The reaction of bovine thrombin with N-butyrylimidazole. Two different reactions resulting in the inhibition of catalytic activity.

N-Butyrylimidazole has been found to be a potent inhibitor of purified bovine thrombin. The rate and extent of inhibition of thrombin by N-butyrylimidazole could be reduced by the presence of benzamidine, a competitive inhibitor, or by the ester substrate, p-tosyl-L-arginine methyl ester. Spectral studies of the reaction of N-butyrylimidazole with thrombin demonstrated the modification of approximately 1 mol of tyrosine/mol of enzyme at maximum inhibition. In addition to the reaction with tyrosine, N-butyrylimidazole also appears to react with a residue at the "active site" as judged by a decrease in the number of active sites available in the modified enzyme for titration with p-nitrophenyl-p'-guanidinobenzoate. The time course of ester hydrolysis by butyrylated thrombin showed a distinct lag phase suggesting partial reactivation of the enzyme under assay conditions. Partial reactivation of the modified enzyme also occurred spontaneously upon standing in 0.5 M NaCl but was much faster in presence of imidazole (0.03 M, pH 7.6). It is suggested that, in addition to reaction with tyrosine, there is a reaction of N-butyrylimidazole with either the histidine and/or serine residue at the active site of thrombin resulting in a derivative unstable under esterase assay conditions such as that described for the reaciton of N-acetylimidazole with trypsin (L. L. Houston and K. A. Walsh (1970), Biochemistry 9, 156).     

Characterization of the catalyzed phosphate assay.

A detailed analysis of the catalyzed phosphate assay is presented. This assay uses polyvinylpyrrolidone as a catalyst to form phosphomolybdate complex in a relatively weak acid and hydroxylamine as a reductant to form molybdenum blue. It was found that this assay, which is useful in determining inorganic phosphate in the presence of acid-labile phosphates such as ATP and phosphocreatine, has the following advantages: The assay (a) forms phosphomolybdate at a relatively high pH (pH 1.9–2.1; in some cases even at pH 4.0), (b) is relatively insensitive to interfering reagents, and (c) does not require deproteinization. Conditions are described which make the present assay more sensitive than the Fiske-SubbaRow method.     

Assay method for myeloperoxidase in human polymorphonuclear leukocytes

A simple assay method for measuring myeloperoxidase (MPO) has been developed. MPO is found in polymorphonuclear leukocytes and is important as a bactericidal agent in the presence of H2O2 and halide ions. This improved assay method is based on work of Andrews and Krinsky using tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) a noncarcinogenic substrate. By assaying MPO under optimal conditions of TMB at 1.6 mM, H2O2 concentration of 0.3 mM, pH 5.4, and incubation temperature of 37 degrees C, sensitivity of MPO measurements increased eightfold in comparison with the original TMB method. A method has been established to determine absorbance at 655 nm of the reaction mixture by incubation for 3 min and then stopping the reaction by the addition of pH 3.0 buffer. An attempt was also made to raise the sensitivity by using 3,3'-dimethyoxybenzidine (DMB), a carcinogenic substrate. The improved TMB method was 34 times more sensitive than the DMB method.     

A new spectrophotometric assay for 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphohydrolase activity in nervous tissue

A new continuous spectrophotometric method for determining 2′,3′-cyclic nucleotide 3′-phosphohydrolase (EC 3.1.4.37) is described. The assay method involves monitoring the decrease in pH which accompanies the hydrolysis of 2′,3′-cyclic AMP. The reaction is performed in the presence of phenol red and the pH change is followed spectrophotometrically by recording the decrease in absorbance of the basic chromophore at 560 nm. The assay method is sufficiently sensitive to make accurate determinations of CNPase activity in 20-μl samples of CNS homogenates containing less than 5 μg protein. The primary advantage of the phenol red CNPase assay is the ease and speed with which it is performed.     

