Role for c-jun N-terminal kinase in treatment-refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML): signaling to multidrug-efflux and hyperproliferation.

A relationship was proved between constitutive activity of leukemic cell c-jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) and treatment failure in AML. Specifically, early treatment failure was predicted by the presence of constitutive JNK activity. The mechanistic origins of this association was sought. A multidrug resistant leukemic cell line, HL-60/ADR, characterized by hyperexpression of c-jun and JNK activity, was transfected with a mutant c-jun vector, whose substrate N-terminal c-jun serines were mutated. Down-regulated expression occurred of c-jun/AP-1-dependent genes, catalase and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) pi, which participate in cellular homeostasis to oxidative stress and xenobiotic exposure. MRP-efflux was abrogated in HL-60/ADR cells with dominant-negative c-jun, perhaps because MRP1 protein expression was also lost. Heightened sensitivity to daunorubicin resulted in cells subjected to this change. Biochemical analysis in 67 primary adult AML samples established a statistical correlation between cellular expression of c-jun and JNK activity, JNK activity with hyperleukocytosis at presentation of disease, and with exuberant MRP efflux. These findings reflect the survival role for c-jun/AP-1 and its regulatory kinase previously demonstrated for yeast in homeostatic response to oxidative stress and in operation of ATP-binding cassette efflux pumps, and may support evolutionary conservation of such function. Thus, JNK and c-jun may be salient drug targets in multidrug resistant AML.

Expression of Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin receptors claudin-3 and claudin-4 in prostate cancer epithelium.

The mRNA for Rvp.1 (rat ventral prostate) increases in abundance before gland involution after androgen deprivation. Rvp.1 is homologous to CPE-R, the high-affinity intestinal epithelial receptor for Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin (CPE), and is sufficient to mediate CPE binding and trigger subsequent toxin-mediated cytolysis. Rvp.1 (claudin-3) and CPE-R (claudin-4) are members of a larger family of transmembrane tissue-specific claudin proteins that are essential components of intercellular tight junction structures regulating paracellular ion flux. However, claudin-3 and claudin-4 are the only family members capable of mediating CPE binding and cytolysis. The present study was designed to study the expression of claudin-3 and claudin-4 in human prostate tissue as potential targets for CPE toxin-mediated therapy for prostate cancer. On human multiple-tissue Northern blot analysis, mRNAs for both claudin-3 and claudin-4 were expressed at high levels in prostate tissue. In normal prostate tissue, expression of claudin-3 was localized exclusively within acinar epithelial cells by in situ mRNA hybridization. Compared with expression within prostate epithelial cells in surrounding normal glandular tissue, expression of claudin-3 mRNA remained high in the epithelium of prostate adenocarcinoma (10 of 10) and prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (five of five). Prostate adenocarcinoma cells metastatic to bone were obtained from a patient with disease progression during antiandrogen therapy. These metastatic cells were prostate-specific antigen-positive by immunohistochemical staining and also expressed functional CPE receptors as measured by sensitivity to CPE-induced cell lysis. The persistent high level of claudin-3 expression in prostate adenocarcinoma and functional cytotoxicity of CPE in metastatic androgen-independent prostate adenocarcinoma suggests a new potential therapeutic strategy for prostate cancer.

Combined heterozygosity of factor V leiden and the G20210A prothrombin gene mutation in a patient with cerebral cortical vein thrombosis.

Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is a rare type of stroke with a variety of causes. Several reports have suggested that either factor V Leiden or G20210A prothrombin gene mutation is associated with an increased risk of CVT. The genetic thrombophilias are typically associated with other predisposing factors. We report a unique case of CVT in a patient with both the factor V Leiden and the G20210A prothrombin gene mutations without other identifiable precipitating factors in a 28-year-old white male in good health. MRI and cerebral arterial angiography showed cerebral cortical venous thrombosis. This case suggests that combined heterozygous individuals may be particularly prone to spontaneous thrombosis, like CVT.

Expression and chromosomal localization of the Requiem gene.

