bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Specific reduction of carboxyl groups in peptides and proteins by diborane
Authors: Atassi M. Z. , Rosenthal Arthur F.
Published: August 2015

1. The reaction of several peptides and proteins with diborane was studied under different conditions to determine those most suitable for the specific reduction of carboxyl groups. 2. In the reaction of model peptides and the cyclic peptides bacitracin and tyrocidin, reduction at 0° was entirely specific for the carboxyl groups without affecting the peptide bonds. Acid amide residues were not reduced. Some tripeptides showed anomalous results in that the C-terminal residue was quite resistant to reduction. 3. Specific reduction of carboxyl groups was achieved in each of the following proteins: human serum albumin, egg albumin, adult human haemoglobin, sperm-whale apomyoglobin, horse heart cytochrome c and egg-white lysozyme. The C-terminal amino acid was usually reduced. 4. Conditions for specific reduction of all available carboxyl groups are not easily found and may vary from one substance to another. Specific reduction of a limited number of available carboxyl groups may be generally accomplished by reactions at −10°. 5. It is suggested that this chemical modification, which has the advantage of permanence, may be useful in studying the role of carboxyl groups in the conformation of proteins and in the biological properties of peptides and proteins.
Intracellular pH during calcification. A study of the avian shell gland
Authors: Simkiss K.
Published: August 2015

The intracellular pH of the shell gland of the domestic fowl was calculated at various stages in egg-shell formation. The calculation is based on the distribution of 5,5-dimethyloxazolidine-2,4-dione between intracellular and extracellular water. The results show a rapid fall in intracellular pH at the time of mineralization and this is interpreted as indicating a removal of protons from the site of calcification.
Effect of bivalent cations on the adenosine triphosphatase of actomyosin and its modification by tropomyosin and troponin
Authors: Schaub M. C. , Ermini M.
Published: August 2015

1. After removal of tropomyosin and troponin from the ‘natural’ actomyosin complex, the adenosine triphosphatase activity of the resulting ‘desensitized’ actomyosin is stimulated to the same extent by various bivalent cations with an ionic radius in the range 0·65–0·99å when tested at optimum concentration of the metal ion in the presence of 2·5mm-ATP at low ionic strength and pH7·6. Under identical conditions the adenosine triphosphatase activity of myosin alone is stimulated to an appreciable extent only by Ca2+ (ionic radius 0·99å). 2. Tropomyosin narrows the range of size of the stimulatory cations by inhibiting specifically the adenosine triphosphatase activity of ‘desensitized’ actomyosin when stimulated by Ca2+ or the slightly smaller Cd2+ (ionic radius 0·97å). Tropomyosin has no effect on the adenosine triphosphatase activity of ‘desensitized’ actomyosin when stimulated by the smaller cations, nor on the Ca2+-activated adenosine triphosphatase activity of myosin alone. 3. The adenosine triphosphatase activity of the ‘natural’ actomyosin system (containing tropomyosin and troponin) stimulated by the smallest cation, Mg2+ (ionic radius 0·65å), is low when the system is deprived of Ca2+ but high in the presence of small amounts of Ca2+. This sensitivity to Ca2+ seems to be a unique feature of the Mg2+-stimulated system. 4. The changes in specificity of the myosin adenosine triphosphatase activity in its requirement for bivalent cations caused by interaction with actin, tropomyosin and troponin primarily concern the size of the metal ions. The effects on enzymic properties of myofibrils due to tropomyosin and troponin can be demonstrated at low and at physiological ionic strength.
A study of the metabolism of l-αγ-diaminobutyric acid in a Xanthomonas species
Authors: Rao D. Rajagopal , Hariharan K. , Vijayalakshmi K. R.
Published: August 2015

1. l-αγ-Diaminobutyric acid is metabolized in Xanthomonas sp. to aspartic β-semialdehyde, aspartic acid and oxaloacetic acid. 2. Aspartic β-semialdehyde is formed from diaminobutyric acid by a pyruvate-dependent γ-transamination. 3. The transaminase has a pH optimum of 9 and exhibits a high degree of substrate specificity, as analogues of diaminobutyric acid and pyruvate are inert in the system. The transaminase is inhibited by carbonyl-binding agents such as hydroxylamine. 4. Aspartic acid is formed from aspartic β-semialdehyde by an NAD+-dependent dehydrogenation. 5. The dehydrogenase has a pH optimum of 8·5 and is a thiol enzyme. It is specific for aspartic β-semialdehyde but analogues of NAD+ such as 3-acetylpyridine–adenine dinucleotide and deamino-NAD are partly active in the system. 6. The significance of these reactions is discussed in relation to diaminobutyric acid metabolism in plants and mammalian systems.
Immune reactions in polysaccharide media. Experiments with specific antibodies of different affinities for serum albumin
Authors: Hellsing Krister
Published: August 2015

Rabbit antibody fractions of different affinities for human serum albumin were prepared by an immunosorbent technique. The fractions were used in studies on the enhancement of the precipitin reaction by polymers. Dextran increased the immune precipitation to about the same extent regardless of whether antibodies with high and low affinities were used. The effect should considerably facilitate the detection of antibodies with low precipitating ability in immunological assays. The results are discussed in terms of a steric-exclusion mechanism.
N-Acylphosphatidylethanolamine, a phospholipid that is rapidly metabolized during the early germination of pea seeds
Authors: Dawson R. M. C. , Clarke N. , Quarles R. H.
Published: August 2015

