Biomedical subjects

P M Horowitz

Publications and source records attributed to P M Horowitz.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

PubMed1989

Shielding of tryptophan residues of avidin by the binding of biotin.

The binding of biotin to tetrameric avidin changes the environment of tryptophan residues. Binding reduces the total tryptophan fluorescence by 34%, shifts the emission peak from 337 to 324 nm, and reduces the fluorescence bandwidth from 61 to 46 nm. These changes are consistent with the movement of tryptophans to a nonpolar, internal environment. In the absence of biotin, iodide readily quenches the fluorescence of 20-29% of the initial fluorescence, which likely corresponds to one tryptophan located in a positively charged environment. Iodide may have weak access to additional fluorescence, corresponding to perhaps one additional tryptophan. Acrylamide, in the absence of biotin, has good access to three-fourths or more of the fluorescence, but the remainder, due to one or two tryptophans, is well shielded. The binding of biotin completely prevents iodide quenching and decreases acrylamide access dramatically. The data indicate that biotin binding shifts two or three tryptophans to an internal, hydrophobic, shielded environment.

Acrylamides↗

PubMed1989

Reversible folding of rhodanese. Presence of intermediate(s) at equilibrium.

For the first time completely reversible unfolding was achieved for guanidinium chloride-denatured rhodanese using a systematically defined protocol. These conditions included beta-mercaptoethanol, lauryl maltoside, and sodium thiosulfate. All components were required to get more than the previous best reactivation with lauryl maltoside of 17% (Tandon, S., and Horowitz, P. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 15615-15681). Non-coincidental transition curves were obtained by monitoring different parameters including: (i) variation in the activity, (ii) shifts of the fluorescence wavelength maximum, and (iii) variation in ellipticity at 220 nm. The transition followed by the fluorescence wavelength maximum was asymmetric and resolvable into two separate transitions. A thermodynamic analysis was used to define the energetics of the two processes. Studies with the fluorescent "apolar" probe 1,8ANS are consistent with the appearance of organized hydrophobic surfaces following the first transition. Near UV CD measurements indicated that the first transition is associated with a loss of dyssymmetry around at least some of the tryptophans. Thus, the unfolding of rhodanese is complex, and there are detectable intermediate(s) during the process. These results suggest that reversible unfolding occurs in two discrete stages: 1) loss of tertiary interactions and activity, with retention of secondary structure, and 2) loss of secondary structure. The available x-ray structure suggests that the first transition can be associated with changes in the domain interactions, which may modulate the effectiveness of helix dipoles in lowering the pKa of the active site sulfhydryl.

Dithiothreitol↗

PubMed1989

Oxidative inactivation of rhodanese by hydrogen peroxide produces states that show differential reactivation.

Controlled conditions have been found that give complete reactivation and long term stabilization of rhodanese (EC 2.8.1.1) after oxidative inactivation by hydrogen peroxide. Inactivated rhodanese was completely reactivated by reductants such as thioglycolic acid (TGA) (100 mM) and dithiothreitol (DTT) (100 mM) or the substrate thiosulfate (100 mM) if these reagents were added soon after inactivation. Reactivability fell in a biphasic first order process. At pH 7.5, in the presence of DTT inactive rhodanese lost 40% of its reactivability in less than 5 min, and the remaining 60% was lost more gradually (t 1/2 = 3.5 h). TGA reactivated better than DTT, and the rapid phase was much less prominent. If excess reagents were removed by gel filtration immediately after inactivation, there was time-independent and complete reactivability with TGA for at least 24 h, and the resulting samples were stable. Reactivable enzyme was resistant to proteolysis and had a fluorescence maximum at 335 nm, just as the native protein. Oxidized rhodanese, Partially reactivated by DTT, was unstable and lost activity upon further incubation. This inactive enzyme was fully reactivated by 200 mM TGA. Also, the enzyme could be reactivated by arsenite and high concentrations of cyanide. Addition of hydrogen peroxide (40-fold molar excess) to inactive rhodanese after column chromatography initiated a time-dependent loss of reactivability. This inactivation was a single first order process (t 1/2 = 25 min). Sulfhydryl titers showed that enzyme could be fully reactivated after the loss of either one or two sulfhydryl groups. Irreversibly inactivated enzyme showed the loss of one sulfhydryl group even after extensive reduction with TGA. The results are consistent with a two-stage oxidation of rhodanese. In the first stage there can form sulfenyl and/or disulfide derivative(s) at the active site sulfhydryl that are reducible by thioglycolate. A second stage could give alternate or additional oxidation states that are not easily reducible by reagents tried to date.

