MODULATORS OF GLUTAMINASE ACTIVITY

Abstract— The activating effect of GTP on particulate preparations of glutaminase from rat brain or rat kidney was competitively inhibited by cyclic guanosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (_c-GMP). Similarly, the effect of ATP was inhibited by cyclic adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (_c-AMP). In the absence of an added activator, the glutaminase activity of brain or kidney particles, if measurable, was also inhibited by _c-GMP and _c-AMP. GTP was a stronger activator than ATP, and _c-GMP was a stronger inhibitor than _c-AMP, for the enzyme from either tissue. The K₁, of _c-GMP was about 40 mM, that of _c-AMP was about 60 mM, as determined with a brain preparation. Soluble preparations of glutaminase from pig brain and pig kidney were activated, in decreasing order of efficiency, by riboflavin phosphate, GTP, ATP and orthophosphate. The relative potencies were similar for the soluble enzymes from brain and kidney and also in the particulate and soluble forms of the brain enzyme. The apparent K_m, values for the soluble brain enzyme were about the same (9–10 mM) whether riboflavin phosphate, GTP, ATP or 100 mM orthophosphate were used as activators. The Km increased with concentrations of orthophosphate lower than 100 mM, but was not significantly affected by changes in the concentrations of the other activators. Results for the kidney enzyme were similar, but the K_m, tended to be somewhat lower. The estimation of the apparent K_A with either the brain or kidney enzyme preparation indicated that affinities and activating efficiency were related. The activating effects of carboxylic acids on the soluble brain enzyme were similar to those on the particulate brain enzyme in terms of some correlation to the number of carboxylic groups per molecule and the potentiation by orthophosphate, but in the soluble kidney enzyme these effects were less marked or absent.     

UPTAKE AND METABOLISM OF GLUTAMATE IN ASTROCYTES CULTURED FROM DISSOCIATED MOUSE BRAIN HEMISPHERES

Abstract— Uptake kinetics of l -glutamate in cultured, normal glia cells obtained from the brain hemispheres of newborn mice were measured together with the activities of the glutamate metabolizing enzymes, glutamic-oxaloacetate-transaminase, glutamate dehydrogenase and glutamine synthetase. During 3 weeks of culturing, the activities of the enzymes rose from low neonatal values toward the levels in the adult brain (206, 12.3 and 25.9 nmol. min⁻¹. mg⁻¹ cell protein for the three enzymes, respectively). The uptake kinetics indicated an unsaturable component together with an uptake following Michaelis-Menten kinetics with a K_m of 220 μ m and a V _max of 7.9 nmol. min⁻¹. mg⁻¹ cell protein. The saturable glutamate uptake was inhibited by d -glutamate, l -aspartate and α-aminoadipate whereas l -glutamine, GABA and glutarate had no effect. The uptake which was Ca²⁺-independent had a K_m for sodium of 18m m and it was stimulated by an increase in the external potassium concentration from 5 to 10 and 25 m m. The results suggest that glia cells are important for the uptake of glutamate from synaptic clefts and for the subsequent metabolism of glutamate.     

NET PRODUCTION OF γ-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID IN ASTROCYTES IN PRIMARY CULTURES DETERMINED BY A SENSITIVE MASS SPECTROMETRIC METHOD

A sensitive and specific high resolution mass spectrometric method, using a deuterium labelled internal standard, was developed for the quantitation of GABA in biological materials. GABA was converted to the DNS-γ-butyrolactam, isolated by thin layer chromatography and quantitated by the integrated ion current procedure. The method was used to measure the GABA content of cultured astrocytes (0.0545 nmol/mg protein, depending upon the culturing conditions), of fresh media (0.02–0.04 μM) and of conditioned media (after culturing in the absence of added GABA: 0.02–1.8 μM, depending upon the culturing conditions). An estimate of the rate of GABA production was obtained from the concentration in conditioned media and in the cells when GABA degradation was inhibited by AOAA (13 μM). The production of GABA was negligible in the cells grown under ordinary conditions but increased to 0.3 nmol/h per mg protein in cells which had been grown in the presence of 0.25 mM- dibutyryl cyclic AMP for 1 week. This value is of the same order of magnitude as the GAD activity observed in extraneurónal tissue. However, the GABA production measured mass spectrometrically was much lower than that of labelled GABA from [U-¹⁴C]glutamate. The latter value was non-reproducible and varied from one batch of radioactive glutamate to another.     

KINETICS OF ADENOSINE UPTAKE INTO ASTROCYTES

Abstract— Kinetics for uptake of adenosine, a putative inhibitory transmitter, were measured in normal, i.e. non-transformed, astrocytes in cultures obtained from the dissociated, cortex-enriched superficial parts of the brain hemispheres of newborn DBA mice. The uptake kinetics indicated a minor, unsaturable component together with a rather intense (V_max 0.36nmol/min per mg protein) high affinity ( K _m 3.4 μ m ) uptake following Michaelis-Menten kinetics and inhibited by 100 μ m -papaverine. The V_max was about two times higher than that reported in the literature for brain slices suggesting that a considerable part of the adenosine uptake in brain slices occurs into glial cells. Such an accumulation of adenosine into normal astrocytes may play a major role in nucleoside and nucleotide metabolism in the brain and help in regulating the extracellular adenosine concentration.     

