bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The control of ribonucleic acid synthesis in bacteria. The synthesis and stability of ribonucleic acid in rifampicin-inhibited cultures of Escherichia coli
Authors: Gray W. J. H. , Midgley J. E. M.
Published: August 2015

A study was made of the kinetics of labelling of the stable ribonucleic acids (rRNA+tRNA) and the unstable mRNA fraction in cultures of Escherichia coli M.R.E.600, inhibited by the addition of 0.1g of rifampicin/l. Labelling was carried out by adding either [2-14C]- or [5-3H]-uracil as an exogenous precursor of the cellular nucleic acids. From studies using DNA RNA hybridization, the kinetics of the synthesis and degradation of mRNA was followed in the inhibited cultures. Although a considerable proportion of the mRNA labelled in the presence of rifampicin decayed to non-hybridizable products, about 25% was stabilized beyond the point where protein synthesis had finally ceased. It therefore seems unwise to extrapolate the results of studies on mRNA stability in rifampicin-inhibited cultures to the situation existing in the rate of steady growth, where there appears to be little, if any, stable messenger. The kinetics of labelling of RNA in inhibited cultures indicated that the clapsed time from the addition of rifampicin to the point at which radioactivity no longer enters the total cellular ribonucleic acids is a measure of the time required to polymerize a molecule of rRNA. At 37°C, in culture grown in broth, glucose–salts or lactate salts media, exogenous [2-14C]uracil entered rifampicin-inhibited cells and was incorporated into RNA for 2 3min after the antibiotic was added. Taking this time as that required to polymerize a complete chain of 23S rRNA, the polymerization rate of this fraction in the three media was 25, 22 and 19 nucleotides added/s to the growing chains. Similar experiments in cultures previously inhibited by 0.2g of chloramphenicol/l showed virtually identical behaviour. This confirmed the work of Midgley & Gray (1971), who, by a different approach, showed that the polymerization rate of rRNA in steadily growing and chloramphenicol-inhibited cultures of E. coli at 37°C was essentially constant at about 22 nucleotides added/s. It was thus confirmed that the rate of polymerization of at least the rRNA fraction in E. coli is virtually unaffected by the nature of the growth medium and therefore by bacterial growth rate.
Template activity of chromatin during stimulation of cellular proliferation in human diploid fibroblasts
Authors: Farber John , Rovera Giovanni , Baserga Renato
Published: August 2015

1. Contact-inhibited confluent monolayers of WI-38 human diploid fibroblasts can be stimulated to divide by replacing the medium with fresh medium containing 30′ foetal calf serum. 2. Of the cells 40–75′ are stimulated to divide with a peak DNA synthesis between 15 and 21h and a peak mitotic index between 28 and 30h after stimulation. 3. In the first 12h before the initiation of DNA synthesis there is a biphasic increase in the incorporation of [3H]uridine into RNA of whole cells. 4. This is paralleled by a similar biphasic stimulation of chromatin template activity measured in vitro in a system in which purified cell chromatin is incubated with an exogenous RNA polymerase isolated from Escherichia coli. 5. The changes in chromatin template activity are believed to represent activation of the genome, with more sites available for RNA synthesis, and to account almost entirely for the changes in RNA synthesis occurring in the whole cell.
Mössbauer effect in Scenedesmus and spinach ferredoxins. The mechanism of electron transfer in plant-type iron–sulphur proteins
Authors: Rao K. K. , Cammack R. , Hall D. O. , Johnson C. E.
Published: August 2015

1. The Mössbauer spectra of Scenedesmus ferredoxin enriched in 57Fe were measured and found to be identical with those of two other plant-type ferredoxins (from spinach and Euglena) that had been previously measured. Better resolved Mössbauer spectra of spinach ferredoxin are also reported from protein enriched in 57Fe. All these iron–sulphur proteins are known to contain two iron atoms in a molecule that takes up one electron on reduction. 2. The Mössbauer spectra at 195°K have electric hyperfine structure only and show that on reduction the electron goes to one of the iron atoms, the other appearing to remain unchanged. 3. In the oxidized state, both iron atoms are in a similar chemical state, which appears from the chemical shift and quadrupole splitting to be high-spin Fe3+, but they are in slightly different environments. In the reduced state the iron atoms are different and the molecule appears to contain one high-spin Fe2+ and one high-spin Fe3+ atom. 4. At lower temperatures (77 and 4.2°K) the spectra of both iron atoms in the reduced proteins show magnetic hyperfine structure which suggests that the iron in the oxidized state also has unpaired electrons. This provides experimental evidence for earlier suggestions that in the oxidized state there is antiferromagnetic exchange coupling, which would result in a low value for the magnetic susceptibility. 5. In a small magnetic field the spectrum of the reduced ferredoxin shows a Zeeman splitting with hyperfine field (Hn) of 180kG at the nuclei. On application of a strong magnetic field H the spectrum splits into two spectra with effective fields Hn±H, thus confirming the presence of the two antiferromagnetically coupled iron atoms. 6. These results are in agreement with the model proposed by Gibson, Hall, Thornley & Whatley (1966); in the oxidized state there are two Fe3+ atoms (high spin) antiferromagnetically coupled and on reduction of the ferredoxin by one electron one of the ferric atoms becomes Fe2+ (high spin).
The binding of radioactive label from labelled phenacetin and related compounds to rat tissues in vivo and to nucleic acids and bovine plasma albumin in vitro
Authors: Nery R.
Published: August 2015

