Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

B M Babior

Publications and source records attributed to B M Babior.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

The mechanism of action of ethanolamine ammonia-lyase, an adenosylcobalamin-dependent enzyme. Evidence that the hydrogen transfer mechanism involves a second intermediate hydrogen carrier in addition to the cofactor.

Ethanolamine ammonia-lyase catalyzes the adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl)-dependent conversion of ethanolamine to acetaldehyde and ammonia. During this reaction, a hydrogen atom migrates from the carbinol carbon of ethanolamine to the methyl carbon of acetaldehyde. Previous studies have shown that this migrating hydrogen equilibrates with the hydrogens on the 5'-(cobalt-linked) carbon of the cofactor. On the basis of those studies, a two-step mechanism for hydrogen transfer has been postulated in which the migrating hydrogen is first transferred from the substrate to the cofactor, then in a subsequent step is returned from the cofactor to the product. We now show that this migrating hydrogen is transferred not only to the cofactor, but also to a second acceptor at the active site. Hydrogens on this acceptor do not exchange with water during the course of the reaction, but are released to water when the enzyme is denatured. The catalytic significance of this second hydrogen acceptor was demonstrated by the findings that the transfer of hydrogen to this acceptor required both AdoCbl and active enzyme and that hydrogen at the second acceptor site could be washed out by unlabeled ethanolamine. On the basis of these results, we propose an expanded hydrogen transfer mechanism in which AdoCbl and the second acceptor site serve as alternative intermediate hydrogen carriers during the course of ethanolamine deamination.

Ammonia-Lyases↗
PubMed1985

Chromatin structure during bleomycin-induced DNA damage and repair.

We have demonstrated that treatment of human erythroleukemia (K562) cells with bleomycin, an agent known to create both double and single DNA breaks through an oxygen-radical-dependent mechanism, alters higher order chromatin structure (supercoiling) as shown by a reduction in the rate of sedimentation of nucleoids from bleomycin-treated cells. This agent, however, did not appear to induce generalized changes in the organization of chromatin at the nucleosomal level as determined either by rates of digestion of nuclear DNA or by gel electrophoresis of DNA fragments obtained by limited digestion of nuclear DNA. We conclude that while higher chromatin structure is altered by bleomycin damage, organization at the nucleosomal level remains largely conserved.

Bleomycin↗
PubMed1985

Respiratory burst oxidase from human neutrophils: purification and some properties.

The respiratory burst oxidase of human neutrophils was purified by "dye-affinity" chromatography over a red agarose column. Electrophoresis of the purified enzyme on NaDodSO4 gel showed a single major band at 64,000-66,000 daltons, together with some minor contaminants. On a nondenaturing gel, the enzyme ran as two closely spaced bands, the faster of which contained flavin. When these two bands were rerun separately on a NaDodSO4 gel, they gave identical patterns, each showing a major band at ca. 65,000 daltons. The specific activity (mean +/- SEM) of the purified enzyme was 8.8 +/- 3.5 mumol of O-2 per min/mg of protein.

Cell Membrane↗
PubMed1985

Pregnant women's absorption of iron from prenatal supplements.

A randomized, double-blind, crossover study was carried out on iron absorption from three prenatal supplements by women in the first trimester of pregnancy. The supplements were given to fasting subjects as a single pill early in the morning, and iron absorption was determined from measurements of serum iron performed during the course of the day. Iron absorption from two of the supplements was substantially less than the 3.5 mg recommended for the prevention of iron deficiency during pregnancy. The third supplement, containing reduced amounts of calcium and magnesium, provided on the average 3.6 mg of absorbed iron to the subjects. These results support previous findings in nonpregnant subjects that the availability of iron in a prenatal supplement is affected by the overall composition of the supplement.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

The mechanism of action of ethanolamine ammonia-lyase, an adenosylcobalamin-dependent enzyme. Evidence for a carboxyl group at the active site.

