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Biomedical subjects

M L Karnovsky

Publications and source records attributed to M L Karnovsky.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Release of superoxide and change in morphology by neutrophils in response to phorbol esters: antagonism by inhibitors of calcium-binding proteins.

The ability of phorbol derivatives to function as stimulating agents for superoxide (O2-) release by guinea pig neutrophils has been evaluated and compared to the known ability of each compound to activate protein kinase C. Those that activate the kinase also stimulate O2- release, while those that are inactive with respect to the kinase have no effect on O2- release. The same correlation was observed with respect to the ability of phorbol esters to induce morphological changes in neutrophils, i.e., vesiculation and reduction in granule content. Certain phenothiazines and naphthalene sulfonamides that are known antagonists of calcium-binding proteins blocked both phorbol ester-induced O2- release and morphological changes in these cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Peptidoglycans as promoters of slow-wave sleep. I. Structure of the sleep-promoting factor isolated from human urine.

Fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry (FABMS) has been used to determine the structure of the urinary sleep-promoting factor (FSu), the nature of whose components had been reported earlier. Less than 1 nmol of the underivatized substance sufficed for the FABMS experiments. The major somnogenic constituent of the purified preparation was a peptidoglycan of Mr = 921 with the structure N-acetylglucosaminyl-N -acetylanhydromuramylalanylglutamyldiaminopimelylalanine. The anhydro linkage is between C-1 and C-6 of the muramyl entity. Two additional substances accompanied the above compound. These were the hydrated form (i.e. in which the muramyl entity had a free reducing end, and a free hydroxyl on C-6), and an anhydro analogue lacking the terminal alanine. The Mr values were 939 and 850, respectively. Methyl esters were prepared, and these were also acetylated. The mass spectra of the methyl ester of Mr = 921 displayed an increase in Mr of 42 (i.e. 3 X 14), indicating the presence, originally, of three free carboxyls. Acetylation increased Mr by a further 168 units (i.e. 4 X 42), indicating 4 hydroxyl or amino groups. These data are consistent with the structure cited above for the main entity of FSu. Similar confirmatory results were obtained for the two minor constituents described above. These operations were worked out on natural muramyl peptides of known structure, obtained from other sources, and the data are given for comparison.

Acetylmuramyl-Alanyl-Isoglutamine↗
PubMed1984

Peptidoglycans as promoters of slow-wave sleep. II. Somnogenic and pyrogenic activities of some naturally occurring muramyl peptides; correlations with mass spectrometric structure determination.

The structures of components of the sleep-promoting material purified from human urine were established by fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry, as reported in the accompanying paper (Martin, S. A., Karnovsky, M. L., Krueger, J. M., Pappenheimer, J. R., and Biemann, K. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 12652-12658). We report here that two substances isolated from that preparation, viz. N-acetylglucosaminyl-1,6 -anhydro-N-acetylmuramyl-Ala-gamma-Glu-diaminopimelyl-Ala) and that compound lacking the terminal alanine, are active as somnogens. Cerebro-intraventricular administration of 1 pmol of the glycotetrapeptide was sufficient to induce prolonged excess sleep in rabbits. A similar substance obtained from Brevibacterium divaricatum in which the free carboxyls of the glutamic and diaminopimelic moieties, indicated above, were amidated (N-acetylglucosaminyl-1,6-anhydro-N-anhydromura-myl-Ala-iso- Gln- epsilon-amido-diaminopimelyl -Ala-Ala) was not active as a promoter of slow-wave sleep. Deamidation of this peptide to a mixture of the free dicarboxylic forms produced a somnogenic substance. Our findings show that in addition to the muramyl form of peptidoglycan monomers, the anhydro muramyl form, with no reducing end, is compatible with somnogenic activity. Furthermore, the data obtained with a natural product amplify our earlier observations with smaller synthetic molecules of the importance of amidation/deamidation in the structure-activity relationships of muramyl peptides.

Acetylmuramyl-Alanyl-Isoglutamine↗
PubMed1984

Studies on the mechanism of superoxide release from human neutrophils stimulated with arachidonate.

cis-Unsaturated fatty acids stimulate release of superoxide (O-2) by human neutrophils (Badwey, J. A., Curnutte, J. T., Robinson, J. M., Berde, C. B., Karnovsky, M. J., and Karnovsky, M. L. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 7870-7877). The rate of O-2 release due to arachidonate (105 +/- 24 S.D., nmol of O-2/min/10(7) cells) was comparable to optimal values obtained with other stimuli. Antagonists of calcium-binding proteins (i.e. phenothiazines, naphthalene sulfonamides) inhibited the release of O-2 in a fashion compatible with the involvement of calmodulin in these phenomena. Synthetic substrates for and an inhibitor of chymotrypsin-like proteases (e.g. N-benzoyl-L-tyrosine ethyl ester, L-1-tosylamido-2-phenylethyl chloromethyl ketone) also blocked O-2 release. Antagonists of calcium-binding proteins and of proteases were effective in this context with neutrophils stimulated with a variety of agents. The implications of these data for recent reports concerning the mechanism of action of cis-unsaturated fatty acids on phagocytes is discussed.

