N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide: an independent marker for coronary artery disease in asymptomatic diabetic patients.

AIMS: To determine whether plasma N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels, a marker for cardiac failure and potentially for the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD), predicts silent myocardial ischaemia (SMI) and silent CAD in asymptomatic high-risk diabetic patients. METHODS: Five hundred and seventeen asymptomatic diabetic patients with > or = 1 additional cardiovascular risk factor but without heart failure were prospectively screened between 1998 and 2008 for SMI, defined as an abnormal stress myocardial scintigraphy, and subsequently for significant (> 70%) angiographic CAD. The 323 patients with interpretable echocardiography and for whom NT-proBNP was measured were included in this analysis. RESULTS: SMI was found in 108 (33.4%) patients, 39 of whom had CAD. NT-proBNP was higher in the patients with CAD than in the patients without CAD [45.0 (1-3199) vs. 20.0 (1-1640) pg/ml; P < 0.0001 median (range)], even after adjustment for confounding factors: age, gender, body mass index, glycated haemoglobin (HbA(1c)), retinopathy, nephropathy, hypertension, echocardiographic parameters (P < 0.05). NT-proBNP in the third tertile (> or = 38 pg/ml) predicted CAD with a sensitivity of 59% and a specificity of 67%. In a multiple logistic regression analysis including NT-proBNP > or = 38 pg/ml, age, body mass index, gender, HbA(1c), hypertension, retinopathy, nephropathy, peripheral occlusive arterial disease, left ventricular systolic dysfunction, dilatation and hypertrophy and Type 1 transmitral flow, NT-proBNP > or = 38 pg/ml was the only significant independent predictor of silent CAD [odds ratio (OR) 3.1 (95% confidence interval 1.3-7.6), P = 0.015]. CONCLUSIONS: NT-proBNP measurement helps to better define asymptomatic diabetic patients with an increased likelihood for CAD, independently of cardiac function and structure.

Two-dimensional database of a Burkitt lymphoma cell line (DG 75) proteins: protein pattern changes following treatment with 5'-azycytidine.

Hypermethylation is an important mechanism for repression of tumor gene suppressor in cancer. The drug 5'-azacytidine (AZC) has been used as demethylating agent to induce the expression of previously silencing genes. In the present work, we attempted to determine, using proteomics, the changes in protein expression profiles following a treatment of an Epstein Barr virus (EBV)-negative Burkitt lymphoma (BL) cell line DG 75. The effects of the treatment in terms of cell viability and growth were first examined. The following observations were made: AZC treatment led to (i) a decrease in cell growth with an arrest of the cell at G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle, (ii) the expression of p16, a tumor-suppressor gene whose expression was dependent on its promoter demethylation. Proteomic study evidenced that AZC treatment affected protein expression in two different ways. Twenty-one polypeptides were down-expressed, while 14 showed an increased expression. Some of the upregulated proteins appeared related to the energy metabolism, to organization of cytoskeletal structures, and to cell viability and protein synthesis. We also established a reference map for proteins in DG 75 cell line, comprising 74 different polypeptides corresponding to 67 proteins. This map will be accessible via Internet as a resource for proteome analyses of B-cells. Taken together, the results presented here highlight new insights into lymphoma cell gene regulations following a treatment of lymphoma cells with AZC and illustrate a use of proteomics to evidence the direct and indirect effects of a drug and the pathways it possibly regulates.

The BPP (protein biochemistry and proteomics) two-dimensional electrophoresis database.

The BPP (protein biochemistry and proteomics) two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) database (http://www-smbh.univ-paris13.fr/lbtp/Biochemistry/Biochimie/bque.htm) was established in 1998. The current release contains 11 reference maps from human hematopoietic and lymphoid cell line samples. These reference maps have now 255 identified spots, corresponding to 84 protein entries. The World Wide Web (WWW) presentation is designed to allow public access to the available 2-DE data together with logical connections to databases providing complementary information.

Protein analysis by mass spectrometry and sequence database searching: a proteomic approach to identify human lymphoblastoid cell line proteins.

Lymphoblastoid cell lines correspond to in vitro EBV-immortalized lymphocyte B-cells. These cells display a suitable model for experiments dealing with changes in protein expression occurring upon B-cell differentiation, after drug treatment, or after inhibition of some transcription factors. For all these reasons we have undertaken an effort aimed at developing a hematopoietic cell line protein two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) database, containing B-lymphoblastoid 2-DE maps. In this work, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) peptide mass fingerprinting analysis was adopted for protein identification. The peptide mass fingerprinting identification and the sequence coverage obtained on colloidal Coomassie blue (CBB) stained gel was close to that obtained using zinc-imidazole staining. Everything considered, CBB being more comfortable for subsequent spot manipulations, CBB staining was chosen for identification of a larger number of polypeptides. The results suggest that reticulation of the gel can interfere preventing the uptake of the enzyme during the in-gel digestion step. Consequently, low molecular mass proteins appear more difficult to identify by mass fingerprinting. Finally, the information provided in this study allows the construction of a new annoted reference map of human lymphoblastoid cell proteins. Among the identified proteins 60% were not yet positioned on 2-DE maps in three of the most important well-documented databases. The annoted map will be accessible via Internet on the LBPP server at URL:http:// www-smbh.univ-paris13.fr/lbtp/index.htm.