The deoxyribose method: a simple "test-tube" assay for determination of rate constants for reactions of hydroxyl radicals

Hydroxyl radicals, generated by reaction of an iron-EDTA complex with H2O2 in the presence of ascorbic acid, attack deoxyribose to form products that, upon heating with thiobarbituric acid at low pH, yield a pink chromogen. Added hydroxyl radical "scavengers" compete with deoxyribose for the hydroxyl radicals produced and diminish chromogen formation. A rate constant for reaction of the scavenger with hydroxyl radical can be deduced from the inhibition of color formation. For a wide range of compounds, rate constants obtained in this way are similar to those determined by pulse radiolysis. It is suggested that the deoxyribose assay is a simple and cheap alternative to pulse radiolysis for determination of rate constants for reaction of most biological molecules with hydroxyl radicals. Rate constants for reactions of ATP, ADP, and Good's buffers with hydroxyl radicals have been determined by this method.     

Rabbit muscle phosphofructokinase: the effect of the state of the enzyme and assay procedure on the kinetic properties.

The specific activity and/or the allosteric behavior of rabbit muscle phosphofructokinase is dependent on several factors including (1) the method of assay, and (2) the concentration, pH, and temperature of the enzyme solution from which dilution is made into the assay mixture. These observations suggest that quantitative interpretation of the allosteric characteristics of this enzyme may be in error because of lack of control of any or all of these factors. In some buffer systems, such as imidazole at pH 7, instability of the enzyme in the assay leads to further complications in the interpretation of previous studies.The results of the present paper show that under specific conditions it is possible to obtain allosteric kinetic data from which quantitative interpretations can be made. This is best accomplished by performing experiments in phosphate buffer and coupling the reaction through pyruvate kinase and lactic dehydrogenase. The experiments must be carried out either in the presence of excess fructose 1,6-bisphosphate or fructose diphosphatase in order to control the level of the activator fructose 1,6-bisphosphate. Under such conditions, the allosteric kinetic behavior observed at pH 6.5 does not appear to be a consequence of polymerization between an active (four subunit) and inactive (two subunit) form of the enzyme, but is inherent in the active form.     

A Novel Fluorometric Method for the Selective Determination of Pro-Gly and Pro-Gly-Pro

Fluorescence (FL) derivatization reactions have often been used for the selective determination of bioactive peptides. Herein, a sensitive and selective fluorometric method has been developed for Pro-Gly and Pro-Gly-Pro using a derivatizing reagent 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (3,4-DHBA). In the presence of borate buffer (pH 8.0) and sodium periodate, peptides were reacted with 3,4-DHBA at 37 °C for 30 min. The resulting FL intensity was measured by spectrofluorometer with the excitation wavelength of 450 nm and the emission wavelength of 535 nm. Different reaction conditions such as concentrations of the reagents, reaction time and pH were optimized to develop the method. Under the optimized conditions, a linear relationship was obtained between FL intensity and peptide concentration from 5–30 µM with a lower detection limit of 5 µM. We found that 3,4-DHBA showed strong preference for Pro-Gly and Pro-Gly-Pro amongst all the peptides tested and no other biogenic substances such as amino acids or proteins produced any FL. The reaction is selective, sensitive and simple which can be applied for the determination of peptides as biomarkers in biological samples or for the assay of various protease activities.     

In-gel precipitation of enzymatically released phosphate

The phosphate precipitation reaction using ammonium molybdate and triethylamine under low pH has been applied to gel-based assays for detecting phosphate-releasing enzymes. The sensitivity of the assay is 10 pmol Pi/mm2 of 1.5-mm-thick gel. The assay is applicable to enzymes with a wide range of optimal pH, from acid (pH 4.5) to alkaline phosphatase (pH 9.7), and to enzymes that use acid-labile substrates such as apyrase and glutamine synthetase. Using a negative staining approach, maltose phosphorylase, a phosphate-consuming enzyme, can also be detected. The assay was used to detect glutamine synthetase isoforms, separated by nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis from crude maize extracts. For downstream applications such as staining gels for proteins, the gels with precipitate should be incubated in 10 mM dithiothreitol or beta-mercaptoethanol until the precipitate is dissolved and then thoroughly washed in water. In comparison to calcium phosphate precipitation or the phosphomolybdate-malachite green method, this method is more sensitive. It is a very simple, rapid, versatile, reproducible, and inexpensive method that could be a useful tool in enzymological studies.     

