Use of mass spectrometry to probe the nucleophilicity of cysteinyl residues of prolyl hydroxylase domain 2.

Prolyl hydroxylase domain 2 (PHD2) plays an important role in hypoxic sensing in humans. Here we report studies on the reactivity of cysteinyl residues of the catalytic domain of PHD2 using an approach in which nondenaturing electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) analyses were combined with the use of a thiol library and residue substitution. Among the seven cysteinyl residues of the PHD2 catalytic domain, Cys201 was found to be predominantly modified by thiols or N-ethylmaleimide. Selective modification of Cys201 was further demonstrated with methanethiosulfonate, a spin-labeled probe. The modified PHD2 will be useful in electron paramagnetic resonance studies on PHD2. The results demonstrate the use of a combined library/residue substitution/ESI-MS approach for analyzing residue reactivity.

Biochemical characterization of the prolyl 3-hydroxylase 1.cartilage-associated protein.cyclophilin B complex.

The rough endoplasmic reticulum-resident protein complex consisting of prolyl 3-hydroxylase 1 (P3H1), cartilage-associated protein (CRTAP), and cyclophilin B (CypB) can be isolated from chick embryos on a gelatin-Sepharose column, indicating some involvement in the biosynthesis of procollagens. Prolyl 3-hydroxylase 1 modifies a single proline residue in the alpha chains of type I, II, and III collagens to (3S)-hydroxyproline. The peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase activity of cyclophilin B was shown previously to catalyze the rate of triple helix formation. Here we show that cyclophilin B in the complex shows peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase activity and that the P3H1.CRTAP.CypB complex has another important function: it acts as a chaperone molecule when tested with two classical chaperone assays. The P3H1.CRTAP.CypB complex inhibited the thermal aggregation of citrate synthase and was active in the denatured rhodanese refolding and aggregation assay. The chaperone activity of the complex was higher than that of protein-disulfide isomerase, a well characterized chaperone. The P3H1.CRTAP.CypB complex also delayed the in vitro fibril formation of type I collagen, indicating that this complex is also able to interact with triple helical collagen and acts as a collagen chaperone.

Expression, purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray studies of a prolyl-4-hydroxylase protein from Bacillus anthracis.

Collagen prolyl-4-hydroxylase (C-P4H) catalyzes the hydroxylation of specific proline residues in procollagen, which is an essential step in collagen biosynthesis. A new form of P4H from Bacillus anthracis (anthrax-P4H) that shares many characteristics with the type I C-P4H from human has recently been characterized. The structure of anthrax-P4H could provide important insight into the chemistry of C-P4Hs and into the function of this unique homodimeric P4H. X-ray diffraction data of selenomethionine-labeled anthrax-P4H recombinantly expressed in Escherichia coli have been collected to 1.4 A resolution.

Hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl-hydroxylase: purification and assays of PHD2.

The adaptation of animals to oxygen availability is mediated by a transcription factor termed hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF). HIF is an alpha (alpha)/beta (beta) heterodimer that binds hypoxia response elements (HREs) of target genes, including some of medicinal importance, such as erythropoietin (EPO) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). While the concentration of the HIF-beta subunit, a constitutive nuclear protein, does not vary with oxygen availability, the abundance and activity of the HIF-alpha subunits are tightly regulated via oxygen-dependent modification of specific residues. Hydroxylation of prolyl residues (Pro402 and Pro564 in HIF-1alpha) promotes interaction with the von Hippel-Lindau E3 ubiquitin ligase and, consequently, proteolytic destruction by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. This prolyl hydroxylation is catalyzed by the prolyl-hydroxylase domain (PHD) containing enzymes for which three isozymes have been identified in humans (1-3). Additionally, asparaginyl hydroxylation (Asn803 in HIF-1alpha) by factor-inhibiting HIF (FIH) ablates interaction of the HIF-alpha subunit with the coactivator p300, providing an alternative mechanism for down-regulation of HIF-dependent genes. Under hypoxic conditions, when oxygen-mediated regulation of the alpha-subunits is curtailed or minimized, dimerization of the alpha- and beta-subunits occurs with subsequent target gene upregulation. Therapeutic activation of HIF signaling has been suggested as a potential treatment for numerous conditions, including ischemia, stroke, heart attack, inflammation, and wounding. One possible route to achieve this is via inhibition of the HIF hydroxylases. This chapter details methods for the purification and assaying of PHD2, the most abundant PHD and the most important in setting steady-state levels of HIF-alpha. Assays are described that measure the activity of PHD2 via direct and indirect means. Furthermore, conditions for the screening of small molecules against PHD2 are described.

