Effect of nicotinic acid on chicken liver protein kinase activity and cAMP content

The biosynthesis of fatty acids in the chicken liver was stimulated by feeding up chickens with high-carbon products. After fasting the cAMP content and protein kinase activity in chicken fall considerably as compared to the control. After administration of nicotinic acid to chicken under experiment the content of cAMP and the protein kinase activity in the liver tissue rise to the highest extent, returning to initial values by the end of the day. The maximal increase in the cAMP content and protein kinase activity coincides in time with the maximum of the acetyl-CoA-carboxylase activity decrease. An assumption is advanced that biosynthesis of fatty acids in the liver tissue of chickens is regulated by a change in the degree of acetyl-CoA-carboxylase phosphorylation with the participation of adenylate cyclase system.     

Structure, properties and regulation of acetyl-CoA-carboxylase activity

The paper deals with the analysis of data available in literature and those of the authors' own investigations concerning the structure, properties and regulation of acetyl-CoA-carboxylase. Nicotinic acid is one of the factors regulating the enzyme activity in the animal liver. It inhibits the acetyl-CoA-carboxylase activity through two mechanisms--allosteric regulation and covalent modification. A comparative characteristic of the studied enzyme preparations has shown that administration of nicotinic acid to animals leads to phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA-carboxylase which affects its structure. A complex with homogenic acetyl-CoA-carboxylase is found to contain cAMP-independent and cAMP-dependent protein kinase. The phosphorylation is controlled by citrate competing with nicotinic acid for the coupling sites.     

Citrate influence on acetyl-CoA-carboxylase activation and phosphorylation in chicken liver with lipogenesis inhibited by nicotinic acid

Nicotinic acid in vivo affects the citrate demand for acetyl-CoA-carboxylase activation in the chicken liver under conditions of alimentary lipogenesis stimulation. Stoichiometry of the citrate binding with the dissociation constant of the enzyme-allosteric activator complex is determined under experimental conditions. Endogenic phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA-carboxylase completely correlates with its inactivation and depends on the citrate level. cAMP is established to have an activating effect on phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA-carboxylase of test animals.     

Properties and biosynthesis of acetyl-CoA-carboxylase from chicken liver with administration of nicotinic acid during stimulation of lipogenesis

Acetyl-CoA-carboxylase is isolated and purified to a homogeneous state from the chicken liver with alimentary lipogenesis stimulation. Under the action of nicotinic acid in vivo the specific enzyme activity is shown to decrease considerably followed by some variations in its properties. According to the results obtained during ultracentrifugation and PAAG electrophoresis nicotinic acid causes partial enzyme deaggregation with simultaneous increase of its phosphorylation. The latter is accompanied by a rise in the content of phosphate labile to alkali on acetyl-CoA-carboxylase subunits. Nicotinic acid in vivo has practically no effect on acetyl-CoA-carboxylase synthesis and decay rate. Its inhibiting action is induced by stimulation of enzyme phosphorylation.     

Phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA-carboxylase in the chicken liver during intensification of lipogenesis and treatment with nicotinic acid

Sites of cAMP and ATP binding which regulate acetyl-CoA-carboxylase phosphorylation rate characterized under conditions of lipogenesis intensification and nicotinic acid action on this enzyme 1500 fold purified and containing proteinkinase activity. The acetyl-CoA-carboxylase preparation contains only one type of the cAMP binding sites which possess higher capacity under the action of nicotinic acid in vivo. A decrease of the cAMP binding under the conditions of lipogenesis intensification is induced by diminution of the cAMP binding site capacity without changing the binding constant value. It is established that [gamma-32P]ATP is incorporated in enzyme with Km value equal for two states under study. It this case the [gamma-32P]ATP incorporation rate is much higher for acetyl-CoA-carboxylase produced from chicken liver under the action of nicotinic acid.     

