bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A sensitive method for measuring protein turnover based on the measurement of 2-3H-labelled amino acids in protein
Authors: Humphrey T J , Davies D D
Published: August 2015

A method for measuring the rate of protein degradation is described. The method measures the change in 2-3H content of protein with time by racemization of the protein hydrolysate with acetic anhydride. The 3H on C-2 of amino acids is stable in proteins but becomes labile, owing to the action of transaminases, once the amino acids are released by proteolysis. The specific measurement of 2-3H in amino acids largely overcomes problems due to compartmentation and isotope recycling and evidence to support this claim is presented. Values for the half-life of Lemna minor (duckweed) protein determined by the new method are compared with values obtained by other methods.
The separation and characterization of the methylumbelliferyl β-galactosidases of human liver
Authors: Cheetham P S , Dance N E
Published: August 2015

1. A previously uncharacterized form of human liver acid beta-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23), possibly a dimer of molecular weight 160 000, was resolved by gel filtration. It has the same ability to hydrolyse GM1 ganglioside as the two other acid beta-galactosidase forms. 2. The low-molecular-weight forms of acid beta-galactosidase undergo salt-dependent aggregation. 3. The high-molecular-weight component may consist of the low-molecular-weight forms bound to membrane fragments. It can be converted completely into a mixture of these forms. 4. The neutral beta-galactosidase activity can be resolved into two forms by DEAE-cellulose chromatography. They differ in their response to Cl-ions. 5. A new nomenclature is suggested for the six beta-galactosidases so far found in human liver. 6. The enzymic constituents of the beta-galactosidase bands resolved by electrophoresis were re-examined. The A band contains three components. A two-dimensional electrophoretic procedure for resolving the A band is described. 7. The effect of neuraminidase treatment on the behaviour of beta-galactosidases in various separation systems is examined.
Replication of the deoxyribonucleic acid of multiple-drug-resistance factor in Escherichia coli
Authors: Barker G R , Hardman N , Twose T M
Published: August 2015

1. It was shown that a system previously described for labelling R-factor DNA during transfer to an irradiated recipient strain of Escherichia coli did not allow high selectivity in the incorporation of thymine into R-factor DNA. 2. Lack of selectivity was shown to be due to cross-feeding from recipient to donor strain. 3. An improved system using a nalidixic acid-resistant recipient strain is described in which incorporation of thymine into the DNA of donor cells is minimized by addition of nalidixic acid after completion of transfer of the plasmid during conjugation.
Types I and II collagens in intervertebral disc. Interchanging radial distributions in annulus fibrosus
Authors: Eyre D R , Muir H
Published: August 2015

Intervertebral disc is a highly specialized cartilaginous tissue, containing two genetic types of collagen (I and II). Analysis of peptides from a CNBr digest of collagen showed that the proportions of I and II varied gradually and inversely across pig annulus fibrosus, with exclusively type I at the extreme outer edge and exclusively type II in the nucleus pulposus.
Higher-plant mitochondrial ribosomes contain a 5S ribosomal ribonucleic acid component
Authors: Leaver C J , Harmey M A
Published: August 2015

Ribosomes from higher-plant mitochondria contain 5S rRNA, in contrast with the mitochondrial ribosomes of animals and fungi, in which such a component has not been detected. In common with the ribosomes of prokaryotes and chloroplasts, higher-plant mitochondrial ribosomes do not appear to contain an RNA equivalent to the 5.8 S rRNA that is found in eukaryoytes hydrogen-bonded to the largest of the cytoplasmic rRNA species.
Turkey liver xanthine dehydrogenase. Relation between nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide oxidoreductase activity and the content of functional enzyme
Authors: Fhaoláin I N , Coughlan M P
Published: August 2015

The turkey liver xanthine dehydrogenase-catalysed oxidation of NADH by Methylene Blue, by ferricyanide or by O2 is not dependent on the integrity of the active-centre persulphide groups. By contrast, the NADH-dichlorophenol-indophenol oxidoreductase and NADH-trinitrobenzenesulphonate oxidoreductase activities are directly proportional to the content of functional enzyme. These findings help to identify the sites of egress of electrons to oxidizing substrates.
Kinetic mechanism from steady-state kinetics of the reaction catalysed by baker's-yeast glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase in solution and covalently attached to sepharose
Authors: Gould B J , Goheer M A
Published: August 2015

1. The reaction catalysed by glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (D-glucose 6-phosphate-NADP+ oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.49) from baker's yeast was studied in 42mM-glycylglycine buffer, pH7.4 at 25 degrees C, by initial-velocity studies and by the use of NADPH as a product inhibitor. 2. The reactions catalysed by both the soluble enzyme and a stable enzyme covalently attached to CNBr-activated Sepharose 4B probably follow an ordered reaction mechanism with NADP+ and NADPH as the leading reactants. 3. The kinetic constants obtained for the soluble enzyme lere: KNADP+m, 19 muM; KNADP+s, 23 muM; KNADPHs, 15 muM. Similar values were obtained for the immobilized enzyme. 4. The assay of the immobilized enzyme was done by using a micro packed-bed recirculation reactor, and the advantages of this technique are discussed.
Interaction of pepstatin with pig pepsinogen
Authors: Kay J , Dykes C W
Published: August 2015

