bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Interaction of soluble glucosyl- and mannosyl-transferase enzyme activities in the synthesis of a glucomannan
Authors: Heller J. S. , Villemez C. L.
Published: August 2015

A neutral-detergent-solubilized-enzyme preparation derived from Phaseolus aureus hypocotyls contains two types of glycosyltransferase activity. One, mannosyltransferase enzyme activity, utilizes GDP-α-d-mannose as the sugar nucleotide substrate. The other, glucosyltransferase enzyme activity, utilizes GDP-α-d-glucose as the sugar nucleotide substrate. The soluble enzyme preparation catalyses the formation of what appears to be a homopolysaccharide when either sugar nucleotide is the only substrate present. A β-(1→4)-linked mannan is the only polymeric product when only GDP-α-d-mannose is added. A β-(1→4)-linked glucan is the only polymeric product when only GDP-α-d-glucose is added. In the presence of both sugar nucleotides, however, a β-(1→4)-linked glucomannan is formed. There are indications that endogenous sugar donors may be present in the enzyme preparation. There appear to be only two glycosyltransferases in the enzyme preparation, each catalysing the transfer of a different sugar to the same type of acceptor molecule. The glucosyltransferase requires the continual production of mannose-containing acceptor molecules for maintenance of enzyme activity, and is thereby dependent upon the activity of the mannosyltransferase. The mannosyltransferase, on the other hand, does not require the continual production of glucose-containing acceptors for maintenance of enzyme activity, but is severely inhibited by GDP-α-P-glucose. These properties promote the synthesis of β-(1→4)-linked glucomannan rather than β-(1→4)-linked glucan plus β-(1→4)-linked mannan when both sugar nucleotide substrates are present.
The characterization of rat kidney plasma membranes prepared by zonal centrifugation
Authors: Price R. G. , Taylor D. G. , Robinson D.
Published: August 2015

1. Plasma membranes were isolated from a 10000g-min pellet prepared from a renal cortical homogenate in 20mm-NaHCO3 by isopycnic centrifugation in a linear sucrose gradient in an ‘A’-type zonal rotor. 2. The preparation was characterized by electron microscopy, and alkaline phosphatase, 5′-nucleotidase, l-leucine β-naphthylamidase and l-leucine p-nitroanilidase activities were found to be selectively associated with the renal plasma membrane. 3. The preparation had a high degree of purity, as indicated by the presence of low activities of marker enzymes associated with subcellular organelles. A preliminary chemical analysis indicated that the chemical composition resembled that of plasma membranes of other tissues. 4. Plasma membranes were also prepared from tubular fragments and their enzyme contents were found to be similar to those of plasma membranes prepared from cortical homogenates. 5. l-Leucine β-naphthylamidase, l-leucine p-nitroanilidase and 5′-nucleotidase were not enriched to the same extent as alkaline phosphatase in the preparation of plasma membranes from tubular fragments. A possible explanation for this finding is discussed.
A kinetic study of baker's-yeast pyruvate kinase activated by fructose 1,6-diphosphate
Authors: Macfarlane Neil , Ainsworth Stanley
Published: August 2015

The paper reports a study of the kinetics of the reaction between phosphoenolpyruvate, ADP and Mg2+catalysed by yeast pyruvate kinase when activated by fructose 1,6-diphosphate and K+. The experimental results indicate that the reaction mechanism is of the Ordered Tri Bi type with the substrates binding in the order phosphoenolpyruvate, ADP and Mg2+. Direct phosphoryl transfer takes place in the quaternary complex, with pyruvate released before MgATP. A dead-end enzyme–pyruvate complex is also indicated. Values have been determined for the Michaelis, dissociation and inhibition constants of the reaction. Several of the rate constants involved have also been evaluated.
Purification of yeast isocitrate dehydrogenase
Authors: Illingworth John A.
Published: August 2015

The NAD-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase from baker's yeast was purified to homogeneity (as judged by gel filtration and polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis) with an overall yield of 50% by using dilute solutions of the allosteric effector (AMP) to elute the enzyme specifically from CM-cellulose. This method preserves the allosteric properties of the crude enzyme. Although the pure enzyme shows only a single band on electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate, two types of subunit are observed in 8m-urea. The isoelectric point of the enzyme rises during purification, and this may reflect the partial loss of an additional low-molecular-weight component. Values are included for the amino acid composition and extinction coefficients of the pure enzyme.
Anomalous behaviour of yeast isocitrate dehydrogenase during isoelectric focusing
Authors: Illingworth John A.
Published: August 2015

Isoelectric focusing of yeast isocitrate dehydrogenase apparently reveals a number of ‘isoenzymes’. These have isoelectric points near pH5.5 in crude material, but during purification the mean isoelectric point progressively rises to pH7.0 and the band pattern changes. The shift in isoelectric point during purification is apparently genuine, since it is also manifested in the electrophoretic and chromatographic properties of the enzyme. The multiple forms, however, are an artifact, generated by exposure of the enzyme to Ampholine, since their activities vary with the protein/Ampholine ratio and they cannot be observed in any system from which Ampholine is excluded. There are no detectable isoenzymes of yeast isocitrate dehydrogenase.
Inactivation of tyrosine aminotransferase in neutral homogenates and rat liver slices
Authors: Auricchio F. , Mollica L. , Liguori A.
Published: August 2015

