bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Clearing-factor lipase in adipose tissue. A possible role of adenosine 3′,5′-(cyclic)-monophosphate in the regulation of its activity
Authors: Wing D. R. , Robinson D S
Published: August 2015

1. The rise in clearing-factor lipase activity that occurs when epididymal fat bodies from starved rats are incubated in appropriate media in vitro is inhibited in the presence of 6-N-2′-O-dibutyryl-3′,5′-(cyclic)-AMP (1mm). 2. Inhibition occurs at a concentration of glucose in the incubation medium of 1·3mg./ml. or less, but not at a glucose concentration of 2·4mg./ml., unless caffeine (1mm), an inhibitor of 3′,5′-(cyclic)-nucleotide phosphodiesterase, is also present. Caffeine (5mm) alone inhibits the rise in clearing-factor lipase activity at a glucose concentration of 2·4mg./ml. of medium. 3. The concentration of free fatty acids in the epididymal fat bodies normally falls during incubations in vitro as the rise in clearing-factor lipase activity occurs. In the presence of 1mm-6-N-2′-O-dibutyryl-3′,5′-(cyclic)-AMP, however, either the tissue free fatty acid concentration is increased or it does not fall to the same extent. The concentration of glucose in the incubation medium is important in determining the direction and extent of the changes in tissue free fatty acid concentration that occur in the presence of 6-N-2′-O-dibutyryl-3′,5′-(cyclic)-AMP. 4. Free fatty acid concentrations in epididymal fat bodies in vivo rise as the clearing-factor lipase activity of the tissue falls during starvation. 5. The possibility that the concentration of 3′,5′-(cyclic)-AMP in adipose tissue may regulate clearing-factor lipase activity, and that the regulation may occur through effects of the nucleotide on tissue free fatty acid concentrations, is discussed.
The isolation and characterization of a glycoprotein from human thoracic aorta
Authors: Barnes M. J. , Partridge S. M.
Published: August 2015

1. A glycoprotein extracted by cold alkali from the walls of human aorta was purified by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose. 2. The compound was electrophoretically homogeneous and essentially so by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose. Ultracentrifugal examination revealed two components, and it is suggested that the faster-sedimenting component represents an aggregated form of the glycoprotein. 3. Glycoprotein preparations contained approx. 8% of carbohydrate. Digestion with Pronase yielded a glycopeptide fraction containing all the carbohydrate of the glycoprotein. The glycopeptide, of molecular weight about 7800, contained sialic acid, galactose, mannose, fucose and hexosamine in the approximate molar proportions 5:10:5:2:11. Sialic acid was terminal with respect to the polysaccharide chains. 4. Both elastase and elastomucoproteinases exhibited proteolytic activity towards the glycoprotein. Studies by other investigators have led to the conclusion that elastomucoproteinases attack protein–carbohydrate complexes occurring in intimate association with elastin in aorta and other tissues, and it is suggested that the glycoprotein may be identified with one of these compounds.
Propionate assimilation in the flagellate Polytomella caeca. An inducible mitochondrial enzyme system
Authors: Lloyd D , Evans D. A. , Venables Susan E.
Published: August 2015

1. The assimilation of propionate by Polytomella caeca involves the β-oxidation of this fatty acid. 2. Propionate-grown cells immediately oxidize propionate, β-hydroxypropionate, malonic semialdehyde and acetate; acetate-grown cells oxidize propionate rapidly only after a lag of 2hr., and this adaptation of resting cells to propionate involves the formation of the enzymes of β-oxidation. 3. The β-hydroxypropionate dehydrogenase and malonic semialdehyde dehydrogenase activities of both propionate-grown and propionate-adapted cells are partly located in mitochondrial fractions. 4. Mitochondria isolated from propionate-grown cells, and also those from acetate-grown cells fully adapted to propionate, oxidize succinate, α-oxoglutarate, β-hydroxypropionate and malonic semialdehyde; oxidation of these substrates is tightly coupled to the phosphorylation of ADP. 5. Mitochondria from acetate-grown cells exhibit ADP-dependent oxidation of succinate and α-oxoglutarate, but do not oxidize β-hydroxypropionate or malonic semialdehyde. Mitochondria isolated from acetate-grown cells adapted to propionate for 5hr. slowly oxidize β-hydroxypropionate and malonic semialdehyde, but no tightly coupled phosphorylation is detectable. 6. Two of the inducible enzymes of propionate oxidation are located within the NAD-impermeable barrier and appear to be membrane-bound. 7. The formation of the inducible enzymes is inhibited by cycloheximide and actinomycin D, but not by chloramphenicol.
The binding of o-aminoazotoluene to deoxyribonucleic acid, ribonucleic acid and protein in the C57 mouse
Authors: Lawson T A
Published: August 2015

1. 3H-labelled o-aminoazotoluene was synthesized from [G−3H]o-toluidine on a semi-micro scale. 2. An association of 3H with DNA, RNA and protein from the liver, kidney and spleen of female C57b mice was demonstrated after the administration of a single dose of [3H]o-aminoazotoluene. 3. This association is judged to represent covalent binding as a result of experiments involving solvent extraction, examination of the acid hydrolysates of the DNA and RNA and administration of [3H]water with unlabelled o-aminoazotoluene. 4. Examination of the extents of binding at various times after the administration of a single dose of [3H]o-aminoazotoluene showed that there was a peak of binding to liver DNA in the female mice at about 16hr. that was not present in the male mice. 5. The extent of binding to DNA, RNA and protein at 16hr. in the female C57b mouse liver was greater than that in the spleen and kidney.
Effect of lipids, in particular cholesteryl 14-methylhexadecanoate, on the incorporation of labelled amino acids into transfer ribonucleic acid in vitro
Authors: Hradec J. , Dušek Z.
Published: August 2015