In contrast with pepsin, pepsinogen does not bind pepstatin at pH values between 5.3 and 2.5. Pepsinogen is not retarded by pepstatin immobilized on to aminohexyl-Sepharose at pH5.3 or 4.1, whereas at pH3.0 activation takes place during the chromatography, with retardation of the resultant pepsin.
Radioimmunological identification of tropoelastin
Authors: Christner P , Dixon M , Cywinski A , Rosenbloom J
Published: August 2015

Antiserum was prepared in sheep against insoluble elastin isolated from embryonic-chick aortae. In an indirect immunoprecipitation test, the antiserum reacted quantitatively with small amounts of radioactively labelled purified tropoelastin prepared from embryonic-chick aortae. The antiserum did not cross-react with chick procollagen, and the antiserum uas used to identify radioactively labelled tropoelastin secreted by chick aorta cells in suspension culture.
Large-scale purification and characterization of dihydrofolate reductase from a methotrexate-resistant strain of Lactobacillus casei
Authors: Dann J G , Ostler G , Bjur R A , King R W , Scudder P , Turner P C , Roberts G C , Burgen A S
Published: August 2015

Dihydrofolate reductase has been purified from a methotrexate-resistant strain of Lactobacillus casei NCB 6375. By careful attention to growth conditions, up to 2.5 g of enzyme is obtained from a 400 litre culture. The purification procedure, involving poly-ethyleneimine treatment, DEAE-cellulose chromatography and affinity chromatography on methotrexate-aminohexyl-Sepharose, operates on the gram scale, with overall yields of 50-60%. Elution of the affinity column by reverse (upward) flow was used, as it led to recovery of the enzyme in a much smaller volume. The enzyme obtained appears to be more than 98% pure, as judged by gel electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing, and gel filtration. It has a mol.wt. of approx. 17900 and a turnover number of 4s-1 (50mM-triethanolamine/400mM-KCl, pH 7.2, 25 degrees C) with dihydrofolate and NADPH as substrates. The turnover number for folate is 0.02s-1. Michaelis constants for a variety of substrates have been measured by using a new fluorimetric assay (0.36 muM-dihydrofolate; 0.78 muM-NADPH), and binding constants determined by using the quenching of protein fluorescence (dihydrofolate, 2.25 X 10(6)M-1; NADPH, greater than 10(8)M-1). The pH/activity profile shows a single maximum at pH 7.3; at this pH, marked activation by 0.5M-NaCl is observed.
Synthesis of δ-(α-aminoadipyl)cysteinylvaline and its role in penicillin biosynthesis
Authors: Fawcett P A , Usher J J , Huddleston J A , Bleaney R C , Nisbet J J , Abraham E P
Published: August 2015

1. The stereoisomers of delta-(alpha-aminoadipyl)-L-cysteinylvaline (LLD, LLL and DLD) were synthesized from valine labelled with 3H in its methyl groups or in the alpha position. L-Cysteinyl-D-[4,4′-3H]valine was also synthesized. 2. 3H was incorporated into a compound that behaved like penicillin N when the LLD tripeptide containing either a methyl- or an alpha-labelled valine residue was incubated with a cell-free system prepared by lysis of protoplasts of Cephalosporium acremonium. 3. Incorporation was not observed under these conditions from the labelled all-L- or DLD-tripeptide, from L-cysteinyl-D-[4,4′-3H]valine, or of Penicillium chrysogenum appeared to be the LLD isomer, like that from C. acremonium. 5. These findings are discussed in relation to penicillin biosynthesis.
Myosin light-chain phosphatase
Authors: Morgan M , Perry S V , Ottaway J
Published: August 2015

1. A method for the isolation of a new enzyme, myosin light-chain phosphatase, from rabbit white skeletal muscle by using a Sepharose-phosphorylated myosin light-chain affinity column is described. 2. The enzyme migrated as a single component on electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide gel at pH7.0, with apparent mol.wt. 70000. 3. The enzyme was highly specific for the phosphorylated P-light chain of myosin, had pH optima at 6.5 and 8.0 and was not inhibited by NaF. 4. A Ca2+-sensitive ‘ATPase’ (adenosine triphosphatase) system consisting of myosin light-chain kinase, myosin light-chain phosphatase and the P-light chain is described. 5. Evidence is presented for a phosphoryl exchange between Pi, phosphorylated P-light chain and myosin light-chain phosphatase. 6. Heavy meromyosin prepared by chymotryptic digestion can be phosphorylated by myosin light-chain kinase. 7. The ATPase activities of myosin and heavy meromyosin, in the presence and absence of F-actin, were not significantly changed (+/- 10%) by phosphorylation of the P-light chain.
A trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitor from chick peas (Cicer arietinum)
Authors: Smirnoff P , Khalef S , Birk Y , Applebaum S W
Published: August 2015

