Adenosine deaminase activity in rat intestine: assay with a microdialysis technique

Using microdialysis, we measured adenosine deaminase activity in rat intestine by detecting inosine, a breakdown product of adenosine. The dialysis probe consisted of a 3 x 0.22 mm dialysis fiber with a 50,000 mol wt cut off. When the probe was perfused at 1 microl/min in vitro, the average relative recovery rate of inosine was 22.1+/-0.9%). The dialysis probe was implanted in the intestinal mucosa and perfused with Tyrode solution containing adenosine at 1 microl/min. The dialysate samples were analyzed for inosine by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet (HPLC-UV) detection at 260 nm. When adenosine (100-1000 microM) was perfused, the level of inosine increased dose-dependently and was saturatable at about 1 mM adenosine. The ED50 of adenosine was 192.6 microM, with a maximum attainable inosine concentration of 59.7 microM. In the presence of aminoguanidine, a adenosine deaminase inhibitor (10 mM or 10 n mol/microl/min), the elevation of inosine was not observed. The dialysis technique makes it possible to measure adenosine deaminase activity in intestinal mucosa.     

A purine-selective nucleobase/nucleoside transporter in PK15NTD cells

Nucleoside and nucleobase transporters are important for salvage of purines and pyrimidines and for transport of their analog drugs into cells. However, the pathways for nucleobase translocation in mammalian cells are not well characterized. We identified an Na-independent purine-selective nucleobase/nucleoside transport system in the nucleoside transporter-deficient PK15NTD cells. This transport system has 1,000-fold higher affinity for nucleobases than nucleosides with K(m) values of 2.5 +/- 0.7 microM for [(3)H]adenine, 6.4 +/- 0.5 microM for [(3)H]guanine, 1.1 +/- 0.1 mM for [(3)H]guanosine, and 4.2 +/- 0.5 mM [(3)H]adenosine. The uptake of [(3)H]guanine (0.05 microM) was inhibited by other nucleobases and nucleobase analog drugs (at 0.5-1 mM in the order of potency): 6-mercaptopurine = thioguanine = guanine > adenine > thymine = fluorouracil = uracil. Cytosine and methylcytosine had no effect. Nucleoside analog drugs with modification at 2' and/or 5 positions (all at 1 mM) were more potent than adenosine in competing the uptake of [(3)H]guanine: 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine > 2-chloroadenosine > 2'3'-dideoxyadenosine = 2'-deoxyadenosine > 5-deoxyadenosine > adenosine. 2-Chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine and 2-chloroadenosine inhibited [(3)H]guanine uptake with IC(50) values of 68 +/- 5 and 99 +/- 10 microM, respectively. The nucleobase/nucleoside transporter was resistant to nitrobenzylthioinosine {6-[(4-nitrobenzyl) thiol]-9-beta-D-ribofuranosylpurine}, dipyridamole, and dilazep, but was inhibited by papaverine, the organic cation transporter inhibitor decynium-22 (IC(50) of approximately 1 microM), and by acidic pH (pH = 5.5). In conclusion, we have identified a mammalian purine-selective nucleobase/nucleoside transporter with high affinity for purine nucleobases. This transporter is potentially important for transporting naturally occurring purines and purine analog drugs into cells.     

Kinetic characterization of adenosine deaminase activity in zebrafish (Danio rerio) brain

