bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The specificity of combination between ristocetins and peptides related to bacterial cell wall mucopeptide precursors
Authors: Nieto M. , Perkins H. R.
Published: August 2015

The affinity of ristocetin B for analogues of the C-terminal tripeptide sequence of bacterial cell wall mucopeptide precursors resembles that of vancomycin. Complex-formation requires a d-configuration in the two amino acid residues of the C-terminal dipeptide, an l-configuration is preferred in the preceding amino acid residue and positive charges on the peptide molecule decrease its affinity. The specificity of ristocetin B, however, differs from that of vancomycin in the requirements for the size of the side chains on the C-terminal dipeptide. These differences may explain the observed differences in antibiotic behaviour of vancomycin and ristocetin with particular micro-organisms. The optical rotatory dispersion and u.v.-absorption characteristics of the ristocetins are very different from those of vancomycin but nearly identical with those of ristomycin A. Aglycones prepared from ristomycin A were antibiotically active and also combined with a specific peptide.
Protein synthesis by membrane-bound and free ribosomes of the developing rat cerebral cortex
Authors: Andrews T. M. , Tata J. R.
Published: August 2015

1. Rates of RNA and protein synthesis were measured in rat cerebral-cortex slices, and compared with amino acid incorporation into protein by membrane-bound and free ribosomes from the same tissue, in the first 3 weeks of life. 2. A rapid age-dependent decline in the incorporation of labelled precursors into both RNA and protein was observed, which was more marked for amino acid incorporation into protein. 3. Although membrane-bound ribosomes comprise only a small fraction of total ribosomes, they were more active in incorporating amino acids into protein than were free ribosomes, especially immediately after birth. The decline in activity with age was more marked in the membrane-bound fraction than in free ribosomes. This loss of activity was largely independent of alterations in soluble factors or endogenous mRNA content and appeared to involve some alteration of the function of the ribosome itself, with relatively small alterations in the ratio of membrane-bound to free ribosomes. 4. Thyroidectomy, performed soon after birth, had no effect on the incorporation of radioactive precursors into RNA or protein by either slices or the cell-free preparations during the first 3–4 weeks of life.
Nucleoside pyrophosphatase activity associated with pig kidney alkaline phosphatase
Authors: Wass Milica , Butterworth P. J.
Published: August 2015

1. A study was made of the hydrolysis, at pH9.0, of ATP and ADP catalysed by pig kidney alkaline phosphatase. Both of these nucleoside pyrophosphates are substrates for the enzyme; Km values are 4×10-5m for ATP and 6.3×10-5m for ADP. Vmax. for ADP is approximately double that of ATP. 2. Above 0.1mm approximately, both ATP and ADP are inhibitory, but the inhibition is reversible by the addition of Mg2+ ions to form MgATP2- or MgADP- complexes. The complexes, besides being non-inhibitory, are also substrates for the enzyme with Km values identical with those of the respective free nucleotides. 3. Mg2+ ions are inhibitory when present in excess of ATP or ADP. The degree of inhibition is greater with ATP as substrate, but with both ATP and ADP a mixed competitive–non-competitive type of inhibition is observed. 4. It is suggested that under normal conditions the enzyme is inhibited by cellular concentrations of ATP plus ADP but that an increase in the concentration of Mg2+ ions stimulates activity by relieving nucleoside pyrophosphate inhibition. The properties may be of importance in the regulation of the transport of bivalent cations.
Bilirubin glucuronyltransferase. Specific assay and kinetic studies
Authors: Wong Kim Ping
Published: August 2015

1. Bilirubin glucuronide was synthesized in vitro in a system containing a rat liver microsomal fraction, UDP-glucuronic acid, Mg2+ and bilirubin. The enzymic synthesis was accomplished without the addition of a bilirubin carrier. 2. Azobilirubin and azobilirubin glucuronide were separated by t.l.c. and paper chromatography and the measurement of the conjugate provided a specific assay for bilirubin UDP-glucuronyltransferase (EC 2.4.1.17). 3. This diazo compound was labelled when [U-14C]UDP-glucuronic acid was employed in the transglucuronidation reaction. 4. Identity of the glucuronide nature of the product was further confirmed by hydrolysis with β-glucuronidase prepared from limpets and Helix pomatia. In each instance azobilirubin and glucuronic acid were liberated. 5. There was a close correlation between the bilirubin glucuronyl-transferase activity as measured by two procedures, colorimetric and radioisotopic. The specific activities so measured were 19nmol of bilirubin ‘equivalents’ conjugated/h per mg of protein and 16.9–18.4nmol of UDP-glucuronic acid incorporated/h per mg of protein, respectively. On this basis, it was concluded that the major product formed in vitro was bilirubin monoglucuronide; this represents about 77% of the total products formed. 6. The Km values for bilirubin and UDP-glucuronic acid at pH8.2 are 3.3×10−4m and 1.67×10−3m, respectively. 7. The addition of Mg2+ at a final concentration of 5mm to the reaction mixture increased the rate of conjugation by 5.6-fold in the microsomal preparation that had been subjected to overnight dialysis against 10mm-EDTA (disodium salt). 8. Diethyl-nitrosamine at a final concentration of 1–20mm has no effect on the glucuronidation of bilirubin in vitro.
The association in vitro of polyribosomes with ribonuclease-treated derivatives of hepatic rough endoplasmic reticulum. Characteristics of the membrane binding sites and factors influencing association
Authors: Shires T. K. , Narurkar L. , Pitot H. C.
Published: August 2015