Isolation of Xenopus HIF-prolyl 4-hydroxylase and rescue of a small-eye phenotype caused by Siah2 over-expression.

Hypoxia is an important physiological condition during embryonic development. Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) is the mediator of hypoxic response of cells. The prolyl hydroxylase (PHD) of HIF plays a key role in stabilizing of HIF and the oxygen homeostasis of organisms. In this study, we isolated two PHD proteins, PHD45 and PHD28, and characterized them during the embryonic development of Xenopus laevis, which is an excellent model for embryonic development because of the ease of embryonic manipulation and the feasibility of transgenesis. Based on amino acid sequences, Xenopus PHD45 and PHD28 were homologous with human PHD2 and PHD3, respectively. In embryonic development, PHD45 expression was complementary to that of PHD28. xHIF-1alpha protein level was at a maximum around stage 20 when expression of PHD45 disappeared, while expression of PHD28 reached a maximum at stage 20, suggesting that PHD28 is inducible by HIF-1alpha. Recently, Siah2 was found to be an ubiquitin ligase of PHD proteins and to regulate degradation of PHD proteins. Over-expression of xSiah2 decreased PHD45 but not PHD28 and caused the small-eye phenotype of Xenopus. Additional over-expression of PHD47 rescued the abnormality caused by xSiah2, suggesting that the level of expression or activity of PHD proteins is important to the maintenance of homeostasis in embryonic development.

Fermentation process for tetrameric human collagen prolyl 4-hydroxylase in Escherichia coli: improvement by gene optimisation of the PDI/beta subunit and repeated addition of the inducer anhydrotetracycline.

The collagen prolyl 4-hydroxylases (C-P4Hs) that reside within the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) are the key enzymes in the biosynthesis of collagens. The vertebrate enzymes are alpha(2)beta(2) tetramers consisting of two catalytic alpha subunits and two beta subunits that are identical to protein disulfide isomerase (PDI). Cytoplasmic production of an active human C-P4H has recently been described in the Origami (trxB gor) mutant Escherichia coli using a bicistronic vector with independent control of the alpha and PDI/beta subunit expression by the tetA and T5-lac promoters, respectively, enabling sequential induction (Neubauer, A., Neubauer, P., Myllyharju, J., 2005. High-level production of human collagen prolyl 4-hydroxylase in Escherichia coli. Matrix Biol. 24, 59-68). We show here that the yield of active C-P4H in shake flasks is increased 50-fold by improving the expression level of the PDI/beta subunit through gene optimisation. We also found that stable expression of the alpha subunit mRNA in a fed-batch fermentation process requires repeated additions of anhydrotetracycline. This finding may be of a wider general importance for the use of the tetA promoter in fed-batch cultivations, especially if recombinant proteins are expressed during long production phases. We also show that growth of the E. coli Origami strain to high cell density on a complex medium with consecutive sequential induction is difficult to achieve and that optimisation of similarly complicated systems can greatly benefit from the use of quantitative mRNA analysis for the evaluation of transcriptional bottlenecks. The optimisation approach resulted in a fermentation yield of 143 mg L(-1) of active C-P4H, corresponding to approximately 7.5% of the total soluble cell protein.

Effect of desferrioxamine and metals on the hydroxylases in the oxygen sensing pathway.

