Studies on energy-linked reactions. Energy-linked reduction of oxidized nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide by succinate in Escherichia coli

1. A method for the preparation of small particles from Escherichia coli is described. 2. These particles catalyse the ATP-driven reduction of NAD⁺ by succinate. 3. ATP utilized/NADH produced ratios below 2.0 were measured and a stoicheiometry of 1 molecule of ATP utilized per molecule of NADH produced is proposed. 4. The reaction is not inhibited by 2,4-dinitrophenol or by oligomycin but is inhibited by other uncouplers such as pentabromophenol and dicoumarol. 5. The specificity of the energy source, the specificity of the electron acceptor, the effects of pH, Mg²⁺, P_i and temperature have been studied.     

The enthalpy change for the reduction of nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide

The heat of the reaction NAD(+)+propan-2-ol=NADH+acetone+H(+) was determined to be 42.5+/-0.6kJ/mol (10.17+/-0.15kcal/mol) from equilibrium measurements at 9-42 degrees C catalysed by yeast alcohol dehydrogenase. With the aid of thermochemical data for acetone and propan-2-ol the values of DeltaH=-29.2kJ/mol (-6.99kcal/mol) and DeltaG(0)=22.1kJ/mol (5.28kcal/mol) are derived for the reduction of NAD (NAD(+)+H(2)=NADH+H(+)). These values are consistent with analogous but less accurate data for the ethanol-acetaldehyde reaction. Thermodynamic data for the reduction of NAD and NADP are summarized.     

The effect of pH on the characteristics of the binding of nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide by nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide specific isocitrate dehydrogenase from pea mitochondria

1. The effect of pH on the V(max.) and concentration of NAD(+) at half-maximum velocity at a constant isocitrate concentration was examined, and the results were related to the requirements for binding of H(+) ions to the enzyme. 2. The effect of varying the NAD(+) concentration on the pH optimum with constant isocitrate concentration was studied. 3. A comparison has been made between the effect of isocitrate concentration on the characteristics of binding of NAD(+) and the effect of NAD(+) concentration on the characteristics of isocitrate binding at three different pH values. 4. The mechanistic and metabolic significance of these studies is considered.     

Nicotinate, quinolinate and nicotinamide as precursors in the biosynthesis of nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide in barley

1. The relative efficiencies of nicotinate, quinolinate and nicotinamide as precursors of NAD(+) were measured in the first leaf of barley seedlings. 2. In small amounts, both [(14)C]nicotinate and [(14)C]quinolinate were quickly and efficiently incorporated into NAD(+) and some evidence is presented suggesting that NAD(+) is formed from each via nicotinic acid mononucleotide and deamido-NAD. 3. [(14)C]Nicotinamide served equally well as a precursor of NAD(+) and although significant amounts of [(14)C]NMN were detected, most of the [(14)C]NAD(+) was derived from nicotinate intermediates formed by deamination of [(14)C]nicotinamide. 4. Radioactive NMN was also a product of the metabolism of [(14)C]nicotinate and [(14)C]quinolinate but most probably it arose from the breakdown of [(14)C]NAD(+). 5. In barley leaves where the concentration of NAD(+) is markedly increased by infection with Erysiphe graminis, the pathways of NAD(+) biosynthesis did not appear to be altered after infection. A comparison of the rates of [(14)C]NAD(+) formation in infected and non-infected leaves indicated that the increase in NAD(+) content was not due to an increased rate of synthesis.     

