bims-polyam 2020-08-23 papers

on Polyamines

Issue of 2020–08–23
eight papers selected by
Sebastian J. Hofer, University of Graz and Alexander Ivanov, Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology

The involvement of polyamine uptake and synthesis pathways in the proliferation of neonatal astrocytes.
Cadaverine and Spermine Elicit Ca2+ Uptake in Human CP Cells via a Trace Amine-Associated Receptor 1 Dependent Pathway.
Polyamine biosynthetic pathways and their relation with the cold tolerance of maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings.
Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) S-Adenosylmethionine Decarboxylase confers the transgenic tobacco elevated tolerance to salt stress.
Exogenous Polyamines Only Indirectly Induce Stress Tolerance in Wheat Growing in Hydroponic Culture under Polyethylene Glycol-Induced Osmotic Stress.
Impact of nitrogen metabolism-associated culture pH changes on regulation of Fusarium trichothecene biosynthesis: revision of roles of polyamine agmatine and transcription factor AreA.
Investigating the association of the biogenic amine profile in urine with therapeutic response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.
CA9 Silencing Promotes Mitochondrial Biogenesis, Increases Putrescine Toxicity and Decreases Cell Motility to Suppress ccRCC Progression.

Amino Acids. 2020 Aug 20.

The involvement of polyamine uptake and synthesis pathways in the proliferation of neonatal astrocytes.

Christian J Malpica-Nieves, David E Rivera-Aponte, Flavia A Tejeda-Bayron, Angel M Mayor, Otto Phanstiel, Rüdiger W Veh, Misty J Eaton, Serguei N Skatchkov.

  Polyamines (PAs), such as spermidine (SPD) and spermine (SPM), are essential to promote cell growth, survival, proliferation, and longevity. In the adult central nervous system (CNS), SPD and SPM are accumulated predominantly in healthy adult glial cells where PA synthesis is not present. To date, the accumulation and biosynthesis of PAs in developing astrocytes are not well understood. The purpose of the present study was to determine the contribution of uptake and/or synthesis of PAs using proliferation of neonatal astrocytes as an endpoint. We inhibited synthesis of PAs using α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO; an inhibitor of the PA biosynthetic enzyme ornithine decarboxylase (ODC)) and inhibited uptake of PAs using trimer44NMe (PTI; a novel polyamine transport inhibitor). DFMO, but not PTI alone, blocked proliferation, suggesting that PA biosynthesis was present. Furthermore, exogenous administration of SPD rescued cell proliferation when PA synthesis was blocked by DFMO. When both synthesis and uptake of PAs were inhibited (DFMO + PTI), exogenous SPD no longer supported proliferation. These data indicate that neonatal astrocytes synthesize sufficient quantities of PAs de novo to support cell proliferation, but are also able to import exogenous PAs. This suggests that the PA uptake mechanism is present in both neonates as well as in adults and can support cell proliferation in neonatal astrocytes when ODC is blocked.

Keywords:  Astrocyte; Novel polyamine transport inhibitor (trimer44NMe); Ornithine decarboxylase; Polyamines; α-Difluoromethylornithine

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-020-02881-w
J Mol Neurosci. 2020 Aug 20.

Cadaverine and Spermine Elicit Ca2+ Uptake in Human CP Cells via a Trace Amine-Associated Receptor 1 Dependent Pathway.

D Almeida-Santos, A C Duarte, I Gonçalves, Catarina L Ferreira, I Ferrer, Hiroshi Ishikawa, Christian Schwerk, Horst Schroten, Cecília R A Santos.

  The choroid plexus (CP) constitutes a barrier between the blood and the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) which regulates the exchange of substances between these two fluids through mechanisms that are not completely understood. Polyamines as spermine, spermidine and putrescine are produced by all cells and are present in the CSF. Interestingly, their levels are altered in some neuronal disorders as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, thus increasing the interest in their signalling in the central nervous system (CNS). Cadaverine, on the other hand, is synthetized by the intestinal microbiome, suggesting that the presence of this bacterial metabolite in the CSF requires that it is up taken to the CNS across brain barriers. We knew that polyamines are detected by the olfactory signalling cascade operating at the CP, but the receptor involved had not been identified. The zebrafish TAAR13c was the only receptor known to bind a polyamine-cadaverine. Thus, we searched for a human receptor with homology to TAAR13c and found that some human TAARs including TAAR1 showed great homology. Then, we confirmed the expression of TAAR1 mRNA and protein in a human cell line of the CP, and in human CP samples. Calcium imaging assays after TAAR1 knockdown in these cells with a specific siRNA against TAAR1 showed a consistent reduction in the responses of these cells to cadaverine and spermidine, but not to spermine, suggesting that TAAR1 is activated by cadaverine and spermidine, but not spermine.

