Distribution of plasma magnesium in various vertebrates

Plasma magnesium in at least five mammalian species (humans, rat, dog, sheep, cattle) is in the form of a complex, separable from ionic magnesium and plasma protein by size exclusion chromatography on Sephadex G-10. Plasma magnesium in three non-mammalian vertebrates (toads, trout, chicken) behaves similarly to ionic magnesium or as a very small magnesium complex on Sephadex G-10.     

Correct pK values for dissociation constant of carbonic acid lower the reported Km values of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase to half. Presentation of a nomograph and an equation for determining the pK values

In the assay of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) in vitro, the concentration of CO2, the substrate of the enzyme, has been calculated from the amount of sodium bicarbonate added to the assay mixture with a dissociation constant of carbonic acid in pure water, 6.35 to 6.37. However, Rubisco is generally assayed at ionic strength of 0.1 to 0.2 M, where the dissociation constant decreases up to 6.06. The decrease of this level of the constant reduces the calculated CO2 concentration in the assay mixture to about half and accordingly the Kms of Rubisco for CO2 reported so far are not correct. The present report presents a nomograph and an equation, from which dissociation constants of carbonic acid in the presence of various concentrations of salts can be easily calculated.     

Purification and chemical characterization of antigens from sheep erythrocytes

A mixture of glycoproteins and glycolipids was solubilized from sheep erythrocytes membranes under the effect of high ionic strength (2 M NaCl, 0.5 M Tris). Several antigenic fractions could be purified from the mixture using gel filtration on Sephadex G-200 and block electrophoresis on Pevikon C870; two fractions were found to raise antibodies in a primary reaction and these antibodies effectively sensitized erythrocytes to lysis by complement. The majority of other fractions elicited a weaker primary reaction which was detectable by both agglutination and haemolysis. The fraction, migrating fastest towards the cathode, elicited after immunization a formation of antibodies that could be detected almost exclusively by haemagglutination. The fraction, which elicited in the primary reaction a high titre of haemolytic antibodies, is composed of 72% proteins, 11% lipids and 15% saccharides.     

Modulation by Bicarbonate of Catalytic and Regulatory Properties of C4Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxylase from Amaranthus hypochondriacus: Desensitization to Malate and Glucose 6-Phosphate and Sensitization to Mg2+

The catalytic and regulatory properties of phosphoenolpyruvate(PEP) carboxylase (PEPC) are modulated remarkably by the increasein the level of bicarbonate in the assay medium. The activityof PEPC increased by two-fold as the concentration of bicarbonatewas raised from 0.05 to 10 mM. During this state, there wasonly marginal effect on K_m for PEP, while the affinity of PEPCto Mg²⁺ increased by >2 fold. In contrast, the sensitivityof PEPC to malate decreased with increasing concentration ofHCO₃^–. Similarly, the stimulation by glucose 6-phosphate(G-6-P) at optimal concentration (10 mM) of HCO₃^– wasmuch less than that at suboptimal concentration (0.05 mM). K₁for malate increased by about 3 fold and K_a for G-6-P risedby fourfold as bicarbonate concentration was rised from 0.05to 10 mM. These results suggest that HCO₃^– desensitizesPEPC to both malate and G-6-P. Further, these changes were manifestedin both dark- as well as light-forms of the enzyme. Similarresults were obtained with PEPC in leaf extracts or in purifiedform. We therefore propose that bicarbonate-induced changesare independent of phospho-rylation and possibly through a significantchange in the conformation of the enzyme. This is the firstdetailed report indicating marked modulation of regulatory andcatalytic properties of PEPC by bicarbonate, one of its substrate. (Received April 14, 1998; Accepted September 22, 1998)     

Extracorporeal bicarbonate space after bicarbonate or a bicarbonate-carbonate mixture in acidotic dogs