Quality control of coated antibodies: new, rapid determination of binding affinity.

A procedure is described for the determination of the affinity constant between a fluid-phase biotinylated antigen and a solid-phase monoclonal antibody. This procedure allows evaluation of the efficiency of an antibody as a coated tool for an immunoassay. For this purpose, the biotinylation of the antigen and its further quantitative measurement by streptavidin-peroxidase led to a single reversible interaction, the binding affinity of which greatly determines the quality of the assay. The free and bound fractions of the biotinylated antigen were obtained in wells coated with a low level of immobilized antibodies. At the equilibrium state, the free antigen present in the supernatant of these wells was further transferred to high level antibody coated wells which captured all the free antigen molecules. These molecules were quantified using a standard curve established with known concentrations of biotinylated antigen, also incubated in wells coated with the high level of antibody.

Production and characterization of a monoclonal antibody able to discriminate galectin-1 from galectin-2 and galectin-3.

Antisera raised against galectin-1 exhibit crossreactivities with other galectins or related molecules. In order to overcome this problem, a monoclonal antibody to human brain galectin-1 was obtained by selecting clones without reactivity toward galectin-3. This mAb specifically bound galectin-1 of various animal origins but neither galectin-2 nor galectin-3. Western-blotting analysis of soluble human brain extracts after 2D gel electrophoresis revealed only the two most acidic isoforms of galectin-1. The ability of this mAb to bind galectin-1/asialofetuin complexes indicates that its epitope is not localized in the carbohydrate recognition domain of galectin-1. This particularity induces with efficiency its monospecificity.

Externalization and binding of galectin-1 on cell surface of K562 cells upon erythroid differentiation.

Galectin 1 (GAL1) is a beta-galactoside-binding lectin involved in cell cycle progression. GAL1 overexpression is associated with neoplastic transformation and loss of differentiation. The gene encoding for human GAL1 resides on chromosome 22(q12; q13), and its expression is developmentally regulated. Although devoid of signal peptide GAL1 can be externalized from cells by a mechanism independent of the normal secretory process. We report here on a study of the effects of erythroid differentiation of the human leukemia cell line K562 on GAL1 protein expression. In undifferentiated K562 cells, GAL1 was expressed into the cytosol. However, the amount of GAL1 was surprisingly weaker in K562 cells than in other leukemia cell lines such as TF-1 or KG1a. Treatment of K562 cells with erythropoietin (EPO) or with aphidicolin (APH), an inhibitor for DNA polymerase alpha, induced an erythroid phenotype and led to the externalization of cytosolic GAL1 which was then bound to ligands on cell surface in a galactoside-inhibitable fashion. Our results demonstrate that acquisition of an erythroid phenotype is associated with an externalization of GAL1. The autocrine binding of GAL1 to cell surface ligands of non adherent cells such as K562 suggest that GAL1 is implicated rather in signal transduction than in cell-cell or cell-matrix interaction. Moreover, the reciprocal translocation involving chromosomes 9 and 22 t(9;22) present in K562 cells might explain the weak expression of GAL1 in K562 leukemia cells.

Identification of different galectins by immunoblotting after two-dimensional polyacrylamide get electrophoresis with immobilized pH gradients.

Vertebrate soluble beta-galactoside-binding lectins form a growing protein family that recently have been named galectins. Seven different galectins have been sequenced and characterized in mammals, and there is compelling evidence for the existence of other members of this lectin family. Three among six galectins are homodimers with (i) an identical subunit of a relative molecular mass of about 14500, and (ii) amino acid sequence homologies giving rise to possible immunochemical cross-reactivities. They are indistinguishable from each other by conventional sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), even when followed by immunoblotting. However, their different isoelectric points allow their identification using isoelectric focusing and two-dimensional (2-D) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A strategy was developed to identify these galectins in crude extracts from cells and tissues, based on the two-dimensional electrophoresis with immobilized pH gradient (IPG-Dalt) analysis of the specific spots of purified galectins and of the spots of crude extracts, after silver staining. In addition, 2-D immunoblotting using anti-galectin 1 (Gal-1) and anti carbohydrate-binding protein 15 (CPB15) antibodies were performed on brain and leukemia cells (HL60) allowing an identification of related polypeptides. Our results indicate that the use of IPG-Dalt provides a suitable reproducibility and allows the detection of galectins or other galactoside-binding proteins even at basic pIs.

