bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of proteolytic cleavage on functional properties of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in rat pancreatic and parotid acinar cells
Authors: Hootman S R , Picado-Leonard T M
Published: August 2015

Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in isolated rat pancreatic acinar cells have an apparent Mr of 88 000, which could be decreased to 46 000 by papain, as deduced by covalent binding of the specific alkylating agent [3H]propylbenzilylcholine mustard. Muscarinic receptors on papain-treated acinar cells retained the antagonist-binding site and both high- and low-affinity binding sites for the cholinergic agonist carbachol. Similar results were observed in studies with rat parotid acinar cells, although the receptors in both control and papain-treated cells were each 10 000-15 000 Da smaller than in pancreas. Additionally, muscarinic receptors in papain-treated pancreatic acinar cells retained the ability to mediate carbachol stimulation of digestive-enzyme secretion. These results demonstrate that the characteristic binding properties of muscarinic receptors for both agonists and antagonists as well as their ability to translate agonist occupancy into a physiological response are not altered by proteolytic cleavage.
Dermatan sulphate is located on serine-4 of bovine skin proteodermatan sulphate. Demonstration that most molecules possess only one glycosaminoglycan chain and comparison of amino acid sequences around glycosylation sites in different proteoglycans
Authors: Chopra R K , Pearson C H , Pringle G A , Fackre D S , Scott P G
Published: August 2015

Digestions of bovine skin proteodermatan sulphate with cathepsin C proved that the dermatan sulphate was located on Ser-4 in most of the molecules. A Ser-Gly sequence is essential for xylosylation of the serine residue and sulphated galactosaminoglycan synthesis in different proteoglycans. Variations in adjoining sequences may be significant in relation to the glycosylation process in different tissues.
Identity of purified monoacylglycerol lipase, palmitoyl-CoA hydrolase and aspirin-metabolizing carboxylesterase from rat liver microsomal fractions. A comparative study with enzymes purified in different laboratories
Authors: Mentlein R , Berge R K , Heymann E
Published: August 2015

Two purified carboxylesterases that were isolated from a rat liver microsomal fraction in a Norwegian and a German laboratory were compared. The Norwegian enzyme preparation was classified as palmitoyl-CoA hydrolase (EC 3.1.2.2) in many earlier papers, whereas the German preparation was termed monoacylglycerol lipase (EC 3.1.1.23) or esterase pI 6.2/6.4 (non-specific carboxylesterase, EC 3.1.1.1). Antisera against the two purified enzyme preparations were cross-reactive. The two proteins co-migrate in sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Both enzymes exhibit identical inhibition characteristics with Mg2+, Ca2+ and bis-(4-nitrophenyl) phosphate if assayed with the two substrates palmitoyl-CoA and phenyl butyrate. It is concluded that the two esterase preparations are identical. However, immunoprecipitation and inhibition experiments confirm that this microsomal lipase differs from the palmitoyl-CoA hydrolases of rat liver cytosol and mitochondria.
Production and characterization of antibodies against murine dentine phosphoprotein
Authors: MacDougall M , Zeichner-David M , Slavkin H C
Published: August 2015

Experiments were designed to produce and characterize a polyclonal antibody directed against mouse dentine phosphoprotein, the major non-collagenous protein of the dentine extracellular matrix. Dental extracellular matrix proteins from 2-day-postnatal Swiss-Webster-mouse tooth organs were extracted with 0.5 M-acetic acid, followed by 4 M-guanidinium chloride/0.5 M-EDTA. Mouse dentine phosphoprotein yields were further increased by precipitation with 1 M-CaCl2. Final purification was achieved by excising and eluting dentine phosphoprotein polypeptide bands from preparative sodium dodecyl sulphate/urea/polyacrylamide gels. Mouse dentine phosphoprotein is a single component of approx. 72 kDa and has a characteristic amino acid composition of 33% aspartic acid and 55% serine/phosphoserine. A polyclonal antibody was raised in rabbits against purified mouse dentine phosphoprotein and was shown to be monospecific by enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent, dot-immunobinding and ‘Western transfer’ assays. This antibody was used to detect the expression and localization of dentine phosphoprotein in 1-day-postnatal mouse tooth organs. This antigen was localized intracellularly within the monolayer of odontoblasts, which line the perimeter of the dental papilla mesenchyme, and within the odontoblastic cell processes, which traverse the predentine matrix. Newly forming mineralized dentine matrix was also cross-reactive with the dentine phosphoprotein specific antibody. The non-mineralized predentine matrix did not contain any detectable cross-reactive antigens.
Effects of starvation and exercise on concentrations of citrate, hexose phosphates and glycogen in skeletal muscle and heart. Evidence for selective operation of the glucose-fatty acid cycle
Authors: Zorzano A , Balon T W , Brady L J , Rivera P , Garetto L P , Young J C , Goodman M N , Ruderman N B
Published: August 2015