1. A trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitor was isolated by extraction of chick-pea meal at pH8.3, followed by (NH4)2SO4 precipitation and successive column chromatography on CM-cellulose and calcium phosphate (hydroxyapatite). 2. The inhibitor was pure by polyacrylamide-gel and cellulose acetate electrophoresis and by isoelectric focusing in polyacrylamide gels. 3. The inhibitor had a molecular weight of approx. 10000 as determined by ultracentrifugation and by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate. A molecular weight of 8300 was resolved from its amino acid composition. 4. The inhibitor formed complexes with trypsin and chymotrypsin at molar ratios of 1:1. 5. Limited proteolysis of the inhibitor with trypsin at pH3.75 resulted in hydrolysis of a single-Lys-X-bond and in consequent loss of 85% of the trypsin inhibitory activity and 60% of the chymotrypsin inhibitory activity. Limited proteolysis of the inhibitor with chymotrypsin at pH3.75 resulted in hydrolysis of a single-Tyr-X-bond and in consequent loss of 70% of the trypsin inhibitory activity and in complete loss of the chymotrypsin inhibitory activity. 6. Cleavage of the inhibitor with CNBr followed by pepsin and consequent separation of the products on a Bio Gel P-10 column, yielded two active fragments, A and B. Fragment A inhibited trypsin but not chymotrypsin, and fragment B inhibited chymotrypsin but not trypsin. The specific trypsin inhibitory activity, on a molar ratio, of fragment A was twice that of the native inhibitor, suggesting the unmasking of another trypsin inhibitory site as a result of the cleavage. On the other hand, the specific chymotrypsin inhibitory activity of fragment B was about one-half of that of the native inhibitor, indicating the occurrence of a possible conformational change.
A new type of representation of dipeptide conformation
Authors: Balasubramanian R
Published: August 2015

The possibility of representing the conformations of a pair of peptide units in terms of two parameters, namely angle (nu) between the two peptide planes and the virtual-bond angle delta (C(alpha)i-1, C(alpha)i, C(alpha)i+1), and its usefulness in recognizing unfavourable conformations, is discussed. To exemplify the concept, the local conformations in lysozyme have been plotted in the (nu,delta) plane.
Iso-cytochrome c species from baker's yeast. Analysis of their circular-dichroism spectra
Authors: Looze Y , Polastro E , Gielens C , Léonis J
Published: August 2015

The circular-dichroism spectra of baker's-yeast iso-1- (methylated and unmethylated forms) and iso-2-cytochrome c species were examined between 200 and 600nm. In the visible region the yeast haemoproteins have characteristics nearly indistinguishable from those of horse heart cytochrome c. From the spectra in the u.v. region the latter appears, however, to be more helical. It is proposed that the likely element of non-helical structure in iso-1-cytochrome c is residues 62-70.
Studies on the amino acid-incorporating activity of native rat liver rough membrane and that reconstituted in vitro
Authors: De Groot N , Yuli I J , Czosnek H H , Shiklosh Y , Hochberg A A
Published: August 2015

The amino acid-incorporating activities of free polyribosomes, rough membranes and rough membranes reconstituted in vitro, derived from rat liver, were compared. The amino acid-incorporating activity of the two membrane fractions were very similar in their response towards changes in pH, Mg2+ concentration and temperature, but differed from the response of the amino acid-incorporating activity of free polyribosomes. Free polyribosomes irreversibly lost part of their amino acid-incorporating capacity after they had become bound to rough membrane, from which the original ribosomes had been removed. Ribonuclease activity present in the membrane fraction may be responsible for this loss.
Studies on the response of cholesterol biogenesis in feeding in rats: evidence against the existence of diurnal rhythms
Authors: Fears R , Morgan B
Published: August 2015

1. The biosynthesis of cholesterol was studied, by using various precursors, in rats subjected to several dietary regimes. 2. The use of 3H2O as a substrate to demonstrate differences in cholesterogenesis under various conditions was validated by using rats fed on cholesterol or cholestyramine. Cholesterol feeding resulted in decreased cholesterogenesis, whereas cholestyramine caused an increase. 3. With acetate as precursor, the biosynthesis of both digitonin-precipitable sterol and fatty acids was increased in vitro in response to a meal. 4. In rats fed ad libitum, hepatic cholesterogenesis was increased at midnight relative to mid-morning as measured by using acetate precursor in vitro. However, no such difference was found by using 3H2O in vivo. 5. The lipogenic response was measured in meal-fed rats by using 3H2O or octanoate in vivo. In contrast with findings with acetate in vitro, no postprandial stimulation of cholesterogenesis was seen with either 3H2O or octanoate as precursor, whereas fatty acid biosynthesis from either substrate was increased. 6. These findings are discussed with respect to current theories about the circadian rhythm of cholesterogenesis. Such theories are based on experiments using isolated enzyme measurements or non-physiological precursors such as acetate. 7. It is considered that results obtained with 3H2O give an accurate representation of cholesterogenesis under various conditions, and it is therefore suggested that hepatic cholesterogenesis in rats is not subjected to the same degree of diurnal rhythm as has previously been believed.
The effect of cobalt on the uptake of plasma iron by the liver
Authors: Cunningham V J , De Matteis F , Stonard M D
Published: August 2015

1. After an intraperitoneal injection of 59Fe the recovery of radioactivity in the liver, but not in other tissues, was increased in cobalt-pretreated rats. There was no proportional increase in the radioactivity recovered from liver haem. 2. Rats were injected intravenously with serum containing protein-bound 59Fe and 125I-labelled albumin as a marker. At various times after injection the specific radioactivities of iron in plasma and of non-haem iron in liver were determined; corrections were applied for the content of plasma in samples of liver. In cobalt-pretreated rats there was a more rapid loss of 59Fe radioactivity from the plasma and a corresponding increase in the uptake of 59Fe into liver non-haem iron. 3. The results are discussed in relation to the possible sites of action of cobalt, and the possibility is considered that only a fraction of the liver non-haem iron may be involved.
Non-human primate platelets and arterial tissue cannot convert preformed [14C]lanosterol into[14C]cholesterol in vivo
Authors: Derksen A , Meguid M M , Cohen P
Published: August 2015