Adenosine deaminase (ADA; EC 3.5.4.4) activity is responsible for cleaving adenosine to inosine. In this study we described the biochemical properties of adenosine deamination in soluble and membrane fractions of zebrafish (Danio rerio) brain. The optimum pH for ADA activity was in the range of 6.0-7.0 in soluble fraction and reached 5.0 in brain membranes. A decrease of 31.3% on adenosine deamination in membranes was observed in the presence of 5 mM Zn(2+), which was prevented by 5 mM EDTA. The apparent K(m) values for adenosine deamination were 0.22+/-0.03 and 0.19+/-0.04 mM for soluble and membrane fractions, respectively. The apparent V(max) value for soluble ADA activity was 12.3+/-0.73 nmol NH(3) min(-1) mg(-1) of protein whereas V(max) value in brain membranes was 17.5+/-0.51 nmol NH(3) min(-1) mg(-1) of protein. Adenosine and 2'-deoxyadenosine were deaminated in higher rates when compared to guanine nucleosides in both fractions. Furthermore, a significant inhibition on adenosine deamination in both soluble and membrane fractions was observed in the presence of 0.1 mM of erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl)adenine (EHNA). The presence of ADA activity in zebrafish brain may be important to regulate the adenosine/inosine levels in the CNS of this species.     

Further characterization of adenosine transport in renal brush-border membranes

Adenosine transport has been further characterized in rat renal brush-border membranes (BBM). The uptake shows two components, one sodium-independent and one sodium-dependent. Both components reflect, at least partly, translocation via a carrier mechanism, since the presence of adenosine inside the vesicles stimulates adenosine uptake in the presence as well as in the absence of sodium outside the vesicles. The sodium-dependent component is saturable (Km adenosine = 2.9 microM, Vmax = 142 pmol/min per mg protein) and is abolished at low temperatures. The sodium-independent uptake has apparently two components: one saturable (Km = 4-10 microM, Vmax = 174 pmol/min per mg protein) and one non-saturable (Vmax = 3.4 pmol/min per mg protein, Km greater than 2000 microM). Inosine, guanosine, 2-chloroadenosine and 2'-deoxyadenosine inhibit the sodium-dependent and -independent transport, as shown by trans-stimulation experiments, probably because of translocation via the respective transporter. Uridine and dipyridamole inhibited only the sodium-dependent uptake. Other analogs of adenosine showed no inhibition. The kinetic parameters of the inhibitors of the sodium-dependent component were further investigated. Inosine was the most potent inhibitor with a Ki (1.9 microM) less than the Km of adenosine. This suggests a physiological role for the BBM ecto-adenosine deaminase (enzyme which extracellularly converts adenosine to inosine), balancing the amount of nucleoside taken up as adenosine or inosine by the renal proximal tubule cell.     

Adenosine deaminase activity of chicken erythrocyte and heart cytosols

1. The adenosine deaminase (ADA) activities of chicken erythrocyte and heart cytosols had pH optima of 6.5. The temperature optima for erythrocyte and heart ADA were 30 and 35 degrees C, respectively. 2. The deoxyadenosine/adenosine deamination ratios ranged from 0.75 to 0.84 for both ADA activities. 3. For erythrocyte ADA, Km values were 8.9-12.9 microM adenosine (range) and 8.3 microM 2'-deoxyadenosine. For heart ADA, Km values were 6.7-12.0 microM adenosine (range) and 5.3 microM 2'-deoxyadenosine. 4. Inosine was a competitive inhibitor of both erythrocyte (Ki = 73 microM) and heart (Ki = 109 microM) ADA.     

Substrate specificity, kinetics, and stoichiometry of sodium-dependent adenosine transport in L1210/AM mouse leukemia cells

