alpha-chymotrypsin and ajoene

The pharmacologic properties of ajoene, the major sulfur-containing compound purified from garlic, and its possible role in the prevention and treatment of cancer has received increasing attention. Several studies demonstrated that induction of apoptosis and cell cycle blockade are typical biologic effects observed in tumor cells after proteasome inhibition. The proteasome is responsible for the degradation of a variety of intracellular proteins and plays a key role in the regulation of many cellular processes. The aim of the present work was therefore to explore the effects of ajoene on the proteasome activities. In vitro activities of 20S proteasome purified from human erythrocytes on fluorogenic peptide substrates specific for trypsin-like, chymotrypsin-like and peptidylglutamyl peptide hydrolyzing activities revealed that ajoene inhibited the trypsin-like activity in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Further, the ability of 20S proteasome to degrade the OVA(51-71) peptide, a model proteasomal substrate, was partially but significantly inhibited by ajoene. In addition, when human leukemia cell line HL60 was treated with ajoene, both trypsin- and chymotrypsin-like activities were affected, cells arrested in G2/M phase and total amount of cytosolic proteasome increased. All these data clearly indicate that ajoene may affect proteasome function and activity both in vitro and in the living cell. This is a novel aspect in the biologic profile of this garlic compound giving new insights into the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of its potential antitumor action.

Topics: Acetylcysteine; Antineoplastic Agents; Cell Division; Chymotrypsin; Disulfides; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Enzyme Inhibitors; G2 Phase; Garlic; HL-60 Cells; Humans; Hybridomas; Ovalbumin; Peptides; Plant Extracts; Plant Stems; Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex; Proteasome Inhibitors; Sulfoxides; Time Factors; Trypsin

Ajoene, (E,Z)-4,5,9-trithiadodeca-1,6,11-triene 9-oxide, is a potent antiplatelet compound isolated from alcoholic extracts of garlic. In vitro, ajoene reversibly inhibits platelet aggregation as well as the release reaction induced by all known agonists. In this paper we show that ajoene has a unique locus of action, that is not shared by any other known antiplatelet compound. For example, ajoene inhibits agonist-induced exposure of fibrinogen receptors, as well as intracellular responses such as activation of protein kinase C and the increase in cytoplasmic free calcium induced by receptor-dependent agonists (collagen, ADP, PAF, low-dose thrombin). On the other hand, with agonists that can by-pass (at least partially) the receptor-transductor-effector sequence, such as high-dose thrombin, PMA, NaF, only the exposure of fibrinogen receptors is blocked by ajoene. Binding of fibrinogen to chymotrypsin-treated platelets is only slightly inhibited by ajoene. The results reported here also show that: (a) ajoene does not act as a calcium chelator, does not impair the initial agonist-receptor interaction and does not influence the basal levels of intracellular inhibitors of platelet activation such as cyclic GMP; (b) the locus of action of ajoene is a yet unknown molecular step that links, in the case of physiological agonists, specific agonist-receptor complexes to the sequence of the signal transduction system on the plasma membrane of platelets. In the case of non-physiological, receptor-independent agonists (PMA, NaF), we can only speculate on the hypothesis that they somehow mimic the effect of the agonist-receptor complexes on the signal transduction system; and (c) the exposure of fibrinogen receptors is not a direct consequence of other intracellular processes. These observations clearly show, for the first time, that the exposure of fibrinogen receptors is a membrane event proximally and obligatorily coupled to the occupancy of other membrane receptors by their agonists without any intervention by the cytoplasmic biochemical processes. Additional results support the involvement of G-proteins in these early events of platelet activation. Furthermore, a role of the beta tau subunits of G-proteins in the exposure of fibrinogen receptors is proposed.

Topics: Antibodies, Monoclonal; Blood Platelets; Calcium; Chymotrypsin; Collagen; Cytoplasm; Disulfides; Enzyme Activation; Epinephrine; Fibrinogen; GTP-Binding Proteins; Humans; Phosphorylation; Plant Extracts; Platelet Activating Factor; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; Platelet Membrane Glycoproteins; Protein Kinase C; Sodium Fluoride; Sulfoxides; Thrombin