Tissue specific expression of the plasma glutathione peroxidase gene in rat kidney

Cloning and mapping of the mouse Gpx2 gene encoding gastrointestinal glutathione peroxidase

Gastrointestinal glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx-GI) is an enzyme expressed in intestinal epithelial cells and may reduce hydroperoxides generated from the ingested diet. We isolated a genomic clone containing the mouse Gpx2 gene encoding 190 amino acids of GSHPx-GI. This gene is composed of two exons and an intron. The nucleotide sequence of the coding region was 89.9% identical with that of the human GPX2 gene. A TGA opal codon predicted to encode a selenocysteine was identified at codon 40. A genomic clone containing a pseudogene for the Gpx2 gene was also isolated. The nucleotide sequence of the pseudogene was 98.3% identical with that of the mouse Gpx2 gene and showed characteristics of a processed pseudogene. Linkage analysis using backcross mouse progeny indicated the mouse Cpx2 gene and its pseudogene to be located on mouse chromosomes 12 and 7, respectively.

The PEA3 protein of the Ets oncogene family is a putative transcriptional modulator of the mouse epididymis-specific glutathione peroxidase gene gpx5

This report presents data that suggest that the tissue-restricted polyoma enhancer activator protein (PEA3) of the Ets oncogene family of DNA-binding proteins is a putative modulator of the epididymis-specific glutathione peroxidase 5 gene gpx5. Northern and polymerase chain reactions on reverse-transcribed epididymal RNAs were used to show that the PEA3 factor is spatially and temporally expressed within the mouse epididymis in a manner consistent with gpx5 characteristics of expression. Then, using contransfection experiments carried out in heterologous tissue-culture cells with various deletions of the gpx5 promoter driving a CAT reporter gene, we have shown that the transcriptional activity of the gpx5 promoter is modulated by the presence of the PEA3 protein. Subsequently, we have shown using gel-shift assays that DNA sequences located within the 5' flanking region of the gpx5 gene have the ability to bind specifically to the PEA3 protein. Finally, using Northern assays we present data that suggest that PEA3 mRNA accumulation in the mouse caput epididymidis is controlled by androgens and testicular factors. Altogether, these results strongly suggest that the PEA3 factor might participate in the transcriptional control of the murine epididymis caput-specific gpx5 gene.

Expression of glutathione peroxidases in the adult male rat reproductive tract

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of three glutathione peroxidase isoforms in the male reproductive tract and to further characterize testicular glutathione peroxidase expression.

DESIGN

Analysis of glutathione peroxidase levels in untreated animals.

INTERVENTION(S)

32P-labeled DNA probes were derived from known complementary DNA (cDNA) sequences for classic cellular glutathione peroxidase, phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase, and secretory epididymal glutathione peroxidase, and used to evaluate mRNA levels in each tissue by Northern blot hybridization.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)

Glutathione peroxidase mRNA concentrations.

RESULT(S)

A 0.8-kb transcript was identified in liver, testis, prostate, seminal vesicle, vas deferens, and epididymis using the cDNA probe for classic cellular glutathione peroxidase. Using the probe for phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase, a 0.9-kb transcript was identified in the epididymis, vas deferens, prostate, seminal vesicle, and liver. In the testis, the phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase transcript was highly abundant and longer, measuring 1.1 kb. The phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase mRNA transcript was expressed in 40-, 60-, and 90-day-old rat testes, but was undetectable in testes of 10- and 20-day-old rats. Epididymal glutathione peroxidase was detected as a single 1.9-kb transcript in the caput epididymis only.

CONCLUSION(S)

Male rat reproductive tissues express at least three different isozymes of glutathione peroxidase. Phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase and classic cellular glutathione peroxidase are primarily found in testis, whereas epididymal glutathione peroxidase is expressed in the epididymis.

