Two attacin antibacterial genes of Drosophila melanogaster.

Insects express a battery of potent antimicrobial proteins in response to injury and infection. Recent work from several laboratories has demonstrated that this response is neither stereotypic nor completely nonspecific, and that different pathways are responsible for inducing the expression of antifungal and antibacterial peptides. Here we report the cloning of two closely linked attacin genes from Drosophila melanogaster. We compare their protein coding sequences and find the amino acid sequences to be more highly conserved than the nucleotide sequences, suggesting that both genes are expressed. Like other antimicrobial peptides, attacin expression is strongly induced in infected and injured flies. Unlike others, attacin transcription is uniquely sensitive to mutations in the 18-Wheeler receptor protein, and thus may be regulated by a distinct signaling pathway. The number and organization of binding sites for kappaB and other transcription factors in the promoter regions of both attacin genes are consistent with strong and rapid immune induction. We demonstrate that these promoter regions are sufficient to direct beta-galactosidase expression in transformed Drosophila third-instar larval fat body in a bacterially inducible manner. We present a comparison of the promoter regions of the two attacin genes to those cloned from other antimicrobial peptide genes to assist a better understanding of how antimicrobial genes are differentially regulated.

Reversal of vinblastine transport by chlorpromazine in membrane vesicles from multidrug-resistant human CCRF-CEM leukaemia cells.

The mechanism of action of 2-chlorpromazine (2-chloro-10-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-phenothiazine) as a reversal agent for P-glycoprotein-mediated multidrug resistance was investigated using inside out-orientated membrane vesicles prepared from vinblastine-resistant human CCRF-CEM leukaemia cells (VBL1000). 2-Chlorpromazine (10 microM) completely inhibited ATP-dependent P-glycoprotein-mediated vinblastine accumulation in the vesicles. Whereas in the absence of added ligands VBL transport was described by a hyperbolic function of vinblastine concentration, in the presence of 2-chlorpromazine vinblastine transport was a sigmoidal function. 2-Chlorpromazine was shown previously [Syed SK, Christopherson RI and Roufogalis BD (1996) Biochem Mol Biol Int 39: 687-696] to be actively transported into vesicles from multidrug-resistant cells. Colchicine (10 microM) and phenoxybenzamine (10 microM) blocked vinblastine transport but had no effect on 2-chlorpromazine transport into vesicles. The results were consistent with a two-state concerted model in which P-glycoprotein exists in two conformational states, P(A) and P(B), where 2-chlorpromazine is transported by the conformer, P(A), and vinblastine by the conformer, P(B). In the presence of 2-chlorpromazine, the conformer P(A) predominates and vinblastine transport is inhibited. Addition of 2-chlorpromazine during the steady state of vinblastine accumulation blocked uptake and resulted in enhanced vinblastine efflux from the vesicles. The findings were similar when vinblastine was added at the steady state of 2-chlorpromazine transport. We propose a minimal kinetic model whereby in these preloaded vesicles the complex VV.P(A).CC is formed, where two internal binding sites of P-glycoprotein (P(A)) are occupied by vinblastine (V) and the two external sites are occupied by 2-chlorpromazine (C). When the two binding sites on both the inside and outside of P-glycoprotein are saturated with ligands vinblastine is effluxed at a very rapid rate, and vice versa when vesicles are preloaded with 2-chlorpromazine and vinblastine is added outside. These unexpected observations and the concerted model developed provide an alternative mechanism of action for reversal agents that sensitize multidrug-resistant cancer cells to anti-cancer drugs.

Case reports: delayed hemolytic transfusion reaction in sickle cell disease.

This article reports the details of delayed hemolytic transfusion reactions in four patients with sickle cell disease. These cases demonstrate the characteristics of the reactions, the significant risks involved, and the principles useful in diagnosis and treatment. Patients with sickle cell disease are at particular risk for delayed hemolytic transfusion reactions because they may be transfused at intervals over many years; they frequently form alloantibodies because of antigenic differences from the donor population; and they may receive emergency care in different hospitals where transfusion records are not available. In addition, exchange transfusions, which are often used for patients with sickle cell disease and which were given in three of these cases, raise the risks through increased exposure to foreign erythrocyte antigens and through an increased volume of erythrocytes susceptible to hemolysis. It was concluded that the hazards of these transfusion reactions justify preventive measures, such as extended erythrocyte phenotyping of patients with sickle cell disease and extended phenotypic matching of transfused cells.

Chlorpromazine transport in membrane vesicles from multidrug resistant CCRF-CEM cells.