In contrast with the prevailing view, we report the inability of non-human primate platelets or arterial tissue to complete the biosynthesis of [14C]cholesterol from [14C]mevalonic acid in vitro or in vivo, or from performed [14C]lanosterol in vivo. The latter observation suggests that these tissues lack one or more components of the methyl sterol demethylase system.
Glucose metabolism in perfused skeletal muscle. Pyruvate dehydrogenase activity in starvation, diabetes and exercise
Authors: Hagg S A , Taylor S I , Ruberman N B
Published: August 2015

1. The interconversion of pyruvate dehydrogenase between its inactive phosphorylated and active dephosphorylated forms was studied in skeletal muscle. 2. Exercise, induced by electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve (5/s), increased the measured activity of (active) pyruvate dehydrogenase threefold in intact anaesthetized rated within 2 min. No further increase was seen after 15 min of stimulation. 3. In the perfused rat hindquarter, (active) pyruvate dehydrogenase activity was decreased by 50% in muscle of starved and diabetic rats. Exercise produced a twofold increase in its activity in all groups; however, the relative differences between fed, starved and diabetic groups persisted. 4. Perfusion of muslce with acetoacetate (2 mM) decreased (active) pyruvate dehydrogenase activity by 50% at rest but not during exercise. 5. Whole-tissue concentrations of pyruvate and citrate, inhibitors of (active) pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase and (inactive) pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphate phosphatase respectively, were not altered by excerise. A decrease in the ATP/ADP ratio was observed, but did not appear to be sufficient to account for the increase in (active) pyruvate dehydrogenase activity. 6. The results suggest that interconversion of the phosphorylated and dephosphorylated forms of pyruvate dehydrogenase plays a major role in the regulation of pyruvate oxidation by eomparison of enzyme activity with measurements of lactate oxidation in the perfused hindquarter [see the preceding paper, Berger et al. (1976)] suggest that pyruvate oxidation is also modulated by the concentrations of substrates, cofactors and inhibitors of (active) pyruvate dehydrogenase activity.
The effects of diphenyleneiodonium on mitochondrial reactions. Relation of binding of diphenylene[125I]iodonium to mitochondria to the extent of inhibition of oxygen uptake
Authors: Gatley S J , Sherratt H S A
Published: August 2015

1. Several ring-substituted derivatives of diphenyleneiodonium catalyse the exchange of Cl- and OH- ions across the inner membrane of rat liver mitochondria. They also inhibit state 3 and state 3u oxidations of glutamate plus malate in the presence of Cl- more than in its absence. Most have activities similar to diphenyleneiodonium, although 2,4-dichlorodiphenyleneiodonium is up to 50 times more active. 2. Diphenyleneiodonium inhibits soluble rat liver NADH dehydrogenase and NADH oxidation by rat liver sub-mitochondrial particles directly; 2,4-dichlorodiphenyleneiodonium is only about twice as inhibitory. 3. Liver mitochondria contain two classes of binding sites for diphenylene[125I]iodonium, namely high-affinity sites with an affinity constant of 3 X 10(5) M-1 (1–2 nmol/mg of protein), and low-affinity sites with an affinity constant of 1.3 X 10(3) M-1 (80 nmol/mg of protein). Both sites occur in hepatocytes with a relative enrichment of the low-affinity site. Nadh dehydrogenase preparations only apparently contain high-affinity binding sites. Only low-affinity sites occur in erythrocytes. 4. 2,4-Dichlorodiphenyleneiodonium competes with diphenylene[125I]iodonium for both low- and high-affinity sites, whereas tri-n-propyltin only competes for the low-affinity sites. 5. The high-affinity sites are apparently associated with NADH dehydrogenase and the low-affinity sites probably represent electrostatic binding of diphenylene[125I]iodonium to phospholipids. The high-affinity site does not appear to be associated with a rate-limiting stage of NADH oxidation.
Transport of sugars in chick-embryo fibroblasts. Evidence for a low-affinity system and a high-affinity system for glucose transport
Authors: Christopher C W , Kohlbacher M S , Amos H
Published: August 2015

The rate of D-glucose uptake by cells that had been deprived of sugar for 18-24h was consistently observed to be 15-20 times higher than that in control cells maintained for the same length of time in medium containing glucose. This increased rate of glucose transport by sugar-starved cells was due to a 3-5-fold increase in the Vmax. value of a low-affinity system (Km 1 mM) combined with an increase in the Vmax of a separate high-affinity system (Km 0.05-0.2 mM). The high-affinity system, which was most characteristic of starved cells, was particularly sensitive to low concentrations of the thiol reagent N-ethylmaleimide; 50% inhibition of uptake occurred at approx. 0.01 mM-N-ethylmaleimide. In contrast with the high-affinity system, the low-affinity system of either the fed cells or the starved cells was unaffected by N-ethylmaleimide. In addition to the increases in the rate of D-glucose transport, cells deprived of sugar had increased rates of transport of 3-O-methyl-D-glucose and 2-deoxy-D-glucose. No measurable high-affinity transport system could be demonstrated for the transport of 3-O-methylgucose, and N-ethylmaleimide did not alter the initial rate. Thus the transport of 3-O-methyglucose by both fed and starved cells was exclusively by the N-ethylmaleimide-insensitive low-affinity system. The low-affinity system also appeared to be the primary means for the transport of 2-deoxyglucose by fed and starved cells. However, some of the transport of 2-deoxyglucose by starved cells was inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide, suggesting that 2-deoxyglucose may also be transported by a high-affinity system. The results of experiments that measured transport kinetics strongly suggest that glucose can be transported by a least two separate systems, and 3-O-methylglucose and 2-deoxyglucose by one. Support for these interpretations comes from the analysis of the effects of N-ethylmaleimide and cycloheximide as well as from the results of competition experiments. The uptake of glucose is quite different from that of 2-deoxyglucose and 3-O-methylglucose. The net result of sugar starvation serves to emphasize these differences. The apparent de-repression of the transport systems studied presents an interesting basis for further studies of the regulation of transport in a variety of cells.
Mammary glucocorticoid receptor of mice in pregnancy and in lactation
Authors: Chomczynski P , Zwierzchowski L
Published: August 2015

