Carnosine synthase deficiency is compatible with normal skeletal muscle and olfactory function but causes reduced olfactory sensitivity in aging mice.

Carnosine (ß-alanyl-l-histidine) and anserine (ß-alanyl-3-methyl-l-histidine) are abundant peptides in the nervous system and skeletal muscle of many vertebrates. Many in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that exogenously added carnosine can improve muscle contraction, has antioxidant activity, and can quench various reactive aldehydes. Some of these functions likely contribute to the proposed anti-aging activity of carnosine. However, the physiological role of carnosine and related histidine-containing dipeptides (HCDs) is not clear. In this study, we generated a mouse line deficient in carnosine synthase (Carns1). HCDs were undetectable in the primary olfactory system and skeletal muscle of Carns1-deficient mice. Skeletal muscle contraction in these mice, however, was unaltered, and there was no evidence for reduced pH-buffering capacity in the skeletal muscle. Olfactory tests did not reveal any deterioration in 8-month-old mice lacking carnosine. In contrast, aging (18-24-month-old) Carns1-deficient mice exhibited olfactory sensitivity impairments that correlated with an age-dependent reduction in the number of olfactory receptor neurons. Whereas we found no evidence for elevated levels of lipoxidation and glycation end products in the primary olfactory system, protein carbonylation was increased in the olfactory bulb of aged Carns1-deficient mice. Taken together, these results suggest that carnosine in the olfactory system is not essential for information processing in the olfactory signaling pathway but does have a role in the long-term protection of olfactory receptor neurons, possibly through its antioxidant activity.

PAICS contributes to gastric carcinogenesis and participates in DNA damage response by interacting with histone deacetylase 1/2.

Phosphoribosylaminoimidazole carboxylase, phosphoribosylaminoimidazole succinocarboxamide synthetase (PAICS), an essential enzyme involved in de novo purine biosynthesis, is connected with formation of various tumors. However, the specific biological roles and related mechanisms of PAICS in gastric cancer (GC) remain unclear. In the present study, we identified for the first time that PAICS was significantly upregulated in GC and high expression of PAICS was correlated with poor prognosis of patients with GC. In addition, knockdown of PAICS significantly induced cell apoptosis, and inhibited GC cell growth both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistic studies first found that PAICS was engaged in DNA damage response, and knockdown of PAICS in GC cell lines induced DNA damage and impaired DNA damage repair efficiency. Further explorations revealed that PAICS interacted with histone deacetylase HDAC1 and HDAC2, and PAICS deficiency decreased the expression of DAD51 and inhibited its recruitment to DNA damage sites by impairing HDAC1/2 deacetylase activity, eventually preventing DNA damage repair. Consistently, PAICS deficiency enhanced the sensitivity of GC cells to DNA damage agent, cisplatin (CDDP), both in vitro and in vivo. Altogether, our findings demonstrate that PAICS plays an oncogenic role in GC, which act as a novel diagnosis and prognostic biomarker for patients with GC.

Impaired mucociliary motility enhances antigen-specific nasal IgA immune responses to a cholera toxin-based nasal vaccine.

Nasal mucosal tissues are equipped with physical barriers, mucus and cilia, on their surface. The mucus layer captures inhaled materials, and the cilia remove the inhaled materials from the epithelial layer by asymmetrical beating. The effect of nasal physical barriers on the vaccine efficacy remains to be investigated. Tubulin tyrosine ligase-like family, member 1 (Ttll1) is an essential enzyme for appropriate movement of the cilia on respiratory epithelium, and its deficiency (Ttll1-KO) leads to mucus accumulation in the nasal cavity. Here, when mice were intra-nasally immunized with pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA, as vaccine antigen) together with cholera toxin (CT, as mucosal adjuvant), Ttll1-KO mice showed higher levels of PspA-specific IgA in the nasal wash and increased numbers of PspA-specific IgA-producing plasma cells in the nasal passages when compared with Ttll1 hetero (He) mice. Mucus removal by N-acetylcysteine did not affect the enhanced immune responses in Ttll1-KO mice versus Ttll1-He mice. Immunohistological and flow cytometry analyses revealed that retention time of PspA in the nasal cavity in Ttll1-KO mice was longer than that in Ttll1-He mice. Consistently, uptake of PspA by dendritic cells was higher in the nasopharynx-associated lymphoid tissue (NALT) of Ttll1-KO mice than that of Ttll1-He mice. These results indicate that the ciliary function of removing vaccine antigen from the NALT epithelial layer is a critical determinant of the efficacy of nasal vaccine.