1. Rat liver pH5 enzymes and cell sap extracted with various organic solvents showed a variable decreased incorporation of labelled amino acids into s-RNA (‘soluble’ or transfer RNA) in vitro. 2. The original enzymic activity could be fully restored, though at different rates, by the addition of lipid extracts in quantities corresponding to those originally present. 3. Of the main lipid groups separated from the extract, only free cholesterol and cholesteryl esters were able to reactivate the extracted pH5 enzymes in the same way as the whole lipid extract. 4. Addition of pure cholesteryl 14-methylhexadecanoate also fully restored the enzymic activity. 5. There was no energy-dependent incorporation of labelled amino acids into ribosomal protein in the presence of extracted cell sap. Addition of cholesteryl 14-methylhexadecanoate fully restored the activity of the cell sap to incorporate labelled leucine and lysine into ribosomal protein and enhanced the incorporation of labelled protein hydrolysate and phenylalanine over the level found with the corresponding non-extracted preparations. 6. It is concluded that lipids play an important role in the synthesis of aminoacyl-s-RNA complexes and that cholesteryl 14-methylhexadecanoate may be the active lipid in this respect.
Canine submandibular-gland hyaluronidase. Identification and subcellular distribution
Authors: Tan Y. H. , Bowness J. M.
Published: August 2015

1. Submandibular glands from four species of mammal have been shown to contain a hyaluronidase active at acid pH; glands from dog and cat had a much higher content of this enzyme than has been found in other sources. 2. Product formation from hyaluronate after 24hr. incubation was almost the same as with testicular hyaluronidase, indicating that the enzyme is an endo-poly-β-hexosaminidase. 3. When submandibular-gland homogenates were fractionated by the scheme developed for liver by de Duve, Pressman, Gianetto, Wattiaux & Appelmans (1955), all the enzymes assayed, except cytochrome c oxidase, were found to occur partly in the soluble fraction and partly in the particulate fractions. Among the particular fractions, the highest specific activity was found in the heavy-mitochondrial fraction for cytochrome c oxidase, in the microsomal fraction for alkaline phosphatase and in the light-mitochondrial fraction for acid phosphatase, β-N-acetylhexosaminidase and acid-active hyaluronidase. 4. Release of the enzyme activity from the sedimentable fractions occurred in 0·1% Triton X-100 or after high-speed homogenization. 5. Stimulation of dogs by pilocarpine was found to decrease the hyaluronidase content of the submandibular gland by 5% and to cause the occurrence of a corresponding amount of acid-active hyaluronidase in the submandibular saliva. 6. The results are discussed in relation to the subcellular localization of hyaluronidase.
Catabolite repression in Escherichia coli. A study of two hypotheses
Authors: Moses V. , Yudkin M D
Published: August 2015

1. Two hypotheses to account for general catabolite repression of the lactose enzymes in Escherichia coli were tested: the dilution model of Palmer & Moses (1967), and the specific catabolite repressor model of Loomis & Magasanik (1965, 1967). 2. The dilution model predicts that in mutants lacking the i–o regulation system the differential rate of β-galactosidase synthesis should increase when amino acid-synthesizing enzymes are repressed by the presence of amino acids in the medium. It also predicts that with such mutants the total absence of Pi from the medium should not result in the complete cessation of β-galactosidase synthesis that is observed with wild-type cells. 3. Neither prediction was confirmed experimentally, and it is concluded that this model cannot explain catabolite repression. 4. The specific repressor hypothesis depends on the properties of a strain of E. coli carrying the CR− mutation. It requires both that cells of this genotype should be totally resistant to general catabolite repression and that this resistance should be specific for the lactose enzymes. 5. In fact the synthesis of β-galactosidase by CR− cells, though showing resistance to catabolite repression by growth on glucose, was found to be repressed in several other circumstances. 6. Two other inducible enzymes, l-tryptophanase and d-serine deaminase, also showed resistance to repression by glucose in CR− cells. 7. It is concluded that this model, too, does not account for general catabolite repression. 8. Strains carrying deletions at either end of the lactose operon that extend into the structural genes of the operon continue to exhibit catabolite repression. 9. These experiments appear to eliminate the possibility that catabolite repression operates at the level of DNA transcription, and suggest that repression affects instead the translation of messenger RNA into protein.
The mechanism of the phosphoglucomutase reaction. Studies on rabbit muscle phosphoglucomutase with flux techniques
Authors: Britton H G , Clarke J B
Published: August 2015