1. acetyl-3H- and ethyl-14C-labelled derivatives of phenacetin and related compounds are described. 2. Radioactive label from the ethyl-14C-labelled derivatives of 4-nitrophenetole, 4-phenetidine and phenacetin binds in vitro to various extents to bovine plasma albumin, salmon sperm DNA and yeast RNA; the extent of binding is increased in the presence of a rat liver microsomal hydroxylating system and further increased when the microsomal enymes are induced by prior treatment of rats with 3-methylcholanthrene. 3. The ratios of the bound radioactive labels in vitro from [ethyl-14C]phenacetin, N-acetoxy[ethyl-14C]phenacetin, [acetyl-3H]phenacetin and [diacetyl-3H]N-acetoxyphenacetin per g-atom of DNA P, RNA P and per mol of protein in the absence of the microsomal system are approximately 1:60:11:863, 1:68:41:1835 and 1:88:713:2399 respectively. 4. Radioactive label from labelled phenacetin binds in vitro to all tissues examined, including the spleen, intestines, kidney and bladder; about 80% of the radioactivity bound to the liver is concentrated in the RNA and proteins. 5. Comparison of the relative extents of binding of radioactive label derived from equimolar amounts of labelled phenacetin, ethanol or acetate shows that the incorporation of labelled C2 units into tissues and biological macromolecules in vivo and in vitro may account for only a part of the total bound radioactive label derived from phenacetin and not at all from the incorporation of radioactive acetate into nucleic acids. 6. Some implications of these findings are discussed.
The nature of the non-ultrafilterable glycosaminoglycans of normal human urine
Authors: Wessler E.
Published: August 2015

1. The non-ultrafilterable acidic glycosaminoglycans from pooled urine of normal men, aged about 20, were isolated and characterized. The isolation procedure included digestion with sialidase and pronase, and fractionation by stepwise elution from an ECTEOLA-cellulose column. The glycosaminoglycans in each fraction were separated from each other by preparative electrophoresis in sodium barbital buffer and in barium acetate. 2. Approximate relative amounts of the different glycosaminoglycans were: chondroitin sulphate 60%, chondroitin 2%, hyaluronic acid 4%, dermatan sulphate 1%, heparan sulphate 15% and keratan sulphate 18%. Chondroitin sulphate–dermatan sulphate hybrids seemed to occur in trace amounts. 3. Chondroitin sulphate, heparan sulphate and keratan sulphate were heterogeneous with respect to degree of sulphation. Two distinct groups of chondroitin sulphate fractions were found, with sulphate/hexosamine molar ratios of about 0.5 and 1 respectively. The sulphate/hexosamine molar ratios in the heparan sulphate fractions varied from 0.5 to 0.9; the N-sulphate/hexosamine ratio was about 0.5 in all fractions. The sulphate/hexosamine molar ratios in the keratan sulphate fractions varied from 0.2 to 0.7.
The metabolic interconversion of arecoline and arecoline 1-oxide in the rat
Authors: Nery R.
Published: August 2015

1. Tritiation of arecoline hydrochloride by catalytic exchange in aqueous media (done by The Radiochemical Centre) gave arecaidine hydrochloride of high specific radioactivity; this on treatment with diazomethane gave [3H]arecoline, which was oxidized with peroxyacetic acid to [3H]arecoline 1-oxide. 2. Arecoline 1-oxide gave arecaidine 1-oxide on acid hydrolysis and 1,2-dihydro-1-methylnicotinic acid methyl ester on thermal decomposition. 3. [3H]Arecoline hydrochloride was metabolized in the rat into the 3H-labelled derivatives of arecoline 1-oxide, arecaidine 1-oxide, arecaidine, N-acetyl-S-(3-carboxy-1-methylpiperid-4-yl)-l-cysteine and an unidentified metabolite; some unchanged arecoline was also excreted. [3H]Arecoline 1-oxide gave the same metabolities, but in different amounts. 4. The possible relevance of these findings to betel-nut carcinogenesis is discussed.
Unsuitability of indoxyl acetate as a substrate for the assay of testicular hyaluronidase
Authors: Rhodes C. , Dodgson K. S. , Olavesen A. H. , Högberg B.
Published: August 2015

The most recently published method for the assay of testicular hyaluronidase preparations was based on the premise that the enzyme also exhibited carboxylesterase activity towards indoxyl acetate. Studies on the relative enzyme activities of various hyaluronidase preparations towards hyaluronate and indoxyl acetate, the relative stabilities towards pH, temperature and mechanical shaking and the behaviour towards a variety of inhibitors, showed that the activities towards the two substrates reflected the presence of at least two different enzyme systems in the preparations. Gel chromatography and polyacrylamide-gel-electrophoresis experiments confirmed these conclusions and the collective findings clearly establish that methods based on the use of indoxyl acetate cannot be employed to measure testicular hyaluronidase activity.
Exchange of sterols between myelin and other membranes of developing rat brain
Authors: Banik N. L. , Davison A. N.
Published: August 2015

1. The effect of inhibition of cholesterol synthesis by a hypocholesterolaemic drug (AY-9944) was studied in rat brain during development. 2. At 2 weeks after administration of AY-9944 to young rats 7-dehydrocholesterol accounted for half the total sterol of myelin and other subcellular components. 3. At 4 weeks after injection of the drug 7-dehydrocholesterol had disappeared whereas the cholesterol content of myelin had increased by an equivalent amount. Our studies show that purified myelin has low 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase activity and suggest that 7-dehydrocholesterol is largely converted into cholesterol outside the myelin sheath. 4. Resultant cholesterol may be re-incorporated into myelin by an exchange process. 5. The metabolism of sterols in developing brain is discussed.
Subcellular distribution of taurine and cysteinesulphinate decarboxylase in developing rat brain
Authors: Agrawal H. C. , Davison A. N. , Kaczmarek L. K.
Published: August 2015