Arsenic↗

PubMed1989

Aspects of secondary and quaternary structure of surfactant protein A from canine lung.

The results of a large number of studies indicate that pulmonary surfactant contains a unique protein whose principal isoform has a molecular weight of about 30,000, and whose presence in surfactant is associated with important metabolic and physicochemical properties. This protein, SP-A, as isolated from canine surfactant, contains a domain of 24 repeating triplets of Gly-X-Y, similar to that found in collagens. These studies were undertaken to determine whether SP-A forms a collagen-like triple helix when in solution, and to describe certain aspects of its size and shape. Our experiments were done on SP-A extracted by two different methods from canine surfactant, and on SP-A produced by molecular cloning. The results from all three preparations were similar. The circular dichroism of the complete protein was characterized by a relatively large negative ellipticity at 205 nm, with a negative shoulder ranging from 215 to 230 nm. There was no positive ellipticity, and the spectrum was not characteristic of collagen. Trypsin hydrolysis resulted in a fragment with peak negative ellipticity at about 200 nm, without the negative shoulder. Further hydrolysis of this fragment with pepsin resulted in a CD spectrum similar to that of collagen. The spectrum of the collagen-like fragment was reversibly sensitive to heating to 50 degrees C, and was irreversibly lost after treatment with bacterial collagenase. SP-A migrated on molecular sieving gels with an equivalent Stokes radius of 110 to 120 A, and had a sedimentation coefficient of 14 S. Using these data we calculate a molecular weight of about 700,000. The hydrodynamic characteristics can be approximated as a prolate ellipsoid of revolution having an axial ratio of about 20. We conclude that SP-A aggregates into a complex of 18 monomers, which may form six triple-helices. The shape of the complex is considerably more globular than collagen and is not consistent with end-to-end binding of the helices to form fibrous structures.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

Secondary structure of a core protein from pig skin proteodermatan sulfate: CD and Fourier transform IR spectroscopic studies in solution.

The secondary structure of a 38 kDa core protein from pig skin proteodermatan sulfate (PDS), was investigated in solution using CD and Fourier transform (FT) ir spectroscopy. Both techniques generally have provided complementary data on the secondary structures of proteins. CD spectral analysis has shown that the core protein contains 60% beta-turn and alpha-helical structures, the rest being "unordered" structure. FT ir data do not permit calculation of quantitative contributions of substructures, at the present time, to the overall secondary structure of the core protein. CD spectrum of the intact PDS is similar to the core protein CD spectrum.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Detection of time-dependent and oxidatively induced antigens of bovine liver rhodanese with monoclonal antibodies.