Activity of glucocorticoid receptor in mouse mammary cytosol changes during lactogenesis. The highest receptor activity is observed in the second half of pregnancy. The receptor from mammary glands from lactating and pregnant mice exhibits the same sedimentation pattern, as well as the same specificity and affinity for binding of steroid hormones.
Plasma-membrane components can be removed from isolated lymphocytes by the bile salts glycocholate and taurocholate without cell lysis
Authors: Holdsworth G , Coleman R
Published: August 2015

Glycocholate and taurocholate removed from isolated pig lymphocytes a proportion of the cells' complement of 5′-nucleotidase, alkaline phosphatase and alkaline phosphodiesterase I before cell lysis. This may indicate a loss of externally orientated plasma-membrane components.
High rates of [1-14C]acetate incorporation into the lipid of isolated spinach chloroplasts
Authors: Roughan P G , Slack C R , Holland R
Published: August 2015

Spinach chloroplasts, isolated by techniques yielding preparations with high O2- evolving activity, showed rates of light-dependent acetate incorporation into lipids 3-4 fold higher than any previously reported. Incorporation rates as high as 500 nmol of acetate/h per mg of chlorophyll were measured in buffered sorbitol solutions containing only NaHCO3 and [1-14C]acetate, and as high as 800 nmol/h per mg of chlorophyll when 0.13 mM-Triton X-100 was also included in the reaction media. The fatty acids synthesized were predominantly oleic (70-80% of the total fatty acid radioactivity) and palmitic (20-25%) with only minor amounts (1-5%) of linoleic acid. Linolenic acid synthesis was not detected in the system in vitro. Free fatty acids accounted for 70-90% of the radioactivity incorporated and the remainder was shared fairly evenly between 1,2-diacylglycerols and polar lipids. Oleic acid constituted 80-90% of the free fatty acids synthesized, but the diacylglycerols and polar lipids contained slightly more palmitic acid than oleic acid. Triton X-100 stimulated the synthesis of diacylglycerols 3-6 fold, but stimulated free fatty acid synthesis only 1-1.5-fold. Added glycerol 1-phosphate stimulated both the synthesis of diacylglycerols and palmitic acid relative to oleic acid, but did not increase acetate incorporation into total chloroplast lipids. CoA and ATP, when added separately, stimulated acetate incorporation into chloroplast lipids to variable extents and had no effect on the types of lipid synthesized, but when added together resulted in 34% of the incorporated acetate appearing in long-chain acyl-CoA. Pyruvate was a much less effective precursor of chloroplast fatty acids than was acetate.
Poly(ethylene glycol), surface potential and cell fusion
Authors: Maggio B , Ahkong Q F , Lucy J A
Published: August 2015

Poly(ethylene glycol), glycerol and dimethyl sulphoxide markedly decrease the surface potentials of monolayers of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine. This finding is discussed in relation to the properties of hen erythrocytes undergoing fusion induced by poly(ethylene glycol).
Increase in sialic acids removable by neuraminidase during the shape change of platelets
Authors: Motamed M , Michal F , Born G V R
Published: August 2015

Human or rabbit platelets were activated by ADP or 5-hydroxytrypatamine and rapidly fixed with glutaraldehyde. The shape change associated with activation gave rise to an increase in sialic acids removable by neuraminidase. This increase, like the shape change, was prevented by adenosine or methysergide added before ADP or 5-hydroxytryptamine respectively. The results indicate the exposure of additional glycoprotein(s) on the platelet surface.
Uptake and metabolism of tryptophan by the isolated perfused guinea-pig mammary gland
Authors: Mepham B , Peters A R , Davis S R
Published: August 2015

Tryptophan uptake by the isolated perfused lactating guinea-pig mammary gland was 46.5+/-4.6 mug/h per g. Results of absorption studies and the use of [methylene-14C]tryptophan suggest that tryptophan is one of the group of amino acids that are transferred almost quantitatively from blood plasma to milk protein.
Application of a spectrophotometric method to the determination of the composition of oligonucleotides obtained from cysteine transfer ribonucleic acid
Authors: Holness N J , Atfield G
Published: August 2015

