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Falach R, Sapoznikov A, Gal Y, Elhanany E, Evgy Y, Shifman O, Aftalion M, Ehrlich S, Lazar S, Sabo T, Kronman C, Mazor O. The low density receptor-related protein 1 plays a significant role in ricin-mediated intoxication of lung cells. Sci Rep 2020; 10:9007. [PMID: 32488096 PMCID: PMC7265403 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-65982-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2019] [Accepted: 05/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Ricin, a highly lethal plant-derived toxin, is a potential biological threat agent due to its high availability, ease of production and the lack of approved medical countermeasures for post-exposure treatment. To date, no specific ricin receptors were identified. Here we show for the first time, that the low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein-1 (LRP1) is a major target molecule for binding of ricin. Pretreating HEK293 acetylcholinesterase-producer cells with either anti-LRP1 antibodies or with Receptor-Associated Protein (a natural LRP1 antagonist), or using siRNA to knock-down LRP1 expression resulted in a marked reduction in their sensitivity towards ricin. Binding assays further demonstrated that ricin bound exclusively to the cluster II binding domain of LRP1, via the ricin B subunit. Ricin binding to the cluster II binding domain of LRP1 was significantly reduced by an anti-ricin monoclonal antibody, which confers high-level protection to ricin pulmonary-exposed mice. Finally, we tested the contribution of LRP1 receptor to ricin intoxication of lung cells derived from mice. Treating these cells with anti-LRP1 antibody prior to ricin exposure, prevented their intoxication. Taken together, our findings clearly demonstrate that the LRP1 receptor plays an important role in ricin-induced pulmonary intoxications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reut Falach
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, 19 Reuven Lerer St., Ness-Ziona, 76100, Israel.
| | - Anita Sapoznikov
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, 19 Reuven Lerer St., Ness-Ziona, 76100, Israel
| | - Yoav Gal
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, 19 Reuven Lerer St., Ness-Ziona, 76100, Israel
| | - Eytan Elhanany
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, 19 Reuven Lerer St., Ness-Ziona, 76100, Israel
| | - Yentl Evgy
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, 19 Reuven Lerer St., Ness-Ziona, 76100, Israel
| | - Ohad Shifman
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, 19 Reuven Lerer St., Ness-Ziona, 76100, Israel
| | - Moshe Aftalion
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, 19 Reuven Lerer St., Ness-Ziona, 76100, Israel
| | - Sharon Ehrlich
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, 19 Reuven Lerer St., Ness-Ziona, 76100, Israel
| | - Shlomi Lazar
- Department of Pharmacology, Israel Institute for Biological Research, 19 Reuven Lerer St., Ness-Ziona, 76100, Israel
| | - Tamar Sabo
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, 19 Reuven Lerer St., Ness-Ziona, 76100, Israel
| | - Chanoch Kronman
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, 19 Reuven Lerer St., Ness-Ziona, 76100, Israel
| | - Ohad Mazor
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Israel Institute for Biological Research, 19 Reuven Lerer St., Ness-Ziona, 76100, Israel
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Guo Z, Wang Z, Meng S, Zhao Z, Zhang C, Fu Y, Li J, Nie X, Zhang C, Liu L, Lu B, Qian J. Effects of ricin on primary pulmonary alveolar macrophages. J Int Med Res 2019; 47:3763-3777. [PMID: 31156015 PMCID: PMC6726780 DOI: 10.1177/0300060519842959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective We systematically investigated the cytotoxic effects of ricin in primary pulmonary alveolar macrophages (PAMs). Methods Primary PAMs were isolated from BALB/c mice. The cytotoxic effects of ricin were investigated in vitro by optical and transmission electron microscopy, detection of the inflammatory cytokine response, proteomic analysis, and subsequent biological functional analysis. Results Ricin induced shrinkage, apoptosis, vacuolization, and multi-organelle lesions in primary PAMs as demonstrated by optical and transmission electron microscopy. Ricin also induced a pronounced pro-inflammatory cytokine response in primary PAMs, including induction of tumor necrosis factor-α, interferon-γ, interleukin (IL)-1, IL-2, IL-6, IL-12, C-C motif chemokine ligand 2, and C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 2, while the anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-4 and IL-10 were less affected. Proteomic analysis and subsequent biological functional analysis identified eight proteins that were up/downregulated by ricin treatment and which might thus contribute to ricin toxicity. These proteins were involved in various functions, including redox, molecular chaperone, glycolysis, protein translation, and protein degradation functions. Conclusion The results of the present study further our understanding of the pathogenic mechanism of inhalational ricin poisoning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhendong Guo
- 1 Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhongyi Wang
- 1 Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Shanyu Meng
- 2 Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | | | - Chunmao Zhang
- 1 Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yingying Fu
- 1 Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jiaming Li
- 1 Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xin Nie
- 3 No. 65316 Unit of PLA, Dalian, China
| | - Cheng Zhang
- 1 Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Linna Liu
- 1 Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Bing Lu
- 1 Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jun Qian
