Külliki Varvas

The origin of 15R-prostaglandins in the Caribbean coral Plexaura homomalla: Molecular cloning and expression of a novel cyclooxygenase

The highest concentrations of prostaglandins in nature are found in the Caribbean gorgonian Plexaura homomalla. Depending on its geographical location, this coral contains prostaglandins with typical mammalian stereochemistry (15S-hydroxy) or the unusual 15R-prostaglandins. Their metabolic origin has remained the subject of mechanistic speculations for three decades. Here, we report the structure of a type of cyclooxygenase (COX) that catalyzes transformation of arachidonic acid into 15R-prostaglandins. Using a homology-based reverse transcriptase–PCR strategy, we cloned a cDNA corresponding to a COX protein from the R variety of P. homomalla. The deduced peptide sequence shows 80% identity with the 15S-specific coral COX from the Arctic soft coral Gersemia fruticosa and ≈50% identity to mammalian COX-1 and COX-2. The predicted tertiary structure shows high homology with mammalian COX isozymes having all of the characteristic structural units and the amino acid residues important in catalysis. Some structural differences are apparent around the peroxidase active site, in the membrane-binding domain, and in the pattern of glycosylation. When expressed in Sf9 cells, the P. homomalla enzyme forms a 15R-prostaglandin endoperoxide together with 11R-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid and 15R-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid as by-products. The endoperoxide gives rise to 15R-prostaglandins and 12R-hydroxyheptadecatrienoic acid, identified by comparison to authentic standards. Evaluation of the structural differences of this 15R-COX isozyme should provide new insights into the substrate binding and stereospecificity of the dioxygenation reaction of arachidonic acid in the cyclooxygenase active site.

The basis of prostaglandin synthesis in coral: molecular cloning and expression of a cyclooxygenase from the Arctic soft coral Gersemia fruticosa.

In vertebrates, the synthesis of prostaglandin hormones is catalyzed by cyclooxygenase (COX)-1, a constitutively expressed enzyme with physiological functions, and COX-2, induced in inflammation and cancer. Prostaglandins have been detected in high concentrations in certain corals, and previous evidence suggested their biosynthesis through a lipoxygenase-allene oxide pathway. Here we describe the discovery of an ancestor of cyclooxygenases that is responsible for prostaglandin biosynthesis in coral. Using a homology-based polymerase chain reaction cloning strategy, the cDNA encoding a polypeptide with ∼50% amino acid identity to both mammalian COX-1 and COX-2 was cloned and sequenced from the Arctic soft coral Gersemia fruticosa. Nearly all the amino acids essential for substrate binding and catalysis as determined in the mammalian enzymes are represented in coral COX: the arachidonate-binding Arg120 and Tyr355 are present, as are the heme-coordinating His207 and His388; the catalytic Tyr385; and the target of aspirin attack, Ser530. A key amino acid that determines the sensitivity to selective COX-2 inhibitors (Ile523 in COX-1 and Val523 in COX-2) is present in coral COX as isoleucine. The conserved Glu524, implicated in the binding of certain COX inhibitors, is represented as alanine. Expression of the G. fruticosa cDNA afforded a functional cyclooxygenase that converted exogenous arachidonic acid to prostaglandins. The biosynthesis was inhibited by indomethacin, whereas the selective COX-2 inhibitor nimesulide was ineffective. We conclude that the cyclooxygenase occurs widely in the animal kingdom and that vertebrate COX-1 and COX-2 are evolutionary derivatives of the invertebrate precursor.

