Project description:Background Epigenetic changes are involved in the extinction of the B-cell gene expression program of classical Hodgkin lymphoma. However, little is known regarding epigenetic similarities between classical Hodgkin lymphoma and plasma cell myeloma cells, both of which share an extinction of the gene expression program of mature B-cells. Design and methods Global histone H3 acetylation patterns were determined in cell lines derived from classical Hodgkin lymphoma, plasma cell myeloma and B-cell lymphoma by chromatin immunoprecipitation and subsequent hybridization onto promoter tiling arrays. H3K27 trimethylation was analyzed by chromatin immunoprecipitation and real-time DNA-PCR for selected genes. Epigenetic modifications were compared to gene expression data. Results B-cell characteristic genes were hypoacetylated in classical Hodgkin lymphoma and plasma cell myeloma cell lines, as demonstrated by comparison of their histone H3 acetylation patterns to those of B-cell lines. However, the number of genes jointly hyperacetylated and expressed in classical Hodgkin lymphoma and plasma cell myeloma cell lines, such as IFR4/MUM1 and RYBP, is limited. Moreover, H3K27 trimethylation for selected B-cell characteristic genes revealed that this additional epigenetic silencing is much more prevalent in classical Hodgkin lymphoma as compared to plasma cell myeloma. Conclusion Our epigenetic data support the view that classical Hodgkin lymphoma is characterized by an abortive plasma cell differentiation with a down-regulation of B-cell characteristic genes but without activation of most plasma cell typical genes.
Project description:Kynureninase is a member of a large family of catalytically diverse but structurally homologous pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) dependent enzymes known as the aspartate aminotransferase superfamily or alpha-family. The Homo sapiens and other eukaryotic constitutive kynureninases preferentially catalyze the hydrolytic cleavage of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine to produce 3-hydroxyanthranilate and l-alanine, while l-kynurenine is the substrate of many prokaryotic inducible kynureninases. The human enzyme was cloned with an N-terminal hexahistidine tag, expressed, and purified from a bacterial expression system using Ni metal ion affinity chromatography. Kinetic characterization of the recombinant enzyme reveals classic Michaelis-Menten behavior, with a Km of 28.3 +/- 1.9 microM and a specific activity of 1.75 micromol min-1 mg-1 for 3-hydroxy-dl-kynurenine. Crystals of recombinant kynureninase that diffracted to 2.0 A were obtained, and the atomic structure of the PLP-bound holoenzyme was determined by molecular replacement using the Pseudomonas fluorescens kynureninase structure (PDB entry 1qz9) as the phasing model. A structural superposition with the P. fluorescens kynureninase revealed that these two structures resemble the "open" and "closed" conformations of aspartate aminotransferase. The comparison illustrates the dynamic nature of these proteins' small domains and reveals a role for Arg-434 similar to its role in other AAT alpha-family members. Docking of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine into the human kynureninase active site suggests that Asn-333 and His-102 are involved in substrate binding and molecular discrimination between inducible and constitutive kynureninase substrates.