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Biomedical subjects

M Brunori

Publications and source records attributed to M Brunori.

At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Modifications of redox equilibria with semiquinone stabilization upon pyruvate binding to L-lactate cytochrome c oxidoreductase (flavocytochrome b2).

Spectral redox titrations of flavin and cytochrome b2 moieties of flavocytochrome b2 were achieved in the absence and in the presence of pyruvate under equilibrium conditions at 18 degrees C; direct measurements of spin flavosemiquinone proportions have been carried out by EPR determinations at the same temperature. Our results show that the equilibria involving flavin are largely affected by the presence of pyruvate; the semiquinone proportion markedly increases almost till unit near half-reduction of cytochrome b2; at 10 mM pyruvate, the dismutation constant, Kdism = (Fs)2/(Fo)*(Fr) increases by a factor greater than or equal to 10.

Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy↗
PubMed1984

Effect of bepridil on the activity of cytochrome c oxidase in solution and in proteoliposomes.

The interaction between bepridil and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase has been studied using the purified enzyme either in aqueous suspensions in the presence of detergents, or embedded into phospholipid vesicles. The investigation, systematically extended to nonactin and valinomycin for comparison, showed that: (a) valinomycin and nonactin induce similar changes in the visible absorption spectrum of cytochrome oxidase; these changes are quite different from those induced by bepridil. (b) The three compounds have an effect on the functional properties of purified, solubilized oxidase which may be related to binding. In particular, bepridil displays a complex pH-dependent effect which at concentrations below 50 microM results in a stimulation of the activity of approximately 30% starting with the oxidized resting enzyme. At variance with valinomycin and nonactin, the stimulatory effect is the same, within the errors, for the detergent-suspended, the vesicle-embedded and even the Keilin-Hartree particles. (c) In the case of detergent-suspended oxidase, the stimulatory effect of bepridil is also similar whether the enzyme is in the resting or in the pulsed state. If the oxidase is embedded into vesicles, however, the pulsed state is significantly more sensitive to bepridil than the resting one. These results are discussed in the light of the possible role assigned to pulsed oxidase in the regulation of the electron flux through the respiratory chain.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Transient kinetic studies of Neurospora crassa cytochrome c oxidase.

The reaction of Neurospora crassa cytochrome c oxidase with CO was studied by flash-photolysis and rapid-mixing experiments, leading to the determination of the association and dissociation rate constants (7 X 10(4) M-1 X s-1 and 0.02s-1 respectively). Pre-steady-state kinetic investigations of the catalytic properties of the enzyme showed that under proper conditions Neurospora cytochrome c oxidase can be 'pulsed', i.e. activated, like the mammalian enzyme. The 'pulsed' species is spectroscopically different from the 'resting' one, and the decay into the 'resting' state is fast (t1/2 approx. 3 min).

Carbon Monoxide↗
PubMed1983

Reactivity of ferrous heme proteins at low pH.

The pH rate profile of sperm whale myoglobin (Mb) reacting with CO has been confirmed to follow the behavior previously reported (Giacometti, G.M., Traylor, T.G., Ascenzi, P., Brunori, M., and Antonini, E. (1977) J. Biol. Chem. 252, 7447-7448), and appears to be different from that obtained by others. The pH investigation has been extended to the CO-binding rates of Chironomus thummi thummi erythrocruorin and Aplysia limacina Mb, whose pH rate profile is different from that of sperm whale Mb. Besides the "base dissociation" mechanism previously invoked, the iron atom-heme plane distance is discussed as a possible determinant of the CO reactivity in these monomeric heme proteins.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

The reaction of trout hemoglobins with isocyanides.

Binding of alkylisocyanides of different bulkiness to the two major components of trout hemolysate is presented. In the case of trout hemoglobin I isocyanide binding is pH-independent, similar to O2 and CO, and the bulkiness of the ligand is related to the endothermicity of ligand binding to the T quaternary state. On the other hand, in trout hemoglobin IV the size of the ligand seems to affect the pH dependence of affinity and cooperativity. A comparison with other ligands, like O2, allows us to hint at possible stereochemical determinants of ligand binding in these two hemoglobins.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Spectral properties and reactivity towards azide of Dicrocoelium dendriticum met-hemoglobin.

