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Biomedical subjects

A M Scanu

Publications and source records attributed to A M Scanu.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources

Covalent structure of apolipoprotein A-II from Macaca mulatta serum high-density lipoproteins.

The covalent structure of apolipoprotein A-II, isolated from the serum high-density lipoprotein of a single male Rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta), was determined. The amino acid sequence of this 77-residue polypeptide is: less than Glu-Ala-Glu-Glu-Pro5-Ser-Val-Glu-Ser-Leu10-Val-Ser-Gln-Tyr-Phe15-Gln-Thr-Val-Thr-Asp20-Tyr-Gly-Lys-Asp-Leu25-Met-Glu-Lys-Val-Lys30-Ser-Pro-Glu-Leu-Gln35-Ala-Gln-Ala-Lys-Ala40-Tyr-Phe-Glu-Lys-Ser45-Lys-Glu-Gln-Leu-Thr50-Pro-Leu-Val-Lys-Lys55-Ala-Gly-Thr-Asp-Leu60-Val-Asn-Phe-Leu-Ser65-Tyr-Phe-Val-Glu-Leu70-Arg-Thr-Gln-Pro-Ala75-Thr-Gln-COOH. A comparison of this structure to that of the monomeric form of human apolipoprotein A-II reveals a high degree of homology except for six conservative amino acid replacements (positions 3, 6, 40, 53, 59, and 71). Of particular structural significance is the replacement of cysteine by serine in position 6. This explaines why Rhesus A-II exists in monomeric form, contrary to the established dimeric nature of the human protein.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Studies on human serum high-density lipoproteins. Self-association of human serum apolipoprotein A-II in aqueous solutions.

Some of the solution properties of pure preparations of human serum high-density apolipoprotein A-II were studied by sedimentation equilibrium ultracentrifugation, conducted at different apoprotein concentrations and at several speeds. The concentration dependence of the apparent weight average molecular weight indicated that apolipoprotein A-II, when dissolved in 0.02 MEDTA (pH 8.6), undergoes self-association. Over a protein concentration range between 0.8 and 1.5 mg/ml, the self-association could best be described by a monomer-dimer-trimer step association, although indefinite self-association could not be ruled out. The equilibrium constants obtained were sufficient to describe the system over the concentration range investigated.

Binding Sites↗

Studies on human serum high density lipoproteins. Self-association of apolipoprotein A-I in aqueous solutions.

Human serum apolipoprotein A-I (apo-A-I), the major protein component of the human serum high density lipoproteins, was studied in aqueous solutions of differing ionic strength and pH by the techniques of sedimentation equilibrium ultracentrifugation and frontal analysis gel chromatography. The ultracentrifugal studies indicate the apo-A-I is a self-associating system that is dependent upon protein concentration, but relatively independent of the nature of the medium. The apparent weight average molecular weights obtained from solutions of initial apo-A-I concentration between 0.2 and 0.9 mg/ml were in the range of 3.0 to 16.7 x 10(4) (monomer molecular weight = 28,014). Of the several models of self-associated examined, that which gave the best theoretical fit was for the monomer-dimertetramer-octamer model. The self-association of apo-A-I in aqueous solutions was further documented by frontal analysis gel chromatography, which not only corroborated the ultracentrifugal results, but also indicated that the multiple species of apo-A-I in solution attain equilibrium rather rapidly. Besides having intrinsic importance, these results indicate that the solution properties of apo-A-I must be established before ligand binding studies are conducted and interpreted.

Apoproteins↗

Apoproteins of human serum high density lipoproteins. Isolation and characterization of the peptides of Sephadex fraction V from normal subjects and patients with abeta-lipoproteinemia.