Inactivation of tyrosine aminotransferase induced in vivo by triamcinolone was studied in a homogenate incubated at neutral pH values. The integrity and the presence of subcellular particles together with a compartment of acidic pH are necessary for inactivation of tyrosine aminotransferase. It is suggested that tyrosine aminotransferase is inactivated inside lysosomes. The system responsible for inactivation of tyrosine aminotransferase was partially purified and identified with lysosomal cathepsins B and B1. Inactivation of tyrosine aminotransferase in liver slices is controlled by the amino acid concentration and strongly stimulated by cysteine. 3,3′,5-Tri-iodo-l-thyronine reversibly and strongly decreases the rate of inactivation of tyrosine aminotransferase. The effect is not due to an increased rate of tyrosine aminotransferase synthesis.
The stereochemical structure of disodium dl-glycerol 3-phosphate hexahydrate, the d isomer of which is an inhibitor of triose phosphate isomerase
Authors: Fenn Ruth H. , Marshall Geoffrey E.
Published: August 2015

The stereochemistry of dl-glycerol 3-phosphate was studied by X-ray-crystallographic techniques. All the bond lengths and angles are within normally accepted limits except the ester bond, which is one of the largest yet noted, being 0.1637nm. The conformation of the molecule is such that an intramolecular hydrogen bond is formed between the hydroxyl group on the β-carbon atom and the phosphate group. The crystal, which was grown by alcohol diffusion into an aqueous solution, is held together by sodium co-ordination and a complex system of hydrogen bonds. A table of the observed and calculated structure factors, ǀFobs.ǀ and Fcalc., has been deposited as Supplementary Publication 50010 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. (1972) 126, 5.
Metabolic studies in experimental liver disease resulting from d(+)-galactosamine administration
Authors: Record Christopher O. , Alberti K. G. M. M. , Williamson Dermot H.
Published: August 2015

1. In confirmation of previous work, administration of d(+)-galactosamine (0.5–0.75g/kg body wt.) to rats caused a hepatitis with histological evidence of liver damage and a 9-fold rise in aspartate aminotransferase activity in serum. 2. There was a significant elevation of blood lactate and pyruvate concentrations in 24h-starved rats treated with galactosamine but no change in the [lactate]/[pyruvate] ratio. 3-Hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate concentrations in blood were decreased. 3. The changes in the concentrations of lactate, pyruvate and ketone bodies in the freeze-clamped liver were parallel to those observed in the blood. 4. In the livers of 24h-starved galactosamine-treated rats there were large increases in the concentrations of alanine (3-fold), citrate (5-fold), 2-oxoglutarate (4-fold), with smaller increases in malate, glutamate and aspartate. There was a 4-fold rise in the value of the mass-action ratio of the alanine aminotransferase system in the livers of galactosamine-treated rats when compared to controls. 5. There was a significant decrease in the activities of aspartate and alanine aminotransferases in the cytoplasm and the soluble fraction of sonicated homogenates of the livers of rats treated with galactosamine. The activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase was decreased by 75% of the control value. 6. Glucose synthesis from lactate in perfused livers from galactosamine-treated rats was inhibited 39% when compared with controls. 7. The results indicate that the conversion of lactate into glucose is decreased in the livers of galactosamine-treated rats and that this decrease may be due to the loss of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase from damaged hepatocytes.
Preparation of gram quantities of a purified R-factor-mediated penicillinase from Escherichia coli strain W3310
Authors: Melling J. , Scott G. K.
Published: August 2015

Purified penicillinase, in gram quantities, has been prepared from Escherichia coli strain W3310 by using methods developed to handle large amounts of material. The final product had a specific enzyme activity of 3.08 units/μg of protein, which was over twice as high as that reported previously (Datta & Richmond, 1966). The purified enzyme was similar to that from E. coli strain TEM, but different in molecular weight and some other respects. The differences observed may be a result of the greater purity obtained.
Activation of brain hexokinase by magnesium ions and by magnesium ion–adenosine triphosphate complex
Authors: Purich Daniel L. , Fromm Herbert J.
Published: August 2015

1. An alternative explanation for the kinetic data obtained by Bachelard (1971) for the brain hexokinase reaction is presented. 2. Apparently sigmoidal saturation curves for MgATP2− based upon Bachelard's (1971) studies can be corrected to hyperbolic curves by use of a stability constant for MgATP2− complex formation. 3. A number of other effects related to the concentration-dependent stability of the MgATP2− complex and to the presence of the inhibitory free uncomplexed ATP4− concentration are also explained in terms of a non-allosteric role for either Mg2+ or MgATP2− fully consistent with a number of previous reports on this enzyme. 4. A brief discussion of the validity of Hill plots in studies of multisubstrate co-operative enzymes is presented. 5. A simple model is presented that demonstrates how enzymes obeying Michaelis–Menten kinetics can demonstrate sigmoidal velocity responses if the true substrate of the reaction is the metal–substrate complex.
α1-Acute-phase globulins of rats. Microheterogeneity after isoelectric focusing
Authors: Gordon A. H. , Dykes P. J.
Published: August 2015