Keywords:  Brain barriers; Choroid plexus; Olfactory receptors; Polyamines; Trace amine-associated receptor 1

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-020-01684-8
Plant Signal Behav. 2020 Aug 15. 1807722

Polyamine biosynthetic pathways and their relation with the cold tolerance of maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings.

Canhong Gao, Mohamed S Sheteiwy, Jiajun Han, Zhaorong Dong, Ronghui Pan, Yajing Guan, Yousef Alhaj Hamoud, Jin Hu.

   BACKGROUND: The present study was designed to investigate the inhibition role of two polyamine biosynthesis inhibitors, i.e., D-arginine (D-Arg) and DL-α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), in polyamine biosynthesis under chilling stress in different tissues of two maize inbred lines - Huang C (chilling-tolerance) and Mo17 (chilling-sensitive).
RESULTS: The results showed that exposure to the lower concentration of polyamine biosynthesis inhibitors improved seedlings growth, such as the root length, root and shoot fresh weight, chlorophyll a (chl a). The effectiveness of 10 µM D-Arg treatments was more prominent than those of 10 µM DFMO. However, the higher concentration of inhibitors suppressed seedlings growth, and the exposure to 100 µM DFMO caused stronger decreases in the photosynthetic pigments, such as chlorophyll a (chl a), chlorophyll b (chl b), total chlorophyll and carotenoids, than the other treatments. Meanwhile, the inhibitor treatments caused the lower content of putrescine (Put) in roots, mesocotyls and coleoptiles in both maize inbred lines as compared with untreated plants. However, the lower concentration (10 µM) of polyamine biosynthetic inhibitors improved the Spd content, except 10 µM D-Arg in root of Huang C, and 10 µM DFMO in coleoptiles of both Mo17 and Huang C. The correlation analysis found that Spd was positively significantly correlated with root length and shoot fresh weight of seedling.
CONCLUSION: It was showed that the Spd played an important role in seedling growth improvement. At the same concentration of polyamine biosynthetic inhibitors, the Put contents in different tissues of the seedlings treated with DFMO were generally lower than those treated with D-Arg, except for Put contents in root of Mo17 with 10 µM treatment. Moreover, the treatments of 100 µM were more prominent than those of 10 µM treatments. Exposure to 100 µM D-Arg and 100 µM DFMO could each decrease the activities of Arginine decarboxylase (ADC), Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAMDC) in all maize tissues. However, the decrease of the ADC activity was more prominent in 100 µM D-Arg-treated seedlings, while the decrease of SAMDC and ODC activities was prominent in 100 µM DFMO-treated seedlings. Genes involved in polyamine biosynthesis, such as ADC, ODC, SAMDC, and PAO, showed different expression patterns in response to chilling stress and polyamine biosynthesis inhibitors. This study suggested that Put was synthesized via both the ADC and ODC pathways after chilling stress, with the ODC pathway being the major one.

Keywords:  Chilling stress; DAO; ODC; PA biosynthesis; PAO; SAMDC; gene expression; maize; polyamine contents; polyamine synthetic pathways

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/15592324.2020.1807722
Plant Biol (Stuttg). 2020 Aug 18.

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) S-Adenosylmethionine Decarboxylase confers the transgenic tobacco elevated tolerance to salt stress.

De-Yun Meng, Sha Yang, Jin-Yi Xing, Na-Na Ma, Bao-Zhi Wang, Feng-Tong Qiu, Feng Guo, Jingjing Meng, Jia-Lei Zhang, Shu-Bo Wan, Xin-Guo Li.

