bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The lysosomal membrane complex. Focal point of primary steroid hormone action
Authors: Szego Clara M. , Seeler Barbara J. , Steadman Rosemarie A. , Hill Diane F. , Kimura Arthur K. , Roberts James A.
Published: August 2015

At short intervals after the intravenous administration of oestradiol-17β, diethylstilboestrol, testosterone or saline control solution to ovariectomized rats, highly purified lysosome samples were prepared in substantial yield from preputial glands, sex accessory organs rich in these organelles. The preparations were essentially devoid of mitochondrial contamination. Exposure in vivo to doses of these hormones varying from 0.1 to 5μg/100g body wt. provoked dose-dependent labilization of the lysosomal membrane surface, as evidenced by significantly diminished structural latency of several characteristic acid hydrolases, including acid phosphatase, β-glucuronidase and acid ribonuclease II, when such preparations were subsequently challenged in vitro with autolytic conditions, detergent or mechanical stress. Enhanced lytic susceptibility induced by hormone pretreatment was occasionally detectable in the initial preparation without further provocative stimuli in vitro. Comparable results were obtained with the corresponding fractions of uterus, despite the more limited concentration of lysosomes in this steroidal target organ. By the present criteria oestradiol-17α was essentially inert, even in a dose 25 times that effective for its active β-epimer (<0.1μg/100g body wt.). Pretreatment with diethylstilboestrol exerted substantial membrane-destabilizing influence in preputial-gland lysosome samples from orchidectomized rats. Moreover, administration of testosterone to gonadectomized animals resulted in essentially equivalent dose-dependent augmentation of lysosomal enzyme release in preputial-gland preparations of either sex. The membrane stability of lysosome-enriched preparations from uterus, on the other hand, was unaffected by testosterone pretreatment. The sensitivity, specificity and selectivity of the lysosomal response to sex steroids provide evidence for the physiological significance of this phenomenon as a general mechanism for mediation of secondary biochemical transformations in the hormone-stimulated target cell.
Effect of point mutations in the lac promoter on transient and severe catabolite repression of the lac operon of Escherichia coli
Authors: Yudkin M. D.
Published: August 2015

1. Experiments were devised to show whether the point mutations L8 and L29 in the lac promoter alleviate transient repression. 2. Several recombinants were picked from matings between a single F−p+strain and Hfr strains carrying mutations L8 and L29. All of the 19 p−recombinants tested proved to suffer no transient repression, whereas all of the eight p+recombinants tested suffered prolonged transient repression. 3. A diploid strain was constructed in which more than 90% of the thiogalactoside transacetylase is synthesized from the episome with a wild-type lac promoter, whereas 100% of the β-galactosidase is synthesized from the chromosome with a promoter carrying mutation L8. In this diploid the synthesis of thiogalactoside transacetylase suffered transient repression but the synthesis of β-galactosidase did not. 4. Exactly similar results were obtained with a diploid strain in which the chromosomal promoter carried mutation L29. 5. The same diploid strains were used in experiments to show whether mutations L8 and L29 alleviate the severe catabolite repression caused by growth in glucose plus gluconate. In both strains glucose+gluconate repressed the synthesis of β-galactosidase much less than the synthesis of thiogalactoside transacetylase. 6. These and previously reported results can be explained by assuming (a) that both mutations L8 and L29 render the lac promoter partially, but not completely, insensitive to catabolite repression, and (b) that transient repression is an exceptionally severe form of catabolite repression.
Immunoglobulin M biosynthesis. Production of intermediates and excess of light chain in mouse myeloma MOPC 104E
Authors: Parkhouse R. M. E.
Published: August 2015

Immunoglobulin M (IgM) biosynthesis was studied with mouse plasma-cell tumour MOPC 104E as a model system. Cell suspensions prepared from solid tumours were incubated in vitro with [3H]leucine; the radioactivity incorporated into intracellular and secreted proteins was analysed by sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation and polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. The tumour secretes IgM and light chains. ‘Pulse–chase’ experiments indicated average secretion times of 1.5h for light chain and 2.5h for IgM. The order of disulphide-bond assembly within the cell was shown to be heavy chain+light chain → heavy chain–light chain intermediate → IgMs. The 7S subunit (IgMs) was polymerized into IgM just before or at the time of secretion. Measurements of heavy-chain/light-chain radioactivity ratios in intracellular HL and IgMs and secreted IgM demonstrated the existence of a light-chain pool participating in IgM biosynthesis. The size of the light-chain pool, together with analysis of clones isolated in vivo, suggested that the tumour contains cells in which light-chain synthesis is in excess of heavy-chain production.
Temperature and enzyme activity in poikilotherms. Isocitrate dehydrogenases in rainbow-trout liver
Authors: Moon Thomas W. , Hochachka P. W.
Published: August 2015

