bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The amino acid sequence of the α chain of the major haemoglobin of the rat (Rattus norvegicus)
Authors: Chua C G , Carrell R W , Howard B H
Published: August 2015

1. A partial amino acid sequence of the α chain from the rat (Wistar, Rattus norvegicus) major haemoglobin is reported. The soluble tryptic peptides prepared from aminoethylated α-globin were separated by peptide ‘mapping’. Sequencing of the tryptic peptides was carried out by the dansyl-Edman method and by the overlapping of smaller peptide fragments derived from secondary enzymic digestion. The insoluble ‘core’ peptides were further digested with chymotrypsin, thermolysin and pepsin to give smaller soluble peptides for sequencing. The tryptic peptides were ordered on the basis of their homology with the corresponding peptides of human α chain. 2. The proposed sequence is compared with that obtained by using an automated sequencer [Garrick et al. (1975) Biochem. J.149, 245-258]. The differences in sequence resulting from the two methods are discussed. 3. It is suggested that the externally situated cysteine (residue 13) is responsible for the observed inhibition of crystallization of rat haemoglobin at alkaline pH. 4. Detailed evidence for the sequence has been deposited as Supplementary Publication SUP 50047 (9 pages) at the British Library (Linding Division), Boston Spa, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS23 7BQ, U.K., from which copies can be obtained on the terms given in Biochem. J. (1975) 145, 5.
The stereospecificity of sequential nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide-dependent oxidoreductases in relation to the evolution of metabolic sequences
Authors: do Nascimento K H , Davies D D
Published: August 2015

The generalization that ‘when a metabolic sequence involves consecutive nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide-dependent reactions, the dehydrogenases have the same stereospecificity’ was tested and confirmed for three metabolic sequences. (1) NAD+-xylitol (D-xylulose) dehydrogenase and NADP+-xylitol (L-xylulose) dehydrogenase are both B-specific. (2) D-Mannitol 1-phosphate dehydrogenase and D-sorbitol 6-phosphate dehydrogenase are both B-specific. (3) meso Tartrate dehydrogenase and oxaloglycollate reductive decarboxylase are both A-specific. Other dehydrogenases associated with the metabolism of meso-tartrate in Pseudomonas putida, such as hydroxypyruvate reductase and tartronate semialdehyde reductase, were also shown to be A-specific. Malate dehydrogenase from Pseudomonas putida was A-specific, and the proposition is discussed that the common A-stereospecificity among the dehydrogenases involved in meso-tartrate metabolism reflects their origin from malate dehydrogenase.
Horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase. A study of the essential lysine residue
Authors: Chen S S , Engel P C
Published: August 2015

1. The inactivation of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate in phosphate buffer, pH8, at 10°C was investigated. Activity declines to a minimum value determined by the pyridoxal 5'-phosphate concentration. The maximum inactivation in a single treatment is 75%. This limit appears to be set by the ratio of the first-order rate constants for interconversion of inactive covalently modified enzyme and a readily dissociable non-covalent enzyme-modifier complex. 2. Reactivation was virtually complete on 150-fold dilution: first-order analysis yielded an estimate of the rate constant (0.164min-1), which was then used in the kinetic analysis of the forward inactivation reaction. This provided estimates for the rate constant for conversion of non-covalent complex into inactive enzyme (0.465 min-1) and the dissociation constant of the non-covalent complex (2.8 mM). From the two first-order constants, the minimum attainable activity in a single cycle of treatment may be calculated as 24.5%, very close to the observed value. 3. Successive cycles of modification followed by reduction with NaBH4 each decreased activity by the same fraction, so that three cycles with 3.6 mM-pyridoxal 5'-phosphate decreased specific activity to about 1% of the original value. The absorption spectrum of the enzyme thus treated indicated incorporation of 2-3 mol of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate per mol of subunit, covalently bonded to lysine residues. 4. NAD+ and NADH protected the enzyme completely against inactivation by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, but ethanol and acetaldehyde were without effect. 5. Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate used as an inhibitor in steady-state experiments, rather than as an inactivator, was non-competitive with respect to both NADH and acetaldehyde. 6. The partially modified enzyme (74% inactive) showed unaltered apparent Km values for NAD+ and ethanol, indicating that modified enzyme is completely inactive, and that the residual activity is due to enzyme that has not been covalently modified. 7. Activation by methylation with formaldehyde was confirmed, but this treatment does not prevent subsequent inactivation with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. Presumably different lysine residues are involved. 8. It is likely that the essential lysine residue modified by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate is involved either in binding the coenzymes or in the catalytic step. 9. Less detailed studies of yeast alcohol dehydrogenase suggest that this enzyme also possesses an essential lysine residue.
Purification and characterization of lipoprotein lipase from pig myocardium
Authors: Ehnholm C , Kinnunen P K J. , Huttunen J K , Nikkilä E A , Ota M
Published: August 2015