1. Improved resolution of mixtures of α1-globulins was obtained by the use of isoelectric focusing. 2. Because material recovered after isoelectric focusing in polyacrylamide gels behaved in a manner which suggested interaction with components derived from the gel, isoelectric focusing when used for preparative purposes was done in a matrix of Sephadex G-75. 3. By this means material from the individual bands formed by isoelectric focusing in 6m-urea could be isolated. The stability of these substances was examined by further isoelectric focusing. 4. Analysis of material that had been shown to be homogenous by isoelectric focusing in the absence of urea and of that from several individual bands derived from the same sample by isoelectric focusing in 6m-urea showed different proportions of sialic acid but no change in amino acid composition. 5. In the presence of 6m-urea the isoelectric points found were increased by 0.14–0.25 pH unit. After removal of most of the sialic acid with neuraminidase the increase was 0.36–0.72 pH unit. After treatment with 0.025m-H2SO4 at 80°C for 1h, which removed all the sialic acid, the increase was 0.40–0.87 pH unit. 6. Because removal of all the sialic acid did not decrease the number of bands formed by isoelectric focusing the observed heterogeneity could not be caused entirely by the presence of various proportions of sialic acid.
The isolation of 2,3-oxidosqualene from the liver of rats treated with 1-dodecylimidazole, a novel hypocholesterolaemic agent
Authors: Atkin Sandra D. , Morgan B. , Baggaley K. H. , Green J.
Published: August 2015

1. Non-saponifiable lipid from the livers of rats treated with 1-dodecylimidazole contained an unidentified compound that was not present in the livers from untreated animals. 2. Treated rats had lower serum cholesterol concentrations than control rats. 3. 1-Dodecylimidazole, when added to rat liver slices, inhibited the incorporation of [1-14C]acetate and [2-14C]mevalonate into digitonin-precipitable sterols and resulted in the accumulation of a labelled compound, which was chromatographically identical with the unknown compound described in 1 above. 4. Rats treated with 1-dodecylimidazole incorporated less [14C]mevalonate into liver digitonin-precipitable sterols than untreated animals and accumulated the unknown compound as a labelled intermediate. 5. The unknown intermediate had the same chromatographic properties, n.m.r. and mass spectra as authentic 2,3-oxidosqualene. 6. The identity of the intermediate as 2,3-oxidosqualene was further established by showing that it was incorporated into sterols by rat liver homogenates under anaerobic conditions. In addition, incubation of [14C]squalene with rat liver homogenates resulted in trapping of the radioactivity by the added intermediate. 7. It is suggested that the hypocholesterolaemic activity of 1-dodecylimidazole results in part from the inhibition of cholesterol biosynthesis at the level of 2,3-oxidosqualene sterol cyclase.
Active-site-directed irreversible inhibition of rat brain 4-aminobutyrate aminotransferase by ethanolamine O-sulphate in vitro and in vivo
Authors: Fowler L. J. , John R. A.
Published: August 2015

1. Partially purified preparations of rat brain 4-aminobutyrate aminotransferase were inhibited in a time-dependent manner by ethanolamine O-sulphate. The inhibition was not reversed by dialysis. 2. The inhibitor formed an initial reversible complex with the enzyme (Ki=4.4×10−4m) and the rate of inactivation followed pseudo-first-order kinetics (k=7.15×10−4s−1). The inclusion of 4-aminobutyrate markedly slowed the rate of inactivation. 3. Ethanolamine O-sulphate did not inhibit glutamate decarboxylase, alanine aminotransferase or aspartate aminotransferase. 4. Intracisternal injection of ethanolamine O-sulphate into rats led to rapid inactivation of 4-aminobutyrate aminotransferase in vivo.
The excretion and degradation of chondroitin 4-sulphate administered to guinea pigs as free chondroitin sulphate and as proteoglycan
Authors: Revell P. A. , Muir Helen
Published: August 2015

The excretion and degradation was studied of 35S-labelled 4-chondroitin sulphate injected into guinea pigs in the form of proteoglycan isolated from cartilage and in the form of free chondroitin 4-sulphate prepared from the same proteoglycan by proteolysis. When the proteoglycan was injected there was a delay of about 15–20min before significant amounts or radioactivity were excreted, whereas after injection of chondroitin 4-sulphate a considerable amount of radioactivity was excreted within 10min and a much higher proportion of the radioactive dose was excreted in 1h or 24h compared with the proteoglycan. In both cases, however, a major part of the radioactivity was not excreted even in 24h. Sterile conditions were used to collect the radioactive material directly from the bladder. When chondroitin 4-sulphate was injected, the molecular sizes of injected and excreted materials were similar, as assessed by gel chromatography on Sephadex G-200, whereas when proteoglycan was injected the molecular size of the excreted labelled material was similar to that of the chondroitin 4-sulphate chains in the original proteoglycan. In neither case did the size of the excreted labelled material change with time over 1h, and low-molecular-weight labelled material was virtually absent. In contrast, when urine was collected for 24h without preservative the labelled material in it was extensively degraded after either the proteoglycan or chondroitin 4-sulphate had been given. Chondroitin 4-sulphate became similarly degraded when incubated with non-sterile urine, but not when the urine was passed through a bacterial filter, suggesting that degradation was caused by contaminating micro-organisms in the experiments in which urine was collected for 24 h. It is concluded that chondroitin 4-sulphate chains of about 18000 molecular weight can be excreted readily as such, whereas intact proteoglycans must be degraded to free glycosaminoglycans first, although both are taken up by the tissues more rapidly than they are excreted.
The characterization of two reduced nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide phosphate-linked aldehyde reductases from pig brain
Authors: Turner A. J. , Tipton K. F.
Published: August 2015

