Aqueous stability of human epidermal growth factor 1-48.

Human epidermal growth factor 1-48 (hEGF 1-48, Des(49-53)hEGF) is a single chain polypeptide (48 amino acids; 3 disulfide bonds; 5445 Da) possessing a broad spectrum of biologic activity including the stimulation of cell proliferation and tissue growth. In this study, three primary aqueous degradation products of hEGF 1-48 were isolated using isocratic, reverse phase/ion-pair HPLC. The degradation products were characterized using amino acid sequencing, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, isoelectric focusing, and degradation kinetics. Results indicate that hEGF 1-48 degrades via oxidation (Met21), deamidation (Asn1), and succinimide formation (Asp11). The relative contribution of each degradation pathway to the overall stability of hEGF 1-48 changes as a function of solution pH and storage condition. Succinimide formation at Asp11 is favored at pH < 6 in which aspartic acid is present mostly in its protonated form. Deamidation of Asn1 is favored at pH > 6. The relative contribution of Met21 oxidation is increased with decreasing temperature, storage as a frozen solution (-20 degrees C), and exposure to fluorescent light.

Enhancement of the stability of thrombin by polyols: microcalorimetric studies.

Glycerol increased the transition temperature (Tm) of thrombin in a concentration-dependent fashion up to a concentration of 50% glycerol in aqueous buffer solution. Glycerol showed a comparable effect on Tm of trypsin. This effect on Tm of thrombin was not seen in the presence of excess sodium chloride (1.2 M) in aqueous buffer solution. The stabilizing effect of glycerol may be due to increased energy demand to unfold the protein molecule, as reflected by an increase in Tm. This stabilizing effect, as measured by Tm, was seen for other polyols, including sucrose, and was also dependent on the concentration of the stabilizing agent. Microcalorimetry may be used as an effective tool to screen for the protective action of compounds in enzyme stabilization studies before conducting the time-consuming and expensive stability studies of proteins in the presence of additives under different storage conditions.

Styrylpyrazoles, styrylisoxazoles, and styrylisothiazoles. Novel 5-lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase inhibitors.

A series of styrylpyrazoles, styrylisoxazoles, and styrylisothiazoles were prepared and found to be dual inhibitors of 5-lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase in rat basophilic leukemia cells. Compounds from this series also were found to inhibit the in vivo production of LTB4 when dosed orally in rats. Among these compounds, di-tert-butylphenols 19 and 33 exhibit oral activity in various models of inflammation and, most importantly, are devoid of ulcerogenic potential.

Arachidonic acid-induced pleurisy (ARIP): an in vivo model for testing 5-lipoxygenase inhibition.

Arachidonic acid-induced pleurisy in the rat was evaluated for testing inhibitors of arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism. The model involves the administration of AA intrapleurally and the determination of LTB4 and PGE2 as indicators of 5-lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase activities in the exudate/wash. This model is suitable for the in vivo evaluation of potential inhibitors of the 5-lipoxygenase pathway but not the cyclooxygenase pathway of AA cascade.

Effect of CI-922, a potential new antiallergy agent, on arachidonic acid metabolism in vitro.

CI-922 (3,7-dimethoxy-4-phenyl-N-1H-tetrazol-5-yl-4H-furo[3,2-b]indole-2- carboxamide, 1,2-ethanediamine, 2:1), an antiallergy compound, was tested for its effects on arachidonic acid metabolism, and its potency was compared to that of proxicromil, BW-755C, indomethacin, and nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA). CI-922 was both a relatively potent and selective inhibitor of 5-HETE and LTB4 formation in human leukocytes, being equipotent to BW-755C and about four-fold more potent than proxicromil. However, CI-922 was rather weak in inhibiting the formation of PGE2 in bovine seminal vesicles. The parallel inhibition of 5-HETE and LTB4 formation by CI-922 suggests that either direct or indirect inhibition of the 5-lipoxygenase pathway may explain, at least in part, its antiallergy properties.

