Refine
Document Type
- Article (3)
- Doctoral Thesis (1)
Has Fulltext
- yes (4)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (4)
Keywords
- pancreas (4) (remove)
Institute
Publisher
- Dove Medical Press (1)
- Frontiers Media S.A. (1)
- MDPI (1)
Für die Therapie von Pankreaserkrankungen, insbesondere für fortgeschrittene Pankreasadenokarzinome gibt es kaum suffiziente Behandlungsmethoden. Durch chirurgische Interventionen kann der Tumor häufig nicht vollständig entfernt werden und eine pharmakologische Radiochemotherapie führt zu Nebenwirkungen, durch die die Lebensqualität der Patienten deutlich eingeschränkt wird. Durch den Einsatz von Prodrugs könnte dieses Problem gelöst werden. Bei Prodrugs handelt es sich um zunächst inaktive Pharmaka, die durch eine auf den Wirkort beschränkte enzymatische Spaltung aktiviert werden. Bei der humanen β–Glukuronidase handelt es sich um ein solches Enzym. Aufgrund ihrer extrazellulären Lokalisation und verstärkten Expression im Tumorgewebe verschiedenen Ursprungs ist sie für eine Prodrug-Therapie geeignet. Für einen erfolgreichen Einsatz der β–Glukuronidase in der Therapie von Pankreaserkrankungen sind Untersuchungen über die genaue Lokalisation im gesunden und pathologisch veränderten Pankreasgewebe wichtig. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es deshalb, die mRNA und das Protein in gesundem Pankreasgewebe, im akut und chronisch entzündeten Pankreasgewebe und in unterschiedlich weit entwickelten Pankreaskarzinomen zu lokalisieren und mittels densitometrischer und molekularbiologischer Analysen in diesen Präparaten zu quantifizieren. Mittels in situ Hybridisierung und Immunhistochemie konnte die β–Glukuronidase im gesunden Pankreasgewebe in exokrinen und gering schwächer in endokrinen Zellen lokalisiert werden. Im akut entzündeten Pankreasgewebe (Pankreatitis) wurde die β-Glukuronidase in exokrinen Zellen und in den pankreatischen Ausführungsgängen detektiert. Ebenfalls im exokrinen Pankreasgewebe aber nicht in den Ausführungsgängen konnte bei chronischer Pankreatitis die β-Glukuronidase nachgewiesen werden. Für die genaue Lokalisation der β-Glukuronidase-mRNA und -Proteins in Pankreastumoren standen Gewebeproben verschiedener „Tumor-Grading-Stufen“ zur Verfügung. Im G1, -G2- und G3-Tumorgewebe konnte die β-Glukuronidase in malignen exokrinen Drüsenzellen und im nekrotischen Gewebe lokalisiert werden. Außerdem konnte in der vorliegenden Arbeit bei Präparaten von chronischer Pankreatitis die β-Glukuronidase-Aktivität mittels enzymhistochemischer Methoden in pankreatischen Ausführgängen, exokrinen Drüsenzellen und in endokrinen Inselzellen detektiert werden. Im Zweiten Teil der Arbeit wurde die Expression der β-Glukuronidase im Pankreasgewebe untersucht. Die Untersuchungen zeigten die höchste Expression der β-Glukuronidase-mRNA im Karzinomgewebe im Vergleich zu normalem Gewebe. Dabei wurde in G1-Tumoren eine geringere β-Glukuronidase-mRNA-Expression als in G2- und G3-Pankreaskarzinomen nachgewiesen. Im Gegensatz dazu konnte der höchste β-Glukuronidase-Proteinlevel bei chronischer Pankreatitis nachgewiesen werden, gefolgt von G2- und G3-Pankreaskarzinomen. Die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit zeigen ein verstärktes Vorkommen der β-Glukuronidase in pathologisch verändertem Pankreasgewebe. Da aber gleichzeitig ein Nachweis in gesundem Pankreasgewebe und in verschiedenen anderen Zellen, wie z.B. Leukozyten erfolgte, könnte dies ein Problem in der Therapie spezifischer Pankreaserkrankungen mit β-Glukuronidase Prodrugs darstellen. Auf einen Einsatz von β-Glukuronidase Prodrugs in der Behandlung von Pankreaserkrankungen sollte deshalb verzichtet werden.