Hypoxia-inducible transcription factor (HIF) is regulated by two oxygen-dependent events that are catalyzed by the HIF prolyl 4-hydroxylases (HIF-P4Hs) and HIF asparaginyl hydroxylase (FIH). We have purified the three recombinant human HIF-P4Hs to near homogeneity and characterized their catalytic properties and inhibition and those of FIH. The specific activities of the HIF-P4Hs were at least 40-50 mol/mol/min, and they and FIH catalyzed an uncoupled decarboxylation of 2-oxoglutarate in the absence of any peptide substrate. The purified HIF-P4Hs showed considerable activities even without added Fe2+, their apparent Km values for iron being markedly lower than that of FIH. Desferrioxamine and several metals were effective inhibitors of FIH, but surprisingly, ineffective inhibitors of the HIF-P4Hs in vitro, especially of HIF-P4H-2. Desferrioxamine and cobalt were more effective in cultured insect cells synthesizing recombinant HIF-P4H-2, but complete inhibition was not achieved and most of the enzyme was inactivated irreversibly. Cobalt also rapidly inactivated HIF-P4Hs during storage at 4 degrees C. The well-known stabilization of HIF-alpha by cobalt and nickel is thus not due to a simple competitive inhibition of HIF-P4Hs. The effective inhibition of FIH by these metals and zinc probably leads to full transcriptional activity of HIF-alpha even in concentrations that produce no stabilization of HIF-alpha.

Biochemical purification and pharmacological inhibition of a mammalian prolyl hydroxylase acting on hypoxia-inducible factor.

The product of the von Hippel-Lindau gene, pVHL, targets the alpha subunits of the heterodimeric transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) for polyubiquitination in the presence of oxygen. The binding of pVHL to HIF is governed by the enzymatic hydroxylation of conserved prolyl residues within peptidic motifs present in the HIFalpha family members. By using a biochemical purification strategy, we have identified a human homolog of Caenorhabditis elegans Egl9 as a HIF prolyl hydroxylase. In addition, we studied the activity of a structurally diverse collection of low molecular weight inhibitors of procollagen prolyl 4-hydroxylase as potential inhibitors of the HIF hydroxylase. A model compound of this series stabilized HIF in a variety of cells, leading to the increased production of its downstream target, vascular endothelial growth factor.

Microbial proline 4-hydroxylase screening and gene cloning.

Microbial proline 4-hydroxylases, which hydroxylate free L-proline to trans-4-hydroxy-L-proline, were screened in order to establish an industrial system for biotransformation of L-proline to trans-4-hydroxy-L-proline. Enzyme activities were detected in eight strains, including strains of Dactylosporangium spp. and Amycolatopsis spp. The Dactylosporangium sp. strain RH1 enzyme was partially purified 3,300-fold and was estimated to be a monomer polypeptide with an apparent molecular mass of 31 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Degenerate primers based on the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the 31-kDa polypeptide were synthesized in order to amplify the corresponding 71-bp DNA fragment. A 5.5-kbp DNA fragment was isolated by using the 71-bp fragment labeled with digoxigenin as a probe for a genomic library of Dactylosporangium sp. strain RH1 constructed in Escherichia coli. One of the open reading frames found in the cloned DNA, which encoded a 272-amino-acid polypeptide (molecular mass, 29, 715 daltons), was thought to be a proline 4-hydroxylase gene. The gene was expressed in E. coli as a fused protein with the N-terminal 34 amino acids of the beta-galactosidase alpha-fragment. The E. coli recombinant exhibited proline 4-hydroxylase activity that was 13. 6-fold higher than the activity in the original strain, Dactylosporangium sp. strain RH1. No homology was detected with other 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases when databases were searched; however, the histidine motif conserved in 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases was found in the gene.

Evidence for 4-hydroxyproline in viral proteins. Characterization of a viral prolyl 4-hydroxylase and its peptide substrates.

