Effects of erythrocytic nucleoside triphosphates on oxygen equilibria of composite and fractionated hemoglobins from the facultative air-breathing amazonian catfish,Hypostomus andPterygoplichthys

• 1. Oxygen equilibria ofHypostomus andPterygoplichthys hemoglobins and their sensitivities to the erythrocytic nucleotide triphosphates (NTP), ATP and guanosine triphosphate (GTP) are studied to investigate the mechanisms by which blood adapts to air- and water-breathing (cf. Weberet al., 1979).
• 2. Hemoglobins of both species are heterogeneous. All hemoglobin fractions isolated by iso-electric focusing reveal a high sensitivity to NTP, but GTP depresses O₂ affinity about twice as effectively as ATP. A cathodal hemoglobin component with a reversed Bohr effect was found inPterygoplichthys but not inHypostomus.
• 3. The data are discussed in relation to thein vivo cofactor modulation of blood O₂ affinity and the adaptive significance of functional heterogeneity of fish hemoglobins.

     

Functional studies on the separated hemoglobin components of an air-breathing catfish,Hoplosternum littorale (Hancock)

• 1. The two hemoglobins, Hb I and II, of the obligate air-breathing catfish,Hoplosternum littorale have been isolated.
• 2. The unfractionated stripped hemoglobin has a high oxygen affinity, a normal alkaline Bohr effect, and a Root effect.
• 3. Both the Bohr and Root effects are enhanced by 1 mM ATP.
• 4. Stripped Hb I has a relatively high oxygen affinity, a reversed Bohr effect between pH 6.0 and 8.0 (Δlog P₅₀2DpH> 0), but no Root effect. Addition of 1 mM ATP to Hb I causes a marked reduction in the oxygen affinity, a change to a normal alkaline Bohr effect (Δlog P₅₀ΔpH< 0), but no Root effect.
• 5. Stripped Hb II has a lower oxygen affinity at low pH and a higher oxygen affinity at high pH than does Hb I. Hb II shows a large alkaline Bohr effect which is only slightly increased by 1 mM ATP and a Root effect at low pH which is enhanced by 1 mM ATP.
• 6. The observed rates of O₂ dissociation and of CO combination with Hbs I and II show differences which parallel those observed in the oxygen equilibrium measurements.

     

Studies of the functional properties of the hemoglobins ofHoplias malabaricus andHoplerythrinus unitaeniatus

• 1. Hemolysates fromHoplias malabaricus andHoplerythrinus unitaeniatus show blurred hemoglobin patterns with three and four bands, respectively, by alkaline disc gel electrophoresis.
• 2. The oxygen affinity of the stripped hemoglobin fromHoplerythrinus is about a third of that fromHoplias; theP₅₀ value ofHoplias Hb is about 1.3 mm Hg (pH 6.9 and 20°C). The addition of 1 mM ATP lowers the oxygen affinity of each hemoglobin 2.6-fold.
• 3. Both hemoglobins show Root and Bohr effects;Δlog P₅₀ΔpH= −0.40 for a stripped hemoglobins for the interval pH 7–8.
• 4. The rate of dissociation of oxygen from each hemoglobin is similar and is kinetically homogeneous with rate constants decreasing from 200–250/sec at pH 6.2 to about 25–26 at pH 7.7 with or without 1 mM ATP.
• 5. The CO combination reaction forHoplias hemoglobin is kinetically heterogeneous at all pH values and forHoplerythrinus hemoglobin below pH 7.5. The fast and slow phases each account for about half the observed reaction. The kinetic heterogeneity is maximal at low pH for both hemoglobins. The fast phase forHoplias hemoglobin is more than twice as fast as that forHoplerythrinus hemoglobins.

     

Adaptative features of amazon fishes: Hemoglobins,hematology, intraerythrocytic phosphates and whole blood Bohr effect of Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus (Siluriformes)

• 1.1. Hemoglobin, hematological parameters, intraerythrocytic phosphates and whole blood Bohr effect of Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus, from the Amazon river, were studied in three different conditions: in their natural environment, acclimated to normoxia and acclimated hypoxia conditions.
• 2.2. Nine anodal hemoglobin fractions were detected on starch gel electrophoresis. No qualitative differences in the Hb electrophoretic patterns were detected in the three studied groups.
• 3.3. Hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration, MCV, MCHC and MCH were different among studied conditions.
• 4.4. GTP was almost absent in the blood of animals in natural conditions and acclimated to hypoxia, but was present at a concentration similar to ATP in normoxic acclimated animals.
• 5.5. There is a tendency for higher Hb-O₂ affinity for hypoxic acclimated/acclimatized animals.