Isolation and characterization of phosphofructo 2-kinase from chicken erythrocytes

1. Phosphofructo 2-kinase from chicken erythrocytes copurifies with fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase activity, suggesting that the enzyme is bifunctional. 2. Similarly to phosphofructo 2-kinase from other tissues it is activated by inorganic phosphate, and inhibited by phosphoenol pyruvate, sn-glycerol 3-phosphate and citrate. However, it has some characteristics different than those of chicken liver phosphofructo 2-kinase, indicating that it is a distinct isozyme. 3. The phosphofructo 2-kinase/fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase activity ratio of the erythrocyte enzyme is one order of magnitude higher than that of the enzyme from liver. In contrast with the chicken liver enzyme, phosphofructo 2-kinase from chicken erythrocytes is activated by dithiothreitol and its activity increases with pH. 4. Chicken erythrocyte phosphofructo 2-kinase activity is neither modified by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase or casein kinase I and II. In contrast, it is partially inhibited by protein kinase C.     

Inhibition of activity of acetyl-CoA-carboxylase from chicken liver by nicotinic acid and its derivatives]

Nicotinic acid and nicotinamide inhibit in vitro the acetyl-CoA-carboxylase activity of partially purified enzyme from chicken liver. The incorporation of 10, 20, 50 and 100 mkmoles of nicotinic acid or nicotinamide into the incubation medium (0,9 ml) leads to the inhibition of the enzyme activity by 19, 45, 70 and 100% and by 39, 51, 60 and 78%, respectively. NADH+ and NADP+ at concentrations by one order of magnitude lower than those of nicotinic acid and nicotinamide decrease the enzyme activity in a similar manner. The constants of inhibition by the above-mentioned compounds were calculated with respect to ATP, acetyl-CoA and citrate.     

Inactivation of pyruvate kinase type M2 from chicken liver by phosphorylation, catalyzed by a cAMP-independent protein kinase.

A cAMP-independent protein kinase from chicken liver phosphorylated and inactivated pyruvate kinase type M2 from the same tissue. Complete inactivation was reached when 4 mol of phosphate were incorporated/mol of tetrameric pyruvate kinase. The protein kinase bound with high affinity to pyruvate kinase type M2 (Km value for pyruvate kinase = 6 X 10(-10)M; it phosphorylated phosvitin and casein but not histones, ATP and GTP were substrates. The differences between the properties of this protein kinase in the interconversion of pyruvate kinase and that described previously are discussed.     

Purification and properties of phosphofructokinase 2/fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase from chicken liver and from pigeon muscle

Phosphofructokinase 2 and fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase extracted from either chicken liver or pigeon muscle co-purified up to homogeneity. The two homogeneous proteins were found to be dimers of relative molecular mass (Mr) close to 110,000 with subunits of Mr 54,000 for the chicken liver enzyme and 53,000 for the pigeon muscle enzyme. The latter also contained a minor constituent of Mr 54,000. Incubation of the chicken liver enzyme with the catalytic subunit of cyclic-AMP-dependent protein kinase in the presence of [gamma-32P]ATP resulted in the incorporation of about 0.8 mol phosphate/mol enzyme. Under similar conditions, the pigeon muscle enzyme was phosphorylated to an extent of only 0.05 mol phosphate/mol enzyme and all the incorporated phosphate was found in the minor 54,000-Mr constituent. The maximal activity of the native avian liver phosphofructokinase 2 was little affected by changes of pH between 6 and 10. Its phosphorylation by cyclic-AMP-dependent protein kinase resulted in a more than 90% inactivation at pH values below 7.5 and in no or little change in activity at pH 10. Intermediary values of inactivation were observed at pH values between 8 and 10. Muscle phosphofructokinase 2 had little activity at pH below 7 and was maximally active at pH 10. Its partial phosphorylation resulted in a further 25% decrease of its already low activity measured at pH 7.1 and in a negligible inactivation at pH 8.5. Phosphoenolpyruvate and citrate inhibited phosphofructokinase 2 from both origins non-competitively. The muscle enzyme and the phosphorylated liver enzyme displayed much more affinity for these inhibitors than the native liver enzyme. Fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase from both sources had about the same specific activity but only the chicken liver enzyme was activated about twofold upon incubation with ATP and cyclic-AMP-dependent protein kinase. All enzyme forms were inhibited by fructose 6-phosphate and this inhibition was released by inorganic phosphate and by glycerol 3-phosphate. Both liver and muscle fructose 2,6-bisphosphatases formed a 32P-labeled enzyme intermediate when incubated in the presence of fructose 2,6-[2-32P]bisphosphate.     

Structure and developmental expression of the chicken CDC2 kinase.