Comparative activity of peroxidase-antibody conjugates with periodate and glutaraldehyde coupling according to an enzyme immunoassay.

Horseradish peroxidase is often used as an antibody-coupled enzyme and several procedures have been developed to obtain IgG-peroxidase conjugates. The most widely used are coupling with periodate or glutaraldehyde. To compare the efficiency of these methods, the authors conducted periodate coupling or glutaraldehyde coupling in one or two steps, using the same batches of peroxidase, C-reactive protein (CRP) and anti-CRP monoclonal antibodies to develop a specially sensitive Elisa for CRP. Comparison of immunoenzymatic activities showed that periodate-mediated conjugation was much more efficient, because the activity of the coupling products was about 100 times greater than that of the products obtained after one or two-step conjugation with glutaraldehyde. The lower coupling efficiency observed with glutaraldehyde was not due to inactivation of the coupling agent or to a possible decrease in the affinity of the conjugates for CRP due to the coupling procedure. The differences in efficiency can be ascribed to the fact that periodate induced more coupling sites than glutaraldehyde. Periodate is therefore a better coupling agent for preparing conjugates to be used in Elisa or related techniques, in which conjugate size does not hinder accessibility to the antigen.

Binding of human serum amyloid P component (hSAP) to human neutrophils.

Human serum amyloid P component (hSAP) and human C-reactive protein (hCRP) are normal serum constituents related to the pentraxin family of plasma proteins. hSAP has morphological and immunochemical identity and extensive sequence similarity to the amyloid P (AP) component found in normal tissues and particularly in amyloid deposits. hCRP and its proteolytic products have been previously shown to bind and to interact with various types of human leukocytes. Binding-displacement experiments with 125I-labeled hSAP and hCRP show that both proteins have specific high-affinity binding sites on normal human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) and each can compete efficiently with the binding of the other. Scatchard analysis of hSAP-displacement curves reveals a heterogeneous population of hSAP-binding sites existing on the PMN cells, among them about 300,000 low-affinity binding sites with Kd < or = 5 x 10(-6) M and about 30,000 high-affinity binding sites with Kd < or = 5 x 10(-8) M. hAP was found to be degraded by enzymes from human neutrophils to yield a mixture of low-molecular-mass peptides, similarly to the case of CRP reported previously. The binding of hSAP can be efficiently inhibited by this peptide mixture. The results suggest that both hCRP and hSAP, together with related peptides, may participate in vivo in an unknown mechanism of regulation of human neutrophils.

[Plasma concentration of C-reactive protein in patients with high estrogen levels]. / Concentration plasmatique de la protéine réactive C chez des patientes en situation de forte imprégnation estrogénique.

The monitoring of inflammatory activity in patients with a high level of estrogen is controversial because the significance of a raised estradiol level on C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations is a debated question. This prompted us to assay CRP by a sensitive Elisa in a sample of 30 patients with ovarian stimulation for in vitro fertilization, thus with high levels of estradiol. For 15 of these women, six to nine plasma samples were analyzed allowing a kinetic study of plasma levels of CRP, estradiol and sex steroid-binding plasma protein (SBP). No significant correlation was found between the concentrations of estradiol and CRP for the 30 patients. In the kinetic study, as mean estradiol levels rose exponentially from 50 to 1400 ng/l between day 5 and 14, the CRP level tended to vary markedly from one patient to another and sometimes from day to day, but there was never any relation with estradiol level. Furthermore, CRP did not significantly modify the slope of the regression line between estradiol concentration and the day of the menstrual cycle. In contrast, the effect of estradiol on SBP was clear, which supports the absence of estradiol effect on CRP level.

Inflammatory status and preerythrocytic stages of malaria: role of the C-reactive protein.

In the acquisition of protection against malaria, the role played by nonspecific factors, some being part of the cascade effect of cytokines, has to be considered. The C-reactive protein, a major acute phase reactant secreted by interleukin-1 stimulated hepatocytes, has an effect on the hepatic development of Plasmodia, both by preventing penetration of the sporozoite into the hepatocyte and by blocking parasite division through an antibody-like effect. This latter effect confirms the potential interest of targeting the uninuclear form of the parasite. Nevertheless, C-reactive Protein alone does not account for all the effects of the inflammatory response, other reactants from both serum and hepatocytes are also involved.

C-reactive protein decreases protein phosphorylation in stimulated human neutrophils.

Treatment of human neutrophils with C-reactive protein (CRP) causes a concentration-dependent in the extent of activation of superoxide production and of granule secretion, induced by phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) or N-formyl-L-methionyl-L-leucyl-L-phenylalanine (fMLF). The same treatment also causes a significant reduction in the degree of PMA- and fMLF-stimulated phosphorylation of several cell proteins. These include the proteins of 43-47 kDa, whose extent of phosphorylation correlates with the activation of superoxide production and of secretion. Contrary to the effects exerted on protein phosphorylation, CRP does not affect the fMLF-elicited increase in neutrophil cytosolic Ca2+.