Inhibition of human neutrophil 5-lipoxygenase activity by gingerdione, shogaol, capsaicin and related pungent compounds.

A series of structurally related pungent natural products including capsaicin, gingerol, and gingerdione among others were evaluated and found to be potent inhibitors of 5-HETE biosynthesis in intact human leukocytes, with IC50 values of 100 and 15 microM for capsaicin and gingerdione, respectively. Several compounds within this series were also found to inhibit PGE2 formation, with the most potent being gingerdione (IC50 = 18 microM). These and other data indicate that members of the capsaicin/gingerol family of pungent compounds can act as dual inhibitors of arachidonic acid metabolism, which could account in part for the antiinflammatory and analgesic properties of compounds within this group.

Meclofenamate sodium is an inhibitor of both the 5-lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase pathways of the arachidonic acid cascade in vitro.

Meclofenamate sodium was compared to other nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs in terms of its potency to inhibit the formation of 5-HETE and LTB4 in human leukocytes and the formation of prostaglandin E2 in bovine seminal vesicles as measures of its ability to inhibit the 5-lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase pathways of the arachidonic acid cascade. Meclofenamate sodium was about 2-4 times less potent than BW-755C in inhibiting 5-lipoxygenase enzyme activity and three times more potent than benoxaprofen, while naproxen, ibuprofen, and indomethacin showed IC50 greater than 100 microM. Meclofenamate sodium and indomethacin were the most potent inhibitors of the formation of PGE2 in bovine seminal vesicles followed by ibuprofen, naproxen, and benoxaprofen in this order. Meclofenamate sodium, like BW-755C, can be considered a dual inhibitor of 5-lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase pathways of arachidonic acid cascade. This finding may explain in part the antiinflammatory activity of meclofenamate sodium.

Inhibition of 5-hydroxy-eicosatetraenoic acid (5-HETE) formation in intact human neutrophils by naturally-occurring diarylheptanoids: inhibitory activities of curcuminoids and yakuchinones.

Various diarylheptanoids including curcumin, bis (3,4-dihydroxy-cinnamoyl) methane, and yakuchinones A & B were screened and found to be potent inhibitors of 5-HETE production by intact human neutrophils, with respective IC50 values of 8.0, 4.4, 5.4, and 4.0 microM. These diarylheptanoids were found to be more potent than BW-755C, Phenidone, and AA-861. We have confirmed a previous report that several of these diarylheptanoids inhibit cyclooxygenase. Thus, curcuminoids and yakuchinones are more accurately characterized as dual inhibitors of arachidonic acid metabolism.

Role of steroids in secretion--modulating effect of triamcinolone and estradiol on protein synthesis and secretion from the rat exocrine pancreas.

Following adrenalectomy of male rats, or adrenalectomy and ovariectomy of females, there was marked depletion of zymogen granules in acinar cells of the pancreas. Within 9 h after treatment with either triamcinolone or 17 beta-estradiol, complete restoration of these secretory vesicles was observed. This repletion was not inhibited by actinomycin-D. Supernatant fractions (100,000 g, 60 min) of rat pancreas, from both normal and surgically altered animals, contained proteins that bound [3H]-triamcinolone and [3H]-estradiol, suggesting that the action of these hormones is exerted directly on the pancreas. Binding of both steroid hormones required the presence of an additional coligand referred to as accessory factor. In addition, the binding proteins for [3H]-triamcinolone and [3H]-estradiol eluted in similar positions after Sephadex G-200 and CM Affi-gel Blue chromatography. It is uncertain, however, whether a single protein binds both steroid hormones since they had different binding isotherms. Scatchard analysis of binding of [3H]-estradiol yielded a single straight line of negative slope from which it was calculated that there were about 4.4 pmol of binding sites per mg protein, having an average apparent Kd of about 5 X 10(-8) M. Similar analysis of the data for [3H]-triamcinolone yielded a straight line of zero slope indicating nonsaturable binding of hormone at concentrations as high as 10 microM. Since both [14C]-L-leucine incorporation into protein and amylase secretion were affected markedly by the steroid-hormonal status of the animal, it is presumed that steroid-bound complexes in acinar cells of the pancreas modulate synthesis and secretion of protein.