1. Lipoprotein lipase was purified from pig myocardium by a two-step purification procedure involving (a) the formation of an enzyme-substrate complex and (b) affinity chromatography on Sepharose which contained covalently linked heparin. The purified enzyme gave in sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis one main band with an apparent molecular weight of 73 000. The enzyme, which was purified 70 000-fold, had a specific activity of 860 μmol of unesterified fatty acid liberated/h per mg of protein. 2. The purified enzyme hydrolysed [14C]triolein emulsions in the absence of added cofactors but its activity was increased fivefold by adding normal human serum. Of the low-density lipoprotein apoproteins only apolipoprotein CII could be substituted for serum in activating the enzyme. This lipase had maximum activity at 0.05-0.15 M-NaCl. Heparin increased the activity of the purified enzyme twofold at low concentrations, but high concentrations inhibited. The triglyceride lipase of pig myocardium thus resembles lipoprotein lipase purified from adipose tissue and from plasma, but is clearly different from pig hepatic triglyceride lipase.
2-Amino-2-deoxygalacturonic acid in lipopolysaccharides from Pseudomonas aerugimosa
Authors: Wilkinson S G , Welbourn A P
Published: August 2015

2-Amino-2-deoxygalacturonic acid was identified as a component of the lipopolysaccharide from Pseudomonas aeruginosa N.C.T.C. 8505. The compound probably occurs in the region of polysaccharide responsible for O-antigenic specificity.
The accumulation of aspartate in the presence of ethanol in rat liver
Authors: Stubbs M , Krebs H A
Published: August 2015

1. Isolated hepatocytes were used to establish the reasons for the accumulation of aspartate, previously observed when the isolated rat liver was perfused with ethanol in the presence of alanine or ammonium lactate. 2. The isolated cells did not form aspartate when incubated with alanine and ethanol, but much aspartate was formed on incubation with ammonium lactate and ethanol. 3. Urea was the main nitrogenous product on incubation with alanine, in contrast with the perfused liver, where major quantities of NH4+ are also formed. When the formation of urea was nullified by the addition of urease, alanine plus ethanol caused aspartate formation, indicating that aspartate formation depends on the presence of critical concentrations of NH4+. 4. The accumulated aspartate was present in the cytosol. Ethanol halved the content of 2-oxoglutarate in the cytosol and more than trebled that of glutamate in the mitochondria. 5. The findings support the assumption that 2-oxoglutarate formed by the mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase is not translocated to the cytosol in the presence of ethanol and NH4+, because it is rapidly converted into glutamate, the dehydrogenation of ethanol providing the required NADH. Aspartate, however, is translocated to the cytosol and accumulates there because of the lack of stoicheiometric amounts of oxoglutarate.
Surface labelling for human tumour KB cells. Iodination and fractionation of membrane glycoproteins
Authors: Butters T D , Hughes R C
Published: August 2015

1. Human tumour KB cells growing in suspension culture were labelled by lactoperoxidase-catalysed iodination. Several major radioactively labelled proteins were detected by poly-acrylamide-gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulphate. 2. After reduction with 2-mercaptoethanol the major radioactive electrophoretic bands migrated as substances with apparent molecular weights of about 90,000, 70,000, 60,000, 50,000 and 34,000 and corresponded closely to the positions at which the major glycosylated polypeptide subunits of KB-cell homogenates migrated during electrophoresis under the same conditions. 3. All the iodinated protein bands except one were present in purified preparations of KB plasma membranes. 4. Most of the 50,000-molecular-weight species, supposedly a surface protein component labelled during iodination of intact and viable KB cells by a non-penetrating enzyme reagent, appeared in a crude nuclear pellet during fractionation. 5. The glyco-protein nature of the major external iodinated species of KB cells was confirmed by adsorption chromatography of these substances, dissolved in low concentrations of Triton X-100, on a lectin-Sepharose column. Two major enzyme markers of the KB plasma membrane, 5′-nucleotidase and alkaline phosphatase were also found to be glycoproteins. 6. Enzyme-catalysed incorporation of radioactive iodine into a fraction of low molecular weight and soluble in chloroform-methanol mixtures also occurred during lactoperoxidase treatment of intact KB cells. The partial characterization of this fraction is briefly described.
Properties of 5-aminolaevulinate synthetase and its relationship to microsomal mixed-function oxidation in the southern armyworm (Spodoptera eridania)
Authors: Brattsten L B , Wilkinson C F
Published: August 2015

1. Activity of 5-aminolaevulinate synthetase was measured in the midgut and other tissues of the last larval instar of the southern armyworm (Spodoptera eridania Cramer, formerly Prodenia eridania Cramer). 2. Optimum conditions for measuring the activity were established with respect to all variables involved and considerable differences from those reported for mammalian enzyme preparations were found. 3. Maximum activity (20 nmol/h per mg of protein) occurs 18-24 h after the fifth moult and thereafter decreases to trace amounts as the larvae age and approach pupation. 4. Synthetase activity was rapidly induced by oral administration (in the diet) of pentamethylbenzene, phenobarbital, diethyl 1,4-dihydro-2,4,6-trimethylpyridine-3, 5-dicarboxylate, and 2-allyl-2-isopropylacetamide. 5. Puromycin inhibited the induction of synthetase by pentamethylbenzene. 6. Induction of 5-aminolaevulinate synthetase correlated well with the induction of microsomal N-demethylation of p-chloro-N-methylaniline, except for phenobarbital, which induced the microsomal oxidase relatively more than the synthetase.
Differential subnuclear distribution of polyadenylate-rich ribonuclei acid during induction of egg-yolk protein synthesis in male Xenopus liver by oestradiol-17β
Authors: Tata J R , Baker B
Published: August 2015

