bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The mitochondrial oxidation of quinol monophosphates
Authors: Young J. M.
Published: August 2015

1. Mitochondria from ox heart and rat liver catalysed a slow cyanide-sensitive oxidation of 2,3-dimethylnaphthaquinol monophosphate, duroquinol monophosphate, menadiol 1-phosphate and menadiol 4-phosphate. 2. The release of Pi was concomitant with oxygen uptake. 3. The oxidation was somewhat stimulated by Ca2+ and Pi, and weakly inhibited by 2,4-dinitrophenol. 4. The quinol monophosphates effected a rapid reduction of free cytochrome c, and consequently addition of cytochrome c greatly increased the rate of the mitochondrial oxidation of 2,3-dimethylnaphthaquinol monophosphate. 5. This quinol phosphate interacts with the electron-transport chain at the level of cytochrome c. 6. Polylysine promoted an interaction between 2,3-dimethylnaphthaquinol monophosphate and cytochrome oxidase. Thus, although polylysine blocks mitochondrial oxidations via reduced cytochrome c, the oxidation of the quinol phosphate was strongly stimulated. 7. This stimulation was most effective in the most intact mitochondrial preparations and was inhibited by ADP and by Pi. 8. The implications of these results for factors limiting the rate of quinol phosphate oxidation, the mode of action of stimulators and the mechanism of Pi formation are discussed.
The lipolytic activities of the isolated cell envelope fractions of baker's yeast
Authors: Nurminen T. , Suomalainen H.
Published: August 2015

1. The existence of phospholipase and lipase activities in the isolated cell envelopes of baker's yeast was demonstrated. 2. The content of phospholipase was found to be markedly higher than that of lipase. 3. After partial enzymic digestion of the isolated cell envelopes, the bulk of the lipolytic activities was recovered in the sedimentable preparations, which consisted of the fragments of the plasma membrane. 4. During repeated washings, the lipase was completely released from the cell envelopes, as were also the bulk of the lipid components and most of the Mg2+-dependent adenosine triphosphatase, an enzyme connected with the plasma membrane. The phospholipase was more firmly bound to the preparation but not so firmly as the external saccharase. 5. These results indicate that the lipolytic enzymes found in the cell envelopes are mostly located in the plasma membrane.
The effect of preganglionic stimulation on the incorporation of l-[U-14C]valine into the protein of the superior cervical ganglion of the guinea pig
Authors: Banks P.
Published: August 2015

1. Superior cervical ganglia from the guinea pig carry out an energy-dependent incorporation of l-[14C]valine into protein in vitro. 2. Stimulation of the preganglionic nerve at a physiological frequency for more than a few minutes decreases the ability of the ganglia to incorporate labelled valine into protein.
The regulation of triglyceride synthesis and fatty acid synthesis in rat epididymal adipose tissue. Effects of altered dietary and hormonal conditions
Authors: Saggerson E. D. , Greenbaum A. L.
Published: August 2015

1. Epididymal adipose tissues obtained from rats that had been previously starved, starved and refed a high fat diet for 72h, starved and refed bread for 144h or fed a normal diet were incubated in the presence of insulin+glucose or insulin+glucose+acetate. 2. Measurements were made of the whole-tissue concentrations of hexose phosphates, triose phosphates, glycerol 1-phosphate, 3-phosphoglycerate, 6-phosphogluconate, adenine nucleotides, acid-soluble CoA, long-chain fatty acyl-CoA, malate and citrate after 1h of incubation. The release of lactate, pyruvate and glycerol into the incubation medium during this period was also determined. 3. The rates of metabolism of glucose in the hexose monophosphate pathway, the glycolytic pathway, the citric acid cycle and into glyceride glycerol, fatty acids and lactate+pyruvate were also determined over a 2h period in similarly treated tissues. The metabolism of acetate to CO2 and fatty acids in the presence of glucose was also measured. 4. The activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, fatty acid synthetase and isocitrate dehydrogenase were determined in adipose tissues from starved, starved and fat-refed, and alloxan-diabetic animals and also in tissues from animals that had been starved and refed bread for up to 96h. Changes in these activities were compared with the ability of similar tissues to incorporate [14C]glucose into fatty acids in vitro. 5. The activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase and fatty acid synthetase roughly paralleled the ability of tissues to incorporate glucose into fatty acids. 6. Rates of triglyceride synthesis and fatty acid synthesis could not be correlated with tissue concentrations of long-chain fatty acyl-CoA, citrate or glycerol 1-phosphate. In some cases changes in phosphofructokinase flux rates could be correlated with changes in citrate concentration. 7. The main lesion in fatty acid synthesis in tissues from starved, starved and fat-refed, and alloxan-diabetic rats appeared to reside at the level of pyruvate utilization and to be related to the rate of endogenous lipolysis. 8. It is suggested that pyruvate utilization by the tissue may be regulated by the metabolism of fatty acids within the tissue. The significance of this in directing glucose utilization away from fatty acid synthesis and into glyceride-glycerol synthesis is discussed.
Incorporation of [3H] uridine into the ribonucleic acid of rat uterus during pseudopregnancy and in the presence of I.C.I. 46474 [trans-1-(p-β-dimethylaminoethoxyphenyl)-1,2-diphenylbut-1 -ene]
Authors: O'Grady J. E. , Heald P. J. , O'Hare Anne
Published: August 2015