Inactivation of folylpolyglutamate synthetase Met7 results in genome instability driven by an increased dUTP/dTTP ratio.

The accumulation of mutations is frequently associated with alterations in gene function leading to the onset of diseases, including cancer. Aiming to find novel genes that contribute to the stability of the genome, we screened the Saccharomyces cerevisiae deletion collection for increased mutator phenotypes. Among the identified genes, we discovered MET7, which encodes folylpolyglutamate synthetase (FPGS), an enzyme that facilitates several folate-dependent reactions including the synthesis of purines, thymidylate (dTMP) and DNA methylation. Here, we found that Met7-deficient strains show elevated mutation rates, but also increased levels of endogenous DNA damage resulting in gross chromosomal rearrangements (GCRs). Quantification of deoxyribonucleotide (dNTP) pools in cell extracts from met7Δ mutant revealed reductions in dTTP and dGTP that cause a constitutively active DNA damage checkpoint. In addition, we found that the absence of Met7 leads to dUTP accumulation, at levels that allowed its detection in yeast extracts for the first time. Consequently, a high dUTP/dTTP ratio promotes uracil incorporation into DNA, followed by futile repair cycles that compromise both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA integrity. In summary, this work highlights the importance of folate polyglutamylation in the maintenance of nucleotide homeostasis and genome stability.

Deficiency of D-alanyl-D-alanine ligase A attenuated cell division and greatly altered the proteome of Mycobacterium smegmatis.

D-Alanyl-D-alanine ligase A (DdlA) catalyses the dimerization of two D-alanines yielding D-alanyl-D-alanine required for mycobacterial peptidoglycan biosynthesis, and is a promising antimycobacterial drug target. To better understand the roles of DdlA in mycobacteria in vivo, we established a cell model in which DdlA expression was specifically downregulated by ddlA antisense RNA by introducing a 380 bp ddlA fragment into pMind followed by transforming the construct into nonpathogenic Mycobacterium smegmatis. The M. smegmatis cell model was verified by plotting the growth inhibition curves and quantifying endogenous DdlA expression using a polyclonal anti-DdlA antibody produced from the expressed DdlA. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to investigate mycobacterial morphology. Bidimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry were used to analyze differentially expressed proteins. Consequently, the successful construction of the M. smegmatis cell model was verified. The morphological investigation of the model indicated that DdlA deficiency led to an increased number of Z rings and a rearrangement of intracellular content, including a clear nucleoid and visible filamentous DNA. Proteomic techniques identified six upregulated and 14 downregulated proteins that interacted with each other to permit cell survival by forming a regulatory network under DdlA deficiency. Finally, our data revealed that DdlA deficiency inhibited cell division in mycobacteria and attenuated the process of carbohydrate catabolism and the pathway of fatty acid anabolism, while maintaining active protein degradation and synthesis. N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA)-dependent methanol dehydrogenase (MSMEG_6242) and fumonisin (MSMEG_1419) were identified as potential antimycobacterial drug targets.

Mutations in PPCS, Encoding Phosphopantothenoylcysteine Synthetase, Cause Autosomal-Recessive Dilated Cardiomyopathy.

Coenzyme A (CoA) is an essential metabolic cofactor used by around 4% of cellular enzymes. Its role is to carry and transfer acetyl and acyl groups to other molecules. Cells can synthesize CoA de novo from vitamin B5 (pantothenate) through five consecutive enzymatic steps. Phosphopantothenoylcysteine synthetase (PPCS) catalyzes the second step of the pathway during which phosphopantothenate reacts with ATP and cysteine to form phosphopantothenoylcysteine. Inborn errors of CoA biosynthesis have been implicated in neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA), a group of rare neurological disorders characterized by accumulation of iron in the basal ganglia and progressive neurodegeneration. Exome sequencing in five individuals from two unrelated families presenting with dilated cardiomyopathy revealed biallelic mutations in PPCS, linking CoA synthesis with a cardiac phenotype. Studies in yeast and fruit flies confirmed the pathogenicity of identified mutations. Biochemical analysis revealed a decrease in CoA levels in fibroblasts of all affected individuals. CoA biosynthesis can occur with pantethine as a source independent from PPCS, suggesting pantethine as targeted treatment for the affected individuals still alive.

