bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The heterogeneity of bound acetylcholine and synaptic vesicles
Authors: Marchbanks R. M. , Israël M.
Published: August 2015

Synaptic vesicles containing radioactive acetylcholine have been isolated from slices of Torpedo electric organ incubated with radioactive choline. The recently synthesized radioactive acetylcholine is preferentially removed from the vesicles by iso-osmotic gel filtration. There is therefore a small compartment of loosely bound recently synthesized acetylcholine within the monodisperse vesicle fraction. The specific radioactivity of this compartment correlates most closely with the ‘free’ acetylcholine of electric organ that is lost when the tissue is homogenized. Membrane-associated vesicles did not contain any particular enrichment of this compartment. On standing at 6°C the loosely bound compartment stabilizes so that it survives iso-osmotic filtration. A study of this phenomenon revealed that it was proportional to the extent of the loss of tightly bound acetylcholine from the vesicles. Incubation with Ca2+, at pH5.5, or partial hypo-osmotic shock, caused losses of tightly bound acetylcholine and proportional increases in the stabilization of loosely bound acetylcholine of vesicles. Incubation at 20°C caused less loss of tightly bound, and less stabilization of loosely bound, acetylcholine. A theoretical treatment of these exchanges also shows that the random factors promoting loss of tightly bound acetylcholine are statistically correlated with those which cause stabilization of loosely bound acetylcholine. The reciprocal relationship between the exchanges is inconsistent with there being two distinct populations of vesicles, one containing recently synthesized, loosely bound acetylcholine and the other containing tightly bound acetylcholine. It is proposed that all the vesicles contain a core of tightly bound acetylcholine and a surface layer of loosely bound acetylcholine. The origin of the extravesicular acetylcholine and also of the acetylcholine released on stimulation is discussed in the light of these results.
Species variations in the threshold molecular-weight factor for the biliary excretion of organic anions
Authors: Hirom P. C. , Millburn P. , Smith R. L. , Williams R. T.
Published: August 2015

1. The excretion in the bile and urine after intravenous injection of 16 organic anions having molecular weights between 355 and 752 was studied in female rats, guinea pigs and rabbits. 2. These compounds were mostly excreted unchanged, except for three of them, which were metabolized to a slight extent (<7% of dose). 3. The rat excreted all the compounds extensively (22–90% of dose) in the bile. 4. In guinea pigs four of the compounds with mol.wt. 355–403 were excreted in the bile to the extent of 7–16% of the dose, four with mol.wt. 407–465 to the extent of 25–44% and eight compounds with mol.wt. 479–752 to the extent of 44–100%. 5. In rabbits four compounds with mol.wt. 355–465 were excreted in the bile to the extent of 1–8% of the dose, two compounds with mol.wt. 479 and 495 to the extent of 24 and 22%, and six compounds with mol.wt. 505–752 to the extent of 31–94%. 6. These results, together with those of other investigations from this laboratory, are discussed and the conclusion is reached that there is a threshold molecular weight for appreciable biliary excretion (i.e. more than 10% of dose) of anions, which varies with species: about 325±50 for the rat, 400±50 for the guinea pig and 475±50 for the rabbit. 7. Anions with molecular weights greater than about 500 are extensively excreted in the bile of all three species. 8. That proportion of the dose of these compounds which is not excreted in the bile is excreted in the urine, and in the three species, bile and urine are complementary excretory pathways, urinary excretion being greatest for the compounds of lowest molecular weight and tending to decrease with increasing molecular weight. 9. Some implications of this interspecies variation in the molecular-weight requirement for extensive biliary excretion are discussed.
The effect of anoxia on cerebral acid hydrolases in the five-day-old rat
Authors: Adlard B. P. F. , De Souza S. W.
Published: August 2015

1. Five-day-old anaesthetized rats subjected to slow, prolonged asphyxia (50–55 min) were either allowed to die or resuscitated when at the point of death. Activities of various cerebral acid hydrolases known to be associated with lysosomes were determined in these animals and in littermate controls. 2. Asphyxia to death resulted in a significant increase in the activities of acid phosphatase, cathepsin (pH5.0) and β-glucuronidase in whole-brain homogenates. 3. The effect of asphyxia on β-glucuronidase activity was not apparent when the assay was performed in the presence of Triton X-100 (0.1%, v/v). 4. In resuscitated animals whole-brain-homogenate β-glucuronidase activity showed the greatest increase (31%) 15 min after recovery. After a 60 min recovery period differences between control and asphyxiated animals were no longer apparent. 5. In animals anoxiated to death activities of acid phosphatase and β-N-acetylglucosaminidase in brain high-speed supernatants were significantly higher than in controls. Acid phosphatase activity was similarly increased in asphyxiated animals resuscitated for 5 or 60 min. 6. It is suggested that the response of the immature rat brain to asphyxia involves a disruption or increased fragility of lysosomal particles.
The effect of exogenous δ-aminolaevulinate on rat liver haem and cytochromes
Authors: Druyan Robert , Kelly Aldon
Published: August 2015

The activity of δ-aminolaevulinate synthetase is generally regarded as rate-limiting for hepatic haem biosynthesis. It has been suggested that cytochrome synthesis may also be regulated by changes in δ-aminolaevulinate synthetase activity. This hypothesis was studied by injecting product, δ-aminolaevulinate, into adult rats over a 4–240h period. The concentrations of hepatic mitochondrial cytochromes a, b, c and c1 were unchanged by treatment with δ-aminolaevulinate, allylisopropylacetamide or phenobarbital. In control animals, total microsomal haem content equalled the sum of cytochromes b5 plus P-450. After δ-aminolaevulinate administration the total amount of microsomal haem, measured as the pyridine haemochromogen, exceeded these components, indicating the formation of a ‘free’ haem pool. Haem synthesis does not appear rate-limiting for hepatic cytochrome synthesis in the adult rat.
Microsomal palmitoyl-coenzyme A synthetase from rat liver. Partial and exchange reactions
Authors: Bar–Tana J. , Rose G. , Shapiro B.
Published: August 2015

