A case of congenital non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia caused by enzyme deficiency in pyruvate kinase

About a familial observation of PK deficiency, the authors emphasize the important clinical and biochemical heterogeneity. Interest of isotopic explorations in the therapeutic decision of splenectomy.     

Refolding of triose phosphate isomerase

The refolding and reactivation of the glycolytic enzyme triose phosphate isomerase (EC 5.3.1.1) has been studied. The enzyme, which is a dimer, is disaggregated and unfolded in solutions of guanidinium chloride. Unfolding, followed by changes in E(233), took place quite rapidly in 3m-guanidinium chloride (i.e. with a half-life of about 1 min). Refolding also took place rapidly when the solution was diluted about tenfold; two first-order processes could be resolved. Regain of enzymic activity was followed by diluting the solution of the denatured enzyme in guanidinium chloride into assay mixture. The half-life (i.e. the time when the activity was half the final activity) depended markedly on the concentration of protein at low concentrations (about 100ng/ml), but at higher concentrations the half-life became independent of concentration. Thus at low concentrations dimerization was a rate-determining step and this is taken to indicate that the monomers showed little or no activity under these conditions. The rate of regain of enzymic activity was the same as the rate of the slower process of refolding, which was detected spectroscopically. The native enzyme was resistant to proteolysis; high concentrations of subtilisin prevented regain of activity, but at lower concentrations refolding competed with proteolysis.     

Hereditary triose phosphate isomerase deficiency: seven new homozygous cases

Summary Seven new homozygous cases of hereditary triosephosphate isomerase (TPI) deficiency have been detected in five unrelated families. Two of the families originate in France, the others from Algeria, Yugoslavia, and Morocco. Only the parents coming from Algeria and Morocco were first cousins. In the other parents no evidence of consanguinity was found. All seven patients exhibited the same symptoms, i.e. hemolytic anemia appearing very early after birth associated with pregressive neuromuscular symptoms. Expression of the deficiency is heterogeneous; this had previously been pointed out in the previously reported cases of TPI deficiency. Red cell TPI activity was 3 to 4% of the normal mean in the patients and 50 to 60% in the parents. The latter did not exhibit any clinical symptoms. The levels of red cell glycolytic intermediates and the characteristics of the mutated TPI could be studied in four of the patients only. Substantial increases of red cell dihydroxyacetone phosphate and of fructose 1,6-diphosphate, normal Km of TPI for glyceraldehyde phosphate, and thermoinstability of the enzyme were found. In addition the electrophoretic pattern showed no significant modification of the mobility of the TPI bands, but abnormal decreased staining of the two more anodal bands.     

Studies of triose phosphate isomerase by hydrogen exchange

The (3)H-H exchange of chicken muscle and rabbit muscle triose phosphate isomerases was studied. Their behaviour was mostly very similar. ;Exchange-in' (acquisition of radioactivity when protein was incubated in (3)H(2)O) was measured at 37 degrees C and at pH7.5, and the rates of exchange of the native and liganded enzymes were compared. Inhibitors and substrates retarded exchange, substrates showing the most marked effect; structural rearrangements in the enzyme may thus play some part in catalysis. The inhibitor phosphoglycollate affected the rabbit enzyme, but had little or no effect on the chicken enzyme. ;Exchange-out' (loss of radioactivity from protein previously labelled by incubation in (3)H(2)O) was measured by hollow-fibre dialysis. When ligand was removed during the course of dialysis (by replacing buffer that contained ligand with buffer that lacked ligand) there was a prompt decrease in the number of labelled H atoms of the protein. Analysis of the curves provides some information about the number and half-lives of the responsive H atoms. Ligands decrease the motility of the protein and affect about one-fifth of the chain. Low concentrations of glycerol 3-phosphate have an effect that is greater than expected.     

Glucose phosphate isomerase deficiency with hereditary hemolytic anemia in a Spanish family: clinical and familial studies.

