bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evidence that glucagon acts on the liver to decrease mitochondrial calcium stores
Authors: Baddams H M , Chang L B F , Barritt G J
Published: August 2015

1. Mitochondria isolated from rats treated with glucagon for 60 min or lives perfused in the presence of glucagon for 10 min exhibited lower rates of 45Ca2+ exchange than did control mitochondria when this was measured under steady-state conditions in the presence of Mg2+, ATP, Pi and 0.13 microM- or 0.16 microM-free Ca2+ at pH 7.4 and at 25 degrees C or 37 degrees C. Under these conditions no significant difference in the rates of Ruthenium Red-induced 45Ca2+ efflux was observed. These results contrast with earlier work in which mitochondria isolated from glucagon-treated livers were shown to exhibit faster rates of Ca2+ uptake [Yamazaki (1975) J. Biol. Chem. 250, 7924-7930] and slower rates of spontaneous Ca2+ efflux [Hughes & Barritt (1978) Biochem. J. 176, 295-304] when these parameters were measured under different incubation conditions, including supra-physiological concentrations of free Ca2+ and the absence of added Mg2+ and ATP. 2. Perfusion of livers with glucagon before the addition of adrenaline or the Ca2+-selective ionophore A23187, to release Ca2+ from intracellular stores, decreased the amount of Ca2+ released by these agents. 3. Incubation of isolated hepatocytes in the presence of glucagon at 1.3 mM extracellular Ca2+ induced a small decrease in the plateau of the 45Ca2+-exchange curve obtained under steady-state conditions. 4. It is concluded that the actions of glucagon on liver mitochondrial Ca2+ transporters lead to a decrease, rather than an increase, in mitochondrial Ca2+ stores in the intact cell.
Effects of growth factors on hormonal stimulation of amino acid transport in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes
Authors: Auberger P , Samson M , Le Cam A
Published: August 2015

In primary cultures of rat hepatocytes, epidermal growth factor (EGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and foetal-calf serum (FCS) prevented the stimulation of amino acid transport by glucagon (cyclic AMP-dependent) and by catecholamines (cyclic AMP-independent), but not by insulin. The insulin effect, as well as the effect of other hormones, were totally inhibited by thrombin through a mechanism independent of its proteolytic activity. The inhibitory effect of growth factors, not found in freshly isolated hepatocytes, was expressed very early in culture (4h). Induction of tyrosine aminotransferase by glucagon or dexamethasone, which, like stimulation of transport, represents a late hormonal effect, was not affected by EGF, PDGF or FCS, but was inhibited by thrombin. In contrast, none of the rapid changes in protein phosphorylation caused by hormones was altered by growth factors. Thus the inhibition by growth factors of hormonal stimulation of transport presumably involves late step(s) in the cascade of events implicated in this hormonal effect.
Arabinan synthase and xylan synthase activities of Phaseolus vulgaris. Subcellular localization and possible mechanism of action
Authors: Bolwell G P , Northcote D H
Published: August 2015

Membrane fractions from bean hypocotyl or suspension cultures incorporated arabinose from UDP-beta-L-arabinose into arabinan and xylose from UDP-alpha-D-xylose in vitro; the level of each activity was dependent on the state of differentiation of the cells. These activities may be due to single transglycosylases, since no lipid or proteinaceous intermediate acceptors were found in either case. Subcellular fractionation studies showed that enzyme activity in vitro was localized in both Golgi-derived membranes and endoplasmic reticulum in similar amounts. However, incorporation into the polymers in vivo in suspension culture cells incubated with [1-3H]arabinose was considerably greater in the Golgi-derived membranes. Thus, although these enzymes may be translated and inserted at the level of the endoplasmic reticulum, their activities are under other levels of control, so that most of the activity in vivo is confined to the Golgi apparatus. Initiation of glycosylation in the endoplasmic activity may, however, occur.
Mannosyl carrier functions of retinyl phosphate and dolichyl phosphate in rat liver endoplasmic reticulum
Authors: Creek K E , Morré D J , Silverman-Jones C S , Shidoji Y , De Luca L M
Published: August 2015

Of the subcellular fractions of rat liver the endoplasmic reticulum was the most active in GDP-mannose: retinyl phosphate mannosyl-transfer activity. The synthesis of retinyl phosphate mannose reached a maximum at 20-30 min of incubation and declined at later times. Retinyl phosphate mannose and dolichyl phosphate mannose from endogenous retinyl phosphate and dolichyl phosphate could also be assayed in the endoplasmic reticulum. About 1.8 ng (5 pmol) of endogenous retinyl phosphate was mannosylated per mg of endoplasmic reticulum protein (15 min at 37 degrees C, in the presence of 5 mM-MnCl2), and about 0.15 ng (0.41 pmol) of endogenous retinyl phosphate was mannosylated with Golgi-apparatus membranes. About 20 ng (13.4 pmol) of endogenous dolichyl phosphate was mannosylated in endoplasmic reticulum and 4.5 ng (3 pmol) in Golgi apparatus under these conditions. Endoplasmic reticulum, but not Golgi-apparatus membranes, catalysed significant transfer of [14C]mannose to endogenous acceptor proteins in the presence of exogenous retinyl phosphate. Mannosylation of endogenous acceptors in the presence of exogenous dolichyl phosphate required the presence of Triton X-100 and could not be detected when dolichyl phosphate was solubilized in liposomes. Dolichyl phosphate mainly stimulated the incorporation of mannose into the lipid-oligosaccharide-containing fraction, whereas retinyl phosphate transferred mannose directly to protein.
A kinetic study of the interaction between mitochondrial F1 adenosine triphosphatase and adenylyl imidodiphosphate and guanylyl imidodiphosphate
Authors: Belda F J F , Carmona F G , Cánovas F G , Gómez-Fernández J C , Lozano J A
Published: August 2015