The partial and exchange reactions of long-chain fatty acid activation were determined by using purified microsomal long-chain fatty acyl-CoA synthetase (EC 6.2.1.3). No significant ATP formation from palmitoyl-AMP and PPi, nor palmitoyl-AMP-dependent CoA disappearance could be demonstrated. Similarly, no palmitate-dependent [32P2]PPi–ATP exchange was catalysed by the pure enzyme. The above partial and exchange reactions were, however, catalysed by the parent microsomal fraction at a rate similar to that of the overall reaction. The implications of these results are discussed.
Transport and metabolism of galactose in rat kidney cortex
Authors: McNamara Pamela D. , Segal Stanton
Published: August 2015

1. Analysis of transport of d-galactose was complicated by metabolism of the compound but appeared to have two components: a substrate-saturable component and a diffusion component. At low substrate concentration (<1mm) active transport was observed. Accumulation of galactose was largely independent of Na+concentration. The apparent Km for this component was 0.2mm. At substrate concentrations above 1mm the active transport system appeared saturated and further increases in substrate concentration resulted in a linear increase in the rate of galactose accumulation, but no concentration gradient was formed. 2. d-[1-14C]Galactose (2mm) was metabolized to14CO2 by rat kidney-cortex slices incubated at 37°C, at the rate of 68nmol/h per 100mg of tissue. 3. Intracellular components from such incubations were separated into a neutral fraction, the only major labelled component being galactose, and a phosphorylated fraction. 4. Phosphorylated metabolites found in galactose-incubated slices increased with increasing substrate concentration and achieved a limiting value of 0.42mm after 60min of incubation. 5. Galactose uptake was inhibited by anaerobiosis, dinitrophenol and phlorrhizin. 6. Methyl α-d-glucoside and d-glucose partially inhibited galactose uptake only at ratios of 100:1. 7. The presence of pyruvate did not decrease galactose metabolism although it did decrease production of14CO2 from [1-14C]galactose. Gluconeogenesis occurred in the presence of pyruvate and14C from galactose was found in glucose. 8. Rat kidney-cortex slices metabolized 2mm-[1-14C]galactonate to14CO2 at a rate of 20nmol/h per 100mg of tissue.
The role of zinc ions in the transformation of lymphocytes by phytohaemagglutinin
Authors: Chesters John K.
Published: August 2015

1. Incorporation of [3H]thymidine into DNA was inhibited by EDTA and diethylenetriamine-NNN′N″N″-penta-acetate but not by nitrilotriacetate even when Ca2+ was present at more than twice the concentration of the chelators. 2. The inhibition caused by EDTA was most effectively reversed by Zn2+ but also to a lesser extent by Cd2+. Very little if any activation of the EDTA-inhibited system was obtained with Co2+, Cu2+, Fe3+, Mn2+ or Ni2+ added alone. 3. Fe3+ added to the Zn2+-activated lymphocytes in the presence of EDTA markedly increased thymidine incorporation. Addition of Cd2+ prevented the inhibition of incorporation which occurred at high Zn2+ concentrations. 4. If EDTA was added more than 15h after phytohaemagglutinin, the inhibition of incorporation was less than that obtained by its addition at zero time. If Zn2+ was added later than 12h after EDTA and phytohaemagglutinin, the inhibition of incorporation by EDTA was not fully reversed. A study of the time-course of the effects of delayed additions of EDTA and Zn2+ suggested that, on average, the cells required Zn2+ between 20 and 30h after phytohaemagglutinin addition to allow the full rate of thymidine incorporation at 37h. 5. The increase in the rate of protein synthesis caused by phytohaemagglutinin was not inhibited by EDTA until about 8h. The further increase after this was totally inhibited by EDTA but this inhibition was fully reversible with Zn2+. The rate of protein synthesis in EDTA-inhibited cultures at 40h was the same as that at 10h. 6. There was a close similarity between the effects of EDTA on lymphocyte stimulation and those reported by Kay et al. (1969) with low doses of actinomycin D.
The dimensions and shapes of the furanose rings in nucleic acids
Authors: Arnott S. , Hukins D. W. L.
Published: August 2015

A survey was made of the geometry of furanose rings in β-nucleotides and β-nucleosides (as monomers related to nucleic acids) for which structures have been determined by X-ray crystallography. Mean values, and estimated standard deviations from them, were calculated for bond-lengths, bond-angles and conformation-angles. For parameters with values dependent on ring-puckering, separate calculations were made for each ring type. (The rings are puckered in one of three conformations: C-2- or C-3-endo or C-3-exo; C-2-exo has not been observed.) The results were used to compute standard furanose rings with C-2-endo, C-3-endo and C-3-exo conformations for use in nucleic acid molecular model-building. The survey also showed that the only other conformation-angle in nucleotides dependent on the furanose ring conformation corresponds to the relative orientation of the purine (or pyrimidine) base and the ring.
Enzymic sulphation of p-nitrophenol and steroids by larval gut tissues of the southern armyworm (Prodenia eridania Cramer)
Authors: Yang R. S. H. , Wilkinson C. F.
Published: August 2015