  Polyamines play an important role in stress response. In the pathway of polyamines synthesis, S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAMDC) is one of the key enzymes. In this study, a full length cDNA of SAMDC (AhSAMDC) was isolated from peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.). Phylogenetic analysis revealed high sequence similarity between AhSAMDC and SAMDC from other plants. In peanut seedlings exposed to sodium chloride (NaCl), the transcript level of AhSAMDC in roots was the highest at 24 h that decreased sharply at 72 and 96 h after 150 mM NaCl treatment. However, the expression of AhSAMDC in peanut leaves was significantly inhibited, and the transcript levels in leaves were not different compared with control. These results implied the tissue-specific and time-specific expression of AhSAMDC. The physiological effects and functional mechanism of AhSAMDC were further evaluated by overexpressing AhSAMDC in tobaccos. The transgenic tobacco lines exhibited higher germination rate and longer root length under salt stress. Reduced membrane damage, higher antioxidant enzyme activity, and higher proline content were also observed in the transgenic tobacco seedlings. What's more, AhSAMDC also led to higher contents of spermidine and spermine, which can help to scavenge reactive oxygen species. Together, this study suggests that AhSAMDC enhances plant resistance to salt stress by improving polyamine content and alleviating membrane damage.

Keywords:  Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.); Polyamines; Reactive oxygen species; SAMDC; Salt stress; Transgenic tobacco

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.13173
Life (Basel). 2020 Aug 14. pii: E151. [Epub ahead of print]10(8):

Exogenous Polyamines Only Indirectly Induce Stress Tolerance in Wheat Growing in Hydroponic Culture under Polyethylene Glycol-Induced Osmotic Stress.

Izabela Marcińska, Kinga Dziurka, Piotr Waligórski, Franciszek Janowiak, Edyta Skrzypek, Marzena Warchoł, Katarzyna Juzoń, Kamila Kapłoniak, Ilona Mieczysława Czyczyło-Mysza.

  The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of osmotic stress caused by polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 in hydroponic culture on wheat seedlings of drought-resistant Chinese Spring (CS) and drought-susceptible SQ1 cultivar, and to examine the alleviative role of exogenous polyamines (PAs) applied to the medium. The assessment was based on physiological (chlorophyll a fluorescence kinetics, chlorophyll and water content) as well as biochemical (content of carbohydrates, phenols, proline, salicylic and abscisic acid, activity of low molecular weight antioxidants) parameters, measured after supplementation with PAs (putrescine, spermidine and spermine) on the 3rd, 5th and 7th day of the treatment. The results indicate that PAs ameliorate the effects of stress, indirectly and conditionally inducing stress tolerance of wheat seedlings. In contrast to the susceptible SQ1, the resistant CS cultivar activated its protective mechanisms, adjusting the degree of their activation to the level of the stress, depending on the genetic resources of the plant. Increased accumulation of antioxidants in the resistant CS in response to stress after the application of PAs confirms the hypothesis that PAs are involved in the signaling pathway determining the antioxidative response and the tolerance of wheat plants to drought stress.

Keywords:  PEG; Triticum aestivum L.; biochemical factors; fluorescence kinetics; osmotic stress; polyamines; yield

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/life10080151
Curr Genet. 2020 Aug 18.

Impact of nitrogen metabolism-associated culture pH changes on regulation of Fusarium trichothecene biosynthesis: revision of roles of polyamine agmatine and transcription factor AreA.

Yuichi Nakajima, Manami Akasaka, Takuya Shiobara, Yoshiyuki Kitou, Kazuyuki Maeda, Kyoko Kanamaru, Shuichi Ohsato, Tetsuo Kobayashi, Takumi Nishiuchi, Makoto Kimura.