1. The presence of 5′-adenylyl imidodiphosphate, a non-hydrolysable analogue of ATP, in the solution used to assay the soluble bovine heart mitochondrial F1-ATPase produced slow competitive inhibition. If the enzyme was preincubated with the inhibitor before the substrate, MgATP, was added, a partial re-activation was obtained. 2. The slow inhibitory process showed first-order rate kinetics, and therefore it seems likely that a conformational change of the enzyme occurs following a faster binding process. A reaction scheme is suggested. At pH 7.8 the rate constant for the inhibition reaction was calculated to be 6.7 × 10(-2)s-1 and that for the re-activation 3.8 × 10(-3)s-1, with Keq. 17.6, indicating that the inhibited enzyme-inhibitor complex will be favoured over the non-inhibited enzyme-inhibitor complex. 3. The presence of 5′-guanylyl imidodiphosphate in the solution used to assay F1-ATPase produced rapid competitive inhibition, which was then slowly reversed until a steady state was reached. This might be explained by a rapid but reversible shift of the inhibition pathway induced by this non-hydrolysable analogue of ATP. A complex rate constant for the displacement of the inhibitor by the substrate of 7.6 × 10(-3)s-1 was calculated. 4. The results are discussed in the light of other recent observations about binding of 5′-adenylyl imidodiphosphate to F1-ATPase and with reference to the binding-site-change mechanism of hydrolysis of ATP by F1-ATPase.
Characterization and partial purification of a haemopoietic cell growth factor in WEHI-3 cell conditioned medium
Authors: Bazill G W , Haynes M , Garland J , Dexter T M
Published: August 2015

A myelomonocytic leukaemia cell line, WEHI-3, releases into its growth medium factors which stimulate the development of pluripotential cells, granulocyte/macrophage progenitor cells, megakaryocytic and erythroid progenitor cells. Also present is a factor which is essential for the continued proliferation in vitro of a variety of haemopoietic precursor cell lines of a granulocytic nature (FDC-P cells). Characterization of this growth factor has demonstrated that it is a glycoprotein of apparent Mr 25 800, in which the carbohydrate component appears to be important for activity. After several purification steps, there is an increase in specific activity of approx. 4000-fold over the starting material. At each stage of purification, the factor necessary for the proliferation of FDC-P cells ‘co-purifies’ with activity which stimulates the proliferation and development of normal multipotential haemopoietic cells as well as megakaryocytic, erythroid and granulocytic committed progenitor cells. This ‘co-purification’ occurs to the extent that the multilineage stimulating factor and the FDC-P growth factor can be eluted from the same region of sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide gels. Thus, evidence so far, using different starting methods and purification regimes, suggests that one molecule may have multiple activities on diverse cell types.
The use of valinomycin, nigericin and trichlorocarbanilide in control of the protonmotive force in Escherichia coli cells
Authors: Ahmed S , Booth I R
Published: August 2015

Valinomycin, nigericin and trichlorocarbanilide were assessed for their ability to control the protonmotive force in Escherichia coli cells. Valinomycin, at high K+ concentrations, was found to decrease the membrane potential delta phi and indirectly to decrease the pH gradient delta pH. Nigericin was found to have two modes of action. At low concentrations (0.05-2 microM) it carried out K+/H+ exchange and decreased delta pH. At higher concentrations (50 microM) it carried out a K+-dependent transfer of H+, decreasing both delta phi and delta pH. In EDTA-treated cells only the latter mode of action was evident, whereas in a mutant sensitive to deoxycholate both types of effect were observed. Trichlorocarbanilide is proposed as an alternative to nigericin for the specific control of delta pH, and it can be used in cells not treated with EDTA.
A comparison of lysosomal involvements in the degradation of normal and abnormal endogenous proteins of differing half-lives in MRC5 cells
Authors: Wharton S A , Riley P A
Published: August 2015

Protein degradation by diploid human-embryo lung fibroblasts (MRC5 cells) in monolayer culture was studied. 1. Varying the labelling period of proteins was found to alter the half-lives of labelled abnormal canavanine-containing proteins to an extent very similar to that obtained with normal proteins. 2. By manipulating the times of labelling it was possible to generate a species of abnormal protein with a greater half-life than that of a species of normal protein. A comparison of the lysosomal involvement in their degradation as determined both by inhibition by methylamine, a lysosomotropic agent, and by the degree of increase in protein degradation in step-down conditions, indicated that the degree of lysosomal involvement was not entirely dependent upon the half-life of the protein, but that abnormal proteins are preferentially degraded non-lysosomally. 3. The microtubule inhibitors colchicine and vinblastine were found to stimulate statistically basal protein degradation of normal long-labelled protein, whereas they had less effect upon the basal degradation of the other species of proteins studied and very little effect upon step-down degradation of all proteins studied. The stimulation in protein degradation found did not seem to involve the acid proteinases of lysosomes.
31P-n.m.r. studies on cerebral energy metabolism under conditions of hypoglycaemia and hypoxia in vitro
Authors: Cox D W G , Morris P G , Feeney J , Bachelard H S
Published: August 2015