Impaired airway mucociliary function reduces antigen-specific IgA immune response to immunization with a claudin-4-targeting nasal vaccine in mice.

Vaccine delivery is an essential element for the development of mucosal vaccine, but it remains to be investigated how physical barriers such as mucus and cilia affect vaccine delivery efficacy. Previously, we reported that C-terminal fragment of Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin (C-CPE) targeted claudin-4, which is expressed by the epithelium associated with nasopharynx-associated lymphoid tissue (NALT), and could be effective as a nasal vaccine delivery. Mice lacking tubulin tyrosine ligase-like family, member 1 (Ttll1-KO mice) showed mucus accumulation in nasal cavity due to the impaired motility of respiratory cilia. Ttll1-KO mice nasally immunized with C-CPE fused to pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA-C-CPE) showed reduced PspA-specific nasal IgA responses, impaired germinal center formation, and decreased germinal center B-cells and follicular helper T cells in the NALT. Although there was no change in the expression of claudin-4 in the NALT epithelium in Ttll1-KO mice, the epithelium was covered by a dense mucus that prevented the binding of PspA-C-CPE to NALT. However, administration of expectorant N-acetylcysteine removed the mucus and rescued the PspA-specific nasal IgA response. These results show that the accumulation of mucus caused by impaired respiratory cilia function is an interfering factor in the C-CPE-based claudin-4-targeting nasal vaccine.

Characterization of a Bacillus subtilis surfactin synthetase knockout and antimicrobial activity analysis.

Gene knockout is an important approach to improve the production of antimicrobial compounds. B. subtilis PB2-LS10, derived from B. subtilis PB2-L by a surfactin synthetase (srf) genes knockout, exhibits stronger inhibitory action than its parental strain against all tested pathogenic bacteria and fungi. The antimicrobial extracts produced by B. subtilis PB2-L and B. subtilis PB2-LS10 respectively were characterized by the high-resolution LC-ESI-MS. To provide further insight into the distinct antimicrobial activities, we investigated the impact of the srf genes deletion on the growth and gene transcriptional profile of the strains. The mutant strain grew quickly and reached stationary phase 2h earlier than the wild-type. Prominent expression changes in the modified strain involved genes that were essential to metabolic pathways and processes. Genes related to amino acid transport, ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters and protein export were up-regulated in strain PB2-LS10. However, amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism and fatty acid metabolism were repressed. Because of its excellent antimicrobial activity, strain PB2-LS10 has potential for use in food preservation.

Ttll9-/- mice sperm flagella show shortening of doublet 7, reduction of doublet 5 polyglutamylation and a stall in beating.

Nine outer doublet microtubules in axonemes of flagella and cilia are heterogeneous in structure and biochemical properties. In mammalian sperm flagella, one of the factors to generate the heterogeneity is tubulin polyglutamylation, although the importance of the heterogeneous modification is unclear. Here, we show that a tubulin polyglutamylase Ttll9 deficiency (Ttll9(-/-)) causes a unique set of phenotypes related to doublet heterogeneity. Ttll9(-/-) sperm axonemes had frequent loss of a doublet and reduced polyglutamylation. Intriguingly, the doublet loss selectively occurred at the distal region of doublet 7, and reduced polyglutamylation was observed preferentially on doublet 5. Ttll9(-/-) spermatozoa showed aberrant flagellar beating, characterized by frequent stalls after anti-hook bending. This abnormal motility could be attributed to the reduction of polyglutamylation on doublet 5, which probably occurred at a position involved in the switching of bending. These results indicate that mammalian Ttll9 plays essential roles in maintaining the normal structure and beating pattern of sperm flagella by establishing normal heterogeneous polyglutamylation patterns.

An atypical orphan carbohydrate-NRPS genomic island encodes a novel lytic transglycosylase.

