Aerobic hydrogenase activity in Anacystis Nidulans The oxyhydrogen reaction

1. The efficiencies of ferredoxins and flavodoxins from a range of sources as mediators in systems for hydrogen evolution were assessed. 2. In supporting electron transfer from dithionite to hydrogenase of the bacterium Clostridium pasteurianum, highest activity was shown by the ferredoxin from the cyanobacterium Chlorogloeopsis fritschii and flavodoxin from the bacterium Megasphaera elsdenii. The latter was some twenty times as active as comparable concentrations of Methyl Viologen. Ferredoxins from the cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans and the red alga Porphyra umbilicalis also showed high activity. 3. In mediating electron transfer from chloroplast membranes to Clostridium pasteurianum hydrogenase the flavodoxin from Anacystis nidulans proved the most active with Nostoc strain MAC flavodoxin and Porphyra umbilicalis ferredoxin also being appreciably more active than other cyanobacterial and higher plant ferredoxins. 4. In both hydrogenase systems the ferredoxin and flavodoxin from the red alga Chondrus crispus and the ferredoxin from another red alga Gigartina stellata showed very low activity. 5. There appeared to be no apparent correlation of efficiency in supporting hydrogenase activity with midpoint redox potential (Em) of the mediators, though some correlation of Em with the efficiency of the mediators in supporting NADP+ photoreduction by chloroplasts, or pyruvate oxidation by a Clostridium pasteurianum system, was evident. 6. Activity of the mediators in the hydrogenase systems therefore primarily reflects differences in tertiary structure conferring differing affinities for the other components of the systems.

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CORTICOSTEROID-UMSATZ UND CORTICOSTEROID-PRODUKTION BEI RATTEN UNTER DER BEHANDLUNG MIT ANABOLEN STEROIDEN

Acta Endocrinologica ◽

10.1530/acta.0.0480263 ◽

1965 ◽

Vol 48 (2) ◽

pp. 263-271 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Herbert Schriefers ◽

Gerlinde Scharlau ◽

Franzis Pohl

Keyword(s):

Production Rate ◽

Adult Female ◽

Anabolic Steroids ◽

Reduction Rate ◽

Female Rats ◽

Adrenal Weight ◽

Hydrogenase Activity ◽

Anabolic Effect ◽

Liver Slices

ABSTRACT After the administration of anabolic steroids to adult female rats in daily doses of 1 mg per animal for 14 days, the following parameters were investigated: the rate of the Δ4-5α-hydrogenase-catalyzed cortisone reduction in liver slices and microsomal fractions, the adrenal weight and the in vitro corticosterone production rate. Among the steroids tested, only 17α-methyl-testosterone and 17α-ethyl-19-nor-testosterone were effective in lowering significantly cortisone reduction rate by liver slices with concomitant decreases in microsomal Δ4-5α-hydrogenase-activity. Testosterone, 19-nor-testosterone, 17α-ethinyl-19-nor-testosterone, 17α-methyl-17β-hydroxy-androsta-1,4-dien-3-one and 1-methyl-17β-hydroxy-androst-1-en-3-one were ineffective or only slightly effective. Adrenal weight and absolute corticosterone production rate (μg/60 min per animal) were decreased after treatment with 17α-methyl-testosterone, 17α-ethyl-19-nor-testosterone and 1-methyl-17β-hydroxy-androst-1-en-3-one. Corticosterone production was decreased with 17α-ethinyl-19-nor-testosterone in spite of an unchanged adrenal weight. The relative corticosterone production rate (μg/60 min · 100 mg adrenal) was in any cases unaffected. According to these results there exists – with the exception of 17α-ethinyl-19-nor-testosterone – a strict parallelism between corticosteroid turnover and corticosterone production rate: unchanged turnover is correlated with unchanged corticosterone production rate, while a decreased turnover is correlated with decreased adrenal activity. The protein-anabolic effect of certain anabolic steroids may be partly due to an anti-catabolic action of these compounds resulting from a decreased corticosteroid inactivation and production rate. Possible mechanisms by which anabolic steroids may affect corticosteroid-balance are discussed.

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