A system has been developed for performing 31P-n.m.r. studies on cerebral tissues superfused in vitro, and gives results comparable with those reported from studies in vivo. Under optimal superfusion conditions [10 mM-glucose and O2/CO2 (19:1)] the tissue concentrations of phosphocreatine and ATP were calculated to be approx. 3.1 and 1.3 mumol/g respectively. When the glucose of the superfusing medium was lowered to 0.5 mM, slightly decreased sugar phosphate peaks were observed, but there was no detectable change in [ATP] or [phosphocreatine]. At 0.2 mM-glucose, significantly decreased concentrations of phosphocreatine and ATP were observed. Substitution of pyruvate plus malate for glucose did not decrease levels of phosphocreatine and ATP. When the superfusing medium was gassed with air/CO2 (19:1; ‘mild hypoxia’), there was an appreciable fall in sugar phosphates and phosphocreatine with no detectable effect on ATP. In the presence of N2/CO2 (19:1; ‘severe hypoxia’, since O2 was not completely excluded), concentrations of phosphocreatine fell considerably, but with little effect on ATP. The results demonstrate the feasibility of studying cerebral energy metabolism in vitro using the non-invasive 31P-n.m.r. technique and are discussed in relation to the sensitivity of cerebral tissues to metabolic insults in vitro and in vivo.
Stimulation by α-adrenergic agonists of Ca2+ fluxes, mitochondrial oxidation and gluconeogenesis in perfused rat liver
Authors: Taylor W M , Reinhart P H , Bygrave F L
Published: August 2015

Glucose output from perfused livers of 48 h-starved rats was stimulated by phenylephrine (2 microM) when lactate, pyruvate, alanine, glycerol, sorbitol, dihydroxyacetone or fructose were used as gluconeogenic precursors. Phenylephrine-induced increases in glucose output were immediately preceded by a transient efflux of Ca2+ and a sustained increase in oxygen uptake. Phenylephrine decreased the perfusate [lactate]/[pyruvate] ratio when sorbitol or glycerol was present, but increased the ratio when alanine, dihydroxyacetone or fructose was present. Phenylephrine induced a rapid increase in the perfusate [beta-hydroxybutyrate]/[acetoacetate] ratio and increased total ketone-body output by 40-50% with all substrates. The oxidation of [1-14C]octanoate or 2-oxo[1-14C]glutarate to 14CO2 was increased by up to 200% by phenylephrine. All responses to phenylephrine infusion were diminished after depletion of the hepatic alpha-agonist-sensitive pool of Ca2+ and returned toward maximal responses after Ca2+ re-addition. Phenylephrine-induced increases in glucose output from lactate, sorbitol and glycerol were inhibited by the transaminase inhibitor amino-oxyacetate by 95%, 75% and 66% respectively. Data presented suggest that the mobilization of an intracellular pool of Ca2+ is involved in the activation of gluconeogenesis by alpha-adrenergic agonists in perfused rat liver. alpha-Adrenergic activation of gluconeogenesis is apparently accompanied by increases in fatty acid oxidation and tricarboxylic acid-cycle flux. An enhanced transfer of reducing equivalents from the cytoplasmic to the mitochondrial compartment may also be involved in the stimulation of glucose output from the relatively reduced substrates glycerol and sorbitol and may arise principally from an increased flux through the malate-aspartate shuttle.
Human platelets are defective in processing of cholera toxin
Authors: Hughes R J , Insel P A
Published: August 2015

Cholera toxin is unable to elevate cyclic AMP levels in intact human platelets despite being very efficacious in this respect in other mammalian cells; in the presence of 0.5 mM-isobutylmethylxanthine, we found that 3-6nM-cholera toxin over 3h at 37 degrees C elevated platelet cyclic AMP from 33 +/- 13 to 39 +/- 12pmol/mg of protein (means +/- S.D.; n = 12). We have investigated the basis for this lack of response. 125I-labelled cholera toxin bound to platelets both saturably and with high affinity (Kd congruent to 60pM; Bmax. congruent to 50fmol/mg of protein). Incubation of platelets with the putative cholera toxin receptor monosialoganglioside GM1 enhanced 125I-labelled cholera toxin binding at least 40-fold but facilitated only a minimal (less than or equal to 3-fold) elevation of platelet cyclic AMP levels. In contrast, dithiothreitol-activated cholera toxin markedly stimulated adenylate cyclase activity in platelet membranes. Platelet cytosol both enhanced stimulation of adenylate cyclase activity by activated cholera toxin (A1 subunit) and supported stimulation by the A1-A2 subunit of cholera toxin. Neither GTP nor NAD+, both necessary for response to cholera toxin, was lacking in intact platelets. However, we found that platelets were unable to cleave cholera toxin to the active A1 subunit (as assessed by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis). By contrast, murine S49 lymphoma cells were able to generate the A1 subunit with a time course that closely resembled the kinetics of toxin-mediated cyclic AMP accumulation in these cells. Thus we conclude that human platelets are defective in their ability to process surface-bound cholera toxin. These results indicate that binding of cholera toxin to surface receptors is necessary, but not sufficient, for expression of the toxin effect and the generation of the A1 subunit of the toxin may be rate-limiting for expression of cholera toxin response.
Limits to the early increase in free cytoplasmic calcium concentration during the mitogenic stimulation of lymphocytes
Authors: Hesketh T R , Pozzan T , Smith G A , Metcalfe J C
Published: August 2015