Concentrations of citrate, hexose phosphates and glycogen were measured in skeletal muscle and heart under conditions in which plasma non-esterified fatty acids and ketone bodies were physiologically increased. The aim was to determine under what conditions the glucose-fatty acid cycle might operative in skeletal muscle in vivo. In keeping with the findings of others, starvation increased the concentrations of glycogen, citrate and the fructose 6-phosphate/fructose 1,6-bisphosphate ratio in heart, indicating that the cycle was operative. In contrast, it decreased glycogen and had no effect on the concentration of citrate or the fructose 6-phosphate/fructose 1,6-bisphosphate ratio in the soleus, a slow-twitch red muscle in which the glucose-fatty acid cycle has been demonstrated in vitro. In fed rats, exercise of moderate intensity caused glycogen depletion in the soleus and red portion of gastrocnemius muscle, but not in heart. In starved rats the same exercise had no effect on the already diminished glycogen contents in skeletal muscle, but it decreased cardiac glycogen by 25-30%. After exercise, citrate and the fructose 6-phosphate/fructose 1,6-bisphosphate ratio were increased in the soleus of the starved rat. Significant changes were not observed in fed rats. The data suggest that in the resting state the glucose-fatty acid cycle operates in the heart, but not in the soleus muscle, of a starved rat. In contrast, the metabolite profile in the soleus was consistent with activation of the glucose-fatty acid cycle in the starved rat during the recovery period after exercise. Whether the cycle operates during exercise itself is unclear.
Quantitative analysis of type X-collagen biosynthesis by embryonic-chick sternal cartilage
Authors: Jimenez S A , Yankowski R , Reginato A M
Published: August 2015

We have performed a quantitative analysis of the various collagens biosynthesized by organ cultures of whole embryonic-chick sternum and its separate anatomical regions corresponding to the zones of permanent hyaline and presumptive-calcification cartilages. Our studies demonstrated that embryonic-chick sternum devotes a large portion of its biosynthetic commitment towards production of Type X collagen, which represented approx. 18% of the total newly synthesized collagen. Comparison of the collagens biosynthesized by the permanent hyaline cartilage and by the cartilage from the presumptive-calcification zone demonstrated that Type X-collagen production was strictly confined to the presumptive-calcification region. Sequential extraction of the newly synthesized Type X collagen demonstrated the existence of two separate populations. One population (approx. 20%) was composed of easily extractable molecules that were solubilized with 1.0 m-NaCl/50 mM-Tris/HCI buffer, pH 7.4. The second population was composed of molecules that were not extractable even after repeated pepsin digestion, but became completely solubilized after treatment with 20 mM-dithiothreitol/0.15 M-NaCl buffer at neutral pH. These results suggest that most of the Type X collagen normally exists in the tissue as part of a pepsin-resistant molecular aggregate that may be stabilized by disulphide bonds. Quantitative analysis of the proportion of Type X collagen relative to the other collagens synthesized in the cultures indicated that this collagen was a major biosynthetic product of the presumptive-calcification cartilage, since it represented about 35% of the total collagen synthesized by this tissue. In contrast, the permanent hyaline cartilage did not display any detectable synthesis of Type X collagen. When compared on a per-cell basis, the chondrocytes from the presumptive-calcification zone synthesized approx. 33% more Type X collagen than the amount of Type II collagen synthesized by the chondrocytes from the permanent-hyaline-cartilage zone. Subsequently, it was demonstrated that Type X collagen is a structural component of chick sternum matrix, since quantitative amounts could be extracted from the region of presumptive calcification of 17-day-old chick-embryo sterna and from the calcified portion of adult-chick sterna. The strict topographic distribution in the expression of Type X collagen biosynthesis to the zone of presumptive calcification suggests that this collagen may play an important role in initiation or progression of tissue calcification.
Inhibition of the apparent affinity of the epidermal growth factor receptor caused by phorbol diesters correlates with phosphorylation of threonine-654 but not other sites on the receptor
Authors: Davis R J , Czech M P
Published: August 2015

Addition of 4 beta-phorbol 12 beta-myristate 13 alpha-acetate (PMA) to A431 human epidermoid carcinoma cells causes a marked increase in the phosphorylation state of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor with a concomitant inhibition of both the high-affinity binding of 125I-EGF and the receptor tyrosine kinase activity. It was found in the present studies that the diuretic drug amiloride has no effect on the action of PMA to inhibit the binding of 125I-EGF. However, amiloride was observed to inhibit markedly the effect of PMA to cause a 3-fold increase in the phosphorylation state of the EGF receptors. In the presence of PMA and amiloride, the increase in the phosphorylation state of the EGF receptors was found to be only 1.2-fold over controls. Analysis of the EGF receptor phosphorylation sites by phosphopeptide mapping by reverse-phase h.p.l.c. demonstrated that PMA increases the phosphorylation state of the EGF receptor at many sites. One of these sites has been identified as a C-kinase substrate, threonine-654. In the presence of amiloride, PMA causes phosphorylation of threonine-654 to the same stoichiometry as that observed in the absence of amiloride. However, the marked increase in the phosphorylation state of the EGF receptor at other sites caused by PMA is abolished in the presence of amiloride. We conclude that the extensive phosphorylation of the EGF receptor at several sites caused by the addition of PMA to A431 cells is not required for the action of PMA to inhibit the high-affinity binding of 125I-EGF. The results indicate that the phosphorylation state of threonine-654 may play a role in this process.
Fractionation of membrane proteins by temperature-induced phase separation in Triton X-114. Application to subcellular fractions of the adrenal medulla
Authors: Pryde J G , Phillips J H
Published: August 2015

After solubilization with the detergent Triton X-114, membrane proteins may be separated into three groups: if the membrane is sufficiently lipid-rich, one family of hydrophobic constituents separates spontaneously at low temperature; warming at 30 degrees C leads to separation of a detergent-rich phase and an aqueous phase. Using the chromaffin-granule membrane as a model, we found that many intrinsic membrane glycoproteins are found in the latter phase, probably maintained in solution by adherent detergent. They precipitate, however, when this is removed by dialysis, leaving in solution those truly hydrophilic proteins that were originally adhering to the membranes. We have used this method with mitochondria, and with Golgi- and rough-endoplasmic-reticulum-enriched microsomal fractions: it has proved to be a rapid and convenient method for effecting a partial separation of proteins from a variety of different membranes.
A novel prenyltransferase from Paracoccus denitrificans
Authors: Ishii K , Sagami H , Ogura K
Published: August 2015