1. The applications of methods for determining the composition of oligonucleotides from u.v.-absorption spectra is described. 2. In the first method absorbances at selected wave-lengths were read from the spectra of oligonucleotides in solution in 7 M-urea which had been recorded at acid and alkaline pH values. 3. In the second method absorbances were sampled automatically at regular time-intervals during scans at acid and alkaline pH of each spectrum, converted into digital signals and recorded on paper take for computer processing. The holmium spectrum in the region of the holmium peak at 333.7 nm was superimposed on each nucleotide spectrum. The position of this peak maximum was used as a standard reference point in the computer-based analysis. 4. By using either method the composition was calculated by a least-squares procedure by using a library of values for five standard nucelotides obtained in a similar manner. 5. The methods gave satisfactory compositions for mixtures of mononucleotides as well as for five dinucleoside monophosphates. 6. Methods of minimizing the effects on the nucleotide composition of spectural changes due to base stacking are discussed. 7. The compositions of some oligonucleotides obtained during an investigation of the nucleotide sequence of tRNA (Cys) were determined and agreed with the sequences found by other methods.
Chicken muscle and fibroblast actin structure
Authors: Anderson P J
Published: August 2015

Double labelling and the isolation of peptides specific to muscle actin indicates that completely homologous 20-residue peptides can be produced from the C-terminal regions of muscle and chicken-embryo fibroblast actins by treatment with CNBr. By quantification of the amount of this peptide that can be produced from acetone-dried powders by CNBr treatment, 6.8% of the protein of the fibroblasts has been estimated to be actin.
A method for determining the adenosine triphosphatase content of energy-transducing membranes. reaction of 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan with the adenosine triphosphatase of bovine heart submitochondrial particles
Authors: Ferguson S J , Lloyd W J , Radda G K
Published: August 2015

1. Modification of a single amino acid residue by introduction of the nitrobenzofurazan group inactivates mitochondrial ATPase (adenosine triphosphatase) when membrane-bound in submitochondrial particles. The similarity between the reactions of both membrane-bound and isolated ATPase with 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan indicates that the single essential tryosine residue identified in the isolated enzyme [Ferguson, Loyd, Lyons & Radda (1975) Eur. J. Biochem. 54, 117-126] Is also a feature of the membrane-bound ATPase. 2. A procedure is presented for estimating the ATPase content of the inner mitochondrial membrane. It is based on the specificity of the incorporation of the nitrobenzofurazan group, and the ready removal of this group by compounds that contain a thiol group. This method indicates that 8.5% of the membrane protein is ATPase. The procedure should be applicable to the titration of the energy-transducing ATPases of bacterial plasma membranes and of the thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts. 3. Combination of the data obtained on the ATPase content of the bovine heart inner mitochondrial membrane with a titration of the cytochrome bc1 complex with antimycin indicates that these two components of the membrane are present in approximately equal amounts.
Purification and characterization of the catalytic subunit of adenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate-dependent protein kinase from bovine liver
Authors: Sugden P H , Holladay L A , Reimann E M , Corbin J D
Published: August 2015

1. The catalytic subunit of bovine liver cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (EC2.7.1.37) was purified essentially by the method of Reimann & Corbin [(1976) Fed. Proc. Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol. 35, 1384]. 2. Sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, sedimentation-velocity centrifugation and sedimentation-equilibrium centrifugation showed that the catalytic subunit was monodisperse. Polyacrylamide-gel isoelectric-focusing electrophoresis revealed the presence of at least three isoenzyme forms of catalytic subunit activity with slightly different pI values (6.72, 7.04 and 7.35). 3. Physical properties of the catalytic subunit were determined by several different methods. It had mol.wt. 39000-42000, Stokes radium 2.73-3.08 nm, so20.w 3.14S, f/fo 1.19-1.23 and, assuming a prolate ellipsoid, axial ration 4-5. 4. Amino acid analysis was performed on the catalytic subunit. It had one cysteine residue/molecule which was essential for activity. Inhibition by thiol-specific reagents was partially prevented by the presence of ATP-Mg2+. 5. The circular-dichroic spectrum showed the catalytic subunit contained 29% α-helical form, 18% β-form and 53% aperiodic form. Near-u.v. circular dichroism showed the presence of aromatic residues whose equivalent molar ellipticity was greatly altered by the addition of ATP-Mg2+. 6. Kinetic experiments showed that the catalytic subunit had an apparent Km for ATP of 7 muM. 5'-Adenylyl imidodiphosphate inhibitied competitively with ATP with a Ki of 60 muM. The kinetic plot for histone (Sigma, type II-A) was biphasic showing ‘high’-and ‘low’-Km segments. Under assay conditions the specific activity of the catalytic subunit was 3 × 10(6) units/mg of protein. Of various metal ions tested, the catalytic subunit was most active with Mg2+.7. When assayed with histone (Sigma, type II-A) as substrate, the activity of the catalytic subunit was increased by non-ionic detergents or urea. No such activation was observed with casein as substrate.
Adenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate-binding proteins in bovine and rat tissues
Authors: Sugden P H , Corbin J D
Published: August 2015