Expression of selenoproteins in various rat and human tissues and cell lines

Various rat and human tissues and cell lines naturally exposed to endogenous or exogenous oxidative stress were examined for their pattern of selenoprotein transcripts. Selenoprotein P mRNA was mainly expressed in rat kidney, testis, liver and lung. In testis, a high phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx) but only a weak cytosolic glutathione peroxidase (cGPx) signal was obtained. In kidney, spleen, heart, liver and lung cGPx mRNA levels were higher than those of PHGPx and for both only weak signals were obtained with brain mRNA. The Northern blot results concerning the tissue distribution of cGPx in the rat were fully supported by activity measurements. None of the human tissues revealed a PHGPx mRNA signal, whereas selenoprotein P transcripts were present in all human tissues with the highest abundance in heart, liver, and lung, tissues which also exhibited strong cGPx signals. The gastrointestinal glutathione peroxidase (GPx-GI) was only expressed in human liver and colon liver. Liver, the organ that showed the broadest repertoire of selenoproteins, has to cope with reactive oxygen intermediates produced during detoxification reactions. Human cell lines of the myeloic system that may be exposed to oxidative stress during inflammatory processes showed distinct cGPx signals: epithelial cells showed low cGPx signals. Similar cGPx mRNA levels were found in normal human thyroid tissue and thyroid carcinoma cells. Among the human cell lines selenoprotein P expression was detected in HepG2 and HTh74 thyroid cells. Our data confirm the necessity of getting specific information on distinct tissue- and cell-specific patterns of selenoprotein expression as endpoints of selenium supply and biological function of the selenoprotein family. Analysis of total selenium contents of tissues or body fluids only provides integrative information on the global selenium status of individuals.

The crystal structure of seleno-glutathione peroxidase from human plasma at 2.9 A resolution

Glutathione peroxidase belongs to the family of selenoproteins and plays an important role in the defense mechanisms of mammals, birds and fish against oxidative damage by catalyzing the reduction of a variety of hydroperoxides, using glutathione as the reducing substrate. However, the physiological role of human plasma glutathione peroxidase remains unclear due to the low levels of reduced glutathione in human plasma and the low reactivity of this enzyme. The crystal structure of human plasma glutathione peroxidase was determined by Patterson search methods using a polyalanine model modified from the known structure of bovine erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase. The structure was refined to a crystallographic R-factor of 0.228 (R(free) = 0.335) with I > 2sigma(I) reflections in the resolution range of 8 to 2.9 A. The asymmetric unit contains a dimer. Tetramers are built up from dimers by crystallographic symmetry. The subunit structure of the plasma enzyme shows the typical structure motif of the thioredoxin fold consisting of a central beta-sheet and several flanking alpha-helices. The active site selenocysteine residue is situated in the loop between beta1 and alpha1 and is located in a pocket on the protein surface. The overall structure of the human plasma enzyme is similar to that of the bovine erythrocyte enzyme. The main differences in their subunit structures are an extended N terminus and the possible existence of a disulfide bridge in the plasma enzyme. Compared to the bovine erythrocyte enzyme, a number of residues in the active site are mutated or deleted in the plasma enzyme, including all the residues that were previously suggested to be involved in glutathione binding. The observed structural differences between the two enzymes suggest differences in substrate binding and specificity.

Isoforms of selenoprotein P in rat plasma. Evidence for a full-length form and another form that terminates at the second UGA in the open reading frame

Several forms of selenoprotein P that share the same N-terminal sequence have been identified in rat plasma, but only one selenoprotein P mRNA has been characterized. The open reading frame of the mRNA contains 10 UGAs that presumably code for selenocysteine residues. Using heparin-Sepharose, we isolated two of the protein forms from immunoaffinity-purified selenoprotein P. One of the forms, Se-P45B, migrates at 45 kDa on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and the other, Se-P57B, migrates at 57 kDa. These two forms were cleaved with cyanogen bromide, and both yielded 40-kDa fragments that were consistent with those fragments being an inter-methionine peptide near the N terminus of the predicted polypeptide. A 20-kDa fragment present in the cleavage products of Se-P57B was absent from the products of Se-P45B. This result suggested that Se-P45B lacks the C-terminal region of the predicted polypeptide. Carboxypeptidase P digestion of Se-P45B indicated that its C-terminal amino acid is Ser244, the amino acid immediately upstream from the predicted second selenocysteine. C-terminal analysis of Se-P57B indicated that its final residue is Asn366, the last amino acid predicted by the cDNA sequence. Amino acid composition analyses of the two forms were consistent with both arising from the same mRNA. Immunoaffinity-purified selenoprotein P was digested with proteases, and the resulting peptides were separated and sequenced. Only amino acid sequences predicted by the cDNA were found, and 80% of the predicted amino acid sequence was confirmed. These results are compatible with Se-P45B arising from termination of translation at the second in-frame UGA codon and all of the 10 in-frame UGA codons being read through to produce Se-P57B. These findings demonstrate that selenoprotein P isoforms of differing peptide lengths are present in plasma. They raise the possibility that the second UGA codon in selenoprotein P mRNA can have alternative functions: coding for the incorporation of selenocysteine or coding for termination of translation.