1. The kinetics of the thermally induced enzyme variants of the supernatant NADP–isocitrate dehydrogenase from rainbow-trout liver are investigated. 2. Fish acclimatized to 2°C (cold-adapted enzyme) and 17°C (warm-adapted enzyme) show different relative distributions of the three NADP–isocitrate dehydrogenase isoenzymes; this has been demonstrated with electrophoresis and electrofocusing techniques. 3. Plots of Km versus temperature for the cold-adapted and warm-adapted enzyme variants are complex in nature with apparent maximal enzyme–substrate affinity corresponding to the temperature at which the trout is acclimatized. Both substrates, dl-isocitrate and NADP+, give similar curves although the magnitude of the Km change with temperature is much decreased in the case of NADP+. 4. Ea values of approx. 18kcal/mol were determined for both the cold-adapted and warm-adapted enzyme variants. 5. In an attempt to determine how velocities can be increased at low temperatures, cation, pH requirements, metabolite and enzyme concentrations were examined. 6. NAD–isocitrate dehydrogenase could not be detected in trout tissues.
Methylation of newly synthesized ribonucleic acid by isolated rat liver nuclei. Characterization of the ribonucleic acid synthesized by nuclei from starved animals
Authors: Rickwood D. , Klemperer H. G.
Published: August 2015

1. Nuclei from rat liver incubated with S-adenosyl[methyl-14C]methionine incorporated radioactivity into RNA and into lipid and protein. 2. All of the labelled RNA was extracted from the nuclei with trichloroacetic acid at 90°C. 3. The [14C]methyl-group incorporation into the hot-trichloroacetic acid extract was 30% inhibited by the addition of actinomycin D (100μg/mg of DNA) or by the omission of CTP, GTP and UTP. 4. Assuming that the main substrate for this triphosphate-dependent methylation was newly synthesized precursor rRNA containing one methyl group/30 uridylate residues, it was calculated that approx. 60% of the [14C]UMP incorporated under similar conditions represented precursor rRNA synthesis. 5. In agreement with this, low concentrations of actinomycin D (approx. 1μg/mg of DNA) sufficient to abolish the triphosphate-dependent incorporation of [14C]methyl group inhibited 68% of the [14C]UMP incorporation. 6. The incorporation of [14C]UMP by nuclei from starved animals decreased progressively with increasing periods of starvation, whereas the triphosphate-dependent [14C]methyl-group incorporation was not further decreased after 1 day of starvation. 7. This suggests that precursor rRNA synthesis decreased within 1 day whereas other species of RNA were affected only after longer periods of starvation.
The stimulatory effects of carbon tetrachloride on peroxidative reactions in rat liver fractions in vitro. Interaction sites in the endoplasmic reticulum
Authors: Slater T. F. , Sawyer B. C.
Published: August 2015

1. The actions of various inhibitors of the microsomal NADPH–cytochrome P-450 electron-transport chain have been studied on the stimulatory effect of carbon tetrachloride on malonaldehyde production. 2. Carbon monoxide, p-chloromercuribenzoate, β-diethylaminoethyl-3,3′-diphenylpropyl acetate (SKF 525A) and nicotinamide did not decrease the stimulatory action of carbon tetrachloride on malonaldehyde production when present in concentrations shown to be capable of strongly inhibiting the demethylation of aminopyrine. 3. In contrast with the effects of the substances mentioned above, low concentrations of cytochrome c strongly depressed the stimulatory action of carbon tetrachloride on malonaldehyde production while increasing the endogenous rate of peroxidation. 4. Aging the microsomal suspensions at 0°C caused a rapid decrease in aminopyrine demethylation activity and in lipid peroxidation catalysed by ADP and Fe2+. The stimulation of malonaldehyde production by carbon tetrachloride was relatively unaffected, however, by aging the microsomes at 0°C for 3 days; during this period cytochrome P-450 decreased by more than 30%. 5. The conclusion is reached that the interaction between carbon tetrachloride and the NADPH–cytochrome P-450 electron-transport chain necessary for the stimulation of malonaldehyde production involves a locus near to if not identical with the NADPH–cytochrome c reductase flavoprotein.
The protein-synthesizing activity of ribosomes isolated from the mammary gland of lactating and pregnant guinea pigs
Authors: Fairhurst E. , McIlreavy Diana , Campbell P. N.
Published: August 2015

1. Polyribosome preparations were made from the deoxycholate-treated post-nuclear fractions obtained by the disruption of mammary glands from lactating and pregnant guinea pigs. 2. A high proportion of large polyribosomes was obtained from the glands of lactating animals whereas mainly small polyribosomes were obtained from the glands of pregnant animals. The isolated preparations incorporated [14C]phenylalanine into protein. The polyribosomes from the glands of pregnant animals were less active than those from the glands of lactating animals but the activity of the former was stimulated more by poly(U) than was the latter. 3. The ribosomes from mammary gland could be dissociated into subunits after incubation, under conditions necessary for protein synthesis, in the presence of puromycin. The subunits could be recombined to give a preparation that actively polymerized [14C]phenylalanine in the presence of poly(U). The subunits from guinea-pig mammary gland could be combined with subunits from liver of either guinea pig or rat. Hybrid ribosomes were also formed from subunits derived from glands of pregnant and lactating animals. The hybrids were as active as were the ribosomes formed by reassociation of subunits from the same tissue, suggesting that in this respect the ribosomes from pregnant animals were not defective. 4. Polyribosomes from mammary glands of lactating animals when incubated with cell sap from the same source were tested for their ability to synthesize α-lactalbumin. The polyribosomes were incubated in the presence of [3H]leucine and α-lactalbumin was isolated from the supernatant. The protein was finally treated with cyanogen bromide and the C-terminal and N-terminal fragments were separated and their radioactivity was determined. Both fragments were radioactive consistent with the synthesis of α-lactalbumin. 5. The results are discussed in relation to protein synthesis in the mammary gland after parturition.
The role of cholesteryl 14-methylhexadecanoate in peptide elongation reactions
Authors: Hradec J. , Dušek Z. , Bermek E. , Matthaei H.
Published: August 2015

