scholarly journals The biosynthesis of glucagon in perfused rat pancreas

1973 ◽  
Vol 134 (2) ◽  
pp. 473-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin J. O'Connor ◽  
Adrian Gay ◽  
Norman R. Lazarus

The biosynthesis of glucagon was studied by using the recirculated, isolated perfused rat pancreas. [3H]Tryptophan was initially incorporated into acid–ethanol-extractable protein, which on gel filtration was eluted with a molecular weight of about 9000 and contained a small amount of glucagon immunoreactivity. With longer incubation [3H]tryptophan incorporation into a second peak was obtained in an identical position with that of the majority of rat glucagon immunoreactivity. This peak of labelled protein exhibited migration characteristics on polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis identical with those of rat glucagon and was identified as newly synthesized glucagon by demonstration of specific binding and dissociation behaviour with glucagon antibodies. The incorporation of [3H]tryptophan into acid–ethanol-extractable protein was inhibited by cycloheximide. High concentrations of glucose increased [3H]tryptophan incorporation into high-molecular-weight protein but decreased incorporation into proteins smaller than cytochrome c. The pattern of [3H]leucine incorporation into protein was similar to that of [3H]tryptophan.

1979 ◽  
Vol 177 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel M. Umezurike

1. Filtrates from cultures of different ages of Botryodiplodia theobromae Pat. were fractionated by gel filtration, ion-exchange chromatography and polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. 2. Five cellulases (C1, C2, C3, C4 and C5) were found, and their molecular weights, estimated by gel filtration, were 46000–48000 (C1), 30000–35000 (C2), 15000–18000 (C3), 10000–11000 (C4) and 4800–5500 (C5). 3. Cellulase C5 was absent from old culture filtrates. 4. Cellulase C1 had little or no activity on CM-cellulose (viscometric assay), but degraded cotton flock and Whatman cellulose powder to give cellobiose only. 5. The other components (C2–C5) produced cellobiose and smaller amounts of glucose and cellotriose from cellulosic substrates and were more active in lowering the viscosity of CM-cellulose. 6. The ratio of activities assayed by viscometry and by the release of reducing sugars from CM-cellulose increased with decrease in the molecular weights of cellulases C2–C5. 7. Cellobiose inhibited the activities of the cellulases, but glucose stimulated at low concentrations although it inhibited at high concentrations. 8. A high-molecular-weight β-glucosidase (component B1, mol.wt. 350000–380000) predominated in filtrates from young cultures, but a low-molecular-weight enzyme (B4, mol.wt. 45000–47000) predominated in older filtrates. 9. Intermediate molecular species of β-glucosidase (B2, mol.wt. 170000–180000; B3, mol.wt. 83000–87000) were also found. 10. Cellulases C2–C5 acted in synergism with C1, particularly in the presence of β-glucosidase.


1980 ◽  
Vol 44 (03) ◽  
pp. 130-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
E B Tsianos ◽  
N E Stathakis

SummaryThe presence of soluble fibrin complexes (SFC) measured by gel filtration of plasma on 4% agarose columns, fibrinogen heterogeneity on 3.5% SDS-polyacrylamide gels and the concentrations of several plasma proteins were evaluated in 39 patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and 19 matched control subjects. A small but significant increase of SFC was found in DM (p<0.01). On individual basis 51.2% of the patients had increased SFC (>M + 2 SD of the controls). Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the SFC showed no evidence of cross-linking or proteolysis. Plasma clots formed in the presence of EDTA and trasylol were analysed in SDS-polyacrylamide gels in a normal and two lower molecular weight fibrin bands (band I, II, III). The percentage of band I fibrinogen was in diabetics (65.3 ± 4.7%) lower than that of the controls (71.8 ± 4.5%) (p < 0.01). Fibrinogen levels, antithrombin III, α1-antitrypsin, α2-macroglobulin and plasminogen were significantly increased in DM. We suggest that in DM there is an enhancement of intravascular fibrin formation and accelerated fibrinogen degradation to lower molecular weight forms.