1. An enzyme system that catalyses the sulphation of p-nitrophenol, cholesterol, α-ecdysone, β-sitosterol, dehydroepiandrosterone, oestrone and four other steroids of plant and insect origin was obtained from the soluble fraction of southern-armyworm gut tissues. 2. The enzyme system required ATP and inorganic sulphate, and activity was slightly enhanced in the presence of GSH. 3. The properties of this enzyme system with respect to pH, temperature, substrate and protein concentrations and various cofactors and reagents were studied. At −23°C the enzyme preparation could be stored for 2 weeks without drastic loss of activity. At the end of storage for 1 month the loss of activity was approx. 21%. 4. The possible involvement of this enzyme system in insect endocrine control is discussed.
Amino acid sequence of the N-terminal sixty-nine residues of heavy chain derived from a homogeneous rabbit antibody
Authors: Jaton Jean-Claude , Braun D. G.
Published: August 2015

The sequence of the N-terminal 69 residues of heavy chain from a homogeneous rabbit antibody to type III pneumococcal polysaccharide was determined. The sequence is similar to that found in heavy chains of normal pooled rabbit immunoglobulins of the same allotype Aa1. Two regions of the homogeneous heavy chain (residues 35–46 and 62–69) are very similar to corresponding regions of heavy chains from rabbit Aa2 immunoglobulin, as well as from mouse, guinea-pig and human immunoglobulins. In contrast, residues 47–62 appear to be variable. Comparison in this section with another homogeneous anti-pneumococcal antibody (Strosberg et al., 1972) of related specificity and of the same allotype indicates sequence variation in at least three positions. An antibody to group C streptococcal carbohydrate of allotype Aa2 (Fleischman, 1971) differs by five amino acids in the same region of the heavy chain. Sequence variability between these three antibodies does not occur in homologous positions within this variable section. Allotype-related sequences could not be identified in section 34–65.
Isolation and characterization of C1q, a subcomponent of the first component of complement, from human and rabbit sera
Authors: Reid K. B. M. , Lowe D. M. , Porter R. R.
Published: August 2015

1. C1q, a subcomponent of the first component of complement, has been isolated, in a haemolytically active and soluble form, by ion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration, from human and rabbit sera. Yields ranged from 10 to 25mg/litre of serum and the activity of final preparations was consistently in the range 5×103-15×103 C1qH50 units/mg. 2. The molecular weights of human and rabbit subcomponent C1q were 409600 and 417600, as determined by sedimentation equilibrium studies. 3. Subcomponent C1q from both species was shown to be composed of non-covalently linked subunits of approximately 57000 molecular weight as determined by gel-filtration or sedimentation equilibrium studies in 5.3m-guanidinium chloride. Reduction or oxidation of human and rabbit subcomponent C1q yielded three chains each having a molecular weight of approximately 23000 and which differed slightly in amino acid composition but markedly in carbohydrate content. The oxidized chains were separated, on a preparative scale, by ion-exchange chromatography in 8m-urea on DEAE-cellulose. 4. Both human and rabbit subcomponent C1q contained hydroxyproline, hydroxylysine, a high percentage of glycine and approximately 8% carbohydrate. Glutamic acid and aspartic acid were the free N-terminal amino acids of human subcomponent C1q whereas only serine was found in rabbit subcomponent C1q. 5. Collagenase digestion of human or rabbit subcomponent C1q caused a rapid loss of haemolytic activity which correlated with the breakdown of collagenous regions in the molecule.
Regulation of C1 metabolism by l-methionine in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Authors: Lor K. L. , Cossins E. A.
Published: August 2015

1. The concentrations of folate derivatives in aerobic cultures of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (A.T.C.C. 9763) were determined by microbiological assay employing Lactobacillus casei (A.T.C.C. 7469) and Pediococcus cerevisiae (A.T.C.C. 8081). Cells cultured in media lacking l-methionine contained higher concentrations of folate derivatives than cells grown in the same media supplemented with 2.5μmol of l-methionine/ml. The concentrations of highly conjugated derivatives were also decreased by supplementing the growth medium with l-methionine. 2. DEAE-cellulose column chromatography of extracts prepared from cells grown under these conditions revealed that the concentrations of methylated tetrahydrofolates were drastically decreased by the methionine supplement. Smaller decreases were also observed in the concentrations of formylated and unsubstituted derivatives. 3. The concentrations of four enzymes of C1 metabolism were compared after 6h of growth in the presence and in the absence of l-methionine (2.5μmol/ml). The specific activities of formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase and serine hydroxymethyltransferase were not altered by this treatment but that of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate–homocysteine methyltransferase was decreased by approx. 65% when l-methionine was supplied. The activities of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate–homocysteine methyltransferase, serine hydroxymethyltransferase and formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase were not appreciably altered by l-methionine in vitro. In contrast this amino acid was found to inhibit the activity of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase. 4. Feeding experiments employing sodium [14C]formate indicated that cells grown in the presence of exogenous methionine, although having less ability to convert formate into methionine, readily incorporated 14C into serine and the adenosyl moiety of S-adenosylmethionine. 5. It is suggested that exogenous l-methionine controls C1 metabolism in Saccharomyces principally by regulation of methyl-group biogenesis within the folate pool.
A possible ribosomal-directed regulatory system in Euglena gracilis. Chlorophyll synthesis
Authors: Perl M.
Published: August 2015

