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Biomedical subjects

M Goldberg

Publications and source records attributed to M Goldberg.

At least 343 records · Page 19Linked to original sources

The control of lipase-catalysed transesterification and esterification reaction rates. Effects of substrate polarity, water activity and water molecules on enzyme activity.

The reaction rate of two lipase-catalysed reactions, esterification and transesterification, were studied in a liquid/solid two-phase system in order to investigate the effect of water partition between the enzyme preparation and the liquid phase composed of only the reactants, i.e. without the conventional solvents. Lipase from Candida cylindracea was used for these studies. The enzyme was inactive in dehydrated systems. In the case of monoester synthesis, the reaction rate increased with increasing water activity. The reaction rates of the non-specific C. cylindracea lipase-catalysed reactions were very sensitive to the nature of the substrates in this unusual system. For instance, the transesterification reaction rate of ethyl propionate was 48 times higher with nonanol than heptanol in the case of dehydrated substrates, but only 2.2 times higher in the case of water-saturated substrates. The results presented here demonstrate the absolute necessity to consider the polarity of every substrate, because of its ability to modify the water partition between the solid phase (enzyme preparation) and the liquid phase (substrate and product), which results in drastic changes in enzyme activity. Contrary to esterification, which is known to be activated by the water produced, the rate of transesterification remained constant at the beginning of the reaction. However, when transesterification and esterification were carried out in the same liquid phase, the transesterification reaction rate was controlled by the water produced by the concomitant esterification. Activation effects of the water molecules produced during the enzymatic reaction were of exactly the same order of magnitude for both reactions.

Alcohols↗

Visualization of glycosaminoglycans in rat incisor extracellular matrix using a hyaluronidase-gold complex.

The enzyme-gold technique was used on dental tissues. Hyaluronidase was complexed with gold, and ultrathin sections of rat incisors were incubated with the hyaluronidase-gold complex to localize chondroitin-sulphate and hyaluronic acid at the ultrastructural level. The hyaluronidase-gold complex was found in predentine and dentine, especially at the mineralization front, in interglobular spaces and around dentinal canaliculi. The very young enamel was labelled, but not the later stages of formation. This method allowed a very precise localization of hyaluronic acid and/or chondroitin sulphate in rat incisors extracellular matrices. These findings support the important role of glycosaminoglycans in dentine mineralization.

Amelogenesis↗

The influence of nutritional factors on biopterin excretion in laboratory animals.

Nutritional influences on urinary total biopterin levels in rats and pigs were investigated. During the first nights in metabolic cages with food deprivation a significant increase in biopterin values was found in rats. This could be diminished either by feeding, adaptation to food deprivation or by oral glucose application. With food deprivation under normal housing conditions, this increase could not be found. Rats that were fed a cellulose preparation without metabolizable energy had no increase in biopterin excretion. The circadian rhythm of biopterin excretion was influenced by food deprivation as well as by cellulose. Alterations in water intake and urinary output had no effect on biopterin levels related to creatinine. Remarkable changes in biopterin excretion are more likely due to hormonal functions and regulations related to stress than to nutritional factors. More investigations into these problems are being performed.

Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena↗

Zinc deficiency-induced changes in the lipid composition and ultrastructure of rat incisor teeth.

The lipids and ultrastructure of the forming, maturing and erupted parts of incisors were compared in rats fed a zinc-deficient diet for 28 days, pair-fed rats and control rats. The lipid levels in the forming portions of zinc-deficient incisors were 30-50% below control levels and were associated with longer Tomes' processes in the secretory ameloblasts, porosities in the forming enamel and fewer malachite green-aldehyde-phospholipid aggregates in the predentine. No marked structural changes were seen in the erupted portions of the teeth, although variations in lipid composition were detected both in the maturing and erupted parts. No differences were found between teeth from the 3 groups of animals for Na, Mg, Cl, Ca and P signals with the electron microprobe.

Animals↗

Immunocytochemical evidence for an actin-myosin system in lens epithelial cells.

Since filamentous actin had been shown earlier to exist in lens epithelial and fiber cells, we inquired whether this could represent a contractile system with myosin and other actin-associated proteins. We resolved this question in freshly removed or organ-cultured rabbit and squirrel lens epithelial whole mounts using immunocytochemical techniques and by immunoblots of extracts separated by electrophoresis. In the former, methods were developed using long fixation times and long incubation in primary antibodies and biotinylated second antibodies visualized by streptavidin immunofluorescence and by diaminobenzidine peroxidase. Myosin was found to be localized along the filamentous rays and at central vertices of polygonal arrays situated at the apices of epithelial cells. It was not clear whether myosin and actin occurred together along the same or adjacent filaments in a bundle. Tubulin and vimentin were found deeper in the cells and were not aligned with actin and myosin filaments. Control lens epithelia treated similarly except for deletion of the primary antibodies showed no staining. As positive controls, pieces of glycerinated sartorius muscle exhibited characteristic cross-banded patterns of actin and myosin when incubated with the same reagents used on the lens epithelium. Denatured extracts of rabbit lens epithelium and of cortical fiber cells separated by electrophoresis and transferred to nitrocellulose paper, stained specifically with the same myosin and tubulin antibodies used in the immunocytochemistry experiments. The molecular weight profile of the myosin polypeptide indicated that lens tissue has myosin II. We conclude that a contractile system exists in lens epithelial and cortical fiber cells, although the function is not understood at this time. We conjecture that the system may act to stabilize lens shape by providing contractile tone.