The effects of sodium bicarbonate and a bicarbonate-carbonate mixture on expired CO2 and the volume of distribution of bicarbonate were studied in eight anesthetized, paralyzed, and ventilated dogs made acidotic with HCl (5 mmol/kg) infused over 90 min. Both sodium bicarbonate and Carbicarb resulted in systemic alkalinization and comparable increases in the serum bicarbonate at 50 min (7.07 +/- 0.91 vs. 7.99 +/- 0.77, respectively; P = NS). Sodium bicarbonate infusion resulted in an increase in CO2 excretion that accounted for a fractional CO2 excretion of 0.20 +/- 0.09, whereas infusion of a bicarbonate-carbonate mixture resulted in a fractional CO2 excretion of -0.06 +/- 0.09 (P less than 0.01). The uncorrected volume of distribution of bicarbonate after sodium bicarbonate infusion was higher than that seen with the bicarbonate-carbonate mixture (0.60 +/- 0.07 vs. 0.34 +/- 0.03 l/kg; P less than 0.01). However, when the volume of bicarbonate distribution was corrected for expired CO2, there was no difference between treatment with sodium bicarbonate and the bicarbonate-carbonate mixture (0.44 +/- 0.07 vs. 0.38 +/- 0.04 l/kg; P = NS). These data demonstrate that, in this animal model of acidosis, sodium bicarbonate treatment of systemic acidosis is accompanied by a generation of a considerable amount of CO2, whereas treatment with a bicarbonate-carbonate mixture is not. This suggests that in states of impaired ventilation, a bicarbonate-carbonate mixture may offer more efficient systemic alkalinization and may be associated with less CO2 generation than sodium bicarbonate.     

Chloride--bicarbonate exchange in red blood cells: physiology of transport and chemical modification of binding sites

About 80% of the CO2 formed by metabolism is transported from tissues to lungs as bicarbonate ions in the water phases of red cells and plasma. The catalysed hydration of CO2 to bicarbonate takes place in the erythrocytes but most of the bicarbonate thus formed must be exchanged with extracellular chloride to make full use of the carbon dioxide transporting capacity of the blood. The anion transport capacity of the red cell membrane is among the largest ionic transport capacities of any biological membrane. Exchange diffusion of chloride and bicarbonate is nevertheless a rate-limiting step for the transfer of CO2 from tissues to lungs. Measurements of chloride and bicarbonate self-exchange form the basis for calculations that demonstrate that the ionic exchange processes cannot run to complete equilibration at capillary transit times less than 0.5 s. The anion exchange diffusion is mediated by a large transmembrane protein constituting almost 30% of the total membrane protein. The kinetics of exchange diffusion must depend on conformational changes of the protein molecule, associated with the binding and subsequent translocation of the transported anion. We have characterized the nature of anion-binding sites facing the extracellular medium by acid-base titration of the transport function and modification of the transport protein in situ with group-specific amino acid reagents. Anion binding and translocation depend on the integrity and the degree of protonation of two sets of exofacial groups with apparent pK values of 12 and 5, respectively. From the chemical reactivities towards amino acid reagents it appears that the groups whose pK = 12 are guanidino groups of arginyl residues, while the groups whose pK = 5 are likely to be carboxylates of glutamic or aspartic acid. Our studies suggest that the characteristics of anion recognition sites in water-soluble proteins and in the integral transport proteins are closely related.     

Purification and characterization of chymodenin. A hormone-like peptide from porcine duodenum

Chymodenin, a hormone-like duodenal peptide which rapidly alters the proportions of secreted pancreatic digestive enzymes to a mixture relatively richer in chymotrypsinogen than that found in basal secretion, has been purified to homogeneity. The starting material was an acidic methanol-soluble, neutral pH-insoluble fraction of an acetic acid extract of porcine duodenum; the purification consisted of cation-exchange chromatography on SP-Sephadex and CM-Sephadex in ammonium bicarbonate gradients, and gel filtration on Sephadex G-75 in dilute acetic acid. The yield of material was followed by radioimmunoassay. Homogeneity was determined from chymodenin's behavior in disc gel electrophoresis in an acidic counter-migration-of-dye system, sodium dodecyl sulfate-urea gels, gel filtration, dansyl-Edman reaction, reversed-phase high pressure liquid chromatography, isotachophoresis, and sedimentation equilibrium ultracentrifugation. The electrophoretic mobility, the molecular weight of 9,000-10,000, and the biological activity differed from those of other gastrointestinal peptide hormones. The amino acid composition was unique. Chymodenin is the first purified hormone-like substance reported capable of altering the composition of the mixture of secreted digestive enzymes, independent of the stimulation of massive pancreatic protein output.     