1. Peptide-elongation factors were purified from rat liver and human tonsils and the contents of cholesteryl 14-methylhexadecanoate were determined in fractions obtained during enzyme purification. The relative contents of this compound in purified enzyme preparations was several times higher than that in the crude starting material. Elongation factors from human tonsils contained a significantly larger quantity of the cholesteryl ester than enzyme from rat liver. 2. Transfer enzymes extracted with various organic solvents showed variable decreased activities in both binding and peptidization assay. The decrease of enzymic activity was proportional to the amount of cholesteryl 14-methylhexadecanoate extracted from a given enzymic preparation. In systems containing both extracted elongation factors the polyphenylalanine synthesis was limited by the residual activity of the less active transfer factor. 3. The original enzymic activity of extracted transferases was fully recovered by the addition of pure cholesteryl 14-methylhexadecanoate in quantities corresponding to those extracted. 4. Increase of the relative contents of this cholesteryl ester during enzyme purification, decrease of the enzymic activity after the extraction and its recovery by the addition of this compound indicates that the presence of this ester in elongation factors is essential for the normal function of these enzymes.
Affinity chromatography of dihydrofolate reductase
Authors: Newbold P. C. H. , Harding N. G. L.
Published: August 2015

1. Dihydrofolate reductase was purified from Lactobacillus casei MTX/R, and studied on affinity columns containing folic acid and methotrexate. Two forms of the enzyme were interconverted by incubation with substrates. 2. Affinity columns were prepared from agarose activated with cyanogen bromide and coupled with 1,6-diaminohexane. Stable folate derivatives were covalently attached by using a carbodi-imide condensation. 3. Columns containing folic acid retarded but did not retain the enzyme. 4. Methotrexate at pH 6.0 was particularly effective for retention of the enzyme. 5. There is selective loss of one form of the enzyme during affinity chromatography in the absence of added NADPH. This loss is due to conversion into a single enzyme form on the column. 6. NADPH has a dual effect in stabilizing the enzyme and in sensitizing it to inactivation by methotrexate, particularly in the presence of glycine. 7. Protein with affinity for methotrexate, but without dihydrofolate reductase activity, may also be eluted from the columns. 8. In a single-step procedure the enzyme was purified nearly 4000-fold from mammalian skin.
Effects of zinc and other metal ions on the stability and activity of Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase
Authors: Trotman C. N. A. , Greenwood C.
Published: August 2015

Measurement of the ultraviolet circular dichroism of apo-(alkaline phosphatase) in urea solutions showed substantial denaturation in 3m-urea. A zinc-deficient mutant alkaline phosphatase behaved similarly. The stability of the enzyme in 6m-urea was followed as a function of its zinc content and was found to be dependent on the first two of the four zinc atoms bound by apoenzyme. Phosphatase activity was mostly dependent on a second pair of zinc atoms. Mn2+, Co2+, Cu2+ or Cd2+ also restored structural stability. Sedimentation-velocity and -equilibrium experiments revealed that dissociation of the dimer accompanied apoenzyme denaturation in urea concentrations of 1m or higher, without treatment with disulphide-reducing agent.
Structure of glycoproteins of human erythrocytes. Alkali-stable oligosaccharides
Authors: Thomas D. B. , Winzler R. J.
Published: August 2015

Studies have been made on the oligosaccharide residues of the alkali-stable carbohydrate–protein linkage of sialoglycopeptides derived from human erythrocytes. Four glycopeptides were isolated after alkaline borohydride treatment and Pronase digestion of MN-active sialoglycopeptides. The structure of one of these glycopeptides (GPIV) has been studied by sequential hydrolysis with specific glycosidases. Glycopeptide GPIV contained (per mol): 1mol of fucose, 1mol of sialic acid, 3mol of galactose, 3mol of mannose, 4mol of acetylglucosamine, 1mol of aspartic acid and fractional amounts of threonine, serine and glycine. The molecular weight of the glycopeptide was estimated to be 2330 by gel filtration. On the basis of glycosidase-digestion results, a tentative structure is proposed for the oligosaccharide moiety of glycopeptide GPIV.
N-(5′-Phosphopyridoxyl)glutamic acid and N-(5′-phosphopyridoxyl)-2-oxopyrrolidine-5-carboxylic acid and their action on the apoenzyme of aspartate aminotransferase
Authors: Khomutov R M. , Dixon H B. F. , Vdovina L V. , Kirpichnikov M P. , Morozov Y V. , Severin E S. , Khurs E N.
Published: August 2015

1. N-(5′-Phosphopyridoxyl)-l-glutamic acid (P-Pxy-Glu, compound I) is readily converted at pH3 into a substance (P-Pxy-Glp, compound II) characterized as N-(5′-phosphopyridoxyl)-2-oxopyrrolidine-5-carboxylic acid. 2. The u.v., i.r. and fluorescence spectra of P-Pxy-Glu and P-Pxy-Glp have been determined; from the u.v. spectra their pK values have been found and compared. 3. The apoenzyme of aspartate aminotransferase is rapidly and irreversibly inactivated by P-Pxy-Glu, but is inactivated more slowly by P-Pxy-Glp. The complex with P-Pxy-Glp is stable enough to be isolated, but it is slowly reactivated in the presence of excess of pyridoxal phosphate. 4. The u.v. spectrum of the complex of apoenzyme and P-Pxy-Glp suggests that it contains a hydrogen bond between the phenolic hydroxyl group and the pyrrolidone nitrogen; this specifies the conformation of most of the molecule of P-Pxy-Glp. This conformation is similar to that previously postulated for the enzyme–glutamate complex except for the side chain of glutamate. Hence both the affinity of P-Pxy-Glp for the apoenzyme and the fact that it is more easily removed than P-Pxy-Glu are explicable.
Cations in component reactions of ‘malic’ enzyme catalysis
Authors: Tsai C. S. , Tsai Y. H. , Samad R. A.
Published: August 2015