Three aspects of the calcium hypothesis we have proposed previously [Metcalfe, Pozzan, Smith & Hesketh (1980) Biochem. Soc. Symp. 45, 1-26] for the control of mitogenic stimulation of lymphocytes are examined in studies on the mitogenic action of the Ca2+ ionophore A23187 and its effect on cap formation. (1) Pig lymphocytes that were mitogenically stimulated by continuous incubation with 3H-labelled A23187 for 48 h contained between 3 and 15 amol of ionophore per cell. Lymphocytes exposed to 3H-labelled A23187 for 2h before washing the cells and resuspending them in ionophore-free medium were only stimulated mitogenically at 48h if the residual ionophore associated with the cells after washing was in the concentration range 3-15 amol per cell. When the cells were washed repeatedly after 2h incubation with ionophore to reduce the cell-associated ionophore below the critical concentration range, no mitogenic stimulation occurred as a result of short-term exposure to any ionophore concentration. Re-addition of ionophore to within the indicated range of cell-associated concentrations restored mitogenic stimulation at 48h. We conclude that large, short-term Ca2+ fluxes into the cells induced by the ionophore cannot generate a mitogenic signal that commits the cells to enter the cell cycle. (2) Further experiments with the ionophore showed that detectable mitogenic stimulation at 48h required a minimum of 3h exposure to optimal ionophore concentrations, and that maximal stimulation required at least 20h exposure. This is consistent with the view that a prolonged increase in the free cytoplasmic calcium concentration is required to stimulate the maximum proportion of the cells into the cell cycle. (3) Mouse splenic lymphocytes treated for short periods with very high ionophore concentrations (30 microM) in the presence of various external Ca2+ concentrations showed significant inhibition of cap formation of surface immunoglobulin receptors in the range 1-10 microM-Ca2+ in normal or depolarizing medium. We conclude that mitogens at optimal concentrations for the stimulation of lymphocytes do not cause any early increase in the free cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration above 10 microM.
Purines as ‘hyper-repressors’ of glucose transport. A role for phosphoribosyl diphosphate
Authors: Gay R J , Amos H
Published: August 2015

Under selected conditions the rate of glucose transport and the intracellular phosphoribosyl diphosphate (PPRibP) concentrations of chick-embryo fibroblasts are inversely correlated. This relationship holds when cells are incubated with mannose, fructose, xylose or various concentrations of glucose. The metabolic inhibitors 2,4-dinitrophenol, rotenone and Methylene Blue increased glucose transport and decreased PPRibP. The addition of any pyrimidine or purine base or ribonucleoside dramatically depleted PPRibP pools, regardless of the carbon source. Addition of guanine (10 microM) or hypoxanthine (100 microM) decreased transport in glucose-grown chick cells to barely detectable values, but did not affect increases observed in cells depressed by substitution of xylose for glucose. Guanosine, inosine and the purine analogues 6-thioguanine, 6-thioguanosine, 8-azaguanine and 6-methylmercaptopurine riboside sharply decreased transport in glucose-grown cells and blocked the increase in transport resulting from the replacement of glucose by fructose or xylose in the culture medium.
Induction of the branched-chain 2-oxo acid dehydrogenase complex in 3T3-L1 adipocytes during differentiation
Authors: Chuang D T , Hu C W C , Patel M S
Published: August 2015

The activities of 2-oxo acid dehydrogenase complexes were measured during hormone-mediated differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes into adipocytes. Specific activity of leucine-activated branched-chain 2-oxo acid dehydrogenase complex increased approx. 10-fold in 3T3-L1 adipocytes compared with 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. In contrast, specific activity of the 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex increased by only 3-fold in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. The three catalytic component enzymes of the branched-chain 2-oxo acid dehydrogenase complex and the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex showed concomitant increases in their specific activities. A close similarity in kinetics of induction of the branched-chain 2-oxo acid dehydrogenase complex and the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex in 3T3-L1 adipocytes suggests that a common mechanism may be involved in hormone-dependent increases in the activities of the catalytic components of these two complexes in 3T3-L1 adipocytes during differentiation.
The mechanism of adenosine production in rat polymorphonuclear leucocytes
Authors: Worku Y , Newby A C
Published: August 2015

Adenosine production in intact rat polymorphonuclear leucocytes was studied during 2-deoxyglucose-induced ATP catabolism. A cell-free system containing the cytosolic 5′-nucleotidase (EC 3.1.3.5) as the only phosphohydrolase was also studied. The rate of adenosine formation in both intact cells and the cell-free system showed a similar dependence on energy charge (([ATP] + 1/2 [ADP]/([ATP] + [ADP] + [AMP])), being maximal only at values close to 0.8. Sufficient cytosolic 5′-nucleotidase was present in intact cells to explain the observed rate of adenosine formation. We conclude that the cytosolic 5′-nucleotidase is responsible for adenosine production in rat polymorphonuclear leucocytes. This mechanism provides a direct biochemical link between the energy status of a cell and the rate of adenosine formation.
Measurement of the intramitochondrial volume in hepatocytes without cell disruption and its elevation by hormones and valinomycin
Authors: Quinlan P T , Thomas A P , Armston A E , Halestrap A P
Published: August 2015

Methods have been developed to measure the lysophospholipid content and matrix volume of liver cell mitochondria in situ in order to test the hypothesis that these parameters may be important in the hormonal control of mitochondrial function [Armston, Halestrap & Scott (1982) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 681, 429-439]. No change in the labelling of mitochondrial lysophospholipids with [32P]Pi was detected after treatment of liver cells with glucagon, phenylephrine or vasopressin. Incorporation of [32P]Pi into mitochondrial phosphatidylinositol was enhanced by phenylephrine and vasopressin. Mitochondrial volumes were measured using rapid disruption of cells by sonication into 3H2O and [14C]sucrose or without cell disruption using 3H2O and [14C]mannitol. In control cells the two methods gave values of 1.09 and 0.40 microliters/mg of mitochondrial protein respectively, which represent 19 and 7% respectively of the total cell volume measured with 3H2O and inulin [14C]carboxylic acid. Both methods showed that glucagon, phenylephrine and 1 nm-valinomycin produced significant increases (13% and 26% using sucrose and mannitol respectively) in mitochondrial volume. The increase was coincident with the stimulation of gluconeogenesis from L-lactate and pyruvate and of mitochondrial respiratory chain activity. The effects of glucagon and phenylephrine were additive on both mitochondrial volume and respiratory chain activity, but not on gluconeogenesis. Liver cells exposed to gluconeogenic hormones or low concentrations of valinomycin showed a decrease in light scattering at 520 nM correlating with the change in mitochondrial volume but without a change in whole-cell volume. The time course and hormone sensitivity of this response were similar to those for the hormonal stimulation of gluconeogenesis. The light-scattering response to glucagon, phenylephrine and vasopressin, but not to valinomycin, were greatly reduced or abolished in Ca2+-free media.
Lactate as an oxidizable substrate for rat brain in vitro during the perinatal period
Authors: Arizmendi C , Medina J M
Published: August 2015