Microbial genome sequencing platforms have produced a deluge of orphan biosynthetic pathways suspected of biosynthesizing new small molecules with pharmacological relevance. Genome synteny analysis provides an assessment of genomic island content, which is enriched in natural product gene clusters. Here we identified an atypical orphan carbohydrate-nonribosomal peptide synthetase genomic island in Photorhabdus luminescens using genome synteny analysis. Heterologous expression of the pathway led to the characterization of five oligosaccharide metabolites with lysozyme inhibitory activities. The oligosaccharides harbor a 1,6-anhydro-ß-D-N-acetyl-glucosamine moiety, a rare structural feature for natural products. Gene deletion analysis and biochemical reconstruction of oligosaccharide production led to the discovery that a hypothetical protein in the pathway is a lytic transglycosylase responsible for bicyclic sugar formation. The example presented here supports the notion that targeting select genomic islands with reduced reliance on known protein homologies could enhance the discovery of new metabolic chemistry and biology.

Tubulin polyglutamylation regulates flagellar motility by controlling a specific inner-arm dynein that interacts with the dynein regulatory complex.

The tpg1 mutant of Chlamydomonas lacks the tubulin polyglutamylase TTLL9 and is deficient in flagellar tubulin polyglutamylation. It exhibits slow swimming, whereas the double mutant with oda2 (a slow-swimming mutant that lacks outer-arm dynein) is completely nonmotile. Thus, tubulin polyglutamylation must be important for the functioning of inner-arm dynein(s). In this study, we show that the tpg1 mutation only slightly affects the motility of mutants that lack dynein "e," one of the seven species of major inner-arm dyneins, whereas it greatly reduces the motility of mutants lacking other inner-arm dynein species. This suggests that dynein e is the main target of motility regulation by tubulin polyglutamylation. Furthermore, the motility of various mutants in the background of the tpg1 mutation raises the possibility that tubulin polyglutamylation also affects the dynein regulatory complex, a dynein e-associated key regulator of flagellar motility, which possibly constitutes the interdoublet (nexin) link. Tubulin polyglutamylation thus may play a central role in the regulation of ciliary and flagellar motility. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Correlating secondary metabolite production with genetic changes using differential analysis of 2D NMR spectra.

For many fungi the number of known secondary metabolites is surprisingly small compared to the -astonishingly large number of terpene cyclase, polyketide synthase (PKS), and non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) secondary metabolite gene clusters found in their genomes. Correspondingly, the majority of fungal secondary metabolite genes have not yet been associated with the biosynthesis of any known small molecules, and it seems likely that for many more PKS and NRPS known small molecule products represent but a fraction of the entire spectrum of metabolites produced by the associated pathways. Comparative metabolomics based on differential analysis by 2D NMR spectroscopy (DANS) in conjunction with LC-MS analyses is emerging as a highly effective tool for pursuing small molecule structures and biosynthetic pathways associated with orphan PKS and NRPS gene clusters. Here we describe the use of DANS paired with LC-MS analyses for the comparison of the metabolomes of various fungal strains including wild-type (WT), PKS/NRPS overexpressing, and/or corresponding PKS/NRPS knock-out (KO) strains.

Pantethine rescues phosphopantothenoylcysteine synthetase and phosphopantothenoylcysteine decarboxylase deficiency in Escherichia coli but not in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Coenzyme A (CoA) plays a central and essential role in all living organisms. The pathway leading to CoA biosynthesis has been considered an attractive target for developing new antimicrobial agents with novel mechanisms of action. By using an arabinose-regulated expression system, the essentiality of coaBC, a single gene encoding a bifunctional protein catalyzing two consecutive steps in the CoA pathway converting 4'-phosphopantothenate to 4'-phosphopantetheine, was confirmed in Escherichia coli. Utilizing this regulated coaBC strain, it was further demonstrated that E. coli can effectively metabolize pantethine to bypass the requirement for coaBC. Interestingly, pantethine cannot be used by Pseudomonas aeruginosa to obviate coaBC. Through reciprocal complementation studies in combination with biochemical characterization, it was demonstrated that the differential characteristics of pantethine utilization in these two microorganisms are due to the different substrate specificities associated with endogenous pantothenate kinase, the first enzyme in the CoA biosynthetic pathway encoded by coaA in E. coli and coaX in P. aeruginosa.

Tubulin polyglutamylation is essential for airway ciliary function through the regulation of beating asymmetry.