Two equilibrative (facilitated diffusion) nucleoside transport processes and a concentrative Na(+)-dependent co-transport process contribute to zero-trans inward fluxes of nucleosides in L1210 mouse leukemia cells. Na(+)-linked inward adenosine fluxes in L1210/AM cells (a clone deficient in adenosine, deoxyadenosine, and deoxycytidine kinase activities) were measured as initial rates of [3H]adenosine influx in medium containing Na+ salts and 10 microM dipyridamole. The Na(+)-linked transporter distinguished between the D- and L-enantiomers of adenosine, the latter being a virtual nonpermeant in the initial-rate assay. Adenine arabinoside, inosine, 2'-deoxyadenosine and 2'-deoxyadenosine derivatives with halogen atoms at the purine C-2 position were recognized as substrates of the Na(+)-linked system because of their inhibition of adenosine (10 microM) fluxes under the condition of Na(+)-dependence with IC50 values ranging between 25 and 183 microM; uridine, deoxycytidine, and cytosine arabinoside (each at 400 microM) inhibited adenosine fluxes by 10-40%. Inward Na(+)-linked adenosine fluxes were saturable with respect to extracellular adenosine and Na+ concentrations [( Na+]o); Km and Vmax values for adenosine influx were 9.4 +/- 2.6 microM and 1.67 +/- 0.2 pmol/microliter cell water/s when [Na+]o was 100 mM. The stoichiometry of Na+:adenosine co-transport, determined by Hill analysis of the dependence of adenosine fluxes on [Na+]o, was 1:1. The thiol-reactive agents, N-ethylmaleimide (NEM), showdomycin and p-chloromercuriphenylsulphonate (pCMPS), inhibited Na(+)-linked adenosine fluxes with IC50 values of 40, 10, and 2 microM, respectively. This inhibition was partially reversed by the presence of adenosine in incubation media containing pCMPS, but not NEM. Thiol groups accessible to pCMPS may be involved in substrate recognition by the transporter and in the permeation step.     

Observation of a chloride-dependent intermediate during catalysis by angiotensin converting enzyme using radiationless energy transfer

Stopped-flow radiationless energy-transfer kinetics have been used to examine the effects of chloride on the hydrolysis of Dns-Lys-Phe-Ala-Arg by angiotensin converting enzyme. The kinetic constants for hydrolysis at pH 7.5 and 22 degrees C in the presence of 300 mM sodium chloride were KM = 28 microM and kcat = 110 s-1, and in its absence, KM = 240 microM and kcat = 68 s-1. The apparent binding constant for chloride was 4 mM, and the extent of chloride activation in terms of kcat/KM was 14-fold. The effects of chloride on the pre-steady-state were examined at 2 degrees C. In the presence of chloride, two distinct enzyme-substrate complexes were observed, suggesting multiple steps in substrate binding. The initial complex was formed during the mixing period (kobsd greater than 200 s-1) while the second complex was formed much more slowly (kobsd = 40 s-1 when [S] = 5 microM and [NaCl] = 150 mM). Strikingly, in the absence of chloride, only a single, rapidly formed enzyme-substrate complex was observed. These results are consistent with a nonessential activator kinetic mechanism in which the slow step reflects conversion of an initially formed complex, (E X Cl- X S)1, to a more tightly bound complex, (E X Cl- X S)2.     

Role of S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase in adenosine metabolism in mammalian heart.

S-Adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase of mammalian hearts from different species is exclusively a cytosolic enzyme. The apparent Km for the guinea-pig enzyme was 2.9 microM (synthesis) and 0.39 microM (hydrolysis). Perfusion of isolated guinea-pig hearts for 120 min with L-homocysteine thiolactone (0.23 mM) and adenosine (0.1 mM), in the presence of erythro-9-(2-hydroxynon-3-yl)adenine to inhibit adenosine deaminase, caused tissue contents of S-adenosylhomocysteine to increase from 3.5 to 3600 nmol/g. When endogenous adenosine production was accelerated by perfusion of hearts with hypoxic medium (30% O2), L-homocysteine thiolactone (0.23 mM) increased S-adenosyl-homocysteine 17-fold to 64.3 nmol/g within 15 min. In the presence of 4-nitro-benzylthioinosine (5 microM), an inhibitor of adenosine transport, S-adenosylhomocysteine further increased to 150 nmol/g. L-Homocysteine thiolactone decreased the hypoxia-induced augmentation of adenosine, inosine and hypoxanthine in the tissue and the release of these purines into the coronary system by more than 50%. Our findings indicate that L-homocysteine can profoundly alter adenosine metabolism in the intact heart by conversion of adenosine into S-adenosylhomocysteine. Adenosine formed during hypoxia was most probably generated within the myocardial cell.     

