Ligand binding at membrane mimetic interfaces. Human serum albumin in reverse micelles

Molecular basis for nonspecificity of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)

Inhibition of the production of inflammatory mediators by the action of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is highly accredited to their recognition of cyclooxygenase enzymes. Along with inflammation relief, however, NSAIDs also cause adverse effects. Although NSAIDs strongly inhibit enzymes of the prostaglandin synthesis pathways, several other proteins also serve as fairly potent targets for these drugs. Based on their recognition pattern, these receptors are categorised as enzymes modifying NSAIDs, noncatalytic proteins binding to NSAIDs and enzymes with catalytic functions that are inhibited by NSAIDs. The extensive binding of NSAIDs is responsible for their limited in vivo efficacy as well as the large spectrum of their effects. The biochemical nature of drugs binding to multiple protein targets and its implications on physiology are discussed.

Bovine serum albumin with glycated carboxyl groups shows membrane-perturbing activities

The aim of the present study aimed to investigate whether glycated bovine serum albumin (BSA) showed novel activities on the lipid-water interface. Mannosylated BSA (Man-BSA) was prepared by modification of the carboxyl groups with p-aminophenyl α-d-mannopyranoside. In contrast to BSA, Man-BSA notably induced membrane permeability of egg yolk phosphatidylcholine (EYPC)/egg yolk sphingomyelin (EYSM)/cholesterol (Chol) and EYPC/EYSM vesicles. Noticeably, Man-BSA induced the fusion of EYPC/EYSM/Chol vesicles, but not of EYPC/EYSM vesicles. Although BSA and Man-BSA showed similar binding affinity for lipid vesicles, the lipid-bound conformation of Man-BSA was distinct from that of BSA. Moreover, Man-BSA adopted distinct structure upon binding with the EYPC/EYSM/Chol and EYPC/EYSM vesicles. Man-BSA could induce the fusion of EYPC/EYSM/Chol vesicles with K562 and MCF-7 cells, while Man-BSA greatly induced the leakage of Chol-depleted K562 and MCF-7 cells. The modified BSA prepared by conjugating carboxyl groups with p-aminophenyl α-d-glucopyranoside also showed membrane-perturbing activities. Collectively, our data indicate that conjugation of carboxyl groups with monosaccharide generates functional BSA with membrane-perturbing activities on the lipid-water interface.

A fluorescence study of human serum albumin binding sites modification by hypochlorite

A study has been made on the properties of human serum albumin (HSA) binding sites and how they are modified by pre-oxidation of the protein with hypochlorite. The oxidation extent was assessed from changes in the protein intrinsic fluorescence and production of carbonyl groups. HSA retains its solute binding capacity even after exposure to relatively large amounts of hypochlorite (up to 40 oxidant molecules per protein). From an analysis of the binding isotherms of dansyl sarcosine (DS) and dansyl-1-sulfonamide (DNSA) to native and hypochlorite treated albumin it is concluded that pre-oxidation of the protein reduces the number of active sites without affecting the binding capacity of the remaining binding sites. From DS and DNSA fluorescence anisotropy, Laurdan anisotropy and generalized polarization measurements, it is concluded that both Sites I and II in the native protein provide very rigid environments to the bound probes. These characteristics of the sites remain even after extensive treatment with hypochlorite. This stubbornness of HSA could allow the protein to maintain its function along its in vivo lifetime.

Structural and ligand-binding properties of serum albumin species interacting with a biomembrane interface

In the process of drug development, preclinical testing using experimental animals is an important aspect, for verification of the efficacy and safety of a drug. Serum albumin is a major binding protein for endogenous and exogenous ligands and regulates their distribution in various tissues. In this study, the structural and drug-binding properties of albumins on a biomembrane surface were investigated using reverse micelles as a model membrane. In reverse micelles, the secondary structures of all albumins were found, to varying degrees, to be intermediate between the native and denatured states. The tertiary structures of human and bovine albumin were similar to those of the native and intermediate states, respectively, whereas those of the dog, rabbit, and rat were in a denatured state. Thus, bovine albumin is an appropriate model for studying structural changes in human albumin in a membrane-water phase. Binding studies also showed the presence of species difference in the change in binding capacity of albumins during their interaction with reverse micelles. Among the albumins, rat albumin appears to be a good model for the protein-mediated drug uptake of human albumin in a biomembrane environment. These findings are significant in terms of the appropriate extrapolation of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics data in various animals to humans.

