bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Homoeostatic control of membrane cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism in the rat liver
Authors: Garg M L , Sabine J R
Published: August 2015

Experiments were designed to assess the effect of cholesterol feeding, with or without high levels of either saturated (coconut oil) or unsaturated (sunflower-seed oil) fat on the fatty acid composition of hepatic microsomal membrane lipids, as well as on the activities of several membrane-bound enzymes of cholesterol synthesis and metabolism. Administration of 2% (w/w) cholesterol in the rat diet inhibited hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase activity, and this inhibition was much more pronounced when cholesterol was fed in combination with unsaturated rather than with saturated fat. Cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase activity was increased by all the high-cholesterol diets and inhibited by both the high-fat diets. Cholesterol esterification, as assessed by acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) activity, was enhanced after unsaturated-fat feeding. Cholesterol supplement, without any added fat, failed to elicit any significant increase in ACAT activity, whereas consumption of cholesterol in combination with unsaturated fat led to the greatest increase in ACAT activity. After cholesterol feeding, C18:1 and C18:2 fatty acids in the microsomal phospholipids were increased, with concomitant decreases in C18:0, C20:4 and C22:6 fatty acids, leading to an overall decrease in membrane unsaturation, irrespective of the particular fat supplement. It can be concluded that the inhibition of cholesterol biosynthesis and the enhancement of cholesterol utilization, either by increased bile formation or by increased cholesterol esterification, after cholesterol feeding, may not be enough to prevent cholesterol accumulation in the microsomal membranes. Then, to compensate for the altered fluidity resulting from cholesterol enrichment, the unsaturation of membrane phospholipids is decreased, which would in turn have an effect on membrane lipid fluidity opposite to that of increased cholesterol.
Nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation studies of the interaction of ligands with the monomer and tetramer forms of formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase
Authors: Yeh C H , Hanna D A , Everett G W , Himes R H
Published: August 2015

Previous work using n.m.r. spectroscopy to investigate the binding between formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase and its ligands was done using the catalytically active tetrameric form of the enzyme. By removal of specific monovalent cations the tetramer dissociates to four identical, catalytically inactive monomers, which are capable of binding nucleotides with affinities similar to those obtained with the tetramer. In the studies reported here, we examined the interaction of metal-nucleotide, formate and monovalent cations with the monomer using n.m.r. relaxation measurements. We were able to demonstrate that formate binds to the monomer. The spin-lattice relaxation rate (1/T1) of the formate carbon in the monomer. M2+.ADP. formate complex is enhanced when Mg2+ is replaced by Mn2+. By assuming that the exchange of formate is not rate-limiting and that tau c of the monomer is the same as that of the tetramer, the distance between the Mn2+ and the formate carbon was calculated and found to be similar in the monomer and tetramer complexes. The spin-lattice relaxation rates of [13C]trimethylammonium ion (an inactive monovalent cation), [13C]methylammonium and [15N]ammonium ions (both active monovalent cations), were measured in the presence of tetramer, MnADP and formate. The relaxation rates of methylammonium and ammonium ions were enhanced under these conditions whereas the relaxation rate of trimethylammonium ion was not. The results indicate that the active monovalent cations bind near the MnADP binding site. A distance from the Mn2+ to the ammonium nitrogen of between 0.5 and 0.6 nm was calculated.
The unfolding and refolding of glutamate dehydrogenases from bovine liver, baker's yeast and Clostridium symbosium
Authors: West S M , Price N C
Published: August 2015

The unfolding behaviour of the hexameric glutamate dehydrogenases from bovine liver, Clostridium symbosium and baker's yeast in solutions of guanidinium chloride (GdnHCl) was studied. Changes in Mr studied by light-scattering indicate that, in each case, the hexamer dissociates to form trimers, which then dissociate to monomers at higher concentrations of GdnHCl. Dissociation to trimers is accompanied by a reversible loss of enzyme activity, but no gross structural changes can be detected by fluorescence or c.d. Dissociation to monomers is accompanied by large structural changes, and the loss of activity cannot be reversed by dilution. The parallel behaviour of all three enzymes shows that the previously noted inability of the isolated subunits of the bovine liver enzyme to refold [Bell & Bell (1984) Biochem. J. 217, 327-330] is not a result of any modification of the enzyme as a result of import into mitochondria, since the C. symbosium and baker's-yeast enzymes do not undergo any such post-translational translocation.
Determination of the range in binding-site densities of rat skin heparin chains with high binding affinities for antithrombin
Authors: Horner A A , Kusche M , Lindahl U , Peterson C B
Published: August 2015

Rat skin heparin proteoglycans vary markedly in the proportions of their constituent polysaccharide chains that have high binding affinity for antithrombin. As the proportion of such chains in a proteoglycan rises, their degree of affinity for antithrombin also increases [Horner (1987) Biochem. J. 244, 693-698]. The antithrombin-binding-site densities of such chains have now been determined, by measuring heparin-induced enhancement of the intrinsic fluorescence of antithrombin and by chemical analysis for the disaccharide sequence glucuronosyl-N-sulphoglucosaminyl (3,6-di-O-sulphate), which is unique to this site in heparin [Lindahl, Bäckström, Thunberg & Leder (1980) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77, 6551-6555]. Antithrombin-binding-site density ranged from one to five sites per chain.
Peptidyl-glycine α-amidating mono-oxygenase activity towards a gonadotropin-releasing-hormone C-terminal peptide substrate, in subcellular fractions of sheep brain and pituitary
Authors: Gale J S , McIntosh J E A , McIntosh R P
Published: August 2015

