Insulin-degrading enzyme is capable of degrading receptor-bound insulin

In the investigation of the intracellular sites of insulin degradation, it might be important whether receptor-bound insulin could be a substrate for insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE). Insulin receptor and IDE were purified from rat liver using a wheat germ agglutinin column and monoclonal anti-IDE antibody affinity column, respectively. [125I]insulin-receptor complex was incubated with various amounts of IDE at 0 degree C in the presence of disuccinimidyl suberate and analyzed by reduced 7.5% SDS-PAGE and autoradiography. With increasing amounts of IDE, the radioactivity of 135 kd band (insulin receptor alpha-subunit) decreased, whereas that of 110 kd band (IDE) appeared then gradually increased, suggesting that IDE could bind to receptor-bound insulin. During incubation of insulin-receptor complex with IDE at 37 degrees C, about half of the [125I]insulin was dissociated from the complex. However, the time course of [125I]insulin degradation in this incubation was essentially identical to that of free [125I]insulin degradation. Cross-linked, non-dissociable receptor-bound [125I]insulin was also degraded by IDE. Rebinding studies to IM-9 cells showed that the receptor binding activity of dissociated [125I]insulin from insulin-receptor complex incubated with IDE was significantly (p less than 0.001) decreased as compared with that without the enzyme. These results, therefore, show that IDE could recognize and degrade receptor-bound insulin, and suggest that IDE may be involved in insulin metabolism during receptor-mediated endocytosis through the degradation of receptor-bound insulin in early neutral vesicles before their internal pH is acidified.     

Gene cloning and sequence determination of leucine dehydrogenase from Bacillus stearothermophilus and structural comparison with other NAD(P)+-dependent dehydrogenases

The gene for leucine dehydrogenase (EC 1.4.1.9) from Bacillus stearothermophilus was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The selection for the cloned gene was based upon activity staining of the replica printed E. coli cells. A transformant showing high leucine dehydrogenase activity was found to carry an about 9 kilobase pair plasmid, which contained 4.6 kilobase pairs of B. stearothermophilus DNA. The nucleotide sequence including the 1287 base pair coding region of the leucine dehydrogenase gene was determined by the dideoxy chain termination method. The translated amino acid sequence was confirmed by automated Edman degradation of several peptide fragments produced from the purified enzyme by trypsin digestion. The polypeptide contained 429 amino acid residues corresponding to the subunit (Mr 49,000) of the hexameric enzyme. Comparison of the amino acid sequence of leucine dehydrogenase with those of other pyridine nucleotide dependent oxidoreductases registered in a protein data bank revealed significant sequence similarity, particularly between leucine and glutamate dehydrogenases, in the regions containing the coenzyme binding domain and certain specific residues with catalytic importance.     

Improved method for the isolation and preliminary characterization of human DAF (decay-accelerating factor)

DAF (decay-accelerating factor) is one of the integral membrane proteins of erythrocytes, and is considered to play an important role in the regulation of complement activation. The purification of DAF has been impeded by the difficulty in removing glycophorin. We devised an effective method for removing glycophorin. Through the limited trypsinization of stromata prior to the extraction of DAF, glycophorin was readily digested so that the DAF could be purified free of glycophorin by DEAE-Sephacel and Bio-Gel A 0.5 m chromatographies. On SDS-PAGE, DAF from trypsinized stromata showed the same mobility as that from native stromata: its molecular weight was estimated to be about 70 kDa. Amino acid analysis of DAF showed high contents of serine and glutamic acid. The amino-terminal sequence of DAF prepared by the present method, determined for the 29 residues, did not show significant homology with that of glycophorin.     

Structures of deepoxytrichothecene metabolites from 3'-hydroxy HT-2 toxin and T-2 tetraol in rats.

