The distribution and chemical nature of radioactive folates in rat liver cells and rat liver mitochondria.

Subcellular fractionation of rat liver cells revealed that a mixture of 14C- and 3H-labelled folic acid was distributed approximately equally between the mitochondria and cytosol 2, 24, 48 and 72 h after oral administration. Subfractionation of liver mitochondria 48 h after oral administration showed that the radioactivity was mainly associated with the inner membrane (27.7%) and matrix (51.5%). Hot-ascorbate extraction of the cell cytosol, mitochondrial inner membrane and matrix showed the majority of folates were present as polyglutamates. Acid treatment of isolated folates from cytosol, inner membrane and matrix produced breakdown products consistent with scission of tetrahydrofolates. The folates isolated in the mitochondrial matrix were bound to protein that had an estimated mol. wt. of 90,000.


Polyprenyl phosphate sugars synthesized during slime-polysaccharide production by membranes of the root-cap cells of maize (Zea mays).

Two types of experiments were carried out; either maize roots were incubated in L-[1-3H]fucose or membranes were prepared from root tips and these were incubated with GDP-L-[U-14C]fucose or UDP-D-[U-4C]glucose. The radioactively labelled lipids that were synthesized in vivo and in vitro were extracted and separated into polar and neutral components. The polar lipids had the characteristics of polyprenyl phosphate and diphosphate fucose or glucose derivatives, and the neutral lipids of sterol glycosides (fucose or glucose). A partial separation of the glycolipid synthetase reactions was achieved. Membranes were fractionated into material that sedimented at 20,000g and 100,000g. Most of the polar glycolipid synthetase activity (for the incorporation of both fucose and glucose) was located in the 100,000 g pellet, and this activity was probably located in the endoplasmic reticulum. The neutral lipid, which contained fucose, was synthesized mainly by membranes of the 20,000g pellet, and the activity was probably associated with the dictyosomes, whereas the neutral glucolipids were synthesized by all the membrane fractions. It is suggested that the polar (polyprenyl) lipids labelled with fucose could act as possible intermediates during the synthesis of the glycoproteins and slime in the root tip.


Modulation of Ca2+ efflux from heart mitochondria.

The efflux of Ca2+ from rat heart mitochondria has been examined by using Ruthenium Red to inhibit active uptake after predetermined loadings with Ca2+. The efflux is proportional to the internal Ca2+ load; it is increased by Na+ applied when the mitochondria are respiring and this effect is inhibited by oligomycin. The efflux of Ca2+ is diminished by ATP and by ADP, with the latter the more effective. Both active uptake and efflux of Ca2+ are slowed by bongkrekic acid; this action has a time lag. The lower efflux found with the nucleotides and with bongkrekic acid seems to correspond to the more condensed state seen in the electron microscope when these agents are applied [Stoner & Sirak (1973) J. Cell Biol. 56, 51-64, 65-73]. The results are discussed in relation to the less-permeable state being contingent upon nucleotide binding to the membrane.


Selective cleavage of variant surface glycoproteins from Trypanosoma brucei.

Two conformationally distinct regions were revealed by tryptic cleavage of six undenatured variant surface glycoproteins purified from clones of Trypanosoma brucei. Within 5 min, the native glycoproteins (65,000 mol.wt.) were cleaved, yielding a large N-terminal fragment (48,000-55,000 mol.wt. depending on the variant) together with one or more C-terminal fragments. After 30-60 min incubation, further breakdown of the large fragment occurred in some variants. The ultimate large product (40,000-52,000 mol.wt.) was very resistant to further degradation by trypsin (in the absence of denaturation). The distinction between N-terminal and C-terminal domains may be significant in relation to the organization and function of these glycoproteins on the trypanosome surface.


Pools and protein synthesis in mammalian cells.

From the kinetics of incorporation into protein shown by four amino acids and one amino acid analogue in suspension cultured HeLa S-3 cells, two distinctly different patterns were observed under the same experimental conditions. An initial slow exponential incorporation followed by linear kinetics was characteristic of the two non-essential amino acids, glycine and proline, whereas the two essential amino acids studied, phenylalanine and leucine, showed linear kinetics of incorporation with no detectable delay. The analogue amino acid, p-fluorophenylalanine also showed immediate linear kinetics of incorporation. There was a poor correlation between the rate of formation of acid-soluble pools and incorporation kinetics. However, the rate of formation of the freely diffusible pool of amino acids correlated more closely with incorporation kinetics. The lack of direct involvement of the acid-soluble pool in protein synthesis was also demonstrated by pre-loading of pools before treatment of cells with labelled amino acids. The results partially support the hypothesis that precursor amino acids for protein synthesis come from the external medium rather than the acid-soluble pool, but suggest that the amino acid which freely diffuses into the cell from the external medium could also be the source.


Effect of hypophysectomy on the rates of protein synthesis and degradation in rat liver.

The effect of hypophysectomy on the protein metabolism of the liver in vivo was studied. Fractional rates of protein synthesis and degradation were determined in the livers of normal and hypophysectomized rats. Synthesis was measured after the injection of massive amounts of radioactive leucine. Degradation was estimated either as the balance between synthesis and accumulation of stable liver proteins or from the disappearance of radioactivity from the proteins previously labelled by the injection of NaH14CO3. The results indicate that: (1) hypophysectomy diminishes the capacity of the liver to synthesize proteins in vivo, mainly of those that are exported as plasma proteins; (2) livers of both normal and hypophysectomized rats show identical protein-degradation rates, whereas plasma proteins are degraded slowly after hypophysectomy.


Glucose metabolism in perfused skeletal muscle. Demonstration of insulin resistance in the obese Zucker rat.

1. The effect of insulin (0.5, 10 and 50 munits/ml of perfusate) on glucose uptake and disposal in skeletal muscle was studied in the isolated perfused hindquarter of obese (fa/fa) and lean (Fa/Fa) Zucker rats and Osborne-Mendel rats. 2. A concentration of 0.5 munit of insulin/ml induced a significant increase in glucose uptake (approx. 2.5 mumol/min per 30 g of muscle) in lean Zucker rats and in Osborne-Mendel rats, and 10 munits of insulin/ml caused a further increase to approx. 6 mumol/min per 30 g of muscle; but 50 munits of insulin/ml had no additional stimulatory effect. In contrast, in obese Zucker rats only 10 and 50 munits of insulin/ml had a stimulatory effect on glucose uptake, the magnitude of which was decreased by 50-70% when compared with either lean control group. Since under no experimental condition tested was an accumulation of free glucose in muscle-cell water observed, the data suggest an impairment of insulin-stimulated glucose transport across the muscle-cell membrane in obese Zucker rats. 3. The intracellular disposal of glucose in skeletal muscle of obese Zucker rats was also insulin-insensitive: even at insulin concentrations that clearly stimulated glucose uptake, no effect of insulin on lactate oxidation (nor an inhibitory effect on alanine release) was observed; [14C]glucose incorporation into skeletal-muscle lipids was stimulated by 50 munits of insulin/ml, but the rate was still only 10% of that observed in lean Zucker rats. 4. The data indicate that the skeletal muscle of obese Zucker rats is insulin-resistant with respect to both glucose-transport mechanisms and intracellular pathways of glucose metabolism, such as lactate oxidation. The excessive degree of insulin-insensitivity in skeletal muscle of obese Zucker rats may represent a causal factor in the development of the glucose intolerance in this species.


Analytical subcellular fractionation of alveolar macrophages from normal and BCG-vaccinated rabbits with particular reference to heterogeneity of hydrolase-containing granules.

Macrophages were obtained by pulmonary lavage from normal rabbits or rabbits that had developed pulmonary granulomas after receiving intravenous BCG vaccine 2-3 weeks earlier. The cells were disrupted in iso-osmotic sucrose and a low-speed supernatant was fractionated by isopycnic centrifugation on a linear sucrose density gradient. Three populations of hydrolase-containing granules (putative lysosomes) were found in both normal and BCG-induced macrophages. They were distinguished by their different distributions in the gradient and different sensitivities to disruption by digitonin and were termed:type A, containing lysozyme; type B, containing N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase, beta-glactosidase, beta-glucuronidase and possibly some lysozyme; type C, containing cathepsin D. Acid phosphatase appeared to be about equally distributed between type B and C granules. Type A and B granules from BCG-induced macrophages showed markedly greater equilibrium density than did those from normal macrophages. Beta-glucuronidase and acid phosphatase had greater specific activity in the induced cells.


Studies on the collagen glucosyltransferase activity present in platelets and plasma.

1. Collagen glucosyltransferase was demonstrated to be associated with pig platelets by using a specific assay for the synthesis of [(14)C]glucosylgalactosylhydroxylysine. 2. This enzyme from pig platelets required denatured collagen as substrate and the reaction was not inhibited by the presence of triple-helical collagen. These observations indicate that the platelet enzyme cannot form either an enzyme-substrate complex or an enzyme-inhibitor complex with triple-helical collagen. 3. Platelets were fractionated by sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation after either lysis by a glycerol-loading technique or homogenization. Assays of subcellular fractions for collagen glucosyltransferase activity indicated that the enzyme was localized predominantly in the cytosolic fraction and less than 5% of the activity was associated with the membrane fractions. 4. Enzyme assays were carried out on platelet-rich plasma and platelet-poor plasma prepared from pig and human blood. These analyses indicated that most of the collagen glucosyltransferase activity of platelet-rich plasma was in a soluble form and only about 10% was associated with platelets. 5. Comparative studies on the enzyme activity in plasma and platelets of various animal species revealed marked variation, with the guinea pig exhibiting the highest activity. In most cases there was a correlation between the activity found in platelets and plasma, but little species variation was noted in enzyme amounts detected in bone-marrow preparations. 6. The results described here are discussed in the context of the proposal that collagen glucosyltransferase might play a role in mediating collagen-platelet adhesion.


Rate of pinocytic capture of macromolecular substrates by rat yolk sac incubated in serum-free culture medium.

Pinocytic activity was quantified for rat yolk sacs incubated in a medium that was either serum-free or contained 10% (v/v) of calf serum. Absence of serum from the medium caused a small increase in the rate of pinosome formation, as determined by the rates of capture of both 125I-labelled poly(vinylpyrrolidone) and [14C]sucrose. In contrast, the rates of uptake of substrates ingested by adsorptive pinocytosis were greatly enhanced when serum proteins, which compete for the same binding sites on the plasma membrane as used by adsorbing substrates, were absent. Elimination of such competition greatly simplifies the quantitative analysis of the binding process, and permitted a detailed study of the binding to the plasma membrane of formaldehyde-denatured bovine serum albumin, a protein that is rapidly digested within the lysosomal system after its pinocytic capture. Binding obeyed Michaelis-Menten kinetics and showed a dissociation constant of approx. 1 micron, indicating the high affinity of this protein for binding sites on the surface of actively pinocytosing yolk-sac cells.


