The kinetics of the histochemical method for dihydrofolate dehydrogenase (dihydrofolate reductase)

Summary The purpose of the present investigation is to report some histochemical and cytospectrophotometric observations providing more objective evidence for the specific activity of the histochemical method for dihydrofolate reductase activity (5.6.7.8-tetrahydrofolate: E.C. 1.5.1.3). Kinetic factors of the enzymic reaction, such as fixation, pH, coenzymes, substrate concentration, Michaelis constant, temperature, time of incubation, aerobiosis, and anaerobiosis, activators and inhibitors, were investigated.     

A histochemical method for dihydrofolate reductase

Synopsis A histochemical method for the detection of dihydrofolate reductase (5,6,7,8-tetrahydrofolate: NADP oxidoreductase, E.C. 1.5.1.3) is described. With this method, the highest enzyme activity has been found in hepatocytes, nephrocytes, intestinal epithelium and connective tissue cells. In myocardial and skeletal muscle fibres and in leukocytes, the activity was of medium intensity, whereas neurons exhibited no activity.     

On the specificity of a histochemical method for localizing dihydrofolate dehydrogenase

Synopsis The enzymic reduction of folate in the histochemical method described previously by the authors for localizing dihydrofolate dehydrogenase was followed spectrophotometrically by determining the decrease in the folate concentration in the medium during the incubation. In addition the different histochemical localizations of dihydrofolate dehydrogenase and NADH₂ dehydrogenase were compared in smears of normal and leukaemic human blood.     

Dismutation of dihydrofolate by dihydrofolate reductase

Degradation of 7,8-dihydrofolate (H2folate) in the presence of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) has been shown due not to an oxygenase activity of the reductase as previously reported but to dismutation of H2folate to folate and 5,6,7,8-tetrahydrofolate (H4folate). The reaction can be followed spectrophotometrically or by analysis of the reaction mixture by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The products have also been isolated and characterized. Oxygen uptake during the reaction is much less than stoichiometric with H2folate disappearance and is attributed to autoxidation of the H4folate formed. The dismutation activity is a property of highly purified Streptococcus faecium DHFR isoenzyme 2 (but not isoenzyme 1) and of Lactobacillus casei DHFR, but not of bovine liver DHFR. The activity is dependent on tightly bound NADP+ and/or NADPH. Removal of the nucleotide results in loss of dismutation activity, which is restored by adding NADP+ or NADPH. Maximum activity is obtained when approximately 1 mol equiv of nucleotide is added per mol of DHFR. It is proposed that in the dismutation reaction bound NADP(H) is alternately reduced and oxidized by incoming molecules of H2folate with release of folate and H4folate, respectively. The relatively slow rate of folate formation presumably limits the rate of the overall reaction. The equilibrium constant for the dismutation reaction is 19.4 +/- 7.4 at 22 degrees C and pH 7.0. Calculation of standard oxidation-reduction potentials at pH 7 gave values of -0.230 V for the H2folate/H4 folate pair and -0.268 V for the folate/H2folate pair. The mechanism by which NADP+ is retained by the enzyme from some sources during purification procedures is unclear.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Evaluation of histochemical observations of activity of acid hydrolases obtained with semipermeable membrane techniques: a combined histochemical and biochemical investigation 2. The biochemical investigation and comparison with the histochemical observations.

The reliability of enzyme histochemical semipermeable membrane techniques for the demonstration of acid hydrolases was investigated with a combined histochemical and biochemical study. In part 1 the histochemical findings were presented. In this communication the biochemical findings are reported and compared with the histochemical findings. In m. soleus, m. plantaris, m. gastrocnemius and diaphragm of vitamin E deficient rabbits the activity of the lysosomal acid hydrolases, cathepsin D, acid maltase, acid phosphatase and beta-glucuronidase is significantly increased. This increase in activity of the investigated acid hydrolases was equal for muscles with an aerobic or an anaerobic metabolism. By means of statistical calculations the activity of the enzymes demonstrated with histochemical techniques was compared with the enzyme activity determined with biochemical techniques. From the results of this investigation it can be concluded that the histochemical semipermeable membrane techniques for the demonstration of activity of acid hydrolases are very reliable. Considering the fact that these techniques are also tissue-saving, they are therefore extremely suitable for the study of catabolic wasting processes in skeletal muscle tissues of patients with inherited or acquired muscular diseases.     