Production of thrombin by the prothrombinase complex is regulated by membrane-mediated transport of prothrombin

Production of thrombin by phospholipid-bound prothrombinase complexes has been described as being regulated by the prothrombin concentration in the buffer (free-substrate model) as well as by the concentration of prothrombin adsorbed to the phospholipid surface (bound-substrate model). We studied simultaneous adsorption and conversion of prothrombin on planar bilayers consisting of 20% dioleoylphosphatidylserine and 80% dioleoylphosphatidylcholine. A transport limitation in the conversion of prothrombin was prevented by using a very low (0.3 fmol cm-2) amount of prothrombinase on the bilayer. The Michaelis and catalytic constants thus found were Km = 5.8 +/- 0.7 nM and kcat = 33 +/- 1 s-1 (mean +/- S.D.). The apparent bimolecular rate constant Kcat/Km = 5.7 x 10(9) M-1 s-1 exceeds the theoretically maximal value for the free-substrate model. In contrast, kcat/Km is within the range expected for a diffusion-controlled bound-substrate model. A similar mechanism for prothrombin conversion in suspensions of phospholipid vesicles would imply increasing kcat/Km values for increasing vesicle diameter. This prediction was tested and a 3-fold increase in kcat/Km values was indeed found for vesicles 60-80 nm in diameter compared to vesicles of 20-30 nm diameter. It is concluded that thrombin production is dependent on protein fluxes rather than on protein concentrations.     

Purification, stability and kinetic properties of highly purified adenosine deaminase from Bacillus cereus NCIB 8122

Adenosine deaminase (adenosine aminohydrolase, EC 3.5.4.4) from Bacillus cereus NCIB 8122 has been purified to electrophoretic homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel filtration through Sephadex G-100, DEAE-Sephadex A-50 chromatography and ion-exchange HPLC on DEAE-Polyol. The enzyme activity is stabilized (at temperatures from 0 degrees C to 40 degrees C) by 50 mM NH4+ or K+, while it is irreversibly lost in the absence of these or a few other monovalent cations. Glycerol (24% by volume) helps the cation in stabilizing the enzyme activity above 40 degrees C, but also exerts per se a noticeable protecting effect at room temperature. B. cereus adenosine deaminase displays the following properties: Mr on Sephadex G-200, 68,000; Mr in SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, 53,700; optimal pH-stability (in the presence of 50 mM KCl) over the range 8-11 at 4 degrees C, and maximal catalytic activity at 30 degrees C between pH 7 and 10; Km for adenosine around 50 microM over the same pH range and Km for 2'-deoxyadenosine around 400 microM.     

A product inhibition study on adenosine deaminase by spectroscopy and calorimetry

Kinetic and thermodynamic studies have been made on the effect of the inosine product on the activity of adenosine deaminase in a 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.5, at 27 degrees C using UV spectrophotometry and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). A competitive inhibition was observed for inosine as a product of the enzymatic reaction. A graphical-fitting method was used for determination of the binding constant and enthalpy of inhibitor binding by using isothermal titration microcalorimetry data. The dissociation-binding constant is equal to 140 microM by the microcalorimetry method, which agrees well with the value of 143 microM for the inhibition constant that was obtained from the spectroscopy method     

28 kDa adenosine-binding proteins of brain and other tissues.

