Inhibition of phospholipases influences the metabolism of wound-induced benzylisoquinoline alkaloids in Papaver somniferum L.

Benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs) are important secondary plant metabolites and include medicinally relevant drugs, such as morphine or codeine. As the de novo synthesis of BIA backbones is (still) unfeasible, to date the opium poppy plant Papaver somniferum L. represents the main source of BIAs. The formation of BIAs is induced in poppy plants by stress conditions, such as wounding or salt treatment; however, the details about regulatory processes controlling BIA formation in opium poppy are not well studied. Environmental stresses, such as wounding or salinization, are transduced in plants by phospholipid-based signaling pathways, which involve different classes of phospholipases. Here we investigate whether pharmacological inhibition of phospholipase A2 (PLA2, inhibited by aristolochic acid (AA)) or phospholipase D (PLD; inhibited by 5-fluoro-2-indolyl des-chlorohalopemide (FIPI)) in poppy plants influences wound-induced BIA accumulation and the expression of key biosynthetic genes. We show that inhibition of PLA2 results in increased morphinan biosynthesis concomitant with reduced production of BIAs of the papaverine branch, whereas inhibition of PLD results in increased production of BIAs of the noscapine branch. The data suggest that phospholipid-dependent signaling pathways contribute to the activation of morphine biosynthesis at the expense of the production of other BIAs in poppy plants. A better understanding of the effectors and the principles of regulation of alkaloid biosynthesis might be the basis for the future genetic modification of opium poppy to optimize BIA production.

HPLC Analysis and Biochemical Characterization of LOX from Eschscholtzia californica Cham.

BACKGROUND: Plant lipoxygenases (LOXs, EC 1.13.11.12) are involved in lipid degradation, regulation of growth and development, senescence, and defence reactions. LOX represents the starting enzyme of the octadecanoid pathway. The aim of the work was to purify LOX from California poppy (Eschscholtzia californica Cham.), to determine its biochemical properties and to identify and quantify the products of LOX reaction with unsaturated fatty acids. METHODS: LOX from California poppy seedlings was purified by hydrophobic chromatography (Phenyl-Sepharose CL-4B) and by ion-exchange chromatography (Q-Sepharose). The isolated LOX was incubated with linoleic acid used as a substrate. The HPLC experiments were performed with the Agilent Technologies 1050 series HPLC system. For the preparative separation of a mixture of hydroxy fatty acids from the sample matrix, the RP-HPLC method was used (column 120-5 Nucleosil C18). Then, the NP-HPLC analysis (separation, identification, and determination) of hydroxy fatty acid isomers was carried out on a Zorbax Rx-SIL column. RESULTS: The purified LOX indicates the presence of a nontraditional plant enzyme with dual positional specificity (a ratio of 9- and 13-hydroperoxide products 1:1), a relative molecular mass of 85 kDa, a pH optimum of 6.5, an increasing activity stimulation by CaCl2 till 2 mM, and a high substrate reactivity to linoleic acid with kinetic values of KM 2.6 mM and Vmax 3.14 µM/min/mg. CONCLUSIONS: For the first time, the LOX from California poppy seedlings was partially purified and the biochemical properties of the enzyme were analyzed. A dual positional specificity of the LOX found from California poppy seedlings is in agreement with the results obtained for LOXs isolated from other Papaveraceaes. A 1:1 ratio of 9-/13-HODE is attractive for the simultaneous investigation of both biotic stress responses (indicated by the 9-HODE marker) and the biosynthesis of jasmonic acid and jasmonates (indicated by the 13-HODE marker).

Identification of a secretory phospholipase A2 from Papaver somniferum L. that transforms membrane phospholipids.

The full-length sequence of a new secretory phospholipase A2 was identified in opium poppy seedlings (Papaver somniferum L.). The cDNA of poppy phospholipase A2, denoted as pspla2, encodes a protein of 159 amino acids with a 31 amino acid long signal peptide at the N-terminus. PsPLA2 contains a PLA2 signature domain (PA2c), including the Ca(2+)-binding loop (YGKYCGxxxxGC) and the catalytic site motif (DACCxxHDxC) with the conserved catalytic histidine and the calcium-coordinating aspartate residues. The aspartate of the His/Asp dyad playing an important role in animal sPLA2 catalysis is substituted by a serine residue. Furthermore, the PsPLA2 sequence contains 12 conserved cysteine residues to form 6 structural disulfide bonds. The calculated molecular weight of the mature PsPLA2 is 14.0 kDa. Based on the primary structure PsPLA2 belongs to the XIB group of PLA2s. Untagged recombinant PsPLA2 obtained by expression in Escherichia coli, renaturation from inclusion bodies and purification by cation-exchange chromatography was characterized in vitro. The pH optimum for activity of PsPLA2 was found to be pH 7, when using mixed micelles of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) and Triton X-100. PsPLA2 specifically cleaves fatty acids from the sn-2 position of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and shows a pronounced preference for PC over phosphatidyl ethanolamine, -glycerol and -inositol. The active recombinant enzyme was tested in vitro against natural phospholipids isolated from poppy plants and preferably released the unsaturated fatty acids, linoleic acid and linolenic acid, from the naturally occurring mixture of substrate lipids.