1. At least two classes of high-affinity cyclic AMP-binding proteins have been identified: those derived from cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinases (regulatory subunits) and those that bind a wide range of adenine analogues (adenine analogue-binding proteins). 2. In fresh-tissue extracts, regulatory subunits could be further subdivided into ‘type I’ or ‘type II’ depending on whether they were derived from ‘type I’ or ‘type II’ protein kinase [see Corbin et al. (1975) J. Biol. Chem. 250, 218-225]. 3. The adenine analogue-binding protein was detected in crude tissue supernatant fractions of bovine and rat liver. It differed from the regulatory subunit of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase in many of its properties. Under the conditions of assay used, the protein accounted for about 45% of the binding of cyclic AMP to bovine liver supernatants. 4. The adenine analogue-binding protein from bovine liver was partially purified by DEAE-cellulose and Sepharose 6B chromatography. It had mol.wt. 185000 and was trypsin-sensitive. As shown by competition and direct binding experiments, it bound adenosine and AMP in addition to cyclic AMP. At intracellular concentrations of adenine nucleotides, binding of cyclic AMP was essentially completely inhibited in vitro. Adenosine binding was inhibited by only 30% under similar conditions. 5. Rat tissues were examined for the presence of the adenine analogue-binding protein, and, of those examined (adipose tissue, heart, brain, testis, kidney and liver), significant amounts were only found in the liver. The possible physiological role of the adenine analogue-binding protein is discussed. 6. Because the adenine analogue-binding protein or other cyclic AMP-binding proteins in tissues may be products of partial proteolysis of the regulatory subunit of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, the effects of trypsin and aging on partially purified protein kinase and its regulatory subunit from bovine liver were investigated. In all studies, the effects of trypsin and aging were similar. 7. In fresh preparations, the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase had mol.wt. 150000. Trypsin treatment converted it into a form of mol.wt 79500. 8. The regulatory subunit of the protein kinase had mol.wt. 87000. It would reassociate with and inhibit the catalytic subunit of the enzyme. Trypsin treatment of the regulatory subunit produced a species of mol.wt. 35500 which bound cyclic AMP but did not reassociate with the catalytic subunit. Trypsin treatment of the protein kinase and dissociation of the product by cyclic AMP produced a regulatory subunit of mol.wt. 46500 which reassociated with the catalytic subunit. 9. These results may be explained by at least two trypsin-sensitive sites on the regulatory subunit. A model for the effects of trypsin is described.
The effects of deoxyribonucleic acid secondary structure on tertiary structure
Authors: Campbell A M
Published: August 2015

The secondary structure of supercoiled DNA was varied by changes in ionic strength. For I = 0.075-0.4 the structure remained in the previously established branched form with only minor alterations in molecular dimensions. In 4M-NaCl, which induces linear DNA to change its secondary structure to the C structure and brings about an increase in the superhelix density of the molecule, no extra branches were observed on the molecules. The limiting factors that dictate supercoil structure seem to be the number and position of potential branch points and the proximity with which the two intertwining DNA strands can approach each other on the arms of the branches. This value is close to 10nm under the conditions described, and is 14-15nm at I = 0.2. It is suggested that such values should be borne in mind when models of chromosome structure are being constructed.
The amino acid sequence of rabbit cardiac troponin I
Authors: Grand R J A. , Wilkinson J M , More L E
Published: August 2015

The complete amino acid sequence of troponin I from rabbit cardiac muscle was determined by the isolation of four unique CNBr fragments, together with overlapping tryptic peptides containing radioactive methionine residues. Overlap data for residues 35-36, 93-94 and 140-145 are incomplete, the sequence at these positions being based on homology with the sequence of the fast-skeletal-muscle protein. Cardiac troponin I is a single polypeptide chain of 206 residues with mol.wt. 23550 and an extinction coefficient, E 1%,1cm/280, of 4.37. The protein has a net positive charge of 14 and is thus somewhat more basic than troponin I from fast-skeletal muscle. Comparison of the sequences of troponin I from cardiac and fast skeletal muscle show that the cardiac protein has 26 extra residues at the N-terminus which account for the larger size of the protein. In the remainder of sequence there is a considerable degree of homology, this being greater in the C-terminal two-thirds of the molecule. The region in the cardiac protein corresponding to the peptide with inhibitory activity from the fast-skeletal-muscle protein is very similar and it seems unlikely that this is the cause of the difference in inhibitory activity between the two proteins. The region responsible for binding troponin C, however, possesses a lower degree of homology. Detailed evidence on which the sequence is based has been deposited as Supplementary Publication SUP 50072 (20 pages), at the British Library Lending Division, Boston Spa, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS23 7QB, U.K., from whom copies may be obtained on the terms given in Biochem. J. (1976) 153, 5.
Characterization of the glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in rat liver mitochondria
Authors: Grunwald M , Hill H Z
Published: August 2015

Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in rat liver mitochondria can be released by detergent. The released activity is separated by chromatography into two peaks. One peak has the kinetic behaviour and mobility similar to the soluble sex-linked enzyme, whereas the other peak is similar to the microsomal hexose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase. There is no evidence for the existence of a new glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in rat liver mitochondria.
An electrophoretic study of the reversible binding of phosphate to ovalbumin
Authors: Drewe R H , Winzor D J
Published: August 2015

An electrophoretic method is described for the measurement of relatively weak interaction of ions with proteins, and illustrated with the ovalbumin-phosphate system in 0.1I buffers, pH6.1. Results indicate that under these conditions the interaction of a single dibasic phosphate ion with ovalbumin is described by an association constant of approx. 250M-1.
Glycosylation in vitro of an asparagine sequon catalysed by preparations of yeast cell membranes
Authors: Khalkhali Z , Marshall R D , Reuvers F , Habets-Willems C , Boer P
Published: August 2015