1. The kinetics of phosphoglucomutases from different sources are discussed and it is concluded that on the available evidence there are in all cases three possible mechanisms for the reaction. These are an indirect transfer of phosphate involving the phosphoenzyme (mechanism 1), a direct transfer of phosphate (mechanism 2), and an intermolecular transfer of phosphate from glucose 1,6-diphosphate to the substrate (mechanism 3). Conventional net flux measurements are shown not to differentiate between these mechanisms. 2. Flux equations are developed and it is shown that there are three flux ratios that characterize and distinguish between the mechanisms. 3. To examine these flux ratios induced-transport tests are described with 14C- and 32P-labelled substrates. The fluxes determined with 14C- and 32P-labelled substrates are also compared at chemical equilibrium. 4. With rabbit muscle phosphoglucomutase the results of these tests were completely consistent with mechanism 1 and unequivocally excluded any substantial part of the reaction proceeding by mechanism 2 or mechanism 3. Evidence was also obtained for an isomerization of the phosphoenzyme with an apparent rate constant about 4·5×107sec.−1. Taking into account the activity coefficients of the substrates the true rate constant appears to be about one-sixth of this value. 5. Isotope effects and non-ideal behaviour of the solutions are discussed and the activity coefficients of the substrates are shown to be equal by measurement of the depression of freezing point. It is concluded that these factors do not influence the tests significantly. 6. Alternative mechanisms are considered and it is concluded that the tests show that the glucose residue is transferred directly, that the phosphate is transferred indirectly with one intermediate phosphate, and that there is an isomerization of the free phosphoenzyme without reference to any other details of the reaction. Further, no assumptions are required about the constancy of rate constants. 7. The relative merits of induced transport and product inhibition for detecting isomerization of the enzyme are discussed. It is concluded that the induced-transport test is more sensitive and that its interpretation is less equivocal. 8. The application of the tests to other enzyme systems is briefly considered.
Effect of triperidol on carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism in rat brain-cortex slices
Authors: Michalek H. , Gatti G. L. , Pocchiari F.
Published: August 2015

1. The effect of triperidol on the metabolism of glucose, pyruvate, glutamate, aspartate and glycine was studied with rat brain-cortex slices, U−14C-labelled substrates and a quantitative radiochromatographic technique. 2. Triperidol at a concentration of 0·2mm decreased the oxygen uptake and the 14CO2 production by about 30% when glucose, pyruvate and glutamate were used as substrates, whereas no effects were observed with aspartate and glycine. 3. The drug did not alter qualitatively the metabolic pattern of the substrates. 4. Quantitatively, triperidol decreased the incorporation of 14C from [U−14C]glucose and [U14-C]-pyruvate into glutamate, glutamine and γ-aminobutyrate but not into lactate, alanine and aspartate. The overall utilization rates of glucose and pyruvate were decreased. The relative specific radioactivities of glutamate and aspartate were also decreased. 5. Triperidol increased the rate of disappearance of U−14C-labelled glutamate, aspartate and glycine from the incubation medium, and altered the distribution of their metabolites between medium and tissue. 6. No appreciable effect of triperidol on [1−14C]galactose disappearance was found.
Sedimentation-equilibrium and other physicochemical studies on the lysine-rich fraction of calf thymus histones
Authors: Haydon A. J. , Peacocke A. R.
Published: August 2015

1. The lysine-rich fraction (Ia+Ib, or f1) of calf thymus histones was isolated as the sulphate by acid extraction. 2. Sedimentation-equilibrium measurements with interference optics showed that this fraction was monodisperse with a molecular weight of 19500±2000. 3. The ‘apparent molecular weight’ calculated from the sedimentation-equilibrium studies varied markedly with concentration. The large second virial coefficient implied by such variation was attributed to the very high charge/mass ratio of this relatively small protein. Estimates of the charge were made from the values of this virial coefficient. 4. The very large value of the virial coefficient explains anomalies in the earlier reports of the molecular weight of this histone and also why the z-average molecular weight can appear to be lower than the weight-average molecular weight. 5. The differences of the specific refractive increments, and the partial specific volumes, between dialysed and undialysed solutions of this histone fraction could also be attributed to its high molecular charge, which was estimated from these differences and agreed, within the expected limits, with the value deduced from the second virial coefficient. 6. Sedimentation-velocity measurements combined with the known molecular weight imply that lysine-rich histone has a high frictional ratio and an extended shape. Optical-rotatory-dispersion measurements indicated that it had a low helical content.
Biosynthesis of an insulin precursor by islet tissue of cod (Gadus callarias)
Authors: Grant P T , Reid K. B. M.
Published: August 2015

1. At 15°, slices of cod islet tissue incorporated [U−14C]proline into proteins soluble in acid–ethanol at a linear rate for 6hr. 2. Initially, all the radioactivity was associated with a polypeptide that had a molecular weight of about 10000 and was appreciably more basic than cod insulin. After 1hr. there was also a significant and progressive increase in the radioactivity of insulin and of fractions intermediate in molecular size and basicity between the polypeptide and insulin. 3. O-Ethyl O-p-nitrophenyl phenylpropylphosphonate markedly decreased the radioactivity both of the intermediate fractions and of insulin, but had no significant effect on the biosynthesis of the polypeptide. In contrast, puromycin inhibited the incorporation of radioactivity into all the fractions. 4. The polypeptide had an activity of less than 0·2 international unit/mg. in the epididymal-fat-pad bioassay. Treatment with low concentrations of trypsin caused a progressive increase in the formation of an insulin-like material, judged by bioassay and ion-exchange chromatography of the digest. 5. Gel filtration of the polypeptide after oxidative sulphitolysis indicated that it was a single polypeptide chain. 6. The results suggest that the polypeptide is an insulin precursor whose formation is inhibited by puromycin and that the steps involved in the conversion of precursor into product are sensitive to O-ethyl O-p-nitrophenyl phenylpropylphosphonate.
Analysis of the visible spectra of some sperm-whale ferrimyoglobin derivatives
Authors: Smith D. W. , Williams R. J. P.
Published: August 2015