1. Sephadex fraction V, obtained from human serum high density lipoprotein apoprotein (HDL apoprotein) of normal subjects and of patients with abetalipoproteinemia, was resolved by DEAE-cellulose ion exchange column chromatography into several fractions which were defined in terms of amino acid composition, NH2- and COOH-terminsls, sialic acid content, immunologic and electrophoretic properties, and in vitro activation of purified lipoprotein lipase from rat adipose tissue. 2. Fraction V of HDL apoprotein of both normal and abetalipoproteinemic subjects was found to contain polypeptides corresponding to apolipoproteins C-I, C-II, C-III-1, and C-III-2, which had been described previously in very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL). The content of apo C-III-1 in abetalipoproteinemia-HDL was very low, whereas the percentage, by weight, of apo C-I was about twice as high as that in the normal subjects studied. Furthermore, both normal and abetalipoproteinemia-HDL apoprotein contained a previously unreported peptide which had a molecular weight of about 7 000 and electrophoretic, chemical, and immunological properties distinct from those of the known C apolipoproteins. Of all of the peptides comprising fraction V, only apo C-II activated a purified preparation of rat adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase. This was the case for both normal and abetalipoproteinemic subjects.

Amino Acids↗

Measurement of human high density lipoprotein apolipoprotein A-1 in serum by radioimmunoassay.

A sensitive and specific double antibody radioimmunoassay for the major apolipoprotein (apo A-I) of human serum high density lipoprotein (HDL) was developed. Initial studies indicated that direct measurements of apo A-I concentration in whole untreated sera or isolated high density lipoprotein fractions yielded variable results, which were lower than those obtained in the corresponding samples which had been subjected to delipidation. Subsequently, it was observed that heating diluted sera or HDL for 3 hr at 52 degrees C prior to assay resulted in maximal increases in apo A-I immunoreactivity to levels comparable to those found in the delipidated specimens. This simple procedure permitted multiple sera to be assayed efficiently with full recovery of apo A-I.

Abetalipoproteinemia↗

Distribution of glycosphingolipids in the serum lipoproteins of normal human subjects and patients with hypo- and hyperlipidemias.

Five glycosphingolipids (GSL), glucosylceramide, lactosylceramide, trihexosylceramide, globoside, and hematoside (GM3) were studied in serum from normal human subjects and patients with dyslipoproteinemia and found to be exclusively associated with the various classes of serum lipoproteins. Based on a unit weight of lipoprotein protein, the total amount of GSL in serum normal subjects was twice as high in very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) (d less than 1.006 g/ml) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) (d 1.019-1.063 g/ml) as in high density lipoproteins HDL2 (d 1.063-1.125 g/ml) or HDL3 (d 1.125-1.21 g/ml). In abetalipoproteinemia the levels of serum GSL were slightly reduced when compared to normal serum and were all found in the only existing lipoprotein, HDL; this contained 2-3 moles of GSL/ mole of lipoprotein as compared to 0.5 GSL/mole in normal HDL. In hypobetalipoproteinemia and Tangier disease, the serum glycosphingolipids were 10 to 30% reduced in concentration compared to the 75% reduction in other lipids, and were again found to be associated only with the serum lipoproteins. The relative proportions of GSL did not vary substantially in the normo- and hypolipidemic subjects studied. Only in patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia was there a significant (3-4-fold) elevation of all of the five GSL species and this elevation of all of the five GSL species and this elevation correlated well with that of the circulating cholesterol and LDL. On a molar basis the LDL of these patients contained the same amount of GSL as normal subjects (5 moles GSL/mole protein). It is concluded that: (1) glycosphingolipids are associated only with the major lipoprotein classes in both normal and dyslipoproteinemic serum; (2) the relative proportions of the five glycosphingolipids are not significantly affected by dyslipoproteinemia; (3) only in severe hypolipoproteinemia do the remaining serum lipoproteins carry a complement of glycosphingolipids greater than normal. Although our results establish that glycosphingolipids are intimately associated with serum lipoproteins, the mode of association or the structural and functional significance of such an association remains undetermined.

Abetalipoproteinemia↗

31-P nuclear magnetic resonance studies on serum low and high density lipoproteins: effect of paramagnetic ion.