Cycloheximide at concentrations of 0.1–100μm stimulated chlorophyll synthesis when dark-grown cells of Euglena were illuminated. Chloramphenicol (1–4mm) inhibited chlorophyll synthesis. The effect of cycloheximide on the incorporation of [14C]leucine into material insoluble in trichloroacetic acid, and its failure to affect the incorporation of [32P]orthophosphate into such material in short incubations, are interpreted as evidence that cycloheximide specifically inhibits protein synthesis by 80S ribosomes. Since the inhibitory effect of chloramphenicol on chlorophyll synthesis is counteracted by the presence of cycloheximide, it is suggested that chlorophyll synthesis is subject to control by a cytoplasmic repressor synthesized on 80S ribosomes, and to a de-repressor synthesized on 70S ribosomes.
A possible ribosomal-directed regulatory system in Euglena gracilis. Carbon dioxide fixation
Authors: Wolfovitch R. , Perl M.
Published: August 2015

It was shown that cycloheximide inhibits CO2 fixation in Euglena cells in the dark, but no effect of chloramphenicol was found. The light-dependent CO2 fixation was inhibited by chloramphenicol and by large amounts of cycloheximide, but was stimulated by small amounts of cycloheximide. The presence of the stimulatory concentration of cycloheximide abolished the inhibition effect of high concentrations of chloramphenicol. The results indicate that the light-dependent CO2 fixation is controlled by a repression–derepression regulatory system, which seems to be independent of chlorophyll synthesis.
Two benzaldehyde dehydrogenases in bacterium N.C.I.B. 8250. Distinguishing properties and regulation
Authors: Livingstone A. , Fewson C. A. , Kennedy S. I. T. , Zatman L. J.
Published: August 2015

Evidence is presented for the existence in bacterium N.C.I.B. 8250 of two inducible NAD+-linked benzaldehyde dehydrogenases. They may be distinguished in crude extracts by their different thermal stabilities at high pH values, benzaldehyde dehydrogenase I being much more heat-stable than benzaldehyde dehydrogenase II. Only benzaldehyde dehydrogenase I is activated by K+ and certain other univalent cations. Gel-filtration experiments indicate that both enzymes have molecular weights of about 180000. Both enzymes are induced by growth on l-mandelate or phenylglyoxylate; only benzaldehyde dehydrogenase I is gratuitously induced by thiophenoxyacetate and only benzaldehyde dehydrogenase II is induced by benzyl alcohol, by benzaldehyde, and by a number of heterocyclic compounds which do not support growth. Mutants have been isolated that lack either benzaldehyde dehydrogenase II or benzyl alcohol dehydrogenase, or both of the enzymes. Results obtained in induction experiments with the wild-type bacterium N.C.I.B. 8250 and with the mutants show that benzaldehyde dehydrogenase II and benzyl alcohol dehydrogenase are co-ordinately regulated. Overall, the results suggest that benzaldehyde dehydrogenase I is associated with the metabolism of l-mandelate whereas benzaldehyde dehydrogenase II is associated with the metabolism of benzyl alcohol.
Fat metabolism in higher plants. β-hydroxylation of fatty acids by a soluble preparation from maturing avocado mesocarp
Authors: Harwood J. L. , Sodja A. , Stumpf P. K.
Published: August 2015

1. An avocado supernatant fraction converted fatty acids of medium chain length (C8–C12) into a polar product. 2. The product was identified as the β-hydroxy derivative of the substrate by g.l.c. and t.l.c. analysis. 3. For hydroxylation of the fatty acids, CoA, ATP and molecular oxygen were required. Acyl carrier protein gave some stimulation. The reaction took place with oxygen alone if acyl-CoA was the substrate. 4. Hydroxylation was maximal with decanoic acid but dodecanoic acid and octanoic acid were also very active. Acids of shorter or longer chain lengths were not hydroxylated. 5. NAD+ concentration caused complete inhibition at 0.5mm and may be an important control mechanism for the reaction in vivo. 6. The reaction was inhibited by iodoacetamide and by bipyridyl and carbon monoxide, indicating involvement of thiol and heavy metal groups.
The organ-specificity of ferritin in human and horse liver and spleen
Authors: Crichton R. R. , Millar J. A. , Cumming R. L. C. , Bryce C. F. A.
Published: August 2015

1. Ferritin was isolated from human and horse spleen and liver, and apoferritin prepared therefrom. 2. The electrophoretic mobilities of the four apoferritins were determined on polyacrylamide gels and on cellulose acetate strips, and all found to be equal. 3. Homologous ferritins share reactions of identity in immunodiffusion experiments, whereas heterologous ferritins show only partial identity. 4. The subunit molecular weight of each of the apoferritins was determined by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulphate and by chromatography on agarose columns in 6m-guanidine–HCl. A value of approx. 18500 was found in all cases. The proteins all had sedimentation coefficients of 17–18S. It thus seems that they have identical quaternary structures. 5. The amino acid compositions of the proteins revealed distinct differences both between organs and between species. This was confirmed by analysis of the tryptic peptide patterns, where it was found that about one-third of the peptides were common to the four proteins and the other two-thirds varied from protein to protein. 6. It is concluded that the apoferritins present in the liver and spleen of human and horse are both organ- and species-specific. 7. The apoferritin isolated from the liver of a patient with idiopathic haemochromatosis was identical with normal human liver apoferritin by the criteria described above.
Some properties of the uridine diphosphate glucuronyltransferase activity synthesizing thio-β-d-glucuronides
Authors: Illing H. P. A. , Dutton G. J.
Published: August 2015

