from Ascaris exhibited a preference for anionic substrates (tyrosine-phosphorylated carboxymethylated and maleylated lysozyme) and was inhibited by micromolar concentrations of vanadate, molybdate, Zn2+, heparin, and poly(Glu4Tyr). As revealed by immuno-cytochemistry, the phosphatase was mainly localized and appeared equally distributed in the cytoplasm, apart from the myofibrils, possibly in loose association with cytoskeletal elements. A second tyrosine phosphatase of 180 kDa molecular mass was mainly found in detergent extracts from a microsomal fraction. It showed no cross-reactivity with antisera raised against soluble mammalian phosphatases and dephosphorylated a basic substrate (Tyr-phosphorylated myelin basic protein). It was resistant to common inhibitors of mammalian tyrosine phosphatases except Zn2+ and thiol reagents.

Conservation, evolution, and specificity in cellular control by protein phosphorylation.

The glycolytic control enzyme phosphofructokinase from the parasitic nematode Ascaris lumbricoides is regulated by reversible phosphorylation. The enzyme is phosphorylated by an atypical cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase whose substrate specificity deviates from that of the mammalian protein kinase. This variation is explained by structural peculiarities on the surface part of the catalytic groove of the protein kinase. Also, the protein phosphatases responsible for the reversal of phosphorylation appear to act specifically in glycolysis and are different from those participating in regulation of glycogenolysis.

Comparison of the substrate specificities of cAMP-dependent protein kinase from bovine heart and Ascaris suum muscle.

The catalytic subunits of cAMP-dependent protein kinases (protein kinase A) from bovine heart and Ascaris suum muscle exhibit only 48% sequence identity and show quantitative differences in substrate specificity. These differences were not obvious at the level of short synthetic substrate peptides but were distinct for some protein substrates. Phosphofructokinase from Ascaris, a physiological substrate, was a better substrate for the protein kinase from the nematode in comparison to the mammalian protein kinase due to a 10-fold lower Michaelis constant. Selective phosphorylation by the two kinases was also observed with some in vitro substrates. In addition, quantitative differences in the interactions between R- and C-subunits from Ascaris and bovine heart were observed. However, several synthetic peptides whose sequence reflected the phosphorylation site of Ascaris suum phosphofructokinase (AKGRSDS*IV), or variations of it, were phosphorylated with the same efficiency by both protein kinases. Based on the data the following are concluded: (1) In agreement with the conservation of structure in the catalytic cleft, the recognition of substrates by protein kinases from phylogenetically distant organisms exhibits similarity. (2) Non-conserved parts of the surface of the protein kinase molecule may contribute to binding of protein substrates and thus to selective recognition.

The catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase from Ascaris suum. The cloning and structure of a novel subtype of protein kinase A.

A complete cDNA clone encoding the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase of Ascaris suum was constructed from two overlapping partial clones. The encoded sequence of 337 amino acids is 48% identical with the sequence of mouse C alpha subunit. Approximately the same low similarity was found with the sequence of the C subunit from another nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans. The N-terminal 14 amino acids and the myristoylation site of the mammalian protein are not contained in the enzyme from Ascaris. Two cysteines (Cys33 and Cys319) replace a basic residue in the N-terminal region and an acidic amino acid near the C-terminus which are conserved in all known C subunits from other sources. The substitutions provide the possibility of disulfide bridge formation between the N-terminal and C-terminal parts of the protein. There is strong evidence that a single gene encodes cAMP-dependent protein kinase in Ascaris. Modelling of the sequence into the coordinates of the X-ray structure of the mammalian enzyme suggest a high degree of conservation in the three-dimensional structure. However, structural variations occur at the surface of the protein near the catalytic cleft and are likely to account for the variations in substrate specificity previously observed between the purified protein kinase from Ascaris [Thalhofer, H. P., Daum, G., Harris, B. G. & Hofer, H. W. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 952-957] and the mammalian enzyme.

Phorbol ester-dependent regulation of nuclear protein tyrosine phosphatase in situ.

Incubation of splenal lymphocytes with phorbol ester (50 nM PMA) influenced nuclear protein tyrosine phosphatase activity in a time-dependent manner. The activity was elevated after a short incubation (90 s) but was decreased in comparison to untreated cells after 30 and 120 min of incubation. The presence of H7 suppressed the changes. Okadaic acid, an inhibitor of protein phosphatases 2A and 1, led to a similar increase in the activity of nuclear protein tyrosine phosphatase during short-term incubations as phorbol ester but eliminated the subsequent activity decrease. Immunoblots revealed that the same amounts of two forms (49,000 and 60,000 M(r)) of protein tyrosine phosphatases were present in the nuclei from phorbol ester-stimulated and non-stimulated cells. The 60,000 M(r) form co-migrated with a phosphotyrosine-containing protein. The amount of phosphotyrosine was increased in comparison to control cells after 30 min of phorbol ester treatment.