1. A phospholipid that rapidly disappears from pea seeds during the early stages of germination has been isolated and shown to be N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine. 2. Chromatographic evidence for the presence of the same phospholipid in oats, soya beans and spring (tick) beans has been obtained, and its loss during early germination measured. 3. A scheme for the stepwise degradation of the phospholipid with alkali and acid is presented.
Desensitization of glutamate dehydrogenase by reaction of tyrosine residues
Authors: Price N. C. , Radda G. K.
Published: August 2015

1. The reaction of glutamate dehydrogenase with N-acetylimidazole and with tetranitromethane leads to modification of tyrosine residues. 2. Modification of 1 tyrosine residue/subunit does not affect the enzymic activity but decreases the response of the enzyme to the allosteric inhibitor, GTP. 3. The physical properties of the enzyme (sedimentation coefficient and optical rotatory dispersion) remain unaltered. 4. GTP partially protects against desensitization. 5. The diminished responses of the modified enzymes to GTP are also detected by using the fluorescence of 1-anilinonaphthalene-8-sulphonate as a conformational probe. 6. Difficulties that generally arise in chemical modifications from inhomogeneous distributions of products are discussed.
The effect of hypermethylation on the functional properties of transfer ribonucleic acid. Formation of aminoacyl-transfer-ribonucleic acid
Authors: Pillinger David J. , Hay John , Borek Ernest
Published: August 2015

1. The ability of chemically hypermethylated Escherichia coli B transfer RNA to accept 19 amino acids was studied and the results were compared with those obtained with a control sample of E. coli B transfer RNA incubated under similar conditions in the absence of methylating agent. 2. There is a marked decrease in the ability of the modified transfer RNA to accept amino acids in almost all instances. 3. The acceptance of cysteine appears to be unique in that it is enhanced in the hypermethylated transfer RNA. 4. More detailed studies on the kinetics of acceptance for six amino acids is presented, emphasizing the variation in response of the individual amino acids. 5. Increasing hypermethylation causes a progressive decrease in the amino acid acceptance. 6. The results are discussed in terms of methylation at functional sites within the transfer RNA and possible conformational alterations to the structure of the macromolecule.
The small-scale isolation and characterization of adrenocorticotrophin
Authors: Hussa R. O. , Winnick T. , Landon J.
Published: August 2015

Several methods for isolating adrenocorticotrophin from small quantities of porcine and bovine pituitary tissue are compared. Initial extraction of the hormone by an acid–acetone technique was simpler and more efficient than one employing acetic acid extraction and ether precipitation. Subsequent purification procedures utilizing adsorption of the peptide on to oxycellulose realized the highest yields. CM-cellulose-column chromatography followed by Sephadex-gel filtration were suitable final steps for obtaining highly purified adrenocorticotrophin. The purity of the hormone was demonstrated by determining its amino acid composition, C-terminal analysis, polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, chymotrypsin digestion and paper electrophoresis and by radioimmunoassay and bioassay. Adrenocorticotrophin was found to be rapidly destroyed in intact and especially in homogenized glands kept at room temperature. At 4° the rate of destruction was less rapid and at −20° losses were minimal.
The glucan components of the cell wall of baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) considered in relation to its ultrastructure
Authors: Bacon J. S. D. , Farmer V C , Jones D. , Taylor Irene F.
Published: August 2015

1. Commercial pressed baker's yeast, and cell walls prepared from it, were extracted in various ways and the products examined by a number of techniques, including infrared spectroscopy and electron microscopy. 2. The glucan components of the walls cannot be extracted from intact yeast cells by 3% (w/v) sodium hydroxide at 75°, but at least one-third of the glucan of cell wall preparations is dissolved under these conditions, and more will dissolve after ultrasonic treatment. 3. If intact cells are given a preliminary treatment with acid the wall glucans dissolve in dilute aqueous alkali. 4. Acid conditions as mild as sodium acetate buffer, pH5·0, for 3hr. at 75° are sufficient for this preliminary treatment; the glucan then dissolves in 3% sodium hydroxide at 75° leaving a very small residue, which contains chitin and about 1% of the initial glucan of the wall. Dissolution is hindered by exclusion of air, or by a preliminary reduction with sodium borohydride, suggesting that some degradation of the glucan by alkali is taking place. 5. After treatment with 0·5m-acetic acid for 24hr. at 90° the glucan dissolves slowly at room temperature in 3% sodium hydroxide, or in dimethyl sulphoxide. The extraction with acetic acid removes glycogen and a predominantly β-(1→6)-linked glucan (not hitherto recognized as a component of baker's yeast), but none of the β-(1→3)-glucan, which remains water-insoluble. 6. Without treatment with acid, the glucan is not significantly soluble in dimethyl sulphoxide, but can be induced to dissolve by ultrasonic treatment. 7. These results are interpreted by postulating the presence of an enclosing membrane, composed of chitin and glucan, that when intact acts as a semipermeable membrane preventing the escape of the alkali- and dimethyl sulphoxide-soluble fraction of the glucan. Mild acid treatments damage this membrane, and ultrasonic and ballistic disintegration disrupt it. 8. Some support for this hypothesis is given by the effects of certain enzyme preparations, which have been found to render a substantial part of the glucan extractable by dimethyl sulphoxide.
The effect of pancreatic ribonuclease on rabbit reticulocyte ribosomes and its interpretation in terms of ribosome structure
Authors: Cox R A
Published: August 2015