4-Hydroxyproline, the characteristic amino acid of collagens and collagen-like proteins in animals, is also found in certain proline-rich proteins in plants but has been believed to be absent from viral and bacterial proteins. We report here on the cloning and characterization from a eukaryotic algal virus, Paramecium bursaria Chlorella virus-1, of a 242-residue polypeptide, which shows distinct sequence similarity to the C-terminal half of the catalytic alpha subunits of animal prolyl 4-hydroxylases. The recombinant polypeptide, expressed in Escherichia coli, was found to be a soluble monomer and to hydroxylate both (Pro-Pro-Gly)(10) and poly(L-proline), the standard substrates of animal and plant prolyl 4-hydroxylases, respectively. Synthetic peptides such as (Pro-Ala-Pro-Lys)(n), (Ser-Pro-Lys-Pro-Pro)(5), and (Pro-Glu-Pro-Pro-Ala)(5) corresponding to proline-rich repeats coded by the viral genome also served as substrates. (Pro-Ala-Pro-Lys)(10) was a particularly good substrate, with a K(m) of 20 microM. The prolines in both positions in this repeat were hydroxylated, those preceding the alanines being hydroxylated more efficiently. The data strongly suggest that P. bursaria Chlorella virus-1 expresses proteins in which many prolines become hydroxylated to 4-hydroxyproline by a novel viral prolyl 4-hydroxylase.

Purification and initial characterization of proline 4-hydroxylase from Streptomyces griseoviridus P8648: a 2-oxoacid, ferrous-dependent dioxygenase involved in etamycin biosynthesis.

Proline 4-hydroxylase is a 2-oxoacid, ferrous-ion-dependent dioxygenase involved in the biosynthesis of the secondary metabolite etamycin. The purification, in low yield, of proline 4-hydroxylase from Streptomyces griseoviridus P8648 to near, apparent homogeneity and its initial characterization are reported. In most respects proline 4-hydroxylase is a typical member of the 2-oxoacid-dependent dioxygenase family. It is monomeric (M(r) approx. 38,000) (by gel filtration on Superdex-G75) and has typically strict requirements for ferrous ion and 2-oxoglutarate. The enzyme was inhibited by aromatic analogues of 2-oxoglutarate. L-Proline-uncoupled turnover of 2-oxoglutarate to succinate and CO2 was observed. The addition of L-ascorbate did not stimulate L-proline-coupled turnover of 2-oxoglutarate, but did stimulate L-proline-uncoupled turnover. L-Ascorbate caused a time-dependent inhibition of L-proline hydroxylation. The enzyme was completely inactivated by preincubation with diethyl pyrocarbonate under histidine-modifying conditions. This inactivation could be partially prevented by the inclusion of L-proline and 2-oxoglutarate in the preincubation mixture, suggesting the presence of histidine residue(s) at the active site.

Specific inhibition of eIF-5A and collagen hydroxylation by a single agent. Antiproliferative and fibrosuppressive effects on smooth muscle cells from human coronary arteries.

Restenosis occurs in 35% of patients within months after balloon angioplasty, due to a fibroproliferative response to vascular injury. These studies describe a combined fibrosuppressive/antiproliferative strategy on smooth muscle cells cultured from human primary atherosclerotic and restenotic coronary arteries and from normal rat aortas. L-Mimosine suppressed the posttranslational hydroxylation of the precursors for collagen and for eukaryotic initiation factor-5A (eIF-5A) by directly inhibiting the specific protein hydroxylases involved, prolyl 4-hydroxylase (E.C. 1.14.11.2) and deoxyhypusyl hydroxylase (E.C. 1.14.99.29), respectively. Inhibition of deoxyhypusyl hydroxylation correlated with a dose-dependent inhibition of DNA synthesis. Inhibition of prolyl hydroxylation caused a dose-dependent reduction in the secretion of hydroxyproline-containing protein and decreased the formation of procollagen types I and III. The antifibroproliferative action could not be attributed to nonspecific or toxic effects of mimosine, appeared to be selective for the hydroxylation step in the biosynthesis of the procollagens and of eIF-5A, and was reversible upon removal of the compound. The strategy of targeting these two protein hydroxylases has important implications for the pathophysiology of restenosis and for the development of agents to control fibroproliferative diseases.

