Species specificity of the isoenzyme profile of lactate dehydrogenase in organs of rodents of various ecogenesis

Separation of isoenzymes of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH, EC. 1.1.1.27) in extracts of heart, kidney, liver, spleen, lungs of nutrias, chinchillas by agar gel electrophoresis reveals a species specificity in ratio of electrophoretic fractions of the enzyme. The isoenzymes of LDH were seem to play an important role in adaptation of fur animals to environmental conditions. It has been shown that in semiaquatic mammals--nutrias, the relative content of the A-subunits in the isoenzymatic spectrum of LDH in organs was increased as compared with terrestrial animals--chinchillas, whereas relative content of B-subunits in these organs of chinchillas was very high. This is an example of subtle biochemical specialisation of function at molecular level to environmental conditions.     

Complementation of myosin null mutants in Dictyostelium discoideum by direct functional selection

The eukaryotic slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum contains a single conventional myosin heavy chain gene (mhcA). Cell lines in which this gene was deleted via homologous recombination have been previously reported. These myosin null cells were shown to be defective for cytokinesis and for sporogenesis. We demonstrate here that the cloned mhcA gene can be reintroduced into these cells by the use of a direct functional selection. This selection was imposed by demanding that cells be capable of growth in suspension. The resulting transformants appear normal for cytokinesis, and also are fully competent for sporogenesis, confirming that reintroduction of the myosin gene is sufficient to restore these properties. These results demonstrate a method for rescuing mutants in Dictyostelium which may be generally applicable for genetically created mutations as well as for mutations which have been engineered.     

Properties of the testicular lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme.

1. Studies were carried out with pure lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes C4 (LDH isoenzyme X), B4, (LDH isoenzyme 1) and A4 (LDH isoenzyme 5) isolated from mouse testis, heart and muscle tissue respectively; with LDH isoenzyme X purified from pigeon testes and with crude lysates of spermatozoa from man, bull and rabbit. 2. LDH isoenzyme X from all species showed greater ability than the other isoenzymes to catalyse the NAD+-linked interconversions of 2-oxobutanoate into 2-hydroxybutanoate and of 2-oxopentanoate into 2-hydroxypentanoate. 3. Mouse LDH isoenzyme X presented the broadest spectrum of substrate specificity. It exhibited very similar Km values for a variety of 2-oxo acids: 2-oxopropanoate (pyruvate), 2-oxobutanoate, 2-oxo-3-methylbutanoate, 2-oxopentanoate, 2-oxo-3-methylpentanoate, 2-oxo-4-methylpentanoate, 2-oxohexanoate and 2-oxo-3-phenylpropanoate (phenylpyruvate). The corresponding 2-hydroxy acids were also readily utilized in the reverse reaction. A strong inhibition by substrate and product was demonstrated for the direct reaction. 4. Intracellular distribution of LDH isoenzyme X was investigated in mouse testes. LDH isoenzyme X activity was located in the fraction of "heavy mitochondria" and in the soluble phase. 5. A possible functional role for LDH isoenzyme X is proposed: the redox couple-2-oxo acid-2-hydroxy acid could integrate a shuttle system transferring reducing equivalents from cytoplasm to mitochondria.     

Changes in the lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme spectrum during T-lymphocyte differentiation

The pattern of lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme spectrum changes on different stages of T-lymphocyte differentiation was studied An enriched population of stem cells has LDH-5, 4 and 3 isoenzymes, and much less LDH-2 activity. The isoenzyme pattern of thymic cell precursors consists of LDH-5, 4, 3 and 2. All the five LDH isoenzymes were found in cortical thymocytes. Medullary thymocytes reveal LDH-5, 4 and 3 isoenzymes. T-lymphocytes of peripheral lymphoid organs contain mainly LDH-5 and in a lesser degree LDH-4 activity.     

Genetic regulation of the lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme spectrum in mouse erythrocytes

The pattern of lactate dehydrogenase isozymes was investigated by means of electrophoresis in erythrocytes of CBA/Lac and DBA/2J mice homozygous for b and a alleles of the Ldr-1 locus. It is found that differences in the pattern of LDH isozymes, homozygous for the genes Ldr-1a and Ldr-1b, consist in increased activity of the isozyme LDH-4 in mice homozygous for the gene Ldr-1a (DBA/2J) within 12-14 days of postnatal development. Inhibition of the reaction between 125I-LDH-1 and the respective antibodies has demonstrated that increased LDH-4 activity during development is related to the higher content of B-subunits of LDH. It is suggested that the mechanism of the action of the gene Ldr-1 involves changes in the rate of the synthesis and degradation of B-subunit of LDH.     

Substrate specificity of the lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme C4 from human spermatozoa and a possible selective assay.

The activity of lactate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.27) in normal human sperm lysates and in human heart and liver homogenates was determined by using a variety of 2-oxoacids as substrates. Sperm preparations were active with pyruvate, 2-oxobutanoate, 2-oxopentanoate and 2-oxohexanoate, while heart and liver extracts utilized only pyruvate and 2-oxobutanoate. Selective staining after gel electrophoresis indicated that the fraction corresponding to lactate dehydrogenase C4, the sperm-specific isoenzyme, was responsible for the utilization of substrates with a linear chain of 3 to 6 carbon atoms. The use of 5 mM 2-oxohexanoate allowed the selective determination of isoenzyme C4 in preparations containing different lactate dehydrogenase molecular forms.     

