scholarly journals The phospholipid-dependence of uridine diphosphate glucuronyltransferase. Effect of protein deficiency on the phospholipid composition and enzyme activity of rat liver microsomal fraction

1974 ◽  
Vol 137 (3) ◽  
pp. 567-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. B. Graham ◽  
B. G. Woodcock ◽  
G. C. Wood

After force-feeding a protein-free diet to male rats for 5–7 days a substantial (2.4-fold) increase in the specific activity of the liver microsomal enzyme UDP-glucuronyltransferase (EC 2.4.1.17) was observed. A similar activation of the enzyme occurred when rats were fed on a low-protein (5%, w/w, casein) diet for 60 days. Although both the short- and long-term protein-deficient diets decreased the contents of microsomal protein and phospholipid in liver tissue they did not significantly alter the ratio of these major membrane components. Protein deficiency profoundly altered the phospholipid composition of microsomal membranes. The most striking difference in microsomal phospholipid composition between control and protein-deficient rats was their content of lysophosphatides. Whereas microsomal membranes from protein-deficient rats contained significant proportions of lysophosphatidylcholine and lysophosphatidylethanolamine very little or no lysophosphatides were detected in control preparations. Pretreatment of microsomal fractions from normal rats with phospholipase A markedly increased their UDP-glucuronyltransferase activity as did their pretreatment with lysophosphatidylcholine. It is concluded that the quantities of lysophosphatides present in microsomal membranes from protein-deficient rats were sufficient to have caused the increased UDP-glucuronyltransferase activities of these preparations. Evidence is presented suggesting that these changes in microsomal phospholipid composition and UDP-glucuronyltransferase activity caused by protein deficiency reflect changes that occur in vivo. The possible physiological significance of these findings is discussed.

1969 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. R. Young ◽  
P. C. Huang

1. After 14 days on a diet containing 5 or 25% casein male rats received a fracture of the left femur. Four hours before they were killed the injured and control rats were injected with [1-14C]leucine; the incorporation of radioactivity into an isolated fraction of skeletal muscle ribosomes was studied 6, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96 and 228 h after injury.2. The incorporation of [14C]leucine into the ribosome fraction in right thigh muscles dropped to 40% of control values 72 h after fracture in well-nourished rats and after 96 h with diets containing 5 or 25%, casein.3. The specific activity of the trichloroacetic acid-soluble fraction of muscle from injured rats was equal to or higher than that of the controls during the first 72 h but lower at 96 h.4. These results suggest that a reduced incorporation of amino acids by ribosomes from the right thigh muscle occurred on day 3 after fracture in the group receiving 25% casein but not in the group receiving 5% casein.5. Muscle RNA and DNA concentrations were not affected by the injury.6. The relationship between these findings and the loss of muscle N after injury is discussed.


1967 ◽  
Vol 105 (2) ◽  
pp. 783-801 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Tata

1. A lag period of about 4 days preceded the onset of metamorphosis precociously induced by tri-iodothyronine in tadpoles of the giant American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana). It was established by the accelerated synthesis or induction of carbamoyl phosphate synthetase and cytochrome oxidase in the liver, serum albumin and adult haemoglobin in the blood, acid phosphatase in the tail, and the increase in the hindleg/tail length ratio. 2. A 4- to 6-fold stimulation, 2 days after the induction of metamorphosis, of the rate of synthesis of rapidly labelled nuclear RNA in liver cells was followed by an increasing amount of RNA appearing in the cytoplasm. Most of the newly formed RNA on induction of metamorphosis was of the ribosomal type. An accelerated turnover at early stages of development preceded a net accumulation of RNA in the cytoplasm, with no change in the amount of DNA per liver. 3. Most hepatic ribosomes of the pre-metamorphic tadpoles were present as 78s monomers and 100s dimers; metamorphosis caused a shift towards larger polysomal aggregates with newly formed ribosomes that were relatively more tightly bound to membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum. 4. The appearance of new polyribosomes in the cytoplasm on induction of metamorphosis was co-ordinated in time with a stimulation of synthesis of phospholipids of the smooth and rough endoplasmic reticulum, followed by a gradual shift in preponderance from the smooth to the rough type of microsomal membranes. 5. Electron- and optical-microscopic examination of intact hepatocytes revealed a striking change in the distribution and nature of ribosomes and microsomal membranes during metamorphosis. 6. Ribosomes prepared from non-metamorphosing and metamorphosing animals were identical in their sedimentation coefficients and in the structural ribosomal proteins. The base composition and sedimentation coefficients of ribosomal RNA were also identical. Induction of metamorphosis also did not alter the incorporation of 32P into the different phospholipid constituents of microsomal membranes. 7. Nascent 14C-labelled protein with the highest specific activity was recovered in the ‘heavy’ rough membrane fraction of microsomes, whereas little 14C was associated with ‘free’ polysomes. Protein synthesis in vivo was most markedly stimulated during metamorphosis in the tightly membrane-bound ribosomal fraction after the appearance of new ribosomes. 8. The rate of synthesis of macromolecules in vivo could not be followed beyond 7–8 days after induction because of variable shifts in precursor pools due to regression of larval tissues. 9. The stimulation of RNA and ribosome formation was specifically associated with the process of metamorphosis since no similar response to thyroid hormones occurred in those species (Axolotl and Necturus) in which the hormones failed to induce metamorphosis.