The spectroscopic properties of Dicrocoelium dendriticum met-hemoglobin, investigated between pH 3.8 and 10.5, display two proton-induced transitions with apparent pK values of 8.1 and 4.7. The spectral changes, over the pH region 6.5 to 10.5, correspond to the high to low spin transition usually observed in ferric hemoproteins. The relaxation time (tau = 3.2 ms at the pK) associated with this transition is closely similar to that observed in Aplysia limacina met-myoglobin, but approximately 1000-fold slower than that of sperm whale met-myoglobin. The spectral changes associated with the more acid transition are in the opposite direction and have not been resolved by the temperature jump method. The rate constants for the reaction of azide with Dicrocoelium dendriticum met-hemoglobin were measured between pH 3.8 and 6.7 by the temperature jump method. Two kinetic schemes, both consistent with the pH dependence of the apparent rate constant for binding of azide, were identified. No objective way of discriminating between the two models is available. However, one of them is amenable to a physical interpretation based on a comparison with the structural, kinetic and spectral properties of other monomeric hemoproteins.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

A circular dichroism study of the proton-linked transition in the carbomonoxy derivative of the hemoglobin component IV from trout.

Near ultraviolet and visible circular dichroism spectra of the carbomonoxy derivative of the hemoglobin component IV from trout Salmo irideus are pH-dependent in the range 6.2-7.8, and are affected by the presence of inositol hexaphosphate at pH 6.2. On the basis of previous studies, the spectral changes observed can be associated to the pH-dependent R4 leads to T4 transition occurring in the liganded protein. The CD spectra above 500 nm at low pH can be interpreted as due to release of the heme asymmetry in the T liganded conformation, in agreement with the movement of the iron toward the proximal histidine.

Allosteric Regulation↗
PubMed1983

Primary structure of hemoglobin from trout (Salmo irideus) amino acid sequence of the beta chain of trout Hb I.

The amino acid sequence of the beta chain of trout Hb I is presented; it adds to the previously reported sequence of the alpha chain (Bossa et al. (1978) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 536, 298-305), thus completing the primary structure of the hemoglobin component of trout's blood devoid of heterotropic phenomena. Comparison of beta chain from trout Hb I with the corresponding sequences from human and carp shows differences of 46.6% and 34.7%, respectively; the sequence (almost completed) of the beta chain from the other major hemoglobin component of trout, i.e., trout Hb IV, displays more differences (41.6%) from beta trout Hb I than from the corresponding chain of other fishes, such as carp or goldfish.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1983

Kinetic studies on cytochrome c oxidase inserted into liposomal vesicles. Effect of ionophores.

Cytochrome c oxidase from ox heart was inserted into artificial liposomal vesicles obtained by sonication of purified soya-bean phospholipids. The cytochrome oxidase vesicles showed a respiratory control ratio of about 2. Spectroscopic properties in the visible and Soret regions and kinetics of CO binding are similar to those of the soluble oxidase. The catalytic efficiency of the cytochrome oxidase vesicles in oxidizing cytochrome c increases as a result of the formation of the 'pulsed' form of the oxidase and of the presence in the reaction mixture of carbonyl cyanide p-trifluoromethoxy-phenylhydrazone and nonactin. Analysis of the experimental results obtained under several conditions supports the conclusions that: (i) the alkalinization of the internal microenvironment in the liposomal vesicle is not by itself responsible for the decrease in catalytic activity; (ii) the electrical potential difference created during turnover by proton consumption and/or pumping through the liposome wall is an important mechanism of control in the chain of events leading to the oxidation of external cytochrome c.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1983

Reactions of cytochrome c oxidase with sodium dithionite.

The reduction of cytochrome c oxidase (EC 1.9.3.1) by dithionite was investigated by stopped-flow spectrophotometry and flow-flash techniques in the presence of CO. Of the two haem groups present in the enzyme, that associated with cytochrome alpha is the first reduced. The second-order rate constants for reduction of a number of redox proteins (cytochrome c, stellacyanin and azurin) by the S2O4(2-) and SO2.- anions are reported, and the values are compared with those determined for cytochrome c oxidase. These results are discussed in terms of the accessibility and charge distribution of the electron-entry site of cytochrome c oxidase.

Dithionite↗
PubMed1983

Oxygen activation by cytochrome oxidase: a new spectral intermediate observed by flow-flash.

