Differential immunohistochemical localization of xanthine oxidase in normal and neoplastic human breast epithelium

Xanthine oxidase (XO) and xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) are alternate enzymatic forms of the XO/XDH protein that catalyzes the oxidation of hypoxanthine to xanthine, and xanthine to uric acid, and in the process XO/XDH generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radicals. We hypothesize that XO/XDH, which is expressed in mammary epithelium, contributes to the development of breast cancers by virtue of its ability to generate genotoxic ROS. In this study, we produced human XO/XDH protein at high levels in Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) insect cells using the baculovirus vector to confirm the specificity of antibodies used for immunostaining of human breast tissues. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated that the full length 143 kDa polypeptide was partially processed into a 87 kDa and 59 kDa fragments. The overexpressed XO/XDH protein was identified in the cytoplasm of insect cells by immunofluorescence staining. Using these antibodies we analyzed normal and neoplastic breast epithelium for the presence of XO/XDH. Immunohistochemical analysis of normal human breast revealed the presence of XO/XDH in the cytoplasm of epithelium lining terminal ducts. The intensity of XO/XDH staining was markedly enhanced in alveolar epithelium of lactating mammary lobules. In contrast, no immunohistochemically detectable XO/XDH was observed in intraductal in situ carcinomas and in invasive carcinomas of the breast. Further studies are necessary to confirm the utility of the loss of XO/XDH expression as a marker for neoplastic change in the breast and investigate the functional role of this enzyme in the pathogenesis of breast cancer.

Human cystathionine gamma-lyase: developmental and in vitro expression of two isoforms

Cystathionine gamma-lyase (CGL) is the last enzyme of the trans-sulphuration pathway, which converts methionine into cysteine. To study the possible differences in enzymic activity of the two human cystathionine gamma-lyase isoforms characterized earlier, these were separately expressed in human kidney embryonic 293T cells. Furthermore, developmental changes in the expression of the two mRNA forms as well as the enzymic activity in human liver were studied, as it has been postulated that a change in the relative expression of CGL isoforms causes the postnatal increase in CGL activity. Transfection with the longer isoform increased the CGL activity 1.5-fold, while the activity of the cells transfected with the shorter form did not differ from the basal activity. In human liver samples, CGL activity was only detected in adult tissue (68+/-9 nmol of cysteine/h per mg of protein), whereas activity in fetal, premature and full-term neonatal liver tissue was undetectable. In contrast, strong mRNA expression of both mRNA isoforms was detected from the 19th gestational week onwards and the longer form of CGL appeared to be predominant. The expression of the two mRNA forms varied in parallel. In conclusion, we have shown that only cells overexpressing the longer form of CGL have increased activity, and CGL appears to be regulated at the post-transcriptional level during development.

Expression of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase during development

Prematurity has been associated with low glutathione (GSH) concentrations in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid as well as in leukocytes from tracheal aspirates and peripheral blood. To elucidate whether this is caused by deficient GSH synthesis, the expression and activity of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (glutamate-cysteine ligase, GCS, EC 6.3.2.2), the rate-limiting enzyme for GSH synthesis, were measured from fetal, neonatal, and adult human liver, lung, and kidney samples. The highest activity was measured in the liver, in which mRNA expression of the catalytic GCS heavy and the regulatory light subunits, as well as activity, were, on average, similar in the various stages of development. Although GCS light subunit mRNA concentrations in the lung were higher in neonates than in fetuses and adults, enzyme activities were similar. In the adult kidney, mean enzyme activity was somewhat higher than in fetal or neonatal kidney, but this may be accounted for by the variation in the small number of samples. In conclusion, GCS is expressed and active already in the second trimester and thus low GSH concentrations found in preterm neonates appear not to be explained by deficient GSH synthesis. Other factors, such as limited availability of the GSH precursor cysteine or increased GSH consumption, may account for the lower concentrations of GSH found in preterm infants.

Irreversible conversion of xanthine dehydrogenase into xanthine oxidase by a mitochondrial protease

Irreversible conversion of xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) to its oxygen free radical producing oxidase (XO) form occurs through an uncharacterized proteolytic process, which was studied in human liver. Upon incubation of fresh unfrozen liver cytosol, XDH remained intact. When recombinant human XDH was coincubated with subcellular fractions of human liver, the mitochondrial intermembrane space was shown to contain a heat-labile activity that converted XDH irreversibly to XO. This activity is resistant to inhibitors of all major groups of proteases. We postulate that this novel type of proteolytic enzyme is released into the cytosol upon mitochondrial damage.

Expression and developmental profile of antioxidant enzymes in human lung and liver

Air breathing, especially oxygen therapy, exposes the lung to reactive oxygen species (ROS). Antioxidant enzymes (AOEs) may protect the lung from ROS-mediated injury. Because expression of the key AOEs increases in several animal species during gestation, we investigated (1) the messenger RNA (mRNA) and activity levels of the key AOEs manganese and copper-zinc superoxide dismutases (MnSOD and CuZnSOD, respectively), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in adult lung samples and during ontogenesis; and (2) the difference in AOE expression between lung and liver. In the lung, the mRNA expression of MnSOD, CuZnSOD, and CAT increased toward adulthood, and GPx was unchanged. Pulmonary activities of MnSOD and CuZnSOD were unchanged, whereas CAT increased 3-fold from fetuses to adults. In the liver, the mRNA expression of MnSOD, CuZnSOD, and GPx increased, whereas that of CAT decreased toward adulthood. Hepatic activities of MnSOD and CuZnSOD increased 2-fold and 4-fold, respectively, whereas CAT was similar in fetuses and adults. Neonatal GPx activity was 2-fold higher in the lung and 6-fold higher in the liver compared with adults. The mRNA levels of MnSOD correlated positively with those of CuZnSOD and CAT in the lung, and GPx with those of MnSOD and CuZnSOD in the liver. Activities of MnSOD and CuZnSOD correlated positively in the liver. We conclude that the regulation of AOEs differs between human lung and liver, and is not tightly coordinated in either tissue.

