Analysis of the oligosaccharides in ovalbumin by high-performance capillary electrophoresis

The oligosaccharides in ovalbumin as a glycoprotein model were released with anhydrous hydrazine, and reductively pyridylaminated after re-N-acetylation. The derivatives were analyzed by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) with on-column fluorometric detection. Direct CZE could separate the derivatives on the basis of the degree of polymerization, giving five peaks of hepta-, octa-, nona-, deca-, and undecasaccharides. Coelectrophoresis with the standard mixture of isomaltooligosaccharide derivatives was effective for peak assignment. CZE as borate complexes allowed separation on the basis of structural difference, especially in the peripheral monosaccharide residues. Peaks were tentatively assigned to the derivatives of reported oligosaccharides by comparing their relative mobilities with those of the chromatographic fractions obtained by using the ODS and Dowex 50W x 2 columns. These two modes gave excellent separation and were complementary to each other. Although the actual amount analyzed in the capillary tube was quite small (ca. 5 ng as carbohydrates), a larger amount (ca. 25 micrograms as carbohydrates) was required to make sample concentration sufficiently high to be detected by a modification of a commercial fluoromonitor for HPLC.     

Specific photoisomerization of retinal in squid rhodopsin and metarhodopsin

The composition of retinal isomers in the photosteady-state mixtures formed from squid rhodopsin and metarhodopsin was determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography. A large amount of 9-cis-retinal was obtained at liquid N₂ temperature when rhodopsin was irradiated with orange light, but only small quantities of 9-cis-retinal were obtained at 15°C. Scarcely any 9-cis-retinal was produced from metarhodopsin by irradiation at liquid N₂ temperature. A large quantity of 7-cis-retinal was found in the photoproduct of rhodopsin irradiated at solid carbon dioxide temperature, but not at 15°C and liquid N₂ temperature. 7-cis-Retinal was not produced from metarhodopsin at any temperatures. These results indicate that the photoisomerization of retinal is regulated by the structure of the retinal-binding site of this protein. The formation of 9-cis- and 7-cis-retinals is forbidden in the metarhodopsin protein.     

Detection of the associated state of membrane proteins by polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis with non-denaturing detergents Application to band 3 protein from erythrocyte membranes

Polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis was carried out in micellar solutions of various detergents which differ in degree of potency to denature proteins. From the application of this method to band 3 protein from erythrocyte membranes, it was suggested that the procedure was useful in studying the molecular state of membrane proteins.The electrophoretic behaviors of human and bovine band 3 protein did not show any species specificity in either a denature state and a state resembling the native state. As well as in nonionic detergent solutions, the dimeric and tetrameric structures of bovine band 3 protein were preserved in sodium deoxycholate solution, in which protein complexes maintained in nonionic detergent solutions are frequently dissociated. Even in dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide solution, which is a denaturant for water-soluble proteins, part of the band 3 protein was still present as the oligomer. The results suggest that the oligomeric form of band 3 protein is the stable structure and that the dimer and tetramer possibly coexist in membranes.     

Effect of hypophysectomy and growth hormone administration on somatostatin and gastrin content in the stomach of rats

The effect of hypophysectomy and bovine growth hormone (GH) administration on somatostatin (SRIF) content as well as gastrin content in the rat stomach was investigated. SRIF content was determined by a specific radioimmunoassay. The total SRIF content in the stomach had decreased 4 weeks after hypophysectomy but was restored significantly in those rats which were subjected to bovine GH administration for 7 days after hypophysectomy. Furthermore, in control rats, an increase in SRIF content in the stomach was observed after 7 days of GH administration. Similar changes in total content of gastrin were observed after hypophysectomy and bovine GH administration, although these changes were not significant. These results indicate that GH may influence gastric function through changes in SRIF and gastrin content in the stomach.     

Proteolytic modification of staphylokinse.

There are three types of staphylokinase of different isoelectric points (6.7, 6.1 and 5.7). Staphylokinse of pI 6.7 was converted to that of pI 6.1 and then to that of pI 5.7 by the treatment with trypsin. Heterogeneity of staphylokinase might be the result of post-translational modification by proteolytic enzyme.     

Increased activity of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase from frozen-thawed rat liver. A role of lysosomal protease in enzyme activation.

The activity of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase (3':5'-cyclic-nucleotide 5'-nucleotidohydrolase, EC 3.1.4.17) in 105 000 X g supernatant fraction from frozen-thawed rat liver was 2.5 times higher than the corresponding preparation from fresh liver. This increased activity of frozen liver enzyme was accompanied by a decreased sensitivity of the enzyme to known activators such as alpha-tocopheryl phosphate and trypsin. Neither membrane-bound cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase, nor supernatant cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase increased in frozen liver preparation. It is unlikely that the activator protein of phosphodiesterase participated in the observed change of enzyme activity. Among rat tissues so far tested, the increased level of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase was noted only in tissues rich in lysosome content. In the recombination experiment where phosphodiesterase from fresh liver was incubated with lysosomal fraction, stimulation of the enzyme activity was observed with a concomitant loss of sensitivity to above-mentioned activators. Since the stimulation by lysosomal fraction was effectively inhibited by cathepsin B1 inhibitors, leupeptin and antipain, it was deduced cathepsin-B1 (EC 3.4.12.3) type protease(s) was the main causative of activating the cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase. The freezing-thawing process of rat liver made the lysosomal membrane more permeable, and hence lysosomal proteases were released into soluble fraction during phosphodiesterase preparation. These results provide a warning not to use frozen liver for phosphodiesterase preparation, otherwise altered properties of the enzymes will be seen.     