Airway epithelial cilia protect the mammalian respiratory system from harmful inhaled materials by providing the force necessary for effective mucociliary clearance. Ciliary beating is asymmetric, composed of clearly distinguished effective and recovery strokes. Neither the importance of nor the essential components responsible for the beating asymmetry has been directly elucidated. We report here that the beating asymmetry is crucial for ciliary function and requires tubulin glutamylation, a unique posttranslational modification that is highly abundant in cilia. WT murine tracheal cilia have an axoneme-intrinsic structural curvature that points in the direction of effective strokes. The axonemal curvature was lost in tracheal cilia from mice with knockout of a tubulin glutamylation-performing enzyme, tubulin tyrosine ligase-like protein 1. Along with the loss of axonemal curvature, the axonemes and tracheal epithelial cilia from these knockout (KO) mice lost beating asymmetry. The loss of beating asymmetry resulted in a reduction of cilia-generated fluid flow in trachea from the KO mice. The KO mice displayed a significant accumulation of mucus in the nasal cavity, and also emitted frequent coughing- or sneezing-like noises. Thus, the beating asymmetry is important for airway ciliary function. Our findings provide evidence that tubulin glutamylation is essential for ciliary function through the regulation of beating asymmetry, and provides insight into the molecular basis underlying the beating asymmetry.

Biosynthesis of the putative siderophore erythrochelin requires unprecedented crosstalk between separate nonribosomal peptide gene clusters.

The genome of the erythromycin-producing bacterium Saccharopolyspora erythraea contains many orphan secondary metabolite gene clusters including two (nrps3 and nrps5) predicted to govern biosynthesis of nonribosomal peptide-based siderophores. We report here the production by S. erythraea, even under iron-sufficient conditions, of a 2,5-diketopiperazine siderophore candidate we have named erythrochelin. Deletion of the nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) gene ercD within the nrps5 cluster abolished erythrochelin production. The tetrapeptide backbone of erythrochelin (alpha-N-acetyl-delta-N-acetyl-delta-N-hydroxyornithine-serine-delta-N-hydroxyornithine-delta-N-acetyl-delta-N-hydroxyornithine) suggests an orthodox colinear model for erythrochelin assembly. Curiously, the delta-N-acetyltransferase required for erythrochelin biosynthesis is encoded within a remote NRPS-cluster (nrps1) whose own NRPS contains an inactivating mutation. Disruption of the nrps1 gene mcd abolished erythrochelin biosynthesis, which could then be restored by addition of synthetic L-delta-N-acetyl-delta-N-hydroxyornithine, confirming an unprecedented example of functional crosstalk between nrps clusters.

Thymidine and hypoxanthine protection patterns of the folic acid-enhanced synergies for combinations of trimetrexate plus a polyglutamylatable inhibitor of purine or thymidylate synthesis against human ileocecal HCT-8 cells.

In order to examine the intracellular locus of the folic acid (PteGlu)-enhanced synergies of trimetrexate (TMQ) plus the thymidylate synthase (TS) inhibitor, raltitrexed (RTX), and TMQ plus the glycinamide ribonucleotide formyltransferase (GARFT) inhibitor, AG2034, comprehensive protection studies with thymidine (dThd) and hypoxanthine (HX) were conducted in a 96-well plate cell growth inhibition (sulforhodamine B) assay. Current modeling techniques were extended to characterize these protection patterns involving multiple-agent interaction. Wild-type human ileocecal HCT-8 cells and DW2, a subline deficient in folylpoly-gamma-glutamate synthetase (FPGS) were individually treated for 96 h with TMQ, AG2034 and a 1:1 mixture of TMQ:AG2034 or with TMQ, RTX, and a 1:1 mixture of TMQ:RTX in the presence of PteGlu (2.3 or 40 micro M) and the protection agents (10 micro M dThd and/or 100 micro M HX). Drug treatments were randomly assigned to wells. Both isobols and 3-dimensional concentration-effect surfaces were used to assess the nature and the intensity of drug interactions. The structural Hill model was fitted to data with weighted non-linear regression for most cases. A so-called 'double Hill' model was sometimes more appropriate when a plateau in the middle of the concentration-effect curve was found. In HCT-8 and DW2 cells at 2.3 and 40 micro M PteGlu, inhibition of DHFR by TMQ induced antithymidylate and antipurine effects; AG2034 and RTX selectively inhibited de novo purine or thymidine synthesis, respectively. dThd protection increased the PteGlu-enhancement of the TMQ + AG2034 synergy, whereas HX protection increased the PteGlu-enhancement of the TMQ + RTX synergy. The PteGlu-enhanced synergies of TMQ + AG2034 and TMQ + RTX occur primarily through inhibition of purine synthesis and inhibition of thymidylate synthesis, respectively. These results further substantiate the hypothesis that the nonpolyglutamylatable DHFR inhibitor, TMQ, acts as a modulator by decreasing the protection by PteGlu of cells against the polyglutamylatable AG2034 and RTX.

