Enzyme electrodes with substrate and co-enzyme amplification

The enzyme couples horseradish peroxidase/glucose dehydrogenase, glucose oxidase/glucose dehydrogenase, and cytochrome b₂/lactate dehydrogenase are applied in enzyme electrodes. Based on amplification by the recyclization reactions catalyzed by these two-enzyme systems, NADH, NAD⁺, glucose, lactate and pyruvate, are determined with 8–40-fold increased sensitivity compared to the unamplified reactions. Detection limits are 1.0 × 10^?6 M NADH, 1.2 × 10^?6 M NAD⁺, 8 × 10^?7 M glucose, and 3 × 10^?7 M lactate or pyruvate.     

Melatonin Reverses the Warburg-Type Metabolism and Reduces Mitochondrial Membrane Potential of Ovarian Cancer Cells Independent of MT1 Receptor Activation

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the most lethal gynecologic malignancy, and melatonin has shown various antitumor properties. Herein, we investigated the influence of melatonin therapy on energy metabolism and mitochondrial integrity in SKOV-3 cells and tested whether its effects depended on MT1 receptor activation. SKOV-3 cells were exposed to different melatonin concentrations, and experimental groups were divided as to the presence of MT1 receptors (melatonin groups) or receptor absence by RNAi silencing (siRNA MT1+melatonin). Intracellular melatonin levels increased after treatment with melatonin independent of the MT1. The mitochondrial membrane potential of SKOV-3 cells decreased in the group treated with the highest melatonin concentration. Melatonin reduced cellular glucose consumption, while MT1 knockdown increased its consumption. Interconversion of lactate to pyruvate increased after treatment with melatonin and was remarkable in siRNA MT1 groups. Moreover, lactate dehydrogenase activity decreased with melatonin and increased after MT1 silencing at all concentrations. The UCSC XenaBrowser tool showed a positive correlation between the human ASMTL gene and the ATP synthase genes, succinate dehydrogenase gene (SDHD), and pyruvate dehydrogenase genes (PDHA and PDHB). We conclude that melatonin changes the glycolytic phenotype and mitochondrial integrity of SKOV-3 cells independent of the MT1 receptor, thus decreasing the survival advantage of OC cells.     

High Performance Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method for Correlating the Metabolic Changes of Lactate,Pyruvate and L-Glutamine with Induced Tamoxifen Resistant MCF-7 Cell Line Potential Molecular Changes

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide usually treated with Tamoxifen. Tamoxifen resistance development is the most challenging issue in an initially responsive breast tumor, and mechanisms of resistance are still under investigation. The objective of this study is to develop and validate a selective, sensitive, and simultaneous high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method to explore the changes in substrates and metabolites in supernatant media of developed Tamoxifen resistance MCF-7 cells. We focus on the determination of lactate, pyruvate, and L-glutamine which enables the tracking of changes in metabolic pathways as a result of the resistance process. Chromatographic separation was achieved within 3.5 min. using a HILIC column (4.6 × 100 mm, 3.5 µm particle size) and mobile phase of 0.05 M acetic acid–ammonium acetate buffer solution pH 3.0: Acetonitrile (40:60 v/v). The linear range was 0.11–2.25, 0.012–0.227, and 0.02–0.20 mM for lactate, pyruvate, and L-glutamine, respectively. Within- and between-run accuracy was in the range 98.94-105.50% with precision (CV, %) of ≤0.86%. The results revealed a significant increase in both lactate and pyruvate production after acquiring the resistant. An increase in L-glutamine levels was also observed and could be attributed to its over production or decline in its consumption. Therefore, further tracking of genes responsible of lactate, pyruvate, and glutamine metabolic pathways should be performed in parallel to provide in-depth explanation of resistance mechanism.     

