bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Triacylglycerol metabolism in the phenobarbital-treated rat
Authors: Goldberg David M. , Roomi M. Waheed , Yu Alexander , Roncari Daniel A. K.
Published: August 2015

1. Various aspects of triacylglycerol metabolism were compared in rats given phenobarbital at a dose of 100mg/kg body wt. per day by intraperitoneal injection; controls were injected with an equal volume of 0.15m-NaCl by the same route. Animals were killed after 5 days of treatment. 2. Rats injected with phenobarbital demonstrated increased liver weight, and increased microsomal protein per g of liver. Other evidence of microsomal enzyme induction was provided by increased activity of aminopyrine N-demethylase and cytochrome P-450 content. Increased hepatic activity of γ-glutamyltransferase (EC 2.3.2.2) occurred in male rats, but not in females, and was not accompanied by any detectable change in the activity of this enzyme in serum. 3. Phenobarbital treatment increased the hepatic content of triacylglycerol after 5 days in starved male and female rats, as well as in non-starved male rats; non-starved females were not tested in this regard. At 5 days after withdrawal of the drug, there was no difference in hepatic triacylglycerol content or in hepatic functions of microsomal enzyme induction between the treated and control rats. 4. After 5 days, phenobarbital increased the synthesis in vitro of glycerolipids in cell-free liver fractions fortified with optimal concentrations of substrates and co-substrates when results were expressed per whole liver. The drug caused a significant increment in the activity of hepatic diacylglycerol acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.20), but did not affect the activity per liver of phosphatidate phosphohydrolase (EC 3.1.3.4) in cytosolic or washed microsomal fractions. A remarkable sex-dependent difference was observed for this latter enzyme. In female rats, the activity of the microsomal enzyme per liver was 10-fold greater than that of the cytosolic enzyme, whereas in males, the activities of phosphohydrolases per liver from both subcellular fractions were similar. 5. The phenobarbital-mediated increase in hepatic triacylglycerol content could not be explained by a decrease in the hepatic triacylglycerol secretion rate as measured by the Triton WR1339 technique. Since the hepatic triacylglycerol showed significant correlation with microsomal enzyme induction functions, with hepatic glycerolipid synthesis in vitro and with diacylglycerol acyltransferase activity, it is likely to be due to enhanced triacylglycerol synthesis consequent on hepatic microsomal enzyme induction. 6. In contrast with rabbits and guinea pigs, rats injected with phenobarbital showed a decrease in serum triacylglycerol concentration in the starved state; this decrease persisted for up to 5 days after drug administration stopped, and did not occur in non-starved animals. It seems to be independent of the microsomal enzyme-inducing properties of the drug, and may be due to the action of phenobarbital at an extrahepatic site.
The separate roles of glucose and insulin in the induction of glucokinase in hepatocytes isolated from neonatal rats
Authors: Wakelam M J , Walker D G
Published: August 2015

1. The specificity of the effect of glucose on the induction of glucokinase activity that occurs when hepatocytes freshly isolated from 13-day-old rats are incubated in Medium 199 together with insulin [Wakelam & Walker (1980) FEBS Lett. 111, 115-119] was examined. A pattern that is different from other known effects of glucose is found, and metabolism of this compound is not necessarily to account for this particular effect. 2. The effects of a raised glucose concentration and of insulin on the induction can be separated. The hexose initiates the process in the absence of insulin in a manner that is sensitive to actinomycin D but not to cycloheximide. The subsequent effect of insulin is dependent on the prior effect of glucose or other positive analogue, does not require the presence of glucose and is inhibited by cycloheximide but not by actinomycin D. 3. Induction of glucokinase in vitro in hepatocytes from neonatal animals is inhibited by adrenaline, glucagon and dibutyryl cyclic AMP, but not by vasopressin or angiotensin II. The inhibition by cyclic AMP is on the stage requiring insulin and is comparatively specific, because total protein synthesis is not apparently diminished. 4. The implications of these results are discussed with reference to possible mechanisms of induction and to the situation in vivo.
Identification of the protein responsible for pyruvate transport into rat liver and heart mitochondria by specific labelling with [3H]N-phenylmaleimide
Authors: Thomas A P , Halestrap A P
Published: August 2015

1. N-Phenylmaleimide irreversibly inhibits pyruvate transport into rat heart and liver mitochondria to a much greater extent than does N-ethylmaleimide, iodoacetate or bromopyruvate. alpha-Cyanocinnamate protects the pyruvate transporter from attack by this thiol-blocking reagent. 2. In both heart and liver mitochondria alpha-cyanocinnamate diminishes labelling by [3H]N-phenylmaleimide of a membrane protein of subunit mol.wt. 15000 on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. 3. Exposure of mitochondrial to unlabelled N-phenylmaleimide in the presence of alpha-cyanocinnamate, followed by removal of alpha-cyanocinnamate and exposure to [3H]N-phenylmaleimide, produced specific labelling of the same protein. 4. Both labelling and kinetic experiments with inhibitors gave values for the approximate amount of carrier present in liver and heart mitochondria of 100 and 450 pmol/mg of mitochondrial protein respectively. 5. The turnover numbers for net pyruvate transport and pyruvate exchange at 0 degrees C were 6 and 200 min-1 respectively.
On the insensitivity of sheep to the almost complete microbial destruction of dietary choline before alimentary-tract absorption
Authors: Dawson R M , Grime D W , Lindsay D B
Published: August 2015

