Effect of Individual Essential Amino Acid-Devoid Diets on the Activities of Liver Urea Cycle Enzymes in Rats

The activities of all urea cycle enzymes (carbamyl phosphate synthetase, ornithine trans- carbamylase, argininosuccinate synthetase, argininosuccinase and arginase) have been determined in the liver of rats forcibly fed diets lacking in individual essential amino acids from amino acid mixture simulating to a casein. In general, these enzyme activities (units/g liver and total units/body wt) in rats fed the single essential amino acid-devoid diet decreased as compared with those activities in animals fed complete diet, but their decreases were not as large as those observed in group of all amino acid-devoid diet. The degree of decrease in these enzyme activities differed somewhat from each other in individual enzymes and each essential amino acie-devoid groups. In contrast, in rats fed the arginine devoid diet, the activities (total units/body wt) of all enzymes expect the case of arginase increased more than those in the group of complete diet.     

Effect of Dietary Addition of Amino Acids and Proteins on the Activities of Some Urea Cycle Enzymes in Rat Liver

The activities of ornithine transcarbamylase, arginine synthetase and arginase in the liver of rats receiving basal diets containing 25% casein supplemented respectively with arginine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glycine, a mixture of arginine, aspartic acid and glutamic acid, egg albumin, casein, wheat gluten and gelatin have been determined.

These urea cycle enzymes in rats receiving diets supplemented with the various nitrogen sources were generally increased, but the increments were due to the increase of the ingested amount of nitrogen, and not the specific effect of the individual amino acids or proteins. The excretion of urinary urea in general was increased proportionally with the elevations of these enzyme activities, independent of the nature of the dietary nitrogen.     

Effect of Amino Acids on Lysosomal Proteolytic Activities in Rat Livers

(R)-2-(4′-Isobutylphenyl)propanoic acid (ibuprofen), (S)-3(4′-isobutylphenyl)butanoic acid and (S)-4-(4′-isobutylphenyl)pentanoic acid were obtained using microbial oxidation of (±)-l-isobutyl-4-(1′ -methyloctyl)benzene by Rhodococcus sp. BPM 1613.     

Effect of Deficiency of Individual Essential Amino Acids in Diets on the Liver Lipid Accumulation Due to Lysine- or Threonine-deficiency in Growing Rats

In order to examine the effect of the reduction of individual essential amino acids from either the lysine-deficient diet or the threonine-deficient diet on the liver lipid content, growing rats were fed the 7% amino acid mixture diet for 14 days. The extent of deficiency of individual amino acids was lowered 50% as compared to that in the control diet. In rats fed the diet deficient in lysine or threonine liver lipids were accumulated as reported previously. It was found that the reduction of sulfur (S)-containing amino acids, valine or isoleucine from the lysine-deficient diet, and the reduction of S-containing amino acids from the threonine-deficient diet resulted in preventing the liver lipid accumulation. Whereas, the feeding of the diet deficient in lysine and tryptophan or in threonine and tryptophan showed a decreasing tendency in liver lipid content compared to the lysine-deficient diet or the threonine-deficient diet, respectively. On the other hand, the reduction of individual essential amino acids other than S-containing amino acids, valine, isoleucine and tryptophan from the lysine-deficient diet or other than S-containing amino acids and tryptophan from the threonine-deficient diet did not cause to lower the liver lipid content.     

Effects of Amino Acids and Glutathione on Rat Liver Histidase Activity in vitro

The activity of histidase (l-histidine ammonia-lyase EC 4. 3. 1. 3) of rat liver was inhibited by cystine competitively with the substrate histidine. Histidase was inactivated by preincubation with cystine, but the inactivated enzyme was reactivated by the addition of glutathione to the reaction mixture. Cysteine, at a lower level, partly reactivated the enzyme inactivated by cystine, but, at a higher level, did not reactivate it. Cysteine itself acted inhibitory on the enzyme. Glutathione did not reactivate histidase activity inhibited by cysteine. No other amino acid affected histidase activity at the level of 2 mm. Apparent Km of rat liver histidase was 1.8 × l0^?m.

Neither inhibitory nor activating effect on histidase activity was observed by the addition of liver homogenate obtained from rats fed a histidine imbalanced diet to that from those fed a basal diet and vice versa.     

An Aspect of Urea Cycle Enzymes in Goat

A large amount of ammonia is produced in the rumen and some portion of the ammonia are absorbed into the portal blood through the rumen mucosa. Accordingly, it seems that ammonia detoxication is more necessary for the ruminant than for the non-ruminant. Activities of the urea cycle enzymes as principal instrument for ammonia detoxication in goat were investigated in this experiment.