- 1 Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
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Falach R, Sapoznikov A, Gal Y, Israeli O, Leitner M, Seliger N, Ehrlich S, Kronman C, Sabo T. Quantitative profiling of the in vivo enzymatic activity of ricin reveals disparate depurination of different pulmonary cell types. Toxicol Lett 2016; 258:11-19. [PMID: 27298272 DOI: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2016.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2016] [Revised: 05/31/2016] [Accepted: 06/02/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The plant-derived toxins ricin and abrin, operate by site-specific depurination of ribosomes, which in turn leads to protein synthesis arrest. The clinical manifestation following pulmonary exposure to these toxins is that of a severe lung inflammation and respiratory insufficiency. Deciphering the pathways mediating between the catalytic activity and the developing lung inflammation, requires a quantitative appreciation of the catalytic activity of the toxins, in-vivo. In the present study, we monitored truncated cDNA molecules which are formed by reverse transcription when a depurinated 28S rRNA serves as template. We found that maximal depurination after intranasal exposure of mice to 2LD50 ricin was reached 48h, where nearly 40% of the ribosomes have been depurinated and that depurination can be halted by post-exposure administration of anti-ricin antibodies. We next demonstrated that the effect of ricin intoxication on different cell types populating the lungs differs greatly, and that outstandingly high levels of damage (80% depurination), were observed in particular for pulmonary epithelial cells. Finally, we found that the magnitude of depurination induced by the related plant-derived toxin abrin, was significantly lower in comparison to ricin, and can be attributed mostly to reduced depurination of pulmonary epithelial cells by abrin. This study provides for the first time vital information regarding the scope and timing of the catalytic performance of ricin and abrin in the lungs of intact animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reut Falach
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona, Israel
| | - Anita Sapoznikov
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona, Israel
| | - Yoav Gal
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona, Israel
| | - Ofir Israeli
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona, Israel
| | - Moshe Leitner
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona, Israel
| | - Nehama Seliger
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona, Israel
| | - Sharon Ehrlich
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona, Israel
| | - Chanoch Kronman
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona, Israel.
| | - Tamar Sabo
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona, Israel
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Kumar RB, Suresh MX. A computational perspective of molecular interactions through virtual screening, pharmacokinetic and dynamic prediction on ribosome toxin A chain and inhibitors of Ricinus communis. Pharmacognosy Res 2012; 4:2-10. [PMID: 22224054 PMCID: PMC3250034 DOI: 10.4103/0974-8490.91027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2011] [Revised: 09/04/2011] [Accepted: 12/22/2011] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Ricin is considered to be one of the most deadly toxins and gained its favor as a bioweapon that has a serious social and biological impact, due to its widespread nature and abundant availability. The hazardous effects of this toxin in human being are seen in almost all parts of the organ system. The severe consequences of the toxin necessitate the need for developing potential inhibitors that can effectively block its interaction with the host system. Materials and Methods: In order to identify potential inhibitors that can effectively block ricin, we employed various computational approaches. In this work, we computationally screened and analyzed 66 analogs and further tested their ADME/T profiles. From the kinetic and toxicity studies we selected six analogs that possessed appropriate pharmacokinetic and dynamic property. We have also performed a computational docking of these analogs with the target. Results: On the basis of the dock scores and hydrogen bond interactions we have identified analog 64 to be the best interacting molecule. Molecule 64 seems to have stable interaction with the residues Tyr80, Arg180, and Val81. The pharmacophore feature that describes the key functional features of a molecule was also studied and presented. Conclusion: The pharmacophore features of the drugs provided suggests the key functional groups that can aid in the design and synthesis of more potential inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Barani Kumar
- Department of Bioinformatics, Sathyabama University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
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Abstract
Protein toxins confer a defense against predation/grazing or a superior pathogenic competence upon the producing organism. Such toxins have been perfected through evolution in poisonous animals/plants and pathogenic bacteria. Over the past five decades, a lot of effort has been invested in studying their mechanism of action, the way they contribute to pathogenicity and in the development of antidotes that neutralize their action. In parallel, many research groups turned to explore the pharmaceutical potential of such toxins when they are used to efficiently impair essential cellular processes and/or damage the integrity of their target cells. The following review summarizes major advances in the field of toxin based therapeutics and offers a comprehensive description of the mode of action of each applied toxin.