1. Injection of [Me-14C]choline into sheep indicated that the small amount of phosphatidylcholine present in abomasal digesta was largely (69%) of non-dietary or ruminal origin. 2. Long-term feeding of [Me-3H]choline to sheep produced insignificant labelling of plasma phosphatidylcholine, indicating that more than 99% of the choline body pool was of non-dietary origin. 3. In contrast, when rats were fed with [Me-3H]choline for similar periods, 18-54% of the tissue phosphatidylcholine was derived from dietary choline. 4. The loss of [14C]choline and 32P from the plasma phosphatidylcholine after a single injection of these isotopes indicated a markedly slower turnover of choline in the sheep compared with the rat. This observation, coupled with a lack of liver glycerophosphocholine diesterase, provides an explanation for the insensitivity of the sheep to an almost complete microbial destruction of dietary choline before alimentary-tract absorption.
Utilization of l-alanine and l-glutamine by lactating mammary gland of the rat. A role for l-alanine as a lipogenic precursor
Authors: Viña J R , Williamson D H
Published: August 2015

1. Lactation is associated with an increase in the arterial blood concentration of L-alanine and L-glutamate, but a decrease in that of L-glutamine compared with the corresponding values for virgin rats. 2. Virgin rats fed a ‘cafeteria diet’ that induces hyperphagia have increased arterial concentrations of L-alanine, L-glutamate and L-glutamine. During lactation L-alanine and L-glutamate concentrations are even higher. 3. The removal of L-alanine is decreased in hepatocytes from lactating rats fed either a chow or cafeteria diet. 4. Measurements of arteriovenous differences across lactating mammary glands indicate that appreciable amounts of L-glutamine and L-alanine are extracted by the gland. 5. A high proportion of the L-alanine metabolized by isolated acini from fed lactating rats is converted into lipid. 6. Metabolism of L-alanine in acini from starved lactating rats is limited by the activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase. 7. It is concluded that L-alanine and certain other amino acids taken up by the gland in excess of the requirements for protein synthesis can be converted into lipid.
Studies on the substrate specificity and inducibility of cytochrome P-450meg
Authors: Berg A , Rafter J J
Published: August 2015

The cytochrome P-450-dependent steroid 15 beta-hydroxylase system in Bacillus megaterium A.T.C.C. 13368 was investigated with regard to its appearance in the cell with respect to the growth curve of the organism, with regard to its inducibility by a number of agents (among them some of the classical inducers of the mammalian liver microsomal cytochrome P-450 system) and with regard to its capacity to convert non-steroidal substances into oxygenated compounds. The enzyme was found to reach a maximum concentration in the cell during the stationary phase of the growth curve. Of all the agents tested as inducers, none showed any capacity to induce cytochrome P-450meg. Finally, of the substances tested as substrates only aniline (p-hydroxylation) was metabolized by the microbial enzyme system. This conversion might be related to the general oxygenase activity of haemoproteins. It is concluded that the substrate specificity of the B. megaterium hydroxylase system is narrow.
The removal of partially metabolized very-low-density lipoproteins by the perfused rat liver
Authors: Suri B S , Targ M E , Robinson D S
Published: August 2015

1. Donor perfused rat livers were used to prepare VLD (very-low-density) lipoproteins, labelled in their triacylglycerol and protein components with [1-14C]oleic acid and L-[4,5-3H]leucine respectively. Partially metabolized VLD lipoproteins, similarly labelled, were obtained from supradiaphragmatic rats injected with the parent VLD lipoproteins. 2. The triacylglycerol and protein components of the partially metabolized VLD lipoproteins were removed by recipient perfused rat livers at rates much higher than those of the parent VLD lipoproteins. No degradation of the partially metabolized VLD lipoproteins to LD (low-density) lipoproteins occurred during the perfusions. 3. Removal of hepatic lipase from the livers did not significantly affect the rate of removal of the partially metabolized VLD lipoproteins.
[14C]acetylcholine synthesis and [14C]carbon dioxide production from [U-14C]glucose by tissue prisms from human neocortex
Authors: Sims N R , Bowen D M , Davison A N
Published: August 2015

1. [14C]Acetylcholine synthesis and 14CO2 production from [U-14C]glucose has been measured in tissue prism preparations from human neocortex. 2. Electron micrographs of prisms from human and rat neocortex show that both contain intact synaptic endings with evenly-distributed vesicles and normal-appearing mitochondria, but only poorly preserved cell body structure. 3. Synthesis of [14C]acetylcholine in prisms from rat neocortex is similar to estimates for turnover in vivo. Synthesis in prisms from human neocortex is 18% of that in rat tissue and 64% of that in tissue from baboon neocortex for incubations performed in 31 mM-K+. 4. Investigations of prisms prepared from rat brains stored at 37 degrees C after death revealed that synthesis of [14C]acetylcholine in the presence of 31 mM-K+ was greatly decreased within 30 min of post-mortem incubation, whereas synthesis at 5 mM-K+ and production of 14CO2 at both K+ concentrations were only significantly affected after longer periods. Changes were similar in neocortex and striatum. Thus human autopsy material is unlikely to be suitable for use with this system. 5. Investigations using animal models suggest that [14C]acetylcholine synthesis and 14CO2 production are not affected by surgical or anaesthetic procedures. 6. Neither [14C]acetylcholine synthesis nor 14CO2 production in human prisms was significantly changed with age between 15 and 68 years. 7. Samples from patients with the dementing condition Alzheimer's disease showed a significant decrease in [14C]acetylcholine synthesis to 47% of normal samples and a significant increase of 39% in production of 14CO2.
Turnover and uptake by organs of radioactive serum high-density lipoprotein cholesteryl esters and phospholipids in the rat in vivo
Authors: Van't Hooft Ferdinand M. , Van Gent Teus , Van Tol Arie
Published: August 2015