Thyroxine deiodination associated with NADPH-dependent lipid peroxidation in a submicrosomal system.

A lipoprotein present in trypsin-treated microsomes can be oxidized with formation of malondialdehyde in a system which contains NADPH, ferric ion-ADP complex, NADPH-cytochrome c reductase and a factor. This factor, a mixture of peptides, can be isolated from hepatic microsomes by trypsin digestion and successive gel filtration through Sephadex G-100 and G-25 columns. Lipid peroxidation in this system catalyzes the deiodination of thyroxine, as does NADPH-dependent lipid peroxidation in fresh hepatic microsomes. Thyroxine inhibits lipid peroxidation as it is deiodinated in this system.     

Enzymatic synthesis of malonaldehyde.

Malonaldehyde was prepared from 1,3-propanediol by alcohol dehydrogenase. The K_m for 1,3-propanediol was about 1.7 mM. The reaction proceeded best at low ionic strength and at pH 9. The reaction was unaffected by pyrophosphate, phosphate, bicarbonate, or N-ethylmorpholine buffers, or by Mg⁺², Ca⁺², EDTA, or citrate. However, the reaction was inhibited 50% by 1.5 mM borate, 1 mM cyanide, and 5 mM azide. Thiols, such as dithioerythritol, inhibited the reaction 50% at 50–100 μM, while others, such as mercaptoacetate, inhibited 50% at concentrations over 1 mM. Malonaldehyde was removed from the reaction mixture by evaporation at pH 3 and condensation at ?78°C. No other products associated with lipid peroxidation were produced. The method was useful for preparation of radiolabeled malonaldehyde.     

Studies on lipase from Mucor javanicus. I. Purification and properties.

1. Lipase produced by a mold, Mucor javanicus, was purified about 180-fold from the ethanol precipitate of the culture filtrate. Purification was achieved by acid precipitation followed by gel filtrations on Sephadex G-200 (at low ionic strength) and Sephadex G-75 (at a high ionic strength). The purified enzyme preparation showed unusual behavior on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight was estimated to be 21 000. The enzyme had a positional specificity towards the position 1 and 3 of triacylglycerols. 2. Lipase in the crude preparation takes an aggregated form. aggregated form was achieved by raising the ionic strength of the medium. 3. The purified lipase preparation from Mucor javanicus exhibits phospholipase A1 activity, hydrolyzing the carboxyl ester at the 1-position of phosphatidylcholine. This activity seems to be due to the action of the lipase itself and not due to any other specific phospholipases.     

The Mechanism of Sodium and Chloride Uptake by the Gills of a Fresh-Water Fish, Carassius auratus : II. Evidence for NH4+ / NA+and HCO3- / Cl-exchanges

The addition of ammonium ions to the external medium results in an inhibition of the sodium influx and net uptake in Carassius auratus, while intraperitoneal injection of ammonium produces the opposite effect. The simultaneous chloride balance is not significantly affected by these treatments. The addition of bicarbonate ions to the external medium results in a reduction of the influx and net flux of chloride, while injection of bicarbonate produces the opposite effect. The simultaneous sodium balance is not significantly altered. The effects of the external additions are reversible after elimination of the excess ammonium or bicarbonate ions by rinsing. Inhibition of carbonic anhydrase in the gill by injection of acetazoleamide produces a simultaneous inhibition of both sodium and chloride exchanges. These results confirm the hypothesis of an exchange of sodium for ammonium, and of bicarbonate for chloride across the gill. A tentative schematic representation of the ionic absorption mechanisms in the branchial cell of the fresh-water teleosts is given. Similarities with other biological membranes and especially with the renal tubule are pointed out.     

Characteristics of the corticosterone-receptor complex in rat liver cytosol.

