Adrenal cortex mitochondrial enzyme with ATP-dependent protease and protein-dependent ATPase activities. Purification and properties

We have purified an ATP-dependent protease with protein-dependent ATPase activity from bovine adrenal cortex mitochondria to near homogeneity. The subunit molecular weight is 108,000 and the enzyme appears to be a hexamer with approximately identical subunits. Based on the experiments using various nucleoside triphosphates and their related compounds, it is concluded that hydrolysis of the high-energy bond in nucleoside triphosphates is not an absolute requirement for proteolysis. Nucleotide specificity of this enzyme varies, depending on the protein or peptide substrates used. When casein was the substrate, ATP and dATP were quite effective, but other nucleotides were not. When insulin and angiotensinogen were used as substrate, ATP, other nucleoside triphosphates, ADP, inorganic triphosphate, pyrophosphate, and phosphate were effective. One of the cleaving linkages hydrolyzed by this enzyme was revealed to be the Leu-Leu bond of angiotensinogen. However, the specificity appears to be broad in view of the hydrolysis pattern of glucagon.     

Changes in carp myosin ATPase induced by temperature acclimation

Summary Myosins were isolated from dorsal ordinary muscles of carp acclimated to 10°C and 30°C for a minimum of 5 weeks and examined for their ATPase activities. Ca²⁺-ATPase activity was different between myosins from cold-and warm-acclimated carp, especially at KCl concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 0.2 M, when measured at pH 7.0. The highest activity was 0.32 mol P_i·min^-1·mg^-1 at 0.2 M KCl for cold-acclimated carp and 0.47 mol P_i·min^-1·mg^-1 at 0.1 M KCl for warm-acclimated fish. The pH-dependency of Ca²⁺-ATPase activity at 0.5 M KCl for both carp was, however, similar exhibiting two maxima around 0.3 mol P_i·min^-1·mg^-1 at pH 6 and 0.4 mol P_i·min^-1·mg^-1 at pH 9. K⁺(EDTA)-ATPase activity at pH 7.0 neither exhibited differences between both myosins. It increased with increasing KCl concentration showing the highest value of about 0.4 mol P_i·min^-1·mg^-1 at 0.6–0.7 M KCl. Actin-activated myosin Mg²⁺-ATPase activity was markedly different between cold-and warm-acclimated carp. The maximum initial velocity was 0.53 mol P_i·min^-1·mg^-1 myosin at pH 7.0 and 0.05 M KCl for cold-acclimated carp, which was 1.6 times as high as that for warm-acclimated carp. These differences were in good agreement with those obtained with myofibrillar Mg²⁺-ATPase activity between both carp. No differences were, however, observed in myosin affinity to actin. Differences in myosin properties between cold- and warm-acclimated carp were further evidenced by its thermal stability. The inactivation rate constant of myosin Ca²⁺-ATPase was 25·10^-4·s^-1 at 30°C and pH 7.0 for cold-acclimated carp, which was about 4 times as high as that for warm-acclimated carp. Light chain composition did not differ between both carp myosins. The differences in a primary structure of the heavy chain subunit was, however, clearly demonstrated between both myosins by peptide mapping.Abbreviations ATPase adenosine 5-triphosphatase - DTNB 5,5 dithio-bis-2-nitrobenzoic acid - DTT dithiothreitol - EGTA ethyleneglycol bis (-aminoethylether)-N,N,N,N-tetraacetic acid - K _D inactivation rate constant - SDS sodium dodecyl sulfate - SDS-PAGE SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis     

Comparison of Two Pearl Sacs Formed in the Same Recipient Oyster with Different Genetic Background Involved in Yellow Pigmentation in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinctada fucata</Emphasis>

Color is one of the most important factors determining the commercial value of pearls. Pinctada fucata is a well-known pearl oyster producing high-quality Akoya pearls. Phenotypic variation in amount of yellow pigmentation produces white and yellowish pearls. It has been reported that polymorphism of yellow pigmentation of Akoya pearls is genetically regulated, but the responsible gene(s) has remained unknown. Here, we prepared pearl sac pairs formed in the same recipient oyster but coming from donor oysters that differ in their color. These two pearl sacs produced pearls with different yellowness even in the same recipient oyster. Yellow tone of produced pearls was consistent with shell nacre color of donor oysters from which mantle grafts were prepared, indicating that donor oysters strongly contribute to the yellow coloration of Akoya pearls. We also conducted comparative RNA-seq analysis and retrieved several candidate genes involved in the pearl coloration. Whole gene expression patterns of pair sacs were not grouped by pearl color they produced, but grouped by recipient oysters in which they were grown, suggesting that the number of genes involved in the yellow coloration is quite small, and that recipient oyster affects gene expression of the majority of genes in the pearl sac.     

A sensitive method to screen for hydroxyl radical scavenging activity in natural food extracts using competitive inhibition ELISA for 8-hydroxy deoxyguanosine

Summary Representative endogenous antioxidants and natural food extracts were screened for hydroxyl radical scavenging activity by an ELISA. Whereas conventional assays for hydroxyl radical scavenging activity use either spin traps following the induction of Fenton reaction or measure thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, this assay measures 8-hydroxy deoxyguanosine liberated from the hydroxylation of deoxyguanosine by Cu²⁺/ascorbate system.     

Phosphorylation of paramyosin

1. Myofibrils isolated from Mercenaria mercenaria were phosphorylated by endogenous kinase. Over a range of ionic strengths only paramyosin was phosphorylated. 2. Thiophosphorylation of paramyosin caused an inhibition of steady-state actin-activated ATPase activity of the myofibrils. 3. It is proposed that the endogenous kinase is the catalytic subunit of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase. 4. The sequence around the phosphorylation site was determined. 5. The phosphorylation site probably is close to the C-terminus of the paramyosin molecule.     

Possible presence of the difference peptide in alkali light chain 1 of fish fast skeletal myosin

1. Presence of N-terminal peptide ("difference peptide") in alkali light chain 1 (A1) of fish fast skeletal myosin was examined by comparing two kinds of light chain-based myosin subfragment 1 (S1) isozymes from the yellowtail Seriola quinqueradiata. 2. On tryptic digestion, A1 was cleaved to a smaller fragment (mol. wt decrement by 2000) along with the cleavage of S1 heavy chain, while A2 was resistant to trypsin. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis showed that A1 released a basic peptide by tryptic digestion. 3. Both S1 isozymes showed clear kinetic differences in actin-activated Mg-ATPase activity, suggesting a higher affinity of A1 for actin. Affinity of A2 for heavy chain was also estimated to be about 2-fold higher than that of A1, as judged by the model experiments in which rabbit S1 isozymes were hybridized with heterologous alkali light chains.