Maria Ranieri-Raggi

Isolation by zinc-affinity chromatography of the histidine–proline-rich-glycoprotein molecule associated with rabbit skeletal muscle AMP deaminase: Evidence that the formation of a protein–protein complex between the catalytic subunit and the novel component is critical for the stability of the enzyme

The histidine-proline-rich glycoprotein (HPRG) component of rabbit skeletal muscle AMP deaminase under denaturing and reducing conditions specifically binds to a Zn(2+)-charged affinity column and is only eluted with an EDTA-containing buffer that strips Zn(2+) from the gel. The isolated protein is homogeneous showing an apparent molecular weight (MW) of 95000 and the N-terminal sequence L-T-P-T-D-X-K-T-T-K-P-L-A-E-K-A-L-D-L-I, corresponding to that of rabbit plasma HPRG. The incubation with peptide-N-glycosidase F promotes the reduction of the apparent MW of isolated HPRG to 70000, characterizing it as a N-glycosylated protein. The separation from AMP deaminase of an 85-kDa component with a blocked N terminus is observed when the enzyme is applied to the Zn-charged column under nondenaturing conditions. On storage under reducing conditions, this component undergoes an 85- to 95-kDa transition yielding a L-T-P-T-D-X-K-T-T-K-P-L N-terminal sequence, suggesting that the shift in the migration on SDS/PAGE as well as the truncation of the protein at its N terminus are promoted by the reduction of a disulfide bond present in freshly isolated HPRG. The separation of HPRG induces a marked reduction in the solubility of AMP deaminase, strongly suggesting a role of HPRG in assuring the molecular integrity of the enzyme.

Regulation of skeletal muscle AMP deaminase: effects of limited proteolysis on the activity of the rabbit enzyme.

The physiological function of skeletal muscIe AMP deaminase is not clearly defined. However, following its characterization as an allosteric regulated enzyme [ 1,2], the kinetic properties of AMP deaminase have been extensively investigated. This has provided useful information about the factors which affect AMP deaminase activity and which may regulate the relative concentrations of adenine nucleotides ‘in vivo’. Nucleoside diand triphosphates, inorganic phosphate, creatine phosphate and several other organic phosphate compounds, in the concentration range found in muscle, have a profound influence on AMP deaminase activity at substrate concentrations lower than K,, suggesting that they may play a significant regulatory role. It should be emphasized, however, that the effect of all these metabolites is strongly dependant on KC1 concentration [3-51. For’example, the effects of ADP and GTP, which, respectively, are the most efficient activator and inhibitor of AMP deaminase, disappear when KC1 is raised to > 200 mM [4]. At < 100 mM KCI, < 5 PM ATP inhibits the enzyme, while > 5 PM activates it [4,6]. At > 100 mM KCl, ATP is an inhibitor at all concentrations [3,4]. Attempts to correlate the state of aggregation of AMP deaminase with the kinetic parameters of the enzyme in the presence of nucleotide effecters have up to now been unsuccessful [7]. It is therefore not possible to propose a plausible scheme for the regulation of the enzyme as long as the possible interpretations of the effect of each modifier remain unclear. Here we report the influence of limited proteolysis

Presence in Human Skeletal Muscle of an AMP Deaminase-associated Protein That Reacts with an Antibody to Human Plasma Histidine-Proline-rich Glycoprotein

Histidine-proline-rich glycoprotein (HPRG) is a protein that is synthesized by parenchimal liver cells. The protein has been implicated in a number of plasma-specific processes, including blood coagulation and fibrinolysis. We have recently reported the association of an HPRG-like protein with rabbit skeletal muscle AMP deaminase (AMPD). The results of the immunological analysis reported here demonstrate that an antibody against human plasma HPRG reacts with an AMPD preparation from human skeletal muscle. To probe the localization of the putative HPRG-like protein in human skeletal muscle, serial sections from frozen biopsy specimens were processed for immunohistochemical and histoenzymatic stains. A selective binding of the anti-HPRG antibody to Type IIB muscle fibers was detected, suggesting a preferential association of the novel protein to the AMPD isoenzyme contained in the fast-twitch glycolytic fibers.