Cloning, baculovirus expression, and characterization of the alpha subunit of prolyl 4-hydroxylase from the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. This alpha subunit forms an active alpha beta dimer with the human protein disulfide isomerase/beta subunit.

Prolyl 4-hydroxylase (EC 1.14.11.2) catalyzes the formation of 4-hydroxyproline in collagens. The vertebrate enzyme is an alpha 2 beta 2 tetramer, the beta subunit of which is identical to protein disulfide-isomerase (PDI). We report here on the cloning of the catalytically important alpha subunit from Caenorhabditis elegans. This polypeptide consists of 542 amino acids and signal peptide of 16 additional residues. The C. elegans alpha subunit is 25 amino acids longer than the human alpha subunit, mainly because of a 32-amino-acid C-terminal extension present only in the former. The overall amino acid sequence identity between these two alpha subunits is 45%, a 127-amino acid region close to the C terminus being especially well conserved. When the C. elegans alpha subunit was expressed together with the human PDI/beta subunit in insect cells by baculovirus vectors, an active prolyl 4-hydroxylase was formed, but surprisingly this C. elegans/human enzyme appeared to be an alpha beta dimer. The specific activity of this C. elegans/human enzyme was comparable with that of the human enzyme, and most of the other catalytic properties were also highly similar. Nevertheless, the C. elegans/human enzyme was not inhibited by poly(L-proline). The data indicate that the multifunctional PDI/beta subunit can form an active prolyl 4-hydroxylase with alpha subunits having marked differences in their amino acid sequences.

Inhibition of prolyl 4-hydroxylase by oxalyl amino acid derivatives in vitro, in isolated microsomes and in embryonic chicken tissues.

The potency of oxalyl amino acid derivatives as inhibitors of prolyl 4-hydroxylase was studied in vitro, in isolated microsomes and in chicken embryonic-tissue culture. These compounds represent structural analogues of 2-oxoglutarate in which the -CH2- moiety at C-3 is replaced by -NH-, with or without further structural modifications. The most efficient inhibitor of purified prolyl 4-hydroxylase was oxalylglycine. Its mode of inhibition was competitive with respect to 2-oxoglutarate. The Ki value varied between 1.9 and 7.8 microM, depending on the variable substrate used. Oxalylalanine inhibited purified enzyme with a Ki of 40 microM. Other oxalyl amino acid derivatives showed little inhibitory activity. In microsomes isolated from embryonic chicken bone, oxalylglycine and oxalylalanine inhibited prolyl hydroxylation with IC50 values of 23 and 120 microM respectively. Dimethyloxalylglycine was not an inhibitor of purified prolyl 4-hydroxylase and only weakly active in the microsomal system, but efficiently suppressed hydroxyproline synthesis in embryonic chicken calvaria and lung. The data suggest that dimethyloxalyl amino acids are converted into active inhibitors in intact cells, most likely in the cytoplasmic compartment.

Structural requirements for the utilization of ascorbate analogues in the prolyl 4-hydroxylase reaction.

The ability of structural analogues of ascorbate to serve as substitutes for this reducing agent in the prolyl 4-hydroxylase reaction was studied. In experiments using the purified enzyme, variations of the compounds' side chain were compatible with co-substrate activity. The presence of very large hydrophobic substituents or a positively charged group caused an increase in the observed Km values. A negative charge and smaller modifications did not change the affinity to the enzyme when compared with L-ascorbate. 6-Bromo-6-deoxy-L-ascorbate had a lower Km than the physiological reductant. Substitution at the -OH group in ring position 3 prevented binding to the enzyme. The same pattern of activity was observed when the full and uncoupled prolyl 4-hydroxylase reactions were studied. The Vmax. values with all compounds were similar. The reaction of microsomal prolyl 4-hydroxylase was supported by D-isoascorbate, O6-tosyl-L-ascorbate and 5-deoxy-L-ascorbate, giving the same dose-response behaviour as L-ascorbate itself. Again, 6-bromo-6-deoxy-L-ascorbate gave a lower Km and a similar Vmax. value. L-Ascorbic acid 6-carboxylate produced substrate inhibition at concentrations above 0.3 mM. The Km and Vmax. values calculated from concentrations up to 0.2 mM were similar to those of L-ascorbate. The enzyme activity observed with 6-amino-6-deoxy-L-ascorbate was very low in the microsomal hydroxylation system. The calculated Vmax. value was lower than that of L-ascorbate, suggesting a restriction of the access of this compound to the enzyme.