1. NADPH-linked aldehyde reductase from pig, ox and rat brain exhibits non-linear reciprocal plots when partially purified enzyme preparations are studied. 2. In pig brain this non-linearity is due to the presence of two distinct aldehyde reductases, which can be separated by DEAE-cellulose chromatography. 3. These two enzymes can be distinguished by several criteria, including pH optima, Michaelis constants for substrates and their inhibitor sensitivity. 4. The probable role of these enzymes in the metabolism of the aldehydes derived from the biogenic amines is discussed.
Transport of acetate and butyrate in the hind-gut of rabbits
Authors: Henning S. J. , Hird F. J. R.
Published: August 2015

1. Everted sacs of colonic mucosa from the wild rabbit did not transport acetate against a concentration gradient, but permeation down a concentration gradient did occur. 2. Butyrate was shown to permeate sheets of caecal mucosa with some conversion into ketone bodies during the passage. More ketone bodies were released from the serosal surface of the sheet than from the epithelial surface, regardless of the side to which the butyrate was added. 3. During absorption in vivo of [1-14C]butyrate from the caecum the ratio of [14C]butyrate to 14C-labelled ketone bodies in the blood collected from the appropriate caecal vein was 13. The extent of conversion of butyrate into ketone bodies during absorption in vivo was less than that observed during transport in vitro. Possible explanations of these differences are discussed. 4. The relative concentrations of the individual volatile fatty acids in blood collected from the caecal vein during absorption in vivo were similar to those present in contents from the caecum. 5. The results are compared with similar transport and absorption studies on the ruminant fore-stomach.
Evidence for modification of protein phosphorylation by cytokinins
Authors: Ralph R. K. , McCombs P. J. A. , Tener G. , Wojcik S. J.
Published: August 2015

Kinetin stimulated phosphorylation of protein in floated Chinese-cabbage leaf discs, but inhibited protein phosphorylation in nuclei+chloroplast extracts from Chinese-cabbage or tobacco leaves. Kinetin also inhibited protein phosphorylation in isolated tobacco nuclei or nuclei from carrot secondary-phloem tissue. Purified Chinese-cabbage leaf ribosomes exhibited protein kinase activity which was inhibited by kinetin and zeatin. The ribosome-associated kinase responded to kinetin and zeatin differently from that associated with nuclei+chloroplast preparations. Protein phosphorylation in vitro was not affected by adenosine 3′:5′-cyclic monophosphate, indol-3-ylacetic acid or gibberellic acid. It was only inhibited by N9-unsubstituted purines, among which the known cytokinins were the most effective inhibitors. The results are discussed in relation to possible similarities between the effects of cytokinins in plant tissues and the effects of adenosine 3′:5′-cyclic monophosphate in animal tissues. Both compounds appear to modify the activity of protein kinases and both affect many different cellular processes.
Tritium isotope effects in the measurement of the glycerol phosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate pathways of glycerolipid biosynthesis in rat liver
Authors: Manning Ray , Brindley David N.
Published: August 2015

1. Rat liver slices were employed to study the relative rates of incorporation of a mixture of [2-3H]- or [1,3-3H]-glycerol and [1-14C]glycerol into lipids. 2. With 0.1mm-glycerol approx. 82% of the newly synthesized lipid, calculated from 14C incorporation, was present as neutral lipid, 13% as phosphatidylcholine and 5% as phosphatidylethanolamine. Increasing the glycerol concentration to 40mm caused a decrease in the percentage of neutral lipid to 59% and a corresponding increase in the percentage of phosphatidylcholine to 36% of the newly synthesized lipid. 3. The (d.p.m. of 2-3H)/(d.p.m. of 1-14C) ratio in glycerolipid was considerably higher than that in precursor glycerol throughout the range of experimental conditions. In contrast the incorporation of a mixture of [1,3-3H]glycerol and [1-14C]glycerol into lipid occurred with little or no change in the 3H/14C ratio. 4. Respiring rat liver mitochondria were found to oxidize a mixture of sn-[2-3H]- and sn-[1-14C]-glycerol 3-phosphate with a resultant increase in the 3H/14C ratio of the remaining sn-glycerol 3-phosphate. This increase is due to a 3H isotope effect of the mitochondrial sn-glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.99.5), which discriminates against sn-[2-3H]glycerol 3-phosphate during oxidation. 5. A method is described for the simultaneous determination of the relative contributions of the glycerol phosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate pathways of glycerolipid biosynthesis in rat liver slices. The method involves measurement of the (d.p.m. of 2-3H)/(d.p.m. of 1-14C) ratio in both sn-glycerol 3-phosphate and glycerolipid after incubation of rat liver slices with a mixture of [2-3H]glycerol and [1-14C]glycerol for various times. 6. By using this method it was shown that 40–50% of the glycerol incorporated into lipid by rat liver slices proceeded via the sn-glycerol 3-phosphate pathway and 50–60% was incorporated via dihydroxyacetone phosphate.
Proton translocation coupled to quinone reduction by reduced nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide in rat liver and ox heart mitochondria
Authors: Lawford H. G. , Garland P. B.
Published: August 2015

