Ca2+-binding and protein-protein interaction domains of the sea urchin extraembryonic coat protein hyalin

• 1.1. As reported previously (Hopper and Robinson, 1990; Int. J. Biochem. 22, 1165–1170) the sea urchin extraembryonic coat protein hyalin undergoes a Ca²⁺-induced self-association into an insoluble gel (gelation) in the presence of Mg²⁺ and/or NaCl.
• 2.2. A 275 kDa peptide fragment, generated by limited tryptic digestion of hyalin, binds Ca²⁺+ but does not undergo gelation in the presence of Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ and NaCl.
• 3.3. Comparisons between the capacities of hyalin and the 275 kDa peptide fragment to bind Ca²⁺ indicate that the latter binds 88% less Ca²⁺ than hyalin.
• 4.4. However, the presence of Ca²⁺ alone, at a concentration of 5 mM, protects the 275 kDa peptide fragment from further digestion by trypsin mimicking the effect of this cation in protecting hyalin.
• 5.5. Gel exclusion Chromatographie analyses of the 275 kDa peptide fragment, both in the presence and absence of 5 mM Ca²⁺, indicate that this cation does induce self-association of the fragment.
• 6.6. These results provide information on the organization of the functional domains on hyalin which are required for gel formation.

     

Crayfish retinular cells: Influence of extracellular sodium and calcium upon receptor potential

• 1.1. In crayfish, light stimulation of the retinular cells induces a depolarizing receptor potential.
• 2.2. Experiments were designed to determine the role of Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ on receptor potential during dark And light states.
• 3.3. Depolarization depends on Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ availability to the retinular cell.
• 4.4. Repolarization velocity and response duration depend on extracellular Ca²⁺ availability.
• 5.5. Light adaptation increases receptor potential dependence on calcium and sodium ions.
• 6.6. We analyse these results with respect to other invertebrate photoreceptors.

     

The effect on creatine kinase release of altered conditions in the Ca2+ paradox

• 1.1. Release of creatine kinase (CK) in the Ca²⁺ paradox of the Langendorff-perfused rat heart is dependent on the conditions of Ca²⁺ depletion and Ca²⁺ repletion.
• 2.2. CK release is reduced by raising [Ca²⁺]_o during Ca²⁺ depletion and progressively increased by extending the Ca²⁺ free period from 2 to 5 min.
• 3.3. CK release is reduced by decreasing the electrochemical gradient for Ca²⁺ during Ca²⁺ repletion.
• 4.4. The findings are discussed in the light of current hypotheses for the biochemical mechanisms that underlie the Ca²⁺ paradox.

     

Activation of gastric mucosal calcium channels by epidermal growth factor

• 1.1. Gastric mucosal calcium channel complex was isolated from the solubilized epithelial cell membranes by affinity chromatography on wheat germ agglutinin.
• 2.2. The complex following labeling with [³H]PN200-110 was reconstituted into phosphatidylcholine vesicles which exhibited active ⁴⁵Ca²⁺ uptake into intravesicular space as evidenced by La³⁺ displacement and osmolarity measurements. The ⁴⁵Ca²⁺ uptake was independent of sodium and potassium gradients indicating the electroneutral nature of the process.
• 3.3. The gastric mucosal channels on epidermal growth factor binding in the presence of ATP responded by an increase in protein tyrosine phosphorylation of 55 and 170 kDa subunits of calcium channel.
• 4.4. The phosphorylated channels following reconstitution into vesicles displayed at 48% greater ⁴⁵Ca²⁺ uptake, thus indicating the tyrosine kinase involvement in EGF dependent activation of calcium channel.
• 5.5. The results point towards the importance of epidermal growth factor in the maintenance of gastric mucosal calcium homeostasis.