A new polyprenyltransferase catalysing the formation of Z-double bonds was found and partially purified from extracts of Paracoccus denitrificans. The enzyme catalysed a consecutive condensation of isopentenyl diphosphate with EE-farnesyl diphosphate as a primer to produce EE-farnesyl-all-Z-hexaprenyl diphosphate (ZE-mixed nonaprenyl diphosphate) as the final product. Not only EE-farnesyl diphosphate but also neryl diphosphate, ZE-farnesyl diphosphate, ZEE-geranylgeranyl diphosphate and ZZEE-pentaprenyl diphosphate were all accepted as substrates. This polyprenyltransferase required detergent such as Triton X-100 for its catalytic activity. The formation of ZE-mixed undecaprenyl diphosphate, which is well known as the precursor of the bacterial sugar-carrier lipid, was not detected in extracts of this bacterium.
Milk composition of rats feeding restricted litters
Authors: Grigor M R , Allan J , Carne A , Carrington J M , Geursen A
Published: August 2015

Milk samples were taken from rats feeding ten pups and from both the suckled and non-suckled glands of rats feeding two pups. The lipid, protein and lactose concentrations were similar in the milks from the secreting glands, but the fluid from the non-suckled glands contained less lactose and lipid but significantly higher total protein and transferrin concentrations. The fatty acid compositions of the milk from the three sources were very similar. The mammary tissue from the rats feeding ten pups had a higher DNA content/g wet wt. than either the suckled or non-suckled mammary tissue of the rats feeding two pups. The specific activities of several lipogenic enzymes were significantly lower in the non-suckled mammary tissue.
Genetic deficiency of androsterone UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activity in Wistar rats is due to the loss of enzyme protein
Authors: Matsui M , Nagai F
Published: August 2015

Hepatic microsomal UDP-glucuronosyltransferases towards androsterone and testosterone were purified by chromatofocusing and UDP-hexanolamine affinity chromatography in Wistar rats which had genetic deficiency of androsterone UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activity. In rats with the high-activity phenotype, androsterone (the 3-hydroxy androgen) UDP-glucuronosyltransferase was eluted at about pH 7.4 and had a subunit Mr of 52 000, whereas testosterone (the 17-hydroxy steroid) UDP-glucuronosyltransferase was eluted at about pH 8.4 and had a subunit Mr of 50 000. The transferase that conjugates both androsterone and testosterone was eluted at about pH 8.0, had subunit Mr values of 50 000 and 52 000, and appeared to be an aggregate or hybrid of androsterone and testosterone UDP-glucuronosyltransferases. In rats with the low-activity phenotype, androsterone UDP-glucuronosyltransferase was absent, whereas testosterone UDP-glucuronosyltransferase was eluted at around pH 8.5, with a subunit Mr of 50 000.
Trypanosoma cruzi adenylate cyclase activity. Purification and characterization
Authors: Torruella M , Flawiá M M , Eisenschlos C , Molina y Vedia L , Rubinstein C P , Torres H N
Published: August 2015

Adenylate cyclase activity associated with Trypanosoma cruzi sedimentable fractions was solubilized by treatment with the non-ionic detergent Lubrol PX and 0.5 M-(NH4)2SO4. The following hydrodynamic and molecular parameters were established for a partially purified enzyme-detergent complex: sedimentation coefficient 6.2 S; Stokes radius 5.65 nm; partial specific volume 0.83 ml/g; Mr 244 000; frictional ratio 1.33. A Mr of about 124 000 was calculated for the detergent-free protein from these parameters. The pI of this enzyme activity was 6.2. A monoclonal antibody to T. cruzi adenylate cyclase was obtained, which inhibited cyclase activities from several lower eukaryotic organisms. The T. cruzi adenylate cyclase was further purified by using this antibody in immunoaffinity chromatographic columns. Fractions obtained after this chromatography showed, on SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, a main polypeptide band with an apparent Mr of about 56 000, which specifically reacted with the monoclonal antibody.
Interaction of 4-hydroxynonenal-modified low-density lipoproteins with the fibroblast apolipoprotein B/E receptor
Authors: Jessup W , Jurgens G , Lang J , Esterbauer H , Dean R T
Published: August 2015

The incorporation of the lipid peroxidation product 4-hydroxynonenal into low-density lipoprotein (LDL) increases the negative charge of the particle, and decreases its affinity for the fibroblast LDL receptor. It is suggested that this modification may occur in vivo, and might promote atherogenesis.
Human low-Mr kininogen contains three copies of a cystatin sequence that are divergent in structure and in inhibitory activity for cysteine proteinases
Authors: Salvesen G , Parkes C , Abrahamson M , Grubb A , Barrett A J
Published: August 2015