A 4-8-fold increase in the rate of hepatic nuclear RNA synthesis occurred within 11 h after a single injection of oestradiol-17 β to male Xenopus to induce egg-yolk protein synthesis. 2. By using a gentle procedure for fractionating nuclei into their major structurally different components [J. R. Tata& B. Baker (1974) Exp. Cell Res. 83. 111-124], it was found that the hormone-induced increase in the total amount of newly made RNA was associated with a 2-10-fold increase in the poly(A) content of nuclear RNA. 3. When the poly (A) content of nuclear RNA was determined by hybridization to poly[3H](U) or specific binding to oligo(dT)-cellulose, most of the increase (10-fold) in poly (A) content of newly synthesized RNA was associated with the euchromatin fractions, whereas the increase was less marked in the other subnuclear fractions. 4. Resolution of nuclear RNA into poly (A)-poor and poly(A)-rich RNA species by chromatography on oligo(dT)-cellulose, followed by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis with sodium dodecyl sulphate or in the pressence of 99% formamide, revealed that the hormone caused a preferential enhancement of high-molecular-weight (25S-60S) poly (A)-rich HnRNA (heterogeneous nuclear RNA,) much of which was associated with euchromatin and not with the nuclear sap. 5. Induction of vitellogenin in male frogs was in particular characterized by the appearance of a high-molecular-weight polyadenylated component exhibiting a peak at 35-36S, i.e. a molecular weight of approx. 2.05×10(6)+∕-0.15×10(6). Although there is no evidence as yet that such a polyadenylated high-molecular-weight nuclear RNA species contains sequences corresponding to vitellogenin mRNA, it is possible that a high proportion of the most stable form of the putative nuclear precursor to vitellogenin mRNA induced by oestrogen in male Xenopus liver may be only marginally bigger than the cytoplasmic mRNA, and may at any one time be predominantly associated with the euchromatin fraction.
Gene activities for ribosomal components in Escherichia coli B/r
Authors: Bremer H , Dennis P P
Published: August 2015

The relative transcriptional activities of genes coding for ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and ribosomal proteins (r-proteins) at a steady-state growth rates ranging from 0.65 to 2.1 doublings/h can be estimated from previous measurements of the synthesis rates of stable and unstable RNA (Pato & von Meyenburg, 1970; Nierlich, 1972a,b; Bremer et al., 1973; Dennis & Bremer, 1973b, 1974b) and ribosomal proteins (Schleif, 1967; Dennis & Bremer, 1974a). Comparison of these transcriptional activities suggests that the expression of the r-protein genes and rRNA genes is controlled seperately.
A quenched-flow study of the reaction catalysed by creatine kinase
Authors: Engelborghs Y , Marsh A , Gutfreund H
Published: August 2015

The reaction catalysed by creatine kinase was studied in both directions by quenched-flow techniques to follow the initial product formation in the millisecond range. In both directions the amount of product formed increases linearly with time, and the turnover number corresponds to the steady-state value. Extrapolation to zero time indicates the absence of either a large transient phase or a large lag phase in both directions. This indicates that the actual chemical reaction is rate-limiting, and that all possible isomerizations before or after the chemical step must be much more rapid.
Poly(glucosylglycerol phosphate) teichoic acid in the walls of Bacillus stearothermophilus B65
Authors: Anderson A J , Archibald A R
Published: August 2015

1. Walls of Bacillus stearothermophilus B65 contain a glycerol teichoic acid in which repeating structures consisting of 1-O-α-D-glucopyranosylglycerol phosphate are held together by phosphodiester linkage between the glycerol and glucose moieties of adjacent units. 2. The walls are not agglutinated on incubation with concanavalin A, nor does the isolated teichoic acid form a precipitate with this lectin. 3. No evidence was obtained of the presence of the glucosylated (1 leads to 2)-poly(glycerol phosphate) teichoic acid which has previously been reported to occur in walls of this bacterium.
A product-inhibition study of bovine liver glutamate dehydrogenase
Authors: Engel P C , Chen S S
Published: August 2015

1. Initial rates of oxidative deamination of L-glutamate with NAD+ as coenzyme, and of reductive aminiation of 2-oxoglutarate with NADH as coenzyme, catalysed by bovine liver glutamate dehydrogenase were measured in 0.111 M-sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7, at 25 degrees C, in the absence and presence of product inhibitors. All 12 possible combinations of variable substrate and product inhibitor were used. 2. Strict competition was observed between NAD+ and NADH, and between glutamate and 2-oxoglutarate. All other inhibition patterns were clearly non-competitive, except for inhibition by NH4+ with NAD+ as variable substrate. Here the extrapolation did not permit a clear distinction between competitive and non-competitive inhibition. 3. Mutually non-competitive behaviour between glutamate and NH4+ indicates that these substrates can be bound at the active site simultaneously. 4. Primary Lineweaver-Burk plots and derived secondary plots of slopes and intercepts against inhibitor concentration were linear, with one exception: with 2-oxoglutarate as variable substrate, the replot of primary intercepts against inhibitory NAD+ concentration was curved. 5. Separate Ki values were evaluated for the effect of each product inhibitor on the individual terms in the reciprocal initial-rate equations. With this information it is possible to calculate rates for any combination of substrate concentrations within the experimental range with any concentration of a single product inhibitor. 6. The inhibition patterns are consistent with neither a simple compulsory-order mechanism nor a rapid-equilibrium random-order mechanism without modification. They can, however, be reconciled with either type of mechanism by postulating appropirate abortive complexes. Of the two compulsory sequences that have been proposed, one, that in which the order of binding is NADH, NH4+, 2-oxoglutarate, requires an implausible pattern of abortive complex-formation to account for the results. 7. On the basis of a rapid-equilibrium random-order mechanism, dissociation constants can be calculated from the Ki values. Where these can be compared with independent estimates from the kinetics of the uninhibited reaction or from direct measurements of substrate binding, the agreement is reasonable good. On balance, therefore, the results provide further support for the rapid-equilibrium random-order mechanism under these conditions.
Sequence studies on the constant region of the Fd sections of rabbit immunoglobulin G of different allotype
Authors: Pratt D M , Mole L E
Published: August 2015

