(1/505) Inactivation of both RNA binding and aconitase activities of iron regulatory protein-1 by quinone-induced oxidative stress.

Iron regulatory protein-1 (IRP-1) controls the expression of several mRNAs by binding to iron-responsive elements (IREs) in their untranslated regions. In iron-replete cells, a 4Fe-4S cluster converts IRP-1 to cytoplasmic aconitase. IRE binding activity is restored by cluster loss in response to iron starvation, NO, or extracellular H2O2. Here, we study the effects of intracellular quinone-induced oxidative stress on IRP-1. Treatment of murine B6 fibroblasts with menadione sodium bisulfite (MSB), a redox cycling drug, causes a modest activation of IRP-1 to bind to IREs within 15-30 min. However, IRE binding drops to basal levels within 60 min. Surprisingly, a remarkable loss of both IRE binding and aconitase activities of IRP-1 follows treatment with MSB for 1-2 h. These effects do not result from alterations in IRP-1 half-life, can be antagonized by the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine, and regulate IRE-containing mRNAs; the capacity of iron-starved MSB-treated cells to increase transferrin receptor mRNA levels is inhibited, and MSB increases the translation of a human growth hormone indicator mRNA bearing an IRE in its 5'-untranslated region. Nonetheless, MSB inhibits ferritin synthesis. Thus, menadione-induced oxidative stress leads to post-translational inactivation of both genetic and enzymatic functions of IRP-1 by a mechanism that lies beyond the "classical" Fe-S cluster switch and exerts multiple effects on cellular iron metabolism.  (+info)

(2/505) The aconitase of yeast. IV. Studies on iron and sulfur in yeast aconitase.

Chemical analyses were carried out to determine the active components of the crystalline aconitase [EC 4.2.1.3] of Candida lipolytica. The enzyme contained 2 atoms of non-heme iron, 1 atom of labile sulfur, and 6 sulfhydryl groups per molecule. One atom of the non-heme iron was released by the addition of metal-chelating agents such as sodium citrate, sodium nitrilotriacetate (NTA) or sodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) without loss of the enzyme activity. The non-heme iron and labile sulfur were released by the addition of sulfhydryl reagents such as rho-chloromercuribenzoate (PCMB), sodium mersalyl or urea with loss of the enzyme activity. o-Phenanthroline reacted with the iron atoms in the enzyme at pH 6.0 with loss of the activity. These results show that yeast aconitase is an iron-sulfur protein and that only one of the two non-heme iron atoms is essential for enzyme activity.  (+info)

(3/505) The aconitase of yeast. V. The reconstitution of yeast aconitase.

The apoenzyme of yeast aconitase [EC 4.2.1.3] was prepared by treatment of yeast aconitase with sodium mersalyl, followed by passage by passage of the reaction mixture through a column of Dowex A-1 and gel filtration on Sephadex G-25. The apoenzyme had no aconitase activity, but the active enzyme could be reconstituted by treatment of the apoenzyme with ferrous ions and sodium sulfide in the presence of 2-mercapto-ethanol. The reconstituted active enzyme was isolated by DEAE-Sephadex A-50 column chromatography and Sephadex G-100 gel filtration from the reaction mixture. The reconstituted enzyme was identical with the original untreated enzyme in terms of specific activity, iron content and spectral characteristics, but not in terms of labile sulfur content. A significant difference in visible spectra between the holo- and apoenzymes appeared to be due to the difference in iron and labile sulfur contents between the two proteins.  (+info)

(4/505) Population structure and genetic divergence in Anopheles nuneztovari (Diptera: Culicidae) from Brazil and Colombia.

Anopheles nuneztovari is considered an important vector of human malaria in several localities in Venezuela and Colombia. Its status as a vector of human malaria is still unresolved in areas of the Brazilian Amazon, in spite of have been found infected with Plasmodium sp.. For a better understanding of the genetic differentiation of populations of A. nuneztovari, electrophoretic analysis using 11 enzymes was performed on four populations from Brazil and two from Colombia. The results showed a strong differentiation for two loci: alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (alpha-Gpd) and malate dehydrogenase (Mdh) from 16 loci analyzed. Diagnostic loci were not detected. The populations of A. nuneztovari from the Brazilian Amazon showed little genetic structure and low geographic differentiation, based on the F(IS) (0.029), F(ST) (0.070), and genetic distance (0.001-0.032) values. The results of the isozyme analysis do not coincide with the indication of two lineages in the Amazon Basin by analysis of mitochondrial DNA, suggesting that this evolutionary event is recent. The mean F(ST) value (0.324) suggests that there is considerable genetic divergence among populations from the Brazilian Amazon and Colombia. The genetic distance among populations from the Brazilian Amazon and Colombia is ranges from 0.047 to 0.148, with the highest values between the Brazilian Amazon and Sitronela (SIT) (0.125-0.148). These results are consistent with those observed among members of anopheline species complexes. It is suggested that geographic isolation has reduced the gene flow, resulting in the genetic divergence of the SIT population. Dendrogram analysis showed three large groups: one Amazonian and two Colombia, indicating some genetic structuring. The present study is important because it attempted to clarify the taxonomic status of A. nuneztovari and provide a better understanding of the role of this mosquito in transmission of human malaria in northern South America.  (+info)

(5/505) Human cytoplasmic aconitase (Iron regulatory protein 1) is converted into its [3Fe-4S] form by hydrogen peroxide in vitro but is not activated for iron-responsive element binding.

