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M Morrison

Publications and source records attributed to M Morrison.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

Detection of a variant of protein 3, the major transmembrane protein of the human erythrocyte.

A variant of the major transmembrane protein of the human erythrocyte has been detected following proteolytic digestion of intact erythrocytes. Pronase digestion of normal erythrocytes gives rise to a 60,000 molecular weight fragment of Protein 3, while digestion of erythrocytes with the variant protein produces two fragments of 60,000 and 63,000 molecular weight when peptides are separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-acrylamide gel electrophoresis using the discontinuous buffer system of Laemmli (Laemmli, U. K. (1970) Nature 227, 680-685). The two fragments cannot be resolved if electrophoresis is conducted using the continuous phosphate or Tris/acetate buffer systems. This increased molecular weight of the variant fragment does not appear to be due to increased glycosylation, since neither sialic acid residues nor terminal galactose units can be detected. Furthermore, the transmembrane segment of Protein 3 can be detected after proteolytic digestion at both the external and cytoplasmic membrane surfaces. These transmembrane segments of both the normal and the variant peptide have identical molecular weights of 20,000 to 21,000. These results suggest that the increased molecular weight of the variant peptide is due to the incorporation of an additional segment into that region of the molecule which is exposed at the cytoplasmic side of the membrane.

Electrophoresis, Disc↗

Localization of thyroid peroxidase and the site of iodination in rat thyroid gland.

The iodinated protein was localized in thyroid tissue slices by using radioautography. In unfixed tissue, the labelled protein was localized in the colloid, whereas, in tissue that was fixed before the 125I addition, the label was within the follicular cell. This localizes thyroid peroxidase largely on the endoplasmic reticulum of the cell.

Animals↗

Effect of metabolic state on agglutination of human erythrocytes by concanavalin A.

Intact freshly drawn or stored human erythrocytes, which show little agglutination by concanavalin A, become agglutinable by this lectin in the presence of adenosine. alpha-Methylglucose (10 mM) completely inhibits this agglutination. The concanavalin A agglutination shows no sensitivity to vinblastine or cytochalasin B. Resealed membranes preparaed with ATP in lysing and resealing medium give modest agglutinability, while the presence of adenosine in both the lysing and the resealing medium results in a substantial agglutinability of the resealed membranes. Mild trypsin treatment of the erythrocytes causes an enhanced sensitivity to adenosine activation of the concanavalin A agglutination, while extensive trypsin treatment produced highly agglutinable erythrocytes that shown no response to the presence of adenosine in the lectin solution. The extensively treated erythrocytes also show concanavalin A agglutination at temperatures below 37 degrees C, under conditions in which intact or moderately treated erythrocytes do not agglutinate, with or without adenosine present. Results suggest that the adenosine activation of concanavalin A agglutination of intact human erythrocytes is mediated through a metabolic conversion of adenosine to a rapidly turned over metabolite which participates directly in the activation of agglutination. The agglutinability does not appear to depend on whole cell ATP levels, but may involve a particular pool of ATP. The effect of variation of cellular metabolic state and the response of particular systems involved in lectin-mediated agglutinability to cellular metabolism seem to be worth consideration in explaining the frequently large differences in agglutinability of und in cells in different biological states, such as those encountered in normal and transformed cells.

Adenosine↗

Peroxidase-catalyzed halogenation.

