Proteasomal degradation regulates expression of porphobilinogen deaminase (PBGD) mutants of acute intermittent porphyria

A review: Systematic research approach on toxicity model of liver and kidney in laboratory animals

Therapeutic experiments are commonly performed on laboratory animals to investigate the possible mechanism(s) of action of toxic agents as well as drugs or substances under consideration. The use of toxins in laboratory animal models, including rats, is intended to cause toxicity. This study aimed to investigate different models of hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity in laboratory animals to help researchers advance their research goals. The current narrative review used databases such as Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase and appropriate keywords until June 2021. Nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity models derived from some toxic agents such as cisplatin, acetaminophen, doxorubicin, some anticancer drugs, and other materials through various signaling pathways are investigated. To understand the models of renal or hepatotoxicity in laboratory animals, we have provided a list of toxic agents and their toxicity procedures in this review.

Proteasome inhibition and oxidative reactions disrupt cellular homeostasis during heme stress

Dual control of cellular heme levels by extracellular scavenger proteins and degradation by heme oxygenases is essential in diseases associated with increased heme release. During severe hemolysis or rhabdomyolysis, uncontrolled heme exposure can cause acute kidney injury and endothelial cell damage. The toxicity of heme was primarily attributed to its pro-oxidant effects; however additional mechanisms of heme toxicity have not been studied systematically. In addition to redox reactivity, heme may adversely alter cellular functions by binding to essential proteins and impairing their function. We studied inducible heme oxygenase (Hmox1)-deficient mouse embryo fibroblast cell lines as a model to systematically explore adaptive and disruptive responses that were triggered by intracellular heme levels exceeding the homeostatic range. We extensively characterized the proteome phenotype of the cellular heme stress responses by quantitative mass spectrometry of stable isotope-labeled cells that covered more than 2000 individual proteins. The most significant signals specific to heme toxicity were consistent with oxidative stress and impaired protein degradation by the proteasome. This ultimately led to an activation of the response to unfolded proteins. These observations were explained mechanistically by demonstrating binding of heme to the proteasome that was linked to impaired proteasome function. Oxidative heme reactions and proteasome inhibition could be differentiated as synergistic activities of the porphyrin. Based on the present data a novel model of cellular heme toxicity is proposed, whereby proteasome inhibition by heme sustains a cycle of oxidative stress, protein modification, accumulation of damaged proteins and cell death.

Heme-biosynthetic porphobilinogen deaminase protects Aspergillus nidulans from nitrosative stress

Microorganisms have developed mechanisms to combat reactive nitrogen species (RNS); however, only a few of the fungal genes involved have been characterized. Here we screened RNS-resistant Aspergillus nidulans strains from fungal transformants obtained by introducing a genomic DNA library constructed in a multicopy vector. We found that the AN0121.3 gene (hemC) encodes a protein similar to the heme biosynthesis enzyme porphobilinogen deaminase (PBG-D) and facilitates RNS-tolerant fungal growth. The overproduction of PBG-D in A. nidulans promoted RNS tolerance, whereas PBG-D repression caused growth that was hypersensitive to RNS. PBG-D levels were comparable to those of cellular protoheme synthesis as well as flavohemoglobin (FHb; encoded by fhbA and fhbB) and nitrite reductase (NiR; encoded by niiA) activities. Both FHb and NiR are hemoproteins that consume nitric oxide and nitrite, respectively, and we found that they are required for maximal growth in the presence of RNS. The transcription of hemC was upregulated by RNS. These results demonstrated that PBG-D is a novel NO-tolerant protein that modulates the reduction of environmental NO and nitrite levels by FHb and NiR.

Modulating ALA-PDT efficacy of mutlidrug resistant MCF-7 breast cancer cells using ALA prodrug

Multi-drug resistance of breast cancer is a major obstacle in chemotherapy of cancer treatments. Recently it was suggested that photodynamic therapy (PDT) can overcome drug resistance of tumors. ALA-PDT is based on the administration of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), the natural precursor for the PpIX biosynthesis, which is a potent natural photosensitizer. In the present study we used the AlaAcBu, a multifunctional ALA-prodrug for photodynamic inactivation of drug resistant MCF-7/DOX breast cancer cells. Supplementation of low doses (0.2mM) of AlaAcBu to the cells significantly increased accumulation of PpIX in both MCF-7/WT and MCF-7/DOX cells in comparison to ALA, or ALA + butyric acid (BA). In addition, our results show that MCF-7/DOX cells are capable of producing higher levels of porphyrins than MCF-7/WT cells due to low expression of the enzyme ferrochelatase, which inserts iron into the tetra-pyrrol ring to form the end product heme. Light irradiation of the AlaAcBu treated cells activated efficient photodynamic killing of MCF-7/DOX cells similar to the parent MCF-7/WT cells, depicted by low mitochondrial enzymatic activity, LDH leakage and decreased cell survival following PDT. These results indicate that the pro-drug AlaAcBu is an effective ALA derivative for PDT treatments of multidrug resistant tumors.

Heme biosynthesis and its regulation: towards understanding and improvement of heme biosynthesis in filamentous fungi

Heme biosynthesis in fungal host strains has acquired considerable interest in relation to the production of secreted heme-containing peroxidases. Class II peroxidase enzymes have been suggested as eco-friendly replacements of polluting chemical processes in industry. These peroxidases are naturally produced in small amounts by basidiomycetes. Filamentous fungi like Aspergillus sp. are considered as suitable hosts for protein production due to their high capacity of protein secretion. For the purpose of peroxidase production, heme is considered a putative limiting factor. However, heme addition is not appropriate in large-scale production processes due to its high hydrophobicity and cost price. The preferred situation in order to overcome the limiting effect of heme would be to increase intracellular heme levels. This requires a thorough insight into the biosynthetic pathway and its regulation. In this review, the heme biosynthetic pathway is discussed with regards to synthesis, regulation, and transport. Although the heme biosynthetic pathway is a highly conserved and tightly regulated pathway, the mode of regulation does not appear to be conserved among eukaryotes. However, common factors like feedback inhibition and regulation by heme, iron, and oxygen appear to be involved in regulation of the heme biosynthesis pathway in most organisms. Therefore, they are the initial targets to be investigated in Aspergillus niger.