Reduced nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide–nitrite reductase from Azotobacter chroococcum

1. The assimilatory nitrite reductase of the N(2)-fixing bacterium Azotobacter chroococcum was prepared in a soluble form from cells grown aerobically with nitrate as the nitrogen source, and some of its properties have been studied. 2. The enzyme is a FAD-dependent metalloprotein (mol.wt. about 67000), which stoicheiometrically catalyses the direct reduction of nitrite to NH(3) with NADH as the electron donor. 3. NADH-nitrite reductase can exist in two either active or inactive interconvertible forms. Inactivation in vitro can be achieved by preincubation with NADH. Nitrite can specifically protect the enzyme against this inactivation and reverse the process once it has occurred. 4. A. chroococcum nitrite reductase is an adaptive enzyme whose formation depends on the presence of either nitrate or nitrite in the nutrient solution. 5. Tungstate inhibits growth of the microorganism very efficiently, by competition with molybdate, when nitrate is the nitrogen source, but does not interfere when nitrite or NH(3) is substituted for nitrate. The addition of tungstate to the culture media results in the loss of nitrate reductase activity but does not affect nitrite reductase.     

Oxidized and reduced nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide phosphate in tissue suspensions of rat liver

1. The concentrations of NADP and NADPH(2) in homogenates of rat liver (expressed as mug./g. wet wt. of tissue homogenized) were compared with values obtained from intact samples of liver taken from the same female rat. With 0.25m-sucrose alone as the suspending medium, or in combination with tris buffer or 0.01-0.1m-nicotinamide, considerable decreases in the sum of the NADP+NADPH(2) concentrations were occasionally observed during 30min. storage of homogenates at 0 degrees . However, addition of 0.5m-nicotinamide+5mm-tris buffer to 0.25m-sucrose for use as a suspending medium maintained the sum of the NADP+NADPH(2) concentrations in homogenates at the level found in intact tissue for at least 30min. at 0 degrees . 2. The effects of freezing intact tissue and homogenates in liquid nitrogen before the extraction of NADP and NADPH(2) were studied. Freezing alone appears to convert a significant amount (approx. 30%) of liver NADPH(2) into an equivalent amount of NADP in intact tissue. This is discussed in terms of the ;bound NADP' reported by Burch, Lowry & Von Dippe (1963). 3. The intracellular distributions of NADP and NADPH(2) in intracellular fractions of rat liver were studied by using a modified centrifuging scheme that allows extraction of the isolated fractions to be performed within 45min. of killing the animal. Approx. 50% of the total NADP+NADPH(2) was found in the large-particle fractions and the remaining 50% was mostly in the soluble fraction of the cell. 4. Further investigations are reported on the nature of ;bound NADP' in rat liver. Most of this material appears associated with the ;nuclear' (containing nuclei, debris, erythrocytes etc.) or large-mitochondrial fractions, or both, obtained by low-speed centrifuging of rat-liver homogenates. 5. Although in some experiments the variations produced in the concentration of NADPH(2) present in large-particle fractions were followed by similar changes in that of ;bound NADP', in other cases no such direct relationship was obtained. Addition of phenazine methosulphate, for example, consistently lowered the concentration of NADPH(2) yet raised the concentration of ;bound NADP' in rat-liver mitochondrial fractions.     

The pathway of biosynthesis of nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide in rat mammary gland

1. The pathway of NAD synthesis in mammary gland was examined by measuring the activities of some of the key enzymes in each of the tryptophan, nicotinic acid and nicotinamide pathways. 2. In the tryptophan pathway, 3-hydroxyanthranilate oxidase and quinolinate transphosphoribosylase activities were investigated. Neither of these enzymes was found in mammary gland. 3. In the nicotinic acid pathway, nicotinate mononucleotide pyrophosphorylase, NAD synthetase, nicotinamide deamidase and NMN deamidase were investigated. Both NAD synthetase and nicotinate mononucleotide pyrophosphorylase were present but were very inactive. Nicotinamide deamidase, if present, had a very low activity and NMN deamidase was absent. 4. In the nicotinamide pathway both enzymes, NMN pyrophosphorylase and NMN adenylyltransferase, were present and showed very high activity. The activity of the pyrophosphorylase in mammary gland is by far the highest yet found in any tissue. 5. The apparent K(m) values for the substrates of these enzymes in mammary gland were determined. 6. On the basis of these investigations it is proposed that the main, and probably only, pathway of synthesis of NAD in mammary tissue is from nicotinamide via NMN.     

