bims-polyam 2019-10-20 papers

on Polyamines

Issue of 2019–10–20
eleven papers selected by
Sebastian J. Hofer, University of Graz and Alexander Ivanov, Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology

GSTΠ stimulates caveolin-1-regulated polyamine uptake via actin remodeling.
Evaluation of polyamines as marker of melanoma cell proliferation and differentiation by an improved high-performance liquid chromatographic method.
Specific effects of antitumor active norspermidine on the structure and function of DNA.
Determination of polyamines and related compounds in saliva via in situ derivatization and microextraction by packed sorbents coupled to GC-MS.
A Plant Pathogen Type III Effector Protein Subverts Translational Regulation to Boost Host Polyamine Levels.
Nexus Between Spermidine and Floral Organ Identity and Fruit/Seed Set in Tomato.
Flammeovirga pectinis sp. nov., isolated from the gut of the Korean scallop, Patinopecten yessoensis.
Genes regulated by branched-chain polyamine in the hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus kodakarensis.
Discovery of a New Biomarker Pattern for Differential Diagnosis of Acute Ischemic Stroke Using Targeted Metabolomics.
Pseudomonas leptonychotis sp. nov., isolated from Weddell seals in Antarctica.
Comparative effectiveness of Agmatine and Choline treatment in rats with cognitive impairment induced by AlCl3 and Forced Swim Stress.

Oncotarget. 2019 Oct 01. 10(55): 5713-5723

GSTΠ stimulates caveolin-1-regulated polyamine uptake via actin remodeling.

Takeshi Uemura, George Tsaprailis, Eugene W Gerner.

  Polyamines spermidine and spermine, and their diamine precursor putrescine, are essential for normal cellular functions in both pro- and eukaryotes. Cellular polyamine levels are regulated by biosynthesis, degradation and transport. Transport of dietary and luminal bacterial polyamines in gastrointestinal (GI) tissues plays a significant role in tissue polyamine homeostasis. We have reported that caveolin-1 play an inhibitory role in polyamine uptake in GI tissues. We investigated the mechanism of caveolin-1-regulated polyamine transport. We found that glutathione S-transferase Π(GSTΠ) was secreted from caveolin-1 knockdown cells and stimulated spermidine transport in human colon-derived HCT116 cells. GSTΠ secreted in the medium increased S-glutathionylated protein level in the plasma membrane fraction. Proteomic analysis revealed that actin was S-glutathionylated by GSTΠ. Immunofluorescence microscopy demonstrated that actin filaments around plasma membrane were S-glutathionylated in caveolin-1 knockdown cells. Inhibition of actin remodeling by jasplakinolide caused a decrease in polyamine uptake activity. These data support a model in which caveolin-1 negatively regulates polyamine uptake by inhibiting GSTΠ secretion, which stimulates actin remodeling and endocytosis.

Keywords:  GSTπ; actin; caveolin; polyamine; transport

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.27192
Amino Acids. 2019 Oct 15.

Evaluation of polyamines as marker of melanoma cell proliferation and differentiation by an improved high-performance liquid chromatographic method.

Bruno Provenzano, Alessandro Lentini, Roberta Tatti, Angelo De Martino, Ilaria Borromeo, Carlo Mischiati, Giordana Feriotto, Cinzia Forni, Claudio Tabolacci, Simone Beninati.

  The differentiation therapy is focused on the identification of new agents able to impair the proliferative and metastatic potential of cancer cells through the induction of differentiation. Although several markers of cell differentiation on tumor cells have been identified, their causal relationship with neoplastic competence has not been characterized in sufficient detail to propose their use as new pharmacological targets useful for the design of new differentiation agents. Polyamine level in cancer cells and in body fluids was proposed as potential marker of cell proliferation and differentiation. The main advantage of this marker is the possibility to evaluate the antineoplastic activity of new drugs able to induce cell differentiation and consequently to inhibit tumor growth and metastasis. The presented report shows a simply and highly reproducible reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for the determination of ortho-phthalaldehyde (OPA) derivatives of polyamines: putrescine (PUT), cadaverine (CAD), spermidine (SPD) and spermine (SPM). The novelty of this method is the fluorescence response for OPA-derivate of SPM, generally low in other procedures, that has been significantly improved by the use of a fully endcapped packing material with minimal silanol interactions. The limits of detection for PUT, CAD, SPD and SPM were 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, and 0.4 pmol/mL, respectively. The analysis time was ≤ 20 min, and the relative recovery rate was of about 97%. To verify the usefulness of this method, it has been validated in a murine melanoma cell line (B16-F10) treated with two theophylline derivatives (namely 8-chlorotheophylline and 8-bromotheophylline). These two compounds increased the activity of tissue transglutaminase (TG2) and the synthesis of melanin, two recognized markers of melanoma cell differentiation, and significantly reduced the levels of intracellular polyamines.