The amidation of a synthetic peptide D-Tyr-Pro-Gly-Gly by sheep hypothalamic and pituitary preparations was measured. This substrate was designed as a glycine-extended C-terminal peptide analogue of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) to test the ability of these tissues to convert the product produced by cleavage of the GnRH prohormone into the active amidated decapeptide. An alpha-amidating activity capable of converting D-125I-Tyr-Pro-Gly-Gly into D-125I-Try-Pro-Gly-NH2 was identified in crude synaptosomal and neurosecretory-granule fractions from hypothalamus and anterior-pituitary secretory-granule preparations. This activity was stimulated by the addition of Cu2+ and reduced ascorbate, and was maximal at neutral pH in sulphonic acid buffers. Highest activity was measured in synaptosomes from the median eminence and medial basal hypothalamus and in pituitary granules. Lower activity was found in synaptosomes prepared from anterior hypothalamic tissue. Negligible activity was measurable in cerebral cortex and none in pineal synaptosomes. Direct comparison of alpha-amidation with D-125I-Try-Pro-Gly-Gly and a previously reported substrate D-125I-Tyr-Val-Gly showed that, although the latter was 15-20-fold more reactive, the optimal concentration of Cu2+ for amidation was similar with both substrates in medial-basal-hypothalamic synaptosomes and pituitary granules. Activity measured with 1 microM-D-125I-Tyr-Val-Gly was inhibited by increasing concentrations of D-Tyr-Pro-Gly-Gly, with 50% inhibition at 25 microM-D-Tyr-Pro-Gly-Gly, whereas activity with 3.3 microM-D-125I-Tyr-Pro-Gly-Gly was abolished by addition of 1 microM-D-Tyr-Val-Gly, evidence that the two substrates were competing for the same enzyme activity. Synaptosomal preparations demonstrated Michaelis-Menten kinetics for D-Tyr-Pro-Gly-Gly as substrate, with values of Km and V decreasing upon removal of ascorbate. We conclude that D-Tyr-Pro-Gly-Gly-directed alpha-amidation in sheep hypothalamic synaptosomes resembles the activity with D-Tyr-Val-Gly as substrate, as well as that demonstrated by others with D-Tyr-Val-Gly as substrate in rat hypothalamic and pituitary tissue. Although reactivity towards D-Tyr-Pro-Gly-Gly cannot be assumed to assess amidation solely of GnRH, the negligible D-Tyr-Pro-Gly-Gly-directed activity in the pineal gland and cerebral cortex, areas that are known to synthesize other alpha-amidated peptides, suggests some substrate specificity in alpha-amidating enzymes from different tissues.
Syncatalytic inactivation of prolyl 4-hydroxylase by anthracyclines
Authors: Günzler V , Hanauske-Abel H M , Myllylä R , Kaska D D , Hanauske A , Kivirikko K I
Published: August 2015

The anthracyclines doxorubicin and daunorubicin were found to act as irreversible inhibitors of prolyl 4-hydroxylase. The reaction rate for enzyme from both chick and human origin was first order, the concentration of inhibitor giving 50% inhibition being 60 microM for both compounds after 1 h. The effect was dependent on the presence of iron ions in the reaction mixture. Inactivation could be prevented by addition of high concentrations of ascorbate, but not 2-oxoglutarate, before the inactivation period. The same results were obtained with competitive analogues of these cosubstrates. Lysyl hydroxylase from chick embryos was also susceptible to inactivation. Its activity was decreased by 50% after incubation for 1 h with a 150 microM concentration of the inhibitors. When chick-embryo prolyl 4-hydroxylase was incubated with [14-14C]doxorubicin, both enzyme subunits were radioactively labelled, about 70% of the total radioactivity being found in the alpha-subunit. Since the anthracyclines are known to undergo a redox reaction generating semiquinone radicals with Fe3+ only, the results suggest that the enzyme-bound iron ion is oxidized to a tervalent intermediate in uncoupled reaction cycles. The data also suggest that both enzyme subunits contribute to the catalytic site of prolyl 4-hydroxylase.
Putrescine, a source of γ-aminobutyric acid in the adrenal gland of the rat
Authors: Caron P C , Cote L J , Kremzner L T
Published: August 2015

Putrescine is the major source of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the rat adrenal gland. Diamine oxidase, and not monoamine oxidase, is essential for GABA formation from putrescine in the adrenal gland. Aminoguanidine, a diamine oxidase inhibitor, decreases the GABA concentration in the adrenal gland by more than 70% after 4 h, and almost to zero in 24 h. Studies using [14C]putrescine confirm that [14C]GABA is the major metabolite of putrescine in the adrenal gland. Inhibition of GABA transaminase by amino-oxyacetic acid does not change the GABA concentration in the adrenal gland, as compared with the brain, where the GABA concentration rises. With aminoguanidine, the turnover time of GABA originating from putrescine in the adrenal gland is 5.6 h, reflecting a slower rate of GABA metabolism compared with the brain. Since GABA in the adrenal gland is almost exclusively derived from putrescine, the role of GABA may relate to the role of putrescine as a growth factor and regulator of cell metabolism.
The influence of restraint and infusion on rates of muscle protein synthesis in the rat. Effect of altered respiratory function
Authors: Preedy V R , Garlick P J
Published: August 2015