The ‘malic’ enzyme (EC 1.1.1.40) has been purified (300-fold) from wheat germ and its abilities to catalyse the decarboxylation and the hydrogenation of oxaloacetic acid and oxaloacetate esters was studied. The free 1-carboxyl group is essential for the interaction of oxaloacetates and substituted oxaloacetates with the enzyme via cations. The free 4-carboxyl group is required for the decarboxylation but is not indispensable for the hydrogenation. At high concentrations, cations inhibit the enzymic hydrogenation of oxaloacetic acid but not that of 4-ethyl oxaloacetate. A plausible inhibitory mechanism is proposed.
Biochemical study of cardiac valvular tissue. Biosynthesis in vitro of hexosamine-containing substances in bovine heart valve
Authors: Kanke Y. , Mori Y. , Bashey R. I. , Angrist A. A.
Published: August 2015

1. Two distinct hexosamine-containing substances have been obtained from bovine cardiac valvular tissue which was incubated with labelled glucosamine. These were identified as mucopolysaccharides and glycopeptides respectively, both by the elution pattern from a Sephadex G-50 column and by chemical analysis. 2. In the mucopolysaccharide fraction about 80% of both the total hexosamine and total radioactivity were present; the galactosamine/glucosamine ratio of the amounts was about 1.36. 3. The glycopeptide fractions had about 20% of both total hexosamine and total radioactivity; the galactosamine/glucosamine ratio of amounts was about 0.44. In this fraction, over 15% of radioactivity was present in sialic acid. 4. In contrast with the concentrations of the several chemical components, there were remarkable differences in the biosynthetic activities among the four valves; the tricuspid valve had highest specific radioactivity in all components of both substances, followed then in turn by mitral, aortic and pulmonary valves. 5. Glucosamine in mucopolysaccharides had a rapid rate of turnover, followed then in turn by turnover rates of both glucosamine and galactosamine in glycopeptides, and of galactosamine in mucopolysaccharides. The possible significance of these findings is discussed.
Protein and carbohydrate moieties of a preparation of β-lactamase II
Authors: Kuwabara S. , Lloyd P. H.
Published: August 2015

1. A crystalline preparation of β-lactamase II has been separated into two moieties by gel filtration on a column of Sephadex G-100. 2. The first moiety consisted mainly of carbohydrate and showed virtually no β-lactamase activity. 3. The second moiety was a protein of molecular weight 22500, which was enzymically active. 4. The protein moiety, like the original protein–carbohydrate complex, required Zn2+ for β-lactamase activity. It did not differ significantly from the complex in its behaviour to a number of cephalosporin substrates, but was less stable to heat than the complex. 5. About 30% of the total β-lactamase activity was lost when the protein–carbohydrate complex was separated into the two moieties. This activity was regained when the protein and carbohydrate moieties were mixed, but the mixture did not show the heat stability of the original complex.
The development of gluconeogenesis in rat liver. Controlling factors in the newborn
Authors: Ballard F. J.
Published: August 2015

1. Measurements in livers of rats delivered by Caesarian section show a rapid change in the relative proportion of adenine nucleotides. By 20min the ATP/ADP ratio had increased from 1.76 to 8.7 and the value of the relationship [ATP][AMP]/[ADP]2increased from 1.0 to 4.4. These changes are dependent on the availability of oxygen to the animal. 2. The free [NAD+]/[NADH] ratio in the liver cytosol increases from 180 after delivery to reach a maximum of 1010 at 2h, before falling to 540 in the 24h-old animal. 3. The mitochondrial NAD redox potential also shows a sharp increase towards a more oxidized state in livers of delivered rats. 4. These results probably indicate that the foetal liver is hypoxic, with oxygenation occurring in the first hour after delivery. 5. Measurements in livers of naturally born rats 2min after birth also suggest that this tissue is hypoxic with an ATP/ADP ratio of 1.83 and a free [NAD+]/[NADH] ratio of 117. 6. Concentrations of intermediates in the gluconeogenic pathway have been determined in livers of foetal, 1h-old and 1-day-old rats. These experiments imply a facilitation of lactate dehydrogenase and glucose 6-phosphatase activities by 1h after birth, and a stimulation of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and glucose 6-phosphatase steps by 1 day after birth. 7. The appearance of gluconeogenesis in livers of newborn rats seems therefore to involve an oxygenation stage followed by an increase in phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase activity.
Studies on the primary structure of chicken erythrocyte histone fraction V
Authors: Greenaway P. J.
Published: August 2015

Histone fraction V was prepared by selective acid extraction from chicken erythrocyte nuclei. Amino acid sequence studies on the tryptic and thermolytic peptides are reported. Only a limited amount of overlapping sequence data was obtained.
α-Crystallin. The isolation and characterization of distinct macromolecular fractions
Authors: Spector Abraham , Li Lu-Ku , Augusteyn Robert C. , Schneider Arthur , Freund Thomas
Published: August 2015