Keywords:  Differentiation therapy; Melanoma cells; OPA derivatization; Polyamines

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-019-02799-y
Sci Rep. 2019 Oct 18. 9(1): 14971

Specific effects of antitumor active norspermidine on the structure and function of DNA.

Takashi Nishio, Yuko Yoshikawa, Chwen-Yang Shew, Naoki Umezawa, Tsunehiko Higuchi, Kenichi Yoshikawa.

We compared the effects of trivalent polyamines, spermidine (SPD) and norspermidine (NSPD), a chemical homologue of SPD, on the structure of DNA and gene expression. The chemical structures of SPD and NSPD are different only with the number of methylene groups between amine groups, [N-3-N-4-N] and [N-3-N-3-N], respectively. SPD plays vital roles in cell function and survival, including in mammals. On the other hand, NSPD has antitumor activity and is found in some species of plants, bacteria and algae, but not in humans. We found that both polyamines exhibit biphasic effect; enhancement and inhibition on in vitro gene expression, where SPD shows definitely higher potency in enhancement but NSPD causes stronger inhibition. Based on the results of AFM (atomic force microscopy) observations together with single DNA measurements with fluorescence microscopy, it becomes clear that SPD tends to align DNA orientation, whereas NSPD induces shrinkage with a greater potency. The measurement of binding equilibrium by NMR indicates that NSPD shows 4-5 times higher affinity to DNA than SPD. Our theoretical study with Monte Carlo simulation provides the insights into the underlying mechanism of the specific effect of NSPD on DNA.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-50943-1
J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2019 Oct 10. pii: S1570-0232(19)30596-3. [Epub ahead of print]1129 121821

Determination of polyamines and related compounds in saliva via in situ derivatization and microextraction by packed sorbents coupled to GC-MS.

Javier Peña, Ana María Casas-Ferreira, Marcos Morales-Tenorio, Bernardo Moreno-Cordero, José Luis Pérez-Pavón.

  Here we show the determination of different polyamines (putrescine, cadaverine, spermidine) and related compounds (gamma-aminobutyric acid and l-ornithine) in saliva samples. These compounds are known to be biomarkers for several diseases. We have optimised an in situ derivatization process using ethyl chloroformate, an automated microextraction by packed sorbent and the determination of the corresponding products using a programmed temperature vaporizer coupled to a gas chromatograph - mass spectrometer. After finding that saliva matrix has an effect on the analysis, quantitation was performed using the one-point standard additions method and normalization to IS. This allows the detection of the analytes in the range of µg/L within a matrix obtained by a non-invasive procedure. The method has been successfully validated and it has been used in the determination of these compounds in six saliva samples finding that putrescine and cadaverine present the highest concentrations in the subject diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. For ornithine and spermidine, the highest concentrations were found for male subjects, especially heavy smokers. All concentrations found for the compounds were in good agreement with data found in bibliography.

Keywords:  Ethyl chloroformate; Gas chromatography; MEPS; Mass spectrometry; Polyamines; Saliva samples

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jchromb.2019.121821
Cell Host Microbe. 2019 Oct 11. pii: S1931-3128(19)30481-0. [Epub ahead of print]

A Plant Pathogen Type III Effector Protein Subverts Translational Regulation to Boost Host Polyamine Levels.