The concentration of taurine and the activities of cysteinesulphinate decarboxylase and glutamate decarboxylase have been measured in rat brain. During development, taurine exhibited a decrease in concentration unrelated to the activity of cysteinesulphinate decarboxylase which increased during the same period. The distribution of taurine in subcellular fractions of adult and 7-day-old rat brain was typical of most amino acids, whereas half of the cysteinesulphinate decarboxylase activity was found in the nerve-ending cytoplasm. In anatomical distribution, taurine displayed great regional heterogeneity but both cysteinesulphinate decarboxylase and glutamate decarboxylase were more evenly distributed. Hypertaurinaemia was shown to have no effect on the entry of glycine into the brain or on its utilization in protein synthesis.
Isolation and partial characterization of methylated arginines from the encephalitogenic basic protein of myelin
Authors: Baldwin G. S. , Carnegie P. R.
Published: August 2015

Two methylated derivatives of arginine were isolated from the encephalitogenic protein of myelin from the central nervous system. Evidence is presented for the proposed structures, ω-NN′-dimethylarginine and ω-N-monomethylarginine. In the encephalitogenic protein from human brain the proportion 1:6:10 for arginine:monomethylarginine:dimethylarginine residues was found to occur at position 107. Possible roles for the methylated arginine in conformational changes and altered ion-exchange behaviour are discussed.
Specificities of haemagglutinating antibodies evoked by members of the cephalosporin C family and benzylpenicillin
Authors: Hamilton-Miller J. M. T. , Abraham E. P.
Published: August 2015

1. Antisera have been produced in rabbits to benzylpenicillin and four members of the cephalosporin C family and to conjugates of these substances with bovine γ-globulin. 2. Deacetoxycephalosporin C reacted less readily and deacetylcephalosporin C lactone more readily with bovine γ-globulin than did benzylpenicillin, cephalosporin C or deacetylcephalosporin C. 3. Antisera to free or conjugated benzylpenicillin agglutinated red cells sensitized with a variety of penicillins, but only reacted to a significant extent with cells sensitized with the cephalosporins tested when the latter contained an N-phenylacetyl or chemically related side chain. 4. Antisera to members of the cephalosporin C family agglutinated cells sensitized with these cephalosporins or with penicillin N, but did not react with cephalosporins whose side chains were chemically unrelated to α-aminoadipic acid. 5. Members of the cephalosporin C family and products of hydrolysis of cephalosporin C behaved as hapten inhibitors of antisera to cephalosporin C, but 7-aminocephalosporanic acid was relatively ineffective. 6. These findings are discussed in relation to differences in the chemical properties of penicillins and cephalosporins.
Studies on the high-sulphur proteins of reduced Merino wool. Amino acid sequence of protein SCMKB-IIIB4
Authors: Swart L. S. , Haylett T.
Published: August 2015

The complete amino acid sequence of protein SCMKB-IIIB4 is presented. It is closely related to the sequence of protein SCMKB-IIIB3 (Haylett, Swart & Parris, 1971) differing in only four positions. The peptic and thermolysin peptides of protein SCMKB-IIIB4 were analysed by the dansyl–Edman method (Gray, 1967) and by tritium-labelling of C-terminal residues (Matsuo, Fujimoto & Tatsuno, 1966). This protein is the third member of a group of high-sulphur wool proteins with molecular weight of about 11400. It consists of 98 residues and has acetylalanine and carboxymethylcysteine as N- and C-terminal residues respectively.
The effect of salts on catecholamine fluxes and adenosine triphosphatase activity in storage vesicles from the adrenal medulla
Authors: Taugner G.
Published: August 2015

1. Influx and efflux of catecholamine and adenosine triphosphatase activity in storage vesicles from the adrenal medulla were studied with dl-[14C]adrenaline in different media. 2. The lowest values for flux and adenosine triphosphatase activity were observed in sucrose media in which an ATP-dependent influx of catecholamine compensated for an efflux of the same magnitude. Efflux in the presence or absence of ATP was similar. 3. In media containing sodium succinate or glutarate adenosine triphosphatase activity was higher and the ATP-dependent influx of catecholamine was about twice that observed in iso-osmotic sucrose medium. In the presence of ATP influx and efflux of catecholamine were balanced; in its absence there was a net release of catecholamine, since efflux was more than twice the influx. Efflux in the presence or absence of ATP was similar. 4. In media containing sodium or potassium chloride and in the presence of ATP influx and adenosine triphosphatase activity were further enhanced, but in the absence of ATP there was no further increase in influx, since catecholamine was released with or without ATP at the same rate. Efflux was therefore twice as high in the presence of ATP as in its absence. 5. Sodium nitrate suppressed the ATP-dependent influx nearly completely, but caused a greatly enhanced efflux, which was twice as high in the presence of ATP as in its absence. 6. The extinction of vesicular suspensions remained unchanged in the presence of ATP under conditions where the catecholamine efflux was balanced by the influx. Under conditions where the efflux was not compensated by influx, the extinction of the suspensions decreased in the presence of ATP more than in its absence.
The requirement for the protonated α-amino group for the transport of peptides in Escherichia coli
Authors: Payne J. W.
Published: August 2015