1. The incorporation of [3H]uridine into RNA of rat uterine tissue has been measured during pseudopregnancy and in rats receiving different doses of an anti-implantation compound [trans-1-(p-β-dimethylaminoethoxyphenyl)-1,2-diphenylbut- 1-ene, I.C.I. 46474]. 2. In the uterus of the pseudopregnant rat uridine incorporation into RNA increased markedly on day 3 of pseudopregnancy, remained high until day 5 and decreased sharply by day 6, rising again by day 9. 3. This pattern of change was similar to, but not identical with, that previously found in the pregnant rat. 4. Rats receiving I.C.I. 46474 at a dose concentration below that preventing implantation showed a pattern of RNA synthesis similar to that found in untreated control rats. 5. Rats treated with doses of I.C.I. 46474 sufficient to inhibit implantation revealed a totally different pattern of incorporation of [3H]uridine into uterine RNA. 6. The results are discussed in terms of previous findings with the normally pregnant rat. It is concluded that the increasing uterine RNA synthesis found on day 3 in the pregnant rat is an important requirement for the occurrence of the subsequent implantation.
Studies on a testosterone glucuronyltransferase from the cytosol fraction of human liver
Authors: Rao Govind S. , Rao Marie Luise , Breuer Heinz
Published: August 2015

An enzyme that conjugates the 17β-hydroxyl group of testosterone was found in the cytosol fraction of human liver. The same enzyme preparation also conjugates the 16α-hydroxyl group of oestriol. The enzymic activity could not be sedimented by centrifuging the cytosol fraction at 158000gav. for 120min. The testosterone-conjugating as well as the oestriol-conjugating activities were found in the precipitate obtained after 30% saturation of the cytosol fraction with ammonium sulphate. Filtration of the precipitate through Sephadex G-200 enriched the testosterone-conjugating enzyme 50-fold and the oestriol-conjugating enzyme 100-fold. No separation of the two activities was achieved. With labelled testosterone the product of the reaction, testosterone 17β-glucuronide, was identified by paper chromatography and by crystallization to constant specific radioactivity. Testosterone 17β-glucuronyltransferase was active between pH7.0 and 8.6 in tris–HCl and tris–maleate buffers. The apparent Km values for testosterone and UDP-glucuronic acid were 6.4 and 25μm respectively. The enzyme was active between 37 and 45°C; the activation energy was calculated to be 5kcal/mol. Oestriol did not influence the glucuronidation of testosterone. Controlled heating as well as alternate freezing and thawing of the purified enzyme preparation led to an inactivation of both testosterone-conjugating and oestriol-conjugating activities at similar rates. Testosterone and oestriol, when incubated together, gave a reaction rate that was approximately equal to the sum of the rates when the two substrates were incubated separately. The present findings suggest that testosterone and oestriol are conjugated by two separate enzymes.
A generalized system for automation of enzyme assays
Authors: Roodyn D. B.
Published: August 2015

A flow system was developed, using a Technicon AutoAnalyzer, that is readily adaptable to a range of enzyme assays. The system includes lines for pumping substrate, cofactor, buffer and enzyme and for generating linear gradients. By using a variable-speed proportioning pump the incubation time may be continuously varied, and the system also allows for continuous variation in the pH, substrate or cofactor concentration, incubation temperature and enzyme concentration. A FORTRAN V program was written that uses instrument calibrations to calculate the flow rates in the individual lines, the incubation time and the characteristics of the gradient used. The computer then prints out instructions for preparation of reagents to give a required reaction mixture, weighing sheets for stock solutions and the results of the assay in international units in suitable tables and graphs. The flow system and computer program are designed to facilitate the automation of manual assays. A detailed example is given of the use of the system [the assay of three dehydrogenases in yeast: l(+)-lactate dehydrogenase, d(−)-lactate dehydrogenase and succinate dehydrogenase], and the general applications of the method are discussed. The program has been deposited as Supplementary Publication no. SUP 50002 at the National Library for Science and Technology, Boston Spa, Yorks. LS23 7BQ, U.K., from whom copies may be obtained on the terms indicated in Biochem. J. (1970), 116, 7.
The effect of chemical agents on the turnover of the bound phosphate associated with the sodium-and-potassium ion-stimulated adenosine triphosphatase in ox brain microsomes
Authors: Rodnight R.
Published: August 2015

1. The effect of chemical agents on the turnover of the Na+-dependent bound phosphate and the simultaneous Na+-dependent hydrolysis of ATP by a membrane preparation from ox brain was studied at an ATP/protein ratio of 12.5pmol/μg. 2. The agents were added immediately after phosphorylation of the preparation in a medium containing 50mm-sodium chloride and 2.5μm-[γ-32P]ATP. 3. Concentrations of sodium chloride above 150mm, calcium chloride to 20mm and suramin to 1.4mm inhibited both phosphorylation and dephosphorylation and concomitantly slowed ATP hydrolysis. At 125mm-sodium chloride dephosphorylation and hydrolysis were slightly slowed without affecting phosphorylation. 4. Ethanol to 1.6m concentration inhibited dephosphorylation without affecting phosphorylation; the bound phosphate was increased and ATP hydrolysis slowed. 5. Ouabain to 4mm concentration partially inhibited ATP hydrolysis and caused a transient (1–2s) rise in bound phosphate followed by a rapid fall to a lower plateau value, which eventually declined to zero by the time ATP hydrolysis was complete. 6. Of the detergents examined Lubrol W, Triton X-100 and sodium deoxycholate had no significant effect on turnover. Sodium dodecyl sulphate and sodium decyl sulphate to 3.5mm and 20mm respectively completely inhibited turnover and ATP hydrolysis and stabilized the bound phosphate.
The separation of β-glucanases produced by Cytophaga johnsonii and their role in the lysis of yeast cell walls
Authors: Bacon J. S. D. , Gordon A. H. , Jones D. , Tayor Irene F. , Webley D. M.
Published: August 2015