1988 ◽  
Vol 252 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
G M Trakshel ◽  
M D Maines

We have developed chromatographic and mathematical protocols that allowed the high resolution of glutathione S-transferase (GST) subunits, and the identification of a previously unresolved GST monomer in rat kidney cytosol; the monomer was identified tentatively as subunit 6. Also, an aberrant form of GST 7-7 dimer appeared to be present in the kidney. This development was utilized to illustrate the response of rat kidney GST following cis-platinum treatment in vivo. Rat kidney cytosol was separated into three ‘affinity families’ of GST activity after elution from a GSH-agarose matrix. The affinity peaks were characterized by quantitative differences in their subunit and dimeric compositions as determined by subsequent chromatography on a cation-exchange matrix and specific activity towards substrates. By use of these criteria, the major GST dimers of affinity peaks were tentatively identified. The major GST dimers in peak I were GST 1-1 and 1-2, in affinity peak II it was GST 2-2, and in peak III they were GST 3-3 and 7-7. GST 3-6 and/or 4-6, which have not been previously resolved in kidney cytosol, were also present in peak II. Alterations in the kidney cytosolic GST composition of male rats were detected subsequent to the administration of cis-platinum (7.0 mg/kg subcutaneously, 6 days). This treatment caused a pronounced alteration in the GST profile, and the pattern of alteration was markedly different from that reported for other chemicals in the kidney or in the liver. In general, the cellular contents of the GSTs of the Alpha and the Mu classes decreased and increased respectively. It is postulated that the decrease in the Alpha class of GSTs by cis-platinum treatment may be related to renal cortical damage and the loss of GSTs in the urine. The increase in the Mu class of GSTs could potentially stem from a lowered serum concentration of testosterone; the latter is a known effect of cis-platinum treatment.


1970 ◽  
Vol 117 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. J. Mulder

1. The detergent Triton X-100 activates UDP glucuronyltransferase from rat liver in vitro six- to seven-fold with p-nitrophenol as substrate. The enzyme activity when measured in the presence of Triton X-100 is increased significantly by pretreatment of male rats with phenobarbital for 4 days (90mg/kg each day intraperitoneally). If no Triton X-100 is applied in vitro such an increase could not be shown. In all further experiments the enzyme activity was measured after activation by Triton X-100. 2. The Km of the enzyme for the substrate p-nitrophenol does not change on phenobarbital pretreatment. 3. When the microsomal fraction from the liver of untreated rats is subfractionated on a sucrose density gradient, 47% of the enzyme activity is recovered in the rough-surfaced microsomal fraction, which also has a higher specific activity than the smooth-surfaced fraction. 4. Of the increase in activity after the phenobarbital pretreatment 50% occurs in the smooth-surfaced fraction, 19% in the rough-surfaced fraction and 31% in the fraction located between the smooth- and rough-surfaced microsomal fractions on the sucrose density gradient. 5. The latency of the enzyme in vitro, as shown by the effect of the detergent Triton X-100, is discussed in relation to the proposed heterogeneity of UDP glucuronyltransferase.


Pharmaceutics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 657 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Cristina Cardia ◽  
Anna Rosa Carta ◽  
Pierluigi Caboni ◽  
Anna Maria Maccioni ◽  
Sara Erbì ◽  
...  