Apoptosis in murine myeloid cell lines requires the expression of the Requiem gene, which encodes a putative zinc finger protein. We detected the protein in both cytoplasmic and nuclear subcellular fractions of murine myeloid cells and human K562 leukemia cells, which suggests that the protein might have a function distinct from a transcription factor. This distribution did not alter upon apoptosis induction by IL-3 deprivation. As an approach to investigate its role in development, we determined the spatio-temporal expression pattern in the mouse. Expression was detected in various tissues in earlier gestational age; however, confined to testes, spleen, thymus, and part of the hippocampus in the adult mouse. The expression profile is consistent with a functional role during rapid growth and cell turnover, and in agreement with a regulatory function for hematopoietic cells. The human cDNA clone sequenced showed high homology to its murine counterpart and extended the open reading frame by 20 codons upstream. The gene is located in the proximal region of mouse Chromosome (Chr) 19. In the homologous human region at 11q13, it is located at about 150 kb centromeric from MLK3.

Therapeutic leukapheresis in hyperleucocytic leukaemias: lack of correlation between degree of cytoreduction and early mortality rate.

The clinical and laboratory data of 48 leukapheresis-treated patients with hyperleucocytic leukaemia (HL) was reviewed to assess the correlation between the degree of leucoreduction and early mortality. Leukapheresis resulted in > 50% leucoreductions and postapheresis WBC counts < 100 x 10(9)/l in most patients (64.5%). Patients presenting with neurological, respiratory or renal complications had higher early mortality rates than patients without such complications, despite similar initial WBC counts and comparable leucoreductions. Thus, in these patients, more efficient leucoreduction was not associated with improved early survival.

Function of wild-type or mutant Rac2 and Rap1a GTPases in differentiated HL60 cell NADPH oxidase activation.

Studies of neutrophil nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase activation in a cell-free system showed that the low molecular-weight guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) Rac was required, and that Rap1a may participate in activation of the catalytic complex. Full-length posttranslationally modified Rac2 was active, whereas only the 1-166 truncated form of Rap1a was functional in the cell-free system, and thus, clarification of the function of Rap1a and Rac2 in intact human phagocytes is needed to provide further insight into their roles as signal transducers from plasma membrane receptors. In the present studies, oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis was used to introduce a series of mutations into human rap1a or rac2 in the mammalian expression vector pSR alpha neo. HL60 cells transfected with wild-type or mutated rac2 or rap1a cDNA constructs and control HL60 cells transfected with the pSR alpha neo vector containing no inserted cDNA were selected in G418-containing media, then subclones were isolated. Compared with the parent HL60 cells, each of the stable transfected cell lines differentiated similarly into neutrophil-like cells and expressed comparable levels of NADPH oxidase components p47-phox, p67-phox and gp91-phox. The differentiated vector control cell line produced O2. in response to receptor stimulation at rates that were not significantly different from parent HL60 cells. O2-. production by differentiated cell lines expressing mutated N17 Rap1a or N17 Rac2 dominant-negative proteins was inhibited, whereas O2-. production by the subline overexpressing wild-type Rap1a was increased by fourfold. O2-. production by the differentiated cell line expressing GTPase-defective V12 Rap1a was also significantly inhibited, a finding that is consistent with a requirement for cycling between guanosine diphosphate- and GTP-bound forms of Rap1a for continuous NADPH oxidase activation in intact neutrophils. A model is proposed in which Rac2 mediates assembly of the p47 and p67 oxidase components on the cytosolic face of the plasma membrane via cytoskeletal reorganization, whereas Rap1a functions downstream as the final activation switch involving direct physical interaction with the transmembrane flavocytochrome component of the NADPH oxidase.

Requiem: a novel zinc finger gene essential for apoptosis in myeloid cells.

To identify genes mediating programmed cell death triggered by interleukin 3 (IL-3)-deprivation of myeloid cells, the IL-3-dependent murine myeloid cell line FDCP-1 was used to screen a mammalian cell expression library for cDNAs that would promote survival following withdrawal of IL-3. A unique 892-base pair cDNA was cloned that prevented the programmed cell death response following IL-3 deprivation by causing antisense suppression of an endogenous 2.4-kilobase (kb) mRNA. A 2.3-kb cDNA containing the identical 892-base pair over-lapping sequence was cloned that encoded a deduced 371-amino acid protein containing a single Kruppel-type zinc finger and a cluster of 4 cysteine/histidine-rich repeats resembling atypical zinc fingers. The 2.4-kb mRNA was found to be ubiquitously expressed in murine tissues and its abundance in FDCP-1 cells was not altered in response to IL-3 deprivation. Since expression of this 2.4-kb mRNA was a prerequisite for the apoptosis response following IL-3 deprivation, the gene encoding it was named requiem. Requiem is likely to encode a transcription factor required for the apoptosis response following survival factor withdrawal from myeloid cells.