Foetal brain slices showed a high capacity for lactate oxidation in vitro during late gestation. This capacity remained high during the very early postnatal period, suggesting that lactate may play an important role as an energy substrate in the brain during the early neonatal period. The capacity for lactate oxidation decreased markedly during the first 2 days of extra-uterine life and thereafter remained low.
Proteoglycan aggregate formation by articular chondrocytes. Decrease in link-protein synthesis during culture
Authors: Plaas A H K , Sandy J D , Muir H
Published: August 2015

The synthesis of link-stabilized proteoglycan aggregates by rabbit articular chondrocytes was investigated by [35S]sulphate labelling of primary monolayer cultures maintained for up to 21 days. (1) At all culture times the cells secreted a high-molecular-weight cartilage-type proteoglycan monomer of which 75%-80% formed aggregates with hyaluronic acid. (2) At 2 days of culture all of the aggregates were in link-stabilized form, but by 21 days only 5% were link-stabilized, as shown by displacement of monomers from the aggregate by hyaluronic acid oligosaccharides. (3) The addition of purified link protein to 21-day culture medium increased the proportion of link-stable aggregate from 5% to 70%. (4) Analysis of [3H]serine-labelled proteoglycan aggregates in the medium showed a marked decrease with culture time in the ratio of 3H-labelled link protein to 3H-labelled core protein present. The results suggest that the secretion of proteoglycan monomers and link protein by articular chondrocytes changes independently during prolonged monolayer culture.
Distinct effects of various amino acids on 45Ca2+ fluxes in rat pancreatic islets
Authors: Charles S , Henquin J C
Published: August 2015

The effects of three types of amino acids on 45Ca2+ fluxes in rat pancreatic islets have been compared. Alanine, a non-insulinotropic neutral amino acid, transported with Na+, increased 45Ca2+ efflux in the presence or in the absence of extracellular Ca2+, but not in the absence of Na+. Its effects in Na+-solutions were practically abolished by 7 mM-glucose. Alanine slightly stimulated 45Ca2+ influx (5 min uptake) only when Na+ was present. Two insulinotropic cationic amino acids (arginine and lysine) triggered similar changes in 45Ca2+ efflux. They accelerated the efflux in the presence of Ca2+ and inhibited the efflux in a Ca2+-free medium, whether glucose was present or not. In an Na+-free Ca2+-medium, arginine and lysine markedly accelerated 45Ca2+ efflux, but this effect was suppressed by 7 mM-glucose. Arginine stimulated 45Ca2+ influx irrespective of the presence or absence of glucose and Na+. Leucine, a neutral insulinotropic amino acid well metabolized by islet cells, inhibited 45Ca2+ efflux from the islets in a Ca2+-free medium; this effect was potentiated by glutamine. In the presence of Ca2+ and Na+, leucine was ineffective alone, but triggered a marked increase in 45Ca2+ efflux when combined with glutamine. In an Na+-free Ca2+-medium, leucine accelerated 45Ca2+ efflux to the same extent with or without glutamine. Leucine also stimulated 45Ca2+ influx in the presence or in the absence of Na+, but its effects were potentiated by glutamine only in the presence of Na+. The results show that amino acids of various types cause distinct changes in 45Ca2+ fluxes in pancreatic islets. Certain of these changes involve an Na+-mediated mobilization of cellular Ca2+ from sequestering sites where glucose appears to exert an opposite effect.
Effects of calmodulin antagonists on the active Ca2+ uptake by rat liver mitochondria
Authors: Vale M G P , Moreno A J M , Carvalho A P
Published: August 2015

The mechanism of Ca2+ transport by rat liver mitochondria was investigated with respect to the possible involvement of calmodulin in this process. We studied the action of exogenous calmodulin isolated from brain tissue on the Ca2+-transport system, as well as the effect of two types of calmodulin antagonists; the phenothiazine drugs trifluoperazine and chlorpromazine and the more specific substance compound 48/80. Our results show that Ca2+ transport by mitochondria and mitochondrial ATPase activity are insensitive to exogenous calmodulin, although they can be inhibited by the phenothiazines. Since no effect of compound 48/80 was observed, we believe that the phenothiazines act through a mechanism that does not involve calmodulin. This is in accord with our inability to locate significant quantities of calmodulin in mitochondria by radioimmunoassay analysis. Our results further show that trifluoperazine and chlorpromazine also inhibit the electron-carrier system of the respiratory chain, and this effect may mediate their inhibitory action on Ca2+ transport when it is energized by respiration instead of ATP hydrolysis.
Development and regulation of ketogenesis in hepatocytes isolated from newborn rats
Authors: Ferré P , Satabin P , Decaux J F , Escriva F , Girard J
Published: August 2015