     

Acclimation to hypoxic water in facultative air-breathing fish: Blood oxygen affinity and allosteric effectors

• 1. Blood oxygen affinities, erythrocytic nucleoside triphosphate concentrations (NTP) and other hematological parameters were measured in facultative air-breathing fish from the Amazon after acclimation to well-aerated (“normoxic”) and hypoxic water (PO₂ = 125–135 and 20–25 mm, respectively).
• 2. In the armored catfishHypostomus sp. andPterygoplichthys sp., hypoxia induces intermittent surfacing to gulp air and results in lower NTP levels, chiefly through significant decreases in guanosine triphosphate (GTP). The subsequent increases in blood O₂ affinity appear adaptive to lowered time average internal O₂ tensions. No similar changes were seen in the ellSynbranchus which breathes air almost continuously when kept in hypoxic water.
• 3. The results are discussed in terms of their adaptive significance, and compared with data on temperate fish.

     

Functional studies on the single component hemoglobin from an Amazon knife fish,Sternopygus macrurus

• 1. The whole blood of the non-air-breathing gymnotid teleost,Sternopygus macrurus, is half-saturated with oxygen at 5.2 mm Hg (apparent value) at 30°C in the absence of CO₂. Addition of 5.6% CO₂ causes the apparentP₅₀ value to increase over 3-fold.
• 2. The oxygen affinity of the stripped single-component hemoglobin at 20°C increases about 20-fold between pH 5.8 and 8.6 in the absence of ATP. This difference increases to 100-fold in the presence of 1 mM ATP.
• 3. A substantial Root effect is present: the stripped hemoglobin is only 70% saturated with O₂ at pH less than 6 when equilibrated with air.
• 4. The value of the Hill coefficient,n, is maximal near pH 7.0–7.5, and approaches 1.0 at high pH. The value is about 1.5 at low pH in the absence of ATP and 1.0 in the presence of 1 mM ATP.
• 5. The O₂ dissociation kinetics are heterogeneous at all pH values but most heterogeneous at low pH. The rate increases substantially as the pH decreases.
• 6. The CO combination kinetics as measured by the stopped flow technique are largely homogeneous except at high pH, but the CO combination kinetics after flash photolysis are markedly heterogeneous.

     

Effect of pH on the kinetics of oxygen and carbon monoxide reactions with hemoglobin from the air-breathing fish,Loricariichthys

• 1.Loricariichthys sp., an air-breathing fish from the Amazon River has one major hemoglobin component.
• 2. Quantitative studies on the kinetics of O₂ dissociation and CO combination to the protein were performed by stopped-flow experiments at different pH values and a constant ATP concentration of 1.25 mM.
• 3. The oxygen dissociation shows a simple first order behavior and a strong pH dependence.
• 4. The CO combination kinetics, on the other hand, were homogeneous and fast at higher pH values and slow and clearly autocatalytic at pH values below 7.0.

     

O2-binding by the blood of the landhopper,Arcitalitrus dorrieni (Hunt) (Crustacea: Amphipoda)

• 1.1. The O₂-binding characteristics of the blood of the euterrestrial amphipod (landhopper) Arcitalitrus dorrieni have been studied.
• 2.2. The blood exhibited a low O₂ affinity, with a p₅₀ (at pH = 7.8) of 21.4 torr (10°C). Affinity decreased with an increase in temperature at constant pH (ΔH = − 79.4kJ/mol) but the Bohr factor (ΔlogP₅₀/Δ pH = −0.67) was unaffected.
• 3.3. The O₂-carrying capacity of the blood was moderate (1.51 ml/100 ml)
• 4.4. The results support the hypothesis that the blood of terrestrial amphipods is characterized by having a low affinity pigment.