1. Male rats (110-140 g body wt.) were restrained by a standard laboratory technique, by wrapping in a linen towel, and subjected to a constant intravenous infusion of saline (0.15 M-NaCl) for periods of 1 or 6 h. Fractional rates of protein synthesis (ks, %/day) were estimated at the start and at the end of the infusion period, by injection of a large concentration of [3H]phenylalanine. 2. In fed and overnight-fasted rats, restraint and infusion of saline for 1 and 6 h decreased ks in skeletal muscle by 15-20% and 30-35% respectively. Plasma glucose, insulin, glucagon and corticosterone concentrations in restrained and infused rats were not characteristic of immobilization stress. 3. Restrained rats responded to nutrient administration; ks in skeletal muscle increased by 35-40% after infusion of a mixture of amino acids and glucose for 1 or 6 h, as compared with saline-infused rats. 4. Restraint and infusion for 1 or 6 h did not overtly decrease ks and kRNA (protein synthesis per unit of RNA) in hypoxaemia-sensitive tissues, such as heart and liver. Restraint and infusion in an open cage, or in a cloth of open weave, did not decrease ks in muscle after 1 h. Blood gas measurements showed that rats restrained in a linen cloth were hypercapnic and acidotic compared with rats in an open cage. 5. It was concluded that respiratory acidosis, rather than hypoxia, resulting from restraint in a linen cloth decreases muscle protein synthesis.
Development of insulin-sensitivity at weaning in the rat. Role of the nutritional transition
Authors: Issad T , Coupé C , Pastor-Anglada M , Ferré P , Girard J
Published: August 2015

This study was undertaken to determine the factors involved in the development of insulin-sensitivity at weaning. Glucose kinetics were studied in suckling rats and in rats weaned on to a high-carbohydrate (HC) or a high-fat (HF) diet, in the basal state and during euglycaemic-hyperinsulinaemic-clamp studies. These studies were coupled with the 2-deoxyglucose technique, allowing a measure of glucose utilization by individual tissues. In the basal state, the glycaemia was higher in HF-weaned rats (124 +/- 4 mg/dl) than in suckling (109 +/- 1 mg/dl) and HC-weaned rats (101 +/- 3 mg/dl). Glucose turnover rates were similar in the three groups of animals (14 mg/min per kg). Nevertheless, basal metabolic glucose clearance rate was 20% lower in HF-weaned rats than in the other groups. During the euglycaemic-hyperinsulinaemic experiments, hepatic glucose production was suppressed by 90% in HC-weaned rats, whereas it remained at 40% of basal value in suckling and HF-weaned rats, indicating an insulin resistance of liver of these animals. Glucose clearance rate during the clamp was 18.3 +/- 0.9 ml/min per kg in suckling rats, whereas it was 35.3 +/- 1.2 ml/min per kg in HC-weaned rats and 27.8 +/- 1.1 ml/min per kg in HF-weaned rats, indicating an insulin resistance of glucose utilization in suckling, and to a lower extent, in HF-weaned rats. The deoxyglucose technique showed that peripheral insulin resistance was localized in muscles and white adipose tissue of suckling and HF-weaned rats. These results indicate that the switch from milk to a HC diet is an important determinant of the development of insulin-sensitivity at weaning in the rat.
The sequence of a gene encoding convicilin from pea (Pisum sativum L.) shows that convicilin differs from vicilin by an insertion near the N-terminus
Authors: Bown D , Ellis T H N , Gatehouse J A
Published: August 2015

The sequence of a gene encoding convicilin, a seed storage protein in pea (Pisum sativum L.), is reported. This gene, designated cvcA, is one of a sub-family of two active genes. The transcription start of cvcA was mapped. Convicilin genes are expressed in developing pea seed cotyledons, with maximum levels of the corresponding mRNA species present at 16-18 days after flowering. The gene sequence shows that convicilin is similar to vicilin, but differs by the insertion of a 121-amino-acid sequence near the N-terminus of the protein. This inserted sequence is very hydrophilic and has a high proportion of charged and acidic residues; it is of a similar amino acid composition to the sequences found near the C-terminal of the alpha-subunit in pea legumin genes, but is not directly homologous with them. Comparison of this sequence with the ‘inserted’ sequence in soya-bean (Glycine max) conglycinin (a homologous vicilin-type protein) suggests that the two insertions were independent events. The 5′ flanking sequence of the gene contains several putative regulatory elements, besides a consensus promoter sequence.
Inhibition of protein synthesis by glucagon in different rat muscles and protein fractions in vivo and in the perfused rat hemicorpus
Authors: Preedy V R , Garlick P J
Published: August 2015

The effect of glucagon on the rate of muscle protein synthesis was examined in vivo and in the isolated perfused rat hemicorpus. An inhibition of protein synthesis in skeletal muscles from overnight-fasted rats at various plasma concentrations of glucagon was demonstrated in vivo. The plantaris muscle (Type II, fibre-rich) was more sensitive than the soleus (Type I, fibre-rich). Myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic proteins were equally sensitive in vivo. However, protein synthesis in mixed protein and in sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar fractions of the heart was unresponsive to glucagon in vivo. In isolated perfused muscle preparations from fed animals, the addition of glucagon also decreased the synthesis of mixed muscle proteins in gastrocnemius (Type I and II fibres) and plantaris, but not in the soleus. The sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar fractions of the plantaris were also equally affected in vitro. Similar results were observed in vitro with 1-day-starved rats, but the changes were less marked.
Metabolism of inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate by human erythrocyte membranes. A new mechanism for the formation of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate
Authors: Doughney C , McPherson M A , Dormer R L
Published: August 2015

Human erythrocyte membranes metabolize inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate [Ins(1,3,4,5)P4] to inositol 1,3,4-trisphosphate [Ins(1,3,4)P3] in the presence of Mg2+. In the absence of Mg2+ a less rapid conversion of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 into Ins(1,4,5)P3 was revealed. Such an enzyme activity, if present in hormonally sensitive cells, could provide a mechanism for maintaining constant concentrations of Ins(1,4,5)P3 and Ins(1,3,4,5)P4, important for stimulation of Ca2+ entry after Ca2+ mobilization.
Nucleotide sequence analysis and overexpression of the gene encoding a type III chloramphenicol acetyltransferase
Authors: Murray I A , Hawkins A R , Keyte J W , Shaw W V
Published: August 2015