Xanthine oxidoreductase gene expression and enzyme activity in developing human tissues

Xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) has been implicated in tissue injury following ischemia-reperfusion because of its ability to generate reactive oxygen species under these conditions. In order to elucidate its role in various organs, we quantified the levels of XOR mRNA expression and activity in developing human tissues. XOR gene expression was highest in the intestine and in the liver, which also showed the highest enzyme activities. By a sensitive RNA-PCR assay, low levels of the transcript were detected in the kidney, lung, cardiac muscle, and brain of all subjects studied. XOR activities followed the mRNA distribution, being low or undetectable in tissues other than the liver and the intestine.

Antioxidant enzyme regulation and resistance to oxidants of human bronchial epithelial cells cultured under hyperoxic conditions

Bronchial epithelial cells are the first cells to encounter high concentrations of inspired oxygen, and their damage is a typical feature in many airway diseases. The direct effect of oxygen on the expression of the main antioxidant enzymes (AOEs) in human bronchial epithelial cells is unknown. We investigated the messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), as well as the specific activities of MnSOD, CuZnSOD, CAT, GPx, and glutathione reductase, in BEAS-2B bronchial epithelial cells exposed to hyperoxia (95% O2, 5% CO2) for 16 to 48 h. We also assessed the resistance of cells preexposed to hyperoxia to subsequent oxidant stress. Significant cell injury was observed after 72 h exposure to hyperoxia; release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) from control cells and cells exposed to hyperoxia for 72 h was 7.0 +/- 1.0% and 22.0 +/- 1.0%, respectively. Hyperoxia for 16 h, 24 h, or 48 h had no effect on the mRNA levels or specific activities of any of these enzymes. Despite their unchanged AOE levels, cells exposed to hyperoxia for 48 h showed increased resistance to H2O2 and menadione. Total glutathione content of the cells increased by 55% and 58% after 24 h and 48 h, respectively, compared with normoxic controls. However, glutathione depletion with buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) did not diminish the oxidant resistance of hyperoxia-exposed cells. We conclude that AOEs in human bronchial epithelial cells are not directly upregulated by high oxygen tension, and that increases in AOE-specific activities or glutathione are not necessary for the development of increased oxidant resistance in these cells.

Differential effects of tumor necrosis factor and asbestos fibers on manganese superoxide dismutase induction and oxidant-induced cytotoxicity in human mesothelial cells

We compared induction of manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) by asbestos fibers and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) using cultured human mesothelial cells. Transformed pleural mesothelial cells (MET 5A) were exposed for 48 h to amosite asbestos fibers (2 micrograms/cm2), to TNF (10 ng/ml), and to the combination of these two. TNF and amosite+TNF caused significant MnSOD mRNA upregulation. Similarly MnSOD specific activity was increased by TNF (290% increase) and the amosite+TNF combination (313% increase) but not by amosite alone. In cell injury experiments, amosite and amosite+TNF exposures caused significant cell membrane injury when assessed by lactate dehydrogenase release, which was 31% and 57% higher than in the unexposed cells. However, only the amosite+TNF combination caused significant depletion of cellular high-energy nucleotide when expressed as percentage of [14C]adenine labeling in cellular high-energy nucleotides. The nucleotide levels were 91.5 +/- 2.0% in the unexposed cells, 89.9 +/- 3.9% in amosite-exposed cells, 90.1 +/- 2.2% in TNF-exposed cells, and 79.8 +/- 9.4% in amosite+TNF-exposed cells. Amosite+TNF-exposed cells were also most sensitive to menadione (20 mumol/L, 2 h), a compound which generates superoxide radicals intracellularly. In conclusion, our data suggests that in human mesothelial cells inflammatory cytokines but not asbestos fibers alone can cause MnSOD induction. In this study, however amosite asbestos+TNF treatment rendered these cells more vulnerable to oxidant-induced cell damage despite elevated MnSOD activity.

Cloning and expression in vitro of human xanthine dehydrogenase/oxidase

To study the expression of human xanthine dehydrogenase/oxidase (hXDH/XO), we cloned the cDNA covering its complete coding sequence and characterized it by translation in vitro in rabbit reticulocyte lysates and by transient expression in COS-1 cells. Two specific protein products with approximate molecular masses of 150 and 130 kDa were detected in both expression systems. These products are compatible with the molecular sizes of XDH/XO, and these peptides also showed immunoreactivity with polyclonal anti-hXDH antibodies. Significant XDH/XO enzyme activity (277 +/- 54 pmol/min per mg of protein) was measured in lysates of transfected COS cells, whereas in control transfections the activities were below the detection limit of our assay (0.2 pmol/min per mg of protein). The COS cells expressed the enzyme predominantly (89.8 +/- 0.3%) in the dehydrogenase form.

The human gene for xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) is localized on chromosome band 2q22

Mutations in the xanthine dehydrogenase gene (XDH), which codes for the last enzyme of the purine catabolic pathway in man, cause the autosomal recessive disease xanthinuria. We obtained cDNA clones from a human breast cDNA library and confirmed one of the two different sequences proposed for human XDH. Using a somatic cell hybrid mapping panel and specific primers for human XDH, we assigned the gene to chromosome 2. By fluorescence in situ hybridization, the gene was localized to bands 2p22.3-->p22.2. The FLpter probe location was 0.135 (SD = 0.016), as determined by digital image analysis.