Effects of the dietary supplements, activated charcoal and copper chlorophyllin, on urinary excretion of trimethylamine in Japanese trimethylaminuria patients

Trimethylaminuria (TMAU) is a metabolic disorder characterized by the inability to oxidize and convert dietary-derived trimethylamine (TMA) to trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO). This disorder has been relatively well-documented in European and North American populations, but no reports have appeared regarding patients in Japan. We identified seven Japanese individuals that showed a low metabolic capacity to convert TMA to its odorless metabolite, TMAO. The metabolic capacity, as defined by the concentration of TMAO excreted in the urine divided by TMA concentration plus TMAO concentration, in these seven individuals ranged from 70 to 90%. In contrast, there were no healthy controls examined with less than 95% of the metabolic capacity to convert TMA to TMAO. The intake of dietary charcoal (total 1.5 g charcoal per day for 10 days) reduced the urinary free TMA concentration and increased the concentration of TMAO to normal values during charcoal administration. Copper chlorophyllin (total 180 mg per day for 3 weeks) was also effective at reducing free urinary TMA concentration and increasing TMAO to those of concentrations present in normal individuals. In the TMAU subjects examined, the effects of copper chlorophyllin appeared to last longer (i.e., several weeks) than those observed for activated charcoal. The results suggest that the daily intake of charcoal and/or copper chlorophyllin may be of significant use in improving the quality of life of individuals suffering from TMAU.     

All or none fibrillogenesis of a prion peptide.

Amyloid proteins and peptides comprise a diverse group of molecules that vary both in size and amino-acid sequence, yet assemble into amyloid fibrils that have a common core structure. Kinetic studies of amyloid fibrillogenesis have revealed that certain amyloid proteins form oligomeric intermediates prior to fibril formation. We have investigated fibril formation with a peptide corresponding to residues 195-213 of the human prion protein. Through a combination of kinetic and equilibrium studies, we have found that the fibrillogenesis of this peptide proceeds as an all-or-none reaction where oligomeric intermediates are not stably populated. This variation in whether oligomeric intermediates are stably populated during fibril formation indicates that amyloid proteins assemble into a common fibrillar structure; however, they do so through different pathways.     

Arachidonate 15-lipoxygenase from human eosinophil-enriched leukocytes: partial purification and properties

Arachidonate 15-lipoxygenase was purified from human eosinophil-enriched leukocytes after showing that 15-lipoxygenase activity was 100-fold greater in eosinophils than in neutrophils. Partial purification was achieved using ammonium sulfate precipitation, cation-exchange and hydrophobic-interaction chromatography. New evidence is presented suggesting that 15-lipoxygenase has electrostatic and hydrophobic properties distinct from 5-lipoxygenase. In addition, ATP is shown to inhibit, and phosphatidylcholine is shown to stimulate, 15-lipoxygenase, suggesting a regulatory role for these compounds in the lipoxygenation of arachidonic acid.     

pHi controls cytoplasmic calcium in rat parotid cells.

The goal of this investigation was to determine if cytoplasmic pH (pHi) modulated the basal level of the concentration of calcium ions in the cytoplasm (Cai) in rat parotid cells. We investigated the effects of various experimental manipulations on both pHi and Cai as measured with BCECF and the calcium photoprotein aequorin, respectively. We found that various experimental manipulations that increased pHi, such as exposure of the cells to NH4Cl, a decrease of the partial pressure of CO2 or an increase in extracellular pH in the presence of nigericin invariably increased Cai. Moreover, experimental manipulations which lowered Cai, such as a reduction of extracellular [NaHCO3] or the removal of loaded NH4 invariably decreased Cai. Thus pHi and Cai are directly related in parotid cells. Since recent studies have shown that Cai directly influences pHi, we suggest that Cai-handling and pHi-handling are tightly linked in parotid cells.     

A reverse-phase liquid chromatographic assay for flavin-containing monooxygenase activity

A rapid, convenient assay for flavin-containing monooxygenase activity is described. The method is based on direct analysis of quenched incubation mixtures by reverse-phase liquid chromatography, and utilizes p-nitrophenyl-1,3-oxathiolane as the substrate. The synthesis of the substrate and the product are described. The usefulness of p-nitrophenyl-1,3-oxathiolane S-oxide formation as a measure of flavin-containing monooxygenase activity was demonstrated using highly purified and microsomal hog and rat liver flavin-containing monooxygenase. The assay is especially useful for determining stereoselectivity of flavin-containing monooxygenase activity in small amounts of crude tissue preparations.     

Mitochondrial proteomic analysis of a cell line model of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Mutations in copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1) have been linked to a subset of familial amytrophic lateral sclerosis (fALS), a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive motor neuron death. An increasing amount of evidence supports that mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis activation play a critical role in the fALS etiology, but little is known about the mechanisms by which SOD1 mutants cause the mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis. In this study, we use proteomic approaches to identify the mitochondrial proteins that are altered in the presence of a fALS-causing mutant G93A-SOD1. A comprehensive characterization of mitochondrial proteins from NSC34 cells, a motor neuron-like cell line, was achieved by two independent proteomic approaches. Four hundred seventy unique proteins were identified in the mitochondrial fraction collectively, 75 of which are newly discovered proteins that previously had only been reported at the cDNA level. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was subsequently used to analyze the differences between the mitochondrial proteomes of NSC34 cells expressing wild-type and G93A-SOD1. Nine and 36 protein spots displayed elevated and suppressed abundance respectively in G93A-SOD1-expressing cells. The 45 spots were identified by MS, and they include proteins involved in mitochondrial membrane transport, apoptosis, the respiratory chain, and molecular chaperones. In particular, alterations in the post-translational modifications of voltage-dependent anion channel 2 (VDAC2) were found, and its relevance to regulating mitochondrial membrane permeability and activation of apoptotic pathways is discussed. The potential role of other proteins in the mutant SOD1-mediated fALS is also discussed. This study has produced a short list of mitochondrial proteins that may hold the key to the mechanisms by which SOD1 mutants cause mitochondrial dysfunction and neuronal death. It has laid the foundation for further detailed functional studies to elucidate the role of particular mitochondrial proteins, such as VDAC2, in the pathogenesis of familial ALS.