Single motoneuron succinate dehydrogenase activity

We have developed a quantitative histochemical assay for measurement of succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activity in single motoneurons. A computer image processing system was used to quantify the histochemical enzyme reaction product and to follow the time course of the reaction. The optimal concentration for each of the ingredients of the incubation medium for the SDH reaction was determined and the importance of using histochemical "blanks" in the determination of enzymatic activity was demonstrated. The enzymatic activity was linear with respect to reaction time and tissue thickness. The procedure described meets the criteria generally considered essential for establishment of a quantitative histochemical assay. The assay was then used to examine the SDH activity of cat and rat motoneurons. It was found that motoneurons with a small soma size had a wide range of SDH activity, whereas those with a large soma size were restricted to low SDH activity.     

Biochemical verification of quantitative histochemical analysis of succinate dehydrogenase activity in skeletal muscle fibres

Summary The purpose of this investigation was to examine critically the validity of a computerized quantitative microphotometric histochemical technique for the determination of succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activity in skeletal muscle fibres. Sections from the anterior costal diaphragm were removed from Fischer-344 rats (n = 12) and assayed histochemically to determine SDH activity. The SDH activity in individual muscle fibres was computed using a computerized microphotometric histochemical technique which involves measurement of the optical density of deposited diformazan derived from nitroblue tetrazolium within the fibres. To validate the histochemical technique, whole muscle SDH activities were calculated from the histochemical procedure and were compared to SDH activities determined from whole muscle homogenates via a standard quantitative biochemical assay. The mean within-day variability of the computerized microphotometric histochemical technique of determining SDH activity was 6% (range = 0.5–10.9%) for an area containing ~50 fibres and 6.1% (range = 1.05–14.9%) for an individual muscle fibre. Similarly, the mean between-day variability of the microphotometric histochemical technique of determining SDH activity was 5.9% (range = 2.6–13.9%) for an area containing ~50 fibres and 6.6% (range = 2.2–13.9%) for an individual muscle fibre. The inter-class correlation coefficient between biochemically determined SDH activity and histochemically determined SDH activity was r = 0.83 (p < 0.05). Collectively, these data demonstrate that the quantitative histochemical technique of Blanco et al. (1988) is both valid and reliable in the determination of SDH activity in skeletal muscle fibres.     

A simplified radioenzymatic assay for dihydrofolate reductase using [3H]dihydrofolate

This report describes a simple method to measure the activity of dihydrofolate reductase using the substrate [³H]dihydrofolate, which is generated by preincubation of [³H]folic acid for 10 min with dithionite before the enzymatic reaction. The procedure then measures the direct reduction of [³H]dihydrofolate to [³H]tetrahydrofolate by coprecipitating the unreduced substrate with excess unlabeled folic acid and acidified zinc sulfate. The advantage of this method is that [³H]dihydrofolate, which is not commercially available, can be generated from high specific activity [³H]folic acid, which is commercially available, immediately before initiating the enzymatic reaction. By this modification, the two important advantages of radioenzymatic assays for dihydrofolate reductase can be more easily exploited; namely, increased sensitivity because much less substrate need be used, and the ability to measure enzyme activity in crude tissue preparations without interference by precipitating proteins or nucleotide oxidases.     

The application of the “Lojda” method for intestinal lactase in intestinal biopsies from jaundiced newborn infants

Summary A new use of the histochemical method for intestinal lactase activity is described. Peroral intestinal biopsies from newborn light-treated infants with diarrhoea were investigated for brush-border lactase. The lactase activity found in these infants by the histochemical method correlated well with the infants ability to hydrolyze lactose judged by lactose tolerance test.     

Electrophoretic and histochemical studies of carbonic anhydrase activity

Summary A simple method for separation of carbonic anhydrase activity into components by electrophoresis on cellulose acetate strips is described. With this method, using barbiturate buffer systems at various pH values, two main components of CAH in rat erythrocytes, and the splitting of each of these into two minor components were revealed. Two components were also observed in the CAH activity in kidney and lens homogenates, and one component in brain homogenate. A modification of Häusler's histochemical method for CAH was adapted for visualization of the electrophoretically separated bands. This rendered the evalution of the results easier than with the quantitative measurements alone. The quantitative measurement of CAH activity in electrophoretic strips corresponded with the degree of staining by the histochemical method. This among other facts supports the view of the specificity of the histochemical method used. Some examples of the histochemical staining pattern of the CAH activity in rat tissues are given.     