Preparations of yeast cell membranes can catalyse in vitro the N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminylation of the asparagine sequon at residues 34-36 of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A. The relevant glycopeptides were isolated from tryptic hydrolysates of the glycosylated ribonuclease and analysed. The donor used was UDP-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, although the mechanism of the transfer is unknown. Mn2+ ions at concentrations of 25 mM double the activity of the enzymic transfer.
Collagen synthesis and deposition in cartilage during disrupted proteoglycan production
Authors: Dondi P , Muir H
Published: August 2015

A simple system was developed to investigate in vitro the possible relationship between collagen and proteoglycan synthesis in cartilage. When production of complete proteoglycan molecules was effectively inhibited with 4-methylumbelliferyl beta-D-xyloside collagen synthesis and distribution were virtually unaffected.
Studies on the control of 4-aminobutyrate metabolism in ‘synaptosomal’ and free rat brain mitochondria
Authors: Walsh J M , Clark J B
Published: August 2015

1. The specific activities of 4-aminobutyrate aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.19) and succinate semialdehyde dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.16) were significantly higher in brain mitochondria of non-synaptic origin (fraction M) than those derived from the lysis of synaptosomes (fraction SM2). 2. The metabolisms of 4-aminobutyrate in both ‘free’ (non-synaptic, fraction M) and ‘synaptic’ (fraction SM2) rat brain mitochondria was studied under various conditions. 3. It is proposed that 4-aminobutyrate enters both types of brain mitochondria by a non-carrier-mediated process. 4. The rate of 4-aminobutyrate metabolism was in all cases higher in the ‘free’ (fraction M) brain mitochondria than in the synaptic (fraction SM2) mitochondria, paralleling the differences in the specific activities of the 4-aminobutyrate-shunt enzymes. 5. The intramitochondrial concentration of 2-oxoglutarate appears to be an important controlling parameter in the rate of 4-aminobutyrate metabolism, since, although 2-oxoglutarate is required, high concentrations (2.5 mM) of extramitochondrial 2-oxoglutarate inhibit the formation of aspartate via the glutamate-oxaloacetate transaminase. 6. The redox state of the intramitochondrial NAD pool is also important in the control of 4-aminobutyrate metabolism; NADH exhibits competitive inhibition of 4-aminobutyrate metabolism by both mitochondrial populations with an apparent Ki of 102 muM. 7. Increased potassium concentrations stimulate 4-aminobutyrate metabolsim in the synaptic mitochondria but not in ‘free’ brain mitochondria. This is discussed with respect to the putative transmitter role of 4-aminobutyrate.
Metabolism of methionine and biosynthesis of caffeine in the tea plant (Camellia sinensis L.)
Authors: Suzuki T , Takahashi E
Published: August 2015

1. Caffeine biosynthesis was studied by following the incorporation of 14C into the products of L-[Me-14C]methionine metabolism in tea shoot tips. 2. After administration of a ‘pulse’ of L-[Me-14C]methionine, almost all of the L-[Me-14C]methionine supplied disappeared within 1 h, and 14C-labelled caffeine synthesis increased throughout the experimental periods, whereas the radioactivities of an unknown compound and theobromine were highest at 3 h after the uptake of L-[Me-14C]methionine, followed by a steady decrease. There was also slight incorporation of the label into 7-methylxanthine, serine, glutamate and aspartate, disappearing by 36 h after the absorption of L-[Me-14C]methionine. 3. The radioactivities of nucleic acids derived from L-[Me-14C]methionine increased rapidly during the first 12 h incubation period and then decreased steadily. Sedimentation analysis of nucleic acids by sucrose-gradient centrifugation showed that methylation of nucleic acids in tea shoot tips occurred mainly in the tRNA fraction. The main product among the methylated bases in tea shoot tips was identified as 1-methyladenine. 4. The results indicated that the purine ring in caffeine is derived from the purine nucleotides in the nucleotide pool rather than in nucleic acids. A metabolic scheme to show the production of caffeine and related methylxanthines from the nucleotides in tea plants is discussed.
Insulin regulation of amino acid transport in mesenchymal cells from avian and mammalian tissues
Authors: Guidotti G G , Borghetti A F , Gazzola G C , Tramacere M , Dall'asta V
Published: August 2015

Insulin regulation of amino acid transport across the cell membrane was studied in a variety of mesenchymal cell directly isolated from avian and mammalian tissues or collected from confluent cultures. Transport activity of the principal systems of mediation in the presence and absence of insulin was evaluated by measuring the uptake of representative amino acids under conditions approaching initial entry rates. Insulin enhanced the transport rate of substrate amino acids from the A system(α-aminoisobutyric acid, L-proline, glycine, L-alanine and L-serine) in fibroblasts and osteoblasts from chick-embryo tissues, in mesenchymal cells (fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells) from immature rat uterus, in thymic lymphocytes from young rats and in chick-embryo fibroblasts from confluent secondary cultures. In these tissues, the uptake of amino acid substrates of transport systems L and Ly+ (L-leucine, L-phenylalanine, L-lysine) was not affected by the presence of the hormone. No insulin control of amino acid transport was detected in chick-embryo chondroblasts and rat peritoneal macrophages. These observations identify the occurrence of hormonal regulatory patterns of amino acid transport for different mesenchymal cells types and indicate that these properties emerge early during cell differentiation.