Factors affecting the lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme pattern of cultured kidney-cortex cells

1. The lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme pattern of cultured calf kidney-cortex cells was correlated to growth phase, changes in oxygen supply, mean generation time and changes in nutritional supply. 2. During culture of free cells and intact explants the lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme pattern changed towards a dominance of isoenzymes containing the M subunit. 3. Of the shift in monomer proportion, 58% occurred during the lag phase and 42% during the initial part of the exponential growth phase. During the stationary phase the shift in monomer proportion reversed slightly. It was possible to relate the observed shift in monomer proportion to the glycolytic rate. 4. Factors that depressed glycolysis decreased the shift in monomer proportion. Oxygen was found to limit the decrease in the H subunit/M subunit ratio caused by anaerobic culture in vitro. 5. The results obtained support the view that the altered lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme pattern of urine in renal ischaemia may be explained by anaerobic changes in the lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme pattern of cortical tubule cells.     

A study of additional forms of the human sperm lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme

Unusual isoenzymes of the sperm-specific lactate dehydrogenase detected in the seminal plasma of some infertile men were investigated using selective precipitation by antisera followed by electrophoretic resolution. The presence of two C subunit types was established: type I is a polymer of the four common C-subunits and type II consists of four C-subunits. Subunits of types I and II combine to form 5 sperm-specific binomially distributed lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes. These results suggest the existence of two alleles at the c locus.     

Effect of thyroxine on the lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme composition of chicken tissues in ontogeny

Using disc electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel, studies have been made on the content of isoenzymes of lactate dehydrogenase in the mitochondria and cytoplasm from the brain, heart and liver after thyroxine administration to embryonal, early postnatal and adult hens. After this administration, the isoenzymic composition becomes more complex, redistribution of separate isozymes being observed in ontogenesis. The level of aerobic form of LDH increases at early stages of ontogenesis, that of anaerobic ones--in adult birds. Basing on their different functional role due to the presence of H- and M-subunits, it may be suggested that thyroxine administration results in a compensatory increase of the oxidative or glycolytic processes at the corresponding stages of ontogenesis, these changes reflecting phylogenetic peculiarities of the formation of the hormonal control of lactate dehydrogenase in tissues of birds.     

Induction of alcohol dehydrogenase null mutants in the mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata

Alcohol dehydrogenase null mutants have been induced with X rays in Ceratitis capitata, for use in a genetic sexing system. A combination of selective medium and electrophoretic screening was used to identify these mutants. The results indicate that they are probably large deletions since no homozygotes were found for any of the induced mutants.     

Analysis of total lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme activity in mouse ova during clevage]

The total activity of lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes was detected in the intact ova of mice during the clevage and, in particular, blastomeres at the 2-cell stage. Routine histochemical technique was employed in addition to microspectrometry. During the clevage, the ova differ in their enzyme activity. At the 2-cell stage there are ova with similar reaction in both the blastomeres as well as those with different enzyme activity in each blastomere.     

Prenatal changes of lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme patterns and activity in bovine tissues.

Isoenzyme patterns, total lactate dehydrogenase (LDH, E.C. 1.1.1.27) activity and H and M subunit activity were determined in the tissues of Czech Spotted bovine foetuses. Total LDH activity rose in the skeletal muscles throughout the whole of the prenatal period. In the viscera it usually attained the maximum at a foetal length of 66.7 cm. Differences in the isoenzyme patterns of the various organs of an 8.1-cm foetus were relatively small (41.9--66.1% H subunits). In the heart and kidneys, in which LDH1 and LDH2 markedly predominate in adulthood, the isoenzyme pattern resembled the adult one at a length of only 13.3 cm, but in the liver, spleen and lungs not until 66.7 cm. The proportion of H subunits also rose in the part of the gastrointestinal tract where secretory and resorptive activity predominate (the abomasum, the small and the large intestine). Conversely, it fell in organs concerned mainly with the mechanical processing of food (the rumen, reticulum and omasum). The proportion of M subunits rose in all the skeletal muscles up to a foetal length of 66.7 cm. Later on, differentiation into muscles in which M subunits predominated (the longissimus dorsi and the triceps brachii), into muscles with approximately the same proportion of H and M subunits (the iliopsoas) and to muscles with a preponderance of H subunits (the masseter and the muscular part of the diaphragm) occurred.     

Changes in the lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme pattern during differentiation of rabbit bone-marrow erythroid cells.

1. Differentiation and maturation of rabbit bone-marrow erythroid cells was accompanied by a 15-fold decrease in lactate dehydrogenase activity from approx. 0.1pmol of NADH utilized/min per cell in basophilic cells to 0.007 pmol of NADH/min per cell in reticulocytes. 2. In early cells, cell division takes place with a corresponding decrease in cell volume, but the concentration of lactate dehydrogenase remains almost constant. 3. When cell division ceases, qualitative as well as quantitative changes in the lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme pattern become apparent and reticulocytes were found to contain almost exclusively the H4 isoenzyme, whereas early erythroblasts contained also the M4 and hybrid isoenzymes. 4. Extracts from a lysosome-enriched subcellular fraction of bone-marrow erythroid cells specifically degraded the M4 isoenzyme in vitro, but the H4 form was stable. It is suggested that lysosomal enzymes are involved in bringing about the observed changes in lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme patterns in vivo.