1. Parts of the 16s and 30s RNA species of reticulocytes are readily hydrolysed by pancreatic ribonuclease. The biological activity of the ribosomes is diminished after treatment with low concentrations of the enzyme (e.g. 1ng. of ribonuclease/2·5mg. of polyribosome fraction/ml.). A high proportion of the chain scissions are ‘hidden’ owing to the secondary structure of the RNA moiety. 2. As the concentration of ribonuclease is increased RNA is lost from the ribosome. About 20–30% of the RNA may be removed from the ribosome without altering appreciably its sedimentation coefficient or its appearance in the electron microscope. 3. The amount of RNA removed from the ribosome is not increased by raising the concentration of enzyme from about 1μg. to 2·5mg. of ribonuclease/2·5mg. of polyribosome fraction/ml., or by increasing the temperature from 0° to 30°, or by first converting the RNA moiety into a single-stranded form before exposure to ribonuclease. 4. Untreated polyribosomes aggregate at about 75°, whereas ribosomes treated with ribonuclease aggregate at about 45°. The aggregates that are found on heating ribosomes after enzymic hydrolysis contain about 40–50% of the complement of RNA of intact ribosomes. 5. From the size of the fragments of RNA isolated from RNA-depleted ribosomes it is inferred that there is one site/60–100 nucleotides that is sensitive to ribonuclease. 6. The RNA moiety of RNA-depleted ribosomes has some double-helical character as shown by the optical properties and X-ray-diffraction pattern of ribonuclease-treated ribosomes and by the ‘melting’ properties of the isolated RNA. 7. Subparticles prepared by titration with an excess of EDTA are readily hydrolysed by ribonuclease to fragments of S20,w less than 4s, in contrast with the intact particle.
The sites of hydrolysis of dipeptides containing leucine and glycine by rat jejunum in vitro
Authors: Fern E. B. , Hider R. C. , London D. R.
Published: August 2015

1. The effect of peptides containing leucine and glycine on accumulation of leucine and glycine by everted jejunal rings was studied. 2. It was shown that, on a molar basis, leucyl-leucine is a more effective inhibitor of uptake of [14C]leucine than is either leucylglycine or glycyl-leucine. These latter dipeptides behave alike. 3. The concentration of the dipeptides and their constituent amino acids in both the incubation medium and the tissue has been followed in these experiments by amino acid analysis. No leucine-containing peptides were observed in the tissue. 4. The inhibitory effects of the mixed dipeptides are altered by pH changes in an analogous way to the alterations in peptidase activity. 5. The experimental results indicate that leucine-containing peptides are hydrolysed before the transport step. 6. Glycylglycine, on the other hand, has only a small effect on the accumulation of glycine, although large amounts of the peptide accumulate unchanged in the tissue. This suggests that glycylglycine is taken up by a different mechanism to that for the leucine dipeptides.
Pathways of glycogen synthesis in Novikoff ascites-hepatoma cells
Authors: Nigam V. N.
Published: August 2015

Affinity of glucose, fructose and mannose for tumour hexokinase and their rates of phosphorylation at saturation concentration have been correlated with rates of glycogen synthesis by intact tumour cells at different concentrations of the three substrates. Competition experiments with one sugar labelled and the other sugar unlabelled indicate inhibition of glycogen synthesis by the sugar with a low Km for hexokinase. Glycogen synthesis from glucose 1-phosphate in aged cells and from nucleoside in freshly prepared cells is stimulated by fructose and inhibited by glucose. The decrease in glycogen formation from glucose 1-phosphate by oligomycin is partially overcome by increased fructose concentrations. These results are explained by an activation of α-glucan phosphorylase by fructose and an inhibition of this enzyme by glucose. It is suggested that differences in localization of glucose 6-phosphate, available to the intact cell in various ways, determine its transformation into glycogen by either the UDP-glucose–α-glucan glucosyltransferase reaction or by the α-glucan phosphorylase reaction.
Stimulation of incorporation of nucleic acid precursors into HeLa cells caused by provaline
Authors: Watts J. W.
Published: August 2015

1. The effect of proflavine and other acridines on the incorporation of precursors into the nucleic acids of HeLa cells was examined. 2. Relatively low concentrations (50μm) of proflavine completely inhibited incorporation of precursors into DNA, but allowed a small extent of incorporation into RNA. 3. Acridine-resistant incorporation into RNA was unaffected by actinomycin D at 2μg./ml. and persisted even at high concentrations (500μm) of many acridines. 4. A few combinations of acridine and precursor, notably 250μm-proflavine and [14C]adenine, caused a stimulation of incorporation. 5. The proflavine-stimulated incorporation was into alkali-stable di- and tri-nucleotides. 6. It was concluded that the effect was due to the preferential inhibition of degradation of a fraction of RNA that normally turned over, thus allowing small radioactive oligonucleotides to accumulate in the cells.
Glutathione S-aralkyltransferase
Authors: Boyland E. , Chasseaud L. F.
Published: August 2015

1. The name ‘glutathione S-aralkyltransferase’ is proposed for the enzyme catalysing the reaction of benzyl chloride with GSH. 2. Results from heat-inactivation studies, ammonium sulphate-fractionation and acid-precipitation experiments, and studies of the distribution of activities in rat liver, in rat kidney and in the livers of other animals indicate that glutathione S-aralkyltransferase differs from glutathione S-alkyltransferase, S-aryltransferase, S-epoxidetransferase and an S-alkenetransferase. 3. The distribution of these enzymes in the livers of the animal species examined was different. 4. Glutathione S-alkyltransferase, S-aralkyltransferase and the S-alkenetransferase that are present in rat liver supernatant were inhibited by GSSG, and the nature of the inhibition varied in each case. 5. 3,5-Di-tert.-butyl-4-hydroxybenzyl acetate reacts spontaneously with GSH, but the rat liver-supernatant-catalysed reaction of GSH with this and other aralkyl esters was weak. 6. A probable function of the glutathione S-transferases is the protection of cellular constituents from strong electrophilic agents.
The relaxing protein system of striated muscle. Resolution of the troponin complex into inhibitory and calcium ion-sensitizing factors and their relationship to tropomyosin
Authors: Schaub M. C. , Perry S V
Published: August 2015