We point out that human low-Mr kininogen contains three cystatin-like sequences, rather than two, as had previously been thought. The protein was purified by affinity chromatography on carboxymethyl-papain-Sepharose, and subjected to limited proteolysis by trypsin and chymotrypsin. Fragments were isolated, and three corresponding to the individual cystatin-like domains were identified. By comparison with the known amino acid sequence of the protein they were numbered 1 to 3 from the N-terminus. Domain 1 was not found to have any inhibitory activity for cysteine proteinases, which is consistent with the absence of residues that are highly conserved in inhibitors of the cystatin superfamily, and have previously been suggested to be essential for activity. Domain 2 was a good inhibitor of chicken calpain, and also papain and cathepsin L. Domain 3 showed negligible inhibition of calpain, but inhibited papain and cathepsin L strongly. The probable arrangement of disulphide bonds in the heavy chain of low-Mr kininogen is deduced from the homology with the cystatins and other evidence contained in the present paper.
Lactate utilization by the neonatal rat brain in vitro. Competition with glucose and 3-hydroxybutyrate
Authors: Fernández E , Medina J M
Published: August 2015

The maximum rates of lactate oxidation and lipogenesis from lactate by early-neonatal brain slices were considerably greater than those for utilization of glucose and 3-hydroxybutyrate at physiological concentrations. Lactate inhibited glucose utilization, but enhanced 3-hydroxybutyrate utilization. 3-Hydroxybutyrate inhibited lactate and glucose utilization. Glucose slightly inhibited oxidation of lactate and 3-hydroxybutyrate, but scarcely enhanced lipogenesis from these substrates.
Binding of hyaluronate and chondroitin sulphate to liver endothelial cells
Authors: Laurent T C , Fraser J R E , Pertoft H , Smedsrød B
Published: August 2015

Hyaluronate is taken up and metabolized in liver endothelial cells by means of a receptor. To characterize the interaction with the receptor, two preparations of 3H-labelled hyaluronate, of Mr 4 × 10(5) and 6.4 × 10(6), and a series of hyaluronate oligosaccharides were bound to cultured liver endothelial cells at 7 degrees C. The dissociation constant varied between 4.6 × 10(-6) M for an octasaccharide and 9 × 10(-12) M for the largest polymer. The Mr-dependence for the series of oligosaccharides was explained by the increased probability of binding due to the repetitive sequence along the chain. The high affinity of high-Mr hyaluronate for the receptor could also be mainly ascribed to this effect, which rules out any major contribution of co-operative multiple-site attachment to the cell surface. Each liver endothelial cell can bind 10(5) oligosaccharides, about 10(4) molecules with Mr 4 × 10(5) and about 10(3) molecules with Mr 6.4 × 10(6). This is explained by mutual exclusion of large molecules from the cell surface. Chondroitin sulphate is also bound to liver endothelial cells. Inhibition studies showed that it binds to the same receptor as hyaluronate and with an affinity that is about 3-fold higher than that of hyaluronate of the same degree of polymerization.
The reaction of metallothionein with mercuribenzoate. A dialysis and 113Cd-n.m.r. study
Authors: Templeton D M , Dean P A W , Cherian M G
Published: August 2015

Reaction of rat liver cadmium-metallothionein-II(Cd-MT-II) with p-hydroxymercuribenzoate(pHOHgBzO-) causes displacement of bound Cd. When pHOHgBzO- -induced displacement of 109Cd is observed after dialysis of the reaction mixture, the stoichiometry is consistent with stepwise displacement of tetraco-ordinate Cd atoms by non-random entry of reagent into the polynuclear clusters. 113Cd n.m.r. allows direct observation of the effects on bound Cd of stepwise titration of 113Cd-MT-II with pHOHgBzO-. The first equivalent reduces all resonances approximately equally. Subsequently differential reactivity of the protein thiolates towards the reagent gives rise to differential decreases in the 113Cd signal intensities. Resonances previously attributed to a three-metal cluster are lost before those arising from the four-metal cluster. These results are interpreted in terms of current models of the MT structure. They are distinct from the results of reaction of MT with 5,5′-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid), which distinguishes between only two classes of thiolates, terminal and bridging. Such different patterns of reactivity of the protein thiolates may underlie a biological activity of this protein.
The metabolic route by which oleate is converted into cholesterol in rat hepatocytes
Authors: Gibbons G F , Attwell Thomas C P , Pullinger C R
Published: August 2015

The effect of (-)-hydroxycitrate on the conversion of [1-14C]oleate into cholesterol was dependent on the time of day at which the cells were prepared and on the extracellular oleate concentration. In hepatocytes prepared during the light phase of the diurnal cycle (L2-hepatocytes), (-)-hydroxycitrate inhibited the conversion of L-[U-14C]lactate (2 mM) and of 0.13 mM-[1-14C]oleate into cholesterol. However, when [1-14C]oleate was present at 1.3 mM, most of the sterol carbon was derived from this source, and under these conditions (-)-hydroxycitrate had no inhibitory effect on [14C]cholesterol formation. In these cells, non-radioactive acetoacetate blocked the conversion of 1.3 mM-[1-14C]oleate, but not of 0.13 mM-[1-14C]oleate, into cholesterol. In cells prepared during the dark phase of the diurnal cycle (D6-hepatocytes), irrespective of the concentration of [1-14C]oleate, (-)-hydroxycitrate decreased its conversion into cholesterol. In both types of cell preparation, the inhibitory effect of (-)-hydroxycitrate on the conversion of L-[U-14C]lactate into cholesterol was greater than that on the overall rate of cholesterol production from all endogenous sources. These results provide evidence for the following. (1) The major metabolic route by which oleate is converted into cholesterol is dependent on its extracellular concentration. (2) When oleate is the major source of hepatic sterol carbon, the flux of substrate through citrate into cholesterol is dependent on the nutritional state of the animal. (3) When endogenous substrates are the sole source of sterol carbon, a substantial proportion of the carbon enters the cholesterol pathway through routes not involving citrate cleavage.
Studies of the ferroxidase activity of native and chemically modified xanthine oxidoreductase
Authors: Topham R W , Jackson M R , Joslin S A , Walker M C
Published: August 2015

