The branch point effect. Ultrasensitivity and subsensitivity to metabolic control

The interdependence of the activities of branch point enzymes which compete for a common substrate can yield ultrasensitivity or subsensitivity to control, even if the competing enzymes follow Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The nature of this "branch point effect" for a particular system depends on the kinetic parameters of the competing enzymes, the rate of substrate production leading into the branch point and the type of regulatory mechanism involved. With physiologically reasonable parameter values, the branch point effect can give ultrasensitivity equivalent to an allosteric enzyme with a Hill coefficient of 8 or higher. An experimental example of this ultrasensitivity was provided by the branch point between isocitrate lyase (of the glyoxylate bypass) and isocitrate dehydrogenase in Escherichia coli. The glyoxylate bypass is very active during growth on acetate but its flux decreases by a factor of approximately 150 upon addition of glucose. This inhibition is brought about by two relatively modest events: a 4-fold increase in the maximum velocity of isocitrate dehydrogenase and a factor of 5.5 decrease in the rate of isocitrate production. The mechanism which underlies this sensitivity amplification is discussed.     

Integration host factor amplifies the induction of the aceBAK operon of Escherichia coli by relieving IclR repression.

A binding site for integration host factor (IHF) was identified upstream of the aceBAK promoter. Under inducing conditions, IHF activates aceB::lacZ expression by opposing IclR repression. In contrast, IHF has little effect on aceB::lacZ expression under repressing conditions. The ability of IHF to relieve repression under inducing but not repressing conditions allows this protein to amplify the induction of aceBAK.     

Microsomal and cytosolic cytochrome P450 mediated benzo(a)pyrene hydroxylation in Pleurotus pulmonarius

Summary Microsomal and soluble fractions of Pleurotus pulmonarius exhibited a reduced carbon monoxide difference spectrum with P450 maxima at 448nm and 450–452nm respectively. Substrate induced Type I spectra were observed on addition of benzo(a)pyrene to both fractions. Benzo(a)pyrene hydroxylation was measured using the aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase assay and was observed to be P450 dependent as indicated by carbon monoxide inhibition together with the substrate binding characteristics. The activity of the fractions were observed to give K_m of 200mM and 660mM and V_max of 1.25 nmol/min/nmol P450 and 0.57 nmol/min/nmol P450 for the microsomal and cytosolic fractions respectively.     

Isocitrate dehydrogenase kinase/phosphatase: identification of mutations which selectively inhibit phosphatase activity.

Mutations in aceK, the gene encoding isocitrate dehydrogenase kinase/phosphatase, which selectively inhibit phosphatase activity have been isolated. These mutations yield amino acid substitutions within a 113-residue region of this 578-residue protein. These mutations may define a regulatory domain of this protein.     

Nucleotide sequence changes in polyoma ts-a mutants: correlation with protein structure.

The mutations in three polyoma ts-a mutants have been determined. Two mutants, ts-25 and ts-52, have different single-base changes at the same position (2883) in the early region corresponding to a conserved glycine residue very near the C-terminus of the polyoma large T antigen. Mutant ts-48 has a single-base change at position 2341, as well as a second change at position 1228, in the region of large T antigen shared with medium T antigen.     

Expanded characterization of the social interaction abnormalities in mice lacking Dvl1

Dvl1 is one of three murine Dishevelled genes widely expressed in embryonic development and in the adult central nervous system. Dishevelled proteins are a necessary component of the Wnt and planar cell polarity developmental signaling pathways. We reported previously that mice deficient in Dvl1 exhibited abnormal social interaction and sensorimotor gating. To assess the validity of our earlier findings, we replicated the previous behavioral tests and included several new assays. The behaviors assessed included: social interaction, sensorimotor reflexes, motor activity, nociception, prepulse inhibition of acoustic startle (PPI) and learning and memory. Assessments with an explicit social component included: social dominance test, whisker trimming, nest building, home-cage huddling and ultrasonic vocalization rate analysis in pups. In addition, separate cohorts of wildtype and Dvl1 -null mice were assessed for social recognition of a conspecific. Replicating the original report, Dvl1 -null mice were impaired in several tasks containing an explicit social component. However, no impairment was obser‐ ved in the social memory task. A previously observed deficit in PPI did not replicate in two institutions. In conclusion, we provide evidence that the social interaction phenotype of Dvl1 -deficient mice has a strong genetic influence, but the sensorimotor gating deficit was subject to environmental influences. The specificity of observed social interaction deficits also suggests that lack of Dvl1 is associated with deficits in the recognition of social hierarchy and dominance.     

Global regulatory mutations in csrA and rpoS cause severe central carbon stress in Escherichia coli in the presence of acetate

The csrA gene encodes a small RNA-binding protein, which acts as a global regulator in Escherichia coli and other bacteria (T. Romeo, Mol. Microbiol. 29:1321-1330, 1998). Its key regulatory role in central carbon metabolism, both as an activator of glycolysis and as a potent repressor of glycogen biosynthesis and gluconeogenesis, prompted us to examine the involvement of csrA in acetate metabolism and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. We found that growth of csrA rpoS mutant strains was very poor on acetate as a sole carbon source. Surprisingly, growth also was inhibited specifically by the addition of modest amounts of acetate to rich media (e.g., tryptone broth). Cultures grown in the presence of >/=25 mM acetate consisted substantially of glycogen biosynthesis (glg) mutants, which were no longer inhibited by acetate. Several classes of glg mutations were mapped to known and novel loci. Several hypotheses were examined to provide further insight into the effects of acetate on growth and metabolism in these strains. We determined that csrA positively regulates acs (acetyl-coenzyme A synthetase; Acs) expression and isocitrate lyase activity without affecting key TCA cycle enzymes or phosphotransacetylase. TCA cycle intermediates or pyruvate, but not glucose, galactose, or glycerol, restored growth and prevented the glg mutations in the presence of acetate. Furthermore, amino acid uptake was inhibited by acetate specifically in the csrA rpoS strain. We conclude that central carbon flux imbalance, inhibition of amino acid uptake, and a deficiency in acetate metabolism apparently are combined to cause metabolic stress by depleting the TCA cycle.