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Functional expression of a fragment of human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase by means of the baculovirus expression vector system, and kinetic investigation of the purified recombinant enzyme

Knecht, Wolfgang LU ; Bergjohann, U ; Gonski, S ; Kirschbaum, B and Löffler, Monika (1996) In European Journal of Biochemistry 240(1). p.292-301
Abstract

Human mitochondrial dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (the fourth enzyme of pyrimidine de novo synthesis) has been overproduced by means of a recombinant baculovirus that contained the human cDNA fragment for this protein. After virus infection and protein expression in Trichoplusia ni cells (BTI-Tn-5B1-4), the subcellular distribution of the recombinant dihydroorotate dehydrogenase was determined by two distinct enzyme-activity assays and by Western blot analysis with anti-(dihydroorotate dehydrogenase) Ig. The targeting of the recombinant protein to the mitochondria of the insect cells was verified. The activity of the recombinant enzyme in the mitochondria of infected cells was about 740-fold above the level of dihydroorotate... (More)

Human mitochondrial dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (the fourth enzyme of pyrimidine de novo synthesis) has been overproduced by means of a recombinant baculovirus that contained the human cDNA fragment for this protein. After virus infection and protein expression in Trichoplusia ni cells (BTI-Tn-5B1-4), the subcellular distribution of the recombinant dihydroorotate dehydrogenase was determined by two distinct enzyme-activity assays and by Western blot analysis with anti-(dihydroorotate dehydrogenase) Ig. The targeting of the recombinant protein to the mitochondria of the insect cells was verified. The activity of the recombinant enzyme in the mitochondria of infected cells was about 740-fold above the level of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase in human liver mitochondria. In a three-step procedure, dihydroorotate dehydrogenase was purified to a specific activity of greater than 50 U/mg. Size-exclusion chromatography showed a molecular mass of 42 kDa and confirmed the existence of the fully active enzyme as a monomeric species. Fluorimetric cofactor analysis revealed the presence of FMN in recombinant dihydroorotate dehydrogenase. By kinetics analysis, Km values for dihydroorotate and ubiquinone-50 were found to be 4 microM and 9.9 microM, respectively, while Km values for dihydroorotate and decylubiquinone were 9.4 microM and 13.7 microM, respectively. The applied expression system will allow preparation of large quantities of the enzyme for structure and function studies. Purified recombinant human dihytdroorotate dehydrogenase was tested for its sensitivity to a reported inhibitor A77 1726 (2-hydroxyethyliden-cyanoacetic acid 4-trifluoromethyl anilide), which is the active metabolite of the isoxazole derivative leflunomide [5-methyl-N-(4-trifluoromethyl-phenyl)-4-isoxazole carboximide]. An IC50 value of 1 microM was determined for A77 1726. Detailed kinetics experiments revealed uncompetitive inhibition with respect to dihydroorotate (Kiu = 0.94 microM) and non-competitive inhibition with respect to decylubiquinone (Kic = 1.09 microM, Kiu = 1.05 microM). These results suggest that the immunomodulating agent A77 1726 (currently in clinical phase III studies for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis) is a very good inhibitor of human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase.

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publication status
published
keywords
Amino Acid Sequence, Animals, Cell Line, Chromatography, Gel, Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel, Flavins/analysis, Humans, Insecta, Kinetics, Mitochondria/enzymology, Molecular Sequence Data, Molecular Weight, Nucleopolyhedroviruses, Organelles/enzymology, Oxidoreductases/biosynthesis, Oxidoreductases Acting on CH-CH Group Donors, Peptide Fragments/biosynthesis, Recombinant Proteins/biosynthesis, Spectrophotometry, Subcellular Fractions/enzymology, Lund, Transfection
in
European Journal of Biochemistry
volume
240
issue
1
pages
292 - 301
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:0029793899
  • pmid:8925840
ISSN
0014-2956
DOI
10.1111/j.1432-1033.1996.0292h.x
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
d385f38a-60df-43a4-9d80-20410bbd1704
date added to LUP
2020-07-22 14:42:24
date last changed
2024-05-01 15:10:58
@article{d385f38a-60df-43a4-9d80-20410bbd1704,
  abstract     = {{<p>Human mitochondrial dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (the fourth enzyme of pyrimidine de novo synthesis) has been overproduced by means of a recombinant baculovirus that contained the human cDNA fragment for this protein. After virus infection and protein expression in Trichoplusia ni cells (BTI-Tn-5B1-4), the subcellular distribution of the recombinant dihydroorotate dehydrogenase was determined by two distinct enzyme-activity assays and by Western blot analysis with anti-(dihydroorotate dehydrogenase) Ig. The targeting of the recombinant protein to the mitochondria of the insect cells was verified. The activity of the recombinant enzyme in the mitochondria of infected cells was about 740-fold above the level of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase in human liver mitochondria. In a three-step procedure, dihydroorotate dehydrogenase was purified to a specific activity of greater than 50 U/mg. Size-exclusion chromatography showed a molecular mass of 42 kDa and confirmed the existence of the fully active enzyme as a monomeric species. Fluorimetric cofactor analysis revealed the presence of FMN in recombinant dihydroorotate dehydrogenase. By kinetics analysis, Km values for dihydroorotate and ubiquinone-50 were found to be 4 microM and 9.9 microM, respectively, while Km values for dihydroorotate and decylubiquinone were 9.4 microM and 13.7 microM, respectively. The applied expression system will allow preparation of large quantities of the enzyme for structure and function studies. Purified recombinant human dihytdroorotate dehydrogenase was tested for its sensitivity to a reported inhibitor A77 1726 (2-hydroxyethyliden-cyanoacetic acid 4-trifluoromethyl anilide), which is the active metabolite of the isoxazole derivative leflunomide [5-methyl-N-(4-trifluoromethyl-phenyl)-4-isoxazole carboximide]. An IC50 value of 1 microM was determined for A77 1726. Detailed kinetics experiments revealed uncompetitive inhibition with respect to dihydroorotate (Kiu = 0.94 microM) and non-competitive inhibition with respect to decylubiquinone (Kic = 1.09 microM, Kiu = 1.05 microM). These results suggest that the immunomodulating agent A77 1726 (currently in clinical phase III studies for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis) is a very good inhibitor of human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase.</p>}},
  author       = {{Knecht, Wolfgang and Bergjohann, U and Gonski, S and Kirschbaum, B and Löffler, Monika}},
  issn         = {{0014-2956}},
  keywords     = {{Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Cell Line; Chromatography, Gel; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; Flavins/analysis; Humans; Insecta; Kinetics; Mitochondria/enzymology; Molecular Sequence Data; Molecular Weight; Nucleopolyhedroviruses; Organelles/enzymology; Oxidoreductases/biosynthesis; Oxidoreductases Acting on CH-CH Group Donors; Peptide Fragments/biosynthesis; Recombinant Proteins/biosynthesis; Spectrophotometry; Subcellular Fractions/enzymology; Lund; Transfection}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{292--301}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{European Journal of Biochemistry}},
  title        = {{Functional expression of a fragment of human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase by means of the baculovirus expression vector system, and kinetic investigation of the purified recombinant enzyme}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1432-1033.1996.0292h.x}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/j.1432-1033.1996.0292h.x}},
  volume       = {{240}},
  year         = {{1996}},
}