Xavier Parés

Characterization of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae YMR318C (ADH6) gene product as a broad specificity NADPH-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase: relevance in aldehyde reduction.

YMR318C represents an open reading frame from Saccharomyces cerevisiae with unknown function. It possesses a conserved sequence motif, the zinc-containing alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) signature, specific to the medium-chain zinc-containing ADHs. In the present study, the YMR318C gene product has been purified to homogeneity from overexpressing yeast cells, and found to be a homodimeric ADH, composed of 40 kDa subunits and with a pI of 5.0-5.4. The enzyme was strictly specific for NADPH and was active with a wide variety of substrates, including aliphatic (linear and branched-chain) and aromatic primary alcohols and aldehydes. Aldehydes were processed with a 50-fold higher catalytic efficiency than that for the corresponding alcohols. The highest k(cat)/K(m) values were found with pentanal>veratraldehyde > hexanal > 3-methylbutanal >cinnamaldehyde. Taking into consideration the substrate specificity and sequence characteristics of the YMR318C gene product, we have proposed this gene to be called ADH6. The disruption of ADH6 was not lethal for the yeast under laboratory conditions. Although S. cerevisiae is considered a non lignin-degrading organism, the catalytic activity of ADHVI can direct veratraldehyde and anisaldehyde, arising from the oxidation of lignocellulose by fungal lignin peroxidases, to the lignin biodegradation pathway. ADHVI is the only S. cerevisiae enzyme able to significantly reduce veratraldehyde in vivo, and its overexpression allowed yeast to grow under toxic concentrations of this aldehyde. The enzyme may also be involved in the synthesis of fusel alcohols. To our knowledge this is the first NADPH-dependent medium-chain ADH to be characterized in S. cerevisiae.

Stimulation of retinoic acid production and growth by ubiquitously expressed alcohol dehydrogenase Adh3

Influence of vitamin A (retinol) on growth depends on its sequential oxidation to retinal and then to retinoic acid (RA), producing a ligand for RA receptors essential in development of specific tissues. Genetic studies have revealed that aldehyde dehydrogenases function as tissue-specific catalysts for oxidation of retinal to RA. However, enzymes catalyzing the first step of RA synthesis, oxidation of retinol to retinal, remain unclear because none of the present candidate enzymes have expression patterns that fully overlap with those of aldehyde dehydrogenases during development. Here, we provide genetic evidence that alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) performs this function by demonstrating a role for Adh3, a ubiquitously expressed form. Adh3 null mutant mice exhibit reduced RA generation in vivo, growth deficiency that can be rescued by retinol supplementation, and completely penetrant postnatal lethality during vitamin A deficiency. ADH3 was also shown to have in vitro retinol oxidation activity. Unlike the second step, the first step of RA synthesis is not tissue-restricted because it is catalyzed by ADH3, a ubiquitous enzyme having an ancient origin.

Human aldose reductase and human small intestine aldose reductase are efficient retinal reductases: consequences for retinoid metabolism

Aldo-keto reductases (AKRs) are NAD(P)H-dependent oxidoreductases that catalyse the reduction of a variety of carbonyl compounds, such as carbohydrates, aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes and steroids. We have studied the retinal reductase activity of human aldose reductase (AR), human small-intestine (HSI) AR and pig aldehyde reductase. Human AR and HSI AR were very efficient in the reduction of all- trans -, 9- cis - and 13- cis -retinal ( k (cat)/ K (m)=1100-10300 mM(-1).min(-1)), constituting the first cytosolic NADP(H)-dependent retinal reductases described in humans. Aldehyde reductase showed no activity with these retinal isomers. Glucose was a poor inhibitor ( K (i)=80 mM) of retinal reductase activity of human AR, whereas tolrestat, a classical AKR inhibitor used pharmacologically to treat diabetes, inhibited retinal reduction by human AR and HSI AR. All- trans -retinoic acid failed to inhibit both enzymes. In this paper we present the AKRs as an emergent superfamily of retinal-active enzymes, putatively involved in the regulation of retinoid biological activity through the assimilation of retinoids from beta-carotene and the control of retinal bioavailability.