Progesterone is a sex hormone which shows neuroprotective effects in different neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and Alzheimer’s disease. However, the pharmacokinetic limitations associated with the peripheral administration of this molecule highlight the need for more efficient delivery approaches to increase brain progesterone levels. Since the nose-to-brain administration of mucoadhesive hydrogel nanoparticles is a non-invasive and convenient strategy for the delivery of therapeutics to the central nervous system, in this work, progesterone-loaded hydrogel nanoparticle formulations have been prepared, characterized, and tested in vivo. Nanoparticles, loaded with different progesterone concentrations, have been obtained by polyelectrolyte complex formation between trimethyl chitosan and sodium alginate, followed by ionotropic gelation with sodium tripolyphosphate as a cross-linking agent. All formulations showed a mean diameter ranging from 200 nm to 236 nm, a polydispersity index smaller than 0.23, and a high progesterone encapsulation efficiency (83–95%). The zeta potential values were all positive and greater than 28 mV, thus ensuring nanoparticles stability against aggregation phenomena as well as interaction with negative sialic residues of the nasal mucosa. Finally, in vivo studies on Sprague–Dawley male rats demonstrated a 5-fold increase in brain progesterone concentrations compared to basal progesterone level after 30 min of hydrogel nanoparticle inhalation.


1996 ◽  
Vol 318 (1) ◽  
pp. 333-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rama K MALLAMPALLI ◽  
Satya N MATHUR ◽  
Lorna J WARNOCK ◽  
Ronald G SALOME ◽  
Gary W HUNNINGHAKE ◽  
...  

Glucocorticoids appear to play an integral role in stimulating surfactant synthesis by activating the rate-regulatory enzyme for phosphatidylcholine synthesis, CTP:cholinephosphate cytidylyltransferase (CT). The activity of liver CT, in vitro, has been shown to be inhibited by the sphingomyelin hydrolysis product, sphingosine. In order to investigate the mechanisms by which glucocorticoids alter CT activity, in vivo, we administered betamethasone (1 mg/kg intraperitoneally) sequentially to adult male rats for 5 days. Betamethasone increased CT activity 2-fold relative to control in whole lung. The hormone also increased membrane-bound activity, but did not affect cytosolic enzyme activity. Betamethasone modestly increased CT mRNA as determined by the reverse-transcription PCR and Southern analysis of PCR products, but did not alter the levels of immunoreactive enzyme in lung membranes as demonstrated by Western blotting. The hormone did, however, produce a nearly 3-fold increase in membrane-associated sphingomyelin, and co-ordinately a substantial decrease in the levels of sphingosine in lung membranes. Sphingosine, but not sphinganine, was a competitive, reversible inhibitor of lung CT with respect to the enzyme activator, phosphatidylglycerol. Betamethasone decreased the activities of the sphingomyelin hydrolases: acid sphingomyelinase by 33% and of alkaline ceramidase by 21%. The hormone also inhibited the generation of sphingosine from lysosphingomyelin in lung membranes. There was no significant effect of the hormone on serine palmitoyltransferase activity, the first committed enzyme for sphingolipid biosynthesis. Further, administration of l-cycloserine, an inhibitor of sphingosine formation, was shown to stimulate CT activity by 74% and increase disaturated phosphatidylcholine in alveolar lavage by 52% relative to control. These observations suggest that glucocorticoids up-regulate surfactant synthesis at the level of a key regulatory enzyme by significantly altering the availability of inhibitory metabolites resulting from sphingomyelin hydrolysis.


1991 ◽  
Vol 277 (3) ◽  
pp. 863-868 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Sömjen ◽  
K D Schlüter ◽  
E Wingender ◽  
H Mayer ◽  
A M Kaye

We have found, in previous studies in vitro using skeletal derived cell cultures, that mid-region fragments of human parathyroid hormone (hPTH) stimulate [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA and increase the specific activity of the brain-type isoenzyme of creatine kinase (CK). These changes occurred without an increase in cyclic AMP formation which is linked to bone resorption. In this study, we found that the mid-region fragment hPTH-(28-48) stimulated CK activity in diaphysis, epiphysis and kidney in a time- and dose-dependent manner, parallel to the effects of the whole molecule bovine (b)PTH-(1-84) and the fully active fragment hPTH-(1-34). The increase caused by hPTH-(28-48) at a dose of 1.25 micrograms/rat was not less than the 2-fold increase caused by a roughly equimolar concentration bPTH-(1-84). A significant increase was reached at 1 h after intraperitoneal injection in all cases. All three sequences of PTH caused an increase in [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA in diaphysis and epiphysis, but not in kidney, 24 h after injection. A fragment further towards the C-terminal, hPTH-(34-47), was inactive compared with an equimolar concentration of the fragment hPTH-(25-39), which stimulated both CK activity and DNA synthesis. These results in vivo are in line with previous findings in vitro; they provide further support for the suggestion that mid-region fragments of the PTH molecule could be used to induce bone formation without incurring the deleterious effect of bone resorption.


