Chronic exposure to inhaled anesthetics increases cholesterol content in Acholeplasma laidlawii

Acholeplasma laidlawii cells were grown in cholesterol-enriched medium and exposed continuously to either air (control), 4.0 vol.% halothane in air at 1 atm pressure (4% atm halothane), or 80% cyclopropane in oxygen for 24 h at 37°C. Cells grown in the presence of 4% atm halothane or 80% cyclopropane had approximately twice as much membrane cholesterol content/mg protein as the control cells. Cells grown in an anesthetic environment also tended to have a higher membrane cholesterol/phospholipid molar ratio compared to control cells. Membranes isolated from halothane-exposed cells grown in a cholesterol-enriched medium were more ordered at 37°C (measurements were made with no anesthetic present) than membranes from control cells grown in an identically enriched medium. This difference in membrane physical state between control and anesthetic-exposed cells decreased as the temperature decreased, and disappeared at approx. 23°C. Continuous exposure of A. laidlawii to 4% atm halothane or 80% cyclopropane for 24 h did not markedly affect membrane fatty acid composition, either in cells grown on an unsupplemented medium or in cells grown in a medium enriched in myristic, palmitic or stearic acids. These results further support the hypothesis that an increased membrane cholesterol content may play a role in the tolerance or dependence that develops after chronic exposure to anesthetic agents.     

Histochemical study of calcium on T-tubule membranes and in the sarcoplasmic reticulum, in frog twitch muscle fibres at rest and during activity

The trigger calcium hypothesis of signal transmission between T-tubules and terminal cisternae (TC) of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) in twitch muscle fibres implies the presence of calcium along T-tubule membranes at rest and its release upon excitation. To test this hypothesis, calcium was immobilised using a fixing and precipitating solution of glutaraldehyde in phosphate buffer at pH 8.0 and the calcium was substituted for by lead. Simultaneous tension recordings revealed the occurrence of contractions or a burst of twitches upon perfusion with the fixative. Procaine or tetrodotoxin (TTX) was used to inhibit this activity. In fibres without fixative-induced activity, precipitates were observed along T-tubules and in adjoining parts of TC. In activated fibres, tubular and TC precipitates were absent. These results are consistent with the trigger calcium hypothesis. In fibres activated by depolarisation, calcium returned to TC after passing successively through different parts of the SR.     

Calcium uptake by isolated nerve endings: evidence for a rapid component mediated by the breakdown of phosphatidylinositol

Several physiological stimuli, including neuronal depolarization, increase the production of phosphatidate (PA) from phosphatidylinositol (PI) and increase calcium fluxes across cell membranes. To determine if breakdown of PI is required for neuronal calcium uptake, we tested inhibitors of PI-specific phospholipase C on depolarization-dependent uptake of calcium by isolated brain synaptosomes. At a concentration of 0.1 mM these inhibitors reduced calcium uptake produced by depolarization for 1 to 3 sec, but did not affect uptake due to more prolonged depolarization. Exogenous PA also stimulated calcium accumulation by synaptosomes and this uptake was not reduced by the enzyme inhibitors. These results suggest that the rapid calcium influx produced by neuronal depolarization may be mediated by the breakdown of PI.     

Effect of prostaglandins on lipid transfer between high- and low-density lipoproteins in human plasma

Prostaglandin (PG) E1 was shown to stimulate the transfer of phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol esters from human high density lipoproteins to low density lipoproteins. The enhancement of the interlipoprotein lipid transfer by PGE1 was observed both at low prostaglandin concentrations under conditions of spontaneous exchange as well as in the presence of the lipoprotein-depleted plasma and the partly purified lipid transfer plasma protein. At the same time PGE2 showed no significant influence on the interlipoprotein lipid transfer. It is supposed that the effect of PGE1 is due to the PGE1-induced reorganization of the high density lipoprotein surface and that the PG-lipoprotein interaction is a factor which regulates cholesterol homeostasis.     

Kinetics and mechanism of acetohydroxy acid synthase isozyme III from Escherichia coli

Acetohydroxy acid synthase (AHAS, EC 4.1.3.18) isozyme III from Escherichia coli has been studied in steady-state kinetic experiments in which the rates of formation of acetolactate (AL) and acetohydroxybutyrate (AHB) have been determined simultaneously. The ratio between the rates of production of the two alternative products and the concentrations of the substrates pyruvate and 2-ketobutyrate (2KB) leading to them, R, VAHB/VAL = R[( 2KB]/[pyruvate]), was found to be 40 +/- 3 under a wide variety of conditions. Because pyruvate is a common substrate in the reactions leading to both products and competes with 2-ketobutyrate to determine whether AL or AHB is formed, steady-state kinetic studies are unusually informative for this enzyme. At a given pyruvate concentration, the sum of the rates of formation of AL and AHB was nearly independent of the 2-ketobutyrate concentration. On the basis of these results, a mechanism is proposed for the enzyme that involves irreversible and rate-determining reaction of pyruvate, at a site which accepts 2-ketobutyrate poorly, if at all, to form an intermediate common to all the reactions. In the second phase of the reaction, various 2-keto acids can compete for this intermediate to form the respective acetohydroxy acids. 2-Keto acids other than the natural substrates pyruvate and 2-ketobutyrate may also compete, to a greater or lesser extent, in the second phase of the reaction to yield alternative products, e.g., 2-ketovalerate is preferred by about 2.5-fold over pyruvate. However, the presence of an additional keto acid does not affect the relative specificity of the enzyme for pyruvate and 2-ketobutyrate; this further supports the proposed mechanism. The substrate specificity in the second phase is an intrinsic property of the enzyme, unaffected by pH or feedback inhibitors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Collagen crosslinking and cartilage glycosaminoglycan composition in normal and scoliotic chickens

The amounts of lysine-derived crosslinks in collagens from tendon, cartilage, intervertebral disc, and bone and changes in the composition of sternal cartilage glycosaminoglycans were estimated in two lines of chickens, a control-isogenic line and a line that develops scoliosis. In the scoliotic line, scoliosis first appears at 3-4 weeks and progressively increases in severity and incidence so that 90% of the birds express the lesion by week 10. We have reported previously that cartilage, tendon, and bone collagens from scoliotic birds are more soluble than corresponding collagens from normal birds. Herein, collagen crosslinking and altered proteoglycan metabolism are examined as possible mechanisms for the differences in collagen solubility. At 1 week of age there were fewer reducible crosslinking amino acids (hydroxylysinonorleucine, dihydroxylysinonorleucine, and lysinonorleucine) in collagens from sternal cartilage and tendon in the scoliotic line than in the isogenic line. However, by week 3 and at weeks 5 or 7 values were similar in both groups. The amounts of hydroxypyridinium in vertebral bone and intervertebral disc collagen were also similar in both groups of birds. Consequently, differences in collagen crosslinking do not appear to be a persistent developmental defect underlying the expression of scoliosis in the model. However, differences were observed in cartilage proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans from the scoliotic line that were not present in cartilage from the isogenic line. The average molecular weight of the uronide-containing glycosaminoglycans was 30% less in the scoliotic line than in the isogenic line, i.e., 12,000 compared to 18,000. The size distribution of cartilage proteoglycans from the scoliotic line also differed from that of proteoglycans from the isogenic line.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)