Peroxidase-catalyzed halogenation reactions have been established as being important in the biosynthesis of the hormone thyroxine and in biological defense mechanisms. Recently these reactions have been recognized as valuable tools for the study of proteins as well as their arrangement in macromolecular structures. The pathways of peroxidase catalyses can be accommodated within the framework of the classical Chance-George mechanism. This implies that the initial steps of the reaction invariably involve oxidation of peroxidases by peroxides--and that the resulting derivative, compound I, is the oxidant of the halide ions. Such reactions may result either in the formation of hypohalous acids, or in halogenation of the enzyme apoprotein, followed by transhalogenation to substrate for halogenation. Chloro- and myeloperoxidases catalyze oxidation of all halide ions, except F-; oxidation of bromide and iodide is mediated by lactoperoxidase, but horseradish peroxidase only oxidizes iodide. All of the above enzymes except horseradish will oxidize the pseudo halide thiocyanate. The origins of this differentiation remain to be defined, but they presumably reflect significant variation in oxidation potential of different peroxidase-peroxide derivatives, rather than constraints on the peroxidase-donor interactions. As pointed out above, halogenation of the amino acids tyrosine and histidine or these residues in proteins can take place on the enzyme. This makes lactoperoxidase-catalyzed iodination selective. The amino acid residues in proteins that are iodinated depend not only on reactivity of the amino acid residue but also on its geometric location. Thus lactoperoxidase-catalyzed iodination can be a useful tool in the study of protein structure and function. It is also useful in establishing the geometric position of proteins within macromolecular structures. Thyroid peroxidase catalyzes iodination of thyroglobulin and is involved in a second important step, the coupling of the iodotyrosines to form thyroxine or triiodothyronine. A proposed mechanism for this reaction suggests that the oxidation is mediated by the iodoenzyme derivative mentioned above followed by a prototropic rearrangement and scission to form the ether bound of thyronine and a serine residue on thyroglobulin.

Amino Acids↗

The transmembrane proteins in the plasma membrane of normal human erythrocytes. Evaluation employing lactoperoxidase and proteases.

The molecular architecture of the human erythrocyte membrane has been probed using lactoperoxidase-catalyzed iodination in conjunction with Pronase hydrolysis. Resealed, hemoglobin-free ghosts were labeled at the cytoplasmic surface and the external membrane surface was subsequently digested with Pronase. Changes in size of the components labeled at the cytoplasmic surface were readily detected by sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis. The protein 3 molecular weight class labeled at the cytoplasmic surface was extensively hydrolyzed at the external surface to produce a major 65000 molecular weight fragment and a minor 45000 molecular weight fragment. When resealed membranes were labeled on the external surface the same 65000 molecular weight labeled component is produced. These results unequivocally demonstrate that the same polypeptides in the protein 3 molecular weight class that can be labeled by lactoperoxidase at the cytoplasmic membrane surface are digested by Pronase at the external surface and are, therefore, transmembrane components. Where it is possible to label one surface of a membrane with lactoperoxidase and reseal the membrane this procedure represents an alternate method for establishing transmembrane configuration of membrane proteins.

Blood Proteins↗

Effect of metabolic state on phytohemagglutinin-P agglutination of normal human erythrocytes.

A reproducible quantitative assay for the lectin-mediated agglutination of human erythrocytes, depending on different rates of settling of agglutinated and nonagglutinated erythrocytes, was developed. This assay was used to study the aggregation of human erythrocytes by phytohemagglutinin-P. The aggregation of human erythrocytes by phytohemagglutinin-P was found to depend upon the metabolic state of the cells. Metabolically depleted erythrocytes agglutinated much less readily than did similar cells supplied with adenosine. This was not due to swelling and rigidity of the cells, since erythrocytes in hypotonic solution did not exhibit significantly altered phytohemagglutinin-P agglutination. Metabolically depleted erythrocytes, or erythrocytes from blood stored 8 weeks, lysed and resealed in the presence of ATP, were agglutinated by phytohemagglutinin-P to a much greater extent than control samples without ATP. The presence of Mg2+, either alone or with ATP, had little effect on the agglutinability of the resealed membranes. Low concentrations of Ca2+ (0.2 mM) had little effect on agglutinability, although high Ca2+ (5 mM) inhibited agglutinability of the resealed membranes somewhat. Both metabolically depleted erythrocytes and depleted erythrocytes, previously treated with adenosine, when treated with trypsin released similar amounts of sialic acid. The agglutinability of the trypsinized adenosine-supplemented cells increased more readily than did that of trypsinized metabolically depleted cells. The agglutination of erythrocytes was not affected by cytochalasin B (40 mug/ml). Vinblastine (0.2 mM) caused depleted erythrocytes to agglutinate similarly to adenosine-supplemented erythrocytes, but had no effect on the agglutination of adenosine-supplemented erythrocytes. It is concluded that ATP in the human erythrocyte probably participates in the modulation of phytohemagglutinin-P agglutinability. This is not a consequence of the more rigid membrane known to accompany ATP depletion in the erythrocyte, or of the effect of ATP levels on Ca2+ or Mg2+ content. It appears likely that ATP modulates human erythrocyte phytohemagglutinin-P agglutinability through interaction, direct or indirect, with a membrane-associated component, which might also be sensitivie to vinblastine.