The amino acid sequence has been completed for the constant region of the Fd fragments of heavy chains from rabbit IgG (immunoglobulin G) of allotype Aa1 and Aa3. The amino acid sequence given by Fruchter et al. [(1970) Biochem. J. 116, 249-259] for the constant region of the Fd fragment from Aa1 IgG was extended and in in part corrected to give a continuous sequence of 140 residues. No allotype-related sequence variation was found in the constant section of the Fd fragment. This evidence confirms the view that the differences in sequence between the variable regions of Aa1 and Aa3 IgG [Mole et al., (1971) Biochem. J. 124, 301-318] are responsible for the allotypic specificities.
Effects of polyamines and methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone) on hepatic nuclear structure and deoxyribonucleic acid template activity
Authors: Brown K B , Nelson N F , Brown D G
Published: August 2015

1. The interaction of polyamines and methylglyoxal bis(guanythydrazone) (1, 1′-[(methylethanediylidene)-dinitrilo]diguanidine) with isolated rat liver nuclei was investigated by electron microscopy. 2. At 4mM, putrescine was without effect; however, spermidine, spermine or methylglyoxal bis(guanythydrazone) resulted in dispersed chromatin and alterations in nucleolar structure. In addition, spermidine or methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone) caused marked aggregation of interchromatin granules. 3. The DNA template property of calf thymus DNA was examined by using DNA polymerases from Escherichia coli, Micrococcus lysodeikticus and calf thymus in the presence of 0-5 mM-amine. 4. In the presence of DNA polymerase, spermine or methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone) inhibited activity, whereas putrescine or spermidine had much less effect or in some cases stimulated [3H]dTMP incorporation. 5. Template activity which was inhibited by spermine or methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone) could be partially restored by additional DNA or enzyme. 6. When mixed with calf thymus DNA, calf thymus histone inhibited template activity as measured with E. coli DNA polymerase. The template activity of such a ‘histone-nucleate’ could not be restored by putrescine, spermidine, spermine or methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone). 7. DNA template activity of isolated rat liver nuclei was tested by using E. coli DNA polymerase. None of the amines was able to increase the template activity of the nuclear DNA in vitro.
Purification and properties of a specific collagenase from rabbit synovial fibroblasts
Authors: Werb Z , Reynolds J J
Published: August 2015

1. A specific collagenase from the culture medium of rabbit synovial fibroblasts was purified by gel filtration and ion-exchange chromatography. 2. The enzyme was homogenous on polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and showed only traces of contaminants when tested in gels with a non-specific antiserum. 3. The rabbit fibroblast collagenase could hydrolyse collagen both in solution and in fibrillar form. Viscometry showed that at 35°C the purified enzyme could hydrolyse >50 nmol of collagen/min per mg of enzyme. 4. The purified collagenase cleaved collagen in solution at either 24°or 35°C into the characteristic 1/4 and 3/4-length fragments. However, as compared with the impure enzyme, the purified enzyme at 35°C had a much decreased capacity to further degrade the initial specific cleavage products. 5. The specific rabbit collagenase had a mol. wt. of approx. 32000 as estimated by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, and 35000 by gel filtration.
Purification of the Thy-1 molecule, a major cell-surface glycoprotein of rat thymocytes
Authors: Letarte-Muirhead M , Barclay A N , Williams A F
Published: August 2015

The Thy-1-molecule, which was identified by its antigenic activities, has been purified from rat thymocytes. The purification involved preparation of crude membranes and solubilization in deoxycholate, followed by gel filtration and affinity chromatography on antibody or lectin columns. In all cases the purified molecule was a glycoprotein that did not form higher polymers and was not associated with other polypeptide chains. The Thy-1 glycoprotein could be found in two forms, one binding to lentil lectin, the other not. Both forms had the same detectable antigens and were of a similar but not identical size. After sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis the apparent molecular weight of Thy-1 binding to lentil lectin was 25 000, whereas that not binding to the lectin was 27 000, with heterogeneity towards forms of apparently higher molecular weight.
The binding of nicotinamide-adenine dimucleotide to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Bacillus stearothermophilus
Authors: Allen G , Harris J I
Published: August 2015

The binding of NAD+ to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.12) from Bacillus stearothermophilus has been studied by measurement of protein fluorescence quenching. Slight negative co-operativity was observed in the binding of the third and fourth coenzyme molecules to the tetrameric enzyme. The first two coenzyme molecules were tightly bound. In this respect the enzyme resembles that from sturgeon muscle rather than that from yeast.
Crystallization of one of the chicken pepinogens and its derived pepsin
Authors: Green M L
Published: August 2015

Dodecahedral crystals of chicken pepsinogen have been prepared, one perfect cystal having the dimensions 0.090mm × 0.086mm × 0.009mm. The derived pepsin crystallized in the form of flat plates, often with one rounded end. The dimensions of one such crystal wer 0.076mm × 0.043mm. Both types of protein crystals showed full enzymic or potential enzymic activity.
The androgenic regulation of the activities of enzymes engaged in the synthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid in rat ventral prostate gland
Authors: Rennie P S , Symes E K , Mainwaring W J
Published: August 2015

