Glucosamine-6-phosphate deaminase (GNPDA) catalyzes the conversion of glucosamine-6-phosphate to fructose-6-phosphate, a reaction that under physiological conditions proceeds to the formation of fructose-6-phosphate. Though first identified in mammalian tissues in 1956, the enzyme has not previously been molecularly characterized in mammalian tissues, although a bacterial GNPDA has been cloned. Recently, a protein displaying similarity to bacterial GNPDA was purified and cloned from sperm extract. It was proposed that this protein was the factor, found in sperm extracts, that causes calcium oscillations in cells; thus, the protein was named 'oscillin.' We demonstrate that oscillin is the mammalian form of glucosamine 6-phosphate deaminase by showing that cloned oscillin has a robust GNPDA activity and can account for all such activity in mammalian tissues extracts. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry localize GNPDA selectively to tissues with high energy requirements such as the apical zone of transporting epithelia in the proximal convoluted tubules of the kidney and the small intestine; to neurons (but not glia) and especially to nerve terminals in the brain; and to motile sperm. Recombinant GNPDA and GNPDA purified to homogeneity from hamster sperm fail to elevate intracellular calcium when injected into mouse eggs over a wide range of concentrations under conditions in which sperm extracts elicit pronounced calcium oscillations. Thus, the calcium-releasing or oscillin activity of sperm extracts is due to a substance other than GNPDA. Since GNPDA is the sole enzyme linking hexosamine systems with glycolytic pathways, we propose that it provides a source of energy in the form of phosphosugar derived from the catabolism of hexosamines found in glycoproteins, glycolipids, and sialic acid-containing macromolecules. Evidence that GNPDA can regulate hexosamine stores comes from our observation that transfection of GNPDA into HEK-293 cells reduces cellular levels of sialic acid.

Glucosamine-6-phosphate deaminase (GNPDA) catalyzes the conversion of glucosamine-6phosphate to fructose-6-phosphate, a reaction that under physiological conditions proceeds to the formation of fructose-6-phosphate. Though first identified in mammalian tissues in 1956, the enzyme has not previously been molecularly characterized in mammalian tissues, although a bacterial GNPDA has been cloned. Recently, a protein displaying similarity to bacterial GNPDA was purified and cloned from sperm extract. It was proposed that this protein was the factor, found in sperm extracts, that causes calcium oscillations in cells; thus, the protein was named 'oscillin.' We demonstrate that oscillin is the mammalian form of glucosamine 6-phosphate deaminase by showing that cloned oscillin has a robust GNPDA activity and can account for all such activity in mammalian tissues extracts. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry localize GNPDA selectively to tissues with high energy requirements such as the apical zone of transporting epithelia in the proximal convoluted tubules of the kidney and the small intestine; to neurons (but not glia) and especially to nerve terminals in the brain; and to motile sperm. Recombinant GNPDA and GNPDA purified to homogeneity from hamster sperm fail to elevate intracellular calcium when injected into mouse eggs over a wide range of concentrations under conditions in which sperm extracts elicit pronounced calcium oscillations. Thus, the calcium-releasing or oscillin activity of sperm extracts is due to a substance other than GNPDA. Since GNPDA is the sole enzyme linking hexosamine systems with glycolytic pathways, we propose that it provides a source of energy in the form of phosphosugar derived from the catabolism of hexosamines found in glycoproteins, glycolipids, and sialic acid-containing macromolecules. Evidence that GNPDA can regulate hexosamine stores comes from our observation that transfection of GNPDA into HEK-293 cells reduces cellular levels of sialic acid. -Wolosker, H., Kline, D., Bian, Y., Blackshaw, S., Cameron, A. M., Fralich, T. J., Schnaar, R. L., Snyder, S. H. Molecularly cloned mammalian glucosamine-6-phosphate deaminase localizes to transporting epithelium and lacks oscillin activity. FASEB J. 12, 91-99 (1998)

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This multicenter, single-arm, open-label non-randomized phase II trial (NCT00744991) was conducted in patients with recurrent/refractory mycosis fungoides (MF), stage IB-IVB, or Sézary syndrome (SS). A Simon two-stage design required 25 patients enrolled in stage 1 with ≥7 confirmed objective responses for expansion into stage 2. Patients were treated with oral enzastaurin (250 mg twice daily) until disease progression or intolerable toxicity. The primary endpoint was investigator-assessed response rate; secondary endpoints were time to objective response, response duration, time-to-progression, patient-reported pruritus, and safety/tolerability. Twenty-five patients were enrolled. A partial response was observed in one patient with MF. Median time-to-progression was 78 and 44 days in MF and SS, respectively. Self-reported pruritus relief and improved composite pruritus-specific symptom scores were documented in six and four patients, respectively. Enzastaurin was well tolerated with mostly grade 1-2 adverse events, mainly diarrhea and fatigue. There were two adverse event-related drug discontinuations with one possibly treatment-related.

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Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) has an inhibitory effect on human HepG2 hepatoma cell proliferation. Previously, it was shown that HGF treatment downregulated Id1 and upregulated p16 INK4a in an ERK-dependent manner, leading to the inhibition of cellular proliferation. Here, new insight suggests that Skp2, an SCF complex component and potential prognosticator in cancer, is downregulated by injection of HGF into established HepG2 xenograft tumors. The downregulation was evident at both the mRNA and protein level and in an ERK-dependent manner. Critically, high expression of Skp2 restored HGF-inhibited cell proliferation, indicating that the inhibitory effect of HGF required the downregulation of Skp2. However, downregulation was not involved in the HGFinduced upregulation of a CDK inhibitor, p27 Kip1 , a known SCF-Skp2 target. Instead, data revealed that Skp2 regulated Myc activity, which has oncogenic potential in the generation of hepatocellular carcinoma. Elevated expression of Skp2 or a mutant that is unable to associate with the SCF complex was capable of activating Myc, suggesting that Skp2 does not act on Myc as a component of the SCF complex, and thus functions as an activator of Myc independent of its role in ubiquitination. Furthermore, Skp2 regulated Id1 expression by regulating Myc activity, and the regulation of Skp2 is involved in the activity of p16 promoter through regulation of Id1 expression. Overall, these mechanistic findings provide the first evidence that ERK-dependent downregulation of Skp2 reduced Myc activity, leading to HGF-induced inhibition of cell proliferation through decreased Id1 expression.

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