The activities of the urea cycle enzymes of goat were found to be very similar to those of rat reported by other authors. The activities of the urea cycle enzymes were affected by the protein level of diet. Administration of magnesium aspartate increased the activities of argininosuccinate synthetase and arginase, and had some effect on the concentrations of citrulline, aspartic acid, and urea in the liver.     

红葡萄酒对大鼠肝脏抗氧化酶和脂质过氧化的影响

选用雄性SD大鼠,分别灌胃红葡萄酒、酒精及水。实验90 d中每隔30 d处死一批动物,测定大鼠肝脏匀浆组织中的超氧化物歧化酶(Superoxide dismutase SOD)、过氧化氢酶(Catalase CAT)、谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶(Glutathione peroxidase GSH-Px)活性和脂质过氧化产物丙二醛(Malondialdehyde MDA)含量变化。观察摄入红葡萄酒后大鼠肝脏抗氧化酶活性变化及对肝脏脂质过氧化的影响。结果表明,红葡萄酒能提高SOD活性,且SOD活性与灌胃时间、剂量有一定关系;长期红葡萄酒和酒精摄入可诱导CAT活性增强,加剧肝脏的脂质过氧化(LPO)作用;红葡萄酒组、酒精组0.63、1.25 g/kg剂量GSH-Px活性均明显升高(P<0.05),酒精组1.88 g/kg剂量有极显著性差异(P<0.01);试验初期,红葡萄酒大剂量显著降低肝脏中MDA的含量。试验中期,红葡萄酒中大剂量显著降低MDA含量。试验末期,红葡萄酒大剂量和酒精中大剂量显著升高肝脏中MDA含量。     

鲆鱼类必需氨基酸的评价比较

为了优化鲆鱼类的营养结构及饲料配制,本文利用氨基酸分析及统计学分析研究了同规格鲆鱼类氨基酸组成模式。结果表明,两者必需氨基酸/总氨基酸为47%~48%、必需氨基酸/非必需氨基酸是87%~93%,相对稳定,符合FAO/WHO氨基酸理想模式;大菱鲆必需氨基酸的组成模式为苏氨酸4.17,异亮氨酸4.06,赖氨酸8.78,苯丙氨酸4.06,蛋氨酸2.72,缬氨酸4.22,亮氨酸8.06,组氨酸2.33,精氨酸5.94。牙鲆必需氨基酸的组成模式为苏氨酸4.10,异亮氨酸4.00,赖氨酸8.85,苯丙氨酸3.70,蛋氨酸2.85,缬氨酸3.95,亮氨酸7.85,组氨酸1.95,精氨酸6.20。鲆鱼类营养价值较高,必需氨基酸组成模式接近。     

Compartmentation and Activities of Enzymes Involved in the Metabolism of Amino Acids Implicated in Osmoregulatory Mechanisms in Acanthamoeba castellanii1

Glutamate dehydrogenase in Acanthamoeba castellanii is an NAD-dependent cytosolic enzyme. This is similar to glutamate dehydrogenases in Phycomycetes, but very different from the dual coenzyme-specific enzymes located in mitochondria in animals and in mitochondria and chloroplasts in higher plants. Pyrroline-5-carboxylate (P-5-C) reductase occurs also in the cytoplasm in A. castellanii and has very high affinities for L-P-5-C (K_m= 12 μM) and NADH (K_m= 15 _μM). In contrast, ornithine aminotransferase and proline oxidase are mitochondrial enzymes. No proline-inhibited γ-glutamyl kinase was detected while an active glutamine synthetase was found in the cytosolic compartment. Evidence for a mitochondrial transport system for L-proline was obtained. Two possible pathways for proline biosynthesis in A. castellanii are discussed based on information obtained about activities and subcellular compartmentation of enzymes.     