The identification of p-acetamidobenzoate as a folate degradation product in rat urine.

Within 48 h of administration of radiolabelled 10-formylfolate, folic acid and the polyglutamate derivative 10-formylfolate tetraglutamate to the rat, fragmentation products are found in the urine. The major catabolite was identified as p-acetamidobenzoate by chromatography and reverse isotope-dilution analysis.


Cardiac involvement in rheumatoid arthritis. Followup study.

Initial studies from Bowman Gray School of Medicine showed that 18 of 30 patients with classic rheumatoid arthritis (RA) had cardiac involvement from their disease. These abnormalities were detected by echocardiography and consisted of mitral valve and/or pericardial abnormalities. All patients were followed for 4 years from the initial workup. Mitral valve abnormalities were seen on followup in 63% of the patients who initially showed this abnormality, while pericardial effusion remained in 20%. Pericardial thickening persisted in 6 of 7 patients. None of the patients developed constrictive pericarditis or heart failure. There was no definite correlation between persistence of these abnormalities and other clinical data, but it was noticed that patients who had persistent pericardial effusion and mitral valve abnormalities showed a higher number of involved joints and a higher erythrocyte sedimentation rate. The cardiac abnormalities described in this study have remained clinically insignificant in this population of RA patients.


Synovial permeability in rheumatoid arthritis.

In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, as well as in persons with other kinds of synovitis, proteins enter the knee joint more rapidly than in normal individuals (P less than 0.001). The rheumatoid synovium, however, is less permeable to small molecules (tritiated water, P less than 0.02; urate, P less than 0.05; and glucose, P less than 0.002) than is the normal joint lining. This difference is explained if rheumatoid microvascular changes enhance synovial permeability to proteins while coexisting interstitial changes diminish synovial permeability to smaller molecules.


Increased C1q binding immune complexes in Felty's syndrome: comparison with uncomplicated rheumatoid arthritis.

Sera from patients with Felty's syndrome (FS) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were examined for the presence of circulating immune complexes (IC) by using the 125I-C1q binding and monoclonal rheumatoid factor (mRF) techniques. Of 15 patients with FS, 9 (60%) had high 125I-C1q binding as compared to 3 of 26 RA patients (12%). The average C1q binding was significantly higher in the FS patients than in the RA patients without FS. C1q binding in both FS and RA patients was significantly higher than a group of 90 normal controls. In addition, serum C4 levels were significantly lower in the FS patients than in the RA patients. In contrast to these findings, IC levels in FS and RA patients were very similar when measured by the mRF technique. These studies indicate that FS patients have higher levels of complement-fixing IC in their sera than RA patients without FS. These findings raise the possibility that the complement-fixing IC found in these patients may play a role in the pathogenesis of neutropenia of FS.


Plasmapheresis and lymphoplasmapheresis in the management of rheumatoid arthritis.

We have demonstrated the efficacy of therapeutic pheresis in a number of rheumatic diseases, especially rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Ten of 12 patients with RA went into remissions averaging 4 months. These patients were pheresed 20 times over 11 weeks in a tapering fashion on a Haemonetics Model 30 Blood Processor. Clinical remissions were sustained even though serologies, immunoglobulins, immune functions, sedimentation rates, and circulating immune complexes returned to their pre-pheresis baseline by pheresis number 20. All these patients were taking gold or D-penicillamine concurrently, but neither of the 2 patients who failed to respond was on these agents. Plasmapheresis was just as effective as lymphoplasmapheresis. It is theorized that removal of a plasma factor that modulates lymphocyte or neutrophil function produces remissions in RA and that long-acting drugs (e.g., gold or penicillamine) are able to prevent its continued production and produce a sustained remission.


Urate binding to serum albumin: lack of influence on renal clearance of uric acid.

Fractional excretion of uric acid (Curate/Ccreat X 100) was determined in 1 4-year-old analbuminemic child and an age-matched control. Fractional excretion of urate was 19% in the analbuminemic child and 24% in the control subject. These values are within the range reported for normal children of this age. We conclude from this study that urate binding to serum albumin is not an important determinant of the renal clearance of uric acid, and by inference there is no significant binding of urate to serum albumin in vivo.


Cellular immunity in polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis: lack of response to muscle or artery homogenates.

Peripheral blood lymphocyte functions were evaluated in 20 patients with active polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) and/or giant cell arteritis (GCA) by determining the percent of E-rosette-forming cells and by measuring the uptake of tritiated thymidine by peripheral blood lymphocytes after exposure to common infectious antigens and to homogenates of homologous and heterologous artery, muscle, and elastin. Although lymphocytes from patients with PMR and/or GCA were stimulated slightly by artery and muscle homogenates, no differences in lymphocyte responses were found when the results were compared with 22 normal controls and 16 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The hypothesis that GCA results from a cellular immune reaction to normal or diseased arterial wall antigens is not supported by these studies.


Effect of salicylate on proteoglycan metabolism in normal canine articular cartilage in vitro.

In osteoarthritis, diminished aggregation of articular cartilage proteoglycans affects tissue biomechanics. Since salicylates are commonly employed in treatment of osteoarthritis, we examined the effect of sodium salicylate on proteoglycan metabolism and aggregation in normal canine articular cartilage. At salicylate concentrations of 10(-3)M, 5 X 10(-3)M and 10(-2)M, net proteoglycan synthesis in normal canine articular cartilage was 73%, 42% and 16% respectively, of control levels. Catabolism of glycosaminoglycans in the presence of 10(-3)M salicylate (which corresponds to a serum salicylate level of 20-25 mg %) was the same as that in control cartilage, while higher concentrations of the drug increased the rate of degradation. The hydrodynamic size of newly synthesized proteoglycan aggregates and of disaggregated proteoglycans was unaffected by sodium salicylate.


Mortality in lupus nephritis.

The principal causes of death of 68 patients with lupus glomerulonephritis were reviewed. Renal failure (40%), vascular events (25%), and infections (16%) were the predominant causes. Diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis was associated with an increased frequency of renal failure. A bimodal pattern of early deaths due to active lupus and sepsis and late deaths from vascular events was found superimposed on a constant rate of death from renal failure.


Drug acetylation phenotype unrelated to development of spontaneous systemic lupus erythematosus.

To ascertain if a genetically determined slow drug acetylation rate is correlated with the development of spontaneous systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), as it is in drug-induced SLE, acetylation phenotypes of 27 patients with spontaneous SLE were determined after administration of dapsone. Thirty-three percent were slow acetylators, 63% were rapid acetylators, and one was indeterminate, a distribution not significantly different from that expected in control subjects. Among 4 pairs of first-degree relatives, all of whom had spontaneous SLE, 7 of the 8 individuals were rapid acetylators. We conclude that people who are slow acetylators are at no greater risk for developing spontaneous SLE than are rapid acetylators and that the slow acetylation phenotype is not correlated with familial SLE.


Continuing education in rheumatoid arthritis for the primary care physician.

An educational program in rheumatoid arthritis was developed for primary care practitioners. This program is community based and utilizes physicians, identified by their peers as being influential, for the dissemination of information. A marked change in knowledge has been noted in those completing the program, but further followup is needed to determine if a change in the care of patients with rheumatoid arthritis will also result.


Arterial entrance and metabolism of free and esterified plasma cholesterol measured in vivo in experimental animals by a dual isotope method.

The arterial walls of 3 cholesterol-fed rabbits were exposed for 3--4 hours in vivo to homologous cholesterol-labelled plasma with a 20-fold higher [3H/14C] ratio in esterified cholesterol (EC) than in free cholesterol (FC). The [3H/14C] ratio in total cholesterol (TC) in the thoracic aorta was 0.6--0.9 times the ratio prevailing in TC in plasma. This corresponds to a transfer from plasma into the arterial wall of relatively more FC, with the low ratio, than EC with the higher ratio. The [3H/14C] ratio in FC in the arterial wall was 1.4--2.0 times the ratio in FC in plasma. This corresponds to hydrolysis of some of the entered EC, adding cholesterol with the high ratio to FC with the lower ratio. The [3H/14C] ratio in EC in the arterial wall was 0.1--1.1 times the ratio in EC in plasma. This corresponds to no esterification in the arterial wall of entered FC. The same method applied to normolipidemic cockerels gave similar results. In a kinetic model the arterial influx from plasma of FC and EC combined (lipoprotein influx) corresponded in both groups to 20--90 nl plasma per cm2 arterial surface per hour with subsequent hydrolysis of 10--50% of the entered EC. The arterial influx of FC without EC (influx by exchange) accounted for 10--25% of the total influx of cholesterol in the rabbits and 40--70% in the cockerels.


The results of animal studies with ciprofibrate, a new orally effective hypolipidemic drug.

Findings are given to show that ciprofibrate, a new orally active phenoxyisobutyrate, is significantly more hypolipidemic than is the reference clofibrate. In hyperlipidemic rats ciprofibrate suppresses the increase in blood lipids 33% at a daily dosage of 0.6--3 mg/kg. The corresponding dosage for clofibrate is 125--460 mg/kg. Based on studies with cholesterol pools pre-labeled with [14C]mevalonate or with cholesterol-labeled pools in ciprofibrate-treated normolipidemic rats, ciprofibrate was shown to inhibit cholesterol biosynthesis. No evidence of the presence of 7- or 24-dehydrocholesterol was obtained in the sera of ciprofibrate-treated rats as shown by gas chromatography examination. The order of hypolipidemic effectiveness of ciprofibrate in hyperlipidemic rats provides a basis for anticipating that ciprofibrate will be hypolipidemic in hyperlipoproteinemic subjects who are considered at high risk of acquiring coronary artery disease.


Geographic comparisons of diffuse intimal thickening of the aorta.

Aortic intimal thickness was measured microscopically in samples taken from areas grossly free of atherosclerotic lesions of 2,472 subjects aged 15 through 64 years collected during the first year of the International Atherosclerosis Project (IAP). Results indicate that there is progressive increase in aortic intimal thickness with increasing age in both sexes. No differences were observed between the upper thoracic and abdominal aorta. Mean intimal thickness does not appear to be consistently thicker in males than in females. Some differences were found in mean thickness among the 19 location--race groups included; however, such differences did not parallel those observed among the same location--race groups by the mean level of atherosclerosis. A few subjects with Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) and atherosclerosis-related cases had slightly thicker intimas. Diffuse Intimal Thickening (DIT) detected grossly correlates well with thicker means of intimal thickness in both sexes in the abdominal aorta and the thoracic aorta in females. DIT appears to be a universal phenomenon mainly age-dependent; it also appears to be increased in some (CHD) and atherosclerosis-related conditions.