A paramagnetic quenching reagent, Mn-2+/EDTA (1:2.2), was developed for the purpose of investigating the phospholipid phosphate groupings of human serum low and high density lipoproteins through the quenching effect of the reagent on the 31-P nuclear magnetic resonance signals from these complexes. Systems investigated included native low and high density serum liproteins (LDL, HDL2, and HDL3), egg phosphatidylcholine vesicles together with appropriate phosphodiester model systems, diethyl phosphate in aqueous buffer, and phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin both in anhydrous methanol. The results of these studies indicated that ca. 50 percent of the phospholipid-phosphorus signal of LDL is quenched upon titration as compared to an 80-85 percent figure observed for HDL2 and HDL3. In all cases the spectral effects were totally reversible upon removalof the paramagnetic ion by dialysis. The results of the titration studies indicated a similar but not an identical behavior between HDL2 and HDL3. The results are consistent with model structures of HDL and LDL particles derived from low angle X-ray diffraction.

Edetic Acid↗

Physicochemical characterization of Rhesus low density lipoproteins.

The serum low density lipoprotein (LDL; p 1.019-1.050 g/ml) of the normal Macaca mulatta monkey (rhesus), kept on a low-fat Purina primate chow diet, was isolated by ultracentrifugal flotation, and its physicochemical properties were compared with those previously reported for human LDL. Rhesus LDL was found to be chemically similar to human LDL. The values for the sedimentation (S25, w-O) and diffusion (D25,w-O) coefficients were 7.09 S and 2.50 times 10- minus-7 cm-2 sec- minus-1, respectively. The intrinsic viscosity was 3.40 ml g- minus-1. The partial specific volume of rhesus LDL, determined in an Anton Paar precision density meter, was 0.960 ml g- minus-1. Molecular weights, calculated from a combination of S-O and D-O and of S-O and [n], were in agreement with the weight-average molecular weight, Mw, of 2.29 times 10-6 obtained by high-speed sedimentation equilibrium. In addition, a Z-average molecular weight, Mz, of 2.73 times 10-6 was calculated because curvature in the graphs of log c vs. r-2 indicated that rhesus LDL was heterogeneous. From the frictional ratio of 1.02, a maximum hydration of 0.1 g of H2O/g of lipoprotein was obtained. On electron micrographs, rhesus LDL appeared spherical with a mean diameter of 196 A, which was substantiated by hydrodynamic analysis.

Amino Acids↗

Neutron scattering study of human serum low density lipoprotein.

Regions of different proton density in the low density lipoprotein (LDL) particle from human serum have been determined by neutron scattering. From measurements in various H2O/D2O mixtures, the LDL particle appears to be quasi-spherical, with the centers of gravity of the hydrocarbon and polar regions coinciding. The average volume occupied by a particle was found to be 3.2 X 10-6 A-3, with the volume fraction occupied by the hydrocarbons being 60%. The ratius of gyration of the hydrocarbon region was 64 A, while that of the polar region was 100 A. consequently, the core of LDL is predominantly occupied by the hydrocarbon chains, while the outer shell is sparsely occupied by protein emerging from the lipid core.

Deuterium↗

A study of the abnormal lipoproteins in abetalipoproteinemia.

The serum lipoproteins of five patients with abetalipoproteinemia (ABL) were separated by ultracentrifugation and then analyzed either intact or after delipidation. In accord with previous findings, all of the patients lacked serum particles with the characteristics of normal low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and of the LDL apoprotein as assessed by immunochemical methods. Each patient exhibited on every examination an abnormal particle, "LDL", which had the flotational properties of LDL, the polypeptide makeup of high-density lipoproteins HDL, the spectral and morphological characteristics of neither LDL nor HDL, and a relatively low content of cholesteryl esters. The HDL were abnormal in having a marked decrease in their total plasma content, an altered proportion of the subclasses HDL2 and HDL3, and a peculiar polypeptide distribution, comprising both normal and additional components, usually not seen in normal controls. The patients also exhibited a decrease of plasma lecithin-cholesterol acyl transferase (LCAT) activity which probably accounted for the low content of cholesteryl esters in both "LDL" and HDL, and in turn for the unusual appearance of "LDL" on electron microscopy. It is concluded that ABL is a disorder affecting all serum lipoprotein classes. Whether the abetalipoproteinemia previously described and noted in the current studies is related to or independent of the abnormalities observed in the other lipoproteins was not established. How the deficiency of LCAT activity, observed in all patients studied, contributed to some of the observed structural lipoprotein abnormalities also remained undetermined.

Abetalipoproteinemia↗