The reaction of cytochrome-c-oxidase with O2 has been reinvestigated at 2 degrees C by a flow laser pulsed method. The experiments indicate that a new spectral intermediate, populated with a rate constant of approximately 5000/s, is observed in a wavelength range in which heme a is the only chromophore (445 and 430 nm). The results are interpreted with reference to previous data obtained in the near infrared region, and it is suggested that breakage of the (enzyme bound) dioxygen bond is associated to a spectral perturbation of the cytochrome a3-CuB binuclear center.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

A spectrophotometric method to determine the amount of CO bound to hemocyanin.

The amount of CO bound to hemocyanin has been determined by titration with human hemoglobin (Hb). The spectrophotometric method makes use of the high affinity of Hb for CO, which (at pH 9) allows a complete transfer of the ligand from hemocyanin to hemoglobin. Taking advantage of the large spectral changes at the level of the heme, this method allows the rapid determination of the CO bound to hemocyanin, using relatively small amounts of protein (less than 5 mg). Application of this method shows (i) that CO binds to hemocyanins with a stoichiometry of 1:1, in agreement with one earlier observation with 14C-labeled carbon monoxide (1), and (ii) that decrease of the CO-copper luminescence of hemocyanin observed upon addition of KCN is quantitatively related to the displacement of CO from the active site.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Purification of Pseudomonas cytochrome oxidase (or nitrite reductase) by immunological methods.

A new purification procedure for the cytochrome oxidase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa based on immunoaffinity chromatography has been compared with the biochemical method and shown to be (i) fully competitive in terms of chemical homogeneity and enzymatic properties of the purified protein (ii) slightly less efficient in terms of total recovery and (iii) much more convenient in terms of the time required. A further evolution of the method that minimizes the number of purification steps and any stress to the native structure of the protein is suggested.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1983

Kinetic and thermodynamic parameters for oxygen binding to the allosteric states of Panulirus interruptus hemocyanin.

The temperature dependence of the oxygen binding equilibria and kinetics of Panulirus interruptus hemocyanin has been analyzed within the context of the two-state allosteric model. Oxygenation of the T-state is characterized by a more negative value of DeltaH than that of the R-state; therefore, cooperative effects in oxygen binding to P. interruptus hemocyanin are thermodynamically governed by favorable entropy changes. The allosteric transition in the unliganded derivative shows an enthalpy-entropy compensation effect. The activation enthalpies for oxygenation and deoxygenation of the T-state are larger than those for the R-state, while the activation entropies are favorable for the T-state and unfavorable for the R-state. Thus, the activation free energies for oxygen binding to the T- and R-states are similar, while for the deoxygenation reaction DeltaG++ is smaller for the T-state. The analysis reported confirms the applicability of the Monod-Wyman-Changeux two-state allosteric model to P. interruptus hemocyanin and yields a complete thermodynamic characterization of oxygen binding under both equilibrium and dynamic regimes.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1983

[Microspectrophotometry in the study of physiological and pathological events in erythrocytes].

Microspectrophotometry turns out to be the ideal method for an accurate study of single cells, namely of red blood cells, from the biochemical and physiological standpoint. Hereafter several possible applications are reported: a. the kinetics of gas-exchange (O2 and CO) in human erythrocytes has been made possible by the photosensitivity of the Hb-CO complex. In this way, it has been possible to establish that both ligands recombine with intraerythrocyte hemoglobin following a zero-order kinetic process. This suggested that diffusion of a ligand across an unstirred layer of buffer (approximately 5.10 mu thick) all around the cell could be the rate-limiting step of this recombination. Moreover, an intracellular facilitated oxygen diffusion has been observed and possible physiological implications have been shortly mentioned; b. the kinetics of intracellular polymerization of sickle cell hemoglobin in single red blood cells has been measured by quickly (approximately 1 msec) flashing-off the CO employing a cw Argon ion laser. The polymerization of deoxyhemoglobin has been followed by detecting the increased light scattering of the laser beam itself. The distribution of delay times (td) in several patients has been found significantly correlated to the severity of the disease, supporting the hypothesis that the td is a determinant factor in the pathophysiology of the disease. Possible therapeutic applications of this method are briefly discussed; c. the intraerythrocyte distribution of different hemoglobins of trout (Salmo irideus) among several erythrocytes has been observed by means of different physiochemical properties of single components. These turned out to be homogeneously present in all red blood cells studied.

Animals↗