Rhodanese has been extensively utilized as a model protein for the study of enzyme structure-function relationships. An immunological study of conformational changes occurring in rhodanese as a result of oxidation or thermal inactivation was conducted. Three monoclonal antibodies (MABs) to rhodanese were produced. Each MAB recognized a unique epitope as demonstrated by binding of the MABs to different proteolytic fragments of rhodanese. While none of the MABs significantly bound native, soluble, sulfur-substituted bovine rhodanese, as indicated in indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay experiments, each MAB was immunoadsorbed from solution by soluble rhodanese as a function of the time rhodanese was incubated at 37 degrees C. Thus, as rhodanese was thermally inactivated, conformational changes resulted in the expression of three new epitopes. Catalytic conformers demonstrated different rates of thermally induced antigen expression. Each MAB also recognized epitopes expressed when rhodanese was immobilized on microtiter plates at 37 degrees C. Two conformers resulting from oxidation of rhodanese by hydrogen peroxide were identified immunologically. All MABs recognized rhodanese that was oxidized with peroxide and allowed to undergo a secondary cyanide-dependent reaction which also resulted in a fluorescence shift and increased proteolytic susceptibility. Only one MAB was capable of recognizing an epitope expressed when rhodanese was oxidized with peroxide and then separated from the reactants to prevent induction of the secondary conformational changes.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Studies of RNA-protein interactions in the yeast 5 S ribonucleoprotein particles by fluorescence and tritium exchange. Implications for ribosomal assembly.

Studies of the conformational properties of the yeast 5 S RNA-protein complex were initiated in an attempt to understand loss of ability of its individual protein and RNA components to reassociate. The 5 S RNA-L1a protein complex from 60 S ribosomal subunits of Saccharomyces cerevisiae could be dissociated by high concentrations of magnesium. The degree of dissociation could be monitored by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The complex was completely dissociated at about 390 mM magnesium, but was stable at 4 degrees C in 25 mM EDTA up to 48 h. The overall conformation of the complex was monitored using tritium exchange. The tritium exchange behavior was dramatically changed as the complex was dissociated. To determine contribution of each component to the observed overall change reflected in the tritium exchange behavior, ethidium bromide (EtBr) and bis-anilinonaphthalene-sulfonic acid fluorescence were used to monitor the RNA and the protein moiety, respectively. Upon dissociation of the complex, the fluorescence intensity resulting from EtBr binding to RNA decreased, whereas the intensity due to bis-anilinonaphthalene-sulfonic acid binding to the protein increased. Turbidity was observed during dissociation of the complex. These results indicate that disruption of interactions between the 5 S RNA and protein L1a resulted in an exposure of solvent-accessible apolar regions in the protein molecule. Such exposure led to insolubility of protein and irreversibility in interaction between individual components. Properties of the separated components also suggest that special conditions may be required for these components to associate during ribosomal assembly.

Molecular Weight↗

PubMed1988

Acceptor substrate-potentiated inactivation of bovine liver rhodanese.

The interaction of bovine liver rhodanese (thiosulfate:cyanide sulfurtransferase, EC 2.8.1.1) with the acceptor substrates, dithiothreitol or cyanide, was studied. When incubated in the presence of cyanide or dithiothreitol, rhodanese was inactivated in a time-dependent process. This inactivation was detectable only at low enzyme concentrations; the rate and degree of inactivation could be modulated by varying the substrate concentration or the system pH. Activity measurements and fluorescence spectroscopy techniques were used in examining the inactivation phenomenon. Sulfur transfer to dithiothreitol was measured by direct assay and was shown to involve the dequenching of enzymic intrinsic fluorescence that had been previously observed only with cyanide as the acceptor substrate. Substrate-potentiated inactivation of rhodanese (with cyanide) has been reported before, but the cause and nature of this interaction were unexplained. The results presented here are consistent with an explanation invoking oxidation of rhodanese in the course of inactivation.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

The differential functional stability of various forms of bovine liver rhodanese.