EFFECT OF CYSTEINE AND METHIONINE ON SULFATE UPTAKE AND PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY BY AXENIC ALGAL CULTURES AND LAKE MICROPLANKTON COMMUNITIES1

The presence of up to 500 μg sulfur·l^?1 of an equimolar mixture of cysteine and methionine had virtually no effect on the SO₄^2- uptake rate of Navicula pelliculosa, (Bréb.) Hilse whereas the rate of Ankistrodesmus falcatus (Corda) Ralfs was decreased by the presence of 500 μg S· l^?1 and Anabaena flos-aquae (Lyngbye) Bréb. by 50 μg S·l^?1. Primary productivity in these axenic cultures was affected (decreased) only in A. falcatus. The C:S uptake ratio was lowest in N. pelliculosa and highest in A. falcatus. Considering these species as representative of groups of naturally occurring algae, patterns of SO₄^2- uptake and primary productivity in a eutrophic and a moderately oligotrophic lake reflected the results of the algal culturing experiments: SO₄^2- uptake rates, relative to primary productivity, were higher in the presence of diatoms and bluegreen algae and lower when green algae were present; the addition of the cysteine I methionine mixture to the lake waters decreased the rate of microplankton SO₄^2- uptake in correlation with the makeup of the algal community; primary productivity decreased upon the addition of cysteine I methionine when green algae were relatively abundant. It is concluded that, in most fresh water systems, the effects of organic sulfur pollution on algal SO₄^2- uptake and primary productivity are insignificant as compared to other ecological changes that occur due to that pollution.     

INTERACTIONS AMONG PHOSPHATE UPTAKE,PHOTOSYNTHESIS, AND CHLOROPHYLL FLUORESCENCE IN NUTRIENT‐LIMITED CULTURES OF THE CHLOROPHYTE MICROALGA DUNALIELLA TERTIOLECTA1

Phosphate‐limited and phosphate‐sufficient continuous cultures of the marine chlorophyte microalga Dunaliella tertiolecta Butcher were examined for their responses to the addition of phosphate. Phosphate‐limited cultures showed a marked quenching of chl fluorescence following a pulse of phosphate. This response was absent from cells growing under phosphate‐sufficient conditions. Both the extent of fluorescence quenching (where present) and the initial rate of change in quenching were dependent on the concentration of phosphate added to cell suspensions and on the degree of limitation (growth rate in continuous culture). The addition of phosphate also brought about a transient decrease in photosynthetic oxygen evolution and a stimulation in respiration, which were relaxed as the added phosphate was depleted from the external medium. The applicability of using nutrient‐induced fluorescence transients as a tool to identify the nutrient status of phytoplankton populations is discussed.     

NITRATE AND PHOSPHATE UPTAKE INTERACTIONS IN A MARINE PRYMNESIOPHYTE1

The short- and long-term uptake of nitrate and phosphate ions, and their interactions, were studied as functions of the preconditioning of Pavlova lutheri (Droop) Green. Populations were preconditioned in continuous culture at a variety of growth rates and N:P supply ratios. The maximum uptake rates cell^?1 for nitrate and phosphate were of similar magnitudes, in spite of the forty-fold smaller requirement for phosphorus. Short-term phosphate uptake was independent of the nitrate concentration, but the short-term nitrate uptake rate was reduced in the presence of phosphate. The severity of inhibition of nitrate uptake by phosphate was positively correlated with the preconditioning N:P supply ratio and the preconditioning growth rate. In response to large additions of nutrients, P. lutheri was able to increase its phosphorus content sixty-fold, but was only able to take up enough nitrate to double its nitrogen content. The high rate of phosphate uptake relative to its requirement, the inhibition of nitrate uptake by phosphate, and the large capacity for phosphorus storage relative to its requirement, all of which were observed even under N limitation, may imply that even where nitrogen is limiting there can be interspecific competition for available phosphate.     

