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Biomedical subjects

G Allen

Publications and source records attributed to G Allen.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources

The highly electrophilic character of 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan and possible consequences for its application as a protein-labelling reagent.

4-Chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan possesses at least one highly electrophilic centre (C-6) that is much more reactive towards nucleophiles than position C-4, the irreversible alkylating site of this reagent. Possible consequences of the electrophilic character of 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan for its application as a protein-labelling reagent are discussed.

4-Chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan↗

Iodination of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Bacillus stearothermophilus.

The reaction of iodine with glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Bacillus stearothermophilus was investigated. The active-site thiol group of the cysteine residue homologous with cysteine-149 in the pig muscle enzyme was protected by reaction with tetrathionate. The apoenzyme was readily inhibited by KI3 solution at pH8, but the coenzyme, NAD+, protected the enzyme against inhibition and decreased the extent of iodination. At pH 9.5, ready inhibition of both apo- and holo-enzyme was observed. Tryptic peptides containing residues iodinated at pH 8 were isolated and characterized. One of the most reactive residues in both holo- and apo-enzymes was a tyrosine homologous with tyrosine-46 in the pig muscle enzyme, and this residue was iodinated without loss of enzymic activity. Other reactive tyrosine residues in the apoenzyme were in positions homologous with residues 178, 273, 283 and 311 in the pig muscle enzyme, but they were not readily iodinated in the holoenzyme. Histidine residues in both holo- and apo-enzymes were iodinated at pH 8 in sequence positions homologous with residues 50, 162 and 190 in the pig muscle enzyme. The inhibition of the enzyme was not correlated with the iodination of a particular residue. The results are discussed in relation to a three-dimensional model based on the structure of the lobster muscle enzyme and demonstrate that conformational changes affecting the reactivity of several tyrosine residues most probably occur on binding of the coenzyme.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Succinylation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Bacillus stearothermophilus. A reactive threonine residue in the apoenzyme.

1. Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from bacillus stearothermophilus can be extensively succinylated in the presence of substrates and coenzyme without appreciable loss of activity. 2. The apoenzyme in the absence of substrates is rapidly inhibited by small amounts of succinic anhydride. NAD+, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate and inorganic phosphate all afford protection from inhibition, and inhibition is slowly reversed in the presence of pyrophosphate at pH 8.5. 3. Kinetic and spectral studies have shown that the specific inhibition is associated with the succinylation of the aliphatic hydroxyl group of a serine or threonine residue. 4. The residue specifically succinylated has been identified as one of the two threonine residues, most probably Thr-150, adjacent to the activ-site cysteine residue in the primary structure. Its unusual reactivity is discussed in relation to the three-dimensional structure of the enzyme. 5. A second residue, a lysine homologous with Lys-212 in the pig muscle enzyme, can be succinylated in both holoenzyme and apoenzyme with no detectable effect upon the enzymic activity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

17alpha-Ethyl-20alpha-and -20beta-dihydroprogesterones and other 17alpha-ethyl-substituted pregnanes as potential contragestational agents.

The 17alpha-ethyl-substituted analogs of the two epimeric 20-dihydroprogesterones, allopregnadedione and pregn-5-ene-3,20-dione, were synthesized and evaluated for their possible oral contragestational (postcoital antifertility) activity in the rat. The compounds, though bound strongly to the progesterone receptor in vitro, were inactive preimplantively at 10 mg/kg and postimplantively at 40 mg/kg in vivo.

20-alpha-Dihydroprogesterone↗

The binding of nicotinamide-adenine dimucleotide to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Bacillus stearothermophilus.

The binding of NAD+ to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.12) from Bacillus stearothermophilus has been studied by measurement of protein fluorescence quenching. Slight negative co-operativity was observed in the binding of the third and fourth coenzyme molecules to the tetrameric enzyme. The first two coenzyme molecules were tightly bound. In this respect the enzyme resembles that from sturgeon muscle rather than that from yeast.

Apoenzymes↗

Aglossia-adactylia syndrome.