1. The restoration of mitosis and growth of the prostate gland of castrated animals by androgens provides a favourable experimental system for studying the hormonal regulation of enzymes engaged in DNA replication. 2. Many DNA polymerase activities were identified in the prostate gland, but only a 9S form with a particular preference for denatured DNA as template was conspicuously enhanced by androgenic stimulation. 3. Thymidine kinase also provided a sensitive indicator of the hormonal regulation of DNA replication, and on electrophoretic criteria, one discrete form of the enzyme appeared precisely with the onset of mitoris. 4. Evidence is presented to support the view that DNA ligase activity is intimately associated in the process of DNA replication in the prostate gland. 5. A spectrum of deoxyribonuclease activities is present in the prostate gland, but only one form (pI7.0) can safely be said to be implicated in the process of DNA replication. 6. Androgenic stimulation of the prostate gland leads to the appearance of a component capable of denaturing or unwinding prostate DNA. This component is seemingly distinct from RNA or DNA polymerase activities on the basis of several distince physicochemical characteristics. 7. The conspicuous feature of all the changes in enzyme activities evoked by androgens in the prostate gland is their acute tissue- and steroid-specificity. Such changes could not be mimicked in liver or spleen and the regulatory role of androgens could not be simulated by other classes of steroid hormones. Particularly on the basis of studies with the anti-androgen cyproterone acetate, it is concluded that the changes are initially mediated by the androgen-receptor system and the high-affinity binding of 5α-dihydrotestosterone in the prostate gland. 8. The results are discussed in the context of the mechanism of action of androgens.
Inhibition of leucocytic lysosomal enzymes by glycosaminoglycans in vitro
Authors: Avila J L , Convit J
Published: August 2015

1. A lysosomal fraction was separated by density-gradient centrifugation from a highly purified human polymorphonuclear leucocyte suspension. 2. Some 23 different lysosomal enzymes were assayed for activity in the presence of various concentrations of glycosaminoglycans. 3. The 21 acid hydrolases assayed were strongly inhibited to different degrees by low (0-12 mmol/l) concentrations of glycosaminoglycans in a pH-dependent manner. Thus inhibitions were stronger below pH4.5, with activity returning to control values at about pH5.0. 4. On a molar basis, the inhibitory activity for the several glycosaminoglycans studied was: heparin > chondroitin sulphate ≫ hyaluronic acid. 5. Once the glycosaminoglycan-acid hydrolase complex was formed, it was partially dissociated by slight elevations in the pH of the incubation medium, by increasing the ionic strength of the incubation medium, or by adding several cationic proteins (e.g. histone, protamine). 6. As leucocytic lysosomes contain large amounts of chondroitin sulphate, and have a strongly acid intragranular pH, we suggest that glycosaminoglycans may modify lysosomal function through the formation of complexes with lysosomal enzymes, by inhibiting the digestive activity of the acid hydrolases when the intralysosomal pH is below their pI.
Regulation of ribonucleic acid synthesis by polyamines. Reversal by spermine of inhibition by methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone) of ribonucleic acid synthesis and histone acetylation in rabbit heart
Authors: Caldarera C M , Casti A , Guarnier C , Moruzzi G
Published: August 2015

The relationship between polyamines and RNA synthesis was studied by considering the action of spermine on histone acetylation in perfused heart. In addition, the effect of methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone), inhibitor of putrescine-activated S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase activity, on RNA and polyamine specific radioactivity and on acetylation of histone fractions was also investigated in perfused heart. Different concentrations of spermine and/or methylglyoxas bis(guanylhydrazone) were injected into the heart, 15 min after beginning the perfusion. The results demonstrate that spermine stimulates the specific radioactivity of RNA of subcellular fractions. Acetylation of the arginine-rich histone fractions, involved in the regulation of RNA transcription, is enhanced by spermine. The perfusion with methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone) causes a decrease in the specific radioactivity of polyamines and RNA, and in acetylation of histone fractions. However, spermine is able to reverse the methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone) inhibition when injected simultaneously. From these results we may assume a possible role for spermine in the regulation of RNA transcription.
Chloride-dependent restoration of coupling by oligomycin in rat liver mitochondria
Authors: Ariel N , Avi-Dor Y
Published: August 2015

In rat liver mitochondria suspended in KC1 medium, oligomycin interfered with the effect of uncouplers on energy conservation. It antagonized the effect of uncouplers that are weak acids (2,4-dinitrophenol etc.), but enhanced that of the lipid-penetrating cation NN-dimethyl-N'N'-dibenzylammonium. Oligomycin caused none of the above effects when Br− or NO−/3 was substituted for C1− as the major anionic species in the assay medium. The concentration of oligomycin that exerted the above-mentioned effects was lower than that necessary for the inhibition of energy transfer, but was in the range that induced C1− permeation through the cristae membrane. The possible connexion between the effect of oligomycin on C1− permeation and its interference with the action of uncouplers is discussed.
Relationships between the exchange of calcium and phosphate in isolated fat-cells
Authors: Martin B R , Clausen T , Gliemann J
Published: August 2015