Analysis of binding of [3H]Estradiol to the cytosol fraction of rat pancreas: comparison with sites in the cytosol of uterus.

The cytosol fraction of rat pancreas [100,000 X g (for 1 h) supernatant] demonstrated specific but nonsaturable binding of [3H]estradiol in the concentration range of 2-50 X 10(-9) M. Scatchard analysis of specifically bound [3H]estradiol, determined by the isotope dilution technique (competition with excess unlabeled estradiol), indicated a single class of binding sites (approximately 4.4 pmol/mg protein) with an apparent Kd of 5 X 10(-8) M. Such cytosol fractions, prepared from homogenates that contained protease inhibitors, when prelabeled with [3H]estradiol, demonstrated a single sharp eluate peak of radioactivity after Sephadex G-200 chromatography that corresponded to a molecular weight of 120,000. When protease inhibitors were omitted, [3H]estradiol was associated with material of considerably lower molecular weight. Routinely, the protease inhibitors leupeptin (1 mM), phenylsulfonyl fluoride (0.5 mM), and tosylphenylalanylchloromethyl ketone (0.05 mM) were included in the buffer used for homogenizing both the pancreas and uterus. The protein that binds [3H]estradiol in uterus differed from that in pancreas in a number of ways: 1) in the range of 10-20 X 10(-9) M [3H]estradiol, specific binding of the hormone to uterine sites was saturable, and Scatchard analysis indicated a single class of binding sites, (approximately 0.5 pmol/mg protein) having an apparent Kd of 3 X 10(-10) M; 2) the rate constants of dissociation of the [3H] estradiol-bound complexes in pancreas and uterus were 3.1 X 10(-4) sec-1 (t1/2, 37 min) and 8.7 X 10(-5) sec-1 (t1/2, 134 min), respectively; 3) the molecular weight of the estrogen-binding protein in freshly prepared uterine supernatant fractions appeared to be at least 240,000; this was unaltered regardless of whether protease inhibitors were present during initial homogenization of the tissue; and 4) when uterine supernatants prepared in the absence of protease inhibitors were kept at 8 C for 24 h and then analyzed by Sephadex G-200 chromatography, a second peak of [3H]estradiol-binding activity appeared at the same eluate volume as the low molecular weight binding fractions of pancreas. These data suggest that although the binding proteins in pancreas and uterus are different, there may be some common features at the hormone-binding locus.

Somatostatin enhances binding of [3H]estradiol to a cytosolic protein in rat pancreas. Possible role of oligopeptide coligands in secretion.

The cytosol fraction of rat pancrease can bind [3H] estradiol specifically and extensively. In contrast to the rat uterus, the binding protein in pancreas requires an accessory factor as a coligand in the steroid-binding reaction. Removal of this accessory factor by passage of the cytosol through CM Affi-Gel blue columns renders eluate fractions virtually incompetent with respect to binding of [3H]estradiol (10 nM). Certain synthetic oligopeptides such as N-benzoyl-L-argininyl-p-nitroanilide, as well as an endogenous accessory factor, can reactivate binding of [3H]estradiol. Thus, localization of the protein that binds [3H]estradiol following chromatography with CM Affi-Gel blue columns can be determined readily by assaying eluate fractions in the absence and presence of either accessory factor or N-benzoyl-L-argininyl-p-nitroanilide. Addition of somatostatin (tetradecapeptide referred to as SRIF14; somatotropin release inhibiting factor) to the activatable, but incompetent, eluate fractions, also enhanced binding of [3H]estradiol. The effect of SRIF14 was biphasic. The threshold concentration required for activation of [3H]estradiol binding was about 1 microM, and maximal stimulation occurred at 25 microM. At higher concentrations of SRIF14, binding declined and reached basal levels at about 75 microM. The concentrations of somatostatin required for activation of binding of [3H]estradiol in vivo may be lower than those indicated above since 1) preparations containing [3H]estradiol-binding protein also contained an SRIF14 peptidase. Following incubation of [125I-Tyr1]SRIF14 with these preparations there was loss of binding of radiolabeled peptide with SRIF14 antiserum. 2) The biphasic nature of SRIF14 activation may reflect feedback inhibition of [3H]estradiol binding by a degradation product of SRIF14. Since SRIF14 has been identified in the delta- (or D-) islet cells of the pancreas, and in concentrations that may be in the microM range, the possibility is raised that these cells serve a paracrine function with respect to acinar cell secretion.