The development of fatty acid metabolism was studied in isolated hepatocytes from newborn rats. Ketone-body production from oleate is increased 6-fold between 0 and 16 h after birth. This increase is related to an enhanced beta-oxidation rather than to a channeling of acetyl-CoA from the tricarboxylic acid cycle to ketone-body synthesis. The increase in oleate oxidation is not related to a decreased esterification rate, as the latter is already low at birth and does not decrease further. At birth, lipogenic rate is 2-3-fold lower than in fed adult rats and it decreases to undetectable values in 16 h-old rats. A 90% inhibition of lipogenesis in hepatocytes of newborn rats (0 h) by glucagon and 5-(tetradecyloxy)-2-furoic acid does not lead to an increased oxidation of non-esterified fatty acids. This suggests that the inverse relationship between lipogenesis and ketogenesis in the starved newborn rat is not responsible for the switch-on of fatty acid oxidation at birth. Moreover, ketogenesis from octanoate, a medium-chain fatty acid the oxidation of which is independent of carnitine acyltransferase, follows the same developmental pattern at birth as that from oleate.
Stimulatory effect of the intestinal peptide PHI on glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis in isolated rat hepatocytes
Authors: Felíu J E , Marco J
Published: August 2015

The newly isolated peptide PHI provoked a dose-dependent stimulation of glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis in isolated rat hepatocytes; at 1 microM-PHI, both processes were increased 1.6-fold as compared with basal values. These PHI-mediated effects were accompanied by the activation of glycogen phosphorylase and the inactivation of pyruvate kinase. PHI (1 microM) also caused a 2-fold increase in hepatocyte cyclic AMP.
Reduced glutathione protection against rat liver microsomal injury by carbon tetrachloride. Dependence on O2
Authors: Burk R F , Patel K , Lane J M
Published: August 2015

Rat liver microsomal membranes contain a reduced-glutathione-dependent protein(s) that inhibits lipid peroxidation in the ascorbate/iron microsomal lipid peroxidation system. It appears to exert its protective effect by scavenging free radicals. The present work was carried out to assess the effect of this reduced-glutathione-dependent mechanism on carbon tetrachloride-induced microsomal injury and on carbon tetrachloride metabolism because they are known to involve free radicals. Rat liver microsomes were incubated at 37 degrees C with NADPH, EDTA and carbon tetrachloride. The addition of 1 mM-reduced glutathione (GSH) markedly inhibited lipid peroxidation and glucose 6-phosphatase inactivation and, to a lesser extent, inhibited cytochrome P-450 destruction. GSH also inhibited covalent binding of [14C]carbon tetrachloride-derived 14C to microsomal protein. These results indicate that a GSH-dependent mechanism functions to protect the microsomal membrane against free-radical injury in the carbon tetrachloride system as well as in the iron-based systems. Under anaerobic conditions, GSH had no effect on chloroform formation, carbon tetrachloride-induced destruction of cytochrome P-450 or covalent binding of [14C]carbon tetrachloride-derived 14C to microsomal protein. Thus, the GSH protective mechanism appears to be O2-dependent. This suggests that it may be specific for O2-based free radicals. This O2-dependent GSH protective mechanism may partly underlie the observed protection of hyperbaric O2 against carbon tetrachloride-induced lipid peroxidation and hepatotoxicity.
A kinetic investigation of the effects of adrenaline on 45Ca2+ exchange in isolated hepatocytes at different Ca2+ concentrations, at 20° C and in the presence of inhibitors of mitochondrial Ca2+ transport
Authors: Parker J C , Barritt G J , Wadsworth J C
Published: August 2015

The effects of adrenaline on 45Ca2+-exchange curves for isolated hepatocytes incubated under various steady-state conditions were investigated. Kinetic analysis showed that the simplest compartment configuration consistent with each set of data was a series configuration of a three-compartment closed system comprising compartment 1 (C1), the extracellular medium, and two kinetically distinct compartments of cellular exchangeable Ca2+, C2 and C3 (C1 = C2 = C3). Subcellular fractionation of hepatocytes labelled with 45Ca2+ at 0.1 mM-Ca2+ indicated that C3 includes exchangeable Ca2+ in the mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum. The following results were obtained from experiments conducted at 37 degrees C at five different extracellular Ca2+ concentrations. For both untreated and adrenaline-treated cells, plots of the flux from C1 to C2 as a function of the extracellular Ca2+ concentration were best described by straight lines consistent with Ca2+ influx across the plasma membrane being a diffusion process. Adrenaline increased the value of the permeability constant for Ca2+ influx by 40%. For untreated cells, plots of the flux between C2 and C3 as a function of the concentrations of Ca2+ in these compartments approached a plateau at high Ca2+ concentrations. Adrenaline caused a 3-fold increase in the concentration of Ca2+ that gives half-maximal rate of Ca2+ transport from C2 to C3. At 1.3 mM extracellular Ca2+, a decrease in incubation temperature from 37 degrees C to 20 degrees C decreased the quantity of Ca2+ in C3 and the flux and fractional transfer rates for the transport of Ca2+ between C2 and C3. At 20 degrees C adrenaline increased the quantity of Ca2+ in C3 and the fractional transfer rates for the transfer of Ca2+ from C1 to C2, and from C2 to C3. At 37 degrees C and 2.4 mM extracellular Ca2+, antimycin A plus oligomycin decreased the quantity of Ca2+ in C3 and increased the fractional transfer rate for the transport of Ca2+ from C3 to C2. In the presence of antimycin A and oligomycin, adrenaline did not increase the quantity of Ca2+ in C2 or the flux and fractional transfer rate for the transport of Ca2+ from C1 to C2, whereas these parameters were increased in the absence of the inhibitors.
Calmodulin-dependent enzymic phosphorylation of dolichol in Tetrahymena pyriformis
Authors: Gandhi C R , Keenan R W
Published: August 2015