Ethanolamine ammonia-lyase is an adenosylcobalamin-dependent enzyme that catalyzes the rearrangement of ethanolamine and other vicinal amino alcohols to oxo-compounds and ammonia. Treatment of this enzyme with the sulfhydryl group-blocking reagent methyl methanethiosulfonate produces a species with diminished catalytic activity. When methyl methanethiosulfonate -treated ethanolamine ammonia-lyase was incubated with a carboxyl-blocking reagent consisting of glycine ethyl ester plus a water-soluble carbodiimide, the enzyme lost more than 80% of its residual activity, while at the same time glycine ethyl ester was incorporated into it at a stoichiometry of 6 mol/mol of enzyme. Both the loss of activity and the incorporation of glycine ethyl ester were prevented if ethanolamine was included in the glycine ethyl ester-containing incubation mixture. These results suggest that an active site carboxyl group plays a role in the mechanism of catalysis by ethanolamine ammonia-lyase, and that this carboxyl group is amidated when the enzyme is incubated with glycine ethyl ester plus carbodiimide.

Ammonia-Lyases↗
PubMed1984

Reversible blockade of the respiratory burst in human neutrophils by a cleavable cross-linking agent.

Human neutrophils treated with low concentrations of the homobifunctional cross-linking reagents disuccinimidyl suberate and dithiobis(succinimidylpropionate) failed to generate superoxide in response to any of several stimuli, including phorbol myristate acetate, fMet-Leu-Phe, A23187, fluoride, and opsonized zymosan. The cross-linking reagent interfered with the activation of NADPH oxidase, but not with its activity. Cells treated with succinimidyl butyrate, a monovalent analog of the cross-linkers, underwent a normal respiratory burst. Cross-linking also inhibited degranulation, phagocytosis, and fluorescence responses of potential-sensitive dyes but had little effect on lactate production, sugar transport, the binding of fMet-Leu-Phe, or the activity of various enzymes in the cross-linked neutrophils. Most of the cellular functions inhibited through the reaction of neutrophils with the cleavable cross-linker dithiobis(succinimidylpropionate) could be restored by reduction of the disulfide bonds of the cell-bound cross-linker with dithiothreitol.

Cross-Linking Reagents↗
PubMed1984

Subcellular localization of the large subunit of Mo1 (Mo1 alpha; formerly gp 110), a surface glycoprotein associated with neutrophil adhesion.

Mo1 alpha (formerly gp 110) is a neutrophil glycoprotein whose deficiency is associated with abnormalities in several neutrophil functions, including defects in adherence, chemotaxis, and phagocytosis. Examination of whole cells and subcellular components by the use of both immunological and electrophoretic techniques demonstrated that Mo1 alpha was located primarily in the specific granules but that a small portion was present in the plasma membrane, where it is exposed to the extracellular environment and can bind to anti-Mo1 antibody. During degranulation, Mo1 alpha is translocated from the specific granules to the plasma membrane, resulting in a 5-10-fold increase in the surface expression of this glycoprotein. These findings plus previous work suggest that plasma membrane-associated Mo1 alpha is needed for a normal interaction between neutrophils and underlying surfaces, and raise the possibility that the increase in surface adhesiveness of neutrophils that have discharged their specific granules might be due in part to the increase in the amount of Mo1 alpha in the plasma membranes of these degranulated cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Phosphorylation of cytosolic proteins by resting and activated human neutrophils.

A study was conducted on the phosphorylation of proteins in the neutrophil cytosol in response to phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP). Autoradiography of gel electrophoretograms prepared from neutrophils incubated with 32Pi in the presence and absence of the activators showed nine proteins whose state of phosphorylation was affected by neutrophil activation. 32P was gained by eight of these proteins and was lost by the ninth. For all but one of these proteins, the change in the extent of labeling appeared to reach completion by one to two minutes. It was possible to quantitate the changes in 32P content of three of the nine proteins. One of these was the 20-kD protein that lost label when the neutrophils were activated. Quantitation showed that over half the 32P present in this protein in the resting state was gone within 0.2 minutes after activation. The other two were proteins weighing 11 and 69 kD. The phosphorylation characteristics of these two proteins differed, depending on whether activation had been carried out with PMA or fMLP. These differences in protein phosphorylation support other evidence suggesting that PMA and fMLP do not activate neutrophils by identical biochemical pathways. Differences in phosphorylation between resting and activated cells were not affected by dibutyryl cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), dibutyryl cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), theophylline, aspirin, hydrocortisone, or colchicine. The differences were abolished, however, by 30 mumol/L trifluoperazine. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that the calcium/calmodulin system plays a biochemical role in the activation of neutrophils.