Aquaporins (AQPs) facilitate the transepithelial water flow involved in epithelial fluid secretion in numerous tissues; however, their function in the pancreas is less characterized. Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a serious disorder in which specific treatment is still not possible. Accumulating evidence indicate that decreased pancreatic ductal fluid secretion plays an essential role in AP; therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the physiological and pathophysiological role of AQPs in the pancreas. Expression and localization of AQPs were investigated by real-time PCR and immunocytochemistry, whereas osmotic transmembrane water permeability was estimated by the dye dilution technique, in Capan-1 cells. The presence of AQP1 and CFTR in the mice and human pancreas were investigated by immunohistochemistry. Pancreatic ductal HCO3- and fluid secretion were studied on pancreatic ducts isolated from wild-type (WT) and AQP1 knock out (KO) mice using microfluorometry and videomicroscopy, respectively. In vivo pancreatic fluid secretion was estimated by magnetic resonance imaging. AP was induced by intraperitoneal injection of cerulein and disease severity was assessed by measuring biochemical and histological parameters. In the mice, the presence of AQP1 was detected throughout the whole plasma membrane of the ductal cells and its expression highly depends on the presence of CFTR Cl- channel. In contrast, the expression of AQP1 is mainly localized to the apical membrane of ductal cells in the human pancreas. Bile acid treatment dose- and time-dependently decreased mRNA and protein expression of AQP1 and reduced expression of this channel was also demonstrated in patients suffering from acute and chronic pancreatitis. HCO3- and fluid secretion significantly decreased in AQP1 KO versus WT mice and the absence of AQP1 also worsened the severity of pancreatitis. Our results suggest that AQP1 plays an essential role in pancreatic ductal fluid and HCO3- secretion and decreased expression of the channel alters fluid secretion which probably contribute to increased susceptibility of the pancreas to inflammation.
(1) The serine protease inhibitor Kazal type 1 (SPINK1) inhibits trypsin activity in zymogen granules of pancreatic acinar cells. Several mutations in the SPINK1 gene are associated with acute recurrent pancreatitis (ARP) and chronic pancreatitis (CP). The most common variant is SPINK1 p.N34S. Although this mutation was identified two decades ago, the mechanism of action has remained elusive. (2) SPINK1 and human cationic trypsin (TRY1) were expressed in E. coli, and inhibitory activities were determined. Crystals of SPINK1–TRY1 complexes were grown by using the hanging-drop method, and phases were solved by molecular replacement. (3) Both SPINK1 variants show similar inhibitory behavior toward TRY1. The crystal structures are almost identical, with minor differences in the mutated loop. Both complexes show an unexpected rotamer conformation of the His63 residue in TRY1, which is a member of the catalytic triad. (4) The SPINK1 p.N34S mutation does not affect the inhibitory behavior or the overall structure of the protein. Therefore, the pathophysiological mechanism of action of the p.N34S variant cannot be explained mechanistically or structurally at the protein level. The observed histidine conformation is part of a mechanism for SPINK1 that can explain the exceptional proteolytic stability of this inhibitor.
Objective: The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying chronic pancreatitis (CP) are still poorly understood. Human cationic (TRY1) and anionic (TRY2) trypsins are the two major trypsin isoforms and their activities are tightly regulated within pancreatic acinar cells. Typically, they exist in a molar ratio of 2:1 (cationic:anionic). This ratio is reversed during chronic alcohol abuse, pancreatic cancer, or pancreatitis due to selectively upregulated expression of TRY2, causing anionic trypsin to become the predominant isoform. The involvement of TRY2 in pancreatitis is considered limited due to the absence of disease-causing mutations and its increased prevalence for autoproteolysis. However, exacerbated pancreatitis in TRY2 overexpressing mice was recently demonstrated. Here, we aim to elucidate the molecular structure of human anionic trypsin and obtain insights into the autoproteolytic regulation of tryptic activity.
Methods: Trypsin isoforms were recombinantly expressed in E. coli, purified and refolded. Enzymatic activities of all trypsin isoforms were determined and crystals of TRY2 were grown using the vapor-diffusion method. The structure was solved by molecular replacement and refined to a resolution of 1.7 Å. Equilibration molecular dynamics simulations were used to generate the corresponding TRY1–TRY1 model.
Results: All trypsin isoforms display similar kinetic properties. The crystal structure of TRY2 reveals that the enzyme crystallized in the autoproteolytic state with Arg122 placed in the S1 binding pocket and the corresponding loop cleaved. The TRY2–TRY2 dimer confirms a previously hypothesized autoinhibitory state with an unexpectedly large binding interface.
Conclusion: We provide a structure of TRY2, which is the predominant trypsin isoform in chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. A proposed autoinhibition mode was confirmed and the structural basis of the autoproteolytic failsafe mechanism elucidated.