Lydia A Finney

Publications of Lydia A Finney

• Metabolism of selenite in human lung cancer cells: X-ray absorption and fluorescence studies.

  Authors: Claire M Weekley, Jade B Aitken, Stefan Vogt, Lydia A Finney, David J Paterson, Martin D de Jonge, Daryl L Howard, Paul K Witting, Ian F Musgrave, Hugh H Harris

  Journal of the American Chemical Society. 09/2011; 133(45):18272-9.

  Selenite is an inorganic form of selenium that has a cytotoxic effect against several human cancer cell lines: one or more selenite metabolites are considered to be responsible for its toxicity.Selenite is an inorganic form of selenium that has a cytotoxic effect against several human cancer cell lines: one or more selenite metabolites are considered to be responsible for its toxicity. X-ray absorption spectroscopy was used to monitor Se speciation in A549 human lung cancer cells incubated with selenite over 72 h. As anticipated, selenodiglutathione and elemental Se both comprised a large proportion of Se in the cells between 4 and 72 h after treatment, which is in accordance with the reductive metabolism of selenite in the presence of glutathione and glutathione reductase/NADPH system. Selenocystine was also present in the cells but was only detected as a significant component between 24 and 48 h concomitant with a decrease in the proportion of selenocysteine and the viability of the cells. The change in speciation from the selenol, selenocysteine, to the diselenide, selenocystine, is indicative of a change in the redox status of the cells to a more oxidizing environment, likely brought about by metabolites of selenite. X-ray fluorescence microscopy of single cells treated with selenite for 24 h revealed a punctate distribution of Se in the cytoplasm. The accumulation of Se was associated with a greater than 2-fold increase in Cu, which was colocalized with Se. Selenium K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy revealed Se-Se and Se-S bonding, but not Se-Cu bonding, despite the spatial association of Se and Cu. Microprobe X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy (μ-XANES) showed that the highly localized Se species was mostly elemental Se.

• Calcium-dependent copper redistributions in neuronal cells revealed by a fluorescent copper sensor and X-ray fluorescence microscopy.

  Authors: Sheel C Dodani, Dylan W Domaille, Christine I Nam, Evan W Miller, Lydia A Finney, Stefan Vogt, Christopher J Chang

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 03/2011; 108(15):5980-5.

  Dynamic fluxes of s-block metals like potassium, sodium, and calcium are of broad importance in cell signaling. In contrast, the concept of mobile transition metals triggered by cell activationDynamic fluxes of s-block metals like potassium, sodium, and calcium are of broad importance in cell signaling. In contrast, the concept of mobile transition metals triggered by cell activation remains insufficiently explored, in large part because metals like copper and iron are typically studied as static cellular nutrients and there are a lack of direct, selective methods for monitoring their distributions in living cells. To help meet this need, we now report Coppersensor-3 (CS3), a bright small-molecule fluorescent probe that offers the unique capability to image labile copper pools in living cells at endogenous, basal levels. We use this chemical tool in conjunction with synchotron-based microprobe X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XRFM) to discover that neuronal cells move significant pools of copper from their cell bodies to peripheral processes upon their activation. Moreover, further CS3 and XRFM imaging experiments show that these dynamic copper redistributions are dependent on calcium release, establishing a link between mobile copper and major cell signaling pathways. By providing a small-molecule fluorophore that is selective and sensitive enough to image labile copper pools in living cells under basal conditions, CS3 opens opportunities for discovering and elucidating functions of copper in living systems.

• Uptake, distribution, and speciation of selenoamino acids by human cancer cells: X-ray absorption and fluorescence methods.

  Authors: Claire M Weekley, Jade B Aitken, Stefan Vogt, Lydia A Finney, David J Paterson, Martin D de Jonge, Daryl L Howard, Ian F Musgrave, Hugh H Harris

  Biochemistry. 02/2011; 50(10):1641-50.