The mechanism by which chlorpromazine (2-chloro-10-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-phenothiazine) reverses P-glycoprotein (P-gp2) mediated multidrug resistance was investigated using membrane vesicles prepared from human CCRF-CEM leukaemia cells. Chlorpromazine was transported in an ATP-dependent manner into membrane vesicles prepared from vinblastine resistant (VBL1000) cells but not from drug-sensitive cells. The chlorpromazine uptake was sensitive to osmotic pressure, indicating true transport into the vesicle lumen. The ATP-dependent chlorpromazine uptake was inhibited about 30% by the addition of ammonium chloride, indicating that a pH or electrical gradient could not account for the majority of ATP-dependent chlorpromazine uptake. The results of this study show that chlorpromazine is actively transported my P-glycoprotein and that chemosensitization by phenothiazines may occur by competition of these agents for active transport of anticancer agents by P-glycoprotein.

Reversal of P-glycoprotein-mediated multidrug resistance by pure anti-oestrogens and novel tamoxifen derivatives.

In this study the ability of five novel anti-oestrogens [4-iodotamoxifen, pyrrolidino-4-iodotamoxifen, ethyl bromide tamoxifen (EBTx), ICI 164,384 (ICI 164) and ICI 182,780] to alter drug toxicity to multidrug resistant cell lines have been compared. The effect of these compounds on ATP-dependent vinblastine (VBL) transport was also tested using inside-out vesicles (IOV) prepared from highly P-glycoprotein (Pgp)-expressing CCRF-CEM/VBL1000 cells. The pure anti-oestrogen ICI 164 was most effective, enhancing doxorubicin and VBL toxicity to MCF-7Adr cells 25- and 35-fold, respectively, and was also the best inhibitor of ATP-dependent [3H]VBL accumulation by IOV. Pure anti-oestrogens, tamoxifen and iodotamoxifens completely reversed VBL resistance in the mdr1 transfected lung cancer cell line, S1/1.1, where resistance relative to wild-type cells was mediated solely by Pgp. The membrane impermeant tamoxifen derivative EBTx did not modify drug resistance, yet was as effective an inhibitor of VBL accumulation by inside-out Pgp-positive vesicles as tamoxifen. This indicates an intracellular role for tamoxifen and its derivatives in the modulation of Pgp-mediated drug resistance.

Comparative studies on S-adenosyl-L-methionine binding sites of protein N-methyltransferases, using 8-azido-S-adenosyl-L-methionine as photoaffinity probe.

Employing a photoaffinity labeling procedure with 8-azido-S-adenosyl-L-[methyl-3H]methionine (8-N3-Ado[methyl-3H]Met), the binding sites for S-adenosyl-L-methionine(AdoMet) of three protein N-methyltransferases [AdoMet:myelin basic protein-arginine N-methyltransferase (EC 2.1.1.23); AdoMet:histone-arginine N-methyltransferase (EC2.1.1.23); and AdoMet:cytochrome c-lysine N-methyltransferase (EC2.1.1.59)] have been investigated. The incorporation of the photoaffinity label into the enzymes upon UV irradiation was highly specific. In order to define the AdoMet binding sites, the photolabeled enzymes were sequentially digested with trypsin, chymotrypsin, and endoproteinase Glu-C. After each proteolytic digestion, radiolabeled peptide from each enzyme was resolved on HPLC first by gradient elution and further purified by an isocratic elution. Retention times of the purified radiolabeled peptides from the three enzymes from the corresponding proteolysis were significantly different, indicating that their sizes and compositions were different. Amino acid composition analysis of these peptides confirmed further that the AdoMet binding sites of these protein N-methyltransferases are quite different.

Vinblastine transport by membrane vesicles from human multidrug-resistant CCRF-CEM leukaemia cells: inhibition by taxol and membrane permeabilising agents.

Inside-out membrane vesicles prepared from multidrug resistant human leukemic cells (CEM/VBL1000), but not from sensitive cells, transported [3H]-labelled vinblastine (VBL) in an ATP-dependent manner, reaching a plateau level by 15 min. The transport occurred with an apparent Km of 60 +/- 20nM. Verapamil (10 microM), and taxol (IC50 = 1 microM) prevented VBL uptake and evoked VBL diffusion from vesicles when added after VBL uptake had reached steady state. The channel forming agent alamethicin prevented net uptake of VBL and addition of alamethicin to the vesicles after the steady-state had been reached resulted in the rapid efflux of [3H]VBL. Very low concentrations of Triton X-100 (0.01 % v/v) also prevented net uptake of VBL, whilst addition of Triton X-100 and making the medium hypo-osmotic after the steady state had been reached caused the [3H]VBL to rapidly diffuse out of the vesicles. These observations indicate that VBL is actively transported into the lumen of inside-out vesicles from multidrug resistant leukaemia cells.