Structural basis for the high all-trans-retinaldehyde reductase activity of the tumor marker AKR1B10

AKR1B10 is a human aldo-keto reductase (AKR) found to be elevated in several cancer types and in precancerous lesions. In vitro, AKR1B10 exhibits a much higher retinaldehyde reductase activity than any other human AKR, including AKR1B1 (aldose reductase). We here demonstrate that AKR1B10 also acts as a retinaldehyde reductase in vivo. This activity may be relevant in controlling the first step of retinoic acid synthesis. Up-regulation of AKR1B10, resulting in retinoic acid depletion, may lead to cellular proliferation. Both in vitro and in vivo activities of AKR1B10 were inhibited by tolrestat, an AKR1B1 inhibitor developed for diabetes treatment. The crystal structure of the ternary complex AKR1B10–NADP+–tolrestat was determined at 1.25-Å resolution. Molecular dynamics models of AKR1B10 and AKR1B1 with retinaldehyde isomers and site-directed mutagenesis show that subtle differences at the entrance of the retinoid-binding site, especially at position 125, are determinant for the all-trans-retinaldehyde specificity of AKR1B10. Substitutions in the retinaldehyde cyclohexene ring also influence the specificity. These structural features should facilitate the design of specific inhibitors, with potential use in cancer and diabetes treatments.

Role of extrahepatic alcohol dehydrogenase in rat ethanol metabolism

Rat alcohol dehydrogenase exhibits three isoenzymes with very different capacities of ethanol oxidation and with characteristic distribution in tissues. ADH-1 (class II isoenzyme, Km = 5 M) is especially concentrated in the most external organs: auditive, bucal, and nasal mucoses, cornea, esophagus, stomach, rectum, penis, and vagina. ADH-2 (class III isoenzyme) is present in all organs but has a poor activity with ethanol. ADH-3 (class I isoenzyme, Km = 1.4 mM) is the main liver isoenzyme, also present in lung, intestine, kidney, and sexual organs. At 33 mM ethanol and pH 7.5, total hepatic activity (3.5 +/- 0.6 units) represents 90% of the whole activity in the male rat, while the remaining 10% is distributed in many organs. The skin is the extrahepatic organ with the highest total activity (88 +/- 15 mU) followed by testis and small intestine. ADH-3 accounts for 96% of total activity (90% hepatic and 6% extrahepatic) and ADH-1 contributes with 4% (extrahepatic). However, in conditions that may be found in the digestive tract mucose after ethanol ingestion (pH 7.5, 1 M ethanol), stomach and small intestine activities represent 10% of the liver activity at 33 mM ethanol. Therefore, oral administration of ethanol will result in a higher contribution of the extrahepatic activity than will intravenous or intraperitoneal administration, because of the great ADH-1 content of the digestive tract. On the other hand, pyrazole inhibition constants at pH 7.5 for ADH-1 (33 mM) and ADH-3 (4.2 microM) are much higher than those at pH 10.0 (0.56 mM and 0.4 microM) and indicate that at the usual concentration of inhibitor only ADH-3 activity will be effectively suppressed. ADH-1 will be, therefore, responsible in part for the residual ethanol oxidation activity in pyrazole-treated rats.

