The study was performed to determine factors influencing the esteriflcation of plasma cholesterol in young and aged rats. The distribution of LCAT activity was determined following gel nitration chromatography and ultracentrifugation of whole plasma respectively. When rat plasma was fractionated on a Bio-Gel A-5 Mcolumn, LCAT activity was found to be associated with the HDL fraction. A similar result was observed upon 24 hr density gradient ultracentrifugation of the plasma. However, following prolonged 40 hr preparative ultracentrifugation, the majority of the LCAT activity was displaced into the lipoprotein-free infranatant fraction (d> 1.225 g/ml). The dissociation of LCAT from the HDL fraction occured to a smaller extent in aged rat plasma than in young rat plasma. Plasma incubation (37°C) experiments followed by the isolation of lipoproteins and the subsequent analysis of their cholesterol content revealed that in vitro net esteriflcation of free cholesterol (FC) by LCAT as well as the fractional ufilization of HDL-FC as substrate were lower in the plasma of the aged animal as compared to that of the young animal despite the fact that the total pool of FC was higher in the former. The net transfer of FC from lower density lipoproteins (d<1.07 g/ml) to HDL provided …

In these studies, a procedure which allowed the in vivo labeling and detection of poly(ADP-ribose) was combined with nuclear fractionation techniques to analyze the nuclear distribution of ADP-ribose polymers. The results from these studies suggest the occurrence of poly(ADP-ribose) metabolism in two compartments of chromatin; one that is nuclear matrix-associated and one that is not. The biological significance of this compartmentalization is conceptualization in a model. This model postulates that, under some physiological conditions, poly(ADP-ribose) metabolism accomplishes the reversible targeting of specific regions of chromatin to the nuclear matrix domain by modulating DNA-protein and or protein-protein interactions.

Enzymatic and lipid transfer reactions involved in reverse cholesterol transport were studied in HDL deficient plasma systems. Fasting plasma samples were obtained from control and cholesterol fed guinea pigs as well as from a fish eye disease patient and were used to localize the enzyme LCAT among plasma lipoproteins (VLDL, LDL, and HDL). In both guinea pig and fish eye disease patient plasma, the LCAT activity was found in association with the HDL type particles. Cholesterol feeding in guinea pigs altered the properties of lipoprotein substrates for LCAT resulting in some changes, specifically: 1) decreased fractional rate of plasma cholesterol esterification and, 2) lower transfer of free cholesterol (FC) and esterified cholesterol (CE) within the lipoprotein fractions.

A method for assaying poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PADPRP) activity in lymphocytes of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients has been developed. Using this method, PADPRP activity has been studied in lymphocytes from 15 patients and 13 controls. The mean activity in SLE lymphocytes was significantly lower than that in controls and 60% of the SLE patients demonstrated activities below the minimum of the control population. Possible mechanisms for this altered metabolism were investigated. The Km app of PADPRP for NAD; size distribution, branch frequency, and rates of turnover of polymers; competition for substrate; and number of PADPRP molecules were studied. The data demonstrated that SLE lymphocytes have a decreased synthetic capacity rather than alterations in the substrate or in turnover of the product.

Conditioned media prepared from umbilical cord (UC) segments or endothelial cells (EC) contain colony stimulating activity, Both UCCM and ECCM were partially purified by DEAE-Sepharose and ACA44 gel filtration chromatography. The molecular weights were estimated as 25,000 and 31,000 for UC-CSF and EC-CSF, respectively. UC-CSF was further fractionated by Con A Sepharose, IEF and HPLC on a hydrophobic phenyl column. The highly purified CSF stimulates human macrophage and granulocyte colony formation, indicating it is GM-CSF in nature. Characterization studies have revealed that both CSFs are heat stable at 60°C for 30 min. They are sensitive to digestion by protease and to periodate oxidation but are stable to treatment with sulfhydryl reagents. The synthesis of CSF in endothelial cells is inhibited by actinomycin D, cycloheximide and puromycin, indicating that protein and RNA synthesis are required for CSF production. Among the mitogens tested, only LPS exhibited stimulatory activity on the production of CSF. Metabolic modulators such as dibutyryl cAMP, isobutylmethylxanthine, PGE2 and lactoferrin inhibit CSF production, while PGF2 enhances CSF production.