The serum decay of rat serum high-density lipoprotein (HD lipoprotein), labelled biosynthetically with 32P in the phospholipid or with 3H in the cholesteryl ester moiety, was measured in rats after partial hepatectomy or sham operation. The serum decay of 3H-labelled HD lipoprotein cholesteryl esters was biexponential. In sham-operated rats the t½ values for the rapid phase and the slow phase were 0.2±0.1h and 4.2±0.4h (means±s.e.m.) respectively. After removal of two-thirds of the liver the t½ value of the rapid phase did not change (0.1±0.1h), whereas the t½ value of the slow phase increased to 5.7±0.8h. Partial hepatectomy hardly changed extrahepatic tissue radioactivities, whereas the percentage of the injected dose recovered in the liver 6h after injection decreased from 34.0±1.9% before to 13.5±1.6% after partial hepatectomy. The 32P-labelled HD lipoprotein phospholipids showed a rapid monoexponential decay from serum with t½ values of 0.71±0.3h and 1.48±0.11h after sham operation or partial hepatectomy respectively. The tissue 32P radioactivities in the shamoperated rats, measured 1h after injection, were 46.0±1.7% (liver), 1.7±0.3% (adipose tissue), 3.7±1.2% (skeletal muscle) and 3.0±0.0% (erythrocytes) of the injected dose. Only the value for liver was affected by partial hepatectomy and decreased to 16.7±3.8%. In a previous publication [Van Tol, Van Gent, Van' Hooft & Vlaspolder (1978) Atherosclerosis29, 439–448] we showed in a highly comparable experimental setting that the turnover rates of HD apolipoproteins A and C in vivo are not influenced by removal of two-thirds of the liver. From the present study it is clear that the removal rates of radioactive HD lipoprotein cholesteryl esters and HD lipoprotein phospholipids from serum in vivo are decreased by partial hepatectomy. The results indicate the possibility of partly separate metabolic pathways of HD apolipoproteins A and C, HD lipoprotein cholesteryl esters and HD lipoprotein phospholipids. The phospholipids and cholesteryl esters of HD lipoprotein are metabolized predominantly by the liver. Possible mechanisms for the hepatic uptake and metabolism of HD lipoprotein cholesteryl (esters) and phospholipids are discussed.
Effects of liver damage on ketone-body production and nitrogen balance in starved rats
Authors: Flatt J. P. , Quail John M.
Published: August 2015

The metabolic effects of intraperitoneal administration of carbon tetrachloride (1ml/kg) were studied in starved rats. The most notable change in circulating substrates was an 80% fall in ketone-body concentrations, which was associated with the doubling of urinary nitrogen losses. The results demonstrate the importance of starvation ketosis in permitting fat mobilization to decrease effectively protein losses during starvation.
Differential responses to inducers of δ-aminolaevulinate synthase and haem oxygenase during pregnancy
Authors: Sardana M K , Sassa S , Kappas A
Published: August 2015

The responses of hepatic delta-aminolaevulinate synthase and microsomal haem oxygenase to inducers were examined in pregnant rats. 2-Allyl-2-isopropylacetamide-mediated induction of delta-aminolaevulinate synthase was greatly decreased during pregnancy and in the early post-partum period. Administration of allylisopropylacetamide to pseudopregnant rats induced delta-aminolaevulinate synthase normally. Treatment of pregnant rats with cortisol failed to restore the drug-mediated induction of delta-aminolaevulinate synthase. Microsomal cytochrome P-450 content and the activities of drug-metabolizing enzymes such as aniline hydroxylase and ethylmorphine. N-demethylase were significantly lowered during pregnancy. In contrast with the greatly impaired induction of delta-aminolaevulinate synthase, the induction of haem oxygenase in response to CoCl2 remained unaltered in pregnant rats. The normal perturbations of delta-aminolaevulinate synthase, consisting of an initial inhibition followed by a rebound increase in the enzyme activity associated with CoCL2 treatment, were observed during pregnancy. These findings indicate that hormones and metabolic factors associated with gestation exert significant but differential controls on the induction patterns of delta-aminolaevulinate synthase and haem oxygenase.
Cortisol decreases the concentration of translatable type-I procollagen mRNA species in the developing chick-embryo calvaria
Authors: Oikarinen J , Ryhänen L
Published: August 2015

The calvarial mRNA species of chick embryos were translated in the rabbit reticulocyte-lysate cell-free translation system. The amount of procollagen type-I mRNA species was determined by digestion with bacterial collagenase and by fluorography of the cell-free translation products. Administration of cortisol resulted in a specific decrease in the cellular concentration of translatable procollagen type-I mRNA species in the calvaria of developing chick embryos. There was a lag period of up to 12 h before the response, which was dose-dependent. The data suggest that the decrease in amounts of procollagen mRNA species is the main reason for the lower amount of tissue collagen after topical or systemic administration of glucocorticoids, although other factors may contribute to the response.
Phenylalanine metabolism in isolated rat liver cells. Effects of glucagon and diabetes
Authors: Carr F P A , Pogson C I
Published: August 2015

1. Methods are described for monitoring the metabolic flux through phenylalanine hydroxylase, the tyrosine catabolic pathway and phenylalanine: pyruvate transaminase in isolated liver cell incubations. 2. The relationship between hydroxylase flux and phenylalanine concentration is sigmoidal. 3. Glucagon increases hydroxylase activity at low, near-physiological, substrate concentrations only. The hormone does not affect the rate of formation of phenylpyruvate. 4. Experimental diabetes (for 10 days) increases phenylalanine catabolism, and this is further increased by glucagon. 5. These results are discussed in the light of the known mechanisms for control of phenylalanine hydroxylase activity in vitro.
Modification by simetryn sulphoxide of a specific thiol group in rat haemoglobin
Authors: Hughes G J , de Jong C , Fischer R W , Winterhalter K H , Wilson K J
Published: August 2015