A model for formulation of protein assay.

The principle of the protein assay using the reaction of an alkaline copper-protein complex with the Folin-Ciocalteu phenol reagent has been investigated. In contrast to the long-established Lowry method, a stable and rapid protein assay is developed without a buffering agent in alkaline copper solution. In the absence of a buffering agent, the reaction pH drops relatively rapidly and moves the reaction toward a more stable pH. When the reaction of alkaline copper-protein complex with Folin-Ciocalteu reagent is started at around pH 11.7, the reaction color absorbance reaches a plateau in approximately 10 min and remains stable to allow a reliable measurement of the absorbance. In the absence of the buffering agent sodium carbonate, the alkaline copper solution is also stable for months. The principle of the protein assay is presented as a model that can be used to formulate protein assays of desired specification.     

Measurement of phosphate concentration in the presence of very labile phosphate esters

There are a number of methods available for the measurement of phosphate ion concentration, which may be used when moderately labile phosphate esters such as ATP are present in low concentration. However, the highly acidic conditions usually employed make these unsuitable when very labile esters such as phosphocreatine are present. A method in which the phosphomolybdate complex is developed under mildly acidic conditions, using high molybdate concentrations to counteract the reduced assay sensitivity at high pH, is described. The assay is linear in the range 5-300 microM phosphate, and micromolar concentrations of phosphate can be reliably measured in the presence of millimolar phosphocreatine.     

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase stimulatory factors and inorganic pyrophosphatase.

A protein was purified from rat liver which stimulated a number of liver aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. This stimulatory factor was identical with the "tRNA activator" of Dickman & Boll [(1976) Biochemistry 15, 3925] in its mechanism of action and chemical properties, although it was considerably more purified. The two preparations stimulated synthetases by virtue of their pyrophosphatase activity which destroyed the potent inhibitor, PPi, that was present in the reaction mixtures. This PPi was either generated during the reaction or was introduced by contamination of the tRNA or ATP preparations. The degree of inhibition of PPi was strongly influenced by assay conditions, being most effective at low amino acid concentrations, at low pH, and in the presence of heterologous tRNAs. By use of certain assay conditions, PPi concentrations as low as 2 microM could inhibit some synthetases close to 50%. The pitfalls associated with some assay conditions commonly used for aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases are discussed. These studies raise questions about the physiological significance of many previously described aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase stimulatory factors.     

A simple spectrophotometric assay for arogenate dehydratase

A simple spectrophotometric assay for arogenate dehydratase, the enzyme that catalyzes the formation of L-phenylalanine from L-arogenate, is presented. The method couples the arogenate dehydratase reaction with that of an aromatic aminotransferase partially purified from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus. In the presence of 2-ketoglutarate, phenylpyruvate formation is measured at 320 nm at basic pH. The method was compared with two other methods already in use in our laboratory for arogenate dehydratase. The new method is simple, quick, fairly sensitive, and especially suitable for the screening of a large number of samples.     