Membranes prepared from calf brain were solubilized and chromatographed on a column containing 5'-amino-5'-deoxyadenosine covalently linked to agarose through the 5'-amino group. When the column was eluted with adenosine, a pure protein emerged with subunit molecular mass of 28 kDa. The protein was extracted from the membranes with sodium cholate, but not with 100 microM-adenosine or 0.5 M-NaCl. A similar 28 kDa protein was isolated from the soluble fraction of calf brain. The yield of membrane-bound and soluble 28 kDa protein per gram of tissue was about the same. The 28 kDa protein was also found in membrane and soluble fractions of rabbit heart, rat liver and vascular smooth muscle from calf aorta. The yield per gram of tissue fell into the order brain greater than heart approximately vascular smooth muscle greater than liver for the 28 kDa protein from the membrane fraction, and brain approximately heart greater than vascular smooth muscle greater than liver for the 28 kDa protein from the soluble fraction. Polyclonal antibodies to pure 28 kDa protein from calf brain membranes cross-reacted with the 28 kDa protein from calf brain soluble fraction and with 28 kDa proteins isolated from other tissues. The 28 kDa protein from calf brain membranes was also eluted from the affinity column by AMP and 2',5'-dideoxyadenosine, but at a concentration higher than that at which adenosine eluted the protein, but N6-(R-phenylisopropyl)adenosine, 5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine, ADP, ATP, GTP, NAD+, cyclic AMP and inosine failed to elute the protein at concentrations up to 1 mM. The 28 kDa protein from the soluble fraction was not eluted by 3 mM-AMP or 1 mM-N6-(R-phenylisopropyl)adenosine,-5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine or -cyclic AMP. Unexpectedly, the soluble 28 kDa protein was eluted by AMP in the presence of sodium cholate. Soluble 28 kDa protein from calf brain had a KD for adenosine of 12 microM. Membrane 28 kDa protein from calf brain had a KD of 14 microM in the presence of 0.1% sodium cholate. Amino acid compositions of the 28 kDa proteins were similar, but not identical.     

Inhibition of 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribotide transformylase, adenosine deaminase and 5''-adenylate deaminase by polyglutamates of methotrexate and oxidized folates and by 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside and ribotide.

With the use of a continuous spectrophotometric assay and initial rates determined by the method of Waley [Biochem. J. (1981) 193, 1009-1012] methotrexate was found to be a non-competitive inhibitor, with Ki(intercept) = 72 microM and Ki(slope) = 41 microM, of 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribotide transformylase, whereas a polyglutamate of methotrexate containing three gamma-linked glutamate residues was a competitive inhibitor, with Ki = 3.15 microM. Pentaglutamates of folic acid and 10-formylfolic acid were also competitive inhibitors of the transformylase, with Ki values of 0.088 and 1.37 microM respectively. Unexpectedly, the pentaglutamate of 10-formyldihydrofolic acid was a good substrate for the transformylase, with a Km of 0.51 microM and a relative Vmax. of 0.72, which compared favourably with a Km of 0.23 microM and relative Vmax. of 1.0 for the tetrahydro analogue. An analysis of the progress curve of the transformylase-catalysed reaction with the above dihydro coenzyme revealed that the pentaglutamate of dihydrofolic acid was a competitive product inhibitor, with Ki = 0.14 microM. The continuous spectrophotometric assay for adenosine deaminase based on change in the absorbance at 265 nm was shown to be valid with adenosine concentrations above 100 microM, which contradicts a previous report [Murphy, Baker, Behling & Turner (1982) Anal. Biochem. 122, 328-337] that this assay was invalid above this concentration. With the spectrophotometric assay, 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside was found to be a competitive inhibitor of adenosine deaminase, with (Ki = 362 microM), whereas the ribotide was a competitive inhibitor of 5'-adenylate deaminase, with Ki = 1.01 mM. Methotrexate treatment of susceptible cells results in (1) its conversion into polyglutamates, (2) the accumulation of oxidized folate polyglutamates, and (3) the accumulation of 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside and ribotide. The above metabolic events may be integral elements producing the cytotoxic effect of this drug by (1) producing tighter binding of methotrexate to folate-dependent enzymes, (2) producing inhibitors of folate-dependent enzymes from their tetrahydrofolate coenzymes, and (3) trapping toxic amounts of adenine nucleosides and nucleotides as a result of inhibition of adenosine deaminase and 5'-adenylate deaminase respectively.     