The O2-utilizing (type O, oxidase) form of xanthine oxidoreductase is primarily responsible for its ferroxidase activity. This form of xanthine oxidoreductase has 1000 times the ferroxidase activity of the serum ferroxidase caeruloplasmin. It has the ability to catalyse the oxidative incorporation of iron into transferrin at very low Fe2+ and O2 concentrations. Furthermore, the pH optimum of the ferroxidase activity of the enzyme is compatible with the conditions of pH that normally exist in the intestinal mucosa, where it has been proposed that xanthine oxidoreductase may facilitate the absorption of ionic iron. Modification of the molybdenum (Mb) centres of the enzyme in vitro by treatment with cyanide, methanol or allopurinol completely abolishes its ferroxidase activity. The feeding of dietary tungsten to rats, which prevents the incorporation of molybdenum into newly synthesized intestinal xanthine oxidoreductase, results in the progressive loss of the ferroxidase activity of intestinal-mucosa homogenates. Removal of the flavin centres from the enzyme also results in the complete loss of ferroxidase activity; however, the ferroxidase activity of the flavin-free form of the enzyme can be restored with artificial electron acceptors that interact with the molybdenum or non-haem iron centres. The presence of superoxide dismutase or catalase in the assay system results in little inhibition of the ferroxidase activity of xanthine oxidoreductase.
Effect of prior nutritional status on the activity of lipogenic enzymes in primary monolayer cultures of rat hepatocytes
Authors: Kelley D S , Nelson G J , Hunt J E
Published: August 2015

Effect of prior nutritional status of the animal on the activity of lipogenic enzymes and the fatty acid content of cultured hepatocytes was investigated. Hepatocytes were isolated from rats that were starved for 24 h (‘starved’) or continuously fed (‘fed’), or starved for 48 h and then re-fed for 48 h (‘re-fed’) with a carbohydrate-rich fat-free diet, and maintained as monolayer cultures for 96 h in a serum-free glucose-rich medium (Waymouth's MB752/1) supplemented with insulin, dexamethasone and tri-iodothyronine. The fatty acid content and the activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, fatty acid synthase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase were determined initially at 3 h after plating and then every 24 h. Initially the activities of all the four enzymes were highest in hepatocytes isolated from the re-fed rats and lowest in those from the starved rats. With time in culture, the activity of all these enzymes increased severalfold (2-5, depending on the enzyme under consideration) in hepatocytes isolated from fed and starved rats, whereas there was a severalfold (2-5) decrease in the activity of these enzymes in hepatocytes isolated from re-fed rats. The initial fatty acid content of the hepatocytes from re-fed rats was 2-3 times that in the other two groups of hepatocytes. The fatty acid content seemed to increase in all three groups of hepatocytes during the 96 h in culture, but these apparent increases were not statistically significant.
Two different molecular species of pig calpastatin. Structural and functional relationship between 107 kDa and 68 kDa molecules
Authors: Takano E , Kitahara A , Sasaki T , Kannagi R , Murachi T
Published: August 2015

Calpastatin, the inhibitor protein acting specifically on calpain (EC 3.4.22.17; Ca2+-dependent cysteine proteinase), is known to be widely distributed in mammalian and avian cells. Two different molecular species of calpastatin were isolated and purified to homogeneity from pig heart muscle and from pig erythrocytes, and shown to be of 107 kDa and 68 kDa respectively on SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Both calpastatins had very similar amino acid compositions when expressed as mol per cent of the residues, differed by only 0.1 pH unit in their isoelectric points, and showed immunological cross-reactivity. One molecule of the 107 kDa species could bind approx. 8 calpain molecules, whereas the 68 kDa inhibitor could bind approx. 5 calpain molecules. These findings suggest similar protein structures of the 107 kDa and 68 kDa calpastatins, each being composed of extended multidomains, with unit inhibitor domains aligned along the polypeptide chain of the molecule. The present study does not conclude, however, whether or not the 68 kDa calpastatin found in erythrocytes is a derived product from the 107 kDa species, which is present as such in heart muscle.
Membrane-associated pyruvate kinase in developing guinea-pig liver
Authors: Farrow S M , Jones C T
Published: August 2015

During analysis of pyruvate kinase distribution in developing guinea-pig liver it was observed that a substantial proportion of the activity remained associated with the microsomal membrane fraction (‘microsomes’). Although some of this could be removed by washing with sucrose, the majority required detergent treatment for liberation, and even then at least one-half remained attached to the microsomes. Estimates of the contribution of this fraction to total cell pyruvate kinase activity indicated that it was more than 50% of the total, and this is likely to be an underestimate because of the continued latency of the enzyme even in the presence of detergent. The susceptibility of the microsomal enzyme, whether released by detergent or sucrose washing, to inactivation by Triton X-100 suggested it to be different from the cytosolic enzyme, which was stable under such conditions. (The microsomal enzyme required the presence of additional protein, such as bovine serum albumin, to maintain stability.) This view was confirmed by DEAE-cellulose chromatography and particularly isoelectric focusing, where the microsomal enzyme was shown to consist of at least four forms, which were distinctly different from those in the cytosol. Those data and the kinetic properties of the four forms in the membrane fraction indicate that the microsomal pyruvate kinase could consist of four counterparts to the cytosolic isoenzyme forms. These results are discussed in relation to the two possible explanations for the phenomenon (not mutually exclusive): that the more hydrophobic membrane forms are precursors of the cytosolic enzyme and that they may be part of functional glycolytic pathway in the microsomes of developing liver.
A role for transglutaminase in glucose-stimulated insulin release from the pancreatic β-cell
Authors: Bungay P J , Owen R A , Coutts I C , Griffin M
Published: August 2015