1. When Cytophaga johnsonii was grown in the presence of suitable inducers the culture fluid was capable of lysing thiol-treated yeast cell walls in vitro. 2. Autoclaved or alkali-extracted cells, isolated cell walls and glucan preparations made from them were effective inducers, but living yeast cells or cells killed by minimal heat treatment were not. 3. Chromatographic fractionation of lytic culture fluids showed the presence of two types of endo-β-(1→3)-glucanase and several β-(1→6)-glucanases; the latter may be induced separately by growing the myxo-bacterium in the presence of lutean. 4. Extensive solubilization of yeast cell walls was obtained only with preparations of one of these glucanases, an endo-β-(1→3)-glucanase producing as end products mainly oligosaccharides having five or more residues. Lysis by the other endo-β-(1→3)-glucanase was incomplete. 5. The β-(1→6)-glucanases produced a uniform thinning of the cell walls, and mannan–peptide was found in the solution. 6. These results, and the actions of the enzyme preparations on a variety of wall-derived preparations made from baker's yeast, are discussed in the light of present conceptions of yeast cell-wall structure.
Synthesis of ribonucleic acid in purine-deficient Escherichia coli and a comparison with the effects of amino acid starvation
Authors: Varney N. F. , Thomas Gillian A. , Burton K.
Published: August 2015

1. Experiments with rifampicin and stringent strains of Escherichia coli (pro−purB−rel+) indicate that purine deficiency does not decrease and may considerably increase the potential for RNA synthesis by RNA polymerase molecules that are bound to DNA and have already commenced transcription. 2. DNA–RNA hybridization experiments indicate that purine starvation increases the distribution of bound RNA polymerase molecules between the cistrons for mRNA and those for stable RNA. 3. Synthesis of β-galactosidase mRNA is more dependent on the ability to synthesize guanine nucleotides than on the ability to synthesize adenine nucleotides. 4. Amino acid starvation tends to decrease the potential for RNA synthesis by RNA polymerase molecules bound to DNA. 5. Since this effect differs from that due to purine starvation, amino acid control of RNA synthesis does not appear to operate solely by causing a deficiency of purine nucleotides. 6. The results are discussed in terms of the ability to initiate RNA chains and to extend them under different circumstances.
Transient-kinetic studies of pig muscle lactate dehydrogenase
Authors: Stinson R. A. , Gutfreund H.
Published: August 2015

1. The very fast pre-steady-state formation of NADH catalysed by pig M4 lactate dehydrogenase was equivalent to the enzyme-site concentration at pH values greater than 8.0 and to one-half the site concentration at pH6.8. 2. The rate of dissociation of NADH from the enzyme at pH8.0 (450s−1) in the absence of other substrates is faster than the steady-state oxidation of lactate (80s−1). The latter process is therefore controlled by a step before NADH dissociation but subsequent to the hydride transfer. 3. The oxidation of enzyme–NADH by excess of pyruvate was studied as a first-order process at pH9.0. There was no effect of NADD on this reaction and it was concluded that the ternary complex undergoes a rate-limiting change before the hydride-transfer step. 4. Some conclusions about the reactions catalysed by the M4 isoenzyme were drawn from a comparison of these results with those obtained with the H4 isoenzyme and liver alcohol dehydrogenase.
The α-amylase of the beetle Callosobruchus chinensis properties
Authors: Podoler H. , Applebaum S. W.
Published: August 2015

C. chinensis larval amylase is activated by Ca2+ and inhibited by Cl− and EDTA (Ki 6.7×10−3m). GSH and 2-mercaptoethanol activate, presumably at different sites, as 2-mercaptoethanol interferes with Ca2+ activation, whereas GSH enhances it. The inhibition by iodoacetic acid and N-ethylmaleimide (Ki 1.55×10−2m) suggest that free thiol groups are essential for activity. The pH optimum of 5.2–5.4 is moved to 5.6–5.8 by Ca2+ and 2-mercaptoethanol. The activation energy is 7270 cal/mol, and is not affected by Ca2+ and 2-mercaptoethanol. Km for soluble starch is 2.3mg/ml.
Structural studies on bovine γ-crystallin
Authors: Croft L. R. , Waley S. G.
Published: August 2015

The amino acid sequences around the cysteine residues in the lens protein, γ-crystallin, were studied. Fraction II of the γ-crystallin from calf lens (Björk, 1964) was used. The protein was oxidized with performic acid and then hydrolysed with trypsin. Six peptides containing cysteic acid were isolated. One of the peptides contained three residues of cysteic acid and the others contained one residue of cysteic acid. We conclude that there are eight unique residues of cysteic acid in the oxidized protein. Amino acid analysis suggests that there are also eight residues of cysteic acid in the molecule, which thus contains only one polypeptide chain.
Influence of glucagon, 6-N,2′-O-dibutyryladenosine 3′:5′-cyclic monophosphate and triamcinolone on the arginine synthetase system in perinatal rat liver
Authors: Schwartz A L.
Published: August 2015