Dousheng Wu, Edda von Roepenack-Lahaye, Matthias Buntru, Orlando de Lange, Niklas Schandry, Alvaro L Pérez-Quintero, Zasha Weinberg, Tiffany M Lowe-Power, Boris Szurek, Anthony J Michael, Caitilyn Allen, Stefan Schillberg, Thomas Lahaye.

  Pathogenic bacteria inject effector proteins into host cells to manipulate cellular processes and facilitate the infection. Transcription-activator-like effectors (TALEs), an effector class in plant pathogenic bacteria, transcriptionally activate host genes to promote disease. We identify arginine decarboxylase (ADC) genes as the host targets of Brg11, a TALE-like effector from the plant pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum. Brg11 targets a 17-bp sequence that was found to be part of a conserved 50-bp motif, termed the ADC-box, upstream of ADC genes involved in polyamine biosynthesis. The transcribed ADC-box attenuates translation from native ADC mRNAs; however, Brg11 induces truncated ADC mRNAs lacking the ADC-box, thus bypassing this translational control. As a result, Brg11 induces elevated polyamine levels that trigger a defense reaction and likely inhibits bacterial niche competitors but not R. solanacearum. Our findings suggest that Brg11 may give R. solanacearum a competitive advantage and uncover a role for bacterial effectors in regulating ternary microbe-host-microbe interactions.

Keywords:  Ralstonia solanacearum; arginine decarboxylase (ADC); microbiota; polyamines; putrescine; rhizosphere; translational regulation; type III effectors; upstream open reading frame (uORF)

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2019.09.014
Front Plant Sci. 2019 ;10 1033

Nexus Between Spermidine and Floral Organ Identity and Fruit/Seed Set in Tomato.

Savithri U Nambeesan, Autar K Mattoo, Avtar K Handa.

  Polyamines (PAs) constituting putrescine (Put), spermidine (Spd), and spermine (Spm) are ubiquitous in all organisms and play essential roles in the growth and developmental processes in living organisms, including plants. Evidences obtained through genetic, biochemical, and transgenic approaches suggest a tight homeostasis for cellular PA levels. Altered cellular PA homeostasis is associated with abnormal phenotypes. However, the mechanisms involved for these abnormalities are not yet fully understood, nor is it known whether cellular ratios of different polyamines play any role(s) in specific plant processes. We expressed a yeast spermidine synthase gene (ySpdSyn) under a constitutive promoter CaMV35S in tomato and studied the different phenotypes that developed. The constitutive expression of ySpdSyn resulted in variable flower phenotypes in independent transgenic lines, some of which lacked fruit and seed set. Quantification of PA levels in the developing flowers showed that the transgenic plants without fruit and seed set had significantly reduced Spd levels as well as low Spd/Put ratio compared to the transgenic lines with normal fruit and seed set. Transcript levels of SlDELLA, GA-20oxidase-1, and GA-3oxidase-2, which impact gibberellin (GA) metabolism and signaling, were significantly reduced in bud tissue of transgenic lines that lacked fruit and seed set. These findings indicate that PAs, particularly Spd, impact floral organ identity and fruit set in tomato involving GA metabolism and signaling. Furthermore, we suggest that a nexus exists between PA ratios and developmental programs in plants.

Keywords:  gibberellins; parthenocarpy; polyamines; seed set; transgenic tomatoes

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2019.01033
Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2019 Oct 15.

Flammeovirga pectinis sp. nov., isolated from the gut of the Korean scallop, Patinopecten yessoensis.

Yun-Seok Jeong, Woorim Kang, Hojun Sung, June-Young Lee, Ji-Hyun Yun, Na-Ri Shin, Hyun Sik Kim, So-Yeon Lee, Jeong Eun Han, Jae-Yun Lee, Euon Jung Tak, Pil Soo Kim, Dong-Wook Hyun, Mi-Ja Jung, Tae Woong Whon, Myung-Suk Kang, Ki-Eun Lee, Byoung-Hee Lee, Jin-Woo Bae.