Site-directed mutagenesis of human protein disulphide isomerase: effect on the assembly, activity and endoplasmic reticulum retention of human prolyl 4-hydroxylase in Spodoptera frugiperda insect cells.

Protein disulphide isomerase (PDI) is a highly unusual multifunctional polypeptide, identical to the beta-subunit of prolyl 4-hydroxylase. It has two -Cys-Gly-His-Cys- sequences which represent two independently acting catalytic sites of PDI activity. We report here on the expression in baculovirus vectors of various mutant PDI/beta-subunits together with a wild-type alpha-subunit of the human prolyl 4-hydroxylase alpha 2 beta 2 tetramer in Spodoptera frugiperda insect cells. When either one or both of the -Cys-Gly-His-Cys- sequences was converted to -Ser-Gly-His-Cys-, a tetramer was formed as with wild-type PDI/beta-subunit. This tetramer was fully active prolyl 4-hydroxylase. The data demonstrate that PDI activity of the PDI/beta-subunit is not required for tetramer assembly or for the prolyl 4-hydroxylase activity of the tetramer, and thus other sequences of the PDI/beta-subunit may be critical for keeping the alpha-subunits in a catalytically active, non-aggregated conformation. Measurements of the PDI activities of tetramers containing the various mutant PDI/beta-subunits demonstrated that the activity of the wild-type tetramer is almost exclusively due to the C-terminal PDI catalytic sites, which explains the finding that the PDI activity of the PDI/beta-subunit present in the tetramer is about half that in the free polypeptide.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Characterization of the human prolyl 4-hydroxylase tetramer and its multifunctional protein disulfide-isomerase subunit synthesized in a baculovirus expression system.

Prolyl 4-hydroxylase (EC 1.14.11.2), an alpha 2 beta 2 tetramer, catalyzes the posttranslational formation of 4-hydroxyproline in collagens. The enzyme can easily be dissociated into its subunits, but all attempts to associate a tetramer from the dissociated subunits in vitro have been unsuccessful. Molecular cloning of the catalytically important alpha subunit has identified two types of cDNA clone due to mutually exclusive alternative splicing. The beta subunit is a highly unusual multifunctional polypeptide, being identical to the enzyme protein disulfide-isomerase (EC 5.3.4.1). We report here on expression of the alpha and beta subunits of prolyl 4-hydroxylase and a fully active enzyme tetramer in Spodoptera frugiperda insect cells by baculovirus vectors. When the beta subunit was expressed alone, the polypeptide produced was found in a 0.1% Triton X-100 extract of the cell homogenate and was a fully active protein disulfide-isomerase. When either form of the alpha subunit was expressed alone, only traces of the alpha subunit could be extracted from the cell homogenate with 0.1% Triton X-100, and 1% SDS was required to obtain efficient solubilization. These alpha subunits had no prolyl 4-hydroxylase activity. When the cells were coinfected with both alpha- and beta-subunit-producing viruses, an enzyme tetramer was formed, but significant amounts of alpha and beta subunits remained unassociated. The recombinant tetramer was indistinguishable from that isolated from vertebrate tissue in terms of its specific activity and kinetic constants for cosubstrates and the peptide substrate. The two alternatively spliced forms of the alpha subunit gave enzyme tetramers with identical catalytic properties. Baculovirus expression seems to be an excellent system for mass production of the enzyme tetramer and for detailed investigation of the mechanisms involved in the association of the monomers.

A novel 53-kDa polypeptide from chicken embryo.

