The Necrotic Signal Induced by Mycophenolic Acid Overcomes Apoptosis-Resistance in Tumor Cells

The amount of inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), a pivotal enzyme for the biosynthesis of the guanosine tri-phosphate (GTP), is frequently increased in tumor cells. The anti-viral agent ribavirin and the immunosuppressant mycophenolic acid (MPA) are potent inhibitors of IMPDH. We recently showed that IMPDH inhibition led to a necrotic signal requiring the activation of Cdc42.Herein, we strengthened the essential role played by this small GTPase in the necrotic signal by silencing Cdc42 and by the ectopic expression of a constitutive active mutant of Cdc42. Since resistance to apoptosis is an essential step for the tumorigenesis process, we next examined the effect of the MPA–mediated necrotic signal on different tumor cells demonstrating various mechanisms of resistance to apoptosis (Bcl2-, HSP70-, Lyn-, BCR-ABL–overexpressing cells). All tested cells remained sensitive to MPA–mediated necrotic signal. Furthermore, inhibition of IMPDH activity in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia cells was significantly more efficient at eliminating malignant cells than apoptotic inducers.These findings indicate that necrosis and apoptosis are split signals that share few if any common hub of signaling. In addition, the necrotic signaling pathway induced by depletion of the cellular amount of GTP/GDP would be of great interest to eliminate apoptotic-resistant tumor cells

The Modification of Actomyosin ATPase Activity by Tropomyosin-Troponin and its Dependence on Ionic Strength, ATP-Concentration, and Actin-Myosin Ratio

At millimolar concentrations of ATP the ATPase activity of regulated actomyosin (which consisted of myosin and of actin containing the regulatory proteins tropomyosin and troponin) was lower than that of unregulated actomyosin (containing actin devoid of the regulatory proteins) when the ionic strength was high (> 0 .0 3 ᴍ KCl). At low ionic strength (0.03 ᴍ KCl) the ATPase activity of regulated actomyosin was similar to or even higher than that of unregulated acto­ myosin. Besides increasing ionic strength an increasing actin-myosin ratio tended to depress the ATPase activity of regulated actomyosin below that of unregulated one. At lower ATP concen­ trations (0.1 mᴍ or lower) the ATPase activity of regulated actomyosin was higher than that of unregulated actomyosin at any ionic strength and at any actin-myosin ratio. EGTA inhibited the ATPase of regulated actomyosin under any conditions at high ATP concentrations. At lower ATP concentrations EGTA inhibited either at higher ionic strength or at a higher actin-myosin ratio. The inhibition of the ATPase activity of acto-HMM by increasing ionic strength was not in­ fluenced by the regulatory proteins. - For the interpretation of these results it has been assumed that in actomyosin regulated actin can adopt three states: A low-affinity state which activates the ATPase of myosin only slightly (occurring at high ATP concentrations and in the absence of Ca2+), a high affinity state which activates the ATPase of myosin better than does unregulated actin (occurring at low concentrations of ATP and in the presence of Ca2+), and an intermediate state. This latter state (occurring at high concentrations of ATP and in the presence of Ca2+ or at low concentrations of ATP and in the absence of Ca2+) activates the ATPase of myosin less than does unregulated actin when the actin-myosin ratio is high (wide spacing of myosin on the actin filaments) but activates more (or at least not less) when the actin-myosin ratio is low (dense spacing of myosin on the actin filaments

Natural tropomyosin as a physiological inhibitor of the contractile activity of actomyosin

The contractile ATPase of artificial actomyosin (reconstituted from its purified components actin and myosin) is fully active even at low concentrations (∼10−9 M) of ionized calcium. Natural tropomyosin, the physiological inhibitor, however, inhibits the contractile ATPase under these conditions. Natural tropomyosin which is not further purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation inhibits also at higher concentrations (10−6 M) of Ca++. 2. Natural tropomyosin which is prepared by ammonium sulfate precipitation inhibits at high concentrations of Ca++ if it is briefly digested by trypsin. 3. Natural tropomyosin influences the interaction between actomyosin and MgATP in such a way that the affinity of actomyosin for MgATP increases, the maximal splitting rate, however, decreases. Hence, substrate inhibition can already be seen at concentrations that are otherwise optimal. 4. Natural tropomyosin affects the ITPase of actomyosin in a similar manner if the inhibitory activity of tropomyosin is mediated by the concentration of free Ca++. The ITPase activity of the actomyosin-tropomyosin complex, however, is even at high concentrations of free Ca++ lower than the ITPase activity of pure actomyosin

Calcium Sensitivity of Actomyosin ATPase: Its Modification by Substitution of Myosin Sulfhydryl Groups