The Protozoan, Tetrahymena pyriformis, is capable of phosphorylating dolichol in the presence of CTP. Other nucleotides (ATP, UTP and GTP) were ineffective. The enzyme was activated independently by the bivalent cations Mg2+, Mn2+ and Ca2+. The Ca2+ stimulation of the enzyme activity was calmodulin-dependent. A substantial increase in the enzyme activity was seen in the presence of UTP. The apparent Km values for CTP and dolichol, as calculated from the Lineweaver-Burk plot, were 3 mM and 70 microM respectively. Although the presence of detergent was essential, at higher concentrations there was a decrease in the enzyme activity. The enzyme had two pH optima (pH 7.4 and 9.0) and at both the activity was Ca2+-calmodulin-dependent.
Ribosome-inactivating proteins from the seeds of Saponaria officinalis L. (soapwort), of Agrostemma githago L. (corn cockle) and of Asparagus officinalis L. (asparagus), and from the latex of Hura crepitans L. (sandbox tree)
Authors: Stirpe F , Gasperi-Campani A , Barbieri L , Falasca A , Abbondanza A , Stevens W A
Published: August 2015

Ribosome-inactivating proteins, similar to those already known [Barbieri & Stirpe (1982) Cancer Surveys 1, 489-520] were purified from the seeds of Saponaria officinalis (two proteins), of Agrostemma githago (three proteins), and of Asparagus officinalis (three proteins), and from the latex of Hura crepitans (one protein). The yield ranged from 8 to 400 mg/100 g of starting material. All proteins have an Mr of approx. 30000 and an alkaline isoelectric point. Their sugar content varies from 0 (proteins from S. officinalis) to 40% (protein from H. crepitans). The ribosome-inactivating proteins inhibit protein synthesis by rabbit reticulocyte lysate, the ID50 (concentration giving 50% inhibition) ranging from 1 ng/ml (a protein from S. officinalis) to 18 ng/ml (a protein from A. githago). Those which were tested (the proteins from S. officinalis and from A. githago) also inhibit polymerization of phenylalanine by isolated ribosomes, acting in an apparently catalytic manner. The protein from H. crepitans inhibited protein synthesis by HeLa cells, with an ID50 of 4 micrograms/ml, whereas the proteins from S. officinalis and from A. githago had an ID50 of more than 50-100 micrograms/ml. The ribosome-inactivating proteins from S. officinalis and from A. githago reduced the number of local lesions by tobacco-mosaic virus in the leaves of Nicotiana glutinosa.
Breakdown of polyphosphoinositides and not phosphatidylinositol accounts for muscarinic agonist-stimulated inositol phospholipid metabolism in rat parotid glands
Authors: Downes C P , Wusteman M M
Published: August 2015

The molecular mechanisms underlying the ability of muscarinic agonists to enhance the metabolism of inositol phospholipids were studied using rat parotid gland slices prelabelled with tracer quantities of [3H]inositol and then washed with 10 mM unlabelled inositol. Carbachol treatment caused rapid and marked increases in the levels of radioactive inositol 1-phosphate, inositol 1,4-bisphosphate, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and an accumulation of label in the free inositol pool. There were much less marked changes in the levels of [3H]phosphatidylinositol, [3H]phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate and [3H]phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate. At 5 s after stimulation with carbachol there were large increases in [3H]inositol 1,4-bisphosphate and [3H]inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate, but not in [3H]inositol 1-phosphate. After stimulation with carbachol for 10 min the levels of radioactive inositol 1,4-bisphosphate and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate greatly exceeded the starting level of radioactivity in phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate respectively. When carbachol treatment was followed by addition of sufficient atropine to block all the muscarinic receptors the radioactive inositol phosphates rapidly returned towards control levels. The carbachol-evoked changes in radioactive inositol phosphate and phospholipid levels were blocked in the presence of 2,4-dinitrophenol (an uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation). The results suggest that muscarinic agonists stimulate a polyphosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C and that these lipids are continuously replenished from the labelled phosphatidylinositol pool. [3H]Inositol 1-phosphate in the stimulated glands probably arises via hydrolysis of inositol 1,4-bisphosphate and not directly from phosphatidylinositol.
A comparison of isometallothionein synthesis in rat liver after partial hepatectomy and parenteral zinc injection
Authors: Cain K , Griffiths B L
Published: August 2015

The time course of hepatic zinc-isometallothionein synthesis was studied in the regenerating liver and compared with that produced after the parenteral injection of zinc (6 mg of Zn2+/kg). In the regenerating liver, zinc levels rose rapidly after partial hepatectomy and reached a maximum at approx. 14h before declining to approximately normal levels at 48h post-operation. During this 48h period most of the zinc was incorporated into metallothionein. Purification of the latter into the charge-separable isometallothioneins (i.e. MT1 and MT2) showed that, in the regenerating liver, there was an unequal distribution of zinc between the two isoproteins. Thus at operation the endogenous thionein had an MT2/MT1 ratio of 1; after regeneration this ratio increased, and all times during the time course there was more MT2 than MT1. In contrast, the intraperitoneal injection of zinc produced a biphasic uptake of zinc into the liver with maxima at 10h and 32h. During the first phase of zinc uptake, metallothionein synthesis increased rapidly and, unlike the regenerating liver, the MT2/MT1 ratio of 1 remained constant. Thereafter, this ratio increased in a manner analogous to that exhibited by the regenerating liver. Half-life determinations for thionein disappearance/degradation shows that MT2 and MT1 were degraded with half-lives (t1/2) of 26.18h and 16.44h respectively in the regenerating liver and 14.75h and 9.3h after zinc injection. Thus thionein disappearance/degradation in the regenerating liver was slower than that seen after zinc injection. However, in both situations MT2 was always removed at a slower rate than MT1. Calculation of the rates of thionein synthesis (assuming the above disappearance rates were constant throughout the time course) showed that, in the regenerating liver, the rate of MT2 synthesis was approximately twice that of MT1. This was not the case after zinc injection, where both isometallothioneins were synthesized in equal amounts. These results demonstrate that the rates of synthesis of MT2 and MT1 can be altered according to the metabolic status of the cell and suggest a specific role for MT2 during liver regeneration.
Studies of mammalian ornithine decarboxylase using a monoclonal antibody
Authors: Pegg A E , Seely J E , Persson L , Herlyn M , Ponsell K , O'Brien T G
Published: August 2015