The gene catIII, encoding a type III enterobacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase, was cloned from the transmissible plasmid R387 into pBR322 and bacteriophage M13 mp8. Nucleotide sequence analysis of 1160 bp of DNA identified an open reading frame encoding a protein of 213 amino acid residues and a calculated molecular mass of 24965 Da. The predicted N-terminal sequence is identical with that determined by Edman degradation of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase purified from Escherichia coli harbouring R387. Sequences equivalent to the consensus motifs for initiation and rho-factor-independent termination of transcription in E. coli occur 5′ and 3′ to the catIII open reading frame. In contrast with the catI gene, present on transposon Tn9 and many enterobacterial plasmids, expression of catIII is not subject to cyclic AMP-mediated catabolite repression in vivo and there is no sequence in the 5′ non-coding DNA that resembles that deduced as the consensus for the binding of cyclic AMP receptor protein. Unique restriction-endonuclease cleavage sites were introduced adjacent to the catIII reading frame by using oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis to facilitate insertion into E. coli expression vectors. Fully active chloramphenicol acetyltransferase represents 30-50% of the soluble protein component of cell-free extracts of E. coli containing the appropriate plasmids.
Purification of aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase from bovine brain with a monoclonal antibody
Authors: Nishigaki I , Ichinose H , Tamai K , Nagatsu T
Published: August 2015

Aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase was purified from bovine brain for the first time by affinity chromatography using a monoclonal antibody to the enzyme, and it was compared with the decarboxylase purified from bovine adrenal medulla by the same procedure. The monoclonal antibody was produced from a hybridoma established for the enzyme highly purified from bovine adrenal medulla. The Mr values of brain and adrenal-medulla enzyme were both estimated to be approx. 100,000 by gel-permeation chromatography. SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis revealed a single band with an apparent Mr of 50,000. Western immunoblot analysis showed that the antibody recognized each enzyme. With regard to substrate specificity, pH-dependence and effect of pyridoxal 5′-phosphate as a cofactor, both enzymes were similar.
Regulation of hepatic fructose 2,6-bisphosphate concentrations and lipogenesis after re-feeding in euthyroid and hyperthyroid rats. A regulatory role for glycogenesis
Authors: Holness M J , Cook E B , Sugden M C
Published: August 2015

The time courses of restoration of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (Fru-2,6-P2) concentrations and rates of lipogenesis after chow re-feeding were correlated with glycogen concentrations and rates of glycogen synthesis in livers of 48 h-starved euthyroid and hyperthyroid rats. Although a regulatory function for glycogen in the regulation of Fru-2,6-P2 concentrations was excluded, an inverse relationship between rates of glycogenesis and Fru-2,6-P2 concentrations indicated a role for glycogenesis in the suppression of Fru-2,6-P2 concentrations during the early (0-4 h) period of re-feeding. There was also a negative correlation between rates of glycogenesis and lipogenesis, and a positive correlation between glycogen concentrations and the lipogenic rate. Decreased rates of glycogenesis in hyperthyroid rats were associated with increased rates of lipogenesis. The response of Fru-2,6-P2 to changes in the glycogenic rate was modified by hyperthyroidism, although a negative correlation was again observed.
Hepatic and intestinal formation of polar sterols in vivo in animals fed on a cholesterol-supplemented diet
Authors: Marco de la Calle C , Gibbons G F
Published: August 2015

In rats fed on a diet containing 1% cholesterol for 24 h, the decrease in hepatic non-saponifiable lipid synthesis, cholesterogenesis and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase activity was accompanied by an increase in the proportion of newly synthesized polar sterols in vivo. In these animals there was also a strong inverse correlation between the proportion of polar sterols in the non-saponifiable lipid and hepatic HMG-CoA reductase activity. A similar correlation was not observed in animals fed on a normal diet. Cholesterogenesis in the intestine was not as sensitive to inhibition by dietary cholesterol as was that in the liver, and there was no increase in the polar-sterol content of the newly synthesized non-saponifiable-lipid fraction.
Co-operativity in seminal ribonuclease function. Kinetic studies
Authors: Piccoli R , Di Donato A , D'Alessio G
Published: August 2015

Kinetic studies with substrates of the hydrolytic rate-limiting reaction step revealed that the non-hyperbolic kinetics of bovine seminal RNAse may not be ascribed to microheterogeneity of the enzyme or to hysteretic effects. The substrate saturation curves with intermediate plateau and the activating and inhibiting effects of the reaction product, respectively at low and high concentrations, are explained in terms of mixed co-operativity, with binding at subsites that is a prerequisite for full activity of the enzyme. A model is proposed that is supported also by the results of binding studies.
Menadione-treated synaptosomes as a model for post-ischaemic neuronal damage
Authors: White E J , Clark J B
Published: August 2015