  Selenium compounds exhibit chemopreventative properties at supranutritional doses, but the efficacy of selenium supplementation in cancer prevention is dependent on the chemical speciation of theSelenium compounds exhibit chemopreventative properties at supranutritional doses, but the efficacy of selenium supplementation in cancer prevention is dependent on the chemical speciation of the selenium supplement and its metabolites. The uptake, speciation, and distribution of the common selenoamino acid supplements, selenomethionine (SeMet) and Se-methylselenocysteine (MeSeCys), in A549 human lung cancer cells were investigated using X-ray absorption and fluorescence spectroscopies. X-ray absorption spectroscopy of bulk cell pellets treated with the selenoamino acids for 24 h showed that while selenium was found exclusively in carbon-bound forms in SeMet-treated cells, a diselenide component was identified in MeSeCys-treated cells in addition to the carbon-bound selenium species. X-ray fluorescence microscopy of single cells showed that selenium accumulated with sulfur in the perinuclear region of SeMet-treated cells after 24 h, but microprobe selenium X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy in this region indicated that selenium was carbon-bound rather than sulfur-bound. X-ray absorption and X-ray fluorescence studies both showed that the selenium content of MeSeCys-treated cells was much lower than that of SeMet-treated cells. Selenium was distributed homogeneously throughout the MeSeCys-treated cells.

• Transition metal speciation in the cell: insights from the chemistry of metal ion receptors.

  Authors: Lydia A Finney, Thomas V O'Halloran

  Science (New York, N.Y.). 06/2003; 300(5621):931-6.

  The essential transition metal ions are avidly accumulated by cells, yet they have two faces: They are put to use as required cofactors, but they also can catalyze cytotoxic reactions. SeveralThe essential transition metal ions are avidly accumulated by cells, yet they have two faces: They are put to use as required cofactors, but they also can catalyze cytotoxic reactions. Several families of proteins are emerging that control the activity of intracellular metal ions and help confine them to vital roles. These include integral transmembrane transporters, metalloregulatory sensors, and diffusible cytoplasmic metallochaperone proteins that protect and guide metal ions to targets. It is becoming clear that many of these proteins use atypical coordination chemistry to accomplish their unique goals. The different coordination numbers, types of coordinating residues, and solvent accessibilities of these sites are providing insight into the inorganic chemistry of the cytoplasm.

• Crystal structure and dimerization equilibria of PcoC, a methionine-rich copper resistance protein from Escherichia coli.

  Authors: Amy K Wernimont, David L Huffman, Lydia A Finney, Borries Demeler, Thomas V O'Halloran, Amy C Rosenzweig

  Journal of biological inorganic chemistry : JBIC : a publication of the Society of Biological Inorganic Chemistry. 02/2003; 8(1-2):185-94.

  PcoC is a soluble periplasmic protein encoded by the plasmid-born pco copper resistance operon of Escherichia coli. Like PcoA, a multicopper oxidase encoded in the same locus and its chromosomalPcoC is a soluble periplasmic protein encoded by the plasmid-born pco copper resistance operon of Escherichia coli. Like PcoA, a multicopper oxidase encoded in the same locus and its chromosomal homolog CueO, PcoC contains unusual methionine rich sequences. Although essential for copper resistance, the functions of PcoC, PcoA, and their conserved methionine-rich sequences are not known. Similar methionine motifs observed in eukaryotic copper transporters have been proposed to bind copper, but there are no precedents for such metal binding sites in structurally characterized proteins. The high-resolution structures of apo PcoC, determined for both the native and selenomethionine-containing proteins, reveal a seven-stranded beta barrel with the methionines unexpectedly housed on a solvent-exposed loop. Several potential metal-binding sites can be discerned by comparing the structures to spectroscopic data reported for copper-loaded PcoC. In the native structure, the methionine loop interacts with the same loop on a second molecule in the asymmetric unit. In the selenomethionine structure, the methionine loops are more exposed, forming hydrophobic patches on the protein surface. These two arrangements suggest that the methionine motifs might function in protein-protein interactions between PcoC molecules or with other methionine-rich proteins such as PcoA. Analytical ultracentrifugation data indicate that a weak monomer-dimer equilibrium exists in solution for the apo protein. Dimerization is significantly enhanced upon binding Cu(I) with a measured delta(deltaG degrees )<or=-8.0 kJ/mole, suggesting that copper might bind at the dimer interface.

