Synthesis of phlorizin derivatives and their inhibitory effect on the renal sodium/d-glucose cotransport system

To characterize further the Na⁺/d-glucose cotransport system in renal brush border membranes, phlorizin - a potent inhibitor of d-glucose transport - has been chemically modified without affecting the d-glucose moiety or changing the side groups that are essential for the binding of phlorizin to the Na⁺/d-glucose cotransport system. One series of chemical modifications involved the preparation of 3-nitrophlorizin and the subsequent catalytic reduction of the nitro compound to 3-aminophlorizin. From 3-aminophlorizin, 3-bromoacetamido-, 3-dansyl- and 3-azidophlorizin have been synthesized. In another approach, 3′-mercuryphlorizin was obtained by reaction of phlorizin with Hg(II) acetate. The phlorizin derivatives inhibit sodium-dependent but not sodium-independent d-glucose uptake by hog renal brush border membrane vesicles in the following order of potency: 3′-mercuryphlorizin = phlorizin > 3-aminophlorizin > 3-bromoacetamidophlorizin > 3-azidophlorizin > 3-nitrophlorizin > 3-dansylphlorizin. 3-Bromoacetamidophlorizin - a potential affinity label - also inhibits sodium-dependent but not sodium-independent phlorizin binding to brush border membranes. In addition, sodium-dependent phosphate and sodium-dependent alanine uptake are not affected by 3-bromoacetamidophlorizin. The results described above indicate that specific modifications of the phlorizin molecule at the A-ring or B-ring are possible that yield phlorizin derivatives with a high affinity and high specificity for the renal Na⁺/d-glucose cotransport system. Such compounds should be useful in future studies using affinity labeling (3-bromoacetamido- and 3-azidophlorizin) or fluorescent probes (3-dansylphlorizin).     

Renal sodium-d-glucose cotransport system. Involvement of tyrosine residues in sodium-transporter interaction

Using brush-border membrane vesicles isolated from calf kidney cortex the effect of tyrosine-reactive reagents on sodium-dependent d-glucose transport was investigated. Treatment of the membranes for 60 min with NBD-Cl (7-chloro-4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole), N-acetylimidazole or tetranitromethane decreased d-glucose uptake 50, 70 and 40%, respectively. Tracer exchange experiments revealed that the inhibition of transport is due to a direct modification of the sodium-d-glucose cotransport system. The modification by NBD-Cl decreases the apparent V_max of the transport system with respect to its interaction with sodium. In addition, the rate of inactivation of the transport system by NBD-Cl is reduced in the presence of high concentrations of sodium. The results indicate that tyrosine residues play an essential role in sodium-d-glucose cotransport and are probably involved in the binding and/or transport of sodium by the sodium-d-glucose cotransport system.     

Temperature dependence of d-glucose transport in reconstituted liposomes

Sodium-dependent d-glucose uptake into proteoliposomes reconstituted from dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and hog kidney brush border membrane extract is strongly affected by temperature and the physical state of the membranes. This dependence is defined by a nonlinear Arrhenius plot with a break point at 23°C, a temperature not significantly different from the phase transition temperature of the pure lipid (24°C). The transport process is characterized by different activation energies: 35.1 kcal/mol below and 5.5 kcal/mol above the transition temperature. The shift in the break point for the d-glucose transport activity from 15°C, in the brush border membranes, to 23°C in the reconstituted system leads us to conclude that the lipids surrounding the sodium/d-glucose cotransport system can exchange readily with the bulk lipid used for reconstitution. The results thus provide no evidence for the presence of an annulus of specific lipids surrounding the transport system.     

Small-intestinal Na+/d-glucose cotransport. Inactivation of sugar transport and phlorizin binding by thiol-group and amino-group reagents

It has previously been shown that mercurials acting from the cytoplasmic side or from within the hydrophobic part of the membrane inactivate the small intestinal Na⁺/d-glucose cotransporter by blocking essential SH-groups (Klip, A., Grinstein, S. and Semenza, G. (1979) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 558, 233–245). Another (set of) sulfhydryl(s) which are critical for phlorizin binding and sugar transport function and which may lie on the luminal side of the brush border membrane, can be blocked by DTNB and 4,4′-dithiopyridine but not by $\text{N-}\text{ethylmaleimide}$. In addition, modification of amino groups by fluorescamine, reductive methylation and (under certain conditions) DIDS also lead to inactivation of the carrier's binding and transport functions. No evidence was obtained that any of the above groups is directly involved in the binding of either Na⁺/d-glucose or phlorizin, since none of these compounds prevented inactivation of the cotransporter.     