Inhibition of 12/15 lipoxygenase by curcumin and an extract from Curcuma longa L.

Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is an orange-yellow secondary metabolic compound from the rhizome of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.), a spice often found in curry powder. It is one of the major curcuminoids of turmeric. For centuries, curcumin has been used in some medicinal preparations or as a food colouring agent. A variety of enzymes that are closely associated with inflammation and cancer were found to be modulated by curcumin. This paper summarized the results of the inhibitory effect of curcumin and a Curcuma longa L. ethanolic extract on lipoxygenase from the rat lung cytosolic fraction. The positional specificity determination of arachidonic acid dioxygenation by RP- and SP-HPLC methods showed that in a purified enzyme preparation from the rat lung cytosol the specific form of lipoxygenase (LOX) is present exhibiting 12/15-LOX dual specificity (with predominant 15-LOX activity). The inhibitory activity of curcumin and Curcuma longa extract on LOX from cytosolic fraction of rat lung was expressed in the percentage of inhibition and as IC50. Lineweaver-Burk plot analysis has indicated that curcumin is the competitive inhibitor of 12/15 LOX from the rat lung cytosolic fraction.

[Physiological aspects of lipoxygenase in plant signaling systems part I. Octadecanoid pathway]. / Fyziologické aspekty lipoxygenázy v signálnych systémoch rastlín Cast I. Oktadekánová cesta.

Lipoxygenases (LOX, linoleate: oxygen oxidoreductases, EC 1.13.11.12) constitute a family of dioxygenases, which contain non-heme, non-sulfide iron. These enzymes occur not only in animals, but in plants as well. They have been detected in coral, moss, fungi and also in some bacteria. LOXs catalyse the regiospecific and stereospecific insertion of molecular oxygen into the molecule of polyunsaturated fatty acid with the cis,cis- -1,4-pentadiene system to yield the corresponding hydroperoxides. This step of dioxygenation leads to a cascade of reactions called the lipoxygenase (octadecanoid) pathway. The products of this pathway (called oxylipins) play an important role as signal molecules in wound healing and defence processes in plants. In animals they are involved in inflammation, asthma and heart diseases.

HPLC method for determination of lipoxygenase positional specific products.

Mammalian lipoxygenases (LOXs) play an important role in physiological and pathological processes through the biosynthesis of lipid mediators-leukotrienes, lipoxins and other arachidonic acid derivatives.There are four major families of LOXs that can be analyzed through the production of hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (HETEs). No analytical method to detect 5-, 8-, 12- and 15-HETE in one run has been published to date. The HPLC method combines reversed-phase separative column Nucleosil 120-5 C18 and NP column Zorbax Rx.SIL for identification. This conjunction enables separation of 12-HETE and 15-HETE to the baseline which is essential in 12/15-LOX research and elution of all four HETEs in one run. The method was successfully tested on partially purified LOXs from rat lung cytosol.

Differences in the effect of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate on the hydrolytic and transphosphatidylation activities of membrane-bound phospholipase D from poppy seedlings.

The hydrolytic activity of phospholipase D (PLD) yielding phosphatidic acid from phosphatidylcholine and other glycerophospholipids is known to be involved in many cellular processes. In contrast, it is not clear whether the competitive transphosphatidylation activity of PLD catalyzing the head group exchange of phospholipids has a natural function. In poppy seedlings (Papaver somniferum L.) where lipid metabolism and alkaloid synthesis are closely linked, five isoenzymes with different substrate and hydrolysis/transphosphatidylation selectivities have been detected hitherto. A membrane-bound PLD, found in microsomal fractions of poppy seedlings, is active at micromolar concentrations of Ca(2+) ions and needs phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) as effector in the hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine (PC). The optimum PIP2 concentration at 1.2 mol% of the concentration of the substrate PC indicates a specific activation effect. Transphosphatidylation with glycerol, ethanolamine, l-serine, or myo-inositol as acceptor alcohols is also activated by PIP2, however, with an optimum concentration at 0.6-0.9 mol%. In contrast to hydrolysis, a basic transphosphatidylation activity occurs even in the absence of PIP2, suggesting a different fine-tuning of the two competing reactions.