Actins↗

In vitro studies on the action of CS-045, a new antidiabetic agent.

The mechanism of action of CS-045, a new orally active antidiabetic agent, was studied in vitro using cultured hepatoma cells (Hep G2) and muscle cells (BC3H-1). Treatment of both types of cultured cells with varying doses of CS-045 did not significantly alter insulin receptor binding. Basal and insulin-stimulated glucose transport in BC3H-1 cells was also unaltered by the drug. In contrast, CS-045 increased glycogen synthase I activity in both cell types. This effect was maximal after 24 hours and in Hep G2 cells was associated with a threefold increase in the apparent affinity of the enzyme for glucose-6-phosphate. Gluconeogenesis from lactate in Hep G2 cells was greatly reduced by CS-045 treatment. We conclude that CS-045 may act directly on muscle and liver cells to increase glucose utilization. It is also effective in reducing glucose production. These multiple effects may account in part for the ability of CS-045 to reduce blood sugar levels in vivo.

Biological Transport↗

Water activity as a key parameter of synthesis reactions: the example of lipase in biphasic (liquid/solid) media.

Ester synthesis catalyzed by Candida cylindracea lipase (triacylglycerol acylhydrolase, EC 3.1.1.3) was investigated in solid/liquid biphasic media containing the enzyme preparation and reactants without addition of organic solvents not participating in the reaction. Although the effects of water on enzyme kinetics have been abundantly studied in nearly anhydrous media, reactions in which water is produced have not been investigated. The effect of water produced by the reaction itself on the enzymatic activity was studied. The dispersion of water in a shaken, nearly anhydrous medium was shown to be responsible for the lack of activity of the enzyme. In contrast, when slowly shaken, the enzyme was fully activated by the water furnished as a product of the reaction. However, when experiments were performed in a two-phase aqueous/organic system with previously solubilized enzyme in water, the enzyme activity was increased by shaking and was of the same order of magnitude as in nearly anhydrous media. Under low water activity conditions, a powerful agitation can lead to slower reaction rate, because water, a product of esterification, is not retained in the microenvironment of the enzyme to activate it. The activation effect of water produced by the reaction was clearly shown using enzyme preparations shaken in an anhydrous medium and previously equilibrated at low water activities (aw = 0.13 and 0.69). This activation did not occur for an enzyme preparation equilibrated at high aw (0.89) or for a preparation gently shaken in a water-saturated medium. The lag time preceding activation of the enzyme increased with the extent of enzyme dehydration.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Candida↗

Effects of cerulenin, an inhibitor of fatty acid synthesis on reconstitution of the dental basement membrane.

When trypsin-dissociated enamel organs and dental papillae were recombined in the presence of cerulenin--an antibiotic which is a potent inhibitor of fatty acid synthesis--the newly synthesized basement membrane seemed defective in a dose-dependent manner. The three-dimensional relationship between the basement membrane components and the plasma membrane appears to be regulated in part by lipids.

Animals↗

Quantification of neutrophil adhesion to skeletal muscle venules following ischemia-reperfusion.

Ischemia-reperfusion is encountered in a wide variety of surgical situations. The damage resulting from ischemia-reperfusion may be due, in part, to the infiltration and activation of neutrophils into the reperfused tissue. The purpose of the study was to examine ischemia-reperfusion induced neutrophil activation in skeletal muscle. In control muscles, ischemia in the hamster right cremaster muscle was produced for 5 min after an initial 2 hr 55 min perfusion period. In ischemic muscles, ischemia was produced for 3 hr prior to reperfusion. After the clamps were removed, a video recording of the cremaster microvasculature was made using intravital fluorescence microscopy. Acridine orange was infused intravenously 10 min prior to video recording in order to selectively label and enhance the contrast of neutrophils. The number of neutrophils rolling along the endothelium of 40 to 60 microns-diameter venules in a 1-min period increased from 9.0 in control animal cremaster venules to 24.1 following ischemia-reperfusion (p less than .05; n = 11). The ischemia-reperfusion model developed in this study allows for the direct quantification of neutrophil adhesion in skeletal muscle and can be further used to assess pharmacologic minimization of neutrophil-mediated damage in skeletal muscle.

Animals↗

A new sensitive fluorometric assay for the metabolism of (--)-7,8-dihydroxy-7,8-dihydrobenzo[a]pyrene by human hair follicles.

A new sensitive fluorometric assay was established to measure the stereospecific formation of benzo[alpha]pyrene tetrols formed after cytochrome P450-dependent metabolism of (--)-7,8-dihydroxy-7,8- dihydrobenzo[a]pyrene by human hair follicles. This simple assay requires three human hair follicles and a low (0.5-2.0 microM) substrate concentration and has a limit of detection of approximately 0.3 fmol of tetrols. Freshly isolated human hair follicles from 20 adult volunteers (10 non-smokers and 10 smokers) were assayed. While intersubject and seasonal variations were observed, the assay was found to be reproducible for a given subject. This rapid and non-invasive assay provides a new means for metabolic phenotyping of human subjects for their capacity to metabolize (--)-7,8-dihydroxy-7,8-dihydrobenzo[alpha]pyrene to its carcinogenic form (+)anti-benzo[a]pyrene diolepoxide.

Adult↗