A monoclonal antibody of the immunoglobulin M class was produced against mouse kidney ornithine decarboxylase. Screening for the antibody was carried out using alpha-difluoromethyl[5-3H]ornithine-labelled ornithine decarboxylase. The antibody reacted with this antigen and with native ornithine decarboxylase. The antibody attached to Sepharose could be used to form an immunoaffinity column that retained mammalian ornithine decarboxylase. The active enzyme could then be eluted in a highly purified form by 1.0M-sodium thiocyanate. The monoclonal antibody could also be used to precipitate labelled ornithine decarboxylase from homogenates of kidneys from androgen-treated mice given [35S]methionine. Only one band, corresponding to Mr of about 55000, was observed. The extensive labelling of this band is consistent with the rapid turnover of ornithine decarboxylase protein, since this enzyme represents only about 1 part in 10000 of the cytosolic protein.
Studies of the relationship between the catalytic activity and binding of non-substrate ligands by the glutathione S-transferases
Authors: Boyer T D , Vessey D A , Holcomb C , Saley N
Published: August 2015

The dimeric enzyme glutathione S-transferase B is composed of two dissimilar subunits, referred to as Ya and Yc. Transferase B (YaYc) and two other transferases that are homodimers of the individual Ya and Yc subunits were purified from rat liver. Inhibition of these three enzymes by Indocyanine Green, biliverdin and several bile acids was investigated at different values of pH (range 6.0-8.0). Indocyanine Green, biliverdin and chenodeoxycholate were found to be effective inhibitors of transferases YaYc and YcYc at low (pH 6.0) but not high (pH 8.0) values of pH. Between these extremes of pH intermediate degrees of inhibition were observed. Cholate and taurochenodeoxycholate, however, were ineffective inhibitors of transferase YcYc at all values of pH. The observed differences in bile acids appeared to be due, in part, to differences in their state of ionization. In contrast with the above results, transferase YaYa was inhibited by at least 80% by the non-substrate ligands at all values of pH. These effects of pH on the three transferases could not be accounted for by pH-induced changes in the enzyme's affinity for the inhibitor. Thus those glutathione S-transferases that contain the Yc subunit are able to act simultaneously as both enzymes and binding proteins. In addition to enzyme structure, the state of ionization of the non-substrate ligands may also influence whether the transferases can perform both functions simultaneously.
Comparative study on glycosaminoglycans synthesized in peripheral and peritoneal polymorphonuclear leucocytes from guinea pigs
Authors: Ohhashi Y , Hasumi F , Mori Y
Published: August 2015

Glycosaminoglycans synthesized in polymorphonuclear (PMN) leucocytes isolated from blood (peripheral PMN leucocytes) and in those induced intraperitoneally by the injection of caseinate (peritoneal PMN leucocytes) were compared. Both peripheral and peritoneal PMN leucocytes were incubated in medium containing [35S]sulphate and [3H]glucosamine. Each sample obtained after incubation was separated into cell, cell-surface and medium fractions by trypsin digestion and centrifugation. The glycosaminoglycans secreted from peripheral and peritoneal PMN leucocytes were decreased in size by alkali treatment, indicating that they existed in the form of proteoglycans. Descending paper chromatography of the unsaturated disaccharides obtained by the digestion of glycosaminoglycans with chondroitinase AC and chondroitinase ABC identified the labelled glycosaminoglycans of both the cell and the medium fractions in peripheral PMN leucocytes as 55-58% chondroitin 4-sulphate, 16-19% chondroitin 6-sulphate, 16-19% dermatan sulphate and 6-8% heparan sulphate. Oversulphated chondroitin sulphate and oversulphated dermatan sulphate were found only in the medium fraction. In peritoneal PMN leucocytes there is a difference in the composition of glycosaminoglycans between the cell and the medium fractions; the cell fraction was composed of 60% chondroitin 4-sulphate, 5.5% chondroitin 6-sulphate, 16.8% dermatan sulphate and 13.9% heparan sulphate, whereas the medium fraction consisted of 24.5% chondroitin 4-sulphate, 28.2% chondroitin 6-sulphate, 33.7% dermatan sulphate and 10% heparan sulphate. Oversulphated chondroitin sulphate and oversulphated dermatan sulphate were found in the cell, cell-surface and medium fractions. On the basis of enzymic assays with chondro-4-sulphatase and chondro-6-sulphatase, the positions of sulphation in the disulphated disaccharides were identified as 4- and 6-positions of N-acetylgalactosamine. Most of the 35S-labelled glycosaminoglycans synthesized in peripheral PMN leucocytes were retained within cells, whereas those in peritoneal PMN leucocytes were secreted into the culture medium. Moreover, the amount of glycosaminoglycans in peritoneal PMN leucocytes was significantly less than that in peripheral PMN leucocytes. Assay of lysosomal enzymes showed that these activities in peritoneal PMN leucocytes were 2-fold higher than those in peripheral PMN leucocytes.