     

The isolation and characterization of the hemoglobin ofBrachyplatystoma sp.: A tropical catfish

• 1. The single hemoglobin component ofBrachyplatystoma sp. has been isolated. The CO-hemoglobin has an apparent molecular weight of 69,000 as determined by gel filtration.
• 2. The hemoglobin displays both acid and alkaline Bohr effects, as organic phosphate effect and no Root effect. The whole bloodp_1/2 for oxygen shifts from 10.7 mm Hg in air equilibrated solutions to 25.1 mm Hg after the addition of 5.6% CO₂ to the equilibration gas. Thep_1/2 of purified hemoglobin varies from 0.3 mm Hg at pH 8.4 to 4.5 mm Hg at pH 5.9. The Bohr effect measured for stripped hemoglobin between pH 8.0 and 7.0 isΔlog p_1/2/ΔpH= −0.23. Additions of 1 mM ATP induce a shift in the Bohr effect toΔlog p_1/2/ΔpH= −0.58 over the same pH range.
• 3. Then value of stripped hemoglobin solutions varies from 1 at pH 5.9 to 1.7 at pH 7.0. Additions of 1 mM ATP shift the variation inn to higher pH values, and cause an increase in then value (n = 2 at pH 7.4).
• 4. The kinetics of carbon monoxide binding and oxygen dissociation are pH dependent. The CO_on rate becomes autocatalytic as the pH is lowered, indicating positive subunit interactions. The O_2off rate was homogeneous at all pH values.
• 5. The Bohr effects ofBrachyplatystoma hemoglobin and other pimelodid hemoglobins are greater than those determined for the unfractionated hemoglobins of more sedentary species from other catfish families such as the Loricariidae and Callichthyidae.

     

The hemoglobin ofpseudodoras,a South American catfish: Isolation,characterization and ligand binding studies

• 1. The hemoglobin of the Amazonian catfishPseudodoras sp. was isolated and characterized; it comprises a single component.
• 2. The hemoglobin's subunit composition is similar to that of other teleost hemoglobins. The apparent native molecular weight as determined by gel filtration is 66,000. The apparent subunit molecular weight is 14,300 by sodium dodecyl sulfate electrophoresis. The hemoglobin does not polymerize after oxidation by potassium ferricyanide.
• 3. The hemoglobin lacks a Root effect. A small Bohr effect is evident in the phosphate-free hemoglobin:Δlog p_1/2/ΔpH is no more than about −0.1 to −0.2 and increases toΔlog p_1/2/ΔpH = −0.4 in the presence of 1 mM ATP. The cooperativity, as determined byn of the Hill equation, is low, varying from 0.8 to 1.7 between pH 6.1 and 8.6.
• 4. Thep_1/2 values of stripped hemoglobin solutions are extremely low, less than 0.5 mm Hg at all pH values examined between pH 6.1 and 9.0. The high oxygen affinity is reflected primarily in the CO combination rate which resembles that found in myoglobins and isolated subunits of human hemoglobin.
• 5. Both the CO combination rate and the O₂ dissociation rate determined by stopped-flow spectrophotometry are pH and phosphate sensitive. Between pH 6.2 and 8.1 the CO_on rate increases about 5-fold in the phosphate-free hemoglobin. Addition of 1 mM ATP causes a depression in the rate at all pH values examined. The O_2off rate decreases 7-fold going from pH 6.0 to 8.2 in stripped hemoglobin solutions. Addition of 1 mM ATP induces a 10-fold decrease over the same range. At pH values below 6.0 a depression in the O_2off rate occurs in the stripped hemoglobin, indicative of an acid Bohr effect.

     

The effect of temperature on oxygen equilibrium curves of trout blood (Salmo gairdnerii)

• 1.1. Oxygen equilibrium curves were measured on trout red blood cell suspensions at pH 7.8 and 8.4 at 15, 20 and 25 C. Normal red cells and red cells that had been depleted of their ATP content were used.
• 2.2. The equilibrium data were fitted to the Adair's model and the enthalpy (ΔH) and entropy (ΔS) changes for the first and fourth steps of oxygenation and for overall oxygenation were calculated from the temperature dependencies of the Adair constants.
• 3.3. For normal red blood cells, the apparent heat for the first oxygenation step, δh₁, is close to zero.
• 4.4. Temperature insensitivity of this step at physiological pH, combined with a large pH dependence, probably denotes a property of Hb4, the Root effect Hb of trout blood.
• 5.5. At pH 7.8, ΔH₄ is about —4kcal/mol, a small value which may be attributed to the large release of Bohr protons that occurs at the last oxygenation step and corresponds to an endothermic process which opposes to the exothermic oxygenation of the haem.
• 6.6. The ΔH₄ value appears to have a large influence on the enthalpy for overall oxygenation.
• 7.7. Results for ATP-free red cells are consistent with a mere increase in the intracellular pH and suggest that ATP has no specific effect at and above pH_i ~ 7.7.
• 8.8. Effects of temperature and pH on trout red blood cell isotherms emphasize the primary importance of the major component of trout blood, namely Hb4, in trout blood functional properties.

