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J D Potter

Publications and source records attributed to J D Potter.

At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources

Fast skeletal muscle skinned fibers and myofibrils reconstituted with N-terminal fluorescent analogues of troponin C.

Glycerinated rabbit fast skeletal muscle fibers were chemically skinned with 1% Brij 35 and partially depleted of endogenous troponin C subunit (TnC) by exposure of the fibers to EDTA (Zot, H. G., and Potter, J. D. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 7678-7683). The TnC-depleted fibers exhibited a decrease in maximal tension that was mostly restored by readdition of TnC or by the addition of the fluorescent 5-dimethylaminonaphthalene-1-sulfonyl aziridine analogue, TnCDanz. TnCDanz is known to undergo an increase in fluorescence intensity when Ca2+ binds to the two low affinity Ca2+-specific regulatory sites of TnC. Steady-state fractional fluorescence and tension changes were measured simultaneously as a function of Ca2+. The Ca2+ sensitivity of the fluorescence curve was about 0.6 log unit greater than the tension curve. This difference in sensitivity could be explained if separate conformational states of TnC, brought about by Ca2+ binding to the Ca2+-specific sites, produce the fluorescence and tension changes. TnC-depleted fibers were also reconstituted with the fluorescent 2-[(4'-iodoacetamido)analino]naphthalene-6-sulfonic acid analogue, cardiac TnCIaans, which undergoes an increase in fluorescence intensity when Ca2+ binds to the single Ca2+- specific regulatory site. The steady-state fractional fluorescence and tension curves for fibers reconstituted with cardiac TnCIaans had nearly the same Ca2+ sensitivity. The steady-state fractional fluorescence of myofibrils reconstituted with TnCDanz was found to have a greater sensitivity to Ca2+ than the simultaneously measured ATPase. In all cases paired fractional fluorescence and activity curves tended to have parallel dependence on Ca2+. These procedures make it possible to study the Ca2+ binding properties of the Ca2+- specific sites in intact myofibrils and skinned fibers; the results presented suggest that the Ca2+ affinity of the Ca2+-specific sites of troponin are reduced in the thin filament compared to that of troponin in solution.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Alteration of actin-tropomyosin interaction in 2,4-pentanedione-treated rabbit skeletal myofibrils.

In previous work, we (El-Saleh, S., Theiret, R., Johnson, P., and Potter, J. D. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 11014-11021) presented evidence that Ca2+ activation of skeletal myofilaments depends on a specific actin domain. We showed that rabbit skeletal thin filaments reconstituted with actin modified at Lys-237 activate heavy meromyosin X Mg2+-ATPase activity independently of the Ca2+ ion concentration. The modification, which apparently blocks the inhibitory effects of troponin-tropomyosin (Tn X Tm), on acto-heavy meromyosin X Mg2+-ATPase activity, consisted of conversion of Lys-237 to an enamine by reaction of purified actin with 2,4-pentanedione (PD). In experiments reported here, we have treated myofibrils with PD with the idea of altering actin in its native state within the myofilament lattice. Preparations of native and Tn X Tm free ("desensitized") myofibrils were incubated with PD (100 mol/mol of actin lysine) under rigorous conditions (10 mM 4-morpholinepropanesulfonic acid, pH 7.0, 2.0 nM [ethylenebis(oxyethylenenitrilo)]tetraacetic acid, 0.4 mM dithiothreitol, and 0.15 mM NaN3). Actin isolated from PD X myofibrils contained 0.5 mol of enamine/mol. In the presence of Ca2+, the Mg2+-ATPase activity of PD-treated myofibrils was 110-120% of the maximum Ca2+-stimulated Mg2+-ATPase activity of untreated control myofibrils. In low free Ca2+ (pCa greater than 8), the Mg2+-ATPase activity of the PD-treated myofibrils was not suppressed and remained at 100-106% of the maximum activity of the control myofibrils. Ca2+ sensitivity of the PD-treated myofibrils was restored following treatment with hydroxylamine, which hydrolyzes enamine's products. Preparations of desensitized myofibrils reconstituted with PD-modified or unmodified Tn X Tm demonstrated the same Ca2+-sensitive ATPase activities. On the other hand, preparations reconstituted with unmodified or PD-modified Tn X Tm and PD-modified desensitized myofibrils were insensitive to Ca2+ ion concentration. The Mg2+-ATPase activity of preparations of myosin treated with PD was not activated by modified or unmodified actin. Our results indicate that is is possible to produce an active state(s) of the myofibrils in the absence and presence of Ca2+ by specific alteration of the actin X Tm interaction following modification of myofibrillar actin most likely at Lys-237.