Evidence of a Cyclooxygenase-related Prostaglandin Synthesis in Coral THE ALLENE OXIDE PATHWAY IS NOT INVOLVED IN PROSTAGLANDIN BIOSYNTHESIS

Certain corals are rich natural sources of prostaglandins, the metabolic origin of which has remained undefined. By analogy with the lipoxygenase/allene oxide synthase pathway to jasmonic acid in plants, the presence of (8R)-lipoxygenase and allene oxide synthase in the coral Plexaura homomallasuggested a potential metabolic route to prostaglandins (Brash, A. R., Baertshi, S. W., Ingram, C.D., and Harris, T. M. (1987)J. Biol. Chem. 262, 15829–15839). Other evidence, from the Arctic coral Gersemia fruticosa, has indicated a cyclooxygenase intermediate in the biosynthesis (Varvas, K., Koljak, R., Järving, I., Pehk, T., and Samel, N. (1994) Tetrahedron Lett. 35, 8267–8270). In the present study, active preparations of G. fruticosa have been used to identify both types of arachidonic acid metabolism and specific inhibitors were used to establish the enzyme type involved in the prostaglandin biosynthesis. The synthesis of prostaglandins and (11R)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid was inhibited by mammalian cyclooxygenase inhibitors (indomethacin, aspirin, and tolfenamic acid), while the formation of the products of the 8-lipoxygenase/allene oxide pathway was not affected or was increased. The specific cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, nimesulide, did not inhibit the synthesis of prostaglandins in coral. We conclude that coral uses two parallel routes for the initial oxidation of polyenoic acids: the cyclooxygenase route, which leads to optically active prostaglandins, and the lipoxygenase/allene oxide synthase metabolism, the role of which remains to be established. An enzyme related to mammalian cyclooxygenases is the key to prostaglandin synthesis in coral. Based on our inhibitor data, the catalytic site of this evolutionary early cyclooxygenase appears to differ significantly from both known mammalian cyclooxygenases.

Direct evidence of the cyclooxygenase pathway of prostaglandin synthesis in arthropods: genetic and biochemical characterization of two crustacean cyclooxygenases.

Prostaglandins, well-known lipid mediators in vertebrate animals, have also shown to play certain regulatory roles in insects and other arthropods acting on reproduction, immune system and ion transport. However, knowledge of their biosynthetic pathways in arthropods is lacking. In the present study, we report the cloning and expression of cyclooxygenase (COX) from amphipod crustaceans Gammarus spp and Caprella spp. The amphipod COX proteins contain key residues shown to be important for cyclooxygenase and peroxidase activities. Differently from all other known cyclooxygenases the N-terminal signal sequence of amphipod enzymes is not cleaved during protein expression in mammalian cells. The C-terminus of amphipod COX is shorter than that of mammalian isoforms and lacks the KDEL(STEL)-type endoplasmic reticulum retention/retrieval signal. Despite that, amphipod COX proteins are N-glycosylated and locate similarly to the vertebrate COX on the endoplasmic reticulum and nuclear envelope. Both amphipod COX mRNAs encode functional cyclooxygenases that catalyze the transformation of arachidonic acid into prostaglandins. Using bioinformatic analysis we identified a COX-like gene from the human body louse Pediculus humanus corporis genome that encodes a protein with about 30% sequence identity with human COX-1 and COX-2. Although the COX gene is known to be absent from genomes of Drosophila sp., Aedes aegypti, Bombyx mori, and other insects, our studies establish the existence of the COX gene in certain lineages within the insect world.

New antiproliferative 9,11-secosterol from soft coral gersemia fruticosa

A new highly antiproliferative 9,11-secosterol 1 was isolated from the White Sea soft coral Gersemia fruticosta. The structure was established

New cytotoxic sterols from the soft coral Gersemia fruticosa

Abstract Six new polyoxygenated sterols 1–6 were isolated from the soft coral Gersemia fruticosa. The structures of these compounds were determined by MS. 1H- and 13C- 1D and 2D FT NMR spectroscopy. Compounds 1–6 showed a moderate cytotoxic activity against human erythroleukemia K-562 cells and other leukemia cell lines.

