Utilization of Lactoferrin-Bound and Transferrin-Bound Iron by Campylobacter jejuni

ABSTRACT Campylobacter jejuni NCTC 11168 was capable of growth to levels comparable with FeSO4 in defined iron-limited medium (minimal essential medium alpha [MEMα]) containing ferrilactoferrin, ferritransferrin, or ferri-ovotransferrin. Iron was internalized in a contact-dependent manner, with 94% of cell-associated radioactivity from either 55Fe-loaded transferrin or lactoferrin associated with the soluble cell fraction. Partitioning the iron source away from bacteria significantly decreased cellular growth. Excess cold transferrin or lactoferrin in cultures containing 55Fe-loaded transferrin or lactoferrin resulted in reduced levels of 55Fe uptake. Growth of C. jejuni in the presence of ferri- and an excess of apoprotein reduced overall levels of growth. Following incubation of cells in the presence of ferrilactoferrin, lactoferrin became associated with the cell surface; binding levels were higher after growth under iron limitation. A strain carrying a mutation in the cj0178 gene from the iron uptake system Cj0173c-Cj0178 demonstrated significantly reduced growth promotion in the presence of ferrilactoferrin in MEMα compared to wild type but was not affected in the presence of heme. Moreover, this mutant acquired less 55Fe than wild type when incubated with 55Fe-loaded protein and bound less lactoferrin. Complementation restored the wild-type phenotype when cells were grown with ferrilactoferrin. A mutant in the ABC transporter system permease gene (cj0174c) showed a small but significant growth reduction. The cj0176c-cj0177 intergenic region contains two separate Fur-regulated iron-repressible promoters. This is the first demonstration that C. jejuni is capable of acquiring iron from members of the transferrin protein family, and our data indicate a role for Cj0178 in this process.

Changes in intracellular localization of calpastatin during calpain activation

Localization of the two main components of the Ca2+-dependent proteolytic system has been investigated in human neuroblastoma LAN-5 cells. Using a monoclonal antibody which recognizes the N-terminal calpastatin domain, it has been shown that this inhibitory protein is almost completely confined in two granule-like structures not surrounded by membranes. Similar calpastatin distribution has been found in other human and in murine cell types, indicating that aggregation of calpastatin is a general property and not an exclusive characteristic of neuronal-like cells. The existence of such calpastatin aggregates is confirmed by the kinetics of calpastatin-activity release during rat liver homogenization, which does not correspond to the rate of appearance of cytosolic proteins or to the disruption of membrane-surrounded organelles. Calpastatin distribution is affected by the intracellular increase in free Ca2+, which results in calpastatin progressively becoming a soluble protein. However, calpain is distributed in the soluble cell fraction and, in activating conditions, partially accumulates on the plasma membrane. Similar behaviour has been observed in calpastatin localization in LAN-5 cells induced with retinoic acid, suggesting that the proteolytic system is activated during the differentiation process of these cells. The involvement of calpastatin in controlling calpain activity, rather than its activation process, and the utilization of changes in calpastatin localization as a marker of activation of the system is discussed.

Molecular and kinetic alterations of muscle AMP deaminase during chronic creatine depletion

We examined a possible mechanism to account for the maintenance of peak AMP deamination rate in fast-twitch muscle of rats fed the creatine analog β-guanidinopropionic acid (β-GPA), in spite of reduced abundance of the enzyme AMP deaminase (AMPD). AMPD enzymatic capacity (determined at saturating AMP concentration) and AMPD protein abundance (Western blot) were coordinately reduced ∼80% in fast-twitch white gastrocnemius muscle by β-GPA feeding over 7 wk. Kinetic analysis of AMPD in the soluble cell fraction demonstrated a single Michaelis-Menten constant ( K m; ∼1.5 mM) in control muscle extracts. An additional high-affinity K m (∼0.03 mM) was revealed at low AMP concentrations in extracts of β-GPA-treated muscle. The kinetic alteration in AMPD reflects increased molecular activity at low AMP concentrations; this could account for high rates of deamination in β-GPA-treated muscle in situ, despite the loss of AMPD enzyme protein. The elimination of this kinetic effect by treatment of β-GPA-treated muscle extracts with acid phosphatase in vitro suggests that phosphorylation is involved in the kinetic control of skeletal muscle AMPD in vivo.

Subcellular localization and tissue distribution of sialic acid precursor-forming enzymes

The enzymes UDP-N-acetylglucosamine pyrophosphorylase, UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase, N-acetylmannosamine kinase, N-acetylglucosamine kinase and N-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase, which are involved in the metabolism of N-acetylneuraminic acid, were studied in rat with regard to their subcellular localization and tissue distribution. The subcellular distribution studies in liver indicated that the enzymes are localized in the soluble cell fraction. In other tissues the comparison of enzyme activities in homogenates with that in high-speed supernatants led to a similar conclusion. UDP-N-acetylglucosamine pyrophosphorylase, N-acetylglucosamine kinase and N-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase were detected in almost all tissues studied. UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase and N-acetylmannosamine kinase, two enzymes considered to be key enzymes in the N-acetylneuraminic acid biosynthesis, were detected only in sialoglycoprotein-secreting tissues, i.e. liver, salivary gland and intestinal mucosa. The low activity of the key enzymes in other tissues suggests that the biosynthetic pathway of N-acetylneuraminic acid is not the same in various tissues.

Inhibition of Growth and DNA Synthesis in Cell Cultures by Cyclic Amp

Cyclic AMP (0.1 to 1 mM) was found to inhibit the growth of human liver cells in monolayer cultures. Significant amounts of degradation products were not detected in the medium indicating that the growth-inhibiting effect was associated with the intact cyclic nucleotide. DNA synthesis in the liver cell cultures, as measured by thymidine incorporation into acid-insoluble material, was markedly inhibited by cyclic AMP. RNA and protein synthesis were not significantly affected. Cyclic AMP induced a considerable increase in the cellular uptake of thymidine and uridine from the medium. When the liver cells were incubated in medium containing radioactive cyclic AMP, no labelled cyclic AMP could be detected in the acid-soluble cell fraction by chromatographic analysis. It is suggested that cyclic AMP does not enter the liver cells, but that its action on growth and DNA synthesis is somehow mediated through an interaction with the cell surface.