Kinetic studies of sepharose-and CH-sepharose-immobilized dihydrofolate reductase

Dihydrofolate reductase, purified to homogeneity from amethopterin-resistant Lactobacillus casei, was immobilized by coupling to cyanogen bromide-activated Sepharose or carbodiimide-activated CH-Sepharose. Coupling yields were determined by amino acid analysis following the hydrolysis of the gel. Enzyme activity was measured by the conventional spectrophotometric procedure, thus permitting the facile characterization of the immobilized enzyme. The pH optimum of the immobilized enzyme was shifted to 5.8 compared with pH 5.5 for the soluble enzyme. The immobilized enzyme retained greater than 90%of the initial activity over a six-month period and could be reused as many as ten times without loss of activity. As observed with the soluble enzyme, the activity of immobilized enzyme, which was lost on denaturation with 4M guanidine hydrochloride, was recovered rapidly and completely by washing the gel with buffer. The K(m) (app) values for dihydrofolate and NADPH for the immobilized enzyme were increased 15-164-fold over the K(m) values measured for soluble dihydrofolate reductase. Scatchard analysis of the interaction of amethopterin with the immobilized enzyme yielded linear plots and a K(d) (app) value of 0.56 x10(-8)M, and revealed that all of the immobilized enzyme molecules were capable of binding the ligand.     

Cytospectrophotometric study of GABA-transaminase in the rat cerebellar cortex

Modification of the histochemical method for detection of GABA-transaminase activity is suggested. Optimal concentrations of the substrates and cofactors are chosen on the basis of kinetic study of the enzymatic reaction in the cryostat sections of the rat cerebellar cortex by the quantitative microspectrophotometric method. The method is intended for the quantitative histochemical analysis of GABA-transaminase activity in the brain sections.     

Histochemical localization of trehalase activity in dorsal flight muscle of the flesh fly Sarcophaga bullata with light and electron microscopy.

Trehalase activity in flight muscle of the flesh fly Sacrophaga bullata is detected histochemically at light- and electron-microscopic levels by using diaminobenzidine, glucose oxidase and peroxidase in the incubation medium. The association of trehalase activity with the inner mitochondrial membrane is confirmed. Biochemical assay shows that about 50% of the initial total trehalase activity is lost from the tissue during the histochemical processing and about 50% remains for histochemical detection.     

Light microscopic demonstration of myoid material in nuclei

Summary In the rabbit and bovine cornea the activity of alkaline phosphatase using histochemical as well as biochemical methods was investigated. Biochemically the enzyme activity was studied in separated corneal layers. In the histochemical investigation the best results were obtained in cryostat sections using the azocoupling method with naphthol AS-MX phosphate and Variamine Blue RT Salt. The enzyme activity was found not only in the epithelium and endothelium (as was described previously) but even in keratocytes. The mutual relation of activities in the epithelium and in keratocytes differed in both species. The overall activity found by histochemical methods is in good agreement with the biochemical determination of alkaline phosphatase (p-nitrophenyl phosphate as the substrate). Besides the histochemical approach shows an uneven distribution of alkaline phosphatase activity in individual cells which cannot be assessed by the biochemical determination.     

Dependence of histochemical staining of leukocyte aminopeptidase upon its biochemical enzyme activity

The relationship between histochemical staining and biochemical activity of the enzyme was investigated using leukocytes with different aminopeptidase activities. In guinea-pig neutrophils and macrophages which have a relatively high enzyme activity, the histochemical staining correlated with the biochemical enzyme activity. On the other hand, guinea-pig lymphocytes and mouse neutrophils whose enzyme activities were 8.25 +/- 0.27 mU/10(7) cells and 6.18 +/- 0.87 mU/10(7) cells, respectively, were not stained by histochemical techniques. When guinea-pig neutrophils were modified chemically by diazotized sulfanilic acid at different concentrations, the histochemical staining of neutrophils decreased in proportion to the degree of inhibition of their biochemical enzyme activity and hardly became detectable below 10 mU/10(7) cells. However, guinea-pig neutrophils contained the soluble enzyme, corresponding to 5 mU/10(7) cells, which leaked out rapidly from cells during staining procedure, suggesting that the limit of visualization of the membrane-bound aminopeptidase activity by the histochemical techniques is about 5 mU/10(7) cells. The membrane-bound enzyme activities in guinea-pig lymphocytes and mouse neutrophils were 5 mU and 3 mU per 10(7) cells, respectively, and so it is possible that these leukocytes hardly stained histochemically.     