Iron regulatory protein 1 (IRP1) regulates the synthesis of proteins involved in iron homeostasis by binding to iron-responsive elements (IREs) of messenger RNA. IRP1 is a cytoplasmic aconitase when it contains a [4Fe-4S] cluster and an RNA-binding protein after complete removal of the metal center by an unknown mechanism. Human IRP1, obtained as the pure recombinant [4Fe-4S] form, is an enzyme as efficient toward cis-aconitate as the homologous mitochondrial aconitase. The aconitase activity of IRP1 is rapidly lost by reaction with hydrogen peroxide as the [4Fe-4S] cluster is quantitatively converted into the [3Fe-4S] form with release of a single ferrous ion per molecule. The IRE binding capacity of IRP1 is not elicited with H(2)O(2). Ferrous sulfate (but not other more tightly coordinated ferrous ions, such as the complex with ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid) counteracts the inhibitory action of hydrogen peroxide on cytoplasmic aconitase, probably by replenishing iron at the active site. These results cast doubt on the ability of reactive oxygen species to directly increase IRP1 binding to IRE and support a signaling role for hydrogen peroxide in the posttranscriptional control of proteins involved in iron homeostasis in vivo.  (+info)

(6/505) Low iron concentration and aconitase deficiency in a yeast frataxin homologue deficient strain.

Deletion of the yeast frataxin homologue, YFH1, elicits accumulation of iron in mitochondria and mitochondrial defects. We report here that in the presence of an iron chelator in the culture medium, the concentration of iron in mitochondria is the same in wild-type and YFH1 deletant strains. Under these conditions, the activity of the respiratory complexes is restored. However, the activity of the mitochondrial aconitase, a 4Fe-4S cluster-containing protein, remains low. The frataxin family bears homology to a bacterial protein family which confers resistance to tellurium, a metal closely related to sulfur. Yfh1p might control the synthesis of iron-sulfur clusters in mitochondria.  (+info)

(7/505) Bacillus subtilis aconitase is an RNA-binding protein.

The aconitase protein of Bacillus subtilis was able to bind specifically to sequences resembling the iron response elements (IREs) found in eukaryotic mRNAs. The sequences bound include the rabbit ferritin IRE and IRE-like sequences in the B. subtilis operons that encode the major cytochrome oxidase and an iron uptake system. IRE binding activity was affected by the availability of iron both in vivo and in vitro. In eukaryotic cells, aconitase-like proteins regulate translation and stability of iron metabolism mRNAs in response to iron availability. A mutant strain of B. subtilis that produces an enzymatically inactive aconitase that was still able to bind RNA sporulated 40x more efficiently than did an aconitase null mutant, suggesting that a nonenzymatic activity of aconitase is important for sporulation. The results support the idea that bacterial aconitases, like their eukaryotic homologs, are bifunctional proteins, showing aconitase activity in the presence of iron and RNA binding activity when cells are iron-deprived.  (+info)

(8/505) Iron-dependent regulation of transferrin receptor expression in Trypanosoma brucei.

Transferrin is an essential growth factor for African trypanosomes. Here we show that expression of the trypanosomal transferrin receptor, which bears no structural similarity with mammalian transferrin receptors, is regulated by iron availability. Iron depletion of bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei with the iron chelator deferoxamine resulted in a 3-fold up-regulation of the transferrin receptor and a 3-fold increase of the transferrin uptake rate. The abundance of expression site associated gene product 6 (ESAG6) mRNA, which encodes one of the two subunits of the trypanosome transferrin receptor, is regulated 5-fold by a post-transcriptional mechanism. In mammalian cells the stability of transferrin receptor mRNA is controlled by iron regulatory proteins (IRPs) binding to iron-responsive elements (IREs) in the 3'-untranslated region (UTR). Therefore, the role of a T. brucei cytoplasmic aconitase (TbACO) that is highly related to mammalian IRP-1 was investigated. Iron regulation of the transferrin receptor was found to be unaffected in Deltaaco::NEO/Deltaaco::HYG null mutants generated by targeted disruption of the TbACO gene. Thus, the mechanism of post-transcriptional transferrin receptor regulation in trypanosomes appears to be distinct from the IRE/IRP paradigm. The transferrin uptake rate was also increased when trypanosomes were transferred from medium supplemented with foetal bovine serum to medium supplemented with sera from other vertebrates. Due to varying binding affinities of the trypanosomal transferrin receptor for transferrins of different species, serum change can result in iron starvation. Thus, regulation of transferrin receptor expression may be a fast compensatory mechanism upon transmission of the parasite to a new host species.  (+info)

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