Bovine liver rhodanese (thiosulfate:cyanide sulfurtransferase, EC 2.8.1.1) was prepared in dilute solutions and subjected to conditions that led to a time-dependent loss of enzyme activity. The rate of this activity loss was found to be dependent upon the sulfur substitution state of the enzyme, and the presence or absence of the substrates, thiosulfate and cyanide. In the absence of excess substrates, free enzyme (E), and the covalent intermediate form of the enzyme bearing a divalent sulfur atom in the active site (ES), are of approximately equal functional stability. In comparison, E, in the presence of excess cyanide, was markedly more labile, while ES, supported by 10-50 mM thiosulfate, showed no significant loss of activity under any of the conditions tested. All the enzyme solutions were shown to be losing assayable protein from solution. However, it was demonstrated that, for rhodanese in the E form, the amount of protein lost was insufficient to account for the activity lost, and a marked decline in specific activity was observed. Enzyme in the ES form, whether supported by additional thiosulfate or not, did not decline in the specific activity, though comparable protein loss did occur from these solutions. Intrinsic fluorescence measurements of rhodanese in the ES form, before and after removal of the persulfide sulfur through the addition of cyanide, indicated that loss of enzymic activity was not accompanied by loss of the bound sulfur atom. Therefore, the stabilizing effect observed with thiosulfate could not be explained simply by its ability to maintain enzyme in the sulfur-substituted state. Since the concentration of thiosulfate employed in these experiments was insufficient to maintain all the enzyme in ES.S2O3 form, thiosulfate was acting as a chemical reagent rather than a substrate in stabilizing enzyme activity.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Sulfhydryl-directed triggering of conformational changes in the enzyme rhodanese.

The enzyme rhodanese in the form without transferred sulfur, (E), was inactivated by carboxymethylation with iodoacetic acid (E.IAA), and its conformation was compared with that of E inactivated by oxidative processes (Eox). Formation of E.IAA led to the exposure of binding sites for the fluorescent apolar probe 1,1'-bi(4-anilino)naphthalene-5,5'-disulfonic acid (BisANS). The dissociation constant for BisANS decreased as the concentration of E.IAA decreased and ranged from approximately 200 microM at 1 mg/ml protein to approximately 2 microM at protein concentrations below 0.1 mg/ml. Centrifugation confirmed that E.IAA, but not the underivatized enzyme, could associate. E.IAA was proteolyzable by chymotrypsin or endoproteinase Glu C (V8), while rhodanese containing bound sulfur, ES, was totally refractory, and E was only clipped to a small extent. This constellation of consequences was only previously observed with oxidatively inactivated rhodanese. Fluorescence depolarization measurements of bound BisANS were consistent with exposure of apolar surfaces and association of the protein. The fluorescence spectra of BisANS bound to E.IAA or Eox were identical and distinct from the spectrum of BisANS bound to phenylglyoxal-inactivated ES. Digestion with chymotrypsin was followed using protein and BisANS fluorescence and showed a similar response for E.IAA and Eox. These results indicate that the consequences of forming Eox and E.IAA are very similar. Thus, reaction of the active site sulfhydryl group apparently triggers a conformational change leading to increased protein flexibility and increased exposure of hydrophobic surfaces. In the case of oxidation, the trigger might involve initial formation of an active site sulfenic acid which ultimately gives higher oxidation states that could include disulfides.

Anilino Naphthalenesulfonates↗

PubMed1988

Isolation, amino acid analyses and refolding of subunits of pig heart succinyl-CoA synthetase.

For the first time, pig heart succinyl-CoA synthetase has been refolded from its isolated subunits after denaturation. Amino acid analyses of pig heart succinyl-CoA synthetase and its subunits were performed. Subunits were isolated by gel filtration in neutral 6 M-urea. The amino acid composition of the native enzyme bears a strong resemblance to that of the Escherichia coli enzyme. Application of the various methods for comparing amino acid compositions [Cornish-Bowden (1983) Methods Enzymol. 91, 60-75] shows that the degree of relatedness between the alpha-subunits of the pig heart and E. coli enzymes and between the beta-subunits of the two synthetases is intermediate between 'strong' and 'weak'. As for the E. coli synthetase, it is unlikely that the alpha-subunit arises from the larger beta-subunit by post-translational modification. The pig heart enzyme contains a single tryptophan residue, which is located in the beta-subunit. Excitation of the enzyme at 295 nm resulted in a typical tryptophan emission spectrum. Refolding of enzyme denatured in 6 M-guanidine hydrochloride or of alpha- and beta-subunits isolated in this solvent required the presence of either ethylene glycol or glycerol, optimally at 20-25% (v/v). GTP-Mg2+ did not stimulate reactivation of the enzyme, in contrast with the result obtained with ATP-Mg2+ in the reconstitution of the enzyme from E. coli. Yields of 60% and 40% were obtained in the refolding of denatured enzyme and isolated subunits respectively. The fluorescence spectrum of the refolded protein was essentially the same as that of native enzyme. Unrecovered activity could not be accounted for in the form of protein aggregates. The specific activity of refolded enzyme that had been separated from inactive protein on a Bio-Sil TSK 250 column was the same as that of native enzyme. Km values for GTP of 27 microM and 14 microM were determined for native and refolded enzyme respectively.