Cancer cell metabolism: implications for therapeutic targets

Cancer cell metabolism is characterized by an enhanced uptake and utilization of glucose, a phenomenon known as the Warburg effect. The persistent activation of aerobic glycolysis in cancer cells can be linked to activation of oncogenes or loss of tumor suppressors, thereby fundamentally advancing cancer progression. In this respect, inhibition of glycolytic capacity may contribute to an anticancer effect on malignant cells. Understanding the mechanisms of aerobic glycolysis may present a new basis for cancer treatment. Accordingly, interrupting lactate fermentation and/or other cancer-promoting metabolic sites may provide a promising strategy to halt tumor development. In this review, we will discuss dysregulated and reprogrammed cancer metabolism followed by clinical relevance of the metabolic enzymes, such as hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, pyruvate kinase M2, lactate dehydrogenase, pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase and glutaminase. The proper intervention of these metabolic sites may provide a therapeutic advantage that can help overcome resistance to chemotherapy or radiotherapy.     

Pyruvate cellular uptake and enzymatic conversion probed by dissolution DNP‐NMR: the impact of overexpressed membrane transporters

Pyruvate membrane crossing and its lactate dehydrogenase‐mediated conversion to lactate in cells featuring different levels of expression of membrane monocarboxylate transporters (MCT4) were probed by dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization‐enhanced NMR. Hyperpolarized ¹³C‐1‐labeled pyruvate was transferred to suspensions of rodent tumor cell carcinoma, cell line 39. The pyruvate‐to‐lactate conversion rate monitored by dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization‐NMR in carcinoma cells featuring native MCT4 expression level was lower than the rate observed for cells in which the human MCT4 gene was overexpressed. The enzymatic activity of lactate dehydrogenase was also assessed in buffer solutions, following the real‐time pyruvate‐to‐lactate conversion speeds at different enzyme concentrations. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flow Injection Analysis of Lactate and Lactate Dehydrogenase Using an Enzyme Membrane in Conjunction with a Modified Electrode

Abstract

A modified electrode for H₂O₂ oxidation, consisting of Pd/Au sputtered on carbon was covered with a lactate oxidase membrane and used in a FIA manifold for selective determination of lactate. The linear range was 0.01-3 mM lactate and up to 200 samples per hour were measured with a relative standard deviation of 1%. Interferences from ascorbic acid and NADH were small because of the low potential of the modified electrode. The lactate oxidase membrane electrode was also used for measurement of lactate dehydrogenase activity using direct injection of the sample into a carrier stream containing pyruvate and NAD⁺.     

In-line determination of metabolites and milk components with electrochemical biosensors

Electrochemical biosensors for lactate, pyruvate and β-hydroxybutyrate based on oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, and NADH sensors coupled with oxidase and dehydrogenase enzymes were developed and used in conjunction with an artificial pancreas in experiments with extracorporeal circulation. Such procedures allow the fate of these species involved in glucose metabolism to be clarified during insulin treatment of diabetic patients. Studies with a glucose oxidase electrode for in-line determination of glucose produced by hydrolysis of cellobiose in a bioreactor are reported; for the determination of glucose in the presence of high concentrations of cellobiose, the purity of glucose oxidase is important in obtaining linear calibration plots. Impurities like amylase, maltase, invertase, and galactose oxidase, which are usually present in commercial preparations of glucose oxidase, must be absent. Another application is the amperometric determination of lactose, lactate and glucose in milk samples by using a hydrogen peroxide sensor coupled with β-galactosidase, lactate oxidase and glucose oxidase. The procedures outlined are simple and the short response times enable milk to be monitored during processing.     

A replaceable dual-enzyme capillary microreactor using magnetic beads and its application for simultaneous detection of acetaldehyde and pyruvate

A novel replaceable dual-enzyme capillary microreactor was developed and evaluated using magnetic fields to immobilize the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH)- and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)-coated magnetic beads at desired positions in the capillary. The dual-enzyme assay was achieved by measuring the two consumption peaks of the coenzyme β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), which were related to the ADH reaction and LDH reaction. The dual-enzyme capillary microreactor was constructed using magnetic beads without any modification of the inner surface of the capillary, and showed great stability and reproducibility. The electrophoretic resolution for different analytes can be easily controlled by altering the relative distance of different enzyme-coated magnetic beads. The apparent K(m) values for acetaldehyde with ADH-catalyzed reaction and for pyruvate with LDH-catalyzed reaction were determined. The detection limits for acetaldehyde and pyruvate determination are 0.01 and 0.016 mM (S/N = 3), respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to simultaneously determine the acetaldehyde and pyruvate contents in beer samples. The results indicated that combing magnetic beads with CE is of great value to perform replaceable and controllable multienzyme capillary microreactor for investigation of a series of enzyme reactions and determination of multisubstrates.     