Using a gel filtration on Sephadex G-150 in low ionic strength, it was possible to separate a corticosterone-binding protein in rat liver cytosol from corticosteroid-binding globulin after incubation of cytosol with [3H]corticosterone. The corticosterone-protein complex ("alpha-Complex") had a sedimentation coefficient of 8-9 S in low ionic strength. In high ionic strength, the alpha-Complex rapidly dissociated with a half-life of 15 h, compared to a half-life of 31 h for the hepatic dexamethasone-receptor complex under identical conditions (0 degrees C). The alpha-Compelx was saturable with an excess of unlabelled corticosterone of dexamethasone and was sensitive to heat and protease digestion. It is stressed that quantitation of the corticosterone-receptor complex must include separation of the receptor from corticosteroid-binding globulin as this protein binds corticosterone with high affinity and with a saturable amount of binding sites.     

Multiple molecular forms of orotidylate decarboxylase from human liver

Orotidylate decarboxylase activity from human liver has been demonstrated to be associated with a number of molecular weight species. Depending on ionic strength, the presence of thiols and storage condition of the liver, variable proportions of forms with molecular weights of 35,000, 63,000, and 105,000 could be separated on Sephadex G-150. Fresh liver, which had been frozen at −70°, gave predominantly the 63,000 form, which was considered to be the most likely form to occur in vivo. This form could be dissociated to the 35,000 form by low ionic strength and aggregated to a much higher MW form in the absence of thiols. The dissociation could be reversed by incubation with UMP.Orotate phosphoribosyltransferase co-eluted from Sephadex G-150 with the 63,000 form of the decarboxylase. Its activity was much more labile than the decarboxylase and was completely lost during any interconversions.     

Extraction method for preparing pyridylamino sugar derivatives and application to porcine gastric mucus glycoprotein analysis

For the sensitive detection of free sugars and oligosaccharides, the use of their pyridylamino derivatives has now found general acceptance. To remove excess 2-aminopyridine from this derivative in a reaction mixture, gel filtration and ion-exchange chromatography were conducted. It was found in the present study that contaminated 2-aminopyridine could be selectively removed from the reaction mixture by adjusting the pH with saturated sodium bicarbonate at above 8.5 followed by extraction with benzene. By using this method, fewer purification steps and less time are required, with minimum loss of pyridylamino sugar derivatives.     

Changes in membrane conductances and areas associated with bicarbonate secretion in turtle bladder

Summary Transepithelial impedance-analysis studies were performed in turtle bladder epithelium in order to measure changes in the different epithelial membranes resulting from stimulation of electrogenic bicarbonate secretion. Changes in membrane conductance relate to changes in ionic permeability, whereas changes in membrane capacitance relate to changes in membrane area, since most biological membranes exhibit a specific capacitance of 1 F/cm². The results of this investigation are summarized as follows: (i) cAMP and carbachol, agents which have been shown previously to stimulate electrogenic bicarbonate secretion, result in increases in apical-membrane conductance and capacitance; (ii) these changes occur concomitantly with the observed change in transport (measured using the short-circuit-current technique), thereby suggesting that bicarbonate secretion may be regulated in part by changes in the chloride conductance of the apical membrane; (iii) the increase in conductance does not reflect an increase in the membrane's specific conductance, thereby indicating that it results from the addition of membrane possessing similar ionic permeability as the existing apical membrane; (iv) the magnitude of the changes in capacitance indicate that a minor cell population (-type carbonic-anhydrase-rich cells) increase their apical-membrane area by several-fold; (v) a lack of transport-associated changes in the basolateral-membrane parameters suggest that transport is not regulated by alterations in basolateral-membrane ionic conductance or area; (vi) a lack of colchicine sensitivity, coupled with the magnitude of the changes in apical-membrane capacitance, indicate that the membrane remodeling processes are different from those involved in the regulation of proton secretion in a different cell population (-type carbonic-anhydrase-rich cells).     

Urease reaction rates at low water activity

Hydrolysis of urea by urease takes place in dry urea-urease mixture exposed to discrete water vapor pressures from 100% to 20% relative humidity and at 2°C to 70°C. A discontinuity in enzymatic activities is observed at the transition of urea from a solid to a deliquescent solution. Urease is inactivated more readily at higher relative humidities in saturated urea solution than at lower relative humidities where water for urea hydrolysis is adsorbed on enzyme-protein only. Hydrolysis of urea by urease proceeds at a measurable rate in concentrated solutions of urea and of urea hydrolysis products, ammonium carbonate and bicarbonate, in the absence of ionic strength or pH stabilizing agents.     

