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The amyloid peptide (A␤), derived from the proteolytic cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) by ␤-and ␥-secretases, undergoes multistage assemblies to fibrillar depositions in the Alzheimer's brains. A␤ protofibrils were previously identified as an intermediate preceding insoluble fibrils. While characterizing a synthetic A␤ variant named EV 40 that has mutations in the first two amino acids (D1E/A2V), we discerned unusual aggregation profiles of this variant. In comparison of the fibrillogenesis and cellular toxicity of EV 40 to the wild-type A␤ peptide (A␤ 40 ), we found that A␤ 40 formed long fibrillar aggregates while EV 40 formed only protofibrillar aggregates under the same in vitro incubation conditions. Cellular toxicity assays indicated that EV 40 was slightly more toxic than A␤ 40 to human neuroblastoma SHEP cells, rat primary cortical, and hippocampal neurons. Like A␤ 40 , the neurotoxicity of the protofibrillar EV 40 could be partially attributed to apoptosis since multiple caspases such as caspase-9 were activated after SHEP cells were challenged with toxic concentrations of EV 40 . This suggested that apoptosis-induced neuronal loss might occur before extensive depositions of long amyloid fibrils in AD brains. This study has been the first to show that a mutated A␤ peptide formed only protofibrillar species and mutations of the amyloid peptide at the N-terminal side affect the dynamic amyloid fibrillogenesis. Thus, the identification of EV 40 may lead to further understanding of the structural perturbation of A␤ to its fibrillation. Alzheimer's disease (AD)1 is the most common age-related neurodegenerative disorder. Extracellular amyloid plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles are two typical pathological lesions of AD brains. Amyloid plaques, or neuritic plaques, which are more related to the AD pathogenesis, mainly consist of a cluster of heterogeneous amyloid peptides (A␤) ranging from 39 to 43 amino acids (1-2). Among these, the A␤ with 40 amino acids (A␤ 40 ) accounts for about 90% while the less soluble C-terminally extended A␤ 42 is close to 10%. The hyperphosphorylation of tau, a microtubule binding protein, leads to the formation of neurofibrillary tangles (3-6). Studies with transgenic mice show that A␤ promotes the formation of paired helical tau filaments (7-8). Thus far, considerable experimental data favor the hypothesis that amyloid depositions in patient brains are one of the etiological factors causing AD dementia (9).A␤ peptides are derived from consecutive processing of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) by two endopeptidases: ␤-and ␥-secretases. A membrane-bound aspartyl protease, named BACE1, was simultaneously identified as the ␤-secretase (10 -13). The molecular identity of ␥-secretase has not been fully revealed yet. Nevertheless, the transmembrane protein presenilin 1 seems indisputably required for the release of the amyloid peptide from its precursor (see reviews in Ref. 14). Pathogenetic studies have manifested that the majority of mutations in APP, ...

No abstract

CC-1065, a cyclopropylpyrroloindole (CPI), is a highly potent antitumor DNA-alkylating agent. We have devised a simple method to detect CPI bonding sites on double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). The technique utilizes a modified form of bacteriophage T7 polymerase, Sequenase, to synthesize a radiolabeled nascent strand from dsDNA that has been reacted in vitro with the CC-1065 analogue U-73975 (adozelesin). The reaction products were electrophoresed on sequencing gels containing 8 M urea and visualized by autoradiography. The transit of this DNA polymerase is inhibited at the sites where CPIs are bound to the template strand. Thus, the enzyme stalls or stops at the nucleotide immediately adjacent to the modified base, resulting in the accumulation of DNA strands at these sites and in diminished read-through beyond these sites in a set of CPI-treated DNA molecules. The precise positions of polymerase inhibition can be determined by comparison of CPI-treated and unreacted DNA reactions. This modified dideoxynucleotide sequencing technique has been used to establish the sequence selectivity of U-73975. Approximately 1 kilobase of dsDNA has been analyzed to derive a consensus canonical bonding sequence, 5'(T/A)-T/A-T-A*-(C/G)-(G), where A* is the site of U-73975 alkylation and parentheses denote deoxynucleotide preferences. Noncanonical sites were also found at poly(A) sites. This technique yielded a consensus sequence for U-73975 bonding that is similar to, but not identical with, the published consensus obtained for CC-1065 by a modified Maxam and Gilbert sequencing technique. We have also examined the bonding of [3H]U-73975 to the DNA of viable cultured mammalian cells, using gel electrophoresis and autoradiographic techniques.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Involucrin is a precursor of the insoluble protein envelope that is assembled in the outermost layers of the epidermis. The coding sequence of the protein contains a number of short tandem repeats that have been greatly altered during mammalian evolution. We have characterised eight mouse monoclonal antibodies raised against human involucrin, all of which bind to the protein in immunoprecipitation, immunoblot and immunohistochemical preparations. Each antibody was screened for cross-reactivity with gorilla, owl monkey, dog and pig involucrin and with a fragment of the human protein, expressed in lambda gt 11, that includes the entire early region of the modern segment of repeats. Three antibodies recognised involucrin in all of these assays. Four antibodies recognised primate involucrins and the lambda gt 11 fragment. One antibody, which showed cross-reactivity with lower molecular weight proteins, only recognised primate involucrins and therefore bound outside the early region of the modern segment. Since the antibodies can be used to detect involucrin both biochemically and histologically, in a range of species, they will have applications in further studies of the expression, function and evolution of the protein.