Modulation of human neutrophil function by C-reactive protein.

Investigation of the effect of C-reactive protein (CRP), an acute-phase reactant, on the functional capacities of human neutrophils was carried out as the basis for elucidating the biological function of C-reactive protein. An initial stimulation at low concentrations, followed by inhibition of superoxide production, and secretion of vitamin-B12-binding protein in the presence of two stimulants, phorbol myristate acetate and concanavalin A, and of neutrophil chemotaxis with increasing concentration of CRP was observed. Correlation between modulation of cell function, at least at relatively high CRP concentrations (greater than 50 micrograms/ml) and an increase in the intracellular level of cAMP is suggested. CRP was also found to enhance neutrophil phagocytosis of particles not containing phosphorylcholine, the native CRP ligand. The proposed role of CRP in neutrophil function is one of regulation and as a negative feedback for potential cytotoxic neutrophil functions.

Binding of C-reactive protein to human neutrophils.

The binding of radiolabelled 125I-CRP to human neutrophils has been characterised according to pH, temperature and time dependence. The binding of 125I-CRP was saturable, very fast (less than 2 min at 22 C), and the labelled protein was displaced by unlabelled CRP and aggregated human IgG. The dissociation constant was 3.2 X 10(-8) M at pH 7.4, 22 degrees C and 8.8 X 10(-8) M at pH 6.0, 22 degrees C. The calculated number of binding sites was 5-20 X 10(4) per cell at pH 7.4, 22 degrees C. An association with an Fc-type receptor is suggested, since aggregated IgG was able to displace specifically CRP.

Synthetic peptides from C-reactive protein containing tuftsin-related sequences.

Peptides containing Lys-Pro-Arg or Thr-Lys-Arg segments corresponding to various regions of human C-reactive protein were synthesized. The peptides prepared were composed of amino acid residues, 37-58, 51-58, 173-187 and 181-187 of C-reactive protein. The relationship between C-reactive protein, its synthetic fragments and tuftsin (Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg) was investigated in binding studies, enhancement of phagocytosis and change in cyclic nucleotide levels of mouse macrophages. The peptides AA 51-58 and 181-187 did enhance macrophage phagocytosis capacity to a similar extent to that of tuftsin. They showed however only negligible binding to the cells. The effect of C-reactive protein and the synthetic peptides on metabolic activity of neutrophils was also investigated. It was shown that the peptides inhibited to some degree superoxide production, lysozyme release and Vitamin B12 binding protein release from neutrophils in the absence and presence of the stimulants, PMA or Con A. Comparable activity with tuftsin was not found.

Rat resistance to schistosomiasis: platelet-mediated cytotoxicity induced by C-reactive protein.

In rats infected with the parasite Schistosoma mansoni, the concentration of C-reactive protein in the serum increases after the lung stage of infection and is at its highest at the time of terminal worm rejection. The peak of platelet-mediated cytotoxicity induced by infected serum that has been heated (and is free of immunoglobulin E) as well as the time course for the development of platelet cytotoxic activity in infected rats was found to be correlated with the concentration of C-reactive protein. Rat and human platelets treated with homologous serum obtained during an acute phase of inflammation or with purified C-reactive protein were able to kill the immature forms of the worm in vitro. Platelets treated with C-reactive protein were furthermore capable of conferring significant protection against schistosomiasis in transfer experiments. Collectively these data indicate that a system that includes C-reactive protein and platelets participates in the natural resistance of the rat to schistosomal infection.

A new pentraxin (serum amyloid P-component) in the rat: evidence for two quaternary structures and effect of ligands on self-association.

A new rat serum protein has been isolated by affinity chromatography using ethanolamine- or phosphoethanolamine-substituted agarose gels. This protein has the morphological and functional characteristics of serum amyloid P-component and C-reactive protein. It comprises C5 cyclic symmetry structure with non covalently cross-linked subunits which have calcium-dependent binding sites. We have called this protein rat serum amyloid P-component since it has all the properties typical of human serum amyloid P-component: it is made up to 10 subunits, it contains sialic acid and hexoses, it forms macroscopic polymers and its does not precipitate with pneumococcal C-polysaccharide. Rat amyloid P-component has three remarkable properties. Electron microscopy has shown that apart from pentagonal figures and stacked discs, rat P-component has a C10 cyclic symmetry structure. Rat amyloid P-component has an affinity for specific ligands, such as phosphorylcholine or phosphoethanolamine. These ligands are able to depolymerize self-associated rat P-component. With these characteristics, rat serum amyloid P-component could prove to be an important model in the study of the relations between amyloid P-component and amyloidosis.