Estimation of the gene frequency of lactate dehydrogenase subunit deficiencies

To detect the frequency of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) subunit deficiency, screening for LDH subunit deficiency was performed on 3,776 blood samples from healthy individuals in Shizuoka Prefecture by means of electrophoresis. The frequency of heterozygote with LDH-A subunit deficiency was found to be 0.185%, and with LDH-B subunit deficiency, 0.159%. The frequencies of both subunit deficiencies were not significantly different. Gene frequencies of LDH subunit deficiencies were calculated by the simple counting procedure, and the results are as follows: gene frequency of LDH-A subunit deficiency was 11.9 X 10(-4), and that of LDH-B subunit deficiency, 7.9 X 10(-4). In addition, the second case in the world of a homozygous individual with LDH-A subunit deficiency was detected by this screening. This case with regard to the characteristics of LDH-A subunit deficiency are summarized herein.     

Immunochemical studies on xanthine dehydrogenase of soybean root nodules

Xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH, EC 1.2.1.37) was purified from root nodules of soybean (Glycine max) and used to prepare a polyclonal rabbit antiserum. Monospecificity of this antiserum was ascertained by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the immunoprecipate. During root nodule development of soybean, only one form of XDH was detected on an immunological basis. Titration of XDH by immunoelectrophoresis showed that a remarkable increase in the amount of XDH occurred between two and four weeks after inoculation, in parallel with the increase in enzyme activity. Localization of XDH by immunofluorescence indicated that the enzyme was present exclusively in uninfected cells where it appeared to be associated with discrete organellelsAbbreviations IgG immunoglobulin G - SDS-PAGE sodium dodecyl sulfate — polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis - XDH xanthine dehydrogenase     

A polymorphic variant of the lactate dehydrogenase B subunit in the rat

A new electrophoretic variant of the lactate dehydrogenase B subunit was found in the erythrocytes of the COP strain of the rat. The location of the band after the electrophoresis suggested a product of the structural gene for the B subunit. Two alleles that regulated the high amount (Ldh-2 ^a )or the low amount (Ldh-2 ^b )of the B subunit were found and segregated in Mendelian fashion. The activity was regulated by the closely linked (<1 cM) regulatory gene Ldr-1.     

Transient-kinetic studies of pig muscle lactate dehydrogenase

1. The very fast pre-steady-state formation of NADH catalysed by pig M(4) lactate dehydrogenase was equivalent to the enzyme-site concentration at pH values greater than 8.0 and to one-half the site concentration at pH6.8. 2. The rate of dissociation of NADH from the enzyme at pH8.0 (450s(-1)) in the absence of other substrates is faster than the steady-state oxidation of lactate (80s(-1)). The latter process is therefore controlled by a step before NADH dissociation but subsequent to the hydride transfer. 3. The oxidation of enzyme-NADH by excess of pyruvate was studied as a first-order process at pH9.0. There was no effect of NADD on this reaction and it was concluded that the ternary complex undergoes a rate-limiting change before the hydride-transfer step. 4. Some conclusions about the reactions catalysed by the M(4) isoenzyme were drawn from a comparison of these results with those obtained with the H(4) isoenzyme and liver alcohol dehydrogenase.     

Kinetic studies on human lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme-catalyzed lactate-to-pyruvate reaction

In order to evaluate the functional differences that may exist in human lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) isoenzymes widely used for clinical examination the kinetic and thermodynamic properties of the lactate to pyruvate reaction that they catalize were examined. Small but significant differences in the kinetic properties of the three isoenzymes were observed. The difference in the rate constants might affect the activity measurement of the individual isoenzyme as the initial velocity for the L-P reaction catalyzed will not be the same for an equal amount of enzyme. Equilibrium constants for the overall reaction in the presence and absence of pyruvate have been determined. On the basis of transition-state theory, the standard enthalpy and free-energy changes for formation of ternary activated complex were positive, while the standard entropy change was negative. Although the standard free-energy change was the same for activation by the three isoenzymes, the enthalpy and entropy changes for the LDH-3-catalyzed reaction were different from the respective values for others. A large positive value for the free-energy change and a negative value for the entropy change indicated unfavorable production of the activated complex (K _infeq. ^sup╪ =1.89×10^-16). The enzyme appears to stabilize and retain the activated complex until it dissociates into the products.     

Hydrogen-deuterium exchange studies on guanidinated pig heart lactate dehydrogenase

Pig heart lactate dehydrogenase becomes more thermostable on increasing the degree of guanidination (conversion of lysine to homoarginine) (Minotani, N., Sekiguchi, T., Bautista, J.G. and Nosoh, Y. (1979) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 581, 334-341). The conformational change of the protein on guanidination was then examined by hydrogen-deuterium (H-2H) exchange reactions. It ws found that (i) the fluctuation degrees of peptides and tyrosine and tryptophan residues in the protein decrease in that order, (ii) two H-2H exchangeable tryptophan residues per subunit are freely accessible to solvent and the fluctuation degrees of the residues does not change on guanidination, (iii) the H-2H exchange detectable tyrosine residues are not freely accessible to solvent and become less fluctuating when 15 lysine residues per subunit are guanidinated, and (iv) the peptides become much less fluctuating on increasing the degree of guanidination. The specific activity of the enzyme decreased on guanidination. The increased thermostability of the protein on guanidination may be related to the decrease in flexibility of the molecular structure by sacrificing the enzyme activity.     

Affinity purification and subunit structure of soya bean lactate dehydrogenase

The lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) from soya bean has been purified to homogeneity by affinity chromatography. The enzyme was purified by sequential adsor     

LDH calcutta-1: A mutation of the B subunit of human lactate dehydrogenase

The electrophoretic variant of human LDH, Calcutta-1, occurs at phenotypic frequencies of 0–4% throughout India. The variant was examined by various electrophoretic techniques and by heat stability studies. The LD₁ (B₄) isoenzyme was purified from normal and variant bloods by affinity chromatography and ion-exchange chromatography. A minimum of five Calcutta-1 LD₁ bands was demonstrated by isoelectric focusing. Electrophoresis of variant LD₁ in high-molar urea-acrylamide denaturing gels resulted in two Calcutta-1 B subunit bands, while normal gels yielded only a single band. Homozygote Calcutta-1 LDH from red cells demonstrated a decreased heat stability, while heterozygote variant LDH showed a normal heat stability. This effect was confirmed when purified LD₁'s were compared. Evidence is presented suggesting a B-subunit variant showing thermolability in the homozygous form.The author was supported by an Australian National University Scholarship.     

Further studies on lactate dehydrogenase from serum of leukemic individuals

The kinetic properties of SLDH were investigated in untreated patients with acute leukemia at 37 degrees. SLDH was found to be inhibited by high pyruvate concentrations to a degree which depended on the pH of the reaction mixture; the degree of inhibition of normal SLDH at pH 7.5 was much higher than leukemic SLDH. 0.4M citrate was found to activate SLDH reaction rate at low pyruvate concentrations, while it was inhibitory at high pyruvate concentrations; the degree of inhibition being greater for leukemic SLDH than for normal SLDH. Citrate was also found to be a non-competitive inhibitor with respect to NADH and the value of Ki was determined. Methanol (3-4M), acted as a strong inhibitor to SLDH. The inhibition was found to be purely non-competitive with respect to pyruvate. Ki was calculated to be four times higher for leukemic SLDH than for normal SLDH.