Real‐Time Monitoring of Cancer Cell Metabolism and Effects of an Anticancer Agent using 2D In‐Cell NMR Spectroscopy

Altered metabolism is a critical part of cancer cell properties, but real‐time monitoring of metabolomic profiles has been hampered by the lack of a facile method. Here, we propose real‐time metabolomic monitoring of live cancer cells using ¹³C₆‐glucose and heteronuclear two‐dimensional (2D) NMR. The method allowed for metabolomic differentiation between cancer and normal cells on the basis of time‐dependent changes in metabolite concentrations. Cancer cells were found to have large in‐ and out‐flux of pyruvate as well as increased net production of alanine and acetate. The method also enabled evaluation of the metabolic effects of galloflavin whose anticancer effects have been attributed to its specific inhibition of lactate dehydrogenase. Our approach revealed previously unknown functional targets of galloflavin, which were further confirmed at the protein levels. Our method is readily applicable to the study of metabolic alterations in other cellular disease model systems.     

Construction and characterization of fermentative lactate dehydrogenase Escherichia coli mutant and its potential for bacterial hydrogen production

In Escherichia coli, classified as a mixed-acid producer in fermentation, D-lactate is one of the final metabolites from pyruvate. In order to achieve a high efficiency of bacterial hydrogen production from glucose, we have constructed an E. coli strain deficient in fermentative lactate dehydrogenase (LDH-A) by P1 transduction. The mutant, designated as MC13-4, entirely lost LDH-A activity while retaining whole formate hydrogenlyase activity. This mutation resulted in an increase in hydrogen production based on glucose consumed. The effect of uptake hydrogenases on the hydrogen production was also discussed.     

Molecular recognition and signal processing in biosensors

The specificity of molecular recognition is reflected to a high degree by the selectivity of the respective biosensor response. Therefore, the application of highly specific enzymes offers advantages for analytical purposes. Using lactate monooxygenase in combination with lactate dehydrogenase and pyruvate kinase, sequentially acting enzyme electrodes for lactate, pyruvate, ADP and enzyme activities, e.g. lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase and aminotransferases were developed. A high sensitivity was achieved based on the cycling enzyme pairs hexokinase/pyruvate kinase for ATP and ADP, and lactate monooxygenase/malate dehydrogenase for malate and oxaloacetate, respectively. On the other hand, in a sensor for a large group of substances, the unspecific microsomal cytochrome P-450 system was applied.     

Andrographolide Exhibits Anticancer Activity against Breast Cancer Cells (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 Cells) through Suppressing Cell Proliferation and Inducing Cell Apoptosis via Inactivation of ER-α Receptor and PI3K/AKT/mTOR Signaling

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide. Chemotherapy followed by endocrine therapy is the standard treatment strategy after surgery or radiotherapy. However, breast cancer is highly resistant to the treatments leading to the recurrence of breast cancer. As a result, the development of alternative medicines derived from natural plants with fewer side effects is being emphasized. Andrographolide isolated from Andrographis paniculata is one of the potential substances with anti-cancer properties in a variety of cell types, including breast cancer cells. This study aims to investigate the anti-cancer effects of andrographolide in breast cancer cells by evaluating cell viability and apoptosis as well as its underlying mechanisms through estrogen receptor (ER)-dependent and PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathways. Cell viability, cell apoptosis, mRNA or miRNA, and protein expression were examined by MTT assay, Annexin V-FITC, qRT-PCR, and Western blot analysis, respectively. MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell viability was reduced in a concentration- and time-dependent manner after andrographolide treatment. Moreover, andrographolide induced cell apoptosis in both MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells by inhibiting Bcl-2 and enhancing Bax expression at both mRNA and protein levels. In MCF-7 cells, the ER-positive breast cancer, andrographolide showed an inhibitory effect on cell proliferation through downregulation of ERα, PI3K, and mTOR expression levels. Andrographolide also inhibited MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell proliferation via induction of cell apoptosis. However, the inhibition of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell proliferation of andrographolide treatment did not disrupt miR-21. Our findings showed that andrographolide possesses an anti-estrogenic effect by suppressing cell proliferation in MCF-7 cells. The effects were comparable to those of the anticancer drug fulvestrant in MCF-7 cells. This study provides new insights into the anti-cancer effect of andrographolide on breast cancer and suggests andrographolide as a potential alternative from the natural plant for treating breast cancer types that are resistant to tamoxifen and fulvestrant.     