Preincubation of rat islets of Langerhans with the potent inhibitors of islet transglutaminase activity, monodansylcadaverine (30-100 microM) and N-(5-aminopentyl)-2-naphthalenesulphonamide (100-200 microM), led to significant inhibition of glucose-stimulated insulin release from islets. In contrast, the respective N'-dimethylated derivatives of these two compounds, which did not inhibit islet transglutaminase activity, were much less effective as inhibitors of glucose-stimulated insulin release. None of the compounds inhibited rat spleen protein kinase C activity at concentrations which gave rise to inhibition of glucose-stimulated insulin release. When tested for their effects on calmodulin-stimulated bovine heart phosphodiesterase activity, of the compounds that inhibited insulin release, only monodansylcadaverine did not act as an effective antagonist of calmodulin at concentrations (up to 50 microM) that gave rise to significant inhibition of glucose-stimulated insulin release. Furthermore, at 50 microM, monodansylcadaverine did not inhibit methylation of islet lipids. The inhibition of glucose-stimulated insulin release by monodansylcadaverine is therefore likely to be attributable to its interference with islet transglutaminase activity. The sensitivity of islet transglutaminase to activation by Ca2+ was investigated by using a modified assay incorporating dephosphorylated NN'-dimethylcasein as a substrate protein. The Km for Ca2+ obtained (approx. 3 microM) was an order of magnitude lower than previously reported for the islet enzyme [Bungay, Potter & Griffin (1984) Biochem. J. 219, 819-827]. Mg2+ (2 mM) was found to have little effect on the sensitivity of the enzyme to Ca2+. Investigation of the endogenous substrate proteins of islet transglutaminase by using the Ca2+-dependent incorporation of [14C]methylamine into proteins of islet homogenates demonstrated that most of the incorporated radiolabel was present in cross-linked polymeric aggregates which did not traverse 3% (w/v) acrylamide gels. The radiolabelled polymeric aggregates were present in 71 000 g-sedimented material of homogenates, and their formation was transglutaminase-mediated. These findings provide new evidence for the involvement of islet transglutaminase in the membrane-mediated events necessary for glucose-stimulated insulin release.
Hepatic glycogen synthesis on carbohydrate re-feeding after starvation. A regulatory role for pyruvate dehydrogenase in liver and extrahepatic tissues
Authors: Holness M J , French T J , Sugden M C
Published: August 2015

Glucose administration to 48 h-starved rats increased hepatic glucose, lactate, pyruvate and glycogen concentrations and re-activated PDH (pyruvate dehydrogenase complex) in kidney, but not in heart or liver. Dichloroacetate together with glucose re-activated PDH in all three tissues, decreased hepatic lactate and pyruvate concentrations and impaired glycogen resynthesis. Thus on re-feeding, delayed PDH re-activation is important for provision of precursors for hepatic glyconeogenesis.
Detection of a homologous series of C26-C38 polyenoic fatty acids in the brain of patients without peroxisomes (Zellweger's syndrome)
Authors: Poulos A , Sharp P , Singh H , Johnson D , Fellenberg A , Pollard A
Published: August 2015

The brains of patients with inherited abnormalities in peroxisomal structure and function contain greatly increased proportions of a homologous series of unique polyenoic fatty acids with carbon chain lengths ranging from 26 to 38. Based on evidence by chemical ionization and electron impact mass spectrometry before and after catalytic hydrogenation, and argentation t.l.c., these lipids have been tentatively identified as 26:5, 28:5, 30:5, 30:6, 30:7, 32:5, 32:6, 32:7, 34:5 and 34:6 fatty acids. A further two fatty acids eluting at very high temperatures from gas chromatography columns have been tentatively identified on the basis of their chemical ionization mass spectra as 36:6 and 38:6 fatty acids.
Lysosomes, but not mitochondria, accumulate iron and porphyrins in porphyria induced by hexachlorobenzene
Authors: Tangerås A
Published: August 2015

In female rats with porphyria induced by hexachlorobenzene, the amounts of non-haem iron and porphyrins in liver mitochondrial fractions were increased almost 3-fold and greater than 500-fold respectively compared with that of untreated animals. A considerable fraction of both iron and porphyrins in this fraction was shown to be located in lysosomes. Thus mitochondrial preparations, which were further depleted of lysosomes by Percoll-density-gradient centrifugation, contained 2.78 +/- 0.75 and 2.99 +/- 0.49 nmol of non-haem iron/mg of protein when isolated from the liver of control rats and hexachlorobenzene-treated rats respectively. Mitochondria isolated from the liver of hexachlorobenzene-treated animals contained a pool of iron (about 1 nmol/mg of protein) that was available for haem synthesis in vitro. This pool is similar to that previously reported for mitochondria isolated from the liver of rats with normal haem synthesis. Hexachlorobenzene treatment, therefore, does not affect the iron status of the mitochondria.
Effects of dietary copper supplementation of rats on the occurrence of metallothionein-I in liver and its secretion into blood, bile and urine
Authors: Bremner I , Mehra R K , Morrison J N , Wood A M
Published: August 2015