Native rat haemoglobins were found to bind simetryn sulphoxide to an extent 40-fold greater than human haemoglobin. This specific behaviour was studied by using only high-pressure (‘performance’) liquid chromatography for the preparative separation of globin chains and the isolation of peptides resulting from chemical and enzymic degradation. High recoveries (greater than 80%) of peptides throughout the procedures in combination with microsequence techniques, allow a definitive assignment of the residue undergoing modification. The haemoglobin beta-chain cystine-125 residue, with a stoichiometry of one per tetramer of rat haemoglobin, was found to be modified. Stereochemical implications of this finding are discussed. Simetryn sulphoxide would appear to be useful as a specific reagent for the mapping of exposed thiol residues in proteins.
The location of phosphorylation sites and Ca2+-dependent proteolytic cleavage sites on the major neurofilament polypeptides from Myxicola infundibulum
Authors: Eagles P A M , Gilbert D S , Maggs A
Published: August 2015

1. When axoplasm is incubated with [32P]Pi the main phosphorylated components are the neurofilament polypeptides. 2. Activation with Ca2+ of the proteinase present in axoplasm causes degradation of these neurofilaments and the peptides produced by this reaction have been analysed by fingerprinting. 3. Fingerprinting shows that initially the Ca2+-activated proteinase cleaves the neurofilament polypeptides at three major sites producing polypeptides with mol.wts. 70,000, 50,000 and 47,000. 4. These polypeptides sediment with filaments, originate from the tail-region of the molecule and contain a little radioactive label. 5. As these polypeptides are produced, other polypeptides that come from the head-region of the molecule are liberated as soluble products that contain the bulk of the radioactivity. 6. Fingerprinting therefore shows that at least two regions on the molecule are phosphorylated and that the major one is located towards the head-end of the polypeptides.
Interaction between non-classical β-lactam compounds and the Zn2+-containing G and serine R61 and R39 d-alanyl-d-alanine peptidases
Authors: Kelly J A , Frère J M , Klein D , Ghuysen J M
Published: August 2015

Streptomyces albus G secretes a Zn2+-containing D-alanyl-D-alanine peptidase. Streptomyces R61 and Actinomadura R39 secrete D-alanyl-D-alanine-cleaving serine peptidases. The effect of non-classical beta-lactam antibiotics on these three model enzymes has been studied. Mecillinam, cefoxitin, quinacillin, quinacillin sulphone, clavulanate and N-formimidoylthienamycin have no effect on the Zn2+-containing enzyme. 6-Amino-penicillanic acid slowly inactivates this enzyme and 7-aminocephalosporanic acid behaves as a reversible inhibitor. Cefoxitin and N-formimidoylthienamycin are potent anti-bacterial agents; they effectively inactivate the serine R39 enzyme and, to a lesser extent, the serine R61 enzyme. All the other beta-lactam compounds tested, including mecillinam, are slow inactivators of these serine enzymes. The intermediates formed between 6-aminopenicillanic acid and the R61 and R39 enzymes are long- and short-lived respectively, whereas those formed between 7-aminocephalosporanic acid and the same R61 and R39 enzymes are short- and long-lived respectively. Breakdown of the short-lived intermediates thus obtained gives rise to several ninhydrin-positive degradation products. The intermediates formed between clavulanate and the serine enzymes are long-lived. With the R39 enzyme, the inactivated complex formed in a first step undergoes subsequent monomolecular rearrangement to give rise to a second species exhibiting a high absorbance at 273 nm.
The steady-state kinetics of the NADH-dependent nitrite reductase from Escherichia coli K 12. Nitrite and hydroxylamine reduction
Authors: Jackson R H , Cole J A , Cornish-Bowden A
Published: August 2015

The reduction of both NO2- and hydroxylamine by the NADH-dependent nitrite reductase of Escherichia coli K 12 (EC 1.6.6.4) appears to follow Michaelis-Menten kinetics over a wide range of NADH concentrations. Substrate inhibition can, however, be detected at low concentrations of the product NAD+. In addition, NAD+ displays mixed product inhibition with respect to NADH and mixed or uncompetitive inhibition with respect to hydroxylamine. These inhibition characteristics are consistent with a mechanism in which hydroxylamine binds during catalysis to a different enzyme form from that generated when NAD+ is released. The apparent maximum velocity with NADH as varied substrate increases as the NAD+ concentration increases from 0.05 to 0.7 mM with 1 mM-NO2- or 100 mM-hydroxylamine as oxidized substrate. This increase is more marked for hydroxylamine reduction than for NO2- reduction. Models incorporating only one binding site for NAD can account for the variation in the Michaelis-Menten parameters for both NADH and hydroxylamine with [NAD+] for hydroxylamine reduction. According to these models, activation of the reaction occurs by reversal of an over-reduction of the enzyme by NADH. If the observed activation of the enzyme by NAD+ derives both from activation of the generation of the enzyme-hydroxylamine complex from the enzyme-NO2- complex during NO2- reduction and from activation of the reduction of the enzyme-hydroxylamine complex to form NH4+, then the variation of Vapp. for NO2- or hydroxylamine with [NAD+] is consistent with the occurrence of the same enzyme-hydroxylamine complex as an intermediate in both reactions.
Products of fatty acid synthesis by a particulate fraction from germinating pea (Pisum sativum L.)
Authors: Sanchez J , Harwood J L
Published: August 2015