Actomyosin ATPase, Calcium Sensitivity, Sulfhydryl Groups SH group substitution by DTNB enabled natural actomyosin to split ATP (in the presence of Mg2+) also in the absence of Ca2+, when assayed at low ionic strength. At higher KCl concentrations the ATPase activity of SH group substituted actomyosin was still Ca-dependent. Addition of unsubstituted myosin to natural actomyosin whose SH groups had been substituted increased the ATPase activity. This increase was Ca-insensitive indicating that SH group substitution of myosin in actomyosin can make the interaction of additional myosin molecules Ca-independent. In natural actomyosin Ca-insensitivity of ATPase activity was attained at a lower degree of SH group substitution when substitution was performed in the presence of EDTA. The part of ATPase activity which still remained Ca-sensitive after DTNB treatment could be activated by lower concentrations of free Ca2+ than the Ca-sensitive ATPase of untreated actomyosin. In reconstituted actomyosin the Ca-sensitivity of ATPase activity could more easily be reduced when the myosin-actin ratio was high. For demonstrating remaining Ca-sensitivity in SH group substituted reconstituted actomyosin more tropomyosin-troponin was needed than for sensitizing unsubstituted actomyosin to Ca2+. - The similarities between the ATPase activity of SH group substituted actomyosin on the one hand and that of actomyosin at low concentrations of ATP on the other hand suggest that SH group substitution modifies actin-myosin interaction in a similar way as does nucleotide-free myosin (rigor myosin)

Regulation of actin-myosin interaction

In the presence of the regulatory protein complex tropomyosin-troponin ATPase activity of vertebrate skeletal muscle actomyosin is either higher or lower than in the absence of tropomyosin-troponin. The actual behavior depends on ionic strength, Ca2+ concentration, ATP concentration (determining the amount of rigor complexes present), and the ratio between actin and myosin. This effect of the myosin-actin ratio implies that under certain conditions cooperativity in actin-myosin interaction can be seen

ATPase Activity and Light Scattering of Acto-Heavy Meromyosin: Dependence on ATP Concentration and on Ionic Strength

1. The dependence on ATP concentration of ATPase activity and light scattering decrease of acto-HMM could be described at very low ionic strength by one hyperbolic adsorption isotherm with a dissociation constant of 3 × 10-6 м. Hence the increase of ATPase activity was paralleled by a decrease in light scattering. At higher values of ionic strength ATPase activity stopped rising before HMM was completely saturated with ATP. Higher ionic strength prevented ATPase activity from further increasing when the rigor links (links between actin and nucleotide-free m yosin), which have formerly protected the ATPase against the suppressing action of higher ionic strength, have fallen below a certain amount. This protecting influence of rigor links did not require tropo-myosin-troponin. 2. For complete activation of ATPase activity by actin less actin was needed when HMM was incompletely saturated with ATP than when it was completely saturated with ATP. 3. The apparent affinity of ATP to regulated acto-HMM (which contained tropomyosin-troponin) was lower than to unregulated acto-HMM (which was devoid of tropomyosin-troponin). In the presence of rigor complexes (indicated by an incomplete decrease of light scattering) the ATPase activity of regulated acto-HMM was higher than that of unregulated acto-HMM. At increasing ATP concentrations the ATPase activity of regulated acto-HMM stopped rising at a similar degree of saturation with ATP as the ATPase activity of unregulated acto-HMM at the same ionic strength. Introductio

Tropomyosin-troponin-induced changes in the partitioning of free energy release of actomyosin-catalyzed ATP hydrolysis as measured by ATP-phosphate exchange

ATPase activity and ATP-Pi exchange of unregulated (without tropomyosin-troponin) and regulated (with tropomyosin-troponin) acto-HMM were measured in media containing 0.2 mg/ml actin, HMM, and (when present) tropomyosin-troponin, 2 mM MgCl2, 10 m M KCl, 2 mM NaN3, 10 mM Pi(pH 7.0), 3 mM ATP. The following mean values for ATPase activity and for the rate of incorporation of P, into ATP (each per mg HMM and per min) were obtained: unregulated acto-HMM 0.33 nmol Pi and 0.33 nmol Pi, regulated acto-HMM 0.54 nmol Pi and 1.06 nmol P*. The ratio of P4 incorporation rate to ATPase activity was 1.01 × 10-3 for unregulated and 2.02 × 10-3 for regulated acto-HMM. From these ratios and from the overall free energy change of ATP hydrolysis it was calculated that under the prevailing experimental conditions in unregulated acto-HMM 62% and in regulated acto-HMM 66% of the free energy change of ATP hydrolysis occurs after the release of phosphate from actomyosin. It is probably this part of the free energy change that is used by the muscle for the performance of work

The competition between adenosine triphosphate and inorganic pyrophosphate for myosin and its suppression by substoichiometric actin concentrations

Inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi) inhibits not only Mg2+-ATPase activity of myosin subfragment 1 (S-1) but abolishes also the ATP-induced increment of tryptophan fluorescence of subfragment 1. At the concentrations used (25-50 micron ATP, 12 mm PPi) these effects of PPi were abolished by substoichiometric actin concentrations (approx. 0.1 microM actin vs. approx. 1 microM S-1), where ATPase activity was barely stimulated by actin