Amino Acids↗

PubMed1987

Oxidation increases the proteolytic susceptibility of a localized region in rhodanese.

For the first time, the enzyme rhodanese has been proteolytically cleaved to give species that most likely correspond to individual domains. This indicates cleavage can occur in the interdomain tether. Further, the conditions for cleavage show that availability of the susceptible bond(s) depends on conformational changes triggered by oxidative inactivation. Rhodanese, without persulfide sulfur (E), was oxidized consequent to incubation with phenylglyoxal, NADH, or hydrogen peroxide. The oxidized enzyme (Eox) was probed using the proteolytic enzymes endoproteinase glutamate C (V8), trypsin, chymotrypsin, or subtilisin. The proteolytic susceptibility of Eox, formed using hydrogen peroxide, was compared with that of E and the form of the enzyme containing transferred sulfur, ES. ES was totally refractory to proteolysis, while E was only clipped to a small extent by trypsin or V8 and not at all by chymotrypsin or subtilisin. Eox was susceptible to proteolysis by all the proteases used, and, although there were some differences among the proteolytic patterns, there was always a band on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis corresponding to Mr = 16,500. This was the only band observed in addition to the parent species (Mr = 33,000) when Eox was digested with chymotrypsin, and conservation of total protein was observed after digestion up to 90 min. No additional species were observable on silver staining, although there was some indication that the band at 16,500 might be a doublet. The results are consistent with the occurrence of a conformational change after oxidation that results in increased exposure and/or flexibility of the interdomain tether which contains residues that meet the specificity requirements of the proteases used.

Chymotrypsin↗

PubMed1987

Conformational changes accompany the oxidative inactivation of rhodanese by a variety of reagents.

Rhodanese is oxidatively inactivated by several reagents, some of which are not normally considered oxidants. Rhodanese, in a form not containing persulfide sulfur (E), was inactivated by phenylglyoxal under conditions where disulfides are formed. There was the concomitant increase in the fluorescence of the apolar probe 1,1'-bi(4-anilino)naphthalene-5,5'-disulfonic acid (bisANS). At 0.2 mg/ml protein, there was no turbidity, while at 1 mg/ml, turbidity formed after an induction period of 23 min. Phenylglyoxal-inactivated E was extensively digested by endoproteinase glutamate C (V8 protease) to give two discrete high molecular weight fragments (Mr = 29,500 and 16,000). Enzymatically active E or ES, the form of rhodanese containing transferred sulfur (Mr = 33,000) was totally refractory to V8 protease and gave only small fluorescent enhancement of bisANS. Phenylglyoxal inactivated ES (reaction at arginine) gave very little fluorescence enhancement of bisANS and was not digested by V8. Hydrogen peroxide rapidly inactivated E (t1/2 less than 2 min) giving a slow increase in bisANS fluorescence (t1/2 greater than 10 min) identical to that observed with phenylglyoxal. The turbidity also increased after an induction period of approximately 30 min. Inactivation of E by hydrogen peroxide gave the same digestion pattern as that observed with phenylglyoxal inactivation. The turbidity was associated with the formation of disulfide-bonded structures that formed with the stoichiometry of E, 2E, 4E, 6E, 8E, etc. relative to the native enzyme, E. E was inactivated with several other reagents that lead to oxidatively inactivated rhodanese including NADH, dithiothreitol, mercaptoethanol, and m-dinitrobenzene. Enzyme inactivated with dithiothreitol or NADH gave an identical digestion pattern as above. In addition, with the exception of NADH which could not be used due to optical interference, each of the reagents gave rise to increased fluorescence of bisANS after inactivation. The results are consistent with a model in which the oxidized rhodanese resulting from diverse treatments is in a new conformation that has extensive exposed apolar surfaces and can form both noncovalent and disulfide-bonded aggregates.