The synthesis of lipids and acyl thioesters was studied in microsomal preparations from germinating pea (Pisum sativum cv. Feltham First) seeds. Under conditions of maximal synthesis (in the presence of exogenous acyl-carrier protein) acyl-acyl-carrier proteins accounted for about half the total incorporation from [14C]malonyl-CoA. Decreasing the concentrations of exogenous acyl-carrier protein lowered the overall synthesis of fatty acids by decreasing, almost exclusively, the radioactivity associated with acyl-acyl-carrier proteins. A time-course experiment showed that acyl-acyl-carrier proteins accumulated most of the radioactive label at the beginning of the incubation but, eventually, the amount of radioactivity in that fraction decreased, while a simultaneous increase in the acyl-CoA and lipid fractions was noticed. Addition of exogenous CoA (1 mM) produced a decrease of total incorporation, but an increase in the radioactivity incorporated into acyl-CoA. The microsomal preparations synthesized saturated fatty acids up to C20, including significant proportions of pentadecanoic acid and heptadecanoic acid. Synthesis of these ‘odd-chain’ fatty acids only took place in the microsomal fraction. In contrast, when the 18,000g supernatant (containing the microsomal and soluble fractions) was incubated with [14C]malonyl-CoA, the radioactive fatty acid and acyl classes closely resembled the patterns produced by germinating in the presence of [14C]acetate in vivo. The results are discussed in relation to the role of acyl thioesters in the biosynthesis of plant lipids.
Metal-dependent properties of metallothionein. Replacement in vitro of zinc in zinc-thionein with copper
Authors: Suzuki K T , Maitani T
Published: August 2015

Metal-dependent changes in the properties of metallothionein were investigated in vitro by replacing Zn2+ in zinc-thionein with Cu+ and Cu2+. Metallothionein was separated into isoproteins on a gel-permeation column by elution with alkaline buffer solution, the separation being due to the dissociation of hydroxy groups in the gel material. The two metals in metallothioneins were detected simultaneously by introducing the eluate of the column, which was attached to a high-pressure liquid chromatograph, to two flame atomic-absorption spectrophotometers. Zn2+ in zinc-thionein was replaced with 1.5 and 1 mol. equiv. of Cu+ and Cu2+ respectively. The replacement with Cu2+ accompanied intramolecular oxidation of thiol groups in metallothioneins and the oxidized metallothioneins showed different chromatographic properties from the original ones, probably due to changes in the isoelectric points. The oxidized forms of metallothionein were reducible by mercaptoethanol. Reduction of Cu2+ to Cu+ followed by the replacement of Zn2+ in zinc-thionein with Cu+ occurred in the presence of glutathione.
The binding of human complement proteins C5, factor B, β1H and properdin to complement fragment C3b on zymosan
Authors: DiScipio R G
Published: August 2015

The covalent binding of complement fragment C3b to zymosan by the action of the alternative-pathway C3 convertase and the reversible binding of several complement proteins (component C5, factor B, beta 1H and properdin) to C3b on zymosan have been investigated. When C3b is deposited on zymosan after activation by a surface-bound C3 convertase, the C3b molecules are deposited in foci around the C3 convertase site, with an average of 30 C3b molecules per site. The association constants of C5, factor B, beta 1H, and properdin for C3b bound to zymosan have been determined. The association constants ranged from 6.5 x 10(-5) M-1 for factor B to 2.9 x 10(7) M-1 for properdin. An approximate stoichiometry of 1 : 1 for C5, factor B, and properdin binding to C3b has been observed. Curvilinear Scatchard plots were observed for beta 1H binding to C3b, with the maximal extrapolated ratio of beta 1H to C3b of 0.32. Physiological amounts of properdin increase by 7-fold the affinity constant for factor B binding to C3b with no alteration in the stoichiometry. Similarly, physiological amounts of factor B increase the affinity constant of properdin to C3b about 4-fold with only a small measured difference in stoichiometry. Competition binding studies and protein modification suggest that C5, factor B, beta 1H, and properdin each bind to a distinct region on C3b.
Transport of Ca2+ and Na+ across the chromaffin-granule membrane
Authors: Phillips J H
Published: August 2015

Bovine chromaffin-granule ghosts accumulate 45Ca2+ in a temperature- and osmotic-shock-sensitive process; the uptake is saturable, with Km 38 microM and Vmax. 28 nmol/min per mg at 37 degrees C. Entry occurs by exchange with Ca2+ bound to the inner surface of the membrane. It is inhibited non-competitively by Na+, La3+ and Ruthenium Red (Ki 10.7 mM, 7 microM and 2 microM respectively), and competitively by Mg2+ (ki 0.9 mM). Uptake was not stimulated by ATP. Na+ induces Ca2+ efflux; Ca2+ can re-enter the ghosts by a process of Ca2+/Na+ exchange. La3+ inhibits Ca2+ efflux during Ca2+-exchange, and Ca2+ efflux induced by Na+, suggesting that Ca2+ uptake and efflux, and Ca2+/Na+ exchange, are catalysed by the same protein. Na+ enters ghosts during CA2+ efflux, but the kinetics of its entry are not exactly similar to the kinetics of Ca2+ efflux. Initially 1-2 Na+ enter per Ca2+ lost, but at equilibrium 3-4 Na+ have replaced each Ca2+. There is no evidence that either Ca2+ uptake or efflux by Ca2+/Na+ exchange is electrogenic, suggesting that the stoichiometry of exchange is Ca2+/2Na+. This exchange reaction may have a role in depleting cytoplasmic Ca2+ after depolarization-induced Ca2+ entry through the adrenal medulla plasma membrane; there is some evidence that there may be an additional entry mechanism for Na+ across the granule membrane.
Interaction of antibody-bearing small unilamellar liposomes with target free antigen in vitro and in vivo. Some influencing factors
Authors: Gregoriadis Gregory , Meehan Anne , Mah Mon Moey
Published: August 2015