1. The administration of triamcinolone (19–190μg/animal) to postnatal rats increased the arginine synthetase system activity 1.2–2.5-fold above control values 24h after exposure to the hormone. Cortisol (hydrocortisone), however, increased the arginine synthetase system activity only when larger (190μg/animal) or repeated daily doses were given. Glucagon (100μg/animal) stimulated arginine synthetase system activity only after the second postnatal day. None of these agents increased the activity in 19.5–21.5-day foetuses after intrauterine administration. 2. The viability of foetal rat liver explants maintained in organ culture for up to 54h was validated both by ultramicroscopic examination and by incorporation of radioactive leucine and orotic acid. 3. In organ cultures of foetal rat liver explants (18.5 days to term), triamcinolone (20μg/ml of medium) evoked a 2.8–4.3-fold increase after 24h of incubation. This increase was completely inhibited by actinomycin D (25μg/ml) or cycloheximide (10μg/ml). Cortisol (5–50μg/ml) or glucagon (0.067–67μg/ml) also increased the arginine synthetase system activity above the respective control values, but there was no increase in activity with insulin (0.05–0.25i.u./ml). 4. Maximum concentrations of glucagon (67μg/ml), dibutyryl cyclic AMP (6-N,2′-O-dibutyryladenosine 3′:5′-cyclic monophosphate) (0.1mm) and triamcinolone (20μg/ml) incubated for 24h with foetal rat liver explants each produced between a two-and three-fold increase in the activity of the arginine synthetase system. Combinations of maximum amounts of glucagon and the cyclic nucleotide did not produce a greater effect than either agent alone. However, the combination of dibutyryl cyclic AMP with triamcinolone appeared to produce somewhat less than additive effects. 5. The effects of the cyclic nucleotide and triamcinolone were evident after 12h of incubation and increased steadily throughout the 24h of observation. This time-course of increased enzyme activity is very much slower than that reported for the induction of other enzymes in explant cultures of foetal rat liver.
Chemical characterization of the proteins and glycoproteins of mouse liver plasma membranes solubilized by sequential extraction with aqueous and organic solvents
Authors: Gurd J. W. , Evans W. H. , Perkins H. R.
Published: August 2015

1. A procedure for the stepwise fractionation of the proteins of mouse liver plasma membranes is described. 2. Of the membrane protein 20–25% was soluble in 50mm-sodium carbonate–bicarbonate buffer (pH9.7). This fraction contained a large number of proteins but only 1 major glycoprotein. It was low in sialic acid, amino sugars and phospholipid. 3. Extraction of the alkali-insoluble residue with aq. 33% pyridine solubilized an additional 30–35% of the membrane protein. The pyridine-soluble membrane components were enriched in sialic acid and glucosamine and it was shown that this procedure resulted in the selective extraction of glycoproteins. 4. Gel filtration in sodium dodecyl sulphate resolved the pyridine-soluble proteins into five fractions of decreasing molecular weight and an inverse relationship between molecular weight and sialic acid content was indicated.
Glycosaminoglycan synthesis in mouse mastocytoma
Authors: Helting T. , Ögren S. , Lindahl U , Pertoft H. , Laurent T.
Published: August 2015

The glycosaminoglycan synthesis in Furth solid mastocytoma tissue has been studied. Approx. 10% of the polysaccharide isolated after incubation in vitro with [14C]-glucosamine was digestible with chondroitinase ABC and the product of digestion was identified as 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-3-O-(β-d-gluco-4-enepyranosyluronic acid)-4-O-sulpho-d-galactose. Similarly, labelling of polysaccharide in vivo with35SO42-followed by isolation of mast-cell fractions by density-gradient centrifugation on colloidal silica revealed the presence of a polysaccharide which migrated as did chondroitin sulphate on electrophoresis in barium acetate. Chondroitinase ABC produced the same digestion product as before. Finally, the presence of the UDP-N-acetylgalactosamine–chondroitin 6-sulphate hexasaccharide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase previously implicated in chondroitin sulphate biosynthesis was demonstrated in microsomal particles from fractions of purified mast cells.
The oxidative dealkylation of insecticidal phosphoric acid triesters by mammalian liver enzymes
Authors: Donninger C. , Hutson D. H. , Pickering B. A.
Published: August 2015

1. The dealkylation of the insecticidal phosphoric acid triester, 2-chloro-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)vinyl diethyl phosphate, proceeds in mammalian liver slices via an oxidative mechanism and not by hydrolysis. 2. The enzyme that catalyses the reaction is located in the microsomal fraction of liver homogenate and is dependent for activity on molecular oxygen and NADPH. 3. There are large species differences between rat, mouse, rabbit and dog in the activity of the enzymes, the relative rates of dealkylation being 1, 8, 24 and 88 respectively in liver slices. 4. Dimethyl and di-isopropyl phosphate triesters are also dealkylated by rabbit liver microsomal preparations. 5. The mechanism of dealkylation involves hydroxylation at the α-carbon atom of an alkyl group, which is removed as the corresponding aldehyde, and is thus analogous to that of similar reactions catalysed by the microsomal mixed-function oxidases. 6. The relevance of these findings in the toxicology of phosphoric acid triesters is discussed.
Metabolism of [14C]adenine and derivatives by cerebral tissues, superfused and electrically stimulated
Authors: Pull I. , McIlwain H.
Published: August 2015

1. Uptake of [14C]adenine and [14C]adenosine from surrounding fluids to guinea-pig cerebral tissues was measured during incubation in vitro. Output of 14C-labelled compounds from the loaded tissues to superfusion fluids occurred on continued incubation, at about 0.2% of the tissue's content/min, and this rate was increased about fourfold by electrical excitation of the tissue. 2. The compounds released from the tissue to superfusion fluids included adenine, adenosine, inosine and hypoxanthine with small amounts of nucleotides. Output of all these compounds, except adenine, increased on excitation. Media depleted of oxygen or glucose also increased the output of 14C-labelled derivatives from [14C]adenine-loaded tissues, and this augmented output was further increased by electrical stimulation. 3. [14C]Adenosine was found as the main product from [14C]ATP when this was added at low concentrations to fluids superfusing cerebral tissue. Metabolic and neurohumoural explanations of the liberation and action of adenosine derivatives in the tissue are discussed.
Glycolytic and gluconeogenic enzyme activities in parenchymal and non-parenchymal cells from mouse liver
Authors: Crisp D. M. , Pogson C. I.
Published: August 2015