Interaction of human plasmin with human alpha 2-macroglobulin

The steady-state kinetic parameters of plasmin and the alpha 2-macroglobulin (alpha 2M)-plasmin complex toward the chromogenic substrate Val-Leu-Lys-p-nitroanilide (S-2251), in the presence and absence of plasmin competitive inhibitors, have been determined. At pH 7.4 and 22 degrees C, the Km values for plasmin and alpha 2M-plasmin for S-2251 were 0.13 +/- 0.02 mM and 0.3 +/- 0.03 mM. The kcat of this reaction, when catalyzed by alpha 2M-plasmin, was 6.0 +/- 0.5 s-1, a value significantly decreased from the kcat of 11.0 +/- 1.0 s-1, determined when free plasmin was the enzyme. KI values for benzamidine of 0.50 +/- 0.05 mM and 0.23 +/- 0.02 mM were obtained for S-2251 hydrolysis, as catalyzed by alpha 2M-plasmin and plasmin, respectively. When leupeptin was the competitive inhibitor, KI values of 5.0 +/- 0.65 microM and 1.0 +/- 0.1 microM were obtained when alpha 2M-plasmin and plasmin, respectively, were the enzymes employed for catalysis of S-2251 hydrolysis. The comparative rates of reaction of the peptide inhibitor Trasylol (Kunitz basic pancreatic inhibitor) with plasmin and alpha 2M-plasmin were also determined. A concentration of Trasylol of at least 3 orders of magnitude greater for alpha 2M-plasmin than for free plasmin was required to observe inhibition rates on comparable time scales.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Use of a fluorescence plate reader for measuring kinetic parameters with inner filter effect correction

A general method is presented here for the determination of the Km, kcat, and kcat/Km of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) substrates using a fluorescence plate reader. A simple empirical method for correcting for the inner filter effect is shown to enable accurate and undistorted measurements of these very important kinetic parameters. Inner filter effect corrected rates of hydrolysis of a FRET peptide substrate by hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS3 protease at various substrate concentrations enabled measurement of a Km value of 4.4 +/- 0.3 microM and kcat/Km value of 96,500 +/- 5800 M-1 s-1. These values are very close to the HPLC-determined Km value of 4.6 +/- 0.7 microM and kcat/Km value of 92,600 +/- 14,000 M-1 s-1. We demonstrate that the inner filter effect correction of microtiter plate reader velocities enables rapid measurement of Ki and Ki' values and kinetic inhibition mechanisms for HCV NS3 protease inhibitors.     

Use of the integrated steady state rate equation to investigate product inhibition of human red cell adenosine deaminase and its relevance to immune dysfunction

The analysis of progress curves using the integrated rate equation was applied to the adenosine deaminase-catalyzed conversion of adenosine to inosine. Adenosine deaminase was purified from human red blood cells of phenotypes ADA 1, ADA 2, and ADA 2-1. For all three types, no measurable product inhibition by inosine was observed. These results do not confirm the hypothesis that inosine accumulation in purine nucleoside phosphorylase deficiency causes adenosine deaminase inhibition, resulting in a common mechanism for the immune defects related to these two enzyme deficiencies.     

Adenosine transport in bovine chromaffin cells in culture

Bovine adrenal chromaffin cells in culture have a high capacity and affinity for adenosine uptake with Vmax = 14 +/- 2.4 pmol/10(6) cells/min (133 pmol/mg of protein/min) and Km = 1 +/- 0.2 microM. Transport studies, at short time periods, in recently isolated chromaffin cells have Vmax = 15 pmol/10(6) cells/min and Km = 1.1 microM in ATP-depleted cells. Endogenous levels of the various purine nucleosides and bases were determined by high pressure liquid chromatography, with adenosine (3 +/- 1 nmol/10(6) cells), inosine (5.3 +/- 1.2 nmol/10(6) cells), and hypoxanthine (2.1 +/- 0.8 nmol/10(6) cells) being the purine metabolites found in the highest concentration. Taking into account the intracellular water, endogenous levels of 2.1, 3.8, and 1.5 mM, respectively, were obtained. Radioactively labeled adenosine inside the cell underwent enzymatic transformations, producing inosine, hypoxanthine, xanthine, and nucleotides, with their appearance and distribution being a function of the incubation time. When nicotine was used as a secretagogue, the adenosine transformed into the nucleotide pool was released, reaching 18 +/- 8% of the total adenosine found in the nucleotides. Dipyridamole, extensively used clinically, was a strong inhibitor for the adenosine uptake into these cells, with Ki = 5 +/- 0.5 nM and noncompetitive kinetically.     