Anti-inflammatory drugs in experimental atherosclerosis. Part 4. Inhibition of atherosclerosis in vivo and thromboxane synthesis and platelet aggregation in vitro.

Groups of New Zealand white male rabbits were fed atherogenic diets containing 1% cholesterol. The diets of experimental groups were supplemented additionally with either aspirin, phenylbutazone, mefenamic acid, flufenamic acid, oxyphenylbutazone or aminopyrine. Blood cholesterol and phospholipids were measured at 3--4 week intervals. After 12 weeks the animals were sacrificed and the severity of atherosclerosis in the thoracic aorta was measured. In separate experiments, rabbit platelets were incubated with each of the drugs individually and conversion of [14C]arachidonic acid to thromboxanes and related compounds was assayed. Inhibition of collagen and arachidonic acid-induced platelet aggregation by each drug was also measured. All drugs inhibited thromboxane synthesis and platelet aggregation in varying degrees with flufenamate and aspirin being most and aminopyrine least effective. The pattern of metabolite formation from [14C]arachidonate was consistent with a block in the cyclooxygenase reaction. Phenylbutazone, flufenamic acid and oxyphenylbutazone produced significant reductions in atherosclerotic plaque formation without major changes in blood cholesterol levels or blood cholesterol--phospholipid ratios. Aspirin and aminopyrine were ineffective. The results indicate that the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory drugs as inhibitors of thromboxane synthesis and platelet aggregation in vitro does not afford a sufficient predictive index of their anti-atherogenicity in vivo. The significance of these findings is discussed in terms of the possible involvement of cyclooxygenase derivatives in atherogenesis.


Decrease of 3-methylhistidine and increase of NG,NG-dimethylarginine in the urine of patients with muscular dystrophy.

The amounts of 3-methylhistidine, N epsilon,N epsilon-dimethyllysine, N epsilon, N epsilon, N epsilon-trimethyllysine, NG,NG-dimethylarginine, and NG,N'G-dimethylarginine were determined in the urine specimens of healthy subjects and patients of corresponding ages with Duchenne, limb-girdle, and congenital types of muscular dystrophy, and motor neuron diseases. The amount of excretion of 3-methylhistidine decreased and that of NG,NG-dimethylarginine increased significantly in Duchenne and limb-girdle types of muscular dystrophy, but not in diseases with neurogenic muscular atrophy. The decrease of 3-methylhistidine was observed consistently throughout the course of the Duchenne type of muscular dystrophy. The amounts of the other methylamino acids both in myogenic and neurogenic myopathies were not different from those in healthy subjects.


The effect of T3 and reverse T3 administration on muscle protein catabolism during fasting as measured by 3-methylhistidine excretion.

Since recent studies have indicated that measurement in urine of the amino acid, 3-methylhistidine, accurately reflects the extent of muscle catabolism, and because it has been suggested that thyroid hormones may influence muscle breakdown, especially during fasting, the effect of T3 and reverse T3 (rT3) administration on the excretion of 3-methylhistidine was examined in obese subjects during fasting. The mean (+/- SE) 3-methylhistidine excretion in patients fed an egg protein diet (devoid of meat protein) was 256 +/- 35 mumoles/day and decreased to 190 +/- 14 mumoles/day during fasting. T3 administration (100 microgram/day x 5 days) increased 3-methylhistidine excretion to 304 +/- 37 mumoles/day during its ingestion and to 485 +/- 46 mumoles/day in the T3 posttreatment interval. T3 doses of 10 microgram every 4 hr (q4h) for the first 6 days of fasting also appeared capable of increasing 3-mehis excretion whereas 5 microgram T3 q4h administered during the first 6 days of fasting did not increase 3-mehis excretion. Reverse T3 administration (80 microgram q6h) during fasting was associated with a mean 3-methylhistidine of 130 +/- 13 mumoles/day, a value no higher than in patients fasted alone. These observations suggest that: (1) skeletal muscle catabolism decreases during fasting: and (2) pathophysiologic doses of T3 (60 microgram/day or more), but not reverse T3, enhance muscle catabolism during fasting.


The relation between urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid levels and the ratio of tryptophan to other large neutral amino acids placed in the stomach.

We assayed 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in urine samples (3- or 6 1/2-hr collection) after individual rats received 6-8 ml of water, of amino acids in solution, or of glucose by stomach tube. Tryptophan (Trp) solutions caused dose-related increases in urinary 5-HIAA; these were blocked when animals received carbidopa, an inhibitor of peripheral aromatic amino acid decarboxylase. The concurrent administration of a large neutral amino acid (LNAA; valine or isoleucine) with oral Trp, in high doses probably sufficient to compete with Trp for transport into gut cells, blocked the Trp-induced rise in urinary 5-HIAA. Concurrent administration of glycine (not a LNAA) in equivalent doses did not. Pretreatment with pyridoxine blocked the Trp-induced rise in urinary 5-HIAA but not that in brain serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5HT). These observations confirm the previous suggestion that while brain serotonin synthesis depends on the plasma Trp/LNAA ratio (which varies inversely with the proportion of protein to total calories in the diet), gut serotonin synthesis depends largely on the Trp/LNAA ratio in the dietary protein itself (and, probably, within the gut lumen postprandially). The range of molar Trp/LNAA ratios at which free LNAAs significantly diminish the effects of ingested Trp on gut serotonin synthesis (as reflected by urinary 5-HIAA) is similar to the range found in dietary proteins.


Effect of acute metabolic acidemia on renal electrolyte transport in man.

The effect of acute NH4C1-induced metabolic acidemia on renal electrolyte excretion was examined in nine healthy subjects during steady state water diuresis. Following oral NH4C1, venous pH and bicarbonate concentration declined significantly (p less than 0.01) while inulin and PAH clearances remained unchanged. Mean sodium excretion (UNaV) increased from 142 +/- 16 mueq/min (mean +/- SEM) to 310 +/- 49 mueq/min (p less than 0.01) at 8 hr without change in plasma aldosterone or renin levels. Urine flow remained unchanged while CH2O/(CH2O + CCl) declined significantly, suggesting that acute metabolic acidemia inhibits sodium transport in the distal nephron. Similar results were observed in two subjects with central diabetes insipidus. Three subjects restudied following the ingestion of an equivalent amount of chloride administered as NaCl, failed to demonstrate a significant rise in UNaV. UKV fell acutely from 91 +/- 13 to 45 +/- 5 mueq/min (p less than 0.001) despite an increase in serum potassium concentration. No change in plasma insulin was observed. UCaV rose from 66 +/- 15 to 143 +/- 18 microgram/min and fractional excretion of calcium increased from 0.55 +/- 0.13 to 1.24 +/- 0.21% (p less than 0.001). Total serum calcium fell slightly, but ionized calcium rose from 3.99 +/- 0.05 to 4.30 +/- 0.03 mg/dl (p less than 0.001). No change in nephrogenous cyclic (cAMP) excretion was observed. In conclusion, acute metabolic acidemia in man (1) inhibits sodium reabsorption in the distal nephron independent of changes in plasma aldosterone concentration, filtered chloride load, or volume expansion; (2) inhibits potassium excretion despite a rise in serum potassium concentration; and (3) inhibits tubular calcium reabsorption independetn of changes in parathyroid hormone (as reflected by urinary cAMP).


Cholesterol synthesis in isolated rat hepatocytes: effect of homologous and heterologous serum lipoproteins.

The present study investigated the effect of serum lipoproteins on sterol synthesis by isolated rat hepatocytes. These cells were maintained in culture medium for 24 hr and incubated for the same period of time with increasing concentrations of serum lipoproteins (5-150 microgram of lipoprotein-protein per ml) isolated from different animal species. The viability of the cells was ascertained by their ability to synthesize cholesterol and protein and to secrete serum proteins into the medium. Rat VLDL and LDL did not alter sterol synthesis, which was stimulated instead by HDL. Rat serum chylomicrons were also ineffective. Human LDL significantly reduced the synthesis of sterols from both acetate and tritiated water; this effect was also induced by human VLDL to a reduced extent. VLDL isolated from hypercholesterolemic rabbit (VLDLC) strongly inhibited sterol synthesis from acetate but not from mevalonate. Cholesteryl-ester-rich VLDL isolated from a patient with type III hyperlipidemia (type III VLDL) were more effective than normal VLDL in suppressing sterol synthesis from acetate. The implications of these findings are discussed with regard to the possible role of cholesteryl-ester-rich lipoproteins on the in vivo regulation of sterol synthesis in the liver.


Participant evaluation of two alcohol education courses.

Two types of alcohol education courses were evaluated positively by drinking drivers (n = 40). A controlled drinking course appeared to be of greater personal relevance to participants than did the traditional education course.


Treatment of handwriting problems utilizing EMG biofeedback training.

The effects of EMG biofeedback training on cursive handwriting were investigated for 4 girls and 5 boys in Grade 4. A significant reduction in EMG between the first baseline session and the last training session was obtained. Four of 5 characteristics of handwriting improved significantly. The need for carefully designed research comparing EMG biofeedback training and relaxation training was indicated. A self-control factor in handwriting was hypothesized.


Differential effects of antioxidants, steroids and other compounds on benzo(a)pyrene 3-hydroxylase activity in various tissues of rat.

Antioxidants were found to inhibit the mixed-function oxidation of benzo(a)pyrene in several tissues of untreated and 3-methylcholanthrene-pretreated rats. The enzyme systems in the liver, kidney and stomach were much more susceptible to inhibition than those in the lung, adrenal, colon and small intestine. In all tissues except the stomach it was found that 3-methylcholanthrene pretreatment led to a decrease in inhibition of benzo(a)pyrene 3-hydroxylase activity. It is suggested that antioxidants exert their protective effect against cancer by inhibiting the formation of carcinogenic metabolites. Of the various steroids tested, only 17 beta-oestradiol and oestrone were significantly inhibitory in most tissues. Cholesterol was found to increase benzo(a)pyrene 3-hydroxylase activity in the gastrointestinal tract.


Peripheral electrophysiological parameters in mice treated with misonidazole.