The appearance and excretion of metallothionein-I (MT-I) was studied in rats given a diet containing 1000 mg of Cu/kg for several weeks. No significant increase in MT-I concentrations in liver, plasma or bile was detected in rats with liver copper concentrations less than 600 micrograms of Cu/g fresh wt. Above this concentration, liver MT-I concentrations increased in proportion to the increase in hepatic copper content. Plasma and bile MT-I concentrations were directly related to those in the liver and were about 10 times those in normal rats. Urinary MT-I concentration also increased 10-fold within 1 week. Fractionation of bile and urine on Sephadex G-50 revealed the presence of monomeric MT-I and a range of possible degradation products of the isoprotein.
Isolation of streptococcal hyaluronate synthase
Authors: Prehm P , Mausolf A
Published: August 2015

Hyaluronate synthase was isolated from protoblast membranes of streptococci by Triton X-114 extraction and cetylpyridinium chloride precipitation. It was identified as a 52,000-Mr protein, which bound to nascent hyaluronate and was affinity-labelled by periodate-oxidized UDP-glucuronic acid and UDP-N-acetylglucosamine. Antibodies directed against the 52,000-Mr protein inhibited hyaluronate synthesis. Mutants defective in hyaluronate synthase activity lacked the 52,000-Mr protein in membrane extracts. Synthase activity was solubilized from membranes by cholate in active form and purified by ion-exchange chromatography.
Nucleotide and derived amino acid sequences of a cDNA coding for pre-uteroglobin from the lung of the hare (Lepus capensis)
Authors: López de Haro M S , Nieto A
Published: August 2015

An almost full-length cDNA coding for pre-uteroglobin from hare lung was cloned and sequenced. The derived amino acid sequence indicated that hare pre-uteroglobin contained 91 amino acids, including a signal peptide of 21 residues. Comparison of the nucleotide sequence of hare pre-uteroglobin cDNA with that previously reported for the rabbit gene indicated five silent point substitutions and six others leading to amino acid changes in the coding region. The untranslated regions of both pre-uteroglobin mRNAs were very similar. The amino acid changes observed are discussed in relation to the different progesterone-binding abilities of both homologous proteins.
Complete amino acid sequence of cyanobacterial gas-vesicle protein indicates a 70-residue molecule that corresponds in size to the crystallographic unit cell
Authors: Hayes P K , Walsby A E , Walker J E
Published: August 2015

Gas vesicles of cyanobacteria are formed by a protein called ‘gas-vesicle protein’ (GVP). The complete amino acid sequence has been determined of GVP from Anabaena flos-aquae. It is 70 residues long and has an Mr of 7388. This corresponds to the size of the repeating unit cell demonstrated by X-ray crystallography of intact gas vesicles. Details of the sequence are related to the secondary beta-sheet structure of the protein and its contrasting hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. Extensive amino acid sequences have also been determined for GVPs from two other cyanobacteria, species of Calothrix and Microcystis; they are highly homologous with that of Anabaena GVP. Electrophoretic analysis indicates that GVPs of different cyanobacteria form a variety of stable oligomers.
Reconstitution of surfactant activity by using the 6 kDa apoprotein associated with pulmonary surfactant
Authors: Yu S H , Possmayer F
Published: August 2015

Lipid extracts of bovine pulmonary surfactant containing the 6 kDa apoprotein, but lacking the 35 kDa apoprotein, can mimic the essential characteristics of pulmonary surfactant on a pulsating-bubble surfactometer. Reconstituted surfactant can be produced by combining silicic acid fractions containing 6 kDa apoprotein and phosphatidylglycerol with phosphatidylcholine. Treatment of the protein-containing fraction with proteolytic enzymes abolishes its efficacy. These results indicate that the presence of the 6 kDa apoprotein can account for some of the essential physical and biological characteristics of pulmonary surfactant. Immunodiffusion studies indicate that, contrary to earlier suggestions, the 6 kDa apoprotein is not structurally related to the major surfactant apoprotein that has a molecular mass of 35 kDa.
Branched-chain 2-oxo acid dehydrogenase interferes with the measurement of the activity and activity state of hepatic pyruvate dehydrogenase
Authors: Goodwin G W , Paxton R , Gillim S E , Harris R A
Published: August 2015

Oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate by branched-chain 2-oxo acid dehydrogenase can result in overestimation of the expressed and total activity of hepatic pyruvate dehydrogenase. Pyruvate is a poor substrate for branched-chain 2-oxo acid dehydrogenase relative to the branched-chain oxo acids; however, the comparable total activities of the two complexes in liver, the much greater activity state of branched-chain 2-oxo acid dehydrogenase compared with pyruvate dehydrogenase in most physiological states, and the use of high pyruvate concentrations, explain the interference that can occur in conventional radiochemical or indicator-enzyme linked assays of pyruvate dehydrogenase. Goat antibody that specifically inhibited branched-chain 2-oxo acid dehydrogenase was used in this study to provide a more specific assay for pyruvate dehydrogenase.
Intralipid administration induces a lipoprotein lipase-like activity in the livers of starved adult rats
Authors: Vilaró S , Reina M , Ramírez I , Llobera M
Published: August 2015

The administration of Intralipid to starved adult rats induces the appearance of lipoprotein lipase (LPL)-like activity in the liver, whereas the so-called hepatic triacylglycerol lipase is unaffected. This LPL-like activity is eluted by 1.5 M-NaCl from heparin-Sepharose columns. This partially purified fraction is inhibited by 1.0 M-NaCl (91%) and by 1.0 mg of protamine sulphate/ml (79%), whereas it is stimulated 69-fold by the presence of 8.0 micrograms of apolipoprotein C-II/ml and inhibited by anti-LPL antibodies. We conclude that Intralipid administration induces the appearance of LPL activity in livers of starved adult rats. Its possible origin is discussed.
Chemical characterization of cell-CAM 105, a cell-adhesion molecule isolated from rat liver membranes
Authors: Odin P , Tingström A , Obrink B
Published: August 2015