Actins↗

The role of tropomyosin-troponin in the regulation of skeletal muscle contraction.

Steric blocking of actin-myosin interaction by tropomyosin has been a working hypothesis in the study of the regulation of skeletal muscle contraction, yet the simple movement of actin-associated tropomyosin from a myosin-blocking position (relaxation) to a nonblocking position (contraction) cannot adequately account for all of the biophysical and biochemical observations which have been made to date. Ambiguous assignment of tropomyosin positions on actin during contraction, due in part to the limited resolution of reconstruction techniques, may also hint at a real lack of clearcut 'on' and 'off' positioning of tropomyosin and tropomyosin-troponin complex. Recent biochemical evidence suggests processes relatively independent of tropomyosin-troponin may have a governing effect on contraction, involving kinetic constraints on actin-myosin interaction influenced by the binding of ATP and the intermediates of ATP hydrolysis. Based on our current understanding put forth in this review, it is clear that regulatory interactions in muscle contraction do not consist solely of steric effects but involve kinetic factors as well. Where the latter are being defined in systems reconstituted from purified proteins and their fragments, the steric components of regulation are most clearly observed in studies of structurally more intact physiologic systems (e.g. intact or skinned whole muscle fibres). The fine detail of the processes and their interplay remains an intriguing question. Likewise, the precise physical relationship of myosin with actin in the crossbridge cycle continues to elude definition. Refinement of several methodologies (X-ray crystallography, three-dimensional reconstruction, time-resolved X-ray diffraction) will increase the potential for detailing the molecular basis of the regulation of muscle contraction.

Actins↗

Diet and cancer of the colon and rectum: a case-control study.

In 1979-81, 419 patients with incident cases of colon and rectal cancer and 732 controls were questioned regarding diet and alcohol. Cancer cases were a population-based series reported to the South Australian Central Cancer Registry, were 30-74 years of age, and were residing in Metropolitan Adelaide. Controls were selected from the electoral roll and individually age- and sex-matched to cancer cases. The most consistent risk factor for colorectal cancer was dietary protein, which was associated with a twofold-to-threefold relative risk for colon cancer and for rectal cancer in women for all levels of consumption above the base line (i.e., the lowest consumption quintile). For male colon cancer the corresponding relative risk was similar; but for male rectal cancer, risk was elevated only at old ages. Total energy intake and, less clearly, meal frequency were also positively associated with increased risk. Total alcohol intake (but not specifically beer) was associated with increased risk of both colon and rectal cancer in women; in both sexes, there was an increased risk of colon and rectal cancer associated with spirits consumption. A reduced risk of rectal cancer was associated with vitamin C but not with vitamin A. The increased risk associated with high protein and total energy was confined to those consuming a low fiber diet, particularly among women; but some other aspects of the relationship between fiber consumption and risk of colorectal cancer were more complex. Some modifications and extensions of the current fat-to-bile acid-to-fiber theory of bowel carcinogenesis were suggested.

Adult↗

Calcium binding to calmodulin. Cooperativity of the calcium-binding sites.