1. Some properties of the UDP-glucuronyltransferase synthesizing thio-β-d-glucuronides were investigated and compared with those of the enzyme synthesizing the O-glucuronides of analogous phenols. 2. Enzyme activity was generally similar for both classes of substrate in tissue distribution, intracellular location, optimum pH, perinatal development and induction by organ culture or by phenobarbital. 3. Certain differences were noted between the two types of activity in behaviour on storage and on activation, in kinetic behaviour and in distribution between Wistar and Gunn rats; the Gunn rats were not deficient in hepatic UDP-glucuronyltransferase activity towards o-aminothiophenol. 4. These differences are no greater than those exhibited in the synthesis of various O-glucuronides; therefore thiolic substrates could compete in vivo with phenolic compounds for access to the UDP-glucuronyltransferase complex as well as for UDP-glucuronic acid.
Inhibition by acetaldehyde of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex from ox brain and ox kidney (Short Communication)
Authors: Blass J. P. , Lewis C. A.
Published: August 2015

Low concentrations of acetaldehyde, similar to those that can occur in the brain of ethanol-treated animals, effectively inhibit the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex purified from ox brain or from ox kidney, although the precise mechanism of this inhibition remains to be defined.
Amelogenins. Purification and partial characterization of proteins from developing bovine dental enamel
Authors: Eggert F. Michael , Allen Grania A. , Burgess Ralph C.
Published: August 2015

1. Procedures are described for the purification of amelogenin electrophoretic components and their analysis for homogeneity by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis at both acidic and alkaline pH values. 2. Most of these components belonged to two main groups, termed the J group and the C group after their major electrophoretic components. Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis indicated that, within each group, proteins were of similar size, but the C-group proteins were larger than those of the J group. 3. By sedimentation-equilibrium ultracentrifugation and amino acid analysis, the four J-group components were found to be very small proteins (mol. wt. 5500–3000) and, except for one, similar in amino acid composition. The components of the C group were found to be proteins of moderate size (mol. wt. 16800–16100) with very similar amino acid compositions. A third minor amelogenin group of intermediate size was also found, but not further analysed. Details of the results of the ultracentrifuge studies are given in a supplementary paper that has been deposited as Supplementary Publication SUP 50014 at the National Lending Library for Science and Technology, Boston Spa, Yorks. LS23 7BQ, U.K., from whom copies can be obtained on the terms indicated in Biochem. J. (1973) 131, 5. 4. Two of the J-group components were similar to amelogenins isolated by other workers. 5. All amelogenins analysed were rich in proline, glutamic acid, histidine and methionine, and contained no half-cystine. Their amino acid compositions, combined with their molecular weights, serve to distinguish the amelogenins from both collagens and keratins.
The composition of cartilage proteoglycans. An investigation using high-and low-ionic-strength extraction procedures
Authors: Mayes Robert W. , Mason Roger M. , Griffin David C.
Published: August 2015

1. A proteoglycan fraction (the proteoglycan subunit fraction) was prepared from extracts, with 0.15m-KCl (low-ionic-strength) and 0.5m-LaCl3, 2.0m-CaCl2 and 4.0m-guanidinium chloride (high-ionic-strength), of bovine nasal cartilage by equilibrium-density-gradient centrifugation, essentially as described by Hascall & Sajdera (1969). 2. The use of different centrifugation times showed that near-equilibrium conditions were reached by 48h for the fractions prepared from the high-ionic-strength extracts. The fraction isolated from the low-ionic-strength extract required a longer centrifugation time to reach equilibrium conditions. 3. The composition of the proteoglycan fractions from the various extracts was compared by analyses of their carbohydrate and amino acid contents. Difference indices were calculated from the amino acid analysis to compare the degree of compositional relationship between the protein components of the proteoglycans. 4. Small compositional differences were found between the proteoglycans isolated from the various high-ionic-strength extracts. The protein content of the fractions from the CaCl2 extract and the guanidinium chloride extract showed the greatest difference in this respect, although their amino acid analysis was similar. 5. The proteoglycan fraction isolated from the low-ionic-strength extract shows marked differences in composition from the fractions isolated from the high-ionic-strength extracts. Its protein and glucosamine contents were lower whereas its hexuronic acid and galactosamine contents were higher than those of the latter. It also exhibits major differences in its amino acid composition. The glucosamine:galactosamine ratio of the fraction from the low-ionic-strength extract indicates that it may be an almost exclusively chondroitin sulphate–proteoglycan. Its analysis correlates closely with that of a low-molecular-weight proteoglycan isolated from pig laryngeal cartilage by Tsiganos & Muir (1969). 6. The proteoglycan fractions from both the low- and high-ionic-strength extracts migrate as a single band in zone electrophoresis carried out in a sucrose-density gradient at both pH3.0 and pH7.0, although each showed evidence of band widening during the electrophoresis. All the proteoglycan fractions migrated with the same electrophoretic mobility at pH3.0, irrespective of the differences in composition between them. 7. The differences between the proteoglycans from the low- and high-ionic-strength extracts are discussed and the view is advanced that they may be due to association between predominantly chondroitin sulphate–proteoglycans and a keratan sulphate-enriched proteoglycan species.
Interaction of quinacrine mustard with mononucleotides and polynucleotides
Authors: Selander Ritva-Kajsa
Published: August 2015