New pharmaceutical insights related to the pathways of PUFAs.

The fatty acyl structure represents the major lipid building block of practically all lipids and therefore is one of the most fundamental categories of these molecules. Fatty acids (FAs) differ particularly in their chain length, number of double bonds and position of the bonds in the chain. The number of double bonds in the unsaturated molecule of FA distinguishes monounsaturated FAs (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs). In the living cell PUFAs represent the dominant substrates for the formation of biologically active compounds--octadecanoids, eicosanoids and docosanoids--classified as oxylipins or as PUFAnoids. The present review focuses only on the groups of PUFAnoids which biological activities comprise a "positive effect" for the cell. This group of omega-3 PUFAnoids consists of lipoxins, resolvins and protectins. All these biologically active lipids are formed mainly in the LOX-pathway. They are part of the cell mechanisms that contribute to the removal of inflammatory cells and restoration of tissue integrity. A new approach to an optimal anti-inflammatory model shows orientation to the dual COX/LOX-inhibition and the stimulation of the protective eicosanoids and docosanoids formation and its considerable therapeutic potential in managing of molecular mechanisms of chronic inflammatory processes.

[Identification of lipoxygenase expressing omega-6 dioxygenase activity by means of liquid chromatography]. / Identifikácia lipoxygenázy s omega-6 dioxygenázovou aktivitou kvapalinovou chromatografiou.

Lipoxygenases (LOX) represent a family of lipid peroxidising enzymes which catalyse the reaction of achiral polyunsaturated fatty acids by oxygen forming chiral peroxide products possessing high positional stereospecific purity. The four double bonds of arachidonic acid, the main substrate of animal LOX, present the position for a wide range of enzymatic modifications enabling eicosanoid creation, unique molecules with biological significance. In this study, lipoxygenase from rat lung cytoplasma was isolated and purified to 40-fold by combining hydrophobic and gel chromatography. The forming positional specific fatty acid hydroxyl-isomers were separated on a nonpolar system (RP-HPLC) and identified on a polar adsorbent (SP-HPLC). In the purified enzyme, dual positional specificity was demonstrated by the production of 12- and 15-HETE in the ratio of 1,0:1,38, which responds to the product spectrum of mammalian 15-LOX-1.

[Pharmaceutical aspects of animal lipoxygenases]. / Farmaceutické aspekty zivocísnej lipoxygenázy.

Lipoxygenases (LOX, plant LOX [EC 1.13.11.12], linoleate: oxygen oxidoreductase, animal LOXs [5-LOX, EC 1.13.11.34; 8-LOX, EC 1.13.11.40; 12-LOX, EC 1.13.11.31; 15-LOX, EC 1.13.11.33], arachidonate: oxygen oxidoreductase) belong to the family of structurally related dioxygenases containing non-heme and non-sulfide iron in the active site. LOX catalyzes the regiospecific and stereospecific insertion of molecular oxygen into the molecule of unsaturated fatty acid with the (1Z,4Z)-penta-1,4-diene structural unit in its aliphatic chain. The result of this reaction is the production of conjugated optically active (S)- or (R)-hydroperoxides of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The occurrence of LOX was determined in plants, in animals, and also in lower organisms such as mushrooms, corals and bacteria. The dominant substrate of animal LOX is arachidonic acid which is released from membrane phospholipids by phospholipase A2 or enters the cell from the extracellular space. Products of the arachidonic acid cascade can play an important role in the pathogenesis of different diseases such as asthma bronchiale, psoriasis and inflammatory diseases, cancer diseases, atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus and renal diseases.

The transphosphatidylation potential of a membrane-bound phospholipase D from poppy seedlings.

Plant phospholipases D (PLDs) occur in a large variety of isoenzymes, which differ in Ca(2+) ion requirement, phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP(2)) activation and substrate selectivity. In the present study a membrane-bound PLD has been identified in the microsomal fractions of poppy seedlings (Papaver somniferum). The maximum PLD activity is found after 2 days of germination in endosperms and after 3 days in developing seedlings. In contrast to the four poppy PLD isoenzymes described hitherto, the membrane-bound form is active at lower Ca(2+) ion concentrations (in the micromolar instead of millimolar range) and needs PIP(2) for hydrolytic activity. Remarkable differences are also observed in head group exchange reactions. The reaction rates of the transphosphatidylation of phosphatidylcholine by various acceptor alcohols follow the sequence glycerol>serine>myo-inositol>ethanolamine, whereas ethanolamine is preferred by most other PLDs. Despite the biocatalytic differences, the membrane-bound PLD interacts with polyclonal antibodies raised against α-type PLD, which reveals some structural similarities between these two enzymes.