Many glycine peptides support growth of a glycine auxotroph of Escherichia coli. If the α-amino group of these peptides is methylated, the products are still utilized for growth, and also retain comparable ability with the unsubstituted peptides to compete with natural peptides for transport into the cell. In contrast, glycine peptides devoid of an α-amino group, or that have the α-amino group substituted by one of a number of acyl groups are not utilized, although E. coli possesses intracellular enzymic activity able to release glycine from such compounds; further, these derivatives do not compete with natural peptides for transport into the cell.
Effects of metabolic acidosis and starvation on the content of intermediary metabolites in rat kidney
Authors: Hems D. A. , Brosnan J. T.
Published: August 2015

1. Metabolite contents were determined in freeze-clamped kidney from acidotic and starved rats in order to elucidate the rate-controlling steps which are responsible for the acceleration of gluconeogenesis in these situations. 2. In the kidney of rats which were made mildly acidotic by replacing drinking water with 1.5% ammonium chloride for 7 to 10 days (when the plasma bicarbonate concentration was 20mm) the content of phosphoenolpyruvate was increased from the control value of 35 to 63nmol/g and that of 3-phosphoglycerate from 85 to 154nmol/g. 3. Similar but smaller changes in these metabolites occurred in the kidney of starved rats but there were no such changes in the kidney of rats 12h after an infusion of 0.25m-hydrochloric acid, although plasma bicarbonate concentration fell to about 10mm on this treatment. 4. The renal concentration of glucose 6-phosphate was not raised in rats that received ammonium chloride, but was increased in starved and acutely acidotic rats. 5. The concentrations of α-oxoglutarate, malate and citrate were less than half the normal value in the kidney of both groups of acidotic rats. These changes can be accounted for on the basis of equilibrium relationships among reversible reactions, particularly as a result of the rise in intracellular ammonia content. A less marked decrease in α-oxoglutarate and malate was found in the kidney of starved rats. 6. The renal cortical cytoplasmic oxaloacetate concentration was calculated to be decreased in acidotic and starved rats. 7. These results are discussed in the light of the known enhancement by acidosis and starvation of renal gluconeogenesis. In particular they support the suggestion that the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase reaction is a site of control of gluconeogenesis in kidney in these conditions.
The inhibition of glutamate dehydrogenase by l-serine O-sulphate and related compounds and by photo-oxidation in the presence of Rose Bengal
Authors: Tudball N. , Thomas P.
Published: August 2015

1. Glutamate dehydrogenase was inhibited by l-serine O-sulphate, β-chloro-l-alanine, O-phospho-l-serine and β-chloro-l-alanine methyl ester. With the exception of β-chloro-l-alanine methyl ester which was an irreversible inhibitor, it was possible to reverse the inhibitory effects by dialysis. 2. Both NAD+ and glutamate afford some protection against the inhibition due to the methyl ester. No change in the normal stimulatory effect exhibited by ADP was observed in the presence of β-chloro-l-alanine methyl ester but the effect due to GTP was modified. 3. Irradiation of glutamate dehydrogenase in the presence of Rose Bengal produced rapid inactivation. Amino acid analysis of the inactivated enzyme showed that eight histidine residues had been destroyed in the process.
The effects of hydrogen ion concentration on the simplest steady-state enzyme systems
Authors: Ottolenghi P.
Published: August 2015

Laidler (1955) showed that consideration of the effect of pH on enzymic mechanisms that obey steady-state kinetics leads to the inclusion in the equations of a ‘perturbation term’ that can introduce curvature into the Lineweaver–Burk plots. He also stated conditions in which this term vanishes. This term can lead to apparent activation by substrate. Further, several cases are shown in which simplification, but not disappearance, of the perturbation term can lead to linearity of Lineweaver–Burk plots. These cases arise when the ionization of groups at the active site either is unaffected or is completely prevented when the enzyme–substrate complex is formed. It is also shown that V(app.) can vary with pH without a concomitant change in Km(app.) in certain cases that obey steady-state kinetics without implying that Km=Ks. When the perturbation term is significant, Dixon's (1953) rules for the calculation of pK values will not always apply.
Changes in the transcription pattern of flax cotyledons after inoculation with flax rust
Authors: Chakravorty Arun K. , Shaw Michael
Published: August 2015

The rate of32P incorporation into RNA fractions of flax cotyledons (Linum usitatissimum L. var. Bison) was found to increase two- to three-fold by 48h after inoculation with flax rust [Melampsora lini (Pers.) Lev., race no. 3]. This was accompanied by a change in the nucleotide composition of the newly transcribed sodium chloride-soluble RNA fraction. A comparison of the nucleotide composition of the RNA synthesized in the host–parasite complex at different stages of development indicated the preferential synthesis of one or more molecular species of RNA with a high A+U/G+C ratio at a relatively early stage of infection. Treatment of healthy plants with indol-3-ylacetic acid also resulted in a substantial stimulation in the rate of32P incorporation into RNA but this was not accompanied by a detectable change in the nucleotide ratios of the newly synthesized RNA. These results suggest that the synthesis of one of more additional RNA species or the augmented synthesis of certain species of RNA may be a specific phenomenon elicited by host–pathogen interaction.
The amino acid sequence around four cysteine residues in trout actin
Authors: Bridgen John
Published: August 2015