Aglossia-adactylia is described in two male patients, aged 31 and 21 years old. Including a previous reported case (Nevin, Dodge, and Kernohan, 1970) there are three patients with this syndrome in Northern Ireland. The aetiology is unknown but in spite of the extreme variability of the clinical manifestation, a dominant mutant gene cannot be ruled out.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Capital expenditures and the availability of funds.

Data on capital expenditures and the availability of funds assembled from the annual financial and service records of 42 short-term voluntary hospitals in New York City over two decades were used to analyze the behavior of annual capital expenditures on building and equipment assets. Desired expenditures on capital as a factor of production are viewed as being the result of changes in anticipated output and of the substitution of capital for labor. Actual capital expenditures in each year also reflect the availability of flows of nonoperating revenues and the completion of capital programs initiated in previous years. Nonoperating revenues include philanthropy and earnings on financial assets as principal sources. A monetary revenue series, adjusted for changes in hospital charges, was used to measure output and thus to seperate the effects of demand for hospital services and supply of funds on investment behavior. The data were approached as annual aggregates for 42 hospitals over the years 1946-1966 and as annual hospital averages for teaching and nonteaching hospitals over the same period. In both approaches four causal factors-output, substitution, the flow of nonoperating revenues, and a distributed lag-explained about 95 per cent of the sample variance of capital expenditures. Allowing for available funds reduced the average time required for 95 per cent completion of a capital adjustment from 7 to 3 years. Responsiveness of hospitals to these economic variables suggests that socially desired investment can be attained by (a) "monetizing" needs of groups now underserved; (b) improving availability of funds if used for acceptable public purposes; and (c) including consumers in determining institutional and regional priorities.

Charities↗

The binding of sodium dodecyl sulphate to bovine serum albumin at high binding ratios.

The extent of binding of sodium dodecyl sulphate to bovine serum albumin at high binding ratios was investigated by gel filtration. The weight ratio of bound sodium dodecyl sulphate to bovine serum albumin increases with the NaCl concentration, and, except at low salt concentrations, with the concentration of sodium dodecyl sulphate. In the presence of 1.0g of sodium dodecyl sulphate/l, the binding ratio varied from 1.0 (at 0.04m-Na(+)) to 2.2 (at 0.44m-Na(+)). In the presence of 0.24m-Na(+), the binding ratio increased with sodium dodecyl sulphate concentration, from 0.9 (0.2g of sodium dodecyl sulphate/l) to 2.0 (5g of sodium dodecyl sulphate/l), at 26 degrees C, in a dilute sodium phosphate buffer. No significant dependence of the binding ratio upon temperature in the range 26-45 degrees C was observed. These results differ from those of Reynolds & Tanford (1970a) obtained by equilibrium dialysis.

Animals↗

Investigation of the active site of papain with fluorescent probes.

7-Chloro-4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (NBD chloride) and 7-(2'-hydroxyethylthio)-NBD (obtained from NBD chloride and mercaptoethanol) undergo a reversible spectral change in alkaline solution that depends respectively on a single apparent pK(a) 9.76 (at 25 degrees C) and 8.81 (at 32 degrees C). In acid solution however no spectral change was observed. NBD chloride reacts slowly with papain at pH7, but the rate of inhibition increases at lower pH and depends on an apparent pK(a) of 3.7 (at 35 degrees C), which has been tentatively assigned to the carboxyl group of aspartic acid-158. The spectral properties of NBD-papain indicate that the thiol group of cysteine-25 is the site of reaction. The intensity of the fluorescence-emission spectrum of NBD-papain depends on a single pK(a) of 4.2 (at 26.7 degrees C). The intensity of the fluorescence-emission spectrum of the mixed disulphide formed from papain and 7-(2'-mercaptoethylamino)-NBD (obtained from NBD chloride and cysteamine) depended on a single pK(a) of 3.94 in water and 3.89 in aq. 19.2% (v/v) dioxan (at 27 degrees C). This small change to lower pK(a) value in a medium of lower dielectric constant is characteristic of a cationic acid. The only acid of this type in the active-site region is the conjugate acid of histidine-159.

Aspartic Acid↗