1. Parenchymal cells have been prepared from mouse liver by enzymic and mechanical means. 2. The dry weights, protein and DNA contents of these cells have been determined. 3. Mouse liver ‘M-’ and ‘L-type’ pyruvate kinases have been prepared free of contamination with each other; their kinetic properties have been examined and a method has been developed for their assay in total liver homogenates. 4. Recoveries of phosphoglycerate kinase, lactate dehydrogenase and phosphofructokinase in enzymically prepared cells indicate that little, if any, cytoplasmic protein is lost during preparation. 5. Parenchymal cells exhibit a very substantial increase in the activity ratio of glucokinase to hexokinase over that in total liver homogenate; in three out of eight experiments, hexokinase activity was undetectable. 6. ‘L-type’ pyruvate kinase alone occurs in the parenchymal cell. Non-parenchymal cells are characterized by the presence of ‘M-type’ activity only. 7. Parenchymal cells contain both glucose 6-phosphatase and fructose 1,6-diphosphatase. The non-parenchymal fraction appears to contain fructose 1,6-diphosphatase, but is devoid of glucose 6-phosphatase. 8. No aldolase A was detectable in the whole liver. Aldolase B occurs in both parenchymal and non-parenchymal tissue. 9. Parenchymal cells prepared by mechanical disruption of mouse liver with 20% polyvinyl alcohol exhibit a similar enzyme profile to those prepared enzymically. 10. The methodology involved in the preparation of isolated liver cells is discussed. The importance of the measurement of several parameters as criteria for establishing the viability of parenchymal cells is stressed. 11. The metabolic implications of the results in the present study are discussed.
The effects of increased heart work on the tricarboxylate cycle and its interactions with glycolysis in the perfused rat heart
Authors: Neely J. R. , Denton R. M. , England P. J. , Randle P. J.
Published: August 2015

1. The work of the perfused rat heart was acutely increased by raising the aortic pressure in the Langendorff preparation from 50 to 120mmHg; within 1 min in perfusions with media containing glucose or glucose+acetate, rates of oxygen consumption and tricarboxylate-cycle turnover increased 2.5-fold, glycolysis rate doubled and oxidation of triglyceride fatty acid was strikingly enhanced. 2. Increased cardiac work had no significant effects on the heart concentrations of creatine phosphate, ATP, ADP or 5′-AMP. The only significant changes in tricarboxylate-cycle intermediates were a decrease in malate in perfusions with glucose and decreases in acetyl-CoA and citrate and an increase in aspartate in perfusions with glucose+acetate. 3. Measurements of intracellular concentrations of hexose phosphates, glucose and glycogen indicated that work accelerated glycolysis by activation of phosphofructokinase and subsequently hexokinase; the activation could not be accounted for by changes in the known effectors of phosphofructokinase. 4. Acetate at either perfusion pressure increased heart concentrations of acetyl-CoA, citrate, glutamate and malate and decreased that of aspartate; acetate increased tricarboxylate-cycle turnover by 50–60% and inhibited glycolysis and pyruvate oxidation. 5. In view of the markedly different effects of acetate and of cardiac work on the concentrations of cycle intermediates the changes that accompany acetate utilization may be specifically concerned with the regulatory functions of the cycle in control of glycolysis and pyruvate oxidation and not with the associated increase in cycle turnover. It is suggested that the concentrations of key metabolites controlling the rate of cycle turnover may fluctuate with each heart beat and that this may explain why no significant changes (for example, in adenine nucleotide concentrations) have been detected with increased work in the present study.
The role of cytochrome P-450 in cholesterol biogenesis and catabolism
Authors: Atkin Sandra D. , Palmer Eileen D. , English P. D. , Morgan B. , Cawthorne M. A. , Green J.
Published: August 2015

1. Adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats is accompanied by a loss of activity of the drug-metabolizing enzyme system and a decrease in hepatic cytochrome P-450. 2. Arthritic rats have normal serum and liver cholesterol concentrations. 3. The rate of biogenesis of cholesterol in vivo and in vitro from either [14C]acetate or [14C]mevalonate in arthritic rats was the same as or greater than that found in control rats. 4. Treatment of rats with carbon disulphide (1ml/kg) resulted in a loss of drug-metabolizing-enzyme activity and increased cholesterol biogenesis. 5. The activity of cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase in adjuvant-induced arthritic rats did not differ significantly from that in control rats. 6. Rats fed with cholestyramine had an elevated hepatic cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase activity, but neither the concentration of cytochrome P-450 nor the activity of the drug-hydroxylating enzyme, aminopyrine demethylase, was affected. 7. The relationships between drug hydroxylation and cholesterol metabolism are discussed.
Studies of the oestrogen sulphatase and arylsulphatase C activities of rat liver
Authors: Dolly J. O. , Dodgson K. S. , Rose F. A.
Published: August 2015

Detailed studies on the hydrolysis of p-acetylphenyl sulphate and oestrone sulphate by rat liver preparations strongly indicate that arylsulphatase C and oestrogen sulphatase are the same enzyme. Liver is the richest source of both enzymes, which have identical intracellular distributions, being localized mainly in the microsomal fraction. Low oestrogen sulphatase and arylsulphatase C activities were present in foetal liver and these increased at a similar rate after birth. The activities of the enzymes in an ethionine-induced hepatoma were similarly low. Results of heat inactivation, mixed-substrate and competitive-inhibition experiments employing liver microsomal fractions were also consistent with one enzyme being involved. Oestradiol-17β 3-sulphate was also hydrolysed by microsomal preparations and activity towards both this substrate and oestrone sulphate was inhibited by oestrone and oestradiol-17β. The physiological significance of this inhibition is discussed.
The subcellular distribution of triphosphoinositide phosphomonoesterase in guinea-pig brain
Authors: Sheltawy A. , Brammer M. , Borrill D.
Published: August 2015