Structural and catalytic insights into the algal prostaglandin H synthase reveal atypical features of the first non-animal cyclooxygenase ☆

Prostaglandin H synthases (PGHSs) have been identified in the majority of vertebrate and invertebrate animals, and most recently in the red alga Gracilaria vermiculophylla. Here we report on the cloning, expression and characterization of the algal PGHS, which shares only about 20% of the amino acid sequence identity with its animal counterparts, yet catalyzes the conversion of arachidonic acid into prostaglandin-endoperoxides, PGG2 and PGH2. The algal PGHS lacks structural elements identified in all known animal PGHSs, such as epidermal growth factor-like domain and helix B in the membrane binding domain. The key residues of animal PGHS, like catalytic Tyr-385 and heme liganding His-388 are conserved in the algal enzyme. However, the amino acid residues shown to be important for substrate binding and coordination, and the target residues for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (Arg-120, Tyr-355, and Ser-530) are not found at the appropriate positions in the algal sequences. Differently from animal PGHSs the G. vermiculophylla PGHS easily expresses in Escherichia coli as a fully functional enzyme. The recombinant protein was identified as an oligomeric (evidently tetrameric) ferric heme protein. The preferred substrate for the algal PGHS is arachidonic acid with cyclooxygenase reaction rate remarkably higher than values reported for mammalian PGHS isoforms. Similarly to animal PGHS-2, the algal enzyme is capable of metabolizing ester and amide derivatives of arachidonic acid to corresponding prostaglandin products. Algal PGHS is not inhibited by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. A single copy of intron-free gene encoding for PGHS was identified in the red algae G. vermiculophylla and Coccotylus truncatus genomes.

Novel membrane-associated prostaglandin E synthase-2 from crustacean arthropods.

Prostaglandins (PG) have been shown to play important physiological roles in insects and marine invertebrates, yet the knowledge of their biosynthetic pathways is often lacking. Recently, we described cyclooxygenases in two amphipod crustaceans, Gammarus sp. and Caprella sp. In the present study, we report the cloning and characterization of prostaglandin E synthases (PGES) from the same organisms. The amphipod membrane-bound PGES-2-type enzymes share about 40% of the amino acid sequence identity with human mPGES-2, contain a conserved Cys110-x-x-Cys113 motif and have very low heme-binding affinity. The recombinant enzymes purified in the absence of dithiothreitol specifically catalyze the isomerization of PGH2 into PGE2. The PGES activity is increased in the presence of reduced glutathione and inhibited with a sulfhydryl group inhibitor. We assume that the amphipod mPGES-2, unlike in their mammalian counterparts, is responsible for PGE2 synthesis, not only in vitro but also in vivo.

A Critical Role of Non-active Site Residues on Cyclooxygenase Helices 5 and 6 in the Control of Prostaglandin Stereochemistry at Carbon 15

The correct stereochemistry of prostaglandins is a prerequisite of their biological activity and thus is under a strict enzymatic control. Recently, we cloned and characterized two cyclooxygenase (COX) isoforms in the coral Plexaura homomalla that share 97% amino acid sequence identity, yet form prostaglandins with opposite stereochemistry at carbon 15. The difference in oxygenation specificity is only partially accounted for by the single amino acid substitution in the active site (Ile or Val at position 349). For further elucidation of residues involved in the C-15 stereocontrol, a series of sequence swapping and site-directed mutagenesis experiments between 15R- and 15S-COX were performed. Our results show that the change in stereochemistry at carbon 15 of prostaglandins relates mainly to five amino acid substitutions on helices 5 and 6 of the coral COX. In COX proteins, these helices form a helix-turn-helix motif that traverses through the entire protein, contributing to the second shell of residues around the oxygenase active site; it constitutes the most highly conserved region where even slight changes result in loss of catalytic activity. The finding that this region is among the least conserved between the P. homomalla 15S- and 15R-specific COX further supports its significance in maintaining the desired prostaglandin stereochemistry at C-15. The results are particularly remarkable because, based on its strong conservation, the conserved middle of helix 5 is considered as central to the core structure of peroxidases, of which COX proteins are derivatives. Now we show that the same parts of the protein are involved in the control of oxygenation with 15R or 15S stereospecificity in the dioxygenase active site.