Free radical scavenging activity and lipoxygenase inhibition of Mahonia aquifolium extract and isoquinoline alkaloids.

Roots and stem-bark of Mahonia aquifolium (Oregon grape) (Berberidaceae) are effectively used in the treatment of skin inflammatory conditions.In the present study, the effect of Mahonia aquifolium crude extract and its two representative alkaloid fractions containing protoberberine and bisbenzylisoquinoline (BBIQ) alkaloids on activity of 12-lipoxygenase (12-LOX), was studied. The reactivity with 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), a free stable radical, was evaluated to elucidate the rate of possible lipid-derived radical scavenging in the mechanism of the enzyme inhibition.The results indicate that although the direct radical scavenging mechanism cannot be ruled out in the lipoxygenase inhibition by Mahonia aquifolium and its constituents, other mechanisms based on specific interaction between enzyme and alkaloids could play the critical role in the lipoxygenase inhibition rather than non-specific reactivity with free radicals.

Antilipoxygenase activity of copper complexes of aminoalkanoate type.

OBJECTIVES: Lipoxygenases (EC 1.13.11.12, LOX) catalyze the hydroperoxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). This reaction leads to the production of conjugated hydro peroxide dienes of PUFA. In animals, LOX generate leukotriens (LT) and lipoxins, which belong to inflammatory mediators. It is believed that restricting LT synthesis by inhibition of LOX would have therapeutic utility for the treatment of a variety of inflammatory conditions (e.g. asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis). METHODS & RESULTS: The process of production and elimination of radical intermediates in vitro can be monitored by determination of LOX activity. We assessed the concentration of PUFA hydroperoxides in our system with LOX-catalyzed enzyme reaction spectrophotometrically. The inhibition of LOX activity (LOX from cytosol fraction of rat lungs) with selected N-salicylideneaminoalkanoatocopper(II) complexes was tested. In our experiments, all compounds tested showed an inhibitory effect on LOX catalyzed hydroperoxidation of PUFA. Cu(II) (from CuSO(4).5H(2)O dilution) ions also inhibited this enzyme reaction, but all compounds studied had a 10 times higher anti-LOX activity. The most effective of these complexes was monohydrate aqua-(N-salicylidene-L-a-alaninato)copper(II) complex [Cu(sal-L-alpha-ala)(H(2)O)].H(2)O with IC(50) 1.86 x 10(-4) mol/l. CONCLUSIONS: These complexes are known for their anti-phlogistic and radioprotective properties and they can be classified as potential anti-radical compounds. The structure of these complexes is similar to the active site of Cu,Zn-SOD (superoxide dismutase) and superoxide radical scavenger activity of these complexes is known. We found that these copper complexes were capable to inhibit LOX activity, which may be related with their anti-radical properties.

Phospholipase D and its application in biocatalysis.

Phospholipase D (PLD) from plants or microorganisms is used as biocatalyst in the transformation of phospholipids and phospholipid analogs in both laboratory and industrial scale. In recent years the elucidation of the primary structure of many PLDs from several sources, as well as the resolution of the first crystal structure of a microbial PLD, have yielded new insights into the structural basis and the catalytic mechanism of this catalyst. This review summarizes some new results of PLD research in the light of application.

Two uncommon phospholipase D isoenzymes from poppy seedlings (Papaver somniferum L.).

Phospholipase D (PLD) has been detected in seedlings of Papaver somniferum L. cv. Lazúr (Papaveraceae). Purification of the enzyme revealed the existence of two forms of PLD (named as PLD-A and PLD-B). The two enzymes strongly differ in their catalytic properties. The pH optima were found at pH 8.0 for PLD-A and at pH 5.5 for PLD-B. While both enzymes show hydrolytic activity toward phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidyl-p-nitrophenol (PpNP), PLD-B only was able to catalyze the exchange of choline in PC by glycerol. Both enzymes were activated by Ca(2+) ions with an optimum concentration of 10 mM. In contrast to PLDs from other plants, PLD-B was still more activated by Zn(2+) ions with an optimum concentration of 5 mM. The apparent molecular masses of PLD-A and PLD-B, derived from sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), were estimated to be 116.4 and 114.1 kDa. N-terminal protein sequencing indicated N-terminal blockage in both cases. The isoelectric points were found to be 8.7 for PLD-A and 6.7 for PLD-B. Both enzymes were shown to be N-linked glycoproteins. This paper is the first report on PLD in poppy and indicates some important differences of the two enzyme forms to other PLDs known so far.