Measurements were made of the stoicheiometry of proton-translocation coupled to NAD(P)H oxidation by several quinones (duroquinone, ubiquinone0, ubiquinone1, ubiquinone2) in mitochondria from rat liver and ox heart. Observed stoicheiometries of protons translocated per mol of NADH oxidized (→H+/2e− ratios; Mitchell, 1966) ranged from 0.75 (rat liver mitochondria with ubiquinone1) to 1.55 (ox heart mitochondria with ubiquinone1 or ubiquinone2). Only the rotenone-sensitive pathway of NADH oxidation by quinone was able to support proton translocation. Correction of the observed →H+/2e− ratios for the loss of reducing equivalents to the rotenone-insensitive pathway increased their value to approx. 2.0. It is concluded that the rotenone-sensitive NADH– ubiquinone reductase activity of the respiratory chain may be organized in the mitochondrial membrane as a proton-translocating oxidoreduction loop. The number of such loops between NADH and ubiquinone is one, and not two, as initially proposed by Mitchell (1966).
The reactivity of functional groups as a probe for investigating the topography of tobacco mosaic virus. The use of mutants with additional lysine residues in the coat protein
Authors: Perham Richard N.
Published: August 2015

Several mutants of tobacco mosaic virus that contain additional lysine residues as a result of mutations in the coat protein were investigated. Mutant E66 has a lysine residue replacing asparagine at position 140 when compared with the wild-type vulgare and this lysine residue reacts readily in the intact virus with methyl picolinimidate. Mutant B13a has two new lysine residues in the coat protein, replacing a glutamine at position 9 and an asparagine at position 33, whereas mutant B13b has the single replacement of glutamine by lysine at position 9. The lysine residue at position 9 in mutants B13a and B13b also reacts readily with methyl picolinimidate in the intact virus but the lysine at position 33 in mutant B13a did not react under these conditions. However, when the isolated coat protein from mutant B13a was treated with methyl picolinimidate, the lysine residue at position 33 did become modified, showing that the loss in reactivity of this residue towards the imidoester in the intact virus is a result of the assembly of the protein subunit into the virus structure. These results are compatible with and extend previous studies on the sero-logical properties of mutants of tobacco mosaic virus and illustrate the value of methyl picolinimidate as a reagent for probing the accessibility of amino groups in proteins. When intact tobacco mosaic virus (vulgare) was treated with p-iodobenzenesulphonyl chloride, no reaction with the lysine residues at positions 33 or 68 in the virus subunit could be detected but complete modification of tyrosine-139 was achieved. This result also extends previous studies with other reagents. The usefulness of the differential reactivity of the lysine residues in tobacco mosaic virus and its mutants as a means of attaching heavy-atom labels at chemically defined positions for subsequent X-ray-diffraction analysis and the implications of these experiments for deciphering the folding of the peptide chain in the virus subunit are discussed.
Multiple forms of nuclear deoxyribonucleic acid polymerases and their relationship with the soluble enzyme
Authors: Adams R. L. P. , Henderson M. A. L. , Wood W. , Lindsay J. G.
Published: August 2015

1. DNA polymerase from nuclear and supernatant fractions of cultured mouse L929 cells was fractionated on columns of Sephadex G-200, Sepharose 4B and of DEAE-cellulose. Several peaks of activity are found on Sephadex chromatography and the distribution of activity between these depends on: (a) the source of the enzyme, i.e. nuclear or supernatant fraction; (b) the mode of extraction of the enzyme from the nucleus; (c) the amount of enzyme applied to the column. 2. The DNA polymerase activity in the lower-molecular-weight peaks (approximate molecular weights are 35000, 70000 and 140000) is firmly bound within the cell nucleus and shows a preference for native DNA as template, whereas the high-molecular-weight peak (peak I, molecular weight 250000 or greater) is found in supernatant fractions and shows greater activity with a denatured DNA template. 3. During periods of DNA synthesis the high-molecular-weight enzyme becomes more firmly bound within the nucleus. 4. Peak I enzymic activity is relatively unstable and is inhibited by thiol-blocking reagents and deoxycholate, but it is stimulated by univalent cations. 5. Very little endonuclease is present in the polymerase preparations, but a very active exonuclease and nucleoside diphosphokinase are present. On Sephadex chromatography, however, it was shown that the immediate precursors for DNA synthesis, at least by peak I enzyme, are the deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates. 6. Attempts to decrease the molecular weight of the peak I enzyme while still retaining activity failed.
Kinetic studies on the regulation of rabbit liver pyruvate kinase
Authors: Irving M. G. , Williams J. F.
Published: August 2015

Two kinetically distinct forms of pyruvate kinase (EC 2.7.1.40) were isolated from rabbit liver by using differential ammonium sulphate fractionation. The L or liver form, which is allosterically activated by fructose 1,6-diphosphate, was partially purified by DEAE-cellulose chromatography to give a maximum specific activity of 20 units/mg. The L form was allosterically activated by K+ and optimum activity was recorded with 30mm-K+, 4mm-MgADP-, with a MgADP-/ADP2- ratio of 50:1, but inhibition occurred with K+ concentrations in excess of 60mm. No inhibition occurred with either ATP or GTP when excess of Mg2+ was added to counteract chelation by these ligands. Alanine (2.5mm) caused 50% inhibition at low concentrations of phosphoenolpyruvate (0.15mm). The homotropic effector, phosphoenolpyruvate, exhibited a complex allosteric pattern (nH+2.5), and negative co-operative interactions were observed in the presence of low concentrations of this substrate. The degree of this co-operative interaction was pH-dependent, with the Hill coefficient increasing from 1.1 to 3.2 as the pH was raised from 6.5 to 8.0. Fructose 1,6-diphosphate interfered with the activation by univalent ions, markedly decreased the apparent Km for phosphoenolpyruvate from 1.2mm to 0.2mm, and transformed the phosphoenolpyruvate saturation curve into a hyperbola. Concentrations of fructose 1,6-diphosphate in excess of 0.5mm inhibited this stimulated reaction. The M or muscle-type form of the enzyme was not activated by fructose 1,6-diphosphate and gave a maximum specific activity of 0.3 unit/mg. A Michaelis–Menten response was obtained when phosphoenolpyruvate was the variable substrate (Km+0.125mm), and this form was inhibited by ATP, as well as alanine, even in the presence of excess of Mg2+.
Competitive inhibition and substrate activity of uridine diphosphate 6-deoxygalactose for Escherichia coli uridine diphosphate galactose 4-epimerase (Short Communication)
Authors: Spencer M. , Blackburn P. , Ferdinand W. , Blackburn G. M.
Published: August 2015