1998 ◽  
Vol 66 (9) ◽  
pp. 4374-4381 ◽  
Author(s):  
John C. McMichael ◽  
Michael J. Fiske ◽  
Ross A. Fredenburg ◽  
Deb N. Chakravarti ◽  
Karl R. VanDerMeid ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The UspA1 and UspA2 proteins of Moraxella catarrhalisare potential vaccine candidates for preventing disease caused by this organism. We have characterized both proteins and evaluated their vaccine potential using both in vitro and in vivo assays. Both proteins were purified from the O35E isolate by Triton X-100 extraction, followed by ion-exchange and hydroxyapatite chromatography. Analysis of the sequences of internal peptides, prepared by enzymatic and chemical cleavage of the proteins, revealed that UspA1 and UspA2 exhibited distinct structural differences but shared a common sequence including an epitope recognized by the monoclonal antibody 17C7. By sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), purified UspA1 exhibited a molecular weight of approximately 350,000 when unheated and a molecular weight of 100,000 after being heated for 10 min at 100°C. In contrast, purified UspA2 exhibited an apparent molecular weight of 240,000 by SDS-PAGE that did not change with the length of time of heating. Their sizes as determined by gel filtration were 1,150,000 and 830,000 for UspA1 and UspA2, respectively. Preliminary results indicate the proteins have separate functions in bacterial pathogenesis. Purified UspA1 was found to bind HEp-2 cells, and sera against UspA1, but not against UspA2, blocked binding of the O35E isolate to the HEp-2 cells. UspA1 also bound fibronectin and appears to have a role in bacterial attachment. Purified UspA2, however, did not bind fibronectin but had an affinity for vitronectin. Both proteins elicited bactericidal antibodies in mice to homologous and heterologous disease isolates. Finally, mice immunized with each of the proteins, followed by pulmonary challenge with either the homologous or a heterologous isolate, cleared the bacteria more rapidly than mock-immunized mice. These results suggest that UspA1 and UspA2 serve different virulence functions and that both are promising vaccine candidates.


1983 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Crossley ◽  
D.V. Holberton

Proteins from the axonemes and disc cytoskeleton of Giardia lamblia have been examined by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In addition to tubulin and the 30 X 10(3) molecular weight disc protein, at least 18 minor components copurify with the two major proteins in Triton-insoluble structures. The most prominent minor bands have the apparent molecular weights of 110 X 10(3), 95 X 10(3) and 81 X 10(3). Protein of 30 X 10(3) molecular weight accounts for about 20% of organelle protein on gels. In continuous 25 mM-Tris-glycine buffer it migrates mostly as a close-spaced doublet of polypeptides, which are here given the name giardins. Giardia tubulin and giardin have been purified by gel filtration chromatography in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate. Well-separated fractions were obtained that could be further characterized. Both proteins are heterogeneous when examined by isoelectric focusing. Five tubulin chains were detected by PAGE Blue 83 dye-binding after focusing in a broad-range ampholyte gel. Giardin is slightly less acidic than tubulin. On gels it splits into four major and four minor chains with isoelectric points in the pI range from 5.8 to 6.2. The amino acid composition of the giardin fraction has been determined, and compared to Giardia tubulin and a rat brain tubulin standard. Giardins are rich in helix-forming residues, particularly leucine. They have a low content of proline and glycine; therefore they may have extensive alpha-helical regions and be rod-shaped. As integral proteins of disc microribbons, giardins in vivo associate closely with tubulin. The properties of giardins indicate that in a number of respects - molecular size, charge, stoichiometry - their structural interaction with tubulin assemblies will be different from other tubulin-accessory protein copolymers studied in vitro.


