Stevenson Flemer

Oxidative Processing of Latent Fas in the Endoplasmic Reticulum Controls the Strength of Apoptosis

ABSTRACT We recently demonstrated that S-glutathionylation of the death receptor Fas (Fas-SSG) amplifies apoptosis (V. Anathy et al., J. Cell Biol. 184:241–252, 2009). In the present study, we demonstrate that distinct pools of Fas exist in cells. Upon ligation of surface Fas, a separate pool of latent Fas in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) underwent rapid oxidative processing characterized by the loss of free sulfhydryl content (Fas-SH) and resultant increases in S-glutathionylation of Cys294, leading to increases of surface Fas. Stimulation with FasL rapidly induced associations of Fas with ERp57 and glutathione S-transferase π (GSTP), a protein disulfide isomerase and catalyst of S-glutathionylation, respectively, in the ER. Knockdown or inhibition of ERp57 and GSTP1 substantially decreased FasL-induced oxidative processing and S-glutathionylation of Fas, resulting in decreased death-inducing signaling complex formation and caspase activity and enhanced survival. Bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis was accompanied by increased interactions between Fas-ERp57-GSTP1 and S-glutathionylation of Fas. Importantly, fibrosis was largely prevented following short interfering RNA-mediated ablation of ERp57 and GSTP. Collectively, these findings illuminate a regulatory switch, a ligand-initiated oxidative processing of latent Fas, that controls the strength of apoptosis.

Efficient method of circumventing insolubility problems with fully protected peptide carboxylates via in situ direct thioesterification reactions

A straightforward and convenient protocol is presented for the direct thioesterification of fully protected peptide C‐terminal carboxylates synthesized by Fmoc strategy. This methodology specifically serves to overcome the frequent insolubility problem of these fully protected carboxolate isolates during the thioesterification process by carrying out the reaction as an in situ procedure on the freshly cleaved 1% TFA/DCM solution of carboxylate. The direct thioesterification of a number of insolubility prone peptide systems is explored and compared with some control systems for ease of conversion to the corresponding thioesters. It is shown that although the fully protected carboxylates are indeed insoluble to varying degrees in the thioesterification reactions carried out using the classical approach, full dissolution is maintained and complete conversion is evident using the in situ methodology. This protocol serves to remove a frequent stumbling block in the preparation of peptide thioesters via the direct approach, allowing for facile entry into previously difficult systems traditionally unapproachable through this method. Copyright

Selenium in Thioredoxin Reductase: A Mechanistic Perspective

Most high M(r) thioredoxin reductases (TRs) have the unusual feature of utilizing a vicinal disulfide bond (Cys(1)-Cys(2)) which forms an eight-membered ring during the catalytic cycle. Many eukaryotic TRs have replaced the Cys(2) position of the dyad with the rare amino acid selenocysteine (Sec). Here we demonstrate that Cys- and Sec-containing TRs are distinguished by the importance each class of enzymes places on the eight-membered ring structure in the catalytic cycle. This hypothesis was explored by studying the truncated enzyme missing the C-terminal ring structure in conjunction with oxidized peptide substrates to investigate the reduction and opening of this dyad. The peptide substrates were identical in sequence to the missing part of the enzyme, containing either a disulfide or selenylsulfide linkage, but were differentiated by the presence (cyclic) and absence (acyclic) of the ring structure. The ratio of these turnover rates informs that the ring is only of modest importance for the truncated mouse mitochondrial Sec-TR (ring/no ring = 32), while the ring structure is highly important for the truncated Cys-TRs from Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans (ring/no ring > 1000). All three enzymes exhibit a similar dependence upon leaving group pK(a) as shown by the use of the acyclic peptides as substrates. These two factors can be reconciled for Cys-TRs if the ring functions to simultaneously allow for attack by a nearby thiolate while correctly positioning the leaving group sulfur atom to accept a proton from the enzymic general acid. For Sec-TRs the ring is unimportant because the lower pK(a) of the selenol relative to a thiol obviates its need to be protonated upon S-Se bond scission and permits physical separation of the selenol and the general acid. Further study of the biochemical properties of the truncated Cys and Sec TR enzymes demonstrates that the chemical advantage conferred on the eukaryotic enzyme by a selenol is the ability to function at acidic pH.

2,2′-Dithiobis(5-nitropyridine) (DTNP) as an effective and gentle deprotectant for common cysteine protecting groups

Of all the commercially available amino acid derivatives for solid phase peptide synthesis, none has a greater abundance of side‐chain protection diversity than cysteine. The high reactivity of the cysteine thiol necessitates its attenuation during peptide construction. Moreover, the propensity of cysteine residues within a peptide or protein sequence to form disulfide connectivity allows the opportunity for the peptide chemist to install these disulfides iteratively as a post‐synthetic manipulation through the judicious placement of orthogonal pairs of cysteine S‐protection within the peptides architecture. It is important to continuously discover new vectors of deprotection for these different blocking protocols in order to achieve the highest degree of orthogonality between the removal of one species in the presence of another. We report here a complete investigation of the scope and limitations of the deprotective potential of 2,2′‐dithiobis(5‐nitropyridine) (DTNP) on a selection of commercially available Cys S‐protecting groups. The gentle conditions of DTNP in a TFA solvent system show a remarkable ability to deprotect some cysteine blocking functionality traditionally removable only by more harsh or forcing conditions. Beyond illustrating the deprotective ability of this reagent cocktail within a cysteine‐containing peptide sequence, the utility of this method was further demonstrated through iterative disulfide formation in oxytocin and apamin test peptides. It is shown that this methodology has high potential as a stand‐alone cysteine deprotection technique or in further manipulation of disulfide architecture within a more complex cysteine‐containing peptide template. Copyright