The visible spectra of sperm-whale metmyoglobin and its fluoride, hydroxide, cyanide, azide, cyanate, formate, acetate, thiocyanate and nitrite derivatives were measured and resolved into Gaussian components. A linear correlation between the intensity of the band at 18500cm.−1 and the magnetic susceptibility is found, suggesting that the band is the β-band of the low-spin form. The analysed intensity of this band can be used to determine the relative proportions of the two spin states present. The spectra of the pure high-spin and low-spin components of each derivative can be reconstructed. Correlations between the energy of the near-infrared band and the visible bands of the high-spin form, and between the position and intensity of the 16000cm.−1 band, are demonstrated. The relationship between the position of the Soret band and the magnetic susceptibility can be explained in terms of the equilibrium between spin states.
Compartmentation between glycolysis and gluconeogenesis in rat liver
Authors: Threlfall C. J. , Heath D. F.
Published: August 2015

1. The specific radioactivity–time relationships of glucose, glucose 6-phosphate, glycerol 1-phosphate and UDP-glucose were determined in rat liver after the intravenous injection of [U−14C]fructose, and a kinetic analysis was carried out. The glucose 6-phosphate pool was found to be compartmented into gluconeogenic and glycolytic components, and evidence was obtained that the triose phosphates were similarly compartmented. The glycolytic pathway was fed by glycogenolysis and glucose phosphorylation. There was no direct evidence that glycogenolysis fed only the glycolytic pathway, but this interpretation would make the liver resemble other organs in this respect. 2. UDP-glucose was not formed solely from gluconeogenic glucose 6-phosphate, as there was some dilution of label in the intervening glucose 1-phosphate pool, probably from glycogenolysis, though other pathways cannot be excluded. 3. The data cannot be explained by isotopic exchange.
Effect of growth hormone on ribonucleic acid metabolism. The template activity of the chromatin and molecular species of ribonucleic acid synthesized after treatment with the hormone
Authors: Gupta S. L. , Talwar G. P.
Published: August 2015

Growth hormone stimulates the synthesis of RNA in hypophysectomized rat liver. The question whether the hormonal stimulation of RNA synthesis is due to the activation of repressed cistrons or to other factors was studied. Nuclear RNA from the livers of adult female hypophysectomized and growth-hormone-treated rats was examined for molecular homology by hybridization techniques: no new species of RNA were detected after hormone treatment. The template activity of the chromatin for RNA synthesis is also not increased by the action of growth hormone. Short- and long-pulse-labelling experiments demonstrate that the hormonal stimulation of RNA synthesis is most marked in experiments where the period of incorporation of radioactive precursors is limited to 1–2hr. It is concluded that the hormone influences essentially the rate of RNA synthesis in these tissues.
Studies on the advent of ureotelism. Factors that render the hepatic arginase of the Mexican axolotl able to hydrolyse endogenous arginine
Authors: Palacios R. , Tarrab Rebeca , Soberón G.
Published: August 2015

1. A study was undertaken of the conditions that might operate in the synthesis and hydrolysis of arginine by axolotl liver homogenate to test a previous postulate that liver arginase of the non-metamorphosed Mexican axolotl is not able to hydrolyse arginine formed from citrulline and aspartic acid, though it can split exogenous arginine, and also that an enhanced capacity to hydrolyse endogenous arginine plays a major role in the advent of ureotelism observed during the metamorphosis of the axolotl. 2. It was found that the arginase from axolotl liver is very unstable under the conditions followed, contrary to what is observed in rat liver. 3. Axolotl arginase is able to hydrolyse endogenous arginine if preserved. 4. Mn2+ protects the enzyme and renders it able to split endogenous arginine. 5. It is suggested that the metal ion produces a change of conformation of the enzyme that, being stable, is capable of hydrolysing the amino acid, or that the new conformation is appropriate for interaction with the sites of arginine synthesis.
Synthesis and degradation of collagen in the developing corium of the chick embryo
Authors: Boucek Robert J. , Hlavackova Vladimira
Published: August 2015

1. Indices of collagen synthesis and degradation were developed in a chick corium system in vitro. 2. These indices were determined by quantitatively measuring non-diffusible and diffusible hydroxy[14C]proline in the tissues after a standard period of incubation. 3. Under these incubation conditions collagen metabolism of the corium appears to be stable for at least 180min. 4. The indices of collagen synthesis and degradation seem to reflect the conditions of collagen metabolism in vivo. 5. A rapid collagen turnover occurs in the corium of the 13–14-day embryo owing to an accelerated collagen degradation at that period. 6. Epidermal elements may influence the synthesis as well as the degradation of collagen.
Studies on flavonoid metabolism. Metabolism of (+)-catechin in the guinea pig
Authors: Das N. P. , Griffiths L. A.
Published: August 2015

1. Administration of (+)-catechin to the guinea pig gives rise to a number of phenolic acids and lactones, which have been identified by chromatographic and spectrophotometric methods. The major phenolic acid metabolite is m-hydroxybenzoic acid and the major lactone metabolite is δ-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-γ-valerolactone. 2. The phenolic acid and lactone metabolites are excreted in both free and conjugated forms, including their glucuronides and to a lesser degree their ethereal sulphates. 3. Administration of certain of the metabolites isolated has permitted certain sequential relationships of these intermediates to be established. 4. Degradation of (+)-catechin in the guinea pig is effected at least in part by the gut microflora and is suppressed by aureomycin plus phthaloyl-sulphathiazole.
The influence of chloride and other univalent inorganic anions on the visible-absorption spectrum of aspartate aminotransferase
Authors: Bergami M. , Marino G. , Scardi V.
Published: August 2015