2010 ◽  
Vol 192 (10) ◽  
pp. 2604-2612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Klaffl ◽  
Bernhard J. Eikmanns

ABSTRACT Soluble, divalent cation-dependent oxaloacetate decarboxylases (ODx) catalyze the irreversible decarboxylation of oxaloacetate to pyruvate and CO2. Although these enzymes have been characterized in different microorganisms, the genes that encode them have not been identified, and their functions have been only poorly analyzed so far. In this study, we purified a soluble ODx from wild-type C. glutamicum about 65-fold and used matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) analysis and peptide mass fingerprinting for identification of the corresponding odx gene. Inactivation and overexpression of odx led to an absence of ODx activity and to a 30-fold increase in ODx specific activity, respectively; these findings unequivocally confirmed that this gene encodes a soluble ODx. Transcriptional analysis of odx indicated that there is a leaderless transcript that is organized in an operon together with a putative S-adenosylmethionine-dependent methyltransferase gene. Biochemical analysis of ODx revealed that the molecular mass of the native enzyme is about 62 ± 1 kDa and that the enzyme is composed of two ∼29-kDa homodimeric subunits and has a Km for oxaloacetate of 1.4 mM and a V max of 201 μmol of oxaloacetate converted per min per mg of protein, resulting in a k cat of 104 s−1. Introduction of plasmid-borne odx into a pyruvate kinase-deficient C. glutamicum strain restored growth of this mutant on acetate, indicating that a high level of ODx activity redirects the carbon flux from oxaloacetate to pyruvate in vivo. Consistently, overexpression of the odx gene in an l-lysine-producing strain of C. glutamicum led to accumulation of less l-lysine. However, inactivation of the odx gene did not improve l-lysine production under the conditions tested.


1982 ◽  
Vol 2 (9) ◽  
pp. 1104-1114
Author(s):  
D L Gard ◽  
E Lazarides

The intermediate filament proteins desmin and vimentin and the muscle tropomyosins were the major protein phosphate acceptors in 8-day-old myotubes incubated for 4 h in medium containing radiolabeled phosphate. The addition of isoproterenol or 8-bromo-cyclic AMP (BrcAMP) resulted in a two- to threefold increase in incorporation of 32PO4 into both desmin and vimentin, whereas no changes in the incorporation of 32PO4 into tropomyosin or other cellular proteins were observed. The BrcAMP- or hormonally induced increase in 32PO4 incorporation into desmin and vimentin was independent of protein synthesis and was not caused by stimulation of protein phosphate turnover. In addition, BrcAMP did not induce significant changes in the specific activity of the cellular ATP pool. These data suggest that the observed increase in 32PO4 incorporation represented an actual increase in phosphorylation of the intermediate filament proteins desmin and vimentin. Two-dimensional tryptic analysis of desmin from 8-day-old myotubes revealed five phosphopeptides of which two showed a 7- to 10-fold increase in 32PO4 incorporation in BrcAMP-treated myotubes. Four of the phosphopeptides identified in desmin labeled in vivo were also observed in desmin phosphorylated in vitro by bovine heart cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Although phosphorylation of desmin and vimentin was apparent in myogenic cells at all stages of differentiation, BrcAMP- and isoproterenol-induced increases in phosphorylation of these proteins were restricted to mature myotubes. These data strongly suggest that in vivo phosphorylation of the intermediate filament proteins desmin and vimentin is catalyzed by the cAMP-dependent protein kinases and that such phosphorylation may be regulated during muscle differentiation.


1975 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 895-902 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Shipley ◽  
A. P. Gibbons

Specific activity curves of respired CO2 and of body glucose after intravenous NaH14CO3 as tracer and, in separate experiments, after [U-14C]glucose as tracer were employed to assess rate of interchange of carbon between HCO3 and glucose, and to calculate other rates of input and output for each of these substances. Solution for six rates attending the model was by integrals rather than by curve analysis. Fasting caused a twofold increase in rate of transport of CO2 carbon to glucose. Whereas in fed animals this rate was only 7% of the forward flow from glucose to CO2, it rose to 31% during fasting. Glucose carbon derived from CO2 rose from 3.7 to 20%. As expected, the rates of entry of new glucose to blood, and the conversion rate of glucose to products in body depots and to CO2 were reduced by fasting, whereas, the non-glucose input to CO2 was increased. Fasting was attended by a 20-fold increase in rate of conversion of CO2-derived carbon to hepatic glycogen and a fourfold increase to non-hepatic glycogen. Protein exceeded all whole-body depots for rate of acceptance of such carbon, and total lipids received an appreciable amount, but fasting caused no overall increase for either.


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