Affinity chromatography-purified and non-purified rabbit immunoglobulin G (IgG) raised against human immunoglobulin M (IgM) or kappa chain was incorporated into carboxyfluorescein-containing small unilamellar liposomes composed of egg phosphatidylcholine, cholesterol and phosphatidic acid (molar proportions 7:7:1). IgG incorporation was carried out by co-sonicating the immunoglobulin with the lipids (30% incorporated) (method A) or by interacting it with preformed liposomes bearing goat anti-(rabbit IgG) IgG (63 and 70% incorporated) (method B). (1) Judging from liposomal carboxyfluorescein-latency values, incorporation of IgG by either method did not affect liposomal stability. Furthermore, treatment of liposomes with papain released 75.1% (method A) and 93.3% and 95.1% (method B) of the IgG, suggesting that most of its antigen-recognizing Fab regions were available on the liposomal surface. This was strongly supported by the immunoelectrophoretic detection of Fab in papain-released products. (2) Liposomes bearing purified anti-IgM IgG bound 30%, (method A) and 45% (method B) of IgM in buffer. These values wee about 6-fold greater (both methods) than those obtained with corresponding liposomes bearing non-purified IgG. Binding of liposomes bearing anti-(kappa chain) IgG to kappa chain in buffer was 37% of that added. In the presence of mouse blood or serum, binding of IgM to liposomes bearing purified anti-IgM IgG was decreased slightly (24 and 30% for methods A and B). However, because of the nearly complete abolition of IgM binding to liposomes bearing non-purified IgG, these values were now 20–25-fold greater than those obtained with liposomes bearing non-purified IgG. (3) In mice pre-injected with IgM, at least 36.1% and 37.7% of the antigen was bound to subsequently injected liposomes bearing anti-IgM IgG incorporated by methods A and B respectively. No binding occurred with liposomes bearing the non-purified IgG. (4) Cholesterol-rich small unilamellar liposomes bearing affinity chromatography-purified antibodies may prove useful for the specific binding of free antigens in vivo.
Ruthenium red-insensitive calcium transport in ascites-sarcoma 180/TG cells
Authors: Bygrave F L , Anderson T A
Published: August 2015

1. Ruthenium Red-insensitive Ca2+ transport in the mouse ascites sarcoma 180/TG is enriched in a ‘heavy’ microsomal fraction (microsomes) sedimented at 35 000 g for 20 min. The subcellular distribution of this Ca2+ transport differed from that of Ruthenium Red-sensitive Ca2+ transport and (Na+ + K+)-dependent ATPase activity, but was similar to that of glucose 6-phosphatase. 2. The affinity of this transport system for ‘free’ Ca2+ is high (Km approx. 6 microM) and that for MgATP somewhat lower (Km approx. 100 microM). Ca2+ transport by the tumour microsomes, by contrast with that by liver microsomes, was greatly stimulated by low concentrations of P1. 3. Although incubation of intact ascites cells with glucagon led to an increase in intracellular cyclic AMP, no stable increase in the initial rate of Ca2+ transport in the subsequently isolated ‘heavy’ microsomes could be detected as in similar experiments carried out previously with rat liver cells. Reconstitution experiments suggest that a deficiency exists in the tumour microsomal membrane such that an action of glucagon that is normally present in rat liver microsomes is not evoked.
Alloxan-induced luminol luminescence as a tool for investigating mechanisms of radical-mediated diabetogenicity
Authors: Grankvist K
Published: August 2015

Chemiluminescence of luminol in a cell-free system was used to investigate the mechanism of alloxan-dependent free-radical generation. In the presence of alloxan and reduced glutathione (GSH), luminescence was greatly stimulated by FeSO4. Replacing GSH by oxidized glutathione or NAD(P)(H), or replacing FeSO4 by CuSO4, ZNSO4 or FeCl3, did not yield chemiluminescence. The chemiluminescence of a mixture of alloxan. GSH, FeSO4 and luminol was inhibited by catalase, superoxide dismutase, scavengers of hydroxyl radicals (sodium benzoate, n-butanol, D-mannitol, dimethyl sulphoxide) or metal-ion chelators (EDTA, diethylenetriaminepenta-acetic acid, diethyldithiocarbamate. desferroxamine), D-glucose, L-glucose, D-mannose, D-fructose, 3-O-methyl-D-glucose, NAD+, NADH, NADP+ or NADPH, but not by urea or enzymically inactive superoxide dismutase. The results support the hypothesis that the diabetogenic action of alloxan is mediated by hydroxyl radicals generated in an iron-catalysed reaction. Protection against alloxan in vivo depends both on the chemical reactivity of protector with radicals or radical-generating systems and on the stereospecific requirement of some strategic site in the B-cell.
A new strategy to inhibit the excision reaction catalysed by HIV-1 reverse transcriptase: compounds that compete with the template–primer
Authors: Cruchaga Carlos , Anso Elena , Font María , Martino Virginia S. , Rouzaut Ana , Martinez-Irujo Juan J.
Published: August 2015