Resolution of a low molecular weight G protein in neutrophil cytosol required for NADPH oxidase activation and reconstitution by recombinant Krev-1 protein.

Activation of the membrane-associated NADPH oxidase in intact human neutrophils requires a receptor-associated heterotrimeric GTP-binding protein that is sensitive to pertussis toxin. Activation of this NADPH oxidase by arachidonate in a cell-free system requires an additional downstream pertussis toxin-insensitive G protein (Gabig, T. G., English, D., Akard, L. P., and Schell, M. J. (1987) (J. Biol. Chem. 262, 1685-1690) that is located in the cytosolic fraction of unstimulated cells (Gabig, T. G., Eklund, E. A., Potter, G. B., and Dykes, J. R. (1990) J. Immunol. 145, 945-951). In the present study, immunodepletion of G proteins from the cytosolic fraction of unstimulated neutrophils resulted in a loss of the ability to activate NADPH oxidase in the membrane fraction. The activity in immunodepleted cytosol was fully reconstituted by a partially purified fraction from neutrophil cytosol that contained a 21-kDa GTP-binding protein. Purified human recombinant Krev-1 p21 also completely reconstituted immunodepleted cytosol whereas recombinant human H-ras p21 or yeast RAS GTP-binding proteins had no reconstitutive activity. Rabbit antisera raised against a synthetic peptide corresponding to the effector region of Krev-1 (amino acids 31-43) completely inhibited cell-free NADPH oxidase activation, and this inhibition was blocked by the synthetic 31-43 peptide. An inhibitory monoclonal antibody specific for ras p21 amino acids 60-77 (Y13-259) had no effect on cell-free NADPH oxidase activation. Activation of the NADPH oxidase in intact neutrophils by stimulation with phorbol myristate acetate caused a marked increase in the amount of membrane-associated antigen recognized by 151 antiserum on Western blot. Thus a G protein in the cytosol of unstimulated neutrophils antigenically and functionally related to Krev-1 may be the downstream effector G protein for NADPH oxidase activation. This system represents a unique model to study molecular interactions of a ras-like G protein.

Expression of val-12 mutant ras p21 in an IL-3-dependent murine myeloid cell line is associated with loss of serum-dependence and increases in membrane PIP2-specific phospholipase C activity.

We previously showed that the proliferative response of a serum- and interleukin-3 (IL-3)-dependent murine myeloid cell line, NFS/N1-H7, was partially inhibited by pertussis toxin as a result of toxin-induced increased adenylate cyclase activity. In the present studies, we examined the role of the phosphoinositide cycle in the proliferative response of these cells and demonstrated that there was no change in PIP (phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate)-specific phospholipase C activity in response to IL-3 alone. However, serum caused a pertussis toxin-insensitive increase in PIP2-specific phospholipase C activity as reflected by decreased cellular levels of 32P-labelled PIP2. Proliferation of a subline selected from val-12-mutant H-ras-transfected NFS-H7 cells, clone E5, was insensitive to pertussis toxin, occurred in the absence of serum but remained serum-stimulatable and absolutely dependent on IL-3. This val-12 mutant ras-expressing cell line showed an increase in 32P-labelled PIP (phosphatidylinositol phosphate) in response to serum whereas the parent cell line did not. Membrane fractions from 32P-labelled ras-transfected cells displayed higher GTP gamma S-, GTP-, or F(-)-stimulated PIP2-specific phospholipase C activity compared to membranes from the parent cell line. Thus serum-dependence and adenylate cyclase-mediated pertussis toxin-sensitivity of the parent cell line was bypassed by val-12 mutant ras p21, possibly as a result of increased PIP2-specific phospholipase C activity.

A neutrophil GTP-binding protein that regulates cell free NADPH oxidase activation is located in the cytosolic fraction.