Biological disulfides: the third messenger? Modulation of phosphofructokinase activity by thiol/disulfide exchange

Rabbit muscle phosphofructokinase is rapidly inactivated at pH 8.0 by incubation with low concentrations of oxidized glutathione, Coenzyme A glutathione mixed disulfide, and oxidized Coenzyme A. The inactivation is first order in disulfide concentration over the concentration ranges examined (50-200 microM), and is approximately 8-fold slower at pH 7.0 than at pH 8.0. The substrates ATP and fructose 6-phosphate protect against inactivation while effector molecules such as AMP, cAMP, and citrate do not. The oxidation of the enzyme by disulfides is fully reversible. The equilibrium constant for the reaction Ered + GSSG in equilibrium Eox + GSH at pH 8.0 is 7.1 in the absence of substrates and 2.5 in the presence of 0.1 mM ATP. For comparison, the equilibrium constant for the reaction CoASH + GSSG in equilibrium CoASSG + GSH was found to be 3.1 at pH 8.0. These equilibrium constants for thiol/disulfide exchange are such that modulation of phosphofructokinase activity by thiol/disulfide exchange in vivo is feasible. The ability of the thiol/disulfide ratio in vivo to modulate the activity of the fructose 6-phosphate/fructose 1,6-diphosphate futile cycle is discussed. The possibility is considered that modulation of the thiol/disulfide ratio in vivo may serve as a "third messenger" in response to cAMP levels, and that the activity of key enzymes of glycolysis/gluconeogenesis may be regulated in response to changing thiol/disulfide ratios.     

Diethyl pyrocarbonate: an examination of its properties in buffered solutions with a new assay technique.

Two assay systems for diethyl pyrocarbonate are described. The first is a spectrophotometric method that makes use of the rapid reaction with the colored compound, 5-thio-2-nitrobenzoate, to form a colorless product. The second is based on the inactivation of lactate dehydrogenase and, unlike the first, can be used in the presence of thiols. The rate of decomposition of diethyl pyrocarbonate has been studied in several buffers at different pH values.     

A recommended procedure for the estimation of bovine testicular hyaluronidase in the presence of human serum

A procedure is described for the assay of bovine testicular hyaluronidase in human blood following intravenous administration of the enzyme. Inhibition of hyaluronidase by the reported nonspecific serum inhibitor is minimal. However, the presence of human serum does alter the pH profile of hyaluronidase and enhances the activity of the enzyme at low pH values. Preliminary data indicates that the effects caused by serum on the pH optimum and activity of the enzyme are largely associated with the albumin fraction and are not due to the presence of endogenous serum hyaluronidase. The activation effect is not specific for any particular blood type and is independent of whether serum or citrated plasma is used. A similar effect to that of serum on hyaluronidase activity is produced by different buffer mixtures or increased NaCl concentration. It is recommended that bovine testicular hyaluronidase be measured at pH 4.0 in 0.1 m sodium citrate buffer containing 0.15 m NaCl as under these conditions the addition of human serum or citrated plasma does not alter the pH optimum of the enzyme. These recommendations necessitate certain modifications of the reducing N-acetylhexosamine assay method of Reissig et al. (J. L. Reissig, J. L. Strominger, and L. F. Leloir, 1955, J. Biol. Chem.217, 959–966).     

Localization of phosphatases in Trypanosoma rhodesiense

Phosphatase activity in Trypanosoma rhodesiense has been examined histochemically by light and electron microscopy and by enzymatic assay in homogenate fractions. Using a method with lead as capture ion, acid phosphatase was found in lysosome-like vesicles and in the flagellar pocket. No alkaline adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) was detectable by this method. Direct assay of p-nitrophenylphosphatase activity in homogenate fractions showed that acid phosphatase activity was strongly membrane-bound, but that activity at pH 9 was minimal in both soluble and particulate fractions. "Endogenous" ATPase activity was localized specifically and reproducibly in the mitochondrial membranes and under the plasma membrane of he flagellum. This nonenzymic reaction product could not be eradicated by glycerol extraction or glucose depletion. Unlike the membrane staining, which was manifest only after lead treatment, heat-resistant electron-dense material was found in the matrix of lysosomal vesicles in trypanosomes fixed in glutaraldehyde only and not subjected to further treatment with heavy metal reagents. X-ray emission analysis showed the presence of calcium and phosphorus, indicating that the matrix might have a phosphate storage function.     