1. A method involving isoelectric precipitation and chromatography on SE-Sephadex (sulphoethyl-Sephadex) is described for the preparation of the troponin complex free of tropomyosin from low-ionic-strength extracts of natural actomyosin and myofibrils. 2. Purified troponin complex required tropomyosin to inhibit the Mg2+-stimulated adenosine triphosphatase activity and superprecipitation of desensitized actomyosin in the presence of ethanedioxybis(ethylamine)tetra-acetate. An upper limit of 35000 for the ‘molecular weight’ of the troponin complex was derived from the amounts required to bring about 50% of the maximum inhibition of the Mg2+-stimulated adenosine triphosphatase activity of desensitized actomyosin of known concentration. 3. In the presence of dissociating reagents the troponin complex could be dissociated into inhibitory and Ca2+-sensitizing factors, which could be isolated separately on SE-Sephadex. The inhibitory factor inhibited the Mg2+-stimulated adenosine triphosphatase activity and superprecipitation of desensitized actomyosin independently of the concentration of free Ca2+ in the medium. 4. The Ca2+-sensitizing factor changed its electrophoretic mobility on polyacrylamide gel in the presence of ethanedioxybis(ethylamine)tetra-acetate. It formed a complex with the inhibitory factor at low ionic strength and the original biological activity of the troponin complex could be restored on mixing the inhibitory factor with the Ca2+-sensitizing factor in the ratio of about 3:2. 5. Evidence is presented indicating that the ability of tropomyosin preparations to restore relaxing-protein-system activity to the troponin complex and their inhibitory effect on the Ca2+-stimulated adenosine triphosphatase activity of desensitized actomyosin are two properties of different stability to preparative procedures and tryptic digestion. This suggests that the relaxing protein system of muscle may contain another as yet uncharacterized component.
Properties of a halophil nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide phosphate-specific isocitrate dehydrogenase. Preliminary studies of the salt relations and kinetics of the crude enzyme
Authors: Aitken D. M. , Wicken A. J. , Brown A. D.
Published: August 2015

The effects of chlorides on NADP-specific isocitrate dehydrogenase from Halobacterium salinarium were investigated. The enzyme is stabilized by potassium chloride and sodium chloride and this effect is discussed in relation to the Hill (1913) equation. Kinetics of the enzyme were studied within a range of concentrations of potassium chloride and sodium chloride. Apparent Michaelis constants for both substrates were affected by salt concentration, the effect being greater in sodium chloride than in potassium chloride. Minimal apparent Michaelis constants for both substrates were similar to the corresponding constants reported for yeast isocitrate dehydrogenase. Vmax. was maximal in each salt at a concentration of about 1m. The maximum was higher in sodium chloride than in potassium chloride. At salt concentrations above about 2.3m, the apparent Vmax. was lower in sodium chloride than in potassium chloride, and at salt concentrations below 0.75–1.0m, each salt behaved as a linear activator of the enzyme. Within this concentration range salt and NADP+ acted competitively; the activation by salt was overcome at finite concentrations of NADP+. At concentrations above about 1m, potassium chloride was a linear non-competitive inhibitor of the enzyme. Within the range 1.0–2.5m, sodium chloride was also a linear non-competitive inhibitor, but above 2.5m it caused more pronounced inhibition.
The limiting factors of a cell-free protein-synthesizing system from rat brain
Authors: Dunn A. J.
Published: August 2015

The limiting factors of a cell-free system from rat brain for incorporating amino acids into protein were studied. The initial more rapid incorporation by microsomes, as opposed to that by ribosomes, is suggested to be due to damage of the ribosomes by detergent. The defect is rectifiable by incubation of the ribosomes in cell sap, so that ribosomes eventually incorporate more amino acid than do microsomes. This may be because ribonuclease, which is associated with the microsomes but removed by detergent treatment, inactivates the microsomal system. The factor that causes incorporation by microsomes to cease abruptly within 1h is not the lack of any precursor or of adenosine triphosphate, of the inactivation of cell-sap factors or the accumulation of inhibitory substances, but is a deficiency of usable messenger ribonucleic acid. Chain initiation in the system is negligible. Ribosomes also become jammed at the end of messenger ribonucleic acid molecules, unable to terminate protein chains. This eventually leads to jammed polyribosomes, which can be partially relieved by very low concentrations of puromycin. A study of the release of polypeptides synthesized in response to the addition of synthetic messengers did not provide any conclusive information on chain-termination sequences, but did indicate some phenomena that were artifacts. It is concluded that ribonuclease action is sufficient to account for all the deficiencies of the cell-free system, but a lack of chain initiation may be a contributory factor.
Isolation and spectral characterization of phycobiliproteins
Authors: Teale F. W. J. , Dale R. E.
Published: August 2015