The clinical use of the radiosensitizer misonidazole may be limited by the incidence of peripheral neuropathy reported following total doses in excess of 18 g. A recent report noted a decrease in nerve conduction velocity following a single i.p. injection of 1 mg/g misonidazole in mice. The present study was unable to confirm such changes when nerve conduction velocity measurements were made in situ or in isolated sural, tibial or median nerves of mice. Other electrophysiological parameters such as threshold, strength-duration curves, refractory time or the ability to carry high-frequency stimulation also showed no change. However, it was noted that a single administration of the radio-sensitizer produced a marked decrease in body temperature which persisted for at least 2 h after the elimination of the drug from the blood serum. The physiological response of reduction of body temperature may protect the mouse against the effect of the toxic chemical species involved in the induction of neurotoxicity.


Histological grade and other prognostic factors in relation to survival of patients with breast cancer.

Records of 3085 patients registered with breast cancer at the Mersey Regional Cancer Registry have been analysed to evaluate the relative importance of possible prognostic factors. In a subgroup of 1759 patients, clinical stage and histological grade are shown to be strongly related to survival after treatment. In addition histological grade is related to the distribution of times to death after treatment. The results of this and 3 other studies have implications for the design and analysis of clinical trials in the primary treatment of breast cancer.


Subcutaneous morphoea: a clinical study of sixteen cases.

Sixteen patients had biopsy-proved inflammatory sclerosis of the panniculus or fascia, which usually was seen in a generalized distribution. Although the sclerosis involved the digits of five patients, it was the result of centrifugal spread of the sclerosis and was not accompanied by ulcers, calcinosis, distal phalangeal resorption or telangiectasia. Four patients may have had digital vasopasm in the extremities involved in the sclerotic process. Five patients also had cutaneous lesions of dermal morphoea or lichen sclerosus et atrophicus. Four patients had a reduced carbon monoxide diffusing capacity, and one of these had roentgenographic evidence of pulmonary fibrosis. In three patients, oesophageal motility or barium swallow studies showed evidence of sclerodermatous changes. The sclerotic process was a contributory cause of the death of one patient. Five patients had peripheral eosinophilia. Six patients seemed to have responded to anti-inflammatory agents. We believe that subcutaneous morphoea is generally more inflammatory than generalized morphoea of the dermal type and may be more likely to progress to mild systemic sclerosis. We suggest that response of subcutaneous morphoea to anti-inflammatory agents is simply a reflection of the degree of inflammation present.


The Shulman syndrome: report of a further case.

A 53-year-old woman developed swelling of her hands after strenuous sport. Soon her feet became affected and the swelling spread up the arms and legs making arm movement and walking difficult. No Raynaud's phenomenon appeared or other features of systemic sclerosis. There was eosinophilia and hypergammaglobulinaemia in the peripheral blood. Histological examination of the skin showed an increase in the collagen bundles in the dermis extending down to the adipose tissue. The fascia showed dense fibrous tissue with a perivascular infiltrate of lymphocytes, a few plasma cells and eosinophils. Immunohistology of the skin and fascia were negative for IgA, IgG, IgM, C3, CIq and fibrin. After 4 weeks of prednisolone 40 mg daily there was a great improvement. This continued with further corticosteroid therapy.


The effect of corticosteroids on in vitro endotoxin-induced microclots.

The in vitro endotoxin-induced fibrin microclots could be completely inhibited in blood by treating the patient with an oral dose of 30--60 mg prednisone 24 h before drawing the blood sample. When added to 100 ml blood in vitro, the minimal inhibiting dose of corticosteroid is 0.004 mg betamethasone or 0.5 mg hydrocortisone.


Fibrous proteins of normal and abnormal human epidermis.

Keratin proteins of human epidermis have been isolated from normal and abnormal tissues. The normal proteins whether removed from living layers (prekeratin) or from the stratum corneum (keratin) are shown to consist of three chains, molecular weights 65,000 (A), 60,000 (B) and 52,000 (C). When compared with the epidermal proteins isolated from abnormal tissues, differences can be detected in the electrophoretic pattern of the subunits. In general, relative amounts of the individual chains are altered and in specific cases or two of the polypeptides found normally are missing. All the alpha-fibrous proteins extracted are found to be very similar in amino acid composition.


Keratosis pilaris atrophicans faciei (ulerythema ophryogenes): a cutaneous marker in the Noonan syndrome.

Five cases are reported of Noonan's syndrome, all of which presented keratosis pilaris atrophicans faciei (ulerythema ophryogenes). This dermatosis fulfils the criteria mentioned by Noonan & Ehmke (1963) as a pointer for the investigation of cardiac anomalies, especially of the pulmonary artery.


Studies on dapsone induced haemolytic anaemia. I. Methaemoglobin production and G-6-PD activity in correlation with dapsone dosage.

The present study was undertaken on the hypothesis that methaemoglobin production and haemolytic anaemia following dapsone administration could be ascribed to an impairment of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase-enzymatic activity. Analysis of the kinetic parameters of the G-6-PD (Vmax and KM) was performed in ten patients, normal with respect to G-6-PD, suffering from various dermatoses. It was concluded that haemolytic anaemia after dapsone therapy is not due to a functional impairment of the enzyme. The close relationship between dapsone dosage, methaemoglobin production and anaemia make reasonable the hypothesis that a toxic dapsone derivative (DDS-NHOH) could be responsible for the methaemoglobin formation and the haemolytic anaemia.


Cutaneous arteritis with superior vena cava obstruction.

Superior vena cava (SVC) obstruction may occur in several disorders (Urschel & Paulson, 1966) and may be associated with arteritis in Behçet's disease (Chajek & Farinaru, 1975). We report a man who had arteritis and SVC obstruction without any of the known causes.


Lichenoid tattoo reactions.

Two young men, tattooed early in 1977 by the same London tattooist, both rapidly developed lichenoid lesions confined entirely to the red dyed areas.


Pyogenic granuloma following the trauma of nose-boring.

The occurrence of pyogenic granuloma following nose-boring for the wearing of ornaments is recorded. Boring of the nose is seen in 60--70% of women in our skin out-patient department and pyogenic granuloma occurs in 33% of such women. The condition is not encountered after boring of the ear lobes, and this suggests that the tissues of the alae nasi are abnormally susceptible to this reaction.


Mass spectrometric determination of hydroxylamine photooxidation by illuminated chloroplasts.

A mass spectrometer with a special inlet was used to directly monitor the products evolved when hydroxylamine-treated chloroplasts were exposed to short saturating light flashes. We found that: 1. Molecular dinitrogen was the sole product of hydroxylamine photooxidation, and was formed in an amount equal to twice the O2 evolved during H2O photooxidation. 2. This reaction was driven by Photosystem II, and did not involve Photo-system I-generated superoxide or peroxide. 3. In the presence of 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethyl urea, N2 was evolved only on the first flash. These results suggested that N2 was formed by the combination of two single-electron oxidation products of hydroxylamine.


H2O2 destruction by ascorbate-dependent systems from chloroplasts.

Washed lamellae from isolated spinach chloroplasts exhibited peroxidative activity with 3,3'-diaminobenzidine or ascorbate as electron donors. By heat treatment or by incubation of the chloroplasts with pronase a heat-labile enzymic activity (system A) and a heat-stable non-enzymic peroxidative activity (system B) could be differentiated. System A is membrane-bound, reacts with 3,3'-diaminobenzidine and with ascorbate as electron donors, shows a sharp pH optimum between 7.5 and 8.0 with both substrates and is inhibited competitively by cyanide. The heat-stable factor can be extracted from the chloroplast lamellae by heat treatment, reacts only with ascorbate as electron donor, shows increasing activity with higher pH values but no optimum and is not inhibited by cyanide. Both peroxidative systems in connection with a relatively high concentration of ascorbate in chloroplasts should represent an important tool for the detoxification of H2O2 which is produced in these organelles by photosynthetic O2 reduction.


Resolution of the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-protein of vicia faba chloroplasts into two different chlorophyll-protein complexes.

Thylakoids of Vicia faba chloroplasts disaggregated by sodium dodecyl sulfate were separated by means of different electrophoretic systems. Under the conditions of a high resolving gel system the chlorophyll containing zone previously termed chlorophyll-protein complex II or light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-protein was found to be inhomogeneous. It represents a mixture of two distinct chlorophyll-proteins characterized by different spectral properties and different apoproteins. One chlorophyll-protein exhibits a chlorophyll a/b ratio of 0.9 and is associated with polypetides of 24,000 and 23,000 daltons. The 24,000 dalton band is proved to bind chlorophyll and has a light-harvesting function. The function of the 23,000 dalton band is unknown. The second chlorophyll-protein has a chlorophyll a/b ratio of 2.1 and an additional absorption maximum in the position of 637 nm. It is associated with only one polypeptide which has an apparent molecular weight of 23,000. The two 23,000 dalton polypeptides occurring in both complexes are not identical.


A chloroplast membrane lacking photosystem II. Thylakoid stacking in the absence of the photosystem II particle.

The polypeptide composition and membrane structure of a variegated mutant of tobacco have been investigated. The pale green mutant leaf regions contain chloroplasts in which the amount of membrane stacking has been reduced (although not totally eliminated). The mutant membranes are almost totally deficient in Photosystem II when compared to wild-type chloroplast membranes, but still show near-normal levels of Photosystem I activity. The pattern of membrane polypeptides separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis shows several differences between mutant and wild-type membranes, although the major chlorophyll-protein complexes described in many other plant species are present in both mutant and wild-type samples. Freeze-fracture analysis of the internal structure of these photosynthetic membranes shows that the Photosystem II-deficient membranes lack the characteristic large particle associated with the E fracture face of the thylakoid. These membranes also lack a tetramer-like particle visible on the inner (ES) surface of the membrane. The other characteristics of the photosynthetic membrane, including the small particles observed on the P fracture faces in both stacked and unstacked regions, and the characteristic changes in the background matrix of the E fracture face which accompany thylakoid stacking, are unaltered in the mutant. From these and other observations we conclude that the large (EF and ES) particle represents an amalgam of many components comprising the Photosystem II reaction complex, that the absence of one or more of its components may prevent the structure from assembling, and that in its absence, Photosystem II activity cannot be observed.


Studies of the ADP/ATP carrier of mitochondria with fluorescent ADP analogue formycin diphosphate.