The role of nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide phosphate-dependent malate dehydrogenase and isocitrate dehydrogenase in the supply of reduced nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide phosphate for steroidogenesis in the superovulated rat ovary

1. Superovulated rat ovary was found to contain high activities of NADP-malate dehydrogenase and NADP-isocitrate dehydrogenase. The activity of each enzyme was approximately four times that of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase and equalled or exceeded the activities reported to be present in other mammalian tissues. Fractionation of a whole tissue homogenate of superovulated rat ovary indicated that both enzymes were exclusively cytoplasmic. The tissue was also found to contain pyruvate carboxylase (exclusively mitochondrial), NAD-malate dehydrogenase and aspartate aminotransferase (both mitochondrial and cytoplasmic) and ATP-citrate lyase (exclusively cytoplasmic). 2. The kinetic properties of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, NADP-malate dehydrogenase and NADP-isocitrate dehydrogenase were determined and compared with the whole-tissue concentrations of their substrates and NADPH; NADPH is a competitive inhibitor of all three enzymes. The concentrations of glucose 6-phosphate, malate and isocitrate in incubated tissue slices were raised at least tenfold by the addition of glucose to the incubation medium, from the values below to values above the respective K(m) values of the dehydrogenases. Glucose doubled the tissue concentration of NADPH. 3. Steroidogenesis from acetate is stimulated by glucose in slices of superovulated rat ovary incubated in vitro. It was found that this stimulatory effect of glucose can be mimicked by malate, isocitrate, lactate and pyruvate. 4. It is concluded that NADP-malate dehydrogenase or NADP-isocitrate dehydrogenase or both may play an important role in the formation of NADPH in the superovulated rat ovary. It is suggested that the stimulatory effect of glucose on steroidogenesis from acetate results from an increased rate of NADPH formation through one or both dehydrogenases, brought about by the increases in the concentrations of malate, isocitrate or both. Possible pathways involving the two enzymes are discussed.     

The synthesis of nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide and poly(adenosine diphosphate ribose) in various classes of rat liver nuclei

1. The activities of NMN adenylyltransferase and an enzyme that synthesizes poly (ADP-ribose) from NAD were investigated in the various classes of rat liver nuclei fractionated by zonal centrifugation. 2. The highest specific activities of these two nuclear enzymes occur in different classes of nuclei. In very young and in mature rats it was shown that a correlation exists between DNA synthesis and NMN adenylyltransferase activity, but in rats of intermediate age this correlation is less evident. The highest activities of the enzyme that catalyses formation of poly (ADP-ribose) are in the nuclei involved in the synthesis of RNA. 3. The significance of these results in relation to NAD metabolism is discussed.     

Purification and comparative properties of isoenzymes of nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide phosphate–isocitrate dehydrogenase from rat heart and liver

1. Rat liver and heart major isoenzymes of NADP-isocitrate dehydrogenase have each been purified about 100-fold by a combination of ammonium sulphate fractionation and chromatography on ion-exchange cellulose and their properties compared. 2. The properties were similar in respect of pH, inhibition by Hg(2+) and Michaelis constants for isocitrate and NADP. 3. Some of the properties of the isoenzymes were different. 4. The heart isoenzyme was activated about 210% by 0.8m-ammonium sulphate whereas the liver isoenzyme was unaffected. The heart isoenzyme showed greater sensitivity to inactivation by heat (30 degrees C for 30min), whereas the liver isoenzyme was more sensitive to inactivation by p-chloromercuribenzoate and by Cu(2+). 5. The Michaelis constants with 3-acetylpyridine-adenine dinucleotide phosphate showed a twofold difference between liver and heart isoenzyme. 6. The differential sensitivity to heat and its mainly non-cytoplasmic location may be an explanation of the failure of plasma isocitrate dehydrogenase activity to increase after a myocardial infarction.     