Identification of the S-adenosyl-L-methionine binding site of protein-carboxyl O-methyltransferase using 8-azido-S-adenosyl-L-methionine.

Protein-carboxyl O-methyltransferase (protein methylase II) transfers the methyl group from S-adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet) to the carboxyl side chains of the amino acids in the proteins. We have used the radiolabeled analogue of AdoMet, 8-azido-S-adenosyl-L-[methyl-3H]methionine (8-N3-Ado[methyl-3H]Met), to investigate the AdoMet binding site of protein methylase II. The incorporation of the photoaffinity label in the enzyme upon UV irradiation is highly specific. In the absence of UV irradiation or if the photoprobe is irradiated prior to its addition to the reaction mixture, no photoinsertion of the label occurs. Moreover, the presence of a competitive inhibitor of protein methylase II, S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine (AdoHcy), or the unlabeled AdoMet itself in the reaction mixture diminished labeling of the enzyme. Sequential digestion of the labeled enzyme with trypsin, chymotrypsin, and endoproteinase Glu-C yielded a modified and radiolabeled decapeptide. When compared with the reported primary amino acid sequence of protein methylase II from rat brain, the amino acid composition of the decapeptide matched residues 113-121. This segment forms the midpoint region of the enzyme (234 amino acid residues). An important characteristic of the sequence is the presence of two adjacent aspartic acid residues (Asp117-Asp118) which most likely provide the negative charge environment for the sulfonium moiety of the AdoMet molecule.

Enzymic methylation of myelin basic protein in myelin.

Myelin fractions with different degrees of compaction were isolated from bovine brain, and post-translational methylation of membrane-associated proteins was studied. When the purified myelin-basic-protein-specific protein methylase I and S-adenosyl-L-[methyl-14C]methionine were added exogenously, the most compact myelin fraction exhibited higher methyl-accepting activity than the less compact dense fractions. The methylated protein was identified as myelin basic protein (18.4 kDa) exclusively among the several myelin proteins from all membrane fractions, by SDS/PAGE/radioautography of methyl-14C-labelled membrane proteins. The methyl-14C-labelled amino acid residue in the basic protein was identified by h.p.l.c. as NG-methylarginine, indicating the high degree of specificity for the arginine residue as well as the myelin basic protein in the intact myelin membranes. The possibility of a charge alteration of myelin basic protein resulting from its arginine methylation was investigated by using the purified component 1 of myelin basic protein. The methylated component was shown to be less cationic than the unmethylated component by Bio-Rex 70 cation-exchange chromatography, since the former preceded the latter. However, in the presence of the denaturant (guanidinium chloride), the two species were co-eluted, indicating that the charge difference between methylated and unmethylated myelin basic protein can only be shown under the renatured condition.

Substrate specificity for myelin basic protein-specific protein methylase I.

The substrate specificity of bovine brain myelin basic protein (MBP)-specific protein methylase I (S-adenosyl-L-methionine:protein-L-arginine N-methyltransferase, EC 2.1.1.23), which methylates arginine residues of protein, has been studied using various MBPs, several synthetic peptides and heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein complex protein (hnRNP). (1) Among MBPs from different species of brain, the carp MBP was found to be the best substrate for MBP-specific protein methylase I. This high degree of methyl acceptability is most likely due to the fact that carp MBP is not in vivo methylated at the arginine residue (Deibler, G.E. and Martenson, R.E. (1973) J. Biol. Chem. 248, 2387-2391) and that the methylatable amino acid sequence is present in this protein. (2) In order to study the minimum chain length of MBP polypeptide which functions as the methyl acceptor, several synthetic polypeptides whose sequences are identical to the region surrounding the residue 107 of bovine MBP (the in vivo methylation site) were synthesized. It was found that the hexapeptide, Gly-Lys-Gly-Arg-Gly-Leu (corresponding to residues 104-109 of bovine MBP), was the shortest methyl accepting peptide, while the tetrapeptide, Gly-Arg-Gly-Leu (corresponding to residues 106-109) was inactive as a substrate. (3) hnRNP protein is known to contain methylarginine at residue 193 (Williams, K.R., Stone, K.L., LoPresti, M.B., Merrill, B.M. and Plank, S.R. (1985) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82, 5666-5670) which is post-translationally modified. Thus, the RNP protein overproduced in Escherichia coli and therefore did not contain methylarginine was examined for its methyl acceptability. It was found that neither MBP-specific nor histone-specific protein methylase I could methylate this methylarginine-less RNP protein. This suggests a possible existence of a distinct protein methylase I specific for this nuclear protein.