  A novel Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped, reddish-orange-coloured, gliding bacterial strain, designated L12M1T, was isolated from the gut of the Korean scallop, Patinopecten yessoensis. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that strain L12M1T formed a monophyletic clade with the strains in the genus Flammeovirga and showed highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to Flammeovirga kamogawensis YS10T (98.66 %). The major cellular fatty acids of strain L12M1T were iso-C15 : 0 and C20 : 4ω6,9,12,15c. The predominant isoprenoid quinone was MK-7. The major polyamines were spermidine, cadaverine and the minor polyamine was putrescine. The DNA G+C content was 32.1 mol%. The phylogenetic, phenotypic, biochemical, chemotaxonomic and genotypic results indicated that strain L12M1T represents a novel species of the genus Flammeovirga, for which the name Flammeovirga pectinis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is L12M1T (=KCTC 62750T=JCM 33169T).

Keywords:  Flammeovirga; Flammeovirgaceae; Patinopecten yessoensis

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.003783
Amino Acids. 2019 Oct 16.

Genes regulated by branched-chain polyamine in the hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus kodakarensis.

Wakao Fukuda, Yuka Yamori, Masafumi Hamakawa, Mamoru Osaki, Moeko Fukuda, Ryota Hidese, Yu Kanesaki, Akiko Okamoto-Kainuma, Satoru Kato, Shinsuke Fujiwara.

  Branched-chain polyamine (BCPA) synthase (BpsA), encoded by the bpsA gene, is responsible for the biosynthesis of BCPA in the hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus kodakarensis, which produces N4-bis(aminopropyl)spermidine and spermidine. Here, next-generation DNA sequencing and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) were used to perform transcriptomic and proteomic analyses of a T. kodakarensis strain (DBP1) lacking bpsA. Subsequently, the contributions of BCPA to gene transcription (or transcript stabilization) and translation (or protein stabilization) were analyzed. Compared with those in the wild-type strain (KU216) cultivated at 90 °C, the transcript levels of 424 and 21 genes were up- and downregulated in the DBP1 strain, respectively. The expression levels of 12 frequently-used tRNAs were lower in DBP1 cells than KU216 cells, suggesting that BCPA affects translation efficiency in T. kodakarensis. LC-MS analyses of cells grown at 90 °C detected 50 proteins in KU216 cells only, 109 proteins in DBP1 cells only, and 499 proteins in both strains. Notably, the transcript levels of some genes did not correlate with those of the proteins. RNA-seq and RT-qPCR analyses of ten proteins that were detected in KU216 cells only, including three flagellin-related proteins (FlaB2-4) and cytosolic NiFe-hydrogenase subunit alpha (HyhL), revealed that the corresponding transcripts were expressed at higher levels in DBP1 cells than KU216 cells. Electron microscopy analyses showed that flagella formation was disrupted in DBP1 cells at 90 °C, and western blotting confirmed that HyhL expression was eliminated in the DBP1 strain. These results suggest that BCPA plays a regulatory role in gene expression in T. kodakarensis.

Keywords:  Archaea; Branched-chain polyamine; Hyperthermophiles; Polyamine

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-019-02793-4
Front Neurol. 2019 ;10 1011

Discovery of a New Biomarker Pattern for Differential Diagnosis of Acute Ischemic Stroke Using Targeted Metabolomics.

Ruitan Sun, Yan Li, Ming Cai, Yunfeng Cao, Xiangyu Piao.

  Stroke is one of the leading causes of disability all over the world. However, biomarkers for fast differential diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) from vertigo or headache, remains lacking. Using a direct-infusion mass spectrometry method, it is possible to establish an efficient method for AIS differential diagnosis that requires only a few minutes. Thirty-eight clearly diagnosed AIS patients and 46 patients with a main complaint of vertigo were enrolled in this study. There was a total of 58 metabolites that were measured by our targeted metabolomics method, and the data were analyzed by pattern recognition algorithms. As a result, a clear classification between AIS and vertigo patients was achieved. Acylcarnitines are the major discriminating metabolites between the two groups. Arginine and its ratio, which is related to urea cycle metabolites, including arginine/ornithine and citrulline/arginine, also accounted for the classification. Interestingly, the levels of these metabolites were also found to be restored among recovering AIS patients (n = 11), which indicated that the metabolic alterations are possibly related to AIS development. Based on the characters from the data pattern reorganization, a novel biomarkers pattern was established using a binary logistic model, which contained arginine, arginine/ornithine, vaccenylcarnitine, and hydroxylbutyrylcarnitine. This biomarkers pattern achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.89 for the differential diagnosis of AIS. Considering the efficiency and the diagnostic performance of the biomarkers pattern, our method has potential future use for the clinical application.

