Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A Meister

Publications and source records attributed to A Meister.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

gamma-Glutamyl amino acids. Transport and conversion to 5-oxoproline in the kidney.

Transport of gamma-glutamyl amino acids, a step in the proposed glutathione-gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase-mediated amino acid transport pathway, was examined in mouse kidney. The transport of gamma-glutamyl amino acids was demonstrated in vitro in studies on kidney slices. Transport was followed by measuring uptake of 35S after incubation of the slices in media containing gamma-glutamyl methionine [35S]sulfone. The experimental complication associated with extracellular conversion of the gamma-glutamyl amino acid to amino acid and uptake of the latter by slices was overcome by using 5-oxoproline formation (catalyzed by intracellular gamma-glutamyl-cyclotransferase) as an indicator of gamma-glutamyl amino acid transport. This method was also successfully applied to studies on transport of gamma-glutamyl amino acids in vivo. Transport of gamma-glutamyl amino acids in vitro and in vivo is inhibited by several inhibitors of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and also by high extracellular levels of glutathione. This seems to explain urinary excretion of gamma-glutamylcystine by humans with gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase deficiency and by mice treated with inhibitors of this enzyme. Mice depleted of glutathione by treatment with buthionine sulfoximine (which inhibits glutathione synthesis) or by treatment with 2,6-dimethyl-2,5-heptadiene-4-one (which effectively interacts with tissue glutathione) exhibited significantly less transport of gamma-glutamyl amino acids than did untreated controls. The findings suggest that intracellular glutathione functions in transport of gamma-glutamyl amino acids. Evidence was also obtained for transport of gamma-glutamyl gamma-glutamylphenylalanine into kidney slices.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1985

Glutathione specifically labeled with isotopes.

A procedure for synthesis of glutathione selectivity labeled with isotopes is described. A strain of Escherichia coli enriched in its content of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase and glutathione synthetase by recombinant DNA techniques is immobilized in a carrageenan matrix and treated with toluene to render the cells more permeable to the substrates. The immobilized cell matrix is incubated with a mixture containing the appropriately labeled amino acid, the other amino acid constituents of glutathione, ATP, and acetylphosphate. The radiolabeled product is isolated by column chromatography.

Carbon Radioisotopes↗
PubMed1985

Glutathione monoethyl ester: preparation, uptake by tissues, and conversion to glutathione.

Glutathione monoethyl ester (L-gamma-glutamyl-L-cysteinylglycyl ethyl ester), in contrast to glutathione itself, is effectively transported into many types of cells. The ester is converted intracellularly into glutathione. Intraperitoneal injection of 35S-labeled ester into mice was followed by rapid appearance of isotope in the glutathione of liver, kidney, spleen, pancreas, and heart; the glutathione levels of these tissues also increased. Oral administration of the ester to mice also increased cellular glutathione levels. Relatively little extracellular deesterification was found. Transport of glutathione ester into human erythrocytes and intracellular conversion to glutathione was observed. The findings suggest that the glutathione ester will be useful as a radioprotecting agent and in the prevention and treatment of toxicity due to certain foreign compounds and oxygen. The ester may be useful in experimental work on glutathione transport, metabolism, and function, and in related studies on oxygen toxicity, radiation, mutagenesis, and ageing. Methods for the preparation of glutathione monoethyl ester and several related compounds are given.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1985

Enzymatic oxidation of L-homocysteine.

Homocyst(e)ine, a normal metabolite, accumulates in certain inborn errors of sulfur amino acid metabolism. Since many amino acids are converted by enzymatic oxidation and by transamination to the corresponding alpha-keto acid analogs and related products, which may exert inhibitory effects on metabolism, and because the alpha-keto acid analog of homocysteine has not yet been prepared, the enzymatic oxidation of homocysteine was investigated with the aim of obtaining alpha-keto-gamma-mercaptobutyric acid. Oxidation of DL-homocysteine by L-amino acid oxidase led to formation of at least seven products that react with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine; of these, five were identified: alpha-keto-gamma-mercaptobutyrate, the mono and diketo analogs of homolanthionine, and the mono and diketo analogs of homocystine. In addition, one product was tentatively identified as alpha-ketomercaptobutyric acid gamma-thiolactone. In the course of this work alpha-keto-gamma-mercaptobutyrate was found to be a substrate of lactate dehydrogenase. L-Homocysteine and its alpha-keto acid analog were shown to be substrates of glutamate dehydrogenase and kidney glutamine transaminase. DL-Homocysteine reacts readily with alpha-keto acids to form stable hemithioketals, which were found to be substrates of L- and D-amino acid oxidases. A scheme is presented which integrates some of the complexities involved in the oxidation metabolism of homocyst(e)ine. The significance of these findings is considered in relation to the toxicity of homocysteine, which accumulates in certain pathological states.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗
PubMed1985

Enzymatic syntheses of carbamyl phosphate, L-citrulline, and N-carbamyl L-aspartate labeled with either 13N or 11C.

[13N]- and [11C]carbamyl phosphate, L-[omega-13N]citrulline, L-[ureido-11C]citrulline, [carbamyl-13N]- and [carbamyl-11C]carbamyl-L-aspartate were synthesized using carbamyl phosphate synthetase co-immobilized with either aspartate transcarbamylase or ornithine transcarbamylase. Carbamyl L-[13N]aspartate was enzymatically prepared from carbamyl phosphate and L-[13N]aspartate. The tissue distribution of radioactivity in mice after injection of radiolabeled ammonia, carbamyl phosphate or citrulline was studied. The tissue distribution of isotope derived from [13N]carbamyl phosphate and [13N]ammonia were similar, with the exception of liver, brain and pancreas, in which 13NH3 uptake was higher after retroorbital injection. The distribution of label derived from L-[omega-13N]- and L-[ureido-11C]citrulline was similar. Substantial tumor (Sarcoma-180) uptake of label from L-citrulline was observed.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

The fall and rise of cellular glutathione levels: enzyme-based approaches.

Present knowledge of the pathways of metabolism and transport of glutathione and of its functions has been substantially advanced by study of the enzymes involved in glutathione metabolism, especially by investigations that have elucidated their mechanisms of action, active site topology, and other aspects of their behavior. Such information has made it possible to design selective enzyme inhibitors, which have served as valuable experimental tools and which may also be useful in therapy. Cellular glutathione levels may be lowered or raised by appropriate biochemical procedures. Glutathione synthesis is effectively blocked by administration of buthionine sulfoximine, which selectively binds to the active site of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase. Cellular levels of glutathione may be increased by administration of cysteine precursors such as L-2-oxothiazolidine-4-carboxylate, which is effectively transported into cells and converted by 5-oxoprolinase to cysteine, which is utilized for glutathione synthesis. Administration of gamma-glutamylcysteine, gamma-glutamylcysteine disulfide, or gamma-glutamylcysteine also leads to increased cellular levels of glutathione, especially in the kidney. These gamma-glutamyl amino acids are transported and provide substrate for glutathione synthesis. Another way of increasing cellular glutathione levels consists of administration of glutathione esters. For example, the ester of glutathione in which the glycine carboxyl group is esterified with ethanol is well transported, and is converted to glutathione intracellularly. These studies indicate that manipulation of the cellular levels of glutathione can be achieved, and may be of value in the selective destruction of cells, and in their protection.

Animals↗