Several phycobiliproteins were prepared chromatographically pure and their absorption, fluorescence-emission, fluorescence-excitation and fluorescence-excitation polarization spectra determined. Changes in these spectra with ionic strength of the aqueous medium and chromoprotein concentration were interpreted in terms of interchromophore energy transfer and protein subunit equilibria. The complexity of the polarization spectra confirms the presence of different types of chromophore, designated sensitizing (‘s’) and fluorescing (‘f’), in a single protein.
A filtration method for the separation of cell sap from the large-particle fraction of rat liver suspensions, enabling the rapid measurement of nucleotide distributions
Authors: Delaney V. B. , Slater T. F.
Published: August 2015

A simple method is described that allows a rapid separation of a cell-sap fraction from the large-particle fraction of rat liver suspensions. The method is based on the filtration under suction of liver suspensions through Millipore filters that retain nuclei, mitochondria and some of the endoplasmic-reticulum fraction, but allow quantitative passage of cell sap into a collecting tube. The cell sap may be separated in this manner within 2min of the death of the rat. The method was applied to study the intracellular distribution of ATP and of the nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotides and the results obtained were compared with those obtained after separating the cell sap by a rapid centrifuging procedure. The percentage of total liver ATP in the cell sap was found to be 46% by the filtration method and more than 70% by the centrifuging procedure. Corresponding figures found for the distribution of NADP++NADPH were 40 and 49% respectively.
The chemistry of flavins and flavoproteins. Aerobic photochemistry
Authors: Penzer G. R.
Published: August 2015

1. When a mixture of FMN and a reducing substrate (e.g. unprotonated amine) is illuminated oxygen is consumed. 2. The rate of oxygen uptake increases as oxygen concentration falls with some substrates (type I reaction), but with other substrates (typically aromatic compounds) the rate falls as the oxygen concentration falls (type II reaction). 3. The kinetics of type I reactions with EDTA, dl-α-phenylglycine and diethanolamine are all consistent with a mechanism in which the rate-determining step, hydrogen abstraction by the FMN triplet, is followed by rapid reoxidation of reduced FMN by oxygen. The reaction is faster at low oxygen concentrations because oxygen quenches the triplet. 4. The sensitivity of reaction rates to substituents in dl-α-phenylglycine can be described by a Hammett ρ value of -0.6. 5. Individual rate constants for quenching and reaction of the FMN triplet with substrate were calculated (2.4×108 and 2.1×107m-1s-1 respectively for EDTA) on the assumption that oxygen quenches the triplet in a diffusion-controlled reaction. 6. The pH-dependences of oxygen uptake rates with six natural amino acids as substrates were measured. 7. Photoinactivations of l-glutamate dehydrogenase and d-amino acid oxidase by FMN were demonstrated.
Subunits of Tamm–Horsfall glycoprotein
Authors: Stevenson F. K. , Kent P. W.
Published: August 2015

1. The effect of 6m-guanidine hydrochloride on the urinary glycoprotein described by Tamm & Horsfall (1952) is to produce a homogeneous subunit of molecular weight approx. 100000. 2. Complete reduction of the disulphide bonds of this subunit does not decrease the molecular weight, suggesting that all disulphide bonds are intrachain. 3. Comparison of sedimentation and viscometric behaviour of unreduced and reduced material in 6m-guanidine hydrochloride is consistent with reduction causing an opening-up of intrachain disulphide bonds to give a more asymmetric molecule.
Incorporation of [14C]glucosamine and [14C]leucine into mouse kidney β-glucuronidase induced by gonadotrophin
Authors: Kato Keitaro , Ide Hiroyuki , Shirahama Tsuranobu , Fishman William H.
Published: August 2015

Male BALB/C mice were injected intraperitoneally with 2.5 i.u. of gonadotrophin. After the injection, increase of β-glucuronidase activity was first observed in the microsomal fraction. By 36h 45–50% of the total homogenate activity was found in the microsomal fraction compared with 20–25% in the control microsomal fraction. From 36 to 80h not only microsomal β-glucuronidase but also lysosomal β-glucuronidase increased progressively. After 69h stimulation with 2.5 i.u. of gonadotrophin, d-[1-14C]glucosamine or l-[U-14C]leucine was injected intraperitoneally. After a further 3h the kidneys were homogenized and five particulate fractions were prepared by differential centrifugation. The β-glucuronidase in the microsomal and lysosomal fractions was released respectively by ultrasonication and by freezing and thawing treatment. The enzyme was purified by organic-solvent precipitation and by sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation. The results demonstrated the incorporation of these two labels into the mouse renal β-glucuronidase. The microsomal β-glucuronidase was much more radioactive than the lysosomal enzyme and approx. 80% of the newly synthesized enzyme appeared in microsomes and approx. 20% of that was found in lysosomes at this period. These results suggest that the mouse renal β-glucuronidase is a glycoprotein and that the newly synthesized enzyme is transported from endoplasmic reticulum to lysosomes.
A comparative study of the ability of methionine or linolenic acid to act as precursors of ethylene in plant tissues
Authors: Mapson L. W. , March J. F. , Rhodes M. J. C. , Wooltorton L. S. C.
Published: August 2015

A comparative study has been made of the ability of three plant tissues to incorporate 14C into ethylene from 14C-labelled methionine and derivatives and from 14C-labelled linolenic acid. Incorporation of label occurs readily from methionine and its derivative 4-methylmercapto-2-oxobutyric acid with apple, tomato or cauliflower floret tissue. No incorporation of label occurred, however, from uniformly 14C-labelled linolenate.
Isolation of ribosomes from cell-wall preparations of barley (Hordeum vulgare)
Authors: Jervis L. , Hallaway Mary
Published: August 2015