α-Crystallin was isolated from calf lens periphery by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and gel filtration. Three distinct populations of macromolecules have been isolated with molecular weights in the ranges approx. 6×105−9×105, 0.9×106−4×106and greater than 10×106. The concentration of macromolecules at the molecular-weight limits of a population are very low. The members of the different populations do not appear to be in equilibrium with each other. Further, in those molecular-weight fractions investigated, no equilibrium between members of the same population was observed. The population of lowest molecular weight comprises 65–75% of the total material. The amino acid and subunit composition of the different-sized fractions appear very similar, if not identical. The only chemical difference observed between the fractions is the presence of significant amounts of sugar in the higher-molecular-weight fractions. Subunit molecular weights of approx. 19.5×103and 22.5×103were observed for all α-crystallin fractions.
The nucleotide sequences of some large ribonuclease T1 products from bacteriophage R17 ribonucleic acid
Authors: Jeppesen Peter G. N.
Published: August 2015

A method of ‘fingerprinting’ high-molecular-weight32P-labelled RNA species, using a two-dimensional thin-layer-chromatographic separation of ribonuclease T1 digestion products, has been applied to RNA from the Escherichia coli bacteriophage R17. The ‘fingerprinting’ technique, besides giving a unique pattern that can be used as a characterization of the RNA, has made it possible to isolate a number of the larger oligonucleotides and to determine their nucleotide sequences.
Sterol and triterpene synthesis in the developing and germinating pea seed
Authors: Baisted D. J.
Published: August 2015

Developing and germinating pea seeds were compared with respect to their capacity to incorporate mevalonate into sterols and triterpenes. The capacity for sterol synthesis is greatest in the least mature fruits and decreases during their development. Label is shown, by gas–liquid chromatography and counting the radioactivity of trapped fractions, to be associated with campesterol, β-sitosterol and isofucosterol. During early stages of germination sterol synthesis is insignificant. The triterpene fraction becomes heavily labelled during both development and germination. The label is associated almost exclusively with β-amyrin during germination but with cycloartenol and 24-methylenecycloartanol during development. It is only in the terminal stages of maturation that β-amyrin becomes significantly labelled. At the same time an unidentified radioactive polar compound appears. The possible significance of the appearance of this polar compound and the regulation of the synthesis of these higher terpenoids is discussed.
Amino acid regulation of synthesis of ribonucleic acid and protein in the liver of rats
Authors: Wannemacher R. W. , Wannemacher C. F. , Yatvin M. B.
Published: August 2015

Weanling (23-day-old) rats were fed on either a low-protein diet (6% casein) or a diet containing an adequate amount of protein (18% casein) for 28 days. Hepatic cells from animals fed on the deficient diet were characterized by markedly lower concentrations of protein and RNA in all cellular fractions as compared with cells from control rats. The bound rRNA fraction was decreased to the greatest degree, whereas the free ribosomal concentrations were only slightly less than in control animals. A good correlation was observed between the rate of hepatic protein synthesis in vivo and the cellular protein content of the liver. Rates of protein synthesis both in vivo and in vitro were directly correlated with the hepatic concentration of individual free amino acids that are essential for protein synthesis. The decreased protein-synthetic ability of the ribosomes from the liver of protein-deprived rats was related to a decrease in the number of active ribosomes and heavy polyribosomes. The lower ribosomal content of the hepatocytes was correlated with the decreased concentration of essential free amino acids. In the protein-deprived rats, the rate of accumulation of newly synthesized cytoplasmic rRNA was markedly decreased compared with control animals. From these results it was concluded that amino acids regulate protein synthesis (1) by affecting the number of ribosomes that actively synthesize protein and (2) by inhibiting the rate of synthesis of new ribosomes. Both of these processes may involve the synthesis of proteins with a rapid rate of turnover.
Turnover of protein-bound phosphorylserine in membrane preparations from ox brain catalysed by intrinsic kinase and phosphatase activity
Authors: Weller M. , Rodnight R.
Published: August 2015

1. The turnover of protein-bound phosphorylserine in preparations of membrane fragments from ox brain cortex was studied. 2. Turnover was considered to arise from the action of intrinsic protein kinases and phosphatases on a membrane protein or proteins. 3. Properties of the kinase system were studied by measuring the rate of incorporation of32P from γ-labelled ATP into protein-bound phosphorylserine isolated from partial acid hydrolysates of membrane proteins. 4. Properties of the phosphatase system were studied by observing the rate of loss of32P from membrane preparations pre-labelled with [32P]ATP. 5. Net phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of membrane protein was observed during incubation of membrane preparations with and without ATP. 6. The rate of turnover was about 4nmol of P/h per mg of protein at 20°C; dephosphorylation was considered to be the rate-limiting step.
Studies on the structure and metabolism of glycogen in some abnormal human infants
Authors: Manners D. J. , Schutt W. H. , Stark J. R. , Thambyrajah V.
Published: August 2015

1. The liver and muscle tissues of 14 human anencephalic babies were examined for glycogen content and structure, and for the activities of several glycogen-metabolizing enzymes. 2. In both tissues glycogen content increased with gestation age; the muscle glycogens had a slightly but significantly lower degree of branching than the corresponding liver glycogens. 3. All the expected glycogen-metabolizing enzymes were present; acid maltase activities were higher and phosphoglucomutase activities were lower than the results reported for human adult tissues. Glucose 6-phosphatase activity increased significantly with gestation age.
The isolation, and amino acid and carbohydrate composition, of polymeric collagens prepared from various human tissues
Authors: Schofield J. D. , Freeman I. L. , Jackson D. S.
Published: August 2015