Characterization of a (2R,3R)-2,3-butanediol dehydrogenase as the Saccharomyces cerevisiae YAL060W gene product. Disruption and induction of the gene

The completion of theSaccharomyces cerevisiae genome project in 1996 showed that almost 60% of the potential open reading frames of the genome had no experimentally determined function. Using a conserved sequence motif present in the zinc-containing medium-chain alcohol dehydrogenases, we found several potential alcohol dehydrogenase genes with no defined function. One of these,YAL060W, was overexpressed using a multicopy inducible vector, and its protein product was purified to homogeneity. The enzyme was found to be a homodimer that, in the presence of NAD+, but not of NADP, could catalyze the stereospecific oxidation of (2R,3R)-2,3-butanediol (K m = 14 mm, k cat = 78,000 min− 1) and meso-butanediol (K m = 65 mm,k cat = 46,000 min− 1) to (3R)-acetoin and (3S)-acetoin, respectively. It was unable, however, to further oxidize these acetoins to diacetyl. In the presence of NADH, it could catalyze the stereospecific reduction of racemic acetoin ((3R/3S)- acetoin; K m = 4.5 mm, k cat = 98,000 min− 1) to (2R,3R)-2,3-butanediol andmeso-butanediol, respectively. The substrate stereospecificity was determined by analysis of products by gas-liquid chromatography. The YAL060W gene product can therefore be classified as an NAD-dependent (2R,3R)-2,3-butanediol dehydrogenase (BDH).S. cerevisiae could grow on 2,3-butanediol as the sole carbon and energy source. Under these conditions, a 3.5-fold increase in (2R,3R)-2,3-butanediol dehydrogenase activity was observed in the total cell extracts. The isoelectric focusing pattern of the induced enzyme coincided with that of the pure BDH (pI 6.9). The disruption of the YAL060W gene was not lethal for the yeast under laboratory conditions. The disrupted strain could also grow on 2,3-butanediol, although attaining a lesser cell density than the wild-type strain. Taking into consideration the substrate specificity of the YAL060W gene product, we propose the name of BDH for this gene. The corresponding enzyme is the first eukaryotic (2R,3R)-2,3-butanediol dehydrogenase characterized of the medium-chain dehydrogenase/reductase family.

Enhanced Formaldehyde Detoxification by Overexpression of Glutathione-Dependent Formaldehyde Dehydrogenase from Arabidopsis

The ADH2 gene codes for the Arabidopsis glutathione-dependent formaldehyde dehydrogenase (FALDH), an enzyme involved in formaldehyde metabolism in eukaryotes. In the present work, we have investigated the potential role of FALDH in detoxification of exogenous formaldehyde. We have generated a yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) mutant strain (sfa1Δ) by in vivo deletion of the SFA1 gene that codes for the endogenous FALDH. Overexpression of Arabidopsis FALDH in this mutant confers high resistance to formaldehyde added exogenously, which demonstrates the functional conservation of the enzyme through evolution and supports its essential role in formaldehyde metabolism. To investigate the role of the enzyme in plants, we have generated Arabidopsis transgenic lines with modified levels of FALDH. Plants overexpressing the enzyme show a 25% increase in their efficiency to take up exogenous formaldehyde, whereas plants with reduced levels of FALDH (due to either a cosuppression phenotype or to the expression of an antisense construct) show a marked slower rate and reduced ability for formaldehyde detoxification as compared with the wild-type Arabidopsis. These results show that the capacity to take up and detoxify high concentrations of formaldehyde is proportionally related to the FALDH activity in the plant, revealing the essential role of this enzyme in formaldehyde detoxification.

Comparative functional analysis of human medium-chain dehydrogenases, short-chain dehydrogenases/reductases and aldo-keto reductases with retinoids