Four unique carboxymethylcysteine-containing peptides were isolated from tryptic and chymotryptic digests of trout muscle actin carboxymethylated with iodo[2-14C]acetic acid in 6m-guanidinium chloride. The amino acid sequences of these peptides were determined and showed a high degree of homology with the corresponding sequences from rabbit actin. One of the radioactive peptides was the C-terminal peptide and another sequence probably contained the cysteine residue from the N-terminal region of the protein.
The hydrolysis of glycosyl fluorides by glycosidases. Determination of the anomeric configuration of the products of glycosidase action
Authors: Barnett J. E. G.
Published: August 2015

The enzymic hydrolysis of glycosyl fluorides is conveniently followed by using a pH-stat. Reactions involving glucosyl or galactosyl fluorides can also be followed by using glucose oxidase or galactose oxidase respectively. The pH-stat allows the rapid assay of intestinal α-glucosidase in crude homogenates. Use of glycosyl fluorides as substrates for glycosidases facilitates the polarimetric or g.l.c. determination of the anomeric nature of the initial product of hydrolysis. Hydrolysis by fungal amyloglucosidase proceeds with inversion of configuration whereas that by yeast and rat intestinal α-glucosidase, coffee-bean α-galactosidase and almond emulsin β-glucosidase proceeds with retention of configuration. β-d-Glucopyranosyl azide was not a detectable substrate for almond emulsin β-d-glucosidase.
Studies on the solubilized ribonucleic acid polymerase from rat ventral prostate gland
Authors: Mainwaring W. I. P. , Mangan F. R. , Peterken B. M.
Published: August 2015

1. By using ultrasonic treatment in media of high ionic strength, the RNA polymerase activities associated with prostatic nuclei and nucleoli can be completely solubilized. Such enzyme preparations are entirely dependent on the provision of added DNA for full activity. 2. The solubilized enzymes from the nucleolar and extranucleolar regions can be separated by ion-exchange chromatography. 3. Based on differences in the optimum DNA templates, pH optima and the effects of ammonium sulphate on the activities in vitro, Mn2+- and Mg2+-specific enzymes are associated with both the nucleolar and extranucleolar regions of prostatic nuclei. 4. Androgenic hormones administered in vivo have a particularly pronounced effect on the activity of Mg2+-dependent enzyme associated with the isolated prostatic nucleolus. 5. Time-course experiments in vivo show that androgens induce a rapid stimulation of the solubilized Mg2+-dependent nucleolar enzyme before a pronounced activation of nucleolar chromatin can be measured. 6. The implications of these findings to the mechanism of action of androgenic steroids are discussed.
The separation of intracellular serum albumin from rat liver
Authors: Judah J. D. , Nicholls Marion R.
Published: August 2015

1. Antibody precipitation of serum albumin from rat liver extracts yields impure preparations of the protein. 2. When rat liver is labelled with l-[1-14C]leucine, antibody precipitation of albumin leads to material that is contaminated with a protein or proteins of very high specific radioactivity. Only 10–25% of the radioactivity of the antibody precipitate is associated with serum albumin. 3. A chromatographic procedure is described that can be used to separate radiochemically pure serum albumin from antibody precipitates obtained from extracts of rat liver. 4. Extracellular albumin secreted by liver slices yields a precipitate with antibody which contains much less radioactive impurity. About 70–90% of the radioactivity is associated with serum albumin. Serum albumin separated by antibody precipitation from rat serum labelled in vivo was not contaminated with the radiochemical impurities associated with intracellular albumin. 5. A simple method is described of obtaining the content of serum albumin in rat liver extracts by the technique of isotope dilution and ion-exchange chromatography.
Cerebral-cortex hexokinases. Elucidation of reaction mechanisms by substrate and dead-end inhibitor kinetic analysis
Authors: Bachelard H. S. , Clark A. G. , Thompson M. F.
Published: August 2015

1. The substrate kinetic properties of cerebral hexokinases (mitochondrial and cytoplasmic) were studied at limiting concentrations of both glucose and MgATP2−. Primary plots of the enzymic activity gave no evidence of a Ping Pong mechanism in three types of mitochondrial preparation tested (intact and osmotically disrupted mitochondria, and the purified mitochondrial enzyme), nor in the purified cytoplasmic preparation. 2. Secondary plots of intercepts from the primary plots (1/v versus 1/s) versus reciprocal of second substrate of the mitochondrial activity gave kinetic constants which differed from those obtained directly from the plots of 1/v versus 1/s or of s/v versus s, although the ratios of the derived constants were consistent. The kinetic constants obtained with the cytoplasmic enzyme from primary and secondary plots were consistent. 3. Deoxyglucose, as alternative substrate, inhibited cytoplasmic hexokinase by competition with glucose, but did not compete when MgATP2− was the substrate varied. The Ki for deoxyglucose when glucose concentrations were varied was 0.25mm. 4. A range of ATP analogues was tested as potential substrates and inhibitors of hexokinase activity. GTP, ITP, CTP, UTP and βγ-methylene-ATP did not act as substrates, nor did they cause significant inhibition. Deoxy-ATP proved to be almost as effective a substrate as ATP. AMP inhibited but did not act as substrate. 5. N-Acetyl-glucosamine inhibited all preparations competitively when glucose was varied and non-competitively when MgATP2− was varied. AMP inhibition was competitive when MgATP2− was the substrate varied and non-competitive when glucose was varied. 6. The results are interpreted as providing evidence for a random reaction mechanism in all preparations of brain hexokinase, cytoplasmic and mitochondrial. The kinetic properties and reaction mechanism do not change on extraction and purification of the particulate enzyme. 7. The results are discussed in terms of the participation of hexokinase in regulation of cerebral glycolysis.
The effect of vitamin E on the oxidation state of selenium in rat liver
Authors: Diplock A. T. , Baum H. , Lucy J. A.
Published: August 2015