A new case of glucose phosphate isomerase deficiency associated with cogenital nonspherocytic hemolytic anemia is described in a 12-year-old girl of Spanish origin. The parents exhibited erythrocyte glucose phosphate isomerase activity between 50 and 60% of normal. The enzyme of the propositus had normal Michaelis-Menten constants both for F-6-P and G-6-P, but abnormal pH optimum and decreased heat stability at 48 degrees C. On starch-gel electrophoresis the father's enzyme was normal but the mother's showed a cathodic migrating band in addition to the normal one. The enzyme from the propositus exhibited only one band with cathodal mobility of 116% of the main band found in normal subjects. It is postulated that the propositus is double heterozygous for two abnormal alleles, and the mother contributes a mutant allele with abnormal electrophoretic mobility and thermolability at 48 degrees C whereas the father contributes an allele without enzymatic activity.     

The active centre of triose phosphate isomerase

1. Cystamine (2,2'-diaminodiethyl disulphide) caused an unmasking of mitochondrial adenosine triphosphatase and a leakage of Mg(2+) from the mitochondria, and decreased the stimulation of adenosine triphosphatase by 2,4-dinitrophenol. When Mg(2+) was added, cystamine potentiated the activation of adenosine triphosphatase by 2,4-dinitrophenol. 2. Cystamine was without effect on the adenosine triphosphatase of disrupted mitochondria. 3. Cystamine was moderately potent as an uncoupling agent and as an inhibitor of the [(32)P]P(i)-ATP exchange reaction. 4. Cysteamine (2-aminoethanethiol) was without the above effects, when special precautions were taken to counteract its autoxidation. 5. The effects of cystamine should probably be ascribed to its disulphide group, since the diamine cadaverine protected slightly against the loss of Mg(2+) and the decrease of 2,4-dinitrophenol-stimulated adenosine-triphosphatase activity caused by aging of the mitochondria. It is suggested that cystamine acts by a breakdown of mitochondrial permeability barriers.     

pH-dependence of the triose phosphate isomerase reaction

1. Some kinetic properties of aspartate transcarbamoylase (EC 2.1.3.2), that had been purified approx. 20-fold from wheat germ, were studied. 2. A plot of enzyme activity against pH showed a low maximum at pH8.4 and a second, higher, maximum at pH10.5. A plot of percentage inhibition by 0.2mm-UMP against pH was approximately parallel to the plot of activity against pH, except that between pH6.5 and 7.5 the enzyme was insensitive to 0.2mm-UMP. 3. Kinetics were studied in detail at pH10.0 and 25 degrees C. In the absence of UMP, initial-rate plots were hyperbolic when the concentration of either substrate was varied. UMP decreased both V(max.) and K(m) in plots of initial rate against l-aspartate concentration, but the plots remained hyperbolic. However, UMP converted plots of initial rate against carbamoyl phosphate concentration into a sigmoidal shape, without significantly affecting V(max.). Plots of initial rate against UMP concentration were also sigmoidal. 4. The theoretical model proposed by Monod et al. (1965) gave a partial explanation of these results. When quasi-equilibrium conditions were assumed analysis in terms of this model suggested a trimeric enzyme binding the allosteric ligands, carbamoyl phosphate and UMP, nearly exclusively to the R and T conformational states respectively, and existing predominantly in the R state when ligands were absent. However, the values of the Hill coefficients for the co-operativity of each allosteric ligand were somewhat less than those predicted by the theory. 5. Some of the implications of these results are discussed, and the enzyme is contrasted with the well-known aspartate transcarbamoylase of Escherichia coli.     

Characterization of Sinorhizobium meliloti triose phosphate isomerase genes

A Tn5 mutant strain of Sinorhizobium meliloti with an insertion in tpiA (systematic identifier SMc01023), a putative triose phosphate isomerase (TPI)-encoding gene, was isolated. The tpiA mutant grew more slowly than the wild type on rhamnose and did not grow with glycerol as a sole carbon source. The genome of S. meliloti wild-type Rm1021 contains a second predicted TPI-encoding gene, tpiB (SMc01614). We have constructed mutations and confirmed that both genes encode functional TPI enzymes. tpiA appears to be constitutively expressed and provides the primary TPI activity for central metabolism. tpiB has been shown to be required for growth with erythritol. TpiB activity is induced by growth with erythritol; however, basal levels of TpiB activity present in tpiA mutants allow for growth with gluconeogenic carbon sources. Although tpiA mutants can be complemented by tpiB, tpiA cannot substitute for mutations in tpiB with respect to erythritol catabolism. Mutations in tpiA or tpiB alone do not cause symbiotic defects; however, mutations in both tpiA and tpiB caused reduced symbiotic nitrogen fixation.     