3'-Hydroxy HT-2 toxin and T-2 tetraol, in vivo metabolites of T-2 toxin, were orally administered to Wistar rats, and four metabolites having a trichothec-9,12-diene nucleus, which were termed deepoxytrichothecenes, were newly found in the excreta. Their structures were confirmed as 3'-hydroxy-deepoxy HT-2, 3'-hydroxy-deepoxy T-2 triol, 15-acetyl-deepoxy T-2 tetraol, and deepoxy T-2 tetraol on the basis of mass and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Resolution of T-2 metabolites and corresponding deepoxytrichothecenes by gas-liquid and thin-layer chromatography was also described.     

The structures of the carbohydrate moieties of mouse kidney gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase: occurrence of X-antigenic determinants and bisecting N-acetylglucosamine residues

Paper electrophoresis and Bio-Gel P-4 column chromatography of the oligosaccharides released from mouse kidney gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase by hydrazinolysis gave fractionation patterns quite distinct from those of the bovine and rat kidney enzymes. Structural studies of the fractionated oligosaccharides by sequential exoglycosidase digestion in combination with methylation analysis showed that mouse kidney gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase contains a series of bisected complex-type asparagine-linked sugar chains with the following oligosaccharides as their outer chain moieties: GlcNAc beta 1----, Sia alpha 2----Gal beta 1----4GlcNAc beta 1----, Gal beta 1----4(Fuc alpha 1----3)GlcNAc beta 1----, and sialylated N-acetyllactosamine repeating sugar chains. Some of these sugar chains were found for the first time in glycoproteins.     

The absence of any effect of alpha-human atrial natriuretic peptide on sodium transport and osmotic water flow in the toad bladder

Synthesized alpha-human atrial natriuretic peptide (alpha-hANP), at 10(-6) M, failed to inhibit short-circuit current and basal and 10 mU/ml vasopressin-stimulated osmotic water flow in the bladder either pretreated with cyclooxygenase inhibitor, or preincubated with arachidonic acid, a precursor of PGE2. These results indicate alpha-hANP to have no direct effect on sodium transport and water permeability in the bladder, and no evidence was obtained indicating that alpha-hANP suppresses vasopressin-stimulated water flow by increasing PGE2 production.     

Proline production by regulatory mutants of Serratia marcescens

Summary Proline-producing strains of Serratia marcescens Sr41 were constructed by three rounds of mutagenesis. A strain SP103 which did not degrade l-proline carried the putA mutation leading to lack of proline oxidase. A 3,4-dehydroproline-resistant mutant SP105, derived from strain SP103, carried the dpr-1 mutation which resulted in desensitization of the feedback inhibition of glutamate kinase. Strain SP103 produced 5.5 mg of l-proline per ml of fermentation medium containing sucrose and urea. Growth inhibition by proline analogs was enhanced when succinate was used as a carbon source in the medium. A thiazolidine-4-carboxylate-resistant mutant SP126 derived from strain SP105 produced 20.5 mg of l-proline per ml of medium. The mutation carried by strain SP126 might be distant from dpr-1 and putA mutations on the chromosome. Pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase was not repressed by proline in S. marcescens Sr41.     

False positive reaction for carcinoembryonic antigen in paget cells

Virchows Archiv B Cell Pathology - Paget cells from cases of mammary and extramammary Paget’s disease were examined for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CEA-related antigens by the...     

Common characteristics of mutant adenine phosphoribosyltransferases from four separate Japanese families with 2,8-dihydroxyadenine urolithiasis associated with partial enzyme deficiencies

Summary 2,8-Dihydroxyadenine urolithiasis associated with partial deficiencies of adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRT) has been found only among Japanese families. All Caucasian patients with the same lithiasis are completely deficient in this enzyme. Partially purified APRT from one of the Japanese families with the lithiasis associated with a partial deficiency of APRT had a reduced affinity for 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate (PRPP). In the present investigations, we have shown that this characteristic is common in mutant enzymes from all the four separate Japanese urolithiasis families associated with partial APRT deficiencies so far tested. The mutant enzymes also had several other characteristics in common including increased resistance to heat in the absence of PRPP and reduced sensitivity to the stabilizing effect of PRPP. These data suggest that these families have a common mutant allele (APRT ^* J) at the APRT gene locus.