Retinoic acid biosynthesis in vertebrates occurs in two consecutive steps: the oxidation of retinol to retinaldehyde followed by the oxidation of retinaldehyde to retinoic acid. Enzymes of the MDR (medium-chain dehydrogenase/reductase), SDR (short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase) and AKR (aldo-keto reductase) superfamilies have been reported to catalyse the conversion between retinol and retinaldehyde. Estimation of the relative contribution of enzymes of each type was difficult since kinetics were performed with different methodologies, but SDRs would supposedly play a major role because of their low K(m) values, and because they were found to be active with retinol bound to CRBPI (cellular retinol binding protein type I). In the present study we employed detergent-free assays and HPLC-based methodology to characterize side-by-side the retinoid-converting activities of human MDR [ADH (alcohol dehydrogenase) 1B2 and ADH4), SDR (RoDH (retinol dehydrogenase)-4 and RDH11] and AKR (AKR1B1 and AKR1B10) enzymes. Our results demonstrate that none of the enzymes, including the SDR members, are active with CRBPI-bound retinoids, which questions the previously suggested role of CRBPI as a retinol supplier in the retinoic acid synthesis pathway. The members of all three superfamilies exhibit similar and low K(m) values for retinoids (0.12-1.1 microM), whilst they strongly differ in their kcat values, which range from 0.35 min(-1) for AKR1B1 to 302 min(-1) for ADH4. ADHs appear to be more effective retinol dehydrogenases than SDRs because of their higher kcat values, whereas RDH11 and AKR1B10 are efficient retinaldehyde reductases. Cell culture studies support a role for RoDH-4 as a retinol dehydrogenase and for AKR1B1 as a retinaldehyde reductase in vivo.

Retinoids, ω‐hydroxyfatty acids and cytotoxic aldehydes as physiological substrates, and H2‐receptor antagonists as pharmacological inhibitors, of human class IV alcohol dehydrogenase

Kinetic constants of human class IV alcohol dehydrogenase (σσ‐ADH) support a role of the enzyme in retinoid metabolism, fatty acid ω‐oxidation, and elimination of cytotoxic aldehydes produced by lipid peroxidation. Class IV is the human ADH form most efficient in the reduction of 4‐hydroxynonenal (k cat/K m: 39 500 mM−1 min−1). Class IV shows high activity with all‐trans‐retinol and 9‐cis‐retinol, while 13‐cis‐retinol is not a substrate but an inhibitor. Both all‐trans‐retinoic and 13‐cis‐retinoic acids are potent competitive inhibitors of retinol oxidation (K i: 3–10 μM) which can be a basis for the regulation of the retinoic acid generation and of the pharmacological actions of the 13‐cis‐isomer. The inhibition of class IV retinol oxidation by ethanol (K i: 6–10 mM) may be the origin of toxic and teratogenic effects of ethanol. H2‐receptor antagonists are poor inhibitors of human and rat classes I and IV (K i>0.3 mM) suggesting a small interference in ethanol metabolism at the pharmacological doses of these common drugs.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase of Class IV (σσ-ADH) from Human Stomach

Human stomach mucosa contains a characteristic alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) enzyme, sigma sigma-ADH. Its cDNA has been cloned from a human stomach library and sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequence shows 59-70% identities with the other human ADH classes, demonstrating that the stomach enzyme represents a distinct structure, constituting class IV, coded by a separate gene, ADH7. The amino acid identity with the rat stomach class IV ADH is 88%, which is intermediate between constant and variable dehydrogenases. This value reflects higher conservation than for the classical liver enzymes of class I, compatible with a separate functional significance of the class IV enzyme. Its enzymic features can be correlated with its structural characteristics. The residues lining the substrate-binding cleft are bulky and hydrophobic, similar to those of the class I enzyme; this explains the similar specificity of both classes, compatible with the origin of class IV from class I. Position 47 has Arg, in contrast to Gly in the rat class IV enzyme, but this Arg is still associated with an extremely high activity (kcat = 1510 min-1) and weak coenzyme binding (KiaNAD+ = 1.6 mM). Thus, the strong interaction with coenzyme imposed by Arg47 in class I is probably compensated for in class IV by changes that may negatively affect coenzyme binding: Glu230, His271, Asn260, Asn261, Asn363. The still higher activity and weaker coenzyme binding of rat class IV (kcat = 2600 min-1, KiaNAD = 4 mM) can be correlated to the exchanges to Gly47, Gln230 and Tyr363. An important change at position 294, with Val in human and Ala in rat class IV, is probably responsible for the dramatic difference in Km values for ethanol between human (37 mM) and rat (2.4 M) class IV enzymes.