Ribosomes can be released from highly purified preparations of the cell walls of barley shoots by passing the suspension of cell walls through a French press. The sedimentation coefficients and base composition of the cell-wall ribosomes are identical with those of cytoplasmic ribosomes. It is suggested that the ribosomes isolated from the walls were originally incorporated into the wall structure during formation of the primary wall.
Cathepsin D. Purification of isoenzymes from human and chicken liver
Authors: Barrett A. J.
Published: August 2015

1. The Barrett (1967) assay for cathepsin D was slightly modified. 2. The enzyme was purified from liver of man and chicken by a procedure involving autolysis, acetone fractionation, ion-exchange chromatography and isoelectric focusing. 3. Several isoenzymes of cathepsin D were resolved in the isoelectric-focusing step, and three major forms, α,β and γ, were distinguished for each species. 4. A modified analytical method of isoelectric focusing in polyacrylamide gel indicated a high degree of homogeneity of the purified β and γ isoenzymes from each species, and this was supported by their constant high specific activities. 5. Gel filtration of the isoenzymes in a calibrated column of Sephadex G-100 showed that each had a molecular weight of 45000. 6. Human cathepsin D had a pH optimum of 3.5, and that of chicken enzyme was 3.0, haemoglobin being used as substrate. In each species, the three isoenzymes have the same pH-dependence curve. 7. The purified cathepsin D samples showed very little action on acid-denatured albumin.
The oxidation of reduced nicotinamide nucleotides by hydrogen peroxide in the presence of lactoperoxidase and thiocyanate, iodide or bromide
Authors: McC. Hogg D. , Jago G. R.
Published: August 2015

Lactoperoxidase (EC 1.11.1.7) catalysed the oxidation of NADH by hydrogen peroxide in the presence of either thiocyanate, iodide or bromide. In the presence of thiocyanate, net oxidation of thiocyanate occurred simultaneously with the oxidation of NADH, but in the presence of iodide or bromide, only the oxidation of NADH occurred to a significant extent. In the presence of thiocyanate or bromide, NADH was oxidized to NAD+ but in the presence of iodide, an oxidation product with spectral and chemical properties distinct from NAD+ was formed. Thiocyanate, iodide and bromide appeared to function in the oxidation of NADH by themselves being oxidized to products which in turn oxidized NADH, rather than by activating the enzyme. Iodine, which oxidized NADH non-enzymically, appeared to be an intermediate in the oxidation of NADH in the presence of iodide. NADPH was oxidized similarly under the same conditions. An assessment was made of the rates of these oxidation reactions, together with the rates of other lactoperoxidase-catalysed reactions, at physiological concentrations of thiocyanate, iodide and bromide. The results indicated that in milk and saliva the oxidation of thiocyanate to a bacterial inhibitor was likely to predominate over the oxidation of NADH.
Detoxications in peripatus. Sulphate, phosphate and histidine conjugations
Authors: Jordan T. W. , McNaught R. W. , Smith J. N.
Published: August 2015

Phenols were detoxified in the Onycophoran Peripatoides novaezealandiae by conjugation with sulphuric acid and phosphoric acid, but no evidence for a glycoside detoxication could be found. [14C]Benzoic acid was metabolized in 24h to N2-benzoyl-l-histidine, which was identified by electrophoresis, chromatography and dilution analysis. Similar conjugates were formed with p-aminobenzoic acid and p-nitrobenzoic acid. In longer-duration experiments further unidentified metabolites were formed, two of which appeared to result from the further metabolism of the histidine conjugate.
Purification and crystallization of avidin
Authors: Green N. M. , Toms E. J.
Published: August 2015

An improved purification, including crystallization, of avidin from hen's-egg white is described. The product bound 15.1μg of biotin/mg, corresponding to an equivalent weight of 16200. The amino acid composition showed an integral number of amino acid residues per 16200g, which suggested that each molecule of avidin (mol. wt. approx. 66000) contained four identical subunits.
Frog brain uridine diphosphate galactose–N-acetylgalactosaminyl-N-acetylneuraminylgalactosylglucosylceramide galactosyltransferase
Authors: Yip Morris C. M. , Dain Joel A.
Published: August 2015

1. The enzyme that catalyses the transfer of galactose from UDP-galactose to N-acetylgalactosaminyl-(1→4)-N-acetylneuraminyl-(2→3)-galactosyl-(1→4)-glucosylceramide (GM2) was found mainly in the heavy- and light-microsomal fractions of the adult frog brain. 2. The subcellular distribution of the enzyme, UDP-galactose–GM2 galactosyltransferase, parallels that of gangliosides in adult frog brain. 3. The enzymic activity was first detected at late gastrulation (Shumway stage 11½) and increased until the completion of the operculum (Shumway stage 25) and then decreased in the tadpoles. 4. In adult frog brain, the enzyme exhibited a pH optimum of 7.2–7.3 in both cacodylate and tris buffers. The enzyme required 10mm-Mn2+ for maximal activity and the Km for Mn2+ was determined as 2.2mm. The half-maximal velocity was obtained at a GM2 concentration of 0.18mm. Inhibition of the enzymic reaction was found when the GM2 concentration was greater than 1.38mm. 5. The enzymic activity was also inhibited by the products in the pathway of ganglioside synthesis, i.e. either by a mixture of gangliosides or by individual ganglioside components. The most active inhibitor was disialoganglioside. The degree of inhibition is a function of the individual ganglioside concentration. 6. A product-inhibition mechanism for the regulation of ganglioside biosynthesis is discussed.
Conditions for activity of glutaminase in kidney mitochondria
Authors: Kovačević Z. , McGivan J. D. , Chappell J. B.
Published: August 2015

