Effect of the natural ATPase inhibitor on the binding of adenine nucleotides and inorganic phosphate to mitochondrial F1-ATPase

(1) Incubation of the beef heart mitochondrial ATPase, F₁ with Mg-ATP was required for the binding of the natural inhibitor, IF₁, to F₁ to form the inactive F₁-IF₁ complex. When F₁ was incubated in the presence of [¹⁴C]ATP and MgCl₂, about 2 mol ¹⁴C-labeled adenine nucleotides were found to bind per mol of F₁; the bound ¹⁴C-labeled nucleotides consisted of [¹⁴C]ADP arising from [¹⁴C]ATP hydrolysis and [¹⁴C]ATP. The ¹⁴C-labeled nucleotide binding was not prevented by IF₁. These data are in agreement with the idea that the formation of the F₁-IF₁ complex requires an appropriate conformation of F₁. (2) The ¹⁴C-labeled adenine nucleotides bound to F₁ following preincubation of F₁ with Mg-[¹⁴C]ATP could be exchanged with added [³H]ADP or [³H]ATP. No exchange occurred between added [³H]ADP or [³H]ATP and the ¹⁴C-labeled adenine nucleotides bound to the F₁-IF₁ complex. These data suggest that the conformation of F₁ in the isolated F₁-IF₁ complex is further modified in such a way that the bound ¹⁴C-labeled nucleotides are no longer available for exchange. (3) ³²P_i was able to bind to isolated F₁ with a stoichiometry of about 1 mol of P_i per mol of F₁ (Penefsky, H.S. (1977) J. Biol. Chem. 252, 2891–2899). There was no binding of ³²P_i to the F₁-IF₁ complex. Thus, not only the nucleotides sites, but also the P_i site, are masked from interaction with external ligands in the isolated F₁-IF₁ complex.     

Hydrolysis of Galactose from Glycolipids and Glycoprotein by Young Rat Brain β-Galactosidases Immobilized to Sepharose 4B

An extract of glycosidic enzymes from young rat brain was immobilized to cyanogen bromide-activated Sepharose 4B. Most glycosidases retained approximately 10-25% of their activities after immobilization. Immobilized β-galactosidases were used repeatedly without detectable loss of enzyme activity in the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl-β-d -galactopyranoside. In addition to the synthetic substrate, the immobilized rat brain β-galactosidases could also hydrolyze galactose from lactose, galactosylcerebroside, asialofetuin, and GM₁-ganglioside. The hydrolysis of GM₁- to GM₂-ganglioside was confirmed on TLC.     

Selective isolation and culture of a proliferating epithelial cell population from the hamster trachea

Summary A reliable cell isolation technique was developed to allow the cultivation of cells from the hamster respiratory tract. Repeated thermolysin treatments and gradient centrifugation yielded a cell culture completely free from contamination by fibroblasts. Viable cells could be isolated from as little tissue as a single hamster trachea, but in vitro proliferation occurred only if the hamster was less than 4 months of age. The cultured cells could be repeatedly passaged and subcultured for weeks by employing normal tissue culture techniques. Morphologically, the monolayers appeared to be a homogeneous population of epithelial cells, and successful cloning of freshly isolated single cells resulted in apparently identical cultures. The epithelial origin of these cells was also suggested by continued growth in minimum essential medium withd-valine substituted forl-valine. The relative ease with which this cell type can be isolated, cultured, and manipulated in vitro should encourage its application as a model of the respiratory epithelium. This research was supported by Public Health Service Grant P50-HL 19171 and Research Career Development Award 1-K04-AI 00178 to J. B. B.     

Isolation and properties of an NAD- and guanidine-dependent ADP-ribosyltransferase from turkey erythrocytes

An NAD- and guanidine-dependent ADP-ribosyltransferase has been purified more than 500,000-fold from turkey erythrocytes with an 18% yield. The enzyme in the 100,000 X g supernatant fraction was bound to phenyl-Sepharose, eluted with 50% propylene glycol, and further purified by sequential chromatographic steps on carboxymethylcellulose, NAD-agarose and concanavalin A-agarose. The transferase was specifically eluted from concanavalin A-agarose with alpha-methylmannoside. The enzymatic activity was extremely labile following the first purification step. Both propylene glycol and NaCl stabilized the transferase; significant increases in enzyme recovery were obtained by conducting the NAD- and concanavalin A-agarose chromatography in buffer containing propylene glycol. The purified protein exhibits one predominant protein band on SDS-polyacrylamide gels with an estimated molecular weight of 28,300. On Ultrogel AcA54 chromatography, single coincident peaks of ADP-ribosyltransferase activity and protein were observed. Enzyme activity was independent of DNA; the highly purified transferase was inhibited by thymidine, nicotinamide, and theophylline. The specific activity of the purified enzyme (350 mumol of ADP-ribose transferred from NAD to arginine methyl estermin-1mg-1) is comparable to that reported for purified NAD glycohydrolases and poly(ADP-ribosyl)transferases.     

Loss of choleragen receptors and ganglioside upon differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes

3T3-L1 preadipocytes differentiate in culture into cells having the enzymatic and morphological characteristics of adipocytes. Differentiation is accompanied by a decrease in total cellular ganglioside content; the ganglioside level is 1.8 to 2.5-fold higher in undifferentiated than in differentiated cells. Gangliosides GM3 and GD1a constitute a majority of total cell gangliosides in both cell types, while ganglioside GM1, the putative choleragen receptor, constitutes less than 5%. Differentiation results in a 75 to 85% decrease in ganglioside GM1. An inverse correlation exists between the percentage of adipocytes in the cell population and: 1) total ganglioside and ganglioside GM1 content, and 2) surface ganglioside GM1 as estimated by choleragen binding or fluorescent staining of bound choleragen. Nondifferentiating 3T3-C2 control cells do not exhibit changes in total ganglioside, ganglioside GM1, or choleragen binding that are observed with 3T3-L1 cells.     

Evaluation of fasciotomy and vasodilator for treatment of frostbite in the dog

Severe freezing injury was produced in the hind foot of 26 mongrel dogs. All dogs were given daily whirlpool treatment and protective bandaging for 14 days following injury. In addition, certain dogs received a vasodilator, fasciotomy, or both vasodilator and fasciotomy following injury. Deep foot temperatures, foot volumes, tissue pressures, and 14 day tissue loss-salvage scores were compared. Significant differences between fasciotomy and nonfasciotomy dogs were seen in foot temperature, volume, and tissue pressure immediately following fasciotomy. Though there was no significant difference in 14 day tissue loss, there was clinically apparent prolongation of integrity of the local vascular system for 2 to 5 days following fasciotomy, and total foot salvage in several dogs receiving fasciotomy.