NAD+ kinase: molecular weight determination by low-angle laser-light scattering

Low-angle laser-light scattering (LALLS) was employed to measure the absolute molecular weight of chicken liver NAD+ kinase (NADK). The weight-average molecular weight (Mw) was found to be 275 000 +/- 15 000. The corresponding value for the second virial coefficient was -1.65 X 10(-3) ml X mol X g2. The value for Mw is in close accord with estimates reported for pigeon liver (270 000) and C. utilis (260 000) NADK. If the active enzyme is a dimer, the weight difference between pigeon/chicken liver and rabbit liver (136 000) NADK would indicate that the latter enzyme is an active monomer unit.     

Trees on networks: resolving statistical patterns of phylogenetic similarities among interacting proteins

Background  

Phylogenies capture the evolutionary ancestry linking extant species. Correlations and similarities among a set of species are mediated by and need to be understood in terms of the phylogenic tree. In a similar way it has been argued that biological networks also induce correlations among sets of interacting genes or their protein products.     

Ion-pair reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Application to the study of chicken liver NAD+ kinase

An ion-pair, reverse-phase, high-performance liquid chromatography method of assay was developed and used in a series of rate studies carried out with the enzyme chicken liver NAD+ kinase (ATP:NAD+ 2'-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.23). Complete separation of all products and reactants was achieved within 15 min. ATP, NAD+, ADP, and NADP+ were monitored at 260 nm as they eluted from a Zorbax (Dupont) ODS (4.6 X 250-mm) column using an acetonitrile and 0.01 mM NH4(H2PO4)/0.005 M tetrabutylammonium phosphate (pH 7.0) gradient. The enzyme shows a marked preference for ATP (and dATP) and Mg2+ (or Mn2+) relative to other trinucleotides and divalent metal ions. It exhibits residual adenylate kinase and ATPase activity, but no NADH kinase activity. When polyphosphate replaced ATP, NADP+ production dropped to 2.5%. The addition of Ca2+ and/or bovine brain calmodulin did not significantly enhance the rate of NADP+ production.     

Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II. Isozymic forms from rat forebrain and cerebellum

Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, an abundant brain protein proposed to mediate a number of Ca2+-regulated processes in neuronal tissue, is composed of autophosphorylatable subunits of Mr 50,000 and 60,000/58,000. A recent study (McGuinness, T. L., Lai, Y., Greengard, P., Woodgett, J.R., and Cohen, P. (1983) FEBS Lett. 163, 329-334) suggested that this kinase exists as isozymes which vary in the relative ratio of these subunits in different tissues or species. Other studies (Walaas, S. I., Nairn, A. C., and Greengard, P. (1983) J. Neurosci. 3, 291-301, 302-311) provided evidence which suggested that the ratio of these phosphopeptides might vary in different brain regions. In the present investigation, we have tested this possibility by comparing Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II purified from rat forebrain and cerebellum. The two kinases had similar purification characteristics, subunit compositions, physical properties, and substrate specificities. Gel filtration and sucrose density gradient centrifugation provided an estimated molecular weight of 550,000 for the forebrain kinase and 615,000 for the cerebellar kinase. The kinases from the two regions clearly differed in the relative proportions of the Mr 50,000 and 60,000/58,000 subunits. Three independent methods indicated that the forebrain kinase contained the Mr 50,000/(60,000/58,000) subunits in approximately a 3:1 ratio, while the cerebellar kinase contained the Mr 50,000/(60,000/58,000) subunits in approximately a 1:4 ratio. The forebrain kinase subunits were shown to be identical to the corresponding subunits of the cerebellar kinase by several criteria. The data are consistent with the existence in various brain regions of isozymic forms of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II which differ in their relative subunit ratios.     

D-Mannitol dehydrogenase from Absidia glauca. Steady-state kinetic properties and the inhibitory role of mannitol 1-phosphate.