The ADP/ATP carrier was studied by a fluorescent substrate, formycin diphosphate which is the only fluorescent ADP analogue to bind. Its low quantum yield, short decay time and spectral overlap with tryptophan has as yet prevented its wider use. By incorporating fluorescent acceptors of formycin diphosphate fluorescence, anthracene-maleimide and vinylanthracene, into the membrane, these difficulties were circumvented. Only bound formycin diphosphate transfers energy to the probes so that the secondary emission of these probes is a measure for membrane-bound formycin diphosphate. The fluorescent transfer is inhibited by ADP, bongkrekate and carboxyatractylate whether added before or after incubation of formycin diphosphate showing that only binding to the adenine nucleotide carrier is measured. It also shows directly that the earlier demonstrated ADP fixation by bongkrekate is indeed a displacement into the matrix. The fluorescence decay time of the bound formycin diphosphate is measured as 1.95 ns compared to 0.95 ns of the free formycin diphosphate, indicating that formycin diphosphate is bound at the carrier in a non-polar environment. The depolarization decay time was found to be larger than 15 ns, indicating that carrier-bound formycin diphosphate is immobile within this time period.


Lipid and salt effects on carbocyanine dye-induced photo-voltages in bilayer membranes.

Voltage transients induced by flash illumination of bilayer membranes with sorbed dye, 3,3' -dimethyl-2,2' -oxacarbocyanine chloride (diO-C1-3-CI), vary with membrane lipid composition and aqueous solution salt concentration. The voltage transients are probably induced by physical movements of sorbed dye molecules following photo-isomerization. Increased salt (NaCl and NaBr) concentrations in the aqueous solutions reduced the photo-voltage amplitudes by reducing the amount of dye sorbed to the membranes, and by decreasing the effective membrane thickness. The photo-voltage risetimes and falltimes varied systematically with salt concentration and membrane lipid composition, reflecting structural changes in the membrane's surface layer.


High resolution two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of the proteins and glycoproteins of human blood platelets and platelet membranes.

The proteins and glycoproteins of human blood platelets and platelet membranes in both the reduced and the unreduced states have been analysed by isoelectric focusing and sodium dodecyl sulphate-discontinuosus polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in a two-dimensional technique. Gels which had been stained with periodic acid-Schiff's reagent could be counter-stained with Coomassie Brilliant Blue, simplifying the recognition of components which stain with both reagents. The major glycoproteins and some of the proteins have been identified and the characteristics of the membrance and of the whole platelet components established in this system.


A comparison of the inhibitory potency of reversibly acting inhibitors of anion transport on chloride and sulfate movements across the human red cell membrane.

The effects of a variety of chemically diverse, reversibly acting inhibitors have been measured on both Cl- and SO2-4 equilibrium exchange across the human red cell membrane. The measurements were carried out under the same conditions (pH 6.3, 8 degrees C) and in the same medium for both the Cl- and SO2-4 tracer fluxes. Under these conditions the rate constant for Cl--Cl- exchange is about 20,000 times larger than that for SO2-4--SO2-4 exchange. Despite this large difference in the rates of transport of the two anions, eight different reversibly acting inhibitors have virtually the same effect on the Cl- and SO2-4 transport. The proteolytic enzyme papain also has the same inhibitory effect on both the Cl- and SO2-4 self-exchange. In addition, the slowly penetrating disulfonate 2-(4'-aminophenyl)-6-methylbenzenethiazol-3',7-disulfonic acid (APMB) is 5-fold more effective from the outer than from the inner membrane surface in inhibiting both Cl- and SO2-4 self-exchange. We interpret these results as evidence that the rapidly penetrating monovalent anion Cl- and the slowly penetrating divalent anion SO2-4 are transported by the same system.


Effect of the sodium/potassium ratio on glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase interaction with red cell vesicles.

Binding of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, the membrane protein known as Band 6, causes shifts in the 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of the substrate (Fossel, E.T. and Solomon, A.K (1977) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 464, 82--92). We have studied the resonance shifts produced by varying the sodium/potassium ratio, at constant ionic strength, in order to examine the relationship between the cation transport system and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Alteration of the potassium concentration at the extracellular face of the vesicle affects the conformation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase at the cytoplasmic face, thus showing that a conformation changed induced by a change in extracellular potassium can be transmitted across the membrane. Alterations of the sodium concentration at the cytoplasmic face also affect the enzyme conformation, whereas sodium changes at the extracellular face are without effect. In contrast, there is no sidedness difference in the effect of potassium concentrations. The half-values for these effects are like those for activation of the red cell (Na4 + K+)-ATPase. We have also produced ionic concentration gradients across the vesicle similar to those Glynn and Lew (1970) J. Physiol. London 207, 393--402) found to be effective in running the cation pump backwards to produce adenosine triphosphate in the human red cell. The sodium/potassium concentration dependence of this process in red cells is mimicked by 31P resonance shifts in the (glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate/glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase/inside out vesicle) system. These experiments provide strong support for the existence of a functional linkage between the membrane (Na+ + K+)-ATPase and the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase at the cytoplasmic face.


Intestinal handling of two tetrapeptides by rodent small intestine in vitro.

Uptake of free Leu and Ala and uptake of these amino acids from the tetrapeptides Leu-Gly-Gly-Gly and Ala-Gly-Gly-Gly has been studied in rings of everted rodent jejunum in vitro. When mediated uptake of free Leu was virtually saturated addition of Leu-Gly-Gly-Gly gave no significant increase in uptake of Leu. Uptake of Leu and of Ala from the tetrapeptides was strongly inhibited by Met, as was uptake of these amino acids from free solution. The results did not suggest that either tetrapeptide was taken up intact by the jejunum.


Study of electrophoretic mobility of cellular membranes isolated from rat liver.

Plasma membranes as well as mitochondrial and microsomal subfractions were subjected to zone electrophoresis. Treatment with neuraminidase, phospholipase A or C does not influence the movement of plasma membranes and smooth microsomes. Trypsin increases mobility of plasma membranes and smooth by about 20%, and further treatment with phospholipase C decreases mobility of plasma membranes, total smooth and smooth I microsomes, which, however, is not the case with smooth II microsomes. Low concentrations of trypsin also solubilize enzyme proteins of smooth microsomes from phenobarbital-treated rat liver, but electrophoretic mobility is not increased, indicating structural differences in induced membranes. The mobility of the outer and inner mitochondrial membranes is significantly higher than that of submitochondrial particles. For microsomes the negative surface charge density occurs in the decreasing order of: ribosomes--rough--smooth I--smooth II. A 10 mM CsCl gradient decreases the mobility of rough microsomes by 40% and of ribosomes by 20% but has no effect on total smooth micromes. On the other hand, 5mM MgCl2 decreased the mobility of all three fractions. EDTA-treated rough and EDTA-treated smooth microsomes have the same electrophoretic mobilities. However, the mobilities of non-treated rough and smooth microsomes differ significantly from each other.


Diazontized (125I) diiodosulafanilic acid as a label for cell surface membranes. Studies on erythrocytes.

1. Diazotized 2,6-diiodosulfanilic acid (DDISA) appears to have properties suitable to serve as an artificial, non-penetrating label of cell surface membranes. Therefore, the conditions for selective labeling of cell surface membranes as compared to intracellular proteins as well as a method for its chemical determination were explored in the present study. 2. DDISA reacts with alpha-naphthol at neutral pH to produce a compound (1-hydroxy-4-(2,6-diiodo-4-sulfo-1-phenylazo-(naphthylene)), DSPN) with a characteristic spectrum in the visible range (Amax 430 nm). The absorbance of the reaction product, DSPN, is linearly proportional to the concentration of DDISA and can be used as a method for the colorimetric determination of DDISA. Reaction of DDISA with a molar excess of alpha-naphthol was also used as a method for inactivating unreacted DDISA to terminate labeling prior to cell fractionation. 3. [125I]DDISA reacts avidly with a variety of basic, neutral and acidic proteins as well as with cell membranes to form an acid-stable covalent azo linkage. 4. Effectiveness of labeling of the surface membrane of intact erythrocytes after incubation with [125I]DDISA was assessed by th ratio of 125I incorporated into membrane proteins compared to intracellular proteins. When intact erythrocytes were exposed to [125I]DDISA, the optimal labeling of membranes occurred at 37 degrees C after 20 min of incubation time and at a concentration of 10(-4) M [125I]DDISA in the incubation media. Under these conditions the ratio of the specific activity (cpm 125I/mg protein) of the membrane fraction to the specific activity of the soluble protein fraction (membrane/supernatant ratio) was greater than 500. When incubations were conducted at 4 degrees C this ratio was less than 50. However, when osmotically lysed erythrocytes were incubated with [125I]DDISA the majority of the label reacted with the soluble protein fraction resulting in a membrane/supernatant ratio of 0.14. 5. The results thus suggest that [125I]DDISA used under the appropriate incubation conditions, including the inactivation and removal of [125I]DDISA by washing with alpha-naphthol, can serve as a highly selective membrane label with minimal incorporation into intracellular soluble proteins. The general applicability of this method for other cell types remains to be explored.


Fluorescence labeling of the human erythrocyte anion transport system.

The anion transport system of human red cells was isolated in vesicles containing the original membrane lipids and the 95 000 dalton polypeptides (band 3) by the method of Wolosin et al. (J. Biol. Chem. (1977) 252, 2419--2427). The vesicles have a functional anion transprot system since they display sulfate transport that is inhibited by the fluorescent probe 8-anilinonaphthalene 1-sulfonate (ANS) with similar potency as in red cells. The vesicles were labeled with the SH-specific probe fluorescein mercuric acetate (FMA). Labeling lowers FMA fluorescence, and is prevented or reversed by dithiothreitol, suggesting that the reaction is with a thiol group on the protein. Fluorescnece titrations show a maximum labeling stoichiometry of 1.3 +/- 0.4 mol FMA/mol 95 000 dalton polypeptide. The polarization of bound FMA fluorescence is high indicating that the probe is highly immobilized. Pretreatment with Cu2+ + o-phenanthroline under conditions that crosslink band 3 in ghosts decreases FMA labeling 50%. Differences in kinetics  of FMA labeling in sealed and leaky vesicles suggest that the reactive SH group is located in the intravesicular portion of the protein (corresponding to the cytoplasmic surface of the red cell) and that FMA can cross the membrane. Inhibitors of anion transport have no effect on FMA labeling kinetics suggesting it is not transported via the anion transport system. Sulfate transport in the labeled vesicles remains fully functional. We detected self-energy transfer between bound FMA molecules by fluorescence depolarization. With excitation at 450--50 nm P decreases from 0.4, when less than half of the proteins are labeled, to 0.1 at saturation. This depolarization is not observed with red edge excitation (510--530 nm). Addition of 0.1% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) changes P to 0.32, regardless of the excitation wavelength or degree of saturation with FMA. These results indicate that the band 3 proteins are close enough to allow energy transfer between fluorophores(Ro = 37.4 A), which does not occur upon red edge excitation or when the proteins are separated by SDS. We conclude that the functional anion transport system exists as a dimer or higher oligomer of  band 3 proteins in these membranes, confirming previous suggestions derived using other methods. Future applications are discussed.