The cdc2 protein kinase plays a key role in controlling the eukaryotic cell cycle. We have isolated a cDNA clone for the chicken homolog of the cdc2 gene, raised antibodies against the corresponding protein, and studied the expression of cdc2 mRNA and protein during chicken embryonic development. The protein encoded by the chicken cdc2 cDNA shares extensive structural homology with cdc2 gene products from other species. Moreover, when expressed in fission yeast, the chicken cdc2 kinase is able to rescue a temperature-sensitive (ts) cdc2 mutant, demonstrating that it is functional as a cell cycle regulator. By Northern analysis and immunoblotting, we found that in total embryos both cdc2 mRNA and protein levels decreased substantially between day 3 and day 11 after egg laying, and no significant amounts of either cdc2 mRNA or protein were detected in adult liver, brain, heart or skeletal muscle. These data indicate the existence of a coarse correlation between the abundance of cdc2 mRNA and the proliferative state of a given tissue. Interestingly, however, when examining individual embryonic tissues, no correlation was observed between levels of cdc2 mRNA and protein, suggesting that cdc2 expression in developing chicken may be regulated at multiple levels.     

Molecular mechanisms of the regulation of phosphorylase kinase from skeletal muscles of mammals and birds

Red and white avian skeletal muscles (chicken and pigeon) contain the same alpha'-isoenzyme of phosphorylase kinase. According to data from gradient polyacrylamide slab electrophoresis in the presence of SDS, the molecular masses of beta- and gamma-subunits of phosphorylase kinase from rabbit, chicken and pigeon muscles are not identical. Electron microscopy data suggest that the quaternary structure of chicken and pigeon phosphorylase kinase is of the same type. The alpha'-isozyme of chicken and pigeon phosphorylase kinase is strongly activated by calmodulin and troponin C. Avian phosphorylase kinase is activated 2--3-fold by phosphorylation with cAMP-dependent protein kinase and by autophosphorylation. This activation is associated with the phosphorylation of both alpha'- and beta-subunits. The affinity of pigeon phosphorylase kinase a for Ca2+ is 20 times as high as that of phosphorylase kinase b.     

Mitochondrial adenylate kinase from chicken liver. Purification characterization and its cell-free synthesis

Mitochondrial adenylate kinase has been purified 5400-fold from chicken liver extract in an overall yield of 36%. The purified enzyme has a specific activity of 810 U/mg, a molecular weight of 28 000, and the following amino acid composition: 21 aspartic acid or asparagine, 14 threonine, 17 serine, 27 glutamic acid or glutamine, 16 proline, 22 glycine, 22 alanine, 15 valine, 6 methionine, 11 isoleucine, 29 leucine, 5 tyrosine, 7 phenylalanine, 16 lysine, 7 histidine, 19 arginine, 3 half-cystine, and no tryptophan, totalling 257 residues. The purified enzyme has one disulfide bond and one sulfhydryl group. The disulfide bond is related to the active conformation of the enzyme, whereas the sulfhydryl group does not contribute to the enzyme activity. The sulfhydryl group is easily oxidized in the presence of Cu2+ resulting in the formation of dimer with about one half of the specific activity of the monomer. The enzyme is similar to porcine heart mitochondrial adenylate kinase in antigenicity but different from chicken cytosolic adenylate kinase. Mitochondrial adenylate kinase was synthesized in the mRNA-dependent rabbit reticulocyte lysate system programmed with total chicken liver RNA. The mobility in sodium dodecylsulfate gel electrophoresis of the product obtained in vitro was the same as that of the purified mitochondrial adenylate kinase. This evidence indicates that the mitochondrial adenylate kinase is synthesized as a polypeptide with a molecular weight indistinguishable from that of the mature protein.     