1. Pancreatic ribonuclease in dilute EDTA has been shown to condition rough-microsomal membranes from adult rat liver to accept exogenously added rat liver polyribosomes in vitro at 0–4°C. Treated smooth membranes would not significantly interact with polyribosomes. 2. The conditioning process decreased the membrane RNA content and removed polyribosomes from vesicle surfaces as viewed electron-microscopically. 3. Binding to these conditioned membranes was shown to be uninfluenced by changes of temperature (0–37°C) and pH (6.9–7.8) or the presence of cell sap, but was inhibited by increasing the concentration of potassium chloride. 4. Possession of a polyribosome-binding capacity by conditioned rough membranes was not dependent on adventitious materials that could be dislodged by high ionic strengths. 5. Trypsin treatment under mild conditions destroyed the binding capacity of ribonuclease-conditioned rough membranes. 6. A 2–10S residual RNA was recovered from ribonuclease-conditioned membranes, but its partial removal had no effect on the capacity of membranes to accept polyribosomes. However, some role for this residual RNA in attaching polyribosomes could not be discounted. 7. Evidence is considered that polyribosome-binding sites are intrinsic features of conditioned membranes isolated from rough-microsomal fractions, and that long-range ionic bonding is a primary factor in polyribosome interaction with these binding sites.
Metabolism of pyruvate and malate by isolated fat-cell mitochondria
Authors: Martin B. R. , Denton R. M.
Published: August 2015

1. Metabolism of pyruvate and malate by isolated fat-cell mitochondria incubated in the presence of ADP and phosphate has been studied by measuring rates of pyruvate uptake, malate utilization or production, citrate production and oxygen consumption. From these measurements calculations of the flow rates through pyruvate carboxylase, pyruvate dehydrogenase and citrate cycle have been made under various conditions. 2. In the presence of bicarbonate, pyruvate was largely converted into citrate and malate and only about 10% was oxidized by the citrate cycle; citrate and malate outputs were linear after lag periods of 6–9min and 3min respectively, and no other end products of pyruvate metabolism were detected. On the further addition of malate or hydroxymalonate, the lag in the rate of citrate output was less marked but no net malate disappearance was detected. If, however, bicarbonate was omitted then net malate uptake was observed. Addition of butyl malonate was found to greatly inhibit the metabolism of pyruvate to citrate and malate in the presence of bicarbonate. 3. These results are in agreement with earlier conclusions that in adipose tissue acetyl units for fatty acid synthesis are transferred to the cytoplasm as citrate and that this transfer requires malate presumably for counter transport. They also support the view that oxaloacetate for citrate synthesis is preferentially formed from pyruvate through pyruvate carboxylase rather than malate through malate dehydrogenase and that the mitochondrial metabolism of citrate in fat-cells is restricted. The possible consequences of these conclusions are discussed. 4. Studies on the effects of additions of adenine nucleotides to pyruvate metabolism by isolated fat-cell mitochondria are consistent with inhibition of pyruvate carboxylase in the presence of ADP and pyruvate dehydrogenase in the presence of ATP.
Regulation of adipose tissue pyruvate dehydrogenase by insulin and other hormones
Authors: Coore H. G. , Denton R. M. , Martin B. R. , Randle P. J.
Published: August 2015

1. In epididymal adipose tissue synthesizing fatty acids from fructose in vitro, addition of insulin led to a moderate increase in fructose uptake, to a considerable increase in the flow of fructose carbon atoms to fatty acid, to a decrease in the steady-state concentration of lactate and pyruvate in the medium, and to net uptake of lactate and pyruvate from the medium. It is concluded that insulin accelerates a step in the span pyruvate→fatty acid. 2. Mitochondria prepared from fat-cells exposed to insulin put out more citrate than non-insulin-treated controls under conditions where the oxaloacetate moiety of citrate was formed from pyruvate by pyruvate carboxylase and under conditions where it was formed from malate. This suggested that insulin treatment of fat-cells led to persistent activation of pyruvate dehydrogenase. 3. Insulin treatment of epididymal fat-pads in vitro increased the activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase measured in extracts of the tissue even in the absence of added substrate; the activities of pyruvate carboxylase, citrate synthase, glutamate dehydrogenase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase, NADP–malate dehydrogenase and NAD–malate dehydrogenase were not changed by insulin. 4. The effect of insulin on pyruvate dehydrogenase activity was inhibited by adrenaline, adrenocorticotrophic hormone and dibutyryl cyclic AMP (6-N,2′-O-dibutyryladenosine 3′:5′-cyclic monophosphate). The effect of insulin was not reproduced by prostaglandin E1, which like insulin may lower the tissue concentration of cyclic AMP (adenosine 3′:5′-cyclic monophosphate) and inhibit lipolysis. 5. Adipose tissue pyruvate dehydrogenase in extracts of mitochondria is almost totally inactivated by incubation with ATP and can then be reactivated by incubation with 10mm-Mg2+. In this respect its properties are similar to that of pyruvate dehydrogenase from heart and kidney where evidence has been given that inactivation and activation are catalysed by an ATP-dependent kinase and a Mg2+-dependent phosphatase. Evidence is given that insulin may act by increasing the proportion of active (dephosphorylated) pyruvate dehydrogenase. 6. Cyclic AMP could not be shown to influence the activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase in mitochondria under various conditions of incubation. 7. These results are discussed in relation to the control of fatty acid synthesis in adipose tissue and the role of cyclic AMP in mediating the effects of insulin on pyruvate dehydrogenase.
Lactate production in the perfused rat liver
Authors: Woods H. F. , Krebs H. A.
Published: August 2015