Mechanism of neomycin stimulation of d-glucose uptake in rabbit intestinal brush border membrane

In order to study the effect of the antibiotic neomycin on the intestinal epithelium, d-glucose was used as a probe molecule and its transport into rabbit brush border membrane vesicles was measured by a rapid filtration method. Treatment of the epithelium with neomycin sulfate prior to the preparation of the brush border membrane enhanced the d-glucose uptake, whereas neutral N-acetylated neomycin did not. This action of neomycin was related to its polycationic character and not to its bactericidal action. No significant difference could be demonstrated between the protein content or disaccharidase-specific activities of the brush border fractions from treated or non-treated intestines. Electrophoretic protein patterns of SDS-solubilized membrane were not significantly different after neomycin treatment. To gain more information on the mechanism involved in the stimulation of d-glucose transport, experiments were conducted on phosphatidyl glycerol artificial membranes and the results compared with those obtained with brush border membrane. At a concentration of 10^?7 M, neomycin decreased the nonactin-induced K⁺ conductance by a factor of approx. 100. The membrane conductance was linearly dependent on the neomycin concentration and the conductance in 10^?2 M KCl was 10 times that in 10^?3 M KCl. The valence of neomycin was estimated, from the slope of these curves, to be between 6 and 4. In contrast, acetylated neomycin had no effect on the nonactin-induced K⁺ membrane conductance. Therefore, the effect of neomycin on artificial membrane is related to its 4 to 6 positive charges. It is proposed that the stimulation of sugar transport in brush border membrane is related to screening of the membrane negative charges by the positively-charged neomycin. Accumulation of anions at the membrane surface then occurs and their diffusion into the intravesicular space would increase the transmembrane potential which, in turn, stimulates the entry of d-glucose.     

Isolation of the sodium-dependent d-glucose transport protein from brush-border membranes

Rabbit kidney brush-border membrane vesicles were exposed to bacterial protease which cleaves off a large number of externally oriented proteins. Na⁺-dependent d-glucose transport is left intact in the protease-treated vesicles. The protease-treated membrane was solubilized with deoxycholate and the deoxycholate-extracted proteins were further resolved by passage through Con A-Sepharose columns. Sodium-dependent d-glucose activity was found to reside in a fraction containing a single protein band of M_r ? 165000 which is apparently a dimer of M_r ? 85 000. When reconstituted and tested for transport, this protein showed Na⁺-dependent, stereo-specific and phlorizin-inhibitable glucose transport. Transport activity is completely recovered and is 20-fold increased in specific activity. A similar isolate was obtained from rabbit small intestinal brush-border membranes and kidneys from several other species of animals.     

Synthesis and growth regulator activity of fatty acyl derivatives of d-glucose and d-galactose

In an attempt to gain information about one or more components of the brassin complex, fatty acid esters of d-glucose and d-galactose were prepared and tested for growth regulator activity in a bean hypocotyl bioassay. 4-O-Acyl-d-glucoses and, perhaps, 1-O-acyl- d-galactoses had a similar qualitative activity to that of the brassin complex. 3-O-Acyl- d-galactoses inhibited elongation of bean hypocotyls and stimulated rooting. 3- And 6-O- acyl-d-glucoses both stimulated and inhibited elongation, depending on the source of fatty acids; in both cases, stimulation was observed when safflower oil was used as the source of fatty acids and inhibition was observed when peanut oil was used as the source of fatty acids. Fatty alkyl β-d-galactopyranosides were inactive.     