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene PPH3 encodes a protein phosphatase with properties different from PPX, PP1 and PP2A.

A clone encoding the catalytic subunit of a protein phosphatase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was isolated. Except for replacement of IIe-245 by Met the structure of the phosphatase was identical to that encoded by PPH3 (Ronne, H., Carlberg, M., Hu, G. Z. and Nehlin, J. O. (1991). Mol. Cell. Biochem. 11, 4876-4884) and exhibited 63% sequence identity to PPX cloned from a rabbit liver cDNA library (Brewis, N.D., Street, A.J., Prescott, A.R. and Cohen, P.T.W. (1993). EMBO J. 12, 987-996). Expression of active enzyme was achieved in Escherichia coli mutants which were generated by a genetic selection based on functional complementation of bacterial phosphoserine phosphatase. Though some of the properties of PPH3 resembled those of protein phosphatase 2A and PPX, others were different. PPH3 exhibited lower sensitivity against inhibition by okadaic acid, showed different substrate specificity and required a divalent cation (Mn2+ was preferred before Mg2+ and Ca2+) for activity when assayed with phospho-histone as a substrate. However, 25% of maximum activity was observed in the absence of divalent cations when the peptide LRRAS(P)LG was used as substrate. The PPH3-protein was also identified by chromatography of extracts from S. cerevisiae on DEAE-cellulose. Protein immunoreactive with an antiserum raised against the non-conserved N-terminal 53 amino acids of PPH3 was coeluted with a single peak of LRRAS(P)LG dephosphorylating activity.

Glycolysis is operative in amphibian oocytes.

It is generally accepted that in frog full-grown oocytes glycolysis is absent and that carbon metabolic flux is largely directed to glycogen synthesis. Use of an anion exchange pellicular resin for analytical resolution of intermediates in perchloric acid extracts of oocytes has allowed us to observe the formation of labelled lactate after microinjection of [U-14C]glucose. Further, formation of [32P]ATP was observed after microinjection of 32P-labelled glucose-6-P, fructose-6-P or fructose-1,6-bis-P, either in the presence or absence of 0.1 mM cyanide. The presence of phosphofructokinase activity, previously thought to be absent in oocytes, is also reported. These findings indicate that glycolysis to lactate is operative in frog oocytes.

Myelin-associated glycoprotein is phosphorylated by protein kinase C.

The myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) is a neural recognition molecule involved in heterophilic interactions between myelin-forming cells and neurons. To characterize the molecular mechanisms underlying post-translational modifications which may be instrumental in signal transduction following the recognition event, we have studied the stimuli leading to modification of 32P-orthophosphate incorporation into MAG in cultures of oligodendrocytes or transformed differentiated Schwann cells. Here we show that in oligodendrocytes both the 67 and 72 kD isoforms of MAG were phosphorylated exclusively on serine, while in the transformed Schwann cells only the 67 kD isoform was found to be present and phosphorylated. The phorbol ester phorbol-12-myristoyl-13-acetate (PMA) did not affect biosynthesis of the protein backbone, but enhanced incorporation of phosphate by a factor of 2-3, indicating the involvement of protein kinase C. Exclusive phosphorylation of serine residues was also observed, when purified MAG was incubated with protein kinase C in the presence of [gamma-32P]ATP. In searching for the physiological stimuli which may trigger phosphorylation of MAG, cultures of oligodendrocytes were exposed to extracellular signals, such as coculture with dorsal root ganglion and spinal cord neurons carrying the MAG receptor, to membrane fractions of these neurons, monoclonal MAG antibody 513 binding to the recognition site of MAG, or platelet-derived growth factor. None of these additives modified the phosphorylation of MAG. These observations point to the possibility that phosphorylation of MAG is controlled by yet unknown intracellular cues rather than by extracellular signals interacting with cell surface receptors of oligodendrocytes.

A major lienal phosphotyrosine phosphatase is inhibited by phospholipids and inositol trisphosphate.

A major "non-receptor" phosphotyrosine-specific protein phosphatase isolated from the 30,000g pellet fraction of porcine spleen is related to the human T-cell tyrosine phosphatase (Cool et al. (1989) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 86, 5257-5261) and is strongly inhibited by micromolar concentrations of phosphatidyl inositol (IC50 6 microM) and phosphatidyl serine (IC50 3.7 microM). In addition, the enzyme is inhibited by myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IC50 ca. 2 microM) in a non-competitive manner but not by myo-inositol hexaphosphate. Since the overall cellular tyrosine phosphatase activity greatly exceeds tyrosine kinase activity, inhibition of the phosphatase may be of importance for the regulation of the extent of tyrosine phosphorylation of cellular proteins.