1. Some properties of the triphosphoinositide phosphomonoesterase from the homogenates of guinea-pig brain were studied. The enzyme has an optimum pH range 6.7–7.3, is stimulated with KCl at a concentration of 0.1m, and under these conditions has Km1.43×10-4m. 2. A factor from the ‘pH5 supernatant’ of guinea-pig brain stimulates the enzyme activity over and above the stimulation produced by KCl. Subcellular fractions of guinea-pig brain varied in their response to the ‘pH5 supernatant’. Maximum stimulation was observed with the P1 fraction, containing myelin and nuclei. 3. An assay system for the enzyme was developed that contained optimum concentrations of both KCl and the ‘pH5 supernatant’. Acid phosphatases were inhibited by NaF, but, in contrast with previous work, no EDTA was added to the assay system to inhibit the alkaline phosphatases. This reagent inhibited the triphosphoinositide phosphomonoesterase. It was estimated that the remaining fraction of non-specific phosphatases can account for only 14% of the observed triphosphoinositide phosphomonoesterase activity. 4. Subcellular fractions of guinea-pig brain were characterized by electron microscopy and subcellular markers. The triphosphoinositide phosphomonoesterase exhibited a distribution between the fractions similar to that of 5′-nucleotidase, but different from that of alkaline phosphatase.
The oxidation of Schiff bases of pyridoxamine with α-oxo acids by manganous ions and peroxidase
Authors: Hill J. M.
Published: August 2015

1. Oxygen was taken up rapidly when pyruvate was added to mixtures of pyridoxamine and Mn2+ ions after lag periods that were shortened by peroxidase (donor–hydrogen peroxide oxidoreductase, EC 1.11.1.7). 2. The total oxygen uptake was proportional to the pyridoxamine added and was accompanied by the disappearance of pyridoxamine; the pyruvate acted catalytically and hydrogen peroxide was not formed. 3. At pH6 more than half the pyridoxamine that disappeared was accounted for as pyridoxal and ammonia; it is suggested that the primary reaction is the oxidative deamination of the pyridoxamine. 4. Results were similar when α-oxobutyrate or glyoxylate were substituted for pyruvate, except that the reactions were slower and the yield of pyridoxal less. 5. The oxidative decarboxylations of α-oxoglutarate and phenylpyruvate are catalysed by Mn2+ ions and these reactions are activated by peroxidase; pyridoxamine increased both the rates and total oxygen uptakes in these reactions, and ammonia was produced. 6. The lag periods in the oxidation of mixtures of pyridoxamine and α-oxo acids, catalysed by Mn2+ ions, were also shortened by traces of colloidal manganese dioxide. 7. It is suggested that the activating effect of peroxidase depends on its catalysis of manganese oxidation.
The regulation of glyceride synthesis in isolated white-fat cells. The effects of acetate, pyruvate, lactate, palmitate, electron-acceptors, uncoupling agents and oligomycin
Authors: Saggerson E. D
Published: August 2015

1. The incorporation of 5mm-[U-14C]glucose into glyceride fatty acids by fat cells from normal rats incubated in the presence of 20munits of insulin/ml was increased by acetate, pyruvate, palmitate, NNN′N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine, phenazine methosulphate, dinitrophenol, tetrachlorotrifluoromethyl benzimidazole and oligomycin. Lactate did not stimulate glucose incorporation into fatty acids. The effects of these agents were concentration-dependent. 2. In the presence of 5mm-glucose+insulin, [U-14C]acetate, [U-14C]pyruvate and [U-14C]lactate were incorporated into fatty acids in a concentration-dependent manner, thereby further increasing the total rate of fatty acid synthesis. 3. NNN′N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine decreased the incorporation of [U-14C]pyruvate into fatty acids in normal cells and increased the incorporation of [U-14C]lactate into fatty acids. 4. In fact cells from 72h-starved rats the stimulatory effects of NNN′N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine upon glucose and lactate incorporation into fatty acids were totally and partially abolished respectively whereas the stimulatory effects of acetate upon glucose incorporation were retained. 5. Combinations of the optimum concentrations of the substances that stimulate glucose incorporation into fatty acids were tested and compared. The effects of acetate+NNN′N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine and acetate+palmitate upon normal cells were additive. The effects of NNN′N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine+palmitate were not additive. It was found that total fatty acid synthesis in the presence of glucose was most effectively increased by raising the concentration of pyruvate in the incubation system. 6. The significance of these results in supporting the proposal that fatty acid synthesis from glucose in adipose tissue is a ‘self-limiting process’ is discussed.
Conversion of allyl alcohol into acrolein by rat liver
Authors: Serafini-Cessi F
Published: August 2015

1. Acrolein was detected in rat liver suspensions incubated in the presence of allyl alcohol and allyl formate. Acrolein was determined by condensation of the distilled aldehyde with semicarbazide, followed by spectrophotometric measurement of the semicarbazone at 257nm and identification by paper chromatography. 2. The transformation of allyl alcohol into acrolein occurred in the presence of NAD+. Inhibitors of rat liver alcohol dehydrogenase inhibited the reaction. 3. It is suggested that the hepatotoxic actions of allyl alcohol and of allyl formate on rat liver are related to their conversion into acrolein.
Evaluation of the rate-limiting steps in the pathway of glucose metabolism in kidney cortex of normal, diabetic, cortisone-treated and growth hormone-treated rats
Authors: Joseph P. K. , Subrahmanyam K.
Published: August 2015