1. The influence of Cl−, Br−, NO3− and F− ions on the visible-absorption spectrum of deionized aspartate aminotransferase was investigated. 2. Except for F−, these anions caused an increase of the extinction at 430mμ with a concomitant decrease of that at 362mμ. 3. The affinity constants for Cl− and NO3− ions were calculated by a procedure based on the assumption that the anion stabilizes the protonated form of the enzyme chromophore (λmax. 430mμ). 4. The true pK of the chromophore of the enzyme was found to be 5·25.
The bacterial metabolism of 2,4-xylenol
Authors: Chapman P J , Hopper D J
Published: August 2015

1. Measurements of the rates of oxidation of various compounds by a fluorescent Pseudomonas indicated that metabolism of 2,4-xylenol was initiated by oxidation of the methyl group para to the hydroxyl group. 2. 4-Hydroxy-3-methylbenzoic acid was isolated as the product of oxidation of 2,4-xylenol by cells inhibited with αα′-bipyridyl. 3. 4-Hydroxyisophthalic acid accumulated at low oxygen concentrations when either 2,4-xylenol or 4-hydroxy-3-methylbenzoic acid was oxidized by cells grown with 2,4-xylenol. 4. When supplemented with NADH, but not with NADPH, cell extracts oxidized 4-hydroxy-3-methylbenzoic acid readily. 2-Hydroxy-5-methylbenzoic acid was not oxidized. 5. Both 4-hydroxyisophthalic acid and p-hydroxybenzoic acid were oxidized to β-oxoadipic acid by cell extracts supplemented with either NADH or NADPH. 4,5-Dihydroxyisophthalic acid was not oxidized. 6. From measurements of oxygen consumed and carbon dioxide evolved it was concluded that protocatechuic acid is an intermediate in the conversion of 4-hydroxyisophthalic acid into β-oxoadipic acid.
The uptake of [14C]choline into synaptosomes in vitro
Authors: Marchbanks R. M.
Published: August 2015

1. The uptake of [14C]choline into synaptosomes in vitro was investigated by a gel-filtration method. Synaptosomes incubated in a medium fortified with glucose and succinate rapidly take up [14C]choline. 2. A substantial proportion of the radioactivity taken up can be released by osmotic shock, and is recoverable as choline on a thin-layer chromatogram. This suggests that choline is taken up across the limiting membrane into the cytoplasmic compartment of the synaptosome. 3. The concentration of choline in the synaptosome has a dependence on the external concentration of choline that is similar to that in erythrocytes and mouse cerebral-cortex slices. The choline influx has two components, one that is linear and one that is saturable with increasing choline concentration. 4. Omission of Na+ from the incubation medium, or addition of 100mm-K+, inhibits choline uptake. Hemicholinium no. 3 is a powerful inhibitor of the choline uptake. 5. The similarity of the choline-uptake process in synaptosomes to that in erythrocytes and cortex slices indicates that the synaptosome limiting membrane is functionally competent in this respect.
Pneumococcal C-substance, a ribitol teichoic acid containing choline phosphate
Authors: Brundish D E , Baddiley J
Published: August 2015

1. Pneumococcal C-substance was isolated from the non-capsulated Pneumococcus 1–192R, A.T.C.C. 12213, by extraction with trichloroacetic acid solution followed by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose (HCO3− form). 2. The polymer contains 7·0% of phosphorus and 6·0% of nitrogen and is composed of phosphate, N-acetyl-d-galactosamine, d-glucose, N-acetyldiaminotrideoxyhexose, ribitol and choline in the molecular proportions 2:1:1:1:1:1. 3. After acid hydrolysis, d-galactosamine hydrochloride and galactosamine 6-phosphate were isolated in crystalline form and crystalline derivatives of d-glucose and anhydroribitol were obtained. A product of partial acid hydrolysis was provisionally characterized as 6′-O-phosphoryl-[O-β-d-galactosaminyl-(1′→6)-d-glucose]. 4. C-substance contains free amino groups accessible to attack by 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene and nitrous acid. 5. Choline phosphate and ribitol phosphate are units in the polymer. 6. Treatment with hot alkali gave a fragment comprising phosphate, d-galactosamine, d-glucose, diaminotrideoxyhexose and ribitol in the molecular proportions 2:1:1:1:1. 7. After selective N-acetylation, the fragment contained one of its phosphate groups as a phosphomonoester and one as a phosphodiester, shown by potentiometric titration and by treatment with a phosphomonoesterase. 8. C-substance from seven other strains of Pneumococcus possesses a structure common to that described for the strain 1–192R. 9. Capsular materials from 26 different strains of Pneumococcus were analysed for suspected contamination by C-substance. In 19 cases the presence of C-substance with the normal structure was demonstrated, and in the remaining seven cases the contaminating C-substance was probably similarly constituted. 10. F-substance was isolated and the associated fatty acid material analysed.
The glycerol teichoic acid from walls of Staphylococcus epidermidis I2
Authors: Archibald A. R. , Baddiley J , Shaukat G. A.
Published: August 2015