1. 75Se as Na275SeO3 was administered orally to rats under different nutritional conditions. 2. The selenium found in the liver subcellular organelle fractions was present in at least three oxidation states: acid-volatile selenium, assumed to be selenide, zinc–hydrochloric acid-reducible selenium, assumed to be selenite, and higher oxidation states of selenium and organic derivatives, called selenate for convenience. 3. The proportion of the total selenium present as selenide present as selenide is susceptible to oxidation in vitro, which can be prevented by the addition of antioxidants in vitro. 4. The proportion of selenide is also directly related to the vitamin E status of the rats, and treatment of vitamin E-deficient rats with vitamin E results in an increase in the proportion of selenide. 5. Freezing the liver in situ before preparation of the organelle fractions did not alter the susceptibility of the selenide proportion to dietary vitamin E, indicating that the observed effects occur in vivo and not as a result of oxidation post mortem. 6. Intravenous administration of Na275SeO3, to rats whose alimentary tract was partially sterilized by neomycin treatment, gave a similar result to that in paragraph 4, indicating that the reduction of selenite to selenide probably occurs in vivo, and that intestinal micro-organisms are not responsible. 7. Treatment of vitamin E-deficient rats with silver produced a fall in the total 75Se content of the liver, an effect only partially reversed by vitamin E administration. The proportion of the total selenium present as selenide was also lowered by the treatments with silver, and vitamin E significantly reversed this trend in most cases. 8. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the active form of Se may be selenide and that the selenide may form part of the active centre of an uncharacterized class of catalytically active non-haem-iron proteins that are protected from oxidation in vivo by vitamin E.
The oligosaccharide units of a human type L immunoglobulin M (macroglobulin)
Authors: Johnson I. , Clamp J. R.
Published: August 2015

1. The carbohydrate composition of the monomeric unit of a type L macroglobulin (immunoglobulin M) was determined as 6 residues of fucose, 35 of mannose, 11 of galactose, 27 of N-acetylglucosamine and 9 of sialic acid. 2. Two types of oligosaccharide unit were present in the protein, one of which (Ca type) contained fucose, mannose, galactose, N-acetylglucosamine and sialic acid in the molar proportions 1:3–4:2:3–5:0–2, and the other (Cb type) contained mannose and N-acetylglucosamine in the proportions 6–8:2–3. 3. A tentative structure is proposed for the Cb type unit. 4. An S-carboxymethylcysteine-containing glycopeptide with a Ca-type unit was isolated after reduction, alkylation and tryptic digestion of the protein. 5. The immunoglobulin monomer appears to contain six oligosaccharide units of the Ca type and two of the Cb type.
Physicochemical properties of vancomycin and iodovancomycin and their complexes with diacetyl-l-lysyl-d-alanyl-d-alanine
Authors: Nieto M. , Perkins H. R.
Published: August 2015

Electrometric and spectrophotometric titrations showed vancomycin to contain groups having pK values of about 2.9, 7.2, 8.6, 9.6, 10.5 and 11.7. Of these the four last-named were phenolic. Titration above pH11 and below pH1 was irreversible and antibiotic potency was destroyed. Combination with the specific peptide diacetyl-l-lysyl-d-alanyl-d-alanine hindered the titration of the first three phenolic groups. Spectrophotometric titration of iodovancomycin showed that the phenolic group with pK 9.6 was the one iodinated. The stability of the vancomycin–peptide complex in the range pH1–13 showed that complex-formation occurred only when carboxyl groups were ionized and the phenolic groups were non-ionized. The complex was formed in concentrations of urea up to 8m, of potassium chloride up to 4m, of sodium dodecyl sulphate up to 1%, and at temperatures up to 60°C. From titration curves, organic chlorine and iodine analysis, and combination with peptide, a minimum molecular weight for vancomycin of 1700–1800 was estimated. Optical-rotatory-dispersion and circular-dichroism experiments suggested that vancomycin has only limited conformational flexibility. Both vancomycin and its complexes with peptide exhibited properties suggesting aggregation. Vancomycin and iodovancomycin can be fractionated into a main fraction and at least three minor components. The isolation of these fractions salt-free is described and their antibiotic properties are shown to correlate with their ability to form complexes with peptide.
The stimulatory effects of carbon tetrachloride and other halogenoalkanes on peroxidative reactions in rat liver fractions in vitro. General features of the systems used
Authors: Slater T. F. , Sawyer B. C.
Published: August 2015

1. The general features of the reaction by which carbon tetrachloride stimulates lipid peroxidation have been elucidated in rat liver microsomal suspensions and in mixtures of microsomes plus cell sap. The production of lipid peroxides has been correlated with malonaldehyde production in the systems used. 2. The stimulation of malonaldehyde production by carbon tetrachloride requires a source of reduced NADP+ and is dependent on the extent of the endogenous peroxidation of the microsomal membranes: if extensive endogenous peroxidation occurs during incubation then no stimulation by carbon tetrachloride is apparent. 3. The stimulation of malonaldehyde production by carbon tetrachloride has been shown to be proportional to the square root of the carbon tetrachloride concentration in the incubation mixture. It is concluded that the stimulation of malonaldehyde production by carbon tetrachloride results from an initiation process that is itself dependent on the homolytic dissociation of carbon tetrachloride to free-radical products. 4. The increased production of malonaldehyde due to carbon tetrachloride is accompanied by a decreased activity of glucose 6-phosphatase in rat liver microsomal suspensions. 5. The relative activities of bromotrichloromethane, fluorotrichloromethane and chloroform have been evaluated in comparison with the effects of carbon tetrachloride in increasing malonaldehyde production and in decreasing glucose 6-phosphatase activity. Bromotrichloromethane was more effective, and fluorotrichloromethane and chloroform were less effective, than carbon tetrachloride in producing these two effects. It is concluded that homolytic bond fission of the halogenomethanes is a requisite for the occurrence of the two effects observed in the endoplasmic reticulum.
The inducible alkaline phosphatase of rat heart. Some properties of the enzyme and factors influencing its activity
Authors: Müller Edith , Pearse A. G. E. , Moss D. W.
Published: August 2015