Studies on the sub-units of triose phosphate isomerase

The sub-unit structure of rabbit muscle triose phosphate isomerase was studied by determination of the number of unique cysteine peptides. Alkylation of the thiol groups with radioactive iodoacetate in the presence of guanidine hydrochloride gave the S-carboxy[¹⁴C]methyl derivative of the protein. This was digested with trypsin, and the radioactive peptides were fractionated by ion-exchange chromatography; four main radioactive peaks were obtained, one of which contained two radioactive peptides. Peptide `maps' of the tryptic digest showed five main spots. The relationship between the members of both sets of five peptides was established. The radioactive peptides were characterized, and the results indicated the presence of five unique cysteine residues in the protein. Since there are approximately ten thiol groups/molecule, there are two closely related or identical sub-units. Studies of the terminal residues bear out this suggestion; only one kind of N-terminal residue (alanine) and one kind of C-terminal residue (glutamine) were detected. These results are in accord with the evidence from crystallography.     

Phylogenetic utility of dynamin and triose phosphate isomerase

Abstract.  Dynamin and triose phosphate isomerase (Tpi), two markers suggested as potentially useful for insect phylogenetics, have been sequenced for 12 scale insect taxa (Hemiptera: Coccoidea). Protocols are given for their amplification using conventional polymerase chain reaction, and their phylogenetic utility has been evaluated using several qualitative criteria and a modified version of the partition addition bootstrap alteration approach. Dynamin and Tpi fragments are easy to amplify and are evolving at a rate comparable with widely used nuclear ribosomal markers. The dynamin fragment has a single short intron. The Tpi fragment has three introns. One possible drawback to the use of the dynamin fragment as a phylogenetic marker is that its short length limits accurate modelling of complex substitution processes.     

Recent amplification of triose phosphate isomerase related sequences in lettuce.

A random cDNA clone was identified as distinguishing near-isogenic lines for downy mildew resistance in lettuce. The clone detected multiple restriction fragments in genomic Southern blots of lettuce. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) detected by this clone mapped to separate clusters of resistance genes; therefore, these sequences were studied in a greater detail. Sequence analysis indicated that the cDNA encoded the glycolytic enzyme triose phosphate isomerase (TPI). The lettuce clone shares 85% sequence similarity at the amino acid level with TPI from maize. TPI-related sequences were mapped in lettuce using three crosses. Ten loci were distributed in six linkage groups. Possible mechanisms of amplification and dispersion were investigated. Retrotransposition was excluded, since intron five is retained in all TPI-related genomic sequences. Large scale chromosomal rearrangements were not involved, as RFLP markers flanking TPI loci were not duplicated. A high level of genomic variability was detected by the TPI clone; 37 different restriction fragments were detected in Southern hybridizations to 64 populations of lettuce including 47 cultivars of Lactuca sativa and five wild species. Species distantly related to L. sativa had few TPI loci, indicating that their amplification and dispersion were recent and had occurred after the emergence of the L. serriola complex.     

The amino acid sequence of rabbit muscle triose phosphate isomerase.

The amino acid sequence of rabbit muscle triose phosphate isomerase was deduced by characterizing peptides that overlap the tryptic peptides. Thiol groups were modified by oxidation, carboxymethylation or aminoen. About 50 peptides that provided information about overlaps were isolated; the peptides were mostly characterized by their compositions and N-terminal residues. The peptide chains contain 248 amino acid residues, and no evidence for dissimilarity of the two subunits that comprise the native enzyme was found. The sequence of the rabbit muscle enzyme may be compared with that of the coelacanth enzyme (Kolb et al., 1974): 84% of the residues are in identical positions. Similarly, comparison of the sequence with that inferred for the chicken enzyme (Furth et al., 1974) shows that 87% of the residues are in identical positions. Limited though these comparisons are, they suggest that triose phosphate isomerase has one of the lowest rates of evolutionary change. An extended version of the present paper has been deposited as Supplementary Publication SUP 50040 (42 pages) at the British Library (Lending Division) (formerly the National Lending Library for Science and Technology), Boston Spa, Yorks. LS23 7BQ, U.K., from whom copies can be obtained on the terms given in Biochem. J. (1975) 145, 5.