     

Modulation of the ATP induced [Ca2+]c increase in as-30D hepatoma cells

• 1.1. The regulation of the increase in the cytosolic calcium concentration ([Ca²⁺]c) induced by extracellular ATP in AS-30D hepatoma cells was studied.
• 2.2. Homologous desensitization involving the refilling of intracellular calcium pools and the participation of protein kinase C was found.
• 3.3. Isoproterenol, forskolin and dibutyril-cyclic AMP also induced an increase in [Ca²⁺]c.
• 4.4. Interestingly, synergism was found for isoproterenol or forskolin and ATP.
• 5.5. The results suggest that there are two pathways for mobilizing [Ca²⁺] in AS-30D hepatoma cells; one is activated by ATP receptors and the other by cyclic AMP.

     

Synaptic transmission at high pressure: Effects of [Ca2+]o

• 1.1. The effects of pressure on synaptic currents were examined in crayfish abdominal muscles.
• 2.2. Helium pressure (10.1 MPa) considerably decreased extracellulariy-recorded excitatory junctional potentials associated with increased short-term facilitation.
• 3.3. These effects could be mimicked by a reduction of [Ca²⁺]_o, and partially compensated by an increase in [Ca²⁺]_o.
• 4.4. Pressure also reduced the amplitude of the extracellular nerve terminal potentials (ENTP) by up to 25%, and significantly increased synaptic delay in a [Ca²⁺]_o-dependent manner.
• 5.5. The interaction between compression and various [Ca²⁺]_o were analysed in terms of an existing model of transmitter release. The results were consistent with the hypothesis that high pressure decreases the maximal Ca²⁺ influx into nerve terminals.
• 6.6. The decreased ENTP and increased synaptic delay suggest that additional processes may be involved in pressure effects on synaptic transmission.

     

High-affinity Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase in kidney of euryhaline Gillichthys mirabilis: kinetics,subcellular distribution and effects of salinity

• 1.1. Two components of Ca²⁺-Mg²⁺-ATPase are observed in kidneys of G. mirabilis. The high-affinity component has a K_0.5Ca of 0.23μM; the low-affinity activity K_0.5Ca is 90–110μM. The high-affinity activity requires Mg²⁺, displays Michaelis-Menten kinetics, has peak activity at 1.2 μM Ca²⁺, and is insensitive to ouabain and Na⁺ azide.
• 2.2. In subcellular fractions, the high-affinity component segregates with Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase and is localized predominantly in BLM. The low-affinity component is broadly distributed among membranous organelles, including brush border, and may be equivalent to alkaline phosphatase.
• 3.3. Specific activity of the high-affinity Ca²⁺-Mg²⁺-ATPase is modestly increased following adaptation of fish to FW, but total renal high-affinity activity is greatest in the hypertrophied kidneys of FW-adapted fish and is least in kidneys of fish adapted to 200% SW.
• 4.4. High-affinity Ca²⁺-Mg²⁺-ATPase may be associated with active Ca²⁺ transport or with regulation of intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration of tubular cells.

     

Evidence that both Ca2+-ATPase and (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase activities in the plasma membrane-rich fraction from bovine parotid gland reside on the same enzyme molecule

• 1.1. Evidence was obtained that activities of both low-affinity Ca²⁺-ATPase and high-affinity (Ca²⁺ + Mg²⁺)-ATPase in the plasma membrane-rich fraction from bovine parotid gland reside on the same enzyme.
• 2.2. Two solubilized ATPases were purified by four steps of HPLC; and both activities eluted at the same fractions from each column, and the specific activity ratio of the two enzymes at each step was constant.
• 3.3. By non-denaturing PAGE, the final preparation gave a single band for both protein staining and activity staining for the two ATPases; and the Ca²⁺-ATPase activity comigrated with that of (Ca²⁺ + Mg²⁺)-ATPase.
• 4.4. In SDS-PAGE, each activity staining for the ATPases also gave a single band, and both activities comigrated.
• 5.5. These findings suggest that Ca²⁺-ATPase and (Ca²⁺ + Mg²⁺)-ATPase are a single enzyme.