1. Walls of Staphylococcus epidermidis I2 contain 30% (w/w) of a glycerol teichoic acid containing phosphate, d-alanine and d-glucose in the molecular proportions 1:0·25:0·50. 2. The teichoic acid was isolated by extraction with trichloroacetic acid and with dilute aqueous NN-dimethylhydrazine at pH7, and was shown to be a (1→3)-linked poly(glycerol phosphate) containing β-d-glucopyranosyl and d-alanyl ester substituents. 3. 2-O-β-d-Glucopyranosylglycerol was isolated and characterized as its crystalline hexa-O-acetate. 4. Unlike that of certain other bacteria, the peptidoglycan component of the wall is not solubilized by NN-dimethylhydrazine. 5. The membrane teichoic acid is also a (1→3)-linked poly(glycerol phosphate) but contains a smaller proportion of glucosyl substituents.
Immunoglobulin λ-chains. The complete amino acid sequence of a Bence-Jones protein
Authors: Milstein C. , Clegg J. B. , Jarvis J. M.
Published: August 2015

The total amino acid sequence of a λ Bence-Jones protein has been established. The protein contains 211 residues, which include two methionine residues. Splitting with cyanogen bromide gave three fragments, the largest of which included the C-terminal half, which is common to other Bence-Jones proteins of the same type. The peptides obtained by tryptic, chymotryptic and peptic digestion were isolated and purified by paper-electrophoretic and chromatographic techniques. Reduction followed by carboxymethylation of the cysteine residues with radioactive iodoacetate was found to be a powerful tool in the isolation of some insoluble peptides. Unusual features of the molecule are the fact that it contains six cysteine residues and not five as observed in both κ and λ Bence-Jones proteins studied previously, and its size, which seems two residues smaller than the smallest Bence-Jones protein studied hitherto. The similarities and differences between this and other Bence-Jones proteins are discussed.
Purification and properties of α-d-mannosidase from jack-bean meal
Authors: Snaith Sybil M. , Levvy G. A.
Published: August 2015

1. α-Mannosidase from jack-bean meal was purified 150-fold. β-N-Acetyl-glucosaminidase and β-galactosidase were removed from the preparation by treatment with pyridine. Zn2+ was added during the purification to stabilize the α-mannosidase. 2. At pH values below neutrality, α-mannosidase undergoes reversible spontaneous inactivation at a rate dependent on the temperature, the degree of dilution and the extent of purification. The enzyme is also subject to irreversible inactivation, which is prevented by the addition of albumin. 3. Reversible inactivation of α-mannosidase is accelerated by EDTA and reversed or prevented by Zn2+. Other cations, such as Co2+, Cd2+ and Cu2+, accelerate inactivation; an excess of Zn2+ again exerts a protective action, and so does EDTA in suitable concentration. 4. Neither Zn2+ nor EDTA has any marked effect in the assay of untreated enzyme. In an EDTA-treated preparation, however, Zn2+ reactivates the enzyme during assay. 5. It is postulated that α-mannosidase is a dissociable Zn2+–protein complex in which Zn2+ is essential for enzyme activity.
The pyrophosphatase activity of pig kidney alkaline phosphatase and its inhibition by magnesium ions and excess of pyrophosphate
Authors: Butterworth P. J.
Published: August 2015

1. Pig kidney enzyme resembles other non-specific alkaline phosphatases in its ability to hydrolyse inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi). 2. Studies of enzyme velocity as a function of PPi concentration show that Michaelis–Menten kinetics are obeyed when a constant PPi/Mg2+ concentration ratio is maintained, but velocity–substrate concentration curves are sigmoid when the concentration of PPi is increased but that of Mg2+ is kept constant. The enzyme is inhibited when the total PPi concentration is greater than the total concentration of Mg2+. Pyrophosphatase activity is activated by Mg2+, but if the concentration of the metal ion is increased to a value in excess of the total PPi concentration Mg2+ is then strongly inhibitory. 4. It appears that the enzyme is most active towards the complex ion MgPPi2−. The enzyme probably hydrolyses PPi4− also, but this is a poorer substrate and its competition with MgPPi2− leads to inhibition. At high Mg2+ concentrations Mg2PPi is formed. This complex appears to be a potent inhibitor. 5. Sigmoid plots of v against s and of v against i result from interactions occurring between Mg2+ and PPi4− leading to MgPPi2− and Mg2PPi, and are not indicative of allosteric behaviour.
Some physical-chemical properties of reduced-alkylated and sulphitolysed human serum transferrins and hen's-egg conalbumin
Authors: Bezkorovainy Anatoly , Grohlich Dietmar , Gerbeck Claire M.
Published: August 2015

1. Apparently all disulphide bridges of transferrin and conalbumin were broken by reduction–alkylation, whereas sulphitolysis resulted in incomplete cleavage of disulphide bonds. 2. The molecular weights of reduced–alkylated and sulphitolysed transferrin and reduced–alkylated conalbumin were identical with those of native proteins in a number of solvents, indicating that these proteins exist as single polypeptide chains. 3. Viscosity studies indicated that reduced–alkylated transferrin possesses a partially ordered structure in 0–4m-urea, assumes a random-coil configuration in 6m-urea with a molecular weight of 84000 and is partially aggregated in 8m-urea.
The loss of rapidly labelled ribonucleic acid from isolated HeLa cell nuclei
Authors: Watts J. W.
Published: August 2015