1. Rat kidney mitochondria oxidize glutamate very slowly. Addition of glutamine stimulates this respiration two- to three-fold. Addition of glutamate also stimulates respiration in the presence of glutamine. 2. By measuring mitochondrial swelling in iso-osmotic solutions of glutamine or of ammonium glutamate it was shown that glutamine penetrates the mitochondrial membrane rapidly whereas ammonium glutamate penetrates very slowly. 3. Experiments in which reduction of NAD(P)+ was measured in preparations of intact and broken mitochondria indicated that glutamate dehydrogenase shows the phenomenon of `latency'. On the addition of glutamine rapid reduction of nicotinamide nucleotides in intact mitochondria was obtained. 4. During the action of glutaminase there is an accumulation of glutamate inside the mitochondria. 5. When the mitochondria were suspended in a medium containing glutamine, Pi and rotenone the rate of production of ammonia was stimulated by the addition of a substrate, e.g. succinate. Addition of an uncoupler or antimycin A abolished this stimulation. 6. The effects of succinate and uncoupler were especially pronounced in the presence of glutamate, which is an inhibitor of glutaminase activity by competition with Pi. 7. Determination of the enzyme activity in media at different pH values showed that the optimum pH for glutaminase activity in the preparation of broken mitochondria was 8, whereas for intact mitochondria it was dependent on the energy state. In the presence of succinate as an energy source it was pH 8.5, but in the presence of uncoupler or antimycin A it was 9. This displacement of the pH optimum to a higher value was especially pronounced in the presence of both glutamate and uncoupler. 8. If nigericin was present in potassium chloride medium the pH optimum for enzyme activity in intact non-respiring mitochondria was nearly the same as in the preparation of broken mitochondria; however, its presence in K+-free medium displaced the pH optimum for glutaminase activity to a very high value. 9. It is postulated that because of low permeability of the kidney mitochondrial membrane to glutamate the latter accumulates inside the mitochondria, and that this leads to the inhibition of the enzyme by competition with Pi and also by lowering the pH of the intramitochondrial space. With succinate as substrate for respiration there is an outward translocation of H+ ions, which together with accumulation of Pi increases glutaminase activity. Translocation of K+ ions inward increases the enzyme activity, perhaps by increasing the pH of the internal spaces and causing an accumulation of Pi. 10. The importance of the location of the enzyme in the mitochondria in relation to its biological function and conditions for activity is discussed.
Mammalian d-2-hydroxy acid dehydrogenase. Effect of inhibitors and reaction sequence
Authors: Cammack R.
Published: August 2015

1. The reaction of d-2-hydroxy acid dehydrogenase with d-lactate and 2,6-dichlorophenol-indophenol (DCIP) at pH8.6 yields reciprocal plots of 1/rate versus 1/[d-lactate], at different DCIP concentrations, which appear to be parallel. However, at pH7.55, or in the presence of the competitive inhibitor oxalate at pH8.6, the plots are convergent. This is inconsistent with the mechanism previously proposed for this enzyme. 2. The pattern of inhibition by the product, pyruvate, is consistent with either an Ordered mechanism or an Iso Theorell–Chance mechanism. 3. The observation that the enzyme forms a complex with d-lactate favours the Ordered reaction. In this, first d-lactate and then DCIP bind to the enzyme to form a ternary complex, from which pyruvate and reduced DCIP dissociate in that order.
Effects of 3-methylcholanthrene pretreatment on microsomal hydroxylation of 2-acetamidofluorene by various rat hepatomas
Authors: Lotlikar Prabhakar D.
Published: August 2015

1. The effects of 3-methylcholanthrene pretreatment on both N- and ring hydroxylation of 2-acetamidofluorene by microsomal preparations from various well-differentiated and poorly differentiated hepatomas, primary tumours and their host livers and kidneys were studied. 2. Well-differentiated Morris hepatomas 5123C, 5123D, 5123CTC and 7800 and their host livers had low hydroxylating activity. Pretreatment with 3-methylcholanthrene caused a several-fold increase in both N- and ring hydroxylation in the host livers whereas in all tumours except 5123CTC it caused a many-fold increase only in ring hydroxylation. 5123CTC tumour in addition showed a fourfold increase in N-hydroxylating activity. 3. Hydroxylating activities of poorly differentiated Morris hepatoma 7288CTC and Novikoff hepatoma were low and they could not be altered by 3-methylcholanthrene pretreatment. 4. Primary hepatomas produced by administration of 4-dimethylamino-3′-methylazobenzene could be stimulated to some extent on 3-methylcholanthrene pretreatment; however, primary mammary tumour produced by administration of 3-methylcholanthrene was not responsive to 3-methycholanthrene pretreatment. 5. Like host livers, kidneys of tumour-bearing animals could also be stimulated to some extent by 3-methylcholanthrene pretreatment.
Glycerol metabolism in the neonatal rat
Authors: Vernon R. G. , Walker D. G.
Published: August 2015

1. The possible role of glycerol as a precursor in neonatal gluconeogenesis in the rat was investigated by recording the activities of glycerol kinase and l-glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase in the liver, kidney and other tissues around birth and during the neonatal period. 2. Blood glycerol concentrations in the neonatal rat are high. 3. There is a marked increase after birth in the ability of both liver and kidney slices to convert glycerol into glucose plus glycogen that correlates with the increase in glycerol kinase activity. 4. High hepatic and renal l-glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase activities are also found in the neonatal period. 5. The marked capacity for neonatal gluconeogenesis from glycerol thus demonstrated and the role of glycerol kinase in its control are discussed.
The locations of cathepsin activity and β-glucuronidase in the Guerin T8 tumour
Authors: Poole A. R.
Published: August 2015

