Fumihiro Ohsaka

1-β-D-arabinosylcytosine and 5-azacytidine induce internucleosomal DNA fragmentation and cell death in thymocytes

Incubation of mouse thymocytes with arabinosylcytosine or 5-azacytidine induced dose-dependent internucleosomal DNA cleavage followed by cell death. This process was RNA and protein synthesis-dependent, since DNA fragmentation and cell death was inhibited by actinomycin D and cycloheximide. The results suggest that the cytidine analogs induce apoptosis, a programmed cell death, in thymocytes. The DNA cleavage induced by arabinosylcytosine and 5-azacytidine was inhibited by deoxycytidine and cytidine, respectively, suggesting that phosphorylation of these antimetabolites is required to induce DNA cleavage. DNA fragmentation was unaffected by the addition of aphidicolin or 3-aminobenzamide, indicating that DNA cleavage is not due to the inhibition of DNA synthesis or repair. Other antimetabolites including methotrexate, fluoropyrimidines and thiopurines failed to induce DNA fragmentation. Arabinosylguanine induced DNA fragmentation similar to that produced by the cytidine analogs, suggesting similarity to the selective sensitivity of T lymphocytes to deoxyguanosine toxicity. The precise mechanism by which DNA cleavage is induced remains unclear, but the present study shows that certain antimetabolites act on cells not only by inhibiting proliferation, but by inducing apoptosis with internucleosomal DNA fragmentation.

Purine nucleoside metabolizing enzyme activities in mouse thymocytes at different stages of differentiation and maturation

The activities of the enzymes involved in purine nucleoside metabolism, adenosine deaminase (ADA), adenosine kinase (AK), purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) and deoxycytidine kinase (deoxyCRK), were determined in mouse thymocytes at various stages of differentiation and maturation, and compared with those in other tissues. The thymocytes were characterized by high ADA and deoxyCRK activities with high ADA/AK and ADA/PNP ratios and low PNP/deoxyCRK ratio. In fetal thymocytes of 16 gestational days, ADA activity was lower, and PNP, AK and deoxyCRK activities were higher than those in the adult thymocytes. During differentiation of fetal thymocytes, ADA activity increased while PNP and AK activities decreased. DeoxyCRK activity decreased after birth. In spleen T lymphocytes, ADA and deoxyCRK activities were lower and PNP activity was about 2.5-fold higher than in the thymocytes. Thus the differentiation stages of T lymphocytes may be characterized by the absolute levels and the ratios of these enzymes.

CTP synthetase from Ehrlich ascites tumor cells. Subunit stoichiometry and regulation of activity

CTP synthetase (UTP: glutamine ligase (ADP-forming), EC 6.3.4.2) was purified from Ehrlich ascites tumor cells to near homogeneity and found to be a dimer composed of two seemingly identical 66 kDa subunits. The formation of CTP was accompanied by the production of equivalent amounts of ADP from ATP and glutamate from glutamine. The reaction product, CTP, was a potent inhibitor generating sigmoidal kinetics as a function of UTP with an n value of 2.0. UTP and CTP pools in the ascites cells were elevated in an early period (12-16 h) following implantation into the intraperitoneal cavity of mice, whereas ATP, GTP and glutamine pools did not change. Kinetic data and analysis of the nucleotide pools in the cells growing in vivo suggested that the biosynthesis of CTP is regulated at the level of CTP synthetase by UTP and CTP.

Role of GTP in CTP synthetase from Ehrlich ascites tumor cells

Abstract GTP was nearly essential as an activator for the CTP synthetase from Ehrlich ascites tumor cells when glutamine was the nitrogen source. GTP accelerated the glutaminase activity of the enzyme about 2.5-fold in the absence of the other substrates and about 45-fold in the presence of UTP and ATP. UTP and adenylylimidodiphosphate, a competitive inhibitor for ATP (Ki=1.1 mM), did not affect the glutaminase activity. In addition to the activating effect, GTP could replace ATP as a substrate with a Km of 1.7 mM in the glutamine reaction and 2.2 mM in the ammonia reaction.

Synthesis of N4-substituted CTP by mammalian CTP synthetase.

Highly purified CTP synthetase from Ehrlich ascites tumor cells catalyzes the formation of N4-substituted CTP from UTP and hydroxylamine and its derivatives. The products with hydroxylamine and O-methylhydroxylamine were identified as N4-hydroxyCTP and N4-methoxyCTP by absorption spectra and chromatographic behavior on Dowex column, respectively. The weak nucleophilic amines such as methylamine, ethylamine or diethylamine and a less nucleophilic amine, sulfamic acid, did not react with UTP. These results suggest that the nucleophilicity and basicity of amines are important in the enzymic reaction with UTP.