1. The uptake and the washout of 45Ca2+ and 32Pi is described in free fat-cells and whole epididymal fat-pads from fed rats. 2. In isolated fat-cells, the uptake of 45Ca2+ proceeds with an initial rapid phase of about 1 min duration, followed by a slower subsequent accumulation. In contrast with the rapid phase, the slow phase is inhibited by 2,4-dinitrophenol, warfarin, oligomycin and verapamil, shows saturation, and presumably represents transport across the plasma membrane. 3. The washout of 45Ca2+ from preloaded cells consists of a rapid (1 min) initial phase and a slow phase which is non-monoexponential, suggesting that the radioactive isotope is released from several cellular pools. 4. When Pi is omitted from the incubation medium, the slow phase of 45Ca uptake is almost abolished, and the washout of 45Ca from preloaded fat-cells is markedly accelerated. At elevated extracellular concentrations of Pi (2,4-6.2mM), the uptake of 45Ca is stimulated by 2-10-fold, and the release of the radioactive isotope from preloaded cells is inhibited. In whole epididymal fat-pads, variations in the extracellular concentration of Pi have no detectable effect on the uptake or the washout of 45Ca. 5. In isolated fat-cells, the accumulation of 32Pi is inhibited by 2,4-dinitrophenol or the omission of glucose from the incubation medium. In a Ca2+-depleted buffer, the uptake of 32Pi is diminished, and hyperosmolarity, which stimulates 45Ca uptake, also accelerates the accumulation of 32Pi. 6. It is concluded that in free fat-cells, the uptake and release of Ca2+ and Pi take place by closely interrelated processes, which are dependent on mitochondrial energy production.
The transfer of mannose to dolichol diphosphate oligosaccharides in pig liver endoplasmic reticulum
Authors: Oliver Gerard J. A. , Hemming Frank W.
Published: August 2015

The transfer, catalysed by pig liver microsomal preparations, of mannose, from GDP-mannose, to lipid-linked oligosaccharides and the properties of the products are described. Solubility, hydrolytic and chromatographic data suggest that they are dolichol diphosphate derivatives. The presence of two N-acetyl groups in at least part of the heterogenous oligosaccharide portion was tentatively deduced. Reduction with borohydride of the oligosaccharide showed that the newly added mannose residues were not at its reducing end. Periodate oxidation suggested that 60% of these were at the non-reducing terminus and that 40% were positioned internally. T.l.c. showed the presence of seven oligosaccharide fractions with chromatographic mobilities corresponding to glucose oligomers with 7–13 residues. The molar proportions of the oligosaccharide fractions in the mixture were determined by borotritiide reduction and the number of mannose residues added to each oligosaccharide fraction during the incubation was calculated. Two of the oligosaccharide fractions had received on average one, or slightly more than one, mannose residue per chain during the incubation; four of the other fractions were each shown to be a mixture, 20–25% of which had received one mannose residue during the incubation and 75–80% of which had not been mannosylated during the incubation. This supported other evidence for the presence of endogenous lipid-linked oligosaccharides in the microsomal preparation which had been formed before the incubation in vitro. Evidence for the possibility of two pools of dolichol monophosphate mannose, one being more closely associated with mannosyl transfer to dolichol diphosphate oligosaccharides than the other, is also discussed.
Studies on the glycosylation of hydroxylysine residues during collagen biosynthesis and the subcellular localization of collagen galactosyltransferase and collagen glucosyltransferase in tendon and cartilage cells
Authors: Harwood Richard , Grant Michael E. , Jackson David S.
Published: August 2015

1. The glycosylation of hydroxylysine during the biosynthesis of procollagen by embryonic chick tendon and cartilage cells was examined. When free and membrane-bound ribosomes isolated from cells labelled for 4min with [14C]lysine were assayed for hydroxy[14C]lysine and hydroxy[14C]lysine glycosides, it was found that hydroxylation took place only on membrane-bound ribosomes and that some synthesis of galactosylhydroxy[14C]lysine and glucosylgalactosylhydroxy[14C]lysine had occurred on the nascent peptides. 2. Assays of subcellular fractions isolated from tendon and cartilage cells labelled for 2h with [14C]lysine demonstrated that the glycosylation of procollagen polypeptides began in the rough endoplasmic reticulum. 14C-labelled polypeptides present in the smooth endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi fractions were glycosylated to extents almost identical with the respective secreted procollagens. 3. Assays specific for collagen galactosyltransferase and collagen glucosyltransferase are described, using as substrate chemically treated bovine anterior-lens-capsule collagen. 4. When homogenates were assayed for the collagen glycosyltransferase activities, addition of Triton X-100 (0.01%, w/v) was found to stimulate enzyme activities by up to 45%, suggesting that the enzymes were probably membrane-bound. 5. Assays of subcellular fractions obtained by differential centrifugation for collagen galactosyltransferase activity indicated the specific activity to be highest in the microsomal fractions. Similar results were obtained for collagen glucosyltransferase activity. 6. When submicrosomal fractions obtained by discontinuous-sucrose-density-gradient-centrifugation procedures were assayed for these enzymic activities, the collagen galactosyltransferase was found to be distributed in the approximate ratio 7:3 between rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum of both cell types. Similar determinations of collagen glucosyltransferase indicated a distribution in the approximate ratio 3:2 between rough and smooth microsomal fractions. 7. Assays of subcellular fractions for the plasma-membrane marker 5′-nucleotidase revealed a distribution markedly different from the distributions obtained for the collagen glycosyltransferase. 8. The studies described here demonstrate that glycosylation occurs early in the intracellular processing of procollagen polypeptides rather than at the plasma membrane, as was previously suggested.
Stringent control of ribonucleic acid synthesis in Bacillus subtilis treated with granaticin
Authors: Ogilvie A , Wiebauer K , Kersten W
Published: August 2015