Cytosol↗
PubMed1984

Diminished activity of a chemotactic inhibitor in synovial fluids from patients with familial Mediterranean fever.

Synovial fluids from patients with osteoarthritis contain a chemotactic inhibitor that acts by antagonizing the complement-derived chemotactic anaphylotoxin, C5a. The activity of this inhibitor in synovial fluids from patients with several forms of inflammatory arthritis (rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, ankylosing spondylitis, and gout) were comparable to the activity present in osteoarthritic synovial fluids. In contrast, levels of inhibitory activity in synovial fluids from 9 patients with familial Mediterranean fever were decreased to less than 20% of those found in osteoarthritis fluids. The possibility was considered that the diminished inhibitory activity in fluids from patients with familial Mediterranean fever plays a part in the pathogenesis of the inflammatory attacks characteristic of this disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Effect of guanosine nucleotides on the respiratory burst oxidase from human neutrophils.

The respiratory burst is a series of metabolic events which result in the production of microbicidal oxidants by phagocytes. The enzyme responsible for the respiratory burst is a membrane-bound oxidase which catalyzes the production of O-2 by the NADPH-dependent reduction of oxygen. Activity of this oxidase is diminished by a variety of guanosine-containing nucleotides. The decrease in activity caused by GTP, the most potent of these, occurs rapidly and is not solely dependent on hydrolysis of terminal phosphate groups. GTP appears to diminish oxidase activity through both inhibition and inactivation. GTP-mediated inhibition is kinetically mixed with respect to NADPH.

Guanine Nucleotides↗
PubMed1983

Attachment of [35S]cysteine to the labile site of the third component of complement via the alternative pathway.

Agarose beads to which [35S]cysteine had been attached by a disulfide bond were incubated in serum under conditions which permitted complement fixation via the alternative pathway, then washed and treated with dithiothreitol to release the cysteine. The dithiothreitol eluate contained C3b fragments which had been labeled covalently by the radioactive cysteine. Labeling was postulated to involve the reaction of the amino group of the cysteine with the "labile site," an acylating group which is exposed when C3 is converted to C3b during the operation of the alternative complement-fixing pathway.

Complement Activation↗
PubMed1983

Ether link cleavage is the major pathway of iodothyronine metabolism in the phagocytosing human leukocyte and also occurs in vivo in the rat.

These studies were performed to test the hypothesis that ether link cleavage (ELC) is an important pathway for the metabolism of thyroxine (T(4)) in the phagocytosing human leukocyte. When tyrosyl ring-labeled [(125)I]T(4)([Tyr(125)I]T(4)) was incubated with phagocytosing leukocytes, 50% of the degraded label was converted into [(125)I]3,5-diiodotyrosine ([(125)I]DIT). Of the remaining [Tyr(125)I]T(4) that was degraded, two-thirds was recovered as [(125)I]-nonextractable iodine ([(125)I]NEI), and one-third as [(125)I]iodide. The production of [(125)I]DIT was not observed when phenolic ring-labeled [(125)I]T(4) ([Phen(125)I]T(4)) was used, although [(125)I]NEI and [(125)I]iodide were produced. None of these iodinated compounds were formed in leukocytes that were not carrying out phagocytosis. The fraction of T(4) degraded by ELC was decreased by the addition of unlabeled T(4) and by preheating the leukocytes, findings which suggested that the process was enzymic in nature. ELC was enhanced by the catalase inhibitor aminotriazole, and was inhibited by the peroxidase inhibitor propylthiouracil, suggesting that the enzyme is a peroxidase and that hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) is a necessary cofactor in the reaction. To test this hypothesis, studies were performed in several inherited leukocytic disorders. ELC was not observed in the leukocytes of patients with chronic granulomatous disease, in which the respiratory burst that accompanies phagocytosis is absent. ELC was normal in the leukocytes of two subjects homozygous for Swiss-type acatalasemia, and aminotriazole enhanced ELC in these cells to an extent not significantly different from that observed in normal cells. ELC was normal in the leukocytes of a patient with myeloperoxidase deficiency, but could be induced by the incubation of [Tyr(125)I]T(4) with H(2)O(2) and horseradish peroxidase in the absence of leukocytes. The in vivo occurrence of ELC in the rat was confirmed by demonstrating the appearance of [(125)I]DIT in serum from parenterally injected [(125)I]3,5-diiodothyronine, but no [(125)I]DIT was produced when [(125)I]3',5'-diiodothyronine was administered. FROM THESE FINDINGS WE CONCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: (a) ELC is the major pathway for the degradation of T(4) during leukocyte phagocytosis, and accounts for 50% of the disposal of this iodothyronine; (b) the NEI and iodide formed by phagocytosing cells are derived from the degradation of the phenolic and tyrosyl rings of T(4), although ELC per se accounts for only a small fraction of these iodinated products; (c) the process by which ELC occurs is enzymic in nature, and its occurrence requires the presence of the respiratory burst that accompanies phagocytosis; (d) the enzyme responsible for ELC is likely to be a peroxidase, although a clear role for myeloperoxidase as the candidate enzyme remains to be established; (e) iodothyronines are also degraded by ELC in vivo, and the quantitative importance of this pathway in various pathophysiological states requires further investigation.