Characterization of an essential disulfide bond associated with the active site of the renal brush-border membrane d-glucose transporter

In a previous report (J. Biol. Chem. 258 (1983) 3565–3570) we have demonstrated that the disulfide-reducing agent dithiothreitol has two effects on the sodium-dependent outer cortical brush border membrane d-glucose transporter; the first results in a reversible increase in the affinity of the transporter for the non-transported competitive inhibitor phlorizin, while the second results in a partially reversible loss of phlorizin binding and glucose-transport activity. Evidence was presented that both of these effects are the result of the reduction of disulfide bonds on the transport molecule. In the present paper we extend our observations on the inactivation of the transporter by dithiothreitol. We provide evidence here (i) that the inactivation of the transporter by dithiothreitol is independent of the effect of the reducing agent on the affinity of the transporter, (ii) that this inactivation process is first-order in dithiothreitol and thus presumably due to the reduction of a single disulfide bond essential to the functioning of the transporter. (iii) that it is the reduction of this disulfide bond and not some subsequent conformational or other change in the transporter which results in its inactivation, (iv) that phlorizin and substrates of the transporter provide protection against inactivation by dithiothreitol and that the degree of protection provided correlates well with the known specificity and phlorizin-binding properties of the transporter, and (iv) that the reactivity of the transporter with dithiothreitol is pH-dependent, decreasing with increasing pH over the pH range 6.5–8.5. We conclude that this site of action of dithiothreitol is a single essential disulfide bond intimately associated with the glucose-binding site on the transport molecule.     

The effect of areneboronic acids on the alkaline conversion of d-glucose into d-fructose

Benzeneboronic acid, 4-methoxybenzeneboronic acid, 3-nitrobenzeneboronic acid, and sulphonated benzeneboronic acid have been used to displace the pseudo-equilibria established in aqueous alkali between d-glucose, d-fructose, and d-mannose to give greatly increased yields of d-fructose. The effect of reaction temperature, pH, overall concentration, and molar ratio of acid:sugar on the yield of d-fructose has been investigated by using an automated assay for d-fructose.     

The stereospecific d-glucose transport activity of cholate extracts from human erythrocyte membranes

The glucose transport protein of human erythrocyte membranes was solubilized with cholate to facilitate rapid reconstitution and direct glucose transport measurements. This may simplify the isolation of the native glucose transporter. In most experiments the membranes were prepared from fresh blood within 8 h, frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at ?70°C to minimize proteolytic degradation. Solubilization with 25 mM cholate in the presence of 200 mM NaCl at pH 8.4 for 12 min at room temperature gave a high d-glucose transport activity. The solubilized mixture contained 20% of the total membrane protein, only 6% of the polypeptides of molecular weight around 90 000, 23% of the polypeptides of molecular weight around 55 000, 30% of the phospholipids and at least 6% of the stereospecific d-glucose transport activity. At cholate concentrations up to 22 mM the ratio of solubilized phospholipids to cholate increased steeply, concomitant with an increase in solubilized activity. Above 30 mM cholate the activity diminished. At 4°C the activity of the extrac decreased rapidly within the first day and slowly during the next few days. The initial changes seem to have produced a fairly stable, but not native form or fragment of the transporter. When 20 mM EDTA and 5 mM dithioerythritol were included in the solubilization mixture a high activity was preserved for about one day.     

Effects of various conditions on the alkaline degradation of d-fructose and d-glucose

Dilute solutions of d-fructose and d-glucose undergo alkaline degradation, and, at temperatures in the range of 30–70°, almost two moles of alkali are consumed per mole of the carbohydrate. The degradation is partly guided by the dielectric constant of the medium; such additives as acetone and urea have specific effects where the reactions are not essentially guided by the medium dielectric. Acetone and urea presumably form complexes with the carbohydrates; this is revealed for the former by the formation of a dark red solution having a spectral band at 320 nm, like that observed earlier in the presence of ethylenediamine.     

Peculiarities of the Na+/d-glucose cotransport system in necturus renal tubules

The effects of d-glucose addition to a glucose-free luminal perfusate were investigated in the proximal tubule of Necturus kidney, by electrophysiological techniques. The main findings are: (1) In the presence of sodium, d-glucose produces $\text{10.5}\text{mV}\text{± 1.1}$ (S.E.) depolarization. (2) Phlorizin reduces the magnitude of this response to $\text{2.1 ± 0.1}\text{mV}$. (3) The glucose-evoked depolarization, $\text{ΔV}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>G</mtext>}}$, does not alter the intracellular K⁺ activity nor is it affected by peritubular addition of ouabain. (4) Isosmotic reduction of Na⁺ concentration in luminal perfusate from 95 to 2 mmol/l (choline or Li⁺ substituting for Na⁺) does not change the magnitude of $\text{ΔV}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>G</mtext>}}$; complete removal of sodium from the lumen lowers the value of $\text{ΔV}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>G</mtext>}}$ ($\text{3.2 ± 0.2}\text{mV}$) but the response is not abolished. This observation suggests that the d-glucose carrier of renal tubules in Necturus is poorly specific with regard to the cotransported cation species.     