The antibiotic granaticin interferes in Bacillus subtilis with the charging process of tRNALeu causing both the arrest of protein synthesis and bacteriostasis [A. Ogilvie, K. Wiebauer & W. Kersten (1975) Biochem. J. 152, 511-515]. A concomitant inhibition of RNA synthesis is observed. This inhibition was studied with mutant strains of B. subtilis. 2. Granaticin inhibits protein and RNA synthesis in stringently controlled B. subtilis (rel+) to about the same extent. In a relaxed mutant strain (rel-) of B. subtilis, protein synthesis is also inhibited, but the accumulation of RNA continues after the addition of the drug. 3. Chloramphenicol, which is known to abolish the stringent control mechanism, added simultaneously with granaticin, allows the synthesis of RNA to proceed in the stringent strain. 4. Guanosine tetraphosphate (ppGpp) and guanosine pentaphosphate (pppGpp) accumulate in granaticin-treated stringently controlled B. subtilis but not in the rel- mutant. 5. It is concluded that the inhibition of RNA synthesis granaticin can adequately be explained as a stringent response caused by the interference by the drug with leucyl-tRNA synthetase.
Functional anaerobic electron transport linked to the reduction of nitrate and fumarate in membranes from Escherichia coli as demonstrated by quenching of atebrin fluorescence
Authors: Haddock B A , Kendall-Tobias M W
Published: August 2015

Measurements were made of energy-dependent quenching of atebrin fluorescence in membrane particles prepared from Escherichia coli grown anaerobically with glycerol as carbon source in the presence of either nitrate or fumarate. It is concluded that this technique can be used to study the functional organization of the anaerobic proton-translocating electron-transport chains that use nitrate or fumarate as terminal electron acceptor.
The dexamethasone receptor in the Novikoff Hepatoma. Characterization and changes in concentration and nuclear uptake during glucocorticoid therapy
Authors: Liu S L , McNamara D J , Webb T E
Published: August 2015

Novikoff hepatoma ascites cells, grown intraperitoneally in rats, are shown to possess a high-affinity, low-capacity dexamethasone-binding protein. The receptor protein has an intracellular localization and concentration, association constant (Ka), glucocorticoid specificity and nuclear uptake in the presence of dexamethasone comparable with those of the G-protein of rat liver. During therapy of the tumour-bearing animal with cortisol, marked cyclic variations were observed in the concentration and nuclear uptake of the putative G-protein in the tumor cells; more transient variations were also observed in the Ka value of the receptor protein.
The N-terminal amino acid sequence of plastocyanin from Stellaria media L. An exercise to establish criteria for the identification of residues from a sequenator
Authors: Haslett B G , Boulter D
Published: August 2015

The N-terminal amino acid sequence of plastocyanin from Stellaria media L. (chickweed) has been determined by means of an automatic sequencer. Amino acid derivatives obtained during the degradation were identified by a combination of t.l.c., g.l.c. and regeneration of the parent amino acid. The analytical results are presented for each sample, and the criteria used to establish the amino acid sequence are discussed.
Bovine spleen cathepsin B1 and collagenolytic cathepsin. A comparative study of the properties of the two enzymes in the degradation of native collagen
Authors: Etherington D J
Published: August 2015

Bovine spleen cathepsin B1 and collagenolytic cathepsin were separated by chromatography on Amberlite IRC-50 and collagenolytic cathepsin was partially purified by chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex (A-50). 2. Collagenolytic cathepsin degraded insoluble tendon collagen maximally at pH 3.5 and 28 degrees C; mainly α-chain components were released into solution. At 28 degrees C the telopeptides in soluble skin collagen were also cleaved to yield α-chain components. Collagenolytic cathepsin was thus similar to cathepsin B1 in its action against native collagen, but mixtures of these two enzymes exhibited a synergistic effect. 3. The addition of thiol-blocking compounds produced similar inhibition of collagenolytic cathepsin and cathepsin B1. The enzyme responded similarly to all other compounds tested except to 6-aminohexanoic acid, when collagenolytic cathepsin was slightly activated and cathepsin B1 was almost unaffected. 4. Leupeptin, which is a structural analogue of arginine-containing synthetic substrates, inhibited collagenolytic cathepsin as effectively as cathepsin B1. Collagenolytic cathepsin was shown to retain a low residual activity against α-N-benzoyl-DL-arginine p-nitroanilide during purification which was equivalent to 0.2% of the activity of cathepsin B1. 5. Cathepsin B1 and collagenolytic cathepsin could not be separated by affinity chromatography on organomercurial-Sepharose 4B. The two enzymes could be resolved on DEAE-Sephadex (A-50) and by isoelectric focusing in an Ampholine pH gradient. The pI of the major cathepsin B1 isoenzyme was 4.9 and the pI of collagenolytic cathepsin was 6.4. 6. From chromatography on Sephadex G-75 (superfine grade) the molecular weights were calculated to be 26000 for cathepsin B1 and 20000 for collagenolytic cathepsin. The difference in molecular weight was confirmed by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis.
The membrane change in En(a-) human erythrocytes. Absence of the major erythrocyte sialoglycoprotein
Authors: Tanner M J A , Anstee D J
Published: August 2015