1. The loss of nucleic acids and protein from isolated HeLa-cell nuclei was studied. During 4hr. incubation at 37° DNA was conserved, but appreciable amounts of RNA and protein were lost. 2. Two classes of nuclear RNA were distinguished: at least 75% of the RNA was lost from the nuclei relatively slowly through degradation to acid-soluble fragments; the rest of the RNA was lost much more rapidly, not only through degradation to acid-soluble fragments but also through diffusion of RNA out of the nuclei into the incubation medium. 3. The RNA that was preferentially lost was the fraction of nuclear RNA that was rapidly labelled when intact HeLa cells were grown in a medium containing radioactive precursors of RNA. 4. The RNA appearing in the incubation medium was apparently partially degraded and had a sedimentation coefficient of about that of transfer RNA. 5. Both the degradation of RNA and the loss of RNA from the nuclei were sensitive to bivalent cations. Low concentrations of Mg2+ and Mn2+ greatly increased the rate of degradation of the rapidly labelled RNA to acid-soluble fragments, and produced a corresponding decrease in the amount of RNA diffusing into the medium. At higher concentrations they suppressed both degradation and diffusion of RNA. The cations Ca2+, Cu2+, Zn2+ and Ni2+ all progressively inhibited both forms of loss of RNA. 6. Salts of univalent cations produced appreciable effects only at ionic strengths of about 0·2, when degradation to acid-soluble fragments was preferentially inhibited. 7. Both ADP and ATP inhibited loss of RNA at about 30mm. 8. It was concluded that the diffusion of rapidly labelled RNA out of the isolated nuclei was not related to the movement of RNA from nucleus to cytoplasm in vivo, but reflected the ease with which the rapidly labelled RNA detached from the chromatin and the permeability of the membranes of isolated nuclei.
Phospholipid exchange reactions within the liver cell
Authors: McMurray W. C. , Dawson R. M. C.
Published: August 2015

1. Isolated rat liver mitochondria do not synthesize labelled phosphatidylcholine from CDP-[14C]choline or any phospholipid other than phosphatidic acid from [32P]phosphate. The minimal labelling of phosphatidylcholine and other phosphoglycerides can be attributed to microsomal contamination. However, when mitochondria and microsomes are incubated together with [32P]phosphate, the phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylethanolamine of the reisolated mitochondria become labelled, suggesting a transfer of phospholipids between the two fractions. 2. When liver microsomes or mitochondria containing labelled phosphatidylcholine are independently incubated with the opposite un-labelled fraction, there is a substantial and rapid exchange of the phospholipid between the two membranes. Exchange of phosphatidylinositol also occurs rapidly, whereas phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidic acid exchange only slowly. There is no corresponding transfer of marker enzymes. The transfer of phosphatidylcholine does not occur at 0°, and there is no requirement for added substrate, ATP or Mg2+, but the omission of a heat-labile supernatant fraction markedly decreases the exchange. 3. After intravenous injection of [32P]phosphate, short-period labelling experiments of the individual phospholipids of rat liver microsomes and mitochondria in vivo give no evidence for a similar exchange process. However, the incubation of isolated microsomes and mitochondria with [32P]phosphate also fails on reisolation of the fractions to demonstrate a precursor–product relationship between the individual phospholipids of the two membranes. 4. The intraperitoneal injection of [32P]phosphate results in a far greater proportion of the dose entering the liver than does intravenous administration. After intraperitoneal administration of [32P]phosphate the specific radioactivities of the individual phospholipids are in the order microsomes > outer mitochondrial membrane > inner mitochondrial membrane. 5. The incorporation of 32P into cardiolipin is very slow both in vivo and in vitro. After labelling in vivo the radioactivity in the cardiolipin persists compared with that of the other phospholipids, whose specific radioactivities in the microsomes and mitochondrial fragments decay at a similar rate to that of the acid-soluble phosphate pool. 6. The possibility of phospholipid exchange processes occurring in the liver cell in vivo is discussed, and it is suggested that only a small but highly labelled part of the endoplasmic-reticulum lipoprotein pool is involved in the transfer.
Variation in the N-terminal sequence of heavy chains of immunoglobulin G from rabbits of different allotype
Authors: Wilkinson J. M.
Published: August 2015

The sequences of the N-terminal peptides prepared by Pronase digestion of the heavy chain of rabbit immunoglobulin G of allotype Aa1, Aa2 and Aa3 were determined and were shown to be related to the allotype. An N-terminal fragment of about 34 residues was also prepared from the allotype heavy chains, by cleavage with cyanogen bromide; the yield varied with the allotype. The sequences of the cyanogen bromide fragments from the Aa1 and Aa3 heavy chains contain allotype-related variations similar to those found in the N-terminal Pronase peptides, and these sequences are thought to be representative of the whole heavy-chain populations. There is about 60% homology between the two sequences, and superimposed on the differences between them there are a number of positions within each sequence at which at least two amino acids are present.
Reaction of vitamin A with acceptors of electrons. Formation of radical anions from 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane and tetrachloro-1,4-benzoquinone
Authors: Lichti F. Ulrike , Lucy J. A.
Published: August 2015

1. The interactions of retinol and retinoic acid with two electron acceptors, 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) and tetrachloro-1,4-benzoquinone (chloranil), were studied in an investigation on the ability of vitamin A to behave as a donor of electrons. 2. Retinol reacts with TCNQ in polar organic solvents with the formation, as judged by spectral studies, of the radical anion of TCNQ. 3. Addition of the products of this reaction to water is accompanied by a rapid consumption of OH− ions. 4. Consumption of OH− ions is also a feature of the reactions between retinol and chloranil, but the spectrum of the radical anion of chloranil is observed only when retinol and chloranil are suspended in aqueous salt solutions. 5. Retinoic acid behaves similarly to retinol in its reactions with TCNQ and chloranil, but it appears to be a weaker electron donor than retinol. 6. The reaction products that may be formed from retinol in its reactions with TCNQ and chloranil are discussed. 7. It is suggested that the ability of vitamin A to behave as a donor of electrons may be an important aspect of its biochemical mode of action.
Studies on tryptophan synthetases from various strains of Bacillus subtilis
Authors: Meduski Jerzy W. , Zamenhof Stephen
Published: August 2015