The effects of Mg2+ ion, pH, and KCl concentration on Ca2+ binding to calmodulin were studied by using a Ca2+ ion-sensitive electrode. The Ca2+ ion affinity of calmodulin increased with increasing pH or decreasing KCl concentration. Cooperativity between the Ca2+-binding sites was observed, and increased with decreasing pH or increasing KCl concentration. Free Ca2+ ion concentration was decreased by adding MgCl2 ion at low Mg2+ concentration and increased at higher concentrations in the presence of small amounts of Ca2+ ion. The decrease of free Ca2+ ion concentration by Mg2+ ion strongly suggests cooperativity between the Ca2+-binding sites, and it is difficult to explain the decrease in terms of the ordered binding models previously proposed. These results can be explained by a simple model which has four equivalent binding sites that bind Ca2+ and Mg2+ competitively, and showing cooperativity when either Ca2+ or Mg2+ is bound. Mg2+ ion binding to calmodulin was measured in the presence or absence of Ca2+ to confirm the validity of this model, and no Mg2+-specific site was observed.

Allosteric Site↗

Evidence that the Sr2+ activation properties of cardiac troponin C are altered when substituted into skinned skeletal muscle fibers.

Troponin C (TnC) was extracted from skinned skeletal muscle fibers by a method similar to that used previously on myofibrils (Zot, H.G., and Potter, J.D. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 7678-7683) and replaced with either skeletal (fast-twitch) or cardiac TnC. The relationship between isometric tension and Sr2+ concentration remained essentially the same before removal and after replacement with skeletal or cardiac TnC. Therefore, the origin of the TnC made no difference in the Sr2+ activation properties of the skinned fiber. In contrast, the activation of skinned cardiac fibers is approximately an order of magnitude more sensitive to Sr2+ than skinned skeletal fibers. These results show that the affinity of cardiac TnC for Sr2+ is altered when substituted into skinned skeletal muscle fibers through protein-protein interactions.

Animals↗

Calcium-insensitive binding of heavy meromyosin to regulated actin at physiological ionic strength.

Several conflicting reports have been made regarding the affinity of myosin heads (subfragment 1 and heavy meromyosin (HMM) for regulated actin (actin complexed with tropomyosin and troponin) at low ionic strength (mu = 18-50 mM) and whether or not this interaction is Ca2+ sensitive (Chalovich, J. M., and Eisenberg, E. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 2432-2437; Chalovich, J. M., and Eisenberg, E. (1984) Biophys. J. 45, 221a; Wagner, P. D., and Stone, D. B. (1983) Biochemistry 22, 1334-1342; and Wagner, P. D. (1984) Biochemistry 23, 5950-5956). Since the low ionic strengths used in the above studies do not represent the physiological ionic strength under which intact muscle exhibits Ca2+-dependent tension development, we investigated the possibility of whether a Ca2+-dependent regulated actin-HMM interaction could be observed at physiological ionic strength (mu = 134 mM, pH 7.4) and in the presence of ATP (at 23-24 degrees C). Direct binding of HMM to varied concentrations of regulated actin (87.7-221 microM free actin) was measured by sedimentation in an air-driven ultracentrifuge. Under the above conditions, we found that the regulated actin activation of HMM-Mg2+-ATPase was about 94% inhibited in the absence of Ca2+ although the association constant (Ka) is only moderately affected in the presence of Ca2+. These results are similar to those obtained by Chalovich and Eisenberg (1982 and 1984) with subfragment 1 and HMM, respectively, at low ionic strength and support their suggestion that in solution tropomyosin-troponin may not act totally by physically blocking the formation of cross-bridges with actin, but instead may act to inhibit a kinetic step in the overall ATPase rate. Whether this holds true in more intact systems (e.g. myosin, thick filaments) remains to be determined. Our results also show a good correlation between levels of ATPase activation and HMM binding by unregulated actin and in regulated actin in the presence of Ca2+.

Actins↗

Specific involvement of calmodulin and non-specific effect of tropomyosin in the sensitivity to ouabain of Na+,K+-ATPase in murine plasmocytoma cells.