Enzymatically inactive p60c-src mutant with altered ATP-binding site is fully phosphorylated in its carboxy-terminal regulatory region

Cellular src protein, p60c-src, is phosphorylated on tyrosine 527 in chicken embryo fibroblasts, and this phosphorylation is implicated in suppressing the protein-tyrosine kinase activity and transforming potential of p60c-src. To determine whether tyrosine 527 phosphorylation is dependent on p60c-src kinase activity, the ATP-binding site of chicken p60c-src was destroyed by substitution of lysine 295 with methionine. The resultant protein, p60c-src(M295), expressed either in chicken cells or in yeast, lacked detectable kinase activity. Nevertheless, tyrosine and serine phosphorylation of p60c-src(M295) overproduced in chicken cells were indistinguishable from that of authentic p60c-src. By contrast, p60c-src(M295) was not phosphorylated on tyrosine in yeast. These results suggest that a protein kinase present in chicken cells but not in yeast phosphorylates tyrosine 527 in trans, and are consistent with the possibility that this kinase is distinct from p60c-src.     

Purification and properties of pyruvate kinase type M2 from rat lung

(1) Pyruvate kinase type M₂ from rat lung has been purified 840-fold with an overall yield of 20%. The enzyme gave a single band upon SDS-electrophoresis and isoelectrofocusing and had a specific activity of 1340 U/mg protein. The homotetramer of M_r = 224 000 and an isoelectric point of pH 5.8 had an amino acid composition closely resembling that of other pyruvate kinase isoenzymes type M₂, excepts that of the chicken liver. The enzyme was crystallized. (2) The enzyme has its pH optimum at pH 6.5. The K_0.5 value for phosphoenolpyruvate is 0.26 mM (n_H = 1.81) which decreases in the presence of 0.2 mM fructose 1,6-bisphosphate to 0.056 mM (n_H = 1.06). 1 μM fructose 1,6-bisphosphate activates the enzyme at 0.1 mM phosphoenolpyruvate half-maximally. The K_m value for ADP at 1 mM phosphoenolpyruvate is 0.4 mM. The K_m value for other nucleoside diphosphates increases in the order ADP<GDP<IDP<UDP. (3) No evidence for an interconversion of pyruvate kinase type M₂ from rat or chicken lung was found. The enzyme was neither a substrate for the cAMP-dependent protein kinase from rabbit muscle nor for the cAMP-independent protein kinase from chicken liver. Since pyruvate kinase type M₂ from chicken liver is inactivated by phosphorylation catalyzed by a cAMP-independent protein kinase (Eigenbrodt, E., Abdel-Fattah Mostafa, M. and Schoner, W. (1977) Hoppe-Seyler's Z. Physiol. Chem. 358, 1047–1055) we suggest that the interconvertible form of pyruvate kinase type M₂ may represent a separate form of the pyruvate kinase type M₂ family.     

cDNA encoding a 59 kDa homolog of ribosomal protein S6 kinase from rabbit liver.

We have isolated cDNA molecules encoding a protein with the characteristic sequence elements that are conserved between the catalytic domains of protein kinases. This protein is apparently a serine/threonine kinase and is most closely related to the amino-terminal half of the ribosomal protein S6 kinase II first characterized in Xenopus eggs (42% overall identity and 56% identity in the predicted catalytic domain). However, it clearly differs from S6 kinase II in that it has only one, rather than two predicted catalytic domains and a deduced molecular mass of 59,109 Da. We propose that is may be more related to, or identical, with, the mitogen-inducible S6 kinase of molecular mass 65-70 kDa described in mammalian liver, mouse 3T3 cells and chicken embryos. Remarkable structural features of the cDNA-encoded polypeptide are a section rich in proline, serine and threonine residues that resemble the multiphosphorylation domains of glycogen synthase and phosphorylase kinase alpha subunit, and a characteristic tyrosine residue in the putative nucleotide-binding glycine cluster which, by analogy to cdc2 kinase, is a potential tyrosine phosphorylation site.     

The AMP-dependent kinase pathway is upregulated in BAP1 mutant uveal melanoma

Metastatic uveal melanoma (UM) responds poorly to targeted therapies and immune checkpoint inhibitors. Loss of BRCA1-associated protein 1 (BAP1) via inactivating mutations in the BAP1 gene is associated with UM progression. Thus, molecular alterations caused by BAP1 dysfunction may be novel therapeutic targets for metastatic UM. Here, we found that phosphorylation of AMP-dependent kinase (AMPK) was elevated in BAP1-altered (or mutant) compared to BAP1-unaltered (or wild-type [WT]) UM tumors. As a readout of AMPK pathway activation, phosphorylation of an AMPK downstream effector, acetyl-CoA-carboxylase (ACC), was also elevated. BAP1 re-expression in BAP1-null UM cell lines decreased phospho-AMPK (pAMPK) and phospho-ACC (pACC) levels. AMPK phosphorylation is mediated by calcium/calmodulin dependent protein kinase kinase 2 (CaMKK2) and potentially liver kinase B1 (LKB1) in BAP1 mutant UM cells. Knockdown of AMPKα1/2 reduced the viability of BAP1 mutant UM cells, indicating a survival function of AMPK in BAP1 mutant UM. Our data suggest that the AMPK pathway is an important mechanism mediating the survival of BAP1 mutant UM. Targeting the AMPK pathway may be a novel therapeutic strategy for metastatic UM.     

