Stripping down the mitochondrial cholesterol hydroxylase system, a kinetics study. (33/164)

The origin of steroid hormones in mammals is cholesterol that is metabolized by the mitochondrial CYP11A1 system. The cytochrome P450 is fed with reduction equivalents via a small electron transfer chain consisting of NADPH, adrenodoxin reductase, and adrenodoxin. Though the redox behavior of the individual protein components has been studied previously, the kinetics of the system in its entirety has not yet been analyzed. In this study we combine surface plasmon resonance experiments to determine the binding constants for the different pairs of redox partners with measurements of the pre-steady-state kinetics of the different reaction steps of this system and steady-state kinetics. We could correlate the individual protein-protein interactions with the effect of distinct reduction-oxidation steps on the overall catalytic activity of the CYP11A1 system. For the first time, we were able to follow the reduction of each of the protein components of this system within one measurement when we mixed all oxidized protein components with NADPH. These measurements allowed the determination of the individual apparent rate constants for the reduction of all three proteins involved. In addition, variation of the ionic strength in these experiments revealed different optimum salt concentrations for the reduction of adrenodoxin reductase and adrenodoxin, respectively, and unraveled dramatically changing reduction rates of CYP11A1 by adrenodoxin.  (+info)

A novel pathway for sequential transformation of 7-dehydrocholesterol and expression of the P450scc system in mammalian skin. (34/164)

Following up on our previous findings that the skin possesses steroidogenic activity from progesterone, we now show widespread cutaneous expression of the full cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage (P450scc) system required for the intracellular catalytic production of pregnenolone, i.e. the genes and proteins for P450scc enzyme, adrenodoxin, adrenodoxin reductase and MLN64. Functionality of the system was confirmed in mitochondria from skin cells. Moreover, purified mammalian P450scc enzyme and, most importantly, mitochondria isolated from placenta and adrenals produced robust transformation of 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC; precursor to cholesterol and vitamin D3) to 7-dehydropregnenolone (7-DHP). Product identity was confirmed by comparison with the chemically synthesized standard and chromatographic, MS and NMR analyses. Reaction kinetics for the conversion of 7-DHC into 7-DHP were similar to those for cholesterol conversion into pregnenolone. Thus, 7-DHC can form 7-DHP through P450scc side-chain cleavage, which may serve as a substrate for further conversions into hydroxy derivatives through existing steroidogenic enzymes. In the skin, 5,7-steroidal dienes (7-DHP and its hydroxy derivatives), whether synthesized locally or delivered by the circulation, may undergo UVB-induced intramolecular rearrangements to vitamin D3-like derivatives. This novel pathway has the potential to generate a variety of molecules depending on local steroidogenic activity and access to UVB.  (+info)

Direct expression in Escherichia coli and characterization of bovine adrenodoxins with modified amino-terminal regions. (35/164)

Four forms of bovine adrenodoxin with modified amino-termini obtained by direct expression of cDNAs in Escherichia coli are Ad(Met1), Ad(Met-1), Ad(Met-12), and Ad(Met6). The shoulder numbers represent the site of translation initiator Met at the amino-termini. The adrenodoxins, except for Ad(Met-1), were purified from the cell lysate and the ratios of A414-to-A276 of the purified proteins were over 0.92. NADPH-cytochrome c reductase activities of the three forms of adrenodoxin in the presence of adrenodoxin reductase were the same as that of purified bovine adrenocortical adrenodoxin. However, as cytochrome P-450SCC reduction catalyzed by Ad(Met6) was about 60% of that by Ad(Met1), the contribution of the amino-terminal region for the electron transfer or binding to cytochrome P-450SCC would need to be considered.  (+info)

A three-component dicamba O-demethylase from Pseudomonas maltophilia, strain DI-6: gene isolation, characterization, and heterologous expression. (36/164)