UDP-6-deoxygalactose inhibits the UDP-galactose 4-epimerase (EC 5.1.3.2) from Escherichia coli in a competitive manner with respect to the substrate UDP-galactose, giving Ki 1.3×10-3m. As a substrate for the enzyme, it is transformed into UDP-6-deoxyglucose, although the reaction stops before equilibrium is attained. Possible causes of this behaviour are discussed.
Phosphorylation of the ‘37000 component’ of the troponin complex (troponin-T)
Authors: Perry S. V. , Cole H. A.
Published: August 2015

Most of the phosphorus present in the troponin complex, which on average contains 1 mol of P/80000g, is associated with the ‘37000 component’ (0.6mol of P/mol). The inhibitory protein and particularly the ‘37000 component’, but not the calcium-binding protein, were phosphorylated when incubated with phosphorylase b kinase and [γ-32P]ATP.
Isocoproporphyrin: nuclear-magnetic-resonance- and mass-spectral methods for the determination of porphyrin structure
Authors: Stoll M. S. , Elder G. H. , Games D. E. , O'Hanlon P. , Millington D. S. , Jackson A. H.
Published: August 2015

The use of ‘shift reagents’ in the determination of n.m.r. spectra, and of reductive alkylation in combination with g.l.c.–mass spectrometry, facilitates assignment of the order of substituents in porphyrins, and the application of these new techniques to isocoproporphyrin is described.
A membrane-bound activity catalysing phosphatidylinositol breakdown to 1,2-diacylglycerol, d-myoinositol 1:2-cyclic phosphate and d-myoinositol 1-phosphate. Properties and subcellular distribution in rat cerebral cortex
Authors: Lapetina Eduardo G. , Michell Robert H.
Published: August 2015

1. Breakdown of phosphatidylinositol was studied in homogenates and subcellular fractions of rat cerebral cortex by using both membrane-bound and externally added [32P]phosphatidylinositol as substrate. 2. In the presence of deoxycholate breakdown followed first-order kinetics at low substrate concentrations ([unk]1mm) and zero-order kinetics at higher concentrations (6–9mm). 3. Maximum breakdown by cerebral-cortex homogenates was approximately 0.5μmol/h per mg of protein and occurred at pH7.0 in the presence of 8mm-phosphatidylinositol, 2mm-CaCl2 and 2mg of deoxycholate/ml. Activity was abolished by 1mm-ethanedioxybis(ethylamine)tetra-acetate. 4. The products of phosphatidylinositol breakdown were 1,2-diacylglycerol and a mixture of d-myoinositol 1:2-cyclic phosphate (55%) and d-myoinositol 1-phosphate (45%). The two phosphate esters appeared to be produced together and in constant proportions. 5. Some 51% of the activity was particle-bound, with the highest activities in small nerve endings, microsomal material and two synaptic membrane fractions (fractions Mic20, Mic100, M1 1.0 and M1 0.9 respectively), all of which were also rich in acetylcholinesterase and which have been shown to be rich in other surface-membrane enzymes. Much of the particle-bound activity therefore appears to be present in cerebral-cortex plasma membranes. 6. The results are discussed in relation to previously described soluble activities that catalyse the same reaction, and to a possible role of the membrane-bound enzyme in enhanced phosphatidylinositol turnover in externally stimulated cells.
Rat liver microsomal palmitoyl-coenzyme A synthetase. Structural properties
Authors: Bar-Tana J. , Rose G.
Published: August 2015

The structural properties of purified palmitoyl-CoA synthetase from rat liver microsomal material were investigated. The active enzyme has a molecular weight of 168000 and contains about 8.2mol of phospholipid bound/mol of enzyme protein, as well as bound fatty acids. Association of the active enzyme was shown to occur, without impairment of catalytic activity. The lowest-molecular-weight species obtained under denaturing conditions was 27000 daltons.
The amino acid sequence of cytochromes c-551 from three species of Pseudomonas
Authors: Ambler R. P. , Wynn Margaret
Published: August 2015

The amino acid sequences of the cytochromes c-551 from three species of Pseudomonas have been determined. Each resembles the protein from Pseudomonas strain P6009 (now known to be Pseudomonas aeruginosa, not Pseudomonas fluorescens) in containing 82 amino acids in a single peptide chain, with a haem group covalently attached to cysteine residues 12 and 15. In all four sequences 43 residues are identical. Although by bacteriological criteria the organisms are closely related, the differences between pairs of sequences range from 22% to 39%. These values should be compared with the differences in the sequence of mitochondrial cytochrome c between mammals and amphibians (about 18%) or between mammals and insects (about 33%). Detailed evidence for the amino acid sequences of the proteins has been deposited as Supplementary Publication SUP 50015 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. (1973), 131, 5.
The characterization of a non-histone protein isolated from histone F1 preparations
Authors: Smith John A. , Stocken Lloyd A.
Published: August 2015