Cell-CAM 105, a glycoprotein that is involved in recognition and adhesion between isolated rat hepatocytes in vitro, was purified to homogeneity by a combination of immunoaffinity chromatography, gel-exclusion chromatography and ion-exchange chromatography. Electrophoretic, compositional and enzymic analyses were performed and the glycoprotein was shown to consist of two peptide chains, of apparent Mr 110,000 and 105,000 respectively, that are glycosylated to similar extents. Carbohydrate analyses demonstrated the presence of sialic acid, galactose, mannose, fucose and glucosamine, but no galactosamine, indicating that only N-linked oligosaccharides occurred. The total content of carbohydrate amounted to 33%. Peptide mapping indicated that the two peptide chains were structurally very similar. After incubation of cultured hepatocytes with [32P]Pi, phosphorylated cell-CAM 105 could be isolated. Both peptide chains were labelled and phospho-amino-acid analysis demonstrated that serine residues had become phosphorylated. A significant feature of cell-CAM 105 was a susceptibility to autolytic degradation that was difficult to inhibit. The major degradation products had apparent Mr 90,000 and 70,000, respectively. The effect of purified cell-CAM 105 on cell-cell adhesion of re-aggregating hepatocytes was studied. A significant inhibition was observed, indicating that the protein is directly involved in intercellular adhesion of these cells.
Substrate specificity and regulation of the maize (Zea mays) leaf ADP: protein phosphotransferase catalysing phosphorylation/inactivation of pyruvate, orthophosphate dikinase
Authors: Budde R J A , Ernst S M , Chollet R
Published: August 2015

The protein substrate specificity of the maize (Zea mays) leaf ADP: protein phosphotransferase (regulatory protein, RP) was studied in terms of its relative ability to inactivate/phosphorylate pyruvate, orthophosphate dikinase from Zea mays and the non-sulphur purple photosynthetic bacterium Rhodospirillum rubrum. The dimeric bacterial dikinase was inactivated by the maize leaf RP via phosphorylation, with a stoichiometry of approximately 1 mol of phosphate incorporated/mol of 92.7-kDa protomer. Inactivation required both ADP and ATP, with ADP being the specific donor for regulatory phosphorylation. The requirements for inactivation/phosphorylation in this heterologous system were identical with those previously established for the tetrameric maize leaf dikinase. The ADP-dependent maize leaf RP did not phosphorylate alternative protein substrates such as casein or phosvitin, and its activity was not affected by cyclic nucleotides, Ca2+ or calmodulin. The regulation of the maize leaf ADP: protein phosphotransferase was studied in terms of changes in adenylate energy charge and pyruvate concentration. The change in adenylate energy charge necessary to substantially inhibit phosphorylation of maize leaf dikinase was not suggestive of it being a physiological modulator of phosphotransferase activity. Pyruvate was a potent competitive inhibitor of regulatory phosphorylation (Ki = 80 microM), consistent with its interaction with the catalytic phosphorylated intermediate of dikinase, the true protein substrate for ADP-dependent phosphorylation/inactivation.
Are the rat tissue/organ proportions of 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase subunits strain-specific?
Authors: Dunaway G A , Kasten T
Published: August 2015

Recent studies suggest that the tissue/organ proportions of 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase (PFK) subunits from diverse strains of rat may be drastically different. To test this possibility rigorously, the PFK isoenzyme populations and subunit contents in muscle, liver, brain and heart were examined in the following strains: Wistar, ACI, Long Evans, Norway Brown and Wag/Rij. Regardless of the strain, adult muscle possessed only the M-type subunit; adult liver contained predominantly the L-type subunit as well as M-type and C-type subunits; and the adult brain and heart exhibited all three subunit types.
A spectrophotometric assay for superoxide dismutase activities in crude tissue fractions
Authors: Kuthan H , Haussmann H J , Werringloer J
Published: August 2015

A sensitive and reliable assay method was developed to characterize crude cell homogenates and subcellular fractions with regard to their superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities. The determination of SOD activities was based on the well-known spectrophotometric assay introduced by McCord & Fridovich [(1969) J. Biol. Chem. 244, 6049-6055], with partially succinylated (3-carboxypropionylated) rather than native ferricytochrome c as indicating scavenger. Partial succinylation of cytochrome c resulted in minimization of interference associated with the interaction of cytochrome c with mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase or cytochrome c reductases. The further increase in specificity, with regard to exclusion of cytochrome c oxidase interference, gained as a consequence of the high pH of 10 enabled the analysis of samples as rich in cytochrome c oxidase activity as the mitochondrial fraction in the presence or absence of membrane-disrupting detergents. Linear relationships for the dependence of the SOD activities with protein concentration were obtained with rat liver homogenate, mitochondrial and microsomal fractions, indicating negligible interference. Furthermore, by choosing a high pH for the assay medium, a 4-fold increase in sensitivity compared with the classical SOD assay, carried out at pH 7.8, was gained as well as a more precise resolution of Cu/Zn-SOD and Mn-SOD by 2 mM-KCN in samples with a high ratio of Mn-SOD to Cu/Zn-SOD, such as mitochondria. The complete trapping of the O2.- radicals, which was more feasible at pH 10 than at pH 7.8, enabled the application of a simple equation derived for the calculation of appropriately defined units of SOD activity from a single experiment.