Dithiothreitol↗

PubMed1987

Interaction of tubulin with the macromolecular apolar probe, octyl sepharose.

Binding of the microtubule protein, tubulin, to hydrophobic groups immobilized on octyl sepharose has been investigated. The results indicate that tubulin binds to octyl sepharose in a time-, temperature-, and concentration-dependent manner. Binding is multiphasic, with one fast phase and at least two slow phases, and is influenced by the presence of antimitotic drugs. Colchicine, vinblastine and podophyllotoxin enhance the fast binding of tubulin with very little effect on the slow binding. Pre-incubation of tubulin with the apolar probe, bis(1,8-anilinonaphthalenesulfonate) (BisANS) enhances both the rapid and slow phases of binding of tubulin to octyl sepharose. 1,8-Anilinonaphthalenesulfonate, the monomer of BisANS, has no effect. These results are consistent with a model for tubulin decay which involves the appearance of hydrophobic sites with time.

Anilino Naphthalenesulfonates↗

PubMed1987

Detergent-assisted refolding of guanidinium chloride-denatured rhodanese. The effects of the concentration and type of detergent.

We have established the generality of using detergents for facilitating the reactivation of 6 M guanidinium chloride-denatured rhodanese that was recently described for the nonionic detergent lauryl maltoside (LM) (Tandon, S., and Horowitz, P. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 15615-15618). We report here that not only LM but other nonionic as well as ionic and zwitterionic detergents also have favorable effects in reactivating the denatured enzyme. Not all detergents are useful, and the favorable effects occur over a limited concentration range. Above and below that range there is little or no effect. Zwittergents, which represent a homologous series with varying critical micelle concentrations (CMCs) are effective only above their CMCs. Induction phases occur in the progress curves of rhodanese refolded in the presence of the effective detergents, suggesting the presence of refolding intermediates that are apparently stabilized by detergent interactions. Gel filtration chromatography of rhodanese with and without LM suggests that even though the renaturation of the denatured enzyme requires detergent at concentrations above its CMC, the enzyme does not bind an amount of detergent equivalent to a micelle. It is suggested that renaturation of other proteins might also be assisted by inclusion of "nondenaturing" detergents, although the optimal conditions will have to be determined for each individual case.

Detergents↗

PubMed1987

Chemical modification of bovine liver rhodanese with tetrathionate: differential effects on the sulfur-free and sulfur-containing catalytic intermediates.