Inhibition of Glutamine Transport in Rat Brain Mitochondria by Some Amino Acids and Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle Intermediates

Glutamine transport into rat brain synaptic and non-synaptic mitochondria has been monitored by the uptake of [³H]glutamine and by mitochondrial swelling. The concentration of glutamate in brain mitochondria is calculated to be high, 5–10 mM, indicating that phosphate activated glutaminase localized inside the mitochondria is likely to be dormant and the glutamine taken up not hydrolyzed. The uptake of [³H]glutamine is largely stereospecific. It is inhibited by glutamate, asparagine, aspartate, 2-oxoglutarate and succinate. Glutamate inhibits this uptake into synaptic and non-synaptic mitochondria by 95 and 85%, respectively. The inhibition by glutamate, asparagine, aspartate and succinate can be explained by binding to an inhibitory site whereas the inhibition by 2-oxoglutarate is counteracted by aminooxyacetic acid, which indicates that it is dependent on transamination. The glutamine-induced swelling, a measure of a very low affinity uptake, is inhibited by glutamate at a glutamine concentration of 100 mM, but this inhibition is abolished when the glutamine concentration is raised to 200 mM. This suggests that the very low affinity glutamine uptake is competitively inhibited by glutamate. Furthermore, glutamine-induced swelling is inhibited by 2-oxoglutarate, succinate and malate, similarly to that of the [³H]glutamine uptake. The properties of the mitochondrial glutamine transport are not identical with those of a recently purified renal glutamine carrier.     

Activation of Integrins by Urea in Perfused Rat Liver

High concentrations of urea were shown to induce a paradoxical regulatory volume decrease response with K⁺ channel opening and subsequent hepatocyte shrinkage (Hallbrucker, C., vom Dahl, S., Ritter, M., Lang, F., and Häussinger, D. (1994) Pflügers Arch. 428, 552–560), although the hepatocyte plasma membrane is thought to be freely permeable to urea. The underlying mechanisms remained unclear. As shown in the present study, urea (100 mmol/liter) induced within 1 min an activation of β₁ integrins followed by an activation of focal adhesion kinase, c-Src, p38^MAPK, extracellular signal-regulated kinases, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase. Because α₅β₁ integrin is known to act as a volume/osmosensor in hepatocytes, which becomes activated in response to hepatocyte swelling, the findings suggest that urea at high concentrations induces a nonosmotic activating perturbation of this osmosensor, thereby triggering a volume regulatory K⁺ efflux. In line with this, similar to hypo-osmotic hepatocyte swelling, urea induced an inhibition of hepatic proteolysis, which was sensitive to p38^MAPK inhibition. Molecular dynamics simulations of a three-dimensional model of the ectodomain of α₅β₁ integrin in water, urea, or thiourea solutions revealed significant conformational changes of α₅β₁ integrin in urea and thiourea solutions, in contrast to the simulation of α₅β₁ in water. These changes lead to an unbending of the integrin structure around the genu, which may suggest activation, whereas the structures of single domains remained essentially unchanged. It is concluded that urea at high concentrations affects hepatic metabolism through direct activation of the α₅β₁ integrin system.     

不同营养治疗途径对重症急性胰腺炎大鼠血浆氨基酸谱和电解质的影响

目的比较不同配方肠内营养(EN)和肠外营养(PN)制剂对重症急性胰腺炎(SAP)大鼠血浆氨基酸谱和电解质水平的影响。方法建立大鼠SAP模型,根据SAP营养代谢配制专用EN配方(EN-S)和含益生元(PRE)的EN配方(RPE-EN)。40只大鼠随机分为正常对照组(A组)、SAP+EN-S组(B组)、SAP+PRE-EN组(C组)、SAP+商品EN组(D组)和SAP+PN组(E组),营养治疗持续7 d,检测血浆氨基酸谱和电解质水平。结果B~E组主要氨基酸和总氨基酸水平显著低于A组(P<0.05),D组天门冬氨酸、蛋氨酸和赖氨酸水平显著低于B组(P<0.05)和C组,而谷氨酸、精氨酸、丙氨酸和苯丙氨酸显著低于C组(P<0.05),低于B组但无显著性差异;B~E组血清铁显著低于A组(P<0.05),D组的血清铁显著低于C组(P<0.05),除C组外,其余各组的血浆钠显著低于A组。结论EN-S配方在提高某些氨基酸水平上作用优于商品EN;含PRE微生态营养制剂具有改善蛋白质代谢和电解质平衡的作用;短期应用EN和PN对SAP动物蛋白质代谢和电解质平衡作用无显著性差异。     

Identification of Essential Amino Acids in the Azorhizobium caulinodans Fucosyltransferase NodZ