Brain superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase activities in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a fatal paralytic disorder of unknown cause. Recent evidence implicated the role of free radicals in the death of motor neurons in this disease. To investigate this hypothesis further, we measured the activity of the main free radical scavenging enzymes copper/zinc superoxide dismutase, manganese superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase in postmortem brain samples from 9 patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and from 9 control subjects. We examined samples from the precentral gyrus of the cerebral cortex, a region affected in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and from the cerebellar cortex, a region not affected. The two groups did not differ in age or postmortem delay. In the precentral gyrus from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis samples, glutathione peroxidase activity as measured by spectrophotometric assay (13.8 +/- 2.6 nmol/min/mg protein [mean +/- standard error of mean]) was reduced significantly compared to the activity in the precentral gyrus from control samples (22.7 +/- 0.5 nmol/min/mg protein). In contrast, glutathione peroxidase activity was not significantly altered in the cerebellar cortex from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients compared to controls. Copper/zinc superoxide dismutase, manganese superoxide dismutase (corrected or not corrected for citrate synthase), and catalase were not significantly altered in the precentral gyrus or cerebellar cortex in the patient samples. This study indicated that glutathione peroxidase activity is reduced in a brain region affected in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, thus suggesting that free radicals may be implicated in the pathogenesis of the disease.

Cloning of the mouse gene encoding plasma glutathione peroxidase: organization, sequence and chromosomal localization

Using a reverse transcription coupled to PCR amplification strategy, with degenerated primers localized in highly conserved domains of known glutathione peroxidase (GPX) proteins, we have generated, from mouse epididymal RNA, a cDNA fragment which was subsequently used to isolate a genomic clone encoding mouse plasma GPX (GPX3). GPX3 is a major enzyme in reducing lipid hydroperoxides and hydrogen peroxide in plasma. We confirm here that the mouse epididymis is a new site of expression of GPX3 and report, together with the sequence, the structural analysis and the chromosomal localization of the mouse GPX3 single-copy gene to chromosome 11.

Rat skeletal muscle selenoprotein W: cDNA clone and mRNA modulation by dietary selenium

Rat skeletal muscle selenoprotein W cDNA was isolated and sequenced. The isolation strategy involved design of degenerate PCR primers from reverse translation of a partial peptide sequence. A reverse transcription-coupled PCR product from rat muscle mRNA was used to screen a muscle cDNA library prepared from selenium-supplemented rats. The cDNA sequence confirmed the known protein primary sequence, including a selenocysteine residue encoded by TGA, and identified residues needed to complete the protein sequence. RNA folding algorithms predict a stem-loop structure in the 3' untranslated region of the selenoprotein W mRNA that resembles selenocysteine insertion sequence (SE-CIS) elements identified in other selenocysteine coding cDNAs. Dietary regulation of selenoprotein W mRNA was examined in rat muscle. Dietary selenium at 0.1 ppm as selenite increased muscle mRNA 4-fold relative to a selenium-deficient diet. Higher dietary selenium produced no further increase in mRNA levels.

Suppression of plasma glutathione peroxidase activity by ifosfamide

Plasma glutathione peroxidase (GPx) is synthesized predominantly in the kidneys. Plasma-GPx activities were measured in 12 patients with gynecological malignancies before and after chemotherapy. The patients were treated with cisplatin alone (P); with VP16 and cisplatin (EP); with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and cisplatin (CAP); or with ifosfamide, doxorubicin, and cisplatin (IAP). The protein levels of the enzyme were semi-quantitatively determined by immuno-blot analysis. Plasma GPx activity was decreased by an average of 61% (p < 0.01) in patients treated with IAP, while no significant decreases were observed in patients treated with any drug combinations without ifosfamide. Immuno-blot analysis of plasma samples from a patient treated with IAP revealed no differences in the protein levels of plasma GPx either before or after IAP administration, although the plasma GPx activity decreased 83%, from 0.173 to 0.029 units/ml. The results indicate that the decrease in plasma GPx activity was not due to impaired production of the enzyme in the kidneys, and that ifosfamide is responsible for inhibition of the enzyme activity. Since GPx is an enzyme of major importance in detoxification of lipid peroxides in the brain, CNS toxicity induced by ifosfamide might be related to severe suppression of plasma GPx activity.

Purification and immunoelectron microscopic localization of cellular glutathione peroxidase in rat hepatocytes: quantitative analysis by postembedding method

To measure quantitatively the intracellular distribution of cellular glutathione peroxidase (GPX) in rat hepatocytes, ultrathin sections were stained by a postembedding immunogold technique. GPX had a specific activity of 1670 Units/mg protein, and was purified 2050-fold from rat liver by means of heat denaturation, ammonium sulfate fractionation, and a series of chromatographic procedures including thiol-Sepharose 4B. The purified GPX was shown to be electrophoretically pure, and was a homotetramer of 22 kDa subunits. Monospecific polyclonal antibodies were raised in rabbits by immunization. By immunoblot analysis, both the light mitochondrial the and cytosolic fractions of rat liver homogenate gave a single band with an identical mobility to that of the purified enzyme. Under the light microscope, hepatocytes showed nuclear staining and granular cytoplasmic staining, corresponding to certain intracellular structures. The labeling density (number of gold particles/microns 2) for GPX obtained by immunoelectron microscopy was 11.9 in the nuclei, 19.6 in mitochondria, 3.32 in peroxisomes, 1.95 in lysosomes, and 9.81 in the cytoplasmic matrix. These results suggest that cellular GPX is present in various compartments of rat hepatocytes, and that the GPX occurs in relatively higher amounts in mitochondria.