1. The interaction between quinacrine mustard and mononucleotides and polynucleotides was investigated by fluorimetry and absorbance spectrophotometry. 2. The fluorescence spectrum of quinacrine mustard is independent of the ionic strength and pH. The dependence of the quinacrine mustard fluorescence intensity on ionic strength, pH and anions is described. 3. The fluorescence intensity of quinacrine mustard was enhanced with the mononucleotide adenylic acid and polynucleotides such as poly(rA), poly(rU) and poly(rA,rU). 4. Quenching of the fluorescence intensity of quinacrine mustard occurred with the mononucleotide guanylic acid and with poly(rG) and poly(rC,rG). 5. The mononucleotide cytidylic acid or poly(rC) showed no effect on the fluorescence intensity of quinacrine mustard. 6. The interaction between the dye and native DNA species was also dependent on the presence of base-specific binding sites in the DNA. The higher the (G+C) content was in the native DNA tested the higher was the quenching effect on the fluorescence intensity of quinacrine mustard. 7. No interaction was found between the dye and methylated DNA. The binding between quinacrine mustard and apurinic DNA was confirmed to be in the phosphate groups of the purines.
Inhibition of prostaglandin biosynthesis by 7-oxa- and 5-oxa-prostaglandin analogues (Short Communication)
Authors: McDonald-Gibson R. G. , Flack J. D. , Ramwell P. W.
Published: August 2015

Some oxaprostaglandin derivatives have been shown to inhibit prostaglandin biosynthesis from arachidonate by a particulate prostaglandin synthetase preparation. The most potent inhibitor was 5-oxaprost-13-trans-enoate, and inhibition by this compound appeared to be competitive. Certain structure–activity relationships were ascertained.
Regulation of pyruvate metabolism via pyruvate carboxylase in rat brain mitochondria
Authors: Patel Mulchand S. , Tilghman Shirley M.
Published: August 2015

1. The fixation of CO2 by pyruvate carboxylase in isolated rat brain mitochondria was investigated. 2. In the presence of pyruvate, ATP, inorganic phosphate and magnesium, rat brain mitochondria fixed H14CO3- into tricarboxylic acid-cycle intermediates at a rate of about 250nmol/30min per mg of protein. 3. Citrate and malate were the main radioactive products with citrate containing most of the radioactivity fixed. The observed rates of H14CO3- fixation and citrate formation correlated with the measured activities of pyruvate carboxylase and citrate synthase in the mitochondria. 4. The carboxylation of pyruvate by the mitochondria had an apparent Km for pyruvate of about 0.5mm. 5. Pyruvate carboxylation was inhibited by ADP and dinitrophenol. 6. Malate, succinate, fumarate and oxaloacetate inhibited the carboxylation of pyruvate whereas glutamate stimulated it. 7. The results suggest that the metabolism of pyruvate via pyruvate carboxylase in brain mitochondria is regulated, in part, by the intramitochondrial concentrations of pyruvate, oxaloacetate and the ATP:ADP ratio.
The isocitrate dehydrogenases of Acinetobacter lwoffi. Studies on the regulation of nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide phosphate-linked isoenzyme
Authors: Self Colin H. , Parker Malcolm G. , Weitzman P. David J.
Published: August 2015

Of the two NADP-linked isocitrate dehydrogenases in Acinetobacter lwoffi the higher-molecular-weight form, isoenzyme-II, is reversibly stimulated sixfold by low concentrations of glyoxylate or pyruvate. Kinetic results indicate that this stimulation of activity involves both an increase in Vmax. and a decrease in the apparent Km values for substrates, most markedly that for NADP+. Other changes brought about by glyoxylate or pyruvate include a shift in the pH optimum for activity and an increased stability to inactivation by heat or urea. Mixtures of glyoxylate plus oxaloacetate, known to inhibit isocitrate dehydrogenases from other organisms, produce inhibition of both A. lowffi isoenzymes, and do not reflect the stimulatory specificity of glyoxylate for isoenzyme-II. Isoenzyme-II is also stimulated by AMP and ADP, but the activation by glyoxylate or pyruvate is shown to be quite independent of the adenylate activation. Differential desensitization of the enzyme by urea to the two types of activator further supports the view that the enzyme possesses two distinct allosteric regulatory sites. The metabolic significance of the activations is discussed.
Adrenal microsomal C19-steroid 5α-reductase activity in the Snell transplantable rat adrenocortical tumour 494 and the effect of oestradiol, testosterone propionate and adrenocorticotrophin in intact and gonadectomized rats
Authors: Maynard Paul V. , Cameron Euan H. D.
Published: August 2015

The C19-steroid 5α-reductase activity in the microsomal fraction of rat adrenal tissue under various hormonal treatments was examined. In intact control rats the activity is similar in both males and females, and after gonadectomy it is markedly increased. Treatment with oestradiol (150μg/day per animal for 7 days) or testosterone propionate (2mg/day per animal for 7 days) lowered the activity of 5α-reductase in castrated animals to approximately the values for intact animals in both sexes, and in intact animals the activity was also decreased by these treatments. The enzyme activity was also decreased by adrenocorticotrophin treatment but to a lesser extent than by the steroid hormones. The activity of the 5α-reductase enzyme in the Snell adrenocortical tumour 494 is very low when incubated as a whole homogenate, but the activity in microsomal material of the tumour was measured and unexpectedly found to be similar to that in intact controls.
The disorder of hyaluronic acid metabolism in cultured skin fibroblasts derived from a patient with the Hurler syndrome
Authors: Germinario Ralph J. , Kahlenberg Arthur , Pinsky Leonard
Published: August 2015