We have isolated from chicken embryos a novel 53-kDa protein possessing properties which are similar, but not identical to the 55-kDa PDI polypeptide from chicken embryos. The novel 53-kDa polypeptide copurifies with PDI, but is separated by ion-exchange chromatography. The novel 53-kDa polypeptide cross-reacts strongly with antibodies specific for bovine PDI and cross-reacts to varying degrees with six different preparations of antibodies specific for chicken PDI which is identical to the beta-subunit of chicken prolyl 4-hydroxylase. Anti-bovine PDI immunoglobulins selected by the purified 53-kDa polypeptide react with bovine PDI but not with the beta-subunit of prolyl 4-hydroxylase, suggesting that the 53-kDa polypeptide shares epitopes with bovine PDI but not with the chicken prolyl 4-hydroxylase beta-subunit. Amino acid compositional analysis of the purified polypeptide yielded unique data when compared to PDI and other PDI-like polypeptides. Edman degradation from the N terminus of the 53-kDa polypeptide yields a sequence very different from the N terminus of PDI. This sequence is unique when compared to all entries in available databases. A 20-residue sequence of an internal cyanogen bromide fragment of the 53-kDa polypeptide gives a nearly identical match with human beta-endorphin. The 53-kDa polypeptide is capable of cleaving the disulphides of insulin under conditions where PDI is active. The periodic acid-Schiff assay failed to detect bound carbohydrate. These observations support evidence for a family of PDI-like proteins in chicken embryo and suggest that PDI activity is not confined to only one protein.

Prolyl 4-hydroxylase, a target enzyme for drug development. Design of suppressive agents and the in vitro effects of inhibitors and proinhibitors.

The hydrophilic compound pyridine 2,4-dicarboxylate (2,4-PDCA), designed as a mechanism-based competitive inhibitor of prolyl 4-hydroxylase, is efficiently excluded by the cytoplasmic membrane, but permeates the endoplasmic membrane via a 2,4-PDCA-selective translocator to reach its target enzyme in the intracisternal space. A lipophilic 2,4-PDCA-based proinhibitor, inactive with purified prolyl 4-hydroxylase, shows a cell system-dependent suppression of hydroxyprolyl formation, displaying a half-maximally inhibitory concentration very similar to the Ki of the parent compound. Apparently, cell-specific intracellular metabolic processing of the proinhibitor regenerates the active agent, 2,4-PDCA. The in vitro findings summarized here suggest that the 2,4-PDCA-mediated inhibition of prolyl 4-hydroxylase has a marked disruptive effect on the biosynthesis and deposition of collagen. This effect qualifies 2,4-PDCA and its derivatives as experimental fibrosuppressive compounds. However, to avoid catastrophic consequences in vivo, it is desirable to target the active agent to only the tissue that is compromised by excessive matrix formation. This requirement can be realized by the deliberate selection of an appropriate, 2,4-PDCA-based proinhibitor and by the deliberate selection of the route of proinhibitor administration.

Protein disulphide isomerase from human peripheral blood neutrophils.

Protein disulphide isomerase (PDI) is a 56 kDa resident polypeptide of the endoplasmic reticulum of many cell types. We evaluated the ability of human peripheral blood polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) to synthesize both mRNA and proteins. Using in vitro [35S]-methionine labeling of purified PMN, followed by immunoprecipitation of cell lysates with immobilized polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies and analysis by gel electrophoresis, PMN were shown to synthesize many proteins, including actin. In contrast, incorporation of [35S]-methionine into PDI was not detected. Purification of total RNA from PMN and analysis by Northern blots demonstrated the presence in PMN of PDI-RNA. Western immunoblot evaluations of total PMN protein display an immunoreactive-PDI of 56 kDa. Indirect immunofluorescence studies suggest an abundance of immunoreactive-PDI throughout PMN. We therefore conclude that PDI is synthesized in precursor cells of the bone marrow. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, a reagent known to affect the degranulation of specific granules, causes the release of immunoreactive-PDI into a post-centrifugation supernatant. PDI, a ubiquitous endoplasmic reticulum resident protein, is shown here to be associated with specific granules in a cell type which has lost its intracellular membrane network during terminal differentiation.