Active-site modification of native and mutant forms of inosine 5′-monophosphate dehydrogenase from Escherichia coli K12

IMP dehydrogenase of Escherichia coli was irreversibly inactivated by Cl-IMP (6-chloro-9-beta-d-ribofuranosylpurine 5'-phosphate, 6-chloropurine ribotide). The inactivation reaction showed saturation kinetics. 6-Chloropurine riboside did not inactivate the enzyme. Inactivation by Cl-IMP was retarded by ligands that bind at the IMP-binding site. Their effectiveness was IMP>XMP>GMP>AMP. NAD(+) did not protect the enzyme from modification. Inactivation of IMP dehydrogenase was accompanied by a change in lambda(max.) of Cl-IMP from 263 to 290nm, indicating formation of a 6-alkylmercaptopurine nucleotide. The spectrum of 6-chloropurine riboside was not changed by IMP dehydrogenase. With excess Cl-IMP the increase in A(290) with time was first-order. Thus it appears that Cl-IMP reacts with only one species of thiol at the IMP-binding site of the enzyme: 2-3mol of Cl-IMP were bound per mol of IMP dehydrogenase tetramer. Of ten mutant enzymes from guaB strains, six reacted with Cl-IMP at a rate similar to that for the native enzyme. The interaction was retarded by IMP. None of the mutant enzymes reacted with 6-chloropurine riboside. 5,5'-Dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid), iodoacetate, iodoacetamide and methyl methanethiosulphonate also inactivated IMP dehydrogenase. Reduced glutathione re-activated the methanethiolated enzyme, and 2-mercaptoethanol re-activated the enzyme modified by Cl-IMP. IMP did not affect the rate of re-activation of methanethiolated enzyme. Protective modification indicates that Cl-IMP, methyl methanethiosulphonate and iodoacetamide react with the same thiol groups in the enzyme. This is also suggested by the low incorporation of iodo[(14)C]acetamide into Cl-IMP-modified enzyme. Hydrolysis of enzyme inactivated by iodo[(14)C]acetamide revealed radioactivity only in S-carboxymethylcysteine. The use of Cl-IMP as a probe for the IMP-binding site of enzymes from guaB mutants is discussed, together with the possible function of the essential thiol groups.     

Proton translocation coupled to quinone reduction by reduced nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide in rat liver and ox heart mitochondria

Measurements were made of the stoicheiometry of proton-translocation coupled to NAD(P)H oxidation by several quinones (duroquinone, ubiquinone(0), ubiquinone(1), ubiquinone(2)) in mitochondria from rat liver and ox heart. Observed stoicheiometries of protons translocated per mol of NADH oxidized (-->H(+)/2e(-) ratios; Mitchell, 1966) ranged from 0.75 (rat liver mitochondria with ubiquinone(1)) to 1.55 (ox heart mitochondria with ubiquinone(1) or ubiquinone(2)). Only the rotenone-sensitive pathway of NADH oxidation by quinone was able to support proton translocation. Correction of the observed -->H(+)/2e(-) ratios for the loss of reducing equivalents to the rotenone-insensitive pathway increased their value to approx. 2.0. It is concluded that the rotenone-sensitive NADH- ubiquinone reductase activity of the respiratory chain may be organized in the mitochondrial membrane as a proton-translocating oxidoreduction loop. The number of such loops between NADH and ubiquinone is one, and not two, as initially proposed by Mitchell (1966).     

Relation between the oxidation state of nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide and the metabolism of spermatozoa