1. In aerobic conditions the isolated perfused liver from well-fed rats rapidly formed lactate from endogenous glycogen until the lactate concentration in the perfusion medium reached about 2mm (i.e. the concentration of lactate in blood in vivo) and then production ceased. Pyruvate was formed in proportion to the lactate, the [lactate]/[pyruvate] ratio remaining between 8 and 15. 2. The addition of 5mm- or 10mm-glucose did not affect lactate production, but 20mm- and 40mm-glucose greatly increased lactate production. This effect of high glucose concentration can be accounted for by the activity of glucokinase. 3. The perfused liver released glucose into the medium until the concentration was about 6mm. When 5mm- or 10mm-glucose was added to the medium much less glucose was released. 4. At high glucose concentrations (40mm) more glucose was taken up than lactate and pyruvate were produced; the excess of glucose was probably converted into glycogen. 5. In anaerobic conditions, livers of well-fed rats produced lactate at relatively high rates (2.5μmol/min per g wet wt.). Glucose was also rapidly released, at an initial rate of 3.2μmol/min per g wet wt. Both lactate and glucose production ceased when the liver glycogen was depleted. 6. Addition of 20mm-glucose increased the rate of anaerobic production of lactate. 7. d-Fructose also increased anaerobic production of lactate. In the presence of 20mm-fructose some glucose was formed anaerobically from fructose. 8. In the perfused liver from starved rats the rate of lactate formation was very low and the increase after addition of glucose and fructose was slight. 9. The glycolytic capacity of the liver from well-fed rats is equivalent to its capacity for fatty acid synthesis and it is pointed out that hepatic glycolysis (producing acetyl-CoA in aerobic conditions) is not primarily an energy-providing process but part of the mechanism converting carbohydrate into fat.
Pteridines produced by Methylococcus capsulatus. Isolation and identification of a neopterin 2′:3′-phosphate
Authors: Urushibara T. , Forrest H. S. , Hoare D. S. , Patel R. N.
Published: August 2015

Three pteridines have been isolated from the methane- or methanol-oxidizing bacterium Methylococcus capsulatus. Two of these are known compounds, 2-amino-6-carboxy-4-hydroxypteridine and 2-amino-4-hydroxy-6-methylpteridine. The third is shown by degradative and synthetic experiments to be l-threo-neopterin 2′:3′-phosphate. Labelling experiments show that both the pteridine moiety and phosphate residue are derived from a single GTP molecule. The possible metabolic significance of these compounds in methanol oxidation is discussed.
Epoxy derivatives of aromatic polycyclic hydrocarbons. The preparation of benz[a]anthracene 8,9-oxide and 10,11-dihydrobenz[a]anthracene 8,9-oxide and their metabolism by rat liver preparations
Authors: Sims P.
Published: August 2015

The syntheses of 10,11-dihydrobenz[a]anthracene 8,9-oxide, benz[a]anthracene 8,9-oxide and 9-hydroxybenz[a]anthracene are described, together with those of a number of related compounds. The epoxides react both chemically and enzymically with water to yield the corresponding dihydrodiols and with reduced glutathione to form glutathione conjugates, and they react chemically with N-acetylcysteine to yield the corresponding mercapturic acids. 8,9-Dihydro-8,9-dihydroxybenz[a]anthracene, formed enzymically from benz[a]anthracene 8,9-oxide, was identical with a dihydrodiol formed when benz[a]anthracene was metabolized by rat liver homogenates. Similarly 10,11-dihydrobenz[a]anthracene 8,9-oxide yielded a dihydrodiol identical with the product formed when 10,11-dihydrobenz[a]anthracene was metabolized.
Fractionation of nuclear and cytoplasmic ribonucleic acids from rat tissues on the methylated albumin–kieselguhr column
Authors: Lichtenstein A. V. , Shapot V. S.
Published: August 2015

1. The conformation of RNA was found to affect its behaviour on methylated albumin–kieselguhr chromatography. The less regular the secondary structure of RNA, the more tightly it binds to the methylated albumin–kieselguhr column. 2. The presence of various denaturing agents (such as urea or perchlorate) in the medium while RNA was adsorbed on the column increased the resolving power of the technique as exemplified by the separation of rat liver rRNA into two distinct peaks. A special procedure for selective adsorption of the cytoplasmic DNA-like RNA on the preparative scale has been developed. Polyribosomal mRNA (rapidly labelled RNA formed in the presence of small doses of actinomycin D) can also be adsorbed selectively by the column. 3. A type of tissue specificity was detected in nuclear RNA from rat liver, kidney, thymus and spleen by using a modified salt and temperature gradient for the chromatographic fractionation (Lichtenstein, Piker & Shapot, 1967; Shapot, Lichtenstein & Piker, 1967). It was also found that cytoplasmic RNA from the different rat tissues contained no tenaciously bound fraction at all, whereas it constituted about 50% of the nuclear RNA. The problem of the possible biological function of the tenaciously bound fraction is discussed.
Biosynthesis of the carbohydrate portion of immunoglobulins. Incorporation of radioactive fucose into immunoglobulin G1 synthesized and secreted by mouse plasma-cell tumour MOPC 21
Authors: Melchers Fritz
Published: August 2015

