Loss of Ribulose 1,5-Diphosphate Carboxylase and Increase in Proteolytic Activity during Senescence of Detached Primary Barley Leaves

Symptoms typical of senescence occurred in green detached primary barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) leaves placed in darkness and in light. Chlorophyll, total soluble protein, ribulose 1,5-diphosphate carboxylase protein and activity each progressively decreased in darkness and to a lesser extent in light. In all treatments most of the total soluble protein lost was accounted for by a decrease in ribulose 1,5-diphosphate carboxylase protein, suggesting that the chloroplast was a major site of degradation early in senescence.     

Hormonal changes around bovine luteolysis.

Plasma concentrations of estradiol-17beta, progesterone, LH and 13, 14-dihydro-15-keto-PGF2alpha were determined by radioimmunoassay on 2-hourly samples obtained around luteolysis and estrus in three dairy cows. The decline in progesterone occurred before the preestrous rise in estrogen and no pre-estrous peak of progesterone could be detected. The major activity of prostaglandin coincided, with declining progesterone levels and the active stage of estrogen secretion.     

Dual wavelength/stopped flow spectrophotometry: computer acquisition and analysis.

The adaptation of a commercially available dual wavelength/stopped flow spectrophotometer for use with turbid samples is described. A minicomputer is used to collect and analyze the data, thereby facilitating these experiments. The stopped flow/computer combination has a dead time in the single wavelength mode of 3.5 msec. In the dual wavelength mode, accurate determinations can be made of the time course of reactions that have a $\text{t}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$ of 50 msec or longer. The application of this stopped flow spectrophotometer to the measurement of cytochrome P-450 reductase activity in rat liver microsomes is described.     

Monoclonal antibody identification of a type II alveolar epithelial cell antigen and expression of the antigen during lung development

A monoclonal antibody identifying an antigen expressed by rat type II alveolar epithelial cells, but not by type I epithelial cells or other mature lung cells, was produced by immunization of mice with cells of the rat L2 cell line. The antigen recognized by the antibody was present on the microvillous luminal surface of type II epithelial cells. In adult rat lung, only type II epithelial cells bound the antibody. During fetal development the antigen was expressed by cuboidal epithelial cells lining the respiratory ducts of the first divisions of the tracheal bud, but not by epithelial cells lining the esophagus or trachea. The antigen continued to be expressed by cuboidal epithelial cells lining the larger respiratory ducts until approximately 19 days gestational age. Thereafter, expression was increasingly limited to selected single cells or clusters of two to four cuboidal cells in the smallest ducts. By the 21st postnatal day, the antigen was expressed only by type II alveolar epithelial cells. Type II alveolar epithelial cells isolated from adult lung and the L2 cell line in culture expressed the antigen on the cell surface. A protein of approximately 146,000 Mr was isolated by immunoadsorption of the antigen from non-ionic detergent extracts of type II cells and L2 cells. Preliminary studies of the binding of the antibody to other rat tissues indicate that the antibody binds to renal proximal tubular epithelial cells of the kidney and the luminal surface of the small bowel epithelial cells.     

Purification and partial characterization of arginine-specific ADP-ribosyltransferase from skeletal muscle microsomal membranes

Integral membrane-associated arginine-specific mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase was purified from rabbit skeletal muscle microsomes. The ADP-ribosyltransferase was solubilized from the 100,000 x g pellet with 0.3% sodium deoxycholate and purified to greater than or equal to 95% homogeneity by successive DE52, concanavalin A-agarose, 3-aminobenzamide-agarose, and size-exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) steps in the presence of detergents. Two molecular weight forms of the enzyme were isolated and partially characterized. The apparent Mr of the alpha-form of the enzyme purified to greater than or equal to 95% homogeneity was approximately 39,000 +/- 500 as estimated by silver-stained sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The Mr of the beta-form purified to greater than or equal to 80% homogeneity was 38,500 +/- 500. The rapid procedure resulted in a 200-fold purification for the alpha-form and a 645-fold purification for the beta-form, relative to the microsomal fraction. Positive identification of the enzyme was confirmed by utilizing a zymographic in situ gel assay and by HPLC assay of polyacrylamide gel slice incubations with an NAD and guanylhydrazone substrate. The specificity of the mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase zymographic assay was characterized by time course incubations, hydroxylamine sensitivity, 3-aminobenzamide inhibition, and histone dependence. The ADP-ribosyltransferase is inactivated by reducing agents.     

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase from soybean nodule cytosol. Evidence for isoenzymes and kinetics of the most active component

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (orthophosphate:oxaloacetate carboxylase (phosphorylating), EC 4.1.1.31) from plant cells of soybean nodules was studied to assess its role in providing carbon skeletons for aspartate and asparagine synthesis. The enzyme was purified 119-fold by (NH4)2SO4 fractionation and DEAE-cellulose, BioGel A-1.5m, and hydroxyapatite chromatography. Five activity bands were resolved with discontinuous polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A small quantity of enzyme from the most active band was separated from the others by preparative electrophoresis. The apparent Michaelis constants of this enzyme for phosphoenolpyruvate and HCO3- were 9.4.10(-2) and 4.1.10(-1) mM, respectively. A series of metabolite tested at 1 mM had no significant effect on enzyme activity. These experiments indicate that the major factors directly controlling phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activity in vivo are phosphoenolpypyruvate and HCO3- concentrations.