The Kd for ouabain for inhibition of Na+,K+-ATPase isolated from murine plasmocytoma MOPC 173 cells is 120 microM, but when isolated in the presence of EDTA, it is 100-fold lower (1.2 microM). Simultaneous addition of muscle tropomyosin and calcium to sensitive membranes restored the original insensitivity (tropomyosin bound to the membranes in an irreversible and saturable manner). For comparison 86Rb influx into intact cells, mediated by the Na+,K+-pump, is half-maximally inhibited at 50 microM ouabain. Calcium converts the enzyme to an insensitive form. This appeared to involve calmodulin because after extraction of calmodulin with EDTA and EGTA from sensitive membranes, they could not be made insensitive by the addition of tropomyosin and Ca2+. Addition of exogenous calmodulin to these calmodulin-depleted membranes was required, in addition to tropomyosin and Ca2+, to decrease the ouabain sensitivity. The involvement of calmodulin was further assessed by measuring the range of Ca2+ concentrations required to convert to the insensitive form. At saturating concentrations of tropomyosin, increasing free [Ca2+] up to 3 microM led to an heterogeneous population of Na+,K+-ATPase forms. The calcium dependency was a saturable process. The shift to the insensitive form was half maximal at 0.65 + 0.11 microM free Ca2+ and was abolished by the addition of troponin I or trifluoroperazine (0.1 mM). These results suggest that, in murine plasmocytoma cells, the intrinsic sensitivity of Na+,K+-ATPase to ouabain might be regulated by a calmodulin-dependent process within a submembrane contractile-like environment.

Actinin↗

Kinetic investigations in single muscle fibres using luminescent and fluorescent Ca2+ probes.

The Ca2+-sensitive photoprotein aequorin and the Ca2+-dependent fluorescent indicators quin 2 and TnCDANZ have been used to investigate contractile processes in single crustacean muscle fibres. The investigations with quin 2 indicate that the free Ca2+ rises to a maximum value before peak force as with aequorin light (approximately 200 msec delay at 12 degrees C) and subsequently decays more slowly, unlike the majority of the aequorin signal, although an aequorin 'tail' signal remains. The resting quin 2 fluorescence from the cell suggests an upper limit of 348 nM for the resting calcium concentration. Experiments with TnCDANZ indicate that this fluorescence response rises rapidly but then the rate of rise slows to reach a maximum value at a time when peak force is achieved and then the fluorescence signal decays more slowly than force. The latter result implies that Ca2+ is attached to the Ca2+-specific sites of TnC when externally recorded force is small.

Aequorin↗

Total nutritional support through the peritoneal cavity.

We prepared ten dogs with intraperitoneal catheters to allow total nutritional support for 30 days by constant infusion of a solution containing 1.5% amino acid, 10% glucose, and 1% lipids at a rate of 4 ml/kg/hr. Seven dogs survived in apparent good health but with a 13.9 +/- 1.3% weight loss. There was no correlation between actual caloric input and percentage of weight loss. Serum albumin concentration fell to 2.6 +/- 0.3 gm/dl but other chemistries remained near normal. The peritoneum showed significant inflammatory reaction but this resolved by 30 days. Three dogs died in the first week from what appeared to be circulatory collapse from rapid fluid shifts. We conclude that a significant amount of nutrients can be delivered through the peritoneal cavity but whether total nutritional support is feasible remains to be proven.

Amino Acids↗

Diet and colon cancer: integration of the descriptive, analytic, and metabolic epidemiology.

Case-control studies of diet and colon cancer have produced inconsistent findings. Data from descriptive and metabolic epidemiologic studies suggest that colon carcinogenesis varies by sex-age status, particularly when considered in relation to anatomic subsite. Thus stratification of data analysis by these criteria may elucidate dietary etiology. Consideration should also be given to the limited and nonlinear variation in colon cancer risk likely to exist in relation to the range of dietary "exposure" within Western study populations. In our community-based case-control study of colon cancer, comprising 220 patients and 440 individually matched controls, the dietary data have been analyzed by both tertile and quintile of individual consumption level. For total dietary energy intake, the tertile approach indicates a weak (men) to moderate (women) dose-response relationship; however, the quintile approach revealed in women a fourfold step-up in risk between the lowest and next-to-lowest quintile. For dietary protein, the quintile approach doubled the step-up in risk between the 2 lowest consuming categories for men compared with the tertile approach. Applying this quintile approach to data analyses stratified by sex, age, and colon subsite, we found: 1) In women, the risk of colon cancer for the upper four quintiles of consumption of calories and other major nutrients was greatest at young ages, whereas for men it was greatest at older ages. 2) The diet-associated risks tend to be maximal in the left (distal) colon for men and in the right (proximal) colon for women.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Dietary influences upon colon carcinogenesis.