Histochemical model studies of enzyme activity after thermal damage

Summary The reliability of histochemical determinations of the enzyme activity after thermal damage has been studied with the aid of two model systems. Polyacrylamide films and erythrocyte ghosts containing either -glucuronidase or alkaline phosphatase, were submitted to heating and the activities retained were assessed both biochemically and histochemically. For the enzymes studied, the results show that tissue alterations induced by heat can influence histochemical reaction procedures, and that with these model systems, factors which are important for the histochemical quantitation of enzyme activities in thermally damaged tissues can be evaluated quantitatively. Potentialities of these model systems in the study of evaluating thermal damage through histochemical enzyme activity determinations, are discussed.To whom offprint requests should be sent     

Novel inhibitors of Leishmanial dihydrofolate reductase

The program DOCK3.5 was used to search the Cambridge Structural Database for novel inhibitors of Leishmanial dihydrofolate reductase. A number of compounds were obtained and screened against the enzyme and against the intact parasite Leishmania donovani and the related organisms Trypanosoma brucei and Trypanosoma cruzi. The compounds screened showed weak activity in both the enzyme assays and the in vitro assays.     

Affinity chromatography of dihydrofolate reductase

1. Dihydrofolate reductase was purified from Lactobacillus casei MTX/R, and studied on affinity columns containing folic acid and methotrexate. Two forms of the enzyme were interconverted by incubation with substrates. 2. Affinity columns were prepared from agarose activated with cyanogen bromide and coupled with 1,6-diaminohexane. Stable folate derivatives were covalently attached by using a carbodi-imide condensation. 3. Columns containing folic acid retarded but did not retain the enzyme. 4. Methotrexate at pH 6.0 was particularly effective for retention of the enzyme. 5. There is selective loss of one form of the enzyme during affinity chromatography in the absence of added NADPH. This loss is due to conversion into a single enzyme form on the column. 6. NADPH has a dual effect in stabilizing the enzyme and in sensitizing it to inactivation by methotrexate, particularly in the presence of glycine. 7. Protein with affinity for methotrexate, but without dihydrofolate reductase activity, may also be eluted from the columns. 8. In a single-step procedure the enzyme was purified nearly 4000-fold from mammalian skin.     

Histochemical and biochemical studies of cholinesterases in the carotid labyrinth of amphibians

Acetylcholinesterase activity was detected in the carotid labyrinth of amphibians by both biochemical and histochemical methods. The histochemical tests showed enzyme activity in surfaces of afferent and efferent nerve terminals in contact with type I cells, but none within the type I cells. Acetylcholinesterase activity occurred on some, though not all, nerve fibers in the extra-cellular spaces. These fibers might be parasympathetic cholinergic fibers innervating blood vessels.     

Acetylcholinesterase: a histochemical identification of motor and sensory fascicles in human peripheral nerve and its use during operation

To evaluate the precision of acetylcholinesterase histochemical identification of motor and sensory fascicles, this study presents a systematic observation of human peripheral nerves by Karnovsky and Roots' histochemical method. The results indicate that either of the enzymatic activities of myelinated and unmyelinated fibers was different between motor and sensory fascicles. Fifty-seven percent of the myelinated fibers showed enzymatic activity in the motor fascicles, while none of the myelinated fibers in the sensory fascicles showed enzymatic activity. The unmyelinated fibers showing enzymatic activity in the sensory fascicles were far denser than those in the motor fascicles. Our study demonstrated that the unmyelinated fibers were sympathetic postganglionic unmyelinated fibers. From these results it is concluded that the motor and sensory fascicles may be identified not only according to the enzymatic activities of the myelinated fibers, but also according to the enzymatic activities of the sympathetic postganglionic unmyelinated fibers. An improved histochemical method was suggested for its applicability as a method of intraoperative nerve fascicle identification. Simulated experiments were done on the radial nerves and the median nerves in human cadavers. This improved histochemical process can be completed within 50 minutes and can be used in intraoperative nerve fascicle identification.