Evidence of a species-differentiated regulatory domain within the N-terminal region of skeletal muscle AMP deaminase

Rabbit skeletal muscle AMP deaminase was submitted to limited proteolysis by trypsin that converts the native 80 kDa enzyme subunit to a stable product of approx. 70 kDa, which, in contrast to the native enzyme, is not sensitive to regulation by ATP at pH 6.5. Tryptic peptide mapping indicates that proteolysis is confined to the N-terminal region of the molecule, identifying in this region of AMP deaminase a non-catalytic, 95 residue regulatory domain that stabilises the binding of ATP to a distant site in the molecule. Protein sequence analysis reveals a marked degree of divergence between rat and rabbit skeletal muscle AMP deaminases in the regions containing residues 7-12 and 51-52, giving molecular basis to the hypothesis of the existence of isoenzymes of AMP deaminase in the mature skeletal muscle of the mammals.

Evidence that muscle cells do not express the histidine-rich glycoprotein associated with AMP deaminase but can internalise the plasma protein

Histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRG) is synthesized by liver and is present at relatively high concentration in the plasma of vertebrates. We have previously described the association of a HRG-like molecule to purified rabbit skeletal muscle AMP deaminase (AMPD). We also provided the first evidence for the presence of a HRG-like protein in human skeletal muscle where a positive correlation between HRG content and total determined AMPD activity has been shown. In the present paper we investigate the origin of skeletal muscle HRG. The screening of a human skeletal muscle cDNA expression library using an anti-HRG antibody failed to reveal any positive clone. The RT-PCR analysis, performed on human skeletal muscle RNA as well as on RNA from the rhabdomyosarcoma (RD) cell line, failed to show any mRNA specific for the plasma HRG or for the putative muscle variant. When the RD cells were incubated with human plasma HRG, a time-dependent increase of the HRG immunoreactivity was detected both at the plasma membrane level and intracellularly. The internalisation of HRG was inhibited by the addition of heparin. The above data strongly suggest that skeletal muscle cells do not synthesize the muscle variant of HRG but instead can actively internalise it from plasma.

Negative homotropic cooperativity in rat muscle AMP deaminase: A kinetic study of the inhibition of the enzyme by ATP

1. Rat skeletal muscle AMP deaminase (AMP aminohydrolase, EC 3.5.4.6) at optimal KCl concentrations shows a biphasic response to increasing levels of the allosteric inhibitor ATP. 2. Up to 10 micrometer, ATP appears to convert the enzyme to a form exhibiting sigmoidal kinetics while at higher concentrations its inhibitory effect is manifested by an alteration of AMP binding to AMP deaminase indicative of negative homotropic cooperativity at about 50% saturation. 3. AMP deaminase is inactivated by incubation with the periodate oxidation product of ATP. The (oxidized ATP)--AMP deaminase complex stabilized by NaBH4 reduction shows kinetic properties similar to those of the native enzyme in the presence of high ATP concentrations. 4. A plausible explanation of the observed cooperativity is that ATP induces different conformational state of AMP deaminase subunits, causing the substrate to follow a sequential mechanism of binding to enzyme. 5. Binding of the radioactive oxidized ATP shows that 3.2 mol of this reagent bind per mol AMP deaminase.

The role of histidine-proline-rich glycoprotein as zinc chaperone for skeletal muscle AMP deaminase.