Dicamba O-demethylase is a multicomponent enzyme from Pseudomonas maltophilia, strain DI-6, that catalyzes the conversion of the widely used herbicide dicamba (2-methoxy-3,6-dichlorobenzoic acid) to DCSA (3,6-dichlorosalicylic acid). We recently described the biochemical characteristics of the three components of this enzyme (i.e. reductase(DIC), ferredoxin(DIC), and oxygenase(DIC)) and classified the oxygenase component of dicamba O-demethylase as a member of the Rieske non-heme iron family of oxygenases. In the current study, we used N-terminal and internal amino acid sequence information from the purified proteins to clone the genes that encode dicamba O-demethylase. Two reductase genes (ddmA1 and ddmA2) with predicted amino acid sequences of 408 and 409 residues were identified. The open reading frames encode 43.7- and 43.9-kDa proteins that are 99.3% identical to each other and homologous to members of the FAD-dependent pyridine nucleotide reductase family. The ferredoxin coding sequence (ddmB) specifies an 11.4-kDa protein composed of 105 residues with similarity to the adrenodoxin family of [2Fe-2S] bacterial ferredoxins. The oxygenase gene (ddmC) encodes a 37.3-kDa protein composed of 339 amino acids that is homologous to members of the Phthalate family of Rieske non-heme iron oxygenases that function as monooxygenases. Southern analysis localized the oxygenase gene to a megaplasmid in cells of P. maltophilia. Mixtures of the three highly purified recombinant dicamba O-demethylase components overexpressed in Escherichia coli converted dicamba to DCSA with an efficiency similar to that of the native enzyme, suggesting that all of the components required for optimal enzymatic activity have been identified. Computer modeling suggests that oxygenase(DIC) has strong similarities with the core alphasubunits of naphthalene 1,2-dioxygenase. Nonetheless, the present studies point to dicamba O-demethylase as an enzyme system with its own unique combination of characteristics.  (+info)

Bovine placental progesterone synthesis: comparison of first and second trimesters of gestation. (37/164)

We have previously reported that dispersed caruncle cells from cows during the first trimester of pregnancy, in comparison to caruncle cells from cows of more than 90 days of gestation, produce little progesterone (P4) and are refractory to agents that enhance steroidogenesis. To explain this refractoriness of the first-trimester cells, we determined (1) the expression of cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage (P450scc) and its mRNA, (2) the expression of adrenodoxin, and (3) 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity. We first determined P4 and pregnenolone (P5) production by dispersed caruncle cells from the two gestation periods using RIA. It was found that P4 synthesis by bovine maternal caruncle cells was low or undetectable in the first trimester but increased more than 10-fold in the second trimester of gestation. Addition of 25-OH-cholesterol (5 micrograms/ml) to second-trimester maternal cells increased P5 production, but no effect was observed in first-trimester cells. With [3H]P5 used as substrate, analysis of metabolites on thin-layer chromatography indicated that first-trimester maternal cells synthesized a small amount of P4 (3.02% of total radioactivity) compared to second-trimester cells (16.4%). A readily detectable amount of 17 alpha-OH-P5 was produced by the second-trimester cells (5.02%) but not by the first-trimester cells (0.6%). No other metabolites could be characterized (less than 0.5%). Cytochrome P450scc expression and its mRNA and adrenodoxin content were determined by use of Western blot or dot-blot techniques. Proteins and mRNA were detected in maternal tissues of first and second trimesters of gestation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)  (+info)

Adrenodoxin reductase and adrenodoxin. Mechanisms of reduction of ferricyanide and cytochrome c. (38/164)