Incorporation of radioactive fucose into the immunoglobulin G1 myeloma protein secreted by mouse plasma-cell tumour MOPC 21 is stereospecific for the l-isomer. Heavy chains of the secreted form of the myeloma protein carry 90% of the label in fucose residues of their carbohydrate moieties. A small but significant amount of the intracellular immunoglobulin G1 of the mouse plasma-cell tumour MOPC 21 appears to be labelled. Serum in the incubation medium supplies low-molecular-weight diffusible substances necessary to maintain continuous secretion of fucose-labelled myeloma protein beyond 2–3h, and of leucine-labelled myeloma protein beyond 6–8h. In medium containing extensively dialysed serum the secretion of leucine- and fucose-labelled myeloma protein can be restored by the addition of 250μm-d-mannose, 250μm-d-galactose and 250μm-glucosamine. Synthesis and secretion appear to be facilitated in the presence of these sugars, although secretion of myeloma protein devoid of terminal fucose residues is possible for a limited time-period.
Allosteric activation of brain hexokinase by magnesium ions and by magnesium-ion–adenosine triphosphate complex
Authors: Bachelard H. S.
Published: August 2015

1. Substrate-saturation curves of brain hexokinase for MgATP2− were sigmoidal at sub-saturating concentrations of glucose when the Mg2+/ATP ratio was maintained at 1:1. Under identical conditions, except that Mg2+ was present in excess, hyperbolic curves were observed. 2. The number of binding sites (calculated from Hill plots) is 1.8 at a Mg2+/ATP ratio 1:1, and 1.0 with excess of Mg2+. The apparent Km for MgATP2− is 6.5×10−4m at a Mg2+/ATP ratio 1:1, and 3.5×10−4m with excess of Mg2+. 3. Interdependence between substrate-binding sites was indicated by the effects of varying the concentration of glucose. The sigmoidality and deviation from Michaelis–Menten kinetics at a Mg2+/ATP ratio 1:1 became less pronounced with increasing glucose concentration. Also, although substrate-saturation curves for glucose were hyperbolic when the Mg2+/ATP ratio was 1:1, reciprocal plots were non-linear. These were linear with excess of Mg2+. 4. High concentrations of Mg2+ (Mg2+/ATP ratios above 5:1) were inhibitory. 5. The results are taken to indicate homotropic co-operative binding of MgATP2− and that Mg2+ is an allosteric activator. Possible implications in regulation are discussed.
The location of the thiol groups of myosin that are protected by pyrophosphate against reaction with 2,4-dinitrophenyl β-hydroxyethyl disulphide
Authors: Kakol Irena
Published: August 2015

Myosin modified in the presence or in the absence of pyrophosphate by 2,4-dinitrophenyl β-hydroxyethyl disulphide was treated with iodo[1-14C]acetamide. The residual Ca2+-stimulated adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activity of the modified myosin was different depending on the presence or absence of PPi during modification and the number of 2,4-dinitrophenyl β-hydroxyethyl disulphide-modified thiol groups. The radioactivity incorporated into the light components of myosin correlated with the Ca2+-stimulated ATPase activity of the modified myosin and decreased with decreasing residual Ca2+-stimulated ATPase activity of the modified myosin. When native myosin was treated with low concentrations of iodo[1-14C]acetamide the residual Ca2+-stimulated ATPase activity of carboxyamidomethylated myosin was high and the radioactivity incorporated into the light components of myosin was negligible. The thiol groups of the light components of myosin are essential to preserve the ATPase activity of the protein and are close to the pyrophosphate-binding sites.
The conjugation of glutathione with unsaturated acyl thiol esters and the metabolic formation of S-carboxyalkylcysteines
Authors: Speir T. W. , Barnsley E. A.
Published: August 2015

The partial purification and properties of an enzyme from the soluble fraction of rat liver that catalyses the reaction of glutathione with 2,3-unsaturated acyl thiol esters is described, and its possible role in the formation of S-carboxyalkylcysteines is discussed. The synthesis of S-(3-methylcrotonyl)- and S-(2-methylcrotonyl)-N-acetylcysteamine and of S-crotonyl-NN-dimethylcysteamine hydrochloride and dicyclohexylammonium S-crotonyl-N-acetyl-l-cysteine is described.
Studies on N-acetylneuraminic acid aldolase
Authors: Barnett J. E. G. , Corina D. L. , Rasool G.
Published: August 2015

N-Acetylneuraminic acid aldolase from Clostridium perfringens was irreversibly inactivated by 1mm-bromopyruvate with a half-life of 4.2min at pH7.2 and 37°C. The rate of inactivation was diminished in the presence of pyruvate but not with N-acetyl-d-mannosamine, indicating that the inhibitor acted at, or close to, the pyruvate-binding site. The apparent Ki for bromopyruvate, calculated from the variation of half-life with inhibitor concentration, was 0.46mm, compared with a competitive Ki 3.0mm for pyruvate. Incubation of the enzyme with radioactive bromopyruvate gave a radioactive, enzymically inactive, protein in which the bromopyruvate had alkylated cysteine residues. Incubation of the enzyme with radioactive pyruvate, followed by reduction with sodium borohydride, led to inactivation of the enzyme and binding of the pyruvate to the protein by reduction of a Schiff's base initially formed with the ∈-amino group of a lysine residue; only one-twentieth as many pyruvyl residues were bound by this method, showing that bromopyruvate is not specific for the active site. After protection of the enzyme active site with pyruvate, treatment with unlabelled bromopyruvate and dialysis, the enzyme retained 72% activity. When this treated enzyme was separately incubated with radioactive bromopyruvate, or radioactive pyruvate followed by sodium borohydride, the ratio of radioactive pyruvyl residues bound by the two methods was 2.3:1. After reduction and hydrolysis of the bromopyruvate-treated enzyme, the only detectable radioactive amino acid derivative was chromatographically and electrophoretically identical with S-(3-lactic acid)-cysteine. The enzyme was fully active in the presence of EDTA and was not stimulated by bivalent metal ions. It was strongly inhibited by silver and mercuric ions. The apparent molecular weight, determined by Sephadex chromatography, was 250000. A mechanism of action is proposed for the enzyme. Bromopyruvate reacts rapidly at pH6.0 with thiol-containing amino acids. Cysteine appears to react anomalously.
The subunit structure of prealbumin
Authors: Gonzalez G. , Offord R. E.
Published: August 2015