We investigated the membrane of En(a-) human erythrocytes as part of a study of the structure and biochemical function of the surface glycoproteins of the mammalian cell. 2. En(a-) erythrocytes were selected because they have more extensive changes at the cell surface than any other known erythrocyte variant. 3. Our results show that in En(a-) erythrocytes: (a) the major membrane sialoglycoprotein is lacking; (b) the other major membrane-penetrating glycoprotein (band 3) has an altered electrophoretic mobility. 4. The apparent clinical normality of En(a-) cells suggests that the change in band 3 may compensate for the loss of the membrane sialoglycoproteins. It is clear that a viable erythrocyte can exist despite the absence of one of its major surface components.
Studies by electron-paramagnetic-resonance spectroscopy and stopped-flow spectrophotometry on the mechanism of action of turkey liver xanthine dehydrogenase
Authors: Barber M J , Bray R C , Lowe D J , Coughlan M P
Published: August 2015

Studies by e.p.r. (electron-paramagnetic-resonance) spectroscopy and by stopped-flow spectrophotometry on turkey liver xanthine dehydrogenase revealed strong similarities to as well as important differences from the Veillonella alcalescens xanthine dehydrogenase and milk xanthine oxidase. The turkey enzyme is contaminated by up to three non-functional forms, giving molybdenum e.p.r. signals designated Resting I, Resting II and Slow. Slow and to a lesser extent Resting I signals are like those from the Veillonella enzyme, whereas Resting II is very like a resting signal described by K. V. Rajagopolan, P. Handler, G. Palmer & H. Beinert (1968) (J. Biol. Chem. 243, 3784-3796) for aldehyde oxidase. Another non-functional form that gives the Inhibited signal is produced on treatment of the enzyme with formaldehyde. Stopped-flow measurements at 450 nm show that, as for the milk enzyme, reduction by xanthine is rate-limiting in enzyme turnover. The active enzyme gives rise to Very Rapid and Rapid molybdenum(V) e.p.r. signals, as well as to an FADH signal. That these signals are almost indistinguishable from those of the milk enzyme, confirms the similarities between the active sites. There are two types of iron-sulphur centres that give signals like those in the milk enzyme, though with slightly different parameters. Quantitative reduction titration of the functional enzyme with xanthine revealed two important differences between the turkey and the milk enzymes. First, the turkey enzyme FADH/FADH2 system has a redox potential sufficiently low that xanthine is incapable of reducing the flavin completely. This finding presumably explains the very low oxidase activity. Secondly, whereas the Fe/S II chromophore in the milk enzyme has a relatively high redox potential, for the turkey enzyme the value of this potential is lower and similar to that of its Fe/S I chromophore.
Kinetic studies on glucoamylase of rabbit small intestine
Authors: Sivakami S , Radhakrishnan A N
Published: August 2015

The kinetic properties of a maltase-glucoamylase complex with a neutral pH optimum, purified to homogeneity from the brush borders of the rabbit small intestine, are described. It has a broad range of substrate specificity, hydrolysing di- and poly-saccharides with α-1,4 and α-1,6 linkages. The Km and Vmax, values of the enzyme for the various substrates were determined. Starch and maltose were its best substrates. The kinetics of hydrolysis of two synthetic linear maltosaccharides, namely maltotriose and maltopentaose, were studied. Mixed-substrate incubation studies revealed the presence of at least two interacting sites on the enzyme, and the data were further analysed by the use of a number of non-substrate inhibitors.
The purification in high yield and characterization of rat hepatic glucokinase
Authors: Holroyde M J , Allen M B , Storer A C , Warsy A S , Chesher J M E , Trayer I P , Cornish-Bowden A , Walker D G
Published: August 2015

A new improved procedure for the purification of rat hepatic glucokinase (ATP-d-glucose 6-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.2) is given. A key step is affinity chromatography on Sepharose-N-(6-aminohexanoyl)-2-amino-2-deoxy-d-glucopyranose. A homogeneous enzyme, specific activity 150 units/mg of protein, is obtained in about 40% yield. The molecular weight of the pure enzyme was determined by several procedures. In particular, sedimentation-equilibrium studies under a variety of conditions indicate a molecular weight of 48000 and no evidence for dimerization; reports in the literature of other values are discussed in the light of this evidence on the pure enzyme. The amino acid composition suggests that hepatic glucokinase is closely related to rat brain hexokinase and also the wheat “light” hexokinases.
The relationship between biological activity and primary structure of troponin I from white skeletal muscle of the rabbit
Authors: Syska H , Wilkinson J M , Grand R J A , Perry S V
Published: August 2015

1. A series of defined peptides which span the complete sequence were produced from troponin I isolated from white skeletal muscle of the rabbit. 2. Two peptides, CF1 (residues 64-133) and CN4 (residues 96-117) inhibited the Mg2+-stimulated adenosine triphosphatase of desensitized actomyosin. This inhibition was potentiated by tropomyosin and the Mg2+-stimulated adenosine triphosphatase of desensitized actomyosin. This inhibition, unlike that of troponin I and peptides derived from it, was not potentiated by tropomyosin. 4. The most active inhibitor, peptide CN4, was 45-75% as effective as troponin I when compared on a molar basis. The inhibitory peptide, CN4, and also whole troponin I were shown by affinity chromatography to interact specifically with actin. 5. A strong interaction with troponin C was demonstrated with peptide CF2 (residues 1-47), from the N-terminal region of troponin I. Somewhat weaker interactions were shown with peptides CN5 (residues 1-21) and with the inhibitory peptide CN4. 6. The significance of these interactions for the mechanisms of action of troponin I is discussed.