Arachidonic Acid↗
PubMed1984

Superoxide release by neutrophils: synergistic effects of a phorbol ester and a calcium ionophore.

Exposure to combined suboptimal concentrations of 4 beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate and the calcium ionophore A23187 stimulates superoxide release from guinea pig neutrophils to rates ca. 3.5-fold greater than the sum of the rates elicited by each of the agents added separately. This effect was largely dependent upon the presence of calcium in the extracellular medium. The data are discussed in relation to recent reports concerning the interactions of phorbol-esters with cells and the mechanism of activation of superoxide release by neutrophils.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Effects of free fatty acids on release of superoxide and on change of shape by human neutrophils. Reversibility by albumin.

Release of superoxide from human neutrophils was stimulated by cis-unsaturated fatty acids (e.g. arachidonate, linoleate). All the saturated and trans-unsaturated fatty acids tested were ineffective in this context. Binding of linoleate to neutrophils was biphasic and could be resolved into a linear and a saturable component. The extent of linoleate binding to the saturable component correlated strongly with the amount of O-2 released (r = 0.96). Palmitate, a saturated fatty acid, exhibited only linear binding to neutrophils and the binding was similar to the linear component of linoleate binding. All cis-unsaturated fatty acids tested decreased the fluorescence polarization of cis- and trans-parinaric acid used as membrane probes in suspensions of neutrophils, whereas the saturated fatty acid, myristate, increased the polarization. Fatty acids which stimulated O-2 release induced morphological changes (i.e. evaginations) in neutrophils, whereas the inactive fatty acids did not affect the cellular morphology. Effects on both the cell morphology and superoxide release were reversed by treatment of the cells with delipidated albumin. These data are discussed in relation to recent reports concerning the effects of free fatty acids on various biochemical systems.

Arachidonic Acid↗
PubMed1984

Muramyl peptides. Variation of somnogenic activity with structure.

Sleep-promoting activities of muramyl dipeptide (MDP) (NAc-Mur-L-ala-D-isogln) and the naturally occurring muramyl peptide(s), factor S, have recently been demonstrated. We now have amplified our understanding of structural requirements for somnogenic activity. The effects of several analogs of MDP on rabbit slow-wave sleep are presented and these results are compared to the dose-response relationship for MDP. Some tentative conclusions as to structural requirements for somnogenic activity are presented; most notably, amidation of the free gamma-carboxyl of MDP and several of its analogs resulted in the loss of somnogenic activity. MDP also can induce febrile and immunostimulatory responses. In the present paper, we show that some analogs possess immunostimulatory and pyrogenic activity but not somnogenic activity, thus suggesting that these biological activities of muramyl peptides may, in part, be mediated by separate mechanisms.

Acetylmuramyl-Alanyl-Isoglutamine↗
PubMed1984

Qualitative detection of muramic acid in normal mammalian tissues.

Rat tissues were extracted with 8% trichloroacetic acid, and the products were hydrolyzed with hydrochloric acid and purified. Fluorescamine derivatives were made and subjected to thin-layer chromatography; material with an Rf corresponding to the authentic muramyl derivative was obtained. It was oxidized with periodate, and the resulting formaldehyde was identified fluorimetrically. Alternatively, treatment with base released D-lactate (beta-elimination), which was identified fluorimetrically by reduction of NAD to NADH with D-lactate dehydrogenase. The data indicate that small muramyl compounds, presumably peptides of bacterial origin, are normally present in rat liver, brain, and kidney. The functions of muramyl compounds are suggested by much recent work.

Acetylmuramyl-Alanyl-Isoglutamine↗
PubMed1983

Comparative biochemical and cytochemical studies on superoxide and peroxide in mouse macrophages.

Maximal rates of superoxide (O-2) release, and the cytochemical locales of peroxide staining in resident, elicited, and activated macrophages have been determined. Macrophages elicited into the peritoneum with either casein (1.2% w/v) or proteose-peptone (10.0% w/v) release about twice as much O-2 as macrophages activated by infection of the animals with either Listeria monocytogenes, or Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) followed by immune boosting with Purified Protein Derivative (PPD) (i.e., about 35 vs. 14-18 nmol O-2/min/10(7) cells). Macrophages elicited with thioglycollate (3.0% w/v) and resident macrophages produce negligible amounts of O-2 upon stimulation with PMA. These data are compared with those reported by other investigators who used different procedures. A cytochemical procedure for localizing peroxide has been modified for use with murine macrophages. No production of H2O2 by macrophages is detected cytochemically in the absence of stimulation. Upon exposure to PMA, resident macrophages are still largely unresponsive. Approximately 20% of the casein elicited macrophages and BCG-PPD activated macrophages exhibit H2O2 staining, which is largely restricted to the cytoplasmic vesicles and channels induced by PMA in these cells. The only exception to this staining pattern is a small population (about 2%) of activated macrophages which exhibits H2O2 staining in the cytoplasmic vesicles and channels and on the plasmalemma as well.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Changes in brain glycogen during slow-wave sleep in the rat.