Production of Pectinase and Cellulase by Cladosporium cucumerinum with Dissolved Carbohydrates and Isolated Cell Walls of Cucumber as Carbon Sources

The scab fungus Cladosporium cucumerinum can use pectins and polygalacturonic acid as sole sources of carbon. Cellulose and Ca-polygalacturonate are not available carbon sources for the fungus. When growing on sucrose or pectin, pectinase is produced. In these cases the production of cellulase is insignificant. On a mixture of pectin and carboxymethylcellulose also cellulase is produced. Both pectinase and cellulase are released into the culture filtrate when the fungus grows on cell walls without ionic proteins, whereas only cellulase is released when cell walls with ionic proteins are the carbon source. Pectinase produced by the pathogen can bind to isolated cell walls. The bound pectinase can be extracted with 1 M NaCl from cell walls without ionic proteins, but not from cell walls with ionic proteins. A water-extract or 1 M NaCl-extract of cucumber hypocotyls with visible disease symptoms contains cellulase but no pectinase activity. Lack of pectinase activity in the 1 M NaCl-extract may be due to inhibition by a component that could be extracted by NaCl from the cucumber cell walls.     

Tryptophanamide formation by Escherichia coli tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetase

When tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetase from Escherichia coli is allowed to react with L-tryptophan and ATP-Mg in the presence of inorganic pyrophosphatase, the fluorescence change of the reaction mixture reveals three or four sequential processes, depending on the buffer used. Quenched-flow and stopped-flow experiments show that the first two processes, which occur in the 0.001-1.0-s time scale, can be correlated to the formation of two moles of tryptophanyl-adenylate per mole of dimeric enzyme. These two processes are reversible by adding PPi, as seen in the fluorimeter. The third process leads to a reaction product that can no longer reform ATP after addition of PPi and that represents tryptophanyl-ATP ester, as demonstrated by thin-layer chromatography. This compound has been previously shown to be formed by tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetase from E. coli [K. H. Muench (1969) Biochemistry 8, 4872-4879]. Its formation is accompanied by a fluorescence decrease which reaches a minimum in about 30 min. The nature of the fourth process depends on the reaction conditions employed. In sodium bicarbonate or potassium phosphate buffer, the fourth process corresponds to the non-enzymatic hydrolysis of tryptophanyl-ATP ester. This spontaneous hydrolysis competes with formation of the ester and limits its concentration. Eventually, the progressive exhaustion of ATP brings the fluorescence intensity of the reaction mixture back to its initial value. In contrast, in ammonium bicarbonate buffer the previous third process is no longer visible, as evidenced by the absence of a fluorescence decrease beyond the fast initial quenching linked to the formation of tryptophanyl-adenylate. Instead, a fluorescence increase is observed. However, unlike the fourth process seen in sodium bicarbonate buffer, the fluorescence increase in ammonium bicarbonate is much larger than the initial fluorescence decrease linked to adenylate formation, the final fluorescence greatly surpassing the starting fluorescence signal. The reaction product of this process is tryptophanamide, as evidenced by high-performance liquid chromatography. Tryptophanamide formation is faster than that of tryptophanyl-ATP ester and is enzyme-catalyzed with a Km of 1 mM for ammonia and a rate constant of 5.7 min-1 at pH 8.3, 25 degrees C. The affinity of tryptophanamide for the protein is too weak to allow the formation of a significant concentration of enzyme-product complex. Tryptophanamide is therefore released in the reaction medium and its concentration reaches that of the limiting substrate.     

Purification of a kappa-carrageenase from marine Cytophaga species

A mixture of extracellular carrageenases was isolated from the cell-free medium of a culture of marine Cytophaga sp. 1k-C783 grown on ZoBell 2216 E broth with 0.1% commercial carrageenan. A single active peak of kappa-carrageenase was separated and purified from the mixture by ammonium sulfate precipitation, ion-exchange chromatography, and Sephadex G-200 gel filtration chromatography. Molecular weight of the purified kappa-carrageenase was estimated as 100,000 by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The purified kappa-carrageenase had pH optimum 7.6 and temperature optimum 25 C.