1. Insoluble polymeric collagens from various human tissues were prepared by the EDTA method. Almost all of the collagen from simple soft tissues such as dermis, tendon, submucosa, sclera and cornea could be extracted, whereas the more complex tissues such as intercostal cartilage and intervertebral disc yielded only small amounts of collagen. Amino acid and carbohydrate analysis indicated that most of the preparations were highly purified on the basis of their tyrosine, hexosamine, mannose, xylose and fucose contents. 2. Wide variation in the total hexose content was observed, the lowest being 8.5 residues/3000 amino acid residues for collagen from dermis and the highest being 42.1 residues/3000 in corneal collagen. The molar ratios of sugars also varied, submucosal collagen having a galactose/glucose ratio of 1.0 and corneal collagen having a ratio of 2.3. 3. The presence of glucosylgalactosylhydroxylysine was confirmed in submucosal collagen by compositional and chromatographic analysis of this component after its isolation from alkaline hydrolysates of the collagen. Evidence was also obtained for the presence of galactosylhydroxylysine. 4. Determination of the hydroxylysyl glycosides was carried out and it was observed that the amounts of these components varied widely from tissue to tissue. Corneal collagen contained 19.1 hydroxylysine-linked carbohydrate units/3000 amino acid residues, whereas tendon collagen contained only 4.1 units/3000. Variation in the ratio disaccharide unit/monosaccharide unit was also observed, the ratio being 1.2 in intercostal cartilage collagen and 4.1 in submucosal collagen. The proportion of the total hydroxylysine that was substituted by carbohydrate also varied from tissue to tissue.
Effects of increased heart work on glycolysis and adenine nucleotides in the perfused heart of normal and diabetic rats
Authors: Opie L. H. , Mansford K. R. L. , Owen P
Published: August 2015

1. In the isolated perfused rat heart, the contractile activity and the oxygen uptake were varied by altering the aortic perfusion pressure, or by the atrial perfusion technique (‘working heart’). 2. The maximum increase in the contractile activity brought about an eightfold increase in the oxygen uptake. The rate of glycolytic flux rose, while tissue contents of hexose monophosphates, citrate, ATP and creatine phosphate decreased, and contents of ADP and AMP rose. 3. The changes in tissue contents of adenine nucleotides during increased heart work were time-dependent. The ATP content fell temporarily (30s and 2min) after the start of left-atrial perfusion; at 5 and 10min values were normal; and at 30 and 60min values were decreased. ADP and AMP values were increased in the first 15min, but were at control values 30 or 60min after the onset of increased heart work. 4. During increased heart work changes in the tissue contents of adenine nucleotide and of citrate appeared to play a role in altered regulation of glycolysis at the level of phosphofructokinase activity. 5. In recirculation experiments increased heart work for 30min was associated with increased entry of [14C]glucose (11.1mm) and glycogen into glycolysis and a comparable increase in formation of products of glycolysis (lactate, pyruvate and 14CO2). There was no major accumulation of intermediates. Glycogen was not a major fuel for respiration. 6. Increased glycolytic flux in Langendorff perfused and working hearts was obtained by the addition of insulin to the perfusion medium. The concomitant increases in the tissue values of hexose phosphates and of citrate contrasted with the decreased values of hexose monophosphates and of citrate during increased glycolytic flux obtained by increased heart work. 7. Decreased glycolytic flux in Langendorff perfused hearts was obtained by using acute alloxan-diabetic and chronic streptozotocin-diabetic rats; in the latter condition there were decreased tissue contents of hexose phosphates and of citrate. There were similar findings when working hearts from streptozotocin-diabetic rats with insulin added to the medium were compared with normal hearts. 8. The effects of insulin addition or of the chronic diabetic state could be explained in terms of an action of insulin on glucose transport. Increased heart work also acted at this site, but in addition there was evidence for altered regulation of glycolysis mediated by changes in tissue contents of adenine nucleotides or of citrate.
Colorimetric measurement of dermatan sulphate
Authors: Ferrante N. D. , Donnelly P. V. , Berglund R. K.
Published: August 2015

The periodate–Schiff reaction has been adapted for the measurement of dermatan sulphate. The method is specific for this glycosaminoglycan, provided that glycogen and glycoproteins are removed. Measurements of dermatan sulphate present in the urine of patients affected by various mucopolysaccharidoses indicate a good agreement between the values obtained with enzymic methods and those obtained with the colorimetric method described.
The hydrogen ion equilibria of horseradish peroxidase and apoperoxidase
Authors: Phelps C , Forlani L , Antonini E
Published: August 2015