     

Sodium balance in adult atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) during migration into neutral and acid fresh water

• 1.1. In sea-water, adult salmon (S. salar) exchange an average of 12.6% of total body sodium/hr.
• 2.2. Following transfer to fresh water sodium uptake follows Michaelis-Menton kinetics. F_max = 2.40 mmol Na/1 ECF/hr, K_m = 0.26 mmol Na/1. The uptake system is fully activated immediately following transfer to fresh water.
• 3.3. Post smolts adapted to sea-water for 3 months take up sodium at only one third of the rate of adult fish following return to fresh water.
• 4.4. The concentration of prolactin in the plasma is low in sea-water adapted fish and does not rise during the first 8 hr in fresh water.
• 5.5. At pH 5 sodium uptake is reduced by almost 90%, even in the absence of aluminium, but recovers immediately on return to neutral water.
• 6.6. At pH 5 and 20 μmol Al/1 there is little further effect on sodium uptake but after 6 hr in aluminium the inhibition of sodium uptake continues after return to neutral aluminium fresh water and uptake is only 50% of normal 24 hr later.

     

An in vitro study of short-chain fatty acid concentrations,production and absorption in pig (Sus scrofa) colon

• 1.1. Short-chain fatty acid concentration was 180mmol/l in the proximal colon and decreased to 108 mmol/l in the rectum.
• 2.2. Fermentation in chymus from different regions of the colon, showed the pattern of end products to reflect the substrate and not the site of the colon.
• 3.3. Isolated mucosa from proximal and distal colon had electroneutral sodium absorption of 4.8 ± 0.2 and 2.9 ± 0.8 μeq/cm² hr in bicarbonate free media, which was abolished in the absence of chloride.
• 4.4. Electroneutral sodium absorption was enhanced by short-chain fatty acids in the proximal colon and could be described by Michaelis-Menten kinetics with K_m 2.0–11 mmol/l and J_m 1.6–3.6μeq/cm² hr. In the distal colon the stimulation was smaller and propionate even inhibited sodium absorption.
• 5.5. Butyrate was absorbed in the proximal colon, whereas acetate and propionate, and butyrate in the distal colon had a flux ratio of one.
• 6.6. Amiloride (5 mmol/l) inhibited sodium absorption and net butyrate absorption.

     

Oxygenation characteristics of the polymorphic hemoglobins of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) at different developmental stages

• 1.1. The oxygen equilibria of the multiple hemoglobin of the fry and adult life stages of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) were investigated. Components A 6–8 comprise 50–55% and >95% of the total hemoglobins of coho adults and fry respectively.
• 2.2. Fry hemoglobins exhibited a high oxygen affinity (P₅₀ = 3.9 mm Hg at 9.8°C, pH 8.5), a very large Bohr shift (ø = Δlog ₅₀/ΔpH = −1.729 at pH 7.1–7.5) which was non-linear in the pH range 6.8–8.5 and a large heat of oxygenation (ΔH = −20.8 kcal/mol).
• 3.3. Adult hemoglobins, however, exhibited a moderate oxygen affinity (P₅₀ = 14.0 mm Hg at 9.8°C, pH 8.2), a very small linear Bohr shift (ø = −0.172 at pH 7.0 −8.2) and a low heat of oxygenation (ΔH = −5.6- −7.5kcal/mol). Adenosine triphosphate had only minor influence on the oxygenation characteristics of adult heolyzates.
• 4.4. The results are discussed in terms of functional adaptation to environmental stresses and metabolic requirements.

     

Separation and characterization of the hemoglobin components ofPterygoplichthys pardalis,the acaribodo

• 1. The four main hemoglobin components of the hemolysate ofPterygoplichthys pardalis have been isolated and characterized.
• 2. The functional properties investigated for the isolated components comprise the effect of pH and ATP on (i) the O₂ equilibrium, (ii) the O₂ dissociation kinetics, (iii) the CO combination kinetics.
• 3. Component I, corresponding to approx 50% of the total hemoglobin, is characterized by functional properties which are distinctly different from those of Components II, III and IV, which are alike
• 4. Thus it is shown, once more, that multiple components in an hemolysate fall into categories of hemoglobins characterized by distinct and complementary functional properties

     

Oxygen binding of intact coelomic cells and extracted hemoglobin of the echiuran Urechis caupo