Steady-state kinetic studies including initial velocity for mannitol oxidation and fructose reduction and product inhibition for mannitol oxidation using fructose and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) are in accord with a reaction mechanism best described as ordered Bi-Bi with NAD+ and NADH designated as the first substrate, last product, respectively at pH 8.8. All replots of slopes and intercepts from product inhibition studies were linear. Dead-end inhibition studies using mannitol 1-phosphate gave slope-parabolic, intercept-linear noncompetitive inhibition for both NAD+ and mannitol as substrates. The dead-end inhibitor is capable of binding multiply to the E, EA, and EQ forms of the enzyme to an extent that is controlled by the concentration of substrates. The EQ complex is inferred to undergo a conformational change, E'Q equilibrium EQ, since (V1/E1) greater than (KiqV2)/(KqE1), and no evidence for dead-end complex formation with NADH can be adduced. This is interpreted to mean that the release of fructose from the central complex is faster than the isomerization of the E-NADH complex. When mannitol is saturating, the noncompetitive inhibition against NAD+, as the variable substrate, becomes parabolic uncompetitive. A replot of the slopes of the parabola against mannitol 1-phosphate remains concave upward. This situation could arise if the conformational change we infer in the EQ complex opens up additional sites on the protein which can interact with the dead-end inhibitor.     

PERIPHERAL ARTERIOSCLEROSIS—Arterial Grafting Procedures—Indications and Results—Part II: Arteriosclerotic Arterial Occlusion

Arteriosclerotic thrombotic lesions involving the arteries to the lower extremities may be conveniently grouped into three categories. Lesions of the aorta-common-iliac level (Category I) appear to be most satisfactorily treated by thromboendarterectomy. Lesions in the femoral artery (Category II) are particularly amenable to bypass arterial grafts. Advanced lesions (Category III) involving both areas may be treated by one or the other method or a combination of both. Aortography is a necessary prerequisite in the selection of patients for operation and the determination of the method of surgical approach.     

Les génotypes responsables de mucoviscidose ou d’absence bilatérale des canaux déférents ABCD

Over the last decade, the genetic basis for CBAVD has been identified by its association with CFTR gene mutations, and CBAVD is now generally considered to be a mild or incomplete form of CF. In this review, the author summarizes the main results of compilation of CFTR gene analysis conducted in French laboratories for 3,923 patients with CF and 800 males with CABVD. The degree of clinical expression can be affected by several variables, including the molecular mechanisms by which the various CFTR mutations impair or disrupt the function of the CFTR chloride channel. Phenotypic expression of CFTR mutational genotypes varies from severe, progressive pulmonary disease with pancreatic insufficiency (CF-PI), to mild pulmonary disease with pancreatic sufficiency (PS) or singleorgan forms of “CFTR-opathies”. In CF, a total of 310 different CFTR mutations accounting for 94% of 7,846 CF alleles have generated almost 500 different genotypes, comprising 2 severe mutations in 88% of cases (CF-PI), one severe mutation in trans to a mild mutation in 11% (CF-PS), and 2 mild mutations in 1% of identified genotypes. In CBAVD, 137 mutations scattered over the whole gene were identified in 60% of 1,600 CBAVD alleles during the study. Among the 150 characterized mutational CFTR genotypes, compound heterozygosity was the rule, and the most frequent CBAVD combinations were ΔF508/5T (35%), ΔF508/other mutation (30%, including ΔF508/R117H-7T: 5,6%), and 5T/other mutation (17%). No combination of two severe mutations was found in CBAVD (0%); by contrast with the CF population, 88% of genotypes identified in CBAVD comprised a severe mutation in trans to a mild mutation, and 12% consisted of 2 mild mutations. A total of 22 genotypes were shared by both CF and CBAVD. The role of the 5T allele as a splicing variant with variable, incomplete disease penetrance in CBAVD is reviewed. Other haplotype backgrounds, such as the TG12 sequence and the M470V polymorphism, may influence CFTR splicing and/or function. This study confirms the high molecular heterogeneity of CFTR mutations in CBAVD and emphasizes the importance of extensive CFTR analysis in these patients. Longterm follow-up studies of CBAVD patients are necessary in order to predict the phenotypic consequences of numerous CFTR mutational genotypes.