A description of the nature of the transition state structure for phosphoryl transfer in the cAPK reaction requires a measurement of the primary 180 isotope effect at the serine hydroxyl acceptor. Since it is difficult to obtain primary 180 isotope effect directly, the 15N/1 4N ratio of the a-amine of the C-terminal glycine in the peptide Leu Arg-Lys-Ala-Ser-Leu-Gly (when serine is phosphorylated) was used to represent on the phosphorylation at serine. 15N Glycine, ' 4N-Glycine and 180 serine were synthesized and used to synthesize two peptides, one containing 1 80-serine/' 5 N glycine and second 1 60-serine/1 4N-glycine. Methods were developed for hydrolyzing the peptides and quantitatively isolating glycine. Partitioning results suggest that catalytic rate was slow compare to substrate dissociation. The 180 primary isotope effect will be determined in the near future using the method developed herein.

Glucose phosphate isomerase (GPI) occurs in different bovine tissues as multiple, catalytically active isozymes which can be resolved by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing. GPI from bovine heart was purified to homogeneity and each of the isozymes was resolved. Four of the five isozymes were characterized with regard to their physical, chemical and catalytic properties in order to establish their possible physiological significance and to ascertain their molecular basis. The isozymes exhibited identical native (118 Kd) and subunit (59 Kd) molecular weights but had different apparent pi values of 7.2, 7.0, 6.8 and 6.6. Structural analyses showed that the amino terminus was blocked and the carboxyl terminal sequence was -Glu-Ala-Ser-Gly for all four isozymes. The most basic isozyme was more stable than the more acidic isozymes (lower pi values) at pH extremes, at high ionic strength, in the presence of denaturants or upon exposure to proteases. Kinetic constants, such as turnover number, Km and Ki values, were identical for all isozymes. Identical amino acid composition and peptide mapping by chemical cleavage at methionine and cysteine residues of the isozymes suggest a postsynthetic modification rather then a genetic origin for the in vivo isozymes. When the most basic isozyme was …

Data obtained from isotope exchange at equilibrium, exchange of inorganic phosphate against forward reaction flux, and positional isotope exchange of 18O from the (βγ-bridge position of pyrophosphate to a (β-nonbridge position all indicate that the pyrophosphate-dependent phosphofructokinase from Propionibacterium freudenreichii has a rapid equilibrium random kinetic mechanism. All exchange reactions are strongly inhibited at high concentrations of the fructose 6-phosphate/Pi and MgPPi/Pi substrate-product pairs and weakly inhibited at high concentrations of the MgPPi/fructose 1,6-bisphosphate pair suggesting three dead-end complexes, E:F6P:Pi, E:MgPPi:Pi, and E:FBP:MgPPi. Neither back-exchange by [32p] nor positional isotope exchange of 18O-bridge-labeled pyrophosphate was observed under any conditions, suggesting that either the chemical interconversion step or a step prior to it limits the overall rate of the reaction. Reduction of the pyridoxal 5'-phosphate-inactivated enzyme with NaB[3H]4 indicates that about 7 lysines are modified in free enzyme and fructose 1,6-bisphosphate protects 2 of these from modification. The pH dependence of the enzyme-reactant dissociation constants suggests that the phosphates of fructose 6-phosphate, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, inorganic phosphate, and Mg-pyrophosphate must be completely ionized and that lysines are present in the vicinity of the 1- and 6-phosphates of the sugar phosphate and bisphosphates probably directly coordinated to these phosphates. The pH dependence of …