Inhibitors of the excision reaction catalysed by HIV-1 RT (reverse transcriptase) represent a promising approach in the fight against HIV, because these molecules would interfere with the main mechanism of resistance of this enzyme towards chain-terminating nucleotides. Only a limited number of compounds have been demonstrated to inhibit this reaction to date, including NNRTIs (non-nucleoside RT inhibitors) and certain pyrophosphate analogues. We have found previously that 2GP (2-O-galloylpunicalin), an antiviral compound extracted from the leaves of Terminalia triflora, was able to inhibit both the RT and the RNase H activities of HIV-1 RT without affecting cell proliferation or viability. In the present study, we show that 2GP also inhibited the ATP- and PPi-dependent phosphorolysis catalysed by wild-type and AZT (3′-azido-3′-deoxythymidine)-resistant enzymes at sub-micromolar concentrations. Kinetic and direct-binding analysis showed that 2GP was a non-competitive inhibitor against the nucleotide substrate, whereas it competed with the binding of RT to the template–primer (Kd=85 nM). As expected from its mechanism of action, 2GP was active against mutations conferring resistance to NNRTIs and AZT. The combination of AZT with 2GP was highly synergistic when tested in the presence of pyrophosphate, indicating that the inhibition of RT-catalysed phosphorolysis was responsible for the synergy found. Although other RT inhibitors that compete with the template–primer have been described, this is the first demonstration that these compounds can be used to block the excision of chain terminating nucleotides, providing a rationale for their combination with nucleoside analogues.
β-1,4-Glucanase-like protein from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC6803 is a β-1,3-1,4-glucanase and functions in salt stress tolerance
Authors: Tamoi Masahiro , Kurotaki Hideki , Fukamizo Tamo
Published: August 2015

In the present study, we characterized the gene (Cyanobase accession number slr0897) designated Ssglc encoding a β-1,4-glucanase-like protein (SsGlc) from Synechocystis PCC6803. The deduced amino acid sequence for Ssglc showed a high degree of similarity to sequences of GH (glycoside hydrolase) family 9 β-1,4-glucanases (cellulases) from various sources. Surprisingly, the recombinant protein obtained from the Escherichia coli expression system was able to hydrolyse barley β-glucan and lichenan (β-1,3-1,4-glucan), but not cellulose (β-1,4-glucan), curdlan (β-1,3-glucan), or laminarin (β-1,3-1,6-glucan). A 1H-NMR analysis of the enzymatic products revealed that the enzyme hydrolyses the β-1,4-glycosidic linkage of barley β-glucan through an inverting mechanism. The data indicated that SsGlc was a novel type of GH9 glucanase which could specifically hydrolyse the β-1,3-1,4-linkage of glucan. The growth of mutant Synechocystis cells in which the Ssglc gene was disrupted by a kanamycin-resistance cartridge gene was almost the same as that of the wild-type cells under continuous light (40 μmol of photons/m2 per s), a 12 h light (40 μmol of photons/m2 per s)/12 h dark cycle, cold stress (4 °C), and high light stress (200 μmol of photons/m2 per s). However, under salt stress (300–450 mM NaCl), growth of the Ssglc-disrupted mutant cells was significantly inhibited as compared with that of the wild-type cells. The Ssglc-disrupted mutant cells showed a decreased rate of O2 consumption and NaHCO3-dependent O2 evolution as compared with the wild-type cells under salt stress. Under osmotic stress (100–400 mM sorbitol), there was no difference in growth between the wild-type and the Ssglc-disrupted mutant cells. These results suggest that SsGlc functions in salt stress tolerance in Synechocystis PCC6803.
Classification and genetic expression of Wistar rats with high and low hepatic microsomal UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activity towards androsterone
Authors: Matsui Michio , Watanabe Hiroshi K.
Published: August 2015

Male and female Wistar rats with high and low hepatic microsomal UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activity towards androsterone were classified by partial hepatectomy. The breeding experiments between the classified high-activity and low-activity rats show that the genetic expression of the high transferase activity is inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion.
Manganese accumulation in pancreatic β-cells and its stimulation by glucose
Authors: Rorsman P , Berggren P O , Hellman B
Published: August 2015

Electrothermal atomic-absorption spectroscopy was employed for measuring manganese in beta-cell-rich pancreatic islets microdissected from ob/ob mice. The islet content of endogenous manganese was 80 mumol/kg dry wt., which is about half as much as found in the exocrine pancreas. The initial uptake was characterized by two components, with approximate Km values of 35 microM and 3.7 microM respectively. After 60 min of incubation with 0.25 mM-Mn2+, the intracellular concentration of manganese corresponded to an almost 25-fold accumulation compared with that of the extracellular medium. When exposed to 20 mM-D-glucose, the islets retained more manganese, owing to suppression of its mobilization. The glucose inhibition of efflux was prompt and reversible, as indicated from direct recordings of manganese in a perifusion medium. D-Glucose was an equally potent inhibitor of efflux in the presence of 15 microM- and 1.28 mM-Ca2+. The inhibitory action disappeared when metabolism was suppressed by adding 0.1 mM-N-ethylmaleimide or by lowering the temperature from 37 degrees C to 2 degrees C. At a concentration of 0.25 mM, Mn2+ abolished the insulin-releasing action of D-glucose, exerting only moderate suppression of its metabolism. The addition of Mn2+ resulted in inhibition of basal insulin release in the presence of 1.28 mM-Ca2+, but not in a Ca2+-deficient medium. The studies indicate that the previously observed phenomenon of glucose inhibition of 45Ca efflux has a counterpart in the suppression of manganese mobilization from the pancreatic islets. With the demonstration of a pronounced glucose inhibition of manganese efflux, it is evident that Mn2+ may represent a useful tool for exploring the mechanism of glucose-induced retention of calcium in the pancreatic beta-cells.
The physical state of osmoregulatory solutes in unicellular algae. A natural-abundance carbon-13 nuclear-magnetic-resonance relaxation study
Authors: Norton R S , MacKay M A , Borowitzka L J
Published: August 2015