     

Water-soluble Ca2+-calmodulin-binding proteins in embryo of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius

• 1.1. About 0.3–0.4% of total water-soluble protein extracted from sea urchin embryos at the two-cell and early-gastrula stages was Ca²⁺-dependently bound to immobilized calmodulin.
• 2.2. SDS-PAGE of calmodulin-binding proteins revealed at least 20 polypeptides ranging from 200 to 15.5 kDa, and 70–80% of the protein belonged to a dozen major polypeptides. Polypeptides of 70, 55, 50, 45 and 18 kDa seemed to be the same as those that were detected earlier (Iwasa and Mohri, J. Biochem.94, 575–587, 1983).
• 3.3. The polypeptide spectrum of calmodulin target proteins changed significantly, e.g. the major polypeptides of 70 and 41 kDa increased, and the 200 and 43 kDa polypeptides decreased sharply during development from the two-cell to the early-gastrula stage.
• 4.4. According to our estimates, the molar concentrations of the calmodulin and targets were close enough, and therefore the Ca²⁺ signal should depend on the spatial-temporal distribution of free calmodulin in the cells.

     

The possibility that Ca2+-ATPase from the plasma membrane-rich fraction of bovine parotid gland is ecto-Ca2+-dependent nucleoside triphosphatase

• 1.1. Parotid plasma membrane nonpump low-affinity Ca²⁺-ATPase, which possesses high-affinity (Ca²⁺ + Mg²⁺ )-ATPase activity, was characterized.
• 2.2. Purified Ca²⁺-ATPase hydrolyzed the nucleoside triphosphates, GTP, ITP, CTP, UTP, TTP (67–93% of ATP) and nucleoside diphosphates, ADP. GDP, IDP, CDP, TDP (12–40% of ATP) but not AMP and p-NPP.
• 3.3. The maximum activities of Ca²⁺- and (Ca²⁺ +Mg²⁺ )-ATPases were obtained in the presence of 1 mM and 0.13 μ M Ca²⁺, respectively.
• 4.4. The K_m values for Ca²⁺ in Ca²⁺- and (Ca²⁺+ Mg²⁺ )-ATPases were 0.2 mM and 22 nM. respectively.
• 5.5. The activities of both Ca²⁺- and (Ca²⁺ + Mg²⁺ )-ATPases were found in the right-side-out-vesicles obtained from the plasma membrane-rich fraction.
• 6.6. These features suggest that Ca²⁺-ATPase is an ecto-Ca²⁺-dependent nucleoside triphosphatase.

     

The digestive enzymes of the pacific brown shrimp Penaeus californiensis.: I—Properties of amylase activity in the digestive tract

• 1.1. Crude extract of the whole digestive tract from the brown shrimp (P. californiensis) was investigated for digestive amylase activity.
• 2.2. Considerable amylase activity was found at pH 6.5–8.0, with optimum pH at around 7.5.
• 3.3. Optimum temperature was found between 30–40°C, similar to amylases from other crustaceans.
• 4.4. Amylase activity was highly halotolerant, having 50% maximum activity at 3 M NaCl.
• 5.5. Maximum amylase activity was found at 0.01 M NaCl.
• 6.6. Amylase activity was partially inhibited by the divalent ions Hg²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Cr²⁺.
• 7.7. Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ ions seemed to enhance amylase activity.

     

Small membrane-associated gtp-binding proteins of catecholamine-secreting cells

• 1.1. Four GTP-binding proteins (23–27 kDa) were identified in membranes from PC12 cells by [α³²P]GTP binding to nitrocellulose blots of SDS-polyacrylamide gels.
• 2.2. The GTP-binding proteins remained associated with membranes during stimulation of intact cells by K⁺-depolarization or even after addition of C²⁺to digitonin-permeabilized cells.
• 3.3. By two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, six GTP-binding proteins were resolved and based on their mobility, their phosphorylation state appeared independent of Ca²⁺.
• 4.4. Fractionation of PC12 membranes showed that these GTP-binding proteins were broadly distributed in post-nuclear membranes with the plasma membranes containing the highest specific GTP-binding activity.
• 5.5. Membrane fractions from bovine adrenal medulla contain similar GTP-binding proteins with GTP-binding intensity also being highest in the plasma membrane.
• 6.6. The GTP-binding proteins could be concentrated in the detergent-rich fraction upon Triton X-114 phase separation.