The kinetic mechanism of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase has been determined to be random in the direction of MgADP phosphorylation by using initial velocity studies in the absence and presence of the product, phospho-Serpeptide (Leu-Arg-Arg-Ala-Ser[P]-Leu-Gly) , and dead-end inhibitors. In contrast to the kinetic parameters obtained in the direction of Serpeptide phosphorylation, the only kinetic parameters affected by Mg^2+ are the dissociation constants for E:phospho-Serpeptide and E:MgADP, which are decreased by about 4-fold. The dead-end analog MgAMPCP binds with an affinity equal to that of MgADP in contrast to MgAMPPCP, which binds weaker than MgATP. The ratio of the maximum velocities in the forward and reverse reactions is about 200, and the Haldane relationship gives a K-eq of (7.2 ± 2) x 10^2. The latter can be compared to the K-eq obtained by direct measurement of reactant concentrations (2.2 ± 0.4) x 10^3 and 31-P NMR (1 ± 0.5) x 10^3. Data for the pH dependence of kinetic parameters and inhibitor dissociation constants for the cAMP dependent protein kinase are consistent with a mechanism in which reactants selectively bind to an enzyme with the catalytic base unprotonated and an enzyme group required protonated for Ser-peptide binding. Preferentially MgATP binds fully …

In this study, the production of monoclonal antibodies directed against the activating enzyme for an S6 kinase is examined and described. Evidence is presented for the association of an Mr. 55,000 abd Mr. 95,000 protein with the s6 kinase. These proteins are phosphorylated in the presence of Activating Enzyme. A sequence of regulatory events for insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S6 in cells is postulated as follows: insulin activates the receptor tyrosine kinase, which phosphorylates the Mr 116,000 subunit of Activating Enzyme. The Activating Enzyme then activates the S6 kniase by phosphorylation, and phosphorylation of the ribosomal protein s6 is promoted.

Bacterial toxins have been shown to modify animal cell proteins in vivo with ADPR. Animal cells also contain endogenous enzymes that can modify proteins. Indirect evidence for the existence in vivo of rat liver proteins modified by ADPR on arginine residues has been reported previously. Presented here is direct evidence for the existence of ADP-ribosylarginine in rat liver proteins. Proteins were subjected to exhaustive protease digestion and ADP-ribosyl amino acids were isolated by boronate chromatography.

Recent studies have shown that the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is related to abnormal control of respiration (Ischemic degeneration of the brainstem may play an important role in altered respiratory control leading to death). In our studies we have examined brainstem ganglioside compositions in samples derived from SIDS victims and appropriate controls. Gangliosides are acidic glycosphingolipids that contain sialic acid. The high concentration of gangliosides in the central nervous system (CNS) implies that these lipids play an important role in CNS function. Some studies have indicated that gangliosides may function as receptor site determinants or modifiers, and in neural transmission. In our studies we used the Tettamanti, et al methodology to extract gangliosides, and High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) and laser densitometry techniques for ganglioside analysis. The results of these analyses are being employed to establish lipid profile patterns to determine if there are significant variations in these lipid patterns between SIDS and control groups.

Glyoxalase 11, the second enzyme of the glyoxalase system, hydrolyzes S-D-lactoylglutathione (SLG) to regenerate glutathione (GSH) and liberate free D-lactate. It was found that GTP binds with Gil from rat liver and inhibits Gil activity. Preincubation experiments showed that the binding is relatively tight, since more than 15 minutes are required to release GTP from the complex following dilution. Inhibition kinetics studies indicate that GTP is a "partially competitive inhibitor"; Thus, it would appear that the binding sites for substrate (SLG) and inhibitor (GTP) are different, but spatially close. Glyoxalase 11 binds to a GTP affinity medium, and with polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, Gil has a higher relative mobility when GTP is present (ATP has no effect). The functional consequences of GTP binding with a specific site on Gil are still unclear. It is speculated that Gil may interact with tubulin by serving as a dissociable GTP carrier, delivering GTP to the tubulinGTP binding site, and thus facilitating tubulin polymerization.

This study examined how the monoblast-like human histiocytic lymphoma cell line U937 can be induced by phorbol 12-myristrate 13-acetate (PMA) to undergo differentiation. In order to study the mechanism of action of CSF-1, a CSF-1 receptor gene (c-fms) was transfected into U937 cells. Exogenous CSF-1 treatment induced an autocrine response in this CSF-1 was determined and all events were shown to be time dependent. CSF-1 stimulation also enhanced proto-oncogene c-jun and c-myc gene expression. Complementary DNA coding for Jun or Fos was introduced into U937 cells by transfection. The transfection did not generate a high level of CSF-1 gene expression which suggests that Fos and Jun alone are insufficient to induce CSF-1 synthesis.