The effects of adenine nucleotides on NADH binding to mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase

The effects of adenine nucleotides on initial velocity and NADH binding have been studied with the malate dehydrogenase reaction. ATP, ADP, and AMP were inhibitors competitive with NADH and uncompetitive with oxaloacetate but caused only 50–60% inhibition at saturating concentrations. Direct fluorescence titrations indicated that saturating concentrations of the adenine nucleotides displaced 50–60% of the bound NADH from enzyme-NADH complex. Adenine and adenosine had no inhibitory effect but ADP-ribose caused complete inhibition and NADH dissociation. The possible mechanistic basis for these results and their physiological implications are discussed.     

Elevated intramitochondrial adenine nucleotides and mitochondrial function

Several groups of investigators have shown that treatment of rats with glucagon produces an increase in the adenine nucleotide content of hepatic mitochondria. It has been suggested that this enlarged pool of exchangeable nucleotides may be responsible for several of glucagon's stimulatory effects on mitochondrial functions by accelerating the transport of adenine nucleotides across the inner mitochondrial membrane. This hypothesis was tested by loading rat liver mitochondria in vitro with adenine nucleotides to supranormal levels. This procedure did result in stimulation of several metabolic and bioenergetic functions including pyruvate carboxylation, uncoupler-dependent ATPase, and succinic dehydrogenase activity but not formation of citrulline. However, a sham loading that did not increase the nucleotide content of the mitochondria was essentially as effective as the loading procedure in stimulating those functions assayed. Mitochondria, loaded in vitro with supranormal levels of adenine nucleotides, were shown to have an enlarged pool of exchangeable nucleotides. This exchange was atractyloside sensitive, but the rate of exchange was only slightly increased as a consequence of enlargement of the pool. Similarly, mitochondria isolated from glucagon-treated rats showed no increase in the rate of exchange, although the exchangeable pool was increased. There was no correlation between the rate of nucleotide exchange and the rate of the uncoupler-dependent ATPase.     

Brain mitochondrial hexokinase: solubilization by adenine nucleotides and in coupled respiration

The relative potencies of ATP and ADP in debinding rat brain mitochondrial hexokinase were measured. At fixed total concentrations of adenine nucleotides, added exogenously, solubilization of the enzyme increased as the proportions of ATP to ADP were raised. The generation of physiological concentrations of ATP by the mitochondria during coupled respiration resulted in a 2-fold increase in solubilization. These findings support the hypothesis that the cytosol-mitochondrial compartmentation of hexokinase may be a factor in the regulation of hexokinase activity and glycolysis.     

Inhibition of citrulline synthesis by octanoate and its modulation by adenine nucleotides

Liver mitochondria from octanoate-treated rabbits showed an impaired ability to synthesize citrulline. Two methods were used to evaluate citrulline synthesis in rat liver mitochondria. Under these conditions octanoate inhibited citrulline synthesis by over 50%. When ATP was included in the assay medium the inhibitory effect of octanoate was prevented. In the absence of ATP in the suspending medium, octanoate did not significantly lower total adenine nucleotides in rat liver mitochondria. However, under these conditions octanoate caused a change in the adenine nucleotide profile such that ATP content was decreased and AMP content was increased. When ATP was present in the assay medium, octanoate caused a similar increase in AMP content. However, ATP decreased only slightly. The alterations in mitochondrial adenine nucleotide profile by octanoate and the reversal of the effect by exogenous ATP suggests that octanoate inhibits citrulline synthesis via reduced intramitochondrial ATP levels. The ability of octanoate to lower mitochondrial ATP and elevate mitochondrial AMP may be related to its intramitochondrial activation by the medium chain fatty acid activating enzyme.     