1. Prealbumin, a thyroxine-binding protein, is known to bind also to retinol-binding protein and is suspected on X-ray-crystallographic evidence of having a quaternary structure. 2. Experiments described in this paper suggest that the molecule is a tetramer of mol.wt. about 56000, which is disaggregated with some difficulty into subunits of mol.wt. about 14000. 3. The number and staining properties of the tryptic peptides indicate that the subunits are identical or closely similar. This conclusion is reinforced by comparing the sum of the amino acid compositions of the tryptic peptides with the amino acid composition of the whole protein. All minor peptides that were isolated could be shown to be derived from major peptides. 4. No evidence has been found, either from electrophoretic experiments or from amino acid sequence determination, for any dissimilarity between the subunits.
Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase. An analysis of transient kinetics
Authors: Halford S. E.
Published: August 2015

1. The hydrolysis of 2,4-dinitrophenyl phosphate by Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase at pH5.5 was studied by the stopped-flow technique. The rate of production of 2,4-dinitrophenol was measured both in reactions with substrate in excess of enzyme and in single turnovers with excess of enzyme over substrate. It was found that the step that determined the rate of the transient phase of this reaction was an isomerization of the enzyme occurring before substrate binding. 2. No difference was observed between the reaction after mixing a pre-equilibrium mixture of alkaline phosphatase and inorganic phosphate, with 2,4-dinitrophenyl phosphate at pH5.5 in the stopped-flow apparatus, and the control reaction in which inorganic phosphate was pre-equilibrated with the substrate. Since dephosphorylation is the rate-limiting step of the complete turnover at pH5.5, this observation suggests that alkaline phosphatase can bind two different ligands simultaneously, one at each of the active sites on the dimeric enzyme, even though only one site is catalytically active at any given time. 3. Kinetic methods are outlined for the distinction between two pathways of substrate binding, which include an isomerization either of the free enzyme or of the enzyme–substrate complex.
The effect of vitamin E on the intracellular distribution of the different oxidation states of selenium in rat liver
Authors: Caygill Christine P. J. , Lucy J. A. , Diplock A. T.
Published: August 2015

1. The liver intracellular distribution of 75Se, 75Se2− and 75SeO32− formed from orally administered Na275SeO3 was studied in rats given four different dietary treatments. 2. Subcellular fractionation was done by using sucrose density gradients in a B XIV zonal centrifuge rotor, and conditions were established so that separation of lysosomal, mitochondrial, smooth- and rough-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum, and soluble fractions was achieved. 3. Marker enzymes acid phosphatase, succinate–2 - p - iodophenyl – 3 – p -nitrophenyl – 5 – phenyltetrazolium reductase and glucose 6-phosphatase were used, together with electron microscopy, to establish the identity of the fractions. 4. The dietary treatments investigated were: (a) vitamin E-deficient diet for 3 months, re-fed with vitamin E during the terminal 5 days; (b) vitamin E-deficient diet; (c) adequate diet; (d) vitamin E- and selenium-deficient diet, re-fed with vitamin E during the terminal 5 days. 5. In adequately fed rats, selenide was particularly associated with the mitochondrial fractions; in vitamin E-deficient rats, little selenide was found and the buoyant density of the mitochondria was increased, whereas re-feeding with vitamin E showed a restoration of the normal pattern. In vitamin E- and selenium-deficient rats, re-fed with vitamin E, there was no tendency for selenide to be localized in the mitochondria. 6. In the microsomal regions of the gradients, adequately fed rats showed a concentration of selenide, particularly in the smooth endoplasmic reticulum fractions, and to a lesser extent in the rough endoplasmic reticulum fractions. This was not observed in vitamin E-deficient rats, and the normal pattern was restored on re-feeding with vitamin E, both in rats given the vitamin E-deficient diet and the vitamin E- and selenium-deficient diet. 7. Some selenide was also found in the soluble fractions, when vitamin E was present, and a substantial proportion of this selenide was found to pass through a dialysis membrane. 8. These results are taken to support our hypothesis that the active form of selenium may be selenide located in non-haem iron-containing proteins, and that the function of vitamin E may be to protect the selenide from oxidation.
The composition of the cell wall of Fusicoccum amygdali
Authors: Buck K. W. , Obaidah M. A.
Published: August 2015