• A new zinc-protein coordination site in intracellular metal trafficking: solution structure of the Apo and Zn(II) forms of ZntA(46-118).

  Authors: Lucia Banci, Ivano Bertini, Simone Ciofi-Baffoni, Lydia A Finney, Caryn E Outten, Thomas V O'Halloran

  Journal of molecular biology. 12/2002; 323(5):883-97.

  Zinc, a metal ion that functions in a wide variety of catalytic and structural sites in metalloproteins, is shown here to adopt a novel coordination environment in the Escherichia coli transportZinc, a metal ion that functions in a wide variety of catalytic and structural sites in metalloproteins, is shown here to adopt a novel coordination environment in the Escherichia coli transport protein ZntA. The ZntA protein is a P-type ATPase that pumps zinc out of the cytoplasm and into the periplasm. It is physiologically selective for Zn(II) and functions with metalloregulatory proteins in the cell to keep the zinc quota within strict limits. Yet, the N-terminal cytoplasmic domain contains a region that is highly homologous to the yeast Cu(I) metallochaperone Atx1. To investigate how the structure of this region may influence its function, this fragment, containing residues 46-118, has been cloned out of the gene and overexpressed. We report here the solution structure of this fragment as determined by NMR. Both the apo and Zn(II)-ZntA(46-118) structures have been determined. It contains a previously unknown protein coordination site for zinc that includes two cysteine residues, Cys59 and Cys62, and a carboxylate residue, Asp58. The solvent accessibility of this site is also remarkably high, a feature that increasingly appears to be a characteristic of domains of heavy metal ion transport proteins. The participation of Asp58 in this ZntA metal ion binding site may play an important role in modulating the relative affinities and metal exchange rates for Zn(II)/Pb(II)/Cd(II) as compared with other P-type ATPases, which are selective for Cu(I) or Ag(I).

• Spectroscopy of Cu(II)-PcoC and the multicopper oxidase function of PcoA, two essential components of Escherichia coli pco copper resistance operon.

  Authors: David L Huffman, Jennifer Huyett, F Wayne Outten, Peter E Doan, Lydia A Finney, Brian M Hoffman, Thomas V O'Halloran

  Biochemistry. 09/2002; 41(31):10046-55.

  The plasmid-encoded pco copper resistance operon in Escherichia coli consists of seven genes that are expressed from two pco promoters in response to elevated copper; however, little is known aboutThe plasmid-encoded pco copper resistance operon in Escherichia coli consists of seven genes that are expressed from two pco promoters in response to elevated copper; however, little is known about how they mediate resistance to excess environmental copper. Two of the genes encode the soluble periplasmic proteins PcoA and PcoC. We show here that inactivation of PcoC, and PcoA to a lesser extent, causes cells to become more sensitive to copper than wild-type nonresistant strains, consistent with a tightly coupled detoxification pathway. Periplasmic extracts show copper-inducible oxidase activity, attributed to the multicopper oxidase function of PcoA. PcoC, a much smaller protein than PcoA, binds one Cu(II) and exhibits a weak electronic transition characteristic of a type II copper center. ENDOR and ESEEM spectroscopy of Cu(II)-PcoC and the (15)N- and Met-CD(3)-labeled samples are consistent with a tetragonal ligand environment of three nitrogens and one aqua ligand "in the plane". A weakly associated S-Met and aqua are likely axial ligands. At least one N is a histidine and is likely trans to the in-plane aqua ligand. The copper chemistry of PcoC and the oxidase function of PcoA are consistent with the emerging picture of the chromosomally encoded copper homeostasis apparatus in the E. coli cell envelope [Outten, F. W., Huffman, D. L., Hale, J. A., and O'Halloran, T. V. (2001) J. Biol. Chem. 276, 30670-30677]. We propose a model for the plasmid system in which Cu(I)-PcoC functions in this copper efflux pathway as a periplasmic copper binding protein that docks with the multiple repeats of Met-rich domains in PcoA to effect oxidation of Cu(I) to the less toxic Cu(II) form. The solvent accessibility of the Cu(II) in PcoC may allow for metal transfer to other plasmid and chromosomal factors and thus facilitate removal of Cu(II) from the cell envelope.