1. The activities of gluconeogenic and glycolytic enzymes and the concentrations of citrate, ammonia, amino acids, glycogen, glucose 6-phosphate, acetyl-CoA, lactate and pyruvate were measured in kidney cortex of normal, diabetic, cortisone-treated and growth hormone-treated rats. 2. In kidney cortex of diabetic, cortisone-treated and growth hormone-treated rats the activities of glucose 6-phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.9), fructose 1,6-diphosphatase (EC 3.1.3.11) and phosphopyruvate carboxylase (EC 4.1.1.32) were increased. 3. The activities of glutamate dehydrogenase (EC 1.4.1.3), alanine aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.2), aspartate aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.10) and pyruvate carboxylase (EC 6.4.1.1) were increased in diabetic and cortisone-treated rats. In growth hormone-treated rats the activity of aspartate aminotransferase was depressed but those of the other three enzymes were unchanged. 4. The activity of hexokinase (EC 2.7.1.1) was not altered in any of these conditions. Phosphofructokinase (EC 2.7.1.11) activity was depressed only in growth hormone-treated rats. Pyruvate kinase (EC 2.7.1.40) activity was depressed in cortisone-treated and growth hormone-treated rats but unchanged in diabetic rats. 5. Amino acids, acetyl-CoA and glucose 6-phosphate contents were increased in rat kidneys in all these three conditions. Ammonia content was increased in diabetic and cortisone-treated rats but was markedly diminished in growth hormone-treated rats. 6. The [lactate]/[pyruvate] ratio was elevated in diabetic and cortisone-treated rats but unchanged in growth hormone-treated rats. Citrate content was increased in the kidney cortex of diabetic and growth hormone-treated rats but was unchanged in cortisone-treated rats. The activity of ATP citrate lyase (EC 4.1.3.8) was depressed in diabetic and growth hormone-treated rats but was increased in cortisone-treated rats. 7. Glycogen content was moderately elevated in growth hormone-treated rats and markedly elevated in diabetic rats, whereas no change in glycogen content was observed in cortisone-treated rats. Glycogen synthetase (EC 2.4.1.11) activity was unchanged in all these three conditions. Phosphorylase (EC 2.4.1.1) activity was not affected in cortisone-treated rats but was depressed in diabetic and growth hormone-treated rats.
δ-Aminolaevulinate dehydratase, the regulatory enzyme of the haem-biosynthetic pathway in Neurospora crassa
Authors: Muthukrishnan S. , Malathi K. , Padmanaban G.
Published: August 2015

The activity of δ-aminolaevulinate dehydratase is very low in the mould Neurospora crassa compared with the activities detected in bacterial and animal systems. The enzyme is inducible in iron-deficient cultures by addition of iron and is repressed by protoporphyrin. The properties of the purified enzyme indicate its allosteric nature and susceptibility to feedback inhibition by coproporphyrinogen III. Neurospora extracts also contain a protein inhibitor of the enzyme and a small-molecule activator, which appears to be associated with the enzyme. The regulatory function of this enzyme in vivo is correlated with the accumulation of δ-aminolaevulinic acid in normal cultures of N. crassa. The decay curve of the iron-induced enzyme in vivo shows a biphasic pattern, with one of the components showing a half-life of 4–5 min.
The metabolism of cyclopentanol by Pseudomonas N.C.I.B. 9872
Authors: Griffin Martin , Trudgill Peter W.
Published: August 2015

1. Pseudomonas N.C.I.B. 9872 grown on cyclopentanol as carbon source oxidized it at a rate of 228μl of O2/h per mg dry wt. and the overall consumption of 5.9μmol of O2/μmol of substrate. Cyclopentanone was oxidized at a similar rate with the overall consumption of 5.2μmol of O2μmol of substrate. Cells grown with sodium acetate as sole source of carbon were incapable of significant immediate oxidation of these two substrates. 2. Disrupted cells catalysed the oxidation of cyclopentanol to cyclopentanone by the action of an NAD+-linked dehydrogenase with an alkaline pH optimum. 3. A cyclopentanolinduced cyclopentanone oxygenase (specific activity 0.11μmol of NADPH oxidized/min per mg of protein) catalysed the consumption of 1μmol of NADPH and 0.9μmol of O2 in the presence of 1μmol of cyclopentanone. NADPH oxidation did not occur under anaerobic conditions. The only detectable reaction product with 100000g supernatant was 5-hydroxyvalerate. 4. Extracts of cyclopentanol-grown cells contained a lactone hydrolase (specific activity 7.0μmol hydrolysed/min per mg of protein) that converted 5-valerolactone into 5-hydroxyvalerate. 5. Cyclopentanone oxygenase fractions obtained from a DEAE-cellulose column were almost devoid of 5-valerolactone hydrolase and catalysed the formation of 5-valerolactone in high yield from cyclopentanone in the presence of NADPH. 6. Incubation of 5-hydroxyvalerate with the 100000g supernatant, NAD+ and NADP+ under aerobic conditions resulted in the consumption of O2 and the conversion of 5-hydroxyvalerate into glutarate. 7. The high activity of isocitrate lyase in cyclopentanol-grown cells suggests that the further oxidation of glutarate proceeds through as yet uncharacterized reactions to acetyl-CoA. 8. The reaction sequence for the oxidation of cyclopentanol by Pseudomonas N.C.I.B. 9872 is: cyclopentanol → cyclopentanone → 5-valerolactone → 5-hydroxyvalerate → glutarate → → acetyl-CoA.
The conversion of orotic acid into uridine 5′-monophosphate by isolated perfused normal and regenerating rat livers
Authors: Fausto Nelson
Published: August 2015