     

Biochemical characterization of the plasma membrane Ca2+ pumping ATPase activity present in the gill cells of Mytilus galloprovincialis LAM

• 1.1. In the plasma membrane of mussel gill cells an ouabain insensitive, Ca²⁺-activated ATPase activity is present. The ATPase has high Ca²⁺ affinity (K_ma = 0.3 μM).
• 2.2. The optimum assay conditions to evaluate the enzymatic activity of the Ca²⁺-stimulated ATPase at 19°C are: 120–300 mM KCl ionic strength, pH 7.0 and 2 mM ATP. As for mammalian enzymes, the Ca²⁺ ATPase activity is stimulated by DTT (0.5–1 mM) and it is inhibited by low concentrations of vanadate (10–50 μM) and -SH inhibitors such as PCMB and PCMBS (10 μM); the enzyme appears to be calmodulin insensitive.
• 3.3. Electrophoretic analyses of plasma membrane proteins demonstrate that: (a) Ca²⁺ at n-μM concentrations is necessary to activate ATP hydrolysis with consequent formation of the enzyme-phosphate complex; (b) the steady state concentration of the phosphorylated intermediate is increased in the presence of La³⁺; (c) the mol. wt of Ca²⁺ ATPase is about 140 kDa.
• 4.4. Low Ca²⁺ concentrations (n-μM) are sufficient to stimulate the ATP-dependent Ca²⁺ uptake by plasma membrane inside-out vesicles.
• 5.5. The results indicate that the Ca²⁺ pump present in the gill plasma membranes could be responsible for Ca²⁺ extrusion and therefore involved in maintaining the cytosolic Ca²⁺ concentration within physiological levels.

     

Purification and some properties of a Mg2+-activated acid phosphatase from rat testis

• 1.1. The acid phosphatase (AcPase, EC 3.1.3.2) IV from rat testicular tissue was purified to apparent homogeneity.
• 2.2. The enzyme displays a native molecular weight of 70 kDa determined on gel permeation chromatography on a Sephadex G-100 column and 68 kDa using linear 5–20% sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The subunit molecular weight on SDS-PAGE analysis is 67 kDa, suggesting that the enzyme is a monomeric protein.
• 3.3. The enzyme does not bind to Concanavaline A-Sepharose 4B column, indicating that it is not a glycoprotein.
• 4.4. The rat testis AcPase IV is a metal activated enzyme in which Mg²⁺ is the metal activating agent with a K_a, = 0.88 × 10⁻³ M. The Michaelis constant for p-nitrophenylphosphate, in the presence of saturating concentrations of Mg²⁺ ions, is 0.23 × 10⁻³ M.
• 5.5. The enzyme preferentially hydrolizes p-nitrophenylphosphate, phenylphosphate and ATP.

     

DNase-I-like enzyme from the carp liver—Inhibition by muscle and endogenous actin

• 1.1. DNase-I-like activity occurs in the carp (Cyprinus carpio) liver cytosol (supernatant 105,000g).
• 2.2. The enzyme resembles DNase I from bovine pancreas in respect to the molecular mass (~31 kDa), pH (7.4) and ion requirements (Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺) and the ability to degrade native as well as denatured DNA.
• 3.3. As judged by comparison of DNase zymograms obtained after native- and SDS-PAGE, the enzyme occurs in the three molecular forms of similar molecular weight and different charges.
• 4.4. All these forms are inhibited by rabbit skeletal muscle actin as well as by endogenous actin isolated from the carp liver cytosol.
• 5.5. DNase from the carp liver cytosol does not interact with the antibodies directed against DNase I from bovine pancreas and against DNase I from the rat and bovine parotid glands.