Tumour homogenate fractions, isolated by differential centrifugation, were subfractionated by density-gradient centrifugation. Biochemical and electron microscopic analyses revealed that β-glucuronidase and cathepsin activity were associated with a class (possibly two) of lysosomal particles of density greater than those of mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum. Lysosomes sedimented by low g forces were vacuolar, electron-dense, delineated by a unit membrane and about 0.2μm in diameter. β-Glucuronidase was also apparently associated with ribosomes whereas cathepsin was bound in part to the endoplasmic reticulum. Catalase and glucose 6-phosphatase possessed slightly different density-gradient sedimentation profiles.
The effect of electrical stimulation and ouabain on the uptake and efflux of l-[U-14C]valine in chopped tissue from guinea-pig cerebral cortex
Authors: Jones C. T. , Banks P.
Published: August 2015

1. Chopped tissue from guinea-pig cerebral cortex carried out an energy-dependent accumulation of l-[14C]valine. 2. The uptake was dependent on the extracellular concentration of Na+ and was markedly inhibited by ouabain (20μm). The extent of the inhibition of uptake by ouabain was also Na+-dependent. 3. The accumulation of labelled valine was not directly dependent on the ATP and creatine phosphate contents of the slices. 4. Electrical stimulation increased the rate of [14C]valine uptake at first but ultimately led to a net loss of the label so that the amount of label present in the tissue was lower than in the controls. 5. The rate of loss of label during prolonged stimulation was dependent on the extracellular concentration of Na+. 6. The efflux of labelled valine from slices preloaded at 164mm-Na+ was studied at 164, 80 and 40mm-Na+ with and without electrical stimulation or ouabain. 7. Lowering the Na+ concentration or adding ouabain increased the rate of efflux. 8. Electrical stimulation had little effect on the rate of efflux at first but ultimately led to a more complete loss of label from the tissue than occurred in the control. A kinetic analysis of the efflux curves was attempted.
Invertebrate connective tissue. Isolation of d-arabinose from sponge acidic polysaccharide
Authors: Katzman Richard L. , Lisowska Elwira , Jeanloz Roger W.
Published: August 2015

1. d-Arabinose, an extremely rare sugar in the animal kingdom, was isolated from a complex acidic polysaccharide obtained from the connective tissue of the sponge Hippospongia gossypina. A crystalline derivative of arabinose, the 1-benzyl-1-phenylhydrazone, was prepared and characterized by its melting point, optical rotation, and mixed melting point with authentic d- and l-enantiomers. 2. The distribution of arabinose within the animal kingdom is discussed, and a biological role is proposed for the spongonucleotides.
Osmometry with single Sephadex beads
Authors: Ogston A. G. , Wells J. D.
Published: August 2015

1. The measurement of osmotic pressure by means of a single bead of Sephadex (Edmond, Farquhar, Dunstone & Ogston, 1968) has been made more precise by immobilizing the bead on a fine needle. The design, calibration and use of the osmometer are described. 2. The method is particularly suitable for measuring high osmotic pressures in solutions of high-molecular-weight solutes, which must not penetrate the Sephadex to a significant extent. 3. With Sephadex G-50 the limit of precision is about 1.5cmH2O and the lower limit of molecular weight for a solute of compact molecular form is about 105. 4. The time required for each equilibration is less than 10min. 5. An impaled bead can be stored in the dry state without affecting its calibration. 6. Measurements on a sample of polyvinyl alcohol, degree of polymerization stated as 1750±50, gave ¯mn 43000±3000 and A2 (6.0±0.24)×10−4.
Tissue-characteristic forms of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase
Authors: Ressler N. , Lee S.
Published: August 2015

Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase exists in two different forms in various human tissue preparations. One of them is exhibited, after starch-gel electrophoresis, by a rapidly migrating or `fast' band and the other by a `slow' band. The proportion of the total activity in each of the two forms is characteristic of the type of tissue. A particulate fraction, obtained after centrifugation of homogenates, inhibits the enzyme activity and tends to convert the slow band into a fast one. The conversion is reversible. The fast band can also be converted into the slow one by addition of NAD+ or ADP, or by dialysis against saturated sodium chloride solution. Conversions occur with the purified enzyme as well as with crude homogenates. The relevance of these findings to previous investigations and to glycolytic control mechanisms are discussed.
Fit of some analytical functions to insulin radio-immunoassay standard curves
Authors: Täljedal I.-B. , Wold S.
Published: August 2015

Some analytical functions were tested for goodness of fit to standard curves in radio-immunoassays of insulin (Hales & Randle, 1963). Letting a, b and c be parameters, and y the radioactivity measured at an insulin concentration of x, excellent fit was obtained with the function 1/(y+c)=ax+b. This function was associated with a smaller variance around y and a greater number of sign changes for the residuals (calculated radioactivity minus observed radioactivity) than any of the following: 1/y=axc+b; y=aebx+c; y=a+bx+cx2+dx3. The mean number of sign changes of the residuals in 50 separate assays of mouse insulin was within the 95% confidence interval expected for a correct model. The function that was found to be applicable to assays of mouse, human and ox insulins should be useful in routines for computer processing of insulin assay data and may also prove applicable to other radio-immunoassays.