Keywords:  acute ischemic stroke; amino acids; biomarkers; carnitine; mass spectrometry; metabolomics

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2019.01011
Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2019 Oct 16.

Pseudomonas leptonychotis sp. nov., isolated from Weddell seals in Antarctica.

Dana Nováková, Pavel Švec, Michal Zeman, Hans-Jürgen Busse, Ivana Mašlaňová, Roman Pantůček, Stanislava Králová, Lucie Krištofová, Ivo Sedláček.

  A taxonomic study was carried out on four Gram-stain-negative strains P5773T, P6169, P4708 and P6245, isolated from anus or mouth samples of Weddell seals at James Ross Island, Antarctica. The results of initial 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that all four strains formed a group placed in the genus Pseudomonas and found Pseudomonas guineae and Pseudomonas peli to be their closest neighbours with 99.9 and 99.2 % sequence similarity, respectively. Sequence analysis of rpoD, rpoB and gyrB housekeeping genes confirmed the highest similarity of isolates to P. peli (rpoD) and to P. guineae (rpoB and gyrB). The average nucleotide identity value below 86 %, as calculated from the whole-genome sequence data, showed the low genomic relatedness of P5773T to its phylogenetic neighbours. The complete genome of strain P5773T was 4.4 Mb long and contained genes encoding proteins with biotechnological potential. The major fatty acids of the seal isolates were summed feature 8 (C18 : 1 ω7c), summed feature 3 (C16 : 1 ω 7 c/C16 : 1 ω6c) and C16:0. The major respiratory quinone was Q9. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and diphosphatidylglycerol. Putrescine and spermidine are predominant in the polyamine pattern. Further characterization performed using repetitive sequence-based PCR fingerprinting and MALDI-TOF MS analysis showed that the studied isolates formed a coherent cluster separated from the remaining Pseudomonas species and confirmed that they represent a novel species within the genus Pseudomonas, for which the name Pseudomonas leptonychotis sp. nov. is suggested. The type strain is P5773T (=CCM 8849T=LMG 30618T).

Keywords:  Antarctica; Pseudomonas leptonychotis; Weddell seal; polyphasic taxonomy

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.003753
Curr Clin Pharmacol. 2019 Oct 16.

Comparative effectiveness of Agmatine and Choline treatment in rats with cognitive impairment induced by AlCl3 and Forced Swim Stress.

Hira Rafi, Fahad Ahmad, Javaria Anis, Ruba Khan, Hamna Rafiq, Muhammad Farhan.

   AIM: Endogenous agmatine has a significant role in learning and memory process as a neurotransmitter. Various studies described the physiological role of endogenous agmatine in learning and memory of multiple cognitive tasks suggesting elevated levels of agmatine during learning process in rat brain. Dietary intake of choline shown correlation with cognitive functions in human subjects and treatment with choline supplements validated the ability to diminish learning and cognitive impairment dementias.
METHOD: 36 rats were equally divided into three groups each that received the following treatments: a. water was given orally to control group b. Agmatine (p.o.) 100 mg/Kg/Body Weight and c. Choline (p.o.) 100 mg/Kg/Body Weight daily for 14 days. Behaviors were assessed in Light/Dark Box, Open Field, Novel Object Recognition Test (NOR), T Maze Test and Morris Water Maze Test.
RESULTS: Animals administered with agmatine demonstrated increased time spent in bright area of light/dark box and square crossed while improved spatial memory in Morris water maze and T maze test and enhanced discrimination of novel object in NOR were observed in learning and memory paradigms as compared with choline supplement.
CONCLUSION: Present study determines that agmatine treatment at the dose of (100 mg/kg/BW) attenuate memory and cognitive impairment that leads to behavioral disorders and deficits in comparison with choline supplements.

Keywords:  Agmatine; Choline; Learning and memory; Morris water maze test; cognitive impairment

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.2174/1574884714666191016152143