The dormant O2(-)-generating oxidase in plasma membranes from unstimulated neutrophils becomes activated in the presence of arachidonate and a multicomponent cytosolic fraction. This process is stimulated by nonhydrolyzable GTP analogues and may involve a pertussis toxin insensitive GTP-binding protein. Our studies were designed to characterize the putative GTP-binding protein, localizing it to either membrane or cytosolic fraction in this system. Exposure of the isolated membrane fraction to guanosine-5'-(3-O-thio)triphosphate (GTP gamma S), with or without arachidonate, had no effect on subsequent NADPH oxidase activation by the cytosolic fraction. Preexposure of the cytosolic fraction to GTP gamma S alone did not enhance activation of the membrane oxidase. However, preexposure of the cytosol to GTP gamma S then arachidonate caused a four-fold enhancement of its ability to activate the membrane oxidase. This enhancement was evident after removal of unbound GTP gamma S and arachidonate, and was not augmented by additional GTP gamma S during membrane activation. A reconstitution assay was developed for cytosolic component(s) responsible for the GTP gamma S effect. Cytosol preincubated with GTP gamma 35S then arachidonate was fractionated by anion exchange chromatography. A single peak of protein-bound GTP gamma 35S was recovered that had reconstitutive activity. Cytosol preincubated with GTP gamma 35S alone was similarly fractionated and the same peak of protein-bound GTP gamma 35S was observed. However, this peak had no reconstitutive activity. We conclude that the GTP-binding protein regulating this cellfree system is located in the cytosolic fraction. The GTP gamma S-liganded form of this protein may be activated or stabilized by arachidonate.

A RAS oncogene imparts growth factor independence to myeloid cells that abnormally regulate protein kinase C: a nonautocrine transformation pathway.

The factor-dependent cell line FDC-P1 has been utilized as a model of interleukin 3 (IL-3)-dependent myeloid cell proliferation. However, it has been recently observed that active phorbol esters (e.g., phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate) may entirely replace IL-3 to promote its proliferation. These observations reveal abnormal regulation of protein kinase C (pkC) (absence of downregulation or overexpression). This property allowed a test of the hypothesis that the T24 RAS (codon 12) oncogene acts by constitutive and persistent pkC activation, driving proliferation. FDC-P1 cells were transfected by electroporation with the T24 RAS-containing vector pAL 8, or with a control vector pSVX Zip Neo, and neomycin-resistant clones were selected. Multiple RAS-transfectant clones were categorized for their growth factor requirement and incorporation of the 6.6-kb human mutant H-RAS genome. IL-3-independent clones had incorporated multiple (more than two) copies of the entire 6.6-kb RAS genome. The incorporation of multiple 6.6-kb RAS genomes was correlated with high-level p21 RAS expression. No evidence for autostimulatory growth factor production by clones containing the RAS oncogene was observed. Thus, acquisition of growth factor independence in myeloid cells by abundant expression of a RAS oncogene is linked, in part, to abnormal regulation of pkC, which acts as a collaborating oncogene.

Purification and characterization of a lipid thiobis ester from human neutrophil cytosol that reversibly deactivates the O2- -generating NADPH oxidase.

Intact neutrophils possess a cellular mechanism that efficiently deactivates the microbicidal O2-generating NADPH oxidase during the respiratory burst (Akard, L. P., English, D., and Gabig, T. G. (1988) Blood 72, 322-327). The present studies directed at identifying the molecular mechanism(s) involved in NADPH oxidase deactivation showed that a heat- and trypsin-insensitive species in the cytosolic fraction from normal unstimulated neutrophils was capable of deactivating the membrane-associated NADPH oxidase isolated from opsonized zymosan- or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate-stimulated neutrophils. This cytosolic species also deactivated the cell-free-activated oxidase. Deactivation by this cytosolic species occurred in the absence of NADPH-dependent catalytic turnover and was reversible, since NADPH oxidase activity could be subsequently reactivated in the cell-free system. The sedimentable particulate fraction from unstimulated neutrophils did not demonstrate deactivator activity. Deactivator activity was demonstrated in the neutral lipid fraction of neutrophil cytosol extracted with chloroform:methanol. Following complete purification of cytosolic deactivator activity by thin layer chromatography and reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography, the deactivator species was shown to be a lipid thiobis ester compound by mass spectroscopy. Cellular metabolism of this compound in human neutrophils may reveal a unique mechanism for enzymatic control of the NADPH oxidase system and thereby play an important role in regulation of the inflammatory response.

Growth factor-dependent initiation of DNA replication in nuclei isolated from an interleukin 3-dependent murine myeloid cell line.