Small-Molecule Inhibition of Choline Catabolism in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Other Aerobic Choline-Catabolizing Bacteria

ABSTRACT Choline is abundant in association with eukaryotes and plays roles in osmoprotection, thermoprotection, and membrane biosynthesis in many bacteria. Aerobic catabolism of choline is widespread among soil proteobacteria, particularly those associated with eukaryotes. Catabolism of choline as a carbon, nitrogen, and/or energy source may play important roles in association with eukaryotes, including pathogenesis, symbioses, and nutrient cycling. We sought to generate choline analogues to study bacterial choline catabolism in vitro and in situ. Here we report the characterization of a choline analogue, propargylcholine, which inhibits choline catabolism at the level of Dgc enzyme-catalyzed dimethylglycine demethylation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We used genetic analyses and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance to demonstrate that propargylcholine is catabolized to its inhibitory form, propargylmethylglycine. Chemically synthesized propargylmethylglycine was also an inhibitor of growth on choline. Bioinformatic analysis suggests that there are genes encoding DgcA homologues in a variety of proteobacteria. We examined the broader utility of propargylcholine and propargylmethylglycine by assessing growth of other members of the proteobacteria that are known to grow on choline and possess putative DgcA homologues. Propargylcholine showed utility as a growth inhibitor in P. aeruginosa but did not inhibit growth in other proteobacteria tested. In contrast, propargylmethylglycine was able to inhibit choline-dependent growth in all tested proteobacteria, including Pseudomonas mendocina, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas putida, Burkholderia cepacia, Burkholderia ambifaria, and Sinorhizobium meliloti. We predict that chemical inhibitors of choline catabolism will be useful for studying this pathway in clinical and environmental isolates and could be a useful tool to study proteobacterial choline catabolism in situ.

Glutathione S-transferase pi modulates NF-κB activation and pro-inflammatory responses in lung epithelial cells.

Nuclear Factor kappa B (NF-κB) is a transcription factor family critical in the activation of pro- inflammatory responses. The NF-κB pathway is regulated by oxidant-induced post-translational modifications. Protein S-glutathionylation, or the conjugation of the antioxidant molecule, glutathione to reactive cysteines inhibits the activity of inhibitory kappa B kinase beta (IKKβ), among other NF-κB proteins. Glutathione S-transferase Pi (GSTP) is an enzyme that has been shown to catalyze protein S-glutathionylation (PSSG) under conditions of oxidative stress. The objective of the present study was to determine whether GSTP regulates NF-κB signaling, S-glutathionylation of IKK, and subsequent pro-inflammatory signaling. We demonstrated that, in unstimulated cells, GSTP associated with the inhibitor of NF-κB, IκBα. However, exposure to LPS resulted in a rapid loss of association between IκBα and GSTP, and instead led to a protracted association between IKKβ and GSTP. LPS exposure also led to increases in the S-glutathionylation of IKKβ. SiRNA-mediated knockdown of GSTP decreased IKKβ-SSG, and enhanced NF-κB nuclear translocation, transcriptional activity, and pro-inflammatory cytokine production in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). TLK117, an isotype-selective inhibitor of GSTP, also enhanced LPS-induced NF-κB transcriptional activity and pro-inflammatory cytokine production, suggesting that the catalytic activity of GSTP is important in repressing NF-κB activation. Expression of both wild-type and catalytically-inactive Y7F mutant GSTP significantly attenuated LPS- or IKKβ-induced production of GM-CSF. These studies indicate a complex role for GSTP in modulating NF-κB, which may involve S-glutathionylation of IKK proteins, and interaction with NF-κB family members. Our findings suggest that targeting GSTP is a potential avenue for regulating the activity of this prominent pro-inflammatory and immunomodulatory transcription factor.