The metabolism of hyaluronic acid in cultured skin fibroblasts derived from a patient with the Hurler syndrome and from a normal subject was examined. 1. An increased net incorporation of [3H]glucose into the hyaluronic acid fraction of the Hurler-syndrome cells occurred when compared with normal cells. 2. During a `chase' period, approx. 35% of the radioactivity derived from glucose was lost from the hyaluronic acid fraction of the Hurler-syndrome cells, whereas the normal cells retained all their radioactivity. 3. Although the Hurler-syndrome cells contained a ninefold greater amount of hyaluronic acid than normal cells, simultaneous determination of the specific radioactivity derived from the label revealed a value for the Hurler-syndrome cells one-half that of normal cells. These results are taken to indicate that the Hurler cells synthesize hyaluronic acid de novo at a higher rate than do normal cells. 4. Exposure of Hurler-syndrome cultured fibroblasts to a crude urine corrective-factor preparation (Neufeld & Cantz, 1971), now known to contain α-l-iduronidase, the specific Hurler-syndrome corrective factor (Bach et al., 1972), decreased the hyaluronic acid content to near-normal values before any effect was observed on [3H]glucose incorporation into the hyaluronic acid fraction. 5. In addition, the hyaluronic acid content of the normal cells decreased after exposure to the corrective factor of urine. 6. The mobilization of hyaluronic acid in Hurler-syndrome and normal cells exposed to the crude corrective-factor preparation of urine caused a decrease in specific radioactivity in the `corrected' Hurler-syndrome cells and an increase in specific radioactivity in the `corrected' normal cells.
Studies on the assembly and secretion of a multicomponent protein. The biosynthesis of vitellogenin, an oestrogen-induced glycolipophosphoprotein
Authors: Merry A. H. , Dolphin P. J. , Munday K. A. , Akhtar M.
Published: August 2015

1. Incorporation of [32P]Pi and [3H]leucine into vitellogenin secreted in vitro by liver slices from oestrogen-treated Xenopus laevis is accompanied by a 2h lag; no lag is apparent for the incorporation into total tissue protein. 2. The addition of cycloheximide was found immediately to inhibit further incorporation of radioactive leucine into total tissue protein. The incorporation into secreted vitellogenin, however, continued for 2h after the addition of cycloheximide. 3. Pulse-labelling of liver slices with [3H]leucine for 30min, followed by a chase with a large excess of unlabelled leucine, resulted in the appearance of radioactivity in secreted vitellogenin from 90min after the end of the pulse period. 4. Evidence is presented which suggests that of the radioactivity from [3H]leucine incorporated into proteins by the liver of oestrogen-treated Xenopus some 70% is present in the single protein vitellogenin. 5. The incorporation of [32P]Pi into vitellogenin followed a pattern identical with that found for [3H]leucine in the pulse-labelling experiments and this indicates that synthesis of the polypeptide chain and incorporation of Pi are closely linked processes. 6. The cumulative evidence suggests that the 2h lag phase represents the time required for the assembly and secretion of this multicomponent protein.
The effects of calcium ions on the activities of trehalase, hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, fructose diphosphatase and pyruvate kinase from various muscles
Authors: Vaughan H. , Thornton S. D. , Newsholme E. A.
Published: August 2015

1. The effects of Ca2+ on the activities and regulatory properties of trehalase, hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, fructose diphosphatase and pyruvate kinase from vertebrate red and white muscle and insect fibrillar and non-fibrillar muscle have been investigated. These muscles were selected because of the possible difference in the role of glycolysis in energy production in the vertebrate muscles, and the possible difference in the role of Ca2+ in the control of contraction in the two types of insect muscle. An increase in Ca2+ concentration from 0.001μm to 10μm did not modify the activities nor did it modify the regulatory properties of these enzymes from these various muscles. 2. Concentrations of Ca2+ above 0.1mm inhibited the activities of hexokinase and phosphofructokinase from the different muscles. It has been suggested that this inhibition may provide the basis for a theory of regulation of glycolysis (Margreth et al., 1967). If phosphofructokinase is located within the sarcoplasmic reticulum, its activity will be inhibited when the muscle is at rest, but the release of Ca2+ from the reticulum during contraction will lead to a stimulation of its activity and hence an increase in glycolytic flux. The distribution of hexokinase and phosphofructokinase in the various cell fractions of these muscles was very variable. In particular, both enzymes were present almost exclusively in the 100000g supernatant fraction in the extracts of insect flight muscles. Thus there is no correlation between the properties of the enzymes and their distribution in muscle. 3. It is concluded that Ca2+ does not control the activities of the important regulatory enzymes of glycolysis in muscle. It is suggested that in some muscles the sensitivity of the control mechanism at the level of phosphofructokinase to changes in the concentration of AMP may be increased by a process known as `substrate-cycling'.
The relationship between palmitoyl-coenzyme A synthetase activity and esterification of sn-glycerol 3-phosphate in rat liver mitochondria
Authors: Sánchez Mariana , Nicholls David G. , Brindley David N.
Published: August 2015