Sulfhydryl groups of bovine liver rhodanese (thiosulfate: cyanide sulfurtransferase, EC 2.8.1.1) were modified by treatment with tetrathionate. There was a linear relationship between loss of enzyme activity and the amount of tetrathionate used. At a ratio of one tetrathionate per mole of rhodanese, 100% of enzyme activity was lost in the sulfur-free E-form as compared with a 70% loss for the sulfur-containing ES-form of the enzyme. Addition of up to a 100-fold molar excess of tetrathionate to ES gave no further inactivation. Addition of cyanide to the maximally inactivated ES-tetrathionate complex gave complete loss of activity. Kinetic studies of maximally inactivated ES and partially inactivated E gave Km (Ks) values that were essentially the same as native enzyme, indicating that the active enzyme, in all cases, bound thiosulfate similarly. Reactivation was faster with the ES-form than with the E-form. The substrate, thiosulfate, could reactivate the enzyme up to 70% in 1 h with ES as compared to 24 h with E. Tetrathionate modification of rhodanese could be correlated with the changes in intrinsic fluorescence and with the binding of the active site reporter 2-anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonic acid (2,8-ANS). Circular dichroism spectra of the protein suggested increased ordered secondary structure in the protein after reaction with tetrathionate. Cadmium chloride and phenylarsine oxide totally inactivated the enzyme at levels usually associated with their effect on enzymes containing vicinal sulfhydryl groups. Further, cadmium inhibition could be reversed by EDTA. Tetrathionate modification of rhodanese may proceed through the formation of sulfenylthiosulfate intermediates at sulfhydryl groups, close to but not identical with the active-site sulfhydryl group, which then can react further with the active-site sulfhydryl group to form disulfide bridges.

Anilino Naphthalenesulfonates↗

PubMed1987

Ion-enhanced fluorescence staining of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels using bis(8-p-toluidino-1-naphthalenesulfonate).

A method for the sensitive fluorescent staining of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) gels that extends the applicability and sensitivity of existing procedures has been developed. SDS-protein complexes are able to bind the noncovalent hydrophobic probe, bis(8-p-toluidino-1-naphthalenesulfonate) (bisANS) with an increase in quantum yield that is considerably larger than that observed with the commonly used monomeric form, 1-anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonic acid (1,8-ANS). The quantum yield of bisANS bound to the SDS-protein complex is greatly enhanced by incubation with one of a number of cations including potassium and barium. The use of bisANS with metal ion enhancements provides a method for staining SDS gels that can be more sensitive than commonly used methods based on the binding of Coomassie blue, and provides a simple and rapid method for the detection and quantitation of proteins. The use of metal ion enhancements also greatly increases the sensitivity of staining methods based on the use of 1,8-ANS. The present method is much more sensitive than previous noncovalent, flourescent, postelectrophoresis stains, but it retains their considerable advantages of speed, simplicity, and the ability to perform secondary procedures on the separated materials.

Anilino Naphthalenesulfonates↗

PubMed1986

Oxidative inactivation of the enzyme rhodanese by reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide.

The enzyme rhodanese (thiosulfate sulfurtransferase; EC 2.8.1.1) is inactivated with a half-time of approximately 3 min when incubated with 50 mM NADH. NAD+, however, has virtually no effect on the activity. Inactivation can be prevented by the inclusion of the substrate thiosulfate. The concentration of thiosulfate giving half-protection is 0.038 mM. In addition, NADH, but not NAD+, is a competitive inhibitor with respect to thiosulfate in the catalyzed reaction (Ki = 8.3 mM). Fluorescence studies are consistent with a time-dependent oxidation of NADH in the presence of rhodanese. The sulfur-free form of rhodanese is more rapidly inactivated than the sulfur-containing form. Spectrophotometric titrations show that inactivation is accompanied by the loss of two free SH groups per enzyme molecule. Inactivation is prevented by the exclusion of air and the inclusion of EDTA (1 mM), and the enzyme activity can be largely protected by incubation with superoxide dismutase or catalase. Rhodanese, inactivated with NADH, can be reactivated by incubation with the substrate thiosulfate (75 mM) for 48 h or more rapidly, but only partially, by incubating with 180 mM dithiothreitol. It is concluded that, in the presence of rhodanese, NADH can be oxidized by molecular oxygen and produce intermediates of oxygen reduction, such as superoxide and/or hydrogen peroxide, that can inactivate the enzyme with consequent formation of an intraprotein disulfide. In addition, NADH, but not NAD+, can reversibly bind to the active site region in competition with thiosulfate. These data are of interest in view of x-ray studies that show structural similarities between rhodanese and nucleotide binding proteins.

Edetic Acid↗