Menadione bisulphite increased endogenous oxygen-radical production by rat brain synaptosomes, as indicated by H2O2 generation. Increased oxygen-radical production was also demonstrated in synaptosomes prepared from menadione-treated rats and synaptosomes reoxygenated after an anoxic insult. Acetylcholine synthesis de novo was inhibited in synaptosomes incubated with menadione in vitro, in synaptosomes prepared from menadione-treated animals in vivo, and in depolarized post-anoxic synaptosomes. Intrasynaptosomal free Ca2+ was increased by menadione in vitro (50 microM), but this increase was not due to stimulation of Ca2+ entry into the nerve terminals. Acetylcholine release was stimulated by menadione in vitro, possibly as a consequence of the elevated intrasynaptosomal Ca2+ content. The Ca2+ contents of synaptosomes prepared from menadione (10 mg/kg)-treated animals in vivo and synaptosomes reoxygenated after anoxia were unchanged. In synaptosomes prepared from menadione-treated animals, acetylcholine release was no longer significantly stimulated by K+, whereas it was unchanged from control (normoxic) values in synaptosomes reoxygenated after anoxia. None of these treatments caused any measurable damage to the synaptic plasma membrane (as judged by the release of lactate dehydrogenase), or to synaptosomal phospholipases (as judged by choline release from membrane phospholipids). Synaptosomes prepared from menadione-treated rats were found to be a good model for the study of post-anoxic damage to nerve-terminal function.
A comparison of the specificity of phosphatidylcholine synthesis by human fetal lung maintained in either organ or organotypic culture
Authors: Caesar P A , Wilson S J , Normand C S , Postle A D
Published: August 2015

Human fetal lung (14-18 weeks gestation) was maintained in either organ or organotypic culture. By 4 days in organ culture or 14 days in organotypic culture, epithelial cells within both culture systems exhibited well-developed apical microvilli and possessed numerous intracellular lamellar bodies characteristic of surfactant phospholipid stores. However, analysis of the pattern of synthesis of individual molecular species of phosphatidylcholine by [14C]choline incorporation and reversed-phase h.p.l.c. showed that this apparent maturation was not paralleled by an increased synthesis of the dipalmitoyl species in either culture system. By contrast, the fractional synthesis of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine, expressed as a percentage of total [14C]choline incorporation, decreased with time in both organ and organotypic culture. Moreover, these fractions were not significantly different from those measured in parallel monolayer cultures of mixed human fetal lung cells that displayed mainly fibroblast morphology. These results suggest that the synthesis pattern of phosphatidylcholine species by lung cells in culture is determined principally by their incubation conditions and not by their state of apparent maturation.
The calcium-dependent proteolytic system calpain-calpastatin in Drosophila melanogaster
Authors: Pintér M , Friedrich P
Published: August 2015

Ca2+-dependent proteolytic activity was detected at pH 7.5 in head extracts of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. This activity was abolished by iodoacetate, but was unaffected by phenylmethanesulphonyl fluoride. These properties resemble those of the Ca2+-dependent thiol-proteinase calpain. The activity appeared at Mr 280,000 on Sepharose CL-6B gel chromatography. DEAE-cellulose chromatography revealed two activity peaks, with elution positions corresponding to vertebrate calpains I and II. The fly head enzymes were inhibited by a heat-stable and trypsin-sensitive component of the fly head extract, which also inhibited calpains from rat kidney. The inhibitor emerged from Sepharose CL-6B columns at Mr 310,000 and from DEAE-cellulose at a position corresponding to the protein inhibitor calpastatin from other sources. It is concluded that Drosophila heads comprise the Ca2+-dependent calpain-calpastatin proteolytic system.
The effect of tumour-bearing on 2-deoxy[U-14C]glucose uptake in normal and neoplastic tissues in the rat
Authors: Rofe A M , Bourgeois C S , Bais R , Conyers R A
Published: August 2015

The extent to which normal and neoplastic tissues of the rate take up glucose was assessed by the 2-deoxy[U-14C]glucose tracer technique. Measurements of glucose uptake were made over 40 min in anaesthetized rats under conditions where the blood glucose concentration was constant. In fed tumour-bearing rats, the relative rates of glucose uptake per g wet wt. of tissue were tumour (100), small intestine (72), brain (61), heart (61), spleen (50), lung (42), adipose tissue (11) and muscle (8). Normal tissues of the fed tumour-bearing rats had decreased rates of glucose uptake as compared with the same tissues in fed non-tumour-bearing control rats. Blood glucose concentrations were similar in both groups, but insulin concentrations were decreased in tumour-bearing rats. Starvation decreased the rates of glucose uptake by normal tissues in both control and tumour-bearing rats, but the difference between the fed and starved states was greater in the control rats. Starvation did not decrease glucose uptake by the tumour. On an organ basis, the tumour (12-14% of body wt.) took up 4 times more glucose than did muscle (40% of body wt.).
Identification of the Ca2+-release activity and ryanodine receptor in sarcoplasmic-reticulum membranes during cardiac myogenesis
Authors: Michalak M
Published: August 2015

Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release and pH-induced Ca2+ release activities were identified in sarcoplasmic-reticulum (SR) vesicles isolated from adult- and fetal-sheep hearts. Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release and pH-induced Ca2+ release appear to proceed via the same channels, since both phenomena are similarly inhibited by Ruthenium Red. Ca2+ release from fetal SR vesicles is inhibited by higher concentrations of Ruthenium Red than is that from adult membranes. Both fetal and adult SR vesicles bind ryanodine. Fetal SR shows higher ryanodine-binding capacity than adult SR vesicles. Scatchard analysis of ryanodine binding revealed only one high-affinity binding site (Kd 6.7 nM) in fetal SR vesicles compared with two distinct binding sites (Kd 6.6 and 81.5 nM) in the adult SR vesicles. SR vesicles isolated from fetal and adult hearts were separated on discontinuous sucrose gradients into light (free) and heavy (junctional) SR vesicles. Heavy SR vesicles isolated from adult hearts exhibited most of the Ca2+ release activities. In contrast, Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release, pH-induced Ca2+ release and ryanodine receptors were detected in both light and heavy fetal SR. These results suggest that fetal SR may not be morphologically and functionally as well differentiated as that of adult cardiac muscle and that it may contain a greater number of Ca2+-release channels than that present in adult SR membranes.
Pairing properties of bromouracil and repair of bromouracil-containing DNA. Possible utilization of bromodeoxyuridine triphosphate for site-directed mutagenesis
Authors: Muller M , Martial J , Verly W G
Published: August 2015