The release of 14CO2 from [7-14C]orotic acid was measured in isolated perfused normal and regenerating rat livers. With some limitations, the release of 14CO2 from [7-14C]orotic acid can be used to estimate UMP synthesis in perfused livers. Isolated perfused livers rapidly pick up labelled orotic acid added to perfusate and convert most of it into UMP. Perfused regenerating livers produce approx. 2.5 times as much UMP/g of liver as do perfused normal livers. However, the absolute amount of orotic acid converted into UMP is higher in perfused normal livers than in perfused regenerating livers. Perfused regenerating livers do not differ in their orotic acid uptake and UMP synthesis from livers of comparable size in which regeneration is not taking place. The total amount of orotic acid taken up by the liver (rather than the rate of uptake) and the size of the liver appear to be the determining factors in UMP production. The results suggest that the decrease in liver size caused by partial hepatectomy may be in itself sufficient to account for an increase in the flow of metabolites in the pyrimidine pathway at the early stages of liver regeneration.
The role of adenosine 3′:5′-cyclic monophosphate in the regulation of insulin release. Properties of islet-cell adenosine 3′:5′-cyclic monophosphate phosphodiesterase
Authors: Sams D. J. , Montague W.
Published: August 2015

1. An assay has been developed with sufficient sensitivity for determination of the adenosine 3′:5′-cyclic monophosphate diesterase activity in islets of Langerhans, and has been used to investigate the response of the enzyme to various agents which are known to affect insulin release. 2. The subcellular distribution of the enzyme in islets of Langerhans prepared from guinea-pig pancreas was investigated and over 70% of the activity present in the original homogenate was recovered in the supernatant fraction. 3. Gel filtration of the activity present in the supernatant fraction on Sephadex G-200 gave a single peak of activity with an apparent molecular weight of 200000. The phosphodiesterase activity in the peak fraction showed two apparent Km values for adenosine 3′:5′-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic AMP) of 3μm and 30μm, suggesting the presence of two activities. The pH optimum of the activity with the low Km value was 8.7. 4. Theophylline, caffeine, 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (SC-2964), glibenclamide, tolbutamide, xylitol and leucine were inhibitors of the activity with the low Km value; imidazole and arginine stimulated the activity, and glucose and diazoxide were without significant effect. 5. It is suggested that the agents theophylline, caffeine, SC-2964, glibenclamide, tolbutamide, leucine and imidazole may alter the intracellular concentration of cyclic AMP in islets of Langerhans by affecting the cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity in islet cells and in this way may affect insulin release.
A radiometric technique for measuring l-asparagine in picomol quantities
Authors: Cooney David A. , Milman Harry A.
Published: August 2015

A radiometric technique for measuring l-asparagine in small samples of biological origin is presented. After removal of l-glutamate and l-aspartate by enzymic decarboxylation, l-asparagine in the sample is hydrolysed to l-aspartate with l-asparaginase from Escherichia coli. The l-aspartate so generated is then enzymically transaminated with 2-oxo[1-14C]glutarate yielding l-[1-14C]glutamate. After specific chemical removal of unchanged 2-oxo[1-14C]glutarate, the l-[1-14C]glutamate generated is determined by scintillation counting of the radioactivity. This technique can measure the concentration of l-asparagine present in approx. 1μl of mouse blood, and is capable of detecting as little as 25pmol of the amide. Illustrative applications of the method are presented and discussed, including measurement of the l-asparagine content of the mouse hypophysis.
The primary structure of aspartate aminotransferase from pig heart muscle. Partial sequences determined by digestion with pepsin and trypsin
Authors: Doonan S. , Doonan H. J. , Riva F. , Vernon C. A. , Walker J. M. , Bossa F. , Barra D. , Carloni M. , Fasella P.
Published: August 2015

Peptides obtained by tryptic digestion of carboxymethylated and maleylated aspartate aminotransferase and of the aminoethylated enzyme were isolated and the complete amino acid sequences of most of them were determined. Digestion of the carboxymethylated protein with pepsin produced a complex mixture of peptides that allowed some overlapping of the tryptic peptides (Fig. 4); in addition, peptides were obtained that had not been found in either of the tryptic digests. From these studies about 400 amino acid residues were identified. Experimental details and confirmatory data for the results presented here are given in a supplementary paper that has been deposited as Supplementary Publication 50011 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. (1972) 126, 5.
A competitive labelling method for determining the ionization constants and reactivity of individual histidine residues in proteins. The histidines of α-chymotrypsin
Authors: Cruickshank William H. , Kaplan Harvey
Published: August 2015

A competitive labelling method (Kaplan et al., 1971), using tritiated 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene as the labelling reagent, is described for determining the ionization constants and reactivities of individual histidine residues in proteins. When this method was applied to the two histidines of α-chymotrypsin, histidine-57 was found to have pKa 6.8 and a reactivity ten times that of α-N-acetyl-l-histidine. Histidine-40 had pKa 6.7 and a reactivity approximately six times that of α-N-acetyl-l-histidine. Between pH7.5 and 8 the reactivities of both histidines decrease simultaneously to approximately that of α-N-acetyl-l-histidine. The high reactivities of the histidines are attributed to hydrogen bonding, which increases the nucleophilicity of the imidazole ring. The sharp decrease in reactivity between pH7.5 and 8 is attributed to a conformational change that disrupts the hydrogen bonding by these residues. The reactivity data support the proposal of a charge-relay mechanism involving histidine-57 (Blow et al., 1969), which makes serine-195 more nucleophilic but indicates that this system is fully operative only in the enzyme–substate complex.