Subcutaneous injection of isoprenaline into rats produces a rapid rise in alkaline phosphatase activity which is largely confined to the right atrium of the heart. The phosphatase activity of extracts of atrial tissue from treated animals is on average four times that of controls. The rise in activity is largely suppressed by previously treating the animals with cycloheximide or actinomycin D. Comparison of the properties of the alkaline phosphatase in extracts of atria from isoprenaline-treated rats with control preparations shows the stimulated enzyme activity to be similar to that present in the resting state. In a number of respects, including substrate specificity, response to activators and inhibitors, rate of loss of activity on heating and electrophoretic mobility of the native and modified enzyme, the atrial phosphatase resembles alkaline phosphatases from other mammalian non-intestinal and non-placental tissues. These results suggest that the effect of isoprenaline is to increase the rate of synthesis of atrial alkaline phosphatase, and the ability of the tissues of the right atrium to respond in this way may be related to the rich sympathetic innervation of this part of the heart.
Purification from rat liver of an enzyme that catalyses the sulphurylation of phenols
Authors: McEvoy F. A. , Carroll J.
Published: August 2015

1. An enzyme (EC 2.8.2.1) that catalyses the transfer of sulphate from adenosine 3′-phosphate 5′-sulphatophosphate to phenols was purified approx. 2000-fold from male rat livers. 2. The purified preparation did not catalyse the sulphurylation of dehydroepiandrosterone, butan-1-ol, l-tyrosine methyl ester, 1-naphthylamine or serotonin. 3. At pH8.0 and 37°C the Km values of the enzyme for p-nitrophenol and adenosine 3′-phosphate 5′-sulphatophosphate are 51 and 14μm respectively. The Km value for either substrate is independent of the concentration of the other. 4. The sulphurylation of phenol is inhibited by thiol compounds and glutathione at a concentration of 3mm caused an approx. 50% decrease in enzyme activity. 5. The Km of the enzyme for adenosine 3′-phosphate 5′-sulphatophosphate is unaffected by the presence of added glutathione but at a concentration of 5mm-glutathione the Km of the enzyme for its phenolic substrate is decreased.
The pentose phosphate pathway in rabbit liver. Studies on the metabolic sequence and quantitative role of the pentose phosphate cycle by using a system in situ
Authors: Williams J. F. , Rienits K. G. , Schofield P. J. , Clark M. G.
Published: August 2015

1. The reactions of the pentose phosphate cycle were investigated by the intraportal infusion of specifically labelled [14C]glucose or [14C]ribose into the liver of the anaesthetized rabbit. The sugars were confined in the liver by haemostasis and metabolism was allowed to proceed for periods up to 5min. Metabolism was assessed by measuring the rate of change of the specific radioactivity of CO2, the carbon atoms of glucose 6-phosphate, fructose 6-phosphate and tissue glucose. 2. The quotient oxidation of [1-14C]glucose/oxidation of [6-14C]glucose as measured by the incorporation into respiratory CO2 was greater than 1.0 during most of the time-course and increased to a maximum of 3.1 but was found to decrease markedly upon application of a glucose load. 3. The estimate of the pentose phosphate cycle from C-1/C-2 ratios generally increased during the time-course, whereas the estimate of the pentose phosphate cycle from C-3/C-2 ratios varied depending on whether the ratios were measured in glucose or hexose 6-phosphates. 4. The distribution of 14C in hexose 6-phosphate after the metabolism of [1-14C]ribose showed that 65–95% of the label was in C-1 and was concluded to have been the result of a rapidly acting transketolase exchange reaction. 5. Transaldolase exchange reactions catalysed extensive transfer of 14C from [2-14C]glucose into C-5 of the hexose 6-phosphates during the entire time-course. The high concentration of label in C-4, C-5 and C-6 of the hexose 6-phosphates was not seen in tissue glucose in spite of an unchanging rate of glucose production during the time-course. 6. It is concluded that the reaction sequences catalysed by the pentose phosphate pathway enzymes do not constitute a formal metabolic cycle in intact liver, neither do they allow the definition of a fixed stoicheiometry for the dissimilation of glucose.
Effects of lipid peroxidation on membrane-bound enzymes of the endoplasmic reticulum
Authors: Wills E. D.
Published: August 2015