1993 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Blaghen ◽  
Dominique J. M. Vidon ◽  
Mohamed Said El Kebbaj

A mercuric ion-reducing flavoprotein was purified from Yersinia enterocolitica 138A14 using dye matrix affinity chromatography. The purified enzyme had a characteristic absorption spectrum similar to those of flavin compounds, and FAD was detected as a part of the purified enzyme by thin-layer chromatography. Freshly purified preparations of the enzyme showed a single band on SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with a molecular weight of 70 000. The isolated enzyme had a molecular weight of about 200 000 as determined by gel filtration and disc gel electrophoresis. These results suggest an apparently trimeric structure of the enzyme. Dithiothreitol treatment disrupted the trimer into a dimeric structure of 140 000. Along with ageing, as well as limited proteolytic digestion, the enzyme evolved to give a dimeric molecule of 105 000 composed of two identical subunits of 52 000. The combination of the purified enzyme with HgCl2, or unexpectedly with merthiolate, oxidised the NADPH, which was followed spectrophotometrically. The Km for HgCl2 was dependent on the concentration of exogenous thiol compounds. A comparison of physical properties as well as kinetic characteristics indicated that the enzyme from Y. enterocolitica 138A14 is similar to mercuric reductases isolated from other mercury-resistant bacteria.Key words: Yersinia enterocolitica, mercury resistance, mercuric reductase.


1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (10) ◽  
pp. 2262-2266 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. V. Arjunwadkar ◽  
S. Raghupathi Rami Reddy

Arginine kinase in claw muscle extracts of the scorpion, Palamneus phipsoni, was characterized. The enzyme, with a pH optimum of 8.5 in the direction of phosphoarginine synthesis, showed activation by Mg2+, high specificity towards L-arginine as the guanidino substrate, slight inhibition by high concentrations of L-arginine and ATP, and a molecular weight of 33 500. On polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at pH 8.3 the enzyme migrated to the anode as a single molecular species. In addition to the claw muscle, the enzyme activity was also found to be present in the heart, alimentary canal, hepatopancreas, and nervous system. In general, scorpion muscle arginine kinase appears to be similar in its properties to the enzyme from other arthropods.


1978 ◽  
Vol 173 (2) ◽  
pp. 633-641 ◽  
Author(s):  
R K Craig ◽  
D McIlreavy ◽  
R L Hall

1. Guinea-pig caseins A, B and C were purified free of each other by a combination of ion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration. 2. Determination of the amino acid composition showed all three caseins to contain a high proportion of proline and glutamic acid, but no cysteine. This apart, the amino acid composition of the three caseins was markedly different, though calculated divergence values suggest that some homology may exist between caseins A and B. Molecular-weight estimates based on amino acid composition were in good agreement with those based on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. 3. N-Terminal analysis showed lysine, methionine and lysine to be the N-terminal residues of caseins A, B and C respectively. 4. Two-dimensional separation of tryptic digests revealed a distinctive pattern for each casein. 5. All caseins were shown to be phosphoproteins. The casein C preparation also contained significant amounts of sialic acid, neutral and amino sugars. 6. The results suggest that each casein represents a separate gene product, and that the low-molecular-weight proteins are not the result of a post-translational cleavage of the largest. All were distinctly different from the whey protein alpha-lactalbumin.


1976 ◽  
Vol 159 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Paskin ◽  
R J Mayer

Fatty acid synthetase purified from the mammary gland of the rabbit has a mol. wt. of 968000 as determined by gel filtration. The enzyme gave one band, corresponding to a mol.wt. of approx. 35000, on polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate and phenylmethanesulphonyl fluoride.


1975 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline McKillop ◽  
W. Edgar ◽  
C. D. Forbes ◽  
C. R. M. Prentice

Seven pationts undergoing therapeutic defibrination by ancrod infusion were studied. Blood samples were obtained before treatment and after 6 and 24 hours ancrod infusion. Fibrinogen and its derivatives were precipitated with beta-alanine and separated by ΰ per cent agarose gel filtration. A range of soluble complexes were demonstrated after 6 hours infusion. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in SDS showed that the soluble complexes were largely composed of units with molecular weight similar to a minimally degraded early Fragment X. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in SDS and mercaptoethanol showed a marked loss of intact alphachain in the soluble complexes when compared with the uncomplexed material, suggesting that the soluble complexes had undergone preferential fibrinolytic digestion. It is suggested that, during ancrod therapy, FDP may be produced directly from soluble complexes rather than insoluble micro-thrombi as has been suggested previously.


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