To study the proliferative response of hematopoietic cells to growth factors at the molecular level, we developed a cell-free system for growth factor-dependent initiation of genomic DNA replication. Nuclei were isolated from the IL-3-dependent cell line NFS/N1-H7 after a 10-h period of IL-3 deprivation. Cytosolic and membrane-containing subcellular fractions were prepared from proliferating NFS/N1-H7 cells. Nuclei from the nonproliferating cells (+/- IL-3) showed essentially no incorporation of [3H]thymidine during a 16-h incubation with a mixture of unlabeled GTP, ATP, UTP, CTP, dGTP, dATP, dCTP, and [3H]dTTP. When the combination of IL-3, a cytosolic fraction, and a membrane-containing fraction from proliferating cells was added to nuclei from nonproliferating cells, a burst of [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA began after a 12-h lag period, attained a maximal rate at 16 h, and reached a level of 860 pmol thymidine/10(6) nuclei at 24 h (corresponding to replication of approximately 56% total mouse genomic DNA). This DNA synthesis was inhibited approximately 90% by the specific DNA polymerase alpha inhibitor aphidicolin. Deletion of a single cellular component or IL-3 from the system resulted in a marked reduction of DNA replication (-membrane, 80 +/- 4%; -cytosol, 90% +/- 4%; -IL-3, 74 +/- 7% inhibition). This model requires a growth factor (IL-3), a sedimentable cell fraction containing its receptor and possibly additional membrane-associated components, and a cytosolic fraction. It appears to recapitulate the molecular events required for progression from early G1 to S phase of the cell cycle induced by IL-3 binding to its receptor.

A mutant RAS gene acts through protein kinase C to augment interleukin-3 dependent proliferation in a fastidious immortal myeloid cell line.

The functional role of a mutant RAS gene in immortal myeloid cell proliferation was examined in a fastidious interleukin-3 (IL-3) dependent cell line (NFS/N1.H7) formed by forced proliferation in IL-3 of marrow cells of the NFS/N mouse. The NFS/N1.H7 cell line was strictly dependent upon IL-3 for growth, and the cell line could be activated by phorbol esters (PMA) to augment IL-3 dependent proliferation, but when pKC was downregulated, diminished IL-3 proliferative response resulted. Transfection (electroporation) of the T24 RAS-containing vector pAL8 to NFS/N1.H7 led to clones (H7 NeoRas.F3, H7 NeoRas.E2) that had incorporated the entire 6.6 Kb human mutant H-RAS genome. The mutant RAS-containing clones demonstrated greater proliferation than parent cells or cells containing a control (neo-resistance) vector over a range of suboptimal IL-3 does and in optimal IL-3 concentrations had a faster doubling rate than parent cells. The clone H7 NeoRas.F3 was studied biochemically, and found to constitutively form 3-fold more 3H-diacylglycerol than the parent cell line upon exposure to 3H-glycerol. PMA could partially repair the proliferative defect of NFS/N1.H7 compared to the RAS-expressor. These studies affirm a secondary, accelerating role for a mutant RAS gene product acting through pKC to promote clonal expansion of immortal myeloid cells stimulated by IL-3.

Isolation of the respiratory burst oxidase: the role of a flavoprotein component.

The article reviews the enzymatic and electron transfer properties of a low-potential FAD-dependent flavoprotein that is a component of the NADPH-dependent O2-.-generating respiratory burst oxidase of phagocytes. Current methods available for isolation of the respiratory burst oxidase and the flavoprotein component of the complex are also reviewed. These studies and data obtained from affinity-labeling of respiratory burst oxidase components, suggest that the flavoprotein has a molecular weight of 65-67 kD. The prevailing evidence suggests that the flavoprotein functions as a dehydrogenase/electron transferase and can directly catalyse NADPH-dependent O2-.formation when isolated. However, in neutrophil plasma membranes, the prevailing evidence suggests that the flavoprotein functions primarily to transfer electrons from NADPH to cytochrome b-245 and that this latter redox component is the catalytic side of O2-.formation. A working model for the arrangement of the flavoprotein and cytochrome b-245 components of the respiratory burst oxidase in neutrophil membranes is proposed.

Temporal adaptation of neutrophil oxidative responsiveness to n-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine. Acceleration by granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor.