A non-histone protein was obtained by extraction of nuclei derived from rat liver or thymus or ascites-hepatoma cells with 5% (w/v) HClO4. Separation from histone F1 was achieved by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose. The purified component P1 was characterized and the formation of complexes with histone F1 and polylysine was studied.
Uptake of orotate and thymidine by normal and regenerating rat livers
Authors: Ord Margery G. , Stocken L. A.
Published: August 2015

1. At 1h after operation livers from partially hepatectomized rats showed a 60–100% increase in the capacity to concentrate 3H radioactivity from orotate, thymidine or uridine with respect to the radioactivity in plasma. Uptake of [3H]cytidine into liver was unaffected, as was entry of any precursor studied into any tissue other than liver. 2. This increase in intracellular radioactivity was detectable 10min after operation with both orotate and thymidine. With orotate the augmentation had disappeared by 3 days, but with thymidine it was still evident 8 days after partial hepatectomy, when [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA was no longer increased. Competition studies established that orotate was not entering the liver by the same mechanism as thymidine. 3. In the soluble fraction of the liver all the 3H radioactivity from orotate was present as uridine nucleotides. Thymidine was not phosphorylated, and was believed to be catabolized.
The effect of glycerol and dihydroxyacetone on hepatic adenine nucleotides
Authors: Woods H. F. , Krebs H. A.
Published: August 2015

1. The changes in the metabolite content in the isolated perfused rat liver and in the perfusion medium were measured after loading the liver with glycerol or dihydroxyacetone. 2. Glycerol was rapidly taken up by livers from fed and starved rats; glucose, lactate and pyruvate were discharged into the medium. The [lactate]/[pyruvate] ratio in the medium rose from 10 to 30 and in the tissue from 9.6 to 36.6. 3. The most striking effects of glycerol loading were: (i) the accumulation in the liver of α-glycerophosphate, which increased from 0.13 to 8.45μmol/g at 40min; (ii) the decrease in the concentration of adenine nucleotides to 70% of the control value at 40min. 4. The Pi content of the tissue also fell, from 4.25 to 2.31μmol/g at 10min, but the sum of the phosphates measured rose from the normal value of 13.8 to 18.8μmol/g at 40min, because of an uptake of Pi from the medium. 5. Omission of phosphate from the standard perfusion medium increased the depletion of adenine nucleotides on glycerol loading. 6. Dihydroxyacetone was more rapidly metabolized than glycerol. Again glucose, lactate and pyruvate were the main products. The [lactate]/[pyruvate] ratio remained below 10. 7. Dihydroxyacetone caused an increase of the fructose 1-phosphate content from 0.23 to 0.39μmol/g at 10min. The adenine nucleotide content of the tissue was not significantly decreased by dihydroxyacetone loading. 8. The rate of removal of both glycerol and dihydroxyacetone was about 60% greater in the livers from fed than in those from starved animals. 9. The results extend previous findings by Burch et al. (1970), who administered glycerol and dihydroxyacetone intraperitoneally.
The uptake of 2-deoxy-d-glucose by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and its regulation
Authors: Mukkada Antony J. , Long George L. , Romano Antonio H.
Published: August 2015

The non-metabolizable glucose analogue 2-deoxy-d-glucose is taken up by Pseudomonas aeruginosa against a concentration gradient, in a predominantly unchanged form. d-Glucose competitively inhibits 2-deoxy-d-glucose uptake and also causes a rapid exit of intracellular 2-deoxy-d-glucose. Thus these two sugars share the same stereospecific carrier system, and glucose transport can be studied reliably with 2-deoxy-d-glucose. The transport system is inducible, and is strongly repressed by a number of organic acids such as acetate, citrate, succinate, fumarate and malate, even in the presence of adequate excess of the inducer (d-glucose). Repression by organic acids can be relieved by transferring cells to a glucose medium, but in the presence of chloramphenicol the cells fail to recover from repression, indicating that the formation of the transport system involves the synthesis of protein. The results demonstrate that the regulation of glucose metabolism effected by citric acid-cycle intermediates in P. aeruginosa is manifest at the level of the glucose-transport system.
Physicochemical modifications of lysosomal hydrolases during intracellular transport
Authors: Goldstone Alfred , Koenig Harold
Published: August 2015

1. The following fractions were prepared from rat kidney and characterized ultrastructurally, biochemically and enzymically: (a) an ordinary rough microsomal (RM1) fraction; (b) a special rough microsomal (RM2) fraction enriched seven- to nine-fold in acid hydrolases over the homogenate; (c) a smooth microsomal (SM) fraction; (d) a Golgi (GM) fraction enriched 2.5-fold in acid hydrolases and 10-, 15- and 20-fold in sialyltransferase, N-acetyl-lactosamine synthetase and galactosyltransferase respectively; (e) a lysosomal (L) fraction enriched 15- to 23-fold in acid hydrolases. The frequency of Golgi sacs and tubules seen in the electron microscope and the specific activity of the three glycosyltransferases in these fractions increased in the order: RM2<RM1<SM<GM. 2. Five lysosomal hydrolases, acid phosphatase, β-N-acetyl-hexosaminidase, β-galactosidase, β-glucuronidase and arylsulphatase, were characterized in these fractions with respect to (a) solubility on freeze–thawing and (b) electrophoretic mobility in polyacrylamide gels. 3. In the RM2 fraction each of these hydrolases occurred largely or exclusively as a single bound basic form coincident with cationic glycoprotein bands in gels (Goldstone et al., 1973). 4. In the L fraction these hydrolases were present largely as soluble, acidic (anionic) forms. 5. The solubility, electrophoretic heterogeneity and anodic mobility of these hydrolases increased progressively in subcellular fractions in the order: RM2<RM1<SM<GM<L. 6. These findings, together with evidence cited in the text showing that N-acetylneuraminic acid residues are responsible for the solubility and electronegative charge of these acidic forms and incorporation of these residues into the Golgi apparatus, support the following scheme for the biosynthesis of lysosomal enzymes. Each hydrolase is synthesized as a bound basic glycoprotein enzyme in a restricted portion of the rough endoplasmic reticulum. The soluble, acidic forms are generated as the nascent glycoprotein enzymes migrate through the Golgi apparatus through the attachment of sugar sequences containing N-acetylneuraminic acid.
Subcellular organization of neurophysins, oxytocin, [8−lysine]-vasopressin and adenosine triphosphatase in porcine posterior pituitary lobes
Authors: Pickup J. C. , Johnston C. I. , Nakamura S. , Uttenthal L. O. , Hope D. B.
Published: August 2015