5-Bromo-2′-deoxyuridine triphosphate (Br-dUTP) and dTTP are used interchangeably for DNA synthesis in vitro by the Klenow fragment of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I. When DNA containing Br-dUMP instead of dTMP at a few preselected sites is transfected into competent bacteria, no mutation occurs, indicating that in vivo E. coli DNA polymerase always places a dAMP residue in front of any unrepaired Br-dUMP residue. On the other hand, in vitro Br-dUTP can also replace dCTP, but only with difficulty: when dCTP is absent, Br-dUMP can be forced in front of a dGMP residue, but the Klenow polymerase pauses before and after addition of Br-dUMP. Transfection into E. coli of the substituted DNA leads to the expected G→A transitions. These mutations can easily be targeted by using a suitable primer and the correctly chosen mix of deoxynucleoside triphosphates containing Br-dUTP. When Br-dUMP has been placed in front of a dGMP residue, the mutation yield is not 100%, showing a partial repair of the transfected DNA before it is replicated. Advantage can be taken of this partial repair to prepare a set of different mutations within a target region in a single experiment.
Albumin stimulates the release of lysophosphatidylcholine from cultured rat hepatocytes
Authors: Baisted D J , Robinson B S , Vance D E
Published: August 2015

The effect of albumin on the release of [3H]lysophosphatidylcholine from cultured rat hepatocytes prelabelled with [Me-3H]choline was studied. In the absence of serum and albumin from the medium, the cells released essentially no [3H]lysophosphatidylcholine. Albumin stimulated this process dramatically, and it reached a plateau at 2 mg/ml. After an initial lag of 30 min, the release of [3H]lysophosphatidylcholine was linear for at least 4 h. At low concentrations, albumin slightly stimulated [3H]phosphatidylcholine release. The albumin had no measurable effect on the metabolism of cellular [3H]phosphatidylcholine, [3H]lysophosphatidylcholine or [3H]glycerophosphocholine. In addition, albumin did not alter the release of 3H-labelled water-soluble compounds, including [3H]glycerophosphocholine, into the medium. The possibility that the [3H]lysophosphatidylcholine was arising from catabolism of [3H]phosphatidylcholine in the medium by secreted enzymes was excluded. The effect on [3H]lysophosphatidylcholine secretion was also observed when the cells were incubated with alpha-cyclodextrin, a cyclic polysaccharide that has the ability to bind lysophosphatidylcholine. The albumin-released lysophosphatidylcholine was enriched in unsaturated fatty acids. Alteration of the fatty acid composition of cellular phosphatidylcholine gave rise to parallel changes in phosphatidylcholine and lysophosphatidylcholine in the medium. It is concluded that phosphatidylcholine is constantly being degraded in the rat hepatocyte to lysophosphatidylcholine which is released into the medium only when a suitable acceptor is present.
Isoenzymes of glutathione transferase in rat small intestine
Authors: Tahir M K , Ozer N , Mannervik B
Published: August 2015

The major glutathione transferases in the rat small-intestine cytosol were isolated and characterized. The enzymes active with 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene as second substrate were almost quantitatively recovered after affinity chromatography on immobilized S-hexylglutathione. The different basic forms of glutathione transferase, which account for 90% of the activity, were resolved by chromatofocusing. Fractions containing enzymes with lower isoelectric points were not further resolved. The isolated fractions were characterized by their elution position in chromatofocusing, apparent subunit Mr, reactions with specific antibodies, substrate specificities and inhibition characteristics. The major basic forms identified were glutathione transferases 1-1, 4-4 and 7-7. In addition, evidence for the presence of a variant form of subunit 1, as well as trace amounts of subunits 2 and 3, was obtained. A significant amount of transferase 8-8 in the fraction of acidic enzyme forms was demonstrated by immunoblot and Ouchterlony double-diffusion analysis. In the comparison of the occurrence of the different forms of glutathione transferase in liver, lung, kidney and small intestine, it was found that the small intestine is the richest source of glutathione transferase 7-7.
Identification of N-myristoylated proteins by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography of an azlactone derivative of N-myristoylglycine
Authors: Goddard C , Felsted R L
Published: August 2015

A method is presented for the identification of N-myristoylated proteins. N-Myristoyl transferases have an absolute requirement for a free N-terminal glycine. N-Myristoylglycine is released upon mild acid hydrolysis of myristoylated peptides and proteins and its derivitization to a p-nitrobenzylazlactone with subsequent analysis by reverse phase h.p.l.c. enabled its detection to pmol levels. This facilitated the identification of N-terminal myristate in nmol quantities of purified proteins. Using this method we demonstrate that the alpha-subunit of the GTP-binding protein G0 is N-terminally myristoylated.
Uptake and metabolism of myo-inositol by L1210 leukaemia cells
Authors: Moyer J D , Malinowski N , Napier E A , Strong J
Published: August 2015