Nature of the uptake of d-galactose, d-glucose and α-methyl-d-glucoside by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Both glucose-grown baker's yeast after induction and galactose-grown yeast appear to take up d-galactose by a system not requiring phosphorylation and only up to a diffusion equilibrium, as shown by pulse labelling, sampling at very short intervals and chromatographic analysis of extracts. Part of the sugar taken up is transformed into trehalose which is present in substantially greater amounts in cells than the transported sugar itself. The effect of 2,4-dinitrophenol and of iodoacetamide, as well as the nature of the efflux of sugars from preloaded cells, support the results. d-Glucose and α-methylglucoside are also taken up without phosphorylation.     

Electrokinetic studies of the testosterone-aqueous d-glucose interface

Electro-osmosis and streaming-potential measurements were made across a testosterone-plug membrane, using water and aqueous solutions of d-glucose as permeants. The electrophoretic velocity of testosterone particles dispersed in these solutions was also measured, experiments being confined to the range where linear flux-force relationships hold. Phenomenological coefficients were evaluated by using these linear relations, and the results analyzed inthe light of the thermodynamics of irreversible processes. Saxen's relationship holds between electro-osmosis and streaming potential. Concentration dependence of the various phenomenological coefficients was also examined. Cross-phenomenological coefficients were found to decrease with increase in the concentration of d-glucose solutions. The results are explained on the basis of strong hydrogen-bonding between d-glucose and the surrounding water molecules. Such membrane parameters as pore size, average number of pores, and the membrane constant were evaluated. Electro-osmotic and electrophoretic data were used to estimate the zeta potential, in order to characterize the membrane-permeant interface. The dependence of the zeta potential on the concentration was also examined.     

Rapid and sensitive,colorimetric determination of the anomers of d-glucose with d-glucose oxidase,peroxidase, and mutarotase

A modification, utilising mutarotase, of an enzymic, colorimetric system for determining d-glucose with d-glucose oxidase, peroxidase, and ABTS was satisfactory for the assay of the anomers of d-glucose in aqueous solution. The time required for a single assay is ≈ 10 min, and the lower limit is 0.4 μg of d-glucose. The method is applicable to the anomer analysis of d-glucose released by enzymic hydrolysis of d-glucosides.     

Isomerization of d-glucose with sodium aluminate: Mechanism of the reaction

A mechanism for the isomerization of d-glucose to d-fructose by sodium aluminate is proposed, involving transformation of a β-d-glucopyranose-1,3-aluminate complex into an α-d-fructofuranose-1,3,6-aluminate complex through an enolaluminate complex that inhibits the formation of a d-mannose-aluminate complex. The α-d-fructofuranose-1,3,6-aluminate further reacts to form a d-psicose-aluminate complex in substantial yield. Constant degradation of the 6-carbon sugars occurred during the reaction because of the high pH of the solution. The C₆ sugars were analyzed chromatographically but the degradation products were not identified.     

Laser-raman study of solute-solvent interactions in aqueous solutions of d-fructose, d-glucose,and sucrose

The solute-solvent interactions of d-fructose, d-glucose, and sucrose in aqueous solution were studied by comparison of characteristic, Raman of the water and the sugar components. Shifts in frequency and intensity were observed in both the bending and the stretching regions of CH₂ and H₂O. The ratios of integrated, Raman intensities I(CH₂)/I(H₂O) of the CH₂ peak and the H₂O bending band, and I(CH)/I(OH) of the C-H stretching line to O-H stretching band were determined. Their evolutions in terms of mass-concentration display discontinuities at specific concentrations for each of the three sugars. These breaks were interpreted as changes in the hydrogen bonding of the various species.     

Enzymic determination of d-galactose, d-arabinose,and their homologs

The enzymes d-galactose dehydrogenase and d-arabinose dehydrogenase were demonstrated to be applicable to the quantitative determination of d-galactose (and homologs) and d-arabinose (and homologs), respectively. The enzymic reactions were quite specific. When coupled with β-galactosidase, d-galactose dehydrogenase could be used in the quantitative determination of β-galactosides.