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Korcheva V, Wong J, Lindauer M, Jacoby DB, Iordanov MS, Magun B. Role of apoptotic signaling pathways in regulation of inflammatory responses to ricin in primary murine macrophages. Mol Immunol 2007; 44:2761-71. [PMID: 17257680 PMCID: PMC1880874 DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2006.10.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2006] [Accepted: 10/20/2006] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Because of its lethal effects, ease of preparation, and ability to be delivered by aerosolization, ricin has been developed as a lethal weapon by various terrorist groups. When introduced into the pulmonary system of rodents, ricin causes pathological changes in the lung that are known to occur in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Early response cytokines such as TNF-alpha and IL-1 are known to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of ARDS. Ricin induces the release of these pro-inflammatory cytokines and the transcriptional activation of the genes that encode them in vitro and in vivo. Macrophages, considered to act as upstream regulators of inflammatory cascades, may play a central role in the pathogenesis and the development of ricin-induced ARDS because of their ability to make and secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines. Exposure of primary macrophages to ricin in vitro led to activation of stress-activated protein kinases, increased expression of pro-inflammatory mRNA transcripts, subsequent increase in the synthesis and secretion of TNF-alpha, and apoptotic cell death. Interestingly, macrophages required the engagement of the apoptotic cascade for the maximal synthesis and release of some pro-inflammatory mediators. This work identifies a cross talk between the apoptotic and inflammatory signaling pathways induced by ricin in primary macrophages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veselina Korcheva
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Oregon Health and Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, OR, USA
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Abstract
Ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs) are toxic N-glycosidases that depurinate the universally conserved alpha-sarcin loop of large rRNAs. This depurination inactivates the ribosome, thereby blocking its further participation in protein synthesis. RIPs are widely distributed among different plant genera and within a variety of different tissues. Recent work has shown that enzymatic activity of at least some RIPs is not limited to site-specific action on the large rRNAs of ribosomes but extends to depurination and even nucleic acid scission of other targets. Characterization of the physiological effects of RIPs on mammalian cells has implicated apoptotic pathways. For plants, RIPs have been linked to defense by antiviral, antifungal, and insecticidal properties demonstrated in vitro and in transgenic plants. How these effects are brought about, however, remains unresolved. At the least, these results, together with others summarized here, point to a complex biological role. With genetic, genomic, molecular, and structural tools now available for integrating different experimental approaches, we should further our understanding of these multifunctional proteins and their physiological functions in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsten Nielsen
- Department of Botany, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7612; e-mail: ;
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Sharma S, Podder SK, Karande AA. Comparative studies on kinetics of inhibition of protein synthesis in intact cells by ricin and a conjugate of ricin B-chain with momordin. Mol Cell Biochem 1999; 200:133-41. [PMID: 10569193 DOI: 10.1023/a:1007043218769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Ribosome inactivating proteins from plants have been widely used for the preparation of immunotoxins and hormonotoxins, which have potential application in the therapy of diseases such as cancer. However, these hybrid toxins have been found to be less cytotoxic than native ribosome inactivating proteins. Therefore, it is important to understand the factors that control the intrinsic toxicity of RIPs and the hybrid toxins prepared using them. Here, a hybrid toxin has been prepared by coupling ricin B-chain to momordin and the cytotoxicity of this hybrid toxin has been compared to that observed in case of native ricin. In the two cell types used here, thymocytes and macrophages, the conjugate was found to be about 40 fold less toxic than native ricin. Kinetics of inhibition of protein synthesis showed that prior to onset of inhibition the conjugate exhibits a longer lag phase than native ricin. The rates of inhibition of protein synthesis by the conjugate were also found to be slower than ricin. Analysis of the results suggests that in addition to cell surface binding, the B-chain of ricin facilitates another step in the transmembrane translocation of ricin A-chain to the cytosol.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Sharma
- Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
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