Nicotinic acid effect on acetyl-CoA-carboxylic activity in chicken liver

Changes of acetyl-CoA-carboxylase (EC 6.4.1.2) activity and the NAD content in the liver tissue were studied in dynamics after excessive administration of nicotinic acid to chickens. It is established that in chickens, which were given a high-carbohydrate diet after fasting, administration of nicotinic acid at first causes a fall of the acetyl-CoA-activity in the liver tissue, followed by its gradual rise against a background of the NAD content drop and by the 24th hour its level approaches the initial values. The maxima of NAD accumulation and of the acetyl-CoA-carboxylase activity decrease coincide in time. The administration of nicotinic acid to these chickens causes both a decrease in the intensity of 2-14C acetate incorporation into free fatty acids and a drop in their content.     

Immunohistochemical localization of pyruvate kinase isoenzymes in chicken tissues.

A method for the localization of pyruvate kinase isoenzymes type L, M2 and M1 in tissue sections is described. Mono-specific antibodies directed against isoenzymes of pyruvate kinase from chicken and the peroxidase antiperoxidase method were used. The following preferential localizations of the isoenzymes in chicken tissues were observed: Pyruvate kinase M1 was found in skeletal muscle. The white muscle fibers were more intensely stained than the red. Some dark muscles (e.g., anterior latissimus dorsi) and the heart muscle showed no reaction with antiserum against pyruvate kinase M1. Pyruvate kinase type L was found in the hepatocytes and in kidney cortex. Pyruvate kinase type M2 was seen in the distal tubules of kidney, in hepatocytes and sinusoidal cells in liver, in lung, adipose tissue, and in the spleen mainly in the bursa dependent areas. Pyruvate kinase type M2 was detected in high concentrations in the granulation tissue of regenerating liver after partial hepatectomy. Liver sections of a hen bearing a pancreatic tumor showed an unusually high content of pyruvate kinase type M2 in some hepatocytes, which were each clustered to spots in the liver parenchyma. Thus, contrary to previous reports, the tissue distribution of isoenzymes in chicken is similar to that of other vertebrates.     

Presence of histone H1o-related fraction in chicken liver

Abstract. The lysine-rich histones of chicken liver were studied in order to see whether a protein similar to mammalian histone H1o was present in this lower vertebrate. The following biochemical methods were used: sodium dodecylsulphate and acid-urea electrophoresis, gel exclusion chromatography on BioGel P100, and ion-exchange chromatography on BioRex 70. Specific polyclonal antibodies were elicited against purified mouse liver Hlo and chicken erythrocyte H5, and applied for the further characterization of the chicken H1 subfractions obtained chromatographically. The results from microcomplement fixation and enzymelinked immunosorbent assays showed that the presumptive chicken liver Hlo shared common antigenic determinants with the mammalian H1o and the chicken liver H5. Based on the combined biochemical and immunological evidence, we conclude that an H1o-like protein is present in quiescent differentiated avian cells. The data of Smith et al. [34], who did not find this specific lysine-rich histone in resting chicken cells, are discussed.     

The role of different pathways of mevalonate synthesis in the regulation of sterol and bile acid synthesis in the mammalian liver

The role of various pathways of synthesis are considered for mevalonic acid, the first specific precursor of sterols, in the production of cholesterol and bile acids in the mammalian liver. It is emphasized that the mevalonate synthesis with participation of acetyl-CoA-carboxylase and hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA-reductase not bound with the endoplasmic reticulum membranes results in formation of the pool of mevalonic acid and other precursors necessary mainly for the organism supply with bile acids under conditions of cholesterol synthesis inhibition.