1. The existing procedures for extraction of oxidized and reduced nicotinamide coenzymes were adapted to spermatozoa to overcome the coenzyme-degrading activity of seminal plasma. 2. The content of total NAD(+) and NADH was determined in the spermatozoa of ram, bull, boar, stallion and cock. NADP(+) and NADPH were not detected in ram spermatozoa. 3. The oxidation state of sperm NAD depended on the seminal plasma, the removal of which produced a change in the percentage oxidation state of the coenzyme, 100x[NAD(+)/(NAD(+)+NADH)], without altering the total content of NAD(+)+NADH. 4. In suspensions of washed ram spermatozoa, incubated anaerobically at 25 degrees C, the percentage oxidation state of NAD declined with increasing spermatozoa concentration. 5. When ram or boar spermatozoa that had been previously washed and resuspended in Ringer phosphate medium, were incubated anaerobically at 25 degrees C with various substances, pronounced effects on the percentage oxidation state of NAD could be observed with l-lactate, pyruvate, oxaloacetate, dihydroxyacetone, formaldehyde and glyceraldehyde; sorbitol and acetoacetate acted only on ram spermatozoa; fructose, glucose, mannose and acetaldehyde acted predominantly on boar spermatozoa. Formaldehyde lowered the (NAD(+)+NADH) content of ram spermatozoa, but none of the other substances had a comparable effect. 6. The percentage oxidation state of sperm NAD was not influenced by exogenous cysteine, cystine, ergothioneine or ascorbate. 7. A highly active sorbitol dehydrogenase could be prepared from ram, but not from boar, spermatozoa. 8. Sorbitol, acetoacetate and 3-hydroxybutyrate effectively supported the respiration of ram, but not boar, spermatozoa. 9. ;Cold shock', resulting from sudden cooling of spermatozoa, abolished motility completely and irreversibly but produced only a slow and partial decrease in the total NAD content. Slight over-heating, sufficient to produce loss of motility, had no adverse effect on the total NAD content. 10. Storage of ram sperm at 14 degrees C produced only a small decrease of NAD after 2 days, but subsequently the loss became greater.     

Biosynthesis of microsomal nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide phosphate–cytochrome c reductase by membrane-bound and free polysomes from rat liver

1. NADPH-ferricytochrome c oxidoreductase (EC 1.6.2.3) was purified from the endoplasmic reticulum of rat liver cells. The methods, which involved digestion of membrane with Steapsin, a crude pancreatic extract containing diastase and trypsin, gel filtration and preparative electrophoresis on polyacrylamide, provided an enzyme with a high specific activity in good yield. 2. The incorporation of (14)C-labelled amino acids into the purified reductase by the incubation of various subcellular fractions was studied. The microsome fraction, bound polysomes, free polysomes and detergent-treated polysomes effected the synthesis of the enzyme. 3. The reductase that had been synthesized by the polysomes was tightly bound to preparations of smooth-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum that were added to the incubation medium. 4. Reductase activity could be detected on both free and detergent-treated polysomes. Evidence is presented to show that this activity was due, at least in part, to the presence on the ribosomes of nascent enzyme. The association of enzyme with detergent-treated polysomes did not appear to be due to contamination of the ribosomes with either membrane or cell sap but it is possible for such ribosomes to adsorb some enzyme. 5. The amount of reductase activity associated with the detergent-treated polysomes was increased when the rats from which the polysomes were derived had been previously injected with phenobarbitone. 6. The results are discussed with respect to their relevance for the question of the existence of two functionally different groups of polysomes in the liver and for current ideas on the biogenesis of membranes.     

The characterization of two reduced nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide phosphate-linked aldehyde reductases from pig brain

1. NADPH-linked aldehyde reductase from pig, ox and rat brain exhibits non-linear reciprocal plots when partially purified enzyme preparations are studied. 2. In pig brain this non-linearity is due to the presence of two distinct aldehyde reductases, which can be separated by DEAE-cellulose chromatography. 3. These two enzymes can be distinguished by several criteria, including pH optima, Michaelis constants for substrates and their inhibitor sensitivity. 4. The probable role of these enzymes in the metabolism of the aldehydes derived from the biogenic amines is discussed.     