A succession of case-control studies of diet and colon cancer, predominantly in developed countries, has produced varied and generally inconsistent findings. The somatic mutation theory of carcinogenesis has dominated much of cancer research for the past 30 years, encouraging emphasis on exogenous genotoxic agents capable of inducing malignant transformation via heritable damage to DNA. Increased risks of human cancers due to various potent chemical carcinogens (found in certain occupations), ionizing radiation, and sunlight have corroborated this "toxicological" view of cancer. Recently, however, greater emphasis has been paid to cancer as a disorder of growth control. The stimulation or derepression of cell growth, via hormones or proto-oncogene activation respectively, is likely to reflect "metabolic" disturbances--such as can be caused by diet. If diet influences large bowel carcinogenesis via mediating metabolic or biochemical factors such as intracolonic pH, production of bile acid metabolites, and fermentative production of volatile fatty acids (which appear to influence mucosal cell stability), then a variety of configurations of diet may have an equivalent net effect upon bowel carcinogenesis. Further, non-specific aspects of diet (such as total energy intake and frequency of eating) may be important; indeed, those two factors were found to be positively and independently associated with large bowel cancer (LBC) risk in our Adelaide case-control study. The accumulating evidence that other factors that alter sex hormonal status and/or hepatobiliary metabolism, and physical aspects of bowel function, are also associated with altered risk of LBC adds further credence to this metabolic model. Such factors are: gender, reproductive history and oral contraceptive usage in women, cholecystectomy, and physical activity.

Bile Acids and Salts↗

Fluorescence changes from single striated muscle fibres injected with labelled troponin C (TnCDANZ).

A fluorescently labelled derivative of the calcium binding subunit of troponin, TnC, has been injected into isolated striated muscle fibres from the barnacle Balanus nubilus. The Ca2+ affinity of isolated TnC is close to that of intact troponin when located in the thin filament. Excitation of the TnCDANZ within the muscle cell (325nm) revealed a marked fluorescence at 510 nm and was similar to that observed in vitro, which was absent at 400 or 600 nm after subtraction of the fibre autofluorescence. High Ca2+ salines increased the fluorescence at 510 nm by roughly 2 times. Single voltage clamp pulses produced a rapid rise in fluorescence at 510 nm after allowing for any non-specific changes at 400 nm, and this signal preceded force development by approx. 55 ms at 22 degrees C. It reached a maximum at the same time as force and subsequently decayed more slowly. The fluorescence signal increased in magnitude with increase in stimulus intensity. These results suggest that Ca2+ attaches rapidly to the contractile filament, but is lost relatively slowly and imply a slow decay of the activation process.

Animals↗

Modification of Lys-237 on actin by 2,4-pentanedione. Alteration of the interaction of actin with tropomyosin.