  Fusarium graminearum produces trichothecene mycotoxins in infected grains and axenic liquid culture. A proposed regulatory model of trichothecene biosynthesis was examined in relation to nitrogen utilization. First, we showed that an important factor for the stimulation of trichothecene biosynthesis was not the occurrence of agmatine as a specific inducer molecule, but rather continuous acidification of the liquid culture medium arising from agmatine catabolism. When the pH of the L-Gln synthetic medium was frequently adjusted to the pH of the agmatine culture, trichothecene productivity of the L-Gln culture was equal to that of the agmatine culture. For efficient trichothecene biosynthesis, the culture pH should be lowered at an appropriate time point during the early growth stage. Second, we re-evaluated the role of the nitrogen regulatory GATA transcription factor AreA in trichothecene biosynthesis. Since Tri6 encodes a transcription factor indispensable for trichothecene biosynthesis, all fifteen AreA-binding consensus sequences in the Tri6 promoter were mutated. The mutant could catabolize L-Phe as the sole nitrogen source; furthermore, the pH profile of the synthetic L-Phe medium (initial pH 4.2) was the same as that of the wild-type (WT) strain. Under such conditions, the promoter mutant exhibited approximately 72% of the trichothecene productivity compared to the WT strain. Thus, F. graminearum AreA (FgAreAp) is dispensable for the functioning of the Tri6 promoter, but it contributes to the increased production of mycotoxin under mildly acidic conditions to some extent. Further investigations on the culture pH revealed that extremely low pH bypasses the function of FgAreAp.

Keywords:  Agmatine; Deoxynivalenol; Transcription regulator; Tri6; Trichothecene production

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00294-020-01102-x
J Proteome Res. 2020 Aug 20.

Investigating the association of the biogenic amine profile in urine with therapeutic response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.

Chiao Lo, Ya-Lin Hsu, Chih-Ning Cheng, Ching-Hung Lin, Han-Chun Kuo, Chiun-Sheng Huang, Ching-Hua Kuo.

Neoadjuvant treatment (NAT) can downstage breast cancer and can be utilized for different clinical applications. However, the response to NAT varies among individuals. Having effective biomarkers is important to optimize the treatment of breast cancer. Concentrations of biogenic amines have been found to show an association with cancer cell proliferation, but their clinical utility remains unclear. This study developed a postcolumn infused internal standard (PCI-IS)-assisted LC-MS/MS method for profiling biogenic amines in human urine. Putrescine-d8 was selected as the PCI-IS to calibrate the errors caused by matrix effects in the urine sample. The optimized method was applied to investigate the association between changes in 14 amines and the therapeutic response to NAT in breast cancer patients. Urine samples were collected before initiation of chemotherapy (n=60). Our results indicated that the levels of N1-acetylspermine, spermidine, norepinephrine, and dopamine were significantly higher in the responder group than the nonresponder group. These metabolites were incorporated with clinical factors to identify NAT responders, and the prediction model showed an area under the curve value of 0.949. These observations provide remarkable insights for future studies in elucidating the roles of biogenic amines in breast cancer. Additionally, the PCI-IS-assisted amine profiling method can facilitate these studies.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jproteome.0c00362
Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Aug 18. pii: E5939. [Epub ahead of print]21(16):

CA9 Silencing Promotes Mitochondrial Biogenesis, Increases Putrescine Toxicity and Decreases Cell Motility to Suppress ccRCC Progression.

Jiatong Xu, Songbiao Zhu, Lina Xu, Xiaohui Liu, Wenxi Ding, Qingtao Wang, Yuling Chen, Haiteng Deng.

  Carbonic anhydrase IX (CA9), a pH-regulating transmembrane protein, is highly expressed in solid tumors, and particularly in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). The catalytic mechanisms of CA9 are well defined, but its roles in mediating cell migration/invasion and survival in ccRCC remain to be determined. Here, we confirmed that the mRNA expression of CA9 in ccRCC was significantly higher than that in para-carcinoma tissues from analysis of the datasets in The Cancer Genome Atlas. CA9 knockdown upregulated oxidative phosphorylation-associated proteins and increased mitochondrial biogenesis, resulting in the reversal of the Warburg phenotype and the inhibition of cell growth. Our study revealed that CA9 knockdown upregulated mitochondrial arginase 2 (ARG2), leading to the accumulation of putrescine, which suppressed ccRCC proliferation. Surfaceomics analysis revealed that CA9 knockdown downregulated proteins associated with extracellular matrix (ECM)-receptor interaction and cell adhesion, resulting in decreased cell migration. CA9 silencing also downregulated amino acid transporters, leading to reduced cellular amino acids. Collectively, our data show that CA9 knockdown suppresses proliferation via metabolic reprogramming and reduced cell migration, reaffirming that CA9 is a potential therapeutic target for ccRCC treatment.

Keywords:  CA9; ccRCC; metabolomics; mitochondrial biogenesis; motility; proteomics; putrescine toxicity; surfaceomics

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21165939