Adrenodoxin reductase, the flavoprotein moiety of the adrenal cortex mitochondrial steroid hydroxylating system, participates in adrenodoxin-dependent cytochrome c and adrenodoxin-independent ferricyanide reduction, with NADPH as electron donor for both of these 1-electron reductions. For ferricyanide reduction, adrenodoxin reductase cycles between oxidized and 2-electron-reduced forms, reoxidation proceeding via the neutral flavin (FAD) semiquinone form (Fig. 9). Addition of adrenodoxin has no effect upon the kinetic parameters of flavoprotein-catalyzed ferricyanide reduction. For cytochrome c reduction, the adrenodoxin reductase-adrenodoxin 1:1 complex has been shown to be the catalytically active species (Lambeth, J. D., McCaslin, D. R., and Kamin, H. (1976) J. Biol. Chem. 251, 7545-7550). Present studies, using stopped flow techniques, have shown that the 2-electron-reduced form of the complex (produced by reaction with 1 eq of NADPH) reacts rapidly with 1 eq of cytochrome c (k approximately or equal to 4.6 s-1), but only slowly with a second cytochrome c (k = 0.1 to 0.3 s-1). However, when a second NADPH is included, two more equivalents of cytochrome are reduced rapidly. Thus, the adrenodoxin reductase-adrenodoxin complex appears to cycle between 1- and 3-electron reduced states, via an intermediate 2-electron-containing form produced by reoxidation by cytochrome (Fig. 10). For ferricyanide reduction by adrenodoxin reductase, the fully reduced and semiquinone forms of flavin each transfer 1 electron at oxidation-reduction potentials which differ by approximately 130 mV. However, adrenodoxin in a complex with adrenodoxin reductase allows electrons of constant potential to be delivered from flavin to cytochrome c via the iron sulfur center...  (+info)

Characterization of adrenodoxin precursor expressed in Escherichia coli. (39/164)

The precursor of bovine adrenodoxin (pAd), a mitochondrial protein, was expressed in Escherichia coli. The cloned cDNA of pAd was ligated to an expression vector pET-3d, and silent mutations were introduced into the N-terminal portion of the cDNA in order to increase the expression. The precursor was highly expressed (approximately 20% of the total cell protein) as the inclusion body, and contained an iron-sulfur center as judged from its optical absorption spectra. The inclusion body was solubilized with 7 M urea and pAd was purified in the presence of urea. The purified pAd was efficiently imported into isolated bovine adrenal cortex mitochondria and processed to the mature form. The import reaction required ATP inside the mitochondria in addition to the inner membrane potential, and was strongly inhibited by trypsin treatment of the mitochondria, as in the case of the in vitro translated precursor. It was, however, not dependent on the unfolding activity of the cytosolic factor with extramitochondrial ATP.  (+info)

Resonance Raman and magnetic circular dichroism studies of reduced [2Fe-2S] proteins. (40/164)

The structural and electronic properties of the [2Fe-2S] clusters in reduced putidaredoxin, Spinacea oleracea ferredoxin, and Clostridium pasteurianum [2Fe-2S] ferredoxin have been investigated by resonance Raman and variable temperature magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopies. Both techniques are shown to provide diagnostic fingerprints for identifying [2Fe-2S]+ clusters in more complex multicomponent metalloenzymes. The Fe-S stretching modes of oxidized and reduced putidaredoxin are assigned via 34S and D2O isotope shifts and previous normal mode calculations for adrenodoxin (Han, S., Czernuszewicz, R. S., Kimura, T., Adams, M. W. W., and Spiro, T. G. (1989) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 111, 3505-3511). The close similarity in the resonance Raman spectra of reduced [2Fe-2S] centers, in terms of both the vibrational frequencies and enhancement profiles of the Fe-S stretching modes, permits these assignments to be generalized to all clusters of this type. Modes primarily involving Fe(III)-S(Cys) stretching are identified in all three reduced [2Fe-2S] proteins, and the frequencies are rationalized in terms of the conformation of the cysteine residues ligating the Fe(III) site of the localized valence reduced cluster. D2O isotope shifts indicate few, if any, amide NH-S hydrogen bond interactions involving the cysteines ligating the Fe(III) site. Preliminary resonance Raman excitation profiles suggest assignments for the complex pattern of electronic bands that comprise the low temperature magnetic circular dichroism spectra of the reduced proteins. S----Fe(III) and Fe(II)----S charge transfer, Fe d-d, and Fe(II)----Fe(III) intervalence bands are identified.  (+info)