B lymphocytes and macrophages express closely related immunoglobulin G (IgG) Fc receptors (Fc gamma RII) that differ only in the structures of their cytoplasmic domains. Because of cell type-specific alternative messenger RNA splicing, B-cell Fc gamma RII contains an insertion of 47 amino acids that participates in determining receptor function in these cells. Transfection of an Fc gamma RII-negative B-cell line with complementary DNA's encoding the two splice products and various receptor mutants indicated that the insertion was responsible for preventing both Fc gamma RII-mediated endocytosis and Fc gamma RII-mediated antigen presentation. The insertion was not required for Fc gamma RII to modulate surface immunoglobulin-triggered B-cell activation. Instead, regulation of activation involved a region of the cytoplasmic domain common to both the lymphocyte and macrophage receptor isoforms. In contrast, the insertion did contribute to the formation of caps in response to receptor cross-linking, consistent with suggestions that the lymphocyte but not macrophage form of the receptor can associate with the detergent-insoluble cytoskeleton.

A protein with high affinity (K d 12 nM) for the immunomodulatory compound A77 1726 has been isolated from mouse spleen and identified as the mitochondrial enzyme dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (EC 1.3.3.1). The purified protein had a pI 9.6 -9.8 and a subunit M r of 43,000. Peptides derived from the mouse protein displayed high microsequence similarity to human and rat dihydroorotate dehydrogenase with, respectively, 35 and 39 out of 43 identified amino acids identical. Dihydroorotate dehydrogenase catalyzes the fourth step in de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis. The in vitro antiproliferative effects of A77 1726 are mediated by enzyme inhibition and can be overcome by addition of exogenous uridine. The rank order of potency of A77 1726 and its analogues in binding or enzyme inhibition was similar to that for inhibition of the mouse delayed type hypersensitivity response. It is proposed that inhibition of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase is an in vivo mechanism of action of the A77 1726 class of compounds. This was confirmed using uridine to counteract inhibition of the murine acute graft versus host response.

Leflunomide is currently in phase-III clinical trials for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. In this study, we have focused our efforts on the study of the mechanism of action of the active metabolite of leflunomide, A77 1726, in cells and tissue of human origin. The human high-affinity binding protein for radiolabelled A77 1726 was purified from solubilized U937 membranes by following the binding activity through the purification process and was characterized as the mitochondrial enzyme dihydro-orotate dehydrogenase (DHO-DH). The human and murine enzyme displayed identical pI and molecular mass values on SDS/PAGE (43 kDa), which contrasts notably with previous reports suggesting a molecular mass of 50 kDa for the human enzyme. DHO-DH activity was inhibited by A77 1726 and its analogue HR325 with similar potency in U937 and human spleen membrane preparations. HR325 was found to be anti-proliferative for phytohaemagglutinin-stimulated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, at the same concentrations that caused accumulation of DHO and depletion of uridine. Supplementation of the cultures with exogenous uridine led to partial abrogation of the anti-proliferative effect. This is in line with our recent demonstration that the anti-proliferative effect in vitro of A77 1726 on lipopolysaccharide-stimulated mouse spleen cells was mediated by DHO-DH inhibition [Williamson, Yea, Robson, Curnock, Gadher, Hambleton, Woodward, Bruneau, Hambleton, Moss et al., (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 22467-22472]. Thus, DHO-DH inhibition by A77 1726 and its analogues is responsible for the anti-proliferative effects in vitro of the compounds on human cells and is likely to be responsible for some of its effects in vivo.