The initial rate of uptake of [3H]myo-inositol by L1210 murine leukaemia cells is directly proportional to the extracellular concentration and unaffected by several analogues of myo-inositol even at millimolar concentrations. Scyllitol, a geometric isomer of myo-inositol, partially inhibited the uptake of myo-inositol (40% at 0.1 mM). A portion of the uptake of myo-inositol was not inhibited even at 5 mM-scyllitol. At steady-state the intracellular concentration of [3H]myo-inositol is directly proportional to the extracellular concentration. Addition of myo-inositol to medium does not enhance the growth of L1210 cells; these cells can maintain an extracellular concentration of 20 microM-myo-inositol even when grown in myo-inositol-free medium. Synthesis of myo-inositol from glucose by L1210 cells was demonstrated by use of [13C]glucose and m.s. L1210 cells maintain myo-inositol pools by a combination of synthesis de novo and uptake of exogenous myo-inositol by either passive diffusion or a low affinity carrier.
Two dephosphorylation pathways of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate in homogenates of the cellular slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum
Authors: Van Lookeren Campagne M M , Erneux C , Van Eijk R , Van Haastert P J M
Published: August 2015

Dictyostelium discoideum homogenates contain phosphatase activity which rapidly dephosphorylates Ins(1,4,5)P3 (D-myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate) to Ins (myo-inositol). When assayed in Mg2+, Ins(1,4,5)P3 is dephosphorylated by the soluble Dictyostelium cell fraction to 20% Ins(1,4)P2 (D-myo-inositol 1,4-bisphosphate) and 80% Ins(4,5)P2 (D-myo-inositol 4,5-bisphosphate). In the particulate fraction Ins(1,4,5)P3 5-phosphatase is relatively more active than the Ins(1,4,5)P3 1-phosphatase. CaCl2 can replace MgCl2 only for the Ins(1,4,5)P3 5-phosphatase activity. Ins(1,4)P2 and Ins(4,5)P2 are both further dephosphorylated to Ins4P (D-myo-inositol 4-monophosphate), and ultimately to Ins. Li+ ions inhibit Ins(1,4,5)P3 1-phosphatase, Ins(1,4)P2 1-phosphatase, Ins4P phosphatase and L-Ins1P (L-myo-inositol 1-monophosphate) phosphatase activities; Ins(1,4,5)P3 1-phosphatase is 10-fold more sensitive to Li+ (half-maximal inhibition at about 0.25 mM) than are the other phosphatases (half-maximal inhibition at about 2.5 mM). Ins(1,4,5)P3 5-phosphatase activity is potently inhibited by 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate (half-maximal inhibition at 3 microM). Furthermore, 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate also inhibits dephosphorylation of Ins(4,5)P2. These characteristics point to a number of similarities between Dictyostelium phospho-inositol phosphatases and those from higher organisms. The presence of an hitherto undescribed Ins(1,4,5)P3 1-phosphatase, however, causes the formation of a different inositol bisphosphatase isomer [Ins(4,5)P2] from that found in higher organisms [Ins(1,4)P2]. The high sensitivity of some of these phosphatases for Li+ suggests that they may be the targets for Li+ during the alteration of cell pattern by Li+ in Dictyostelium.
Degradation of glomerular basement membrane by purified mammalian metalloproteinases
Authors: Baricos W H , Murphy G , Zhou Y W , Nguyen H H , Shah S V
Published: August 2015

Neutral metalloproteinases degrade components of the extracellular matrix, including collagen types I-V, fibronectin, laminin and proteoglycan. However, their ability to degrade intact glomerular basement membrane (GBM) has not previously been investigated. Incubation of [3H]GBM (50,000 c.p.m.; pH 7.5; 24 h at 37 degrees C) with purified gelatinase or stromelysin (2 units) resulted in significant GBM degradation: gelatinase, 46 +/- 2.2; stromelysin, 59 +/- 5.8 (means +/- S.E.M.; percentage release of non-sedimentable radioactivity; n = 4). In contrast, 2 units of collagenase released only 5.6 +/- 0.52% (n = 3) of the [3H]GBM radioactivity compared with 2.0 +/- 0.15% (n = 7) released from [3H]GBM incubated alone. Sephadex G-200 gel chromatography of supernatants obtained from incubations of [3H]GBM with either gelatinase or stromelysin confirmed the ability of these enzymes to degrade GBM and revealed both high-(800,000) and relatively low-(less than 20,000) Mr degradation products for both enzymes. GBM degradation by gelatinase and stromelysin was dose-dependent (range 0.02-2.0 units), near maximal between pH 6.0 and 8.6, and was completely inhibited (greater than 95%) by 2 mM-o-phenanthroline. Collagenase (2 units) did not enhance the degradation of GBM by either gelatinase (0.02 or 0.2 unit) or stromelysin (0.02 or 0.2 unit). Our results indicate that metalloproteinase-mediated GBM degradation by neutrophils and glomeruli may be attributable to gelatinase (neutrophils) and/or stromelysin (glomeruli) and suggest an important role for these proteinases in glomerular pathophysiology.
Regulation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase mRNA contents in human hepatoma cell line Hep G2 by distinct classes of mevalonate-derived metabolites
Authors: Cohen L H , Griffioen M
Published: August 2015

Hep G2 cells were incubated under conditions known to influence the HMG-CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA) reductase activity, e.g. in the presence of compactin (a competitive inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase itself) and U18666A (a squalene-2,3-epoxide cyclase inhibitor). We studied the effects of these conditions both on the HMG-CoA reductase activity and on the reductase mRNA content. In the presence of compactin the mRNA content increased, but less than the enzyme activity, as determined after removal of the inhibitor. The increase in mRNA could be prevented by addition of mevalonate or by a combination of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) plus a low concentration of mevalonate. LDL alone prevented the compactin-induced increases in mRNA and activity only partially. The effect of U18666A on reductase mRNA content and activity was biphasic, i.e. a slight decrease at low (0.3-0.5 microM) concentrations, with a concomitant formation of polar sterols [Boogaard, Griffioen & Cohen (1987) Biochem. J. 241, 345-351], and an increase at high (20-30 microM) concentrations, with complete blockage of sterol formation. At these high concentrations of U18666A, additional compactin (2 microM) increased the reductase activity, but not the mRNA content. We conclude that non-sterol metabolites of mevalonate regulate exclusively at the enzyme level, whereas sterol metabolites regulate at the reductase mRNA level. In the latter group of regulators we distinguish mevalonate metabolites which can, and metabolites which cannot, be replaced by exogenous LDL.
A monoclonal antibody to aromatic amino acid hydroxylases. Identification of the epitope
Authors: Cotton R G H , McAdam W , Jennings I , Morgan F J
Published: August 2015