It has been possible to specifically label rabbit skeletal muscle actin at Lys-237 with 2,4-pentanedione, producing an enamine. This reaction can be reversed with hydroxylamine. The modification can be carried out with actin in either the G- or F-forms and does not affect polymerization-depolymerization. The modification does affect, however, the interaction of tropomyosin (Tm) with the modified F-actin. In the absence of Ca2+ and Mg2+ (mu = 0.12), Tm failed to bind to the modified F-actin whereas it did bind to unmodified F-actin (1 Tm:7 actins). Tm binding could be restored under these conditions by the addition of either troponin (Tn), Mg2+, or Mg2+ and Ca2+. Under certain conditions, Tm alone has been shown to inhibit actin-activated heavy meromyosin (HMM)-Mg2+-ATPase. This inhibition did not occur with the modified F-actin even though Tm was bound (approximately 1 Tm:7 actins). Even when Tn was added to this system (in the absence of Ca2+), no inhibition of ATPase could be observed. Thus, this modification appears to prevent F-actin X Tm from assuming the "blocking" inhibitory position (conformation). In addition, Tn appears to enhance the activation of heavy meromyosin-Mg2+-ATPase by the modified F-actin X Tm complex whether Ca2+ is present or not. This state may be analogous to the potentiated state (Murray, J. M., Knox, M. K., Trueblood, C. E., and Weber, A. (1982) Biochemistry 27, 906-915) seen with myosin subfragment 1-saturated actin at low ATP levels. Thus, using modified and unmodified F-actin, it is possible to produce three Tm X actin states: off (F-actin X Tm), on (modified F-actin X Tm), and "potentiated" (modified F-actin X Tm X Tn).

Actins↗

Cadmium-substituted skeletal troponin C. Cadmium-113 NMR spectroscopy and metal binding investigations.

The binding of cadmium to skeletal troponin C (STnC) has been measured by equilibrium binding and by 113Cd NMR spectroscopy. The equilibrium binding experiments have shown that there are two cadmium binding sites on STnC with a high affinity for Cd2+ (KCd congruent to 10(7) M-1) and two with a lower affinity for Cd2+ (KCd congruent to 10(3) M-1). The former binding constant is comparable to Ca2+ binding to the Ca2+-Mg2+ (structural) sites of STnC and the latter is about a factor of one hundred less than Ca2+ binding to the Ca2+-specific (regulatory) sites of STnC. In the presence of Mg2+ the affinity of Cd2+ for the higher affinity sites was lowered, yielding a KMg of approximately 10(3) M-1. These data clearly suggest that the two sites with high affinity for Cd2+ are the same as the Ca2+-Mg2+ sites (Zot, H., and Potter, J. D. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 7678-7683). The 113Cd NMR is shown to be temperature-dependent. The room temperature spectrum consists of two resonances at -107.8 and -112.7 ppm with respect to a 0.1 M solution of Cd(ClO4)2. Lowering the temperature to 4 degrees C alters the cadmium exchange dynamics, and results in a four line 113Cd spectrum. The two new resonances at -103.1 and -109.8 ppm probably arise from cadmium binding to the Ca2+-specific (regulatory) sites on STnC; whereas, the resonances at -107.8 and -112.7 ppm correspond to cadmium binding at the Ca2+-Mg2+ (structural) sites, respectively. When the 113Cd2+-substituted protein was titrated with Ca2+, the two resonances corresponding to the high affinity sites were reduced in intensity, followed by a reduction in intensity of the lower affinity Cd2+ sites. Based on the assignments made here and the known binding constants of STnC for Ca2+ (Potter, J. D., and Gergely, J. (1975) J. Biol. Chem. 250, 4628-4633) and the Cd2+ affinities reported here, one would not predict these results. Ca2+ should have first bound to the sites with the lower affinity Cd2+. Since the direct binding experiments clearly demonstrate that the high affinity Cd2+ sites are the Ca2+-Mg2+ sites, we can only conclude that Cd2+ binding to the protein (probably to the lower affinity Ca2+-specific sites) dramatically alters the affinity of the Ca2+-Mg2+ sites for Ca2+. It is suggested that an allosteric coupling network exists between all classes of binding sites.

Animals↗

Alcohol, beer and lung cancer--a meaningful relationship?

The epidemiological evidence relating alcohol consumption and lung cancer is reviewed. Four correlation studies have shown a relationship between alcohol, particularly beer, consumption and lung cancer. Beer consumption was a risk factor in one case-control study. Eight out of ten prospective studies show alcoholics and high alcohol consumers to be at greater risk of lung cancer. Not all of the increased risk in these studies is explainable in terms of confounding by tobacco consumption. There is some animal evidence which supports the effects of alcohol on the likelihood of developing lung cancer.

Alcohol Drinking↗