This investigation was undertaken to clarify the mechanism by which purified recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) potentiates neutrophil oxidative responses triggered by the chemotactic peptide, FMLP. Previous studies have shown that GM-CSF priming of neutrophil responses to FMLP is induced relatively slowly, requiring 90 to 120 min of incubation in vitro, is not associated with increased levels of cytoplasmic free Ca2+, but is associated with up-regulation of cell-surface FMLP receptors. We have confirmed these findings and further characterized the process of GM-CSF priming. We found that the effect of GM-CSF on neutrophil oxidative responsiveness was induced in a temperature-dependent manner and was not reversed when the cells were washed extensively to remove the growth factor before stimulation with FMLP. Extracellular Ca2+ was not required for functional enhancement by GM-CSF and GM-CSF alone effected no detectable alteration in the 32P-labeled phospholipid content of neutrophils during incubation in vitro. Our data indicate that GM-CSF exerts its influence on neutrophils by accelerating a process that occurs spontaneously and results in up-regulation of both cell-surface FMLP receptors and oxidative responsiveness to FMLP. Thus, the results demonstrate that, with respect to oxidative activation, circulating endstage polymorphonuclear leukocytes are nonresponsive or hyporesponsive to FMLP; functional responsiveness increases dramatically as surface FMLP receptors are gradually deployed after the cells leave the circulation. Thus, as neutrophils mature, their responsiveness to FMLP changes in a manner which may be crucial for efficient host defense. At 37 degrees C, this process is markedly potentiated by GM-CSF. We conclude that endogenous GM-CSF, released systemically or at sites of infection and inflammation, potentially plays an important role in host defense by accelerating functional maturation of responding polymorphonuclear leukocytes.

Rapid deactivation of NADPH oxidase in neutrophils: continuous replacement by newly activated enzyme sustains the respiratory burst.

The cell-free system for activation of the neutrophil NADPH oxidase allowed us to examine activation of the oxidase in the absence of its NADPH-dependent turnover. The covalent sulfhydryl-modifying reagent N-ethylmaleimide completely inhibited the activation step (Ki = 40 mumol/L) in the cell-free system but had no effect on turnover of the preactivated particulate NADPH oxidase (up to 1 mmol/L). When N-ethylmaleimide was added to intact neutrophils during the period of maximal O2 generation in response to stimuli that activate the respiratory burst (phorbol myristate acetate, f-Met-Leu-Phe, opsonized zymosan, arachidonic acid), O2- generation ceased within seconds. Study of components of the cell-free activation system indicated that the cytosolic cofactor was irreversibly inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide whereas the N-ethylmaleimide-treated, membrane-associated oxidase could be activated by arachidonate and control cytosolic cofactor. Likewise, the cell-free system prepared from intact neutrophils that had been briefly exposed to N-ethylmaleimide and then washed reflected the effects of N-ethylmaleimide on the isolated cell-free components: cytosolic cofactor activity was absent, but the membrane oxidase remained fully activatable. Thus inhibition of oxidase activation by N-ethylamaleimide unmasked a rapid deactivation step that was operative in intact neutrophils but not in isolated particulate NADPH oxidase preparations. The demonstrated specificity of N-ethylmaleimide for oxidase activation and lack of effect on turnover of the NADPH oxidase suggested that sustained O2- generation by intact neutrophils was a result of continued replenishment of a small pool of active oxidase. The existence of an inactive pool of NADPH oxidase molecules in particulate preparations from stimulated neutrophils was supported more directly by activating these preparations again in the cell-free system.

Phagocyte NADPH-oxidase. Studies with flavin analogues as active site probes in triton X-100-solubilized preparations.

NADPH-oxidase of stimulated human neutrophil membranes was solubilized in Triton X-100 and activity reconstituted with FAD, 8-F-FAD, 8-phenyl-S-FAD, and 8-S-FAD. The enzyme had similar affinities for all the flavins with Km values in the 60-80 nM range. Vmax was found to increase 4-fold with increasing redox midpoint potential of the flavin. 8-F-FAD reconstituted with the enzyme was reactive toward thiophenol, suggesting exposure of the 8-position to solvent, a finding supported by unsuccessful attempts to label the enzyme with the photoaffinity probe 8-N3-[32P]FAD. Solubilized oxidase stabilized the red thiolate form of 8-S-FAD, a characteristic of flavoproteins of the dehydrogenase/electron transferase classes which stabilize the blue neutral form of the flavin semiquinone radical.