1. The cell wall of Fusicoccum amygdali consisted of polysaccharides (85%), protein (4–6%), lipid (5%) and phosphorus (0.1%). 2. The main carbohydrate constituent was d-glucose; smaller amounts of d-glucosamine, d-galactose, d-mannose, l-rhamnose, xylose and arabinose were also identified, and 16 common amino acids were detected. 3. Chitin, which accounted for most of the cell-wall glucosamine, was isolated in an undegraded form by an enzymic method. Chitosan was not detected, but traces of glucosamine were found in alkali-soluble and water-soluble fractions. 4. Cell walls were stained dark blue by iodine and were attacked by α-amylase, with liberation of glucose, maltose and maltotriose, indicating the existence of chains of α-(1→4)-linked glucopyranose residues. 5. Glucose and gentiobiose were liberated from cell walls by the action of an exo-β-(1→3)-glucanase, giving evidence for both β-(1→3)- and β-(1→6)-glucopyranose linkages. 6. Incubation of cell walls with Helix pomatia digestive enzymes released glucose, N-acetyl-d-glucosamine and a non-diffusible fraction, containing most of the cell-wall galactose, mannose and rhamnose. Part of this fraction was released by incubating cell walls with Pronase; acid hydrolysis yielded galactose 6-phosphate and small amounts of mannose 6-phosphate and glucose 6-phosphate as well as other materials. Extracellular polysaccharides of a similar nature were isolated and may be formed by the action of lytic enzymes on the cell wall. 7. About 30% of the cell wall was resistant to the action of the H. pomatia digestive enzymes; the resistant fraction was shown to be a predominantly α-(1→3)-glucan. 8. Fractionation of the cell-wall complex with 1m-sodium hydroxide gave three principal glucan fractions: fraction BB had [α]D +236° (in 1m-sodium hydroxide) and showed two components on sedimentation analysis; fraction AA2 had [α]D −71° (in 1m-sodium hydroxide) and contained predominantly β-linkages; fraction AA1 had [α]D +40° (in 1m-sodium hydroxide) and may contain both α- and β-linkages.
The kinetics of phenethylhydrazine oxidation by monoamine oxidase
Authors: Tipton K. F. , Spires I. P. C.
Published: August 2015

1. In the presence of the substrate benzylamine, phenethylhydrazine has been shown to be a competitive inhibitor of monoamine oxidase from rat liver and pig brain. 2. Phenethylhydrazine is also a substrate for monoamine oxidase. Reciprocal plots for hydrazine oxidation give families of intersecting lines in contrast with the parallel lines previously reported for tyramine oxidation. 3. Two possible modifications of the mechanism obeyed by tyramine oxidation are suggested, but the product inhibition results are insufficient to distinguish between these two mechanisms.
The effect of acetoacetate on plasma insulin concentration
Authors: Hawkins R. A. , Alberti K. G. M. M. , Houghton C. R. S. , Williamson D. H. , Krebs H. A.
Published: August 2015

1. Sodium acetoacetate was infused into the inferior vena cava of fed rats, 48h-starved rats, and fed streptozotocin-diabetic rats treated with insulin. Arterial blood was obtained from a femoral artery catheter. 2. Acetoacetate infusion caused a fall in blood glucose concentration in fed rats from 6.16 to 5.11mm in 1h, whereas no change occurred in starved or fed–diabetic rats. 3. Plasma free fatty acids decreased within 10min, from 0.82 to 0.64mequiv./l in fed rats, 1.16 to 0.79mequiv./l in starved rats and 0.83 to 0.65mequiv./l in fed–diabetic rats. 4. At 10min the plasma concentration rose from 20 to 49.9μunits/ml in fed unanaesthetized rats and from 6.4 to 18.5μunits/ml in starved rats. There was no change in insulin concentration in the diabetic rats. 5. Nembutal-anaesthetized fed rats had a more marked increase in plasma insulin concentration, from 30 to 101μunits/ml within 10min. 6. A fall in blood glucose concentration in fed rats and a decrease in free fatty acids in both fed and starved rats is to be expected as a consequence of the increase in plasma insulin. 7. The fall in the concentration of free fatty acids in diabetic rats may be due to a direct effect of ketone bodies on adipose tissue. A similar effect on free fatty acids could also be operative in normal fed or starved rats.
Differences in distribution of esterase between cell fractions of rat liver homogenates prepared in various media. Relevance to the lysosomal location of the enzyme in the intact cell
Authors: Barrow Patience C. , Holt S. J.
Published: August 2015

The distribution of esterase in subcellular fractions of rat liver homogenates was compared with that of the lysosomal enzyme acid phosphatase and the microsomal enzyme glucose 6-phosphatase. Most of the esterase from sucrose homogenate sediments with glucose 6-phosphatase and about 8% is recovered in the supernatant. However, up to 53% of the esterase can be washed from microtome sections of unfixed liver, in which less cellular damage would be expected than that caused by homogenization. About 40% of both esterase and acid phosphatase are recovered in the soluble fraction after homogenization in aqueous glycerol or in a two-phase system (Arcton 113–0.25m-sucrose), although glucose 6-phosphatase is still recovered in the microsomal fraction of such homogenates. The esterase of the microsomal fraction prepared from a sucrose homogenate is much more readily released by treatment with 0.26% deoxycholate than are other constituents of this fraction. The release of esterase from the microsomal fraction by the detergent and its concomitant release with acid phosphatase after homogenization in glycerol or the two-phase system suggests that a greater proportion of esterase may be present in lysosomes of the intact cell than is indicated by the results of standard fractionation procedures.
Thermal denaturation in acidic solutions of double-helical ribonucleic acid from virus-like particles found in Penicillium chrysogenum. A spectrophotometric study
Authors: Cox R. A. , Kanagalingam K. , Sutherland Elisabeth
Published: August 2015

1. Two species of double-helical RNA isolated from mycelium of Penicillium chrysogenum were titrated with acid at 25°C and 95°C (solvent 0.1m-sodium phosphate buffer). At 25°C denaturation occurred at about pH3. At 95°C in the denatured form cytosine residues titrated as a simple monobasic acid of pK3.9 compared with pK≃2.5 for the native form at 25°C. 2. On thermal denaturation in neutral and acidic solutions one species of RNA (38% rG·rC) ‘melted’ in three distinct stages, equivalent to a mixture of three species, namely one of about 25% rG·rC, another of about 33% rG·rC and a third of about 46% rG·rC: the relative proportions were 0.25:0.35:0.40. 3. On thermal denaturation in acidic solutions the increase in the fraction of ionized cytosine residues concomitant with the ‘melting’ of rG·rC base pair also affects the spectrum especially at 280nm and serves to enhance the contribution of rG·rC base pairs at this wavelength. The increment in ε(P) at 280nm on ‘melting’ an rG·rC base pair approaches 53501·mol−1·cm−1 depending on pH, compared with 33501·mol−1·cm−1 at pH7. In contrast ε(P) at 280nm is scarcely affected by ‘melting’ rA·rU base pairs or by the protonization of adenine residues. 4. Changes in the spectrum of Escherichia coli rRNA on denaturation in acidic solutions were studied to yield the mole fractions of rA·rU and rG·rC base pairs ‘melting’ at particular pH values.
β-Galactosidase-catalysed hydrolysis of β-d-galactopyranosyl azide
Authors: Sinnott Michael L.
Published: August 2015