Metallochaperones function as intracellular shuttles for metal ions. At present, no evidence for the existence of any eukaryotic zinc-chaperone has been provided although metallochaperones could be critical for the physiological functions of Zn2+ metalloenzymes. We propose that the complex formed in skeletal muscle by the Zn2+ metalloenzyme AMP deaminase (AMPD) and the metal binding protein histidine-proline-rich glycoprotein (HPRG) acts in this manner. HPRG is a major plasma protein. Recent investigations have reported that skeletal muscle cells do not synthesize HPRG but instead actively internalize plasma HPRG. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) performed on fresh preparations of rabbit skeletal muscle AMPD provided evidence for a dinuclear zinc site in the enzyme compatible with a (μ-aqua)(μ-carboxylato)dizinc(II) core with two histidine residues at each metal site. XAS on HPRG isolated from the AMPD complex showed that zinc is bound to the protein in a dinuclear cluster where each Zn2+ ion is coordinated by three histidine and one heavier ligand, likely sulfur from cysteine. We describe the existence in mammalian HPRG of a specific zinc binding site distinct from the His-Pro-rich region. The participation of HPRG in the assembly and maintenance of skeletal muscle AMPD by acting as a zinc chaperone is also demonstrated.

Immunohistochemical analysis of human skeletal muscle AMP deaminase deficiency. Evidence of a correlation between the muscle HPRG content and the level of the residual AMP deaminase activity

We have previously described that, in healthy human skeletal muscle, an anti-histidine-proline-rich-glycoprotein (HPRG) antibody selectively binds to type IIB fibers that are well known to contain the highest level of AMP deaminase (AMPD) activity, suggesting an association of the HPRG-like protein to the enzyme isoform M. The present paper reports an immunohistochemical study performed on human skeletal muscle biopsies from patients with AMPD deficiency and carried out utilizing both the anti-HPRG antibody and an anti-AMPD antibody specific for the isoform M. A correlation between the muscle content of the HPRG-like protein and the level of AMPD activity was demonstrated. In the specimens from patients with Acquired AMPD deficiency the HPRG-immunoreactivity was less intense than that shown by the control subjects and was related to the residual AMPD activity. The patients affected by Primary and Coincidental AMPD deficiency, which were characterized by an absence of enzyme activity and AMPD immunoreactivity, showed the lowest HPRG immunoreactivity that was clearly detectable by Western blot analysis, but not by immunohistochemistry. The interpretation of the significance of these observations suggests a physiological mutual dependence between skeletal muscle HPRG and AMPD polypeptides with regard to their stability.

Interaction with troponin T from white skeletal muscle restores in white skeletal muscle AMP deaminase those allosteric properties removed by limited proteolysis.

Limited proteolysis of rabbit skeletal muscle AMP deaminase (AMP aminohydrolase, EC 3.5.4.6) with trypsin results in conversion of the enzyme to a form which is no longer inhibited by ATP and exhibits hyperbolic kinetics even at low K+ concentration and in the absence of ADP. The interaction with troponin T from white skeletal muscle or with the phosphorylated 42-residue N-terminal peptide of troponin T restores in the trypsin-treated AMP deaminase the sensitivity to adenine nucleotides and increases the KA for K+ activation of the enzyme from 1 mM to 12 mM, this effect being diametrically opposite to that exerted by limited proteolysis on the native enzyme. Treatment of the N-terminal peptide of troponin T with alkaline phosphatase abolishes the modulating properties of the peptide, suggesting that phosphorylation-dephosphorylation processes may be involved in the regulation of the enzyme.

XAS of dilute biological samples

The experimental setup of beamline ID26 at ESRF (Grenoble) has been successfully exploited to obtain high-quality XAS (X-ray absorption spectroscopy) data from a biological sample where the metal concentration is about 100 micro M. The sample consists of the adenosine monophosphate deaminase (AMPD) histidine proline rich glycoprotein (HPRG) complex that contains 3-4 Zn(II) ions per dimer of approximately 320 kDa molecular weight. The experiment shows that third-generation X-ray sources equipped with insertion devices and appropriate optics and detectors allow the investigation of complex biological systems where the metal concentration is intrinsically low. The availability of such experimental setups makes possible a completely new set of experiments in biological XAS.