The centrality of PBGD expression levels on ALA-PDT efficacy

Successful 5-aminolevulinic acid-based photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) is dependent on efficient porphyrin synthesis in the inflicted cancer tissue, which is regulated by several enzymes. Irradiation of the tumor excites the light-sensitive porphyrins and results in ROS production and cell death. In this study we investigated the effect of the expression levels of two main enzymes in heme biosynthesis, ALA dehydratase (ALAD) and porphobilinogen deaminase (PBGD), on the capacity of K562 cells to undergo cell death following ALA-PDT. We manipulated PBGD and ALAD expression levels by shRNAs and PBGD overexpressing plasmid. PBGD down-regulation induced an elevation in ALAD activity, while overexpression of PBGD reduced ALAD activity, indicating a novel regulation feedback of PBGD on ALAD activity. This feedback mechanism enabled partial PpIX synthesis under PBGD silencing, whereas ALAD silencing reduced PpIX production to a minimum. ALA-PDT efficacy was directly correlated to PpIX levels. Thus, only ALAD-silenced cells were not affected by ALA+ irradiation, while following PBGD silencing, the accumulated PpIX, though decreased, was sufficient for successful ALA-PDT. The alterations in ALAD activity level initiated by changes in PBGD expression indicates PBGD's central role in heme synthesis. This enables efficient ALA-PDT, even when PBGD is not fully active. Conversely, ALAD loss resulted in reduced PpIX synthesis and consequently failure in ALA-PDT, due to the absence of compensation mechanism for ALAD.

Blood lead levels, ALAD gene polymorphisms, and mortality

BACKGROUND

Previous analyses from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) have found that elevated blood lead levels may be associated with cardiovascular mortality, cancer mortality, and all-cause mortality. The 5-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) G177C genetic polymorphism (rs 1800435) affects lead toxicokinetics and may alter the adverse effects of lead exposure. We examined whether the ALAD G177C single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) affects the relationship between lead and mortality.

METHODS

We analyzed a subset of 3349 genotyped NHANES III participants at least 40 years of age. Using Cox proportional hazards regression, we estimated the relative risk of all-cause, cardiovascular disease, and cancer mortality by ALAD genotype, and by blood lead levels (<5 μg/dL vs. ≥5 μg/dL). We also tested whether the ALAD genotype modified the relationship between blood lead level and mortality.

RESULTS

The adjusted overall relative risk for participants with the variant ALAD genotype was decreased for all-cause mortality (hazards ratio = 0.68; [95% confidence interval = 0.50-0.93]) compared with persons having the common GG genotype. There was some suggestion that higher lead levels were associated with cancer mortality (1.48 [0.92-2.38]). We observed no convincing interaction effect between ALAD genotype and blood lead level on mortality risk.

CONCLUSION

The ALAD genotype may be associated with decreased mortality from all causes and from cancer. This association does not seem to be affected by lead exposure.

Proteasome system of protein degradation and processing

In eukaryotic cells, degradation of most intracellular proteins is realized by proteasomes. The substrates for proteolysis are selected by the fact that the gate to the proteolytic chamber of the proteasome is usually closed, and only proteins carrying a special "label" can get into it. A polyubiquitin chain plays the role of the "label": degradation affects proteins conjugated with a ubiquitin (Ub) chain that consists at minimum of four molecules. Upon entering the proteasome channel, the polypeptide chain of the protein unfolds and stretches along it, being hydrolyzed to short peptides. Ubiquitin per se does not get into the proteasome, but, after destruction of the "labeled" molecule, it is released and labels another molecule. This process has been named "Ub-dependent protein degradation". In this review we systematize current data on the Ub-proteasome system, describe in detail proteasome structure, the ubiquitination system, and the classical ATP/Ub-dependent mechanism of protein degradation, as well as try to focus readers' attention on the existence of alternative mechanisms of proteasomal degradation and processing of proteins. Data on damages of the proteasome system that lead to the development of different diseases are given separately.

Silencing of ALA dehydratase affects ALA-photodynamic therapy efficacy in K562 erythroleukemic cells

Synthesis of protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) by malignant cells is essential for the success of ALA-based photodynamic therapy (PDT). Two key enzymes that were described as affecting PpIX accumulation during ALA treatment are porphobilinogen deaminase (PBGD) and ferrochelatase. Here, we show that down regulation of ALA dehydratase (ALAD) expression and activity by specific shRNA induced a marked decrease in PpIX synthesis in K562 erythroleukemic cells. Photo-inactivation efficacy following ALA-PDT was directly correlated with ALAD-silencing and cellular levels of PpIX. MTT metabolism following ALA-PDT was shown to be 60% higher in ALAD-silenced cells in comparison to control cells, indicating that mitochondria were protected in the silenced cells. Morphological analysis by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of cells treated by ALA-PDT showed no morphological changes in ALAD-silenced cells, in contrast to controls exhibiting cell deformations and lysis. Membrane integrity following ALA-PDT was kept intact and undamaged in ALAD-silenced cells as examined by Annexin V-FITC/PI staining and LDH-L leakage. We conclude that ALAD, although it is present in the cell at abundant levels, has a major and limiting role in regulating PpIX synthesis and ALA-PDT outcome.