J. P. G. Malthouse

NMR and Alanine Scan Studies of Glucose-dependent Insulinotropic Polypeptide in Water

Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) is an incretin hormone that stimulates the secretion of insulin after ingestion of food. GIP also promotes the synthesis of fatty acids in adipose tissue. Therefore, it is not surprising that numerous literature reports have shown that GIP is linked to diabetes and obesity-related diseases. In this study, we present the solution structure of GIP in water determined by NMR spectroscopy. The calculated structure is characterized by the presence of an α-helical motif between residues Ser11 and Gln29. The helical conformation of GIP is further supported by CD spectroscopic studies. Six GIP-(1–42)Ala1–7 analogues were synthesized by replacing individual N-terminal residues with alanine. Alanine scan studies of these N-terminal residues showed that the GIP-(1–42)Ala6 was the only analogue to show insulin-secreting activity similar to that of the native GIP. However, when compared with glucose, its insulinotropic ability was reduced. For the first time, these NMR and modeling results contribute to the understanding of the structural requirements for the biological activity of GIP.

Biotransformation of halophenols using crude cell extracts of Pseudomonas putida F6

Crude cell extracts of Pseudomonas putida F6 transformed 4-substituted fluoro-, chloro-, bromo- and iodo-phenol without the exogenous addition of cofactors. The rate of substrate consumption decreased with increasing substituent size (F>Cl>Br>I). Biotransformations resulted in greater than 95% utilisation of the halogenated substrate. Product accumulation was observed in incubations with 4-chloro, 4-bromo- and 4-iodo-phenol. These products were identified as the corresponding 4-substituted catechols. Transformation of 4-fluorophenol did not result in the accumulation of the corresponding catechol; however, manipulation of the reaction conditions by incorporation of ascorbic acid culminated in the formation of 4-fluorocatechol. Cell extracts of P. putida F6 also showed activity towards a 3-substituted phenol, namely 3-fluorophenol, resulting in the formation of a single product, 4-fluorocatechol.

13C- and 1H-NMR studies of oxyanion and tetrahedral intermediate stabilization by the serine proteinases: optimizing inhibitor warhead specificity and potency by studying the inhibition of the serine proteinases by peptide-derived chloromethane and glyoxal inhibitors

Catalysis by the serine proteinases proceeds via a tetrahedral intermediate whose oxyanion is stabilized by hydrogen-bonding in the oxyanion hole. There have been extensive (13)C-NMR studies of oxyanion and tetrahedral intermediate stabilization in trypsin, subtilisin and chymotrypsin using substrate-derived chloromethane inhibitors. One of the limitations of these inhibitors is that they irreversibly alkylate the active-site histidine residue which results in the oxyanion not being in the optimal position in the oxyanion hole. Substrate-derived glyoxal inhibitors are reversible inhibitors which, if they form tetrahedral adducts in the same way as substrates form tetrahedral intermediates, will overcome this limitation. Therefore we have synthesized (13)C-enriched substrate-derived glyoxal inhibitors which have allowed us to use (13)C-NMR and (1)H-NMR to determine how they interact with proteinases. It is hoped that these studies will help in the design of specific and highly potent warheads for serine proteinase inhibitors.

Investigation of the effects of sulfonylurea exposure on pancreatic beta cell metabolism

Prolonged exposure of pancreatic beta cells to the sulfonylureas glibencamide and tolbutamide induces subsequent desensitization to the actions of these drugs. The precise mechanisms underlying this desensitization remain unknown, prompting the present study, which investigated the impact of prolonged sulfonylurea exposure on glucose and energy metabolism using clonal pancreatic BRIN‐BD11 beta cells. Following prolonged exposure to tolbutamide, BRIN‐BD11 beta cells were incubated in the presence of [U‐13C]glucose, and isotopomer analysis revealed that there was a change in the ratio of flux through pyruvate carboxylase (EC 6.4.1.1) and pyruvate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.4.1, EC 2.3.1.12, EC 1.8.1.4). Energy status in intact BRIN‐BD11 cells was determined using 31P‐NMR spectroscopy. Exposure to tolbutamide did not alter the nucleotide triphosphate levels. Collectively, data from the present study demonstrate that prolonged exposure of beta cells to tolbutamide results in changes in flux through key enzymes involved in glucose metabolism that, in turn, may impact on glucose‐induced insulin secretion.

Conformational, receptor interaction and alanine scan studies of glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide

Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) is an insulinotropic incretin hormone that stimulates insulin secretion during a meal. GIP has glucose lowering abilities and hence is considered as a potential target molecule for type 2 diabetes therapy. In this article, we present the solution structure of GIP in membrane-mimicking environments by proton NMR spectroscopy and molecular modelling. GIP adopts an α-helical conformation between residues Phe(6)-Gly(31) and Ala(13)-Gln(29) for micellar and bicellar media, respectively. Previously we examined the effect of N-terminal Ala substitution in GIP, but here eight GIP analogues were synthesised by replacing individual residues within the central 8-18 region with alanine. These studies showed relatively minor changes in biological activity as assessed by insulin releasing potency. However, at higher concentration, GIP(Ala(16)), and GIP(Ala(18)) showed insulin secreting activity higher than the native GIP (P<0.01 to P<0.001) in cultured pancreatic BRIN-BD11 cells. Receptor interaction studies of the native GIP with the extracellular domain of its receptor were performed by using two different docking algorithms. At the optimised docking conformation, the complex was stabilised by the presence of hydrophobic interactions and intermolecular hydrogen bonding. Further, we have identified some potentially important additional C-terminal interactions of GIP with its N-terminal extracellular receptor domain.

The effect of histidine-228 on the catalytic efficiency and stereospecificity of the serine hydroxymethyltransferase catalysed exchange of the alpha-protons of amino acids.

13C-NMR has been used to determine how replacing the histidine-228 residue of serine hydroxymethyltransferase (EC 2.1.2.1) by an asparagine residue effects the catalysis of the hydrogen-deuterium exchange of the alpha-protons of [2-13C]glycine at pH 7.8. The H228N mutation did not lead to a large change in the stereospecificity of the first order exchange rates of the alpha-protons of glycine both in the presence and in the absence of tetrahydrofolate. However, the mutation did lead to large decreases in the stereospecificity of the second order exchange rate in both the presence and the absence of tetrahydrofolate. In the absence of tetrahydrofolate this decrease in stereospecificity was largely due to the decrease in the second order exchange rate of the pro-2S proton, while in the presence of tetrahydrofolate the large increase in the second order exchange rate of the pro-2R proton of glycine made a major contribution. We conclude that the H228N mutation has significant effects on the catalytic efficiency and stereospecificity of the second order exchange reactions, but only a small effect on the corresponding first order exchange reactions.