Adenosine↗

Immunological and biophysical properties of hepatitis B antigen labeled by the chloramine-T and by the lactoperoxidase methods.

Optimal conditions were sought for the radiolabeling of microgram quantities of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBs Ag) employing the chloramine-T or lactoperoxidase iodination procedures. Preparations of HBsAg labeled by these procedures are referred to as chloramine-T preparations and lactoperoxidase preparations, respectively. Labeled HBsAg having specific activities between 10-20 muCi/mug were found to display the greatest degree of sensitivity for unlabeled HBsAg and for anti-HBs using a double-antibody radioimmunoassay (RIA-DA). Increasing the specific activity above this level redulted in a decreased affinity of labeled 1251-HBs Ag for anti-HBs, indicating that soluble antigenic alterations had developed. At equivalent specific activities, chloramine-T preparations competed less effectively for unlabeled HBs Ag than lactoperoxidase preparations, and anti-HBs endpoint titers were slightly reduced, especially among preparations of high specific activity (greater than or equal to 65 muCi/mug). Chloramine-T preparations of HBs Ag (sp. act. 15--30 muCi/mug) showed essentially no antigenic deterioration over a 2-month period at minus 196 degrees C or minus 70 degrees C. Utilization of optimally labeled 1251-HBs Ag has increased the sensitivity of the RIA-DA for unlabeled HBs Ag 30-fold to a level below 1 ng/ml and enhanced antiamine-T method revealed that only the most acidic population was labeled (pH 3.75+/-0.5). In contrast, six antigenic components with distinct pI values ranging from 3.7 to 5.2 were detected by RIA-DA in both unlabeled HBs ag and in the chloramine-T preparation. This indicated that the chloramine-T method did not radically change the relative number or charge of each of the pI populations present in purified preparations of HBs Ag. Analysis of HBs Ag iodinated by the lactoperoxidase procedure revealed the presence of three of four populations of particles with pI values ranging from 3.9 to 4.5, suggesting that this procedure labels HBs Ag more uniformly.

Chloramines↗

The distinguishing characteristics of the plasma membrane are its exposed proteins.

The exposed proteins of the plasma membrane of normal human lymphocytes and platelets were labelled by using the lactoperoxidase macromolecular probe system. The labelled components were separated into molecular-weight classes by sodium dodecyl sulphate--polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. In contrast with the report by Tanner et al. (1974), a comparison of the two cell types showed that the major labelled components in both cell types were glycoproteins and were not identical. It is concluded that the exposed proteins are probably the most distinguishing characteristic of the plasma membrane of differentiated cell types.

Blood Platelets↗

A simple method for the prediction of ABO incompatibility using Sephadex A-50. Prediction of ABO incompatibility.

A rapid and simple method of demonstrating the presence of high titre IgG anti-A or anti-B (anti A/B) is described. The method requires the separation of IgG anti-A/B from IgM anti-A/B using DEAE Sephadex A-50 by a simple spin technique, and the subsequent titration of the IgG fraction to detect the presence of high titre IgG anti-A/B. Since high titre IgG anti-A/B is usually associated with ABO incompatibility the test is a useful guide to the prediction of ABO incompatibility in routine antenatal samples.

ABO Blood-Group System↗