Nanosecond fluorescence anisotropy decays of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene in membranes.

Nanosecond decays of the fluorescence anisotropy, r, were studied for the emission of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) embedded in a series of mixed multilamellar liposomes containing egg yolk phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and cholesterol in varying molar ratios, as well as in membranes of intact cells and in virus envelopes. The relative contributions of the fast and the infinitely slow decaying component to the steady-state value r, of the fluorescence anisotropy were very similar for artifical and biological membranes. Angles, theta, of the cone, by which the motion of the fluorescent molecule is limited, were calculated from the intensity of the infinitely slow decaying anisotropy component and compared with steady-state fluorescence anisotropies and with 'microviscosities', (eta). An increase in (eta) from 1.5 to 5.2 P in our systems was accompanied by a decrease in theta from 49 degrees to 30 degrees while the decrease in the mean motional relaxation times, phi f, of the label molecule was not more than 1 ns and due mainly to changes in the potential, by which the diffusion of DPH in the membrane is restricted. From these observations we conclude that differences in the steady-state fluorescence anisotropy and in 'microviscosities' of cholesterol-containing membranes (r greater than 0.15) represent changes in the degree of static orientational constraint rather than changes in diffusion rates of the label.


Sialyltransferase activities of aging diploid fibroblasts.

Sialyltransferase activity and cell-cell adhesion rates of aging WI-38 cells were studied to determine the possible basis for a previously described decrease in membrane bound sialic acid and loss of proliferation of senescent cells. Ectosialyltransferase was demonstrated on the surface of both young and old WI-38 cells. The sialyltransferase assays consist of an enzyme source which is either the surface of intact cells (ectoenzyme) or a Triton X-100 cell homogenate, the nucleotide sialic acid donor (cytidine monophosphate-N-acetylneuraminic acid), and an asialo-acceptor which may be endogenous to the enzyme preparation or may be added exogenously. When sialyltransferase activity is measured in the absence of exogenous acceptors, there is a greater amount of sialic acid transferred by odl cells. However, when exogenous acceptors are provided, the amount of transfer is stimulated to a greater extent in young cells equalizing the amount of sialic acid incorporated into young and old cells. This suggests that there are fewer asialoglycoproteins and that acceptor concentration is a limiting factor in assays of young cell sialyltransferase. The end result of this may be the previously described decreased amount of membrane-bound sialic acid of old cells. A change in the adhesiveness of old cells is described which may be related to the altered cell surface.


Isolation of a highly enriched sarcolemma membrane fraction from canine heart.

A highly enriched sarcolemma preparation was isolated by differential centrifugation of a canine ventricular homogenate followed by centrifugation of a membrane fraction layered over 22% (w/v) sucrose. Ouabain binding, ouabain-sensitive potassium phosphatase activity and 5'-nucleotidase activity were enriched 19--27 fold over the homogenate whereas Ca2+-ATPase and succinate dehydrogenase activities were 0.75 and 0.36, respectively, of that for the homogenate. The isolation procedure was relatively rapid and yielded about 2.0 mg protein/100 g of ventricular muscle. The highest salt concentration used in the procedure was 0.6 M KCl and no detergents were employed. Initial characterization studies suggested that the sarcolemma-enriched fraction consists predominantly if not totally of freely permeable membrane vesicles and that the sarcolemma does not manifest a Ca2+-ATPase activity, at least within the limits of the assay procedures employed. This preparation was concluded to be about 1.5- to 4-fold more highly enriched with sarcolemmal markers than preparations obtained by previously published procedures. Accordingly, the preparation provides an improved basis for the probe of calcium movements that occur across the sarcolemma in association with the excitation-contraction-relaxation sequence of the mammalian myocardial cell.


Role of sodium ions in p-aminohippurate transport by newt kidney.

1. The effect of external Na+ concentration on p-aminohippurate uptake by isolated kidneys of newt (Triturus pyrrhogaster) was studied kinetically and electrophysiologically. 2. p-Aminohippurate uptake conformed to Michaelis-Menten type kinetics in regard to both p-aminohippurate and Na+ concentrations in the incubation medium. Kinetic studies revealed that reduction of Na+ concentration increased the values of Kt without altering the maximal rate (V) of p-aminohippurate uptake. The values of Kt were a linear function of the reciprocal of Na+ concentration. These results suggest the presence of interaction between p-aminohippurate and Na+ at the carrier level, i.e. Na+-coupled cotransport. 3. p-Aminohippurate had no effect on the electrical potential difference across the peritubular membrane in both 10 and 100 mM Na+ solutions, suggesting that p-aminohippurate is transported across the peritubular membrane in a form of electrically neutral carrier complex. This is consistent with the results of the kinetic studies. 4. p-Aminohippurate uptake was proportional to the electrochemical potential gradient of Na+ (delta mu Na) across the peritubular membrane. This result indicates that the maintenance of sufficient delta mu Na appears to be necessary for the accumulation of p-aminohippurate against its electrochemical potential gradient, supporting Na+ gradient hypothesis.


Membrane instability induced by purified myelin components. Its possible relevance to experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.

The fusogenic properties of purified myelin components in a system employing chicken erythrocytes were studied. Sulphatides, myelin basic protein and the apoprotein of Folch-Lees proteolipid were capable of individually inducing membrane fusion in the presence of Ca2+. By contrast, cerebrosides or a mixture of sulphatides and myelin basic protein (molar ratio 19 : 1) did not show such effect. The fusogenic ability of sulphatide was correlated to its behaviour in mixed monolayers with phospholipids at the air-water interface. Mixed films of sulphatides with phosphatidylcholine or sphingomyelin but not with phosphatidylethanolamine showed reductions of molecular packing and surface potential similar to those found for other fusogenic compounds. The effects of myelin components described could be of importance in the membrane instability and vesicular disruption of myelin occurring in demyelinative disorders.


Translocation and turnover of phospholipid analogs in plasma membrane-derived vesicles from cell cultures.

The time-dependent accumulation of phosphatidyldimethylethanolamine in formaldehyde-induced vesicles obtained from a somatic cell hybrid line was investigated. From a number of considerations including a two-fold enrichment of cholesterol and sphingomyelin it was concluded that these vesicles were derived from the cell plasma membrane. A progressive depletion of phosphatidylcholine, the major vesicle phospholipid, was observed in cells supplemented for various time periods with dimethylethanolamine. This depletion was accompanied by a concomitant increase in the amount of lipid analog. The time-dependent alteration of the phospholipid polar head group in intact cells was almost identical to that observed in isolated plasma membrane vesicles, suggesting a rapid equilibration of the de novo synthesized phospholipid with the cell surface compartment. From the initial velocity rate, the time required for the phosphatidylcholine pool to double was about 12 h. Agarose-linked phospholipase A2 was used to measure the relative composition of choline- and dimethylethanolamine-phosphoglycerides in the outer surface of vesicles prepared from cells with different degrees of polar head group substitution. The gradual appearance of lysodimethylethanolamine lipid analog in vesicles treated with phospholipase A2 suggested an asymmetric distribution of the phospholipid between the interior and the exterior part of the vesicle. This asymmetry was maximal up to about 4 h following the addition of dimethylethanolamine to the culture medium and was of a transient nature as the lipid analog accumulated on both sides of the plasma membrane. Based on these measurements a fast followed by a slow translocation component could be distinguished with apparent doubling times of 7 and 43 h for the lipid analog, respectively. As the analog becomes the predominant cellular phospholipid a significant increase in the vesicle lipid fluidity was measured.


Mechanism of blockage of amphotericin B channels in a lipid bilayer.

A number of organic compounds (non-electrolytes, tetraalkylammonia, etc.) with a molecular size of 6--8 angstrom decrease the conductance of ionic channels formed in the lipid bilayer by a polyene antibiotic amphotericin B. It is suggested that these compounds, upon entering the channel, block the passage of inorganic ions. The extent of conductance blockage by organic ions depends on the membrane potential and electrolyte concentration. In the presence of ionic blockers, for instance tetraethylammonium, amphotericin B-containing membranes assume some properties characteristic of excitable membranes, i.e. the current-voltage characteristic acquires the negative resistance region, and in response to a potential step activation followed by inactivation of conductance is observed. It is shown that the potential dependence of the blockage is due to interaction inside the channel of the blocker ion with penetrating ions, by a mechanism similar to that described by Armstrong ((1979) Q. Rev. Biophys. 7, 179--210) for blockage of squid axon potassium channels by ammonium derivatives.


Isolation and characterization of noradrenalin storage granules of bovine adrenal medulla.

A method is described for the preparation of (1) the heavy population of bovine adrenal chromaffin granules (SH (average sedimentation coefficient) = 12 400 S in 0.25 M sucrose) essentially free from contamination with mitochondria and other organelles, and (2) a subpopulation of this heavy population which is highly enriched in noradrenalin (greater than or approximately 95% of the total catecholamine is noradrenalin). The method is based on isopycnic gradient centrifugation using a self-generating gradient of polyvinylpyrrolidone-coated colloidal silica particles (Percoll) in 0.5 M sucrose medium. The isolated population of noradrenalin granules appeared highly electron dense in transmission electron microscopy and revealed a rather narrow size distribution. The specific content of amine and adenine nucleotides (with reference to total granule protein) was markedly higher than for the total population of heavy chromaffin granules. The molar ratio of amines to adenine nucleotides was, however, lower in the noradrenalin granules, i.e. 4.8 vs. 11.9.


Phospholipid composition and external labeling of aminophospholipids of human En(a--) erythrocyte membranes which lack the major sialoglycorprotein (glycophorin A).

Erythrocytes of the rare human blood group En(a--) lack the major sialoglycoprotein, glycophorin A, and the cell population heterozygous for the En(a) antigen contain half the normal amount of glycophorin A. With such cells we have studied whether glycophorin A influences the phospholipid composition and the availability of aminophospholipids to external labeling reagents. We here demonstrate that the amounts of all phospholipids are closely similar in normal and variant membranes. However, using the amino-reactive reagent trinitrobenzenesulfonate, we show that phosphatidylethanolamine is more easily labeled in intact En(a--) cells as compared to normal cells, whereas phosphatidylethanolamine shows an intermediate labeling in En(a) heterozygous cells.