     

The sea urchin extraembryonic hyaline layer: Ionic parameters controlling the hyalin gelation reaction

• 1.1. As reported previously (Robinson, 1988) the Ca²⁺-induced self-association reaction of the protein hyalin, purified from the sea urchin extraembryonic hyaline layer, was modulated by both Mg²⁺ and NaCl.
• 2.2. In the presence of 400 mM NaCl the apparent dissociation constant (Ca²⁺) decreased five-fold from 4.8 ± 1.1 mM in the absence to 0.9 ± 0.5 mM in the presence of 20 mM Mg²⁺.
• 3.3. The potentiating effect of Mg²⁺ occurred with an apparent dissociation constant (Mg²⁺) of 4.6 ± 0.5mM.
• 4.4. In the absence of Ca²⁺ or NaCl hyalin dissociated from isolated hyaline layers indicating that the behavior of hyalin within the layer is predictable from results obtained with the purified protein.

     

Uptake and release of calcium ions by heavy sarcoplasmic reticulum fraction of normal and malignant hyperthermia-susceptible human skeletal muscle

• 1.1. Ca²⁺ uptake, Ca²⁺-dependent ATPase activity and halothane-induced Ca²⁺ release from the heavy sarcoplasmic reticulum fraction of muscle from malignant hyperthermia susceptible individuals are similar to those of normal human muscle.
• 2.2. Ca²⁺-induced Ca²⁺ release from the diseased muscle was increased by 13%.

     

Phosphatidylethanolamine: Ceramide-ethanolaminephosphotransferase activity in synaptic plasma membrane vesicles. Influence of some cations and phospholipid environment on transferase activity. Further proof of its location

• 1.1. Synaptic plasma membrane vesicles (SPMV) from rat brain synthesized ceramide-phosphoethanolamine (SpE), an analogue of sphingomyelin (SpC) from phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and ceramide.
• 2.2. This reaction was catalyzed by PE: ceramide-phosphotransferase.
• 3.3. The presence of PC did not modify the SpE synthesis and PI and PS at twice PE concentration seemed to be activators; only PG was an inhibitor at all concentrations.
• 4.4. Some cations (Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺) were without effect, while Ca²⁺ increased transferase activity, so was interesting to study.
• 5.5. Transferase was compared with sialidase (external enzyme).
• 6.6. Kinetics other than those already performed by us were undertaken in order to confirm its location.

     

Rat liver endoplasmic reticulum protein kinases

• 1.1. Rat liver microsomal membranes were studied for the presence of protein kinases. Microsomal proteins solubilized with Triton X-100 were analyzed by means of ion exchange chromatography.
• 2.2. Protein kinase activity was detected in the column fractions using specific assays for cAMP-dependent protein kinase, cGMP-dependent protein kinase, protein kinase C, Ca²⁺/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase and casein kinases.
• 3.3. Fractions with protein kinase activity were further analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.
• 4.4. The results indicate that cAMP-dependent protein kinase type I and II, casein kinases I and II, protein kinase C proenzymes I and II and Ca²⁺ /calmodulin kinase II are associated with the membranes of endoplasmic reticulum (ER).

     

Some physical and chemical properties of purified nematocysts of Hydra attenuata pall. (Hydrozoa,cnidaria)

• 1.1. A method for purifying undischarged nematocysts from Hydra and other cnidarians is described.
• 2.2. Isolated cysts (relative densities 1.22–1.24) evaginate their tubular content even after previous dehydration.
• 3.3. The cyst wall is permeable to dyes of mol. wts up to 600,000.
• 4.4. Approximately two-thirds of the cyst's dry wt are soluble proteins. Eighty per cent of them are of low mol. wt and highly anionic, presumably serving as binding sites for Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺.
• 5.5. The other 20% includes 30 different proteins amongst them toxins and enzymes (phospholipase and little proteases but no collagenase, chitinase or hyaluronidase).