1. The specific activities for palmitoyl-CoA synthetase and for sn-glycerol 3-phosphate esterification, with palmitoyl-CoA generated either by the endogenous synthetase or from palmitoyl-(-)-carnitine, CoA and excess of carnitine palmitoyltransferase, were measured with rat liver mitochondria. 2. The mean specific activity of palmitoyl-CoA synthetase was approximately five- and seven-fold the rates of sn-glycerol 3-phosphate esterification from palmitate and palmitoyl-(-)-carnitine respectively. No significant correlation was found in different rats between the activities of palmitoyl-CoA synthetase and sn-glycerol 3-phosphate esterification from either acyl precursor. However, there was a significant correlation (r=0.83, P<0.001) between the rates of glycerolipid synthesis from palmitate and palmitoyl-(-)-carnitine. 3. The mean molar composition of the glycerolipid synthesized from palmitate was 58% lysophosphatidate, 31% phosphatidate and 11% neutral lipid. With palmitoyl-(-)-carnitine the equivalent values were 70, 23 and 7%, which were significantly different. 4. When palmitoyl-CoA synthetase had been inactivated by 60–70% after preincubation of mitochondria at 37°C, it became rate-limiting in glycerolipid biosynthesis. Additions of 1–5mm-ATP prevented inactivation of palmitoyl-CoA synthetase. 5. Preincubation also inhibited the oxidation of palmitate, palmitoyl-CoA, palmitoyl-(-)-carnitine and malate plus glutamate. These inhibitions could not be prevented by addition of ATP. 6. Diversion of palmitoyl-CoA to form palmitoyl-(-)-carnitine did not inhibit sn-glycerol 3-phosphate esterification. 7. The palmitoyl-CoA pool synthesized by the palmitoyl-CoA synthetase was augmented by adding partially purified synthetase or carnitine palmitoyltransferase and palmitoyl-(-)-carnitine. No stimulation of palmitate incorporation into glycerolipids occurred. 8. At low concentrations of Mg2+, palmitate, ATP and CoA the velocity with palmitoyl-CoA synthetase decreased more than that of glycerolipid synthesis from palmitate. 9. It is concluded that in the presence of optimum substrate concentrations the activity of sn-glycerol 3-phosphate acyltransferase and not of palmitoyl-CoA synthetase is rate-limiting in the synthesis of phosphatidate and lysophosphatidate in isolated rat liver mitochondria.
The acetoacetyl-coenzyme A thiolases of rat brain and their relative activities during postnatal development
Authors: Middleton B.
Published: August 2015

1. The apparent 3-oxoacyl-CoA thiolase activity of rat brain extracts is due to two different acetoacetyl-CoA thiolases, one cytoplasmic and the other mitochondrial. By the methods developed in the preceding paper (Middleton, 1973), the changes in activities of these two enzymes were determined during postnatal development. 2. Although the total brain acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase activity changes not more than 2-fold from birth to adulthood this masks large changes in the relative proportions of the two types of thiolase present. 3. Cytoplasmic acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase activity declines slowly from 4 units/g fresh wt. at birth to an adult value of 1.3 units/g fresh wt. 4. The mitochondrial acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase (activated by K+) rises rapidly in activity from 1 unit/g fresh wt. at birth to a peak value of 5 units/g fresh wt. at 20 days. After weaning the activity declines to 2.3 units/g fresh wt. in the adult. 5. These different developmental patterns are discussed in terms of the probable metabolic roles of the two brain acetoacetyl-CoA thiolases.
The effects of glucagon and insulin on adenosine 3′:5′-cyclic monophosphate concentrations in an organ culture of mature rat liver
Authors: Siddle Kenneth , Kane-Maguire Barbara , Campbell Anthony K.
Published: August 2015

1. A modified radioimmunoassay for cyclic AMP was developed from the method of Steiner et al. (1969). Cyclic [3H]AMP was used as the radioactive tracer. Free and antibody-bound nucleotides were separated by adsorption of protein to Millipore filters. The assay was used to measure amounts of cyclic AMP down to 0.1pmol in 50μl. 2. The effect of glucagon on cyclic AMP content in pieces of mature rat liver maintained for 6 days in organ culture was studied. 3. Cyclic AMP content in the tissue reached a maximum in 5–15min and then decreased. This may have been partly due to an inhibitor of glucagon action formed in the tissue. Small amounts of cyclic AMP were released into the incubation medium. 4. The maximal increase in cyclic AMP content produced by glucagon decreased over 6 days in culture. However, liver pieces cultured for 2 and 6 days were more sensitive to low concentrations of glucagon than were fresh liver pieces. Glucagon concentrations for half-maximal effects were approx. 1μm and 0.05μm for fresh liver and 2-day cultured liver respectively. 5. Insulin (3.5μm) lowered the cyclic AMP content by 30% in the presence of a submaximal glucagon concentration in liver cultured for 2 days. No effect of insulin was demonstrated on fresh liver pieces. 6. Insulin and glucagon were rapidly destroyed by fresh liver pieces.
The synthesis of ribonucleic acid in vivo in the nuclei of rat brain fractionated by zonal centrifugation
Authors: Austoker J. , Cox D. , Mathias A. P.
Published: August 2015

1. Radioactive orotic acid, uridine and adenosine were administered to rats by intracisternal injection. The effects of the size of the dose, the specific radioactivity and time on the incorporation into the RNA of unfractionated nuclei of brain tissue were examined to establish appropriate conditions for studies of the relative activities in vivo of the various sorts of brain nuclei fractionated by zonal centrifugation. Uridine is incorporated more efficiently than either orotic acid or adenosine. 2. With [3H]uridine as precursor the astrocytes in zone (II) contain the highest radioactivity except at the beginning of the experiment when the neuronal nuclei of zone (I) are more highly labelled. This fraction utilizes [14C]orotic acid more readily than the nuclei of zone (II). The astrocytic nuclei of zone (III) show a general resemblance to those of zone (II). Considerable differences between the incorporations into the two types of oligodendrocyte nuclei in zones (IV) and (V) are observed. 3. The relative synthetic activities of the major types of brain nuclei in vitro and in vivo are discussed.
Metal complexes of bilirubin in aprotic solvents
Authors: Hutchinson D. W. , Johnson B. , Knell A. J.
Published: August 2015

Bilirubin reacts with zinc acetate, cadmium acetate or cobaltous acetate in dry dipolar aprotic solvents to form highly coloured complexes. The complex formed in NN-dimethylformamide can be isolated as a solid with bilirubin:zinc:acetate:NN-dimethylformamide molar proportions of 1:3:2:2. Water will decompose these complexes, with the regeneration of bilirubin.