On the behavior of indole-containing species sequestered within reverse micelles at sub-zero temperatures

We report on the effects of temperature (+30 to -100 degrees C) on the fluorescence from N-acetyl tryptophanamide (NATA) and human serum albumin (HSA) sequestered within Aerosol-OT (AOT) reversed micelles. NATA reports simultaneously from the polar and non-polar side of the reverse micelle interface. As the sample temperature decreases, the relative fraction of NATA molecules associated with the polar side increases. This redistribution process is characterized by DeltaH = -14.8 +/- 0.6 kJ/mol and DeltaS = -54 +/- 2 J/(K mol). The activation energy for thermal quenching (E(a,TQ)) associated with the polar side NATA molecules is 6.7 kJ/mol before the micelles have shed water and 1.0 kJ/mol after water shedding (below approximately -20 degrees C). The time-resolved fluorescence intensity decay for tryptophan-214 in HSA is triple exponential. We suggest that these lifetimes arise from three indole residue conformations in equilibrium. Cooling the sample causes a freezing-in of the least quenched conformer; the other conformers are frozen out. The E(a,TQ) value for the shortest lifetime component is 6 kJ/mol. The E(a,TQ) for the long and intermediate lifetime components are equivalent (approximately 1.5 kJ/mol).

Unfolding and refolding of bovine serum albumin at acid pH: ultrasound and structural studies

Serum albumin is the most abundant protein in the circulatory system. The ability of albumins to undergo a reversible conformational transition, observed with changes in pH, is conserved in distantly related species, suggesting for it a major physiological role possibly related to the transport of small molecules including drugs. We have followed changes of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in volume by densimetry and in adiabatic compressibility during its conformational transition from pH 7-2, using ultrasound measurements. In parallel, circular dichroism was measured. The volume and adiabatic compressibility decrease from pH 4 to 2. The change in ellipticity shows a decrease over the same pH range from 70% to 40% of its alpha-helix content. Sorbitol, at concentrations from 0 to 2 M, led to the progressive restoration of BSA volume and compressibility values, as well as a substantial recovery of its original alpha-helix content. This finding implies that the compressibility variation observed reflects the conformational changes during the transition. The mutual interactions of the mechanical properties and structural features of BSA reported here are important in biotechnology for research in material sciences and for the design and the development of new, tailor-made drug carriers.

Use of amphotericin B as optical probe to study conformational changes and thermodynamic stability in human serum albumin

The binding of polyene antibiotic amphotericin B to serum albumin was studied using absorption, fluorescence, and circular dichroism techniques. A hypochromic effect was observed in the absorption spectrum of amphotericin B in the presence of albumin with maxima at 366 nm, 385 nm, and 408 nm, which correspond to the absorption of the monomeric form of amphotericin B. A modification on the circular dichroism spectrum of amphotericin B in the presence of albumin was observed at bands 329 nm and 351 nm (excitronic interaction), which suggests that only amphotericin B monomer is bound to the protein. Amphotericin B perturbs the specific markers for sites I, II, and fatty acid binding site bound to these sites, suggesting that amphotericin B interacts with a great binding area in albumin. Lysines 199 and 525 in albumin participate in the molecular interaction between amphotericin B and the protein. The absorption spectrum of amphotericin B bound to albumin was sensitive to the chemical and thermal treatment of the protein, to neutral-basic transition of albumin and to conformational changes induced by the binding of other ligands to this protein.

Structural specificity requirements in the binding of beta lactam antibiotics to human serum albumin

The binding of some cephalosporins of pharmacological interest, to human serum albumin was studied using ultrafiltration method. The identification of the binding sites in albumin was also performed using probes for the so-called sites I, II, bilirubin and fatty acids binding sites. Cephalosporins were classified into three groups according to their affinity for albumin: low affinity (K = 10-10(2) M-1), medium affinity (K = 10(3) M-1) and high affinity (K = 10(4) M-1). Cephalosporin binding to albumin produced a perturbation of several basic amino acids of the protein such as histidine and lysine. It was found that only cefuroxime, ceftazidime and cefoperazone interact slightly with site I on serum albumin, while site II possesses capacity to bind: cephradine, cephalexin, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, cefoperazone, cefaclor and cefsulodin. The bilirubin binding site showed capacity to interact with a great number of cephalosporins: ceftriaxone, cefazolin, cephaloglycin, cefamandole, cefotaxime, cefoxitin, cefuroxime, cefoperazone and cefadroxil. Ceftriaxone showed capacity to bind to the fatty acid binding site on HSA. No relation was found between the displacement of the marker and the chemical nature of the substituents at R1 and R2. Cephalosporins interact with HSA at the binding region that involves: tyrosyl 411, histidyl 146 and lysyls 195, 199, 225, 240 and 525 residues. The chemical modification of specific amino acids showed that the interaction of these amino acids with beta lactam antibiotics is not carried out to the same extent for all the cephalosporins tested. The results obtained revealed that the binding sites for cephalosporins on albumin are structurally heterogeneous, having different amino acids in the vicinity of the ligand molecule.