The nodZ gene, which is present in various rhizobial species, is involved in the addition of a fucose residue in an alpha 1-6 linkage to the reducing N-acetylglucosamine residue of lipo-chitin oligosaccharide signal molecules, the so-called Nod factors. Fucosylation of Nod factors is known to affect nodulation efficiency and host specificity. Despite a lack of overall sequence identity, NodZ proteins share conserved peptide motifs with mammalian and plant fucosyltransferases that participate in the biosynthesis of complex glycans and polysaccharides. These peptide motifs are thought to play important roles in catalysis. NodZ was expressed as an active and soluble form in Escherichia coli and was subjected to site-directed mutagenesis to investigate the role of the most conserved residues. Enzyme assays demonstrate that the replacement of the invariant Arg-182 by either alanine, lysine, or aspartate results in products with no detectable activity. A similar result is obtained with the replacement of the conserved acidic position (Asp-275) into its corresponding amide form. The residues His-183 and Asn-185 appear to fulfill functions that are more specific to the NodZ subfamily. Secondary structure predictions and threading analyses suggest the presence of a "Rossmann-type" nucleotide binding domain in the half C-terminal part of the catalytic domain of fucosyltransferases. Site-directed mutagenesis combined with theoretical approaches have shed light on the possible nucleotide donor recognition mode for NodZ and related fucosyltransferases.     

大鼠肝线粒体中的脂肪酸分析

用双 2 乙基己基酚酞酸酯 (DEHP)诱导大鼠肝过氧化物酶体增殖 ,然后用蔗糖密度梯度离心法分离大鼠肝线粒体 ,用毛细管气相色谱法测定肝线粒体中的脂肪酸含量。测定结果 :所测 1 4种脂肪酸的总量 ,青年正常组大于青年诱导组 (P <0 .0 1 ) ,青年正常组大于老年正常组 (P <0 .0 5 )。不饱和脂肪酸与脂肪酸总量的比例 ,老年诱导组大于老年正常组 (P <0 .0 5 ) ,青年正常组大于老年正常组 (P <0 .0 5 )。长链脂肪酸与脂肪酸总量的比例 ,老年正常组小于老年诱导组 (P <0 .0 5 )。结果表明 ,用DEHP诱导大鼠肝过氧化物酶体增值 ,影响肝线粒体脂肪酸正常代谢 ,使线粒体膜结构发生变化 ,这种变化 ,青年鼠与老年鼠不同     

条件必需氨基酸对放射损伤大鼠血浆蛋白的影响

观察条件必需氨基酸对放射损伤大鼠血浆蛋白的影响。以雄性Wistar大鼠 6 9只 ,普通饲料喂养 6天 ,随机分成A、B、C、D四组 ,A、B、C组各 2 0只、D组 9只。A、B、C三组动物均接受 6 .5Gy的γ线全身照射 ,D组动物不照射。照射后在A组饲料中添加 3%精氨酸 +5 %牛磺酸 +1%谷氨酰胺 ;B组饲料中添加与A组等氮量的甘氨酸 (10 .91% ) ;C组及D组仍喂普通饲料。照射后 7及 14天测血浆总蛋白、白蛋白、前白蛋白、纤维结合蛋白。结果显示A组在饲料摄入量、体重及血浆总蛋白、白蛋白、前白蛋白、纤维结合蛋白水平等方面均优于B组及C组。提示饲料中增加条件必需氨基酸含量可以改善进食 ,促进体重恢复及蛋白质合成 ,进而提高受照大鼠应激能力     

Effect of Jejunoileal Bypass on Plasma and Brain Amino Acids in the Rat

Abstract: Liver failure and coma are serious complications of Jejunoileal bypass (JIB) in man. Rats underwent either a 90–95% JIB or a sham operation. Six weeks later all animals were sacrificed, and plasma and brain amino acids were determined. In the plasma of rats with JIB compared with sham operation, the concentrations of valine, leucine, isoleucine, lysine, tryptophan, and tyrosine were significantly lower, while in the brain, phenylalanine, tyrosine, histidine, and glutamine were significantly higher. These changes in the brain are similar to those resulting from portalsystemic shunting in the rat.     

Additive and Synergistic Growth-inhibiting Properties of the Canaline-Urea Cycle Amino Acids

Growth studies with Lemna minor revealed the additive and synergistic growth-inhibiting properties of the canaline-urea cycle amino acids. Simultaneous canavanine and canaline treatment caused an additive reduction in frond production. Ureidohomoserine interacted with canaline or canavanine to affect synergistically L. minor growth by enhancing individual canavanine or canaline toxicity and increasing the additive growth reduction caused by canavanine plus canaline. The ornithineurea cycle amino acids effectively counteracted both the additive and synergistic growth-inhibiting properties of the canaline-urea cycle compounds.