1. β-d-Galactopyranosyl azide is hydrolysed by the β-galactosidase of Escherichia coli to galactose and azide ion at a mechanistically significant rate. 2. Methyl 1-thio-β-d-galactopyranoside is a competitive inhibitor of the hydrolysis of the azide and of o-nitrophenyl β-d-galactopyranoside with Ki 1.8mm. 3. β-Galactosidase can thus hydrolyse a range of substrates of general structure β-d-galactopyranosyl-X(Y), where the atom X has a lone pair of electrons on which the enzyme may act as a Lewis or Brønsted acid, but in which the length of the bond cleaved varies significantly, which is inconsistent with the orbital steering hypothesis.
The effects of temperature on the composition and physical properties of the lipids of Pseudomonas fluorescens
Authors: Cullen J. , Phillips M. C. , Shipley G. G.
Published: August 2015

1. Pseudomonas fluorescens was grown at various temperatures between 5°C and 33°C. The extractable lipids from organisms at various stages of growth and grown at different temperatures were examined. 2. The extractable lipids contained phosphatidylethanolamine, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, and an ornithine-containing lipid. The relative amounts of these lipids did not vary significantly during growth or with the changes in growth temperature. 3. The major fatty acids were hexadecanoic, hexadecenoic and octadecenoic acids and the cyclopropane acids methylene-hexadecanoic and methylene-octadecanoic acids. The relative amount of unsaturated acids (including cyclopropane acids) did not change significantly during growth, but increased with decreasing temperature. 4. Phosphatidylethanolamines with different degrees of unsaturation and containing different amounts of cyclopropane acids were isolated from organisms grown at 5°C and 22°C and their surface and phase behaviour in water was investigated. Thermodynamic parameters for fusion and monolayer results for cyclopropane and other fatty acids were examined. 5. The surface pressure–area isotherms of phosphatidylethanolamines containing different amounts of unsaturated fatty acids show small differences but the individual isotherms remain essentially unchanged over the temperature range 5–22°C. X-ray-diffraction methods show that the structures (lamellar+hexagonal) formed in water by phosphatidylethanolamine, isolated from organisms grown at 5°C and 22°C, are identical when compared at the respective growth temperatures. This points to a control mechanism of the physical state of the lipids that is sensitive to the operating temperature of the organism. 6. The molecular packing of cyclopropane acids is intermediate between that of the corresponding cis- and trans-monoenoic acids. However, substitution of a cyclopropane acid for a cis-unsaturated acid has insignificant effects on the molecular packing of phospholipids containing these acids.
Carbohydrate metabolism of the isolated perfused liver of normal and genetically obese–hyperglycaemic (ob/ob) mice
Authors: Elliott Jennifer , Hems D. A. , Beloff-Chain Anne
Published: August 2015

1. A technique for perfusion of the mouse liver has been developed, and aspects of carbohydrate metabolism have been investigated in the perfused liver of normal and genetically obese mice, homozygous for the recessive gene ob. 2. Rates of gluconeogenesis in perfused mouse liver were faster than those reported for slices of mouse liver, particularly from lactate and pyruvate. 3. The rate of glycogen breakdown to glucose, but not to lactate, was faster in liver from fed obese mice. 4. The capacity for glycogen synthesis from glucose was enhanced in liver from 20h-starved obese mice. 5. The capacity for gluconeogenesis from a number of substrates was not significantly altered in livers from fed or starved obese mice when compared with that of lean mice. 6. These results suggest that the liver contributes to the hyperglycaemia of the obese mice by increased glycogenolysis, and that liver glycogen in obese mice is maintained by synthesis from dietary glucose.
The use of bifunctional biotinyl compounds to determine the arrangement of subunits in avidin
Authors: Green N. M. , Konieczny L. , Toms E. J. , Valentine R. C.
Published: August 2015

A series of bisbiotinyl diamines was synthesized with between 9 and 25 bonds between the carboxyl groups of the two biotin residues. It was found that only one of the two biotin residues could combine with avidin when there were fewer than 12 bonds between the biotin residues. Compounds with longer chains behaved in a bifunctional manner and gave rise to linear polymers of avidin, which were characterized by electron microscopy and by gel filtration. The polymers formed with the shorter-chain reagents (12, 13 or 14 bonds) were relatively unstable and could be depolymerized by weakly bound analogues of biotin. The polymers of longer-chain reagents were not depolymerized under these conditions and were only slowly affected by added biotin. When the chain length of the reagent reached 23 bonds the polymers became much shorter, suggesting that the reagent was now able to link two subunits within the same avidin molecule. From the morphology of the polymers it could be concluded that the four subunits of the avidin molecules were arranged with 222 symmetry and that they were grouped in two pairs at opposite ends of the short axis of the molecule whose dimensions were 55Å×55Å×41Å.
Mass-spectrometric structure elucidation of dog bile azopigments as the acyl glycosides of glucopyranose and xylopyranose
Authors: Compernolle F. , Van Hees G. P. , Fevery J. , Heirwegh K. P. M.
Published: August 2015