The use of 2,2′-Dithiobis(5-nitropyridine) (DTNP) for Deprotection and Diselenide Formation in Protected Selenocysteine-Containing Peptides

In contrast to the large number of sidechain protecting groups available for cysteine derivatives in solid phase peptide synthesis, there is a striking paucity of analogous selenocysteine Se‐protecting groups in the literature. However, the growing interest in selenocysteine‐containing peptides and proteins requires a corresponding increase in availability of synthetic routes into these target molecules. It therefore becomes important to design new sidechain protection strategies for selenocysteine as well as multiple and novel deprotection chemistry for their removal. In this paper, we outline the synthesis of two new Fmoc selenocysteine derivatives [Fmoc‐Sec(Meb) and Fmoc‐Sec(Bzl)] to accompany the commercially available Fmoc‐Sec(Mob) derivative and incorporate them into two model peptides. Sec‐deprotection assays were carried out on these peptides using 2,2′‐dithiobis(5‐nitropyridine) (DTNP) conditions previously described by our group. The deprotective methodology was further evaluated as to its suitability towards mediating concurrent diselenide formation in oxytocin‐templated target peptides. Sec(Mob) and Sec(Meb) were found to be extremely labile to the DTNP conditions whether in the presence or absence of thioanisole, whereas Sec(Bzl) was robust to DTNP in the absence of thioanisole but quite labile in its presence. In multiple Sec‐containing model peptides, it was shown that bis‐Sec(Mob)‐containing systems spontaneously cyclize to the diselenide using 1 eq DTNP, whereas bis‐Sec(Meb) and Sec(Bzl) models required additional manipulation to induce cyclization. Copyright

Compensating for the absence of selenocysteine in high-molecular weight thioredoxin reductases: the electrophilic activation hypothesis.

Mammalian thioredoxin reductase (TR) is a pyridine disulfide oxidoreductase that uses the rare amino acid selenocysteine (Sec) in place of the more commonly used amino acid cysteine (Cys). Selenium is a Janus-faced element because it is both highly nucleophilic and highly electrophilic. Cys orthologs of Sec-containing enzymes may compensate for the absence of a Sec residue by making the active site Cys residue more (i) nucleophilic, (ii) electrophilic, or (iii) reactive by increasing both S-nucleophilicity and S-electrophilicity. It has already been shown that the Cys ortholog TR from Drosophila melanogaster (DmTR) has increased S-nucleophilicity [Gromer, S., Johansson, L., Bauer, H., Arscott, L. D., Rauch, S., Ballou, D. P., Williams, C. H., Jr., Schrimer, R. H., and Arnér, E. S (2003) Active sites of thioredoxin reductases: Why selenoproteins? Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 100, 12618–12623]. Here we present evidence that DmTR also enhances the electrophilicity of Cys490 through the use of an “electrophilic activation” mechanism. This mechanism is proposed to work by polarizing the disulfide bond that occurs between Cys489 and Cys490 in the C-terminal redox center by the placement of a positive charge near Cys489. This polarization renders the sulfur atom of Cys490 electron deficient and enhances the rate of thiol/disulfide exchange that occurs between the N- and C-terminal redox centers. Our hypothesis was developed by using a strategy of homocysteine (hCys) for Cys substitution in the Cys-Cys redox dyad of DmTR to differentiate the function of each Cys residue. The results show that hCys could substitute for Cys490 with little loss of thioredoxin reductase activity, but that substitution of hCys for Cys489 resulted in a 238-fold reduction in activity. We hypothesize that replacement of Cys489 with hCys destroys an interaction between the sulfur atom of Cys489 and His464 crucial for the proposed electrophilic activation mechanism. This electrophilic activation serves as a compensatory mechanism in the absence of the more electrophilic Sec residue. We present an argument for the importance of S-electrophilicity in Cys orthologs of selenoenzymes.

Attenuation of lung fibrosis in mice with a clinically relevant inhibitor of glutathione-S-transferase π

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a debilitating lung disease characterized by excessive collagen production and fibrogenesis. Apoptosis in lung epithelial cells is critical in IPF pathogenesis, as heightened loss of these cells promotes fibroblast activation and remodeling. Changes in glutathione redox status have been reported in IPF patients. S-glutathionylation, the conjugation of glutathione to reactive cysteines, is catalyzed in part by glutathione-S-transferase π (GSTP). To date, no published information exists linking GSTP and IPF to our knowledge. We hypothesized that GSTP mediates lung fibrogenesis in part through FAS S-glutathionylation, a critical event in epithelial cell apoptosis. Our results demonstrate that GSTP immunoreactivity is increased in the lungs of IPF patients, notably within type II epithelial cells. The FAS-GSTP interaction was also increased in IPF lungs. Bleomycin- and AdTGFβ-induced increases in collagen content, α-SMA, FAS S-glutathionylation, and total protein S-glutathionylation were strongly attenuated in Gstp-/- mice. Oropharyngeal administration of the GSTP inhibitor, TLK117, at a time when fibrosis was already apparent, attenuated bleomycin- and AdTGFβ-induced remodeling, α-SMA, caspase activation, FAS S-glutathionylation, and total protein S-glutathionylation. GSTP is an important driver of protein S-glutathionylation and lung fibrosis, and GSTP inhibition via the airways may be a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of IPF.

Intramolecular Formation of Zwitterionic Intermediates in 1,3-Diaza-Claisen Rearrangements

Isothioureas tethered to bridged-bicyclic tertiary allylic amines can be converted to carbodiimides through reaction with Hg(II) salts. Intramolecular cyclization of the tethered tertiary allylic amines to the carbodiimides afford zwitterionic intermediates that undergo 1,3-diaza-Claisen rearrangements, affording highly substituted tricyclic guanidines.