The fluorescence and circular dichroism of proteins in reverse micelles: application to the photophysics of human serum albumin and N-acetyl-L-tryptophanamide

Evidence is presented that a compartmentalised protein exists in its native state only within a particular size of aqueous cavity. This behaviour is shown to exist in AOT reverse micelles using fluorescence quenching and circular dichroism (CD) studies of human serum albumin (HSA). In particular, far ultraviolet CD measurements show that a reduction in quencher accessibility to the fluorophore is consistent with the protein being nearest to its native conformation at a waterpool size of around 80 A diameter. We also show that the biexponential fluorescence decay of N-acetyl-L-tryptophanamide (NATA) in AOT reverse micelles arises from the probe being located in two distinct sites within the interfacial region. The more viscous of these two sites is located on the waterpool side of the interface and the other is located on the oil side of the interface.

Structural features of the hydroxy- and keto-disubstituted bile salts: human serum albumin binding

The binding of keto- and hydroxy bile salts to human serum albumin, the identity of the bile salts binding sites and the identification of the amino acids present in these sites were studied. The keto bile salts cholanate-3-one (C3), cholanate-3,6-dione (C3-6) and cholanate-3-hydroxy-6-one (KHC) were found to quench the native fluorescence emission of albumin. This suggested that the tryptophan residue of human albumin (residue 214) is accessible to the keto bile salts and not to the hydroxy parent compounds. The binding of the keto bile salts was characterized by a simple population of binding sites with Ka ranging from 22 x 10(4) M-1 for the mono keto bile salt (C3) down to 4 x 10(4) M-1 for the hydroxy-keto bile salt (KHC). The substitution of an oxo group at carbon C3 in C3-6 molecule for a hydroxy group (KHC) produce a significant decreasing of the interaction, suggesting that the hybridization state of the carbon at C3 in the steroid ring of the bile salt molecule is also an essential requirement for bile salts binding. It was found that bile salts are bound to the benzodiazepine binding site on human albumin (site II), producing a perturbation on site I, fatty acids and bilirubin binding site. The presence of only one substituent at C3 (oxo or OH) produce an important perturbation on the fatty acid binding sites, decreasing the polarity of the its microenvironment, while a little effect was observed for the dihydroxy and di-oxo-substituted BS, suggesting that the hydroxy substituents at C6, C7 and C12 do not interact in a significant manner with the fatty acid binding sites on HSA. The participation of specific amino acids in albumin-bile salt binding sites depends on the polar groups on the bile salt molecules as exemplified by the quantitatively different role of lysyl residues like those interacting with KHC, C3 and C3-6, and tyrosyl residue interacting with KHC. The following amino acids in human albumin were found to play a role in the bile salts-albumin interaction: lysyl 195 and 225, several arginyls, histidyl 146 and tyrosyl 411.

Dimerization and reactivation of triosephosphate isomerase in reverse micelles

The reactivation of the homodimeric enzyme triosephosphate isomerase (TPI) was studied in reverse micelles. The enzyme was denatured in conventional aqueous mixtures with guanidine hydrochloride and transferred to reverse micelles formed with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, hexanol, n-octane and water. In the transfer step, denatured TPI monomers distributed in single micelles, and guanidine hydrochloride was diluted more than 100 times. Under optimal reactivation conditions, 100% of the enzyme activity could be recovered. The rate of appearance of the catalytic activity increased with the concentration of protein, which indicated that catalysis required the formation of the dimer. The rate of TPI reactivation also increased with increasing protein concentration in the system with denatured TPI covalently derivatized at the catalytic site with the substrate analogue 3-chloroacetol phosphate. Thus, reactivation could take place via the formation of dimers composed of an inactive and an active subunit. Reactivation critically depended on the amount of water in the reverse micelles. The plot of the extent of reactivation versus the amount of water (2.5-7.0%) was markedly sigmoidal. Less than 20% reactivation took place with water concentrations below 3.5%, due to the formation (in less than 30 s) of stable inactive structures. The results indicate that reverse micelles provide a useful system to probe the events involved in the transformation of unfolded monomers to polymeric enzymes.