A defect of the myo-inositol maintenance mechanism in the lens of hereditary cataract mice.

The myo-inositol uptake system was studied in lenses of normal and hereditary cataract mouse. The normal mouse was able to accumulate myo-inositol continuously from medium and keep it in a high concentration. The specific myo-inositol uptake was dependent on temperature and it decreased in Ca(2+)-free medium. In contrast, specific uptake of myo-inositol reached a plateau after 15 min in the cataract mouse lens although initial incorporation was more rapid than that in normal mouse lens. This uptake system was not affected by temperature or Ca(2+) in the medium. The rate of myo-inositol efflux into the medium was more rapid in the cataract lens than that of the normal lens. It was shown that the low level of myo-inositol in the lens of hereditary cataract mouse was due to the defect of myo-inositol transport system and the enhanced efflux rate. These results suggest a dysfunction of the lens membrane.


Calcium-induced potassium pathway in sided erythrocyte membrane vesicles.

We have characterized the asymmetric effect of Ca2+ on passive K+ permeability in erythrocyte membranes, using inside out and right-side out vesicles. Ca2+, but not Mg2+, can induce an increase in K+ uptake in inside out vesicles. The half-maximal concentration of Ca2+ required to induce the K+ uptake is 0.2 mM, and the permeability increase is not specific for K+. Thus, the Ca2+- induced permeation process in inside out vesicles is changed from that in the energy-depleted intact cell which requires only micromolar concentrations of Ca2+ and is specific for K+. Removal of spectrin had no effect on the vesicle permeability increase due to Ca2+. Studies with N-ethylmaleimide  show that the vesicle channel openings is mediated by a protein and passage is controlled by sulfhydryl groups; furthermore, the Ca2+-induced vesicle pathway is distinct from the normal channel for passive K+ leak in the absence of Ca2+. The protein is sensitive to its phospholipid environment since removal of easily accessible phospholipid head groups on the cytoplasmic face of the vesicles inhibits the Ca2+ -stimulated channel opening.


Divalent cations cooperatively stabilize close membrane contacts in myelin.

Intact nerve myelin compacts to a dehydrated structure of closely apposed membranes when exposed to isotonic solutions at least 10 mM in calcium or tetracaine. The repeat period of the membrane pair in the compacted structure measured by X-ray diffraction is about 126 A in both central and peripheral mammalian nerve myelins whereas the normal periods are about 158 and 178 A, respectively. The electron density profile of compacted myelin shows an asymmetric membrane unit with thickness similar to that of the symmetric bilayer of flocculated myelin lipids. The centrosymmetrically averaged myelin membrane profile is similar to that of the lipid bilayer except at the surface where residual protein is concentrated. Dispersions of extracted total myelin lipids flocculate under similar conditions to those causing myelin compaction, indicating that similar forces act in both processes. Compaction is always accompanied by lateral segregation of intramembrane particles out of the close-packed domains. Lateral displacement of intramembrane proteins form compacted domains can be driven by the attraction of the lipid surfaces for each other. Rates of compaction vary with compacting reagent, concentration, tissue, and temperature, and probably reflect the permeability of the tissue. Extensive compaction by calcium or tetracaine leads to disruption and vesiculation of the spirally wrapped myelin membranes.


Methionine transport in S37 cells. Substrate-dependent function of amino acid transport system A in exchange processes.

Methionine had been observed to interact with two principal transport systems for amino acids in mammalian cells, the A and L systems. The present study of methionine transport and of exchange processes through system A arose in the course of a study to define the specificity of a transinhibition effect caused by cysteine. Methionine uptake through two transport systems in the S37 cell was confirmed by the occurrence of a biphasic double-reciprocal plot for labeled methionine uptake. Preloading cells with methionine stimulated labeled histidine uptake through systems A and L. Efflux of labeled methionine from cells was stimulated by histidine in a biphasic manner, so that bothe systems A and L can be used for exchange when methionine is the intracellular amino acid. Aminocycloheptanecarboxylic acid elicited exchange efflux of labeled methionine only through system L. ALPHA-Aminoisobutyric acid and N-methyl-alpha-aminoisobutyric acid both stimulated efflux of labeled N-methyl-alpha-aminoisobutyric acid from S37 cells. These findings are interpreted a showing that transport system A is capable of functioning as an exchange system depending upon the identity of intracellular and extracellular substrates available.


A rapid method for the isolation of kidney brush border membranes.

A simple rapid method for the preparation of purified brush border membranes from rabbit kidney proximal tubules is described. The method is based on hypotonic lysis, Ca2+ aggregation of contaminants and differential centrifugation. In contrast to most other published methods, the brush border membranes are free of contamination by basolateral membranes.


Isolation of brush border membranes in vesicular form from the intestinal spiral valve of the small dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula).

A simple, rapid method for the preparation of purified brush border membranes in vesicular form from rabbit kidney proximal tubules has been applied with closely similar results to the intestinal spiral valve of the small dogfish (Scyliorhinus conicula). Since the dogfish belongs to one of the most ancient species of fish, it may be suggested that the method is generally applicable to all species later evolved which possess a brush border membrane at the mucosal surface of the cells of the intestine or kidney.


Spectral analysis of absorption changes associated with nerve excitation in dye-stained crab nerve.

Spectral characteristics of absorption changes associated with nerve excitation were studied with crab nerves stained with a homologous series of dyes, merocyanine-rhodanines and rhodanine oxonols. In these classes of dyes, the absorption changes which followed approximately the same time course as that of the action potential (fast responses) depended in a similar fashion on the wavelength and polarization of the incident light. In order to interpret those commonly observed dependencies, a mode of reorientation of the absorption oscillators of the dye molecules in the membrane matrix during nerve excitation was proposed. In addition to the fast changes mentioned above, slow responses which developed during and after the action potential were commonly observed with oxonols. The spectra of the slow changes differed from those of the fast ones, indicating a distinct mechanism on the response production. A possible mechanism of the production of fast responses was also discussed based on the proposed mode of reorientation of the absorption oscillators.


The effect of cell excision and microelectrode perforation on membrane resistance measurements of Nitella translucens.

The effect of cell excision and microelectrode perforation on the membrane resistance measurements of Nitella translucens was determined by direct experiment. From the results it is concluded that perforation has no effect on cells as short as 1 cm. Current leakage though the node of an excised cell has however to be given some consideration. The method used for determining the resistance recovery to insertion has a wide application and its simplicity will encourage its use in other biological systems.


Instability development in heated human erthrocytes.

Heated human erythrocytes gradually lose their form-maintaining structure as the temperature is increased to 50 degrees C and can behave in some respects as a viscous fluid. We have developed a technique for heating and stressing these cells that is novel, simple and quantitatively precise. We have applied this technique to heated human erythrocytes and have measured instability development in cells. We have employed instability growth theory to calculate a value for an effective surface tension which, in contrast to other methods of membrane surface tension measurement sought to minimize the effects of membrane supporting structural elements. The value obtained for the surface tension of the heated erythrocyte membrane was 0.9 . 10(-6) N/m with a range of variation from 0.4 . 10(-6)N/m to 1.4 . 10(-6) N/m. The methods described may be useful for determining fundamental physical parameters such as internal viscosity and interfacial tension in other systems.


Characterisation of ribosomal satellite in total nuclear DNA from Physarum polycephalum.

The distinctive properties of satellite DNA molecules containing the genes for ribosomal RNA in Physarum polycephalum permits their identification in total, unfractionated nuclear DNA in the foldback form, after denaturation and fast annealing. Using the electron microscope the location and properties of three characteristic regions containing tandemly-repeated, inverted sequences have been investigated. At least two additional regions, also containing tandem repeats, are shown to be present and located towards each end of the rDNA molecule, at a site adjacent to the segment coding for the 26 S rRNA. All the regions which contain tandem repeats are composed of sequences which, within experimental error, appear to share a common unit repeat length of about 90 nucleotides.


The evolution of the long and short repetitive DNA sequences in sea urchins.

The rates of evolution of purified long and short repetitive DNA sequences were examined by hybridisation analysis between the DNAs from several species of sea urchins. We find that the rates of nucleotide substitution are very comparable within mutually retained sequences for the two classes of repetitive DNA. The loss of hybridisable sequences between species also occurs at similar rates among both the short and long repetitive DNA sequences. Between species that separated less than 50 million years ago, hybridisable short repetitive sequences are lost all through the spectrum of reiteration frequencies. The long repeats contain a few sequences which are highly conserved within all of the species examined, and which amount to approximately 1% of the total genome. The short repetitive class, on the other hand, does not seem to contain any such highly conserved elements. The long repetitive sequences internally appear to contain short 'units' of reiteration, which may comprise families within the long repetitive class. We find no evidence to indicate that the majority of long and short repetitive sequences evolve by different mechanisms or at different rates.


Impairment of reovirus mRNA 'cap' methylation in interferon-treated mouse L929 cells.

Reovirus mRNAs synthesized in vitro by the virionassociated enzyme have a 5' 'cap 1' structure (m7G(5')ppp(5')GmpCp...). However, about one third to one half of the reovirus mRNAs formed in mouse L929 cells have a 5' 'cap 2' structure (m7G(5')ppp(5')GmpCmp...) and the rest have a 5' 'cap 1' structure. The finding that virus mRNA 'cap' methylation is impaired in extracts of interferon-treated cells prompted us to study the effect of interferon on virus mRNA 'cap' methylation in vivo. Using labeling with [3H]-guanosine and dual labeling with [3H]methionine and [14C]uridine we compared the 5' structures of reovirus mRNAs accumulating between 5 and 11 h after infection in: L929 cells treated with 390 to 2600 U/ml of a partially purified mouse interferon preparation and untreated L929 cells. The treatment resulted in a 70 to 98% decrease in the 24 h virus yield and in a 50 to 55% decrease in the label accumulated in virus mRNAs. The 'capping' of virus mRNAs and the methylation of their 5' terminal and adjacent G residues were not diminished in interferon-treated cells. However, the percent of 'cap 2' termini was 36 to 47% lower in virus mRNAs from interferon-treated cells than in virus mRNAs from control cells. The interferon treatment did not result in the appearance of additional methylated nucleotides in the virus mRNAs.


Translation of partially purified poly(A)+ protamine messenger RNA components in wheat germ and rabbit reticulocyte cell-free systems. Evidence for translational control mechanisms.