1. The reversible proton dissociation equilibria of peroxidase, apoperoxidase and haem-recombined apoperoxidase have been explored in 150mm-potassium chloride at 20°C at pH3–11.5. 2. Complementary heat measurements have been made of the classes of titratable groups to determine their intrinsic ΔH dissociation. 3. These curves are interpreted as showing that there are two histidine residues capable of titration in peroxidase whereas there are three such in apoperoxidase. 4. Concomitant spectroscopic investigations indicate profound differences in the tyrosine ionizations in the two proteins. In peroxidase one group only of the five residues ionizes up to pH11.5. In apoperoxidase four residues are titratable. 5. Spectroscopic titration in 6m-guanidinium chloride and 150mm-potassium chloride reveal one tyrosine residue fewer in peroxidase than in apoperoxidase. 6. These findings are discussed in terms of the ‘side chain’ groups responsible for binding the haem group in peroxidase. A proximal imidazole group seems probable as is also the involvement of a distally placed tyrosine. 7. The differences between apo- and holo-peroxidase are stressed, particularly in respect of abnormal carboxyl group titration in the former.
Control of glutamine synthesis in rat liver
Authors: Lund P
Published: August 2015

1. On perfusion of livers from fed rats with a semi-synthetic medium containing no added amino acids there is a rapid release of glutamine during the first 15min (15.6±0.8μmol/h per g wet wt.; mean±s.e.m. of 35 experiments), followed by a low linear rate of production (3.6±0.3μmol/h per g wet wt.; mean±s.e.m. of three experiments). The rapid initial release can be accounted for as wash-out of preexisting intracellular glutamine. 2. Addition of readily permeating substrates, or substrate combinations, giving rise to intracellular glutamate or ammonia, or both, did not appreciably increase the rate of glutamine production over the endogenous rate. The maximum rate obtained was from proline plus alanine; even then the rate represented less than one-fortieth of the capacity of glutamine synthetase measured in vitro. 3. Complete inhibition of respiration in the perfusions [no erythrocytes in the medium; 1mm-cyanide; N2%CO2 (95:5) in the gas phase] or perfusion with glutamine synthetase inhibitors [l-methionine dl-sulphoximine; dl-(%)-allo-δ-hydroxylysine] abolishes the low linear rate of glutamine synthesis, but not the initial rapid release of glutamine. 4. In livers from 48h-starved rats initial release (0–15min) of glutamine was decreased (10.6±1.1μmol/h per g wet wt.; mean±s.e.m. of 11 experiments) and the subsequent rate of glutamine production was lower than in livers from fed rats. Again proline plus alanine was the only substrate combination giving an increase significantly above the endogenous rate. 5. The rate of glutamine synthesis de novo by the liver is apparently unrelated to the tissue content of glutamate or ammonia. 6. The blood glutamine concentration is increased by 50% within 1h of elimination of the liver from the circulation of rats in vivo. 7. There is an output of glutamine by the brain under normal conditions; the mean arterio-venous difference for six rats was 0.023μmol/ml. 8. The high potential activity of liver glutamine synthetase appears to be inhibited by some unknown mechanism: the function of the liver under normal conditions is probably the disposal of glutamine produced by extrahepatic tissues.
Glycolytic enzymes in mammalian spermatozoa. Activities and stabilities of hexokinase and phosphofructokinase in various fractions from sperm homogenates
Authors: Harrison R. A. P.
Published: August 2015

1. Methods of homogenizing suspensions of washed mammalian spermatozoa were studied. The most useful methods were those using sonication and those using a French press. 2. Hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, glucose phosphate isomerase and adenosine triphosphatase activities in ram, bull and boar spermatozoa were investigated by using these two homogenization methods. Glucose phosphate isomerase, representative of soluble cytoplasmic material, was very readily extracted and remained entirely in the supernatant after centrifugation at 145000g for 60min. In contrast, the other three activities were less easily extracted and were sedimented in various proportions under the described conditions of centrifugation. 3. Attempts to obtain subcellular fractions from sperm homogenates by ‘classical’ methods failed, owing apparently to the inhomogeneity of subcellular particles in the homogenates. It is concluded that, after removal of sperm heads, the only meaningful fractionation is a separation of spermatozoal material which sediments at 145000g during 60min from that which does not. 4. The stabilities of hexokinase and phosphofructokinase activities in bull, boar and ram sperm homogenates were investigated. Hexokinases showed very little dependence on the various environments tested, whereas the optimum conditions for phosphofructokinase stability were: a minimum of sonication, the presence of phosphate ions and of a thiol-group protectant, and a pH7.5. Activities of hexokinase, phosphofructokinase and glucose phosphate isomerase per sperm cell were compared with published data on rates of fructolysis by spermatozoa; the potential catalytic activities were shown to be considerably in excess of these rates. However, phosphofructokinase may be the rate-limiting enzyme of glycolysis in vivo in bull and ram spermatozoa.
Studies on the induction and biosynthesis of vitellogenin, an oestrogen-induced glycolipophosphoprotein
Authors: Dolphin P. J. , Ansari A. Q. , Lazier C. B. , Munday K. A. , Akhtar M.
Published: August 2015

1. Oestrogen treatment induces the formation of a Ca2+-binding glycolipophosphoprotein, vitellogenin, in Xenopus laevis. 2. The incorporation of l-[4,5-3H]-leucine into vitellogenin in vivo and in vitro was observed 12–24h after hormone treatment and increased progressively up to 21 days after treatment. 3. Vitellogenin is shown to be the major protein component biosynthesized and released into the incubation medium in vitro by livers from oestrogen-treated animals. 4. The biosynthesis in vitro of vitellogenin was inhibited by cycloheximide and carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, stimulated by increased Ca2+ concentrations and decreased by raising the incubation temperature from 22 to 37°C. 5. Incorporation of labelled amino acids into vitellogenin began after approx. 2h. No lag phase was noted for the incorporation of labelled amino acids into total tissue proteins. 6. The incorporation of label from [32P]phosphate and [2-14C]acetate into the protein as well as into the lipid moiety of vitellogenin showed a lag phase similar to that noted for the incorporation of amino acids. 7. These results suggest that the release of vitellogenin into the incubation medium occurs about 2h after the initiation of its biosynthesis.
Loss of haem in rat liver caused by the porphyrogenic agent 2-allyl-2-isopropylacetamide
Authors: De Matteis F.
Published: August 2015