Effects of 2,4-substituents of deuteroheme upon the stability of the oxy-form and compound I of horseradish peoxidases.

The stability of oxyperoxidases increased in the order meso- < proto < chlorocruoro- < diacetylperoxidases, which was an increasing order of electron-withdrawing capacities of 2,4-substituents of deuteroheme and the ratio of Δlogk₁toΔpK₃ was approximately 0.6 in the two series of isoenzyme preparations, horseradish peroxidases A and (B + C), where k₁andpK₃ represent a rate constant for conversion from an oxyperoxidase to the ferric enzyme and a measure of basicity of pyrrole nitrogen of the substituted deuterohemes, respectively. Deutero-oxyperoxidases A and (B + C) were definitely more stable than expected from the above linear relationship. The stability of peroxidase Compound I also varied with the 2,4-substituents, but it did not necessarily correlate with electron-withdrawing capacities of the substituents. Natural peroxidases formed relatively stable Compound I in both series of the isoenzymes. From these results it was concluded that the stability of oxyperoxidases was affected by the electron density at the iron atom of the enzyme while steric factors might be involved in stabilizing Compound I.     

Oxidation-reduction potential measurements on chloroperoxidase and its complexes.

The oxidation-reduction potential of chloroperoxidase, an enzyme which catalyzes peroxidative chlorination, bromination, and iodination reactions, has been investigated. In addition to catalyzing biological halogenation reactions, chloroperoxidase is unusual in that the carbon monoxide complex of ferrous chloroperoxidase shows the typical long wavelength Soret absorption associated with P-450 hemoproteins. The pH dependence of the chloroperoxidase oxidation-reduction potential shows a discontinuity around pH 4.7. Similarly, measurements of the affinity of ferrous chloroperoxidase for carbon monoxide monitored both by spectroscopic and potentiometric titration exhibit a discontinuity in the pH 4.7 region. Oxidation-reduction potential measurements on chloroperoxidase in a CO atmosphere also show a discontinuous pH profile. These results suggest that ferrous chloroperoxidase undergoes reversible modification at low pH and that these changes are reflected in the oxidation-reduction potential. The oxidation-reduction potential of chloroperoxidase at pH 6.9 is - 140 mV, close to that measured for cytochrome P-450cam in the presence of substrate. The oxidation-reduction potential of chloroperoxidase at pH 2.7, the pH optimum for enzymatic chlorination, is +150 mV. The oxidation-reduction potentials of the halide complexes of chloroperoxidase (chloride, bromide, and iodide) are essentially identical with the potential measurements on the native enzyme. These observations suggest that, although halide anions bind to the enzyme, they probably do not bind as an axial ligand to the heme ferric iron.     

Negligible amount of copper in hepatic L-tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase.

During the purification of L-tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase, a protohemoprotein from rat liver, both copper and heme contents of the preparations were found to be progressively increased as purification proceeded. However, the greater part of copper was removed in the late stages of the purification giving a copper to heme ratio less than 0.4. The small amounts of copper could further be reduced by one-half, by a mild treatment of enzyme with chelators such as ethylenedi aminetetraacetate, without any accompanying decrease in enzymatic activity. Since the turnover number of these enzyme preparations expressed per mol of enzyme-bound heme, 200 to 277 min-1 at 25 degrees, were either comparable to or slightly higher than those reported with homogeneous enzyme preparations, the heme in the preparation was considered to be of fully active L-tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase and, therefore, such a small ratio of copper to heme, 0.1 to 0.3, indicated that copper is not a constituent of L-tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase of rat liver. The findings were thus inconsistent with the results of Brady et al. (Brady, F. O., Monaco, M. E. Forman, H. J. Schutz, G., and Feigelson, P. (1972) J. Biol. Chem. 247, 7915-7922), who found that L-tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase contained 2 g atoms of copper and 2 mol of heme/mol of enzyme. Possible reasons for this discrepancy have been discussed.     

Oxygenation-linked changes in the ultraviolet absorption and circular dichroism spectra of spiny lobster hemocyanin

As an approach to elucidate the mechanism of the protein structure change in the cooperative ligand binding, the UV difference and CD spectra of aromatic residues in Panulirus japonicus (spiny lobster) hemocyanin were examined. The native hemocyanin showed an O2-induced narrow-banded change in the absorption spectrum around 290 nm, which was not affected by pH in the range of 7.5 to 9.5. When the native hexameric protein was stripped of divalent cations with EDTA (at pH 7.5), the magnitude of the narrow-banded difference was reduced to about half, whereas it was almost completely abolished on dissociation into subunits (stripped at pH 9.5). The magnitude of the absorption change was found to be proportional to the degree of O2 saturation in the native and stripped hemocyanins. It was inferred that the spectral difference reflects a tertiary structure change directly linked to the oxygenation, though it depends greatly on the subunit association. Panulirus hemocyanin showed negative CD bands in the region of 260 to 300 nm, the intensities of which were considerably reduced by oxygenation and also by dissociation into subunits.