1. Induction of the formation of lipid peroxide in suspensions of liver microsomal preparations by incubation with ascorbate or NADPH, or by treatment with ionizing radiation, leads to a marked decrease of the activity of glucose 6-phosphatase. 2. The effect of peroxidation can be imitated by treating microsomal suspensions with detergents such as deoxycholate or with phospholipases. 3. The substrate, glucose 6-phosphate, protects the glucose 6-phosphatase activity of microsomal preparations against peroxidation or detergents. 4. The loss of glucose 6-phosphatase activity is not due to the formation of hydroperoxide or formation of malonaldehyde or other breakdown products of peroxidation, all of which are not toxic to the enzyme. 5. All experiments lead to the conclusion that the loss of activity of glucose 6-phosphatase resulting from peroxidation is a consequence of loss of membrane structure essential for the activity of the enzyme. 6. In addition to glucose 6-phosphatase, oxidative demethylation of aminopyrine or p-chloro-N-methylaniline, hydroxylation of aniline, NADPH oxidation and menadione-dependent NADPH oxidation are also strongly inhibited by peroxidation. However, another group of enzymes separated with the microsomal fraction, including NAD+/NADP+ glycohydrolase, adenosine triphosphatase, esterase and NADH–cytochrome c reductase are not inactivated by peroxidation. This group is not readily inactivated by treatment with detergents. 7. Lipid peroxidation, by controlling membrane integrity, may exert a regulating effect on the oxidative metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism of the endoplasmic reticulum in vivo.
Oxidative phosphorylation in Escherichia coli K 12. Mutations affecting magnesium ion- or calcium ion-stimulated adenosine triphosphatase
Authors: Butlin J. D. , Cox G. B. , Gibson F.
Published: August 2015

1. Two mutants of Escherichia coli K 12 were isolated which, although able to grow on glucose, are unable to grow with succinate or d-lactate as the sole source of carbon. 2. Genetic mapping of these mutants showed that they both contain a mutation in a gene (designated uncA) mapping at about minute 73.5 on the E. coli chromosome. 3. The uncA- alleles were transferred by bacteriophage-mediated transduction into another strain of E. coli and the transductants compared with the parent strain to determine the nature of the biochemical lesion in the mutants. 4. The mutants gave low aerobic growth yields when grown on limiting concentrations of glucose, but oxidase activities in membranes from both the mutants and the normal strain were similar. 5. Measurement of P/O ratios with d-lactate as substrate indicated that a mutation in the uncA gene causes uncoupling of phosphorylation associated with electron transport. 6. Determination of the Mg2+,Ca2+-stimulated adenosine triphosphatase activities in the mutant and normal strains indicated that the uncA gene is probably the structural gene for Mg2+,Ca2+-stimulated adenosine triphosphatase. 7. Mg2+,Ca2+-stimulated adenosine triphosphatase therefore appears to be essential for oxidative phosphorylation in E. coli.
Non-haem iron and the dissociation of piericidin A sensitivity from site 1 energy conservation in mitochondria from Torulopsis utilis
Authors: Clegg R. A. , Garland P. B.
Published: August 2015

1. The aerobic incubation of iron-deficient Torulopsis utilis cells for 12h under non-growing conditions results in the recovery by mitochondria of the previously absent site 1 energy conservation and sensitivity to piericidin A. 2. The recovery of piericidin A sensitivity but not site 1 is prevented by the presence of cycloheximide (100μg/ml) in the medium used for aerobic incubation of the cells. Rotenone sensitivity behaved similarly. 3. Chloramphenicol, erythromycin and tetracycline were without effect on the recovery of site 1 and piericidin A sensitivity. 4. Inclusion of 59Fe in the growth medium can be used as the basis for a highly sensitive assay for non-haem iron. 5. Iron-limited growth of T. utilis lowers the concentration of both non-haem iron and acid-labile sulphide of submitochondrial particles by over 20-fold compared with the ‘normal’ situation with iron-supplemented glycerol-limited growth. 6. Increases in the non-haem iron and acid-labile sulphide concentrations of submitochondrial particles occur when site 1 and piericidin A sensitivity are recovered. The increase is approximately halved by the presence of cycloheximide. 7. The non-haem iron of T. utilis submitochondrial particles does not exchange with added iron. 8. Continuous culture of T. utilis at the transition between glycerol- and iron-limitation results in cells where mitochondria possess site 1 energy conservation but lack piericidin A sensitivity. 8. It is concluded, in contrast with widely held views to the opposite, that energy conservation at site 1 does not require electron flow to proceed through a piericidin A- or rotenone-sensitive route. 9. Restriction of the iron supplied to growing T. utilis to a concentration just above that required for growth limitation demonstrates that a 10- to 20-fold decrease of the ‘normal’ non-haem iron concentration of both cells and mitochondria is without effect on the growth yield per unit of carbon source. Submitochondrial particles prepared from such iron-restricted but otherwise functionally normal cells have a non-haem iron concentration of about 0.5–0.8ng-atom/mg of protein. It is concluded that the concentration of iron–sulphur protein required for normal function by the respiratory chain is close to the concentrations of cytochromes and flavoproteins.
Hydrolytic and alcoholytic dephosphorylation of nucleotides by acid phosphatase in the presence of ethanol
Authors: Tomaszewski M. , Buchowicz J.
Published: August 2015

The effect of ethanol on the activity of acid phosphatase from wheat germ was studied, by using ribonucleoside monophosphates as the enzyme substrates. The nucleotides were effectively degraded to the corresponding nucleosides in the presence of ethanol at all concentrations tested, including a 96% (v/v) solution. However, the nucleotide dephosphorylation was accompanied by the liberation of orthophosphate only when the concentration of ethanol in the assay mixture did not exceed 15%. No inorganic phosphate was liberated when ethanol was present at higher concentrations. Instead, monoethyl phosphate was formed in quantities expected for orthophosphate. The results are explained in terms of phosphatase-catalysed alcoholysis.