The human plasma glutathione peroxidase-encoding gene: organization, sequence and localization to chromosome 5q32

A genomic clone encoding the human plasma glutathione peroxidase (PGPx), a major enzyme in reducing lipid hydroperoxide and hydrogen peroxide in plasma, was isolated and 5618 nucleotides (nt) were determined. The nt sequence data revealed that the PGPx gene is composed of five exons spanning approx. 10 kb. Primer extension experiments mapped the transcription start point at 298 nt upstream from the predicted start codon. Twenty nt upstream from the polyadenylation site of the gene, an uncanonical polyadenylation signal, AGTAAA, was found. Human PGPx was localized on chromosome 5 band q32 by fluorescence in situ hybridization.

Human kidney proximal tubules are the main source of plasma glutathione peroxidase

The sites of synthesis of extracellular (E) glutathione peroxidase (GPX), a unique selenoglycoprotein present in plasma, are not known. To investigate the possibility that the kidney is the main source for the plasma GPX, we examined GPX activities and selenium concentrations in the plasma of patients with renal failure on dialysis and nephrectomized patients before and after kidney transplantation. Plasma GPX activities in these patients were 42, 22, and 180% of normal EGPX activity, respectively, whereas plasma Se levels were within the normal range. Twenty-four hours after nephrectomy of anesthetized rats, plasma GPX activity was 30.0 +/- 6.4% of the activity at zero time. Northern hybridization analysis of eight human tissues probed with EGPX and cellular glutathione peroxidase (CGPX) cDNA revealed that the ratio of EGPX to CGPX was highest in the kidney. cRNA in situ hybridization studies on kidney slices showed that only proximal tubular epithelial cells and parietal epithelial cells of Bowman's capsule contained EGPX transcripts. Caki-2, a proximal tubular renal carcinoma cell line, makes and actively secretes EGPX. Taken together, these results strongly suggest that kidney proximal tubular cells are the main source for GPX activity in the plasma.

Conserved nucleotide sequences in the open reading frame and 3' untranslated region of selenoprotein P mRNA

Rat liver selenoprotein P contains 10 selenocysteine residues in its primary structure (deduced). It is the only selenoprotein characterized to date that has more than one selenocysteine residue. Selenoprotein P cDNA has been cloned from human liver and heart cDNA libraries and sequenced. The open reading frames are identical and contain a signal peptide, indicating that the protein is secreted by both organs and is therefore not exclusively produced in the liver. Ten selenocysteine residues (deduced) are present. Comparison of the open reading frame of the human cDNA with the rat cDNA reveals a 69% identity of the nucleotide sequence and 72% identity of the deduced amino acid sequence. Two regions in the 3' untranslated portion have high conservation between human and rat. Each of these regions contains a predicted stable stem-loop structure similar to the single stem-loop structures reported in 3' untranslated regions of type I iodothyronine 5'-deiodinase and glutathione peroxidase. The stem-loop structure of type I iodothyronine 5'-deiodinase has been shown to be necessary for incorporation of the selenocysteine residue at the UGA codon. Because only two stem-loop structures are present in the 3' untranslated region of selenoprotein P mRNA, it can be concluded that a separate stem-loop structure is not required for each selenocysteine residue.

Production and characterization of two monoclonal antibodies to human glutathione peroxidase

Glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) is an important selenium-containing enzyme which protects cells from oxidative damage. Two hybridoma clones (GPX-121 and GPX-347), producing mouse IgG1 monoclonal antibodies specific for GSH-Px, were established. Immunoblot analysis revealed that GPX-347 was specific for human GSH-Px, while GPX-121 cross-reacted with human, rat, mouse and rabbit GSH-Px. Correlation between GSH-Px content and its enzymatic activity was investigated in erythrocytes of 76 humans and in human lung adenocarcinoma PC-9 cells by using a sandwich type ELISA. The results indicated that GSH-Px activity was expressed higher than expected from GSH-Px content especially in the range of low GSH-Px concentration. PC-9 cells selenium depleted medium did not stain but the cytoplasm of PC-9 cells grown in medium supplemented with selenium stained strongly.