Enhanced antibody response in the presence of partial adenosine deaminase inhibition

The enzyme adenosine deaminase (ADA) catalyzes the conversion of adenosine and 2'-deoxyadenosine to inosine and 2'-deoxyinosine, respectively. In the absence of ADA activity, 2'-deoxyadenosine is phosphorylated to deoxyadenosine triphosphate. This study concerned the effects of the ADA inhibitor 2'-deoxycoformycin on the murine in vitro immune response to sheep red blood cells (Mishell-Dutton cultures). In the presence of 10(-7) M 2'-deoxycoformycin or 1 mM 2'-deoxyadenosine, there was a significant increase in the plaque-forming cell response when calculated as plaques per 10(6) viable cells recovered. Cultures containing 10(-7) M 2'-deoxycoformycin retained approximately 10% of residual ADA activity of control cultures. Partial ADA deficiency was not preferentially toxic for cells capable of suppressing plaque cell generation. However, there was a decrease of recovered viable cells in all ADA-deficient cultures. There was no change in the percentage of recovered cells which were L3T4+ or Lyt 2+. A significant decrease was observed in a population of cells expressing surface immunoglobulins. The number of plaque-forming cells/10(3) recovered B cells increased significantly. We conclude that partial ADA deficiency results in selective toxicity to a population of non-antigen-specific B cells. Further studies with antigen-specific cells are necessary to determine the possible mechanism(s) by which cellular activation may prevent susceptibility to the toxic effects of ADA deficiency.     

Validity of the continuous spectrophotometric assay of Kalckar for adenosine deaminase activity

Both adenosine and inosine obey Beer's law to 1.0 mm at 265 nm and pH 7.4 at 25°C. Murphy et al. (1) claimed serious deviation from Beer's law above 200 μm for both substances, and concluded that the assay of adenosine deaminase activity based on recording spectrophotometric change at 265 nm as originally suggested by Kalckar produces anomalous results. The data herein presented show that this is not so, and that the large number of published studies of adenosine deaminase activity assayed by this method are indeed valid and should not be dismissed as artifactual as suggested by Murphy et al.     

A coupled optical assay for adenine phosphoribosyltransferase and its extension for the spectrophotometric and radioenzymatic determination of 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate in mixtures and in tissue extracts

A reliable assay was developed to characterize crude cell homogenates with regard to their adenine phosphoribosyltransferase activities. The 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate (PRPP)-dependent formation of AMP from adenine is followed spectrophotometrically at 265 nm by coupling it with the following two-stage enzymatic conversion: AMP + H2O----adenosine + Pi (5'-nucleotidase); adenosine + H2O----inosine + NH3 (adenosine deaminase). The same principle was applied to develop a spectrophotometric and a radioenzymatic assay for PRPP. The basis of the spectrophotometric assay is the absorbance change at 265 nm associated with the enzymatic conversion of PRPP into inosine, catalyzed by the sequential action of partially purified adenine phosphoribosyltransferase, commercial 5'-nucleotidase, and commercial adenosine deaminase, in the presence of excess adenine. In the radiochemical assay PRPP is quantitatively converted into [14C]inosine via the same combined reaction. Tissue extracts are incubated with excess [14C]adenine. The radioactivity of inosine, separated by a thin-layer chromatographic system, is a measure of PRPP present in tissue extracts. The radioenzymatic assay is at least as sensitive as other methods based on the use of adenine phosphoribosyltransferase. However, it overcomes the reversibility of the reaction and the need to use transferase preparations free of any phosphatase and adenosine deaminase activities.