1. Tryptophan synthetase B of three strains of Bacillus subtilis was prepared from ‘exo-protoplastic’ and ‘endo-protoplastic’ fractions; the enzyme from ‘exo-protoplastic’ fraction was purified 30- to 120-fold by ammonium sulphate precipitation and DEAE-cellulose column chromatography; the latter step separated this enzyme from tryptophan synthetase A, tryptophanase and proteolytic enzymes, but the purified preparations were not stable. 2. The activity of tryptophan synthetase B did not depend on the presence of tryptophan synthetase A. 3. Tryptophan synthetases B of the strains tested differed in their utilization of 2- and 7-methylindole as compared with indole; this suggests that these tryptophan synthetases B are not identical.
The adenosine triphosphate inhibition of the pyruvate kinase reaction and its dependence on the total magnesium ion concentration
Authors: Holmsen Holm , Storm Eva
Published: August 2015

1. The effects of ATP, PPi and EDTA on the skeletal-muscle pyruvate kinase reaction at various concentrations of magnesium (where ‘magnesium’ refers to total Mg2+, both free and in the form of complexes) were investigated. The reaction rate was determined as the amount of pyruvate formed in a recorded time of incubation. 2. At 44mm-magnesium the Km values for ADP and phosphoenolpyruvate were unaltered by the presence of ATP up to 6·8mm in systems buffered with either tris–hydrochloric acid or glycylglycine–sodium hydroxide, but the Km values were different in these systems. The Km for one substrate was independent of the concentration of the second substrate. 3. At 10mm-magnesium in the tris–hydrochloric acid system ATP inhibited the reaction competitively with respect to ADP and phosphoenolpyruvate. In the glycylglycine–sodium hydroxide system the inhibition appeared to be non-competitive. At 10mm-magnesium the Km values were lower than at 44mm-magnesium and dependent on the system used. 4. In the tris–hydrochloric acid system the reaction rate rose with increasing magnesium concentration up to a maximum at a concentration 10–20 times that of ADP. Further increase inhibited the reaction and at 44mm-magnesium the rate was 25–50% of its maximum. This inhibition paralleled that produced by increasing trimethylammonium chloride concentrations and was not due to a specific effect of the Mg2+ ion. 5. In the presence of 6·8mm-ATP no reaction occurred below 4–6mm-magnesium, and further increase apparently abolished the inhibition as the reaction rate increased and became equal to those obtained in the absence of ATP at 10–25mm-magnesium. Further increase in magnesium concentration gave reaction rates that were slightly higher in the presence of ATP than in its absence. The maximal rate in the presence of ATP was distinctly lower than in its absence. When 6·8mm-PPi or 6·8mm-EDTA was present the variations in reaction rate with rising magnesium concentration were similar to that obtained in the presence of ATP below 6–8mm-magnesium but further increase in the magnesium concentration resulted in an increase in the rate up to a maximum comparable with that of the control. The effect of pure chelation was thus a displacement of the reaction maximum to higher magnesium concentrations without changing the maximal rate. When correction had been made for this effect, ATP gave inhibition at 44mm-magnesium that was competitive with respect to ADP (Ki 2·1×10−2m). This degree of inhibition is far less than was reported earlier and its importance for the mechanism of the pyruvate kinase reaction is discussed.
Effect of actinomycin D and guanidine on the formation of a ribonucleic acid polymerase induced by foot-and-mouth-disease virus and on the replication of virus and viral ribonucleic acid
Authors: Black D. N. , Brown F.
Published: August 2015

The RNA-dependent RNA polymerase induced in baby-hamster kidney cells by infection with foot-and-mouth-disease virus can be detected as early as 60min. after infection, which is 60min. before viral RNA synthesis commences. The time at which the polymerase can first be detected coincides with the latest time at which actinomycin D (50μg./107 cells) or guanidine (1mg./107 cells) inhibits virus replication. However, by increasing the concentration of guanidine, viral replication can be inhibited later in the growth cycle, casting doubt on the validity of the hypothesis that guanidine acts specifically on the formation of the viral RNA polymerase.
Competition of two substrates for a single enzyme. A simple kinetic theorem exemplified by a hydroxy steroid dehydrogenase reaction
Authors: Pocklington T. , Jeffery J.
Published: August 2015

1. If two compounds are substrates for a single enzyme, and do not form any ternary complex with the enzyme or combine directly with each other, then the total initial rate of reaction for a mixture of the two compounds may be greater than the rate for either compound alone, or may lie between the rates for the compounds alone. It is the concentration of the compound with the higher maximum velocity that determines which applies, and there is one concentration of the compound of higher maximum velocity at which the total rate of reaction is independent of the presence or absence of the substrate of lower maximum velocity. The values concerned are derived. 2. An example is given of 5α-androstan-3-one and 5α-androstane-3,16-dione as substrates competing for a hydroxy steroid–NAD oxidoreductase (EC 1.1.1.53).