Fluorometric quantitation of amino sugars in the picomole range.

A fluorometric method has been developed for the convenient and quantitative assay of amino sugars over the concentration range of 10 nm to 6 mm. Linear results are obtained for reaction mixtures containing 6 pmol to 60 nmol hexosamine. The procedure involves the condensation of amino sugars with the fluorogenic reagent o-phthalaldehyde, at alkaline pH in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol. Relative fluorescence intensities are then determined using excitation and emission wavelengths of 340 and 455 nm, respectively. The presence of 2-mercaptoethanol in reaction mixtures not only enhanced sensitivity of the assay, but also defined the excitation/emission spectra. Under the conditions described, amino acids were also found to react with o-phthalaldehyde, yielding fluorescence intensities similar to those of amino sugars. These results suggest the applicability of fluorescence techniques in automated amino sugar analyses, as well as the potential interference of other compounds containing primary amines.     

Improved fluorometric assay of histidine and peptides having NH2-terminal histidine using o-Phthalaldehyde

o-Phthalaldehyde (OPT) reacts with many biogenic compounds such as spermidine, histamine, histidine and peptides with NH₂-terminal histidine, yielding intensely fluorescent condensation products. This communication examines the reaction conditions for the OPT-induced fluorescence of histidine and peptides with NH₂-terminal histidine for the purpose of improving the sensitivity as well as the specificity of the assay of these compounds. Reaction with OPT at pH 11.2–11.5 and at 40°C for 10 min was found to be optimal for histidine. After cooling, the fluorescence was read at $\text{360}\text{440}\text{nm}$ (uncorrected instrument values). The method measures as little as 4–5 ng/ml. Peptides with NH₂-terminal histidine were found to interfere with the assay whereas histamine, histidinol and spermidine did not. The optimum reaction and assay conditions for the OPT-induced fluorescence of the histidyl-dipeptides varied markedly from one peptide to another. As a group peptides with NH₂-terminal histidine are best assayed by condensation with OPT at pH 11.8 at room temperature and with a reaction time of 30 min. Fluorescence should be read before as well as after acidification to pH 2.5. Details are given for the assay of individual histidyl-dipeptides.     

Acid-tolerant poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) hydrolases from moulds

Abstract We have isolated some mould strains that can grow under acid conditions with poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) as sole carbon source, and secrete PHB hydrolases active at pH values at least down to 3. An improved assay method for such enzymes using a pH stat has been developed, and used to determine the dependence of reaction rate on enzyme and polymer concentrations. The implications of these kinetic properties of the PHB hydrolase for its mode of action are discussed.     

Metal-dependent proteinase of the lens. Assay, purification and properties of the bovine enzyme.

1. Two new assay methods were developed for the lens proteinase. In both, the substrate was alpha2-crystallin (a major lens protein); in the first method, the products were detected by reaction with trinitrobenzenesulphonate in the presence of SO32-, whereas in the second method, 3H-labelled substrate was used, and the products were detected as radioactivity soluble in trichloroacetic acid. 2. The neutral proteinase from bovine lens was partially purified by extraction of the lens at pH5.0 and column chromatography on hydroxyapatite and Sepharose 6B gel. 3. The purified enzyme had no detectable activity against haemoglobin, azo-casein or gamma-crystallin under optimum conditions for alpha2-crystallin. 4. The enzyme showed greatest activity and stability at pH7.5. It was reversibly inhibited by EDTA and 1,10-phenanthroline, and activated by Ca2+ and Mg2+. 5. Molecular weights obtained for the enzyme by chromatography on Sepharose 6B were approx. 500,000 in buffer of I = 0.02, and 250,000 at I = 1.02. 6. The properties of the purified lens proteinase are such as to suggest that this enzyme could account for the entire endopeptidase activity of the lens.