Artemisinin-isatin hybrids with potential antiproliferative activity against breast cancer

Three series of artemisinin-isatin hybrids 8a-i, 10a-c and 11a-e were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their antiproliferative activity against breast cancer cells (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 and doxorubicin-resistant MCF-7 (MCF-7/DOX)), as well as the cytotoxicity towards normal MCF-10A breast cells. The preliminary results showed that a significant part of the synthesized hybrids (IC₅₀: 20.7–99.9 µM) were active against both drug-sensitive and doxorubicin-resistant breast cancer cell lines. The structure–activity relationship illustrated that the linker between artemisinin and isatin moieties as well as the substituents on C-3 and C-5 position of isatin motif had great influence on the activity. In particular, hybrids 11c,d were found to be most active against all tested breast cancer cell lines, and their activity was not inferior to that of doxorubicin. Therefore, hybrids 11c,d could serve as useful templates for the development of novel anti-breast cancer agents.     

姜黄素对食管癌KYSE410细胞的生长抑制与氧化调节

通过四氮唑蓝盐化合物(MTS)和重要氧化还原酶及其代谢物的试剂盒检测等方法, 考察了姜黄素对食管癌KYSE410细胞生长以及对细胞氧化还原状态和代谢的影响. 结果表明, 姜黄素对KYSE410细胞具有较强的抑制作用, 其IC₅₀=17.9 μmol/L. 进一步研究发现, 姜黄素可引起细胞培养上层清液中超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)和丙二醛(MDA)水平发生变化. 当姜黄素浓度为40 μmol/L时, MDA水平比对照组提高了125.1%, 而SOD水平则降低了43.2%; 同时, 乳酸水平降低了44.4%, 乳酸脱氢酶的活性下降了58.2%, 丙酮酸激酶的活性升高了216.7%. 姜黄素可能通过干扰氧化还原途径, 致使发生脂质过氧化反应, 并抑制肿瘤细胞糖酵解作用, 进而抑制食管癌KYSE410细胞增殖.     

Antiglioma pseurotin A from marine Bacillus sp. FS8D regulating tumour metabolic enzymes

Pseurotin A was isolated from a culture of marine Bacillus sp. FS8D and showed to be active against the proliferation of four different glioma cells with IC₅₀ values of 0.51–29.3 μM. It has been found that pseurotin A downregulated the expression of tumour glycolytic enzymes pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) and lactate dehydrogenase 5 (LDH5) and upregulated the expression of pyruvate dehydrogenase beta (PDHB), adenosine triphosphate synthase beta (ATPB) and cytochrome C (Cyto-C), the important regulators for tricarboxylic acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation. The data suggested that targeting multiple metabolic enzymes might be one of the antiglioma mechanisms of pseurotin A.     

Optimization of flow-injection systems for determination of substrates by means of enzyme amplification reactions and chemiluminescence detection

A flow-injection system is described that incorporates a small column reactor containing two co-immobilized, synergistically operating oxidoreductases, allowing determination of minute amounts of substrates by means of enzyme amplification and subsequent chemiluminescence detection of the hydrogen peroxide generated in the repeated redox cycling. With lactate oxidase and lactate dehydrogenase, and taking advantage of the fact that the enzymatic degradation step and the ensuing detection step can be individually optimized, the FIA-system has been optimized by factorial experiments to yield an amplification factor of over 140 for each of the two substrates lactate and pyruvate. With a linear calibration range of 0-6muM, the limits of detection for the two species were 48 and 103nM, respectively, and the sampling rate was 50-60/hr. The optimized system has also been employed for assay of glucose by utilizing a column reactor with immobilized glucose oxidase and glucose dehydrogenase, but yielded amplification factors of only 3-4. The large discrepancy in the performance of the two enzyme systems is discussed.     