The displacement of calcium from osteocalcin at submicromolar concentrations of free lead

Lead, an environmental toxin, is known to impair some of the functional properties of osteocalcin, a small protein (MW, 5700) active in bone mineralization and resorption. To investigate a possible mechanism of lead toxicity at the molecular level, we have studied the interaction of lead with osteocalcin using ⁴³Ca and ¹H NMR. The measured ⁴³Ca NMR linewidth as well as longitudinal relaxation rate (1/T₁) of ⁴³CaCl₂ progressively increased with increasing amounts of added osteocalcin. A titration measuring ⁴³Ca linewidth as a function of [Ca²⁺]/[Osteocalcin] ratio could be fitted to a single metal binding site with a dissociation constant of u μM. The ⁴³Ca 1/T₁ of Ca-osteocalcin decreased in the presence of Pb²⁺ due to competitive displacement of Ca²⁺ by Pb²⁺. The magnitude of decrease in the effect of osteocalcin on ⁴³Ca 1/T₁ in the presence of Pb²⁺ was consistent with the existence of only one tight divalent cation binding site. An analysis of the NMR T₁, data in osteocalcin solutions containing both Pb²⁺ and Ca²⁺ yielded a Pb-osteocalcin dissociation constant of about 2 nM. The ¹H NMR spectra showed Pb-induced changes in the same aliphatic and aromatic resonances of osteocalcin that are also affected by Ca²⁺-binding, supporting interaction of Pb²⁺ at the Ca²⁺ site. However, the existence of significant differences between the Pb-osteocalcin and Ca-osteocalcin NMR spectra indicates some differences in the structures of the two complexes. Since Pb²⁺ inhibits the binding of osteocalcin to hydraxyapatite, the high affinity of Pb²⁺ for osteocalcin would indicate significant inactivation of osteocalcin even at submicromolar free lead levels. Pb²⁺-induced inactivation of osteocalcin could affect bone mineral dynamics and may be related to the observed inverse correlation between blood Pb²⁺-levels and stature and chest circumference observed in growing children.     

Decrease in mitochondrial levels of adenine nucleotides and concomitant mitochondrial dysfunction in ischemic rat liver

The process of mitochondrial dysfunction in ischemic rat liver was studied. A close correlation was found between decrease in the mitochondrial adenine nucleotide content and deterioration of oxidative phosphorylation capacity. The level of total adenine nucleotides, which was 15--20 nmol/mg protein in mitochondria isolated from normal liver, fell to 1--2 nmol/mg protein with concomitant loss of oxidative phosphorylation capacity after anoxic incubation in vitro or in vivo for 120 min. However, neither the permeability barrier to adenine nucleotides nor matrix enzymes were affected under these conditions. The loss of adenine nucleotides was ascribed to degradation of AMP to adenosine and then leakage of the latter. Conventional procedures for maintenance of oxidative phosphorylation capacity of isolated mitochondria, preservation in the cold and addition of ATP or a respiratory substrate under aerobic conditions, were very effective in maintaining the intramitochondrial levels of adenine nucleotides. Of the three species of adenine nucleotides, only AMP was ineffective in maintaining mitochondrial function; mitochondria containing more than 5 nmol of ATP plus ADP/mg protein exhibited normal activity of oxidative phosphorylation, but with less than 2 nmol they showed no activity.     

31P NMR visibility and characterization of rat liver mitochondrial matrix adenine nucleotides

Compartmentation and NMR visibility of mitochondrial adenine nucleotides were quantitated in isolated rat liver mitochondria respiring on succinate and glutamate in vitro at 8 and 25 degrees C. Intra- and extramitochondrial nucleotides were discriminated by adding the chelator trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (CDTA). T1 values of about 0.2-0.3 s for magnesium-bound matrix nucleotides were determined. Adenine nucleotide T1 values were influenced by the ionic environment; only magnesium-free ATP T1's were affected by temperature. Intra- and extramitochondrial adenine nucleotide ratios were varied in ATP-loaded mitochondria with added ATP and phosphate using the mitochondrial inhibitors oligomycin and carboxyatractyloside, and adenine nucleotides were quantitated by using NMR and enzymatic analysis. There was good agreement between matrix ATP concentrations (magnesium-bound ATP) calculated by using NMR and standard biochemical techniques. Although matrix ADP could be detected by NMR, it was difficult to quantitate accurately by NMR. The data indicate that mitochondrial ATP is NMR-visible in isolated mitochondria in vitro.