1. The structures of the α2- and α3-azopigments, prepared by diazotization of dog bile with ethyl anthranilate, were shown by mass spectrometry and g.l.c. to correspond to azobilirubin β-d-xylopyranoside and azobilirubin β-d-glucopyranoside respectively. 2. Both azopigments consist of a mixture of two methyl vinyl isomers having structures (IIIa) and (IIIb) for the α2-azopigment and structures (IVa) and (IVb) for the α3-azopigment. Separation of methyl vinyl isomers was obtained by t.l.c. or column chromatography performed on the acetylated azopigments. Hydrolysis of the less polar acetates derived from components (IIIa) and (IVa) gave rise to the azopigment (Ia), whereas hydrolysis of the more polar acetates derived from components (IIIb) and (IVb) gave rise to the azopigment acid (Ib). The positions of methyl and vinyl substituents in compounds (Ia) and (Ib) were assigned on the basis of their n.m.r. spectra. 3. Molecular ions in the mass spectra of the trimethylsilyl and acetyl derivatives of the azopigments indicated the presence of a pentose and a hexose conjugating sugar. 4. The ester functions linking the sugars to the propionic acid side chain of azobilirubin were demonstrated by ammonolysis and identification of the amide of azobilirubin as the aglycone derivative. 5. The sugar moieties were shown to occur as xylopyranose (α2) and glucopyranose (α3), bound at C-1, by application of a sequence of reactions performed on a micro-scale. The sugar hydroxyl groups were acetylated and the 1-acyl aglycone removed selectively by treatment with hydrogen bromide in acetic acid. Hydrolysis of the 1-bromo sugar acetates followed by acetylation afforded the α- and β-xylopyranose tetra-acetates and α- and β-glucopyranose penta-acetates, identified by a combination of g.l.c. and mass spectrometry. 6. The validity of this degradation scheme was confirmed (a) by g.l.c.–mass spectrometry identification of the α- and β-1-propionyl derivatives of glucopyranose tetra-acetate, obtained from the α3-azopigment after final reaction with propionic anhydride; (b) by subjecting the acetates of αβ-glucopyranose, αβ-xylofuranose and αβ-glucofuranose to the same sequence of reactions.
Mössbauer studies of adrenodoxin. The mechanism of electron transfer in a hydroxylase iron–sulphur protein
Authors: Cammack R. , Rao K. K. , Hall D. O. , Johnson C. E.
Published: August 2015

1. Mössbauer spectra were measured of adrenodoxin purified from porcine adrenal glands. They show similarities to the spectra of the plant ferredoxins. All of these proteins contain two atoms of iron and two of inorganic sulphide per molecule, and on reduction accept one electron. 2. As with the plant ferredoxins the adrenodoxin for these measurements was enriched with57Fe by reconstitution of the apo-protein, and subsequently was carefully purified and checked by a number of methods to ensure that it was in the same conformation as the native protein and contained no extraneous iron. 3. The Mössbauer spectra of oxidized adrenodoxin at temperatures from 4.2°K to 197°K show that the iron atoms are probably high-spin Fe3+, and in similar environments, and experience little or no magnetic field from the electrons. 4. Mössbauer spectra of reduced adrenodoxin showed magnetic hyperfine structure at all temperatures from 1.7°K to 244°K, in contrast with the reduced plant ferredoxins, which showed it only at lower temperatures. This is a consequence of a longer electron-spin relaxation time in reduced adrenodoxin. 5. At 4.2°K in a small magnetic field the spectrum of reduced adrenodoxin shows a sixline Zeeman pattern due to Fe3+superimposed upon a combined magnetic and quadrupole spectrum due to Fe2+. 6. In a large magnetic field (30kG) each hyperfine pattern is further split into two. Analysis of these spectra at 4.2°K and 1.7°K shows that the effective fields at the Fe3+and Fe2+nuclei are in opposite directions. This agrees with the proposal, first made for the ferredoxins, that the iron atoms are antiferromagnetically coupled. 7. In accord with the model for the ferredoxins, it is proposed that the oxidized adrenodoxin contains two high-spin Fe3+atoms which are antiferromagnetically coupled; on reduction one iron atom becomes high-spin Fe2+.
The purification and properties of butyryl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase from Peptostreptococcus elsdenii
Authors: Engel Paul C. , Massey V.
Published: August 2015

Butyryl-CoA dehydrogenase prepared by a simple procedure from Peptostreptococcus elsdenii has a molecular weight of approx. 150000. The enzyme has FAD as its prosthetic group. The amino acid analysis is reported. This enzyme, like most of the corresponding mammalian ones, is green. The absorption band at 710nm can be abolished irreversibly by dithionite reduction and air reoxidation; it can be abolished reversibly by phenylmercuric acetate or potassium bromide. The enzyme as isolated appears to be a mixture of a green and a yellow form, both of which are active. This view is supported by the variable ‘greenness’ of different preparations and the biphasic curve obtained in anaerobic spectrophotometric titrations with dithionite. It can be calculated from the titration results that fully green enzyme would have a peak-to-peak absorption ratio (E710/E430) as great as 0.54. The green form is much less rapidly reduced by dithionite than the yellow form, but is nevertheless much more readily reduced by dithionite than the enzyme from pig liver. It is also more readily reoxidized by air and shows less tendency to form a semiquinone. Treatment with sodium borohydride produces an unusual reduced species that is probably the 3,4-dihydroflavin.