Association of a heat-stable inhibitor protein with cyclic-3',5'-AMP-dependent protein kinase from the nematode Ascaris suum: purification and characterization of the inhibitor.

An inhibitor protein of the catalytic subunit of the cyclic 3',5'-AMP-dependent protein kinase from the nematode Ascaris suum was isolated and characterized. The molecular weight of the inhibitor was estimated as 28,000 by electrophoresis under denaturing conditions and as 30,000 by gel permeation chromatography on Superose 12. The Trypsin-labile inhibitor was resistant to short incubations (less than or equal to 5 min) at temperatures up to 95 degrees C and at pH 3. It affected the protein kinase from Ascaris and bovine heart with almost the same affinity, and inhibition was not relieved by the presence of cAMP and cGMP. However, the inhibition was antagonized by low concentrations of heparin. Unlike in mammalian tissues, the concentration of the inhibitor was sufficiently high to exert at least 90% inhibition of the protein kinase activity in Ascaris muscle. Therefore, the inhibitor may play a role in cellular regulation in the nematode.

Characterization of the major phosphofructokinase-dephosphorylating protein phosphatases from Ascaris suum muscle.

In contrast to the mammalian enzyme, PFK from the nematode Ascaris suum is activated following phosphorylation (Daum et al. (1986) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 139, 215-221) catalyzed by a cAMP-dependent protein kinase (Thalhofer et al. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 952-957). In the present report, we describe the characterization of the major PFK dephosphorylating phosphatases from Ascaris muscle. Two of these phosphatases exhibit apparent M(r) values of 174,000 and 126,000, respectively, and are dissociated to active 33 kDa proteins by ethanol precipitation. Denaturing electrophoresis of each of the enzyme preparations showed two bands of M(r) 33,000 and 63,000. The enzymes are classified as type 2A phosphatases according to their inhibition by subnanomolar concentrations of okadaic acid, the lack of inhibition by heat-stable phosphatase inhibitors 1 and 2, and their preference for the alpha- rather than for the beta-subunit of phosphorylase kinase. Like other type 2A phosphatases, they exhibit broad substrate specificities, are activated by divalent cations and polycations, and inhibited by fluoride, inorganic phosphate and adenine nucleotides. In addition, we have found that PFK is also dephosphorylated by an unusual protein phosphatase. This exhibits kinetic properties similar to type 2A protein phosphatases, but has a distinctly lower sensitivity towards inhibition by okadaic acid (IC50 approx. 20 nM). Partial purification of the enzyme provided evidence that it is composed of a 30 kDa catalytic subunit and probably two other subunits (molecular masses 66 and 72 kDa). The dephosphorylation of PFK by protein phosphatases is strongly inhibited by heparin. This effect, however, is substrate-specific and does not occur with Ascaris phosphorylase a.

The separation and identification of picomole amounts of intermediates of glucose metabolism by high performance liquid chromatography on pellicular resins.

A column (CarboPac PA1, Dionex) containing an anion-exchange pellicular resin was used for the separation of phosphoryl-hexoses derived from labeled glucose microinjected into individual frog oocytes or from cultures of Escherichia coli. Intermediates were identified by: a) comparison of retention times with those of authentic commercial compounds; b) the use of internal labeled standards; c) incubation of samples with specific enzymes and noting the disappearance of one radioactive peak and appearance of another at a new retention time.

Phosphofructokinase from mollusc muscle is activated by phosphorylation.

Phosphofructokinase was purified from muscle tissue of two different molluscs, edible snails, Helix pomatia (gastropoda), and mussels, Mytilus edulis (bivalvia). Under denaturing conditions, both enzymes had a molecular mass of 82 kDa. In the presence of ATP-Mg2+, the enzymes were rapidly phosphorylated in vitro by the catalytic subunit of cyclic AMP (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase purified from snail muscle and also by the C subunit of protein kinase from bovine heart. The extent of phosphorylation was 0.6 and 0.5 phosphate residues per subunit for the snail and the mussel phosphofructokinase, respectively. Phosphorylation of both phosphofructokinases effected a decrease in ATP inhibition at neutral or slightly acidic pH values and increased the affinity for fructose 6-phosphate. The resulting activation in the presence of suboptimum fructose 6-phosphate concentrations was more distinct for the snail enzyme. In addition, phosphorylated phosphofructokinase from mussels exhibited a marked increase in Vmax when activated by either 5'-AMP or fructose 2,6-bisphosphate.