1. The effect of a single dose of 2-allyl-2-isopropylacetamide on the cytochrome P-450 concentration in rat liver microsomal fraction was studied. The drug caused a rapid loss of cytochrome P-450 followed by a gradual increase to above the normal concentration. 2. The loss of cytochrome P-450 was accompanied by a loss of microsomal haem and by a brown–green discoloration of the microsomal fraction suggesting that a change in the chemical constitution of the lost haem had taken place. Direct evidence for this was obtained by prelabelling the liver haems with radioactive 5-aminolaevulate: the drug caused a loss of radioactivity from the haem with an increase of radioactivity in a fraction containing certain un-identified green pigments. 3. Evidence was obtained by a dual-isotopic procedure that rapidly turning-over haem(s) may be preferentially affected. 4. The loss of cytochrome P-450 as well as the loss of microsomal haem and the discoloration of the microsomal fraction were more intense in animals pretreated with phenobarbitone and were much less evident when compound SKF 525-A (2-diethylaminoethyl 3,3-diphenylpropylacetate) was given before 2-allyl-2-isopropylacetamide, suggesting that the activity of the drug-metabolizing enzymes may be involved in these effects. 5. The relevance of the destruction of liver haem to the increased activity of 5-aminolaevulate synthetase caused by 2-allyl-2-isopropylacetamide is discussed.
The amino acid sequence of cytochrome c of Fagopyrum esculentum Moench (buckwheat) and Brassica oleracea L. (cauliflower)
Authors: Thompson E. W. , Richardson M. , Boulter D.
Published: August 2015

The amino acid sequences of buckwheat and cauliflower cytochromes c were determined on 1½μmol and 1μmol of protein respectively. The molecules consist of 111 residues and are homologous with other plant mitochondrial cytochromes c. Experimental details are given in a supplementary paper that has been deposited as Supplementary Publication SUP 50005 at the National Lending Library for Science and Technology, Boston Spa, Yorks. LS23 7BQ, U.K., from whom copies can be obtained on the terms indicated in Biochem. J. (1971), 121, 7.
Tentative identification of a vasopressin–neurophysin and an oxytocin–neurophysin in the rat
Authors: Burford G. D. , Jones C. W. , Pickering B. T.
Published: August 2015

1. Rat neurohypophysial extracts have been examined by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. 2. Three of the proteins were tentatively identified as neurophysins by their acidic nature and their disappearance after dehydration of the animals. 3. These proteins were radioactive 24h after intracisternal injection of [35S]cysteine. 4. Two of the proteins were present in much greater quantities than the third, and these two were present in the gland in the same ratio as the hormones vasopressin and oxytocin. 5. One of these proteins was absent from glands of rats homozygous for diabetes insipidus but present in heterozygous animals. 6. It is suggested that these two proteins are the vasopressin–neurophysin and oxytocin–neurophysin of the rat.
The regulation of growth hormone secretion from the isolated rat anterior pituitary in vitro. The role of adenosine 3′:5′-cyclic monophosphate
Authors: Ewart R. B. Lockhart , Taylor K. W.
Published: August 2015

1. The release of growth hormone from isolated fragments of rat anterior pituitary tissue incubated in vitro was studied by employing a double-antibody radioimmunoassay. 2. In the absence of added stimuli, two phases of hormone release could be distinguished, an early phase of 2h duration and a subsequent late phase. In the early phase, hormone release was rapid but could be significantly decreased by calcium depletion and by 2,4-dinitrophenol whereas the rate of release in the late phase was uninfluenced by these incubation conditions. These results have been interpreted as indicating the existence of a secretory component in the early phase of release. 3. In subsequent experiments, the effects of various agents on the rate of hormone output during the late phase of incubation were investigated. Hormone release was increased by theophylline and by dibutyryl cyclic AMP (N6-2′-O-dibutyryl-adenosine 3′:5′-cyclic monophosphate), the response to both of these agents being related to the concentration of the stimulant employed. 4. The stimulation of growth hormone output by theophylline was significantly decreased by calcium deprivation and by 2,4-dinitrophenol. The response to dibutyryl cyclic AMP was diminished by 2,4-dinitrophenol, iodoacetate and 2-deoxyglucose but not by malonate or colchicine. 5. Arginine, β-hydroxybutyrate, albumin-bound palmitate and variation in the glucose concentration of the incubation medium over a wide range were without any statistically significant effect on the rate of hormone release from either control pituitary fragments or those subject to secretory stimulation by dibutyryl cyclic AMP. 6. It is suggested that the regulation of growth hormone secretion is mediated by cyclic AMP (adenosine 3′:5′-cyclic monophosphate). The secretion observed in response to cyclic AMP requires the presence of ionized calcium and a source of metabolic energy but is independent of pituitary protein synthesis de novo. The integrity of the glycolytic pathway of glucose metabolism appears to be essential for cyclic AMP-stimulated growth hormone secretion to occur.