Amitrole↗
PubMed1983

Endogenous protein phosphorylation by resting and activated human neutrophils.

NADPH oxidase is an enzyme in the plasma membrane of the neutrophil that catalyzes the production of O2-, a species central to the oxygen-dependent killing mechanisms of this cell. The oxidase is dormant in resting cells and is activated upon the addition of a stimulus. Neutrophils of patients with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) manifest no oxidase activity when stimulated. The possible role of protein phosphorylation in the activation of NADPH oxidase was examined in normal and CGD neutrophils by measuring the incorporation of 32Pi into proteins as determined by gel electrophoresis followed by autoradiography. Resting neutrophils from normal subjects exhibit at least 40 distinct phosphoprotein bands. The level of phosphorylation of these bands was examined after the addition of phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), opsonized zymosan, digitonin, N-formyl-methionyl-phenylalanine (FMLP), or NaF. PMA and opsonized zymosan increased the phosphorylation of a set of 6 protein bands. Digitonin and FMLP consistently caused the phosphorylation of 4 of these protein bands, while NaF failed to induce increased phosphorylation of any protein band. All activators tested caused the dephosphorylation of one specific protein band. The time course of phosphorylation (dephosphorylation) was examined using PMA as the activating agent. Increased phosphorylation of one protein band was evident by 12 sec after the addition of PMA. The most slowly phosphorylated protein band did not slow evidence of change until 5 min after the addition of PMA. Three of the phosphoproteins examined were phosphorylated either earlier than or concomitant with the activation of NADPH oxidase. CGD neutrophils were compared with normal cells for their ability to phosphorylate proteins in response to PMA. The phosphoprotein banding patterns of CGD neutrophils were identical with those of normal neutrophils in both the resting and activated states. The evidence presented shows that the phosphorylation of proteins is a prominent feature of neutrophil metabolism. The striking similarity of phosphorylation changes induced by the various activators tested suggests that protein phosphorylation may play a role in some aspects of neutrophil activation. Evidence was not obtained, however, regarding a link between protein phosphorylation and activation of NADPH oxidase.

Digitonin↗
PubMed1983

A chemotactic inhibitor in synovial fluid.

Synovial fluid was found to contain an inhibitor of neutrophil chemotaxis. The activity of this inhibitor was masked in native synovial fluid, but could be detected in fluid in which complement had been deactivated by mild heating. The inhibitor was most effective against the chemotactic activity of zymosan-activated serum (C5ades arg). It had little effect when N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine served as chemoattractant. Inhibition was not the result of a direct effect on the neutrophils, since incubation of cells with synovial fluid did not alter their chemotactic response. The inhibitory activity was destroyed by boiling the synovial fluid or treating it with trypsin, suggesting that it is a protein (or proteins); it was not affected by hyaluronidase treatment. Gel filtration revealed that the inhibitor was present in native as well as decomplemented synovial fluid, and that its molecular weight was in the vicinity of 25,000. It is proposed that this inhibitory activity plays a role in the regulation of the inflammatory response in joints.

Blood↗