Degradation of tumor-associated antigens shed by human melanoma cells in culture.

The fate of cell surface tumor-associated antigens shed by viable human melanoma cells was studied in vitro. Labeled surface material shed by radio-iodinated melanoma cells was incubated with a variety of unlabeled human cells for 24 hr. Both melanoma-associated antigens (MAAs), quantitated by specific immunoprecipitation, and unrelated surface macromolecules were degraded or inactivated by normal and malignant cells including the melanoma cells themselves. The MAAs studied were particularly susceptible to degradation. Following incubation with a variety of cells, immunoreactive MAAs decreased 2 to 3 times more rapidly than did unrelated surface macromolecules shed concurrently by melanoma cells. However, melanoma cells had a selective defect in their ability to degrade MAAs. Though catabolically active, these cells degraded non-MAA surface macromolecules shed by themselves or by allogeneic cells much more rapidly than they inactivated MAAs. These observations suggest that the ultimate amount of soluble tumor antigens that accumulate in body fluids will depend on the balance between the rate of their release and that of their degradation and that as a result of a selective defect in the catabolic activity of melanoma cells some tumor antigens may be particularly prone to accumulate in the extra-cellular fluid bathing these tumors.

Requirement for an accessory factor for binding of [3H]estradiol to protein in the cytosol fraction of rat pancreas.

Supernatant fractions from rat pancreas bind approximately 300 fmol of [3H]estradiol per mg of protein when incubated with 5 nM [3H]estradiol for 1 hr at room temperature. Passage through gel filtration columns reduces binding in the eluate to approximately 1% of its initial activity. Extracts of the supernatant contain a factor that reactivates binding in gel filtrates. Addition of accessory factor to fractional eluates gives one sharp peak of activity. Since fractions that cannot be reactivated contain as much or more protein as fractions that can be reactivated, it is concluded that interaction of accessory factor and [3H]estradiol-binding protein is specific. Peptides such as antipain [(1-carboxy-2-phenylethyl)carbamoyl-L-arginyl-L-valyl-L-argininal] and, especially, N-benzoyl-L-phenylalanyl-L-valyl-L-arginine-p-nitroanilide also enhanced binding of [3H]estradiol. Accessory factor is water soluble, dialyzable, and heat stable. Although as currently purified, it contains several substances, the data suggest that at least one component of accessory factor is an oligopeptide.

Specific binding of 3H-estradiol to the cytosol of rat pancreas and uterus: bound sites in pancreatic extracts do not translocate 3H-estradiol to nuclei suggesting a basic difference in mode of action.

In parallel sets of experiments, cytosol fractions from rat pancreas and uterus were incubated with 2 nM 3H-estradiol in the presence or absence of nuclei from pancreas and liver. After incubation for 1 hr at room temperature, the nuclei were removed by centrifugation and specific binding determined in the cytosol fractions as well as in the separated nuclei. The protein that binds 3H-estradiol in uterine extracts translocated the hormone to nuclei of pancreas and liver while the one in pancreas was devoid of this activity. It is presumed, therefore, that modification of transcription is not a primary action of the steroid-bound complex in pancreas.