Formulation of gold nanoparticles with hibiscus and curcumin extracts induced anti-cancer activity

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have shown a potential for biological applications due to their biocompatibility and high efficiency in drug delivery. Most of the times, the chemical routs are being used to synthesize the AuNPs products. In this paper, eco-friendly non-chemical rout was used to prepare AuNPs by utilizing hibiscus and curcumin extracts as reducing and stabilizing agents, and subsequently their anticancer activities were investigated. The synthesized AuNPs were characterized by using ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis spectroscopy), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). UV–Vis spectroscopy analysis confirmed the characteristics absorption peak of gold, and FTIR findings were highlighted the characteristics boding. SEM and TEM analyses showed that the particles were predominantly spherical in shape. The particles were well dispersed when they were prepared under Hibiscus extracts with average size ～ 13 nm. An interesting morphology was observed when AuNPs were prepared with curcumin, where particles displayed an interconnected morphology (average size ～ 18 nm). The anticancer cell activity of AuNPs was studied against human colorectal carcinoma cells (HCT-116) and breast cancer cells (Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7)). The results of anticancer study showed that the treatment of cancer cells with AuNPs decreased the number of cells significantly as compared to control cells. The AuNPs -Hibiscus specimen showed a better inhibiting property than AuNPs -Curcumin, which is attributed to their uniform dispersion and small size.     

A Biosensor for ADP with Internal Substrate Amplification

Abstract

An enzyme electrode was constructed from an oxygen electrode and a layer incorporating four enzyme systems for the sensitive determination of ADP and ATP. The cofactor is cycled between pyruvate kinase and hexokinase under formation of pyruvate which is detected by the coimmobilized, sequentially acting enzymes lactate dehydrogenase and lactate monooxygenase. The enzymatic recycling results in a 220-fold increased sensitivity to ADP compared to the unamplified reaction.     

In Vivo Regulation of Alcohol Dehydrogenase and Lactate Dehydrogenase in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhizopus Oryzae</Emphasis> to Improve <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-Lactic Acid Fermentation

Rhizopus oryzae is becoming more important due to its ability to produce an optically pure l-lactic acid. However, fermentation by Rhizopus usually suffers from low yield because of production of ethanol as a byproduct. Limiting ethanol production in living immobilized R. oryzae by inhibition of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) was observed in shake flask fermentation. The effects of ADH inhibitors added into the medium on the regulation of ADH and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) as well as the production of cell biomass, lactic acid, and ethanol were elucidated. 1,2-diazole and 2,2,2-trifluroethanol were found to be the effective inhibitors used in this study. The highest lactic acid yield of 0.47 g/g glucose was obtained when 0.01 mM 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol was present during the production phase of the pregrown R. oryzae. This represents about 38% increase in yield as compared with that from the simple glucose fermentation. Fungal metabolism was suppressed when iodoacetic acid, N-ethylmaleimide, 4,4′-dithiodipyridine, or 4-hydroxymercury benzoic acid were present. Dramatic increase in ADH and LDH activities but slight change in product yields might be explained by the inhibitors controlling enzyme activities at the pyruvate branch point. This showed that in living R. oryzae, the inhibitors regulated the flux through the related pathways.     

Metabolic Studies of Tumor Cells Using [1-13C] Pyruvate Hyperpolarized by Means of PHIP-Side Arm Hydrogenation

The kinetics of metabolic processes can be assessed, in real time by means of MR hyperpolarized (HP) metabolites. [1-¹³C]pyruvate, hyperpolarized by means of d-DNP, is, by far, the substrate most widely applied to the investigation of several pathologies characterized by deregulated glycolytic metabolic networks, including cancer. Hyperpolarization of [1-¹³C]pyruvate by means of the cost effective, fast and easy to handle PHIP-SAH (para-hydrogen induced polarization-side arm hydrogenation) method opens-up a pathway for the application of HP metabolites to a wide range of cancer-related studies. Herein, we report the first application of PHIP-SAH hyperpolarized [1-¹³C]pyruvate in the investigation of upregulated glycolysis in two murine breast cancer cell lines (168FARN and 4T1). The results obtained using HP pyruvate have been validated with a conventional biochemical assay and are coherent with previously-reported lactate dehydrogenase activity measured in those cells.