• 1.1. The oxygen affinity of Urechis caupo coelomic cells is the same in normoxic and in hypoxic animals. There is no Bohr effect between pH 6.8 and 8.0.
• 2.2. The oxygen affinity of intact coelomic cells is the same as that of extracted, stripped hemoglobin. The oxygen binding properties of stripped hemoglobin are not affected by 1 mM ATP, IMP, or hydrogen ions between pH 6.8 and 8.0, nor do they clearly show cooperativity. The heat of oxygenation. ΔH, = −13.1 kcal/mol between 10 and 25 C.
• 3.3. Although U. caupo coelomic cell hemoglobin is tetrameric and intracellular, it apparently exhibits neither heterotropic nor homotropic interactions.

     

Respiration in the eastern water dragon,Physignathus lesueurii (agamidae)

• 1.1. Some aspects of the gas exchange system of a diving lizard, Physignathus lesuewii were studied.
• 2.2. Breathing patterns were analysed.
• 3.3. Breathing rate increases logarithmically with temperature and Q₁₀ = 1.8. LogBR = −0.237 + 0.0256 T.
• 4.4. Gas tensions in lung air and arterial and venous blood were measured. Arterial pH declines with increasing temperature.
• 5.5. Temperature has a marked effect on oxygen affinity of the blood (ΔH = −10.1 kcal mol⁻). A Bohr effect was also noted.
• 6.6. CO₂ equilibrium curves were drawn.
• 7.7. The results are considered with a view to anticipating the efficiency of the gas exchange system of this species under conditions of variable temperature and during diving.

     

Respiratory function and nucleotide composition of erythrocytes from tropical elasmobranchs

• 1.1. Oxygen carrying capacity and parameters of erythrocyte-oxygen binding are similar for a range of elasmobranchs with markedly different swimming behaviour.
• 2.2. Erythrocyte nucleotide components in sharks include the allosteric hemoglobin modifiers GTP and ATP in similar ratios, and the total pool appears independent of locomotory activity. A rhinobatoid ray had no detectable erythrocyte trinucleotides, but had an appreciable pool of AMP together with IMP.
• 3.3. There was no evidence for either urea or NaCl modulation of hemoglobin function in erythrocytes from a carcharhinid shark.
• 4.4. These observations lead to the conclusion that parameters of the oxygen transport system in elasmobranchs are highly conserved.

     

Human GMP synthetase

• 1.1. The specific activity of GMP synthetase was measured in several human tissues and found to be highest in cultured skin fibroblasts, followed by bone marrow, leukocytes, erythrocytes. placenta, and liver.
• 2.2. The enzyme from fibroblasts was purified approximately 50-fold by ammonium sulfate fractionation and gel filtration.
• 3.3. The K_m values were determined to be 4.9μM for XMP, 270μM for ATP. and 340 μM for glutamine.
• 4.4. Ammonium sulfate could replace glutamine as the amino donor but was much less efficient.
• 5.5. The enzyme was specific for ATP as the energy source.
• 6.6. Unlike the calf thymus enzyme, the human enzyme has no requirement for a reduced sulfhydryl compound.
• 7.7. Human GMP synthetase is inhibited by ATP, dATP, azaserine, and hydroxylamine.

     

A fetal-maternal shift in the oxygen equilibrium of hemoglobin from the viviparous caecilian,Typhlonectes compressicauda

• 1. The equilibria and kinetics of oxygen binding by blood and hemoglobin from adult and fetal caecilians,Typhlonectes compressicauda, have been measured.
• 2. The oxygen affinity of fetal blood is higher than that of adult blood.
• 3. Electrophoresis of adult and fetal hemoglobins suggests that they may be identical: a major and minor component occurs in each.
• 4. Adult and fetal hemoglobins have identical oxygen equilibria. Stripped hemoglobins have a high oxygen affinity and no Bohr effect between pH 6.5 and 10.0. An “acid”, reversed Bohr effect is present below pH 6.5. The addition of 1 mM ATP reduces the oxygen affinity markedly and produces a moderate, normal Bohr effect.
• 5. The major nucleoside triphosphate in fetal and adult erythrocytes is adenosine triphosphate: about 10% of the nucleoside triphosphates is guanosine triphosphate. Adult erythrocytes contain 3 times as much ATP as do the fetal erythrocytes.
• 6. The fetal to maternal shift in the oxygen equilibrium is mediated entirely by the difference in ATP content of the maternal and fetal red blood cells.