During slow-wave sleep, rat brain glycogen increases within a few minutes to about 70% above waking levels. Upon awakening, the increment is lost within 2-5 min. After repeated episodes of sleep, brain glycogen levels are comparable to those observed after only a single episode of sleep. Liver glycogen is unaffected by slow-wave sleep.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Determinants of the production of active oxygen species by granulocytes and macrophages.

Under certain conditions, phagocytic leukocytes generate considerable quantities of superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, as well as small quantities of hydroxyl radical and singlet oxygen. These activated forms of oxygen are involved in the antibacterial, antiparasitic and antitumour functions of the cells. Important factors in the production of the different oxygen species are the nature of the stimulant and the animal species from which the cells are derived; in addition, macrophages exist in various metabolically modulated states within the organism. The oxidases involved in this process are localized in the leukocyte plasmalemma, where they catalyse the oxidation of reduced pyridine nucleotides; a cytochrome may also be involved in the electron transport. Other oxidases are also present in certain species; for example, guinea pig cells contain aldehyde oxidase. Active forms of oxygen can attack bacteria and other foreign bodies inside the phagocytic vacuole or outside the cell. Peroxidase may play a critical role, chiefly in granulocytes. In this kind of multienzyme system, it is self evident that different genetic defects can lead to the same phenotypic end results, e.g. Chronic Granulomatous Disease in children, and other biochemical disorders.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Properties of NADH-cytochrome-b5 reductase from human neutrophils.

An NADH-ferricyanide reductase activity of ca. 170 nmole ferricyanide reduced/min/10(7) cells is present in the membrane fraction of human neutrophils. This membrane-bound activity constitutes ca. 85% of the total NADH-ferricyanide reductase activity that is present in these cells. The enzyme(s) readily utilize(s) purified cytochrome-b5 from beef liver as an electron acceptor. No other physiologic electron acceptors tested (e.g., ubiquinone-30, menadione) were active. The specificities of electron donors (e.g., NADH congruent to deamino-NADH much greater than NADPH) and acceptors (e.g., Fe(CN)6-3 greater than 2,6-dichlorophenol-indophenol much greater than O2) for the enzyme(s) in unfractionated membranes, along with action of inhibitors (e.g., ADP, p-chloromercuribenzoate) and the pH optimum, indicate that virtually all of the membrane-bound ferricyanide reductase activity in these cells is NADH-cytochrome-b5 reductase. This reductase, however, is only slightly solubilized (ca. 10%) by a phosphate buffer extraction procedure that is effective with the liver enzyme.

Adenine Nucleotides↗
PubMed1982

Rat liver microsomal glucose-6-P translocase. Effect of physiological status on inhibition and labeling by stilbene disulfonic acid derivatives.

Intact microsomes from groups of fed, fasted, glucocorticoid-treated (triamcinolone) and diabetic (alloxan) rats were reacted with 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic (DIDS), a specific inhibitor of microsomal glucose-6-P translocase. The concentrations that inhibit by 50% were 41 +/- 2, 31 +/- 1, 39 +/- 4, and 18 +/- 1 microM (mean +/- S.E.; n = 3); (order as above). The maximal levels of inhibition of the translocase by DIDS were 66 +/- 2, 79 +/- 2, 63 +/- 1, and 88 +/- 1%, respectively. The differences in the values for the different groups of animals are statistically significant, except for comparisons between fed and triamcinolone-treated animals. Microsomes from the same groups of animals were treated with the tritiated reduced derivative of DIDS, [3H]H2DIDS, which labels a 54,000-dalton polypeptide, previously implicated as a component of the glucose-6-P translocase. The mean values (+/- S.E.) of [3H]H2DIDS bound to the polypeptide under saturating conditions were 100 +/- 6, 120 +/- 9, 62 +/- 7, and 101 +/- 15 pmol/mg of microsomal protein, respectively. The amount bound in microsomes from triamcinolone-treated rats is significantly lower from the values for the other three physiological states, which do not differ significantly from each other. The presence of glucose-6-P, but not mannose-6-P, during the [3H]H2DIDS reaction significantly stimulates the labeling of the 54,000-dalton polypeptide in microsomes from all the classes of animals above, except the diabetic animals. These results indicate that DIDS and [3H]H2DIDS are probes sensitive enough to discern differences in the translocase due to physiological regulation. On the basis of the labeling studies with [3H]H2DIDS, the increase in translocase activity observed in microsomes from fasted, triamcinolone-treated, and diabetic rats cannot be ascribed to increased numbers of translocase molecules, but rather to increased functional activity of the translocase protein.

4,4'-Diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-Disulfonic Acid↗