谷氨酰胺合成酶在固氮鱼腥藻固氮调节中的作用

在MSX(methlonine sulfoximine,谷氨酰胺合成酶的不可逆抑制剂)存在下,固氮鱼腥藻(Anabaena azotica)所分泌的氨量和谷氨酰胺合成酶(GS)活力有较好的负相关性,证明谷氨酰胺合成酶-谷氨酸合成酶(GS-GOGAT)是固氮鱼腥藻氨同化的重要途径。在蛋白质合成受到氯霉素拟制时,NH_4~ 对固氮酶的失活是迅速的,同时GS活力有较大下降,表明NH_4~ 的调控酶的失活或降解。在氮固定条件下,固氮酶活力半衰期小于4小时,GS活力半衰期大于10小时,则GS并不是固氮酶的正调节因子。NH_4~ 和谷氨酰胺(gln)对固氮酶的失活作用随它的浓度增加而提高,但GS并没有这种相关性,低浓度NH_4~ (0.1—0.5mmol/L·NH_4Cl)对GS活力没有抑制作用,高浓度gln(1.0—2.0mmol/L)也没有抑制GS活力,说明GS并不直接调控固氮酶。MSX能消除NH_4~ 和gln对固氮酶的抑制作用,并与藻龄有关。     

MITOTIC ACTIVITY AND CELL PROLIFERATION IN PRIMARY INDUCTION OF NEWT EMBRYO

Mitotic activity and cell proliferation of newt ( Triturus pyrrhogaster ) embryo were examined with special reference to primary induction.
Mitotic activity of gastrula ectoderm gradually decreases during gastrulation. The ectoderm, which is isolated from mid-gastrula (stage 12b) and cultured in vitro , also shows gradual decrease in mitotic activity during cultivation and the mitotic activity steeply decreases after 48 hr.
The ectoderm cultured with heterologous inductor (GPL-extract) shows a temporal suppression in mitotic activity. The ectoderm of the whole gastrula also shows a regional suppression where it is in contact with the chorda-mesoderm.
The number of the ectodermal cells increases about 2 times after 24 hr culture and to more than 3 times after 48 hr culture. Accordingly it is certain that the majority of the ectodermal cells divides at least one time in the course of 48 hr.
Histological examination of the ectoderm cultured together with the inductor reveals that differentiation of undifferentiated ectoderm to neural tissues is accomplished at least within 48 hr after cultivation with the inductor.
The present examination shows the possibility that the mitotic activity of the ectoderm may be temporarily suppressed by the inductor and that it then decreases along with neural cell differentiation after recovery of the activity.
The results also suggest that the determination of undifferentiated ectoderm to neural tissues occurs before the second cell division after the contact with the inductor and the events occurring during the first cell cycle after activating by the inducing stimulus are critical for the primary induction.     

IN SITU UPTAKE KINETICS OF AMMONIUM AND PHOSPHATE AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE RED SEAWEED GRACILARIA TIKVAHIAE1

The uptake kinetics of ammonium and phosphate by Gracilaria tikvahiae McLachlan were studied under field conditions. Seaweeds, pulse fed once a week for 6 h over a 4-week period, had maximum uptake rates of 19 μmol·g fwt^?1·h^?1 for ammonium and 0.28 μmol·g fwt^?1·h^?1 for phosphate. For both nutrients there was a positive linear correlation between uptake rate (v) and concentration (S) over the entire range of concentration tested. In a nutrient depletion experiment, the phosphate uptake curve determined over a wide range of concentrations consisted of two stages of saturation at low concentrations, and a linear phase at high concentrations. Ash free dry weight, chlorophyll a, phycoerythrin, and protein content were higher in pulse fed plants than in control plants receiving no nutrient additions, while the reverse held true for carbohydrate contents and the C/N ratios. The C/N ratio inversely correlated with ammonium and phosphate uptake rate as well as protein and phycoerythrin content, and positively with carbohydrate content.     

谷氨酰胺合成酶活性与水稻杂种优势预测

从杂种优势预测生理指标需具备的３个基本条件入手,对杂交水稻及其亲本生长发育过程中的谷氨酰胺合成酶（ＧＳ,ＥＣ６、３、１、２）活性进行研究,结果表明：水稻ＧＳ活性在整个生育期中的变化呈现一定的规律性,并且杂种酶活性是由其双亲遗传性所决定的;同时,ＧＳ活性与多个生理性状及产量性状具有一定的相关性;在孕穗期和抽穗期与产量性状的关系尤为密切,因此,在生殖生长期ＧＳ活性在一定程度上可以反映产量性状的优势水平,可望作为水稻杂种优势预测的一个辅助指标。     

光合细菌(Rhodopseudomonas capsulata)固氮活性与钼的吸收

利用紫色非硫细菌能在厌气光照下和好气黑暗下交替生长的特点和同位素~(99)Mo示踪,来探讨Rhodopseudomonas capsulata中Mo的积累与固氮酶合成的关系。 用硫酸铵和谷氨酸盐作为氮源,把Rps. capsulata置于厌气光照下生长。由于硫酸铵阻遏固氮酶,所以菌体内既无固氮酶活性也无~(99)Mo积累。而谷氨酸盐解遏固氮酶的合成,菌体则显示固氮活性并有~(99)Mo积累。 黑暗好气生长的Rps. capsulata菌体既无固氮活性,也没有~(99)Mo的积累。将这样的菌体转移到含~(99)Mo(无谷氨酸)的培养液进行光照,固氮酶活性迅速出现,同时有~(99)Mo的积累。在Rps. capsulata中钼的吸收与固氮酶的合成及活性是紧密偶联的。