PH8 monoclonal antibody has previously been shown to react with all three aromatic amino acid hydroxylases, being particularly useful for immunohistochemical staining of brain tissue [Haan, Jennings, Cuello, Nakata, Chow, Kushinsky, Brittingham & Cotton (1987) Brain Res. 426, 19-27]. Western-blot analysis of liver extracts showed that PH8 reacted with phenylalanine hydroxylase from a wide range of vertebrate species. The epitope for antibody PH8 has been localized to the human phenylalanine hydroxylase sequence between amino acid residues 139 and 155. This highly conserved region of the aromatic amino acid hydroxylases has 11 out of 17 amino acids identical in phenylalanine hydroxylase, tyrosine hydroxylase and tryptophan hydroxylase.
Modulation of bombesin-induced phosphatidylinositol hydrolysis in a small-cell lung-cancer cell line
Authors: Trepel J B , Moyer J D , Heikkila R , Sausville E A
Published: August 2015

Bombesin is an amphibian tetradecapeptide whose mammalian homologue, gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP), is produced by many small-cell lung-cancer (SCLC) cells, and which can function in an autocrine growth-promoting manner in SCLC. Studies reported here show that [Tyr4]bombesin and its congeners increase inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate within seconds in NCI-H345, a SCLC cell line that constitutively produces GRP. After 30 min in the presence of 0.01 M-Li+ and [Tyr4]bombesin, there is marked accumulation of inositol monophosphates and inositol tetrakisphosphate. Pretreatment with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) for 20 min inhibited the ability of [Tyr4]bombesin to induce phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) turnover and to increase intracellular free Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i). Pretreatment with PMA for 48 h attenuated the ability of subsequently added PMA to decrease the response to [Tyr4]bombesin. Pretreatment with pertussis toxin (PT; 1 microgram/ml for 18-24 h) decreased by less than 30% [Tyr4]bombesin-induced increases in [Ca2+]i and PtdIns metabolites. However, interpretation of this result is complicated by the inability of PT to ADP-ribosylate completely its substrates in intact NCI-H345 cells. In contrast, pretreatment with cholera toxin (1 microgram/ml for 18-24 h) lowered basal [Ca2+]i and basal inositol phosphate concentrations, attenuated the response of NCI-H345 to subsequently added [Tyr4]bombesin, and was not mimicked by treatments that increase cellular cyclic AMP. These data demonstrate the activation of phospholipase C in SCLC by bombesin congeners. In addition, the results suggest a regulatory role for protein kinase C, a cholera-toxin substrate, and perhaps a pertussis-toxin substrate in the response of SCLC to bombesin.
The microsomal glucose-6-phosphatase enzyme of pancreatic islets
Authors: Waddell I D , Burchell A
Published: August 2015

Microsomal fractions isolated from pancreatic islet cells were shown to contain high specific glucose-6-phosphatase activity. The islet-cell glucose-6-phosphatase enzyme has the same Mr (36,500), similar immunological properties and kinetic characteristics to the hepatic microsomal glucose-6-phosphatase enzyme.
Hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl phenylphosphonate catalysed by bovine pancreatic deoxyribonuclease
Authors: Liao T H , Hsieh J C
Published: August 2015

The ability of bovine pancreatic DNAase to hydrolyse the synthetic substrate p-nitrophenyl phenylphosphonate (NPPP) is intrinsic and is not due to the contamination of the DNAase preparation by nonspecific phosphodiesterases because the activities of DNA and NPPP hydrolysis are co-eluted from a DEAE-cellulose column with use of the Ca2+-affinity elution method and because the two activities are decreased simultaneously when the purified enzyme is treated with Cu2+/iodoacetate, an active-site-labelling agent for DNAase. NPPP hydrolysis is facilitated by the metal ion-DNAase. At relatively high Na+ concentrations, where the metal ion-DNA interaction is weak, DNA hydrolysis is also facilitated by the metal ion-DNAase. With NPPP as substrate the Michaelis constants are Km 3.7 mM for Mn2+ and Km 49 mM for Mg2+ in 0.2 M-Tris/HCl buffer, pH 7.2. Ca2+ competes with Mn2+, with Ki 64 mM. Free Cu2+ ions non-competitively inhibit DNAase-catalysed DNA or NPPP hydrolysis in the presence of Mn2+ or Mg2+ and the inhibition is not relieved by Ca2+. The affinity of Cu2+ for free DNAase is higher than that for Mn2+-DNAase. Mn2+ is not bound to DNAase via a simple ionic interaction, as Mn2+ remains bound in the presence of relatively high Na+ concentrations and induces a near-u.v. difference absorption spectrum. The kinetics of NPPP hydrolysis catalysed by Mn2+-DNAase are sigmoidal. From the Hill equation, h = 2.0 is obtained, suggesting that more than two NPPP molecules are bound per molecule of DNAase with a certain amount of co-operativity. Because DNAase in solution is a monomer with a single catalytic site, the multiple NPPP molecules on a single protein molecule are probably in one location, resulting in a co-operative interaction that may resemble that in the stacked base-pairs of double-helical DNA.