CC-1065 is a minor-groove bonding agent capable of forming covalent adducts with the N-3 position of adenines within A-T-rich regions of duplex DNA. By examining the formation and location of CC-1065 adducts within the simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA molecule, the present study marks the first time that the precise sites of CC-1065 lesions have been identified at the level of eukaryotic genomic DNA. In naked DNA preparations, r values (moles of drug/mole of nucleotide base pair) > or = 0.0015 effected, after thermal treatment, a measurable decrease in intact supercoiled form I, as well as increases in forms II and III, indicating that both single-strand and apparent double-strand damage had occurred. A similar pattern of damage was observed in SV40-infected cells, albeit at higher CC-1065 levels. The amount of CC-1065 required to produce a 50% loss in form I was > 2-fold higher in infected cells (r = 0.029) than with purified DNA samples (r = 0.013). The appearance of double-strand damage at low drug levels suggested a high specificity of CC-1065 bonding to localized regions of the genome. The precise location of these CC-1065 adduction sites was examined by three methods: sequence analysis of the entire genome (GenBank), DNA polymerase termination assay of specific fragments of SV40, and restriction enzyme digestion analysis of the entire SV40 molecule. When sequence analysis of the entire genome was performed by examining both strands for the presence of the consensus CC-1065 binding sequence 5'-A/T-A/T-A/T-A/T-A*-3'[Reynolds et al. (1985) Biochemistry 24, 6228-6247], 294 single-strand adduction sites were predicted, compared to 20 sites where CC-1065 should bond to both strands within a 30-base-pair window and at which, when heated, a double-strand break should occur. DNA polymerase termination assay of actual adduction sites was performed on restriction fragments of SV40 DNA pretreated with CC-1065 in infected cells or in purified supercoiled DNA preparations and selected on the basis of the sequence analysis (i.e., regions 2510-2730, 3701-3920, 4400-4659, 4020-4320, and 5163-65). In general, double-strand lesions were detected in similar regions of the genome by the DNA termination assay and by sequence analysis. When restriction enzyme digestion and the DNA polymerase termination assay were compared throughout the genome, nearly identical patterns of adduct formation were observed. Interestingly, similar alkylation patterns were observed with either naked or infected cell DNA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Rhodanese (EC 2.8.1.1), a mitochondrial thiosulphate sulphurtransferase, is involved in the formation of iron-sulphur complexes and cyanide detoxification. By screening a rat liver cDNA library with oligonucleotide probes complementary to portions of the published bovine rhodanese peptide sequence, rat rhodanese cDNA clones were obtained and sequenced. Comparison of the rat rhodanese cDNA open reading frame with the bovine peptide sequence demonstrated in the rat open reading frame the presence of 27 amino acid substitutions, only five of which are highly non-conservative. Thus the rat enzyme is approx. 91% identical with bovine rhodanese, or about 98% similar when conservative substitutions are considered. In addition, the rat translation product contains a Gly-Lys-Ala C-terminal tripeptide that was not observed in the bovine peptide sequence. All cysteine and proline residues are invariant between the two mammalian proteins. Computer-generated structural modelling of rat rhodanese indicated that few amino acid substitutions were present within close proximity to the active site or within the hinge region (connecting loop) between the A and B domains. Furthermore, evidence is presented showing that rhodanese is highly conserved at the DNA level among rodents, primates and a variety of other vertebrates.

High selectivity for covalent reaction at adenine N-3 within duplex DNA is a distinguishing feature of the CC-1065 and duocarmycin classes of natural products. Studies of the base and sequence selectivity exhibited by duocarmycins and CC-1065-based alkylating agents have focused on characterization of the predominant covalent adenine adducts that are formed. While information about minor DNA reaction products could provide valuable insights to our understanding the DNA recognition and reactivity properties of these agents, little characterization of such adducts by these agents has appeared in the literature. To broaden our structure-reactivity understanding of these DNA alkylating compounds, comparative investigations of the covalent sequence selectivity exhibited by compounds containing altered cyclopropapyrroloindole (CPI) alkylating subunits such as duocarmycin A were undertaken using the DNA polymerase inhibition assay. We were surprised to identify with this assay a DNA sequence with an unusual propensity for covalent reaction with duocarmycin A at a guanine nucleotide. Using the heat strand breakage assay with a duplex oligonucleotide containing this interesting sequence, we confirmed the site of alkylation to be the indicated guanine in the sequence 5'-CGCGTTG*GGAG-3'. The trimethoxyindole-CPI analog of duocarmycin A does not alkylate this guanine, suggesting that there are interesting features to the duplex recognition/reactivity exhibited by duocarmycin A. Herein we describe our identification of the first DNA sequence which covalently reacts with duocarmycin A at a guanine nucleotide in the absence of additional minor groove binding agents.