Identification of ubiquitin ligases required for skeletal muscle atrophy.

Skeletal muscle adapts to decreases in activity and load by undergoing atrophy. To identify candidate molecular mediators of muscle atrophy, we performed transcript profiling. Although many genes were up-regulated in a single rat model of atrophy, only a small subset was universal in all atrophy models. Two of these genes encode ubiquitin ligases: Muscle RING Finger 1 (MuRF1), and a gene we designate Muscle Atrophy F-box (MAFbx), the latter being a member of the SCF family of E3 ubiquitin ligases. Overexpression of MAFbx in myotubes produced atrophy, whereas mice deficient in either MAFbx or MuRF1 were found to be resistant to atrophy. These proteins are potential drug targets for the treatment of muscle atrophy.

The salicylate-derived mycobactin siderophores of Mycobacterium tuberculosis are essential for growth in macrophages.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an important pathogen of mammals that relies on 2-hydroxyphenyloxazoline-containing siderophore molecules called mycobactins for the acquisition of iron in the restrictive environment of the mammalian macrophage. These compounds have been proposed to be biosynthesized through the action of a cluster of genes that include both nonribosomal peptide synthase and polyketide synthase components. One of these genes encodes a protein, MbtB, that putatively couples activated salicylic acid with serine or threonine and then cyclizes this precursor to the phenyloxazoline ring system. We have used gene replacement through homologous recombination to delete the mbtB gene and replace this with a hygromycin-resistance cassette in the virulent strain of M. tuberculosis H37Rv. The resulting mutant is restricted for growth in iron-limited media but grows normally in iron-replete media. Analysis of siderophore production by this organism revealed that the biosynthesis of all salicylate-derived siderophores was interrupted. The mutant was found to be impaired for growth in macrophage-like THP-1 cells, suggesting that siderophore production is required for virulence of M. tuberculosis. These results provide conclusive evidence linking this genetic locus to siderophore production.

Cross-resistance studies of folylpolyglutamate synthetase-deficient, methotrexate-resistant CCRF-CEM human leukemia sublines.

CCRF-CEM human leukemia sublines resistant to short-term methotrexate (MTX) exposure as a result of decreased folylpolyglutamate synthetase (FPGS) activity were examined for their response to other cytotoxic agents. The R3/7 and R30dm sublines display 25 and 1%, respectively, of the FPGS activity of CCRF-CEM cells as measured with MTX in vitro. Response to agents in outgrowth experiments was examined under both continuous exposure (120 h, where MTX resistance is not observed) and short-term (6-14.5 h) exposure. During continuous exposure to various classes of agents, cross-resistance of R3/7 and R30dm that correlated with FPGS level was not observed, although some minor (< or = 3-fold) stochastic variations in sensitivity were noted. These agents included actinomycin D, Adriamycin, etoposide, vincristine, cisplatin, cytosine arabinoside, 5-fluorouracil, and some other antifolates. Cross-resistance during continuous exposure that did correlate with FPGS level was noted, however, to glutamate-containing thymidylate synthase inhibitors (including ICI D1694) and, to a minor extent, to 6-mercaptopurine and 5-fluorodeoxyuridine. Slight collateral sensitivity during continuous exposure that apparently correlated with FPGS level was noted to the lipid-soluble antifolate trimetrexate and to 5,8-dideazapteroyl-L-ornithine, an FPGS-specific inhibitor. In short-term exposures (where MTX resistance of the sublines is observed), the resistant sublines displayed sensitivity or cross-resistance to each agent that was qualitatively similar to that observed for the same agent in continuous exposure. Because of the requirement for reduced folates in the anti-DNA mechanism of action of fluoropyrimidines and the current clinical use of leucovorin (LV) to enhance their effects, the interaction of LV and fluoropyrimidines was examined. The results suggest that even highly FPGS-deficient cells are as sensitive to the effects of LV modulation as are wild-type cells even at fluoropyrimidine exposure times as short as 4 h.