The coding properties of individual poly(A)+ protamine mRNA subcomponents have been explored by analysis of their translation products in two different cell-free protein synthesis systems, the rabbit reticulocyte lysate and the wheat germ S-30, both of which can translate total protamine mRNA. The products synthesized in the reticulocyte lysate in the presence of total poly(A)+ PmRNA consisted mainly of protamine components CII and CIII with component CI only a minor product. However, in the wheat germ S-30, the same mRNA preparation supported the synthesis of all three protamine components, in approximately equal amounts. In addition a new polypeptide, a putative fourth protamine component, labelled CO, was also synthesized. The translation products of subcomponents of poly(A)+ PmRNA separated as individual bands on polyacrylamide gels were similarly analyzed and it was shown that each of the isolated poly(A)+ PmRNA species could stimulate the incorporation of [3H]arginine into protamines in both translational systems. Although each mRNA band stimulated the synthesis of one particular protamine polypeptide predominantly in a given cell-free system, the same RNA preparation was found to direct preferentially the synthesis of a different protamine component in the second cell-free system. The products synthesized in the rabbit reticulocyte lysate in the presence of the individual mRNA species still showed component CI present as a minor product.


Effect of modeccin on rat liver ribosomes in vivo.

1. Rat liver microsomes isolated at 6 and 12 h of poisoning with 3 x LD50 (0.3 microgram/100 g body wt.) of modeccin, the toxin of Adenia digitata, have a decreased capacity of protein synthesis in vitro. 2. A similar decrease of protein synthesis is observed with polysomes at 6 h of poisoning. Experiments with recombined ribosomal subunits demonstrate that this is due to inactivation of the 60 S ribosomal subunit. 3. At 6 h of poisoning there is a marked vesiculation and degranulation of the hepatocyte rough endoplasmic reticulum, which is completely fragmented at 24 h of poisoning. Hepatocyte mitochondria are swollen at 6 h and shrunk at 24 h of poisoning. 4. It is concluded that modeccin penetrates inside hepatocytes in vivo, and damages ribosomes in the same manner as it does in vitro. However, mitochondrial damage indicates that ribosomes may not be the only target of modeccin in vivo.


Development of the nitrogen-fixing and protein-synthesizing apparatus of bacteroids in pea root nodules.

Some aspects of root nodule development of Pisum sativum inoculated with Rhizobium leguminosarum were examined. 1. Nitrogenase activity (measured as acetylene reduction) appears to be preceded by leghemoglobin synthesis (measured immunologically). 2. Syntheses of component I and component II of nitrogenase are not strictly coordinated. Synthesis of component I starts before component II. 3. Plant and bacteroid protein synthesis (measured by [35S]sulfate labeling) in root nodules declines rapidly during nodule development. Corresponding with this decline is a decrease in quantity and quality of rRNA.


The principles of enzyme stabilization. IV. Modification of 'key' functional groups in the tertiary structure of proteins.

The dependence of alpha-chymotrypsin thermostability and catalytic activity on the degree of its amino groups modification has been studied. Modification was carried out by both alkylation (using acrolein with further reduction of Schiff bases by sodium borohydride) and acylation (with siccinic or acetic anhydrides). It has been determined that modification of the majority of titrated amino groups (approximately 80%) only has a slight effect on the first-order rate-constant characterizing the monomolecular process of enzyme thermoinactivation (50 degrees C, pH 8). Thermostability sharply increases (by 120 times) only for a degree of modification higher than 80%, but, nevertheless, the complete substitution of all the titrated amino groups again leads to enzyme destabilization. The conclusion has been drawn that there is only one or two amino groups out out approximately fifteen titrated ones, the modification of which plays a key role in the lateration by the enzyme of its thermostability. The degree of the stabilization effect has been studied relative to both the nature and concentration of the salt added Na2SO4, NaCl, KCl, CCl3COOK, (CH3)4NBr. Ultraviolet absorption (280 nm) of chymotrypsin has also been elucidated with respect to the degree of alkylation of its NH2-groups. The data obtained allowed the conclusion to be drawn that enzyme modification leads to a decrease in the non-electrostatic (hydrophobic) interactions on the surface layer of the globule. As a result, a protein conformation more stable in respect to denaturation (unfolding), is formed.


Isolation and characterization of mitochondrial alanine aminotransferase from porcine tissue.

Mitochondrial alanine aminotransferase L-alanine:2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase, EC 2.6.1.2) has been isolated in homogeneous form from both porcine liver and kidney cortex, but in low yield. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the purified enzyme in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate or 8 M urea gave a single band. An isoelectric point of 8.5 +/- 0.5 and a molecular weight of 75--80 000 were obtained. The enzyme is specific for L-alanine and is inhibited by D-alanine, aminooxyacetate and cyclosterine. The Km for pyruvate and glutamate is 0.4 mM and 32 mM, respectively. These values are similar to those determined for the cytoplasmic enzyme; however, at high concentrations, both compounds strongly inhibit the mitochondrial enzyme, an inhibition not observed with cytosolic alanine aminotransferase. These characteristics and the fact that the mitochondrial alanine aminotransferase was inactivated by procedures effective in the preparation of the cytosolic enzyme, clearly differentiate the two proteins and further support different roles for the two alanine aminotransferases in vivo.


Isolation of a branched-chain alpha-keto acid decarboxylase from rat liver.

An enzyme which catalyses oxidative decarboxylation of branched-chain alpha-keto acids was extracted from rat liver mitochondria with the aid of NaClO4. Purification yielded a product which appeared homogenous upon electrophoresis. Some kinetic data are reported; however, the enzyme is inactive with alpha-ketoisovalerate. The tenacity of binding to mitochondria, specificity, and other features, suggest that the decarboxylase may be a component of an enzyme complex named alpha-ketoisocaproate: alpha-keto-beta-methylvalerate dehydrogenase.


Transfer of persulfide sulfur from thiocystine to rhodanese.

THiocystine (bis-[2-amino-2-carboxyethyl]trisulfide) is a natural substrate for rhodanese (thiosulfate:cyanide sulfurtransferase, EC 2.8.1.1). Analogs of thiocystine were prepared by eliminating the carboxyl or amino group or by lengthening the carbon chain. Of these only homothiocystine (bis-[2-amino-2-carboxypropyl]trisulfide) had appreciable activity as a substrate. At pH 8.6, the optimum for rhodanese, transfer of sulfane sulfur to cyanide in the presence of rhodanese was nonspecific. Only the sulfane sulfur of 35S-labeled thiocystine was transferred to rhodanese. Thus, thiocystine and thiosulfate both produce a rhodanese persulfide as a stable intermediate in sulfur transfer.


Functional identity of catalytic subunits of acetylcholinesterase.

11 S acetylcholinesterase (acetylcholine hydrolase, EC 3.1.1.7) from the electric eel Electrophorus electricus essentially consists of four catalytic subunits which appear to be identical structurally but to be assembled with slight asymmetry. During isolation and storage of the enzyme, proteolysis cleaves a portion of the subunits into major fragments containing the active site and minor fragments containing no active sites without change in the enzyme molecular weight. A previous report (Gentinetta, R. and Brodbeck, U. (1976) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 438 437--448) indicated that the intact and the fragmented subunits reacted with diisopropylfluorophosphate at different rates and that the reaction rate in the presence of excess phosphorylating agent was not strictly first order. Those findings could not be reproduced in this report. Intact and fragmented subunits were observed to react at the same rate with diisopropylfluorophosphate. In addition, the overall reaction kinetics both of 11 S and 18 S plus 14 S acetylcholinesterase were found to be strictly first order in the presence of an excess of diisopropylfluorophosphate throughout the course of reaction. These results are consistent with several previous reports that only one type of active site can be detected in acetylcholinesterase. The proteolysis which fragments a portion of the catalytic subunit has no apparent effect on the catalytic properties of the enzyme.


A mechanistic model for butyrylcholinesterase.

A plausible mechanism of action of horse serum butyrylcholinesterase is proposed. It includes substrate activation at the level of deacylation. The rate constant for the acylation of the enzyme appears to be much greater than the rate constant for the deacylation, at low substate concentrations. At higher substrate concentrations the rate constants become more similar. No interaction between the four subunits in binding of inhibitors or in the catalysis was observed. There is one esteratic and one anionic site per subunit apparent from labelling studies with [32P]diisopropylfluorophosphate and binding studies with N-methylacridine. Although the tetrametric form of the enzyme appears to be the native one, the monomeric and several other aggregated and dissociated states are catalytically active.


Disulfide-disulfide interchange catalyzed by a liver supernatant enzyme.

An enzyme widely distributed in rabbit tissues which catalyzes an interchange between N,N-di-dinitrophenyl-L-cystine and oxidized glutathione to form the mixed disulfide is described. D-Penicillamine disulfide can be substituted for oxidized glutathione and the mixed disulfide of cysteine and glutathione can serve as the sole substrate giving as one product of interchange, oxidized glutathione. The enzyme is very labile and only limited purification of it has been achieved. The activity increases with increasing pH above 6.6, the Km for N,N-di-dinitrophenyl-L-cystine is 0.2 mM and for oxidized glutathione 0.8 mM. The enzyme is inhibited by SH reagents with protection against iodoacetamide inactivation provided by N,N-di-dinitrophenyl-L-cystine. Evidence is presented that disulfide-disulfide interchange enzyme is a different activity from the previously described protein disulfide isomerase and thiol transferase.


Studies on the chaotropically solubilized arylsulfatase C and estrone sulfatase of sheep brain.

Arylsulfatase C (aryl-sulfate sulfohydrolase, EC 3.1.6.1) from sheep brain acetone powder was solubilized with the chaotropic agent, KSCN. Anti-chaotropes such as (NH4)2SO4 or sodium citrate significantly enhanced the activity of the solubilized enzyme indicating that hydrophobicity was an important factor influencing the enzyme activity. Dialysis or gel filtration of the solubilized enzyme resulted in a marked loss of activity. 3a dialyzable activator could reconstitute the activity in the presence of the antichaotropes. The activator was purified partially and preliminary studies indicated it to be a low molecular weight peptide. Arylsulfatase C and estrone sulfatase activities were compared in the solubilized enzyme. Estrone sulfatase activity was also increased in the presence of antichaotropes at lower concentration in comparison to arylsulfatase C. It however did not show a requirement for the dialyzable activator. Kinetic studies showed that elevation of enzyme activity by the antichaotropes and activator in the case of arylsulfatase C and by antichaotropes in the case of estrone sulfatase was due to an increase in V with a decrease in Km.