Natural-abundance 13C n.m.r. spin-lattice relaxation-time measurements have been carried out on intact cells of the unicellular blue-green alga Synechococcus sp. and the unicellular green alga Dunaliella salina, with the aim of characterizing the environments of the organic osmoregulatory solutes in these salt-tolerant organisms. In Synechococcus sp., all of the major organic osmoregulatory solute, 2-O-alpha-D-glucopyranosylglycerol, is visible in spectra of intact cells. Its rotational motion in the cell is slower by a factor of approx. 2.4 than in aqueous solution, but the molecule is still freely mobile and therefore able to contribute to the osmotic balance. In D. salina, only about 60% of the osmoregulatory solute glycerol is visible in spectra of intact cells. The rotational mobility of this observable fraction is approximately half that found in aqueous solution, but the data also indicate that there is a significant concentration of some paramagnetic species in D. salina which contributes to the overall spin-lattice relaxation of the glycerol carbon atoms. The non-observable fraction, which must correspond to glycerol molecules that have very broad 13C resonances and that are in slow exchange with bulk glycerol, has not been properly characterized as yet, but may represent glycerol in the chloroplast. The implications of these findings in relation to the physical state of the cytoplasm and the mechanism of osmoregulation in these cells are discussed.
Rapid modulation of adipocyte phosphofructokinase activity by noradrenaline and insulin
Authors: Sooranna S R , Saggerson E D
Published: August 2015

1. Alterations in phosphofructokinase properties can be reproducibly seen in tissue extracts prepared and rapidly assayed after exposure of rat adipocytes to hormones. 2. Noradrenaline, corticotropin or isoprenaline (isoproterenol; beta-adrenergic agonist) decreased the activity measured with high fructose 6-phosphate concentrations (3-6 mM), but increased activity measured with lower concentrations of this substrate (0.3-0.9 mM). Noradrenaline decreased the Vmax. and the concentration of fructose 6-phosphate that gave half the Vmax.3. Insulin opposed the actions of noradrenaline and itself increased phosphofructokinase activity. 4. The effect of noradrenaline appeared to be exerted through a beta- rather than an alpha-type of adrenoceptor. 5. The effects of noradrenaline to decrease phosphofructokinase activity at high [fructose 6-phosphate] and to increase activity at low [fructose 6-phosphate] could be rapidly reversed in cells by addition of the beta-blocker propranolol. 6. The effect of noradrenaline seen at low [fructose 6-phosphate] could be abolished by homogenization of cells in buffer containing albumin or reversed by brief incubation of tissue extracts with albumin, suggesting that this effect of the hormone is due to the association of some ligand with the enzyme.
Monoclonal antibodies that immunoreact with a cation-stimulated plant membrane ATPase
Authors: Chin J J C
Published: August 2015

Hybridoma technology has been used successfully to generate monoclonal-antibody probes against protoplast membrane antigens. Hybridomas secreting monoclonal antibodies that either inhibit or stimulate a putative plasma-membrane marker enzyme, (K+ + Mg2+)-stimulated pH 6.5 ATPase, have been identified and cloned. The specificity of monoclonal-antibody probes on the activity of other phosphate-hydrolysing enzymes has also been examined. The production and identification of monospecific antibodies capable of immunoreacting with particular component proteins in a complex plant membrane mixture highlight the usefulness of hybridoma methodology for the enzymologist, especially since such monoclonal antibodies can be used in the purification of proteins by immunoaffinity techniques.
Identity of ligandin in rat testis and liver
Authors: Eidne K A , Kirsch R E
Published: August 2015

1. One of the main problems in the field of multifunctional proteins such as ligandin is the possibility that multiple forms and isoproteins may exist. Because liver ligandin [GSH (reduced glutathione) S-transferase B] consists of equal amounts of Ya (22 000 Da) and Yc (25 000 Da) subunits, and testis ligandin, prepared by the standard technique of anion-exchange and molecular-exclusion chromatography, contains more Yc subunit than Ya, it has been claimed that testis and liver ligandin are different entities. 2. We purified testis ligandin by immunoaffinity chromatography and have obtained a product identical with liver ligandin (Yc = Ya). This suggests that the differences previously described may be due to contamination of testis ligandin by a closely related species. In fact sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel-electrophoretic analysis of testis GSH S-transferases separated by CM-cellulose chromatography showed that GSH S-transferase AA, present in large amounts, migrated in the same region as Yc subunit. 3. Testis ligandin prepared by the standard technique was similar to that reported [Bhargava, Ohmi, Listowsky & Arias (1980) J. Biol. Chem. 255, 724-727] and contained more Yc subunit than Ya. CM-cellulose chromatography of this ‘pure’ preparation revealed significant amounts of GSH S-transferase AA migrating as Yc subunit, in addition to ligandin consisting of equal amounts of Ya and Yc subunits. 4. Our studies show that testis ligandin is identical with liver ligandin. Previously described differences are due to a contaminant identified as GSH S-transferase AA.
Evidence that the activation of aconitase involves a conformational change
Authors: Ramsay Rona R.
Published: August 2015

Reduction of the iron–sulphur cluster of aconitase initiates a slow increase in catalytic activity. It has been proposed that activation involves a conformational change in the protein. Direct evidence for this is presented here in the demonstration that, after reduction of the cluster, the progressive increase in activity is parallelled by an increase in the fluorescence of the protein.