Posterior pituitary lobes from young pigs were fractionated by differential and sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation. The distributions of oxytocin and [8-lysine]-vasopressin were measured by bioassay and the distributions of neurophysin-I and -II by radioimmunoassays specific for each of these two proteins. Most of the hormone and neurophysin applied to the density gradient was localized in particles with the density expected of neurosecretory granules. However, the neurosecretory granules were separated into two bands (D and E). A close statistical correlation between the distributions of [8-lysine]-vasopressin and neurophysin-I, and of oxytocin and neurophysin-II on the gradients, suggested that in vivo porcine neurophysin-I binds [8-lysine]-vasopressin within one population of granules and porcine neurophysin-II binds oxytocin within another type of granule. However, there was no significant separation of oxytocin and vasopressin in fractions D and E. The molar ratios of hormones and neurophysins indicated that there was insufficient of either neurophysin to bind the [8-lysine]-vasopressin in the granule fractions or in the whole gland. Polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis showed that only bands corresponding in mobility to porcine neurophysins-I, -II and -III were present in large amounts in the whole gland and in the granule fractions. The component with the mobility of neurophysin-III was, however, relatively enriched in whole young glands and granule fractions compared with adult gland extracts. It is suggested that the vasopressin that cannot be assigned to neurophysin-I may occur in (a) vesicles containing vasopressin but no neurophysin, (b) vesicles containing vasopressin and a protein that cannot be quantified by the radioimmunoassays used, such as porcine neurophysin-III, or (c) normal vasopressin–neurophysin granules which have accumulated extra vasopressin. Band E of the gradient was rich in adenosine triphosphatase activity, whereas band D possessed very little of this enzyme.
The effect of carbon monoxide on the nature of the accumulated 4,4-dimethyl sterol precursors of cholesterol during its biosynthesis from [2-14C]mevalonic acid in vitro
Authors: Gibbons Geoffrey F. , Mitropoulos Konstantinos A.
Published: August 2015

Cholesterol biosynthesis was studied in rat liver subcellular fractions incubated with dl-[2-14C]mevalonic acid under gas phases consisting of either N2+O2 (90:10) or CO+O2 (90:10). CO inhibits cholesterol biosynthesis from [2-14C]mevalonic acid and results in a large accumulation of radioactive 4,4-dimethyl sterols. Separation of the components of the 4,4-dimethyl sterol fraction showed that lanosterol and dihydrolanosterol are the major components that accumulate during cholesterol biosynthesis in an atmosphere containing CO, whereas 14-demethyl-lanosterol and 14-demethyldihydrolanosterol are the major components of the much less intensely radioactive 4,4-dimethyl sterol fraction isolated from incubations with N2+O2 as the gas phase. The identities of lanosterol, dihydrolanosterol and 14-demethyldihydrolanosterol were confirmed by both radiochemical and physicochemical methods, including g.l.c. and combined g.l.c.–mass spectrometry. CO therefore results in a qualitative as well as a quantitative difference in the 4,4-dimethyl sterol fraction which arises during cholesterol biosynthesis from mevalonic acid. The specific radioactivity of the [14C]lanosterol biosynthesized in the presence of CO was lower than that of its companion, [14C]dihydrolanosterol. The relative amounts of 4,4-dimethyl-Δ24-sterols and 4,4-dimethyl-24,25-dihydrosterols present in each type of incubation suggest that enzymic reduction of the sterol side chain occurs predominantly at a stage after that of lanosterol.
Studies on the turnover of protein and glycoprotein components in rabbit kidney brush borders
Authors: Quirk Susan J. , Byrne Jennifer , Robinson Garth B.
Published: August 2015

The kinetics of incorporation of [3H]lysine and [14C]glucosamine into kidney brush borders were studied in vivo. The patterns of incorporation and loss of radioactivity from the brush borders were similar for both radioactively labelled precursors. Maximal labelling occurred 15–20h after injection of the precursors, and then the radioactivity declined rapidly until 50h. The radioactivity of brush borders then remained constant until 120h and thereafter declined slowly. These results are interpreted as indicating that two processes contribute to the turnover of brush-border components, pinocytosis and a slower turnover of the components of the microvilli. Studies of the distribution of radioactivity among glycoprotein components of the brush borders, separated by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, indicated that the membrane components turned over in unison.