Control of the redox state of the nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide couple in rat liver cytoplasm

1. A study has been made of the ability of rat liver in vivo to maintain equilibrium in the combined glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, 3-phosphoglycerate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase reactions, i.e. in the system: [Formula: see text] Attempts were made to upset equilibrium. The [lactate]/[pyruvate] ratio was rapidly changed by injection of ethanol or crotyl alcohol, and the value of [ATP]/[ADP][HPO(4) (2-)] was rapidly changed by injection of ethionine or carbonyl cyanide p-trifluoromethoxy-phenylhydrazone. 2. The concentrations of the metabolites occurring in the above equation were measured in freeze-clamped liver. 3. Although the injected agents caused large changes in the concentrations of the individual components, near-equilibrium in the system was maintained, as indicated by the fact that the value of [ATP]/[ADP][HPO(4) (2-)], referred to as the phosphorylation state of the adenine nucleotides, measured directly agreed with the value calculated for equilibrium conditions from the above equation. 4. The results are discussed and taken to confirm that the order of magnitude of the value of the redox state of the cytoplasmic NAD couple in rat liver is controlled by the phosphorylation state of the adenine nucleotide system.     

The redox state of free nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide phosphate in the cytoplasm of rat liver

1. The concentrations of the oxidized and reduced substrates of the ;malic' enzyme (EC 1.1.1.40) and isocitrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.42) were measured in freeze-clamped rat livers. By assuming that the reactants of these dehydrogenase systems are at equilibrium in the cytoplasm the [free NADP(+)]/[free NADPH] ratio was calculated. The justification of the assumption is discussed. 2. The values of this ratio obtained under different nutritional conditions (well-fed, 48hr.-starved, fed with a low-carbohydrate diet, fed with a high-sucrose diet) were all of the same order of magnitude although characteristic changes occurred on varying the diet. The value of the ratio fell on starvation and on feeding with the low-carbohydrate diet and rose slightly on feeding with the high-sucrose diet. 3. The mean values of the ratio were calculated to be between 0.001 and 0.015, which is about 100000 times lower than the values of the cytoplasmic [free NAD(+)]/[free NADH] ratio. 4. The differences in the redox state of the two nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide couples can be explained on a simple physicochemical basis. The differences are the result of equilibria that are determined by the equilibrium constants of a number of highly active readily reversible dehydrogenases and transaminases and the concentrations of the substrates and products of these enzymes. 5. The decisive feature is the fact that the NAD and NADP couples share substrates. This sharing provides a link between the redox states of the two couples. 6. The application of the method of calculation to data published by Kraupp, Adler-Kastner, Niessner & Plank (1967), Goldberg, Passonneau & Lowry (1966) and Kauffman, Brown, Passonneau & Lowry (1968) shows that the redox states of the NAD and NADP couples in cardiac-muscle cytoplasm and in mouse-brain cytoplasm are of the same order as those in rat liver. 7. The determination of the equilibrium constant at 38 degrees , pH7.0 and I 0.25 (required for the calculation of the [free NADP(+)]/[free NADPH] ratio), gave a value of 3.44x10(-2)m for the ;malic' enzyme (with CO(2) rather than HCO(3) (-) as the reactant) and a value of 1.98x10(-2)m(-1) for glutathione reductase.     

The activities of nicotinamide mononucleotied adenylyltransferase and of nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide kinase in the livers of rats subjected to different hormonal treatments

1. The activities of NMN adenylyltransferase and of NAD(+) kinase have been measured in the livers of adrenalectomized or alloxan-diabetic rats and in the livers of rats treated with glucagon, pituitary growth hormone or thyroxine. 2. The activities of these enzymes have been compared with the effects of the same treatments on the nicotinamide nucleotide concentrations in the liver. 3. Alloxandiabetes (+37%) and thyroxine (+27%) both increased the activity of NMN adenylyltransferase. The other treatments were without effect on this enzyme. 4. Only thyroxine increased the activity of NAD(+) kinase significantly (+26%) although both adrenalectomy and glucagon tended to increase its activity. 5. The activity of NAD(+) glycohydrolase was measured in the livers of diabetic rats, and in the livers of rats treated with either growth hormone or thyroxine. Of these treatments, only growth hormone altered the enzyme activity (+26%, calculated on a total hepatic activity basis). 6. Female rats had a greater hepatic NAD(+)-kinase activity than males but there was no sex difference with respect to NMN adenylyltransferase. 7. The lack of correlation between the maximum potential activity of these three enzymes and the known changes of the nicotinamide nucleotides in each of the hormone conditions is discussed.